KotLC Oneshots/Drabbles

Kex: Love Blooming (Part 2 of The Proposal)

DEX'S POV:

It's been about a year since Sophie and Fitz got engaged. Everybody is busy helping them plan their wedding, which is scheduled to be two months from now. Although I consider myself a very bad planner, Sophie and Fitz need my help in choosing a setting. When they told me I was like, "Me? Seriously?"

Turns out they weren't joking. So I have to sit here and scour a hundred wedding magazines in hopes of finding 'the perfect wedding destination'. You'd think they'd learned by now, wouldn't you?

I'm just about to wrap up for the day when my tidying is interrupted by a knock on the front door. Since I live alone now, and not in Rimeshire, I get to my feet and start walking to the door. As I open it, a familiar voice says, "Dexy!"

I nod in the familiar person's direction. "Hiya, Keefe. What brings you here?"

He steps through the threshold, hanging his coat on a rack. I close the door swiftly behind him. "I came to see my bestie, of course!" I roll my eyes. There's no way Keefe came here to say 'hello'. He usually only shows up at people's doors when he wants something.

"What do you need from me, Keefe? A potion, a new gadget?" Keefe chuckles. He places a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, I don't need anything. Well, maybe your fantastic cooking."

I sigh. Of course. Keefe has been coming around lately. Ever since he discovered I can bake butterblasts and ripplefluffs, it's become part of his schedule to drop by. I always have confectionery on the stand by, just in case. Keefe always finishes everything.

I usher him into the living room and poor a glass of punch leftover from the triplets' birthday party last week.  He happily drinks the whole glass.

I head to the kitchen, where I grab a few warm trays of treats. Bringing them in, I notice Keefe's got his laptop out. "Keefe? What is that you're looking at?"

"Ah, nothing. More planning for the Sophitz wedding. Maybe we could plan our own wedding, hmm?"

I laugh. "Yeah. Bring on the belly-dancing porcupines." Keefe laughs as well. "Mhm! We could have a big sign saying 'Team Kex Wedding'."

I stop laughing, my face burning as I realise the true meaning of our joke. I brush it away, and instead say, "Sadly, that can't happen. We have to help plan Sophie and Fitz's wedding."

Keefe sighed. "Yeah, I know. I thought this whole 'we're getting married' thing would be exciting and that I'd at least get to tease them, but turns out I was wrong." I snort. "Tell me about it! Here, I'll help you with that."

"Wow, really?" Keefe asks in amazement. I nod and sit beside him on the couch. This is going to be a long day.

-------------------

After we've finished the planning for the day, Keefe puts away his laptop and sits beside me. We're sipping on some cinnacreme I made earlier. I stare out of the window, and Keefe follows my gaze. "Oh, wow. It's already dark," he says, chuckling. I nod. 

I've finally found the perfect location for Sophie and Fitz's wedding. It's a remote place, pretty far away. As elves, though, we can just light leap. As for Sophie, she'll probably show up to the wedding by teleporting, then knock over the wedding cake or something. Gotta be careful, you know?

I sent them the picture. Hopefully they respond soon so I can be done with this work. I stop my silent serenade with the window and focus my eyes on Keefe. He looks tired. Maybe I shouldn't have kept him this long. I shake his shoulder. "C'mon, let's get you to bed."

Keefe gives me a tired grin, but his usual smirk has vanished due to exhaustion. "Can I sleep here, Dex? It's kinda lonely at my place and... I was hoping for a buddy."

I make it obvious to him as I roll my eyes. "Well, duh! I'm a lazy guy who has no intention to walk all the way to the Leapmaster." Keefe chuckles as I help him up and guide him to my bedroom. I look around.

I don't have a spare mattress Keefe can use, and all the spare rooms are too far away. I can't leave Keefe unsupervised because 1. He'll get up to mischief and 2. He'll feel lonely or scared.

"I guess I'll sleep on the floor..."

"What?" Keefe asks in a much more awake voice. "Where are all the sleeping bags you had when Wonderboy was over?"

"Gone," I say. "The triplets filled them with shaving foam the last time they came over. Gosh, they're childish."

"Well, you're not sleeping on the floor," the blonde boy insists. "And since I know you won't let me sleep on the floor, we can just sleep on the bed together."

"I'm taking the left side," I squeal, sprinting towards the bed and flopping on to it. "And don't disturb me while I'm sleeping. You remember what happened to Mr. Teal-Eyes last time."

Keefe gulps. "Of course." He climbs into bed next to me, making sure there's distance between us.

After a while, I start to drift off. Something warm is leaning against me. And cozy.

It kind of smells like alicorn and butterblasts.

Meh. Whatever it is, it can wait. What matters now is that I get some good night's sleep....

------------

The crowd is silent. They watch like hawks as Fitz stands at the altar, a nervous mess. In that situation, I would too. Sophie hasn't shown up yet. She's supposed to be here by now.

I glance at Keefe. He's sitting beside me in a tangerine orange suit, running a comb through his hair. "Keefe," I hiss at him. "Put the comb away, be respectful."

"Sorry, Dexy," he whispers back, and puts the comb away.

Suddenly, music starts to play. I turn to see Grady and  Sophie walking down the aisle. She's in a beautiful white wedding dress. Being Sophie, of course, she trips on her dress train halfway down, ripping the seams.

There are gasps from the crowd. Sophie blushes and tears well in her brown eyes. Some of Fitz's family send her disapproving looks. I send them a rude hand gesture. "Lay of my cousin, you stupid snobs."

Fitz smiles at me and then turns to Sophie, beckoning her on.

She walks to the altar, and Grady leaves to sit beside Edaline. He plants a kiss on her forehead.

The vows are made. The cake is cut. It all seems like a flash to me. The only thing I can register is when Keefe asks me, "Would you like to dance?"

That snaps me awake. I must have heard him wrong. "Huh?"

He turns red. "I, uhm.. would you like to dance?"

I smile. "Sure!"

As we dance, it's more of a stumble, since I'm completely drained and Keefe is clumsy. But I enjoy it none the less.

I step on Keefe's shoelaces, unravelling them. He grabs onto my tie and snaps the elastic (because I can't tie a real tie, okay?). Which is exactly why I love it. What can I say? I like weird.

After the dance we sit by the fountain. I pluck the petals off a daisy. Keefe whistles 'Never Gonna Give You Up' under his breath.

As I stare into the distance I can't help wondering if possibly.... Keefe likes me? If he did, I would certainly like him back.

What does the future hold? Maybe we can have our own wedding after all. All I have to do to make that happen is find a group of porcupines that just so happen to have a talent for belly-dancing.

Gosh, I love my life.