KOTLC Sokeefe One-Shots, Alternate Endings, etc

Legacy 3: part 2 (Keefe POV)

Keefe didn't know what to think.

It was like his brain couldn't process it.

He knew his mom was a villain.

Knew she didn't love him.

That much had been obvious for years, even before he'd known the villain part.

But this?

Wanting him dead?

And recruiting one of his peers to do her dirty work for her?

Dimly, he realized Foster had placed Mrs. Stinkbottom in his lap, with the gulon's fake eyes seemingly looking up at him.

And then her sweet voice, soft and soothing, murmuring, "I'm sorry," as she reached for his hand.

He stared at her hand over his for a moment, then turned his hand to hold on to her, squeezing tight, anchoring himself.

Was this how it was going to end?

Sixteen years of misery, punctuated with happiness only when he was able to escape his home life, two years of slowly falling in love with a girl who wouldn't recognize her true feelings, only to have his own mom be his end?

And that girl he loved so much would possibly also die in an attempt to save him.

But no.

He was being too bleak, too morbid. Just because his mom wanted him dead didn't mean it was inevitable, right?

He released Foster's hand and scooted back with a sigh. "I'm fine, Foster. We all knew this was coming."

She and Ro both seemed shocked, but now that Keefe thought about it, he realized he shouldn't be surprised.

He was continuously refusing to accept his so-called legacy. Refusing to comply, to aid his mom.

That made him a liability instead of an asset.

At least his dad only called him worthless.

His mom's way out of having such a problem child was apparently just to order his execution.

They went back to discussing the memories he was piecing together, and how he knew they must've been big--especially what happened in London--and that must be what his mom wanted silenced.

The truth that was locked away in Keefe's mind.

So finally he decided to reveal that he'd gotten more of that memory back.

He had wanted to keep those journals hidden, given what was already in some of them.

But this was important.

They needed this information, especially if Keefe had a big target on his back now.

While explaining that he'd gotten another piece of the memory back--and then also explaining why he had journals hidden in a false bottom of a drawer and hooked up to a trip wire--he pulled out the four journals he'd been hiding.

Opening the silver one and flipping through to find the right page, he told her that he'd started drawing his memories in order to be able to really see them better, contemplate them, sort them into different categories.

And hoped she didn't notice his blush.

Nothing made him feel more awkward and vulnerable than sharing his artwork, especially with Foster.

Even though she was always in awe of his work.

When he explained that each of the notebooks contained memories, but none of them were yet full, she asked, "do the colors of the journals mean something?"

He couldn't keep himself from blushing deeper than before.

Great. She had to ask that.

"Kinda. I use the silver one for anything that feels important, since that's the same color as the last elite level. Green is hard stuff, since we wear it at plantings. Brown is happy stuff, since...I don't know. It was the one I had left."

Keefe was extremely grateful that Foster wasn't an Empath. And that she was an honest Telepath who wouldn't invade the privacy of his mind without permission.

Because she would absolutely know he was lying if she did.

The brown wasn't just what was left.

Few things made him happier than her brown eyes.

Except maybe those fascinating gold flecks in them.

And he wasn't even going to try to explain the gold journal.

Its contents weren't pertinent to this conversation anyway.

But then he realized she'd probably remember that he'd gilded all of those secret memories before she and Fitz tried to help him recover washed memories.

So she could probably guess what the gold journal meant.

Which was probably why she felt so curious now.

He glanced at the notebook before looking quickly away again, focusing on the silver one in his hands. Finding the page, he kept it out of her view, pressing it against his chest and begging her to promise not to get angry that he hadn't already told her, insisting that he planned to when he'd gotten more information.

She crossed her arms, staring at him, feeling stubborn.

"You've also been super busy lately, and..."

"And what?" she asked.

And you're dating my best friend and that makes everything between you and me vastly more complicated, that's what.

"Never mind. All that matters is: I haven't done anything dangerous. I've just been doing the mental exercises Tiergan taught me."

But she saw through him.

He didn't answer when she asked about the fathomlethes, but he also couldn't look her in the eye after the justified accusation.

But he promised he'd been careful.

And then Ro--whose punishment for this would be epic--shared his most embarrassing moments from those nights.

Even Gigantor laughed at him.

Foster just flung a new round of worry his way.

He'd be touched by how much she worried about him if he didn't know that worrying seemed to be her favorite hobby.

But still...had Ro really needed to share with the girl he liked just how weird he'd been on those fathomlethes?

Ro was supposed to be on his side. Help him look cool. Look like the perfect guy who would totally be a better choice than Fitz or anyone else.

But rather than trying to kill his ogre bodyguard, he just assured Foster it had been worth it because of what he'd recovered.

And showed her the drawing of the man holding the mysterious envelope.

"That's the letter your mom gave you," she murmured.

"Yep. Looks like I didn't follow Mommy's delivery instructions as strictly as she wanted me to."

"Which surprises no one," Ro added.

"Of course not," Keefe agreed, smirking slightly. "But now we know for sure that I did deliver the letter. And I saw the guy she was contacting. And now that I know what he looks like? I can track him down again and find out what Mommy Dearest wanted from him."