Fitz was sitting in front of his computer pounding away at his keyboard in the dim green light of the small overhead lamp. He was typing furiously in an effort to get the words out of his head before they escaped him. His assortment of notes and papers were spread about haphazardly on the desk, and his mind was moving a mile a minute.

He had been sleeping soundly, his body intertwined comfortably with Olivia's, when the breakthrough he had been longing for jumped out at him in the middle of his dream. Like a man possessed, he woke up seized by the idea, gently untangling himself and moving silently down the hall to his study in order to get the idea down before it was lost. He intended to return right back to bed, but that initial idea inspired a whole new train of thought, and had been working steadfastly for the past thirty-five minutes.

It was 5:47 am. He had barely slept for more than three hours but it didn't feel like it to Fitz. This had been occurring quite frequently for the past few weeks; for some reason his best ideas seemed to be coming to him in his dreams lately, lightning bolts imploding his writing with vigour, and his superiors had taken notice.

Although the students were on break for over a month, he still had responsibilities to the city council. The fiscal deadline was coming up soon, and everyone was lobbying for bigger budgets, so there was a lot of work to be done. He found the work to be tedious at first, mostly semantics and bipartisan bickering amongst the council people, conservatives versus liberals, standard stuff. But lately he had been gaining more respect and responsibility within the organization, his tasks increasing in complexity and and intrigue, so he found himself enjoying it more and more.

He had been doing such an impressive job over the past few weeks, that he had been asked to work with the mayor's speech writing committee. He was on cloud nine professionally, and he had a feeling it had something to do with how fulfilled he felt personally. He had always been the kind of person who had doubted the transformative power of love, trivializing it as a function of movies and romance novels. He never believed it could happen to him. With his father always meddling in his personal affairs, deciding who and who wasn't an appropriate accessory for his heirs, Fitz found little fun in dating.

Although he'd had relationships with women outside of his father's preference, he still had never found that spark, that connection that he couldn't live without. He sublimated that desire for true love into a passion for politics, resigning himself to his fate as his father's vassal. This included allowing himself to go along with a plan that required him to pledge his life and love for all eternity to a woman he could barely stand, in pursuit of political power and prestige.

What a fool I was. Where he was at mentally this very moment though, not even Mellie's hateful self could bring him down, and believe she was trying. Fitz knew that it was burning her up inside that he had pulled himself out of her and his father's clutches, and he wasn't failing. He was making it on his own, in spite of how many times he had been told he couldn't do it.

When he had first gotten to his desk, he thought to check his work email before setting down to write, and was irritated to see that he had received yet another message from her, this one labeled Final Notice. He had chortled when he read that. If anyone needed a final notice, it was her. Since he was able to produce evidence of her affair, he had her by the balls in divorce court and thus was awarded the majority of his demands. All of which were fair, but Mellie was never satisfied. Her insatiable ambition, always a hunger for more burning within her, that was what made her a great candidate to be a political wife, the backbone of a prestigious powerhouse. Mellie wasn't looking for love, she wanted power, and she was more than willing to lie, cheat and steal for what she wanted. He had been naive enough to believe that since they were on the same team she wouldn't use those tactics against him, and how wrong he had been.

She managed to lie, cheat and steal from him, all in the four short years of their marriage, and even after being exposed she still had the gall to ask for more. It was almost unbelievable to Fitz how little shame she lacked the good sense to possess. Since the moment she realized he was not backing down concerning the divorce she had been after him, quite tirelessly, to give up a valuable property that she seemed to forget was a part of his inheritance.

Two years into their marriage, one of his father's brothers passed away of old age and had left him the rundown property, amongst others, in his will. He and Mellie had decided to sell the others, but were so in love with the location of this particular property that they held onto it. It sat unused for some months, the couple unsure of what to do with it until a trust of Mellie's became available which inspired them to perform a major upheaval of the place. They poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the estate, turning it into the picturesque residence it was now. Due to all of the upgrades, the desirable waterfront location and neighborhood, the house was now worth well over six million dollars and Mellie was hot to get her hands on it.

Her lawyer had argued in his deposition that since he had inherited the property while they were married, it should be considered communal property, and when taking into consideration the couple had used her inheritance to improve the location, it should either be awarded to her, or liquidated and the proceeds split evenly between the two. Thankfully, the judge didn't see things that way, and thus she had been trying everything in her power to get him to relinquish it to her voluntarily, which was not going to happen. She moved from feigned kindness, to mildly masked bribery to all out rage and threats of blackmail. He wasn't sure how to take her last message:

Fitzgerald,

It would not do you well to continue to deny me. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one with secrets, and trust, you do not want to make an enemy out of me. I have been trying to get in contact you for over a month now, be an adult and respond. You have one week.

-Mellie

Ugh, you could ruin a wet dream Mellie.

But instead of letting the message enrage him and ruin his day as it usually would, he blocked her email address, deleted the message, and moved onto the next email. There was little and less she could do from all the way across the country, short of burning the place down, try as she might to shake him. The divorce decree was the only final notice he was concerned with, and he wasn't going to allow himself to be baited or bullied by her anymore. That chapter in his life was over with it. He closed out of the the screen and switched gears to the draft he was supposed to be editing, returning his mind to the words on the page.

"What are you doing?" asked a sleepy voice from the doorway.

He looked up and saw her leaning against the frame of the door, clad only in a fantasy inducing cornflower blue bra and panty set. He admired her velvety legs, seductively crossed at the ankles, and immediately missed the feeling of them against his skin. She must have felt his absence, and rolled straight of bed looking for him, not bothering with clothes.

He smiled, "Hey babe. I just had a breakthrough idea in my dream, I wanted to come jot it down before I forgot."

"Oh okay," she said lingering. "Well I won't distract you."

"You're not...I need you, come here," he motioned to his lap. "Maybe you could tell me what's missing here?"

She crossed the room and he licked his lips as she moved to oblige him, his member quickly waking up to remind him that this was counterproductive to getting work done. As she slid her scantily clad bottom onto his groin, he realized how insubstantial the thin fabric of his boxers were. He chewed his lip when she moved back a bit, adjusting her posture to get comfortable while reading. He had to put both hands on her hips to stop her from moving again, the sensation was overwhelming his senses and eradicating all desires to edit the proposal he was diligently working on. She really is clueless to the effect she has on me, he thought, but little Fitz was already standing to remind her, and he couldn't hold back a low moan.

"Baby," she said in a low tone, looking back at him, "I thought you wanted me to read this for you?"

"I did," he said biting his lip, "I do."

She turned back around and read for a moment, then shifted again, her creamy legs wrapping tight around his. She arched her back and made slow circles against his crotch, teasing him. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into his chest, fingering the straps of her bra and moving them aside to kiss the soft skin beneath them. He could feel her wetness begin to soak through his boxers, the material of her underwear unable to contain the hurricane of her desire for him. The feel and the thought of her wanting him had him as hard as a rock. He yanked her bra down, not bothering with clasp, so he could squeeze her breasts in his hands. She threw her head back onto his shoulder and moaned in his ear, still rocking firmly against his cock. He sunk his teeth into her shoulder, needing to taste and possess her, needing to leave his mark. She was his. He was lost in the taste of her skin until he felt her hand slip inside of his boxers and release him.

She lowered herself against his pulsating cock, the only obstacle to her wetness now remained in the flimsy blue fabric of her underwear and his willpower, but his mind had already checked out. She was grinding circles directly onto his throbbing flesh, coating his cock with her sweetness. He couldn't take it anymore.

He tilted her upperbody slightly over the edge of the desk, slowly using his index fingers to lower her soaking thong down over her hips and out of the way. He palmed her ass, gently squeezing each cheek before laying a soft kiss on each one. He then pulled her back flush against his groin, his sensitive shaft sliding back and forth against her dripping entrance.

"Fuck," he groaned as she arched her back again, creating an angle that allowed his tip to enter her slightly, his cock further engorged by the resistance he met at her entrance. They were playing a dangerous game now and he knew it. He moved the head of his cock into her slowly, grazing the pool of juices at her opening, her loud moan exhibiting her delight at the sensation. He rubbed against her clit, enjoying the long awaited feeling of her hot wet mound encompassing his, even if it was just the tip. He pushed for entry again and found firm resistance at her entrance, which caused her to whimper uncomfortably, snapping him partially out of his daze.

He withdrew himself from her wetness, moving his underwear back over his erection until he felt her hand wrap around his length and begin to stroke him.

"God, Olivia, don't," he moaned with his eyes fluttering, unable to slow his breathing or heartbeat. This was his first time feeling her hand directly on his sensitive skin like this, her warm fingers wrapped around his throbbing member. He was losing his resolve. He had purposely avoided letting her touch him this way for that reason, knowing that it would be hard to stop himself once little Fitz got more intimately involved.

"Why," she asked in a voice that made him want to ravage her right there, still moving her hands back and forth against his shaft. She turned herself to the side so she could nibble his neck.

He licked his lips, he was losing control and desperately trying to remember his reasoning for waiting in the first place, "B-b-because baby, I want to try to take it slow."

"Fitz," she moaned, "I want you to be my first," still stroking him gently, her slight fingers grazing the rim of his throbbing bulb.

And then he lost it, he felt his member pulsate and spit uncontrollably in her hand, leaving a mess all over her fingers and stomach.

"Damn it, I'm sorry baby," he kissed her quickly. He was slightly embarrassed by the amateur move. She had an effect on him that transformed him from a grown man to a virgin teenager. Part of him was happy that it had stopped when ig had though, he didn't want to do it their first time on a chair in his study.

"It's okay," she leaned up, kissing him back.

"Hold still, let me get a washcloth quick."

He hurried to the bathroom, wetting a cloth with warm water and returning to wipe her down. They didn't speak, but he hoped his touch spoke the love he felt for her as he gathered her body up in his arms and carried her back to the bedroom. The entire time he walked, their last scene was playing out in his head, her "why" ringing in his ears.

Why was he holding back? She seemed sure she wanted to give herself to him, but still, he held back.

You're scared a voice whispered to him, his subconscious saying what his conscience refused.

And he was. After tasting her knew he couldn't let her go, and he was afraid of how much more he might feel once they crossed the final line. She already invaded his thoughts, his senses and even his dreams. Each morning that he awoke in his bed with her in his arms, he could see their future more clearly. He could see himself asking her to be his forever, rubbing her belly that was swollej with their child, finding the home of their dreams, and getting old together. He knew sex would only magnify that feeling and it scared him. Where they were now, he still had at least some semblance of control, or at least that's what he told himself. Once he had felt her completely, he knew everything would change.

Everything has already changed, he thought finally before falling asleep.

Fitz pulled into the parking space, sighed and leaned over and kissed her, "Are you coming home with me tonight?"

She nuzzled into his neck, "If you want me to."

He smiled, "Call me when you're ready, I'll come pick you up."

"Okay," she replied, still holding onto him.

"It'll only be a few hours...but I'll miss you," he said kissing her temple.

"I'll miss you, too."

"I'll see you later, k?" he said, still not untangling his arms and hands from hers.

"Later," she finally pulled back.

He kissed her hand one more time before letting it go.

Olivia made her way up to the house in a daze, trying to talk herself out of her feelings. You're being ridiculous Olivia, he has spent pretty much every waking and sleeping moment with you for the last month, relax! But she couldn't. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, as soon as she had stepped out of the car and he pulled away, she felt his absence. She wasn't used to this. She never allowed herself to miss anyone, ever, because it hurt too much. When her mother passed away, she grieved but mostly steeled herself to the emotion of missing and wanting her presence; it was a fruitless pursuit. Why want what you can't have, was the theory, but she couldn't seem to suppress this.

Her thoughts still occupied with Fitz, she unlocked the door mindlessly, her train of thought broken by the sound of a high pitched voice calling her name, "Liv is that you?!"

"Yeah it's me Abby, where are you?" She responded slipping off her shoes by the door.

"Living room," she called back in a sing songy tone.

Olivia rounded the corner and did her best not to let her face drop at the sight of Abby and Edison, curled up on the couch in front of the television, Abby draped seductively across his chest.

She froze.

"Hi, Olivia," he quipped with a smirk that made her stomach turn.

"Hi Edison," she replied stoically. "Hey Abby."

Abby linked her arm through Edison's possessively and kissed his neck, "Hi Olivia, where have you beennnn?"

"Yeah Olivia, where have you been? We've been waiting on you to make an appearance," he joined in.

Olivia was shocked, but she had already put on her gladiator face, she would never let them visibly provoke emotion from her.

"Oh, just went out of town for a bit, you know, see some people," she retorted vaguely, shifting her feet. "But guys, I'm really tired, it's kind of been a long day. I'll catch up with you guys later," she said as she made a beeline up to her room.

Olivia slipped into her bedroom, closing the door quietly behind her. She moved to her bed and stopped short. The aura of her room was not right. Something in her gut was telling her that her space had been violated. She looked around, trying to pinpoint what was setting her alarms off. It was her dresser. She was meticulous about folding her clothes to the point of obsession, so the fact that a t-shirt was sticking out of the corner of a drawer screamed that things were not exactly as she left it.

She moved to her closet immediately, checking to see if her memory box was intact, and it confirmed her suspicions. She always left the labeled side of the box facing the wall, it was a quirk of hers, but now it was facing outward.

Outward.

Someone was looking through my things.

Someone was in my room.

But who, and what were they looking for?

Wait a minute, my door was locked.

Her mind immediately went to the fairly odd couple downstairs. It had to be one, or both of them. Abby's card had master access and it was probably no coincidence that Edison was downstairs with the person who had the code.

But why?

She looked through the box carefully, and all her jewelry was accounted for, which weirded her out even more. She exited the closet and sat on bed, unsure of what to do next. She pulled out her cellphone and pressed 2 on her speed dial, a wave of relief washing over her as soon as he answered the phone.

"Harrison, I need you to come over as soon as possible. Something's wrong."

"Ok, give me like twenty, I'm on my way."

Thirty minutes later Harrison was calling, "I'm at the front door." Thankfully Abby and Edison had disappeared, so they made their way to her room unaccosted.

He sat at her desk, "So what's up?"

She filled him on everything: the gifts, the Christmas phone call and cryptic threats, the Abby hookup and the moved items in her room. He knew Edison was someone she had dated in the past, but since the Pre-Fall Ball had effectively killed whatever was between them, he had never met Edison since beginning his first year at MIT.

He sat for a while not speaking, "He sounds a little nutty Liv, I don't like this. And I don't like him being here, especially not with her having access to your room. But look, let me hook up with Huck after he gets done with this meeting in a few and we'll handle it. In the meantime, maybe you should come stay at the batcave?" he offered, referencing he and Huck's off-campus bachelor pad that was more of a party house than a living space.

"Thanks, but no thanks. You guys are wayyy too loud and messy for me to stay more than a few hours. But thanks for taking care of this for me. I was trying to let it pass, but he is just relentless."

"So you don't mind being in the house with him?" he asked doubtfully.

"Don't worry, I have someplace I can stay," she answered, being purposely vague.

"Right, about that. So who is he?" Harrison fired back, not missing a beat. He never ceased to amaze her with his perceptiveness.

"What?" she hesitated for a moment, trying to buy herself a second to decide if she should even attempt to lie.

"Liv, please, it's me. I know you better than anyone. At first I thought you weren't answering my calls because you were pissed I cancelled Christmas last minute, but then when we spoke you didn't have that usual annoyed tone. And then I swore a few times I heard a male voice in the background, but I didn't want to mention it until we were face to face so I could read your reaction. The deer in headlights look gave it way. And otherwise, you would've been here when Captain Creep broke into your room, no?"

She sighed, unable to contain her smile, "I hate you sometimes Harrison."

He chuckled at that, "I love you too, sis. So who is he?"

"Harry, It's complicated...," she started

"Complicated like how? You might as well just spill it. You know I'm not gonna drop this," he said joining her on the bed.

"He's...a little older than me," she eased into it.

"So by a little, you probably mean a lot, and so I'm guessing you met him here on campus?"

"Yeah..." she said, not giving much more.

He shook his head, "Just, please, dont tell me he's one of your professors."

She didn't answer and that was all the answer he needed.

"OLIVIA," he yelled, "are you fucking crazy?"

"Harrison, it's not like that," she tried to calm him, "and he's not really the professor, more like the guest lecturer."

He put his head in his hands, "Don't tell me he's married, too?"

"No, he's divorced."

"Well thank god for small favors, right?"

She chuckled nervously, "Harrison, you know me..."

"I know...I know," he breathed in deeply. "So when can I meet him?"

"What?" she huffed in disbelief.

"You heard me, I need to meet him. I'm not gonna let you go out gallivanting with some random professor dude," he argued, "I have to make sure he's not creeping on you. Especially in light of this latest Edison development. How old is he anyway?"

"Thirty-five," she sighed, "and I don't really know if that's a good idea, it's kind of soon."

"Okay that's not so old," he said simply ignoring her rebuffs. "Anyway it's supposed to be in the high 40's this weekend, so Huck and I were planning on going paint balling in Chicopee. You guys are coming with, no arguments."

"Harrison,-" she started firmly.

"Olivia. Make it work. We can do it the easy way, or the hard way," he said with a wink, "either way, I'm gonna see what this guy is made of. Look, I gotta go though," he leaned down to kiss her forehead. "I'll be back with Huck in a couple hours to set things up. Let me know which day works for you guys," he said shutting the door behind him.

They were laying in bed watching tv when he leaned over and kissed her shoulder, she had been unusually quiet, "What's on your mind?" he asked gently.

"Nothing much," she replied not sure if she wanted to get into it.

"Doesn't look like it."

She chuckled, "Am I that easy to read?"

"Yup," he laughed kissing her temple, "now spill it! Or get tickled to death. You choose."

She giggled at his silly antics, "Well, my cousin Harrison came by my house earlier today, after you dropped me off."

"Oh yeah, how did it go?"

"Fine, except he was giving me a little grief about not answering his phone calls over break."

He grinned, "Oh and I guess that has a little something to do with me?"

"Yeah...he pretty much called me out about you..." she said, not quite sure how to tell him that Harrison knew for sure.

"Really," he asked, raising an eyebrow, "and what did you say?"

"I tried to deny it," she rushed out, "but he knows me pretty well and-"

He kissed her on the lips, "Liv, it's not a big deal. You trust him, right? I'm sure he wouldn't do anything to put us in jeopardy," he reasoned.

"No, it's not that, it's just...he wants to meet you," she blurted out before she was tempted to beat around the bush any further.

He raised an eyebrow, genuinely shocked, "Wow, I, uh wasn't expecting that."

"Me either. He invited us to paintball with him and our good friend Huck up in Chicopee this weekend. It's a big woodsy place they like to go to. I told him I didn't know if it's a good idea -"

He could see the nervousness and apprehension on her face, and raised his hands to cup her cheeks, "Livi, hey, it's fine. Why not, right?" he gave her a reassuring smile, "He's your family, I'd love to meet him. I don't have to work this weekend, so I'm definitely game. Its out of town, so we most likely won't run into anyone we know. It should be fine," he kissed her. "Unless you don't want me to?" he added.

"No, that'd be great," she looked up at him smiling, all the worry gone from her face, "I think you guys will really like each other."

Fitz was trying to keep his eyes on the road and off of the tempting skin at her waist, which was left exposed as she leaned up to adjust the satellite radio above the passenger side window. No matter how hard she tried, they couldn't get more than a dribble of coherent music to come through the speakers before white noise interjected. He shifted his gaze over to her for just a moment, just long enough to take in the beauty of her scrunched up face as she adjusted the wire and tuner, relentless in her pursuit of a solution. He reached his hand over and splayed his fingers over her taut abdomen, "Don't worry about it babe, we can figure it out later. You can try the regular radio if you want. "

"Yeah, it's starting to drive me crazy," she fiddled with it for another few seconds before giving up and leaning over into his seat and kissing him.

"Thanks again for coming," she whispered into his ear.

"You don't have to thank me," he moved one hand off the wheel and joined it to hers, relishing in the feeling of her fingers opening up to welcome his. "So you haven't really told me much about Huck, what is he like?"

"Huck is...Huck," she laughed. "He's really hard to describe. He and Harrison have been really good friends since middle school, so he hung out with us a lot. He doesn't talk much though, so don't take it personally. He's just been through a lot. He's good people though, fiercely loyal, really smart, a genius with technology and stuff like that."

"Oh, he sounds interesting. I won't lie, I'm kind of nervous. They're probably planning to tag team and kill me in this game," he chuckled. "It's been a really long time since I've played last."

"Don't be nervous," she kissed his temple, "Harrison will love you, I know it!"

"I hope so. So...when we're out with them today, is it okay if I hold your hand or I should I-"

"Fitz, he's my cousin, not my dad, and he's younger than me anyway," she tried to quell his fears. "He's really cool, you'll see."

Thirty minutes later they were pulling in front of the facility, and a black SUV honked at them. They filed out of the car to greet the two young men bounding towards them, one of which he recognized from Olivia's phone background as being Harrison, and the other a husky guy who could only be Huck. Harrison immediately drew Olivia in for a hug, and then stuck out a hand for Fitz.

"Fitzgerald Grant, nice to meet you," he offered his hand in return, "you can call me Fitz."

Harrison smiled a confident smile and shook Fitz's hand firmly, "You know, I think I like Grant better. I'm Harrison, you can call me Harrison though," he said ribbing. "This is my main man Huck."

Huck shook Fitz's hand wordlessly, but offering a nod.

"You guys ready for war?"

They made some small conversation as they entered the building, Olivia and Harrison doing most of the talking. He looked around as they conversed, taking in his surroundings as they waited for the group orientation to begin. There were large bay windows in the lobby, allowing him a view of the acreage. He saw a large expanse of land that stretched back as far as the eye could see, dotted with large pines, except for allotted clearings, which would offer them concealment. He looked around the room sizing up his competition and noticing that many of the other patrons there looked more like regulars than newbies, a number of them carrying their own pimped out paint guns instead of utilizing the facility's more generic ones.

Harrison turned to Huck to discuss something quietly, and Fitz took the opportunity to grab Liv's hand, "Babe these guys look serious, they look like they do this a lot."

She laughed, "Are you scared Fitz?"

"No, not at all," he tried to be nonchalant. "Just sizing up the competition. Are you?"

"Nope, not even a little bit. Not my first time at this rodeo, either," she winked.

He laughed, grabbing her hand as their group was called, "You never cease to amaze me Olivia Pope."

Fitz was stalking through the trees, using the tall pines to conceal his large frame. He was flushed, his body feeling the burn of three hardcore rounds of paintball, but it felt good. He was keeping up with the others, in spite of not having played since college. The first round of elimination was simple and fun enough, then they moved onto a game of capture the flag, then base capture. Now they were playing snipers, the last round, a much slower paced game based on stealth and strategy.

He wondered how Liv was holding up, even though he knew she was more experienced than him in this arena. They were on separate teams, so he had seen her in passing, but everything was moving so fast and her small size seemed to work in her favor. Since this round would be a bit drawn out, he figured now was as good a time as ever to try to find her.

He moved quickly underneath a cluster of large trees, not sure exactly where he was going, but trusting his instincts. His eyes spied his heart's desire leaning against a tree, looking westward in the opposite direction of where he was coming from. He sidled up slowly, deciding to surprise her, looking around to make sure they were concealed.

He spoke when he saw her body tense at the sound of approaching feet, "Gun down, hands up Ms. Pope," he said playfully, aiming his gun towards her.

She primly placed the gun on the ground and spun around, he closed the distance between them, placing his gun next to hers. They both removed their masks as she moved briskly into his arms, throwing her arms around his neck and backing him into the tree behind him. He smiled at her enthusiasm, and responded by latching his hands firmly onto her ass and grinding his pelvis into hers. He hovered over her, teasing out her desire, his lips barely an inch from hers, "Kiss me," he whispered, grabbing her chin in his hand.

"I can't," she turned her head with a smirk. "You're the enemy."

He laughed, "I could never be your enemy Liv," his voice suddenly serious.

She looked at him with something in her eyes that he couldn't read, and moved her hands from around his neck to his face, kissing him with an intensity he didn't expect. He wanted to feel her skin, feel the heat bubbling beneath the surface and taste the skin on her neck and shoulders, but the camouflage jumpsuit was obstructing him. He held onto her as tightly as he could, their tongues wrestling for dominance. He could hear and feel her moan into his mouth when he softly kneaded her cheeks, loving the feeling even as obstructed by her uniform. He felt an urge to smack her ass, and she giggled in response.

"Hands off Grant," he stiffened as he heard a voice from behind Olivia.

He looked up and saw a paintball gun pointed directly at him.

"Go away Harrison," she groaned, not turning around.

"Come on Liv, you can't be out here gallivanting with enemy combatants," he laughed. "Plus he's the last one from green team, and we're red, in case you forgot," he motioned at his colored vest. "So get out of the way, I'm taking him down."

"I won't let you," she said, turning and using her body as a shield. Fitz chuckled and draped his arms lovingly around her waist.

Harrison sighed stalking away through the trees and calling over his shoulder, "Come on Pocahontas and John Smith, let's get this game over with!"

When their game was over, they changed back into civilian clothes and decided to go to a nearby sports bar for a late lunch. Fitz was actually feeling comfortable. Olivia never let go of his hand and even kissed him a couple of times, which reassured him that things were going fine. Harrison was talkative and charismatic, and even when he dominated the conversation, he made you feel like you were on whatever adventure he was telling you about. His colorful language, mannerisms and collection of voice impressions kept them all thoroughly entertained. Huck didn't speak much, but he laughed heartily and would add in random tidbits from the story that Harrison would gloss over.

He was afraid going in that he would be the odd man outside of their trifecta, trying to keep up, but they made him feel silly for being nervous. The waitress came to refill their drinks, and Huck took that opportunity to speak, "Hey, Olivia, you still owe me a rematch at the foosball table, wanna give it a go?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," she leaned over and kissed his cheek, "I'll be right over there if you need me. Won't be long."

"Ok," he replied, watching her walk away.

"So what are your intentions with Olivia?"

Fitz cleared his throat, Harrison's question catching him slightly off guard, "I really care for Olivia, I want to make her happy. I intend to spend a lot of time with her and get to know her better."

"Be honest with me here," he leaned in, lowering his voice a bit, "Is this just some fling? Or do you see some kind of future with her?"

"Well, what has she told you?" he answered the question with a question.

"You're avoiding the question, but to be honest not much, which is part of why I'm coming to you. She tells me everything." He sighed, "Look, I'm not trying to cause trouble between you two. Olivia is smart, she can take care of herself for the most part, but sometimes things get out of control, and when they do, I have to step in. We're all each other has, really. Liv is naturally a loner, and she's young snd pretty, and out here in the world alone. People see that she doesn't really have any family, and try to prey on that. But I'm here now, and I just wanted to make my presence known."

"Harrison, really, it's not like that between us. I know what it might look like from the outside, but it's not about sex. She honestly gives me a feeling I never thought was possible to have. The last thing I'm looking to do is hurt her. It would kill me, but I would walk away before I would take advantage of her trust," he responded honestly.

Harrison considered him for a moment, eyeing him seriously, "You know, I think I like you Grant. I get a good vibe from you. Seeing you two together...she seems happy. I can't remember the last time I've seen her glow like that. Olivia's more like a sister than a cousin to me, so I just have to make it my business to be sure she's in good hands. I slipped before, but I wont let it happen again. Don't make me regret trusting you. And while I'm on that, what do you know about this Edison guy?"

"Edison?" he racked his brain trying to recall if she had mentioned him before. "I don't think she's brought up anyone by that name to me."

He raised an eyebrow, "Huh. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it then," he said chuckling, realizing he put his foot in his mouth.

"Why not? Who is he?" He didn't like the sound of this.

He sighed, "You really should talk to Liv about this, but since we're on the subject, he's bad news. Essentially, there was a verbal altercation and she feels threatened because he won't leave her alone. Someone broke into her room, and she's pretty sure he either did it, or was involved with it, but she wasn't home. I'm assuming she was with you, which is probably a good thing because who knows what he's capable of. She thinks he's pretty harmless, but Huck worked his magic and accessed his sealed juvenile record, which had a couple of accusations of stalking and harassment. Both mysteriously dropped and settled. His family, and particularly his father, is a big deal in Connecticut. He has the kind of connections to make things disappear. We're working out a plan, but I don't like the idea of him possibly having access to her room. Until we can corner him, it'd be nice to know there was someone else looking out for her."

"Say no more," he felt himself growing tense at the thought of this guy creeping on Olivia. "I'll be damned if I let him so much as harm a hair on her head."

"Glad we're on the same page," Harrison replied, offering him his hand.

Soon they concluded their lunch, and made their way back to their separate vehicles.

"Thanks for coming out guys, it was a good time," Harrison said genially. "We should do it again some time."

"Definitely," Fitz replied without hesitation. "It was great to meet you after hearing so much about you, Harrison. You as well, Huck."

Huck just nodded, but Harrison offered his hand, "We'll set it up, I'm just glad to see my Liv is in good hands. he smiled turned to her and opened his arms for a hug, and she went into his embrace, "I'm gonna hit you up soon as we figure out our next move, but believe me, we're not slacking on this. Liv, be careful. I love ya."

"Love you too, Harrison. You guys be careful, don't do anything too crazy."

He grinned his Harrison grin and ended their embrace, "You already know how Huck and I get down Liv, Ohana!"

She laughed at his reference to their favorite movie, "Ohana guys, I'll see you two later!"

As they made their way back to Fitz's apartment, they laughed and discussed the day's events, both pleased with how it turned out. Fitz couldn't get the conversation with Harrison out of his head though, and he knew he had to bring it up. When they were laying in bed, letting the television watch them, he decided it was as good a time as ever.

"Livi can I tell you something?" he asked softly, rubbing circles gently into her side.

"Anything," she whispered back.

"I know it hasn't been very long at all, it's barely been a month...but I can't help myself. I keep telling myself I'm crazy, that's it's too soon, but no matter how much I try to convince myself otherwise," he stared into her eyes, unwavering, "I can't fight it. I'm falling for you. I have fallen for you. I love you, Olivia. I'm in love with you."

"Fitz I...I love you too, I'm in love with you, too."

"I just want you to know you can trust me. You can depend on me," he moved a stray piece of hair from her face.

"I do, Fitz."

"So, how come you haven't told me about this Edison character?" he countered.

She groaned, "Harrison told you?"

"Yes, he did, and don't be mad at him, he thought I was already in the know. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Fitz, I didnt want to worry you. I know you're already in an awkward position because I'm a student, and I didn't want you to feel like you had to do something else that might jeopardize your career," she rationalized softly. "I asked Harrison to look into it for me and he says he's going to handle it."

"Liv you have to know that your well being is more important to me than a job. I can't help but worry about you...I want to be there for you...protect you. I need you to tell me what's going on."

She filled him in on everything, the whole sordid ordeal, beginning with freshman year, to the humiliating ball, to the gifts and his "random" hookup with Abby. She could see him visibly tense when she told him about her room being disturbed, and why she suspected that he been going through her things.

At the end of it he sighed, resigned momentarily, "Well, if you say that Harrison is taking care of it, I will trust that. But you have to promise that if anything else happens, anything, you will tell me."

She kissed him softly, "I promise, I will."

"Pinky promise?" He asked linking his little finger to her tiny one.

"Pinky promise," she said sealing it with a kiss.

"Great, and tomorrow we're going on a ride."

"Where?"

"It's a surprise," he replied with a knowing grin. "Just trust me."

A/N: this one is kinda long, but I hope you guys like it! What do u think of the Harrison/Fitz interaction?