A/N: Written for tvnetwork1_las. Prompt was "A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous." - Ingrid Bergman

Beta-reader: Tania

First kisses

The first time Peter and Olivia kissed, was in the parallel universe. They were being hunted and Olivia was trying to bring Peter home. She told him how she felt, what they needed to do. She opened her heart to him but it wasn't enough. Words weren't enough. She didn't want to lose him, not after all they went through, because words failed her. There was only one thing left to do. She leaned over, her eyes never leaving his. He stood there, frozen, as she planted her lips on his. She could tell he was surprised and her heart skipped a beat.

Would this be enough? Was this what Peter wanted or were her own feelings misplaced? The questions rushed through her head, even as his lips moved, parting and suddenly hungry for her. Olivia felt instant relief, emotions flooding her system, hope and something else, something she wasn't yet ready to admit aloud, filling her heart. When they parted she knew he would come home, that they could become something more than just good friends. She saw the sparks in his eyes, the pain over Walter's actions momentarily pushed into the background as he too started to hope for something better.

But when they tried to go home, the world came rushing back, with gunfire and screams, with explosions and people scattering. Olivia lost sight of Peter and something hit her, dragged her away into the darkness. When she woke up, she was in a cell, screaming her lungs out. They trapped her and Peter was gone. It took a long time for her to admit that they weren't coming back, that she had been left behind. Still, in the night, she dreamed of Peter, of that lonely kiss and hoped it meant more for him than just words.

Peter was back home.

He was trying to reconcile with everything, put his feelings in order. There was much to think about, things that Peter wasn't sure he could forgive. All he could do now was try to accept them, and go on with life. Life with the woman who brought him back. He didn't know if the kiss was real, if it was just a ploy to make him agree. They had just returned from the other universe and there was no chance to talk it through. There were meetings to be hold, reports that needed writing and when they were finally able to go home, they were too exhausted to think about anything. Once Peter had a chance to sit down though, he couldn't stop thinking about it. Maybe Olivia regretted it already. She hadn't spoken with him properly since they returned. She seemed shy and unsure of herself... so not like the woman that made that first step. With mixed feelings and no words from Olivia, Peter invested his free time into finding answers. He had a piece of the technology and he wanted to figure it out. Days passed, they had new cases and more life threatening situations. He was just heading home from one such case when he got the message.

"Can you come over? We need to talk."

The door opened and she was there, looking unsure yet strong and he thought 'That's it, now she tells me it was all a mistake, that it shouldn't have happened,' and Peter's gut clenched at the mere idea. He stood there frozen, just like before, waiting for her to take that first step again.

„I lied to you," came the feared words and Peter swallowed.

„About what?" She opened her mouth, wanted to tell him something, and Peter just looked at her. They were close, he could smell her shampoo, the blond hair tantalizing. He wanted to touch it, wanted to feel the texture of it against his fingers, to push back the image of the other Olivia, the one who was so much like her yet so different. Peter blinked, and then took a step closer. Olivia was still trying to find words but they weren't forthcoming. Something flashed in her eyes, something that wasn't there before and Peter knew she made up her mind.

„I don't want to talk," she said and with that they closed the distance between them and their lips met. It was different this time, more fierce and hungry, not at all the desperate kiss they first shared.

The second time Peter kissed Olivia, it wasn't really her, and several weeks later, when Peter got the phone call telling him the woman that lay next to him was an impostor, he would remember the first real kiss, the tenderness behind it and with a pang of guilt he would think: "I should've known."

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