Fitz

Fitz was in utter shock.

Unfortunately, he soon learned that there was no time for being shocked.

Sophie Foster—aka the love of his life—had just singlehandedly (with a little bit of help from his mom, sister, and Edaline) taken down a good chunk of the Neverseen, apologized for lying, and casually walked off.

Gosh, he loved her for it.

Sophie wasn't just special—she was incredible.

Thoughts ran through his head a million miles an hour, but Fitz shook them off.

Sophie had worked hard to get this far. He was going to help her finish it.

As he walked beside Grady (who wore a broad, proud smile on his face) Fitz looked around.

Elves, dwarves, goblins, even ogres were herded in a group heading back to their respective homes. Biana, Della, the twins, and Edaline had all gone with Sophie and the Councillors. Fitz had promised Sophie he would get them all back safe, so he was keeping an eye on their surroundings.

Grady nudged him. "Sophie was pretty great back there, huh?" He was now flashing one of those troublemaker smirks—that Fitz knew all too well, spending much of his time with Keefe.

A blush spread across his cheeks and the tips of his ears. "Yeah. Er—so you were in on it the entire time?"

Grady nodded. "I guess Sophie realized that she would've been locked in her room for the rest of eternity if I had been clueless."

Fitz agreed. But he knew there was one more thing. He'd seen Grady in action, controlling the minds of other beings, and it wasn't his most pleasant memory.

Of course, Fitz kept these thoughts to himself. He needed Grady on his good side, considering he seemed to be very concerned with Sophie's love life.

Grady's smile eventually faded to a calm, satisfied expression, as if the future was set in stone and there were no complications.

Fitz hated to ruin it, but he knew this conversation had to happen.

"Hey, um, Grady?"

Grady looked at him quizzically.

Fitz drew in a long, deep breath. "Sophie did do amazing today, you're right. I—I wanted to talk to you about that. I know it's been crazy lately, and I haven't been able to reach out to you. But…I really, really like your daughter. And I just wanted to make sure you're okay with that. That you're okay with her returning the feelings." Fitz mentally facepalmed. Why couldn't he just say it? He glanced at Grady, who was raising an eyebrow and seemed to be holding back a laugh. "I wanted to get your permission to date her."

There. He said it. Now all he needed was an answer. He kept his gaze directed at the ground as he waited patiently.

Much to Fitz's surprise, Grady placed a hand on his shoulder.

Fitz looked up in mild surprise.

Grady shook his head, a small but sad smile on his face. "I remember when Brant came to me with those exact words. The young man was completely lovesick. At the time, I felt honored. Honored to see Jolie affecting someone like that. Brant…Brant became blinded by his love for her though. And…well, you know how that turned out. And then, Sophie showed up. She's something special, Fitz. She really is."

Fitz smiled slightly in agreement.

"I don't want what happened to Jolie to happen to Sophie. She doesn't deserve that."

Fitz reached up to touch Grady's hand. "And neither did Jolie."

Grady made eye contact, and Fitz held it.

"You really like her, don't you?"

"I…well, I think I love her."

Grady nodded slowly. "I will give you my assent."

Fitz nodded solemnly, biting back a whoop of triumph. He knew Grady wasn't done.

"But."

There it was.

"I'm not going to repeat. I won't let it happen again." Grady's voice broke slightly. "If you start to spiral, if what happened to Brant happens to you, don't drag her down with you. I expect you to step away. Let her go." He grasped both of Fitz's shoulders, a gaze as hard as stone aimed at him. "Promise me. Don't make the same mistake I did."

Fitz began to protest, to tell Grady that none of it had been his fault, but Grady cut him off.

"Just promise me."

Fitz didn't back down. He wanted this. And he wanted Sophie happy. Not to mention alive.

"I swear. On my life. I won't make the same mistake Brant did. I will protect her with my life. And I will try my hardest to keep her happy. And if it does start to go wrong…I will let her go."

The two held eye contact for a moment longer.

Finally, Grady nodded, satisfied. "You are one lucky guy," he muttered as they continued walking.

"I sure am," Fitz agreed.

Eventually, Grady pushed to the front of the large group, and Fitz feel back with Dex and Keefe.

"Hey."

Keefe smirked. "Finally decided to join us, huh, Fitzy?"

Dex had his hands in his pocket. "It's about time," he muttered, but Fitz didn't detect any of the usual remorse in his tone. It was a snarky remark, something Keefe would have said.

"I was a little busy," Fitz defended, but he was smiling.

"Sophie really gave us a scare," Dex said.

"You're telling me," Keefe murmured.

Fitz looked over at his best friend, surveying the damage. A small cut, more of a slice, made its way across Keefe's throat. Dried blood surrounded it, but Fitz knew from experience that it wasn't bad.

"Did either of you have any idea that Bo…?" Fitz trailed off.

"Not a clue," Dex answered as Keefe shook his head.

"I don't think Sophie even knew," he said.

Fitz nodded in agreement. "How're you feeling?"

Keefe raised an eyebrow, glancing down at his fresh cut. "It's not that bad. Just like a super-sized paper cut. Elwin'll fix me right up."

Fitz shook his head. "I was talking about Gisela. She said some pretty careless things."

Keefe gave him an incredulous look. "You suddenly care because-?"

Fitz sighed. "I'm sorry I've been so selfish lately. To both of you. I didn't realize how much harder you both have had it. Keefe with your mom, and quite a few other things," he smiled weakly, "and Dex, you with things like the shock of your mom, and…other things." Fitz knew exactly what those other things were, but he didn't voice it. It wouldn't do Dex any good.

Dex's ears turned slightly pink. "You've had it pretty rough, too. I guess we all have. It's not your fault. It's not like I stopped to ask you about all that Alvar incident. Though I did try…" he trailed off.

Fitz's mouth unhinged the smallest bit. But it turned into a sheepish smile. "Yeah…uh, sorry about that too."

Keefe abruptly threw his arms around Fitz and Dex. "Look at that! You're so cute when you apologize."

Fitz shook his head again, but didn't move away from Keefe.

He was next to his two best friends, and everything was looking up.

The three of them walked over the hill, smiling like idiots, soaking in the beauty of the starry sky of the night.

Fitz wondered what Sophie was up to. His smile grew wider, and a spark of love ignited in his chest.

He was on his way to see her.