Chapter Text
The first paragraph of this fic is Shannon Messenger’s words leading up to the “---“, after this it is my writing. You should be able to tell the difference 😊
“Maybe… it’s time for a trust exercise,” Sophie decided after what felt like an eternity.
“I’m not a Telepath,” Dex mumbled miserably.
“No,” Sophie said, “but you’re my best friend. And this is important.” Nerves tangled up in her throat as an idea took shape – one of those all-in kinds of plans that could too easily backfire into a nightmare of unparalleled proportions.
“I think,” she said slowly, “that there’s a really easy way to settle this – once and for all.”
“Settle what?” Dex asked.
“That’s where the trust comes in,” she said. “Close your eyes.”
“Why?”
She put her hands on her hips, tapping one foot until he obeyed.
“Fine, my eyes are closed now, happy?”
“Terrified” was a better description.
But one final look at the crush cuffs had Sophie taking a slow step forward. Then another.
She could do this. She just had to think of it as … an experiment. And maybe she was a little curious.
“What are you doing?” Sex asked as she closed the last of the distance between them.
“Just testing something.”
She found herself marvelling again at how much taller he was than the boy she’d first met, and took one deep breath for courage – then another to steady her nerves.
When she couldn’t stall any longer, she tilted up on her toes and leaned in, lingering a hairsbreadth away, so he’d have the option of pushing her back if he wanted.
He didn’t.
So she closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his.
---
Instantly she felt him jump against her, their noses bumped a bit, and she broke off hurriedly. Her plan hadn’t worked, they hadn’t even-
Her internal monologue was interrupted by a soft hand in her hair, pushing it back behind her ear.
She looked up at Dex, who smiled shyly at her, he nodded at her – he knew what she was trying to do, and suddenly she was filled with such an overwhelming relief, that she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.
She felt her heart beating in sync with his, and realised she was slightly breathless, had this ever happened before?
She pulled back to look at Dex again, taking in his periwinkle eyes and freckles and dimples and-
Oh.
She felt something change in her as she stared at this boy, her best friend, and wondered how she could’ve possibly been so blind.
Dex didn’t say anything, just let her stare, smiling slightly at her, it made her heart leap. He was being so patient; she could kiss him for it. She really could.
This time when she leaned in, Dex was ready, he put his hand back on her cheek, and tangled hers in his strawberry blonde hair, and this time when their lips touched. Sparks really did fly.
They were kissing. She was kissing Dex. He was kissing her back. And it was … good.
She didn’t know it could feel like this, sure she’d had crushes before, she’d probably imagined Fitz kissing her at least a hundred times, but this was… this was different.
This was Dex.
This time he was the one who broke it off, leaving Sophie breathless, red, and completely, utterly speechless. He gave that little lopsided grin that she was so fond of, and she felt her knees buckle under her. Since when had he been able to do that?
She sat down on the bed, not trusting her feet to stay beneath her. Dex joined her and they sat in a heavy weighted silence, but this time it was comfortable.
She turned to him again, finally ready to look him in the face.
“It’s still a no to the crush cuffs” she said firmly. Dex just laughed and took her in by the chin again. She could get used to this.
A good while later Sophie was finally ready to face the music. She pulled a little out of Dex’s reach to steady herself, and to keep her from falling so easily back into him.
“We need a proper plan for the cuffs. Is there any other kind of bracelet that people wouldn’t notice?”
Dex scrunched his nose a bit, deep in thought, Sophie was a bit taken aback by how CUTE it was.
“I could make a cuff that sits higher on your shoulder,” he mused, running his fingers down Sophies arm, making her shiver. “As long as you wore sleeves long enough to cover that part of your arm, I could extend the range of the field to wrap around your whole arm.” He looked up shyly, waiting for her approval, but Sophie just grinned and hugged him again.
It didn’t feel weird like she had expected given the last half hour, it just felt right. He was still her best friend after all, but maybe now… something more. She wasn’t quite ready to have that conversation though. And especially not in the middle of dealing with Lady Gisela and her demands…
Dex cut through her thoughts, bringing her back to the present, “look I probably have to head home soon,” he stood up, nodding at the sky, which was beginning to tinge pink – Sophie hadn’t even noticed. “I’ll um- I’ll hail you tomorrow yeah?” He looked down at her, beet red. Sophie felt her heart swell and grinned at him, she stood and reached for him, giving him one last soft kiss before stepping back again.
“Hey uh,” Sophie was surprised to hear her own voice, “are we going to tell people?” Dex smirked a little at her, she felt her knees wobble again.
“Tell people what?” he asked.
“That I- that we- we’re- are we?” She fumbled over her words, but Dex just laughed kindly at her and she felt her face burning.
“Maybe we don’t have to talk about that yet? I know Keefe will probably get the whole thing out of you anyway, but for now maybe… we’re just us?” The weight on the word “us” made Sophie’s stomach twist a little, and Dex must have noticed because he grabbed her hand. “I just mean ‘us’, you know, Dex and Sophie, best friends forever, we’ll figure out the rest later”.
For the third time that evening Sophie found herself unable to do anything but throw her arms around Dex and hold him tightly. Dex just laughed again and ran his hand through her hair, before gently prying her off of him. Offering a shy goodbye, he pulled out his home crystal and glittered away.
Sophie was left to sit on her bed, alone with her thoughts. She flopped back into the covers and grabbed Ella close to her chest.
A knock sounded on her door, Sandor, “Ms Foster-” he called
“NO SANDOR” she shouted before burying herself under the covers, intending to never emerge again.
