Work Text:
-Fitz’s POV after Chapter 46 of Stellarlune-
Fitz walked into his bedroom, dragging a hand through his hair before collapsing onto his bed.
"Long day?"
A voice sounded from the door.
"You have no idea." Fitz murmured as his sister, Biana, appeared on the edge of his bed. So much had happened that day, it was hard for Fitz to believe it had all really happened. The day had started out uneventful, but then Fitz had gotten a hail from Wylie about his memories of the starstone. He'd gone to help Tiergan search Wylie's mind but hadn't accomplished anything. Then, he'd gone to Havenfield to finish the Cognate Inquisition and bring Sophie to Solreef, but... The Cognate Inquisition had been a little more to handle than he'd thought. Sophie had ended up telling him that she liked Keefe and had kissed him today, which had been a lot like getting sucker-punched in the gut. Several times over. But… they finished the Inquisition and went through Wylie's mind-and found the memory they were looking for! Which…had led them to his home, Everglen. Turns out, the starstone for Elysian had been sitting in Biana's jewelry box for years. So they'd used the starstone to search Elysian for clues, but found a whole lot of nothing. So yeah, suffice to say, it had been a long day.
"You want to talk about it?"
"What do you mean?"
"Come on, you could feel that tension between you, Sophie, and Keefe tonight from a mile away."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Fitz muttered. "Just leave me alone."
"Come on, Fitz. Since when has keeping your feelings bottled up done you any good? I can tell that you have words you want to say right now, so come on. Say them. Lay it on me."
Fitz glared at his sister for a moment, but then looked up at the ceiling and sighed.
"Sophie and Keefe are together. They kissed today, okay? Happy?"
Biana's eyes widened. She grimaced, before flopping down on the bed, next to Fitz. They both stared at the intricate patterns on the ceiling for a moment before she turned and asked,
"So... How are you feeling? Are you mad at them?"
Fitz thought about that for a minute. When Sophie had told him about her and Keefe, he hadn't really felt angry. No, he'd just been confused, and really sad. He couldn't really blame Sophie, they hadn't technically been together. But.. why hadn't Sophie told him before, like during telepathy, when he'd said outright that he wanted to kiss her? Fitz groaned and dragged a hand down his face. Why on earth had he said that? This whole time, he'd just been a clingy ex-boyfriend and nothing more to Sophie, and yet she hadn't said anything before. He had been talking like they were getting back together and she hadn't said no to any of it. But she didn't say yes to any of it either. Fitz sighed again.
"No, I'm not mad at them. It's just... why so soon after we broke up? I don't get it."
"After we broke up? Fitz, I don't know how many times I have to remind you-"
Fitz groaned,
"I broke up with her, I know. But she wasn't even going to try-"
"Try what? Fitz, you promised me when you two got together that you wouldn't let matchmaking get in the way of your relationship. But you did."
"Biana, come on. We're Vackers. Can you imagine what things would be like for us if I became a Bad Match? We have to live up to the family name, and-"
"Fitz, the family name went down in flames ages ago!" Biana snapped. She sat upright and glowered down at Fitz.
"Dad broke the rules over and over, we joined a rebel group, and so did Alvar! We had mutant trolls attack from our backyard for goodness sake! You really think people would have cared any more about you being with someone who wasn't on your match lists? By the time this rebellion is over, those might not exist anymore!"
Fitz gave his sister a blank stare.
"What do you mean?"
"Fitz, don't you see?” Biana dragged a hand through her hair in exasperation. “We've been saying this for ages, but I guess it hasn't gotten stuck in your head yet. There's more to fix in the Lost Cities than just getting rid of the Neverseen! The Neverseen was founded because of things like Matchmaking! Lives were ruined! Like it or not, the Lost Cities are going to change, Fitz. I might doubt Sophie's judgement sometimes, but I know now that she has what it takes to change things for the better. It's time you saw that too."
Fitz let that sink in. His whole life, his mom and dad had taught him that the Lost Cities were perfect and safe, but it was pretty clear now that the latter wasn't true. He'd been impaled by a giant beetle once, attacked by the Neverseen... How many times? 5? 6? But he'd always believed in the systems they used, they'd worked for millenia, and- Oh.. there it is. The systems didn't work anymore. People were suffering because of that. Hence the rebellion. Fitz squeezed his eyes shut.
"I've been a total idiot, haven't I?"
"Pretty much." Biana smirked, but her eyes were still cold.
Fitz sighed, dragging his hand down his face again.
"So... How do you feel about Sophie and Keefe?"
"Me? Why?" Biana asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Come on, don't think I didn't notice the way you used to look at Keefe. And we both know that kiss during Truth or Dare was no accident." He teased.
Biana scoffed,
"You were the one who dared him to do it!"
"Yeah, I make a pretty good wingman, am I right?" Fitz grinned.
Biana rolled her eyes.
"Well to answer your question, I honestly think that Sophie and Keefe are perfect together. They kind of compliment each other, you know? Sophie can be nervous and insecure, but Keefe makes jokes and flirts with her to lighten the mood. Sophie's becoming a great leader, and Keefe's there to support her. Plus, telepaths and empaths are a great combo, you know."
Fitz scowled.
"How can you say all that? They've been together less than a day! And wait, how do you know that thing about telepaths and empaths?"
"Oh!" Biana's face flushed pink. "Um, well, we were talking about how Sophie and Keefe were acting, and Dex mentioned that Oralie told him and Sophie about it once."
Fitz rolled his eyes.
"How does that make any sense? A cognate connection between two telepaths should be stronger than one between a telepath and an empath."
"I guess it has to do with how they understand each other? I mean, Keefe is really good at understanding Sophie, right?"
"And I'm not?"
Biana hesitated, a skeptical look blooming on her face.
"Welllll..."
"I seriously can't believe you right now. You really think that Keefe is better for Sophie than I am? I was the one who brought her to the Lost Cities! I liked her for so long! I was her first friend! I saved her life-"
"Fitz." Biana said gently. "How long did Keefe like Sophie?"
A stab of guilt twisted in Fitz's chest.
"I... I don't know."
Deep in his heart, he knew that was a lie. He thought about Sophie's early days in the Lost Cities. The way Keefe's face lit up when she was around. Then the way he had fought with Sophie to get her abilities reset so that she could save Alden-all while Fitz wallowed in his own anger and resentment. The way Keefe had opened up to Sophie about his parents and relied on her when he couldn't face the truth about his mom alone. The way he'd used his ability to help Sophie when she needed him. The way he'd been the one Sophie trusted when she was scared to talk to Fitz. The way he did everything he could to help Sophie and Fitz stay together. The way he had been the best friend that Fitz had never deserved.
Fitz's heart sank. He'd dismissed Keefe's feelings without a thought. He thought about that memory he'd paid Keefe to paint-how had he been so stupid? Keefe had loved Sophie, he really had. He deserved her so much more than Fitz ever would. He had tried so hard to stop Fitz from hurting Sophie, but in the end, he'd broken Sophie's heart anyway. Keefe deserved a much better friend-a friend who would actually listen to him and understand him instead of treating him like an afterthought. Maybe Sophie will be that friend. Or… girlfriend. The thought still hurt, but maybe it would start to hurt less.
"I think you're right."
"Huh?" Biana said, looking up from fiddling with her panic switch ring.
"Sophie and Keefe really are perfect together."
And he meant it. Just then, Fitz's imparter buzzed in his pocket. It's nearly midnight, who could be hailing this late? Fitz wondered. He answered to see Keefe staring back at him; surrounded by some kind of glowy, colorful atmosphere.
"Hey..." Keefe said with a wince, "Look, about earlier, I.. well-"
"I'm sorry."
The two of them said it in unison.
Keefe gave Fitz a relieved smile, though his face was still hardened with worry.
"Do you want to go first?" Keefe finally asked.
"No, no, you can go." Fitz laughed.
"Okay. Well, I just wanted to say, I really care about Sophie. Like, a lot." His face flushed as bright red as Mr. Snuggles-Fitz's stuffed dragon. "But I know that you care about her too. So I'm really, really sorry for hurting you. I still care about you too, Fitz, but if you want to stop being friends for good after this, I understand." Keefe had lowered his gaze to the floor of what Fitz had determined was the inside of some kind of tree. Keefe glanced up at the imparter screen, hope glimmering in his eyes. Fitz sighed,
"It really does hurt, not being the one she stayed with in the end, but you've always been right, Keefe. Loving someone means putting their happiness above your own. I think Sophie did make the right choice in the end." He said with a sad smile. "You always deserved her so much more than-"
"Hey, don't say that, you-"
"No, it's true. You were there for her when she needed you, but me? I had to let my stupid beliefs get in the way. And on top of that, you were a better friend than I ever could've asked for. And I never thanked you for it-heck, I never gave you a second thought. You liked Sophie from the moment you saw her, and I was too dense to realize. So Keefe, you have nothing to apologize for. I'm the one who should be sorry. But... I think I'd really like to be friends again-if you want!" Fitz added. The last thing he wanted was to seem like he was guilt tripping Keefe-which he was probably guilty of doing a few times. But Keefe was already flashing his signature smirk.
"Can't live without me for more than a month, can you, Fitzy?"
For once, Fitz was glad to hear that stupid nickname.
"I was kind of a mess without you.." Fitz admitted, his mouth twisting into a smile.
"Well, what do you know? That makes two of us! Though I'm pretty much a walking mess with or without my trusty sidekick."
"Sidekick?" Fitz raised an eyebrow. "Since when am I the sidekick?" The two of them ended up laughing and talking for almost an hour, until Fitz finally suggested they go to bed.
"Well, good night. Though I'm not sure I'll get much sleep considering, well. You know, the countdown, freaky abilities, et cetera et cetera. At least I have my best friend back though." Keefe said with a grin.
“Yeah.” Fitz said, his smile matching Keefe's as they ended the hail. Fitz flopped back down on the bed, this time in relief. He had his best friend back. Suddenly, Biana appeared, standing on top of the bed next to him.
“Jeez!” Fitz shifted in alarm. “Biana, did you really listen to all of that? And you're standing on my pillow!” He said with a scowl.
Biana laughed and flipped her hair before sitting down next to him.
“Well of course I was listening, I had to make sure you didn't make things with Keefe even worse than they already were.”
Biana probably meant it as a joke, but the layer of truth behind them was all too real. Fitz sighed,
“I know that I’m pretty much the king of saying the wrong thing in the heat of the moment, but… I don't want to be that guy anymore, the one that needs someone to babysit him so that he doesn't hurt other people. I'm going to change.”
And he would. He would do what Keefe had done from the start: be a good friend. Biana offered him a half smile.
"You've come a long way, huh?"
Before Fitz could respond, he felt his imparter buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out, and the name clearly read Sophie Foster. He eyed Biana and raised a finger to his lips in the Shhh signal. Biana saluted and vanished. As soon as Fitz answered, Sophie simply said,
"Please. The caves below Havenfield. 20 minutes. Please come alone and please don't tell anyone."
Then she was gone. Fitz stared at the imparter, his eyebrows furrowed with confusion. Biana appeared a few inches from his face.
"You know what I'm going to say, don't you?" She smirked.
"Fine," Fitz huffed, "but you know you're going to have to be extra careful."
"I'm always extra careful." She grinned, and vanished again without a trace.
-Chapter 47 of Stellarlune continues-