It was one of those rare days where the group decided to get together and hang out. As the years went by Sophie had realized that a lot of their childhood had been stolen from them as they tried to stop a war. By the time everything started to calm down and become peaceful again, Keefe and Fitz had already graduated. Sophie, Biana, and Dex were finishing up their final days at Foxfire and their lives had never really returned to the normal they once knew.

Well, Sophie had never really gotten used to going to Foxfire but she hadn't been looking forward to figuring out what to do with the rest of her endless life.

They had less time to hang out together. With their jobs and separate apartments, they moved their lives forwards. That didn't mean they grew apart, they still had Sunday dinners together to make sure they saw each other around the busy weeks, but it was very different from seeing each other every day as kids. Stuck in their permanent twenties they made lives for themselves, and Sophie wanted to make sure they still got to experience the fun they missed while fighting.

Well, it wasn't all her.

Keefe had been pretty excited when she prompted the idea so of course, he started to tell her about all the fun things elves did in their free time. Before she knew it they were all going to crazy places and trying weird foods. They showed her their holidays and she found herself beginning to understand what it meant to be an elf, to be a part of their culture. While certain traditions still went against her upbringing, like matchmaking scrolls and fashion differences for the talented and untalented, she started to feel like she belonged.

But this weekend was her turn to pick so she decided to bring them to the beach.

Fitz and Dex immediately ran into the ocean to see who could hold their breath longer, Biana sat on a towel to tan, and Lihn was reading under an umbrella making sure to splash Tam every time he got close to the water's edge.

Sophie wanted to make a sandcastle and Keefe hung back to chat with her before going swimming himself. The day was nice, the sun was warm and the sea breeze kept them cool. Sophie was wearing a red one-piece and some black sunglasses that she had stolen from Keefe after realizing how sunny it was. Keefe was wearing pink swim trunks and while they hadn't been at the beach longer than maybe ten minutes, his hair was already full of sand.

"Hey, Foster?" Keefe inquired after watching her build for a while, "What exactly are you building? No offense but it doesn't really look much like a castle if you're asking me".

Sophie huffed, "It may not be up to Elven standards but I think it looks beautiful". To be fair, she hadn't built a sandcastle in years so the lumpy tower shape in front of her wasn't even close to any building she had seen, Elven or Human.

Keefe smirked, "It's okay Foster, you can't be good at everything." He pushed some sand against a pillar that had started to fall. She gave him the stink eye and he laughed, laying back down so his head was facing her while she tried to fix what she could.

Sophie let out a frustrated sigh and laid down near him, giving up on her creation.

"You're cute when you're frustrated you know that?" Keefe said, giving her a full Sencen smile. He rolled towards her, covering himself in sand, and put his forehead against hers.

"Oh really," Sophie smirked, "Then I guess the only way to get back at you is to stop being cute". She stood up and walked towards the water, barely wading in before Keefe caught up.

"Foster you can't stop being cute, that's like asking iggy not to snore. Impossible."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and turned her towards him.

"Nothing you do could ever make me stop loving you, Sophie."

This was a whisper meant only for her ears. She leaned into him and smiled, brushing her thumb against his cheek.

"I love y-"

They were cut off as a wave crashed into them, flinging them backward. Sputtering Keefe looked in bewilderment as Sophie gave Lihn a stern face.

"What? You two were getting too cozy. This is supposed to be group hangout, not the FosterKeefe show!" Lihn said with an innocent smile as Biana laughed.

Keefe, finally clued in on what happened, narrowed his eyes and helped Sophie up, pulling her in close, and kissed her firmly on the lips.

"How's that for the FosterKeefe show!" He yelled after they broke apart and Sophie laughed.

Lihn rolled her eyes but smiled as she went back to her book.

"She's right though," Sophie murmured. "When are you free this week? Let's have a proper date night."

Keefe gave her a megawatt smile, "How about Thursday night? That sound good?"

"Thursday's fine," Sophie replied, suspicious of Keefe. "Why the big smile?"

"What big smile, this is how I always smile!"

She narrowed her eyes, "Yeah, okay..." but let it go.

"Let's play Marco Polo!" Fitz yelled as he finally came up for air.

"Beat you! Did everyone see that! I beat Golden Boy!" Dex yelled, popping up after him.

Fitz rolled his eyes, "No I just got bored and wanted to do something else."

"Yeah, sure wonderboy."

"I'll play Marco Polo," Lihn announced and everyone followed suit. The game was long as everyone's abilities made it nearly impossible to play fairly, so when the sun started to set they ended the game and packed up to go home. Sophie teleported everyone back and they said their goodbyes as they all headed home for the week.

When Thursday came around Sophie was suddenly anxious at what Keefe had in mind for their date. He wanted it to be a surprise and told her to meet him at his apartment at seven. Usually, their dates were pretty straightforward, no surprises, but she could tell something was off.

As she stepped to his door, wiping her feet on the lovely 'Do the truffle shuffle' doormat, and knocked. There was a series of bangs and harsh words as she heard Keefe run to get the door.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, keep the door suspiciously closed against him so she could only see his head peek out. "Come on in!"

As the door opened wider she saw his apartment filled with pink and red. Hearts, roses, chocolates, and streamers were everywhere. In the middle was his kitchen table, all set up with candles and folded napkins.

This explained his text that asked her to wear red.

"Keefe," she muttered in awe, "What is all this?"

"Well," he said as a blush rose to his cheeks, "I had asked Dex for some human movies to watch to, you know, know more about the life you grew up with and in one of them they celebrated Valentine's day. So I looked it up and saw it was a holiday all about love so I thought you might want to, well, spend Valentine's day with me."

"Oh, Keefe! That is the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you!"

Sophie hugged him as tight as she could. Her heart was beating a hundred miles a minute and she knew he could feel everything she felt for him at that moment.

"Foster," he whispered as they pulled away from the hug. "I know I joke around a lot and I've told you how I feel so many times but I wanted to let you know that you can always depend on me and that I'll always be there for you. You have been there for me in all my dark moments, you have given me hope. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I don't know where I would be if I hadn't run into you in that hallway that day. You make me laugh, you make me smile, you make me live life. I love you Sophie Foster and I never want to wake up without you by my side. So Sophie Foster," he pulled out something from his pocket, and for a brief moment she panicked and wondered if he was going to propose at the ripe age of 21, "Will you move in with me?"

Sophie let out a small breath and smiled at him, "Of course I'll move in with you!" They kissed and Sophie started to laugh.

Keefe smirked, "I just poured my heart out to you and you're laughing!"

Sophie giggled, "I was just thinking about what movies you must have been watching. I don't even know what to think you know about humans now."

Keefe bit his lip, "Okay well I know that they aren't all accurate but I also have no idea. Like 'The Avengers'? Seems a little silly to me, you are stronger than half of them alone with all your powers. '10 things I hate about you' made me want to go to a college party because that seems like an awesome time I hope those are real. Oh!" he exclaimed.

She gave him a funny look, "What?"

"You are totally a Jedi by the way with your telekinesis and telepathy."

She laughed, "Sure Keefe."

They sat down and enjoyed their first Valentine's day together. Sophie explained more about human holidays and they made a list of all the movies they wanted to see together. After dinner was finished they started making plans on when they wanted to move and how they were going to tell Grady. That was going to be one conversation that Sophie was not looking forward to. But when the day was finished and she laid in bed with Keefe in her arms she knew there was no place she'd rather be.