A/N: Just a quick warning, guys: this storyline does involve cheating. It is Olivia and Fitz cheating WITH each other and not on each other, but if that makes you uncomfortable for any reason, please do not read.
"You can start a family
Or you can start a war"
- Texas
The morning sun was just beginning its ascent when Olivia made her way downstairs, stepping over discarded clothes and a few toys that her mother would complain about later today. She pulled her robe closer around her body, holding the two sides tightly to her neck. Hopping over the last step, it had creaked even when she was a child, she inched toward the closed door. Opening and closing the door as quietly as she could, she took a deep, centering breath of the woodsy, ocean air. Sharkfin Reef was her sanctum sanctorum and this morning, she would take all the sanctuary she could get.
It was a short walk down the path that led to the pond on the edge of their property - a path she must have travelled more than a hundred times throughout her life. Crunchy leaves and dry sticks were easily avoided, leaving the early morning nature undisturbed. An army of frogs croaked their early morning song, not quite prepared for their daily slumber, as Olivia approached the pond. The sound of her bare feet on the boards of the tiny deck drove most to dive underwater while a few stayed above ground - eyeing their dawn visitor.
"Good morning to you, too," Olivia greeted, an easy smile crossing her lips. Here her troubled heart could rest easy - worries were unwelcome at the pond.
Slipping the silk robe from her shoulders, she allowed it to fall at her feet in a puddle of emerald green. She shivered as a breeze blew through the trees, rustling her robe and the oversized beach towel she had left out to dry the previous night. Rubbing her hands over the goosebumps that had suddenly appeared on her skin, she glanced across the pond, toward the trees that hid the ocean from view. Then, taking a deep breath, she dove gracefully into the somewhat murky waters.
Breaching the surface, Olivia took in a lungful of air as she smoothed her hair from her eyes. Ripples broke the surface where Olivia moved her arms, treading water. The water was just cool enough to be somewhat uncomfortable against her bare skin. Rolling her shoulders once, she ducked back under water. Resurfacing, she began her morning laps - a tradition from her childhood. As the rest of the family slept, the pond belonged entirely to Olivia.
By the time she pulled herself onto the dock, the sun had risen another few degrees in the sky and the temperature was just starting to reach the unbearable, muggy heat the weatherman had promised the day before. Grabbing the large turquoise beach towel, she dried herself quickly - never one to linger by the pond in her current condition regardless of the early hour. Tossing the towel onto a nearby tree branch, she bent for her robe, slipping her arms into the cool silk as she stood and securing the belt around her waist.
Glancing back toward the treeline, noting the sun's position in the sky, Olivia blew a puff of air at the stray strand of hair falling onto her forehead. It was still early enough that she might be able to sneak back into her room and change without waking Ezra. Anything to delay the inevitable feelings of guilt.
"Is there coffee?" Maya's voice floated through the room and Olivia allowed herself a brief moment of self-pity, her mother's voice only intensifying the throbbing in her temples.
"Nearly finished." Olivia's vigil over the dripping liquid had started from the moment she'd turned on the coffee pot, sighing with relief when the red light had flashed on. It wouldn't make her headache go away, no matter how she told herself the pain was in response to her body's need for caffeine, but it was at least a familiar routine. One more thing to ground her as her world spun out of control.
"Those kids of yours have got to clean today. This place looks like a pigsty." Maya leisurely walked into the kitchen, her own robe hanging loose to reveal a black swimming suit underneath. Olivia had inherited her love for early morning swims from her mother, though Maya tended to prefer a suit for her swims.
"We'll clean it, mom." Olivia pulled the carafe from under the machine, filling the already waiting mug she had selected. Quick on the draw wherever coffee was involved, Maya held a mug out before Olivia had a chance to look for one.
"Not you or that husband of yours. You two aren't teaching them anything by doing it for them," Maya complained as the two women set about fixing their coffees.
"Ah yes, because yours was the epitome of perfect parenting." Olivia yawned, settling into the cracked leather of the old sofa in front of the fireplace. The sofa had been there for years at that point - long before Michael's birth even. It had been hated when she was younger. She and Harper always argued over the much more comfortable window seat. Over the years, though, the once tough leather had softened and small, hairline cracks had begun to show. Hand-sewn quilts decorated the back, ready at a moment's notice to help stave off any chill in the air.
"You and your sister survived, didn't you?"
"If that's what we're calling it," Olivia scoffed, wincing as she took a too-large gulp.
"You're sitting there back-talking me. You survived," Maya huffed, leaning a hip against the counter. Before she could launch into one of her infamous, 'my childhood was worse than yours', Olivia spoke:
"I'll talk to them when I finish my coffee."
After she had finished her coffee, and Maya had already sauntered out of the house, Olivia slowly crept up the stairs - expertly avoiding any and all creaks. Just at the top of the stairs, at the first door on the left, Olivia stopped. Twisting the doorknob, she cracked the door and peeked just through the crack. In the dimness, she could just make out a wet towel laying on the hardwood floor and a pile of dirty socks and underwear, otherwise, she was certain her oldest had a cleaner room than his siblings. Nothing to lose sleep over - or start an argument now that Mike had decided his mother was not a necessary part of his life.
Quietly closing the door, Olivia repeated the process with the room right across the hall. Liam and Poppy were considerably messier than Mike. Toys littered the floor alongside wet towels (the culprit for the strong, slightly mildewed odor coming from the room), alongside two piles of dirty laundry. They could clean when they were awake.
Yawning, Olivia padded down the rest of the hall until she came to the last door on the right. Despite her efforts to open the door as quietly as possible, Ezra still lifted his head and fixed her with his steely gaze.
"Morning, love." His voice was raspy with sleep, salt and pepper hair sticking up in multiple directions. The boyish, lopsided grin he shot her way made her heart clench with the weight of her secret.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," Olivia teased. She allowed her robe to fall from her body, a new wave of guilt crashing over her as she felt Ezra's eyes on her body. The flinch when she felt his warm, just-from-under-the-covers heat behind her was easily noticed.
"Is everything okay?" His breath fanned across her cheek as he whispered in her ear, his hands coming to settle on her hips.
"Just a headache." She floundered for an excuse, anything to buy her time away from her loving husband. Her loving husband she couldn't think about touching her less than twelve hours after that.
"No worries, love." He kissed her cheek, sweet as always, and took her hand to lead her toward the bed. "Go back to sleep. Your swim could have waited until you felt better."
Inhaling deeply, Olivia allowed him to help her onto the soft, cushiony mattress and pull their thick, warm cover over her body. He fluffed the pillows behind her back, prompting her to lay her head upon them.
"Sleep. I'll start breakfast."
"Make sure the kids leave enough for my mom, please." Already, she was fighting back a yawn. She hadn't even been sleepy until Ezra had tucked her in like one of their children.
"I'll make sure mummy dearest has plenty to eat," Ezra winked, heading toward the door without changing out of his pajamas. Olivia watched as he flipped the lights off and left the room.
Finally, alone in the darkness with her thoughts, she allowed her eyes to drift shut and her mind to wander to the events of the previous night.
The sun was just beginning to set behind the thick patch of trees when Fitz and Nat knocked on the door of 1342 Sharkfin Reef. Olivia had been the one to open the door and greet the couple - a warm hug for her oldest friend and a quick peck on the cheek for his wife. A warm, happy calm fell over Olivia as she stood to the side, ushering her two friends into her summer home.
Dishes crowded the long, rectangular table Olivia's stepdad had made from a fallen white pine when she was a child. Poppy and Liam were quick to greet their 'uncle' Fitz while Mike, every the cool teenager, merely tossed his hand in the air from the sofa. Ezra, already more than a few in, gestured for Fitz to take a seat beside him. A small smile pasted itself to Olivia's lips as warmth spread through her chest. This was what summer was about: family getting together for game nights, going swimming in the mornings, seeing Fitz.
Fitz. He had been Olivia's summer since she was that annoying little 9 year old girl lost and scared in the surrounding forest. They shared memories and secrets they would never share with anyone else - not even their spouses. And Olivia knew, though she wished she didn't, that Fitz was the one person she couldn't live without.
The night progressed at the same warp speed all their game nights seemed to progress - especially in the early days of summer. All so eager to see one another and catch up on their year that the youngest two managed to sneak in a couple extra hours before bedtime - only being ordered to bed once Mike had made his retreat. After all three kids were gone, drinks began flowing at an alarming rate with Maya being the culprit behind everyone's unending supply of alcohol.
After Olivia had played her last poker hand, huffing whilst her husband pulled the pile of her chips toward himself, she flounced from the table. At the sink, she busied herself with washing dishes and sneaking the occasional glance at the group at the table. It was during one of those glances that she caught Fitz's gaze. Her breath caught in her throat at the mischief and longing that swirled in his blue eyes. It was a look he had given her hundreds of times - and one she had thought of returning thousands of times. Always, she had fought her gut in this moment. Always.
Except when she didn't.
Raising a brow, bottom lip catching between her teeth, she inclined her head toward the door by the pantry - the door that led outside. Taking a shaky breath, Olivia dried her hands and marched with a purpose to the door.
"I'm going to make sure the kids put the straps back on the cans," she announced - a plausible excuse. The kids forgot more to put those blasted straps back more often than they remembered and, if no one checked, they'd wake up in the morning to a mess of strewn garbage.
No one paid an ounce of attention as Olivia slipped out the door and into the darkened night. A handful of stars smattered the sky and the moon, a nice, third quarter, provided plenty of natural light which made the descent down the old, stone stairs easier. She lingered at the bottom of those steps, half-hidden between a large bush and the shadows cast by the overhanging eaves, heart thumping. Had she misread the look Fitz had given her?
Why had she even come out here in the first place? She was married - happily so, for the most part. Fitz and Nat were their oldest friends - he was her oldest friend. What was she —
Mid-thought, her mind went blank as she felt warm lips covering hers. Blinking, she focused on the tall form of her friend, long arms wrapped around her and head bent to hers. All of those pesky why's and what if's that had been floating about her mind were inconsequential to the feeling of being wrapped up in Fitzgerald Grant's arms.
Sex wasn't something that came easy for Olivia - even with the comfort and, dare-she-say love?, of her marriage. It was okay. Lackluster. If she was lucky, she might eventually get off at some point during an encounter. And that was why, once Fitz had walked her backwards toward the rough, siding of the house and wrapped her legs around his waist, she was surprised to find herself on the brink of an orgasm after only a few minutes of desperate grinding.
Her abdominal muscles flexed as she worked her hips, rubbing her uncovered pussy (she had been hoping to get lucky tonight - though this was beyond her wildest dreams) against the heavy denim of his jeans. The friction from the material, growing increasingly taunt beneath her, had her seeing stars with each upward drag of her hips.
"Yes," she breathed in Fitz's ear, her tongue tracing his lobe as he pushed her just a bit closer to the wall - caging her in and slowing her motions.
"You're so fucking beautiful, Liv." His breath against her neck sent shivers down her spine as he moved his hands between their bodies, awkwardly fumbling with his belt. She tightened her legs, hands clenching at his shoulders, when his strong arms loosened around her.
Then he was there, arms wrapped back around her and holding her close as he slid, inch by inch, into her warm, inviting heat. Their breaths mingled in a series of harsh, uneven pants as Olivia's legs began to shake and she buried her mouth against his shoulder. She had definitely never hit her peak that fast.
And it was fast. Hurried and rushed against the side of the house, under the moon and stars with the frogs providing background music. It was frantic. Hot. Mind blowing. Adjectives Olivia had never associated with sex before.
For the first time in years, she felt alive.