Chapter Text
“Is it just me,or are those two making googoo-heart-eyes at each other?”
Ro nudged Keefe in the shoulder with her elbow. She gestured at Fitz and Dex across the courtyard.
“Definitely not just you.The two of them have been staring at each other for who knows how long.”
Keefe glanced over at the two of them.
They were smiling at each other,eyes filled with wonder.
Dex was talking animatedly,hands flying up and down.
Fitz’s hand accidentally brushed one of Dex’s.
He went pink and drew his hand away immediately. The tips of Dex’s ears went red. They both shared a nervous grin.
“Damn.Makes me wish we could just shove ‘em in a closet together.” Ro remarked.
“You will not under any circumstances shove anyone in a closet together.” Sandor walked up to them.
“Fun-killer.” Ro and Keefe grumbled in unison.
“Shove who in a closet together?”
Sophie popped up behind Sandor and sat beside Keefe. She took his hand in hers.
“Fitzy and the Dexinator.” Ro chimed.
Sophie snorted.
“What’d they do?”
“They’ve just been staring into each other’s eyes and blushing for like forever.Honestly,how do their eyes not feel like exploding.”
"Like you can talk,Funkyhair." Ro said,raising an eyebrow at him.
“Aren’t they dating?” Sandor asked in his squeaky voice.
“No! We have to watch the two of them shimmy around each other. It’s worse than literally being tortured.” Keefe sighed dramatically and pouted a little.
“Don’t be so melodramatic,Keefe.” Sophie smiled at him.
“I am not being melodramatic! The two of them are insufferable!”
He pouted some more.
"I think it's sweet,actually." Sophie said.
"You guys," She glared at Keefe and Ro halfheartedly , "are just miserable."
"Foster,I could never be miserable when you're sitting right next to me.I'm insulted you could think so." He placed their intertwined hands right over his heart.
"Who's insufferable now?" Ro muttered under her breath.
"We're dating. I think we’re allowed to be a little insufferable.But those two need to get their shit together and just get together already.”
“Language.” Sandor cut in.
Keefe rolled his eyes.
The bell rang loudly, ending the conversation.
୨ৎ
“And his eyes are so blue,they’re violet.”
Fitz gushed for what was probably the fifteenth millionth time (or atleast it seemed like fifteen million times to Keefe)
At this point,Keefe knew a million different synonyms to "periwinkle". He could probably write an essay on it,and get a hundred.
It was ridiculous.
Keefe listened to Fitz go on about Dex,ramble about him endlessly.
About his eyes,his inventions,his dimpled smile.
He saw the look in Fitz’s eyes when he talked about Dex.
It was the look of pure admiration and deep-seeded adoration for him.
If Keefe hadn’t heard Fitz spout what was essentially nonsensical poetry sonnets about Dex,the eyes would’ve been a dead giveaway.
Fitz was smitten.
He was a goner. A complete and utter goner.
“And his freckles–”
Fitz leaned back on his navy blue,gemstone studded,plush chaise,fully lovesick.
He looked like he would start plucking flowers,whispering he loves me,he loves me not, if there were flowers available.
Thank the stars that there weren't.
"Dude,I don't understand why you can't just tell Dex that you like him." Keefe said incredulously,cutting Fitz off.
"Because there's no chance he would like me back. Not at all." Fitz drooped like a wilting flower.
Keefe wanted to tell him that it was so obvious that Dex felt the same,that Dex liked Fitz back,and that it was evident to anyone because anyone could see the nervous glances,the gentle grins,the flushed cheeks.
It was so frustrating to watch them orbit around each other.
But Keefe knew Fitz,and he knew the process of having a crush on someone well enough that he knew that saying any of this to him would be futile.
Fitz would believe what he wanted to believe.
Keefe just wished he would believe a little more in himself.
He was stubborn like that,anyone who knew Fitz knew that.
And if he wanted to believe that Dex only liked him as a “friend”,he would.
It was just that,Keefe didn’t know why Fitz wanted to believe that Dex didn’t like him like that.
Keefe wanted to sigh.
How could two people be so oblivious to each other?
Keefe sat on the couch,took a piece of mallowmelt off of the centre table,and bit into it.
The piece of mallowmelt made him want to pull his beautiful,luscious blond hair out of his roots a little less.
Only a little though,because now Fitz was going on about Dex's ability to kick absolute ass.
Fitz was his best friend (best friends forever,they'd said in Level 1),and Keefe mostly just wanted him to be happy.
He also wanted Fitz to not call him over anytime that there was a Dex related crisis.For goodness sake,they both had homework to do,and midterms to study for and bad guys to fight and such.
When Fitz leaned further back on his chaise dramatically,again, Keefe had a lightbulb of an idea flicker in his mind.
He had a plan.That was a start at least.
He just needed to talk to Foster later. Keefe made a mental note to do just that. Added it to his mental to-do list.
Talk to Foster. That was the first step in his plan.
୨ৎ
Keefe could feel the coolness of the firm wooden door on his skin as he knocked on it.
Once,twice,three times.
He could hear faint thuds and then the door was opening to a stern look from a sterner goblin bodyguard.
“Hey,Gigantitor.”
Keefe greeted him casually as if they were best friends.
Sandor nodded in acknowledgment and stepped aside,letting Keefe walk through the doorway.
He could see Sophie practically bolt to her door from the corner of his eye,bunny slippers squeaking across the wooden floor.
“Hey.Come in.” Sophie told him breathlessly once she got to the front door.
Keefe took a moment (or two) to take her in fully.
Her golden hair was tied up into a messy bun,strands falling out and framing her face.
She was wearing her big glasses,light from the chandelier overhead dotting the lenses.
The sight of her made Keefe smile a little.
And clearly,the sight of Keefe made her smile too. The thought of that only made him smile more.
They just smiled at each other for another second.
Once the second had passed,Sophie looked over to Sandor,who cleared his throat and gave her a look that said I'll be outside if you need me .
She nodded back at him and mouthed "Thank you".
She then grinned some more at Keefe and led him into her room,to her canopy bed and adjacent working desk.
There were papers cluttered across the desk,notes and homework and who knew what else.
“Weird seeing you here,Foster.” Keefe looked over to Sophie,who was sitting on her swivel chair,spinning around absentmindedly.
She sighed,just as he knew she would,and pushed her glasses back up her nose.
“This is my bedroom,Keefe.” She said with a look of pure exasperation.
“Yeah,and you’re never here.” Keefe told her.
“I am here,” She insisted, “all the time”
He snorted.
“What? I am.” Sophie shot him a glare that didn’t scare him one bit.
“Sure you are.”
She shook her head,trying to clear it.
“Anyways,why are you here?” Her beautiful brown eyes met Keefe’s.
“Can’t a guy just want to see his girlfriend?” Keefe asked.
“He can.” She conceded.
“But that’s not the only reason you’re here,right?”
He nodded. “It’s not.”
“So,why are you here again?” She asked him.
“It’s about Fitz and Dex.”
“Fitz and Dex?Is this about trying to shove them into a closet again?”
“Why would I try to shove them into a closet?That’s,like,kinda outdated,Foster.”
“Of course it is,” She rolled her eyes then asked with genuine curiosity, “What are we gonna do then?”
“We’re going to trap them.”
୨ৎ
“I’m guessing you don’t mean we’re going to literally trap them,right?”
“Yeah,” Keefe said,“we’re just going to set them up,sort of?”
“Keefe,” Sternness crept into Sophie’s voice “Do you even have a plan?”
“Sort of?” He repeated.
A confused look crossed Sophie’s face as she halfway swiveled around again.
When Sophie raised a single eyebrow,Keefe put his palms up in defense. “Okay,I do have a plan.I swear. I don’t know how but we just have to get them in a room together.”
“A café maybe? Or an empty classroom?” Sophie suggested.
Keefe tore his hands through his hair absentmindedly and said, “Foster,you’re a genius!”
Sophie sat up straighter. "I am?"
“We just need to get them in a café together!”
"Okay,but how..?" Sophie asked.
"Now,I actually do have a plan." Keefe interrupted.
"Wow.Never thought I'd see the day where Keefe Sencen had a plan.But here we are. So what do we do?”
“One of needs to tell Dex that we want to maybe go to the new café together.You know,to taste-test all of the mallowmelt or whatever.And the other needs to tell Fitz the same thing–”
Sophie caught on.
“And then we both conveniently cancel,leaving them to go with each other.”
Sophie finished his sentence for him. They both shared a sly grin.
“So,Operation Ditz? Detz? Fex? Wait..what do we call them?”
“Not ‘Ditz’,that’s for sure.” Sophie remarked.
“Fine,what about Fedex,then?”
Sophie seemed to choke a little “Fedex? Like the shipping company?”
Keefe shrugged.
“When I was in Humanland,I saw it on a truck somewhere.” He said sagely.
Sophie went with it.
“So,Operation Fedex is on.”