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Chapter Text

Sofia's adventurous life never failed to keep the woman entertained, but there was just something about coming home to Enchancia that made her feel truly content. Even at fifty-eight, there was no place like home, and she'd been away for six months this time, helping a small village in Khaldoun implement the latest farming techniques as well as building a hospital and school.

"Welcome home, Duchess Sofia," the staff greeted her by name, and yet Sofia was having trouble recalling all of theirs.

There must have been another turn over of staff while she was away because while getting on in years, she knew she hadn't forgotten any names, but rather hadn't met a good number of them. Her nephew must be having trouble finding competent staff, but there wasn't a soul alive who could compare to the late steward Baileywick. It'd been nearly thirty years now, hadn't it? Worked right until the end, passing after excusing himself to sit down for a rest and never getting up again. It was a peaceful death, dignified even, completely befitting the steward who's pocket-watch had mysteriously stopped around his suspected time of death. On time even to his maker, they'd said in fond reflection.

Her mother and father were still doing remarkably well considering they were both nearing ninety. Happily retired, Roland and Miranda were living out their days together in the serene countryside, living a more humble existence.

James was fixing to retire now as well, but his son and heir was a fickle young man, still unsure of how to be king, let alone a good one. He had his advisers, but none as trusted as Sofia had been with her brother. Even the royal sorceress seemed a par below Cedric's commitment to the job, no offense to Calista, but she didn't have her uncle's stubborn determination when it came to getting a spell right, choosing instead to brush off the failure and a different method.

Cedric was the main reason why she was home this time after word reached her he'd been a bit under the weather and a visit from his favorite princess was sure to perk him up, or so Calista had said in her correspondence. However, after greeting her brother, sister-in-law, and nephew, she learned the situation was a bit more grave than the royal sorceress had let on.

Quite grave in fact... Despite Cedric being younger than both her parents, his health hadn't been as fortunate as he aged. He was eighty-seven, a good age for any old man to reach, but not one he'd reached easily. He'd been dying for a decade, slowly, a little thinner each time she saw him, his mind dulling and senses failing. It wasn't the sort of death Sofia wished for her beloved mentor, yet his whole life seemed destined to always be slightly unfair to him.

He never married or had an heir, passing his position and wand onto his niece when time made it evident he could no longer fulfill his duties. That'd been a hard day. A man so desperate to prove his worth being forced into retirement brought a tear to her eyes even now, but there was no stopping the arthritis in his hands and his failing vision. He'd kill himself if he didn't agree to retire which seemed a fate fine by him, but one Sofia begged him not to. Now she regretted it. Being killed in a potion accident would have been kinder than this...

Sofia had to withhold a gasp of horror when she saw him sitting up in his sick bed, gaunt with thinning, solid gray hair. His eyes struggled to stay open, but he wasn't wanting to rest at the moment. He was too uncomfortable.

"Sofia, thank goodness," Calista got up from the bedside chair to greet the woman at the door. "He's not taking his medicine or his food again... Too ashamed to have me cleaning up after him."

"Is he at least drinking?" Sofia asked.

"Somewhat, but again, the incontinence is making him difficult. You can talk some sense into him, surely. If he doesn't want me doing it, at least convince him to accept a nurse."

"Is he... 'there'?" Sofia had to ask, knowing there was little she could against senile stubbornness if some trace of the man wasn't still in there.

"Yeah, today's been a good day mentally... which of course means a bad day physically," Calista sighed in frustration, a hand clutching the roots of her dark hair streaked with natural gray strands. "I'm at my wits' end... I don't know what more I can do for him."

"I can't make any promises, Calista, but I'll see what I can do," Sofia assured the woman with a comforting embrace before parting to take the chair at Cedric's bedside. She felt like crying, but hid it behind a smile as she took hold of his right hand in both of hers. When did his hands become the smaller ones? She remembered how quickly she latched onto a gloved hand as a child, pulling him into all sorts of situations he was reluctant to confront himself.

His head slowly turned as he felt her hand grasp his and he looked down at them, puzzled, before looking up at her face with confusion.

"Mr. Cedric," Sofia smiled, calling him as she used to. "Your faithful apprentice is here."

It took him a few moments, but slowly she saw him recognize her. "Princess Sofia..."

"Yes, sir." She smiled. She'd been a duchess since her twenties, but saw no need to correct him.

"Why are you here...?" He asked.

"It was time to come home," she told him. "Think I'll stay a while this time."

She saw him smile a little before the corners of his mouth fell again. She couldn't be sure how aware of her mortality he was, but she knew he knew something was amiss.

"...Calista said you're not eating again," Sofia said a bit more seriously.

"I'm not hungry... Not much sense in eating if I'm not hungry," he reasoned.

"But you're all skin and bones to begin with," she squeezed his boney hand gently. "Please, Mr. Cedric, I'm worried about you."

"Then why do you leave me all the time?" He asked.

"Leave you? Oh, I know I was gone a while this time, wasn't I? I'm sorry. We were making such good progress, it made more sense for me to stay."

"You're always traipsing off somewhere..." He commented, leaning his head back against his pillows and turning away from her. "It's been so lonely in this tower without you..."

Sofia swallowed her guilt. Was that the issue? But Cedric had never been alone, not completely. Wormwood had passed twenty years ago, but Calista and his great nieces and nephews stayed with him since he had no desire to retire to Mystic Meadows. He vehemently stayed in his tower and there he'd remained.

"My life has been content... and yet... lonely... The only time I felt truly happy was when I was with you..." he confessed, his old eyes watery. "I knew you had to grow up... but I wish you didn't have to... why could I keep you in my tower as a wide eyed little girl who thought the world of me?"

"I still think the world of you, Mr. Cedric," Sofia smiled, unable to keep her tears in now. She knew... She knew he'd been waiting to tell her this until his last moments. Kept himself suffering, but alive until she was home again.

She spent her twenties and thirties traveling the world doing good deeds both with her magic and her kind heart, but the pull for a family life brought her back for a time. She decided to marry Prince Hugo, a recent divorcee but still a friend she felt comfortable enough to spend her days with. Their rather casual marriage came with a stepson she adored and while biologically she'd lost against time, it didn't stop them from adopting four other children and raising them as their own. Hugo's early death two summers ago hadn't hit her like she thought it would. She mourned for him, but wondered if he'd been her true love. They'd remained at odds with each other up until his death, his own arrogance being half the cause of the derby accident that ended up claiming his life a day later. And yet... it was a death that fit him in a way, not like this scene before her.

Out of all the people she loved in her life, she had so hoped Cedric's life and subsequent death would have been a little kinder to him. She was a fool for not realizing it sooner. Before she married Hugo was when Cedric was forced into retirement, a time when he probably needed her most. He was still of sound mind, all the more cranky his hands didn't work like they used to, but other than that still in good shape. She ought to have liberated him from that tower completely... gone on more adventures with him, enjoyed their time together to the fullest, and gave him the love only she could give him.

That was his lament. No other woman had loved him like she did because no one else could. The age difference was big, but no one would have raised much concern once she was in her thirties. She could have... She should have... But how was she to know? He never said anything or gave the slightest hint. He had always looked at her adoringly like there was no wrong she could do, no order he wouldn't refuse. He'd been her sorcerer since she was eight years old and like the youthful nave she was, failed to realize how truly special she was to him. How could he not long for the days when such a love was innocent and uncomplicated by the world around them? Here in this tower where it was often just the two of them making potions, studying magic, or having a snack together over simple conversation. If those had been the happiest days of Cedric's life, how miserable had the last thirty been without her? And if had been meant to be with him, how much more fulfilling could her life had been?

He coughed, retching his hand out of hers to cover his mouth and then try to wriggle his way down under the blankets.

Without a word, Sofia helped him lie down, making sure his pillow was fluffed and his blankets dry as she tucked him in.

"Merlin's Mushrooms... What a curse old age is..." He said in sarcastic amusement of his own pitiful state.

Sofia quietly smoothed back his thin bangs behind his ear before sizing up the open side of bed and carefully crawling on top of the blankets to lie next to him. "Can I hold your hand again...?"

Bewildered, but unable to refuse her, he turned slightly onto his right side and reached his left hand out for hers, grasping her slightly less wrinkled and liver spotted hand with his. "I'm still here, Sofia. Lord knows this body has been trying to die for years now... Although I don't know how much longer I can stay awake. You don't need to stay here."

Sofia shook her head and cuddled closer to him, knowing the warmth of her closeness would be appreciated. "After that guilt trip, how could I ever leave you again?"

They both chuckled, but Cedric's laughter faded quickly. The Sofia who rarely cried was struggling to keep back the tears, giving him a good idea why. "...I'm dying, aren't I?"

Sofia sucked in her lip, still trying to restrain tears, and nodded. "You're very ill... and very weak..."

"...I see..." His answer was vague, giving Sofia no indication about how he felt about his own demise. It was more than she could bear.

"I've know you nearly all my life... What am I supposed to do without you, Mr. Cedric?" She asked, letting the tears fall.

"You haven't needed an old man like me for decades..." He forced a smile, trying not to add another guilt tripping, 'no one had'.

"You fool, you should have told me years ago," she choked back her tears long enough to nudge her face nearer his and give his lips a chaste kiss. "I would have fallen for you in an instant."

Cedric smiled and his lips twitched as if he were about to say more, but decided against it. This was enough for him, and his body agreed, his breathing slowly ceasing and his features stilling with that slightly evil smirk across his face.

"No, wait...!" Sofia sat up and lightly shook his shoulder. "Don't go...! Mr. Cedric...!"

She wasn't sure why she was trying to wake him up when she knew better.

"Please...! I love you, Cedric! You can't die until I tell you that! I need to make sure you know that...!" She cried, losing herself to her tears for a minutes as reality set in.

He knew, didn't he? He had to... It was all she hoped for as she cradled his head, stroking back his hair and kissing his face adoringly in case his spirit had yet to depart entirely.

"My dearest friend, I wish beyond time... beyond space... if love and magic truly exist... we'll meet again and start over..."

Chapter Text

Sofia Balthasar at all of eight years old was a well behaved child and mature for her age. She lived alone with her mother, Miranda, going on three years now after her father, Birk, was lost at sea. They lived above a small shoe store her mother managed since moving to Enchanica City a decade ago with her new husband. It was a sad fact Sofia tried not to focus on too much, deciding early on she'd try to always be a good, happy child for her mother's sake.

Her optimism had reason to grow when a young politician looking to connect with local business owners came into their shop one day and began a conversation with her mother that lasted a rather long time with lots of smiles and laughing. It was the first time in a long time she'd seen her mother smile that way, so when Miranda told her she was going to begin dating Mr. Roland Winslow, Sofia was happy for her. She didn't mind the extra sleepovers she had with her friend Ruby at the Hanshaw residence a few blocks over and when Miranda would come to pick her up, she'd get to hear all about the fun her mother had.

"Mr. Winslow would like you to come with me this weekend, Sofia," Miranda told her daughter as they walked home one early summer evening. "He'd like you to meet his children, Amber and James. They're twins."

"Oh," Sofia said with surprise and intrigue. "Are they nice?"

"I've met them once before and only briefly, which is why we'd like all five of us to get together so we can get to know each other," Miranda explained.

Sofia was open enough to the idea, and the actual weekend she spent at the Winslow residence was amazing. They lived in a huge house with an even larger yard, completely fenced in with a security guard at the gate.

Sofia knew it was because Mr. Winslow was the son of a senator, whatever that was, and was looking to become a senator himself in the coming November. The world of politics was a bit too complicated for Sofia to understand it entirely, but she knew the Winslows were important people who made decisions on behalf of all the people to do good things that would benefit their city as well as their state.

Amber was a beautiful girl with lots of beautiful clothes and trinkets, but she wasn't very talkative, at least not around Sofia. James on the other hand was bursting with energy and all the happier to have someone eager to play with him. Despite Sofia being a girl, she wasn't afraid to play ball with him in the backyard and get a little dirty, which James told her he liked. Amber apparently wasn't the sort of sister who likes to play anything other than tea party and dress up, which sounded fun to Sofia too, but Amber expressed no interest in playing with her.

It was the first of many 'family dates' and it wasn't long before the idea of making it a permanent arrangement was discussed and rather quickly agreed upon. Miranda Cordova married Roland Winslow in a small, private ceremony that none the less still had the press and paparazzi swarming outside the church and the Winslow estate post nuptials. It was to be expected giving Roland's current campaign, Miranda informed her daughter, and something she'd have to learn to deal with as well.

Sofia and Miranda officially moved into the mansion after the wedding, changing Sofia's entire world over night. Even her last name changed and along with it any last connection she felt to her real father, not that she had the heart to tell her mother she didn't want to. Miranda was the happiest she'd ever seen and Sofia didn't want to be a wet blanket, but she wasn't about to lie to her mother either. She feared all these changes, living away from her friends, navigating a big house, being signed up for a whole new elite school – err, academy. It was so fancy no one even called it a 'school', can you imagine? She was surrounded by more people than ever and yet she felt like a lonely fish out of water most of the time.

At least her relationship with her step-brother was good, and she made an effort to try to call Mr. Winslow 'Dad', but it felt weird to suddenly have that roll filled again. She had nothing against the man, but perhaps in all the rush with the wedding and move, it would take a while longer for her to get used to this new life.

The weeks passed and finally September came. Both her parents were now busier with the election coming up in two months so it was good to have school as a distraction. She rather liked the uniform for the academy: a navy-blue sweater vest with the school insignia on the left breast, a white blouse, and a gold and yellow plaid skirt with knee-high socks. Boys had the same, save a shirt, not a blouse, and trousers instead of skirts and their socks only came up to their ankles.

"Um… so do all senators' kids go to this school?" She asked James on the car ride to the academy.

"Not just senators, there are kids whose parents are congressmen, governors, ambassadors, doctors, lawyers, CEOs…" James began listing off. "Oh! Kari's mom is famous ballerina and Vivian's parents are both musicians."

"Basically, if you have wealth or power, you're in," Amber gave her the abridged version.

Sofia gulped nervously, wondering if that meant she'd be at a disadvantage making friends. From what she'd seen of the upper crust thus far hadn't given her much to hope for, but maybe they were all just regular kids deep down. James didn't come across as stuck up, a little spoiled and arrogant, sure, but he was still friendly and fun.

"Everyone, this is Sofia Winslow," her teacher, Ms. Fauna, a kindly middle-aged woman in a green dress suit introduced her to her peers at the start of class. "Remember your manners and help make her feel welcome."

"Yes, Ms. Fauna," they answered in unison as the woman directed Sofia to take the empty seat between James and a brunette with pouty lips.

"Hello," Sofia said bravely to her. "I'm Sofia."

"I'm Penelope," she gave her name, but no smile or indication she wished to continue the conversation further.

Discouraged, but grateful class was starting, Sofia picked up her text book to begin her lessons like everyone else, and with it being the first day, there was nothing too hard to hard to learn other than the names of her classmates and the basic layout of the academy. She followed the throngs to the cafeteria, again grateful she didn't have to locate the room on her own, but when it came to finding a place to sit, she wasn't sure where she ought to go. James was at a bustling table with all boys, Amber was at a table with other intimidatingly beautiful girls, and the rest didn't once look up to notice her distress. For now, it was probably best she just find an empty seat and eat whatever this fancy chicken dish on her tray was called.

She found a table in the back that only had a few kids sitting at it, kids who didn't seem to be interested in acknowledging her presence at the table, but rather quietly accepting it. The girl to her right had dark hair and a large forehead, the boy with dark blonde hair across from her was more engrossed with his book than his lunch, and the boy at the furthest end, the most secluded, had peculiar white bangs against dark hair, a prominent nose, and rather cute full cheeks.

Sensing this wasn't the atmosphere to strike up a conversation in, Sofia directed her attention to her lunch. It was good, plenty of rich flavor she'd been steadily getting used to since becoming a Winslow, but she was desperate for someone to talk to. She wasn't the sort of person who could enjoy solitude for very long, but she could hold out for a little while until her presence blended better.

After lunch, she went out to the yard to take a walk and gather her thoughts. She saw the blond-haired boy away from his books and playing a game with James and their fellow male classmates. The girl at her table was composed beneath a tree, strumming a mandolin and humming with another girl with tan skin and brown curly hair who held a piece of sheet music in her hand. Perhaps they weren't other friendless outcasts like Sofia thought after all. She looked around for the other boy from the table and saw him with three other students slightly obscured by the tennis court's wall. She couldn't quite tell what they were doing, but as she passed by heard a growl of frustration followed by laughter as the three ran off and the boy slumped to the ground, his clothes more wrinkled than she remembered and a wad of pink chewing gum stuck to the crown of his head.

"GET BACK HERE! I'LL SHOW YOU WHOSE BOSS!" He hollered after the three in an accented voice, clearly wanting to retaliate, but not wanting to move either.

Out of both concern and curiosity, Sofia approached him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," the universal answer for not being fine. "Go away."

"…You have gum in your hair," she pointed, not sure if he knew it or not.

"So?" He glared up at her, visibly upset but trying to put on a brave face.

"Well, you should get it out before it hardens," Sofia said gently.

"I know," he huffed, hugging his knees.

Sofia knelt down in front of him curious to why he wasn't eager to rectify the gum situation. "Will you please tell me what's wrong? Maybe I can help."

He looked back up at her, large brown eyes weighing her sincerity and out of sheer desperation, decided to risk trusting her. "I… I had to go to the bathroom… but they… wouldn't let me… I tried holding it, but Amy tickled me and… I don't want everyone to see that I…!"

Sofia looked around for a solution. The longer he sat there, the more uncomfortable he'd be, not to mention embarrassed as people would begin to wonder why he was hunched over. She spied the fountain in the center of the yard with only a handful of students gathered on one side of it. She had an idea, maybe not the best idea, but it would be significantly less embarrassing than wetting her pants. "Okay, you wait until everyone is looking at me."

"Huh…?" He watched as she walked away from him acting ever so casual until she reached the edge of the fountain and purposely tripped herself, falling into the water and drawing all eyes in the courtyard to her. The boy stood and ran for the closest door without anyone paying him the slightest bit of attention, it all drawn to the clumsy girl he'd never met before.

James abandoned his game to help escort his sister to the nurse's office where she could dry off and change into a spare uniform. She thought she'd find the boy she helped in the office as well, but she never saw him. She hoped he'd been able to make it someplace safe to clean himself up without having to suffer any further embarrassment, but doubted she'd see him again that day.

She was wrong.

He caught her after class in her locker bay in a fresh pair of pants and hair gum-free. He cleared his throat to catch her attention, though he kept looking at his feet as he spoke to her. "Um… Why'd you… Why'd you do that…?"

"You needed help," Sofia said honestly, hugging her bookbag. "That's reason enough, isn't it?"

"Not here… Most kids are only nice so you'll owe them favors, only no one thinks I'm good for anything so I just get picked on… but I suppose I do owe you, huh? So, what do you want?"

Sofia was about to refuse the offer entirely, not wishing to be grouped like the rest, but it was a marvelous opportunity to get something she'd been desperate for all day. "I want you to be my friend."

"Your what?" He finally looked up at her, his expression riddled with confusion.

Sofia's cheeks turned pink and she released one hand from her bookbag to grab his. "My name is Sofia Winslow, and I want to be friends."

"I… I'm Ce-Cedric…" He said slowly in disbelief, his fingers closing around hers. "Cedric Goodwyn."

"Cedric Goodwyn," she repeated, committing it to memory immediately before smiling wide at him, thrilled over her success. "It's nice to meet you!"

"Hey Sof, the car's here," James appeared from around the corner and motioned for her to come on.

"Okay, James. One minute," she told her brother before looking back at her new friend. "We're in different classes, but we have lunch together, right? So, I'll see you then tomorrow, Cedric."

"Okay…" Cedric nodded, his voice still in disbelief as Sofia released his hand and trotted off to catch her ride home. It was only after he left that his lips twitched into a big smile and his eyes teared up in both relief and gratitude. He'd never had a friend before.

"Cedric Goodwyn?" James and Amber repeated in the car ride home.

"Yeah, what do you guys know about him?" Sofia asked, too curious about her new friend to wait until tomorrow to begin asking questions from the source.

"Err, he's a bit unpleasant…" James said gently while Amber had no such reservations.

"He's a creepy little nerd. His father is a world-renowned medical scientist. He's invented stuff that's saved people's lives. You'd think such a man would have a more worthwhile son, but I guess sometimes the apple is thrown from the tree into a whole other orchard."

"That's not very nice, Amber," Sofia frowned.

"Neither is he. He's antisocial, cranky, and if that wasn't bad enough, he's just… Ew! My point being he's not the sort of person a Winslow should hang around, Sofia."

"Maybe he's like that because no one gave him a chance," Sofia said in Cedric's defense. "No one gave me a chance today either so if I don't make friends, maybe I'll end up being a cranky creepy nerd too, and you wouldn't want that in your sister, would you?"

That shut Amber up and made James snicker. This year at school would be interesting, if nothing else.

Chapter Text

Sofia would agree that Cedric was antisocial and could come across as foul-tempered, but underneath that gruffness was a kind young boy who had the unfortunate luck of being an easy target to bully, and his had missed him over the summer break. Fortunately, Cedric was prepared for the aftermath if he was unable to run away like keeping a spare uniform in his locker, along with three spare pairs of underpants – always have extra underpants, he told her.

As for more about the boy himself, he was born just before New Years, a whole ten months older than her and actually in the grade above her. His parents were from England, explaining his accent, but he himself had been born and raised here in the states. He did well in the academic part of school, loving science lessons most though he proved himself to be a rather talented baker in home ec. He was a little embarrassed to tell her that but after she was impressed with a small strawberry shortcake he brought in to share with her at lunch, his pride in his ability won out. As for his hobbies, he liked reading and building model planes, and over the summer he'd helped his mother out with gardening and decided to try keeping a plant all on his own… he'd killed two so far and was on his third.

"Maybe you should get a cactus?" Sofia suggested as they talked at lunch the following day, already quite comfortable around him while Cedric remained a little rigid, but didn't shy away from answering her.

"That sounds hazardous," he shuddered at the thought. "Plus, my sister is always sneaking into my room and taking things. It'd be just like her to prick herself on it and somehow I'd be the one in trouble for it."

"You have a sister?"

"Uh-huh. Cordelia. She's in kindergarten," he explained, divulging how the little angel could do no wrong in his parents' eyes despite demonstrating destructive behavior with little thought towards others. 'Just a phase', his mother had said, and apparently, it was a long one.

He didn't sound as enthusiastic talking about his family as he did other things, so Sofia moved the conversation forward. They both liked the color purple, although Cedric preferred more of a plum shade while Sofia fancied lavender – still, it was close enough considering it seemed to be one of the few things they actually had in common. She liked animals, he tolerated them. He liked science fiction movies while she preferred fairytales. And yet both were determined to find more things they liked doing together to make a friendship work.

September was almost through when another 'incident' occurred. Not anything outlandish as Cedric accidentally wetting his pants and getting gum in his hair, although it seemed to upset him more. He heard it in passing from two girls he didn't know as he was on his way to catch Sofia after class before they went home.

"That Sofia Winslow hangs out with the Goodwyn boy. Can you believe it?"

"There must be something wrong with her," the other snickered, not even registering that the Goodwyn boy had just passed them.

"Cedric?" Sofia was surprised to see him just standing in the hall looking down at his feet when she closed her locker. She knew immediately he was upset about something and hurried over to investigate. "What's wrong?"

"They… They're saying mean things about you now too…" he told her. "Wh-What if you start getting bullied cuz you're friends with me?"

"Then 'I'll sue!'," Sofia announced, mimicking a threat her step-sister often used, and then giggled. "If that happens, I'll deal with it. I'm not afraid of a few bullies."

"Y-Yeah, but I… don't like it…" he said sheepishly, fidgeting with his fingers. "And I'm not… I'm not brave enough to stand up to them…"

"That's okay," Sofia smiled, reaching out to hold one of his hands again. "You don't have to be. Just be you. That's the Cedric I like anyway."

He blushed and nodded, squeezing her hand as she pulled for him to walk her outside to await their rides.

"Oh! You're coming to my birthday party next week, right?"

"Oh… uh… well, I…" He wanted to tell her the truth, that he hated parties, especially birthday parties of his elitist peers. The few he'd been to were only due to the invite being given to his whole class and his mother insisting he get out and have some fun and make friends. He never did, but now here was Sofia, his first real friend who reached for his hand first and held it tightly so he couldn't get away from her. Someone who made him feel a little more secure with himself and liked him as he was. He hated parties, but he wouldn't miss hers for the world. "I-I'll be there."

"Yay! We're both gonna be 9 for a while!" Sofia giggled happily while Cedric's mind began a new dilemma.

What in Tesla's test tubes was he going to get the girl?

He hadn't a clue, but he knew where to start. He found his mother preparing dinner in the kitchen while Cordelia sat at the table coloring. "Mummy? Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, dearie," the stout brunette turned the heat down on the stove and smiled lovingly at her boy. "What is it?"

"Um, well, you know Sofia? Her birthday is the 6th and she invited me to her party next Saturday…"

"Oh, that's wonderful, Cedric. We can pop down to the mall after supper and—"

"No!" Cedric interrupted. "I don't want to get her some common place trinket. I want it to have meaning."

"Alright," Winifred smiled gently as she watched her obviously infatuated son fret. "Well, you have to think then Ceddy: what's something only you can give her?"

"I-I can bake, but I don't want to compete with a birthday cake."

"What else?" Winifred asked, encouraging her son to have a good think on it before she provided any further assistance.

"Um…I'm managing to keep my begonias alive… I could split the plant and give her half… Oh, but I don't wanna burden her with a responsibility! Argh! This shouldn't be that complicated!"

His mother smiled and patted his head. "I think giving her part of your plant is a fine idea, and very meaningful. It may require a little work, but if you two really are friends, she'll think nothing of looking after it."

"You think so…?" Cedric looked up, wide eyed and uncertain. "I never had a friend before. What if she hates it?"

"From what you've told me about this girl, she'll love it simply because it's from you," Winifred bent her knees a little to give Cedric a reassuring hug.

"Is she his girlfriend?" Cordelia asked. A month into school and already she had concerns regarding the social life of others.

"NO!" Cedric said defensively, though his cheeks turned pink. "She's my friend and she's a girl, but she's not my girlfriend!"

"Then why are you blushing?" The younger girl smirked. "I think you li~ike her."

"I-I'm going to get a spare pot and spade from the greenhouse shed!" Cedric announced, curtailing it out of the kitchen and out into the backyard.

"Cordelia, darling, could you not tease your brother about Sofia? You know he's had difficulty making friends."

"That's his problem," she answered callously.

"Cordelia," Winifred said in a scolding tone.

"Alright, Mummy, if you say so," she heaved a dramatic sigh before engrossing herself back in her coloring book.

Cedric quickly check his easy guide to planting to make sure he divided and transplanted the ornamental flowers with the greatest of care. He was happy with his work, and was oddly optimistic about gifting it to Sofia on the sixth. He went out and bought a simple lavender ribbon to tie around the pot to make it more present-like, and come the day of the party, he held it protectively on his lap as his mother drove him to the Winslow residence.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come in with you?" Winifred asked, watching him out of the car at the front gate and give his invitation to the security guard to check.

"I'll be okay, Mummy," Cedric said, nodding to the guard as he let him in before waving his mother off. "See you in a few hours."

"Have fun, dearie," Winifred called after him, but Cedric was moving a bit faster than his normal shuffle so she wasn't sure he heard her. That was just fine with Winifred who hadn't seen her boy this uppity in quite some time. Too few things seemed to make him happy, but ever since he met Sofia, his temperament was noticeably better.

Cedric hurried up to the front door, wondering if he was either too early or too late given the lack of traffic around the estate and no other guests in sight. He looked around for the doorbell, but didn't see one, and he was just about to knock when a tall man with well-groomed gray hair opened the door.

"Ah, Master Goodwyn. You got up here quickly," the man, whom Cedric guessed was a butler given his attire, smiled and adjusted the spectacles balanced on his nose.

"Oh, I…" Cedric wasn't sure how to respond.

"The guard always calls to let me know when a guest is on their way so that I may be the first to welcome them," he explained with a polite bow. "My name is Baileywick and I'm the head steward to Miss Sofia's family."

"Ni-Nice to meet you," Cedric bowed his head assuming he ought to mimic the same manners demonstrated to him. He may attend the same school, but he knew there was still a difference between Sofia's social status and his.

"Come right this way now," Baileywick ushered him inside and offered to take the plant, but Cedric insisted he carry it himself.

He was led out to the back patio where the Winslow family and two girls he didn't recognize were playing badminton in part of the large yard.

Baileywick cleared his throat to catch their attention. "Pardon the interruption, but Cedric Goodwyn has arrived, sir."

"Oh, marvelous!" Roland lowered his racket and caught Sofia's as she left their side of the court to hurry up the stairs to greet her guest.

"Cedric! You came!" She smiled, reaching out to hug him only to notice a potted plant would be an obstacle to that intention. "Oh! Is that for me?"

"Uh-huh," he nodded proudly. "It's part of the plant I've been tending to. I thought… maybe… you'd like a part of it to try keeping yourself."

"Oh wow…!" Sofia took hold of the pot to get a better look. "It's so pretty!"

"Yeah, the leaves will probably shrivel in a few weeks, but that'll be normal. Just keep it in partial sun and water every other day," he explained as the shadows of Sofia's parents cast over him.

"Welcome to our home, Cedric," Miranda smiled. "Sofia's told us so much about you. We're glad you could join us."

"Is… Is this everybody?" Cedric asked looking around at the 1, 2, 3… 8 people, himself not included, in the yard.

"I like small parties," Sofia explained with a warm smile, knowing he'd feel more comfortable as well with something lowkey, but it was also how Sofia preferred her parties as well. She'd wait until next year and her tenth birthday party to have a celebration with all the bells and whistles, and hopefully by then, more friends as well.

Still feeling like the odd one out, Cedric gravitated to Sofia's side most of the afternoon, nearly having an anxiety attack when the girl had to leave to go to the bathroom. Amber and James, along with Jade and Ruby, two friends from Sofia's old school and neighborhood, simply ignored him while they sat on the patio eating their cake and enjoying glasses of pink lemonade.

It may not have been the most fun party as far as he was concerned, but he was grateful just to be invited. He made sure to shake hands with Mr. and Mrs. Winslow before he left and intended to do the same with Sofia, but the girl wanted that hug and promptly latched herself around him for a moment, squeezing tight. "Thank you for coming. It really made me happy."

Uncomfortable with such physical affection, Cedric blushed and squirmed at first in an attempt to escape, but she wasn't going to let go until he hugged her back he realized, and so he did, slowly placing his hands on the small of her back and giving her a light squeeze back. "You're welcome. Happy Birthday Sofia."

"I'll see you at lunch on Monday," she waved as she released him and watched him walk to the circlet outside the front door where his mother had been let in to pick him up.

"Okay." He waved back shyly, his cheeks still red with color, but a small smile on his face wondering if he'd get another hug than as well.

There wasn't a hug on Monday, but he knew Sofia was excited to tell him something as soon as he saw her. She told him how after her guests had gone home, her parents gave her their birthday present to her: a rabbit rescued from the local humane society, a pet Sofia had wanted since she was small, but until now didn't have the means or maturity to keep one.

"He's so cute, Cedric! His name is Clover and he's gray and white with floppy ears," Sofia went on and on about her knew pet, honestly making Cedric a bit annoyed and slightly jealous, but he listened to her and reminded her that it was a common misconception brought about by Bugs Bunny that rabbits eat carrots.

"They really only eat the green tops," he informed her. "But you'd be better off giving him lettuce."

"You're so smart, Cedric," Sofia beamed, having just read that information in her rabbit care book the other night, not that Cedric needed to know that. "Do you have any pets?"

Cedric shook his head. "I want a raven though. They're really smart birds."

"…What's the difference between a raven and a crow anyway?"

"Not much actually, other than ravens tend to be a lot bigger and the beak is a slightly different shape. I want a raven though cuz I've really gotten into Edgar Allan Poe."

"That's the creepy writer, right?"

"He's not creepy, he's macabre," Cedric said in the author's defense. He was just starting to read the man's poetry and short stories and was completely taken with it. He lent a collection of works to Sofia who barely got through the Telltale Heart before giving it back to him with a pale expression. Perhaps it was best to wait before sharing that side of himself with her. They were only nine after all.

Chapter Text

Much to Cedric's insecurity, the time where he was Sofia's only friend drew to a close by the end of October. She and Vivian Zumaria, the dark-haired girl with the large forehead, began talking at lunch the one day he stayed home sick and were now friends. Via Vivian, Sofia got to know Clio Corinthia and subsequently, Clio's best friend Hildegard Freezenberg who was also a good friend of her sister Amber's, providing the step-sisters new opportunities to bond and grow closer.

Through her brother James, she developed relationships with Desmond, the dark blonde haired boy who liked sitting at Cedric's lunch table because it was quiet, and his other friends from the soccer team: Zandar Tangu, Jin Wei-Ling, and Khalid Khaldune. Through Khalid, she met his sisters Leena and Maya, then Maya's friend Jun Wei-Ling who was also Jin's sister, thus expanding his circle of friends even further by the time Thanksgiving came around. Of course, the sudden burst of friendliness might have had something to do with her father winning his senate seat at the start of the month, prodding the other parents to encourage better relations with all the Winslows.

Cedric remained grateful that she still ate lunch with him, despite hearing numerous invitation to join her other friends every day. It didn't take long for self-doubt to take hold, making him wonder if this was really how Sofia wanted to spend her lunch and recess period. Working up the nerve, he asked her the last day of class before the break.

"But this is the only time I get to see you," she explained. "I have classes with the others, but only lunch and recess with you."

"Y-Yeah, but I don't want you to feel like you have to sit with me," he said, his head bowed down to stare at his lunch tray.

"I want to sit with you," she made that quite clear, scooting her chair over until their arms brushed against each other's. "I like you, Cedric. Don't you believe that?"

"Well yeah, but you're nice to everyone, Sofia… I hardly feel special," he admitted.

"Oh…" Sofia wasn't sure how to respond to that. She knew she had to be patient and reassuring with Cedric given his tendency to self-doubt, but sometimes she wondered if it was all for naught. What if he never believed her?

"Oops!" Another male voice joined in their conversation when a bowl of cottage cheese 'accidentally' toppled off his lunch tray and right onto Cedric's head. "Sorry about that, Pinocchio."

"It's Cedric," Cedric said flatly, rather used to his usual bully's antics. Hank Greylock was more of a prankster than a bully really, but still a pain in Cedric's backside.

"That's not funny, Greylock!" Sofia yelled at the older boy as she simultaneous grabbed her napkin to help Cedric clean the mess off him.

"Really? I find it quite hilarious, and artistic even: look at how the redness of his face offsets the white," Greylock chuckled, flicking a stray lump of the mushy cheese toward her, landing on her skirt.

Before Sofia could register the miniscule soiling to her clothes, Greylock was on the floor with Cedric on top of him, punching the older boy with as much strength as his small fists could muster. Something inside of him snapped. He would endure his own torment, but the idea of anyone going after Sofia set him into a rage that took two teachers to pry them apart.

After the commotion died down, the two boys were dragged to the office for a talking to and subsequent punishment, leaving Sofia on her own in the lunch room feeling both confused and concerned.

They both ended up suspended for a day given the academy's harsh policy against fighting. Sofia wished they put a little more effort into prevention rather than punishment, but she had to assumed the grownups were doing what was best. They were the adults after all while she was only a child.

She waited for Cedric after school to make sure he was okay. Both his parents had come to pick him up and were in the middle of their own argument regarding their son while Cedric sulked by his locker until Sofia ran up to him. "Are you alright?!"

"Yeah…" He said quietly. He looked like he'd been crying and could do so again as his parents talked.

"You know it's not like him, Goody. I'm sure Greylock provoked him," Winifred said in her son's defense.

"Regardless, fighting in school is unacceptable, Winifred. I expect better of my son and so should you," Albert Goodwyn, an aging man with a balding head and growing beard told his wife.

Cedric just wanted to disappear. He hated this. All of it. He was about ready to burst into tears again when he felt Sofia's arms around him.

"Thank you," she told him. A small splotch on her skirt didn't seem worth the drama, but she knew he acted in her defense. Maybe not in the smartest way, but in a way that made sense to a nearly ten year old boy whose impulses ruled in place of logic.

Winifred nudged her husband out of his lecturing to point out the two children embracing, and another motion from her eyes told him there was more to the story than both of them knew.

Cedric sniffled as Sofia relaxed their hug. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to cause a scene and embarrass you…!"

"I'm not embarrassed," Sofia assured him. "Well, not over you, but myself… I… I shoulda knocked Greylock on the floor before you did."

"But then you'd be in trouble."

"It'd be worth it," she smiled and was pulled back into the hug by an eager Cedric. She snuggled into him until she noticed his parents approaching. "Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Goodwyn."

"You must be Sofia," Winifred smiled kindly. "It's nice to meet you, dear."

"Nice to meet you too," Sofia nodded, taking hold of Cedric's hand as she turned to his stern looking father. "H-He only did it because Greylock started picking on me, so please don't be too mad at him!"

"No, I should have… thought of something else," Cedric spoke up. "I just… reacted. I didn't know I was on him until the teachers pulled us apart."

"Fighting will not be tolerated, Cedric. No matter what the reason, there's always a better solution," Albert scolded.

"Yes, sir…" Cedric bowed his head.

"Now come along. We need to pick up your sister and let Miss Winslow go home."

"I'll see you next week, Sofia…" Cedric sulked, walking over to his mother.

"Cedric," Winifred gingerly placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Why don't you ask Sofia to come over during break?"

"Huh? Because she's American and will be celebrating the holiday unlike us."

"Thanksgiving is only on the Thursday," she reminded him before looking to the girl. "Is your family terribly busy, dear?"

"My parents are, but I'm not," Sofia smiled. "I'd love to do something over break. I'll have to ask my mom of course, but if you don't hear from her, our steward will call to arrange the details."

"Wonderful. I don't know why he's been so shy to invite you over on his own. He goes on about you all the time."

"Mummy…!" Cedric turned red from his cheeks to his ears.

Sofia couldn't help but giggle. Cedric looked so cute when he blushed from ear to ear, plus she thought he could do with the reliving comedy of it all given the day they'd had.

Thanksgiving passed, but the hustle and bustle of the holiday season did not. Christmas was only a month away now and in true capitalist spirit, throngs of people flooded the stores and shopping malls the Friday after.

Meanwhile Sofia remained grateful for her blessings in life and wanted nothing more than to enjoy her visit to Cedric's house. It was a lovely two-story house in the suburbs in a nice neighborhood, though not guarded like hers was. She'd never seen a boy's room before, James' didn't really count seeing as housekeepers were always at the ready to clean up after the boy, leaving little impression of what her step-brother was really like. Cedric's room on the other hand was cluttered despite his attempts to clean it up before her visit, apparently, Cordelia had snuck in and made things worse in her claim she was looking for something.

"Something that's not yours!" Cedric yelled as he chased the younger girl out and shut his door with a loud groan of frustration. "She's always doing this!"

"I like it," Sofia smiled as she looked around. "It's all lived in and comfortable. Our home is kept so clean I'm still afraid to go into certain rooms in case I track in dirt or something."

Cedric's room was filled with things designed to be handled: books and beakers, action figures, building blocks, posters on the walls along with several hand drawn plans for planes she was guessing given the numerous models suspended by fishing line from the ceiling or folded into bottles on his bookshelf. This was a room where a lot of thought happened, no wonder it was easily cluttered – Cedric must be a lot smarter than he let on.

"Are you designing a plane?" She had to ask about the technical drawing on the wall above his bed.

"A model, but yeah. I have to use math to figure out whether or not it'd actually fly which is why I haven't built it yet. My calculations still aren't adding up."

"Wow! Cedric, that's ah-mazing!"

"I-It's just a hobby," he blushed before clapping his hands together in realization. "Oh! Since I knew you were coming, I started these last night."

"Started what?" Sofia watched him cross the room and pull a blanket off a mini fridge that stored more foreign substances in it.

Cedric pulled out a beaker that had a pencil tapped across the rim, a small bit of string suspending a purplish crystal inside a liquid solution "I grew a crystal for you."

"You… grew a crystal?!" Sofia's eyes widened as she watched him untape the pencil and slowly lift the gem out of the solution, shifting through some papers on his nearby desk until he found a bit of plastic wrap he'd set out for it the night before.

"Mhm. They're easy enough to do. This one's alum, but you can grow them with simple table salt or even sugar if you want," he clicked on his desk lamp to help the crystal airdry while an amazed Sofia stared from over his shoulder. "Um, do you like it?"

"I love it!" Sofia squeezed him tight. "Thank you!"

"Y-You're welcome," he smiled.

With the tour of his room complete, they moved down to the basement to play video games for a few hours before Winifred made them break for a snack, and to humor Cordelia by letting her play with them while Winifred made a phone call. Cedric was annoyed and made no effort to hide it, especially when Cordelia began complaining that she wasn't winning and as her big brother, he ought to go easy on her to which Cedric said, 'tough' and proceeded to destroy her player.

For three years, their friendship grew more out of school than within it. Sofia had adapted to life as a senator's daughter while Cedric had more or less gotten used to having the girl in his life at the cost of numerous fictional lives as she'd become the superior gamer.

"Ugh! Why do I bother?" Cedric collapsed into the coach and dropped the controller to the floor.

"Because it's either me or Cordelia," Sofia teased, setting her controller near the console and hopping up to her feet. "I gotta go to the bathroom quick."

"Okay," Cedric grabbed the remote and flipped the TV channel to see if anything good was on while he waited for Sofia. He began to get concerned when he realized he'd watched a whole ten minute segment on the American bullfrog when the second commercial break occurred. Mildly concerned, he got up and walked down the hall to the basement bathroom and lightly knocked. "Are you alright?"

"My stomach hurts…" She admitted through the door.

"Have you… ya know… 'gone'?" He asked, wondering if he ought to fetch an antidiarrheal.

"No…" She was quiet for a few seconds and with Cedric not knowing what to do in this sort of situation simply waited for her to speak again. "…Cedric?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you get your mom?"

"Of course," he said without hesitation, knowing a mother's healing ability was far superior to his own. He ran upstairs and found the woman changing out towels in the master bath to be washed. "Mum, Sofia isn't feeling well. She asked me to get you."

"Oh dear, what's the matter?" Winifred set aside the laundry basket to follow her son into the basement where Sofia allowed the woman to enter the bathroom while Cedric was left to wait on the couch.

He couldn't hear their conversation so when he finally heard the door click open, he shot up to inquire further.

"Ah-Ah!" Winifred scolded him like he was a dog jumping on the furniture and used her stout body to block Sofia from view. "You sit down and we'll have a talk later. I'm going to take Sofia home."

Cedric sunk back down on the couch, confused now as well as concerned.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Cedric. I'm sorry about this," he heard Sofia say. She sounded alright, so that was a relief.

"Hope you feel better," he lifted a hand to wave goodbye, not seeing her as Winifred led Sofia upstairs with a towel wrapped around her lower half.

It wasn't until Winifred returned home a half hour later did she give her a son a refreshers course on women's health, a topic he hadn't had much need to focus on last year when he had the class. Winifred didn't gloss over the details either which Cedric honestly wished she would have, but she wanted her boy to be sympathetic, not disgusted, by what was now going to be a regular part of Sofia's life.

"I'm more put off by the fact it hurts…" he admitted to his mother. "Will she really be okay?"

"I'm sure Miranda will go more into detail with her than I did, and there are all sorts of medicines and treatments for it nowadays so it'll be all about finding what works best for her. I know you two are close, but this is probably one thing she isn't going to want to talk about."

"I wasn't going to ask, Mummy, jeez. I know better than that, but… well…"

The following day at lunch, Cedric brought out something he'd packed specifically for Sofia after concluding his conversation with his mother. She accepted the little baggie with curiosity, wondering what he'd brought for her this time. It was nothing special, just come chocolate covered nuts.

"The magnesium and protein should help during the time of the month," was all he said.

Sofia smiled. "Thank you."

"Mhm," he nodded his head, casually going back to his browsing of a model airplane magazine while he nibbled on his own lunch, unaware he was still slightly pink in the cheeks.

Chapter Text

Puberty was a bitch. There was no other way to say it, and the Winslow household had three children going through it all at the same time. Despite how close Sofia was becoming with her sister, even Sofia's patience could only tolerate so much of Amber's whining when it came to pimples and clothes not fitting right. With Cedric a year older than her, he was somewhat more adapted to his moodiness, preferring to keep quiet rather than say much of anything at all, but since his thirteenth birthday, he'd slowly transitioned into wearing all black or various shades of gray.

Sofia couldn't say when the obsession with accessories started, but now at fourteen years old, Cedric was a lanky looking shadow who wore eyeliner and had his ears pierced, nails painted black, wore heavy boots and fingerless gloves, and adorned his clothes with chains and spikes like some medieval weapon. As supportive as Sofia tried to be as a friend, she didn't think the off-putting fashion suited how sweet a boy he was deep down.

"Ugh," was his response to most people, Sofia included.

"I'm just wondering how you can carry around the extra weight when you're so skinny!" Sofia tried to reason with him, only to have him roll his eyes at her.

Outside of school, Sofia's taste in fashion had slowly matured with her, her style remaining rather cute, usually wearing something in a soft pink or lavender with just a little natural makeup. He didn't think she'd be the sort to completely rebel against her parents' tastes, and yet it annoyed him that she was still as perfect as the day he met her while he only seemed to be darker.

"C'mon. You're getting too pale. Let's go for a walk," she insisted, trying to pull him off the couch.

"Don't wanna," he said, refusing to budge from the couch and his controller as he was engaging the enemy in a shooting game.

"But this is all we've been doing all winter," she pouted, hugging his arm to maintain a grip on him. "Spring's finally here, let's go outside. Please?"

Cedric's eyes didn't leave the television screen and when Sofia tugged on his arm again, he pulled back, causing her to fall onto his lap where he then leaned his elbows on her back to keep her pinned.

"Argh! Cedriiiiiiiic!" Sofia groaned and flailed her limbs, but he didn't yield and kept her pinned until he finished the round.

"Hey, you can get up now," he said wanting to rest his hands on his lap only her butt was in the way.

"Hmpf. Maybe I don't wanna move now," she said in a huff, retaining the pose.

"C'mon. My boney lap can't be comfy," he tickled the backs of her knees hoping to spur a change of position, which it did – violently. She thrashed onto her side, threatening to knock both of them onto the floor, but Cedric latched onto her waist and collapsed onto his side with her, keeping them on the couch with waning laughter.

"You're mean," Sofia said with a smile, obviously teasing.

"A real villain, I know," he smirked, really enjoying how close they were at the moment. He had always been vaguely aware of how she smelled like lavender, but up close he realized how much he liked it… the same way he liked when those bright blue eyes looked at him and her rose petal lips smiled at him. A secondary voice in his head was now urging him to kiss her and pull her closer, a voice that became far more graphic as he felt his trousers tighten.

Deciding to take the opportunity to be a little affectionate to hopefully coax him outside with her, Sofia ran her fingers into his hair only to make a face when she felt how oily the black and white strands were. "Ew! Cedric, when was the last time you washed your hair?"

He shrugged his shoulders as Sofia brought her hands down and wiped them on the sofa cushions as they both sat up.

"You're as bad as James. Since when is water kryptonite to teenage boys?"

Now self-conscious, Cedric took a whiff of his clothes, but couldn't really smell his own scent since he constantly lived in it. He wouldn't admit to her his personal hygiene probably could use some extra effort, but he thought he was fine with just a bit of deodorant in the morning and a quick shower at night. "…Do I smell?"

"A little," she said honestly, still blushing. "And your breath is a bit… um… bad."

"Curie's cucumbers…" he cursed now putting some distance between them, hiding his face behind one of his gloved hands. Here he was entertaining the idea of making out with her while Sofia was clearly repulsed by his close proximity.

"Um, it's getting late," Sofia announced, leaving the sofa to grab her bag. "I should head home anyway."

His inner voices were screaming for him to stop her, but stop her to do what? Take a bath with him, his groin suggested, seeing only opportunity where Cedric saw embarrassment, feeding his upper brain many pleasant images of such a scenario, unwittingly making it easier for Cedric to decide not to stop her. He'd been embarrassed enough for one day.

Despite his teenage apathy making him want to put little effort into anything, he did become more mindful of his personal hygiene after that day if only it meant getting closer to Sofia without grossing her out. He was unaware his subconscious was motivating him for other reasons, his body language around her subtly changing and his actions more… bold. He'd sit with his legs spread a little wider and run his fingers through his hair to show the sheen was from cleanliness and not oil buildup, and one day, seized her waist on her return to the couch and pulled her onto his lap.

"Eek!" Sofia shrieked before laughing, expecting a tickle attack or something of that sort. His slender fingers had wicked dexterity that she'd come to fear in recent years, but it was nothing salacious. "Cedric! What are you doing?"

"What? Can't I hold you? You used to hug me all the time," he reasoned, his hands folding over her abdomen as he pulled her against him, her butt nestling against his groin and causing her to blush at the lump she knew wasn't a denim fold from his fly.

Sofia nervously laughed it off and tried to relax against him, her innocence wanting to believe he just wanted to hug, but her reasoning told her otherwise. She simply wasn't comfortable with this, even if it was Cedric. "Can you let go of me now?"

"Aw," he pouted, easing his grip. "But I like this."

"I don't," she said firmly.

"Hmm, okay. What'll you give me to let you go?" He asked, grinning.

"What'll I give…?"

"Oh, I know. Why don't you show me your tits?" Cedric smirked, knowing that was a request she wouldn't honor, thus keeping her nestled against his crotch, but he didn't expect her to turn around and slap him either.

"When did you become such a jerk?!" She demanded, tearing up.

He held his cheek looking stunned, before the sting reignited his sense and he immediately tried to apologize. "S-Sofia, I'm sorry! I wasn't serious!"

"You felt pretty serious!" She shot an accusatory glare to his crotch before she locked onto his eyes. "You've been acting weird for weeks, is this… No. No, I don't even want to know why, but if you're going to be like that around me, I'm not coming over anymore!"

"B-B-But I can't help it! I'm around you and I want to…! I mean, no! I don't mean like that, I—!"

"Oh my god, just stop! I'm going home!" She ran away before any proper apology or explanation could be given, or even thought of.

Cedric didn't intend to come off as some pervert. He liked girls, sure, and Sofia wasn't the only one to get him hard without much thought, but it wasn't entirely a sex thing. At least, it didn't feel like it was. If he was going to have any of those experiences, he wanted them to be with her, that's all. He trusted her, and had this nagging tightness in his chest as well as his groin that hoped she'd trust him like that. The thought of her doing so with anyone else was too painful.

He felt the true weight of his actions until another few weeks had passed and the strain in their relationship was obvious to the rest of the world. She didn't come over to his house anymore, or even sit with him at lunch. He no longer sat alone, but he still felt lonely without her company. At present, his current confidant never made him feel better.

He wasn't sure how, but after having their first chemistry class together, he and Hank Greylock had become… friends didn't seem like quite the right word, but acquaintances didn't fit either.

"Sedgewick, what is up?!" He asked, slapping his hands over Cedric's shoulders before joining him at the lunch table.

"Cedric," Cedric corrected him with little conviction. He knew he'd never get it right on purpose.

"I haven't seen your little princess around you lately. What's up with that?" He asked, stealing the other half of Cedric's egg salad sandwich. "You guys have a fight or something?"

"Yeah…" That was as much as Cedric was willing to admit to Greylock, not wanting the details to become the source of gossip.

"Dude, that's not a bridge I'd burn if I were you. Senator's daughter. Think of the connections. You want to get into a good college like your dad, right?"

"Eh…" The last thing Cedric wanted to think about was college and all the pressure to succeed that came with it. His old man wasn't too taken with Cedric's recent life style as it was, but keeping his grades up at least kept Albert off his back regarding his future… for the time being anyway. Things were bound to change for the worst once he started high school in the fall.

"So, what did you do?" Greylock asked again. "Not call her the next day?"

"We're not like that," Cedric forced a laugh. Her rejection to anything beyond friend had been painfully obvious, and now that he'd had time to fret over it, realized he had absolutely nothing to offer Sofia. "I mean, someone like me with a girl like her…"

"But you do like her though?"

Cedric shrugged his shoulders to neither confirm or deny, but Greylock smelled a lead.

"Have you told her?"

"What?" He blushed. "Tesla's Test tubes! Why would I do that?"

"Uh, because 'Senator's. Daughter'," Greylock repeated before looking across the cafeteria to one of the girls' tables where Sofia was seated with her sister and friends. "Plus, she's got to be one of the cutest girls in school. I bet she tastes as sweet as she looks."

"Could you not?" Cedric glared over at him. Perversions like that are what caused the trouble in the first place and Cedric was quite fed up with them. He'd punch himself in the crotch to detour his own thoughts if it didn't hurt so damn much.

"Ooo, protective, are you? See, I knew you liked her."

"Maybe I just don't like you creeping on her, pervert."

"Well then you're going to have to fight a lot tougher guys than me if you want to keep her to yourself," Greylock motioned to a table of boys not far from the girls, specifically towards a well-groomed boy with dark hair and princely smile. "You know Hugo Garrickson? He has a thing for her."

"What?" Cedric strained his neck looking over his peers to see exactly which boy Greylock was talking about.

"He'll be a golden boy come high school, just you wait and see. He's practically perfect if you can look past the ego, and he comes from a very well to do family of course: Father's a lawyer, older brother's a football star…"

"So, I'd have no chance even if I did tell Sofia I like her," Cedric said, ready to bury his feelings completely if that sort of boy was his competition.

"And you'd just give up without trying? I thought you were more stubborn than that, Cyrano."

"Cedric, and I'm not gonna fight over a girl like she's a frickin' trophy."

"And if she falls in love with someone else, you're okay with that?"

"I-It's her choice… Our friendship is strained enough. I don't want to make things worse."

"What if it makes things better?" Greylock suggested, trying to draw Cedric's thoughts away from his usual doom and gloom, somehow managing to convince the usually reclusive Cedric to ask Sofia out under the pretense of reconciliation.

Approaching the table of girls he felt like he could be executed by their cold, sharp glares alone when he cleared his throat to get their attention. "Sofia, can we talk?"

"…Alright," She said after thinking it over a moment. She got up from the table and stepped outside with him so their conversation wouldn't be easily overheard.

"Um, I… I'm sorry," he apologized. "You're right. I've been a jerk. I-I didn't mean to be, but… um… excuses aside, would you forgive me and come to a concert this Friday?"

"Concert?" She repeated, given his taste in music what was a 'concert' to him might sound like a satanic ritual to her.

"It's at Where the Magic Happens. Greylock's friends have this band, Order of the Wand, and he kinda invited me to come, but well, you know how I am with crowds and… well, I thought if you were there, it might be fun."

"Well, alright. It's important to support local talent and businesses," Sofia gave a political answer, which Cedric didn't think was a good sign for their relationship even if she did agree to go with him.

In reality, Sofia wasn't sure how she should act around Cedric anymore. She knew boys had their own battles with puberty, but Cedric had acted on his impulses rather than suppressed them. Maybe it was just a mistake, but it wasn't some accidentally grab that brought them close, he did it on purpose. His intentions were… no, she really didn't want to know what his intentions were. It'd break her heart if all her best friend saw in her now was an opportunity for an easy lay. He'd acted like he didn't care how she felt at all which hurt her far more than a little grinding.

She might have her impulses under control, but the thought had crossed her mind before too. She was curious about boys, Cedric more than anyone for some reason. Was he really that scrawny or was there some muscle under his baggy t-shirt and jeans? Did the hair on his body mimic the hair on his head at all? What would it feel like to kiss him and would he like it if she did?

"What did Marilyn Manson want?" Amber asked when Sofia returned to the lunch table.

Sofia wasn't sure if Cedric would take that as a compliment or an insult and ignored it. "He invited me to a concert on Friday."

"And?" Her sister pressed. "You're not going, are you?"

"Why wouldn't I? You know I've missed him."

"What are you going to wear?" Amber asked pragmatically, knowing she couldn't talk Sofia out of going entirely.

"I thought I'd wear a nice dress—"

The rest of the girls at the table voiced their protests immediately. Sofia would be eaten alive if she went dressed as the sweet and preppy school girl she was. No, this called for a shopping trip to part of the mall they preferred to avoid. If nothing else, this was an artistic experience for the lot of them to try and seamlessly blend Sofia into the dreary shadows where Cedric and 'his kind' resided.

In Amber's opinion, they did rather well come Friday when she tagged along in the car doing last minute touch-ups with make-up. "Hmm, I wonder if I should have tried to make you look paler…"

"I'm sure it's fine Amber. I don't want to be totally unrecognizable," Sofia said.

"Actually you do. Can you imagine the gossip if the public knew a Winslow was on this sort of scene?"

"Heaven forbid," Sofia said sarcastically as Amber ordered their chauffeur to stop a few blocks away to minimize the attention paid to Sofia's arrival.

The club where the event was being held wasn't anything special. It'd been an old dance hall in the 20s, a pub, a restaurant, and now a mixture of all three since Mr. Magnus, a pompous local businessman, took it over a few years ago. Hank Greylock's family apparently worked for the man running the place and were known for hiring local talent to perform on the weekends. The band playing tonight had a certain theme to their music, covering songs more fit for a Halloween party despite it being the middle of May, not that you could tell once inside the dark lit club, the only illumination to the crowd being alternating colored lights while the spotlight stayed on the small stage.

Sofia didn't recognize the number she walked in on, but it mattered not as the song ended thirty seconds later and the lights were raised while the band changed their set up. She looked around the floor for Cedric, expecting to spot the darkly dressed boy easily, only to be realize how common the look was on every individual here. Even mismatching bangs weren't helping her to single him out and for the first time Sofia felt a little nervous, worried she'd be in throngs of strangers all night long.

"The girls are gonna take over for this one," a dark female voice giggled seductively as she took over the microphone from the bands' lead vocalist and cued the music.

Sofia huffed in frustration only to notice a boy staring at her through the crowd and smiled in relief to see it was Cedric. She hurried across the floor in time to the lyrics 'I put a spell on you' and hugged him on 'And now you're mine'.

Cedric was too stunned to say anything at first. Sofia didn't look like herself, well, she did, but not how he expected her. A dark purple Gothic-Lolita dress trimmed with black lace was surprising enough, but the purple streak in her hair, dark make-up, and dangly earrings that looked like handcuffs made his heart skip a beat. She could look beautiful in anything, his mind deduced as he reluctantly let her go.

"D-Do I look alright?" She asked. "I wasn't sure if this was appropriate enough…"

"It's perfect," he smiled.

"So how do you dance to these sorts of songs? Are there steps?"

"Nope," he said, taking the opportunity to hold both her hand and waist. "You just move however you feel like moving."

"For some reason that sounds harder…" She smiled up at him, trusting him to lead her in something suitable, which he did.

Chapter Text

And like that, everything seemed to go back to normal for a while. Cedric had her forgiveness so the incident was never discussed, merely forgotten and moved past. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time considering those thoughts weren't going to stop simply through willpower alone. It got a little easier to control as he grew older and the hormones evened out, but not by much considering he now had the stresses of high school along with everything else.

He didn't waste his allowance on anymore accessories, his teenage rebellion quelled to a more conservative look out of his school clothes. He still fancied T-Shirts with jeans as did every other teenage boy in the world. He stopped with the eye makeup after a new product caused a very bad skin reaction that had him looking like the Phantom of the Opera for a few weeks. To avoid any further damage, he swore off using anything other than a facewash to keep acne at bay and thankfully the flesh recovered.

Still, he worried his face just wasn't the sort to ever look pleasant. He had noticeable lines under his eyes and around his mouth, coupled with his prominent nose he quickly realized he wasn't ever going to blossom into a handsome youth. He couldn't seem to gain weight either, despite having a healthy appetite, he only grew up and not out which was strange given that both his parents had never been stick skinny in their lives.

He wondered if it had something to do with the illness that struck him two weeks after he was born. The stress his immune system was under caused a patch of his hair to turn white. He was told it might grow back in dark, but subsequent attacks seemed to have disrupted the melanin in those follicles almost completely.

He was fairly healthy now as far the family doctor concerned. His body's reaction to stress just happened to be more extreme than others, and there did seem to be some issues with his mental health his parents tried to rectify with counseling and medication, but neither seemed to work as well as a visit from Sofia did. He wouldn't deny at times he envied her optimism and goodness, but lately he selfishly relished in it like a lizard sunning itself on a rock. It felt good to be around her, and when he wasn't, it showed.

What helped in lieu of Sofia was Cedric's friendship with Henry 'Hank' Greylock and his friends from the band, Morgana LeFay, Baron von Rocha, Timothy Grimtrix, both whom had since graduated high school and were on the college scene, but still made time for the two high school juniors who fed their egos and provided a stage for their music. Cedric always thought their morals were a bit questionable concerning matters such as underage drinking, smoking, drugs, and a little shoplifting here and there, but given his difficulty making friends in the first place, he became less concerned with the company he kept so long as it meant having company in the first place.

Today there was a problem Cedric sought their council on. It was Sofia's second year of high school, but the first where she could attend a school dance, so of course she was super excited and enthusiastic about homecoming. Cedric wanted to ask her to go with him, but sensed Sofia might opt to go with her sister and friends in a girl group. He'd never bothered going to any school dances himself, but for Sofia's sake, he'd do anything.

"Oh my god, why don't you just confess already?" Baron, a portly man with curly red hair slapped a hand to his face. It was always the same problem with Cedric, the only difference being the details.

"I-I'm pretty sure I'll do it this year!" Cedric said in his defense. "She's gonna be sixteen in a month so that's… that's a proper age to start these sorts of relationships, isn't it?"

"Your nobility is cute, Cedric, but it's also annoying," Morgana told him, checking her hair and makeup in her compact mirror quick. "The longer you wait, the more time she has to notice someone else."

"I told him the same thing two years ago, but he's still such a coward," Greylock sighed. He'd tried, but there was only so much he could do for the two-toned teen.

"I'm risking my entire friendship with the girl by confessing to her! Who wouldn't be scared about ruining that?"

"You've known this girl how long now? Eight years? That's half your life. You mean in all that time you don't have the slightest inkling how she'd respond to you confessing to her?" Grimtrix cut a chunk of the cured meat he was enjoying and held a piece to the opening of his jacket where a little head poked out and happily took the meat into her mouth before retreating back into the dark confines of his breast pocket.

"Did you bring your frickin' weasel again?" Baron asked.

"As if I could go anywhere without Wriggley," Grimtrix beamed, gently petting the bump in his pocket where the creature was nesting.

Cedric scratched the back of his head as he thought about Grimtrix's questions. "I don't think she'd be repulsed or anything like that, but… I also don't think she'd want to… you know, take things to another level."

"Well given how skinny you are, I'm sure most girls would assume you're not packing much in the old meat department," Morgana chuckled, taking the salami from Grimtrix and aggressively biting off a chunk, making all the boys in the room gulp and bring their legs closer together.

"I-It doesn't really matter, does it?" Cedric squeaked, slowly turning red as he continued. "I don't want to have sex, I want to… m-make love to her…"

"Aw, now that really is sweet," Morgana continued, handing the snack back to Grimtrix so he could cut off the end she bit into and feed the bit to Wriggley.

Cedric shrugged his shoulders. "I know Sofia thinks I am, so I… hope that's in my favor."

"She definitely seems like the type of girl who'd go for that," Greylock agreed, leaning over to put Cedric into a friendly headlock to rustle up his light gray bangs. "Probably a good thing you aren't packin' anything impressive. She'll find it so lil and cute, she'll give it a home~"

"Is there some reason why you're so focused on my dick?" Cedric growled, ready to fight the heavier teen.

"You're right. We shouldn't sweat the small things."

"It's average!" Cedric argued back, launching his weight back to topple Greylock and escalated the grappling– a common occurrence between the two that the older three saw no need to stop, deciding to sit and watch until the younger boys tuckered themselves out.

The good thing about his physical matches with Greylock was Cedric always felt more confident afterwards. He wouldn't say he ever really 'won', but that only helped prepare him for the possibility of being shot down by Sofia – not that it would happen, for the dance anyway. He'd confess his feelings at a later date, he decided.

The following day was one his lunch days with Sofia, a schedule they'd arranged last year when she started high school. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday was his, no exceptions, and today was the first Monday since coming back to school last week.

"Cedric!" Sofia latched onto him to give him a tight hug. "I didn't hear from you all weekend. Don't tell me they've bogged you down with a bunch of homework already?"

"Sorry Sofia, I have a lot more reading to do this year," he explained, reclining back to pillow his head against her breasts.

"I hate that your father's making you take the advanced classes," she pouted, giving him one more squeeze before sitting down next to him. "You barely had time for me at all last year, even for tutoring."

"I'm sorry I'm not more of a genius…" He apologized. "I don't like spending hours on homework either, but if I don't make the honor roll, I'll be lucky if I get to see the light of day. Thankfully, it's just this term that looks bad, but I'm worried if my old man sees me easy up, the college talks will begin."

Sofia watched him slump his head onto the lunch table in-between his apple and sandwich. "…Do you even want to be a chemist like your father and grandfather?"

"…I guess so," he said, turning his head to the side to talk to her. "The idea of working in a lab all day sounds just fine to me, but the pressure… I'd have to find the cure for HIV and cancer for my old man to think I'm a decent scientist."

"Forget about your dad for a moment, would ya?" Sofia slumped her head down as well to look at him on the same level as they talked. "What do you want?"

"...To be good enough in my own right… not his…"

"And what do you want to do?"

"…I dunno…" he sighed, his breath moving his bangs. "Something different…"

"Well I don't expect you to have all the answers at sixteen. I'm sure whatever you do, you'll be great at it. You're a hard worker with a lot of passion," she smiled wide.

"I wish I had a prescription for those rose-colored glasses your wear," he chuckled as they lifted their heads up to start on their lunches. He watched Sofia with hers for a moment before gathering his courage and speaking up. "Hey Sofia?"

"Hm?"

"Since sophomores are allowed to go to school dances now, I was thinking… Would you… like to go to Homecoming with me?"

"I thought you hated school dances?" Sofia slowly sunk down in her chair.

"Y-Yeah, but if I'm with you, I wouldn't mind… I know you want to go," he was avoiding eye contact out of his own nervousness, not seeing how conflicting Sofia looked at the moment. "So, let's go together. M-Makes sense, right?"

"Well, I… had I known you were going to ask me…" She cleared her throat. "Um, see, someone already asked me and I said 'yes', so…"

"Oh…" Cedric said slowly, feeling the redness creep over his body and trapped by social decency to stay by her side.

"B-But you should totally come! I'll enjoy it even more if you're there!"

'And see you dancing with someone else?' his mind wanted to spat, but he controlled himself. So a boy had asked her to Homecoming. That didn't mean anything. Did it? I mean, they never really talked about boys so Sofia might very well have a crush on one that he'd been oblivious too. All sorts of new questions and anxiety rose up in him. He really didn't think she'd have been asked by anyone else. He was a fool. A damned fool. How could the nicest girl in school and one of the cutest at that not have a line of suitors ready to ask her out now that she was age appropriate for such socialization? Greylock was right. He should have told her how he felt sooner. A lot sooner. Now his whole plan was up in smoke and he didn't know what to do with the upset.

He didn't really give her an answer to whether or not he'd go, just an ambiguous 'I'll think about it' even though in his mind he knew he wouldn't go. He saw Sofia put on that sweet, hopeful smile as if to convince him otherwise, but he couldn't. He just couldn't.

Needless to say his 'school spirit' was dead in the water by the time Homecoming week began at the end of the month. He'd tolerated the revelry in the gymnasium the past two years, but now all it did was piss him off. He was at times grateful he and Sofia weren't in the same class, knowing if they were, she'd be seated right next to him trying to make the most of the assembly. Instead, he snuck out with Greylock who found the whole mess just a pompous excuse to waste time when he could being something more constructive.

"I told you," he said in the 'I told you so' voice when Cedric grumbled why he was in a bad mood. "Look, don't go losing yourself over it. It's just one stupid school dance. There are plenty more."

"B-But what if she likes this guy and ends up falling for him? You said yourself 'dance' leads to 'romance'."

"Well… yeah, but not always."

"Hey, you guys ditching?" A female voice caught their attention in the locker bay and they turned to see a classmate of theirs, Sasha Nettle, the botany teacher's daughter, a tall brunette who wore her hair in a high ponytail and a long school skirt instead of the short version.

"You need a smoke break, Sash?" Greylock teased, knowing she had a worse habit for cigarettes than he or his bandmates did.

"Just not in the car, okay?" Cedric said as he got his keys from his bag and led the two out of the academy and down the block to the parking lot most of the students used. He'd gotten his license over the summer mostly out of necessity for picking up his sister or running other errands for his parents, but his friends were quick to abuse the privilege given Cedric was the only one with access to his own car right away.

Sasha dragged a smoke during the walk to the car to calm her urge and lit up again once they got out of town and parked out by one of the picnic areas that had become scarce in the recent autumn days.

"Hey, gimme one," Greylock asked, bumming a cig from her, but using his own pocketed lighter to light it.

"What's up with him?" Sasha asked, motioning to Cedric who'd seated himself on top of a picnic table to do of all things, study.

Greylock gave her the short and quick of it, though it didn't explain why Cedric skipped school to study, it did explain his colder than usual attitude.

"God, you guys are stupid," she said callously, taking the cig away from her mouth to exhale. "He's got no one to blame but himself."

"I tried that approach. Don't think it's quite what he needs right now," Greylock said, letting his cigarette dangle from his lip.

"I know what he needs," she said with a smirk, giving the cigarette one last drag before stomping it out under her shoe. She told Greylock to go take a walk before making her way over to Cedric, sashaying her hips in a seductive manner she thought he'd notice on his own, but apparently whatever textbook he was reading was more appealing. She had to put her hand down between the pages for him to even look up at her.

"Do you mind?" Cedric asked, a slight blush on his cheeks from his suppressed angst.

"I figure I owe you something nice for getting me out of there," she smiled, taking the book out of his lap and setting it aside.

"I'd appreciate gas money actually," he said, his heart skipping a beat when she placed her hand on the crotch of his pants.

"I had something else in mind," she smirked, reaching for his belt.

"U-Um, th-that's very nice of you, Sasha, but I…" He turned bright red as she pressed her other hand's finger to his lips to silence him before she finished unfastening his belt, plucked open the button, and slid his zipper down. Cedric was having another crisis between his two brains again, one screaming like a tantrum throwing child to let her continue and the other pleading like a humble parishioner for the strength to overcome temptation.

In the end, what saved him was his klutziness, reaching back to brace himself on the table, he misjudged the distance to the edge and tumbled backward, his trousers around his thighs and erection poking out of his boxers. Sasha couldn't help but laugh, only to swallow back her amusement when she heard a car door shut and engine rev.

Cedric had grabbed his book and jumped back in the car, just wanting to go home and forget this whole miserable day ever happened. He couldn't even get a blowjob correctly! How pathetic!

Greylock came running from the trail to find Sasha watching the tail lights of the car as their ride left them stranded a good few miles out of town.

"Well, that backfired," Sasha said, grabbing another cigarette.

"You gotta get that oral fixation under control, Sash," Greylock told her, having a pretty good idea what she'd tried to do.

"…You want one?" She turned toward him, not wanting to hear any sort of 'parenting' from her peers.

"Eh, sure," he smiled, not being one to turn down a freebie. They had nothing better to do anyway.

Chapter Text

Sofia wanted to enjoy shopping for a proper semi-formal dress to wear for the dance, but her heart wasn't in it. Cedric had become moody again ever since she declined his invitation. He looked so hurt making Sofia wonder why. Surely if he had deeper feelings for her, he would have told her by now, wouldn't he? They'd been friends for half their lives now and shared plenty of secrets between them. Perhaps she should have told him she was going to ask him to go with her since it would be her first dance, but when Hugo Garrickson took the effort to ask her to go with him, she didn't have a good enough reason to say 'no'. Cedric hated most school functions anyway and likely wouldn't enjoy himself. It made more sense to go with a boy who wanted to be there, plus Hugo was on the football team which gave her a reason to go to the homecoming game as well. She couldn't go back on her word with Hugo just because she'd rather go with Cedric.

"Sofia, sweetie, are you alright? You keep sighing," Miranda stepped away from a rack of dresses to place a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"Just a little tired, Mom," she smiled, not wishing to talk about it right now, and she was tired.

"Oo! Sofia!" Amber parted the dresses on the rack to see through to the other side of the room. "I found a lavender dress that is just gorgeous!"

"Oh, I was thinking I'd go for something a little more grown up, in a darker shade of purple," Sofia smiled.

"Even better!" Amber squealed. "I saw a lovely little number in plum!"

"Plum…?" Sofia repeated. Plum was Cedric's favorite shade.

"Yes, yes. Here it is!" Amber came around the racks holding the dress, an A-line chiffon gown with a short hemline, capped sleeves, and a bateau neckline.

"'It's perfect'," she could hear Cedric saying the same thing from two years ago. He wasn't one to gush, but his compliments were simple, precise, and honest. Darn it, she really hoped he'd go so he could see her in this.

She tried to remain optimist throughout the week, trying to get him to talk to her more at lunch, but he stayed engrossed with his textbooks. Sofia had to wonder if he was mad at her, but this wasn't exactly uncommon behavior for him when he had a test coming up, which he already did in his calculus class. She hoped it was just that come the end of school on Friday when she went to his locker to see if he was better posttest. "Any chance you'll go to the game tonight?"

"Prob'ly not," he said as he made sure he had everything in his bag before closing his locker and preparing to leave. "Most likely I'll be studying all weekend."

"Wh-What about the dance?" Sofia reminded him, not letting him walk off before she got an answer.

He paused. Damn. He was really hoping she'd have forgotten about his answer, but that would be too convenient a world for him, wouldn't it? Still, he thought of a suitable enough reply quick enough. "Hope you have fun."

Sofia frowned and moved in front of him to prevent him from leaving. She looked up at him, pouting like a spoiled princess in the hopes her ability to manipulate him had improved. She could tell by the unamused look in his eyes that he wasn't falling for it.

"Wh-Why do you want me there so badly anyway?" He finally asked. "You have a date, remember?"

"Is there a law saying I have to dance with Hugo all night?" She asked.

"Wait, Hugo? Hugo Garrickson is the one that asked you?" This made him even more nervous.

Greylock ought to tell fortunes. He'd predicted the boy would rise to stardom come high school and he hadn't been wrong. He was an instant favorite on the field as a freshman and now the favorite running back for the Royals (their school team). It all went immediately to the boy's head of course, making Hugo's already arrogant nature even more inflated and all the more sensitive to criticism and confrontation. He was still a relatively polite boy with no scandal around him, yet, and Cedric didn't want Sofia to be the catalyst for one.

"He's kind of an asshole, you know that, don't you?" He told her, hoping she wasn't that naïve to think he was as princely as he appeared to be.

"You can be a bit of one too, you know," Sofia countered. She had her naiveties, but she wasn't blind to character flaws, choosing to overlook them to focus on the good instead.

"Yes, but he's an entitled asshole, I'm more just a jerk," Cedric argued.

"What's the difference?" Sofia huffed.

"I'll stop when you ask me to," he said seriously. No one on the football team had ever been convicted of anything (maybe because most of their parents were lawyers or big donors to the school), but there were always rumors and mysterious transfers of certain students each year.

"Oh my god, are you jealous?!" Sofia accused. "Look, I totally would have gone with you, but Hugo asked me first, okay? It's as simple as that."

"Of course, I'm jealous! You picked a boy you barely know over your best friend!" Cedric argued back, his emotions getting the better of him as over two weeks of sadness and anger spilled forth.

"Well some best friend you are! You're making a big deal out of nothing!" Sofia was on the brink of tears, not being able to understand why he was so upset. It took the heartbroken look on Cedric's face to tell her otherwise. "Oh… I… Cedric, wait!"

He had already hurried past her since embarrassment was taking its sweet time to kill him.

"YOU COWARD!" She yelled as she ran after him, not carrying about who was watching the drama unfold as she chased him into the parking lot, throwing her bookbag at the driver side door to prevent him from opening it.

He screamed and jumped back from the car only to raise his arms up in defense as he saw her coming towards him. He expected to be hit, but instead he felt her arms wrapping tightly around him. He was so confused and normally waited until he was alone to show any tears, but she was squeezing them out of him.

"I meant the fact that I'm going with Hugo is nothing…" Sofia explained, refusing to let go of him. "I just thought…"

"Look, I get it! I understand your reasoning completely! I… I overreacted…" He grumbled in denial, conflicting over wanting to push her away or pull her closer. "Sorry I can't be more mature, or cool, or competent, or princely, or—"

Sofia heaved a frustrated sigh to herself as the list of his insecurities began and knew he wouldn't stop until he'd dug himself down into a very deep hole where his self-esteem was. She wasn't going to let him get any farther, promptly latching onto his cheeks and pulling his head down as she raised herself up on her tiptoes to meet his lips. Not quite how she envisioned her first real kiss, but she succeeded in shutting him up and breaking him out of his negative spiral.

Cedric's mind flat lined. This wasn't happening, was it? This sensation against his mouth couldn't be Sofia kissing him… If it was, he must be dreaming, but then again, even in his dreams, his subconscious was never this kind to him. No, more likely he'd died and somehow got into heaven. Yes, he must have died, that was the only reasonable explanation. An angel with Sofia's likeness must be welcoming him to the afterlife.

He came back to Earth when he heard her giggle. "Cedric, you look like a goldfish."

He was standing with his mouth agape, his lips twitching as if trying to pucker or speak or remember the muscles needed to close his mouth, which he did once his senses returned. His cheeks turned bright red along with his ear lobes, his body unsure whether to be embarrassed or aroused, either way he knew he'd made a fool out of himself… again.

"A very cute goldfish," Sofia clarified, trying to boost his confidence, but wondered if 'cute' was the right word to do so with.

"I-I'm not… AH! Da Vinci's Dandelions! Why did you do that?!" He demanded, forgetting the 'cute' comment and putting his fingers to his lips, still in disbelief someone besides his own mother wanted to kiss him.

"I-I know I should have asked first, but I know how you get. I thought my actions would speak louder than words and kissing you seemed like the kindest way to get through to you," she blushed and looked up at him from behind long eyelashes. Even Sofia wasn't certain if she was trying to flirt or genuinely questioning herself, "Did I not do it right?"

"I-It was… it was fine," his chest tightened. She'd never looked at him like this before, like she was the one who was nervous and uncertain for once. Did she already regret it?

"Oh, good," she smiled, stepping away from him to gather up her bookbag. "Then I'll see you tomorrow night?"

He heaved a defeated sigh, realizing she must be using a kiss as incentive for him to show up tomorrow. If she was willing to force herself to kiss him, she must really want him to go, his mind deduced and so he yielded. "Alright, princess."

"Yay!" Her smiled widened before she turned to head out of the parking lot where her siblings were watching from the rolled down window in the backseat of their chauffeur's car.

"Sofia! Hurry up!" James called to her once there was opportunity to do so.

"What was that about?!" Amber asked as Sofia approached the car, leaving Cedric to shake his head at his own pathetic self, although he didn't feel that upset about it anymore.

"You kissed him?!" Amber exclaimed as the two got comfortable in the stands overlooking the football field later that evening, giving them time to chat more in detail about the incident in the parking lot.

"What else should I have done?" Sofia asked. "It's seemed the perfect opportunity."

"S-So help me understand, Cedric is who you really wanted to go with, so much so that you kissed him, but you're still going as Hugo's date?"

"I wouldn't really call it a 'date', Amber. I know very well a boy like Hugo merely needs arm candy for events like this and it'd be very inconvenient for him to find another girl in under a day. I told him I'd go with him and I'm not one to break a promise."

"Well, yes, social etiquette would dictate such… but it still feels… oh, I've never been that crazy about Cedric, but you really ought to be going with him, Sofia. Especially after kissing him."

"…You think he realizes I like him?"

"Knowing him? Probably not. His self esteem is too low for him to deduce you like him more than a friend. All you've done now is confused him and wrapped him tighter around your finger."

"I don't manipulate him! At least… I don't try to…"

"Puh-lease, Sofia, you've had that boy under your spell since you were eight. He put up a good fight this time, but once again he caved in to what you wanted. There's nothing he wouldn't do for you. I don't know if it's love or hero worship though, probably the latter. He knows his place."

"…What do you mean by that?" Sofia asked.

"Just that even if he did love you, he'd probably never tell you. He's more like your humble servant, always ready and willing to do your bidding, which is honestly more appropriate considering we'll likely remain in the political spotlight all our lives. You're too good for a boy like him, which is why you ought to humor him during these last few years of compulsory education and get this silly crush out of your system for good," Amber commented casually before standing up to cheer the Royals as they finally took to the field and the game started.

Sofia knew Amber didn't mean to be as hurtful as she sounded. It was possible her feelings for Cedric were all part of a girlish crush. Even she couldn't say she was in love with him for sure, but… but she did love him, and it was different than the love she felt for her brother or other male friends. She found plenty of boys attractive, but Cedric was the only her mind wondered about more frequently than others. This was beyond curiosity, and she knew it the instant she pressed her mouth to his thin lips, surprised at just how soft a boy's lips felt and how pleasantly warm they were. She wanted to feel his entire body pressed against hers, a most indecent thought to be sure, but one she feared she may act on if she was as manipulative of poor Cedric as Amber said.

The Royals won the game, guaranteeing the atmosphere for the homecoming dance to be wild with celebration, not that the victory meant much to Sofia, but she was happy for her classmates on the team and for this morale boost to school spirit.

She spent her Saturday with Amber getting her hair and nails done, their conversation now back to more trivial matters like what latest food diet was all the rage and what colors were in this season. She humored her sister, but found no real joy in the process like Amber did, but she wouldn't argue that the results were worth sitting in a chair for hours. Maybe she could have been a princess in another life, she thought musingly.

Cedric faced no such hassle with his preparations needing less than an hour to refresh his hygiene, put on a nice jade green shirt, golden necktie, and plum trousers, comb his hair into something tidier, and spritz a bit of cologne to his neck and wrists. That had him semi-formal enough, didn't it? He thought as he had a look at himself in the mirror. He looked so… basic, and ruled that a blessing as he didn't want to attract any sort of attention tonight.

"You look wonderful, Cedric," Winifred beamed proudly as he came downstairs to find his mother and sister still in the kitchen after dinner working on Cordelia's homework.

"Hundred bucks says Sofia twisted your arm," Cordelia smirked.

"Of course, she did," Cedric saw no need to deny it when it was so obvious to his family he'd never go to such events otherwise. He went to his bag by the backdoor to get his keys and doublecheck his wallet once more for his student ID.

"Are you off to pick her up then?" Winifred asked, assuming the pair had decided to go together.

"Nah. Not sure if her chauffeur was taking her or if her date was."

"'Date'?" Both women asked in confusion and shock, but before they could inquire further Cedric was out the door to get this whole thing over with.

The academy's gymnasium was barely recognizable amidst the decorations for this year's theme, mythological. A pair of winged white horses reared up on either side of the doors to welcome the students inside where streamers and bunting were the breath of dragons or the elongated fines of mermaids, all beautifully painted and fabricated with the finest of art materials available to the student council.

To Cedric, it seemed a great waste of money for a dance that wasn't even the academy's biggest, but well to do children with well to do parents did make for an elaborate display. The punch fountain was a bit much, causing Cedric to roll his eyes. He was raised far to pragmatically to see the point, mostly because his family wasn't as well off as his peers. but Cedric was raised with humbler intentions. Despite Albert's success and recognition, the monetary benefits were surprisingly few, and being the man he was, put most of their money into their children's education in the hopes the payoff, both figurative and literal, would be worth the investment.

Sofia, on the other hand, was captivated by the décor and professed for love for it immediately. She came in on Hugo's arm, but instead of paying her date any praise for his football skills or handsomeness, she raved about the dangling stars and twinkle lights hanging from the ceiling. "Oh, it's beautiful! Like a dream!"

"It's alright, I guess," Hugo more-or-less agreed.

"And everyone looks so nice. I just knew school dances would be fun," she beamed innocently, squeezing his arm ready to pull him into the chaos that was the dance floor that was just now shifting from background instrumental music to actual songs. "Let's see some of that fancy footwork!"

"Whoa!" Hugo was surprised she had enough strength to her to pull him like she did, but he'd forgive her forwardness since she was asking him to show off for her, which he was all too eager to do.

"Wow," Greylock said with no enthusiasm as he found Cedric in a corner of the gym seated at one of the tables an hour or so into the dance. He approached with his arm around Sasha's waist, the two oddly having hit it off after being stranded. "You. Are. Whipped."

"I'm here because I want to be," Cedric corrected him as the two sat down, Sasha on Greylock's lap, absently rubbing her date's shoulder as the two boys talked.

"Liar. You're here because you want to be with Sofia," Greylock grinned. "I take it you haven't seen her yet?"

"This place is packed. I figure I'll try looking for her once things settle down and Hugo is worn out a bit."

"The guy plays football Cedric," Sasha chuckled. "That's quite a large amount of stamina to put yourself up against."

Cedric smirked knowingly. "You don't know Sofia. She was raised on parties. Dances never exhaust her."

"What about the horizontal kind?" Sasha asked.

"Must we start?" Cedric groaned.

"Cedric, it's homecoming and we won a game for once. You know how rowdy the jocks get. You can practically smell the debauchery about to take place tonight," Greylock chuckled, moving his hand to grab Sasha's butt.

"It's a little early to be so frisky, don't you think?" Sasha leaned down over him, cuing Cedric to look away as the two made out for a while and thank god he did, because he caught his first glimpse of Sofia through the crowd, happily dancing as more of a group than with anyone in particular, though he did notice Hugo was right in front of her.

Sofia happened to glance in his direction at the same time, spying him hiding in the shadows easily through years of practice.

Cedric smiled a little and raised his hand to give her a quick wave to assure her he was indeed there and she wasn't seeing things. Another group of dancers quickly blocked the two, but a few seconds later Sofia was pushing her way through to make her way over to him, completely ignoring the enamored couple beside him.

"You really came!" She exclaimed happily as he stood, surprised she made the detour for him. She resisted her instinct to hug him in order to give him a thorough look over first. "Oh wow! You look so handsome!"

"I do…?" He blushed, pushing back a wayward lock of gray hair behind his ear as he took in her own beauty, too stunned to say anything, not that he could given they were promptly interrupted by Sofia's date.

"Hey, Sofia. C'mon," Hugo didn't acknowledge Cedric in the slightest, taking a hold of Sofia's hand to pull her back.

"Just wait a minute," Sofia shooed him away.

"For what?" He asked.

"It's okay," Cedric lied. "I'll be here."

"Okay, fine, but don't you go leaving before you dance with me!" Sofia warned as she reluctantly returned to the floor with Hugo.

"What was that about?" He asked.

"What?"

"You talking to that dweeb. What's he got on you that you owe him a dance?"

"Excuse me?" Sofia frowned, freezing in place. "Cedric Goodwyn happens to be my best friend."

"Whoa, really?" Hugo sounded more amazed than ashamed he'd just made fun of his date's friend. "Huh, well then he won't mind you not dancing with him, right? Cuz you and I are going all night, baby."

"Oh?" Sofia raised an eyebrow. "And where was this fine print when you asked me out?"

"Seriously, Sofia? You're my date. My date. Think of the crap I'd get from the team if they saw you dancing that that dwee—guy."

"Wow, image really is everything to you, isn't it?" Sofia sighed in disgust. "Clearly not a real gentleman then, are you?"

She went for the jugular, his pride, without hesitating and then turned to return to Cedric, considering her obligation to honor her agreement fulfilled, leaving Hugo stunned, and what was worse, insulted.

"Sofia?" Cedric was surprised to see her running back towards him already and this time didn't pause to admire him, jumping right into his arms.

"Cedric, dance with me!" She insisted, ready to put the matter with Hugo behind her as she wound her arms around his neck and held on tight.

Cedric nodded obediently, but with the warmest smile on his face as they turned onto the floor together, both able to drown out the entire world when they were together and having fun. He didn't ask what happened with Hugo, not wanting to acknowledge the jock's existence anymore than he'd acknowledged his. Nothing else mattered to him, although it was a hell of a time for both of them to choose to lose their abandon with a scorned ego now festering in their midst.

Chapter Text

Sitting on the sidelines people watching was getting boring for Hank Greylock, even the distraction of Sasha on his lap wasn't doing it for him. He thought he might see a fight when Sofia left Hugo for Cedric, noting how pissed the football player was, but no punches were thrown, much to Greylock's disappointment.

"Hey babe, you wanna get me some punch?" Sasha asked, wiggling on his lap to bring his attention back to her.

"Sure," he answered, letting her dismount so he could get up. It was something to do at least. As he approached the refreshment table, he noticed two boys discussing something in a hushed manner. If they wanted to look suspicious, they were certainly succeeding, but thankfully none of the chaperones had noticed them yet.

The boys, two nerdy looking seniors he didn't really recognize, straightened up to 'act normal' as Greylock approached, their mouths clamped tight.

"What are you guys up to?" Greylock asked with a curious smile.

"Nothin'," one of them said, which told him there was indeed something.

"Nothing, huh? Well you're going to give yourselves away doing 'nothing'. The trick to any prank is to act natural and casual, you know."

The two exchanged a look between them before deciding they'd let him in on their scheme, one opening his jacket to show a bottle of Everclear, and like that, the night was set to get interesting. He advised the boys not to use the whole bottle, that is, unless it was their intention to really do some damage to their classmates. He left it up to them and helped distract the two by engaging the teacher guarding the punch fountain in brief conversation, long enough for the deed to be done and for the fun to begin.

"What took you?" Sasha asked when Greylock finally returned and handed her a cup.

"Helped two seniors spike the punch," he winked before she took a sip.

Sasha lowered the cup and looked at the liquid in confusion. "I don't taste anything."

"Everclear," he said, taking a small sip of his own. "Take it slowly or you'll get shitfaced real quick."

"…Hank, as much as I'd like to see some of these assholes get drunk, people could really get sick on this stuff."

"Yup," he smirked, his conscious not being one to bother him about such things.

"You're unbelievable," Sasha rolled her eyes. She might have her faults, but she didn't take any enjoyment in putting others in harm's way.

"Just sit and watch. We're in for quite the show," he said as he noticed Cedric and Sofia breaking from dancing to get a drink. Greylock could only grin, now anxious to see how his 'friend' would handle his liquor.

Sofia and Cedric didn't notice anything off about the punch, but it wasn't long until people began showing symptoms of having drunk such a strong alcohol. Chaperones took notice, immediately suspecting it was the punch and stopped the dance right then and there to find the parties responsible.

The kids who guzzled down the punch were probably luckier, being quicker to throw it up while those who sipped were left to writhe in agony. Those who hadn't drank were questioned at the door before being allowed to leave while those who had were kept in the gym for their own safety.

Cedric rinsed out their cups and brought Sofia some water from the drinking fountain, encouraging her to drink it to dilute whatever was in her system. He was forcing himself to do the same despite the horrid clenching in his gut.

"So much for my first dance…" Sofia slumped her head against his shoulder both in disappointment and because she didn't have the strength to keep it lifted.

"It'll be alright," Cedric assured her, lolling his head against hers and nuzzling his cheek into her hair for comfort. "We can dance on yer birthday… jus' you an' me…"

"That sounds nice…" Sofia nuzzled back, liking how warm and soothing his presence was.

"Sofia," James' voice interrupted the two. He had Amber supported under his arm and was offering the other to her. He'd only had a sip by the time word got out so he wasn't too far gone, just a bit dizzy.

"James… Amber…" Sofia watched them sit down next to them and reached out a hand to touch her sister.

"Oh Sofia, I feel awful…" Amber groaned, reaching up to grasp the younger girls' fingers.

"Least you threw up right away," James pointed out. "That had to help."

"Yes, but I still feel awful."

"Keep drinking water…" Cedric mumbled, trying to be helpful but all he wanted to do now was sleep.

Angry and distraught parents began showing up to collect their children, Roland and Miranda among them along with the family steward Baileywick.

"How could this happen?!" Roland demanded as he scooped his daughter up in his arms.

"Now's not the time, Rollie," Miranda told him, helping both Cedric and Sofia along with Baileywick. "Cedric, where are your parents?"

Cedric could only mumble in a sleepy voice. He hadn't called his parents yet given his priority to Sofia first, meaning he'd be on his own if they didn't take him.

Sighing, Miranda looked back to Roland. "We'll have the Goodwyns get him from our place. Baileywick, could you?"

"Of course, ma'am," he said, pulling a cellphone out of his breast pocket to call the Goodwyns.

Cedric didn't remember much, passing out sometime before he was even loaded into the car. Come morning, he awoke to find himself laid out on one of four couches in sitting room from Sofia's house. Each couch held a different Winslow sibling, all of them kept in the same room to make looking after them less complicated. He slowly sat up, his mind in a fog and the rest of him aching. He groaned, wondering why he was bothering to move in the first place.

Cedric groaned and pushed back the blanket over him, realizing he was in his boxers and a borrowed T-Shirt which raised questions he wasn't sure he wanted answered.

"Cedric…?" He heard Sofia's weak voice call out for him. "You awake?"

"Yeah…" He answered and draped an arm over his eyes. He heard her feet shuffling across the carpet and felt a new weight sinking the cushions of his sofa. He slowly moved his arm to see Sofia curling up next to him.

"I'm cold…"

"Okay," he said, bringing his blanket around her and tucking her under his arm to hopefully rectify that problem. He lightly rubbed her upper arm as she snuggled close to him, somehow making the aches and pain worth it.

Miraculously there were no one was seriously affected by the stunt. A few students did have to go to hospital to get their stomachs pumped and systems cleared, but most were fine and back to school on Monday. There was an announcement asking for anyone with information to come forward. Rumors began that a good portion of the senior class was behind this 'prank', not that anyone could prove anything.

Cedric had his suspicions given the nature of the prank, but accusing one of his few friends of the act without proof was unwise. Greylock had a mischievous streak and since his parents ran a club, he knew his alcohol a bit better than most. However, Cedric wasn't sure confronting him would get him an answer, and besides, he had bigger things to worry about when he opened his locker and found the entire contents damp and already molding.

"Einstein's Enchiladas, really…?" Cedric groaned as he tried to see if any of his text books were salvageable. They weren't. He leaned against the locker and whined loudly. "Why couldn't they just beat me up?"

Still having time before class, he took care of what he could gathering what he could into a trash bag he got from a janitor and went to find Sofia, knowing seeing her would make him feel better. She was never to school too early, usually ten or fifteen minutes before first bell, meaning he'd probably find her at her own locker in the other bay.

Further scandal awaited him when he arrived to find a large group of students gathered around discussing the vandalism to Sofia's own locker which unlike his hadn't been flooded, merely labeled with such terms as 'slut' and 'whore' in permanent marker that Sofia and her sister were desperately trying to erase with a handkerchief and wet paper towel from the girls' bathroom.

Cedric dropped his bag, enraged, and turned to the gathered crowd. "Oy! Get to your classes! There's no show here! Go!"

He kept shoeing them off until the bay finally cleared, then approached the two girls. "Amber, you got any nail polish remover?"

"Uh, yeah!" The blond went to her own locker two up from Sofia's and pulled out a small bottle from a spare makeup bag.

"That'll do," Cedric said, taking the remover from Amber and the cloth from Sofia. He quickly removed the graffiti while he Amber comfort her sister until he was done. "There. All gone."

"Why would someone do that…?" Sofia asked, sniffling a little.

"Because some people are assholes," Cedric said frankly, looking back at her to make sure she knew damn well who was responsible.

"You don't think Hugo'd…?"

"Who else have you scorned lately?" Cedric asked sarcastically.

"Well I'm calling Daddy right away and telling him we're suing for sexual harassment and emotional damage," Amber said, pulling her cellphone out of her purse.

"It's fine, Amber," Sofia said, reaching out to stop her. "First of all we'd need proof, and second, it's just one incident… if it continues, then I'll say something."

"But Sofia, you can't just let them get away with this!"

"I agree," Cedric nodded.

"Look, I know it's not right, but after homecoming and now this, I just want to not do anything, okay?" She pleaded with them.

Both Cedric and Amber knew there'd be no convincing her otherwise. They hoped it'd be an isolated incident and they'd move on with their lives as the rest of the school seemed to. By the end of the day, word got around that two seniors were the ones responsible for spiking the punch with the help of an unnamed lower classman, word that reached the teachers and headmistress Flora Goodferry that landed the two seniors in her office. By the end of the week, there was a full confession and identification of their accomplice. The punishment? Expulsion. The academy's strict rules dictated as such.

"I never thought you'd pull such a stupid stunt…" Cedric confronted Greylock during his locker cleanout.

Greylock ignored him.

"What were you thinking?! I got really sick too, you know! Don't you care?!" Cedric demanded.

"I dunno, Hedgeclip. I thought it'd be funny."

"And was it?"

"Eh," he shrugged his shoulders.

"So that's it then? You're expelled and it wasn't even worth it?"

"What can I say? I have bad judgement," Greylock smirked as he finished loading his backpack and closed his locker, leaving Cedric with a quick pat on the shoulder and a, "See ya around, Cedric."

"And that was it…" Cedric recapped over the phone with Sofia that night.

"No apology or…?"

"Nothing. He's always been a handful, but… I still think of him as a friend. Is that wrong?"

"Well I'd question having a friend that'd be willing to put me in harm's way for a laugh… But I can understand why you wouldn't want to let him go…"

"Maybe he'll do some growing up now that he's been kicked out of school… but I heard some parents are going to take legal action against him and the seniors so who knows… He might very well become a criminal."

"Or a defense attorney," Sofia suggested, earning a laugh from Cedric.

"Yes, he'd probably make a great defense attorney. God knows he'll need one."

"It's good to hear you laugh."

"It's been a rough week, hasn't it?" Cedric smiled, flopping down on his bed to fully decompress. "But hey, you've got a birthday coming up, Miss Sweet Sixteen."

Sofia giggled on the other end of the phone. "Yup."

"Any plans?" he asked.

"Um, do you think… you and I could… just have a day in?"

A day in for them usually meant playing video games all day with snacks and naps, the only trouble was Sofia's birthday was on a weekday this year which meant they both had school to worry about, and if they skipped, it'd mean they'd be at his house all alone and… but perhaps he was reading too much into the idea. "Alright. What sort of cake would you like?"

"Strawberry and cream cheese~!"

"Sounds good," he chuckled, sensing how happy she was now on the other end of the line. It'd been a rough week, but the next sounded promising, and Cedric was cautiously optimistic.

Chapter Text

Not much of a delinquent, Cedric made sure he got his homework ahead of time and had Winifred excuse him for the day, knowing if the school called to inquire about his absence, he'd get an earful from his father. Winifred was more understanding, wanting very much to encourage such sweet behavior in her boy even if it meant missing a day of school. Some things were better learned independently, she told him as he dropped her off at work and then drove to school to pick Sofia up.

She'd been less that forthright with her parents about her intentions for the day, sneaking off campus and out of view of the security cameras where Cedric picked her up, giggling at her own mischief. "Okay, okay. Go, go."

"I'm going," he chuckled as she buckled her seatbelt and headed for home. "Happy Birthday by the way."

"Tha~ank you!" Sofia smiled proudly, not that aging another year was much of an accomplishment, but she was happy to be a little bit more of an adult.

When they got home, they changed out of their uniforms and into T-Shirts and pajama bottoms and finished up frosting the small cake Cedric had made for her in the kitchen. He'd waited to decorate it knowing Sofia would want the excess frosting, and to show off how well he could make rosettes. After adding a few strawberry slices to the completed cake, he stuck in a few candles, grabbed a lighter, and took the finished creation downstairs with them to enjoy slightly later in the day after a round of video games.

"Ah!" Sofia groaned at her recent loss and set the controller aside to sink into the comfy couch. "I give up."

"N'aw, c'mon. One more game," he said with a triumphant smirk given his current winning streak.

"My thumbs need a rest," Sofia insisted as she stretched out her fingers and wiggled them loose after tightly holding the controller for too long.

Cedric set his own controller aside and flopped back next to her, turning slightly onto his side to look at her without turning his head. "Having fun?"

"Mhm," she smiled up at him and reached her arms out to hold him. "Thank you, Cedric. This means a lot to me."

"Sure," he blushed, hesitantly returning the embrace and expecting she'd ease off once he had.

However, Sofia's grip only tightened.

"…Is something wrong?" He asked, uncertain what such an embrace meant.

"There's something I want…" She said as he hands tightly clenched the material of his t-shirt. "And I'd know you'd do it for me, but… it's something I want you to want to do because otherwise I'll worry that I do manipulate you."

Cedric chuckled and nuzzled into her tight embrace since she wasn't going to let go. "Who do you want me to kill?"

"Pfft," Sofia held back a snicker and ended up snorting before slowly regaining her composure. "No, no, nothing like that. I want to… kiss you some more… and… stuff…"

Color creeped into Cedric's cheeks and spread like wild fire. Kissing was enough of a surprise, but what did she mean by 'stuff'? 'Stuff' could mean any number of things! And it wasn't like Sofia to be so intentionally vague, but the vagueness itself suggested… oh, but she couldn't be, could she?

Hesitantly, Sofia eased her hold on his shirt and leaned back to gage his reaction from his facial expression since he'd gone quiet on her again. He looked lost until she met his eyes and brought him back to Earth, his eyes now searching for some place comfortable to direct their gaze and settling back where they began, at hers.

"I'd… very much like to kiss you…" He said bravely.

"You would?" Sofia's expression gradually lit up for a moment only to temper into a soft glow as he brought her closer.

"Yeah…" Was all he breathed out before locking lips with hers for a few tender seconds.

Sofia's arms came over his shoulders and pulled him down onto the length of the couch with her, pressing lips together again with an encouraging and sensual moan. She ran her fingers through his hair as his excitement grew and motivated a more commanding pace between them. She felt his hands rubbing her sides for a short while before his right wandered to her chest, feeling out and then gently squeezing her left breast above her clothes. "Mm!"

The noise snapped him back to reality to apologize for what he assumed was a fumble on his part. "I-I-I'm sorry! Did I hurt you?"

Sofia shook her head. "No, it… it felt good."

"It did?" He knew it was supposed to, to some degree anyway, but doubted he had any skill for pleasuring another when all he knew to do was grab his dick and pull.

"Can I touch you?" She asked, sliding her hands down his trunk to the hem of his shirt.

He looked her in the eyes and slowly nodded as her hands went under his shirt and up his bare stomach, mindfully exploring the skin underneath. He took deep breaths to maintain his sanity, but even his pajama bottoms were beginning to feel confining as one particular part of his body now desired the soft touch of her petal-like fingertips. "Sofia… Can I…?"

"Okay," Sofia nodded, surprised at how desperate his voice was beginning to sound.

Likewise, his hands disappeared up her shirt and under her bra, needing to cup them bare to settle his curiosity, but now igniting more and more desires. He began kissing her again, kissing her lips and kneading her breasts in his hands to coax out more of those pleasant noises she was making as he did so. He finally seemed to be doing something right, and it felt incredible.

"This feels so…!" Sofia let out a gasp as she felt a hand abruptly detour from her breast and reach down into her pants instead. Her redness grew, but she didn't stop him, watching with intrigue as he cupped her crotch and began to rub back and forth on top of her panties. "Oh…!"

The amount of heat she gave off was arousing him in a way he never had before. It felt wrong and right at the same time, but regardless, he wanted more. He retreated his hand up to the waistband of her underwear and rather teasingly slow, reached inside. He felt over the soft mound of her curls and deeper to the center of her warmth, slickened folds were parted by his curious fingers and sensitive flesh rubbed to moisten her further.

She moaned and he felt his fingers sliding with greater ease against her. She was wet. He was making her wet. This was the best day of his entire life!

"Sofia… me too…" He pleaded, taking hold of her right hand with his left to put near his pants. "Touch me too…!"

Sofia reached inside his pants to find something warm and hard already sticking out of his boxers. She took hold of his erection, cradling it in the palm of her hand before gathering the courage to stroke it. The rigidness caused by mere increased blood flow didn't seem possible, nor did the softness of the shaft. It was a bit like velvet, or maybe the skin of a peach was a better comparison, she wasn't sure, but it intrigued her and she wrapped her hand around it fully to continue, finding his own sensual noises pleasing to her ear.

"Ohh…" he whimpered happily, pressing into her hand while his own fingers were now prodding at her entrance. He slipped one finger in easily then stretched her further with a second, producing the most beautiful cry from her.

"Cedric!" Sofia arched her back sliding further onto his fingers until he began rocking them into her of his own accord. She couldn't keep stroking him, needing to grip the at the cushion beneath her to keep her sanity.

"Sofia…" He called her name and leaned back down to kiss her lips, gently and sweetly while the thrust of his fingers intensified.

"Mm…! Wait!" She grabbed his wrist and looked at him.

"D-Did I do something wrong?" He asked immediately.

Sofia shook her head and averted her eyes shyly. "Le-Let's go to your room."

"…Alright," he agreed once some rational thought returned to his upper brain. They found themselves holding hands as they walked up both flights of stairs to Cedric's bedroom, still as cluttered as ever, but there was an order to the chaos as he put it. The bed was clear, albeit unmade, which suited their purpose all the better.

Sofia paused a moment before pushing down her bottoms and pulling off her t-shirt before she crawled onto the twin sized mattress and unhooked her bra last, tossing it to the floor with the rest of her clothes before looking up to a stunned Cedric.

He took a deep breath as he burned the image of her naked in his bed into his mind before scrambling out of his own clothes and practically tackling her as he jumped into bed ready to kiss and touch and whatever else she wanted.

She had a brief laugh at his enthusiasm before being muffled by another kiss, one she held onto as she eased back on the mattress with him nestling his hips between her legs.

"Sofia…" He exhaled, nuzzling his head against hers as he dipped his pelvis down and began to prod them forward, searching. "A-Are you sure you want this? You want… me?"

"More than anything," she smiled and then gasped, feeling the crown at her entrance slowly pushing in.

"It's almost too wonderful to be true," he smiled and pressed his lips to hers again. "I've been in love with you since we were kids, but I never… not that I didn't want to… but you… you…."

Sofia latched onto him and arched her back, taking him in before Cedric was fully ready for it, resulting in both of them crying out at the sensation of the other.

"S-S-Sofia…!" He shuddered, his wits scattered all around him as the most amazingly tight warmth enveloped him, but his euphoria was short lived due to the tearful gasp beneath him.

Sofia was tearing up, he assumed from pain, and he moved ready to get off of her, but she only hugged him closer.

"I-I don't want to hurt you!" He insisted and she shook her head quickly.

"It's not that… I mean, yeah, it does kinda hurt a little, but I'm fine," she sniffled and shuffled her legs about to try and adjust her position, but that was slightly complicated by having another person connected to her. "…You love me?"

His cheeks brightened and he slowly nodded. "Yes."

"Then all this time you've been keeping that to yourself and letting me walk over your feelings like I have no regard for them?" She whimpered and brought a hand up to wipe away her tears. "Why would you do that to yourself, Cedric…?"

"Maybe I'm an emotional masochist…" He sighed, cupping her cheeks and thumbing away the tears she missed. "I wanted to tell you… I was planning on it, but I… Later always seemed better than sooner, I guess…"

A soft bit of laughter escaped Sofia and he could feel the tension in her body ease. "Me too… I know you care about me, but love is a little scary, isn't it?"

"E-Exactly!" He smiled, carefully bringing an arm around her middle to hug her. "But you… love me too?"

"You're inside me and you're still questioning that?" Sofia laughed again, hugging him tight.

"I-I didn't want to assume," he admitted, having a chuckle at the absurdity before the mood relaxed again and the focus shifted back to their physical intertwining. He moved mostly on instinct, keeping the pace slow and steady at first, but as they day past and the round count rose, they both gained a bit of confidence and boldness.

They took water and bathroom breaks, but kept to the bed for the rest of their day, enjoying this new activity they could do together and relishing in the feelings of the other. It was heaven, until four o'clock rolled around and reason returned when they both realized they ought to clean up and get dressed before Cedric's family started arriving home.

With no need to be shy, they both went into the bathroom for a quick shower and to change clothes. Sofia was shuffling through her mini toiletries bag when she noticed the spare tampon she kept in there for emergencies and her brain immediately began doing the math. "Uh, Cedric?"

"Hm?" He was right next to her, nonchalantly brushing his teeth.

"My period's not due for two weeks…" She said hesitantly.

He removed the toothbrush from his mouth and spat into the sink. "I thought you were on birth control for that thing?"

"Yeah, a low dose, but it's not a guarantee. If… If we're going to keep doing it, we need condoms, okay?"

"Okay," He nodded, rinsing off his brush and then taking a swig of water into his mouth with a nearby cup. He gargled and spat as Sofia finished her primping and then after wiping his mouth, stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle, his head resting against her shoulder. "Is there anything else you want for your birthday?"

"Hmm," she leaned back into him as she thought. "Nope. Today was perfect."

"Oh dear, if this was perfection then I'm going to have a difficult time next year," he smirked, bringing his head over his shoulder to look at the two of them in the mirror. They looked enough like a real couple, but he still wondered if this wasn't all some grand fantasy he'd fallen into. If it were, he'd never want to leave.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Sofia asked after he'd been quiet a while.

"Just how happy I am right now," he smiled and then his expression changed as he heaved a sigh. "And apparently my penis feels the same."

She laughed. "We are teenagers, Cedric."

"I know, but this seems excessive," he groaned, letting go of her as not to encourage his lower extremities. It was probably a good thing he took her home after she finished up in the bathroom. He could use the hour before his parents got home to clean up, and contemplate how he was going to continue their sexcapades responsibly and with discretion which was easier said than done when all he could think about was Sofia naked… Sofia gasping… Sofia crying out his name… Excessive had been too weak a word.

Chapter Text

Sofia heaved many a dreamy sigh between when Cedric took her home and when she saw him again at school the next day. She wasn't usually one to be self conscious but those beautiful brown eyes bore witness to many intimacies yesterday, she found herself blushing at first sight of him in the locker bay.

"How are you feeling?" Cedric asked as he approached her.

"I'm alright," she smiled warmly. He always fretted about her well being, but it was sweeter now somehow, knowing how deeply he cared for her. She couldn't resist stealing a quick kiss from his lips.

He blushed immediately before lowering his voice to a whisper. "P-Probably not a good idea to do anything at school."

"I know, but I couldn't help it," she smiled. She honestly wanted to tackle him then and there, but resisted first of many urges.

They'd awakened something they couldn't contain despite every ounce of logic and reason nagging at them to be responsible young adults, something easier said than done when they at last risked making out one afternoon while Cordelia was home upstairs studying.

"This is crazy…" Sofia breathed between kisses on the basement sofa. "How can I miss you so much despite seeing you every day?"

"I know, it's torture," he said before unceremoniously pushing his tongue into her mouth while his hands squeezed her bare thigh beneath her skirt. "I didn't think I could want you anymore than I already do."

"Cedric, we can't…" Sofia let out a restrained whimper, wanting to grind on his lap to satisfy the ache in her groin. "If Cordelia catches us she'll definitely tell your parents…"

"Maybe I can bribe her if she does…" He said on an exhale before latching onto her neck.

"Mm!" Sofia clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from making too much noise. They had two floors between them, but she didn't want to give Cordelia any indication there was mischief afoot. She and Cedric were simply studying together or playing a video game like they usually did and perhaps they still would, once this nagging instinct to rut had been sated.

"Ah no, shit," Cedric said as he pulled away from her neck. "I left a mark."

"I told you not to suck so hard," Sofia scolded, but at least she could turn the collar of her jacket up to hide it when she got in. And with days of autumn upon them, wearing a scarf wouldn't be too suspicious… or so she tried to reason before her brain reminded her she was still quite wanting.

"But you like it," Cedric countered with puppy-dog eyes, planting apology kisses up to her lips.

"Yeah…" Sofia admitted before capturing his lips with hers. Why did he have to taste so good? Why couldn't they just sit there like composed human beings and innocently hold hands? Because sex felt so damn good, her brain answered as she unzipped Cedric's trousers and crawled on top of his lap.

"S-Sofia, w-wait!" He held her waist for a moment, hoping she'd remain still while his hand reached into his back pocket to fish out his wallet. He pulled out a small square of plastic and quickly tore into it.

She loved him even more in that moment, knowing he'd done what she'd asked and taken it upon himself to pause their ardor to slip a condom on. Bless him. She could barely wait the few seconds it took him to put it on before she was pulling the crotch of her panties to the side and sitting down on him.

"Oh god…" Cedric's breath hitched and he threw his arms around her middle, hugging her tight. "Sofia…"

"You're wonderful," she smiled at him before kissing him again, their moans muffled by each others' mouths as she settled onto his lap and began grinding her pelvis against his.

He believed her, knowing there'd be no other way she'd be riding him like this if he wasn't. He loved her so much, so damn much, both wanting to shout his feelings to the world and at the same time keep it secret just between them.

For a time, they managed the later, but come the first Valentine's Day since their tryst began, they both wondered how much longer they'd be able to keep this development secret from their parents.

"It's got to be social pressure," Sofia said as they lounged on the floor in front of the sofa this time, curled up under a blanket. "I mean, yeah, I like roses but if you buy me any it's just going to bring up more questions than we want to answer right now, besides, have you seen how expensive they are?"

"Mhm," Cedric nodded and reached under the sofa to grab something he'd stashed their earlier: a bottle of lotion with the label of Rosey Posey – a rose scented skin cream. "Which is why I put my brain to good use when selecting something."

"Oo!" Sofia eagerly accepted the bottle and popped the lid open to take a whiff of the soft, but pleasant scent. "Oh, this is perfect. My bottle of Lavender Lily is getting low."

"It's that time of year for dry skin," Cedric smirked as he reached out to brush a stray lock of hair back over her shoulder. He knew their days like this wouldn't last, even if by some miracle, their parents never found out, he'd be graduating in a little over a year and off to college – he still wasn't sure where, which brought about untold amounts of stress. The future was always so uncertain and he didn't know what all he wanted in his, aside from Sofia. How could she not be a part of it?

"I got something for you too," Sofia announced as she put the bottle and the blanket aside and crawled in front of him with a devilish smile curling her lips.

"Y-You did?" Cedric was more concerned than curious when she had that smile.

"Mhm," Sofia nodded and dipped her head down between his legs.

"U-U-Um!" Cedric turned cherry red as he felt her fingers lower his zipper. "T-Today is a high risk day though, isn't it?"

"Not if I put it in my mouth," Sofia said with a mirthful giggle as she carefully extracted his semi-erect cock from the fly of his boxers.

"A-Are you sure? You don't have to—"

"I want to," she said firmly as he throbbed to full attention. "And it looks like you want to as well."

Cedric gulped and hid his face behind his hands as he reclined back to let her have her way with him. "You're overwhelming me, Sofia…"

She giggled and leaned over to steal a kiss from his lips first while her hand began stroking him. "I'll stop if it's too much for you, promise."

"Okay…" He agreed, lingering at her lips and watching her slowly lower her head back down to his crotch, extending her tongue to taste the tip of him as she arrived. His breath hitched, but he steadied it quickly, wanting to watch as she put her mouth on him, first kissing the crown before lightly sucking on it. He let out a low groan of pleasure, the heat of her mouth a bit different, but no less fantastic than her sex.

Sofia paced herself steadily, one hand still squeezing him at the base while her mouth worked the length of him. She knew he was enjoying it, but didn't expect the sensual whimper he made near the end before he completely gave himself over to her.

"Sofia…!" Cedric panted, trying to find enough words to warn her he was nearing his release. "I'm…!"

"Mhm," she replied softly, still sucking with earnest.

He lost it, erupting into her mouth with a suppressed cry, followed by more whimpering as her gentle suction continued at the tip, draining him dry. "Oh god…"

"Huh, doesn't taste so bad…" Sofia commented more to herself as she wiped her lips off on her sleeve and looked up at him, only now beginning to blush herself. "Was that alright?"

"I love you…!" Cedric managed to respond, but his head was still coming down from this spiral of pleasure.

"I love you too," she beamed before standing up. "But I do wanna wash my mouth out quick. Be right back."

"'Kay…" He said wearily, hearing her walk to the bathroom and flick on the light and run the tap. He slowly managed to sit himself up and pushed his flaccid manhood back into his boxers before zipping up his jeans just in time for Sofia's return.

She smiled at him and sat down just in front of him, reclining back against his chest and encouraging him to wrap his arms around her, which he did, planting kisses to the side of her face as she got comfortable and pulled the blanket back on top of them to keep the cold chill of February away.

Chapter Text

His junior year of high school now completed, Cedric faced a busy summer of visiting colleges and universities and applying for scholarships. He still hadn't the foggiest what he wanted to do, but he was entertaining the idea of going away for school to get away from his parents, an ocean away in fact, given that his family's connections were mostly in Britain. He entertained the possibility, but wasn't at all expecting to get an acceptance letter that September.

"Congratulations!" Sofia awarded him with a big hug and a kiss to his cheek, but was quickly discouraged to see her usual infectious enthusiasm wasn't rubbing off on him. "Oh come on, Cedric! Smile a little at least! You wanted to be away from your parents for college and now you'll have an entire ocean!"

"But if I go, you and I will…" He trailed off, not wanting to say the words out loud.

"Oh…" Sofia went quiet for a moment before looking up at him with that optimistic smile of hers. "It can't be helped. You're a whole year ahead of me. And it's not like we aren't going to hear from each other."

"I know, but… I'm scared if we're apart we'll change too much. The only future I was ever sure of was one with you in it and now I… I don't know."

The reality that they were still children and green to the rest of the world wasn't lost on either of them, and constantly reminded to them by their parents. They tried to approach the topic responsibly and open-mindedly, but emotions ran high whenever the mere mention of them being apart was uttered, compelling them to comfort the other as they had for over a year now, only for their reprieve to be interrupted unexpectedly by Cedric's mother after she got home from work early one day.

"...It's not like I didn't know," Winifred told both of them after they got dressed and came downstairs to sit on the couch for a lecture. "You two aren't the first teenagers to fool around behind your parents' backs and you won't be the last. You think you hide it well, but a mother knows. I mean, Ceddy's been smitten with you since he was a boy, dare I say this was inevitable."

"Then are we in trouble…?" Cedric asked, his cheeks red in embarrassment, but grateful they'd at least been under his sheets when his mother walked in on them.

"Well, I wouldn't say that. As a parent, I know I'm supposed to be the bad guy now."

"B-But it's not like we're doing anything wrong, Mom. I wear condoms and Sofia's on birth control, and… and we do love each other."

"I know you do, sweetheart, so let me finish. I can't stop you from doing what you're going to do. Yes, as a mother, I have my concerns, but I won't let on how much I know to your father and Sofia's parents if you two stop sneaking around. Besides, you'll be apart by this time next year, so wouldn't you rather date openly until then?"

Sofia and Cedric both looked at the woman in surprise and then at one another. It would be nice to not having to sneak around, they decided, and braced themselves for telling Sofia's parents.

Miranda knew, although she played it out like she didn't, and while Roland had been told by his wife that their daughter was likely involved with Cedric, he didn't believe it until the two confessed in his study, holding hands and preparing themselves for the worst.

"Er, well, young love is… um…" Roland knew he ought to be offering some sort of fatherly wisdom in this situation, but he was at a loss for words.

Sofia wasn't a child that needed a whole lot of parenting anymore, always being responsible and mature for her age, but he couldn't attest to Cedric entirely since the two always seemed to be at his house rather than here – which made sense now that he had this extra bit of information.

"What are your intentions with my daughter, Cedric?" Roland asked in lieu of lecturing.

"Um, we… we just want to spend as much time together as we can before I go to Oxford next August," Cedric said nervously, squeezing Sofia's hand tightly.

"I know I have to be wary since you're in the public eye, Dad, but Cedric's a good person and he'd never do anything to hurt me."

"I'm aware of that Sofia. You two wouldn't have been friends for such a long time if you weren't," Roland heaved a sigh. "I suppose I don't have any reason to object. If he makes you happy, I'll support your relationship."

Sofia and Cedric exchanged a smile, feeling a weight lifting from their chests and turning into some of the happiest months of their lives, but the inevitable arrived sooner than expected. Cedric graduated, and since he wanted to get settled with his relatives in Oxford before he began university, he'd be cutting summer vacation short. Still, they spent what time together they could, trying to have fun with his departure shadowing over them until it too arrived.

Sofia went with the Goodwyns to the airport to see him off and provided no shortage of tears for Cedric to heavily reconsider his schooling plans.

"Oh, I know you have to… but I don't want to let you go! My baby boy can't be this grown up!" Winifred sniffled.

"I'll be home for Christmas, Mummy," Cedric promised, giving Cordelia an indifferent hug before giving his mother yet another comforting squeeze.

"Just be safe, Ceddy dear…" Winifred squeezed back.

"He'll be fine, Winifred," Albert assured his wife as he grabbed Cedric who was already moving on to Sofia, thinking only the women in his life would need to hug him, but he was wrong. He couldn't remember the last time he'd hugged his father, but happily did so as the older man pulled him against his chest and patted his back. "Best of luck, son."

"Th-Thank you, Father…" Cedric blushed a bit, finally drawing out of the embrace and turning to Sofia who was trying her best not to cry.

"Missing you is gonna be an understatement," she told him, lower lip quivering.

He smirked and took one large step forward, his arms circling her waist and reeling her in to his lips for one last kiss goodbye. Sofia latched on eagerly, trying to plant as many kisses to his lips as she could before he pulled back. "I'll email you."

"You'd better," she smiled back, pulling him down for yet another goodbye kiss. "I love you, Cedric."

"I love you too," he hugged her again, this time as tight as he could before reluctantly letting go.

Sofia waved along with his family as he went to his gate, and again when his plane took off for England. She knew this was the scariest and most difficult thing Cedric had ever done for himself, but like his parents, she was proud of him for it. The experience was bound to enrich and change him, but still being in love, Sofia hoped it wouldn't change him too much.

Five years later and Cedric was still at university working towards his doctorate in chemical science and his teaching license. He may not have been the best scientist in his family, but he seemed to have a knack for teaching the subject, able to explain things in terms more students understood. He got the idea upon reflecting on his days tutoring Sofia. He could have graduated the year before with a bachelor's degree, but knew there'd be no living with his father if he came home without having a Doctor before his name, and so he stay enrolled in university, toiling away with equations and experiments.

He'd become so focused in his work he didn't even notice when the door to the student offices opened and a young woman in a form fitting purple pencil skirt and matching jacket over a white blouse. She had a special pin on the lapel of her jacket and now a big smile on her face as her heels clicked on the floor as she approached him.

Hearing the foreign noise, Cedric turned his head away from the white board and dropped the marker in his hand and cap in his teeth.

"Oh, I knew that face would be worth arriving a day early," Sofia giggled. He had that same goldfish like expression on his face the first time she kissed him. "My, you weren't kidding when you said you were busy. I don't even recognize anything on that board, but that's why I'm a diplomat and not a scientist."

"Isn't it a bit improper for an ambassador to arrive earlier than expected?" Cedric asked as he regained his senses and grabbed at the woman, pulling her into his arms and nuzzle his head into her neck.

"An ambassador, maybe, but surely as your fiancée, I get a little leeway?" Sofia smiled and ran her fingers up into his hair, now cut so short it had none of its curl.

Cedric chuckled and moved his head to kiss her lips. "How was your journey?"

"Ugh," Sofia answered, preferring to nuzzle and kiss him then go into detail. She'd wasted no time after her graduating from university getting a job that would place her oversees, and with her father's connections, landing a job in London at the US embassy wasn't too difficult. The commute back and forth to Oxford she could do without, but once Cedric was finished with his degree, the world would be at their fingertips, and better yet, they were to be married this winter after successfully maintaining their relationship with the Atlantic between them.

"I better take you home then," he grinned and lifted her into his arms, a little shaky at first, but with her laughter and finally arms supporting him, began to carry her about the room as she picked up his jacket, briefcase, and keys. "That everything?"

"Yup!" Sofia beamed and expected to be put down before Cedric walked out the door, but he did no such thing, decided to keep her in his arms and push the door open with his foot into their happily ever after, and yet it was really just beginning as they felt it had before, in a land far, far away, once upon a time.