Chapter Four

But right now, my time is theirs

At 2:45am, the alarm on Fitz' nightstand blared loudly. With a groan, he reached out and smacked down on the table top until he managed to hit the alarm, silencing it. Rolling over, his hand skimmed down Olivia's bare arm, "That was the alarm, Liv."

"Heard it. Ignoring it." She murmured into her pillow, turning her head over and moving to the other side of the bed.

Chuckling, Fitz pressed a kiss to the back of her head and tossed the covers back. "Sleep a bit later, I'll get us ready to go." With a stretch and scrubbing his hand over his face, he threw open a drawer and picked up a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt before padding into the bathroom. He spent the next few minutes making coffee and toast and putting on a kettle of water for Olivia's tea before going back through their two small bags to make sure they had everything they needed. When the kettle went off, he took that as a sign to wake his sleeping girlfriend.

He stood in the doorway of his bedroom watching her snore lightly into one of his pillows, a soft smile on his face. She hated mornings. If she had her way, there would be no contact with the outside world before 10am and even then, people would only speak minimally to her. It was one of her many idiosyncrasies that he loved. "Livie," Fitz ran his knuckles over Olivia's cheek, "time to wake up." He sang lightly to her.

She smacked his hand way, inadvertently smacking him in the face in the process, "Sleeping." She grumbled, rolling over and pulling the comforter with her. He rubbed his cheek, rolling his eyes with a shake of his head.

"Liv, the alarm went off fifteen minutes ago. You can't sleep anymore. It's time to get up and get dressed. The cab will be here soon."

"Again, sleeping." She repeated, pressing her face into the pillow obstinately.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Fitz carefully pulled the covers back. He swallowed hard as he took in her naked form. They'd never put clothes on after they finally made it into bed the evening before and now he was forced to remember that they had somewhere to be this morning. "We have a plane to catch. California. Stanford. Debates. Remember, Liv?" He murmured, his hand skimming down her spine, "So up and at 'em."

She groaned and rolled over, "No, I'm staying in bed. Now, if you'd like to get naked and join me, you're welcome to." She turned her back to him, curling into a ball.

He let out a groan, "You fight dirty." He scooted further over so he could hover above her, "I would very much like to get naked and join you, Livie, but we both know I can't. We have to get up and you have to get dressed so we can get moving." He pressed a kiss to her temple and rolled her over, "Up we go!" He grinned as he stood.

Pushing herself up on her elbows, Olivia grumbled, "I don't think I like you very much right now." She muttered.

He chuckled and tossed her leggings that she'd laid out with the rest of her clothes the night before, "Dressed." He ordered. She sent him a fairly impressive glare for someone her size, "I'll go make you a cup of tea." He volunteered, picking up his coffee mug, he began whistling as he left the room. She scowled until she heard his footsteps echoing down the small hallway. With a resigned sigh, Olivia pushed the covers back and pulled on her clothes.

SSS

Letting out a long yawn, Olivia leaned her head on Fitz' arm, her eyes fluttering shut, her glasses slipping down her nose, and her carry-on bag dropping to the floor with a quiet thud. Fitz chuckled quietly as he looked down at her, his arm curling around her waist, pressing her into his side, "Not a morning person." He explained to Harrison, who was clutching a cup of coffee and staring amusedly at Olivia.

"Clearly." Harrison murmured, shaking his head as he adjusted his tie with one hand. Fitz couldn't begin to understand why he was so dressed up to fly across the country. It looked entirely too uncomfortable.

A moment later, Quinn came bounding over to them, her hair in a high ponytail swinging back and forth. "This is so exciting, we're heading back to California! I'm so excited for our first debate and wow, Liv, is everything okay?' She asked, leaning toward Olivia instinctively.

Olivia groaned and turned her face into Fitz' chest. "Too early. No more mornings. Shut her up." She grumbled, letting out another yawn.

"Really?" Quinn chirped, "I love being up this early!" She bounced on her toes, her own coffee cup held tightly against her chest and her smile bright.

"Gross." Olivia grumbled, "It's too early to be that happy. Stop being happy."

Stephen approached them at that moment, "Okay, you all ready?" He asked, corralling the small group of law students. "Cyrus is ready for us to head through security and," he paused, "Fitz is she"

"I'm fine. I'm tired. It's 3:45 in the fucking morning." Olivia snapped. "Let's just get on the dam plane. Stop asking about me like I'm not here."

Stephen chuckled, "Touchy in the morning, Olivia." He teased. She growled in response as she approached the security check point, giving the TSA agents an impressive glare.

SSS

When they landed in California hours later, Olivia was far more awake than she had been when they arrived at the airport. "We're going to head to the hotel, check in, then grab a bite to eat before we start debate prep. The debate is at 8am tomorrow morning. We have all evening to practice." As the group stood outside waiting on their bus to arrive, Cyrus glared up at the sky, "I hate California."

Quinn gave him a confused look, "Really? It's so beautiful and warm and sunny and the people"

"Perkins!" Cyrus interrupted her, "Do you ever stop talking?"

Quinn opened her mouth to respond, but Stephen cut her off, "Let it go, Quinn, come on, just let it go." He advised as their bus pulled up. "Get on the bus." She opened her mouth again and Stephen held up a hand, "No, stop talking."

It took them fifty-five minutes to reach the hotel with an accident on the highway. When they did finally get there, grumbling, hungry, and frustrated, they were greeted with a visitor there to meet them. Fitz straightened immediately, "Dad?"

A white-haired man stood and turned, "Hello, Fitzgerald."

SSS