I'm baaaaaack! When we left off, Fitz and Liv were just moving into their new house. You're The One That I Want was my first fanfiction ever, and there were a lot of kinks to work out, not to mention things I needed to learn as a writer. So for the sequel, I did do a time jump of six months, that way I can actually write for Holiday occasions and such, things I didn't think of actually doing in my first story. So bear with me as we all take this journey with Olivia and Fitz, because it's bound to be an interesting one. As always, reviews are loved and appreciated! Enjoy.
Olivia turned the page in her book, while looking at her surroundings. She and Fitz were at a table in the park, sharing a salted caramel milkshake. Children could be heard in the distant background, laughing and shouting on the playscape. The birds were chirping, and the wind was blowing through the trees, as the October air danced around them.
The last six months had been perfect between them. They fit easily into their new home, and their new neighborhood. Every Thursday, she and Fitz would have dinner with their neighbors, the Feldman's. She and Stacy Feldman would take turns hosting the dinners, that way they could both work on their cooking skills. While the women would be in the kitchen, Fitz and Bryan would be combating over their future football fantasy teams, and which players would dominate the field. Stacy and Olivia had a lot in common: they both had caramel skin and tiny stature, but both came with a fiery personality. Their differences came in men. One evening, the couples were watching Casino Royale, and the two women argued about Daniel Craig.
"He's not even good looking!" Olivia exclaimed.
"Yes he is! And listen to that accent, that's partly the reason I went out on my first date with Bryan!" Stacy admitted.
Fitz and Olivia laughed hysterically, while Bryan pretended to throw Stacy over his shoulder and she banged her fists on his back. They were such a quirky couple. Stacy was feisty and full of energy, and Bryan was incredibly shy. He constantly patted down the front of his jet-black hair, as if he were uncomfortable in every situation. But when he looked at Stacy, you could see him mellow out. He got more relaxed. And you could see how in love with her he was. She was his home. And he was hers. And in that way, the two couples became best friends. Fit and Olivia were happy in their new home, with their little piece of normal.
Fitz teased Olivia at first, mentioning that he had never seen her cook before. He walked into the kitchen one afternoon, to find her with a recipe book open next to her as she was stirring something on the stove. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you liked Stacy better than me, since she got you to cook."
Olivia turned around and kissed him on the cheek, a huge smile breaking out on her face. "Well, if I didn't get the practice in now, how would I ever be able to take care of you and a family?"
"While we're on the subject," Ftz started, as he pulled Olivia down over to him, "when is that going to be happening?"
"What do you mean?"
"Look at our lives' Liv, look how busy we are. I don't know, I've just been thinking a lot lately, and…" Fitz trailed off, trying to find the words he was trying to say.
"What, babe? What's wrong?" Olivia asked, turning his face to hers.
"I think I want to quit my job," he said. Olivia stared at Fitz, a little taken aback. "I don't want to be a lawyer anymore, hell, I don't even want to be governor anymore. That was always my father's plan for me. He wanted me to follow in his footsteps. And I realized, if I did that, I would just be compared to him, and if I ever actually did become President of the United States, my family would never have a shot at a normal life. We would all be under scrutiny, and I wouldn't be able to raise my family the way I want to be able to. I want to be there for first words and first walks, I want to be there for school conferences and father daughter dances, I want the whole thing. And I can't do that to the best of my ability, if I'm leader of the Free World."
"Liv," Fitz stated. "Say something."
"Well, it's actually not a bad idea. We both have a ton of money saved up-"
"Liv, we don't even need to dip into our savings, and you know that. We're both well off, so don't even try and come at me with that 'Fitzgerald it's your money not ours' argument".
Olivia tried to hide her smirk, but couldn't help it. She hated and loved that Fitz knew her so well.
"Wait, you said 'we'…Liv, do you want to leave OPA?" Fitz knew how much the business meant to her. Not to mention her team meant even more to her. These are the people she saved, and even though she would never admit it to herself, but they saved her too. They weren't just her team; they were her family. But if she were being honest, she threw herself into her work to forget about the pain and heartbreak she was dealing with after things with Fitz spiraled out of control due to his father.
"It won't necessarily be me leaving, just, maybe taking some time off. Indefinitely. I want to be with you all of the time. And anytime I'm at work, I just keep thinking about our future, and how much I can't wait to get it started. So yes, I want to leave OPA. And I'm sure if I get bored, or need a little excitement, the team would welcome me back."
At first, she was worried about the way they would react, but was relieved to find out that they not only understood, but also applauded her.
"You're too much of a workaholic anyway, get out of here and go have a bunch of babies!" Abby said.
About two months after Olivia and Fitz both quit their jobs, Olivia decided to test a theory of hers. Fitz arrived home one day after an afternoon of shopping to find the house quiet. "Liv?" He called out.
"Back here!"
He put the groceries down in the kitchen, before walking through the foyer. As he did, he stopped and smiled, looking at the framed picture on the wall, that he took of Olivia the first day they moved into the house.
"Honey?" he called again.
"Right in here, Fitz." Her voice came from one of the spare rooms, but he had no idea why she would possibly be in there. He opened the door to see Olivia setting up an easel and paints. Blank canvas' lay in various parts of the room, and across the room, Fitz could see a giant black box. He walked over to it and opened it, finding a different variation of brushes. "You're going to take up painting?" He asked her.
"No, you are."
He turned around to face her, a look of complete bewilderment on his face.
"Six years ago, you told me that painting was your passion. And I knew how much you loved my father's work, even though I never told you he was my father."
"Yeah, thanks for that, by the way." Fitz joked.
"Shut up," Olivia said with a smile, "and let me finish. In all of my life, I have never seen you more in tune with something than you are with art. Even when you're just doodling idly, it just comes second nature to you. I think you should get back into it. Just see how it feels to not have your father breathing down your neck. See how it feels to do something you love, for once. Law was never your choice. Now's your chance to choose who you want to be. So, what do you say?"
Olivia couldn't quite gauge his reaction as he walked over to her. He took her face in his hands, and kissed her deeply. Her hands instantly found their way to her favorite place, his hair, and she closed any remaining space between them. "Thank you." He whispered against her lips.
He tried expressing how much her actions meant to him. Olivia cared about him and his happiness more than anyone else ever had. She was letting him be himself, and letting him choose what he wanted to do, for the first time in his life.
"And before you ask me to marry you, yet again…," they both chuckled, reminiscing on how many times Fitz had asked her to marry him.
"…the answer is yes."
Olivia was brought back to reality as Fitz stretched, one hand still holding his notebook in one hand, and a pencil in the other. She looked over at him and smiled to herself. He looked so good in his baby blue button down shirt; his sleeves rolled up to his forearms. His Ray Bans covered his stunning blue eyes, and the confident smile on his face eased any and every worry that came across her mind at how the next series of events were about to go.
"Here she comes," Fitz sang under his breath, standing up. Olivia put How to Plan Your Wedding back in her bag, before standing up. As Olivia stood, he walked over to Ingrid, his former Nanny, and enveloped her into a bear hug. The elder woman laughed to herself, before placing both hands on Fitz' cheeks. She kissed his forehead before saying "Oh, Fitzy. You are still such a charmer."
"Oh, so he's always been like this, has he?" Olivia asked, a playful look on her face.
"This one talked his way into getting dessert before dinner, as well as a midnight bedtime, every night!"
Fitz blushed some, staring at Ingrid with such admiration, that Olivia understood just how much of a motherly role she played in his life. In a world full of only Big Jerry, Ingrid was Fitz' safe haven. The one who kept him sane throughout his childhood, and probably a huge reason for him making it out of that house.
They all sat down, laughing while munching on the sandwiches that Ingrid ended up bringing for them. Olivia was mesmerized by the taste. Her eyes nearly rolled back into her head, as the cheese practically melted on her tongue. "Oh my god, this is incredible! What is it?" she asked.
"Ingrid and Trip's Famous Turkey Grilled Cheese's!" Fitz and Ingrid practically sang, in perfect synchronization. "When I was a kid," Fitz said in between chews, "I was obsessed with cheese, and I never wanted any meat. I just would leave it on my plate. And Ingrid came up with a sneaky, yet brilliant way to get me to eat it."
"I would just slice his meat up real them and put it in with the cheese and I would lather it with a garlic butter spread and voila!" Ingrid said, with a wave of her hand.
"You definitely have to give me this recipe!" Olivia said, trying not to eat her sandwich too quickly, in case there weren't leftovers.
"I'll do you one better, I can teach it to you myself." Ingrid offered.
Olivia smiled widely, liking the fact that she too, was gaining a mother figure after so long. "I would love that."
"Ingrid, I've got something I want to run by you." Fitz said, taking Olivia's hand in his.
Ingrid looked towards Fitz, nodding her head, urging him to continue.
Fitz then looked at Olivia. "I asked this beautiful woman sitting next to me to marry me. More than once, mind you. I'm not kidding, I was not letting this one get away from me. And about two months ago, I had the pleasure of her saying yes to spending the rest of her life with me. We're getting married, Ingrid. And I want you to be at the wedding."
Ingrid smiled through her tears, her handkerchief pulled from her purse. She dabbed her eyes and just nodded, unable to vocally express herself. "It would be my pleasure." She managed, and then engulfed the two in a bear hug. They laughed and held her, glad she took the news well. It was important to Olivia that Ingrid liked her. And she felt as if she had her approval.
"So how's the wedding planning going?" Stacy asked. She and Olivia decided to change it up, and go get their nails done. Both ladies were in the middle of enjoying a pedicure.
"Surprisingly, pretty good so far. I mean granted, I haven't really done much yet, but what I have done, I feel has gone pretty smoothly."
"Have you guys set the date yet?"
"Oh no, we're nowhere near that stage." Olivia said. She and Fitz both agreed that they knew they wanted to be together for the rest of their lives, and that there was no rush for them to get married. "We both agreed that when a day comes to mind, we'll go for it. But for right now, we're just enjoying everything about each other. And one thing I know for sure, is I sure love my man." Olivia stated with a giggle. The nail salon ladies gave each other looks and rolled their eyes.
The ladies decided to get matching French manicures, followed by an evening of Netflix and sushi. Olivia had picked up a bunch of wedding dress magazines while they were out, and decided to finally start looking for her dress. When Fitz and Bryan arrived home from their trip to the gym, they found Olivia and Stacy laying on the ground like teenagers, legs up in the air and crossed at the ankles, with magazines open all over the floor.
"Well, you two seem to have had a very productive day." Fitz said as he crossed the room.
Olivia leaned her head up and smiled, waiting for her kiss. "Hello, dear."
"Hello, doll." He placed his hand on her cheek, giving her a quick peck.
She pouted. "That's not the kiss I was looking for."
"Now, now, dear. We have company. But don't worry, I have plans for you tonight." He whispered in her ear. And with that, he got up. "Bryan man, thanks for running with me today." The men slapped hands, and clapped each other on the back. Olivia thought that it was nice that Fitz found a good friend in Bryan. She had nothing against Christian, but seeing Fitz have a friend in a steady relationship put her more at ease.
"It's no problem, man. Same time tomorrow? I'll text you when I get off work." Bryan said.
"Sounds great. See you tomorrow."
"Come on, babe! I'll run you a bath." Bryan called over his shoulder. Stacy nudged Olivia's shoulder, her dorky way of saying goodbye, and ran and jumped on her husband's back.
"Bye, Liv! I'll text you later. See ya, Fitz." Stacy yelled as Bryan walked to the door.
And just like that, they were alone. And all of the electrifying chemistry that exists between them began to rise to dangerous levels. Olivia tried to take a deep breath to calm down her excitement, but she already knew that whatever Fitz had planned was going to be earth-shatteringly fantastic. Olivia looked up at Fitz, her eyes slowly making their way up his body. He was wearing black basketball shorts with a grey tank top. It was drenched with sweat, as was he. His usual Superman curl was matted to his forehead.
"I'm going to go take a shower." Fitz announced. "We should probably shower together to try and save water. You know, just in case California needs some air lifted to them. Gotta think economically, you know?"
"Well, since you put it that way, Trip." Olivia said with a smirk, dying to use the nickname she heard Ingrid use for him.
Fitz groaned, throwing his head back. "Oh for the love of God, please tell me you're not going to bring that back."
"Why not? It's cute!" Olivia pleaded.
"It sounds like the name of a rich snob who summers in the Hamptons, won't wear the same outfit twice, and has so much plastic surgery, that he gives Joan Rivers a run for her money!"
"Wow, you've really put some thought into that, huh?"
"I grew up around that. I refuse to have anything associated with my childhood. Except for Ingrid." He cleared his throat. "However, I really don't want to talk about any of that right now, I do think we were on our way to a shower."
He walked over to her and scooped her up off of the floor. "And if you want to call me a nickname, you could always just call me daddy." He said with a low, seductive tone. It sent chills straight to Olivia's core. She gasped audibly, then blushed.
"I hate that you have that power over me." She glared at him, smiling all the while.
"I sure as hell love it. And I sure as hell love you." He said as he looked into her eyes, before kissing her forehead. "Now let's go have some fun."
Olivia's mind was still whirling as she walked into the bathroom. She looked into the mirror at her reflection, informing herself of just exactly how thoroughly fucked she looked. Her hair was wild, and her eyes wide and bright with excitement. Her chest still had a slight heave to it, her breath regulating after the four rounds of sex she just had. She washed her face off, then ran her wet hands through her hair to try and maintain it some. Walking out of the bathroom and turning off the light, she walked back into the bedroom with the sight of Fitz fast asleep, his right hand reaching towards the side of the bed. His mouth was slightly open, his lips still red from Olivia's attacks.
She smiled down at him as she draped her naked body over his back. She ran her hands through his hair, massaging the back of his scalp. She entwined her fingers with his at the edge of the bed, so happy in that moment. She was getting to spend the rest of her life with this man. After everything they had been through, they were finally together.
It was a whole, new world.