Forever was a lot shorter than Olivia expected.
In retrospect, she could not believe that Olivia Pope had ceased to exist. Technically, she was Olivia Rosen. As they sat at the 'wedding table,' David held her hand and stared lovingly at her. She smiled back and her eyes glanced back to the various tables filled with their friends, business associates, and of course, the President of the United States.
There had to be a law against the President crashing your wedding.
If not, there had to be a divine rule that said, your ex-boyfriend couldn't crash.
She focused her attention back on David. He was still not able to convince her to take his name. He was relentless but she had built a reputation on it. There was a lot said for names in Washington D.C. Olivia knew there was an underlying and selfish reason why she wouldn't change it. Even Abby had attempted to reason with her. She had struggled for Olivia to come clean but she hadn't uttered a word different from her usual tune. They had bickered abhorrently. Abby abided with her high standards that Olivia wouldn't find happiness unless she helped herself. Her usual spiel that Olivia should be the person that "helped people" and not the selfish being that did things for her own good. Olivia maintained that her reputation was built on Olivia Pope and not Olivia Rosen, it would be damaging to her business to change it. Abby and the team knew horseshit when they smelled it, and the topic was dropped. Eventually, no one dared utter a word again.
The engagement to David had already been enough of a surprise.
Despite their years of bantering, Olivia knew that David had forgiven any wrong between them. The smiles that he fixed her with were genuine, which was a true rarity among the streets of Washington. It reached his dark eyes that almost possessed a cat-like quality and always shone with laughter. When he whispered her name at night, tugging her close, lips skimmed over neck and shoulders, he never thought of anyone else. Olivia couldn't ever say the same. There was never anything guilty about David Rosen. He wore the "white hat." She had tossed that off and hidden it into her closet long ago. She wanted to hate him for his beautiful naivety but its what endeared her to him as well. She could never enter a church again. Her sins would immediately flay her. David walked blindly into anything and was more a Gladiator than she. At the end of the day, David Rosen stuck to the laws because he truly believed in them. She had only ever used them as a term of guidelines.
Olivia had detached herself from David's stares and sweet words with a practiced whimsical smile. She had stood in front of the mirror for hours each day practicing it. Olivia knew that the wedding would be her test. Now, she floated between the guests, her dress quietly swishing beneath her, and she shook hands with the best of Washington. There were some that hugged her. They all had the same comments: "about time" and "we're so happy for you." She graciously laughed and thanked each one of them. The smile never really met her eyes.
Cyrus always had to be different.
He cupped her hand, kissing the top, and shaking his head, "You look stunning, Olivia."
The corner of her lips twitched at his praise. Despite their differences, Olivia found the ability to forgive him. She knew that their differences had parted them unforgivably and even ripped her apart with the President at times. Olivia knew that some things wouldn't need intervention to drive them apart. At one point, she could have believed that not even God could tear them apart. Her foolishness in love had made her reckless. Olivia refused to 'lose her head' over a man and potentially all that she had built. Notwithstanding his unethical approach, Cyrus had the best intentions for both them. As her father had passed years ago, he had been the only man that she could turn to. At first, Olivia had thought that a man walking her down the aisle was silly. At David's insistence that they have a traditional wedding, in their modern world, Olivia asked Cyrus and he readily accepted. In college, he was her mentor. In the worst times, he was her enemy. In the best times, he held her and promised the world. Today, he had walked her down the aisle without judgment or question. It was exactly what she needed.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and clutched him close. She asked him quietly, "Tell me that it will fade."
"It won't," He added honestly, "but be happy because they need him more. And you know that."
She pulled away, nodding hastily. The masochism of their relationship sunk in again.
"I know," She echoed and kissed his cheek.
Her smile returned – practiced so many times that her cheeks were hurting already, "Where is James?"
On the cue, the other man flounced to his husband's side and brought her into a tight squeeze, "Simply marvelous." He waved a hand over his impeccable suit and winked, "You don't look bad either," He laughed mischievously.
Olivia smiled genuinely and squeezed him tighter, pulling away, "You didn't bring Christopher."
They hastily shook their heads and James supplied an explanation, "We aren't the type to bring children to weddings, dear. We have class." His eyes tilted over to a small bunch fawning over Bradley, the small redheaded son of Abby and Stephen, "That hair color is so unfortunate."
Olivia smacked James' chest and snorted, she couldn't necessarily disagree.
"I've invested too much time with you two. I'm going to…"
Her words were cut off by the distinctive voice of a woman that she had come to loathe.
Olivia had not loathed Mellie Grant always. She had respected her. She was cold, calculating and often manipulative. Those were not the traits that Olivia had loathed. She had mediocrely respected her occasional cutthroat methods to receive her place in the world. She had given up her prestigious law career to support her husband's race in political campaigns. She was undeniably intelligent. There were many ways that Olivia envied Mellie Grant. There was far more ways that she envied her than Olivia wished to admit. Unfortunately, it was her dive into her ruthless campaigns to manipulate the President that left Olivia bitter. A place that was not hers.
Swallowing her repulsion, Olivia whirled around and smiled, "Madam First Lady, it is an honor that you accepted our invitation to attend."
Mellie scoffed, "None of that, Olivia. It's your day."
Olivia rolled her eyes and attempted to cover it with Mellie's clear attempt at flattery. In honesty, she was tired of this washed up attempt to be friendly.
"Thank you," She replied stiffly, "Are Karen and Jerry here?"
"No, Karen decided to stay and watch Christopher," She nodded to Cyrus and James.
Olivia nodded in recognition. A shift of tension rose between them and Mellie sipped her champagne.
"Who designed your dress," Mellie hastily asked and brushed a hand over the skirt, "It's lovely. I would love for them to design something for an evening."
"Píccolo, he's a lovely Italian designer that only makes dresses for women of…" She smirked, "shorter stature."
James sniggered into his champagne.
Mellie raised a brow and smiled tightly, "Well, aren't you lucky?" Her eyes drifted to David suggestively.
"Indeed."
The rich baritone threw her off center and Olivia immediately knew that forever never meant 'eternity.' 'Eternity' could be shattered in an instant by one stupid moment. This would be her stupid move. Cyrus met her gaze and she cleared her throat, Olivia couldn't make any more stupid moves. She had made enough to last her a lifetime. She was a married woman. Her marriage to David was a good thing. He instilled support and stability into her life. While there may not be the inescapable passion that she was accustomed to, Olivia had grown adapted to the mediocrity that would become her life. If nothing more, David would never hurt her.
Quickly turning and muttering an "excuse me," she smacked embarrassingly into the hard plains of his chest. Her hands jumped up to block from falling. Her nails gripped his cotton shirt and clung to him momentarily. Swallowing, Olivia attempted to dislodge herself from him. His large hands reached for her arms and she wrenched out of them. A tremor crawled down her body and she steadied her legs, longing her strides, and refused to look at him.
"Ms. Pope," The President of the United States attempted to reason or perhaps apologize for nearly knocking her on her ass. Olivia kept moving, waving a hand behind her as an acceptance of whatever he meant to say.
Her heart was thundering in her ears. She could hardly breathe. The lack of oxygen made her feel like she was floating or like she smoked some great college marijuana. She would never admit this, but marijuana had gotten her through many overbearing college exams. Right now, she felt her body momentarily relax and the soft pressure that had developed behind her mind had dissipated. She released her breath and it all swam back again.
Rushing toward the women's lavatories, Olivia needed a moment to gather. Her eyes drifted to the clock. The 'first dance' was quickly approaching. She walked faster but was blocked by David. He stood before the dimmed hall to the lavatories and hands grasped hers.
Her eyes widened – he had surprised her, and laughed softly, "What are you doing?"
"Kissing you," He insisted and brushed his lips gently over her.
Pulling away, his fingers tucked a few loose strands behind her ear, "You are a vision in white."
She smirked, she found it hard not love him. She loved him like… a way that you loved your dog. She infinitely loved her dog. Now, Pots was technically their dog. He was loyal, sweet, and attentive. Olivia looked forward to coming home to him. At the end of the day, she enjoyed cuddling up with him. When he snuggled into her, Olivia felt warm and safe. Pots' was not much different than that.
Steering away from the dog analogy, the sex was nice. Her orgasms were steady – usually, but they weren't passionate. They weren't fiery. They rose and fell in a simplistic fashion. They never engaged in oral sex. Olivia attempted not to dwell on it, because she knew that not every man enjoyed it. Sometimes, she swore that it was a job requirement for POTUS – must enjoy giving and receiving oral sex. When she mentioned it to Abby, she had laughed so hard that coffee bled through her nose. For the most part, Olivia's bland life had just given her simple content. She had found a way to be happy.
"I always wear white," Olivia reasoned and caressed his hair.
It was spindly. It was soft but pricked her fingers. There wasn't a curl in his hair. Bone straight. His hair was very reminiscent of his demeanor.
"I was on a mission," She titled her head behind him.
"You're always on a mission, Livie," He teased and kissed her again but more deeply.
The nickname still stung but Olivia had stopped correcting him. He always seemed to find a variation to suit his needs anyway.
She accepted it for a second and jumped back when someone cleared his or her throat. Silently, Olivia was grateful for the reprieve.
Olivia melted seeing Stephen and practically flew into his arms. He had been the only constant man in her life. A man that had never tempted to bed her no matter how roguishly handsome he was. He could charm anyone but had only used his charms on her for good. If you could call what he said to her as 'good'.
"Ah, the only man that I can never compete with," David laughed and shook his hand.
They all laughed. A comrade established months ago.
David nodded, "I'll go establish territory with the other guys," He winked and departed.
When he left, Stephen addressed her.
"Running away," Stephen teased and kissed her brow.
Olivia was about to answer and there was a sudden yank at her dress. Typically, she would have grown angry but Olivia was not surprised to see the little bobbing redhead at her knees. Olivia hurriedly picked up her only godchild and hugged him to her chest. His small hands patted her hair affectionately and giggled. Olivia pressed her face into his hair and inhaled the sweet scent of his shampoo. She swore that if innocence had a smell than he was it.
"Bradley, never grow up," Olivia requested and kissed his cheek.
He giggled and played with the neckline of her dress.
"I thought we talked about not inviting them," Stephen tried again.
Olivia's gaze was focused on Bradley and how his little chubby fingers managed to trace every weave and stitch of her dress.
"I didn't invite them. Our First Lady secured an invite," She muttered angrily.
Stephen snorted, "That's classy."
"What is," Abby piped up and wrapped an arm around Stephen's waist, "Practicing, Liv?"
Olivia shot her a withering look and her best friend laughed.
"POTUS and the First Lady are wedding crashing," Stephen filled her in.
Abbby raised a brow, "Do you think that we could kick them out?"
Laughing, Olivia shook her head and bounced Bradley, "I still have a reputation. That would be uncouth."
Abby sighed and muttered harsh words.
Stephen cocked his head toward Bradley and they both snorted. Bradley knew more secrets about Washington's elite than any of them cared to think about. They only wished that he would never repeat them – ever.
"Did you practice your dance," Abby questioned.
"It's a simple waltz," Olivia shrugged and cooed at her godson. Her gaze was fixed on his bright eyes and Olivia realized that her children were destined to have dark eyes. She had always imagined them with piercing eyes that reminded you of sunshine on windows. In a fleeting moment, that dream had evaporated as well. She curled a red lock of hair around her finger, "David was the one who needed practice." She smirked and winced, "My poor toes."
They all laughed and soft music began to play. She felt them announce her 'first dance' and Olivia hesitantly met their inquisitive gazes.
"I have the car out back," Abby offered.
Olivia broke out into a grin and handed her Bradley, "Thank you. All three of you. I…" She swallowed and contemplated whether or not to tell them. Olivia had attempted to not keep secrets from them.
Finally, she mentioned quietly, "He told me to 'be happy.'"
They both shot her curious looks and she nodded, "I'll explain later."
Turning, Olivia pensively moved toward the dance floor to cement the beginning of her new life.
Hello dear readers,
I cannot tell you how amazingly grateful that I am. I've really enjoyed reading your reviews. They've made my week. I really appreciate every one of them. When my phone chirps with a new message from , I cannot help but grin (even if I am in the middle of my class). You're all absolutely magnificent.
Therefore, I am updating early. I have decided to move my updates to Thursday. I know no one wants Scandal to end. So, I am hoping that this will quench your Scandal thirsts until next week. I'm going to add that when chapters are under 1,500 words then I will update on Thursday and Sunday.
I hope that chapter two did not disappoint. I know that everyone wants more Fitz. He's coming (wink wink) and you'll see lots of interaction in chapter three and four. I've written seven chapters thus far. It's nowhere near finished. It's actually only just begun. I do hope everyone enjoys long fics because this one is shaping up to be.
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own these beautiful characters. If I did, Mellie would reach an unfortunate fate in Air Force One or car. So sorry, Mellie. (;
Once more, thank you so much! I love reading your reviews. I am so flattered by them. All the best. xoxo