Kotlc Oneshots [Parts 1-13 Pre Unlocked]

Elwin's House

About: Keefe and Elwin/dadwin. Angst 

Word count: ~826

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Keefe stood at the base of Elwin's towering house. It was similar to Candleshade in some ways, only significantly smaller and made of clear glass like Havenfield. It stood at around 20 levels, minuscule compared to the massive Sencen residence.

It was called Infirmary, supposedly Elwin's husband had come up with the name but Keefe didn't believe it for a second.

Nonetheless, Keefe stood 10 feet from the door. Unable to convince his body to move any further. Tears streamed uncontrollably down his face.

Slowly, he inched forward. His arms wrapped around his body as if it would protect him from the world.

Once he reached the door that had seemed 100 miles away, he opened it. Not even bothering to knock. He had done this so many times that he knew he didn't need to warn anyone.

The foyer of Elwin's home was much more inviting than any of Keefe's homes had ever been. A small hallway led to a room filled with comfortable couches, the harsh light the glass walls would've brought in stifled by warmly colored curtains. One of the dozens of pets Elwin owned lay napping on a soft rug. Upon closer inspection, it was Bullhorn, the demented little creature that seemed to have a fondness for Sophie.

Dammit, he had nearly forgotten about her.

A new stream of tears ran down his face just as the others dried.

He plopped himself down on one of the couches. He reached out for Bullhorn but a low growl from the creature reminded him to pull away.

So there he sat, in utter silence, sobbing until he was out of tears.

Finally, he heard the door behind him open.

"Oh gosh Keefe, you scared me." Elwin stood just passed the door, holding a collection of shopping bags. He suddenly seemed to realize Keefe's slumped posture and tear-stained face. Keefe could feel the worry from the couch...which only normally happened with a certain telepath girl that he'd rather not be thinking about at the moment.

Elwin sat down his bags and walked to the couch, sitting down right next to Keefe and placing a supporting hand on his shoulder.

"What's wrong? Do you need to talk about it?"

Keefe squeezed his eyes shut and slowly shook his head.

Elwin sighed, a gesture that meant 'I know you need to talk about it but I guess I can't push you'.

This time it was Keefe's turn to sigh.

"It's just...it's Sophie"

Elwin's eyebrows furrowed. "What happened? Is she hurt?"

"No, no, it's not like that" Keefe let out an embarrassed laugh. "It's stupid, it doesn't even matter" He shook his head.

"Well it clearly matters at least a little"

Keefe hesitated to tell the story, but after he started he couldn't stop and it all came tumbling from his mouth.

"We...we were under the panakes tree, everything was perfect, the alicorns were playing in the field, the sun had just risen because we spent all night working on Black Swan stuff. So...I decided that I'd tell her how I felt.

She didn't even say anything. She just sat there for a minute before she got up and just...ran away. She kept just shaking her head. I'm guessing that's a hard no."

A sharp laugh escaped Keefe's body before he covered his face with his hands.

"It's just...it's so stupid. She's just a girl, I shouldn't be so upset. I just...I can't help it"

Elwin upgraded his hand on the shoulder to a full arm hug.

"You of all people should know that emotions are natural, Keefe. It's ok to be upset about stuff. Like that one time I spilled my cup of slumberberry tea and cried because I couldn't sleep and it was the last that we had."

They both chuckled, the lighthearted story a brief distraction from the conversation at hand.

"My point is, it's okay to feel things. Maybe Sophie didn't mean it that way and it was all a misunderstanding. Or...if she did then everything will still be okay. Trust me, kid, I've been around since human Victorian times. Life goes on, but for the moment you should be able to let your feelings out."

Elwin pulled Keefe into a giant bear hug, Keefe buried his face to his neck like an upset child would do to their mother.

Once they finally pulled away, Elwin grabbed Keefe by the arms.

"Tell ya' what kid, how about we invite over all the guy friends, Fitz, Dex, Tam, and we all play a game of base quest."

"No way, you and your husband always win. We don't stand a chance"

"Exactly, losing a game of base quest for the 5th time in a row will give you a different thing to cry about, perfect distraction if you ask me."

Keefe laughed a real laugh and knocked him in the arm.

Maybe everything would be okay after all.