How It Should Have Been: Sokeefe AU

Episode 36: (Keefe's POV)

Before:

"Sophie... I like you a lot. I don't think you know how much. I like the way your hair falls over your shoulders when you turn your head. I like the way your eyes sparkle when you laugh. I like the way you tease me, answering back to all my jokes. I like the way you see past all my masks to the real me. I like the way you can put me back together when I think I've broken for good.

"Most of all... I like you."

Sophie's lips didn't part with shock. Her eyes didn't widen in surprise.

Instead, she did what Keefe least expected.

She reached forward.

Cupped his cheeks.

And pressed her lips against his.

Fireworks.

Fireworks exploded in his brain, shooting sparks all over his body.

The kiss broke him.

Shattered him, then rebuilt him. Melted him down, and molded him into something new.

Sophie's hands were on his cheeks, and his fingers wove through her hair, her ponytail coming loose.

Their legs pressed together, every inch of contact sending a wave of warmth through his body. He was thrumming with energy, glowing with heat. He could climb a mountain, jump to the sky, run a thousand miles and never tire.

He was having the wildest adventure, but he was safe at home.

Their lips moved, synchronized, in tandem. They pressed closer and closer together until they were two parts of the same whole, finally complete. They had risen onto their knees.

Sophie broke away.

They were less than an inch apart.

Sophie's chest moved up and down in an uneven rhythm, and Keefe found his own doing the same, his breath catching as he looked into her eyes.

He didn't move.

Keefe untangled his fingers from her hair, but kept them there. Loose, so she could move away if she wanted... but still there.

Just in case she didn't.

Sophie stared back, her gaze filled with stars and light.

She didn't move either.

And then she did, stumbling back on her knees, falling onto her butt with a thump. She touched her finger to her lips. Softly. Hesitantly.

Keefe resisted doing the same.

"I-" Sophie's voice cracked, and she cleared her throat, a blush coloring her cheeks. "I... We just..."

"Kissed. Yeah," Keefe supplied breathlessly. "We just kissed."

"I guess... we did," Sophie said, equally breathless. "I- but- I only just broke up with Fitz. This is... don't you think he'll be mad?"

Keefe blew out a breath, tearing his hand through his hair. "Crap, Fitz. I... he might not be super happy about this?"

"You think?" Sophie managed a shaky smile. "I basically just did what he got mad at me for doing."

"Do you... regret it?" Keefe waited for her answer, which seemed to take years to arrive.

"Definitely not," Sophie responded, sounding so sure Keefe smiled. "But there are going to be a lot of consequences."

"Let's not think about consequences right now," Keefe said. "Can't we just be us, without worrying about other people?"