Charoúmena Genéthlia

By Cortexikid

A/N: Just a small one-shot. Not necessarily based on spoiler pictures for the 2nd episode (as I don't believe this is a possible explanation for that encounter) but is inspired by them. Enjoy!

He knocked on her door, swiftly and softly before he had time to talk himself out of it. It was late, later than he anticipated as he stood outside her apartment in the chill of the night air. After a moment, he heard quiet footsteps approach the door and barely had time to shove his hands in his pocket before it opened.

"Peter…hi," came a familiar voice from the ajar door.

"Hey, 'Livia," he murmured in reply as she ushered him in out of the cold.

It was when he entered her living room did he fully take in her attire. There she stood, opposite him, in black sweatpants and a tight black tank top, her hair hanging down around her shoulders, damp and apparently blonde again. It appeared he had just arrived after her shower. Now he felt, awkward and…dare he admit it, a little agitated, and not in a bad way.

"You…uh, dyed your hair," he said, clearing his throat and gesturing towards her, his eyes determined not to dwell on her form for too long. He didn't know what was wrong with him lately – he had seen Olivia in a lesser state of dress than this before, he didn't know why seeing her now in such casual and comfortable clothing had such a…vivid effect on him. Wait, yes, he did know why, he just chose to ignore it. He still felt he was threading dangerous waters here…which is exactly why he'd shown up at her place at eleven thirty at night.

"Oh, yeah, I did. Figured it suited me better, I didn't really like the auburn look," she smiled softly before padding further into her living room and sitting down on her couch. Peter couldn't help but glance at her as she did so and realized that she was barefoot too. He barely contained a grin; there was just something so…cute about Olivia Dunham out of her sensible work shoes for once.

Somewhere, not too deep down into his soul, a shadow of his former self was scolding him for having such…endearing thoughts about the FBI agent. He could just imagine himself, two years ago; trying to fathom what on earth he was doing just thinking these thoughts about anyone let alone a fed. But, he had grown since then and realized that it wasn't all bad letting yourself care about someone.

"You gonna stand there all night or are you gonna sit down?" Olivia's voice broke through his thoughts. His head snapped up and his eyes met hers. With a quiet laugh he shook his head and made his way over to her, sitting down and angling his body towards her. She grinned and turned towards him.

"So, not that I'm complaining but, what brings you here?"

Her question caught him off guard (not that he'd ever admit it) and his genius mind fought to come up with a believable and appropriate response.

"Uh…I…had some thoughts about the case," he replied, trying not to frown at his own words. They had only got off the phone with one another less than an hour ago after discussing the case; she would know that was not why he was really here. Scratch that, she did know that was why he wasn't really here if her raised eyebrow was any indication.

"Oh. Really? 'Cause I was thinking you might have come over to…hide from Walter," she smirked, knowing that she was right as he refused to look at her.

Okay, so she was onto him. Didn't mean he had to confirm it or anything.

"You got any of that whiskey left? After the day we've had, I think we need it," he smiled, deliberately changing the subject. Olivia eyed him with pursed lips for a moment, before rolling her eyes and standing up.

"There should be some in the kitchen," she called over her shoulder as she walked out of the room. Peter watched her go, forcing himself not to stare at her too long and clasped his hands together tightly. Yep, he was definitely threading dangerous waters here.

He and Olivia had been in a…weird place these last few of weeks. After some subtle smiles, brushing of hands and covert kisses, he had come to the conclusion that something was definitely brewing between them. Only problem was, he wasn't sure how fast. And he did not want to make any mistakes with her – so, he decided that he'd sit back and let her take the lead.

He would not, could not admit however, that he was a little apprehensive of their new mystifying path. Not having the faintest idea where it could lead…or rather, he did and that was what he found so unnerving in the first place.

"Here…" a quiet tone interrupted his reverie. He looked up and was met by a glass filled with a dark brown liquid being held in front of his face. He smiled a thanks and took the glass, bringing it to his lips as she sat back down beside him, leaving her own glass and a small box on the coffee table opposite them. He felt the alcohol burn his throat slightly as he took a large gulp, it was oddly soothing and reminded him of old times before and during his time with Olivia. A particular memory came to mind at that moment.

"Hey, you remember that time we went to the bar in Cambridge and you flirted with that bar tender and told him I was your brother?" he laughed, finishing the last of his drink.

He saw her stop still for a moment as she reached forward towards the coffee table.

"Heh-yeah sure," she smiled, picking up the small white box from the table and placing it on her lap.

Peter's interest was peaked.

"What's in the box?"

She threw him a full grin now, her eyes glinting mischievously in the dim light. Peter could not remember a time where she looked so…impish. It was something else that looked really cute on her. All the little differences in her lately, the minuscule hints of…what appeared to be happiness made his heart race just a little. He didn't want to be as vain to think that it was due to their new relationship but he managed to allow himself a little hope that that might be a contributing factor.

She leaned closer to him and he felt his throat constrict. Whether he liked to admit it or not, she had a strong hold over him, especially within close parameters. She held out the box for him to take, her eyes never leaving him. He looked down at her hands and slowly took the box from her, gingerly holding it in his palm.

"Open it," she half-whispered, her eyebrows rising in anticipation.

Peter's grin grew. It appeared this was another 'first'. Olivia had never given him anything before – spare a coffee or a case file, so this was a change. A nice change.

Looking down, he slowly opened the box and laughed when he saw its contents. There, sitting snug in the small box was a chocolate cupcake complete with coloured sprinkles.

So she had remembered.

"Charoúmena Genéthlia, Peter," she murmured as his eyes rose to meet hers again.

He almost frowned at her words.

"I thought you didn't know Greek," he said confusedly as her kind birthday wishes rang in his ears.

She looked away from him for a moment, before snapping back again, a wider grin on her face.

"Well…I've been brushing up," she replied, trying to smother the slip up that tumbled from her lips. It had been Frank's way to wish her Happy Birthday for the past two years now and she just uttered it to him, Peter Bishop of all people. She had to fix this.

Before he could question further, she took the box from him and placed it on the coffee table. Throwing him an elfin grin, she pushed him back onto the couch and straddled him, resting his knees on either side of him. She registered his shocked expression as she gazed down at him, grasping the collar of his shirt in her left hand.

"I thought you might like something sweet for your birthday," she smiled, before leaning forward and brushing her lips against his.

She felt him respond almost immediately and knew she was out of the red, for the time being. His hands clutched her waist tightly as she licked his bottom lip.

She'd have to step up her game and make sure that she didn't make anymore stupid mistakes with him. This was one mission she did not intend to fail.

"You know…" Peter mumbled, his breathing hitched as he broke the kiss, "my birthday isn't technically until another ten minutes…"

Olivia smirked down at him, brushing her newly blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Well, consider it an early birthday present then," she finished before leaning over and capturing his lips once more, running her fingers through his hair.

Yes, this was certainly not a mission she intended to fail.

A/N: It was only after I'd written this I remembered that apparently 3x02 is called "The Box." Obviously I don't think the cupcake box is the box they're referring to, lol.

NOTE: I have no idea how Alt-Livia is going to act around Peter so I guess she is "out-of-character" at least as far as our Olivia's personality is concerned but I guess she is different to her so I wrote her differently…yeah, that probably only made sense in my head. XD

Hope you enjoyed – well, if you're "Polivia" fans you probably didn't but, hey, at least it's preparing you for the worst, right? Right…that's what I tell myself too.

Oh and the title means "Happy Birthday" in Greek. It's written as "χαρούμενα γενέθλια." I may change the title but for now it'll do. :)

A review would be lovely =] ~Cortexikid