The morning sun rose orange over the mountains. She hadn't noticed how gorgeous the property was when Marine One landed the night before, but in the light of day it was nothing short of breathtaking. Olivia stood wrapped in a blanket looking out the floor to ceiling windows of the house Fitz had built. The house he had built for her, built for them, for the day when they could walk away from the hustle and bustle of Washington life and be together, to start a family, to start a life.
She thought back to the conversation they had the night before, about lying and half-truths and honesty. He claimed not to know her, told her she was a ball of dirty little secrets, yet he had built her this gorgeous house with orchards full of fruit and lush gardens brimming with the most magnificent flowers. She told him she resented him not telling her the entire truth about his past, yet she ran to him, kissed him, and spent hours entwined in him.
"Liv?" Fitz rolled over, his hand shielding his eyes from the dawn of the new day. He smiled when he saw her standing in front of the window, the blanket around her hanging low, exposing her lower back. She didn't turn at the sound of her name but he saw her breathing momentarily quicken. Fitz stood, walking to where Olivia stood, and wrapped his arms around her waist, "Good morning"
"I could get used to this" she leaned back into him, "This place is perfect."
"Not quite yet, but it's getting there" Fitz breathed against her neck, "I wanted to wait until I finished everything before I showed you."
He remembered when he bought the land; it was the day after Olivia had told him that she loved him for the very first time. He had dreamed of a life with her, a future of making a home and raising a family, but he wasn't certain she wanted that until the night they touched the constitution and she expressed her love. Everything had changed for him that night. Knowing that she loved him gave him the resolve to fight for their future.
"Will you show me the rest of it?" she asked quietly, enjoying the warmth of his embrace.
"After we make breakfast" he took her hand and led her in the direction of the kitchen.
Olivia looked around the room; everything was exactly what she would have chosen had she designed the house herself. From the Vermont pine cabinets to the custom granite countertops it was flawless. A subzero refrigerator, a wine vault, and six-burner Wolf gas range graced the large room. Judging from the kitchen and family room, there wasn't a detail Fitz had overlooked. A piano identical to the one in her apartment sat in the corner of the room and the fieldstone fireplace had been built by hand.
Fitz had decided the week before that he would sell the house. He had all but given up on their dream of being together. His last ditch effort was to show her the house, the dream they had talked about hundreds of times, the house in Vermont where he could be mayor and she could make jam. He had spoken of the skylight he had designed and the many bedrooms for all of their children, of them having a family and growing old together. And as he told her about the future he had planned, tears had fallen for the children she would never bear and the future that was never to be. But when he told her the house was theirs, hers, that he had built it to hold their future, she had run to him and kissed him. They made love all night, in their living room, on their floor, in front of their fireplace. As he flipped an omelet in the pan he wondered if last night had changed anything for her. He knew he loved her and that he always would but an empty house in Vermont would be a painful reminder that she had chosen other people and other things over him.
"Could we really live here? I mean, once you're not President anymore?" her voice was small and wistful, "Is this really what you want? Could you be happy here?"
Fitz put the omelet on a plate along with the bacon he had prepared then walked to where she stood by the counter.
"This is our dream, if you still want this I still want it too" he ghosted his fingertips over her jaw, "I will be happy wherever you are. I'll be a small town lawyer and I'll come home to you every night. We can cook together, spend hours in front of the fire, and entire weekends in that huge king-size bed upstairs."
She liked the sound of their dream; they had talked about it so many nights hidden away in hotel rooms and during late night phone calls from the Oval Office. When it was just the two of them the dream seemed plausible then the world would encroach and she would start to doubt.
They sat at the table, sharing the omelet and bacon, feeding each other freshly sliced strawberries, cantaloupe, and honeydew. He kissed her lips when the juice from the fruit ran down her chin and she teased a strawberry against his lips before he pulled it into his mouth and licked the juice from her fingers.
"Do you wanna see the rest of your house?" he asked, picking up their plates and placing them in the sink.
"I'd love to" her smile was sweet and she allowed herself to get caught up in the fantasy.
Fitz led her up the stairs, passing four nearly identical bedrooms each decorated in gender neutral tones and with their own private bath and walk-in closet. He showed her the hall bath and two offices, hers decorated very similarly to her office at OPA and his in rich, masculine blues and browns. Each office had bookshelves filled with all manner of tomes. Finally, at the end of the hall he stopped just outside a set of double doors.
"Can I carry you over the threshold?" his voice was heavy with desire.
"I thought that was only for your wedding night?" she smiled shyly.
"Why not the first night in your new home?" he smirked then gathered her in his arms, "We never made it up here last night so better late than never?"
He turned the knob and carried her into the most exquisite bedroom. It was painted a pale grey with white curtains and white and black bedding. The master bath was painted mauve with pale grey towels that matched the bedroom paint. There was a large garden tub and a glass enclosed shower plenty large for two. Again, everything she saw was exactly as she would choose. He set her on her feet and took her hand, "Now for the best part"
"There's more?" she said in awe.
He led her to another door then, opening it, guided her into the walk-in closet. There were built-in shelves, cubbies for shoes, and drawers on either side.
"Fitz" she said in awe, "This is gigantic."
"I wanted to be sure all of our clothes would fit" he shrugged, "I took the liberty of buying some clothes for you to keep here. I hope that's okay."
Olivia walked to the cluster of clothing, running her hands over the fabric. There were several dresses, pants, suit jackets, and blouses on hangers and neatly folded on the shelves were shirts, jeans and sweaters. She felt tears well in her eyes, Fitz had built an entire life for them, and in their home they weren't the President of the United States and the fixer, they were Fitz and Livvie. He noticed her reaction and reached to pull her against him. He kissed along her neck until he reached her ear then whispered, "I bought lots of sexy underwear for you too"
She blushed, reaching behind her to run her fingers through his curls, "This is perfect"
"Hurry up and change and I'll show you outside" he muttered, unwrapping the blanket from her, "or we could have some fun first"
Olivia giggled, reaching for a sweater from the shelf, "Let's go for a walk, I think we need to talk."
They dressed slowly, exchanging kisses and caresses. They both wore jeans and fitted sweaters along with boots. Hand in hand they walked out the sliding door and into the back yard. After they had walked some distance Fitz finally spoke, "I don't want us to lie to each other anymore."
Olivia stopped to look up at him, "I don't want us to lie to each other either."
"I hope you understand why I can't tell you about Remington" he watched the words wash over her and flinched slightly, waiting for her response. Her eyes drifted to her feet and she toed a rock that was stuck in the ground. He felt her take two deep breaths then her eyes returned to his, sparkling with unshed tears.
"I know, I understand, but no more…" a single tear slid down her unblemished bronze cheek then his lips touched hers and he squeezed her hand.
He pulled back and met her doe eyes, "No more lies Livvie. We tell each other the truth no matter what."
They shared another brief kiss then continued to walk until they reached a line of trees.
"What's this?" Olivia asked as he led her through the trees.
"This" he stopped once they had both made it through, "is our secret hideaway"
In the clearing was a pond surrounded by beautiful flowers and a bench at the far side. Fitz had found this spot one day he was on site during construction. It had been a difficult day, a day he wasn't sure he and Olivia would make it to Vermont, and he had come to this spot to think. In the glassy surface of the water he found clarity, he saw the man he wanted to be for her and the life he wanted to give her. The spot had given him strength to keep going because he knew she would love it there. He imagined walking with her, as they were that day, and sitting on their bench by their pond to escape their crazy lives. Beyond the bench he had built a small building, The Summer House he'd called it, and in it he stored gardening supplies along with a picnic blanket and a wine fridge. He retrieved the blanket, laying it on the ground then opened a bottle of her favorite wine, offering her a glass. She beamed, he really had thought of everything.
He pulled her back against him as they sat on the blanket looking out over their pond. They sipped the wine and enjoyed the serenity.
"Livvie?" he asked after several minutes.
"Hmm?" she nuzzled into him.
"We can do anything we want by our pond and no one will see us" he took her glass from her, setting it aside, then pulled her into a fiery kiss.
"Anything?" she murmured as his mouth sampled the skin of her neck.
"MmmHmm" he replied pressing her back onto the blanket and lagging his hands beneath her sweater.