a/n: a thousand apologies for this extremely late update ! we've approached the end of part III, which is pretty exciting. I'm so stoked for part IV. but first, let's finish our little fedex fairytale 3

DEX DIZZNEE

Okay, where is he?

Waves of agitation crash over me as I pace behind the front doors of Rimeshire, the floor no doubt wearing beneath my feet. I glance at the clock every two seconds, biting my lip. Is he okay? Will his dad kick him out? Man, I'm so stupid. I shouldn't have let him do this. What if he gets hurt; what if his parents say we can't be together; what if -

A soft thump sounds from behind the door and I jolt towards it, throwing it open. A flash of dark hair and bright teal blurs my vision and suddenly I'm launched into the warm embrace of my boyfriend. I can hear his heartbeat and ragged breathing, and in panic I look up and search his eyes, his eyes of teal.

He's smiling.

"You're okay," I breathe in relief, burying my face in his shoulder. He laughs, his chest rising and falling, and I can feel him nod.

"You're okay," I repeat, smiling as well. "You're okay. You're okay. We're okay."

"Of course I am," Fitz replies, pulling back to grin at me. "Why wouldn't I be? I can take care of myself, y'know."

"Hmmph. Duh. I know that." I turn away. "I just … worried. I guess you wouldn't know. It's a poor elf thing."

I feel Fitz staring at me, and I resist the urge to laugh, hoping he knew I was kidding. There was a pause, and then at the same moment, we burst out laughing.

"That was a really low joke," Fitz tells me. I smirk.

"I know."

"DEXY HAS A BOOOYFRIEND!"

"What the-" I turn to face the triplets, who run down the hall with little rainbows painted on their faces, grinning and pointing at us. Heat spreads across my face and to the tips of my ears.

"Knock it off," I mumble, stepping out of the doorway into Rimeshire. "Come on in, Fitz …"

Fitz walks into the house and closes the door.

"DEXY HAS A BOOOOOOOOOYFRIEND!" the triplets chorus, screeching to a stop in front of Fitz. Bex stands on her tiptoes and looks up into his eyes.

"You better treat Dex well, or we're gonna get you," she warns.

Fitz grins slightly, pink rushing into his cheeks.

"Don't worry; I will," he replies, winking at me. My brain goes fuzzy. How can one elf contain so much cute energy?

The triplets giggle and walk off, making kissy gestures at me. I roll my eyes.

"So … how did it go with your parents?" I ask when they're out of sight. Fitz's grin widens.

"Guess what? My dad is bi," he says, laughing a little. "He's bi, Dex! He was just … he felt guilty that both of his kids 'turned out gay.'"

I gape at him, stunned.

"Well …" I draw out the word when I can finally speak. "That's a major plot twist."

"Yep!" Fitz reaches out and grabs my hand, sending sparks through my body. "Let's go tell your parents!"

"Whoa, okay!" I manage, stomach lurching as I follow him. But I have no reason to be nervous, right?

Yes, actually. I do. My parents will fangirl worse than the triplets.

"Hey, Mom, hey, Dad," I say, waving awkwardly to my parents when we reach their office. Fitz's fingers are still entwined with mine, and my entire body is aware of it.

"Hi …" Mom glanced at Fitz and smirked. "Dex and Fitz!"

"What's this I see?" Dad studies us like a science experiment. "Dex plus Fitz equals love?"

"DAD!" I yelp, certain that my face was redder than Sophie's has ever been. Fitz laughs. Okay, that's one cute laugh.

"Sounds about right, Mr. Dizznee," he replies coolly. Dad beams at him.

"That's Kesler to you! You're family now!" Dad winks at me.

"Yo, we haven't even announced it yet!" I complain. My entire company laughs. Traitors.

"We can see it in your eyes," Mom explains, still chuckling. "And the hand-holding might clue us in a little."

I facepalm with my free hand. Fitz tilts his head to smile at me.

"Now, Fitz, would you like to stay for dinner? Boyfriend traditions?" Mom suggests. Fitz's smile widens and my blush gets even deeper.

"Sure, I'll just check with my mom with my Imparter," he says. "If yes, I'll even make dessert!"

The dessert was the best I've ever had.

The next day, it takes exactly 0.0001 seconds for Keefe to fangirl over us.

"FITZY HAS A BOOOOOYFRIEND!" he singsongs the moment he sees us together. Apparently he and the triplets have the same mindset.

"Shut up," Fitz complains, but he's smiling. Linh steps out from behind Keefe, eyeing us with her bright eyes.

"Fitz and Dex?" she squeals, delighted. "That's adorable!"

"Did I just hear 'Fitz and Dex?'" Marella walks up to us, her eyebrows raised. "Huh." She glances at Linh for a heartbeat before returning to studying us.

"Called it," Biana says from behind us. I turn to face the Vanisher, hand-in-hand with her girlfriend. Sophie beams at me.

"Dex! I'm so proud of you!" she exclaims, letting go of Biana to throw her arms around my neck in a signature Sophie strangle-hug. I gasp for breath and pat her back in reassurance. Biana appears beside her brother and pinches his nose.

Fitz's expression is too cute for its own good.

( I don't remember squat about Foxfire, so let's assume they have PE first block. I vaguely recall that everybody has that class together, and that they played the splotching thing. lmao, correct me if you can … apologies for your foolish fanfic writer ! )

After the fangirling session, we all head for PE. Sophie and Biana swing their hands back and forth, sharing their mutual dread of PE, while Keefe, Marella, and Linh walk behind them. Fitz and I take up the rear, but as we turn the corner, Fitz stops me.

"I hate PE," he says. I glance at him.

"Same!"

"Wanna skip?"

I stare at him for a good five seconds.

"Wonderboy, Prince of Perfect, a Vacker - skipping class?" I marvel when I can finally find my words. Fitz flushes. We seem to be doing that a lot lately.

"I mean … yeah," he mutters. "Whatever. I just … kinda want to?"

"Is Keefe rubbing off on you?" I ask suspiciously. Fitz shrugs.

"I dunno. Do you want to skip with me?"

This should sound bad and Keefe-y, but I find it oddly adorable and romantic. And my heart skips a couple of beats.

"Why not?" I reply finally. We grin at each other and without another word, race down the hall.

We sit outside in the grass. There's nobody out here but us, so the soft whisper of wind and grass is the only sound. We plop down onto the hard earth, giggling to each other.

"This feels way more rebellious then it should," I say, and Fitz nods emphatically.

"Kinda feel guilty, but oh well," he admits, leaning his head on my shoulder. His soft brown hair tickles my ear. I turn my head and nervously press my lips to that blanket of dark hair and quickly dart away, wondering if that was a dumb move.

Fitz just smiles again.

I don't know how long we sit there in comfortable silence, our minds slowly processing the very fast events that had passed within a few days. It's quite a lot, after all. As Keefe would say, we are experiencing a "gay revolution."

"Whoa," Fitz blurts suddenly. I look at him. He points in front of us, towards the gymnasium.

"What?"

Fitz sniffs the air and points again. "Is that … smoke?"

a/n: any ideas about smoke ? ;)

anyways, that was … kinda bad? but it marks the end of this part! woohoo! time for marellinh :D