@Penguin4evar, your oneshot request for a Fitz oneshot!

Fitz had one friend all his life, and even though his family urged him to make more, he didn't feel the need to.

He and Keefe had bonded over the only thing they'd had in common at the time; loneliness. Keefe having skipped a grade, he was an outlier, and none of the other people in Fitz's grade seemed to feel any particular way about him.

Keefe was lonely when he was younger, because of the indifference of his peers.

Fitz, on the other hand, had no friends because he was never there. He heard the rumors about where he went, but he wasn't able to contradict them without revealing where he really went; and, of course, that was against the rules.

But Keefe was enough for Fitz. They got closer, and Keefe became friends with Biana, too; enough that she developed a crush, and they started avoiding her so they didn't hurt her feelings.

Yes, Keefe was his only friend for a while. For years, they would play base quest and tease and get to know each other so well that soon Fitz couldn't imagine his life without the blonde empath.

They grew more popular. Fitz didn't particularly want to make more friends; Keefe was plenty (sometimes even too much). But he had to- after all, he was a Vacker, and that meant lots of parties and dinners in which he would be required to meet up with a friend and get along. Keefe wasn't at some of those, and Fitz was forced to move along some friendly chitchat with his fellow prodigies.

They all seemed to swoon over him, but he'd rather avoid the attention.

Girls hung on his every word and giggled when he didn't much at all. They fluttered their eyelashes at him and blushed and preened and whispered about Fitz Vacker and his dreamy teal eyes, but he didn't pay them any attention.

He knew his friends weren't really his friends; more like followers, caught up in the wave of popularity that came by sitting at his table. Desperate for the 'power' that came with being friends with a Vacker.

Maybe they were also attracted by Keefe's teasing remarks and flirting comments. He noticed that Keefe's hair got more and more styled as they got older; his clothes got wrinkled, his sleeves started rolling up, and his shirts became untucked.

But Fitz stayed the same; perhaps he became more strict with his appearance. His hair was arranged perfectly, his clothes pressed, his smile bright and happy and perfect.

Because if he wasn't perfect, then he was simply Fitz, instead of the talented, popular Vacker that he was always expected to be. By his father, by his family, by his mentors, by the whole world.

The expectations simply never stopped. When he accomplished something (won an award, scored first place, made another 'friend', impressed one of his mentors) it was always replaced by another task, another hurdle, another hoop to jump through.

And on top of all of his school responsibilities, he had to search for the mystery girl, too.

Fitz wouldn't say his life was bad; after all, he had two loving parents and two siblings, he was popular and his family was powerful. But even though his life should have been perfect (just like he was supposed to be) it wasn't.

After all, happiness was subjective.

Because even though he had all of that, Fitz wasn't happy.

Maybe there was something wrong with him, because no one else seemed to have a problem with smiling genuinely and laughing (god, he never laughed outside of his family or Keefe) or being normal.

Keefe had his low points, but he was always back up and normal and laughing and bright again, Fitz couldn't understand how he bounced back so quickly. Maybe it was because with Fitz, his low mood was perpetual; but it wasn't normal, and no one understood it.

So he swallowed the sadness (the expectations, the pressure) back and pretended to be happy.

Until Sophie came, and suddenly Fitz's world was filled with more happiness than he cared to admit.

It wasn't an absolute change, of course. His real smiles came in fits and starts, and he still found himself flashing his fake one and obsessing over his looks and popularity and what people might think if they saw him sitting with the strange new girl with the brown eyes-

But he shoved those thoughts away, and simply allowed himself to laugh.

Her arrival was followed by more friends. Dex and Marella and Linh and Tam came into his life too, and Fitz suddenly understood why people said you can't love too much or too many.

Slowly, he healed. Sealing in the cracks that were caused by the weight on his shoulders, shifting into a new version of himself that was more him than the first one.

Sometimes, he splintered, and his emotions spewed out of him. Usually in the form of anger and fury.

But he forged new patches for those cracks in his persona. With tiny little openings where he could sometimes (not always, but occasionally) allow his true feelings through.

And Fitz was happy.

So yeah, there was that. As you probably know by now, I love Fitz so much. He is amazing and I will protect him with my life.

This was not proofread, I'm too lazy for that as always

Tell me if you liked it, the platonic Sophitz is on its way!