Different KOTLC Oneshots! (Romantically)

Fitz and a Human Boy

I was 9 years old when I first heard about rainbow people.

There was this . . . big parade thing, with lots of rainbows everywhere (naturally). So many people, wearing rainbow colored bracelets, and lots of girls holding other girls' hands. People shouting out that, "Love is love", and wearing shirts with thing like, "Not afraid", or "Gay by birth, proud by choice." Waving even more multi-colored balloons that spelled out, "Pride".

What does 'gay' mean? I wondered. What is pride? I knew what 'pride' meant - to be proud. But why was it such a big deal? Pride for their country? That didn't seem quite right, and despite being able to hear everyone's thoughts, they were all so jumbled together that I couldn't focus on only one enough to discern what it actually was.

Of course, many people asked me where my parents were and what I was doing there, but I had no answer; I was looking for a girl, who was a little younger than me. I'd stumbled upon this and got lost in the crowd, and it wasn't like I could levitate above the crowd or anything, not after what happened in . . . Puerto Republic? Rica? I shook my head. I couldn't remember, nor did I feel the need to.

Nonetheless, I tried to make my way through the crowd, caught up in between the many people.

I clenched my fists, taking a deep breath. It had been happening to me lately, and I wasn't quite sure why. All I knew was that I sometimes didn't feel good, and I felt the almost irrepressible urge to lash out, or do something.

"Dad," I said that evening after dinner. We were sitting in the study, me recounting the events of the day.

"Yes?" he asked.

"What did it all mean? The rainbows and the . . . 'gay'?"

"I am honestly not quite sure," my dad said carefully, his accent slightly clipping at the end. "I might need to do some research into it. But humans are curious things; not to be meddled with."

I nodded, going on to tell him that I'd never found any such girl (obviously), and he nodded in disappointed.

Little did I know, there were still five more long years until I found her.

Three years later

It was my first assignment to keep looking after the girl since the school year had started. I knew Keefe was a bit disappointed that I was missing today. I was, too. From what I heard, he had something planned today. Something big. But I had no idea what, and I was too distracted with finding the girl to pay much attention to his silly ideas.

I squeezed my hands together, my stomach turning over and over, with guilt - for not listening to Keefe when I should've been able to, with worry over whether I could make good grades, with nervousness to find the girl and go into another world again (it never got any less scary).

"I gotta go, Keefe. Sorry." I looked away as I pulled out my Imparter.

"Dude," he scoffed. "Another thing from your dad? I thought he'd laid off a little this month."

"He has," I insisted. "He means well. But it's just . . . family stuff, that can't be avoided. I'll see you later, okay?"

Without waiting for an answer, I left, wishing there was anything else I could do.

Starbucks.

A star, with bucks? Bucks with a star? The whole concept sounded weird to me as I pushed open the door and walked in. I looked around a bit, ordering something called 'iced tea'. I was a little older now, so no one asked me about my parents. I'd brought a book and some homework with me while I watched to see if there was any girl crossing the street or making her way into the shop with her parents or someone or other.