kiss i.

disclaimer: I do not own kotlc.

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pairings&characters: sophie, fitz, sophitz

genre: romance, fluff, comfort

rating: t for strong language

summary: flower crowns are just cliche plot devices.
but could they actually bring sophie together with someone?

a/n: sophie and gang are older in this

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Sophie never understood why making such silly items out of plants could be considered "fun" or even "a hobby." But she had come across people who very much enjoyed making them.

In her opinion, flower crowns were simply a cliche plot device for fluffy romance novels or rom-coms. They shouldn't be a real thing in the actual world because who has the need for an abundance of wilting, dying flowers tied together that you place upon your head?

They seemed to die almost as quickly as Sophie's relationships.

She'd gotten quite the slander and hate from people in her town when she'd come out as being proudly bi. She didn't think the elves would have something against any of that type of stuff, but apparently, they were just as torn as humans were.

Over the years and years, she had lived between elves and humans, she had become accustomed to the shaking realization that no matter where she went, she would never escape unfair and bizarre prejudices.

She was happy to live in a place where skin color and wealth and even gender didn't matter - but when you took that away, you got a serving of other shit down your throat. They had problems with multiple births, talents, and now who people were allowed to love.

People made it very public that they were not happy with Sophie coming out to everyone about who she liked. She didn't understand why they thought she was simply confused - how could she be confused? Who you love is who you love. And if she was confused about liking girls, that logic had to be equally applied and she could say, "Well, then I must also be confused about liking guys."

She had known that elves were capable of bullying and harassment, but she thought it would extremely less than what humans were capable of. Part of her was right - she was sure humans could do much worse. Part of her was wrong - they had done stuff she had deemed impossible for elves.

One guy even took her out for a fake date and publicly humiliated her. However, the night ended pretty well because the moment word had spread, Fitz, Dex, and Keefe had leaped over immediately and Biana and Linh had followed with concerned looks and comforting hands or shoulders to cry on at the ready. Dex offered a hug.

Sophie had shrugged it off as Keefe followed the guy who was storming off, the blond boy claiming he had to take care of some "trash" and that he would be back momentarily.

She had received so much love and support from her friends that the air felt sludge-like as all the love wavered around. They all ended up going out together after Keefe returned with a grin, cradling his one hand.

Sophie shook her head at him. "You didn't hit him, did you?"

"Well, if you're wondering if I resorted to violence first, the answer is no. He threw the first punch, so I was technically defending myself. But do not even think for a moment that I did not find joy in beating the shit out of him."

She rose an eyebrow and he chuckled. "Okay, it was one punch, but I feel like I did pretty good."

Sophie rolled her eyes. But she was smiling as she said, "Come on, doofus. We're all eating out at Atlantis together."

All of her friends had been there for her that night. Linh hugged her and Biana told her she would gladly threaten anyone she needed. Tam was as supportive as he got, and Keefe made an effort to make her smile as much as possible, even if it was through forced humor.

And then there was Fitz.

He'd seemed so adorably concerned for her that she couldn't help the familiar blush that rose on her neck and cheeks. There was some glance that he continuously sent her way that night, and she couldn't place her finger on it.

She nearly lost it when she saw him go up to the bar counter and order a drink, biting down on his lip in boredom as he waited. Then his eyes flickered over to her and she swore he gave her heart palpitations.

With her heart beating out of her chest, she'd crawled into bed and had laid in the darkness, earbuds playing music softly into her ear canals as she imagined what it would be like to be with him. She often daydreamed that he was hers whenever she looked him in the eyes or shared a semi-special moment.

She treasured the times he could make her flustered without even trying. It felt so good and she felt so. . . bubbly and high up in the clouds. It was weird what falling for someone did to you.

It was just another day, sitting out in the warm sun on the soft knolls of grass near Calla's tree. It was a few weeks after the whole date-gone-wrong incident and she needed a breather from filling out job applications.

She'd plucked a few of the flowers she had planted near the house from the ground, on the way to the panakes. They were teal by her choice, for reasons she had had a hard time casually explaining to her parents.

Grady had asked her about it with a raised eyebrow, implying exactly what she had not wanted him to imply. She'd fumbled for an answer and had rattled off the lamest excuse, trying her best not to turn pink or stutter.

A small flash of light brought her from her daydreaming and the warm breeze blew her hair around her face as she looked up and squinted lightly at the figure who had light-leaped directly into one of the pastures near to her. With a traitorous flutter from her heart, she knew who it was almost instantly, and she focused on listening to the distant crashing waves to keep her mind from wandering to fluffy thoughts.

She thumbed the flower stems in her hand, causing the petals to twirl around and around. Fitz approached silently, hands in his pockets as he looked down at her. She marveled at how tall he had always been in comparison to her and how he never seemed to stop growing.

"Hey," she said quietly, figuring it was best to start off the conversation herself. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear that kept persistently and annoyingly blowing in her face and tickling her nose. She kept her eyes mostly downcast as she messed with the flowers in her hands. "What are you doing here?"

Fitz shrugged, finally taking his hands out of his pockets as he squatted down, looking her in the eyes. "Wanted to see how you were holding up. That guy isn't still bothering you, right?"

Literally? No, he wasn't. Mentally and emotionally? He was still messing with her head and even her heart.

But all that came out was, "I'm fine. You don't need to worry." It wasn't snappy, but rather very soft. She hadn't meant to sound as. . . defeated or tired as it had come out.

He exhaled through his nose, wringing his hands. "You're absolutely sure? I can take care of him if you need me to."

She smiled, feeling the familiar heat begin to rise on her skin. "I can handle my own problems. I'm strong enough to - as Keefe so generously put it - 'take out the trash', if need be."

Fitz's corners of his lips tugged upwards lightly, trying to contain his smile at her teasing. It vanished quickly as he swallowed, still very clearly worried. It only heightened her anxiety at how nervous he was acting.

He frowned and grabbed her wrist so suddenly that she didn't have the time to react, wincing when he hit an extremely sore and tender spot. It felt like he was pressing so hard that he was down to the bone.

She tugged her hands away, cradling the stinging, swollen wrist as he shook his head, trying not to believe what he was seeing.

He reached out, slowing when she flinched away. He lifted his eyebrows a centimeter or two, and she swallowed, letting him take her wrist back. He held it with soft, delicate fingers as he examined the purple, finger-shaped bruises.

His frown etched deeper every second longer that he stared, and he caressed the skin with slow, light circle from his thumb. He stole a glance at her Cognate ring. "He did this, didn't he?" he questioned softly.

Sophie shrugged sheepishly, holding the flowers tightly in her one hand as she stared at the grass, avoiding eye contact. He clearly didn't accept the shrug as an answer, so she blew out a breath and blurted, "I tried to pull away and get away from him. He grabbed my wrists. I bet he doesn't even know how hard he held, so it wasn't really his fault. I'm fine. Please don't do anything stupid. Not for me."

The plea floated on the wind and Fitz's frown was beginning to be something Sophie was seeing often. At least for the day.

He looked directly into her eyes so intensely that her heart rammed against her rib cage wildly. She avoided looking up at him for as long as possible until he lifted his hand and his knuckles brushed against the bottom of her chin. She looked up at him and swallowed, pulling her wrist away and blinking profusely, trying to avert her gaze from his.

She started twining her fingers, nervously braiding the stems of her flowers together as she stared down at the teal color, realizing it had nothing on his own vibrant, pristine aquamarine eyes. They were oddly similar to gems. How was that even possible?

He placed a hand on top of hers, realizing she was shaking from trying to braid too quickly. She expected him to say something like, "being bi is okay," or, "we all support you," but instead he took a very different route.

He flashed a charming, roguish smile that spiraled her stomach into a cacophony of butterflies. "Do you realize you're making a flower crown?"

She looked down. "I wasn't trying to. I was just twisting and tying," she replied honestly.

He grinned. "Do you have any more flowers?"

She sheepishly pointed to the pile against the trunk of the tree. She had been a little stressed and had possibly been a bit too much tugging. She'd destroyed the flowerbed she had worked so hard to keep alive, all because she was mad at a thick-headed douche bag.

He got up and walked over to the pile of flowers, grabbing them up and sitting down next to Sophie in the soft grass. It felt like it had been so long since they had just sat under the calming, graceful tree and let the petals fall down around them and watch the sky.

He started twisting and braiding just like she was, his hands working swiftly and diligently. She wanted to ask if he had a lot of practice and experience with making flower crowns, but she swallowed the joke, too afraid to break the silence that had settled between the two. Unfortunately, Fitz didn't feel the same.

"So," he said, "where did you get these flowers? I don't remember seeing any of these around."

She cursed him for observing everything so well. "I planted them," she answered honestly, too tired to think of an excuse. As long as he didn't ask her why she chose that color. . .

He gave his stupidly charming, handsome smile that set her nerves on fire as she focused on threading her stems together more quickly, to keep up with him. "I'm surprised that you took the time to plant flowers. No offense, it just. . . Doesn't seem like you?"

Sophie shrugged. "I wanted to try something new, I guess."

She didn't want to admit that her obsession with him was reaching concerning levels, considering she took the time to make a flower garden full of blossoms that were his eye color.

She finished her crown a few seconds after him, smiling happily at her work. It wasn't picture perfect, but she had never done it before and she was fairly happy with her results.

He tugged a little on the flowers of his final product, flickering a small smile in her direction. Her heart did some sort of pitter-patter as she glanced down at her flower crown momentarily, looking back up at him and lifting her hands. She placed it on top of his head, giggling as it drooped and went sideways on his head. The color contrasted with his dark hair and made his eyes pop even more than she thought possible.

He gave a dorky, shy smile. "Well, how much of an idiot do I look like right now?"

Her lips tugged upwards. "You don't look like an idiot! You look cute," she promised. It took her a moment for it to dawn on her what she had blurted, and her cheeks flushed a deep red. "Sorry, I-"

He leaned over and closed the gap between them, his lips melding with her own. she sucked in a small breath, unsure of how to respond to the soft kiss she was receiving. Her eyelids eventually fluttered closed and they pulled back a few times, every time returning to gently pressing their lips together.

His mouth lightly coaxed hers into moving in sync with his and she couldn't focus on anything as her head grew dizzy and her body tingled.

He finally pulled back far enough where they both wouldn't lean in again like they had been doing, taking in Sophie's half-lidded eyes. Hers slowly grew larger and her cheeks erupted in sweltering heat, blossoming everywhere. She covered her mouth. "Oh my gosh, I-I didn't - I didn't mean to. I'm sorry," she apologized quickly.

It took him a minute to respond or snap out of the trance he was caught in. He adjusted the flower crown that had begun to fall down the side of his head, pushing it farther up on his head of dark hair. He brushed a few of the strands off his forehead, pink shading his cheeks and tips of his ears.

Surely he wasn't. . . No. In all the years she had been with him she had never seen him blush.

He picked up his expertly made flower crown and laid it down on the crown of her head softly, letting his hand trace down the side of her jaw as he dropped it. He smiled. "I'm the one who initiated it. And. . . I'd rather say I liked it."

a/n: soft fitz is superior