Olivia –

"Where do we go from here?" I asked, taking a large gulp of the warm coffee that Fitz had handed me only seconds before.

"I thought we agreed to run with it and see where this takes us," Fitz groaned, turning away from the barista and intertwining his free hand with mine.

"We can't just sweep everything under the rug," I sighed, looking out at the grey sky with dread.

"What's bothering you?" He gave me a lopsided smile as I snuggled further into my warm, winter coat before allowing him to drag me into the frigid weather.

"What do we tell people?" I began, stating the obvious. There had been rumors swirling through campus when we first started dating. More than a few of the other professors and students gave serious attention to the rumor of a sixteen year old dating her thirty-one-year old Political Science professor. It had become almost second nature to dodge the rumor mill and cause them to second guess themselves. The rumors never truly died until I had begun to 'date' the all-state quarterback at school, Jake Ballard.

I couldn't stop the smirk from playing across my face at that memory. Fitz had been livid when he first heard about Jake through my best friend at the time. I hadn't had the chance to share what I considered my clever ruse with him and, being Fitz, he immediately overreacted. I had to practically corner him after class one day to tell him the truth. I had an inkling that he would still overreact if I mentioned Jake's name now, six years later.

"What does it matter what we tell them?" I sighed. Leave it to Fitz to gloss over the important things such as what the university will think when the two of us are spotted together – a likely near-future issue considering the way we were walking through town, hand in hand.

"Because omitting the past would probably be the best option?" I twisted my neck slightly the right, watching for his reaction. He didn't look like he was too happy about the suggestion.

"No."

"Fitz -."

"No," He shook his head vehemently, "I'm not lying about you, Livvie. Next problem."

"Mmph." I took a sip of my coffee, dropping the topic for now. There was no use in arguing with him when he was that way and it wouldn't get us anywhere.

"Your dad?" I made my next statement tentatively – Fitz and Jerry were rarely on speaking terms.

"My father," The way he spat the word and the look of distrust, unease, and disgust that filled his face was shocking even to me. "Isn't relevant to us, either. Next."

"You're being impossible," I observed, almost falling when he came to an abrupt halt beside me.

"Okay, then. What about your father and mother?" He raised an eyebrow down at me, waiting for me to respond so he could quickly say, "I told you so."

"I'm not talking to them." I crossed my arms stubbornly, looking up into his pale blue eyes. I was taken aback when he chuckled.

"I love when you pout." He traced his finger across my lips, his eyes twinkling before swooping down for a kiss.

"Whoa." We jumped apart at the voice behind us and turned to find James smirking, holding a steaming cup of coffee in his hand.

"I heard you were back in town," He offered, patting me on the shoulder.

"Cyrus?" Fitz asked, not moving his arm from my waist as he, too, turned to look at the shorter man.

"Mellie was pissed," James laughed. I scrunched my face in confusion – why would James hear about me from Cyrus and who was Mellie?

"It's not like it was serious. We went on one date…because Cyrus threatened my life if I refused."

"He said your moping about was driving him nuts."

"Good to know I make my way into your pillow-talk."

"You're good pillow-talk fodder," James winked. I stared back and forth between the two. Apparently a lot more had happened than I thought during my absence.

"And Olivia looks like she has a lot of unanswered questions. I'll leave you two to it. Good to see you again, Liv. We'll have to go out for dinner later. Double-date." And with that, James was off, practically running down the slick, snow-covered sidewalks. How he kept his balance was a mystery.

"Pillow-talk?" I asked, turning to look at Fitz.

"He and Cyrus are together," Fitz explained, grabbing my hand once more and easing me into a steady pace by his side.

"What?" I stopped mid-sip, trying to keep my coffee in my mouth at the news. It was unexpected of the man I had simply referred to as 'Dean Beene' while attending the university.

"It happened two years ago. Around Christmas. He came out to me before a few of his other friends." I grinned – maybe this was the reason Cyrus seemed to be more relaxed, less excitable, at the bar last night.

"And Mellie?" Fitz's smile dropped at my inquiry.

"She's the daughter of Mayor Lentz. Cyrus sat us up about a week ago because, as James put it, I was raining on his parade. She's rather boring and self-absorbed." Fitz shrugged, leading me closer to his apartment and the promised warmth there.

"It's nothing to worry about?" I asked. I had to be sure.

"Mellie will never be anything to worry about." He stopped to give me a quick peck. I smiled at the unspoken reassurance from him and allowed him to lead me into the brick apartment building.

"Fitz," I called from my place on the large, black leather sofa.

"Give me a second." I continued to stare at the webpage in front of me as I waited for him to enter the room. I tucked my feet under me, pulling the fleece blanket closer around my body. Even with the heat on, the apartment was cold. I needed to ask Fitz about that.

"What?" He asked, slightly out of breath and appearing with a towel wrapped around his waist, his hair glistening with water droplets.

"You could have gotten dressed first," I smirked, giggling as he shook his head, water spraying my face.

"It sounded urgent." He leaned over me from behind and glanced at my laptop.

"Aren't you cold, though?"

"No."

"It's freezing in here."

"That sounds like a personal problem."

"Hey!" I playfully swatted at him, laughing as he moved out of the way, easily avoiding my half-hearted attempts.

"It'll become a me problem when you come to bed." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, causing me to laugh.

"What do you think?" I asked, staring at the page in front of me, drawing his attention away from the sudden, unexpected innuendo.

"If it's what you want to do, apply. The worst they can tell you is no." He kissed my check before heading back toward the bedroom. I grinned, stealing one last look at his back before opening the online application.

Author's Note – It seems that nearly everyone wanted an extended version of this oneshot and, after much thinking, I now have a plan for an extended story. Hope you enjoy. – Cass.