-Sophie was going nuts. She didn't know how much more of this planning for her winnowing gala she could take. She was sitting outside with her mom, Biana, and Della, who were all arguing over color swatches, napkins, drapes, bases, and other things that Sophie didn't care about. Papers and color samples were littered around in the grass and Sophie's butt was starting to hurt.

They had been going at it for hours to the point where she just zoned out. She didn't even really want this gala, fancy events and all of the Elvin world's attention on her made her nervous. Fitz believed she could do it, but- that was it! Sophie could talk to her cognate telepathically and actually have a good time at this meeting.

"Help," she begged Fitz over their mental bond, "they're arguing about spoons."

"What do you need me to do?" Fitz asked, "I'm helping dad go through some black swan documents that might help us against the Neverseen."

"Really? But haven't you guys already gone through those?" Sophie asked, wondering why Alden would submit his son to such a tedious and pointless task seeing that the documents were all about project moonlark from when Sophie was still in the Forbidden cities.

"Yeah, but my dad's restless. The Neverseen haven't made a move on a while," Fitz explained casually, and for a few moments Sophie saw through Fitz's eyes. She saw papers and files sprawled out across the dining room table with Alden across the table, picking some up, then putting them down again. It made her smile, but she supposed that was because she was seeing the world through the eyes of someone she loved. She was snapped back into the world around her when she heard her cognate's voice ring in her head, "Sophie?"

"Yeah, I'm still here. Sorry, I just sort of slipped and saw through your eyes."

Fitz's laugh rumbled through their mental connection, and it made Sophie have to stifle her own so the three party planners wouldn't notice she wasn't paying attention at all, and only nodding when they shoved something in her face with the automated response of, "but I think all the ideas are great, you guys choose." It kind of fed the bear but it have Sophie time to talk to Fitz, who informed her dutifully, "My dad heard me laughing and asked what was so funny, and I didn't have a good excuse so I told him I read 'pumpernickel' instead of productive. I don't even know what a pumpernickel is, and now he won't stop looking at me weirdly."

"It's a kind of bread in the human world."

"Really? I thought I had just made up a new word."

She couldn't help but giggle quietly, but luckily, no one noticed, "No, sorry."

"Ready for telepathy tomorrow? It's the final week before review."

"I can't believe it's so soon..."

"Me either," admitted Fitz, "but I'm excited. We'll finally officially be cognates."

"I know," she replied breathlessly, even though her thoughts couldn't breathe (telepathy and feelings together are weird). Though physically, Sophie hadn't taken in any oxygen since the words 'We'll finally officially be cognates' rang through her mind. "We're so close yet so far..."

"We'll get through the trials," Fitz said telepathically, passion and truth dripping from every word like candle wax, finally landing in it's candelabrum, warming the cool metal, warming Sophie's heart. "And then you're stuck with me for the rest of our lives!"

The very thought of having her soul forever intertwined with Fitz's seemed too good to be true, because even if she never told Fitz how she felt, even if he never got over his crush who she never learned the name of, even if he never loved her romantically, they'd still have... this. This easiness between then, this safe spot- a home base if you will. This feeling of home resting in two teal eyes just for her. This equal respect and footing, the way their souls fit perfectly side by side. They would get through the cognate trials together, no matter what. They had to if they wanted to protect this... feeling? Connection? This thing-whatever it may be- between them, even though just the thought of Fitz with some other girl made her sick to her stomach.

"I don't think I could ever be 'stuck' with you. You're the best," Sophie transmitted brilliantly. The best at what? Sadly, that was exactly what he asked, in a tone that she couldn't identify as curiosity nor smugness- maybe instead some weird hybrid? "I don't know, just in general," Sophie answered, through still wasn't satisfied. Before Fitz could reply, she sent him a memory of them dancing at Biana's winnowing Gala. Then a memory of picking out the little purple dinosaur statue all those years ago. Then a memory of him holding her. Then a memory of him laughing at some joke she told at lunch one day. She sent him memory after memory until she tried to think of another one, the continuous stream finally faltering enough for Fitz to send her a memory. It felt like he flipped the hourglass and his memories were falling down on her now. Walking through Mysterium. Laying in the grass at Moonglade. The telepathy session when she first started opening up to him. A time when she saved his butt, a time when he saved hers. After a few more, he transmitted 3 words that each made her heart skip a beat, "So are you."

Before Sophie could reply, Biana pulled her out of their mental connection, waving two shades of the same red in her face demanding which one looked better for drapes while Della and Edaline each waved two more but in tablecloths and glow worms. She tried to give answers which only lead to more multi level arguing. She stood and took a few steps away, only to be followed. The stress of her winnowing gala crashed down on her now that she didn't have a distraction, and she needed an escape plan.

Like a blessing from above, there was a flash of light in front of her and she could feel warm fingers lacing with hers as the snap reverberated in her ears, a pathfinder between a pair their hands. Sophie looked up to see Fitz looking back at the party planners with a smirk, winking before warm light surrounded them, whisking them away. She tried to focus on her concentration instead of her pounding heart and blushing cheeks, though she knew that Fitz had wrapped some of his around her. When the light faded, they were on the crummy human beach that lead to Atlantis, their hands still together.

"Sorry about that, but after our connection broke, I looked through your eyes and thought you needed saving," Fitz said sheepishly, shrugging slightly, a guilty smile spread across his face as he avoided her eyes.

"My hero," laughed Sophie, "but why here?"

"I figured we could walk a little ways, explore a little, and be able to relax in the sand away from people, paper, and fabric swatches," Fitz's teal eyes met hers and she smiled wider, which seemed to boost his confidence about all this.

"Sounds good."

"Yeah?" He asked, an eyebrow raised, as if he were unsure.

"Yeah," said Sophie as she let go of one of his hands, and they started walking. Why wouldn't she be fine with this? It was better than freaking out over color differences and preferences. Besides, there was a certain romance in being whisked off by the boy you love to a random location for a little adventure.

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+Biana was exhausted by the time she got home, and flopped back onto her bed. She had to argue with Edaline and Della to keep them from making the event super duper /uber/ fancy like hers had been, knowing that all the luxury made Sophie uncomfortable, and that her friend wasn't going to advocate for herself. Sophie Foster-Ruwen could fight an evil rebel group no problem, but when it came to big fancy parties and romance... heh. She did feel bad for scaring Sophie off, though also glad that she got to go off to who knows where with Fitz. She and Dex were convinced that the two of them were secretly dating, even though they both denied it.

Speaking of Dex, when Biana wasn't party planning, she was thinking of that periwinkle eyed boy and the way they danced at the winnowing gala. If she concentrated really hard, she could almost feel fingers brushing against her waist and his hand holding hers tenderly. She had lost count of the number of times she had dreamed of the two of them dancing like that in the past two weeks since her Gala. It didn't help that she saw him almost every day.

They had been going out and trying different restaurants, parks, beaches, cities, Meadows, just laughing, talking, sometimes eating or exploring, and all in all enjoying one another's company, sometimes bringing the triplets along, who asked if they were dating yet, to which they always denied shyly. Actually, lots of people commented that they had either mistaken the two of them to be a couple, or that that thought they'd be a good one- but usually both. So to spare themselves from those embarrassing moments, they tended to stick to the places without people. Even though Biana didn't want to admit it, he was acting more like a boyfriend than Keefe was.

She hadn't spoken to him since before her Gala, and had trouble remembering what their last conversation was, which bothered her because she knew exactly what she and Dex last talked about. She had tried to reach out to her boyfriend almost every day through his imparter or through her brother trying telepathically, or by visiting Candleshade to find it without any fellow elves other than the piece of trash that is Mr. Sencen, who didn't know where Keefe was either.

Even though she had no success, Biana didn't give up. They needed to talk. He had to have a good reason for missing her Winnowing Gala... he had to. If he didn't... even though it broke her heart to even think of this... she didn't think she could stay with him.

Dex had discussed this topic with her, and was helping her come to terms with the idea of Keefe actually being a spy for the Neverseen after all. The Keefe she knew wouldn't have missed her winnowing gala for the world, no matter what, so maybe he was different after all. For this matter she had taken comfort in Dex's arms, his eyes, his smile- she shouldn't be thinking about him like this, in this... dreamy manner. Keefe was being a terrible boyfriend- if she could even call him that anymore- yes, but until they worked everything out, it was unknown if she would be single or not.

Biana suddenly felt dirty, like she had cheated, even though she hadn't, and pulled a pillow over her face as if to block out thoughts of freckles splayed against smiling cheeks and the whisper of a laugh from her memory- AGH! She was doing it again! Why was she even doing this? Why was he invading all of her thoughts? He was so good, yes, and good looking too- STOP! She threw the pillow off her face and it hit the wall next to her. She grunted, annoyed, and rolled over so she was on her stomach and pulled the pillow over her head again, groaning because nothing was working. She still kept thinking about Dex!

She decided that it was best to go to sleep. She closed her eyes and counted in her head, "one... two... three... hey Dex has three siblings- DANG IT! Four... five... six.. oh Dex danced my sixth dance with- AGH! Seven..." she didn't fall asleep until somewhere after 237, and she didn't stop thinking of Dex even when sleeping. When she woke up, a question haunted her for the rest of the day: did she like like Dex?