"Sleep well okay? I'll see you in the morning."
"Okay," Karen said with a smile. "Thanks for singing to me."
"You're welcome. You know for you I always will," he said, smiling back.
"I know. That's 'cause you are the best daddy," she said matter-of-factly. "Like…the best one in the whole entire universe. And all the other universes too…because you know, there is more than just our universe out there, dad. Scientists know it."
His smile grew larger and he started to chuckle at his daughter, leaning his head down on her comforter.
She saw that she had made him laugh, and her adorable giggle came out in response.
"Thank you for your compliment and your science fact," he chuckled.
"You're welcome!" she nodded.
"And guess what?" he asked.
"What?" she asked curiously.
"You are the best daughter in the…multiverse," he nodded.
She gasped. "Multiverse?! Is that the word?"
"That is the word," he replied.
"Thank you for teaching me it! I'm going to teach Casey, too."
"You better," he nodded seriously.
"You are so smart, dad," she stated.
"Me? I think you mean you," he replied, poking her arm importantly.
"Me?!" she asked with a smile. But he could tell she was so honored.
"Yes, you!" he nodded. "Smartest little girl I know."
She giggled and started to blush, putting her hands up to her chest. "Thanks, daddy."
"You're very welcome," he said. "So, what do you say to pancakes in the morning, my little scientist?"
"Yes!" Karen exclaimed, doing a little celebratory arm raise. "Your pancakes are the best."
"Thanks, sweetie," he chuckled quietly.
"You're welcome. I wish Liv could have them again. I know she thought they were the best, too," Karen nodded. "She told me so."
"Well that's...very sweet of her," he smiled.
"Yeah," Karen agreed. "Do you...miss her, dad?"
Fitz sighed, looking surprised at the question she asked.
But this was a chance not to lie, for once, and also — it wouldn't be too bad that he told the truth, anyway. He felt like it would be a bit rude to say he didn't miss her, truly.
"Yeah," he nodded seriously. "I do."
"Me too," Karen nodded. "I figured you had to miss her."
He looked intently down at her, wondering what she meant by that. Perhaps this was a perfect chance to dig into it, since she gave him the opportunity. To his knowledge, Karen didn't think anything out of the ordinary about him and Olivia.
Mellie certainly didn't either — in fact, Mellie was so blind when it came to Fitz that she didn't even think that he and Olivia talked much. She'd actually yelled at him for that.
That's what happened when she paid almost no attention to him.
Karen paid more attention though.
"How could you tell?" he asked with a smile, trying to play it off casually.
Karen shrugged innocently. "I just thought...you and Liv are good friends. Maybe she is your best friend? But...don't tell Abby I said that."
Fitz started to chuckle and shook his head. "I won't tell Abby. Why do you think...Liv and I are such good friends?"
"I don't know," Karen shrugged. "Whenever we were all together...I just thought we had so much fun. Like when we rode places in the car together and...and cooked, and played the piano, and sang. You seemed like good friends."
Fitz smiled and nodded at all of the things she was talking about. All of the things that involved just the three of them. Their car rides, to pick Karen up from school. Their piano and cooking sessions. All the late nights Mellie had to work. Times that he would let go a little bit with Olivia, simply because Mellie wasn't there. When she was there, he and Olivia often wouldn't even talk much to each other on purpose — hence Mellie's thought that they didn't talk.
But those weren't the times that Karen was talking about now.
So he used it as a stepping stone. Not to confess to his daughter that he was more than good friends with Olivia. Not to confess anything of that sort yet. But only to take a stab at not lying.
To stop pretending. To tell the truth. If not the full truth, at least a part of it. Because it's what she deserved. If only he could have seen that long before now.
"We were good friends," Fitz nodded in agreement. "Are good friends, still."
Karen's face perked up and she smiled brightly. "I knew. I'm glad about that dad. She is the best, right? I miss her."
"She is," he nodded. "I bet she misses you too. You better text her tomorrow. Maybe you can send her those pictures we took of you and your Christmas presents so she knows you love them."
"Oh!" Karen nodded. "I will do that. Good idea, dad."
He smiled, putting his hand on top of hers. "She will love it."
"When do you think we'll get to see Liv again?" Karen asked quietly.
Tomorrow actually. He had a date with her.
Fitz sighed quietly, honestly wishing he could spill some things to his daughter right then and there, if only to please her. But would it truly please her, to know how her dad really felt about Olivia? That it wasn't just friendship?That Karen would likely see a lot of Olivia in the future, because he wanted a relationship with her? He didn't know. But at some point, she was going to have to know.
He settled on a much more certain and for sure positive end to the conversation.
"I'm sure we'll see her soon, honey."
Karen nodded happily and pulled the covers up close to her face. "Love you, dad."
"I love you," he whispered, smiling down at her. "Want me to send mom in?"
"Yes," Karen nodded excitedly.
"Mkay," he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
He headed over to his bedroom and peeked his head in, speaking quietly to Mellie.
"Hey. Mell."
She looked up sleepily from her iPad, looking as though she was just waiting for the high sign to say goodnight to her daughter so she could go to bed, herself.
"K's ready for you."
She nodded at him without a word and he quickly and quietly started to sneak down a couple flights of stairs.
Down to his own space. The space Olivia used to use.
God, the entire basement had almost been haunting the past couple weeks, simply because it felt somewhat like her space, yet she wasn't there. She would never be there again, to his dismay.
All of her things were gone, the lingering of her wonderful scent was gone; all of it had downright disappeared. Yet being down there still made him feel good. Made him feel close to her, because it was all he had, he supposed.
At least tomorrow he'd finally get to see her again. Turns out a couple weeks feels like an eternity when you confess and show your love to someone who equally returns it — and then you're forced to separate. Especially in the midst of feeling all the things he was feeling in general.
He had never been so excited for a cup of coffee before, so he figured he better reiterate that before he went to bed.
He turned around at the edge of the bed — her old bed — and let himself collapse as he pulled his phone up to his face to text her.
It was crazy how much he was now attached to his phone, simply because he couldn't be attached to her. He always wished people on the train into work every day would put down their phones — but now he was turning into one of those people.
He didn't let Karen or Mellie see him do it when he was in their presence. He'd just wait until he went to the bathroom or until one of them left the room. He'd become quite sneaky with it — which totally freaked him out, actually.
And yet here he was doing it, because he didn't have the luxury of seeing her every day anymore.
Fitz: Can't wait to see you tomorrow. Just let me know when I should leave.
He laid there on his back, watching for a response. Usually, they were both pretty in sync when they texted each other.
And there she was.
Olivia: Don't worry, I will! I cannot wait to see you. I am so excited, Fitz.
The number of butterflies that shot through his stomach when he read things like that was also something that freaked him out. Jesus, could they calm down a little?
But he just smiled, starting to text back.
Fitz: Me too. You heading to bed soon?
Olivia: Yes. I want to be well-rested for tomorrow, it will be a pretty long day of travel!
Fitz: Yes it will, you should get some sleep, Livvie.
Olivia: I will. See you tomorrow, smiley! I love you, in case you forgot.
Those stupid butterflies — all over again.
Fitz: See you tomorrow. I could never forget. I love you so much.
Olivia: Goodnight, baby.
Fitz: Goodnight.
Good morning! I miss you Olivia. I hope you like these pictures. I just wanted to say thank you again for my Christmas gifts. They are so awesome, just like you!
Olivia couldn't stop smiling at the adorable text and pictures she received from the little girl she missed dearly. Her sweet little K.
And after she sent a message back, her smile must not have faded one bit, because her mother noticed it.
"What are you smiling about over there?" Marie asked with a laugh, as she scrambled eggs on the stove.
She was currently making great use of her morning off, but utilizing her amazing chef skills, of course, to cook Olivia a goodbye breakfast before she left.
"It's just little K," Olivia said, smiling at her phone. "The presents I got her for Christmas — she sent me some pictures of her using them."
"Aww, well let me see!" Marie said, coming over to look.
She leaned over Olivia's shoulder, looking down at the picture of Karen smiling next to her microscope, looking through the microscope, and a separate one of her using the new robot that she put together.
"She really is just so darling, isn't she," Marie said with a smile, as Olivia scrolled through the pictures.
"She's adorable," Olivia nodded.
"You've shown me pictures of her but I don't know that I've seen the parents before," Marie inquired. "Do you have any pictures of them?"
Olivia instantly went "oh shit" internally because there was always a reason she didn't show people.
From her experience so far, Fitz kind of drew attention.
And with her mother, especially, that was exactly what she didn't need.
But she played it off casually, thinking that was her best bet.
"Oh, I really haven't shown you before?" Olivia asked with a laugh.
"I don't think so," Marie said, clearly trying to think back. "Well, I suppose I saw Melody briefly on FaceTime this summer, I just don't quite remember what she looks like."
Unfortunately, she had one photo on her phone. Well — two, but the other was a selfie of just Fitz and her in the city, which she also figured would not be a smart decision to show her mother.
This is where the attention part came in. A shirtless Fitz was hard not to look at, and that resulted in awkward conversations that she frankly wasn't ready for. With her mother.
But she showed her regardless, just hoping to God she appeared casual and normal about it.
Marie leaned in closer and took a deep breath.
"Well Lord have mercy. I suppose I knew they were young, but...goodness," Marie said, taking a closer look at the phone. "I remember Melody now, that's right. The long, wavy hair."
Olivia felt her nerves increase with her mom holding her phone, hoping to God Fitz didn't text her right at this moment or some damn thing.
"Yeah, they're definitely younger than most in the program, I would say," Olivia nodded.
Her mother began to zoom in. On Fitz. Seriously mom?
"Well he's certainly a nice looking fellow, isn't he," Marie stated.
Oh, God.
"Ma," Olivia laughed embarrassedly.
"What?!" Marie shrugged. "You've got eyes, baby, I know that's not new information. She's gorgeous too. I can't believe you haven't shown me a picture of them all together until now!"
"I honestly thought I did, I guess," Olivia shrugged casually. "I should have sent that one to you. That was a fun day. The first weekend, when we went to the beach."
Hopefully, that would divert the conversation a bit. Especially because she managed to dance around the Fitz being hot conversation, and she would prefer that did not come up again.
It made her blush, and it made her nervous. Not a good conversation in front of her mother, who knew her better than anybody.
"Aww, well that does sound fun, baby," Marie said. "You sure you're not gonna miss them too much now? You won't be too lonely?"
"I'll be just fine, ma," Olivia laughed. "I'm way closer to my friends this way, I definitely won't be lonely. But...I will miss the Grants, yes."
"You grew so close to them, living there for that long — I could only imagine. When it's time to move on, it's time to move on. But maybe you should keep in touch with them," Marie shrugged, heading back to the stove.
Olivia nodded, thinking about just how much she'd be keeping in touch with that one good looking fellow...
"Yeah," Olivia agreed. "I think I will."
Her flights went smoothly; she was much more used to them now after a full semester of going to school away from home. She did have one layover, in Minneapolis-St. Paul, like normal.
But having left North Dakota very early that morning, she reached New York City by the early afternoon.
The first time she saw Huck and Stephen again, she could have sworn she literally felt her heart lift.
"Liv!" Huck exclaimed, wrapping her in a big hug.
"Oh my God, Huck!" Olivia exclaimed back, giving him a big hug. "Aww, I missed you!"
"Missed you too, girl," Huck said.
"Hey, Liv," Stephen smiled, giving her a side hug after Huck pulled away.
"Hey!" she said, returning his hug. "Thanks for helping me out you guys!"
"Oh, of course," Stephen nodded. "Huck, Elliot, and I just got all my shit loaded up there so we needed a break anyway."
"Oh great! Where is Ell?" Olivia asked.
"Ah, he had to head back to his parent's house in Brooklyn. His uncle Ray's birthday, or...something. But he did tell me to let you know he couldn't wait to see your new tiny place," Huck laughed.
They all started to laugh and nod in agreement. New York City residences...
"Yeah, how did your little suite compare to the pictures you saw online?" Olivia asked Stephen.
"It was pretty much what I had expected," Stephen nodded. "Definitely small. I don't even fit properly on my twin bed. But oh well. I can deal with it. My suitemate is super cool at least."
"Ha!" Huck chuckled. "Suddenly I'm feeling lucky to be a short man with that bed situation."
"And me — a short woman," Olivia agreed, giggling.
"Girl, you're not even short — you're just adorable," Huck said.
Olivia put her hand up to her chest, feeling very loved.
"Well thank you, Huck!" she exclaimed.
"You're very welcome. You ready to go?"
"I am," Olivia nodded, adjusting her backpack on her shoulder.
"Alright. Stevie boy — this is where your size is more beneficial than mine. That big ass duffel bag is all yours."
"Wow, I see how you play it, Huck," Stephen chuckled, reaching down to sling it over his shoulder.
"Thank you so much, Stephen, I'm so sorry," Olivia winced.
"No worries, Liv," he shook his head.
"Must help the adorably small woman," Huck said, muscling one of her other duffles onto his shoulder.
"Must, indeed," Stephen nodded.
"You guys," Olivia smiled. "I missed you so much."
"Yes…yes," Stephen nodded, giving her a chuckle.
"I missed you, even though...you come with more baggage than I do," Huck said, letting out a deep breath as he got her bag situated.
Olivia laughed, grabbing two of the bags that still sat at her own feet. Yeah, she couldn't really deny that one.
They got an Uber and headed to the residence that both she and Stephen were now staying at this semester. Huck had always lived in one of the student residences, so he was staying in the same one — nothing new to him. He loved to help organize and decorate though, so he wouldn't miss move-in day for anybody.
And since Stephen's suite was somewhat put together, at least more so than Olivia's, they got a start on unloading some of her things.
And that's when she met her new roomie, Greta.
"Oh — you must be Olivia!" Greta exclaimed from the kitchen, as they all piled in the door, full of bags.
"Oh, yeah, hey!" Olivia exclaimed back, giving her a wave. They'd followed each other on social media, so they already knew what they looked like.
Greta was about average height; slightly taller than Olivia. She had lightly tanned skin and straight black hair, which faded into an ombré. Her makeup, also, was a level of perfection that Olivia strived for in her life. She was definitely gorgeous, which Olivia had already gotten a glimpse of online.
"It's so great to see you in person finally!" she said, coming over and extending a hand to Olivia.
"Yeah, it's so great to see you as well! A pleasure to meet you. I wish I would have seen you around at school before!" Olivia said.
"I know, right?" Greta asked. "It's so crazy how you tend to have classes with the same people. I do, however, recognize you..." Greta said, shyly pointing to Stephen.
"Yeah, hello," Stephen chuckled, extending his hand as well. "Stephen Finch."
"Nice to meet you officially, Stephen. I'm Greta. I love your accent by the way. Scottish?"
"Yes. Thank you," Stephen laughed.
"That's so cool that you two have seen each other around," Olivia smiled. "And Greta, this is Huck, one of my other good friends."
"Nice to meet you!" Huck said, shaking her hand as well.
"Nice to meet you!" she exclaimed. "That's so sweet of you guys to help Olivia out too!"
"We've been told," Huck smiled, putting his hand innocently up to his chest, which had the girls laughing.
"And I live just one floor down, so it's no big deal for me," Stephen nodded. "Moved in this morning."
"Oh, really?" Greta asked. "That's awesome, I moved in this morning, too. Where do you live, Huck?"
"I live in Coopers Square," Huck answered. "I actually lived there last semester too."
"Jealous," Greta sighed. "I was in the same boat as you two," she said, pointing to Stephen and Olivia. "I lived with a family. They weren't my favorite so...I just knew it wasn't the best fit for me anymore."
"Oh, no, that's a tough one," Stephen said. "Mine wasn't too bad, but I just wanted a change of scenery, I think."
"Totally," Greta nodded.
They all kind of looked at Olivia now, the only one who hadn't really addressed their situation.
Her situation? A bit fucked up.
"Yeah, I'm kinda...with Stephen. Just knew I wanted a change. I gave the family a try, but I've always wanted to live in the city, so...here I am!"
Huck scoffed. "I mean, at least your host family was young and fun and the guy was hot. That made it a bit easier."
Olivia swore her eyes went so wide, but she immediately forced herself to play it cool, even at the mention of the man she loved.
Huck wasn't wrong, though.
Greta started to laugh, but mostly just looked at Olivia in shock.
"Oh, for real? Like how young?"
"Around...30," Olivia shrugged nonchalantly.
Greta looked surprised. "Wow, really? That's honestly kind of amazing. I bet that was actually nice!"
"Yeah," Olivia nodded, giving her a smile. "It was."
Please, next subject, next subject.
"And a hot guy? That's always a plus," Greta shrugged.
Olivia laughed and nodded, trying her hardest not to be awkward.
"It sure is. Well — it wouldn't be for Stevie over here," Huck said, slapping Stephen's back. "Sorry for all the hot guy talk."
"That's okay," Stephen shrugged, laughing. "Whoever…floats your boat, fine with me. That is the American phrase, yes? Floats your boat?"
"Yes, Stephen," Olivia giggled.
"Right, yes, I thought so," he laughed. "I've always wanted an occasion to use it, I have to admit."
"That's comforting to know, Stephen, because since we're getting to know each other — I am extremely open to discussing hot women as well," Greta said. "Thought I better just throw that out there to avoid potentially awkward situations later, you feel."
"Ohhh, girl, I feel you on that!" Huck exclaimed. "Much easier. Just throw it out there!"
"Exactly," she agreed, laughing.
Stephen raised his eyebrows and smiled. "That sounds fantastic to me, Greta. You want to see my girlfriend back home? My little dove — she's a beauty."
"Absolutely, I'd love to!" Greta giggled.
"We are gonna be such good friends. Welcome to our group — you're already in," Huck said.
"Absolutely," Olivia agreed.
"Aww, thank you!" Greta exclaimed.
And so, as Stephen showed Greta pictures of his girlfriend back in Scotland, who was indeed extremely beautiful, and they all exchanged phone numbers, it was clear they all hit it off right away.
As Greta had promised via text, she did help Olivia out with her things, as did the boys.
It was nice to get to know Greta even more while they unloaded and unpacked.
Her story was quite amazing. Her father, who was Japanese, and her mother, who was American, met while she was in Japan for work. And while Greta was born in the United States, she did grow up going to Japan every summer to spend time with her grandparents. She was fluent in Japanese and Korean, and was currently learning Spanish in school, planning to minor in it in college. Which, made her trilingual, going on quadrilingual.
Having taken two semesters of Spanish every year since middle school, herself, Olivia felt pretty damn proud; she felt like she could almost call herself bilingual.
But fluent in almost four languages? Damn.
Greta loved sports, she loved embroidery, and she loved dogs — her dog back home, Riku, was a golden retriever — which everyone stopped and took a 10-minute break just to ogle. Adorable.
She truly didn't live very far from school at all — she was from Newark, New Jersey. So, she often went home on weekends to see her parents, her little sister, Hana, and of course, her cute dog.
After spending an afternoon getting to know her, Olivia was so grateful that Greta was her suitemate. And based on the conversation she had with Huck as he was leaving her residence that day, she was pretty sure her friends could say the same.
"Seriously. She's a Japanese-American Queen who can speak, like, 18 languages, her makeup is absolutely on point, her ombré was fire, and she's bisexual on top of all that? Ahh! My queer heart is fluttering. Could she get any better? I don't think so. Queen. You're so lucky she's your suitemate, girl."
"I know!" Olivia nodded, as they stood just outside the entryway of her building. "She is a Queen, I feel so lucky."
"Seriously. You and her together? Damn. Double Queen energy. Can I come over, like...all the time?" Huck asked.
"Sure you can," Olivia laughed. "Thank you, by the way."
"Oh, of course. I'm so happy we're all back, Liv. Break was lame," Huck said.
"It was lame," Olivia agreed. "So happy to be back."
Huck sighed happily. "Well. I'll see you on Monday. Have a fun rest of your day — don't spend all of it unpacking. Do something fun, too!"
"Oh. I will," Olivia assured him with a smile.
She did have something fun planned.
"Cool. See you, Liv!" Huck said.
"Bye, Huck! Thanks for all your help today!" she replied.
"Mmmhm," he smirked and gave her a little wave, which made Olivia laugh as she headed back up to her floor.
She immediately texted Fitz as she returned to her suite, telling him to get his ass into the city as fast as possible because she was all his now.
Huck had left, Stephen had gone down to his own suite to continue organizing his own stuff — or at least organize as best as a boy could. Olivia told him she'd help him out if he needed it tomorrow. He had told her he probably would.
Boys and their organizational skills.
Even Greta had plans later that afternoon with some friends, she'd already told Olivia. Although, Olivia hadn't told Greta of her own plans, simply because she wasn't quite sure what she was going to say yet. But Greta figured it out as soon as she walked past the bathroom briefly and caught Olivia touching up her makeup in the mirror.
"Got big plans?" Greta asked with a smile, grabbing her purse.
Olivia could feel herself blushing as she touched up her eyeliner, and she smiled.
"Yeah, I do!"
"Oooo," Greta smirked. "It seems as though those plans of yours involve...a guy?"
"Hmmm," Olivia laughed. She gave Greta a smirk, but didn't verbally confirm anything.
"I see you, I see you!" Greta nodded, putting on her coat. "You go, girl. You look fantastic, he's gonna go nuts."
"Well, thank you," Olivia said, flashing her a smile. "You look fantastic, too, by the way!"
"Thanks!" Greta said, as she grabbed her keys. "Well, I'm gonna head out. I'll be back later tonight. I'll probably see you later?"
"Oh, yes, of course!" Olivia nodded. "I probably won't be late at all. Maybe we can watch a movie tonight or something?"
"Oh my God, yes, please! That sounds great," she nodded. "And have fun with your guy!"
"Thanks. You have fun, too!" Olivia replied.
"Thanks! See ya, girl," she said, waving as she opened the door.
"See ya!"
Olivia looked over her appearance in the mirror, feeling pretty satisfied with it. Her makeup did look good; she'd done it extensively this morning, it just needed a touch-up. Her hair, no longer in twists, looked good too, she thought.
She'd taken her twists out over break, as it had definitely been time. She needed a good wash and wanted to go natural again for a while, so here they were — her luscious, natural, bouncy curls. Fitz hadn't seen her hair like that in forever, he would probably be surprised because she hadn't told him on purpose.
She couldn't wait. She literally couldn't wait to see him, to hug him, or to kiss him. Really, to just be with him.
It had been far too long, and they'd both been counting the days until today.
Fitz looked down at his phone, seeing the text from Olivia that she was ready any time he was. The truth was, he'd been ready for about two hours, just waiting for her say so. He had it all planned out.
He was going to "get drinks" with David and one of his buddies, Rob. That was virtually his only excuse because he'd gone to get lunch with Abby last week so he didn't want to use her as an excuse, and Mellie didn't hate David as much, so it was easier. Plus, he literally didn't have any other reason he'd be going into the city alone on a random Saturday in January. So "drinks" it was. At least the drinks part of it was truthful.
The Rob and David part — not so much.
He was going to get coffee with Olivia, and he couldn't wait. It had been too long — even though it really hadn't.
But after everything that happened last time they'd been together. All the things they said and where their night ended up — it had been almost unbearable being without her since.
So he kept it cool before he left, but he damn near smiled the whole way to the train station, and the whole train ride.
It wasn't so cold out that day. It was decent for January, so he had on only a lightweight coat and some normal dressy boots to compliment his casual dressy outfit.
He found himself slightly embarrassed when getting ready for the day today. He took forever to pick out his outfit, trying to figure out what would look best. What Olivia would like. Trying to look good for her. She was used to seeing him in suits every damn day, so he felt like he had to think a little harder about his regular day clothes.
Thank God Mellie hadn't been upstairs to watch that mess, or he'd be receiving some questions.
He'd settled on just dark jeans and a dress shirt, because he couldn't go too overboard or Mellie would wonder what the hell was up. But still, it was something he thought Olivia would like.
When he got to the city, he decided to walk to the Birch Coffee that they were meeting at, since it was less than a 10-minute walk to get there and it wasn't too cold outside.
He had sent her a text when he was close to the city, so that she could gauge when she should leave. But he knew he must have beat her there when he got there and she wasn't in that back corner booth. The booth surrounded by bookshelves on both sides, that they'd sat at the first time they'd come here. That was their booth.
So he sat down, thinking about what he was going to order and awaiting her arrival. Bouncing his knee under the table because he was anxious — big surprise. But it was a good anxious. As good an anxious as he could feel. Because there was excitement mixed in there. A lot of it.
He felt like he was in some sort of ridiculous romantic movie the second she walked through the door, because his heart rate went nuts and so did the butterflies in his stomach. He truly didn't know that a human being could have butterflies in their stomach this intense — it was a bit crazy.
He knew the smile on his face must have been pretty big, because she already had a smile on her face, but the second she looked at him, her smile grew bigger.
She walked over, waving cutely at him, and he stood up without even thinking about it.
All he was thinking about was how cute she was. Her hair was completely different than the last time he'd seen her; it was back to its curly, natural self. Her outfit was sexy. her pretty face was glowing. And her sweet voice…there it was.
"Hi you," she greeted, coming up to him immediately.
"Hi," he smiled, wrapping his arms around her. He lifted her up slightly, spinning her slowly a bit in his arms. "Oh God, I missed you."
"I missed you too!" she said quietly, tightening her arms around his neck.
"Mmm," he murmured, adjusting his grip on her body. "Your hair."
"I know," she giggled, pulling back to look at him.
"I love it," he whispered, eyes flickering between her eyes and her lips. "You are so beautiful."
"Oh, thank you," she blushed, smiling at him. "You gonna kiss me or what, smiley?"
His lips were on hers in an instant, pressing gently to hers.
She giggled against his lips, and then opened her mouth against his briefly.
A few kisses didn't seem to be enough for them. He was still holding her in his arms above the ground slightly, kissing her with closed eyes and a happy heart.
But he finally started to set her down slowly, letting his lips linger on hers while he did it. There were plenty of other people in the coffee shop, which all got a good show, no doubt. They didn't care though.
"How are you?" he whispered, pecking her lips again.
"I'm so good. Even better now," she said. "How are you?"
"I'm so much better now," he smiled, pecking her lips. "I think...I think people are looking over here."
"I think so too," she giggled. "Are you embarrassed?"
"Uhhh," he began, chuckling because he knew his face was red. He could feel every inch of it.
"I'm sorry," she laughed, rubbing his cheek. "Should we stop with the PDA?"
"No," he said, giving her another kiss. "I can be embarrassed and kiss you at the same time. It will just have to work."
"You are so cute," she murmured against his lips. "Have I told you I loved you yet? I think that was on our list to do immediately when we saw each other in person again, too."
"No, you haven't. You should tell me," he whispered.
"I love you," she said, giving him lots of kisses. "I love you, love you, love you."
"I love you too," he said, smiling brightly back at her. "Okay. We can stop now. I don't want to get kicked out."
"Okay," she laughed, finally pulling away from his body. "I'm going to get us some coffee. Do you know what you want?"
"Umm. Yeah, I'll just take an americano," he said. "Thanks, Liv."
"Of course!" she said, adjusting her crossbody purse. "I'll be right back. Save our seats."
"Okay," he chuckled, watching her walk away as he sat down at their booth. He sat on the side he sat at last time, smiling at her by the counter as she was ordering their coffees.
She came back in no time — his americano and her latte didn't take very long.
"Here you are, my smiley," she said, setting his americano down.
"Thank you," he nodded. "So how were your flights today? Everything go okay?"
"Oh yep, everything was great. The day has flown by, honestly," she nodded.
"Good, I'm glad. So...tell me about your new place then. Do you like it?"
"I do!" she nodded. "It's very small. But I knew that going into it. Everywhere is small, so a student residence is definitely going to be. But it's all Greta and I need. We both have our own room, we have sort of a general sitting space — very tiny — a little entryway, and the bathroom which we share. The kitchen area is right down the hall if you want to cook for yourself; a couple different suites share that space. But otherwise, we just have a dining hall place downstairs that we pay for ahead of time as apart of our room and board."
"That sounds pretty convenient," he nodded. "So where is it at?"
"It's off First Ave — First Ave and East 68th. So less than a 10-minute cab ride to school, and to your work, actually," she smiled.
"Oh, that's a really nice location," he nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. "So...a nice drive along the East River each morning then."
"Mmmhm," she nodded with a smile. "Except, I prefer when you say it with an accent."
His cheeks turned pink and he started to laugh. "East Rivva."
"There we go," she laughed. "Very sexy."
"Thank you," he chuckled. "Um...and it's great that it's so close to JPM. I'm glad you...took that into account. You're very sweet."
"Of course. And...I know we haven't talked about it all that much. But I'd love it if...you came over. I just wanted you to know you're welcome to, if you wanted."
He smiled at her cutely. "Yeah?"
"Mhm," she nodded. "I only stayed at your place for half a damn year, so I think it's only fair that you're welcome to mine! I also just...want to be able to see you, like I know we've talked about. And I'm not sure how many options we really...have right now."
"Right," he agreed quietly. "It won't...it won't be like this forever. It won't. I'm just...sorry that it is right now."
"It's okay," she nodded. "I know."
"I plan on seeing you as much as humanly possible, so...that will include the many places I have on my list to take you out to. And...yeah. I'd love to come to your place if you're comfortable with that."
"Absolutely," she smiled. "Although, I am looking forward to experiencing those places on that list of yours!"
"You will enjoy them," he nodded proudly, reaching for her hand. "I've been mentally, um...compiling the list for a few months now."
"Aww!" she exclaimed, squeezing his hand. "You're so sweet, Fitz."
He shrugged and blushed, looking contently at her. "So how did it all go today, then, at your new place? Lots of unpacking?"
"It went really well. Lots of unpacking and organizing, which...isn't all done yet, but it's day one so that's alright. I saw Huck and Stephen today and also I met Greta, my new suitemate. She's amazing, seriously."
"Oh, yeah? That's great, Liv. I'm really glad about that. That makes me feel good," he nodded.
"I got lucky for sure," she replied. "But enough about me now! How about you, baby? How have things been here the past couple weeks?"
He shrugged, rubbing her small fingers gently. "Things have been...okay. The holidays were better, but otherwise, just...you know."
She nodded understandingly. She did know. "And how have you been?"
He nodded again. "I've been alright."
She squeezed his hand, looking at him sympathetically. "Are you sure?"
"Mhm," he said. And then he let go of her hand, and stood up. It took her a few seconds to realize it was because he wanted to sit next to her on her side of the booth.
"Well hello, you," she laughed, patting his thigh.
"Hi," he said, leaning in unexpectedly for a kiss.
They had definitely made up for New Year's Eve already — when they would have loved to share a kiss at midnight, but couldn't.
She kissed him right back, feeling his large hand cover hers, and then his fingers intertwine with hers again. They hadn't been disconnected for long.
"You're not trying to distract me from asking how you're doing, right mister?" she asked, holding his face with her free hand.
"No," he chuckled. "You asked, I answered. Don't worry."
"Well, you are mine to worry about," she said, grabbing his chin.
He nodded. "That's true. I will admit that."
She smiled and leaned in again.
"How's your coffee been?" she asked, before pulling on his lip with her own.
"Mm, good," he nodded, kissing her again.
"From what I can tell it tastes very good," she murmured against his lips.
He chuckled, giving her one last kiss and moving their hands to her thigh. He rubbed his thumb over the denim that covered her skin as she scooted closer to him.
"K misses you, by the way. A lot," he said quietly.
Olivia gave him an "awww" look. "I miss her too! So much."
"She um...she knows we're...good friends," he said, kind of laughing.
"Oh...good friends, huh?" she asked.
"Yeah. She just...she asked me last night if I missed you and I told her yes. And she said she figured I did because we were such good friends. Apparently, since we all have so much fun just the three of us — we are good friends. Maybe even...best friends," Fitz nodded seriously.
Olivia was giggling and nodding. "That's a pretty cute explanation."
"I know," he agreed. "I told her she was right. She seemed to be pretty happy about it, I think. Like she already knew, but...happy I proved her right."
"Well, good," Olivia smiled. "She is right. We are like...best friends. I mean, that, and I'm literally in love with you. Which, I'm not sure...what to call in our situation."
He nodded and sat in thought for a moment.
"Well," he began. "I um...I know what I would like to call you but...maybe you don't...maybe you wouldn't like it, or...it's weird in this...situation."
"Oh, no, please enlighten me," she said, leaning forward with a smile.
He smiled and bit his lip, thinking.
"Well, I'd like to call you...my girlfriend, honestly. I feel that...that's what you are. I know we're a little...abnormal. That's just what feels...right, I guess. To me."
The smile slowly crept across her face as she watched his cute face turn pink.
"Fitz."
"...Yes."
"I would love for you to call me that," she said, smiling.
He exhaled a little bit and the smile on his face grew large. "Okay."
"Why did you think I wouldn't like it?" she asked.
"I don't...I don't know — I got nervous," he shrugged, scratching his head. "I love you — this is what happens when...I love you, I guess."
"I love you so much, Fitz," she giggled, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"I love you," he whispered, kissing her cheek. "I just...wanna say it all the time. Do we...do we say it too much? Is that possible?"
"No way. We absolutely should say it all the time. People need to hear it more, in my opinion," she said, turning to smile up at him. "And I love hearing you say it to me."
"Well, you are my girlfriend, so..." he shrugged, smiling at her.
"I enjoy that," she whispered, squeezing his hand. "Back in August, I could never have imagined that this is what we would be."
"Me neither," he shook his head. "I'm sorry that...this is what it is right now. I promise it will be better than this. I promise you we...we can have more than this."
"Fitz, honey, I know," she nodded. "I don't want you to feel like you need to reassure me. I know."
"Okay. I just...this is not the position I want to be in and I want you to know that. Because it's...it's so unfair to you and I know you don't want to be in it either. I just...don't want to be that asshole sitting here calling you his girlfriend...going home to his wife every day, promising you it's going to change and it never does. I just want you to know I hate this as much as you do, and...as fast as I can get them to, things are going to change."
"I understand," she nodded. "It's not a good position, we both know that. And you're right, I don't like it. But I know exactly what kind of man you are. I've always known. And I know what this is going to take; it's going to be hard, and no matter what, I signed up for it — the good and the bad. Because I love you, and because I can't wait for the day we aren't in this position."
Fitz nodded and looked at her intently. "I can't wait for that day, Olivia. I think...I think I've been waiting for it longer than I even knew."
"Oh is that right, smiley?" she laughed.
"Yes. I think since...the day you scared the hell out of me and I burned my hand. And then...tried desperately to fix it. I think that was the day."
She burst into laughter. "Oh no. I felt so bad about that!"
"I know you did," he chuckled. "You held my hand for a long time. It took me a few hours to process why the hell I wished you hadn't let it go. I think I still...denied it, even though I knew why."
"Ohh, and how did you know why?" she asked with a smile.
"I think because...that was also the day at the beach. And...we were staring and pretending the whole time that we...weren't staring."
"Ohhh my God, the beach," she nodded. "That was a great day, I was just reminiscing over that this morning."
"It was a great day. Burned hand and all. It's so funny how...you second guess what's happening in the moment. Push it aside or...wonder if you're crazy. But looking back, the signs couldn't have been...any more clear."
"Right?" she nodded immediately. "I think...it took us quite a while to follow the signs that were there from just about...that day. Day three, maybe."
"Yeah," he chuckled. "It took me a while to do that, and to...figure out how to talk to you without being weird."
Now she was laughing again.
"Yes, you were very quiet with me. But I got you to open up. Slowly but surely," she smirked.
"You sure did," he nodded quietly. "Because you were the right person."
"Ahhh, right, right," she smiled, leaning into him again. "I feel so lucky that I am."
He exhaled slowly, gazing over into her eyes. "I feel so lucky."
Her lips curled up into a soft smile, and she leaned forward. His kiss in return was so soft. So wonderful and warm, with a hint of coffee on his lips.
"Do you think people hate us yet?" she whispered, kissing his lips again.
"Probably," he murmured, going in for another kiss. "We turned our booth into...the kissing booth."
She giggled against his lips. "Our booth."
"Yeah. I think so," he nodded.
"I think so too," she smiled. "I hope we can do this...often. So we can...further claim this as our booth."
"We absolutely can," he nodded, putting an arm behind her back. "I could always go for some more coffee. At...literally any time of day."
"Preach it," she laughed. "Me too. Although I have to admit...I'm going to miss our normal morning runs to Starbucks a lot. I mean...a lot, a lot."
"Me too," he said quietly. "Those were...one of my favorite parts of the day."
"Mine too," she agreed.
He sat there in thought, studying her face.
"Maybe..."
She looked at him, waiting for him to continue, but he didn't. "Maybe what?"
He bit his lip. "Well, I was just thinking. Maybe...we still could...have our Starbucks together in the mornings."
She raised an eyebrow. "Go on..."
He chuckled. "Well...we're going to be in the same city every single day. Less than ten minutes from each other, just like...like normal. The only difference now is...you're already here in the mornings, and I'm not."
"Yes," she agreed. "So..."
"So...there's a Starbucks in between UNIS and JPM. About halfway between each. I think it's...Second and —"
"—East 42nd," she finished with a smile.
He nodded. "Yeah. Second and East 42nd."
She smiled, pretty sure she knew exactly where he was going with it.
And he confirmed it.
"Meet me there. Meet me at that Starbucks, before our days start. Even if...only once or twice a week, and even if only for...20 minutes. It doesn't matter. But it's a time where...we could see each other, and...I would love that."
She was processing the idea in her head, liking the sound of it. She already would have so much more time in the mornings. And even if she met him somewhere before school, she would still have far less of a commute than she was used to. It would still allow her some extra time in the morning, even then, simply because she was already downtown to start her day.
"That sounds...perfect," she whispered, putting her hand on top of his. "So perfect, Fitz."
"Yeah?" he smiled.
"Mhmm," she nodded.
"Alright, it's a date," he smirked, giving her a soft kiss. "On Monday then. What do you say?"
She smiled, nodding at him.
"I'll meet you there."
Reunited once again! So happy for them, even though they've got a tough road ahead.
Thank goodness for the little things like coffee dates that make them happy!
Hope you all are continuing to enjoy this Olitz's bumpy, but love-filled ride.
Stay safe everyone.
Read on,
~T