fifty sokeefe kisses

(20) birthday

There was someone in the house.

Sophie tiptoed her way down the stairs of Havenfield. Grady and Edaline had left early in the morning to receive an incoming shipment of rowdy hyenas, leaving Sophie alone at home (with Sandor patrolling outside, of course.)

She paused on the last step, listening intently to the rustling noises coming from the kitchen. Sophie unclipped a goblin star from her belt and lunged into the room—

—barreling straight into Keefe.

"Is that any way to greet the love of your life?" he crooned. His voice was steady, even with the blade of Sophie's throwing star hovering at his throat.

She released him, relieved. "Sorry! I thought you were an intruder."

"I tried to sneak in. Big Guy found me." Keefe smirked. "Squeaked my ears off for thinking I could sneak past him. Then he let me in."

"Impressive," Sophie muttered. She jumped up to sit on the counter. "What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you were helping out with the training at Foxfire today."

"Well," he said, bracing his hands on the counter on either side of her, "it's kind of a special day."

Sophie smiled back, but racked her brain for what he meant. It seemed like there was a new elvin holiday happening every few weeks, and she could barely keep up.

"You don't know what I'm talking about, do you," Keefe said.

Sophie shook her head ruefully.

"It's your birthday, idiot!" He booped her on the nose playfully. "Or have you forgotten?"

"Oh." Sophie's mind whirled as she realized Keefe was right. It had been so long since she paid attention to such a mundane part of her life. Fighting the Neverseen and working in the Black Swan and trying to make sure she and her friends didn't die on a daily basis kept her busy enough. Not to mention that elves didn't pay much attention to dates, anyway, due to their immortal status and disregard for human aging standards. She wasn't even sure such a thing existed in the elvin world.

"You... remembered?" she said in disbelief. She wasn't sure if it counted as remembering if she'd never celebrated her birthday in the Lost Cities before.

"Yeah," Keefe replied. "I had to ask Alden to double-check the date, though. And then I had to check a human calendar to make double sure. And Linh had to help me with the Ripplefluffs—"

Sophie's head hurt. How had she forgotten her birthday? She used to look forward to it every year. She could picture her mother, lovingly decorating a home-baked cake. Amy's clumsy writing in a birthday card. Her dad picking her up and spinning her around, even when she grew too big to carry.

Those memories were a lifetime away now.

"Sophie?" Keefe asked. He winced at her dazed expression. "Sorry, I might have come on a little strong. Elves don't really do birthdays but I thought... with everything going on, it might be nice to have a party?"

She blinked. "A party?"

"Dex and Biana are going to kill me," Keefe muttered. "But I'm not super good at gifts anyway, so we planned a surprise birthday party for you. A small thing, with just our friends, you know."

"Oh?"

He sighed. "I'm supposed to come get you. But... I guess we didn't think this through. I can feel all the..." Keefe gestures vaguely at her, "... uh, regret." He scratches the back of his neck nervously.

Sophie grabbed his hands. "No, Keefe, a party sounds amazing," she reassured, weaving their fingers together. "I just... didn't expect it."

He grinned, leaning into her. "So I didn't ruin the whole surprise, then?"

She smiled back. "Every day's a surprise with you."

Then she kisses him, fisting her hands in his shirt to drag him closer. Keefe's lips are soft and gentle, and she mirrored his movements, hoping to convey the gratitude she felt. Not that he needed her to.

They don't stop kissing for a while, not really, until Keefe brushed his lips down and across her jaw and just lingers there, his breath warming her skin and reddening her cheeks.

"Happy birthday, Sophie," he whispered.

"Thanks, Keefe," she whispered back, and her heart flutters when he grins at her like an idiot.

"By the way, you're going to have to act surprised when we show up at Everglen, or Biana will actually kill me. She was like, super into party planning."

Sophie laughed. "I promise."

"Ready to go now?" Keefe asked, and without warning he scooped her off the counter.

Sophie flailed in his arms as he carried her through the house, bridal style. "Keefe, oh my God, put me down—!"

"Make way for the birthday girl!" Keefe yelled, bursting through the front door and past an alarmed and confused Sandor. "Coming through!"

Sophie could only bury her face in his shoulder and laugh with him.