the next day started out like any other. dex woke up, stumbled to his desk, & promptly fell back asleep while tinkering with an old gadget which had never quite done what it was supposed to. he woke up after around an hour with intense neck pain, grabbed a bag & stuffed the gadget in it (sometimes he liked to tinker while eating), & promptly (though reluctantly) wandered to breakfast.

that's when it started getting strange. because fitz—fitz fucking vacker!—was sitting in the kitchen.

next to kesler?

was this some sort of matchmaking scheme?

dex! kesler cried, relief coloring his words. (what the hell was going on?) fitz here, uh, stopped by to see you. i'm going to head out...

he promptly sprinted away. what had fitz been doing?

um, hey, fitz said quietly, once kesler appeared to have vanished. can we go to your bedroom?

dex could pretty much feel his eyes bugging out of his head. i- excuse me?

now fitz was blushing. no! not like- not like that. oh god. unless you... want it to be like-

literally just shut up. dex pressed his lips together. why are you here? i thought you wanted to redeem your vacker legacy or some b.s. like that?

i did, fitz mumbled. i really fucked up. i just . . . god. can we please talk privately?

dex opened his mouth to agree, & then he stopped. why should he give in to fitz? he'd done literally nothing to deserve that. so instead he said, voice prickly, why? are you planning on saying shit you don't want anyone else to hear? cause in that case, i don't want to either.

fitz stared intently at the ground. dex realized distantly, as though he was watching the situation instead of living it, that fitz hadn't made eye contact with him the entire time.

he sat down in the chair next to fitz. why were you with my dad?

now fitz laughed. a forced laugh. oh. i, um. he let me in. i think i woke him up, but he wanted to be polite, so he stayed with me instead of going back to sleep. i felt kinda bad.

silence.

dex looked away. it hurt too much to meet fitz's gaze, to think about what might have been. right. i think you should go, he said quietly.

no, fitz said, & there was something in his word that made dex look up. his hair was a mess, & his teal eyes were red & bloodshot, as if he hadn't slept in a week. & his lips... dex couldn't look at his lips. please. please just let me talk.

& dex loved fitz so much.

& he hated him.

fuck you, wonderboy. do you realize what an asshole you are? he threw down his bag & stood up. how do i know this is even real? you're always making me think you actually like me, but then you just go back to sophie like nothing even happened between us! you pretend biana doesn't even exist, & at first i thought it was because you were disgusted, but really you're just scared! you're scared because your little goddamn sister is braver than you'll ever be. she's brave enough to be with the girl she loves, & you just care about that fucking vacker legacy. he clenched his hands into fists. you're not just hurting me, either. sophie actually likes you, you know. & i can't tell if you genuinely want to be with me or what, but she's not just a perfect girlfriend plastic cutout you can run back to so no one suspects anything. she has feelings. & fuck, fitz. so do i.

fitz's lips were scabbed & swollen. he looked broken. & dex couldn't look away. but he forced his mouth open anyway.

if you want to kiss boys, kiss boys, & if you want to kiss girls, kiss girls, & i don't give a shit if you're bi or pan or what but don't just kiss people cause you think you have to. yes, there will always be eyes on you, but that doesn't mean you have to hide who you are. people might hate you, but i think maybe it's worth it. maybe, just maybe, it's worth it to actually love freely, not to mention to get back your sister & best friend. maybe, just maybe, it's worth it to be, & here his voice cracked, to be with me?

fitz pushed his hair back. fuck, dex. fuck. i'm so sorry. i've been really, really horrible. but i do love you, dex. & i want to be with you.

there was a soft part of dex that wanted to melt at the words, but his mind reminded him that this might be another game. so, bitterly, he forced out, what about your legacy?

& here fitz looked straight at dex, & his eyes were teal rivers, & they were strong & soft & honest. they can have my legacy, he said softly. all i need is you.

yeah?

i broke up with sophie.

dex gave a start. that hadn't been high on the list of things he'd expected fitz to say. what? when?

um. fitz began to tap his fingers on the table, back to avoiding dex's gaze. she hailed me yesterday. said she wanted me to be honest with her? she said, uh. that you talked to her. i don't know what you said. i don't think you told her cause she would have said something, wouldn't she? so thanks. for that. um. she was mad that i hadn't done it sooner if i really never cared about her. that's what she said.

dex bit his lip. you were a dick to her.

yeah. a pause. his fingers kept drumming. i don't know why it took me so long to figure that out. people make mistakes, i guess?

dex smiled, a little. you're particularly good at that. making mistakes.

yeah. fitz stood up suddenly, took a step forward, around the bag still lying on the floor. i've been hoping to fix that, actually.

& he leaned in to kiss him.

a/n: iSTG I WENT FROM TRYING NOT TO CURSE AT ALL IN BOOK ONE UNTIL LIKE EVERY OTHER WORD HERE. & UM BOOK FOUR MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE A CURSE WORD™ IN THE HECCIN TITLE SOOOO

anyway! what did you think? it took another month but idk man y'all were nice about it last time so i didn't feel as pressured to write it ig. what do you think is going to happen in the last chapter? are you happy with what just happened? unhappy? are you still mad at fitz? spill the teaaaaaaa

vote & comment, guys! don't be a silent reader hehe. also, the time has come once again to guess the title, this time of the fourth book, which is sophella! i just gave you a hint-- pair that with the "has legacy in it" and you're all set. if someone manages to guess it, you get a shoutout in the next chapter hehehe.

okay now reread that last line and go read the next chapter !! (unless it's not posted yet, in which case go read something else. or shower me with love) have a great day xx