#so yes . . . he's the problem . . . except it's not KEEFE that's the problem (from his thought process). it's keefe's SITUATION | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

mxnkeydo · 1 year ago

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so scarlet (it was maroon) ✧ sokeefe

✧ ship: Sophie x Keefe

✧ what to expect: it all went down went a book went soaring across the classroom but sophie never expects it to end the way it does. acrylic smeared on cheeks, pigment-stained clothes, and a whole keefe sencen later, maybe she never despised him as much as she thought she did.

✧ genre: romance, fluff, humor, sarcasm - enemies to lovers trope, human au, and a love triangle to torment you guys 😈

✧ word count: 848

✧ warnings: BIG MOMENT IN THIS CHAPTER WHERE KEEFE IS HIT WITH THE TRUTH ->

✧ link to masterlist

✧ link to chapter four

✧ link to chapter five

✧ A/N: hello peeps! here's a mini chapter of what happened at dinner. hope this was okay!

***

CHAPTER 4.5

Keefe walked down the staircase behind Sophie, chewing on his bottom lip. He was pretty sure he vaguely remembered Edaline saying Sophie’s father wasn’t exactly fond of having boys over. He had a feeling this wasn’t going to go very well.

As they approached the dining table, he noticed him. A big, strong guy with blonde hair like his own–except it was straight and combed neatly; very different from Keefe’s unruly, curly locks. Keefe figured he’d come straight from work because he was dressed in a suit, his blue tie loose around his neck.

“Don’t worry,” Sophie said, reading his thoughts. “He might look intimidating but he’s a real softie.” She made her way over and hugged his neck. “Hey Dad!”

Her father immediately smiled at her. He squeezed her back, enveloping her in a bear hug. “Hey kiddo, how’s my girl?”

“Great.” She turned and gestured to me. “Dad, this is my art tutor. His name’s Keefe Sencen.”

He looked at me up and down. “Sencen? Are you Cassius’s kid?”

I gulped. “Yes sir.”

Sophie’s parents looked at each other, an unspoken agreement made. Clearing his throat, he said, “Call me Grady. Welcome, Keefe, have a seat.” I slid into the chair next to Sophie’s, keeping my eyes down on the white plate.

“Let’s say Grace,” Edaline said. She reached for her husband's hand, taking Sophie’s across the table. Grady took my hand with his rough one. And Sophie slid her hand into mine under the table, her gaze making my heart pick up speed as she smiled, no doubt remembering that moment at Walmart. I let out a shaky breath as I closed my eyes.

“Dear Lord, thank you for the food on our table, and blessed the hands that prepared it. And let us welcome our guest, Keefe.” With a collective ‘Amen’, they opened their eyes and dug in.

“So, Keefe,” Grady started as he swallowed a chunk of mashed potatoes. “How did you end up as my daughter’s tutor?”

“Oh, Sophie–”

“Our teacher assigned it to him,” Sophie cut in, shooting Keefe a death glare from the corner of her eye. Grady looked to him for confirmation.

“Yep. That’s what happened.” Was all Keefe added. Grady narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but Edaline changed the subject fast; by the meaningful expression on her face, Sophie must’ve told her already.

“So! How’s dinner, Keefe?”

Keefe shoveled a fork full of spaghetti into his mouth, nodding enthusiastically. “It’s great, Edaline. Thanks for the invite.”

“Not a problem, honey. Sophie’s friends are always welcome at the table.” She emphasized the word ‘friends’, almost making Sophie choke on her food with laughter.

The rest of dinner was silent except for the sound of their utensils clinking and their chewing. Afterward, Keefe was just getting ready to leave when Grady pulled him aside.

“Okay, kid. Here’s the deal: you date my daughter–”

“It’s– it’s not like that, sir,” Keefe stuttered.

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous, I can see the way you look at her. It’s obvious. If you two start dating, you better not break her heart or you won’t live to see another day.”

Keefe nodded stiffly.

“And,” Grady continued. “No kissing, no holding hands, and–”

“Keefe!” Sophie called. “C’mon, I’ll drive you home.”

“Got it, sir,” Keefe mumbled, zooming out of the room as fast as he could. The embarrassment was too much to bear. During the car ride home, he pretended to be sleeping so he’d be left alone to his own thoughts.

Grady said it was obvious. Was it really? Did he really look at Sophie that way, or was her dad overreacting? Could people see it at school too, when he joked around with her in art class?

But this wasn’t about whether other people could see it. It was about whether he had a…a crush on Sophie or not.

Did he? It had only been a week or so since they met. Could he have developed feelings for her already? He figured anyone would after spending time with her. How could they not? She had that gorgeous smile, those pretty eyes. Who said brown eyes weren’t to die for? Brown was the color of honey, of amber and onyx. They were just as beautiful as any other.

Don’t even get him started on her laugh, the one that would echo out into the sky and lift his lips up into a smile against his will. It was like magic, a magic he hated and loved at the same time. He hated the power she held over him without knowing it. He hated the way she’d always have the upper hand and smirk at him when she did, leaving him blushing like an idiot.

But most of all, Keefe hated the fact that his heart would race every time she looked his way.

It was time he faced it. He had a crush. A tiny crush, but a crush nevertheless.

“Keefe, it’s your stop.” Sophie shook his shoulder gently, peering at him through her lashes. Keefe rubbed his eyes.

“Thanks,” he muttered, getting out of the car and scurrying to the door.

“See you Monday?”

Keefe felt his lips turning up. Damn you Foster, and that sweet voice of yours.

“Yeah. See you on Monday, Foster.”

#romance #sophie x keefe #keefe sencen #team foster keefe #kotlc keefe #kotlc sophie #kotlc fandom #kotlc #sophie foster #so scarlet (it was maroon)

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an-absolute-travesty · 4 years ago

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Royal Screw-Ups

It’s time, the final chapter is here

*Sobbing*

I won’t get too sappy on you guys here, since I got pretty sappy at the end of thing on Wattpad

But yeah. Thanks if you’ve been reading this long. I have more plans for this world (i have some plans for a few oneshots) but for this moment, we are closing out this story

If you’re looking for the rest of the story, it can be found on my wattpad @ohwowhatethis, under the tags “kotlc fic” and “keefex” on my blog, or under the cut on my pinned post

Tag list (tell me if you want to be added or removed, just for this story or as a whole): @you-are-the-vacker-legacy @ruewen-and-rising @lemontarto @a-lonely-tatertot @clearlykeefitz @percabetn @vibing-in-the-void @sewersewersewercouch @everyonehasthoughts @imaramennoodle @enbies-and-felonies @blxckh0les42 @rainbowtay-11 @callas-starkflower-stew @impostertamsong @appalyneinstitute1 @stars-and-splendor @anna-without-an-e

Chapter 8:

Word count: 3,677

Warnings: swearing, cassi-ass being an ass, destruction, fire, chaos, etc.

Three months of planning later, servants scurried around the property in preparation for the ceremony the next day. A glass dome had been built in the center of the property to house it.

Tam and Linh had arrived soon after they had their first meeting, luckily Tam and Fitz weren’t as lovey-dovey in real life as they were in their letters. However, Marella and Linh very much made up for it. The moment they met the guard and the princess had a connection, the sweet talk was almost too much to bear.

In fact, all of them had grown quite close over the past months. Who knew low-level treason could bring people together so.

Of course, not nearly as close as he’d like with a certain person, but closer for sure. Every week they met back up at the library to work out bumps in their plan, clean up the absurd amount of paper Keefe used in drawing out his first plan, or just sit and talk. Today would be their last before the big day.

Keefe watched over Dex’s shoulder as he made his final tinkers on the device he had been working on.

“How’s it looking Techmaster?”

“Eh, having more metal makes everything easier but...it’s one use only, so I can’t test it. We just have to hope for the best.”

“Well, I have faith in you. Your genius brain could make anything.”

Dex rolled his eyes. Keefe wanted to subtly touch him to see if his blatant flirting had been noticed, but it felt wrong to. He had been stuck in the dark for the last 3 months.

Everyone else ran their lines around the room. Everyone besides Sophie who, as typical of her, looked half way sick in the corner.

Keefe sat down next to her on the floor.

“Alright, what’s up Foster, have you acquired a stomach bug?”

She giggled. “No...it’s just…” She sighed. “It feels wrong, y’know? I mean...I don’t want to hurt anybody.”

“You’re really doing the opposite of hurting people though, I mean you’re making them happy.”

“Not happy, hysterical. Yeah it can be happy, but not in the way we’re doing it. Trust me, it’s not fun to watch.”

Keefe thought for a moment.

“Hey...your parents have that griffin, right?”

~*~

The sound of a wedding march echoed through the castle lawn as Sophie was led down the isle by her father. Keefe guessed she looked quite lovely in her dress, Biana, who stood as her maid of honor, was looking at her more like a husband would than him. He stood frozen at the alter, Fitz beside him as his best man and everyone else interspersed within the crowd for optimal dramatic effect.

Sophie reached him at long last. Surprisingly enough, she didn’t look sickly this time. Her face steeled with determination gave him confidence.

The guy marrying them together was one of Cassius’ officials. Keefe didn’t bother to remember most names anymore, but this one was a...Moland? Noland? Something like that.

Everyone winced in unison as the man started talking, Keefe’s ears began to ring a bit at the volume.

“Lords and Ladies, we are gathered here today to celebrate the joyous union of our young Prince Keefe Sencen and the lovely Miss Sophie Foster-Ruewen.”

Keefe only realized he was fidgeting when Fitz subtly reached out and held his hand down from where it had been tapping on his leg.

“We are honored to be joined by so many friends and family. The Goom and Bride are overjoyed you all could be here to participate in this most important occasion.

“There are few greater joys in life than finding someone we truly connect with. Creatives have many names for this, a spark, clicking, but let us say today what it truly is: love.”

Keefe looked out into the crowd, he caught the eye of Dex. The redhead’s brow was crinkled and his cheeks flushed slightly. He pat the pocket of his coat in confirmation.

“Love is what these two young souls have found in each other. In love, our truest selves are revealed. We open ourselves up and break down our walls. The veil we present to the public is lifted so we can be loved for who we are, not who we pretend to be.”

Keefe struggled to not roll his eyes. He took a final look around the room, each person nodding as he met eyes with them.

“Over these months, our Bride and Groom have developed a strong bond. This bond will only get stronger throughout the course of their marriage. Let us revel in the joy and love displayed in front of us today. May we treasure these memories as Prince Keefe and Miss Sophie get set to begin their new life together.”

Keefe took a deep breath, knowing the next words out of his mouth.

“If anyone has cause to object the forming of this union, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

3, 2, 1…

“I object!”

Stina first. “This marriage was meant to be mine! She’s just a dirty commoner!”

“How dare you!” Fitz cut in before anyone else could. “I object because I love her! Sophie is meant to be with me. Maruca has admitted her love to Keefe, let her marry him!”

Biana gasped dramatically. “Maruca you snake! You knew I loved him.”

“You only loved his title!” She screamed, standing up to match the rest. “And Fitz, if you’re so concerned with what Stina has to say about Sophie, you should hear what Wylie has to say.”

Fitz walked in Wylie’s direction and he stood. “Why you little-”

Just then, Keefe heard it.

Beep. Beep. Beep. BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP.

BOOM.

An explosion burst a small part of the glass dome’s ceiling. Sophie let out an ear-splitting whistle and the griffin flew straight through the hole as the glass fell. Screams erupted through the room as the animal landed on chairs and destroyed the alter.

The screams only got louder as the room was lit up as bright as the sun before swiftly being plunged into darkness. Those involved in the plan used the opportunity to gather themselves at the exit. With the exception of Biana and Marella who, if all went as planned, stood prepared by the very flammable reception tables.

The darkness lifted and people quickly ran out, some of the more stuck up nobles guided by guards. Once everyone was out safely, Keefe watched as a red glow started and grew. Marella wasn’t visible, but anyone paying attention could see the two sets of footprints forming in the grass.

People ran farther from the dome swiftly filling with fire. It spread quickly, but before it could reach the outside, Linh yelled.

“Everyone back up!”

She pulled water from a nearby pond, making a large wave that, while it put out the fires, crushed the dome in its entirety.

~*~

Two hours later, the guests sat huddled in the ballroom of the castle, many wrapped in blankets and eating soup the kitchen served to recover from what they had been through. Through the window, Keefe saw the Ruewen parents attempting to calm their griffin after taking a long time to wrangle it.

They were good at keeping secrets, they brought the animal here in the first place.

Just as he started crossing the room to go talk to Dex, he felt a heavy hand grip his shoulder.

Cassius looked at him with a glare that could kill ten men. He wordlessly guided Keefe in the direction of his office and the prince obliged.

When Keefe walked in the door, it was messier than he had ever seen it. Even his father himself was disheveled, his typically slick-backed hair uncharacteristically sloppy and his tunic smudged with soot. He sat down at his desk and heaved a sigh.

“Do you know why I brought you in here?”

“Because my wedding was destroyed?”

“Because we are going to plan a new one. I need you to collect everyone who had objections to get this idiotic drama cleared for the records. I’ve sent for Councillor Bronte, he can officiate you. You will have a wedding today, whether you get the ceremony or not.”

“One problem with that, Biana and Marella haven’t been found.”

Technically the truth. They were to hide in the Queen’s Gardens until further notice, but the Guard Force didn’t know that.

Cassius was silent for a moment, his face hidden in his hands.

Then he started convulsing.

No, not convulsing.

Laughing.

“Of course!” He got up from his chair in one movement. “Of course they haven’t been found! Why am I even surprised anymore.” He threw his hands in the air. “Nothing ever goes right!” He spoke through his teeth as he pushed everything off of his desk.

“MY MARRIAGE” He cleared a bookshelf with one arm, dumping the junk to the ground.

“MY LEADERSHIP!” He knocked over his chair.

“MY SON!” He grabbed the painting from the wall and threw it down.

“ALL DISAPPOINTMENTS!” He pushed over his desk, it landed with a loud crash.

“And now this too? Nothing ever goes right! No matter how hard I try! No matter how much work I put in! Everything ends in failure!”

“It’s a good thing this was my wedding and not yours then.”

The door behind them opened without a knock.

“King Cassius, is this a bad time?” Bronte looked at the office with contempt.

“No, now works.”

Despite not being formally invited in, Bronte sat down on the overturned desk and pulled out a folder of paperwork.

“So...we’re trying to do an emergency wedding, yes?”

Cassius nodded.

“And from my understanding, there were 1,2...4 objections that haven’t been cleared?”

Cassius nodded again.

“Then I’m afraid I can’t perform a wedding. Legally or morally considering the fact that fate itself seems against this union. It is traditional, when a wedding goes so badly, to accept that something in the universe is not accepting of the marriage and call it off.”

“I understand, Councillor. However, I am the goddamned king and you will do as I say!

Bronte was unfazed.

“Actually sir, with only a month until the coronation you have resigned some of your duties, as is customary. You don’t have full control over the law at the moment, you signed a contract.”

He pulled said contract out of his pocket, displaying the signature, before putting it back in.

“Prince Keefe and you now have split control, as you had when you had a spouse. You both must agree if you are to override a law.”

Cassius hid his face once again.

“Go. Get out of my sight.”

Keefe turned to leave but his father grabbed him.

“Just Bronte.”

The man shrugged and closed the door behind him.

“Keefe...do you know why I was so eager to get you in as king?”

Keefe said nothing. That was one thing he couldn’t figure out himself.

“I am a shitty, shitty, king. I was never made to rule. Your mother? Yes. Yes she was. Me? No. Not at all. I thought I could do this job, I thought it would be cushy, I thought I’d have all the power in the kingdom as well as riches upon riches without having to work. I was wrong.

“I wanted to train you to do this better than I ever could. I wanted to make sure you were going to be prepared.”

“No.” Keefe’s eyes started to water in anger. “You wanted to train me up to take your job as soon as possible. You didn’t want the responsibility so you decided to hand it off to your child. It’s just like...it’s just like Mom. You were the judge and the jury but you were too much of a coward to be the executioner or even a mourner. You hand off all your problems for someone else to deal with. You’re a fucking coward and nothing else.”

“I cared Keefe!-”

“NO YOU DIDN’T.” Tears streamed down his face. “You never cared about me, you never cared about Mom, you never cared for anything or anybody but yourself.

“I don’t love Sophie and I never will, but you tried to make me marry her because you loved the idea of the strong son with a quiet woman. That shows how much you care.”

“It was what I thought was best.”

“WELL YOU WERE WRONG.”

Keefe walked out and slammed the door.

~*~

Keefe went to his room and sobbed. He rarely indulged himself in crying but today was one of the days he let himself. It was maybe an hour later, when he was out of tears and just laid staring up at his ceiling, that he heard a knock on the door.

When he opened it, no one stood there. Just a small note in scratchy handwriting.

“Meet us at the library, midnight”

~*~

Keefe carefully sneaked through the castle halls, only the candle he held lit his way. He slowly cracked open the library door.

“SURPRISE!”

Suddenly a whole group of people attacked him in a hug, rainbow lights filled the normally dull room.

“W-what is all this?”

“It’s a surprise party silly!” For the first time since he’d seen her, Sophie looked truly happy. “We don’t have to get married! And we got out of it without any serious injuries.”

Fitz pulled him over to a table. “C’mon, Bi stole some leftover cake no one ate from the kitchens.”

He looked around for Dex hoping to see his beaming smile and instead saw him sitting solemnly in the corner. He didn’t look Keefe’s way.

“Hey Fee, are you okay?” Apparently Fitz just now noticed his still puffy face.

“Yeah um...just my dad being a jerk again. Don’t worry about it.”

Fitz shrugged it off, he knew about jerky dads.

Or he used to, anyway. That bastard Alden ran away a long time ago.

Keefe tried to partake in the festivities but he found it hard. He was going to be king in a month, and hopefully a good one at that. Just about anything was better than Cassius. He should be celebrating right now. But...there was still something bothering him.

It was approaching the wee hours of the morning as people slowly trickled out. Wylie had long since dropped the rainbow lights. They had been celebrating for hours, Dex was silent nearly the whole time.

“Alright.” Fitz said through a yawn. “I’m tapping out. Night Fee. Last one standing has to clean everything up.”

Keefe nodded. When he finally left the room and they were all alone, he approached Dex. Still silent in the corner.

“Okay, what’s going on Techmaster? You seem down.”

“No it’s just...it’s hard to explain.”

“Take your time, if you’d like.” Keefe sat down criss cross in front of him.

His lips went pouty in a way that made Keefe realize he was staring at his lips.

“You’ll think I’m weird. And clingy. And jealous. Honestly I shouldn’t even be saying any of this right now but I make bad decisions at 3 A.M. I guess.”

“Hey, you can tell me anything.” Keefe started to reach his hand out to Dex before remembering he shouldn’t read his emotions. Dex grabbed it before he could pull away. A lot of sadness and hurt there. He quickly stopped reading, though their hands stayed locked.

“It’s just...there’s this person. This guy. And...and I thought maybe he liked me but now I think he has a boyfriend. I’m not sure though.”

Keefe’s heart dropped. “Well...boyfriend status can be changed.”

Dex chuckled. “I don’t know, they have nicknames for each other and everything.”

“Sounds serious.”

“Looks serious.”

It was silent for a moment, then Dex spoke.

“Look...don’t worry about it, alright? It’s really no big deal. I’ll get over it, I guess.”

“Maybe he likes you back.”

“I highly doubt it. I’m...I’m not good enough for him. I’m just a servant. He deserves someone better.”

“Why does being a servant mean you’re bad? I’ve met some nobles that are real assholes. You’re way better than all of those fuckers.”

Dex laughed again, wow Keefe could listen to that forever.

Dex sighed. “You know what? Screw it.”

He seemed to steel himself before saying his next sentence. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly.

“Are you dating Fitz?”

“What?” Keefe laughed awkwardly. “No, no, no. He’s just a friend.”

“Oh. Then...who were you talking about at the gardens? I- I thought it was Fitz and you guys got together and-”

“No, goodness no. Fitz is great and all but...well he’s just not my type. And he’s been dating Tam for a while now.”

“Oh I uh...I didn’t notice.” Dex’s face flushed furiously. “Who were you talking about then?”

Keefe met his eyes. “Depends, who were you talking about?”

He didn’t answer but his silence spoke more than any words could.

Keefe scooted closer and cupped Dex’s face in his hand. He looked into the boys periwinkle eyes.

“Dex, can I kiss you?”

“Please?”

And they did.

When Keefe heard descriptions of kissing the same gender, they always said that it felt wrong somehow. But this...this only felt right. Like he had been waiting his whole life for the moment when he met the gardener boy’s cracked lips. They weren’t soft, and the kiss was a bit awkward, but it just felt...correct. Keefe chased the kiss slightly when they finally had to pull away.

A shy smile spread across Dex’s face.

Keefe leaned back in.

~*~

Keefe walked out onto the newly-built stage in front of the castle and looked upon his people. His ceremonial robe was itchy and too large for him.

Cassius was no where to be seen. He had just...run away. The day of the wedding was the day he broke. The kingdom had been sovereignless for the last month, coronations couldn't be rushed.

Typically the previous king would place the crown upon the head of the new ruler. Because Cassius seemed to run away in the night with nothing more than a clump of riches, Keefe got to choose who would crown him.

“Friends and subjects of the Kingdom of Eternalia,” Oralie started. “Today, we crown a new ruler. A ruler to put the people first. A ruler who will not sleep until every one of his people is fed. A ruler to unite us.”

Keefe never realized how long winded Oralie was. Looking into the crowd, he spotted Sophie. She wore a sour expression.

Sophie never was a fan of Oralie, she wouldn’t tell him why.

“Prince Keefe has shown a care for his people deeper than any king before him.”

She could say that again. Keefe found Dex in the crowd, absolutely beaming.

“In the time I have had the honor of teaching him in my lessons, he has shown a willingness to learn. An ability to adapt. And a knowledge of the system as well as its successes and failures deeper than anyone else his age.

And yes, it is truly a shame that a king must be crowned this young, but I have no doubt that in time he will do right by our great kingdom.”

Oralie walked over to him, her pink flowy dress trailing behind her. She picked up the ceremonial crown off the pillow that a servant was holding.

“Prince Keefe of Eternalia, do you promise to uphold the law and do what is right for your people to the best of you abilities?”

“I do.”

“And do you promise to preserve the honor of our nation?”

“I do.”

A loud voice came from the crowd.

“AND DO YOU PROMISE TO NOT LET CASSI-ASS BACK INTO THE THRONE ROOM?” Keefe could tell it was Marella, but no one else had to know that.

He cracked a smile. “I do.”

Oralie chuckled too.

“In that case, Keefe Sencen of Eternalia, with this crown I deem you King of Eternalia. May you have a long and peaceful reign.”

The heavy crown was placed upon his head. The crowd cheered and chanted, his friends yelled the loudest. Keefe saw as Fitz lifted Biana on his shoulders, they all hugged and screamed excitedly.

Who he noticed most of all was Dex. His bright smile in that moment was worth everything he’d been through.

Maybe he had found someone he didn’t mind being with.

~*~

Like most days, it was a somewhat quiet day at the castle.

Keefe looked up from his painting to study the gardens, once called the Queen’s Gardens, but that was ages ago. The wall that once surrounded the beautiful landscape was knocked down a very long time ago.

Keefe smiled as he spotted Dex tending to some ivy that had grown on one of the ancient statues. Even being a king couldn’t keep his husband from assisting the gardeners.

Tomorrow, some old friends were visiting. That in itself wasn’t particularly special, as they visited at least twice a year (usually more), but tomorrow was special because it was the anniversary of the Great Wedding Destruction as historians had come to call it.

How many years had it been? 300? 400? One tends to forget.

After 50 years or so, they admitted to planning the whole event. By then, Keefe had already convened with the councillors to pass same gender marriage and gotten married to Dex. The law couldn’t exactly do much, it had been a while and no one was injured so any fear of being charged with treason was history.

A few minutes later, Dex trudged into Keefe’s art studio.

“Hey lovey, do you know where I put the high-power garden clippers?”

“I hope in your lab, but you might want to check the kitchens.”

“Why would they be in the kitchens?”

“Heard some buzzing coming from there and last time I saw the nieces they had frosting all over their faces.”

Chaos ran in the Dizznee family.

Dex sighed as they heard a loud bang followed by an “Oops.” from downstairs.

“Gosh if Rex doesn’t pick up his children soon...I won’t do anything but I’ll be sour about it.”

Keefe chuckled. “You might want to go check on them, wouldn’t want them to break your invention. If they haven’t already.”

Dex hummed noncommittally. “Whatcha drawing?”

“Just a boring landscape...that happens to include a dragon.”

Dex leaned over the easel. “It’s a very pretty boring landscape that happens to include a dragon.”

“Thank you very much, dearest.” Keefe leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. “Now you may want to actually check on the girls. I don’t think Elwin can heal severed fingers.”

“Yeah, okay.”

As he walked from the room that used to be Cassius’ office he yelled, “Emily! Leah! Please don’t be killing each other-”

Keefe just smiled. He did that a lot nowadays.

He hoped these days would last forever.

#kotlc #keeper of the lost cities #oh god i hope this is good #please dont flop #kotlc fic #keefex #deefe #dex dizznee #keefe sencen

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makushiin · 4 years ago

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NEXT UP

Things I notice about our favorite perfect Wonderboy,

Fitz Vacker

(And yes Im gonna be dramatic abt this)

Call him rude names I dare u

But yes I do acknowledge he does have anger issues and that it is borderline concerning if he were to ever enter another relationship he may need to consider handling his emotions and anger better

I see comments on pinterest (cuz its all I ever use tbh) that he’s manipulative of Sophie’s feelings and I don’t know about this and there are times I think he has done that but I think it isn’t intentional and he would never mean to hurt Sophie in that kind of way

Alvar really pisses him off that’s for certain

I think in his early life (before Sophie) he has depended on Keefe for emotional support and so has Keefe so I definitely see the bromance

Most noticeably he’s more hung on about Cognates than anything really and Alvar

He actually does care what people think of him

And yes, before no he didn’t but that’s before he started blaming himself for permanently destroying his family’s reputation and respect

His family is a huge huge deal in the Lost Cities and to be tarnished due to Alden’s secret research, Alvar being part of the Neverseen, his two other children running away to join a rebellious group (as far as the public’s aware), being the only two Vacker children who ever attended Exillium, and the freaking Legacy; there was definitely a toll on him

Which is why he thought it was best he wouldn’t marry an Unmatchable in order to restore the family name

But Sophie going against Cognate stuff and not telling him who her mother was also had an effect in their relationship break

And that Sophie was really slowing the pace of their relationship

Which I don’t blame her for btw none of us really can

The Vacker Legacy

He loves his family but damn is their legacy a pain in the ass

Insult Sophie in front of him I dare u

Headcannon that he goes to his sister for love advice on how to help their relationship and she’s more involved than she’s comfortable with

Anger issues. Major major anger issues

Really really doesn’t watch what he says when he’s angry

His dad really spoiled him (I’m sorry but I dont think I like him very much)

Maybe a tad bit egotistical with him being the earliest to manifest (before) and being a very powerful Technopath at a very young age and ofc he’s a Vacker

He might as well have been the rich extroverted student council president of the school

And yes some of these aren’t very positive descriptions which is why I’ll end it with

He’s loyal. Incredibly loyal. His family, his friends, his Cognate, if they’re in trouble, expect he’ll be there for you when it counts; you might expect him to be really blunt and hurtful at times but he really doesn’t mean any harm and he does genuinely care about the people he loves and he makes it up to them even going as far as near-death which is most I can say for some people

Final Note: A perfect Wonderboy with a not-so-perfect soul is usually what I think of him. There are good qualities here and there and everyone has bad spirits in them and Fitz is no exception to that. Before I said pressure was Dex’s problem, Fitz doesn’t look so much affected by this because he’s been pressured all his life. Grades, appearance, his dad, everything really so he’s used to it.

He’ll have cause to reconsider his emotional issues eventually but to hate him so passionately I believe isn’t fair. But that does not mean I will not be defending his wrongdoings because he has made some mistakes but he’s also done just as much good. He stuck with Sophie when she had trouble fitting in, watching from a distance to make sure she wasn’t harmed and also allowing her to find her place in Foxfire (others believe he just up and abandoned her as a mission completed sorta thing when she arrived but I don’t think that’s the case), he was willing to risk his life to involve himself in dangerous missions and that was even before he realized Alvar was involved with the Neverseen

He WiLl RiSk His LifE For SoPhie And HiS Loved OneS So No HAtE ThAtS aCtuAllY ReAllY GooD—

I dunno any Fitz stans so yall can add stuff here if you think I missed smth but thats what I noticed thx for reading

Keefe’s next😌

#fitz vacker #kotlc #mostoftheseareastretch #butmeh

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everysongineverykey · 6 years ago

Text

how boy i just wrote the longest solinh fanfic i have ever written

Sophie flopped down on her living room couch and willed herself to think. The Foxfire Winter Ball was coming up in three weeks, and she needed a date. Obviously she could just ask Keefe or Dex or Fitz and save any embarrassing questions. The only problem was that they were just her friends. If she asked them, they’d think she liked them. Keefe, especially, would never let her hear the end of it. She sighed in frustration. There was no other option except not going, in which case she would likely be teased by Stina even more relentlessly.

Of course, there was always Linh…

No, Sophie thought, pushing the idea to the back of her mind. That’ll never work. The mere possibility that Linh might like her back was one in a thousand, and even then, the odds of Linh actually asking Sophie were even worse. But then again, she thought, I’ll never know unless I ask her. She concluded that the only way she would not end up feeling terrible about herself was if she did. She started to brainstorm ways to ask her when the door opened suddenly.

“Hey, Foster,” an enthusiastic Keefe said, appearing in the doorway. “Jolly Grey Giant here?”

“No, Keefe, Sandor is outside. And he wishes you’d stop calling him that, by the way.”

“Aw, he loves me. So, who’re you taking to the Winter Ball?” he asked, smirking. “Will it be Dimply Dex? Fantastic Fitz? Maybe even… Kissy Keefe?”

“How much time did you spend thinking of ‘Kissy Keefe’?”

“Wow. Salty much?” Keefe whistled. “Anyway, I don’t know who I’m bringing, but you’re the Mysterious Miss F! If you can fight terrorists, you can get a date for a little dance.”

“Well…” Sophie hesitated. “There is someone… but I’m just not sure…”

“I knew it! Who’ll it be, Foster? Which lucky guy has the honour of being your dream date?”

“Don’t get mad-or tell anyone-“

“You can trust me.” Keefe’s voice became gentle and serious.

“Well- I like Linh.”

Keefe’s eyes widened. “Yeah, I know you like her, but who do you want to take to the Ball?”

“Linh, Keefe. I told you. I like her.”

“...Oh.” Keefe looked confused. “Huh. I didn’t know you… swang that way.”

“Oh. Well. I do. Is that.. okay with you?”

“Well, yeah, of course, but… does anyone else know?”

“No.”

“Not even your parents.”

“No one.”

“That’s… problematic.”

“Why?” Sophie was apprehensive.

“I mean, shouldn’t they? If you’re going to ask Linh out-“

“I don’t know if I’m going to ask her out.”

“You don’t know? What do you mean, you don’t know? If you like someone, you ask them out. Simple as that. Come on, Foster, how are you so smart and still so dumb?”

“I’m sorry, okay? I wasn’t exactly the popular kid-“

“I know that. But you’ll miss your chance if you don’t ask her now. You need to grab the horns by the cow-“

“Grab the bull by the horns, Keefe.”

“Whatever. The point is, you’ve got to ask her. I’ll even help you. Meet me at your locker tomorrow when you get to school.”

Sophie sighed again. This was going to be the death of her.

When Sophie got to Foxfire the next day, Keefe, being a man of his word, was waiting there for her at her locker. He greeted her with a shake of the shoulders and slipped a bottle of green liquid out of his bag.

“This is clover juice. It’s a million four-leaf-clovers, all ground together. I bought it at Slurps and Burps. It’ll give you good luck. Just drink it all right before you ask her and she’s bound to say yes.”

“You want me to influence the opinions of my friend with a potion?”

“Geez, Foster, you make it sound so bad. Look, I promise it’ll be fine.”

Sophie thought for a moment, then said, “Okay, I guess.”

“Attagirl. You’ll do great. Just be yourself.” He smiled, clapped her on the back, and hurried off with Ro, presumably to ditch somewhere. Ro gave her an encouraging smile as they walked away.

That afternoon, Sophie could hardly hear the sounds of the students running through the bustling courtyard as she scanned the crowd for Linh. She took another look at the bottle in her hand and began to question herself. Was this really the right thing to do?

But her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of an impatient Linh, waiting for Tam at their crystal.

“Linh! Hi!” Sophie waved, pushing through the throng of people. “How was your day?” Ugh. ‘How was your day’? She couldn’t even think of anything original to say. How was she going to do this? Taking a deep breath, she started to unscrew the cap on the bottle, then, when she saw Linh smiling at her, decided against it and quickly shoved it into her bag.

“Hey, Sophie. What’s that bottle?”

“Oh, that? Oh, it’s nothing. Just a little… allergy tonic. Yeah.”

Linh eyed her suspiciously, but if she didn’t believe her, she gave no sign.

“So, um… there’s something I wanted to ask you.”

“Oh? What is it?”

This was it. The moment where Sophie would either get a girlfriend or end up with nothing but heartbreak. She took several deep breaths and said quickly, “HeyLinhdoyouwanttogototheBallwithme?”

Linh’s eyes widened. “...Sorry?”

“DoyouwanttogototheWinterBallwithme.”

Silence for a few moments. Sophie could practically feel the foundations of her world begin to crumble. And then:

“Yes.”

Sophie hadn’t been this speechless since Fitz had first told her she was an elf. “What?”

“Yes, Sophie. I want to go to the Ball with you.”

“You’re-you’re serious?”

“‘Of course I’m serious. You’re a really… awesome girl, Sophie. I’ve liked you for a while. I’d be stupid to say no to this.” She blushed furiously.

“Oh. I- um- great!”

“Yeah.”

“So, um… are you…” Sophie wasn’t sure if she should ask.

“What? Out?”

“Yeah. Because I’m not to anyone except Keefe.”

“Tam knows. I don’t really have anyone else to tell… besides, well, you guys.”

“Ahaha. I guess that’s true.”

“You made Keefe promise not to tell anyone, right?”

“Yeah. He said I could trust him.”

“Oh. I hope that’s a good-“

Linh was cut off by a squealing Biana.

“Guys! Guess who juuuust asked me to the Winter Ball??”

“Who just asked you to the Winter Ball, Biana?” asked Sophie patiently. When Biana was excited, it could take a while for her to get to the point, but this seemed to be the rare exception.

“Tam! Your brother! We’re going to have such a great-“

“Okay, Biana, I like you too, but it’s really not that big a deal.” Tam materialized in the area suddenly, a shy smile on his face.

“But it is! You two,” she said, turning to Sophie and Linh, “better find dates. I’m not going without my girlfriends.”

“Don’t worry, B,” Sophie said, “I think we’ve got that down.” Linh blushed even harder.

“Reeeeally? Who’re the lucky guys?”

“Um, actually, the thing is…” Linh struggled to make the words appear on her tongue. “Sophie and I… we’re… um…”

“What Linh’s trying to say is-“

“We’re going to the Ball together,” said Linh, having seemingly regained her composure.

Silence like never before. No one seemed sure what to do, until Biana managed to sputter, “Oh… I didn’t know that. Is it- okay if I tell Fitz?”

Sophie and Linh looked at each other. “Yeah,” Sophie said decisively, “You can tell him. You can tell everyone.”

“Cool. Hey, Fitz,” Biana called, “Sophie and Linh are in love and they’re going to the Ball together. Isn’t that cute?”

Fitz was talking to Dex and Keefe, who all turned around open mouthed, except the latter, who gave Sophie an impressed smile.

Sophie was relieved. This was going to be fine.

Three weeks later, on the night of the Ball, Sophie stood in her room, twirling giddily around in the incredible new dress she had bought for the occasion. Covered in sparkles, the dress went from dark blue at the bottom up to white at the top and was everything she could’ve asked for in a dress. And the shoes. The shoes were out of this world. They were simple flats (because Sophie would rather have murdered her family than wore high heels) with purple sequins and a light blue fabric on them. Her hair was done up in a high bun which had taken hours to create, and Sophie proudly wore the custom crush cuffs Dex had remodeled to say Sophie Foster + Linh Song on her right hand. Linh was waiting downstairs. Sophie had no idea what she looked like, and was anxious to see, so she collected herself and slowly walked down the tails as gracefully as possible so she could look like one of those girls in teen movies. And Linh’s outfit was beyond anything Sophie could’ve imagined.

It was beautiful, strikingly red, like Linh was some kind of warrior queen in her floor-length gown with patterns of roses on it. Her hair was in pigtails, an odd choice for a Ball, but possibly the cutest thing Sophie had ever seen. And her shoes were simple red flats with hearts on them.

When they got to Foxfire for the ball, the place was packed with people. There were guys wearing all kinds of suits, though with less variety than the girls’ dresses. But none were as gorgeous as Linh was to Sophie, who held out a hand to her date. “Shall we dance?” asked Linh, and no sooner had Sophie grinned and nodded than they were on the dance floor, Sophie leading, Linh giggling every time Sophie lifted her up in the air, looking down in those deep, brown eyes that reminded Linh so much of that of those human animals- dogs, maybe? She didn’t know. She didn’t care. All that mattered now was the two of them.

An hour later, Linh was standing on the balcony, having needed a break from all the excitement. She thought of Sophie and of her parents and what they might think if she told them. Would they be okay with it? Even if they were, would it matter? She wasn’t going to visit them anytime soon. And what about the Black Swan? Would they still let her be a part? All of her worries, however, were interrupted by Sophie’s voice.

“Linh? Are you out here? You okay?”

“Oh. Yeah, I’m fine. I just… needed a bit of a break, you know?”

Sophie’s eyes narrowed.

“N-not from you, that is, just the… excitement of it all.”

Sophie softened. “Oh. Yeah, that makes sense. Mind if I join you?”

“Go ahead.”

Sophie walked up next to Linh and leaned on the balcony. They stood in silence for a few moments, and then Sophie suddenly asked:

“Linh?”

“Yeah?”

“Um… this is a weird question, but… um…”

Linh smiled. “Take your time.”

Sophie paused, and then asked, “Can… I… kiss you?”

Linh’s face was redder than it had ever been before. The awkwardness in the air was almost palpable. Scratch that, it was palpable. It enveloped the girls completely.

“Um… y-yeah, okay,” Linh finally said, glancing not-so-discreetly at Sophie’s lips.

Both girls leaned in at the same time. The kiss wasn’t perfect- it was rather clumsy, and Linh might have giggled into Sophie’s mouth. But those things didn’t stop the waves of heat and excitement that shot through both of them. Sophie even got dizzy from it and swayed, causing Linh to pull away. After a moment, both girls laughed and kissed again.

Ten minutes later, they finally stopped and went back inside. Linh’s worries vanished. As long as they were together, everything was going to be fine.

#kotlc #keeper of the lost cities #kotlc fanfiction #solinh

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siriusly-unexpected · 6 years ago

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OKAY. Voltron season 8 thoughts below. Very much spoilery.

AND LONG I’M SORRY.

I took notes with a pencil on paper like the old-fashioned person that I am. Also I binge watched all 13 eps without any breaks so my thoughts might be a bit all over the place. But, let me try to organize them a little bit.

Allura x Lance

we gotta start with this shit.

I mean no hate, if you ship this then great, this is just my opinion.I respect your ship, you respect my ship. (I totally just wrote shit. Oops.)

it felt too rushed. like why make all of that happen in the first episode and then forget all about it for a few??!

it was too soon, like i didn’t really think it would happen? they should have had a little more waiting time before going all oooh allura totes said yes to a date with lance, like where did that come from??

allura has been paired with a lot of the male characters throughout the seasons, and I HATE THAT

let her be a strong female character without a love interest goddammit

yeah that is actually my main problem with allurance. like, wasn’t she just kissing lotor a while ago? and then she had her moments with keith? and first was shiro in the very first season i could tell they were thinking of making it a thing

ugh

that first kiss was so ugh i actually gagged too much romantic for me

that was not a grammatically correct sentence i am sorry i am an english major but it is just past midnight

i get that this show is aimed for a younger audience, but show some connection between the couple before they become a couple and after??

yeah i just don’t like this ship

i am still klance trash

but i will admit allura and lance kinda cuddling? that was cute af

also they were SO CLICHE at times (ep11... the ending...)

this didn’t have to happen? the season would have been great without it? this didn’t really add anything to it? other than a couple awkward kisses? forced hetero romance -.-

Keith

gotta have a section for keef he is my baby boy whom i love

“the one i really want” meaning keith i mean same

he is so hot goddammit

and such a great leader i love

a lot of my comments are literally like “KEEF UNF” (ep1), “KEEF GOT A GUN *heart eyes*” (ep3), “BBY KEEP” (ep5), “keith babe <3<3 shouting at zarkon” (ep10), etc. you get the point i love him

oh one more

“as long as we’re a team we stand a chance” i literally wrote: YAS KEEF BBY !!!

that was ep 12 btw

also in ep5 when the whatshername was falling into the volcano i just had enough time to think ‘what a bad way to go’ and then my boy saved her <3<3<3

Paladins

BONDiNG MOMenTS

i love klance and you cannot make me not love klance

after their handshake thing in ep 11 i let out embarrassing noises because even with lance and allura i still can’t not ship klance okay

i love keith and hunk bonding or spending time together or getting stuck in an amusement park ride together

i love LOVE lions saving their paladins? like eating them in space? that shit so good mmh (ep 3)

i hate to see pidge cry do not make my child cry ever again

hunk has won over my heart i love him

Honerva (& Lotor and stuff)

iiiii’m not sure how i feel about her still being alive and being this season’s main villain

but i guess it makes sense since it’s the last season and all

they didn’t really have enough episodes to make a fully new villain

i really really wanted lotor to be dead and stay dead i mean he had his seasons now it’s momma’s time in the spotlight i mean what

honerva having guardians to protect her thoughts and memories reminded me of inception in some way

i liked the old paladins being there? it felt appropriate

little lotor was cute

and when he said she’s not his mom? yass alternate lotor do some good

honerva was a little predictable tho? like in the end esp. when she couldn’t have what she wanted she was like ‘the no one can have anything’

but of course she turned good and helped in the end

about that. THE ENDING THING

that. was. so. intense. actually this whole season was really intense

i don’t like multiple realities things in anything

it’s a cool theory but it usually doesn’t do it for me in books / movies / etc

this was no exception

they made it a thing and then forgot about it for a while

which, bleh

then they saved the universes with (OFC) enough time to say goodbye cause who needs to hurry when realities at stake lol there’s always time for a goodbye kiss

(but hell yeah lance with altean markings??!! why what how??! but hells yeah.)

(catch me with that future altean!lance x galra!keith fic. i want it give it to me.)

yeah for a moment i was really afraid allura would find a way to come back? but THANK GOD that didn’t happen and she stayed dead

which i CALLED IT

like even before they went into honerva’s mind i was like it’d be p cool if allura died

not like cool cool but cool from the show’s perspective? you know?

someone had to die okay. even in a kids’ show, someone has to die.

iiiii didn’t really like that they had a statue for allura it reminded me too much of the lotor one and look where that got us

paladins color coding even a year later hell yeah

bye lions :’’’’’’’<<<<

also the picture of them older? hells yeah hot damn

SHIRO

WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT SHIRO

I SOBBED OKAY I SOBBED

that. was an actual gay kiss. on a CHILDREN’S CARTOON. AAAAAADDGDRHKAEDH

REPRESENTATION MATTERS

but it was pretty funny how it was like ‘the paladins did this, and that, and accomplished this and that, oh and shiro was gay’

but still. i love love love

keith with long hair can GET it, also him in the future? i love.

i have too many emotions about this right now

(i still believe in klance i do i do) (i mean i also ship sheith and pidge with like some of the boys sometimes? but klance is my main hoe)

i am a multishipper so i accept you and your ships even if they are different from mine

Finally, other misc things

voltron tv-series :’’’’DDDDDD

i had chills down my spine multiple times when they were giving inspiring speeches, like for example when they were leaving earth in ep1

KOSMO <3<3<3<3<3<3

paladins in black underarmour can GET IT

matt is hot what is new

ATLASBOT is thicc and i love her <3

theee video diary documentary ep was actually pretty cool, i liked it

i had my doubts when it started, but seeing everyone from a different perspective was really cool

(there was a dude named seok jin i see what you did there bts IS taking over the world)

(yes i am actually kpop trash)

it was really stupid having everyone elsewhere when allura was doing stupid shit with the dark orb what was it called again? anyway.

i didn’t like that part actually, her using the dark powers (lol is this star wars?? come to the dark side allura)

REALLY PRETTY ANIMATION AT TIMES THO!!! I LOVED IT!!!

some moments were a bit predictable but again, kids’ show

i really enjoyed by binge watch, despite all the critique i have said here

i like this show, and will be watching it again from the start some day

i still don’t remember the names of the new kids from last season but i guess i’m glad they didn’t die? i thought they might

i’m just rambling now i should just end this here

i don’t think anyone but myself will read this but if you did, thanks i guess? send me a message if you agree with anything i said? what did you like? was it a good final season? i think it was. thank god they knew where and when to end this and not go on forever.

#essi talks random stuff #voltron #spoilers #voltron spoilers #voltron s8 #voltron season 8 #voltron s8 spoilers #i want to tag all the possible spoilers tags i don't want to take any chances #this is long af but i had a lot of thoughts sorry

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dammitadolfnomorecake · 7 years ago

Text

Wad rescue

Keith! You're late, I nearly sent Hunk to find you!"

"Sorry Pidge. I lost track of time in the shower"

"Of all the days to be late"

"I know. Is she ready?"

"More than ready. We're going to unlock her restraints, but do you want to be in her?"

"In her?"

"Like inside? In case she takes off"

"What about Black?"

"Keith, if Red takes off, we'll tow Black along ourselves if we have to. If it means getting Lance back, there's no way wouldn't take the chance"

"Then I guess I'll be inside her"

Pidge grinned, her already wide smile turning slightly creepy

"Matt and Shiro are on standby in case something goes wrong with coding. Well, Matt is on standby and Shiro is doing an amazing impression of your brooding face. Hunk has triple checked all of Red's connections. Now, come on already"

Pidge walked him to Red's mouth Ramp, no doubt she'd be annoyed she'd been left sitting around with her mouth down

"Alright. Well, we have no idea what happened, but if you get electrocuted, it's Matt's fault"

"Of course it is. Pidge, you would have checked and rechecked everything, and so would Coran"

"None of have been the same without Lance around. It's so lonely. I even miss his lame arse jokes and stupid puns. Red might reject you and might not even move, but she'd never leave Lance out there"

"Yeah. I know. She's got a lot to catch up on"

"Well good luck!"

Swallowing, the steps of Red's ramp never looked longer, and they'd never felt longer either as he made his way up. Hunk had done an amazing job cleaning out the blood, but for a moment, that was all he saw. Swaying, he shook his head to rid himself of the memories. Lance would be just fine. Crossing to Red's pilot chair, Keith sank down. It was all so familiar and all so wrong. He wasn't Red's pilot now, and he wouldn't be surprised if she rejected him outright

"Keith! We're starting her now!"

With a vibrating rumble, Keith felt Red to return to herself... right before she let out an earsplitting roar. Her pain and confusion made his heart ache in sympathy for her

"I know Red. I know girl. You don't know what happened, but I really need you right now. Lance is missing. Red, he's been gone for over a phoeb, and I can't find him. I can't... I can't bring him home. I know you're lost and confused, and I know you know how much he loves you. You're his best girl. You're his... his friend. That day, he woke up and he... he wasn't feeling right so I told him to go with you. It's my fault you were hurt. I'm so sorry Red. I failed him and I failed you. So please. I need you to help me bring him back. I don't care if it costs me my life. I can't leave him out there"

With his hands on Red's controls, Keith cried earnestly. His body shook with emotion and pain, and he wasn't even sure she was listening to him

"Red... did you know? Is that why you stopped? Why you... why you let yourself be hurt? Were you trying to make sure Lance wasn't hurt? The Galra took him, while you were offline, they took and he could be anywhere. Please Red"

Instead of giving him a reply through feelings, or even with her lights, Keith found himself forcibly ejected from her, his shoulder crunching as he hit the hangar floor and slid across the room limply. Placing her shields up, Red sat, her while aura screaming she didn't want anything to do with any of them.

"Keith!"

Running across the hangar, Shiro was the first to reach him

"She doesn't... she doesn't want him..."

"Keith"

Extending his hand to help him, Keith smacked it away

"Shiro. She doesn't want him. He's fucking pregnant and she doesn't want him!"

"He's what? I thought you guys were being careful"

"Apparently not fucking careful enough. Though it's probably too fucking late now. He's probably lost another fucking pup, and it is her fault!"

"Keith..."

"Don't even fucking bother. If Red isn't going to help, I'll take Black and I will slaughter Lotor"

"Keith... is he really?"

Pushing himself up, his shoulder was definitely dislocated, and his neck... was in a bad way

"Yeah. Coran found it in his blood. Low levels, so he wasn't far along... it wasn't planned. Especially not after his surgery. Some day... but not right now"

"How long have you known?"

"Since Coran took the swabs"

"And you didn't say anything"

"How could I? Everyone's worried enough as it..."

When their conversation trailed off, the rest of the team made their way over, after keeping a respective distance

"Keith?"

"She doesn't care. I'm not her Paladin and she doesn't seem to want to help Lance"

"I didn't see anything wrong in her diagnostics"

"You did what you could. The problem is with her"

Despite everything he was feeling, and the anger he'd felt when Shiro approached, Keith was amazed how clear his head felt now. Red had turned her back, so he'd just have to rely on Black

"Uh, Buddy, I think your shoulders busted"

"It's definitely dislocated"

"I'll put it back in place"

"Shiro, that could do more harm then good"

"Shiro knows what he's doing"

"Keith, I really think you should let a professional"

"Pidge, this isn't the first time it's happened"

"You should have seen his first stack... lost his both front teeth, busted his shoulder and he had the happiest smile on his face"

"Don't tell them things like that"

"Aw Keef! To think you had a cute phase"

Shiro moved to his right side, taking his arm in his hand as he placed the other on his shoulder. Snarling, Keith ground his teeth together

"Ready"

Even with his teeth together, Keith still screamed. He couldn't forgive Red for abandoning Lance, but he hoped she'd feel some guilt over seeing him in such pain. After a very long tick or two, Keith finally let took a shaky breath

"Thanks"

"No worries. As now, what do we about Red?"

"Leave her. She's made her feelings clear"

"Keith"

"No. I'm sick and tired of feeling hope and then having nothing work out. If I'm going to get Lance and Toral back, I need to take Black and search for them myself"

"Keith, you're not going anywhere except up to the medical bay. Your neck's clearly infected, so we need to change that dressing and we need to start you on antibiotics"

"I'll go later"

"You'll go now. You're pain is setting all of us on edge, right now we need to stop and think"

"Shiro's right Keith. Please, if not for your sake, do it for Lance's. He needs you to stay strong"

Allura gave him a brave smile, desire the tears rolling down her cheeks

"Allura's right. He's going to flip out when he sees how sick you look"

"Fine. You can change the dressings, then I want absolutely everything we have on Sendak's attack, and what Lotor was doing at the time of the incident"

Curled up in the same dream bed, Lance was trying to remember the faces of all his team. He found no matter how hard he concentrated, he was already struggling to remember. Hunk and Keith he'd know in a heartbeat. But Allura and Coran... even Pidge... they were slipping away from him, and despite his outwards bravado, he was so scared. In his "dreams" Lotor's face would morph to Shiro's, and sometimes even Keith's. His favourite nightmares were the ones with Keith, and it didn't matter how violent or horrific they were, he still relished the time he spent in them, when it was just him and his husband. That's not to say he didn't treasure the rare good dream he had, dreams where he was with Keith and the boys, but the nightmares always hit closer to reality. They made him feel alive. They made him feel connected to Keith, even though Lotor had tried to cut his bonding mark off... hell, the man had even tried to mark him. He'd always considered Lotor much more intelligent than he was proving to be. Even his mind games were boring. He'd woken up to find himself back in the same room, this time without Toral, but everything around him was perfectly clean, as if it had been "reset". The "rules" this time had changed in other ways too. His hands were still bound, but he now only had one ankle chained, and he had enough chain to make it into the bathroom to relieve himself. While he was still missing his eyes, and his stomach was ever so slightly swollen, he attributed that just to Lotor getting his own back for denting his ego.

Thinking of the devil made him appear. The door sliding back with the same ever so slight scraping that sent his heart racing, and his stomach rolling

"How are you fairing?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Not particularly"

"Well... my neck hurts and my legs really sore..."

"Silence"

"You asked me a question"

Drawing his blade, Lance wondered if he'd maybe pushed the Galra too far. His fear showing clearly, despite his face being half hidden by a pillow

"It seems Keith's condition is even worse. Infection has set in, and today they failed to activate the Red lion"

"Red? She's alive?"

"That's what Allura told me as she sobbed into her communicator. Do you want to know what else she said? She said they've decided to scale back their search for you. With the Red lion, and you're team turning their backs on you, who will save you now?"

"There's still Toral"

"Ah yes... I never told you, did I? She severed her purpose"

On moment Lotor was at the door, the next he was gripping Lance by the chin

"The foolish girl had no idea just what she was carrying"

"What... what did you do to her?"

Taking out the necklace with the gold quintessence trapped inside, Lotor smiled down at the piece

"See this. This allows the user to enter the rift on a whim. It grants its wielder access to unlimited quintessence, with no side effects. The dumb little thing probably used it to cross over and never even realised"

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avengerdragoness · 7 years ago

Text

Blackout [Keith x Reader]

Requested by anon: “Can I request Keith from voltron with his s/o and the rest of the team have a sleepover (it dosnt have to be long even just what it be like to have a sleep over idk I'm not really good at requesting you're the writer here Thank you ! I love your work it's so good you are doing a fantastic job keep it up !”

A/n: Hope you enjoy it love! Sorry it took so long! I made it pretty fluffy. P.S. @jxsontxdds here’s some Keef for you since I know you love him 😉

______

Ever since you had gotten back to Earth, it was strange to get back to normal life. You were used to helping the team take down the Galra and countless beasts in order to save the universe. You never thought you’d be back home picking out paint swatches for your new apartment with Keith. When you ended up being dragged into a fully raging universe war, you and Keith were just friends. Though coming out you were in love.

No one really expected it to happen, except Shiro because he could read Keith like a book. But here you are, trying to decide which shade of red to paint the living room. “What is it always red with you?” Chuckling as you picked up another card. “You said I could choose the living room since you chose the bedroom.” He defended himself, making you smile and kiss his cheek. “So sensitive.” Shaking your head before going to get the paint you needed.

After painting the living room the both of you got all of your furniture moved in with the help of everyone. They all insisted on helping you both with the move in. You watched as Shiro and Keith carried in the couch and placed it in the living room, making you happy that they got everything in before the storm clouds began to pour outside. “Thank you Shiro it means a lot.” You thanked him with a smile, of which he waved off. “No problem, anything to help you guys out.” Saying as he squeezed Keith’s shoulder.

“Thanks to all you guys, we couldn’t have moved in so fast without you.” You looked at everyone. Pidge was currently setting up the cable and wifi, Lance and Allura were helping hang paintings, Hunk was making dinner, and Coran had been cleaning up as the apartment had priorly looked like a hurricane had swept through it.

“It’s our pleasure [F/n]” Allura smiled at you. “Yeah, you’re family.” Pidge added as she stood from setting up the cable box. “Plus this is the next step to you and mullet head getting married.” Lance exclaimed as both you and Keith blushed. Allura smacked him upside the head, of which you mentally thanked her.

“Ow!” He exclaimed as she scolded him on how it is inappropriate to pressure such things. Eliciting laughter from everyone in the apartment.

Hunk entered the living room announcing, “Now that we’re finished, how about we eat?” Smiling you nodded and walked into the kitchen with everyone. Hunk made his amazing tacos, it seasoned with a seasoning of his own design. Everyone laughed and ate in the warm light of the living room, the pitter patter of raindrops setting a beautiful background noise. Reminiscing on memories from their fight against the galra and even some from before it.

It was nice, until you were all shrouded in darkness at a clap of thunder. A yelp coming from Lance. “Lance, did you just yell?” Keith’s smirk could be heard in his tone. “Shut up mullet!”

You flicked Keith who was sitting next to you before standing to find the flashlights or candles. “What happened?” A voice you recognized as Hunk’s asked. “I don’t know, maybe something happened with the buildings circuit breaker?” Pidge offered a notion. After finding a flashlight you searched in the kitchen for some matches to light a few candles, though you jumped at the feeling of arms wrapping around your waist. “Sheesh Keith, you scared me.”

He chuckled before responding. “Sorry babe, I couldn’t handle them all talking about the circuit breaker any longer.” You rolled your eyes before removing his arms from yourself, “Well then make yourself useful and help me find the matches.” Playfully pushing him away.

“You mean these?” He pulled a box from the drawer to his right. “Yes those” You held out your hand for them. “It’s gonna cost ya.” A smirk played on his lips. Rolling your eyes again you pecked his lips, “Dork” mumbling as he handed the matches to you.

Walking around the living room you began to light candles and everyone seemed to breath a sigh of relief now that they had some light again. The storm continued to rage outside as the night slowly ticked on. No one really wanted to drive home in the storm due to it’s sheer magnitude. “How about you guys all stay here tonight?” You offered, “It’s too dangerous to drive out in that storm.” Keith nodded.

“Are you sure? We wouldn’t want to impose.” Allura asked, her manners were really too sweet sometimes. “It’s really okay. Promise” you smiled. Eventually, with a little more testimony, you and Keith had convinced everyone to stay. You all decided the arrangements of allowing Allura and Pidge the guest room, Coran took the couch, Shiro the recliner, and Hunk and Lance agreed to take sleeping bags.

After it was settled you all had fallen back into the story telling and laughing as before. You sat cuddled up to Keith, laughing at a story Hunk was telling about how he became a cook at the Space Mall for a day. Pidge and Lance adding in how they had been stealing coins from the fountain. Though soon everyone was yawning and feeling the exhaustion from the strenuous day.

Deciding it was late enough, you showed Allura and Pidge to the guest room as Keith got everyone in the living room pillows and blankets. Hunk and Lance were out in seconds, along with Coran, but Shiro and Keith stayed up talking for a bit.

“You guys seem really happy.” Shiro commented, Keith smiled and nodded. “I honestly never thought I’d be here Shiro. [F/n]’s just so amazing and I can’t imagine a better place to be. I’ve never really been happy like this before.” Shiro smiled before pulling Keith into a hug “I really am happy for you guys, you deserve it.” Keith patted his back, “Thanks Shiro, for everything.” Bidding him goodnight, Keith left the living room to find you in the bedroom.

You were reading a book while waiting for him. At the sound of the door, your eyes looked up to meet his. A tender smile danced on his lips. You loved when he smiled like that. He was always so hot headed and hostile towards people. So, it made you a bit proud that you had softened him up some. “Everyone set up?” Asking as he changed into pajamas. He nodded, “Yeah, when I left Shiro was the only one still up.” Commenting as he crawled into bed next to you. Placing a kiss on your lips. “Thank you.” He smiled.

“For what?” Scrunching your brows in confusion. “For putting up with me, when I’m being hot headed and arrogant. For never backing down at my temper and helping me get a handle on things. For just being there for me. For loving me.” Keith was never one to speak so sentimentally, so, his words caught you off guard a bit. However, you smiled anyway and took his hand, giving it a gently squeeze. “Well, it’s my pleasure to love you Keith Kogane.”

He smiled before kissing your palm. “And I love you [F/n] [L/n].”

#keith x reader #keith imagine #keith imagines #keith voltron #keith kogane x reader #keith kogane imagine #keith kogane imagines #keith kogane #voltron x reader #Voltron Imagine #voltron imagines #voltron #request #anon #anonymous #keef #fluffy keef

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ellatheblueelephant · 8 years ago

Text

Girlfriend

I knock on his door, my heart in my throat and my stomach rolling. I feel like I’m going to be sick all over the sparkling silver walls and floors. It’s a familiar feeling, not unlike the feeling I get when I kiss him. Except this time, I’m not here to kiss Keefe. I’m here to break up with him.

If you can even call it breaking up. Can you break up with someone if you were never dating? Keefe and I have a casual relationship, a string of meaningless hookups, an open, chill fling that I am 100% over and ready to end.

I catch the lie as soon as it enters my thoughts. I’m not ending it because I’m ready for it to be over. I’m ending it because I need it too much. Over the past month, I’ve become dangerously attached to Keefe, and it has to stop.

But at the same time...am I really strong enough to let him go?

I almost turn on my heel and walk away right now. I almost chicken out. But he opens the door before I can make up my mind. “Foster!” he says, his voice betraying his surprise. Then his expression morphs into one of delight. “I wasn’t expecting you. Come on in! Have a seat!”

His smile is infectious, I can’t help my own as he backs out of the doorway to let me past him, despite the somber news I’ve come to deliver. This is the reason I can’t keep up this whole ‘no-strings-attached’ thing. Despite what I’ve been trying to prove to my family, to my friends, to myself—this just isn’t who I am. And I really like Keefe. The problem is, he doesn’t like me, not the same way. Sure, he cares about me as a friend—I think—but romantically I’m just another one of his gaggle of girls, another meaningless makeout session. If I let myself get in any deeper, I’ll be asking to have my heart broken. And whatever I am, I’m no masochist. I’ve been through enough pain in my seventeen years, and it’s better to break it off now than to keep punishing myself by pretending I don’t care about him.

Or at least, that’s what I keep telling myself.

I sit down on the couch, while Keefe shuts the door. The suite-style dorm is quiet, but I can hear water running in the background. It’s probably Fitz or Tam taking their morning shower. At 1pm on a Saturday. It’s probably Fitz, since Tam seems the type to sleep the entire day away. They probably all had a late night last night, although when Keefe sits next to me on the couch, he looks like he’s been up for hours. His hair is washed and carefully combed, he’s dressed in rather fancy clothing for a Saturday afternoon, and those lips…

I’m rambling. In my thoughts. Even my thoughts are rambling. What in Exile made me think I could do this?

His eyebrows raise and his lips twitch into a smirk, as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking. Which, considering he can feel my emotions through the air, isn’t too far-fetched. “As much as I enjoy you checking me out, what are you doing here, Foster?”

My eyes flick up to meet his and my cheeks flush, which only makes his smirk cockier. “Keefe…” I look up into his icy eyes, and the pure blue hue distracts me for a moment.

“What’s the matter?” he asks, worry temporarily shining through his cool exterior. Then he locks his emotions back down and leans in with a smirk, his voice going low and smooth and suave, like it always does before he kisses me. “Imp got your tongue?”

I open my mouth to respond, but I can’t seem to find the words. He doesn’t give a chance anyways, because then his lips are on mine and his fingers are in my hair or mine are in his—I’m not really sure—and I’ve completely forgotten why I came. All that exists is this moment, me and Keefe, and the terrifying realization that I may be falling in love with him.

And I can’t remember why that’s a bad thing.

Until a voice calls out “Keefe, I couldn’t find the towels, so I thought I’d just…oh!” A voice that is unexpectedly feminine. A voice that definitely doesn’t belong to one of Keefe’s male roomates. Or Biana or Linh, the only girls with a reason to be in the apartment.

I’m so startled by the interruption I jump, accidentally biting Keefe’s lip. “Ow!” he hisses, lifting a hand to his mouth, but I hardly notice suddenly remembering what I came here to do. I whirl on the couch to look behind me…and immediately look away. It isn’t just a girl standing in Keefe’s doorway, it’s got to be a naked girl. A very wet, very naked girl.

Of course.

My entire body burns with a combination of embarrassment, humiliation, and—strangely enough—jealousy, as she claps her hands and giddily asks “Oh, did you change your mind about adding another to our party?”

I try to steady my ragged breathing, biting back the traitorous tears that gather in my eyes, but do not spill. I can’t even look at Keefe as he tells the girl, “Just a second, Nemea,” but I can feel his eyes drilling into my head. “The towels are in the cabinet above the toilet. Why don’t you go get dried off and dressed?”

I can practically hear the pout in the girl’s voice as she groans, “You’re no fun.” But her wet feet pad slowly back into the bathroom, and the door creaks closed.

“Sorry about that,” Keefe says, and I jump as he puts a hand on my shoulder, my eyes flicking up just in time to see his flutter shut. If he thinks that I’m going to ignore the fact that his very wet, very naked hookup from last night just walked in on us, he’s got another thing coming.

I put my hand on his chest to stop him before he can kiss me again. I avoid meeting his eyes as well, or looking at any part of him. Instead I stare a a spot just over his shoulder, trying to keep myself from being distracted. I came here for a reason, and not even Fintan could stop me from carrying it out.

“This isn’t working.”

The words shock both of us. Oops, I’d meant to start out a little less intense, but jumping right in would work too. And the unexpectedness of the proclamation doesn’t mean I mean the words any less, I’m sure he can feel that. Still, I’m not prepared for the wariness in his gaze as his gorgeous eyes flicker open.

“What’s not working?” he asks, caution and confusion blending in his tone.

“This.” I motion between us with my hand. “Us.”

“What do you mean ‘us’?” he asks, his brow creasing in confusion.

Shoot. ‘Us’ was the wrong word to describe our…relationship. But there was no going back, not now.

“This whole ‘friends with benefits’ thing.” I bite my lip as I try to find the right words. “I just…I can’t do it anymore.”

“What do you mean?” he asks, exasperatedly collapsing back onto the couch. “You’re the one who suggested this.”

“I know. And thank you for humoring me, but...I’d like to stop.” My voice is quieter than I like, but he still hears it.

He throws a hand over his eyes and groans. “Foster, I didn’t make you do this.”

There’s a knock on the door, and I half expect him to stand up and answer it, but he doesn’t move, doesn’t even acknowledge he’s heard the noise. “I know,” I told him honestly, playing with the ends of my hair nervously. “I’m not accusing you of anything.”

“It sure sounds like you are.”

“Well I’m not,” I say as firmly as I can. I may want to stop now, but that doesn’t mean I’ve never wanted this. He didn’t force me to do anything I didn’t want to do, and I need him to know that. He may be promiscuous, but he’s always been big on consent.

Finally he moves his arm off his face and sits back up, taking my hands in his. I pull away instinctually; I’m not wearing my gloves, and Keefe doesn’t need an even more accurate reading of my raging emotions right now. I almost wish I’d left them there when I see the raw, unabashed pain on his face. “Why?” he finally asks, his eyes searching mine. “I thought everything was going well. I thought we were happy.”

I heave a thoroughly defeated sigh and look down at my lap, where I’ve clasped my hands. “I think you know why, Keefe,” I finally answer, my voice no louder than a whisper.

He runs a hand along the back of his hair. It’s no longer neatly brushed. I must have mussed it up when he kissed me, and now it’s tousled beyond repair. “Well, I’m not up for commitment right now,” he says, sounding slightly irritated. “You knew that when we started this.”

“Exactly,” I tell him. “You’re not my boyfriend, and I’m not your girlfriend.” As much as I wish you were. “We don’t owe each other any explanations.”

“I think we do.” He looks past me at the gaping door to his bedroom. There is another knock, but he doesn’t seem to notice. “Is this about Nemea?”

“No, I just…” I trail off, not sure where I’m going with this. I walked in with a plan, but... For all my thinking, all my planning, all my soul-searching, every single good-intentioned thought goes out the window. “I want to feel special,” I finally tell him.

He grabs my hand, his gaze going hard, and this time I don’t--can’t--pull away. But I don’t need to because less than a heartbeat later, Keefe drops my hand like it burned him. “Sophie, come on. That’s not fair,” he says, but his expression seems tight, strained.

A key rattles in the door, and Fitz pokes his head in. “Oh, hey Sophie. Keefe, Larissa says she’s been waiting out here for forever. Is there a reason you haven’t answered the door?”

“Yes,” he says. So he had heard the knocking.

Fitz looks about as puzzled as I am. “Well, should I let her in?”

“No.”

Fitz pauses, his eyebrows drawing together. Keefe’s not usually one to deny a girl, let alone request for her to be kept out of his dorm. “Well, okay then,” Fitz says hesitantly. “Larissa, if you wait out here for a moment I’ll drop off my books and walk down to lunch with you.”

Fitz dashes in, lobs his backpack into his room, and is gone without so much as a “See ya.”

Throughout the entire conversation, Keefe’s eyes don’t leave my face.

And no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to get mine to look at his. Despite the fact that he’s the one messing around with a harem, I can’t seem to ditch the guilty feeling that I’m the one at fault. I wish I was a little more like him. I wish I could be okay with having a casual relationship. But I’m not, and I can’t. Pretending is just making me miserable.

“I’m sorry, Keefe,” I tell him. The walls feel like they’re closing in on me and I practically sprint to the door in my eagerness to escape. “Have fun with Nemea. I’ll see you around, or something.”

“We’re not done here,” Keefe says, his voice raw with some undefinably combination of pain, frustrations, and maybe...determination? Whatever it is, his voice freezes me halfway to the door, and I hear the couch springs squeak as he stands as well.

I turn, confused. I thought I’d been pretty clear. Had he honestly not understood? “I’ve said everything I have to say.”

Keefe spreads his arms. “Which is what? That you don’t want to do this anymore?”

“Exactly, Keefe. I’m not some late-night booty call. Or at least I don’t want to be anymore. I want more.”

Keefe makes an understanding sound and nods, then starts pacing. He walks around me in a circle, like a predator stalking its prey, and I turn in place, following his progress with my eyes. He makes no move to fill the silence, and he’s making me nervous, so I start rambling on. “I thought I could be different, I tried to be different, I really did. But it’s not turning out how I expected, and I just want to go back to the way things were before. And, you know, you can go back too, even though you didn’t really change much. Or really at all. But I mean, we could go back together. We could just be friends again.”

Some dark emotion flashes across his face as he says, “I don’t want to be your friend, Sophie.”

I feel my heart shatter into a million tiny little pieces. So this is it. I’ve lost him. After everything we’ve been through together, I’ve lost him.

Well, I’ll get over it. If I could get over my three-year relationship with Fitz, I sure as Oblivimyre can get over a few great nights with Keefe. Heck, we haven’t even been dating. But at the same time, being with Keefe has always felt so much realer than any of my previous relationships. I’m going to miss my beautiful, kind boy.

I’m going to have to stop thinking of him as my boy. Not that he’s ever belonged to me, he’s always been shared. “Or you know, we could hate each other,” I suggested. “Or just ignore each other until you graduate. It wouldn’t be too hard, since you’re here in the Silver Tower and I’m still in the main building and all. We’ll have to share our friends of course. I could have Fitz on even days, and you could have him odds? And of course we’d have to figure out a way to share the others too, Tam, and Dex, and Biana and Linh. Although Tam isn’t really your friend so much as…never mind. But, you know, I can just tell everyone I won’t go to any parties anymore. I hate parties anyways, and people don’t really need me there to have a good time.”

“Or I could suck it up and ask you to be my girlfriend, right?” Keefe asks, his eyes betraying the anger behind his pleasant tone, and he starts to pace faster.

“What?” I ask, stunned. I’m not sure I heard him right at first. Girlfriend? Keefe? Keefe Sencen? No way… “I didn’t say that—”

Keefe’s glare stops me in my tracks, freezing my heart. The utter contempt in his eyes made my stomach roll, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his. “I get what you’re doing, Foster,” he warned me. “And in the future, you should leave the scheming to the professionals.”

“I’m not doing anything,” I tell him earnestly.

“If you want a real relationship, say it,” he tells me, gesticulating wildly as he paces the floor. “Don’t come in here issuing childish ultimatums.”

“This isn’t an ultimatum,” I desperately try to explain, but his movements are erratic and unpredictable.

A seedling of fear burrows deep in my belly as he tells me, “That’s not what I heard,” his light eyes dark with some undefinable emotion.

“I said ‘Let’s be friends,’” I try to justify, but he snaps right back, “That’s not what you meant, and we both know it.”

Why is he making this so hard on me? “That’s exactly what I meant,” I finally say. I don’t know how else to make him believe me. At this point I don’t think there’s anything I can say or do to convince him I didn’t come here to manipulate him. “Even if I’m bowing out of our...whatever this is, I still want to have you in my life. We used to be friends, Keefe. And I can’t lose you.”

He looks at me, his eyes conflicted. Then he stops pacing. “Alright, fine. I’ll do it,” he tells me. He covers the distance between us in two hasty steps and before I know what’s happening he has one hand on my cheek, the other behind my neck, and he’s leaning down to kiss me.

“Do what?” I ask, exasperated now as I press my fingers to his lips, stopping him before he can kiss me. I try to ignore the tingle that goes through my body from his close proximity, but he’s already sensed it. I know once his lips touch mine I’ll be lost.

“I’ll be your boyfriend.”

My heart stops beating for a moment, before it resumes frantic and erratic, and my cheeks flush with confusion. Wasn’t he just mad at me? But he says it so matter-of-factly that I almost believe him. My heartstrings twang with longing.

But it isn’t real.

I let out a nervous laugh. “You can’t be my boyfriend,” I tell him, shaking off his hands and backing away a few steps. He can’t. This isn’t happening. There’s no way Keefe--Keefe Sencen--just offered to be my boyfriend. I have to be dreaming. I shake my head and rub my temples.

“Why not?” he asks indignantly, his arms flying wide.

“Because…” I stall as I think up a valid reason other than ‘because you’re Keefe.’ “Because you told me that you can’t be my boyfriend.”

“I just said I can.”

“But earlier you said you can’t.”

Please stop. You’re breaking my heart. I turn my head away and cross my arms over my splintering chest so he can’t see how much this is hurting me. But I know if he pays attention he can feel it through the air.

Keefe scoffs. “That was months ago. This is now.”

“That was not even 10 minutes ago,” I correct, and he rolls his eyes.

“If I say I can, I can,” Keefe tells me, closing the distance between us again. I try to back away, but I bump into the wall next to the door, and he just takes another step forward. My breath catches in my throat as his hand comes up to touch my cheek, the back of his thumb gently gliding along my jaw. Despite myself, I lean into his touch. “Sophie—”

“Keefe, I’m hungry,” Nemea announces, coming out of the bathroom. I can just see her over Keefe’s shoulder. At least she’s dry and fully clothed this time—her silver dress is incredibly short yet somehow still tasteful, classy—but the sight of her still makes me feel sick. Knowing that she spent the night here with him, in his bed…my vision blurs and my stomach rebels against my other organs, bile rising up in my throat.

For a moment I’m thankful Keefe can feel my disgust, because without turning around or taking his eyes off me he tells her, “Nemea, I’m sorry, but I can’t take you out to lunch right now. I’m spending some quality time with my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” Nemea coughs, her cerulean eyes going wide as she meets my eyes over his shoulder. Then they narrow into jealous little slits. “You didn’t have a girlfriend last night.”

“It’s a rather new development,” Keefe says ambiguously, waving a hand at her behind his back as he searches my eyes for approval. “The door’s right here. Call Fitz or something, I’m sure he’d love to buy you lunch.”

Nemea hmphs, stamping her foot before stalking to the door. She gives me a particularly nasty glare before she slams it behind her. Keefe smiles happily at the vibrations, even as I flinch from the noise right next to my head.

“See?” he asks, as if his interaction with Nemea had proved some concrete point.

“No, Keefe,” I sigh, pushing his thumb off my skin. I immediately feel a pang at the loss of his warmth, but I have to hold strong. If I let myself give in...well, it’ll only hurt worse in the long run. “I don’t see.”

He looks at me like the answer is obvious and I’m being purposely obtuse. “I just called you my girlfriend,” he says, widening his eyes for effect.

I roll my eyes and scoff. “To the girl you hooked up with last night.”

“Exactly.” His smile lights up the entire room. “I think I’m going to make a great boyfriend.”

“Keefe,” I say, enunciating each word so that he gets the message, “I’m saying no.”

Keefe rubs the back of his head and blows out a long breath. It smells minty, like toothpaste, and I wonder how long ago he woke up, if she’d been in his arms. “Because you think you can’t do it or I can’t?”

My silence is enough of an answer.

“Look, Foster,” he says, his mouth twitching up at the corner. “You came here to say you weren’t happy with our...situation, right?”

“Right.”

“So I fixed the situation.”

He seems so pleased with himself, but ‘fixing the situation’ hasn’t ‘fixed’ anything at all. It’s still one big mess. And despite his assurances, I’m not ready to get my heart broken. He’s a playboy, it’s in his DNA. If I agree to date him, I’m only going to get hurt.

“Keefe—”

“Problem solved,” he insists with a beaming smile, interrupting my protest.

“No, the problem’s not solved!” I say, frustration laced through my tone. “You just told one girl I’m your girlfriend and you’re acting like I should be groveling on my knees. Calling his girlfriend his girlfriend is a normal part of everyday boyfriend life.”

Keefe smiles proudly. “And I’m already on my way there.”

“No you’re not, Keefe. This is exactly why a relationship is a bad idea. You’re not ready for something serious.”

“Foster,” Keefe says, taking my right hand in both of his as he stares into my eyes, a small, confident smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “I’m ready for anything you throw at me.”

A girl stumbles out of Tam’s room, one of his dress shirts hanging off her petite frame. “Keefe!” she squeals. “Tam’s still passed out and I’m hungry. Oooh, who’s your friend?”

“Corinne—”

“Pretty, pretty please, Keefe?” she asks, but the full force of her wobbling lip and puppy dog eyes are lost on Keefe’s back.

“Can you give us a minute?” I ask, stepping out from behind him to smile at her. “We’re almost done, and then you can have him all to yourself.”

“Of course!” she says happily. “I’ll go grab my dress.”

“Thanks.”

She goes back into Tam’s room and I reach my hand over to the doorknob. In one deft move the door is open and I’m slipping outside. “Goodbye, Keefe.”

“Sophie, wait!” he says, grabbing my hand and twirling me to face him. “I swear this has never happened before in my entire life, but I want to be your boyfriend. I want to buy you flowers and hold your hand and walk you to class and take you to dinner and do all the stupid things that boyfriends do.”

“Keefe—” I protest partly because I know this entire plan is a bad idea, and partly because I know every single one of his neighbors can hear us. And partly because I know he hates the idea of being a boyfriend and there’s no way in Exile this will ever work out well.

And partly because he just said being a boyfriend was stupid. There was no way in Exile this would work.

“Please, Sophie. I don’t want to lose you.”

His eyes make me pause. People say that eyes are windows to the soul, and right now, staring into the pool of blue, I can see everything. Most importantly I can see his desperation to make this work. Keefe is a good guy--a great guy, really. But because of his relationships with his mother and father...well, he didn’t grow up in a stable family. And that led to serious relationship issues. He goes through girls like he goes through tissues, so afraid of getting hurt again he keeps everyone at an arm’s length. But in his eyes...something’s changed. He isn’t the same boy he was a few moments ago. In fact, the fear in his eyes seems amplified. His entire body was rigid--taut--as if a single syllable could send him over the edge and into the abyss.

And underneath it all, I can see he’s not ready to lose.

It’s too much pressure.

“I can’t,” I say, guilt flooding my system. I feel like a coward, but I can’t. I’m not strong enough for this. I didn’t prepare for this reality.

“Do you really want to just be my friend?” he asks, his eyes wide and earnest and totally and completely unguarded.

I sigh, torn. “No, but—”

“Well, I don’t want to ignore you, and you clearly don’t want to continue doing what we’re doing now. So it seems like a real relationship is our only option.”

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “This is such a bad idea…”

“Unless…do you want to stop seeing me?”

My eyes shoot open. “No, but I—”

“Good, cause I don’t want to stop seeing you.” His voice goes low and husky again, and I know if I meet his eyes he’ll kiss me. And if he kisses me, I’ll cave.

I can’t cave.

I want to cave.

I can’t cave.

“But—”

“Sophie, stop arguing for 20 seconds and just listen to what I’m saying. I like trying new things. The whole ‘girlfriend’ thing is new, it’s different, and I can do it.”

I look up into his eyes, my heart feeling like it’s close to shattering as I ask, “Are you sure?”

He answers me with a kiss, gentle, and sweet, and conveying everything he’s been trying to say. He wants this. And despite how hard I’d been arguing against it, I want it too.

“Well I knew you could do that,” I tell him with a careless roll of my eyes when he pulls away. Yes, it’s a little tacky, using his signature humor to try to hide how flustered he makes me, but he just smiles against my lips as he kisses me again.

I finally pull away, resting my head on his shoulder as he pulls me closer. I bite my lip, conflicted, and he starts playing with the ends of my hair as he waits for my decision. Finally, I sigh. “I really want to believe you,” I tell him, my voice trembling a little bit as my eyes mist up with feeling. What I don’t say is, “I don’t want to get hurt.” But I don’t need to. I can see that Keefe knows.

“Then believe me,” he begs, his smirk gone and eyes wide and hopeful for the first time in a long time. “I’ll never hurt you.” For once his face is completely serious, and his entire body is tense with anticipation. When I don’t respond, he adds, “What do you say, Foster? Are you up for a new adventure?”

I take a deep breath in to steady my nerves. Then another to steady my palpitating heart. And then I kiss him again.

#keeper of the lost cities #fanfic #sophie foster #keefe sencen #sokeefe #kophie #team foster-keefe #foster-keefe #sophie #keefe #foxfire #ellatheblueelephant #everybodylovesella #gilmore girls

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