MISSION MOONLARK, kotlc

27

Keefe was waiting for her.

Sophie woke up as early as she could without falling asleep as she walked, and hurriedly unlocked the training room. She expected it to be dimly lit by the wisps of moonlight floating through the reflective glass windows, and completely deserted. Instead, the fluorescent lights practically attacked her as she walked in- and it didn't help that she was being greeted by a smirking boy with perfectly styled hair and ice blue eyes.

"How'd you get in?" she asked, gently closing the door behind her. Sophie rolled one of the punching bags across the floor and sat on it, so she was facing Keefe.

"I've got my methods," he promised, winking.

Sophie sighed, refusing to take the bait. "What did you want to tell me?"

"A lot of things."

Sophie raised an eyebrow, unsure if she could hide her blush. She turned away. "Huh."

"Leto put me on assignment," Keefe said quietly.

Silence pulsed through the room like a heartbeat.

"But you just got here," Sophie reminded him, grabbing a weight from one of the metal racks and using her foot to roll it back and forth on the foam flooring. "Leto never hands out missions like... I don't know, baseball cards... and especially not with newbies..."

"Newbies," Keefe repeated, cracking up. "Seriously, I've been training longer than any of your friends, I assure you."

"Fitz started at four," Sophie countered.

"Three," Keefe informed her smartly, laughing at her pout.

"What do you need my help with?" Sophie demanded, changing the subject. "Worried about fighting against your own agency? Worried about blowing your pathetic cover?"

"Hey, I made it this far!"

"Because I've been covering up for your double-agenting!" Sophie shot back angrily, letting the weight roll across the floor.

"I want to triple-agent."

"And I'm confused," Sophie informed him.

"I-"

"The answer's no," Sophie said abruptly. "I'm not listening to your warm-and-fuzzy story."

"But-"

"I said no!" Sophie shouted, glaring at him.

There was a few more beats of silence that were mercifully not awkward.

Keefe stood up wordlessly and walked closer to her. She was pretty sure her heart had melted and dissipated into flutters- but she refused, refused, refused to let him win.

But... but... the flutters were fluttering so quickly that her chest hurt... and she could practically see every crystal-like part of his ice blue eyes as he leaned closer... too close...

________________________

"Are you acting weird?" Biana asked the next morning, jabbing Sophie's shoulder with metal silverware. She turned to the rest of the table and tilted her head in Sophie's direction. "Is she acting weird?"

"I'm not," Sophie said miserably, which was pretty much a confession.

She couldn't stop replaying the moment in the training room... when Keefe hadn't gotten so close that... that... their lips...

She punched her knee and let out a yelp as the rest of the table shot her strange looks.

She kissed an enemy agent.

She was covering up for an enemy agent.

She was kind of-sort of in love with an enemy agent.

"Yeah, she's definitely acting weird," Maruca decided, waving a hand in front of Sophie until she blinked.

Sophie glared at her mallowmelt- the agency's breakfast specialty -with sudden distaste. And the fact that Keefe had barely acknowledged it the next morning, (aside from him puckering his lips and making an obnoxiously loud kissing noise that made Sophie want to barf even though she knew he was teasing) was even more frustrating.

"Tiergan wants you to read this," Fitz's crisp, accented voice said from behind them as he passed by. A few years older than Sophie, the only overlapping session they had was Cognate training with Agent Granite. He dropped a book on the seat beside her and flashed her a grin. The only thing that grin did to her was make her stomach feel queasy instead of flutter.

There was only one pair of eyes that could make her heart flutter.

And he knew it.

And she hated it more than anything.

"A Cognitive Guide to Complete Mission Efficiency?" Sophie asked, reading the title skeptically.

"Don't ask me," Fitz said, shrugging as he set off down the hallway again.

"I'm going to go to session now," Keefe announced, standing up abruptly. Sophie hadn't realized he'd been watching her until he wasn't. "Thanks for the breakfast suggestions, Foster."

He winked. Sophie turned away.

She stared back down at the book Fitz had given her and stuffed it in her cloak, mumbling a quick agreement.

The only book she wanted now was How To Un-Fall-In-Love.