KOTLC Sokeefe One-Shots, Alternate Endings, etc

Flashback 20 (Keefe POV)

To Keefe's surprise, Tiergan's first instruction was to Keefe, not Fitzphie.

He told Keefe he'd have to stop after every breakthrough—not because of the emotional toll but because his mind would have to adjust and make space for the new memory.

Keefe appreciated that Tiergan wasn't coddling him—but also, somehow, appreciated that Foster was.

She cared.

So then after Tiergan and Elwin both lectured all three of them on proceeding carefully, Keefe insisted that he was ready for what he called 'heart-crushing humiliation'—joking and yet not joking—and 'lots of Fitzphie eye staring'.

And then Tiergan gave him some news that made it just a little bit less scary. Less humiliating.

He told Keefe he could hide embarrassing memories or any he didn't want them to see.

Keefe didn't understand at first how it would help to hide memories when they were supposed to be searching memories, but then it seemed really obvious when Tiergan pointed out it was things he didn't remember that they were trying to trigger. So anything he did remember wouldn't really matter.

Tiergan promised it was a simple process that would only take a few minutes, and Fitz joked that he didn't really need to see what Keefe was hiding.

Keefe couldn't help but smirk at that one.

If only Fitz knew how true that was.

And then Ro looked like Elwin was her new best friend when he asked her to help make a stinky serum with pooka pus.

Ogres were weird.

Then it was time to get started. Keefe flinched when Tiergan reached for his temples.

"Sorry, I always forget how grabby you Telepaths are."

And it was a lot less fun when it wasn't Foster—he didn't mind, so much, having her that close. She could invade his personal space all she wanted.

But at least with Tiergan he wouldn't have to work so hard to control his thoughts.

Last time Sophie did this, he couldn't help but imagine her hands moving from his temples to his cheeks as he kissed her.

Which was a really hard image to shake away before she entered his mind.

Tiergan instructed him to picture an empty box in his mind, and give it a color.

And told him the color should have a connection to him in some way.

Immediately, the box in his mind was gold.

His favorite color.

He may not broadcast that fact, but gold had been his favorite color for a couple of years now.

Gold, like those flecks in Foster's beautiful brown eyes.

Those eyes that filled his thoughts and his dreams.

He remembered the first time he met her, the shock he got at seeing brown eyes for the first time.

She was usually embarrassed by the color of her eyes, since everyone else had differing shades of blue, and she thought brown was boring.

But it wasn't.

It was new and warm and inviting and deep.

Just like her.

Oops. He knew when he made the box gold, he'd also been picturing Foster's eyes. Had Tiergan seen that?

But the next words Tiergan said were, "don't tell me what color you pick."