Title: This time of year.

Author: NYC Lovers

Category: Original

Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie Bone, I own my characters' fates only.

Genres: Romance/Angst

Rating: T

Pairing: Fidelio x Olivia

Warning: OOC, the characters and their states of mind are completely insane, I have to admit. They tortured themselves in this fic, so click back if you don't like illogical and stupidity in their thoughts about love.

A/N: I love this couple. They're just too cute, that's all. This is the side story for my other Fidelio/Olivia fan fiction 'Christmas must be something more' (If you haven't read it, please do because this story is set sometime between it so this on probably doesn't have the proper opening and ending like the other).

Just a quick summary of what happens in 'Christmas must be something more Fidelio and Olivia was best friends, yet none of their friends thought that way. After being questioned by their friends, they started to question themselves. both of them realized they loved each other but none had the dare to cross the line since they were afraid that it would destroy their friendship. But Olivia crossed it once. Then Fidelio crossed it again. to make sure everything was back to where it was, they went to different universities.

Fidelio and Olivia were then separated for four years during their study during university. What did they do when they were so far away? Every time Christmas comes, Fidelio came home with his friends and family. Every time Christmas comes, Olivia was busy with her work from university. This story is about to fill that gap in time.

If you want to find out the ending, just read the story (ha-ha). I can't spoil all, right?

01.

Christmas was drawing near.

Fidelio grabbed his suitcase on the rail line and heading out to the exit gate of train station. It was the first Christmas in his university life. And it was also the first Christmas that he would celebrate without the presence of his best friend, Olivia Vertigo. During his journey home, he just stay in his seat and listened to music on his iPod until the battery ran out. Sometimes, he looked out the window to see the scenery outside. There was nothing but snow.

And that lifeless colour reminded him of their last winter together.

It was nothing but a mess. Olivia crossed the line and he broke the promise he made to himself. It was when he realised that he was in love with her, insanely a lot. He was still afraid that he could lose her even though he barely got in touch with her this year. There was not a time when he stopped thinking and wondering about her. And it got crazier when this time came. It was almost a year and he knew, he clearly knew that she never left his heart, even for one moment.

He was still in love with his best friend. Very much!

Fidelio slowly walked outside the gate to find his family and friends. Before the glass door flipped open, he startled to see his own reflection. He looked worse than ever. He never saw himself this tired. No matter how nice he looked in a black scarf and a dark gray coat, there was no sight of life in his face. The young man quickly buried his face in his palms and inhaled deeply. It was when the door opened. He wore a smile when he walked out because he heard people shouted out his name already.

'Wow. It's been an awfully long time!' Charlie, Gabriel, Lysander and Tancred literally squeezed him in their arms with cheer after his family finally let him go of theirs.

'Guys. Let him breathe!' Emma said sweetly and gave him a kiss on his cheek. 'Welcome home, Fido.

'Yeah. It's nice being home.' Fidelio smiled. 'How's everyone?'

'Amazing!' Lysander said cheerfully. 'We can't wait to have you back for this Christmas.'

'You missed all the fun.' Tancred added. 'And everything is not the same when you and Liv left. How is she by the way?

He halted for a second. How could he know? Their last conversation was months ago, when he accidentally told Olivia that he missed her. She got angry at his line. They both knew that things were not back to the way they should be. Olivia knew that he was still in love with her when he said that. His trembling voice said it all. And she never misheard his tone once. And Fidelio remembered it very well that she sounded like she was crying over the phone right after that. So he hung up after saying he was sorry.

'She is fine.' He replied shortly. 'I'm sure.' Then he went on to reassured himself for that statement. Things would get complicated if their friends knew about the things between them, so he kept it simple and normal.

And the conversation went on. They talked and talked all the way to the Gunn's family. He hardly could recall anything during that talk, it was all crazy stuff that he actually missed. For the first time of the year, he felt consent. But among all of those wild things, he did remember one.

It was not that he did not like it. But he felt like he was not ready to move on anytime soon when Tancred told him he should start seeing someone. And they all told him that there was an amazing girl at the Pet's Café that he had to meet because they thought that she was perfect for him. Gabriel agreed with the suggestion right after it was made. The others joined him as well. So he just smiled gently and promised to see how it would go. It should be nice, right? It should be nice to be able to look at some other girl the way he looked at Olivia. Maybe this was the perfect time to let her go?

Olivia Vertigo picked up her phone. Emma was calling. The brunette smiled happily and press the 'answer' button. She let herself fall on the bed while waiting for the connection was made. A call from her best girlfriend was the most effective treatment for her after a long day full of acting and drama.

'I miss you, Em!' She almost shouted when she heard Emma's voice from the other side. Where she was right now was too far away from home.

'I miss you too, Liv. But be nice to my ears, won't you?' She giggled. 'How're things going these days? Isn't it the high season for plays and stuff?'

'Yeah. It's insane over here. We're going to perform a negativity play this Christmas with disable children. They are so adorable. I can't wait to teach them how to act.' Olivia rolled over to turn on the heater and pulled the thick blanket to cover her freezing body. 'I can send you guys some invitations to get there with me. I miss everyone so much.' She continued with the conversation. Her girlfriends at uni were very nice, but she never had a friend like Emma.

'Ha-ha. We're very busy as well. We're back at the Bloor to do some peer stuff for the kids there. Everyone's working very hard during the holiday. If only you could come home and join us.' Emma said. 'And we're also very busy with setting up a few dates for your bestfriend, Olivia.' Olivia could hear Emma chuckling with please. 'Fidelio has just come home a couple of days ago.'

'Really? How's he doing?' Olivia inhaled deeply. It had been ages since she last heard anything from him. Everything was not alright when they realised that they were still in love with each other. It was that damn phone call that put the final brick on the invisible wall between them.

'He's great. And everything is going well with Gloria.

'Gloria?' Olivia asked surprisingly, trying to sound normal. This news was meant to be what she wished for, but how come she did not feel like it. She felt very wrong. It felt like someone had put a ton-weight stone on her chest.

'He hasn't told you?' Emma asked surprisingly. 'I guess he's really busy with his preparation as well. Gloria is working part time at the Pet's Café and they seem to like each other right after their first date. Now we hardly see them not together.

'I'm happy to hear that. But guess I have to pretend that I don't know it the next time he calls me.' Olivia tried the sound as happy as she could.

That was the point she stopped remembering anything from the phone call that day. She just could not believe that he had moved on. It was ironically fun when she realised that she wanted everything to be back to normal, yet she also felt jealous with that 'Gloria' Emma mentioned. She still did not want Fidelio to look at any girl the way he used to look at her during last year Christmas and New Year's Eve. She should be happy for her best friend. But for the fact that she was still in love with him, she could not find a word to describe what she was feeling right now.

Gloria was a very nice girl. She was quiet, smart and caring. Every time he was with her, Fidelio felt calm and safe. Her brightful smile lightened up the whole gloomy winter sky. Her soft voice washed all of his thoughts away. There was nothing that he did not like about her, yet he still did not feel alright every time her hand rested in his. Every time she curled up in his arms, Olivia's face appeared. It was when he realised that he missed her smile so much. That smile was the only thing he wished for when he saw her again. It was the smile that made the cold winter felt warm just like summer. And his mind was craving for her voice. The perfect tone he heard whenever they had an argument always made him realise how realistic he should be, so that he could take care of a child that strangely was the same age as him.

If Gloria was the moon, Olivia would be the sun, brightly shined and desireful.

She wanted to call him, but she was still afraid that she would leave everything behind and go home right after she heard his voice. So she just sat there, staring at her phone like a statue, hearing the time passed away. It was their thing. She always called him to wish him good luck before he had a big concert when she could not come and see him play. And he always came with a gigantic bouquet of roses to cheer her before her plays, or he would call if he could not be there on time. But after every play, every concert, they still saw the other one at the backstage.

Today was her performance of the Christmas play for the academy. It was big for a first year student like her and she absolutely need the encouragement from him. But the phone never rang. She did mention the date and time of the play to Emma and she was pretty sure that her friend confirmed that everyone knew about it and they all wished her best luck. She knew today was the day they performed at the Bloor as well. By the time she finished her play, theirs was about to start. So they really did not have other time to talk than this. But she just let at pass.

What would happene if she called? What would happen if Fidelio told her that he wanted to see her and he felt normal now because he had Gloria with him? What would happen if she could not control herself and cried like a child and screaming that she was in love with him?

'Olivia! It's time. Come on!' Her friend grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the dressing room. Olivia turned around and looked at her phone for the last time. It just lied there quietly.

'Hey, F! What are you doing?' Gloria sneaked into his room before the concert with a small package of sweets. She knew he liked to have some sugar before performing. Fidelio just smiled.

'Just relaxing my mind. Is everyone ready?

'Yes.' She answered happily. 'Have some, genius!' Then she moved forward and kissed his cheek. Fidelio could see her cheeks were little blushed after she did that.

'Thanks, Gloria.' He held her hand into his and gave her a smile.

'F, this is the best Christmas I have ever had. Because you're in it.' She told him softly.

Fidelio looked at her for a few seconds. She was really serious about the thing between them even though he never really said anything about making another step. He was waiting to phone Olivia. He had decided to called her already. But now Gloria came and based on the look in her eyes, he would not have anytime to call his bestfriend. Fidelio was about to tell Olivia that he was ready to see her and he would try to make things work between him and Gloria so they could be best friends again.

But Gloria kissed him on his lips already. Fidelio responded to the kiss gently. He wanted to make this work so he could get Olivia back in his life. But it did not feel right at all. The moment their lips touched, the kiss he shared with Olvia flashed back all at once. The last first kiss they shared under the apple tree in Miss Alice Angell garden was unforgattable. It was passionate, and painful, because they knew that they would be apart for a very long time. The kiss contained so many feelings that he could not put into words.

The play ended. She came into her dressing room and found a bouquet of red roses sitting calmly on her make up desk. There was a card.

'Congratulations on another succesful performance.

I want to see you soon.

Love,

Fidelio.'

Olivia brusted into tears when she saw his handwriting again. Even though the message was short, but she felt like she had everything in the world in her arms right now. Without thinking, she grabbed her phone and dialed his number.

Fidelio pulled Gloria into his arms for another deep kiss, without seeing the screen on his phone was flashing and Olivia's image was displayed.

She could not stop crying. She was happy to hear something from him at first. Then she cried because he did not answer her phone. Hundreds of thoughts occurred in her mind almost at the same time. It was ten minutes before his concert started and she knew that Fidelio never left his dressing room before it started, as always. So there was only one explanation for his not answering her phone: he did not want to.

So why did he have to go through all the trouble sending her this bouquet and telling her he wanted to see her?

Wow... I can't believe that there will be a day that I actually publish this lol

It's nothing big, really! I just want to explore how Olivia and Fidelio feel during their time apart.

With 'Christmas must be something more', I wrote it as an oneshot, but this one will be multi chapters. I don't know how many I'll write and this first chapter is really what I have right now. So if you have any ideas or constructive comment, please do tell me. I appreciate that very very much. BUT I'll make sure it won't be long (because I have uni work to finish and a couple of Sherlock (BBC series) I need to finish as well).

So, please support me cause I want to give this a proper 'end' and fit it to the previous story even it stand in between)

Yes, reviews pretty please (puppy eyes)