Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Keefe glared menacingly into his bedroom ceiling, as one does when their mind is hard at work. Or at least, this is what Keefe did whenever he was hard in thought, which wasn't very often. If he was, it usually had something to do with his oh so incredibly great Father. Sarcasm, cough.

But—surprise, surprise—Keefe was not brainstorming ways to piss off Lord Cassius. No, instead he was trying to figure out why in the lost cities Tam was acting sooooo-

Indifferent.

Typically, Keefe would shoot snarky remarks Tam's way all the time. Tam would get offended and the two would bicker like kindergarteners until one of the others in the group had had enough.

But for the past few months, the indifferent behaviour had slowly built up and now all Keefe received in return was a glance. It wasn't even a resentful glance! It was more like Tam was acknowledging his existence for a brief moment in time before forgetting him again, pulling his silver bangs over his eyes. And, if Keefe was being completely honest, he kind of missed the defensive reaction.

Keefe even attempted to get a reading on Tam's emotions a few times when this happened by touching him. Tam would leap away and give him another quick glance—slightly annoyed, those times, which he supposes is better than nothing—before walking away.

Fine then, Bangs Boi, Keefe sat up. If I cant figure it out for myself, ill just have to ask you.

He pulled his small silver imparter out of his pocket, ruffling his hair with his spare hand absent mindedly. Regardless of whether or not Tam was his sworn enemy, he had to look good at all times.

"Keefe?? Why the fuck are you hailing me at 11:37pm?" Tam's silver tipped bangs messily fell over his features, making it obvious that he was trying to get some sleep. Keefe became slightly smug at the annoyance in his tone. He really did miss pissing him off. It gave him some form of entertainment throughout the school days at foxfire, and the never ending Elvin History classes.

"Well, why are you up at 11:37pm? Thats a rather unreasonable time for a school night, Bangs Boy." Keefe made tut tut tuting sounds as he watched the other boy's expression become sour.

"WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU UP AT 11:37 FUCKING PM?!"

"Well, technically its 11:38pm now," Tam scowled at him in response to his dry remark. Keefe pretended to pout. "Wow Bangs Boi. If you were going to be so rude then I have no idea why you even answered my hail."

"BECAUUUUUUUSE you NEVER hail me." As Tam answered he broke eye contact with Keefe, with the same, all to familiar blank facial expression. There it was again, the indifference. "So, please. What do you want?"

It might've been the six serves of mallowmelt Keefe had for dessert talking, but was that a scarlet hue on Tam's pale complexion?

Wow, he must be really mad that i called him at 11:37pm on a school night.

The blonde haired boy struggled to pin point the cause of change in Bangs Boy's mood. Keefe didn't see the point in stalling any longer, as he was quite curious towards Tam's strange behaviour. "You've been acting weird. You know, like, we aren't arch rivals anymore! Its depressing. Whenever i say anything to you i feel like you barely acknowledge me. Pissing you off brings me great joy, you know." Keefe stated the latter part of the sentence in a snobby accent, which sounded undeniably like his Father's (much to Keefe's disgust).

Tam sighed, still refusing to look at Keefe directly. Coward. "I don't know Keefe, maybe I've just gotten sick of responding and causing endless arguments. Now, if you please, I'm going to rest. Please, for once in your life, leave me alone. Goodnight, Keefe."

The blonde haired boy tried to protest but Bangs Boy had made up his mind. "Ta-"

Tam's face disappeared, and Keefe pouted, throwing his imparter across the room in frustration. He immediately regretted it after a few moments, and got up from his bed to check if it was okay.

Tam
Tam buried his face in his pillow and groaned.

Ugh, whyyyyyy.

His messy, golden hair always framed his features so-
But he's the worst. He cannot find out—

aaaaaaaackkk.
I need to stay away from him. Not avoid him, but like, just not talk-

Oh, what the hell am i going to do.

Tam groaned loudly into the fluffy cushion as Linh knocked on the door. "Uhh, Tammy, is everything okay? I mean- I don't know if you know this, but you don't sound very okay."

Tam stubbornly remained in his place—body swallowed by the covers of his bed and his head stuffed into the pillow. The pillow, in question, had a bright pink cover—thanks to Linh. Yesterday afternoon Tam had come home to find his room slightly... bedazzled. Linh had said something along the lines of 'I made your gremlin cave pretty!'.

Tam felt a gentle hand on his shoulder as the weight shifted towards the right side of the bed.

"No, not really. Im—mm, Im not sure." Tam flipped himself over so he could see Linh's expression. Thoroughly concerned with a hint of curiosity.

"Mind telling me whats got your face stuffed grumpily into a hot pink pillow?"

~~~~~~~~

Tam appeared through a wave of light at Foxfire, remembering the conversation that occurred between him and his twin the previous night.

Just go to the library. Just go to the library, and wait him out.

He can't annoy you if he can't find you.

Tam was perfectly aware that this was only a temporary solution, but at least avoiding Funkyhair all morning would give him some preparation for lunch. He received several peculiar looks from fellow students as he practically ran to the library. He couldn't care less, though, Tam as well as Linh always got strange looks. Having been to Exilium, and all.

Tam took a seat that had a good view of the door, yet still partially hidden. The library, Tam had thought the night before, was a fantastic spot to hide from Keefe. Why would Keefe Sencen, of all people, voluntarily walk into a library?

He pulled out some alchemy homework he still had to finish and steadily worked through the questions.

This, however, didn't last long as an unmistakable tall blonde Sencen sauntered through the door of the library, at least twenty books in hand.

What. the. actual. fuck.

Tam's stomach dropped as Keefe spotted Tam after he dumped the books on the front desk carelessly, spotting Tam and quickly and began to walk over. A wide smirk was plastered on his face.

Chapter Text

Keefe wasn't gonna let Tam shut him down like that. He wanted answers. As he drifted asleep the night before, he wondered to himself why the hell he cared so much anyway.

Surely it was a normal thing to care about his sworn enemy this much, right?

Right?

The blonde haired boy arrived at Foxfire much earlier than he normally would have. As he looked for Tam were his locker resided, Keefe instead spotted Tam's counterpart at her locker. He walked over, casually leaning on the locker next to hers, as if he wasn't there for a specific reason. Nooooooo reason at all.

"Hey, Linh."

"Oh, uh- Hi Keefe." Linh glanced at him quickly, then continued shoving books into the locker. Like brother like sister, i guess. Brushing me off. Really, this is getting quite annoying.

"Soooooooo, uhh," Keefe attempted to hold up the casual demeanour. After thinking for a moment—causing a dramatic amount of awkward silence, in Keefe's opinion—he decided to skip over the small talk. "Wheres Tam? You two are usually always together."

Linh dropped a book. As she leant down to pick it up, Keefe did as well, brushing his fingers against her wrist, hopeful to get an emotion reading.

What was that? Nerves?

"Uh. I don't know. He disappeared after we leapt here earlier. Um, I'm going to go see Marella. See you later, Keefe!" She answered dryly, before slamming her locker shut and ushering off without another word. Keefe still stood there as he watched her walk away.

"Sencen!"

The blonde haired boy whipped around to find Sir Astin standing before him. The man was looking down at him through his oddly shaped spectacles, holding several dozen stacked books. "Uh, yes, Sir??"

Surely he hadn't done something wrong—I mean, it was only the beginning of the day.

Sir Astin thrusted the stack into Keefe's arms, talking rather fast. "I need you to return these to the library for me. I'm quite busy right now so if you could do it without destroying anything that would be fabulous. I didn't think I would see the day that i could trust you to get a task done, so don't let me down, Keefe. Off you go then."

Keefe needed a few seconds to process the information he had been given. After nodding in a still slightly confused way, Sir Astin gave Keefe a small shove in the library's direction. For once in his life he obediently did as he was told, reluctant to ruin any chances he had speaking to Tam at lunch with a detention. He also really didn't want to frustrate the grumpy mentor who probably hadn't had any lushberry juice this morning.

Keefe kicked the library door open and walked through, eager to get back to his search for the emo twin. He dropped the books on the counter, the librarian absent from her usual place on the wheely chair behind the desk. As Keefe spun back around he caught a flash of silver, glinting in the sunlight that shone through one of the windows. He turned to see that Bangs Boi was quietly sitting towards the back of the library, practically scowling at him.

Try and hang up on me now, Shadymcsilverbangs.

Keefe gave a smirk in return and strutted over.

"Fancy seeing you here on this fine day, Bangs Boi."

Tam
Tam genuinely couldn't believe his luck, at this point.

"Yeah, fancy that. Look, I really need to focus. So I'd appreciate it if you left me alone." Tam grumbled at Keefe bitterly, glowering. He didn't bother asking why he was even talking to Tam. Tam knew why.

Why is he everywhere i go?! Its like the universe hates me and wants to ruin my life.

Stupid universe.

Keefe pulled out a chair and slumped down in it, signifying that he definitely wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. "You hung up on me. No one hangs up on Lord Hunkyhair. I wasn't done talking to you." Keefe held his head high, relaxing back into the chair and crossing his arms around his chest.

Tam rolled his eyes in disbelief. "As if you even like talking to me, Keefe."

Funkyhair tilted his head to one side. "Hey, you never know. Its not like you're even talking to me. What's with that?"

"We've talked about this already. Keefe, I know all you want to do is annoy me and brag about your perfect hair." Tam sighed, running his fingers through his own hair and pushing his focus back to the alchemy homework set before him, avoiding eye contact.

"Aha! So you admit that my hair is superior than to that of the likes of yours." Keefe waited for Tam to protest at this statement, but he didn't bother. His hair is pretty perfect. Keefe continued. "And, hey, I could secretly wanna be your best friend. Like I said, you never know."

Tam screwed up his face, proudly putting on display the sheer disbelief and horror that his expression presented. "Keefe, i don't think i could even bare being your friend, let alone your best friend." And its not because I'd be sick of you. Quite the opposite, actually.

Tam didn't dare say the last part.

"Oh, yeah? I-" He put a hand to his chest defensively. "-would be a great friend to you."

Tam's heart squeezed inside his chest. He could feel his face heating up.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. stop it stop it stop it please please please no just no no no no-

Tam raised an eyebrow, fixating his eyes on his work. He attempted to focus on his breathing rather than the enticing and handsome blond boy proclaiming a beautiful friendship to him. "Really? Riiiiiiiight."

Keefe scoffed. "Are you doubting my abilities to be a good friend towards you, Tam Dai Song?!"

How the fuck does he know my middle name?

"Indeed I am, Keefe Sencen."

Funkyhair scoffed once again. "Ugh! I will prove to you that i can be good friend."

Tam raised an eyebrow.

"Here, let me see your homework." Keefe turned his gaze to the various sheets of paper laying against the desk and nudged Tam's hand aside in order to see the work, scooting his chair closer to him while doing so.

Tam's heart immediately began beating faster, and not only because of the physical touch.

Did he read my emotions?? Oh nooooo. What if-

"Uhhhhhhhhh... I think it would be better if i didn't help you, actually. Failed my alchemy midterms." Keefe's icy blue eyes bored into Tam's as he looked back up at him, only just realising how close they were—only about four or five inches apart.

The repetitive ring of the bell sounded throughout Foxfire, saving Tam from having to show the scarlet colour that was showing immensely on his face. He discarded the unfinished alchemy sheets into his bag and hurried out of the library.

"See ya, Tammy!" Keefe called out after him.

Ohhhhhh shit. This isn't gonna end well.

Chapter Text

Keefe found himself, once again, staring at a ceiling. Except now, that ceiling is that of his Elvin history classroom.

Why was he nervous? And... flustered? Is that the right word?

Hm.

I need to prove to Tam that i am a good friend. What do friends do again?

Well, Keefe knew perfectly well how to be a good friend. Like hanging out and all that stuff. But Tam didn't seem like the kinda guy that Keefe could just—casually play a couple rounds of base quest with. Or bake with. Or hail. Orrrrr... anything that friends did together, really.

Keefe glanced to his right, where Linh sat quietly taking notes at the desk across from him. He ripped a piece of paper from the top of his page and scrawled a note in messy handwriting, before scrunching it up and stealthily chucking the paper at her.

Hey, what does Tam like to do? Idk like hobbies
-Keefe

Linh glanced back at Keefe and furrowed her eyebrows. Then, she wrote something and through it back, first checking whether or not the mentor was looking.

Depends. Is spending time secluded in his room a hobby?

Keefe sighed, reluctant to admit defeat so soon.  Then, he had an idea. He tore a new piece from the page instead and wrote a message before chucking it at Biana—in front of him, this time.

We need the group to meet up at Everglen this weekend. Yk like for a sleepover or something. Sophie, Fitz, Tam, Linh, Marella, Dex, you and me.

Biana attempted to turn in her chair, but earned a scowl from the mentor. She scribbled something down and thrusted the paper back to Keefe.

Id never say no to a group sleepover! Leave it to me.

Keefe knew that Tam wouldn't participate in any activities that he and Keefe would do. But maybe if the group and his other twin were involved he would go.

Keefe jolted in surprise as a small pice of scrunched up paper collided with his head, and he glimpsed over to see Linh scowling at him. He carefully unfolded the paper. Although he'd never admit it, Linh scared him a little.

Keefe, wtf r u planning??

He returned her curious stare with his signature smirk and shook his head innocently.

"Oh, nothing," He whispered.

Linh huffed as Lady Dara turned her gaze to them. "Is that talking I hear, Mr Sencen and Miss Song?"

"No." The pair replied hastily.

"What. I. Thought."

Linh was still scowling at Keefe when he turned back to face her. He just shrugged his shoulders, and turned back around to the front.

Tam
The chiming of the bell rang throughout Foxfire, and Tam darted out the door once his class had been dismissed. Linh's Elvin History classroom was just around the hall and he had to catch her before she left for lunch.

But as Tam swiftly turned the corner, he face planted into someones neck. Books tumbled to the floor, scattering loose work sheets and pages. Tam recognised that smirk, perfectly sculpted golden hair and tall, athletic, and undeniably attractive physique instantly.

WHY THE HELL ARE YOU EVERYWHERE. Leaaaaaave meeeeeee aloooooooone.

Keefe's eyes lit up like Christmas lights (whatever those are, Sophie was talking about them once) which may or may not have caused Tam's heart to race in his chest. "Tammy! Oh, shit. I'm so sorry. Here, i'll retrieve your books from this darn, pesky floor."

As Funkyhair leant down to do so, Tam saw that standing directly behind him was Linh—looking rather alarmed at that. Tam mouthed two words to her.

HELP ME.

Linh looked bewildered and mouthed words back that Tam couldn't make out, followed by a series of frantic hand gestures that only increased both their puzzlement. As she saw the confusion on his face, Linh through her hands up in the air as a sign of frustration. She mouthed a phrase- clearly, this time.

MEET ME AT THE HEALING CENTRE.

Linh disappeared behind Keefe as he stood up again, grinning and holding out Tam's books. He took them both thankfully and reluctantly, willing his face not to grow more red than it no doubt already was. Tam prayed Keefe couldn't here his heart pounding away in his chest.

"So, do you wanna-"

Tam cut him off hurriedly, his intentions were not to turn into a tomato today, thank you very much. "Uh, sorry Keefe. I have to meet Linh somewhere. Its—uhhhh—urgent. Thanks."

Tam turned around and sped off down the hall. Corner after corner, door after door, the healing centre finally came into view as well as his twin sister.

"Linh, did you tell Keefe i was in the library this morning?!" Tam questioned his sibling.

Linh looked shocked at the accusation. "No! Of course not, I would never break your trust like that. But Keefe was asking about you during Elvin History."

A sickening feeling boiled in Tam's chest.

Ohhhhh noooo. He knows he knows he knows he knows he knows-

"He doesn't know that you, well- you know what i mean. I don't think," Linh squinted at the marbled floor in thought before adding his next part. "But he was asking about your, um, hobbies??"

"Oh, Keeeeefe," Tam grumbled and rubbed his eyes. "It's probably all apart of his silly little plan to prove to me that he can be a good friend."

Linh looked even more shocked than she did before. "He's trying to be a good friend? To youuuuuu??" She said the last part as though she was making sure a confused toddler was telling the truth about something.

"I know how it sounds. Trust me."

Their conversation was interrupted by Elwin, poking his head through the healing centre door. " You guys need anything?"

The twins shook their heads.

"Then scurry off to lunch rather than hanging around like a dead smell outside my healing center. Go on, food is good for you, you know."

Chapter Text

If Keefe could just feel the same fucking way and they could be happy together and Tam could be happy genuinely happy and so could Keefe and they wouldn't be judged and it could just all fall into place so perfectly and...

Tam clutched his pillow to his chest hopefully, wishing—spiralling—

Linh knocked on the door, shattering his daydreaming into a million tiny pieces that he could only hope to one day glue back together again.

"Tam, are you awake?? Can i come in?"

Tam groaned loudly in form of his response.

"Yep, i don't know what that, was but I'm coming in," The door creaked open, then clicking shut. "Aaaaaaand, i have a peace offering."

Tam flopped over groggily, seeing the plate of mallowmelt Linh had set before him. "Thanks, Linh."

"Im not gonna pretend like I'm here just to feed the angsty-emo-sloth-goblin that is currently inhabiting my brothers room, so i need to tell you something." A fork appeared in her right hand that Tam hadn't noticed before and she stabbed the mallowmelt with it—as if preparing Tam to anxiety eat after this oh so terrible announcement. "I agreed on our behalf to attend a small gathering of sorts this weekend."

She pursed her lips, her eyes wide as though she was only broadly stating what was really going on. Tam narrowed his eyes, raising an eyebrow at his twin sister. The two held each other's gaze. 

Linh buckled, and began ranting. "Its a sleepover at Everglen-"

"Who's going?" Tam interrupted coldly, gazing at the delicious dish Linh had brought him. Yep, totally going to anxiety eat his way outta this one.

"Tam it'll be really fun trust me-"

"Linh. Who's. Going."

His sister avoided eye contact, taking a sudden interest to Tam's carpet floor. Which was silly, considering it was, in fact, pitch black. "You, me, Sophie, Fitz, Biana, Dex, Marella annnnnd..." She trailed off.

"LINH. Annnnnnd?"

"Keefe."

"Wait- THIS WEEKEND? That's tomorrow..."  Tam groaned again, and swore under his breath. "Ahhhhhhcccckkkkkkkkk."

"Tam. Language," Linh's eyes were sympathy filled as she scooped up a piece of mallowmelt with the fork and held it up to Tam's mouth, as though he were an overdramatic child. He was—kind of. Acting like it, at least. "Tam everything is going to be OKAY. Okay?"

Tam took the fork and prayed for the scrumptious gooeyness of the dessert to dissolve his worries. Unfortunately for him, the exhausting feeling of having to be around Keefe for, like, an entire night straight resided within him.

"Kill me now," He mumbled through the mouthful, eyes squeezed shut tightly.

"Aww, Tammy," Linh snatched a folded blanket from the end of Tam's bed and spread it over him in a caring manner. "I think you should eat that, then have a good nights rest."

Linh then turned the table-side lamp on and the main light switch off. She gave him a reassuring smile. One thing Linh definitely knew how to do was reassure and comfort someone, even if she agreed to this terrible sleepover in the first place. "You're going to be okay, Tammy. Goodnight, i love you."

The door clicked shut as Tam sat up and sorrowfully began spooning the mallowmelt into his mouth—all the while clutching the bright pink pillow in his arms as some source of comfort.

This is gonna be a long weekend.

Linh
Typically, Linh is a very trustworthy, caring person. But soooooometimes, those two things clash together and soooooometimes Linh has to break her brothers trust in order for him to be in a better place. Seeing Tam act like this was even worse than seeing Princess Purryfins sulking because Linh forgot to feed her that day.

Linh sat the silver imparter in front of her. "Biana Vacker."

"Hey Linh," Biana's face appeared in hologram form. "Is everything good? We only finished hailing, like, half an hour ago."

"I actually need your help with something. But first i need you to swear on your life that you will never tell a soul what i am about to tell you, and make sure no one is with you right now. Im serious, if you tell anyone, this could ruin everything. I trust you, Biana. Okay?" Linh's eyes were wide as she awaited an answer.

Biana looked stunned. "This certainly sooooounds serious. Alright, i swear by my life and my entire wardrobe i will never elude the following to another soul." In doing so she placed a hand to her heart jokingly, proceeding to not take the situation as seriously as Linh would have liked.

"Good enough, i suppose," Linh sighed. "Tam has a crush on Keefe."

She waited for Biana to register the information before continuing. Her teal eyes grew large and her mouth gaped open. She was silent for a good few minutes, and Linh pondered on whether or not to ask if she was okay. Maybe telling her wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Oh. My. God. So Tam is like- into guys?? Into Keefe?? Theres nothing wrong with that, its just- woaahhhhhh. This is a shocker. Tam is... gay?"

Now, Linh didn't think before speaking for this next part; which is a very important thing you have to do in order to not accidentally say something that you definitely don't want to say. But lets remember, this is what she didn't do. "Like brother, like sister. I guess."

It was turn for both of their eyes to grow wide, Linh's mouth matching Biana's as it gaped open in realisation.

"WAIT- Linh. Do you like Mare-"

"YES. Oh my mallowmelt. And don't you dare tell anyone!! Moving on from that, not what i wanted to say. What i did want to say is, you know how we have the sleepover thing tomorrow night?"

Biana's eyebrows furrowed as she struggled to see where this was going. "...Yeahhhh?"

"Well, Tam has been acting more gloomy than usual because of Keefe. And since tomorrow they'll be around each other for, like, an entire night straight..." Linh fidgeted with the hem of her pajama top.

"Go on?" The teal eyed girl tilted her head to one side.

"Well, thats where we interfere."

Chapter Text

As Keefe shoved various premium hair products into his bag for the sleepover, he couldn't help but feel a buzzing feeling in his chest. Unrelated to the hair products, of course.

Only 3 hours until the sleepover- well actually 2 and a half. Technically, 2 hours and 27 minutes until I get to spend, like, an entire night straight with Bangs Boy-

Wait. Why was he thinking about... that?

Oh no—that buzzing feeling. He isn't excited to spend time with Tam, is he?

No, of course not. I would never be excited to see... him.

This isn't just about Tam. The rest of his friends are gonna be there, too.

Actually, it is about Tammy because I'm trying to be his friend—

But that would mean i am excited to see him. And I'm not. I'm probably just excited to prove him wrong, that's all. So that's that.

Keefe grimaced at himself, suddenly quite grumpy with the way his thoughts and feelings were misbehaving.

And yet, some part of him knew that he was denying the undeniable. That he definitely was excited to see Bangs Boi, and he definitely had been thinking about him constantly for the past two days, and that there was some possibility; hidden away in the deep shadowy corners of his mind that maybe... just maybe he lik—

Shut up, stupid narrator.

Keefe continued shoving the sleepover's necessities into the navy-blue bag. Only then did he realize that once he was done packing, he had no idea what to do for the remaining time he had left before 6pm.

Generally, Keefe was the procrastination king. He delayed the inevitable for as long as possible—things like school assignments, packing... not perfecting his hair. But those were things he wasn't very eager to do, and he certainly was eager to spend, like, an entire night straight with—

Shut. The. Fuck. Up.

~~~

Tam
"Tam, are you ready? Let's go! Come on, it's already 6:07!"

Linh opened the door to find Tam—standing in front of his mirror—attempting to make the floppy silver bangs covering his face look at least a little bit more... hot. For absolutely no reason at all, of course.

She giggled at the sight. "Tam, what the hell are you doing?"

Much to Tam's dissatisfaction, he was failing at the attempt to make himself look 'hot'. If he were to be completely honest with himself, his hair looked as though it had been struck by lightning, which was the wrong type of hot he was going for.

"I- uhhh," Tam grew embarrassed, his cheeks flushing slightly. He glared at himself in the mirror. Stupid idea.

"Here, let me help." Erupting in a fit of giggles, his caring sister yanked the brush from his hand, fixing Tam's silver bangs right back to the normal position where they flopped against his face.

Tam frowned. "But- it looks the same."

"Exactly, Tammy. Just be you. Don't try and change yourself. You're perfect," Linh squeezed his shoulder and smiled into the reflective surface, then heading out the door. "Now let's go! Quickly, Keefe must be missing his time away from his oh so precious Bangs Boy!"

Tam sighed, ignoring the incredibly snarky comment, and grabbed his bag, rushing out of his room and to where Linh was waiting below the leapmaster. Together, they stepped into the light that would efficiently transport them to Everglen.

The twins appeared at the Everglen gates. Biana, Fitz, Marella, Dex, and (to Tam's dismay) Keefe were waiting patiently on the somewhat gorgeous stone path.

"Linh!" Marella exclaimed, at the same time Keefe shouted, "Tam!"

Marella ran over to hug Linh, and Tam watched Biana's eyebrows raise at them quickly, then turning away.

Hmm.

Keefe strolled over to Tam—or maybe strutted, was a better word—putting an arm around his shoulder and patting it welcomingly. Tam instantaneously became a rather dark shade of red, and ended up being quite glad his bangs were in their normal position so he could shield his face from view.

"Good evening, Bangs Boy. Shit, sorry, i mean Tammy. I seem to be apologising to you a lot lately, don't I?" The blonde haired boy smirked down at keefe (as Tam was a good 2-3 inches shorter than he was).

The friendly gesture at using a much more preferred nickname for Tam as well as the arm wrapped around his shoulder cast many strange looks from the group, Biana especially. Keefe shrugged his shoulders as his smirk grew wider. "Oh, yeah- me and Tam are like, best buds now."

Before anyone could question the sudden friendship, a brown eyed elf appeared— the final member of the party finally arrived.

"Uhhhh—alright... Now that you're here, Soph, we can go inside," Biana and Fitz led the long walk through the gates and along the path to Everglen's enormous front double doors. Keefe no longer had his arm around Tam, but he was walking beside him and Tam probably still had a pink tinge to his features.

Everglen truly was beautiful, inside and out. Marble hallways decorated with elegant furniture as well as crystal chandeliers made Tam stare in awe as they walked to one of the many guest bedrooms—in which they were all going to sleep in that night.

It took about twenty minutes for everyone to unpack and set up their sleeping bags in various spots of the room. By that time it was 6:47pm, and the group had all voted to eat and have showers before they started any activities.

They were all escorted to one of Everglens most magnificent dining rooms by Fitz. Tam took his seat next to Linh, like he always did whenever the twins ate dinner together. Dex tried to sit next to him on the other side, but Keefe yanked the chair from Dex, then proceeding to sit down. Dex—in a state of puzzlement—sat on the opposite side of Keefe.

Tam maintained his state of redness from before, Keefe grinning at him from ear to ear. The blonde boy's hands were clutched together visibly on the surface of the table, and his posture seemed impeccable. Keefe's entire demeanor screamed smug.

Chapter Text

Tam avoided Keefe's gaze, instead turning to Linh. The two talked but lowered their voices to a level that Keefe couldn't hear. As the food was being brought out so they could eat, Keefe  brushed his elbow against Tam's to get a reading of his emotions. For no particular reason, of course.

Keefe furrowed his brow. Was that the same buzzing feeling he himself felt earlier today??

Eh, probably not.

The group ate, bantering about school work and other subjects often connected with small talk. Tam avoided Keefe's eyes the entire time, even ignoring his snooty comments. This was extraordinarily frustrating Keefe, although he should've become used to the ignorance at this point. Once they were done, all of them headed for showers—which was no problem considering that Everglen had at least 15.

Fortunately for Keefe, Tam and his were on the same floor, resulting in them both having to walk in the same direction throughout Everglen's breathtaking marble and crystal decorated hallways. Alone. Together.

"I just realised something, Tammy," Keefe mentioned playfully, breaking the awkward silence that had previously consumed the situation's stance.

Tam continued avoiding eye contact as he responded and they walked, Keefe leading the way so that they didn't get lost. He spoke rather dryly, in Keefe's opinion. "And what's that?"

"I don't think I've ever asked you how you are. Like, ever. Not a single 'How are you?', I mean that is what friends do... I think. So, how are you?" Despited Tam avoiding eye contact, Keefe gazed at him intently as he awaited for a response.

Tam sped up his pace slightly, pulling his bangs over his eyes. Something about the way he did it made Keefe think that he was nervous, but it was probably nothing. "I'm fi-"

He was suddenly cut off as Tam slipped on the polished marble tiles, causing him to fall backwards with a small yelp. Keefe grabbed his arm as he fell, in a heroic attempt to save him from the fall, but only succeeded in going down with Tam. Next thing they knew, they were on the floor—Keefe's body weight pressed on top of Tam's, their faces barely two inches apart.

Keefe's heart was acting like he himself had just run a marathon and he could feel his face growing hot. But for some reason, he didn't pull away as he stared into Tam's silver eyes.
His gorg—stupid silver eyes. Keefe had always thought of it as silly from childhood when people said they could get lost in a certain someone's eyes—but now, he finally understood what they had meant. And, in fact, he didn't think it was stupid at all.

Why didn't i notice how attractive he was before?

Wait- I'm not... no. This is embarrassing. Thats all. Thats why I'm red. Thats why my heart is pumping. And thats why i definitely wasn't excited to spend, like, an entire night with him.

Perfectly logical explanation.

A rush of emotions hit him all at once- some that were his, and some that were Tam's. Embarrassment, hope, nervousness, relief, fear, reluctance. He wondered which ones were Tam's. He couldn't seperate them in the fog of his own mind. Some sort of tension had filled the air—although he couldn't figure out what that was all about.

Keefe brought himself back to reality, suddenly very aware that they had been like- this, for quite a while now. Or at least, long enough to make being in this specific position with Tam a very awkward thing indeed. He cleared his throat, pushing himself up off the floor—and up off of Tam's chest. Keefe stuck his hand out for Tam, but the dark haired was already steadying himself upright. His entire face was reddened, and Keefe assumed he himself looked the same.

"Uhh..." Tam said, fidgeting with the hem of his t-shirt. "We should probably get going for a shower, now."

"Err- yeah." Keefe replied quickly. "But not, like- together. ShowerSSSS, like, uhhh, plural."

SHUT THE FUCK UP MOUTH WHAT ARE YOU DOING???!?!!?? NO MORE TALKING FOR YOU.

Keefe didn't realise how stupid it was for himself to be scolding his own body parts in his mind.

"Yeahhhhhhhhhhh," Tam continued walking and Keefe followed.

The trip to the showers was done in absolute silence and the awkwardness had somehow pieced itself back together again. Keefe showed Tam to his designated bathroom, then proceeded to make his way to his own bathroom further across the hall.

Tam
Tam felt a wave of relief as the door clicked shut behind him.

What the actual fuck just happened?

He probably knows. Shit. He definitely saw me go red, and staring at—

Just forget about it. Forget about it, and hope he does too.

After recovering from the embarrassment—Tam showered, changing into a light grey-blue shirt and black and white flannel patterned pyjama pants.

After he left the guest room he had used the bathroom of, he realised that he had absolutely no idea where abouts in Everglen he was. Tam was reluctant to wait for Keefe for two reasons.

1. The sheer humiliating experience Tam had endured about twenty minutes ago, and 2. The fact that he would probably be waiting about twenty minutes for Keefe to finish styling his hair.

So—only somewhat remembering the way in which Keefe led him to get there—Tam set of to navigate back to the guest room where they were all sleeping. 18 minutes later, he finally succeeded in his mission. Everyone was waiting for him as he entered. Even Keefe, surprisingly, along with his stupidly gorgeous golden hair.

I took so long to get back that even Keefe had time to style his hair AND get back before me. Wow.

"Tam," Biana had a relieved expression on her face. "I thought i was going to have to look for you."

"Yeah," Tam joined the small circle in which the group was sitting in, placing himself next to Linh and Fitz—across the circle from Keefe. Which was how far he could physically get from the boy. "I- err, got kinda lost on the way back."

"Okay, now that everyones here, lets play something. I was thinking truth or dare?" After a serious of protests from everyone in the room erupted after the suggestion, Biana decided to apply some rules. "Fine. No asking someone who their crush is, and no making people kiss—unless, like, given consent or whatever."

Much to Tam's dismay, everyone agreed to play, resulting in a serious of incoherent celebratory sounds from Keefe.

Tam had a feeling this definitely wasn't a good idea.

Chapter Text

"Alright!!" Biana made a small squeal, amiling from ear to ear. "Im going first. Linh, truth or dare?"

Linh suddenly became very nervous, her eyes growing slightly larger as she stared back at Biana. "Uhhhh. Truutttttthhhh. Wait, no- dare."

Biana grinned, looking almost as smug as Keefe was on a daily basis. "I dare you to kiss someone of your choice on the cheek- if they have your consent, obviously. AND it can't be Tam."

Linh reddened and sat silently in her spot. Keefe looked at straight Dex. He knew that Dizznee had had a crush on Linh for a while now, and Keefe felt a pang of pity for the strawberry blonde boy in his chest—as Keefe had a feeling that Dex's feelings were not going to be returned. Just as Keefe had suspected, Linh's head turned to the person sitting beside her. Marella.

"Err- Can i..." Keefe could hear the nerves running throughout Linh's tone as she spoke.

The corners of Marella's mouth upturned slightly, in a way that was barely noticeable unless you were really paying attention. "Sure."

The simple yet powerful reply led to Linh planting a kiss on her cheek, both of them flushing.

"Woaaaah." Keefe zoned out, not quite hearing the next few parts of the groups conversation.

Huh. Maybe being like... that... is okay.

Not that... im assuming that they are...

Not that i would need to be worried. Being gay or whatever doesn't effect me at all.

Yeah, not at all.

Keefe's eyes drifted absentmindedly to Tam's, then shifting again instantaneously as Linh said his own name.

"Keefe, truth or dare."

Keefe was never one to back down from an opportunity of a dare. He smirked, an expression that he should probably trademark at this point. "Dare!"

"I dare you to come with me and Tam so we can get snacks and drinks for tonight from the kitchen. Biana already told me where it is."

"Yeah, I did," Biana confirmed, nodding at him reassuringly.

Keefe was confused. "Really? That's it? You don't want me to like... dress up like a pretty princess and let Biana do my makeup?"

"Yuuuuup. Come on, lets go. You too, Tammy." Linh stood up, dragging Tam up with her. He looked hesitant.

Tam's reluctance was evident in his tone. "Surely you don't need three people to go. Ill just stay he-"

Linh crossed her arms. Don't be fooled by the sweetness— Keefe had seen first hand how intimidating Linh could be. "Nope. You're coming, its apart of the dare. Now let's go. You guys can continue without us until we get back."

The three left the room, Keefe leading the way and Tam being dragged by Linh down Everglen's mysterious maze of hallways in order to find this, 'kitchen'.

After a few minutes, the three had reached their supposed destination. As Linh opened the door for them, various overwhelming scents of herbs and sugary aromas invaded Keefe's nose, and he couldn't help feeling like sneezing at least 7 times.

"I'll get drinks and stuff from the cold room and you guys go ahead and look in the pantry for snacks, okay?" Instead of walking over to the cold room, Linh yanked her brothers arm into the pantry, Keefe following.

She flicked the light switch on with a soft click, and Keefe's mouth gaped open at the dozens of aisles with Elvin ingredients littering each of the shelves. He should've known the Vacker's would've had the most glorious and gourmet supply of ingredients in all of Elvin history. "Uhh, woah."

"Linh, how are we gonna-" Tam was cut off by the loud sound of the door to the pantry shutting.

Keefe felt a certain emotion consume his mind, although he couldn't quite pinpoint what is was.

"Woops! Guys—I think you're locked in. Um, i'll have to go get the key from Mrs Vacker. Don't go anywhere!" Footsteps slowly faded away as Linh left the kitchen, leaving Tam and Keefe standing awkwardly together in tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. Tam swore under his breath.

"Just my luck. Getting trapped in a stupid fucking pantry with Keefe Sencen," Tam grumbled, slumping to the floor against a shelf and staring at the ground miserably.

Keefe couldn't resist slumping down next to him, offended by the previous remark. "Heyyyyy! Whats so wrong with being trapped in a store room with me?!"

Tam sighed. "Because you're just... you. Nevermind. You wouldn't understand."

Keefe sensed that something was up. After all, their arms were touching, so he could definitely tell. "Yes I would, Tam. Actually. I am an empath, you know."

Tam turned to Keefe as he was staring at him, their faces, for the second time this evening, becoming barely two inches apart.

Why is my heart beating so fucking fast?

Keefe didn't know how to feel.

It could have been something about the way Tam's silver eyes sparkled in the warm light, or something about the way he could feel Tam's emotions suddenly become somewhat alert, or it could've just been the fact that Keefe really, really wanted to—but something in that moment made Keefe close the gap.

Keefe's lips pressed against Tam's, his hand reaching up to Tam's neck. Tam's hands grabbed to the back of his head, tangling within Keefe's tousled hair.

I like Tam Song. Holy mallowmelt. I should really reconsider this... straight... whatever...

No shit, Keefe.

His lips were soft, and as they kissed it felt as though fireworks were going off within Keefe's chest. He could feel everything that Tam was feeling, and it all become a tangled mess with his own emotions, much like how they were on the store room floor right now. It was overwhelming and amazing all at the same time. There were emotions like confusion, shock, relief, but most of all—passion. Keefe leaned into Tam, wanting so much more than this as he pressed him further against the shelf behind them—Keefe practically on top of Tam. Tam pulled away—slowly, reluctantly—gasping for air.

"Keefe. Do you like me?" Tam asked the question between breaths, his face a deep shade of crimson, and his eyes only half open as his gaze bored into Keefe.

Keefe was dazed, not willing at all to end what had just happened between them.

Yes. Yes. Yes. YES. For fuck's sake, SAY YES.

Suddenly, the door to the pantry opened, Tam and Keefe scrambling away from each other before Linh and Biana could see them in that... particular position. Unfortunately, Linh had already seen the two and she was grinning mischievously from ear to ear, carefully hiding her expression from Biana. Biana, on the other hand, looked slightly more clueless—thankfully.

"Sorry for locking you guys in!! Did you you two end up finding the snacks?"

Chapter Text

After leaving the Kitchen with Biana, Linh and Keefe along with various snacks that they had found after Tam and Keefe were released—Tam couldn't stop thinking about... whatever the fuck just happened. His mind was stuck replaying the events continuously in his head, even so that he couldn't focus on walking. Every now and then he would crash into a crystal statue or lamp.

Does he... no no no. He just feels bad and— He's not... he doesn't...

Tam shot daggers at Linh, who just smiled warmly and innocently back at him. He should've known she cared about him too much to not interfere. Or maybe it was just classic, sibling love. But whether Tam and Keefe had a make out session in the pantry or not, he was still furious at Linh for setting them up.

He doesn't even like me anyway. Whatever the fuck happened—it doesn't matter. He probably did it so I wouldn't get my heart broken or some stupid shit like that.

"Did you guys get the snacks? We got kinda bored playing truth or dare," Fitz asked as they walked through the doors, a blank expression plastered on his face. "And I hate to dampen the mood, but Mom said we have to be in bed by 10:00."

Tam sat down is his previous spot on the floor, somewhat being very comfy despite it being, well... a floor. Instead of sitting beside him, Linh waltzed over to Keefe's place and sat down, all the while grinning mischievously. Marella had moved too, sitting down next to Linh. Tam glowered back at his twin sister.

I am so going to kill her later.

Keefe—seeing no other place at all to sit despite the enormity of the room—plopped down in Linh's old spot. Riiiiiight next to Tammy boy.

"10:00? Like, PM? But thats soooooo fucking earlyyyyyy for a weekend," The blonde haired boy whined, sounding like he was only half his real age.

"I know," Fitz responded grumpily. "Mom said something about teenage hormones and growing blah, blah, blah."

"Sophie, what are are some human sleepover games that we could play??" Marella asked, her head resting tiredly on Linh's shoulder. Tam watched carefully as Linh grew a light shade of pink and grinned slightly to herself.

"Ummmm- theres always Never Have I Ever." Sophie yawned slightly, replying.

"OooOooOoOOoO, how do you play?" Biana eagerly asked, leaning forward in anticipation so much that she was comparable to a yoga instructor.

"Um. We each take turns in saying something we have or haven't done—like, never have i ever kissed anyone, or some shit. Then the people in the group will put their hand up if they have, or keep it down if they haven't. And you HAVE to tell the truth."

Oh hell—this definitely isn't a good idea.

"Fun!" Marella twinned her fingers through the intricate braids running through her hair, suddenly not so tired anymore. "Who's going first?"

Not Keefe not Keefe not Keefe not Keefe—

"ME! Lord Hunkyhair shall go first, thank you," Keefe mimed a thinking gesture as he dramatically scrunched up his face. "Never have I ever kissed anyone, like, on the lips. And family doesn't count."

"Wow, real creative, Keefe," Dex remarked.

Keefe ignored the comment and raised his hand. Maybe it was just Tam's imagination, but he thought he saw him take a glimpse at himself before he did so.

Tam watched as around the circle, Sophie's, Dex's, and Biana's hands all shot up. Linh raised an eyebrow at her brother, and he sighed before rolling his eyes and raising his hand as well.

Stupid fucking game. Stupid fucking pantry. Stupid Keefe. No one notice, no one notice...

"Tam!?" Fitz asked, stunned. "Who-"

"IM going next!" Marella shouted, accidentally yet conveniently cutting Fitz off. Tam breathed a sigh of relief and Marella continued. "Never have I ever had crush on someone in this group before—but, like, currently with the crush."

Tam watched in silence as all hands shot up, including his own.

"Plot twist!" Biana commented, eyes wide.

"Woah—we cant just reveal that and expect everyone to keep playing!!" Marella said, leaning forward with anticipation like Biana did beforehand.

"Uhh... yes we can," Tam insisted quietly. Stupid sleepovers and their stupid games and stupid pantry make-out sessions. "Never ha-"

Biana squealed and cut Tam off. "Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. I HAVE to know who has a crush on who."

"Biana, no," Fitz glared at his sister, earning an eye roll from her. "How about we watch a human movie? After all, we have these snacks and then we could crash once the movie is over."

Sophie nodded in agreement, and tilted her head to one side while looking at the teal-eyed siblings. "Sounds good! Do you still have those DVDs I gave you at the end of midterms?"

Biana, suddenly forgetting all about the previous game and now focusing her attention on the new topic, grinned and stood up. "OOH! I'll be back after I get one."

Thank fuck for that, Tam thought, letting out a quiet sigh. The tension in the room seemed to ease after that, and soon Biana had burst through the door. She was skipping and smiling, grasping a bright pink DVD case to her chest, as though it were the most important thing in the world.

"This ones called, 'Barbie: Princess Charm School'. Look at the pretty girls on the front!!" Biana dramatically gestured to the animated looking girls on the front of the case before slipping the DVD inside the 'tv', as Sophie called it.

Tam couldn't describe the amount of relief that had washed over him. If they watched the movie, that would mean that he wouldn't have to talk to Keefe for the rest of the night. Tam glanced in Keefe's direction, but quickly looked away as he realised that Keefe was looking at him as well.

Someone flicked the lights off and everyone selected their snack of choice before sliding quietly into their sleeping bags to enjoy the movie. Tam wasnt even paying attention to the film, even though his eyes were fixated on the screen.

I have to leave. They'll understand, right? But what if Linh makes me stay? Ill wait until everyones asleep. Then I'll go home and—I'll just tell them I felt sick or some shit at Foxfire on Monday.

Tam patiently waited for the movie to end while resisting the urge to fall victim to slumber, and no one bothered getting up to turn the tv off as the ending credits played. So Tam thought it was safe to assume that everyone was sleeping.

Tam slipped out of the room, trying his very best to keep his eyes pasted to the floor and to definitely not wonder off to Keefe's sleeping bag.

Just as he reached the dining room that they had eaten in earlier that night (which had taken him quite a while, mind you), Tam flinched as he heard a voice from behind him. A voice that he hated that he recognised instantly.

"Tam?"

Chapter Text

Shit.

Tam shivered from the cold night air biting the skin of his arms. Stupid winter. He should've known to pack warmer pyjamas. As he heard the voice, Tam stopped in his tracks, halfway across the dining room. He squeezed his eyes shut, refusing to turn around and face Keefe. "Keefe? What do you want?"

"Where the hell are you going, Tam? You look... you're cold," Tam could hear Keefe's voice growing closer and closer as he spoke. The quiet footsteps echoed in the room that could only be heard because of the night's silence.

Tam squeezed his eyes tighter, wondering if Keefe could hear his heart racing away like the wings of a hummingbird. The footsteps stopped. Tam flinched slightly, feeling Keefe's hand slowly trail down his arm. His head was completely empty; Tam couldn't grasp onto any thoughts at all. His heart felt tight inside of his chest and Tam found breathing becoming slightly more difficult than before. Finally, Tam opened his eyes to see Keefe standing in front of him. The blonde haired boy's left hand was reached out—now holding Tam's right hand lightly.

Tam breathed in, and out.

He was staring at their hands, loosely, yet still twined together. The only thing that was keeping Tam in the present was Keefe's own slow, rhythmic breathing.

Keefe
Keefe let go of Tam's hand hesitantly, not wanting to ruin anything between them since he didn't know whether Tam felt the same way about him. Keefe could tell from Tam's emotions that it had made him nervous and uncomfortable, anyway.

"You have goosebumps. Are you cold? Where are you going?" Keefe asked Tam again, concern underlying in his tone. The blonde boy looked sleepy, only half awake.

Tam sighed, his breath shaky and visible in the chilled night air. He didn't meet Keefe's eyes as he replied. "Uhhh... I was just trying to find the... bathroom. But I got lost. And yeah, I am a bit cold."

The memory of Keefe kissing Tam in the store room earlier that night resurfaced in his mind as he glanced at Tam's lips. Keefe blocked it out, though, tearing his gaze away and instead focused on Tam's fierce silver eyes. Keefe sighed, feeling some sort of strange fluttery feeling in his stomach. "Are we... going to talk about what happened?"

Tam closed his eyes for a few seconds, then opened them again, finally meeting Keefe's gaze. Tam spoke so softly that it made Keefe want to wrap his arms around him, and never let go again. It made Keefe want to close the gap, for the second time that night.

"Are you going to answer my question?" Tam whispered.

Keefe knew what he was talking about, the question Tam had asked in the pantry. It was all happening so fast, and Keefe couldn't decipher whether that was good or bad. Had he only just started liking Tam, or had he been blocking his emotions out in denial? All Keefe knew was that he couldn't describe how much he felt now for Tam... everything about him—his gaze, his voice...

...and yet, Keefe hesitated from answering.

Again.

Instead, he pulled of the hoodie he was wearing, leaving him in only a thin t-shirt for his top. Keefe held the hoodie out for Tam to take. "You told me you're cold."

Now I'm the one avoiding questions.

Great.

"Um... yeah," Tam responded blankly, reluctant at first but then taking the clothing from Keefe's hand. Tam put it on hastily—most likely eager to be free of the cold. Something about seeing Tam wearing Keefe's own hoodie made him have that strange fluttering in his stomach again. Really, why did he keep feeling that?

Keefe brushed the feeling off, remembering what Tam had mentioned previously about getting lost on the way to the bathroom. His intuition told him it was a load of bullshit, but Keefe ignored that part.

I mean, what else would Tam have been doing down here in the middle of the night?

"You also said you got lost on the way to the bathroom," Keefe recalled, his own eyes staring into Tam's heavy gaze. "Let me show you there."

Keefe reunited their hands again, feeling an emotion indecipherable from Tam's touch. Or perhaps it was many, many, different emotions muddled together, much like his own right now.

Tam was quiet as he led him down Everglen's hallways, which felt slightly eery now that it was after dark. Keefe didn't know how long it had taken to get to the closest bathroom to where they were sleeping. It could have been seconds, minutes, hours—he had no sense of time at this point, and felt constantly in a slight daze due the night's events. Tam and Keefe entered the room together.

"Here. And the bedroom is just back down that hallway, second door to the left," Keefe told Tam, flicking on the light switch and letting go of his touch, despite immediately craving it again. "I'll... I'll leave now if you-"

Tam sighed and cut him off, looking away from the blonde boy. "Keefe—I didn't get lost on the way here. I was actually... going to go home."

Keefe absentmindedly shifted closer to Tam, his face furrowed in an expression of concern. He desperately wanted to crack a joke or a snarky remark to lighten the mood a little, but he sensed that maybe now wasn't quite the right time for that. "Why do you want to go home, Tam?"

Tam struggled to string together a proper answer. Keefe only now realised in the light how much Tam was blushing, and he wondered if he himself looked the same. "I—erm, you... we... I like you. Dumbass."

Oh.

That makes... sense.

A feeling of happiness and relief washed over Keefe. He moved closer still, careful with his movements because of how close they were now.

"I like you, too, I think. Maybe. Yeah... I... I like you, Tam," Keefe barely had time to whisper the muddled reply before his eagerness got the better of him. His own lips crashed into Tam's, and slowly, Keefe guided himself and Tam forward so that Tam's back was pressed against the wall. The kiss was more... intimate than the one they shared while locked in the pantry, as Keefe intended it to be. He could only feel passion from Tam by the connection of their lips.

The blonde haired boy pulled his lips away, and only his lips. Everything else in their stance stayed the same. Tam pressed against the wall, both his hands clutching the back of Keefe's hair. Tam had probably messed it all up but, honestly, Keefe couldn't care less right now. Their foreheads were connected and their noses grazed against each other with every slight movement. Both of Keefe's arms were wrapped tightly around Tam's waist, the top half of his body pressed against Tam's front.

Keefe wasn't exactly the type of person to carefully calculate all of his decisions. He acted on impulse, and everything only became more and more reckless. Keefe didn't know what he wanted at all, besides the boy in front of him.

"Do you still want to leave, Tammy?" Keefe asked him, almost breathless, murmuring the words quietly. But he knew Tam could hear. Keefe himself felt euphoric, and only seemed to want more as every second ticked by.

"N-no," Tam stammered, his eyes fluttering shut.

"Is this okay, then?" Keefe asked as he lightly, slowly kissed Tam three times—on the lips, jawline, and neck. Keefe watched in satisfaction as Tam's lips parted slightly and his head tilted up as he performed the latter. The blonde haired boy could hear Tam's shaky breathing form a sigh. Keefe's right hand unwrapped from Tam's waist and reached and slid up under his shirt instead, his fingertips trailing down Tam's stomach.

"Yeah...that's—good. It's okay..." Tam hummed slightly, still proving crimson in the illumination of the bathroom light. Keefe nodded, gently pushing the bathroom door shut, and locking it with a subtle click.

Chapter Text

Tam was slumped on the floor against the bathroom wall, his breaths steady yet heavy. Keefe was the same, sitting next to him with his head resting tiredly on Tam's left shoulder. Keefe's tousled blonde hair gave an enticing aroma as Tam's nose was buried in the softness. Keefe's hoodie along with both of their shirts were carelessly discarded on the tiled floor, despite Tam only putting the hoodie on about 15 minutes ago. His eyes drifted to Keefe's abdomen, and lingered there for a moment.

For the second time that night, Tam and Keefe had (to say the least) made out in a locked room. Except this time, they had locked themselves in there willingly.

The thought of sleeping nagged at his eyelids, pulling them closed time and time again as the pair sat together. But Tam refused to submiss to it. He knew all too well that he and Keefe needed to talk before morning, or one of them would leave when they awoke and they would both avoid each other for the rest of their lives due to their reckless night decisions.

Tam was struck at how much had happened in the last... what, five hours?

He had always had the smallest crush on Keefe since they had met. After all, Keefe was charming, handsome, athletic, and so on. But in the past year, that small crush had only escalated the more Tam had spent time with him. And now that they were here, on the bathroom floor, 10 minutes after Keefe had locked the bathroom door in the first place, Tam worried about what, well... what everyone else would think.

There were no... other people like them in the Lost Cities. Excusing Linh, of course.

Would they be treated like outcasts?

Tam didn't know.

He was sort of always treated like an outcast anyway.

Silence hung in the air, although it wasn't awkward like it had been all the other times. It was comfortable, and Tam wanted it to be like that forever. He never wanted to leave the room and he just wanted to stay like that, and not have to worry about other people's opinions.

"Keefe," Tam finally spoke, his voice quiet and husky. "What does this mean?"

Keefe shifted sleepily, although keeping his head's position on Tam's shoulder. "I don't know, Bangs Boy..."

"Fuck. I mean, Tammy," He hastily added on the end, then lifting his head to face Tam, smiling ever so slightly. It gave Tam a warm feeling. "Be my boyfriend?"

Tam nodded slowly, flinching slightly when he realised that Keefe had grabbed his hand—and was now holding it tightly in his own. Tam looked down at their hands, intertwined. "...What... will people think?"

Keefe buried his face into Tam's collarbone and shoulder again. "Let's not worry about that right now. We'll keep this to ourselves—and Linh, if you'd want to tell her. Okay? And honestly, Tam, I wouldn't give a fuck what people would think. It wouldn't change anything. I'd still want to annoy the shit out of you."

Tam snickered and nodded again, wanting to sink into his boyfriend's warmth against him.

His boyfriend's.

The next thing Tam knew, he finally drifted to sleep.

~~~

Keefe
Keefe awoke that morning in darkness. After Tam had drifted to sleep, Keefe thought turning the light off was the best thing to do in that situation. He actually considered picking Tam up princess-style and carrying him back to the room, but rejected the thought as it meant that they'd have to sleep separately.

Clingy, he knows.

Fuck. What's the time?

Keefe carefully untangled himself from Tam as to not wake him up and walked to the door, unlocking it and stumbling into the hallway. He groggily wondered around the hall to where he knew a balcony was, and saw the sun just peeking over the horizon. The sight cast an orange glow across Everglen which caused Keefe to have to squint to see in the blinding light.

He wondered back to the bathroom, rubbing the sand from the corners of his eyes and stretching out his limbs. Looking down, Keefe realised that he was still shirtless.

As he reached the bathroom, Keefe pulled his shirt back on and sat down to wake up his boyfriend. They had to get back before the others woke up and noticed their oh so mysterious absence.

"Tammmmmmmyyyyyyyyy. Wakey wakey eggs and bakeyyyyyy." Keefe hymned, a smirk plastering across his face as he watched Tam crack his eyes open grumpily.

Tam rubbed his eyes, attempting to wake himself up. "What the fuck did you just say??"

"Language, Babe. And good morning to you, too." Keefe planted a kiss on the boys cheek and stood back up again, retrieving the hoodie and other shirt from the floor, then chucking the clothing at him. "Get dressed."

"...Babe?" Tam questioned the nickname. Keefe grinned from ear to ear when Tam flushed a shade of red. Tam raised an eyebrow, then examined the clothes. "Keefe, this is your shirt and hoodie."

Keefe looked down at his chest and realised that he had put on Tam's shirt instead of his own. "Woops."

Tam proceeded to pull it off (watching Keefe take his shirt off was one of the hottest fucking things Tam had ever witnessed, but Keefe certainly didn't know that, and Tam certainly wasn't going to admit that to him) and handed it back to Tam, taking his own shirt from Tam's hands.

The dark haired boy pulled his shirt over his head. He then looked at the hoodie and back at Keefe, puzzled. "Uhh, aren't you gonna take your hoodie back?"

Keefe thought for a moment, tilting his head to one side and smirking. "Hmmmmm. No. Keep it, then you can wear it whenever you miss me because I'm the greatest being in the universe."

Tam rolled his eyes so dramatically that Keefe was afraid they might lull permanently to the back of his head, but he held the hoodie to his chest as he stood up. Keefe flicked on the light switch and quickly became very confused and slightly offended when Tam's blank expression became a snicker became a chuckle became intense laughter. He managed to form a sentence between laughs. "Holy shit, Keefe—your hair."

Keefe's mouth gaped open as he whipped around to look in the mirror, staring in horror as he realised that his hair was an absolute tangled mess. "Tammy. Not. A. Word."

Tam failed to stifle his hysteria and Keefe dragged him out of the room, heading to the bedroom that the rest of the group had slept in.

Chapter Text

Sophie had told Tam about spy movies.

Movies where people followed around other people and did cool shit like shoot tiny metal pieces at each other while doing summer salts and backflips off of things. Sophie had even watched one of those movies with Keefe once.

Horrible idea, by the way.

Because now—at 6:03am in the hallways of Everglen—Keefe was summer salting behind every fucking piece of furniture he could find. He had his hands clasped together, both the index fingers pointed out, aiming at the portraits lining the walls. Keefe was even making 'pew pew' noises as he did so.

Tam thought it was ridiculous.

"Keefe, stop it. You're making too much noise!" Tam whispered to Keefe 'Bond', as he was calling himself. Which confused Tam even more than he already was this morning.

Keefe smacked his head rather loudly on the corner of a small table and swore under his breath. Quickly recovering, he then held his wrist up to his mouth. "Agent Eagle, the President and I are approaching the safe zone. Over and out."

"What the hell is going on...?" Tam muttered as Keefe grabbed his hand and yanked him towards the door to were the others were sleeping.

"Hush, Mr President," Keefe scolded as he ever so slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open. "Don't worry. Keefe Bond will transport you safely and efficiently."

Tam sighed as a sign of annoyance, but a small grin had crept across his face. He walked into the room, carefully navigating throughout the thankfully still sleeping elves. Tam slid back into his sleeping bag and turned to look at Keefe, who had done the same. He blew Tam a kiss and winked, then flopping over in his sleeping bag to lay on his opposite side. Tam could tell that his own face was heating up.

How long Tam laid there, lightly sleeping, he had no idea. But some time later, the drowsy teenagers began to stir. Soon, all of the group had woken up, and all of them were completely oblivious to Tam and Keefe's late night escapade.

Tam sat up groggily gazing across the room. Biana, Fitz, Sophie, Keefe, and Marella were all awake and sitting up like him. Dex and Linh were the only ones still sleeping. Tam noticed that Marella kept glimpsing at the sleeping Linh, and he caught her gaze, smiling. She grinned shyly back. Tam also noticed that Keefe was semi-successfully raking a brush throughout his golden hair. Tam chuckled to himself.

Fitz was the first to speak among the group. "You guys wanna get dressed and go for breakfast?"

Dex groaned and stretched his arms, all the while still laying down. "Mhmmmmmm."

The group dispersed to the bathrooms they had used to shower in the night before, and Tam internally cringed when he walked through the hallway that he had tripped in. He hoped someone had remembered to wake up Linh. Once he was ready, Tam met some of the group down in the dining room where all sorts of delicious smelling foods resided on the gigantic wooden table.

About fifteen minutes later, Keefe (who was the last person to arrive) strutted in through the double doors. His hair was immaculately styled and sculpted and back to it's former glory.

"Lord Hunkyhair would like to get in on this breakfast action," Keefe proclaimed, except when he said 'breakfast action' he had already stuffed food in his mouth. So really, it sounded like he said 'besfasj agsthun'.

The conversation going around the table had somehow gotten to the topic of human highschool, were Sophie was being relentlessly questioned by Biana. Everyone seemed to be listening intently to the discussion.

"Okayyyyy. So are the prodigies aloud to wear ball gowns to school if some schools don't have a uniform? Cause that sounds AMAZING," Biana grinned, eyes wide in disbelief.

Sophie scrunched up her face and furrowed her eyebrows. "Their called students, not prodigies. And...ummm—well Im not sure if anyone's really tried to wear a ballgown to school. I mean, it's not like we host balls and fancy gatherings all the time. The closest thing we have to that is prom."

"Prom?"

"Yeah," Sophie nodded, and tried to explain the strange event. "The school hosts a prom, generally for the graduating class, and people dress up in formal clothing to go. Its like a party. There's food and music that you can dance too, and on the night people vote for prom king and queen. Normally, you would ask someone you like to go with you."

Tam subconsciously glanced at Keefe.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh," Biana responded, however suddenly became very offended. "Hey, I wanna be prom queen!! Why don't we have that at Foxfire? That sounds so cool!"

"Forkle is in charge. I mean, if you really wanted to, we could try and convince him to host a prom for the 5th years and up. Oooh, and if it does happen, I could use the music from Sophie's iPod and figure out a way to play it so everyone can hear (cause elves don't have music guys😭)." Dex suggested, earning a nod of heads from around the table.

"Wait, but what if you can't go with the person you like?" Tam cautiously asked, purposefully avoiding Keefe's icy blue eyes.

"You could ask someone else that interests you. Or some people ask their friends to go with them, which happens a lot," Sophie reassured him.

Does that mean if Foxfire does have a prom, then Keefe and I could go together?

Hm.

"Oh, please!! We have to convince Forkle to! Sophie and Fitz, will you come with me to see him later?" Biana pleaded.

"Fine," Fitz agreed with a huff, at the same time Sophie meekly nodded and replied, "Sure!"

Everyone finished up breakfast, and Biana was squealing quietly to herself about clothing and color combinations. Tam stayed rather quiet, definitely not picturing what Keefe would look like in formal 'prom' wear.

"I gotta go," Sophie said, standing up from her chair and tucking it in. "Grady and Edaline want me to be home right about now. Thanks though, it was really fun."

Dex stood up from his chair as well. "Me too. Mom and Dad are going out to Atlantis, and they can't leave before I come home because of the triplets."

Linh nudged Tam with with her elbow. "We should probably go too, then. Is it okay if Marella comes over for a bit?"

Tam had to resist the urge to raise an eyebrow at his sister, but eventually nodded.

Hmm. Interesting.

Keefe sighed, leaning back on his chair. "Alriiiiiight. I guess I'll leave toooooo."

As everyone said their goodbyes and thank you's to Biana and Fitz as well as eachother, Tam realised that he himself wanted to say goodbye to Keefe (he really wanted to say goodbye to Tammy, as well).

But with everyone else there, that didn't really seem like a pliable option.

So instead, the lovebirds just goggled eyes at each other from across the room and as they collected their stuff. For some odd reason, Tam kept catching Linh snickering as she stared at them.

And then the time to leave the Vacker's residency was nye. So Tam (who was slightly sad about the whole ordeal), Linh (who was very smug with her own work as cupid), and Marella (who was quite happy to be spending time with Linh) stepped into the light that would take them to Solreef.

Chapter Text

Tam returned home with his sister and Marella.

All of them turned to face each other.

Tam stared at Linh awkwardly.

Marella also stared at Linh awkwardly

Linh's gaze bounced back and forth between them.

(continuous awkward silence)

Linh caved, clasping her hands together and speaking with a pleading tone. "Can we tell her? She won't tell anyone. Pleeeeeeee-"

"Fine." Tam rolled his eyes, sighing. The dark haired boy hesitated a moment before finally speaking. "I will. I...like Keefe. He's also my boyfriend."

Linh's jaw gaped open as she turned back to her twin. Tam groaned slightly as she punched him in the stomach. "YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THAT HE IS YOUR BOYFRIEND!"

Tam smirked, but quickly made his expression blank again. Keefe's behaviour was contagious. "Well, we only got together last night. Actually, it might have been really early this morning—"

"TAM," Linh's eyes grew wide, and she covered a hand with her mouth. Clearly, her innocent brain was shocked. "What did you do with Keefe last ni—"

"What the FUCK, LINH, NO—I mean, we didn't..." Tam rubbed his face. "Im sorry for swearing at you, it's a long story. When you locked us in the pantry we kissed. And then while everyone else was sleeping I went outside to leave because I was overwhelmed and he followed me and led me to a bathroom and we told each other we liked each other then we kissed again and then he locked the door and-"

Linh covered her ears, shaking her head vigorously from side to side. "I changed my mind. I don't wanna know."

Marella, the person in which everyone had forgotten about at this point, thought it was the perfect time to chime in. "Congrats... I agree with Linh, though, TMI."

Tam furrowed his eyebrows at the petite blonde girl standing in front of him. Tiny little braids wove throughout her hair, one of them currently twined around her fingers. "What does that mean?"

"Never mind that, Tammy," Linh interjected, glancing at Marella. "Weeeee have something to tell you, too."

Oh, I definitely can't see where this is going at all.

"You two are together, aren't you?"

"Yep! Now I need you to leave Tammy. Love you!" Linh gave Tam a shove towards the stairs.

"What, why?" Tam was offended, of course. This was his home, too. And he had every right to mope about sulking and daydreaming in different rooms because he missed Keefe.

"Because this—" Linh made finger movements between her and Marella. "Is a date. Sooooooo no brothers aloud. Pleeeeeeee—"

"Fiiiiiiiiine," Tam agreed.

Linh smiled as a response and Tam trudged upstairs to unpack. He began returning the items in his bag to their natural places in his room. Tam eventually came across Keefe's hoodie buried at the bottom of his bag, and seeing it reminded him of the previous night's events. A fluttering feeling filled the inside of him. The hoodie wasn't anything extraordinary, just navy blue and, well, not exactly brand new.

But still, Tam laid it out on his bed. Maybe he would wear it later.

A weird noise startled him, but then Tam realised that it was just his imparter. The name read as follows:

Keefe Sencen

Tam discarded the bag on the floor and sat down on his bed, answering the hail immediately.

Keefe's (gorgeous, beautiful, handsome, incompara-) face appeared in hologram form above the imparter. "Ba- Tammy! I have decided something, and you have no choice but to cooperate, you hear me?"

Tam scoffed, but ultimately he was happy to be talking to the blonde boy. "I will decide for myself whether I fucking cooperate or not, thank you very much. What is it?"

"You, Tam Dai Song, are going on a date with me. Tonight, 9pm. Meet me at my place and I'll whisk you away to Atlantis for the night." Keefe winked at him, smirking.

Tam felt flustered. Honestly, he really needed to figure out how Keefe knew about his middle name. "9pm? I'll go, but that's a bit late to start a date, Funkyhair."

"Too bad. Dear old Dad is making me study up on all my classes that I failed during midterms. And I'm not even exaggerating when I tell you that it's gonna take me all day." Keefe ran his hand through his hair, not looking very excited at all about the whole idea.

Tam nodded. "Alright. I'll see you then?"

"Mhm. Don't be late, Babe." Keefe smirked again, hanging up.

This is gonna be interesting.

~~~

Many, many hours of sulking and daydreaming later, it was 8:28pm and Tam finally thought that it was a suitable time for him to start getting ready. He showered and changed into black jeans and Keefe's hoodie. Tam pulled on a pair of laced black boots that Linh had given him and quickly went downstairs. Marella had left, and he quickly hugged Linh goodbye and made sure that she would tell Tiergan that he would be out late that night. If he was being honest with himself, Linh seemed a lot more bubbly that day. But Tam didn't think too much about that. He stepped into the light.

Keefe
Keefe was already waiting when Tam arrived, despite it being 7 minutes earlier than the time he had initially stated. The moment he saw the very first speck of Tam forming in the light, Keefe rushed over to greet his boyfriend.

Only when Tam was standing right in front of Keefe did he realise that he had no idea what to say (and Tam being Tam, he definitely wasn't going to make the first move). So Keefe did the most logical thing he could think of in that moment. He kissed him.

Keefe didn't hold it for long, but it wasn't exactly quick, either. His heart fluttered as their lips connected, and Keefe smiled into it. He could tell Tam was a little taken aback by the sudden movement. When he pulled away, a shade of pink had fallen upon his face. Tam was the same. Looking down, Keefe noticed that Tammy was wearing his hoodie.

Keefe smiled at Tam, raising his eyebrow in a teasing and questioning manner. "You're wearing my hoodie?"

Keefe could tell that Tam became slightly nervous through the observation. "Uhh—Y-yeah...I'm sorry, I know it's—"

"Perfect," Keefe insisted, squeezing Tam's hand tightly as he finished the sentence. "Shall we go now?"

Keefe wanted to spend time with Tam, but the reason he was so desperate to leave wasn't entirely to do with that. It was more to do with something about Keefe's fear of his very snobby Father possibly finding out about the relationship between Tam and him.

Tam nodded, grinning slightly, and together they both leaped to Atlantis.