A LITTLE PINK DRAGON
"You're kidding me, right?" Peter inquired, his brow creased into a look of interest and confusion. He stood with one hand on the open door and the other on the doorframe.
"Come on," Olivia smiled, shrugging as she shoved her hands into the front pockets of her pants. "It'll be fun," she added, her grin widening as if to say "pretty please." She stood in the hallway, dressed in her classic look: a gray, long-sleeved button-down shirt, a black leatherette jacket, and hair pulled back into a ponytail. The only difference? Jeans instead of slacks.
Peter smirked as the corners of his mouth lifted to reveal his shining smile. He shook his head slightly.
"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" he asked her.
She smiled and rocked back onto her heels, shrugging again, her hands still tucked into her pockets.
"Nothing. Just, it's our last night in Los Angeles. Why be cooped up in a hotel room when we could be at the beach?" she asked, a hint of excitement in her voice.
"The Santa Monica Pier doesn't exactly qualify as 'the beach,'" Peter replied, making air quotes before crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe.
"There's sand," Olivia replied, shrugging slightly before smiling at Peter, "…and waves…and seashells," she prodded, crinkling her nose in that adorable way of hers.
"And shards of broken glass…and cigarette butts…and rollerbladers on a mission to run you down," Peter said, moving his head and half rolling his eyes with each point he made, but all the while keeping a soft smile.
Olivia narrowed her eyes and glared at him through pursed lips.
"You're no fun," she said, pouting impishly.
Peter snickered as his gaze fell on hers.
"I'm tons of fun, baby," Peter said as he mischievously emphasized the final word in a husky voice.
Olivia smirked and snickered slightly.
"Then why don't you wanna take me out? Got a hot date?" she teased him, her eyebrows rising into the crinkled brow look she had mastered long ago.
Peter paused a moment before replying, his gaze still fixed on her.
"I do now," he replied, his voice low, his smile ever so soft, the look in his eyes ever so subtle…but ever so fraught with meaning.
Olivia's smile flickered as she glanced away. She felt her cheeks flush and as she looked back at Peter, she shifted her weight nervously.
"Great," she recovered, bringing her right index finger to her face in a failed attempt to appear to be scratching an itch.
Peter smiled inwardly as he watched her wriggle. That smooth, confident exterior was shaken by his words…and that made him giddy.
He continued to gaze at her for another moment before speaking.
"Let me grab my coat," he said finally as he disappeared into the room, leaving Olivia standing alone in the hallway.
She took in a deep breath and held it as she looked upward, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. She let it out quickly as she tried to convince herself that this was not a date…even if deep down inside, she truly wanted it to be.
"Nice shot. What'll it be?" a rather large man in desperate need of a shave asked as he gestured to an array of stuffed animals hanging from the ceiling of the "Take Your Aim" shooting booth.
Olivia's eyes swept over the selection as she relinquished control of the gun.
"You know, you playing this game? It's totally not fair," Peter whispered into her ear from behind her.
She smiled as she stole a glance back at him.
"I'll take…that one," she said, turning back to the bearded man and pointing in the air.
He retrieved her choice prize and handed it over.
"Thanks," Olivia told him before turning to Peter.
"Oh, that's cute. Great choice," Peter said, the sarcasm dripping.
"Here. It's yours," she said, smiling as they stepped away from the booth.
Peter took the pink dragon and held it up by the loop attached to its head and he snickered. It had shimmery magenta wings, eyelashes—the universal signal that it was a girl dragon—a forked, shimmery magenta tail, and red lipstick lining its lips. In the middle of its stomach, it held a red heart that read "Be My Valentine."
Peter cocked his head and looked at Olivia with puppy dog eyes.
"Aw, honey, you shouldn't have," he said with a lilt in his voice.
"Happy Valentine's Day," Olivia replied with a small smile.
"Damn, I didn't get YOU anything," Peter replied in a humorous tone, but secretly, he cursed himself for not thinking of her.
"Please, don't feel too bad," Olivia said, snickering slightly.
Olivia looked over to see Peter staring at her and she felt the blood rush back to her cheeks. Her smile wavered and her eyes darted away from his.
"So, what can I beat you at next?" Olivia teased, smiling coyly and making for a perfect change of subject.
"Anything with a gun? You've got me there," he replied, smiling sweetly as they strolled. "But…you're lookin' at the skeeball master," he said with an air of mock arrogance.
Olivia laughed and stopped walking before turning to Peter.
"Bring it on," she said, raising her eyebrows as she flung her arms into the air in a playfully aggressive stance.
Peter snickered. "Oh, you're going down," he said, pointing at her.
She glared playfully at him and shook her head in response.
"Okay, fine…you're better than me at everything," Peter said with a sigh as he slumped in mock defeat.
Olivia smiled triumphantly, clutching onto a fuzzy, purple gorilla.
"You up for more?" she teased, stepping in front of him, her expression daring.
"I don't know if I can handle getting beat by a girl that many times. It's bad for my ego," Peter replied with a smile.
"I'll let you win the next one, yeah?" Olivia replied, still smiling.
"Thanks, that makes me feel much better," Peter said with a nod of his head.
"I'm sure other, well…non-FBI girls would lose to you just fine, but I'm not just ANY girl, you know," Olivia taunted, her mock egotism evident in her sarcastic tone.
Peter knew full well that she was making a joke about herself...but he couldn't help what came out of his mouth next.
"No. No, you're not," Peter said as he looked over at Olivia, smiling softly, his tone serious and his expression genuine. Her hair, although still back in a ponytail, had begun to curl in the ocean air, spraying tendrils around her ears. The moonlight skipped across her face and for a moment, Peter lost his breath. He had never seen Olivia look so…natural, so at ease and so…well, beautiful.
Olivia's expression shifted as she locked eyes with his, every teasing and mischievous thought vanishing without a thought. Warmth radiated from his eyes and she could feel herself melting under his gaze.
Silent moments passed as gravity seemed to pull them to where they were only inches apart, although neither of them made a move to lean in.
Olivia's head swam at the look her partner was giving her. Her heart racing, she was happily stunned at the effect Peter's proximity was having on her. This man, who was always there for her, always her confidante, and always willing to do anything for her…this man was standing in front of her and gazing into her eyes like she was the only woman in the entire universe. He had looked at her in a similar way before, but it had never been this intense. And she had never felt so special, so…loved? She pulled her eyes away from him and looked towards the ocean, catching a glimpse of the waves rolling up onto the beach before the beginning of a tear blurred her vision. She swallowed hard to keep her heart from leaping into her throat…and then, looking back to Peter, she tried to speak.
"Peter, I-" she whispered as a tear trickled down her right cheek.
"Don't cry," Peter said with the sweetest smile as he reached up to gently thumb away her tear. His hand lingered and he stroked her cheek. He waited for her to tense up and break away…but she didn't. So, he reached his hand forward and gently pulled her hairtie out of her hair, letting her long, golden strands cascade down.
Olivia continued to hold his gaze as her hair fell into her face, her stomach flip-flopping as every second passed. Is this really about to happen? she asked herself.
Peter looked back into her eyes, smiling ever so sweetly as he reached up to brush her hair back, tangling his hand within her silky locks as he massaged her temple.
Her breathing began to slow as Peter leaned in and she realized that yes, this truly was about to happen. Her heart threatened to leap into her throat again and instead of resisting it, she leaned in, closed her eyes, and met his lips…and all of her walls came crumbling down.
Their lips lingered on a single, sweet kiss and then Peter began to pull away, not wanting to rush her into anything.
Olivia felt it and her eyes fluttered open for a split second before she leaned further in to connect with his lips again. The purple gorilla fell from her grasp as she sunk into his kiss, reaching her arm up to graze his cheek.
Peter, happily surprised, continued to stroke her cheek as he raked his hand through her hair over and over. He couldn't believe she was in his arms, but he wasn't about to question it.
Olivia's skin tingled as she kissed him again, his lips warming her to her core. Her lips parted as she allowed Peter's tongue to slip quietly past them to meet her own.
Peter's heart quite literally skipped a beat as he felt the warmth of Olivia's mouth. After one more graze, his tongue retreated but his lips lingered for a long few moments.
Their lips broke free ever so slowly and Olivia opened her eyes, bringing her gaze to Peter, a look of awe on her face.
Peter smiled that sweet, soft smile he had been wearing all night and he stroked her chin.
"Happy Valentine's Day," he repeated her words. Only now, they took on a whole new meaning.
Olivia's lips upturned into a soft smile, her eyes glistening as she marveled at this man holding her close.
A few precious, unspoken moments passed as they stared at each other. Finally, Peter broke the silence.
"How 'bout that walk on the beach?" Peter asked as he extended his right arm out to wrap around her and rest just at the small of her back, the little pink dragon hanging delicately from the loop around his finger.