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When Keefe asked her to meet him outside at midnight, she thought it was a pretty strange request at first. But now, seeing him with his messy blonde hair that she loved to run her fingers through, and the moon reflecting off of his ice blue eyes, while he held a precariously balanced pile of pillows and blankets, the question didn’t seem strange anymore.
“What would you say to a sleepover with your incredibly handsome boyfriend, Foster?” Keefe smirked as she practically ran over to him. (In her defense, she really did try to walk.)
Normally, she would bring up her parents, and her bodyguards, and all the possible things that could go wrong, but with Keefe giving her puppy-dog eyes, she didn’t really have the heart to.
Plus, what could go wrong with a nice cuddle session with her boyfriend?
It still felt strangely foreign to call Keefe her boyfriend, but on top of that, it felt right. Like it belonged.
“I guess I could have just one sleepover with you…” She tried to feign nonchalance, but when Keefe’s smirk grew into a real genuine smile, she couldn’t help but smile back.
He really was irresistible.
Sophie shook her head as he shuffled his grip on the bedding just so he could reach out for her hand.
“Need a little help?” She teased, grabbing a few of the things from the top, and balancing them in her left hand so she could keep her right hand securely intertwined with his.
She expected a teasing reply back, so when he made eye-contact with her and said, “Only from you,” she was a little dazed.
As Keefe led her across the property, she realized that she hadn’t even asked where they were going. What if something happened? No one would know where they were, and they could—
“Doing alright over there, Foster?” Keefe gave her hand a small squeeze.
She shook herself out of her spiral and gave him a convincing squeeze back. “Fine, I’m just overthinking.”
He gave her a side-long look.
They both knew there wasn’t such a thing as ‘just’ overthinking with her, but they must’ve been approaching where they were headed, because he didn’t say anything.
As they got closer, Sophie recognized The Grove, and mentally smacked herself for not recognizing it sooner.
It was where she and Keefe had their first kiss, after all.
Keefe must’ve felt her emotions spike because he turned and smirked at her. “What? Do you recognize this ol’ place or something?”
Sophie rolled her eyes, but she could feel the heat creeping up her neck and rolling over her cheeks.
This was where she had confessed.
She still got butterflies everytime she thought about it.
Keefe led her into The Grove, and she immediately drew in a breath at the beauty that surrounded her. Everything was glowing with a bioluminescent light that gave the surrounding area purple and blue ambience. Some sort of cricket species was chirping in the background, creating the perfect peaceful environment.
A rustle caught her attention, and both her and Keefe froze and turned their heads.
“Did you hear that too?” Sophie murmured.
Keefe nodded, and he dropped her hand in favor of reaching into his pants pocket for something.
The silver glint told her it was a goblin throwing star.
She prepared to fight, the paranoia taking over. The Neverseen were gone, but who’s to say there wasn’t another group out there?
The rustle sounded again, and Flori of all people, (elves? Gnomes? Gnomes.) popped her head out from around a tree.
Both her and Keefe sighed in relief.
“Flori, what are you doing here? You scared me.” Sophie muttered.
“Apologies,” Flori rubbed the back of her neck with a hand. “I was simply trying to make sure you two were safe. Sandor wouldn’t be very happy if he knew that you two were going out by yourselves, so I figured that I could just trail you and–”
“It’s okay, Flori.” Keefe cut her off gently. “You just gave us a little jump-scare is all.”
Flori smiled sheepishly. “Well, I’m going to post myself near the entrance of The Grove. Sleep well you two.”
“Will do.” Keefe gave a mock-salute before picking up the pillows and blankets that had been dropped during the short stint of freak out.
Sophie told Flori goodnight before trailing Keefe further into The Grove. Once they got to a “Keefe-Approved Spot”, Keefe tossed the bedding onto the ground, and it settled in a pile on the ground.
“Your majesty, your bed–and prince— awaits.” He winked before dipping into a bow, and took her hand, kissing it tenderly.
She blushed again, and looked away. It took her a few deep breaths before she could give a tangible response.
“Thank you, but…don’t you think it could use a little organizing?” She kneeled down, and grabbed one of the thicker blankets to lay on the ground as a base.
As she did that, Keefe lay the pillows at the top of their make-shift bed. Sophie grabbed the rest of the blankets, and laid them down on top of the bed.
They both looked at the bed, then at each other.
Sophie couldn’t deny that she was nervous. This wasn’t the first time that her and Keefe had a make-shift sleepover, or cuddled together, or shared a bed, but something about this, being out in The Grove, alone, made it feel so much more…intimate.
What if she screwed up?
Keefe must’ve been reading her emotions because he pulled her into a tight hug. “Talk to me, Foster. What’s wrong?” He murmured.
She took a shaky breath. “I’m…just overthinking this…And being kind of a wimp.”
He huffed a laugh into her hair. “Come on Foster, you’ve battled evil villains, had your abilities reset, twice, had literal facedowns with leaders of other species, and done a million things that no other elf could ever imagine. You’re the bravest person I know.”
“I don’t know…This just feels so much more…intimate than anything we’ve done before. I’m afraid I’m going to screw it up.” Sophie whispered.
He hummed, running a hand down her back, before he gently angled her chin up so she would look at him. “Sophie, you could never, never, screw this up. I love you, and that will never change. You could demand that I take you back to Havenfield right now, and I wouldn’t even be mad.” He thought for a moment. “Okay I might be a little upset because I had to carry all these blankets, but that would last for like two minutes.”
She sniffled and buried her head into his t-shirt. “You sure?”
He chuckled. “Of course I’m sure. Now come on, I’m getting tired, and I need some Foster cuddles to help me sleep.”
She couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her lips.
Keefe lowered his head so he could whisper in her ear. “Still scared?”
She shivered. “Definitely not as much. You know…since you gave me such a good speech.”
He beamed. “Just call me the Master of Speeches. Or the Universe works too.” He released her from the hug and plopped down to the ground, messing with the blankets.
Sophie took another deep breath and plopped down to the ground, laying next to him.
She was facing him, and all they did for a minute was look into each other’s eyes, before Keefe huffed a laugh and pulled her into his arms, tracing patterns on her back. She thought she felt ‘beautiful’ at one point, but she couldn’t be sure.
“Sophie?” He whispered at one point, right before she was about to fall asleep.
“Hmm?” She murmured.
“I love you.” He brushed a few loose strands of hair out of her face, and gave her a forehead kiss.
“I love you too.” She pressed her lips to his cheek, not quite able to reach his forehead.
“Sleep well.”