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~ Chapter 6 ~

With a deep breath, Olivia pushed herself up a little so she was face-to-face with Fitz without having to stretch her neck. He was so close to her that she could feel his warm breath tickling her lips. Olivia stared into his eyes, the stony blue color captivating her like it had from the moment they'd first met. If she was being completely honest with herself, she could admit that she had been thinking about kissing Fitz. She had wondered whether it would be the natural progression to what they had been doing – the hour-long talks, the laughing together, the emotionally intimate moment they'd shared a few days ago – but she was also scared of taking a step so big and important with him. There was still so much holding her back – holding them back – but when Olivia looked into Fitz' eyes now, all those reasons seemed so unimportant.

Gentle fingers had begun exploring her face with feather-light caresses, like he was a blind man trying to memorize what she looked like. It felt strange to allow him this exploration, but at the same time it felt too perfect to even consider stopping him. The tip of Fitz' nose was nuzzling her own softly, and Olivia was sure she had never experienced such slow, beautiful foreplay to a kiss. She already knew that she would let him kiss her, that she would never be able to say 'no' to the man that was treating her like she was made out of fine china.

"You have the most beautiful face I have ever seen.", Fitz whispered, every word accentuated with a gentle stroke of his fingertips. "When you walked into my room that first night, you literally took my breath away. I never knew someone could be so captivating."

"Fitz…", she breathed, his words touching her in places that she had locked tightly many years ago.

"I know we haven't known each other for long, and I know that this whole situation is difficult, and anything but perfect, but I'd love nothing more than to kiss you, Livvie."

"Okay.", she sighed softly, granting him permission hesitantly but willingly.

He was surprisingly nervous, wanting so much to make her feel good and secure about what was happening between them. Her lips felt even softer than they looked, and when Fitz first touched them with his own, he knew he'd do anything to make sure he would get to kiss her again and again. Olivia sighed against his lips and relaxed, her tense body falling into his. He was barely moving, simply ghosting his lips along hers. Finally, Olivia kissed him back, opening her mouth just wide enough to allow his bottom lip to slip in between hers. When it did, Fitz gently pulled her upper lip into his mouth with his teeth. She gasped, knowing she was going to lose any willpower she had left with his kisses. The first touch of his tongue against hers made Olivia's toes curl, and she suddenly couldn't get close enough to Fitz.

Running her hand along his neck, Olivia buried her fingers into his soft curls. Fitz groaned when he felt her nails trailing delicate paths along the sensitive skin of his neck and head, and he couldn't help but picture her leaving marks on his body. He teased her tongue with his own, and when a surprised moan left her sweet mouth, Fitz knew that he was going to make it his mission to hear all the different moans and gasps her perfect body had to offer.

He tasted like coffee and kissed her with a passion and determination that left Olivia absolutely breathless. She was the first to break the kiss, catching her breath quickly before Fitz' lips returned to her, this time with feverish urgency. He breathed her name into her mouth, and Olivia wanted so badly to hear him say it over and over again. In that moment, she realized that if he would have taken things further, she would have been absolutely powerless to stop him. So she was thankful that his hands didn't wander, that he gave her only as much as she could take, like he knew how fragile her heart was despite – or maybe because of – the wall built around it.

This time, Fitz broke the kiss, and after a few more gentle pecks against the skin of her cheek, he opened his eyes to look at her. Olivia was flushed, her breath labored, and her eyes were full of desire. She was so stunning in that moment, that his heart physically ached.

"Livvie…", he sighed, like he could hardly believe that she was really in his arms, that the sweet taste of her lips was lingering on his own.

"I've never been kissed like that.", she murmured.

"Like what?"

"Like you've put your all into that one kiss."

"Maybe I did.", Fitz smiled lovingly. "Maybe I've saved my best kiss for the day you'd let me kiss you."

"That's really cheesy.", she grinned, but the way her voice caught gave away how much his words meant to her.

Fitz chuckled lightly, appreciative of her sense of humor. He knew she was just as overwhelmed by their kiss as he was, even if she wasn't quite able to voice her emotions. In the quiet hours of the night when he was wide awake, staring at the off-white ceiling of his hospital room, Fitz often wondered about the demons that haunted Olivia Pope. She was – despite her attempts to hide it – emotionally closed off and sometimes it seemed like she was almost terrified to let herself feel. He was determined to find out what had happened to her and who had made this strong, incredibly intelligent woman so afraid to just feel.

"Would it be completely wrong of me to want you to stay here with me tonight?"

She smiled at him, pecking his inviting lips to indulge his request for a moment.

"Not wrong, but impossible.", Olivia sighed. "I have to work in the morning, and they wouldn't allow a visitor to stay overnight anyway."

"You're not just any visitor.", Fitz reasoned, although he knew that it truly was not possible for her to stay with him – at least not yet. "But I understand."

"Maybe someday…", she trailed off.

It wasn't quite a promise of a future together, but nonetheless it showed him that she too had been thinking about spending time with him from there on out. Fitz closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of her small fingers massaging his scalp, alternating between gentle pressure and soft scratches of her perfectly manicured nails. He could have fallen asleep like this, her careful attention relaxing his tired body until he was dozing off.

Olivia watched him intently once his eyes had closed. She knew he wasn't sleeping, but she also knew that he was most likely exhausted from their little excursion earlier and that he needed rest above anything else. Fitz was fascinating to her. She loved the way his eyelids fluttered as he fought sleep, and she loved the small smile that played on his lips when she let her thumb caress his cheek. An errant curl had fallen to his forehead, so she pushed it back and placed a chaste kiss there. Olivia wasn't normally a very affectionate person, because showing her affection – especially towards a man – meant sharing intimacy, and that was something she usually didn't like risking. But it was different with him. She reveled in the touches and caresses she shared with him, loved getting to know him so slowly, almost carefully.

"I'm going to fall asleep on you if you keep that up.", Fitz mumbled, and up until that moment Olivia hadn't even noticed that she was humming to him softly.

"I'm going to let you sleep now.", she smiled.

He had opened his eyes, and his crooked grin almost made her change her mind. Finally, Olivia pushed herself up and slipped out of the bed. She watched as Fitz' hand slid to the spot she had occupied mere seconds ago, like he wanted to keep her warmth with him as long as possible. Straightening her clothes, Olivia made sure that she looked less flustered than she felt before she would have to leave his room. When her gaze returned to him, Fitz was smiling up at her.

Olivia returned his smile and leaned down, kissing him goodbye. He brought his hand up to hold her face to his own a little longer than she had planned, but he didn't deepen the kiss. They broke apart eventually, both dazed by the passion a simple kiss could stir between them.

"Call me when you get home.", Fitz said.

"You might already be asleep."

"It doesn't matter. I want to know that you made it home safe."

She didn't argue, touched by his concern: "Okay."

Olivia wasn't used to having someone else to consider, and she couldn't remember the last time someone had cared enough about her whereabouts and her security to request a call when she would arrive home. The few friends she had were equally as independent as she was, and she had no family to speak of – none that cared enough to be concerned about her. This was so different – a new experience, but a pleasant one.

With a final wave on her way through the door, Olivia left Fitz behind to ponder what he needed to do to assure they would share many more moment like the one that had his tired mind racing. They had kissed. And he already knew that he wanted to kiss this woman for the rest of his life.