Mellie's stylist, Andi, was showing her gown after gown for the upcoming state dinner, but none of them seemed quite right. Mellie knew that she was being obnoxiously picky, but she didn't care. While she didn't normally pay fashion much mind, this dinner was an exception. Every detail, including her appearance, had to be perfect. She had to make it very clear to both Marcus and Fitz that she didn't need them and was thriving without them. Mellie realized that she had zoned out while Andi was talking. When she refocused, she finally saw Andi reaching for a gown that might actually work. The gown was a deep blue and one shouldered, and she surmised that it would allow her to look like a woman while enduring only minimal slut shaming from the press.

Andi was mid-sentence when Mellie interrupted her. "I'll try that one." She grabbed the hanger and made a beeline for her closet before Andi could get another word out.

Mellie stood before the mirror, staring at herself from every possible angle. The dress fit perfectly, and she knew that she looked good. As she continued to stare, her hands came to rest on her stomach in a futile attempt to quiet the butterflies there. It's just a state dinner she chastised herself. No matter who is going to be there, you've done this a hundred times before. Don't be ridiculous.

A few minutes had passed, and Mellie was once again lost in thought when Andi called her name. Andi's voice snapped her out of her trance, and she quickly strode out of the closet. "This one will work," she said matter-of-factly.

"Yes ma'am," Andi responded, smiling proudly at her handiwork.

When the night of the state dinner arrived, Mellie prepared to enter the East Room with Cyrus by her side. He had agreed to be her date again, just as he had at the inaugural ball.

"You look lovely this evening, Madam President."

Mellie smiled and linked her arm in his. "As do you, Mister Vice President."

Though Mellie seemed cool and collected, she was actually quite nervous. Which, she kept telling herself, was preposterous. After very narrowly avoiding assassination while taking the oath of office, was she really nervous about a state dinner? "Preposterous," she muttered under her breath.

"What?" Cyrus inquired.

"Nothing. Let's do this." Mellie put on her game face.

Cyrus nodded in response.

Mellie took a deep breath.

The doors opened.

After everyone had finished eating, the dancing commenced. Mellie was still sitting at her table, talking to the President of France. She was relieved: partly because the dinner was going well, but mostly because she had succeeded in avoiding Marcus all evening. She had allowed herself to steal one glance at him, but she refused to torture herself further.

Over the French President's shoulder, Mellie glimpsed Olivia and Fitz dancing. She barely caught herself before she rolled her eyes. There was a respectable distance between the couple, but they weren't fooling anyone. Mellie quickly brought her focus back to the conversation at hand before she did or said something regrettable.

As one song ended and another began, Cyrus approached and asked her to dance with him. She politely excused herself and obliged.

"Paris agreement chit-chat going alright?" Cyrus prodded.

"It is indeed." Mellie chuckled. "No need to worry. I don't plan on single-handedly killing the planet anytime soon."

"Of course not," Cyrus replied with an inquisitive smile.

They danced for the remainder of the song in companionable silence. As Mellie made her way back to her table, she heard Marcus' voice over her shoulder. "Madam President," his tone was formal. She turned towards him, doing her best to mask her emotions and match his professionalism. "May I have a word with you?"

"Um, I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Please?"

She paused for a beat, and when she spoke again, her tone was hushed. "I'm going to go use the restroom by the blue room. Perhaps you'll need to go in a few minutes as well?"

He nodded slowly.

"Now if you'll excuse me," she said more loudly.

On her way to the bathroom, Mellie made sure that the Secret Service would allow Marcus to pass. She could hear her heart beating in her ears. What could he possibly want? It's probably just business, she told herself. He probably wants something for Fitz and wanted to ask me in person because he thought I would say no over the phone or through an aide. Yes, surely that was it.

When she walked out of the bathroom, she practically ran into him.

"Marcus!"

"Mellie." His voice was tender.

Her heart skipped a beat. Oh shit, this doesn't sound like business. She glanced down the hall to make sure no one was around before looking at him expectantly.

"I um," he began. "When you offered me a job in your White House, I said no because I didn't want to be Olivia Pope. And that's true, I don't want to have an affair with the president. I don't want to wake up every day and wonder if I deserve my job, or if it was just a favor. But…I've missed you every day since I left for Vermont, and just now, when I was watching you dance, there was nothing in the world I wanted more than to be the one dancing with you. I don't want to have an affair with you, and I don't want to work for you. I want to be with you, Olivia and her "fixing" be damned. I want to be the one you dance with at state dinners. I want to be the one who tells you that you can do the hardest job in the world when it feels impossible. I want to be the one who holds you at night, but I also want to be able to kiss you in the daylight. I want the world to know that I love you, because it isn't something I can just turn on and off based on the hour or the day. So, we need to either fish or cut bait, because it's too painful to just have half of you."

Mellie was stunned silent, her mouth slightly agape.

Marcus just waited for her to process all that he had said.

She finally found her voice, it was barely above a whisper. "Why didn't you tell me? When I offered you the job, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I wasn't really sure what I was feeling. All I knew was that I was too proud to accept your job offer. But every day without you in Vermont made it harder for me to ignore the fact that I was still in love with you."

She dropped her head for a moment, trying to think. A part of her was still terrified of being vulnerable, even though he had just bared his soul to her. But she also knew that, if she didn't leap this time, in this very moment, she would lose him forever. To hell with it. She gazed up into his big, brown eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm still in love with you, too." A small smile spread across her face. "And Olivia Pope is going to have to get the hell over it."

Both of their grins became uncontrollably enormous. "Damn straight," Marcus replied. Their eyes stayed locked until Mellie leaned in to kiss him. The kiss was soft and slow as their arms wound around one another.

After what seemed like both forever and not long enough, Mellie pulled her lips away from his and laid her head on his chest. "I missed you," she whispered.

"I missed you too, but you already knew that."

They could still faintly hear the music from the East room, and a slow song had just begun to play. "I know we should do a proper public roll out, with official dates and what not," Marcus said softly into her hair. "But in the mean time, may I have this dance, right here, right now?"

"Of course," she mumbled, smiling into his chest.

As they swayed back and forth to the music, happy tears threatened to fall from both of their eyes.