Sorry for the wait, here's the update!!! Still working on Pebbles, i'm trying to get the ending just right for you guys!
Enjoy :)
The miniature calendar on Olivia's desk said that it was Friday, and her watch said that it was ten past four, but it might as well have been nine in the morning on a Tuesday. The day was just going so damn slowly, and what's more, Peter had been taking advantage of his last afternoon to mock her for kissing him. Olivia looked up from her desk, piled up with papers as per usual, and just starred at the blank opposite wall. She'd been putting up with his comments and small side jokes all week, but for some reason, be it the growing humidity in the lab with the rapidly warming weather, the fact that she was more dead tired than usual, or a nasty mixture of the both, Olivia had had enough of it. Not that she had the energy or the will to storm out of her office, stomp down the stairs and give Peter an earful of meaningless nothingness just because she felt like it, because she really didn't.
A knock at her door startled her and Olivia forcefully dragged her mind out of the thick haze it was trapped in. Peter poked his head in the door.
"Walter wants to show you something, and you might want to hurry. I'm not sure how long he can keep this stuff at these wild temperatures before it sublimates completely."
Olivia nodded, discarded her reading glasses on the desktop, and hurried after him. Maybe Peter would forget to tease her, just for the moment.
"Olivia dear, do come and take a look at this!" Walter boomed as soon as she and Peter hit the stairs at a fast-paced jog. Olivia winced. Walter's abnormally loud voice triggered a migraine that had been hiding just bellow the surface all day, waiting for the right opportunity to assault her already tired, spent body. She bit her lip and held the pain back, pretending to be peering at the discolored chunk of what looked like ice suspended between three prongs. Walter had just removed it from a canister of liquid nitrogen, and the metal frame that held the object was still giving off that odd misty smoke that reminded Olivia of what happens when dry ice comes into contact with water. Walter swiftly transferred the substance into another machine that looked like an oven, but much more advanced. The machine was sealed up and turned on full force.
"Walter, is that an LG oven?" Peter asked skeptically.
"Yes, son, it was… before I modified it."
Olivia grinned to herself.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Walter marveled at the lump in the oven that, as Olivia watched it, was beginning to shrink. It wasn't creating any kind of powder or disintegrating in any obvious way, but the substance was definitely decreasing in mass before her eyes. "The miracles of sublimation!" Walter mused out loud, having noticed both Olivia and Peter gazing intently at his project.
"Correct me if I'm wrong," Peter began slowly, "but isn't it a bit unnatural for something to change state that quickly?"
Walter finally tore his eyes away from the over with a big smile. "That's the wonder of it m'boy! I've been experimenting with some of the samples of that goo Agent Dunham brought back from the crime scene, using extreme heat, freezing it in liquid nitrogen, this substance is really quite a mystery to me…"
And just like that, the scientist had lost all interest in his observers and busied himself procuring another sample of the goo from the large supply of the stuff that had bee brought in by the FBI.
And, just like that, Olivia had already lost her window of freedom, and it was just she and Peter left in that area of the lab while Walter tinkered away in some distant corner.
"Looks like it's just you and me all alone now, Dunham…" Peter whispered, leaning slightly into her private space to add effect. Olivia felt his breath tickle her ear and she clenched her jaw. When she quickly spun on her heel to return to the comforts of her office without so much as a second glance, Peter seemed to finally catch onto her bad mood. "Hey, 'Liv! Wait up, for God's sake!"
Olivia continued to walk to her office, blocking out the noise to preserve her insanity and her currently intact skull that was on the verge of exploding from the pressure of the migraine; pressure that grew with each clack of Peter's shoes against the stone floor as he approached her from behind. Her hand was on the doorknob when he caught up fully, and Olivia already knew that she was fooling herself think that she could just walk away from this one.
His hand was on her shoulder and a confused frown was on his face. "What's with you today, 'Liv?"
"Nothing, I'm fine," she replied curtly, turning the handle with her hand that was still resting on, or rather, clenching, the brass knob. Again, Peter's touch stopped her as a strong hand gently pried hers away from the door and held it fast when she tried to pull away.
"That's bullshit, Olivia, don't try that on me."
Olivia shot daggers through her gaze and engaged into a staring match with Peter. She sure as hell wouldn't be the one to surrender this battle, even though Peter's no-nonsense guise and her annoyance that had just boiled into untamable rage had already ensured her defeat.
"Let me go," Olivia hissed through gritted teeth. She moved to get her shoulder out of his grasp, but Peter was quicker and captured her other hand, drawing her closer to him.
"Only when you tell me what the hell is wrong with you." Peter replied evenly. He paused. "Is this about me, or should I say us? Because if I'm getting on your nerves, then just say it to my face."
"Fine." Olivia was beyond enraged now, but she diverted all her strength to maintaining what little was left of her composure. "Lose the stupid jokes. You've had your fun for a week now, aren't you happy with that? Or do you have to keep pushing my buttons just because you know that that was probably one of the most embarrassing moments of my entire career with the Bureau, and you just can't get enough of the fact that you've got something to hold over my head? Isn't that it, Peter?"
Olivia stood, panting slightly. Peter's grasp loosened a little and he looked genuinely shocked at her words. "No, not at all, 'Liv. If I'd known that it made you feel this way… I would have put an end to it in a heartbeat."
"You… you would have done that."
It was more of a reaffirming statement than a question, but Olivia wanted to be sure of what she was hearing. Her rage was dissipating with each passing second that her gaze was locked onto Peter's eyes. Now she didn't know what she ought to think; too many emotions were swirling around inside her to distinguish any single one as what she could be truly feeling.
"Yes, I would have."
"Without any further questions?"
"None whatsoever."
Olivia opened her mouth to further scrutinize Peter's statement, to search for any flaws that would expose something, anything, to verify that he was lying. Olivia didn't know why, but a part of her wanted it all to be a lie – the sweet truth behind Peter's words was more than she could handle.
Peter slowly lowered their hands but didn't relinquish his grasp. Something in his eyes scared Olivia – it was like he knew more about her than she did. "I didn't know it meant so much to you. I'm sorry."
"It doesn't mean anything to me, it just got on my nerves after a while," Olivia replied defensively, pulling her hands free of Peter's and crossing them in front of her, again, in a shielding manner.
Peter seemed to be considering her words for good while before speaking. His lips curled into a sweet, understanding smile. God, what did he know? He must know something; why else would he be looking at her like… that? In that signature Peter Bishop way that painfully reminded her that he was the one person who could read her like no other.
"'Kay, I'm gonna head out and run a few errands. You need anything?"
Olivia shook her head, trying to appear as unfazed by their conversation as possible. "No, I'm good, thanks."
That smile was still present on Peter's face, and growing in attractiveness by the minute.
"You're sure you're ok now?"
"Yes, I'm fine," Olivia blinked back the tears of frustration mixed with confusion and just a hint of migraine pain.
"I'll see you later, 'Liv. I'm really sorry." He spoke softly, still looking concerned but… there was still that unidentifiable glimmer in his gaze that said that there was much more going on behind that damn smile. As he passed her, Olivia felt Peter's hand on her shoulder for a fraction of a moment. A gentle squeeze, and then their physical contact was broken, like an electrical current that had been amplified and unleashed for a split second before the circuit had been severed.
As if in a dream, Olivia returned to her office, partly to avoid talking to Walter for the time being, partly to find a place of sanctuary that she could sink into while the previous conversation set in. Back pressed to the back of the shut and locked door, Olivia closed her eyes and had to remind herself to breathe.
Thoughts? You know how much I'd love to hear 'em!
Any ideas as to what exactly Peter knows? Cyber cookies for anyone who gives it a go. :D
