A/N: Hi, everyone, I've been writing fanfiction for a little over a year. This is my first Scandal fic, hope you enjoy it!
The title for this story comes from season 2, episode 22. Cyrus says to Livvie: And you, you two are so stupid and romantic and high on your own doomed love, Romeo and Juliet, Dear Diary nonsense that you won't even save your own lives, but I am being dramatic? Romeo & Juliet were teenagers and they died! ... This is not a romance novel. Life is not a romance novel!"
Romance is my thing, I'm a hopeless romantic... so yeah, that's why I picked this title. Note that the word 'not' is in parenthesis as my way to take the emphasis away from that word. But I love using character quotes for my story titles and that is the complete quote. But of course, I disagree with Cyrus cause life IS a romance novel :)
Somewhere in another life, in another reality…We are married…"
Fitzgerald Grant III
When she got on that plane that morning, she had no reason to suspect that this would be nothing but an ordinary flight. And even though flying ranked way low on the list of Olivia Pope's favorite activities (actually, she dreaded it), she was looking forward to heading back home after spending the better part of last week in Australia to celebrate the wedding of her best friend dating back to her boarding school days.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Cindy Chandler and I'm your chief flight attendant. On behalf of (Captain Seth Charles Norris) the entire crew, welcome aboard Oceanic Airlines flight 815, non-stop service from Sidney to Los Angeles," chirped a light brown haired woman with a pearly white smile.
After announcing that all cell phones needed to be turned off for the remainder of the flight (which got a few passengers grumbling), Cindy Chandler smoothly proceeded to show the passengers the standard safety demonstration with ease and efficiency, using various hand signals.
"When the seat belt sign illuminates, you must fasten your seat belt." She then proceeded to show how to fasten the seat belt. "We suggest that you keep your seat belt fastened throughout the flight, as we may experience turbulence. There are several emergency exits on this aircraft. She then proceed to point forward, to the sides (the wings) and then the back of the plane. "Please take a few moments now to locate your nearest exit. In some cases, your nearest exit may be behind you.
Olivia knew the procedure and did a quick scan of the location and passengers surrounding the emergency exits.
Most of the passengers looked around them with apathetic looks while others did not bother to look.
She shook her head, wondering how could some people be so engrossed in their electronic devices to bother becoming even superficially familiar with their surroundings. In case of an emergency, you would certainly at least need to be acquainted with the person sitting next to you. For instance, what if your seatmate were hard of hearing or had a disability that made it hard for them to understand you? That was just one example that came to mind.
A couple of rows away from the emergency exits, there was a family with particularly rowdy young children towards the back of the middle section of the plane, the kind that makes you REALLY glad they're not yours. But mostly, she felt sorry for the parents who already seemed spent and at the limits of their patience (AND this was a 14 hour flight).
Right then, the stewardess proceeded to show everyone how to use an oxygen mask which invariably triggered the recollection of a particular scene from the movie Four Christmases which was particularly fitting.
Yes. she remembered it every single time she got on a plane. Every. Single. Time.
Reese Witherspoon: "I'd just like to know you'd be there for me in a time of crisis. Like if we were on a plane and it was going down…I would like to know that you would put mine on (referring to oxygen mask) before you put on your own, you know?"
Vince Vaughn: "I wouldn't…the FDA wouldn't want me to either." He says matter of factly. "Have you ever listened to the Stewardess or are you too busy with your blackberry? You're supposed to put your mask on first in case of an emergency before you can help a child or an unfit adult next to you…cause otherwise, I'm passed out and I'm not helping anybody…"
Just thinking of Vince Vaughn's timely expressions when he says his lines made her chuckle, especially that part about the 'unfit adult next to you. ' Just watching his flawless deadpan delivery she couldn't help but agree with him (not so much about what he says but how he says it) , even though as a woman she could certainly understand where Reese Witherspoon was coming from. The end result was that the scene had become so memorable that she always paid attention to the safety demonstration no matter how many times she'd seen it.
As soon as the flight attendant finished her presentation, Olivia took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She wasn't particularly fond of flying. The hardest part for her was take-off but once they were up in the air it was easier to forget that she was up in the sky where anything could happen and with no possible way out.
As the aircraft soared above the clouds, reaching cruising altitude and passengers were allowed to take off their seat-belts, Olivia opened her eyes with a sigh of relief. After a moment, she lifted the blind that covered her window and looked out into the vastness of the ever timeless sky.
Finally able to relax, she kicked off her Gucci platform pumps underneath that empty floor space in the seat directly in front of hers. There was definitely something about looking out into space that made her mind drift away as if in a dream.
Someone was staring at her.
Olivia looked around her. Right across from her to her right was a 30 something Middle Eastern Man with long wavy hair cascading around his shoulders. He had a short beard and mustache which complemented his dark skin. He met her gaze as soon as she laid eyes on him and his lips stretched into a thin, enigmatic smile.
The man was sitting in the middle seat on the right side of the aircraft. Both seats beside him were unoccupied.
She returned his smile; not wanting him to think that she was interested, she looked around her as if to ascertain her surroundings.
The last thing she wanted was to engage with anyone on any level. She was just getting her life back together after breaking off her engagement to Edison.
Plus she was looking forward to having some down time to think and draft some goals for the near future.
"Mind if I sit here?" A deep baritone voice asked.
Thinking that it was the Middle Eastern guy, Olivia turned with an edgy look on her face. She did not have anything against Muslims (seriously) and she genuinely thought most of them were good people, yet she did not want to spend the rest of the flight worried that she might say something politically incorrect…after all, she was on a flight back to the States…well, let's just say that 911 had taught her that one can never be to careful, especially when traveling…
Besides, did he not get her vibe which clearly spelled out, 'hey I'm being polite here but I'd just like to mind my own business?"
She gazed up to see that there was a man standing by the aisle seat alright.
But he was a different man…a completely different man.
This man had chiseled jawline, broad shoulders and perfect East Coast hairstyle combed back with a generous amount of hair gel.
She gave him a questioning look, Where did you come from?
"Sorry to bother you…but I'm officially back there…" he motioned towards the last two rows of the tail section. There was a family of four with two young children squirming in their seats. "My seat is directly in front of them. Judging by the fact that we just took off and the little rascals are already quite a handful…" he smiled ruefully. "Well... I can only imagine how the rest of this flight will go," he shrugged and looked at her with bluish puppy eyes that screamed, "please save me."
Right then, one of the children let out a shriek while his parent attempted to grab offending object from his hand. "NO, Jimmy, you may not write on your sister with a marker!"
Everyone on the plane turned in unison to stare at offending little Jimmy and his very distraught parent.
Olivia's gaze met the stranger's blue-gray gaze.
Eyes locked on one another, they smiled beautifully in unison.
Noticing how he was reluctant to take his gaze off hers, she felt irresistibly drawn to that glint of something magnetic which radiated from him... that certain something appeared to be the combination of humor, mischief, passion and a lively sense of adventure.
Perhaps, what drew her in the most was the certainty that when it came to a passionate approach to life, she had definitely met her match.
Funny how other people's misfortune often serves to break the ice.
"Sure, go ahead," she said. "I'm Olivia, by the way," she graciously extended her hand.
"Fitz," he replied shaking her hand.
A spark caught between their palms, shocking them both.
Thrown temporarily off balance, he sank into the aisle seat, his eyes glued on her.
Her gaze briefly dropped to the middle seat between them where she had placed her Prada purse and her white Tory Burch trench coat.
Then, she smiled politely at Fitz before she picked up a magazine underneath her coat. As if on cue, Fitz retrieved one of those awfully boring airline magazines from the front pocket of the seat in front of him.
They made small talk while leafing through the magazines which conveniently served as hand pop, while allowing them to keep their attention focused on each other without coming on too strongly.
Then, about 10 minutes later he sprinted from his seat and said he needed to stretch his legs.
While he was gone, she did her best to avoid eye contact with the Middle Eastern man who kept staring at her from across his seat. Something about that man made her uneasy…hmm…she hoped it wasn't just prejudice on her part. No, that was NOT it. She'd been told more than once that she was fairly open minded by nature. She needed to trust her gut, she decided.
The man was relentless as did not take his eyes off her the entire time…. if indeed he was hitting on her, perhaps he was actually clueless to the fact that he sure came across as rather creepy.
Nonetheless, fueled by a rush of adrenaline, Olivia met his gaze decidedly.
Luckily, it wasn't long before Fitz returned from his excursion towards the front of the aircraft and all thoughts involving Mr. Creepy were long forgotten.
Fitz returned her welcoming smile, unfazed by the fact that he was now stuck behind the flight attendant's snack cart.
She studied him, long and hard as he stood casually clad in a green cable knit sweater, the sleeves pulled back some, his arms folded across his chest in a particularly sexy way.
Olivia could just picture him as clear as day, adopting that same stance, his masculine essence against a brick fireplace in the middle of winter in a cozy little town somewhere on the East Coast.
Thus, she took a mental picture of him with the brick backdrop (photography was one of her hobbies) and somehow knew right then and there that this would be a picture she would keep forever stored in her mental photo album.
Her caramel eyes adopted a far-away look as the strangest feeling of déjà vu overcame her… as if indeed she had known this man all her life...
A/N: So, what do you think? Do you know where this story is heading?
Please leave a review, they help keeping me motivated,
Thanks for reading