A/N: Thank you for the reviews everyone. It means a lot to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions. I'll admit I was a little surprised to see all the hate Olivia and Edison were getting. I completely get it. Edison acts like a jerk a lot of the time, and I'm team Olitz all the way too. She should break up with him, and big things will be happening soon I promise, but not yet.

I think it's important to remember Olivia's position in this though. Edison is her first and only boyfriend she has ever had. He played a pretty significant role in her life by being that, even if he doesn't treat her as well as Fitz would. While she had a huge crush on Fitz when she was a kid, they remained nothing more than friends because of the age difference and then he left. It's hard for Olivia to be giving up a relationship with Edison when it is all that she had ever known - sort of like for the same reason in chapter 5 that Fitz proposed to Mellie. He was convinced they were meant to be since dating Mellie was all he had ever known at that point.

I hope that helps with trying to put things into perspective. This chapter you'll see a lot more into Olivia and Fitz's inner feelings toward each other and the emotional conflicts they have in admitting their feelings. And we'll be diving more into the themes of true love vs a convenient relationships in future chapters.

Chapter 11: Falling Hard

June 4th, 1977

"Oh man that was so cool! Did you see when Luke shot at him, and it was like 'pew' 'pew' 'pew,'" Stephen imitated the movie that they just saw, making laser guns out of his fingers. "And the flying!"

"That was so epic! Could you imagine if we got to fly in those kinds of fighter jets in Nam," Fitz chimed as they came out of the theater and strolled down the sidewalk.

"Okay are you nerds done now?" Abby asked sarcastically. Fitz and Stephen had dragged Olivia and Abby to go see this new movie that was getting all the attention called Star Wars.

"Oh come on Abby, you didn't like it?" smirked Olivia.

"It was okay I guess, but it's not like it's something I'll see again."

"You wound me, woman," Stephen placed a hand on his heart. "That was one of the best damn movies I have ever seen!"

In the months that passed after New Years, Olivia and Fitz continued their studies at Columbia, and Olivia continued to help Fitz. With their friendship once again in tact, and Fitz frequently visiting Olivia's apartment in order to get help on his papers, he had gotten close to Abby. Olivia too had become better friends with Stephen as well thanks to the numerous times that their writing sessions were hosted by Fitz. During one of their tutoring sessions, Fitz and Olivia had the bright idea of trying to set Stephen up with Abby. They thought their levels of sass and energy would make them perfectly compatible.

So starting in March, they organized frequent outings together as the four of them in order to push Stephen and Abby closer. Occasionally Quinn and her new boyfriend Huck, who she met in the city, would come along with them too. Sometimes even Edison would join them, although his commitment to hanging out was always up in the air due to work. Regardless of who was with them, the matchmakers' game plan was clearly working. Stephen's sarcasm and Abby's witty comebacks were their prime methods of flirting.

"Well clearly you didn't get proper exposure to movies in Scotland," Abby teased him.

"Oh yeah? And tell me great American cinematic goddess, what is the best movie?"

"West Side Story," she answered without a single pause.

"You mean the one with the singing and dancing gangsters?" Stephen laughed.

"The one with the singing and dancing gangsters that recreate Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet," Olivia added in, making Abby shoot her a look and Fitz snicker.

"It's a modern day adaptation of a Shakespearean classic," she defended herself.

"Adaptation of Shakespeare?" Stephen questioned out loud. "Tell me, have you ever seen Forbidden Planet?"

"Nope," Abby shook her head promptly. "And I don't think I have any interest. I'm not very into the whole science fiction."

"But it's not just science fiction, it's a futuristic adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest."

"Really…ok so Shakespeare mixed with sci-fi, you have peaked my interest…but only somewhat," Abby reluctantly admitted.

"I have the movie on betamax…if you want to watch it…" Stephen grinned pressuring her to say yes.

Olivia and Fitz looked on in shock, surprised to see their friend make such a bold move of inviting Abby over. Fitz was happy for him though. In the past couple of months since getting his portrait done Stephen had gone back to being more and more like his old charismatic self. He was happy that his friend was putting himself out there, not just socially, but now romantically as well.

"You have a betamax player?" Abby asked in surprise. They were quite new to the market, and she hadn't met anyone who had one before.

"You bet, Fitzy bought it for me," Stephen gleamed.

Abby looked over toward Olivia and Fitz to try and read their expression. She wanted to gauge their opinion before committing to anything, "you wouldn't mind if we went over?"

"Not at all, you're more than welcome Abby!" Fitz stated enthusiastically.

"I unfortunately would have to take a pass," Olivia said. "I'm really busy this weekend, and have so much work to do tomorrow that I should probably get to bed."

"Oh…" Abby frowned slightly.

Fitz looked between Abby and Stephen piping in an idea, "tell you what, how about you guys go back to the apartment and start the movie, and then I'll walk Olivia home so she's not by herself, and then I'll meet you guys back there after."

That plan worked for Abby and Stephen who happily agreed and then went on their way back to Fitz and Stephen's apartment while Olivia and Fitz stayed behind.

"So you made up that whole having to go to bed early story in order to get them to go off by themselves, right?" Fitz spoke up to start a conversation.

"Yep," answered Olivia. "I'm glad you were able to keep up."

"Good because I did not want to be a third wheel with them. I don't even know if it's a good idea to go back there later tonight and…uh interrupt whatever is going on."

"You can stay at my place on the couch, if you want," Olivia offered.

"Thanks."

"So you bought Stephen a betamax?" Olivia asked, changing the subject. "That must have been pretty expensive."

"I-um-yeah," Fitz replied, putting his hand nervously on the back of his neck. "He really wanted one."

"Do you get Stephen everything he wants?"

"Not everything," Fitz retorted. "Just most things. I mean after what he did, I don't have much of a choice."

Fitz stopped in his tracks and looked up at the building they were next to.

"What is it?" Olivia asked.

"This is where I'm interning this summer," Fitz pointed to the door. Both he and Olivia were enjoying summer internships after their first year of law school in the city. "You wanna go inside. There's an amazing view on the roof."

"You have keys to the roof?" she looked at him raising an eyebrow.

"No," he answered, taking the keys out of his pocket and smirking. "I have the master key."

Fitz took Olivia up to the rooftop of the building to show her the amazing view of the New York City skyline.

"This is beautiful," she mused.

"Yep, probably the only perk of my sucky job, but it's so worth it."

Fitz heard Olivia let out a little laugh.

"What?"

"It's nothing," she giggled some more. "Just who would have thought that after so many years we'd end up seeing each other again in New York City of all places?"

Fitz smiled brightly at her. He wanted to tell her about how glad he was to have seen her again, even if by chance. He wanted to tell her that he believed it was a sign for her to break up with Edison and give them a chance. If there was a good moment it would be now. But he felt a pit in his stomach; there would never be a good moment for him to tell her to break up with Edison. Even if he was a prick, he and Olivia had dated since her freshman year of college. Edison had basically known her for the same amount of time as Fitz had, maybe he wasn't in the right position to be making calls like that.

"So I know it's about a month away," Olivia interrupted Fitz's train of thought. "But Fourth of July is coming up and-"

"Yes!" Fitz cut in immediately before Olivia could ask her question. She looked at him a little puzzled, making him nervous that he had stepped in when he shouldn't have. "I mean I assume you're family is planning something back in DC and I-I-I thought that – I mean if you're inviting me, th-then yes, I would like to come."

"Close, I was actually going to see if you wanted to come with me, Abby, Quinn and Huck to Abby's family's lake house for the 4th."

"Oh, yeah! Of course! That sounds like fun," he tried to get his voice to remain calmer, and seem casual. "Will Edison be coming too?"

"Unfortunately not," Olivia shook her head. "He has prior holiday commitments."

"Figures," Fitz scoffed, but Olivia chose to ignore the comment.

"I have one more favor for you, mister."

"Mhmm, and what would that be?"

"Could you also invite Stephen? I have a feeling that after tonight Abby will want him there, but be too shy to ask him herself."

ooo

"Morning, Hope you slept well," Olivia walked into the living room with two mugs of coffee in her hand and took a seat in the armchair next to the couch.

"Morning," Fitz replied groggily. Truth be told, he slept horribly last night. He was not meant to sleep on couches, especially couches that were too small for him that he had to bunch his knees up. The ache coming from his back had kept him up all night.

"Are you okay?" Olivia asked, concerned by his exhausted demeanor.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just didn't sleep that well," Fitz tried to sit up on the couch, wincing from the pain and putting his hand behind himself to try and rub it away.

"Oh my god, your back! I'm so stupid," Olivia shunned herself for forgetting what he told her about his injuries when his plane was shot down. "I should have had you take Abby's bed for the night. I am so sorry."

"Livvie, it's alright," he put a hand up to stop her from fretting. "It's not your fault. I should have said something."

"Do you need anything? I can get you some Tylenol?"

"That would be nice," he gritted through his teeth trying to rub away the soreness.

Olivia went to her bathroom to go get the medicine while Fitz stayed seated trying to reposition himself in a better form. He threw the blanket off of himself onto the floor.

"Well it looks like I'm not the only one who got lucky last night," Fitz looked up to see Abby in the doorway of the apartment staring at him as he sat on their couch in just boxers.

"No-no. I-uh-I didn't," he said nervously.

"Relax Fitz, I'm just messing with you. When you do go home though, will you tell Stephen that I'd like to finish the movie with him sometime."

"You guys didn't finish it?"

"We got a little distracted…" she trailed off going into her bedroom.

Olivia came back into the room with a pill and glass of water in hand.

"Did Abby come home?"

"Yep, you just missed her. It seemed like it went well," Fitz said, taking the pill and glass in hand. "And thank you."

"No worries," Olivia assured him. "If you need to take a couple of minutes to rest before you leave, you can."

Fitz nodded a reply when a knock came from the door. Olivia went to go see who it was.

"Edison?" Olivia said, opening the door. She had forgotten about the brunch plans they had made for today.

"Hello Olivia, I was wondering if-" a shirtless Fitz caught Edison's eye. "Fitz? What are you doing here?"

Olivia glanced back at Fitz who quickly stood from the couch and began putting his clothes on, struggling and fumbling with his shirt.

"Oh Fitz just needed a place to spend the night. You know how we've been trying to set up Abby with his roommate Stephen?" Edison nodded slowly to Olivia's explanation. "Well it finally worked, and Fitz got sexiled last night and needed a place to stay."

"Ok…" Edison said, slightly unsure of this whole situation. It looked pretty bad and sneaky to him from the outside.

"I was uh- I was just going too," Fitz said, now fully dressed.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Olivia said concerned, noticing him grimace when he took a few steps forwards.

"Yeah, I'm great! The Tylenol really worked wonders, Liv. Thanks again, but I should go," he lied. His back was killing him, but the last thing he wanted was to be caught in the middle of a fight between Edison and Olivia about himself. So despite the pain, he bucked it up and headed out the door.

"He just needed a place to stay Edison, and I offered him the couch, which is where he slept," Olivia explained once again. "I forgot that he has a bad back, so I was just making sure he was okay."

"I get it," Edison said, though not fully buying it. He believed Olivia that nothing happened, and she was still true, but he also couldn't shake the feeling like he was losing her to him. He couldn't have that. "I also meant to tell you I have some exciting news."

"Yeah?"

"I talked with my folks about the Fourth of July plans, and I think I will be joining you and your friends after all."

ooo

July 4th, 1977

Fitz sat on the back porch of the lake house, watching Olivia and Edison play in the waves along the shoreline.

"Are you alright, mate?" Fitz turned around to see Stephen hugging Abby by his side. In the past month they had officially become a couple, and Olivia and Fitz accomplished their mission.

"Yeah, man. I'm good," Fitz said trying to show as much sincerity as he could in his voice. He looked at Olivia and she seemed happy to him in that moment playing in the water with Edison. And who was he to interrupt something like that. If she was happy, then he would be alright.

ooo

September 17, 1977

"Fitz, it's so great to see you once again. I didn't think that you would be here," Mellie's cousin told Fitz. They were at the wedding reception for Marcus and Mellie, celebrating their marriage, which had taken place earlier that day.

"Yes well, Livvie and I are actually in law school together now, and we've become friends once again," Fitz explained pointing to Olivia who was across the room.

Fitz met Mellie's extended family before when they were kids dating for a while, and he thought it would be the courteous thing to do to greet them once again. He wasn't sure what Mellie had shared about how they broke up all those years ago, but they seemed welcoming enough.

He was actually at the wedding with Olivia. He was invited separately from Olivia and Edison, but after Olivia told him that Edison wouldn't be able to attend Mellie's wedding due to an extremely important business trip, they decided it would be best to go to the wedding together. Of course Olivia was the maid of honor and so she stood during the ceremony, but they made a pact to hang out together during the party.

"Did you enjoy catching up with the extended relatives?" Olivia asked as Fitz came back to her.

"I did," he nodded. "Although I'm not sure what Mellie had told them about our breakup."

"Fitz it was so long ago and you guys were only kids. I doubt they truly care," she said in a manner of comfort. Olivia looked around the room when someone caught her eye and she gasped.

"What's wrong?" Fitz immediately replied.

"Is that James Novak?" Olivia questioned pointing to the short brunette in the glasses. "What is he doing here?"

"And who's James Novak?"

Olivia looked at Fitz and realized that he was not there at all for that period of time and had no clue.

"Around the time that you left, Cyrus became very involved in helping the gay rights community after Stonewall. James was his second in command, and they worked together everyday for years."

"So why is it surprising that a colleague of Cyrus' is at his daughter's wedding?"

"Well they worked together for years, but they had a fallout like five years ago. Something about business disputes and different visions, Cyrus wasn't very specific when I asked him what happened. I'm surprised he's here now. I didn't think that they still talked."

"Well, years went by, maybe they reconnected…I mean just look at us," Fitz grinned.

Olivia and Fitz walked over to greet him.

"James!" Olivia addressed him with a hug.

"Well Olivia Pope, look at you! I don't think I've seen you since your high school graduation. You're so grown up. Where are you at now? You graduated college?"

"A few years ago," she replied. "I'm in my second year of law school now at Columbia."

"And who is this?" James asked, eyeing the man who had escorted her here.

"Fitz Grant. I'm a friend of Liv's and the family," Fitz shook James' hand. "Mellie and I went to high school together, and Olivia and I are in law school together now."

"Ah so you're at Columbia too?" James concluded. "Smart guy I see."

"Well Livvie here is the real genius. She helped pretty much throughout my entire first year."

"I think that a little bit of an exaggeration," Olivia chuckled, trying to brush off the compliment as though it was no big deal. She changed the subject to find out more about how James was invited. "Are you and Cyrus working on another project together?"

"Oh he never told you," James said, though he didn't sound too surprised by it. Olivia shook her head. "Cyrus contacted me about a year or two ago, and we've been working on some more projects for the gay rights movement."

"That's great," Olivia replied. "I had no idea that you guys were working together again, but I'm glad to see it."

Olivia turned her attention to Fitz, "James used to come to our Christmas Eve dinners every year," she said before turning it back to James. "Any chance you'll be back for this year?"

"I haven't thought about it," he answered honestly. "But I'd like to. We'll see. Hopefully I'll be there again."

"I hope to see you there too. It was great to see you, James," Olivia smiled as she and Fitz began to walk away. Fitz told Olivia that he was going to go get them something to drink and walked away when Olivia heard her name being called once again from James.

"Yes?" she asked walking back to him.

"I didn't want to ask before, but I have to now. Will Mr. Grant be at your Christmas Eve dinner as well?"

"Probably, he was at our Christmas last year," Olivia replied, not realizing what James was truly asking.

"Well I'm happy for you. You two look great together. Make sure you keep him," James politely smiled and patted her arm.

"Oh no," Olivia said embarrassed. "Fitz is just a friend. We're not-he's – he's just a family friend from a long time ago…I have a boyfriend. He's not here right now, because he had a business trip, but- um we are very serious."

"Soon to be engaged?" he asked. James was quite stunned to see that Olivia's "serious" boyfriend wasn't at her stepsister's wedding.

"Probably so. We are very serious, like I said. We've been dating for almost five years."

James eyed her a little suspiciously, "remember that with any relationship, it's not the quantity or duration, but the quality."

"Yes, I know," Olivia replied awkwardly before dismissing herself. She cringed to herself as she walked away. Now whatever opinion James would have on Edison would have been tarnished because of just one particular thing. He was judging him on one absence (among many other absences, but Olivia pushed those thoughts aside).

And what was that about keeping Fitz. He wasn't hers. He was Mellie's. Yes, she was at Mellie's wedding, Mellie's wedding to Marcus, but that still didn't diminish the fact that she had had him first. Of course James didn't know that, but falling for her stepsister's ex-boyfriend. That was tacky and beneath her.

She saw Fitz by the bar and stared for a moment. Did she have feelings? Surely not. Surely it's just the childhood crush she had revealing itself once again. It made sense. She was surrounded by relatives who she hadn't seen since she was a child. Being surrounded by them was creating a sort of association that caused her to revert back to her younger self; her younger self that fawned over Fitz. It was just basic psychology that she would look at Fitz different when surrounded by the people from her childhood, she thought. There was no possible way that these feelings were real. That had to be it.

ooo

December 27, 1977

Fitz spent another Christmas in McLean with Olivia, Mellie, Marcus, and Cyrus and Maya. This time they were joined for Christmas Eve dinner with James, just as he had promised at the wedding earlier. Fitz stayed in his usual guest room, which was now becoming expectant of him after he spent Easter and Thanksgiving there as well. It was weird for him to once again feel like he belonged in Maya and Cryus' house. He had long ago vowed to never return to McLean, but then a year ago Livvie had gotten the best of him and roped him once again into the inner circle he was introduced to when he was sixteen.

Livvie, he thought to himself. What had he done to deserve her coming back into his life? They organized their schedules in the summer to make sure that they had every class together for the fall semester, and it miraculously worked. He was with her multiple hours a day every single day, meeting up on weekends to study or going to a pub with her, and Abby, Stephen, Huck and Quinn yet he still somehow yearned for more time with her.

He felt joy anytime he saw her smiling, and pain anytime she frowned with a sense of vengeance toward whoever was the cause. It was an odd feeling to be so dependent upon someone, to have your every mood be determined based on how they were feeling. She controlled him, and he was so in love with her.

Of course none of that mattered, he thought to himself as he stared out of the window into the backyard. He was just her oldest friend, a remnant of the past. She may have had a crush on him when she was in junior high, but those days were long gone. He wished they weren't. He wished that she could love him like she had all those years ago. But she moved on, and moved forward. If only he could do the same. He continued to be stuck, trying to paddle against the current to go back. But he couldn't.

The loss of his parents, his time in Vietnam, his near meltdown at Stanford, there had been too many rapids for him to be able to paddle back. The path to going back to the way it was with Mellie and Olivia when they were kids playing in the tree house was blocked. He looked down from the window to the tree house. It still stood, rotting away, a testament to the years it had been.

He watched the Richter children who were now living in his house chasing a soccer ball around in their yard, then saw their mom calling them all in for lunch. They would grow up too with front row seats of the withering tree house, never knowing the value that they place held.

A light bulb went off in his head with an idea forming. He ran downstairs into the living room to find Mellie, Marcus, and Olivia. Marcus and Mellie were cuddling on the couch as newlyweds, while Olivia sat off to the side.

"Hey!"

"Hey what?" Olivia asked, looking up from the TV. She looked relieved to see him, or at least to not be the only one in Mellie and Marcus' company. They were still in there honeymoon phase, and everyone around them could tell.

"I thought of something we could do today, if you guys are down?" Fitz waited a beat for them all to look at him. "I was thinking, what if we fixed the old tree house?"

"You want a tree house?" Olivia asked a question once more, slightly concerned over why a grown man would want one.

"For the kids next door," Fitz clarified. "I feel like they would like it. Besides what else were all of you going to be doing today?"

"Fitz, I love where your heart is at, I really do. There's just one thing," Mellie spoke up. "When we moved here it was already complete. Liv and I have no construction knowledge whatsoever."

"Come on Mels, it's not like an actual building. It's just a couple of planks of wood up in a tree," Marcus jumped in sharing his opinion.

"And you know how easy it is because you had built tree houses all the time yourself in your childhood home in downtown Chicago?" Mellie asked sarcastically, aware that the urban environment had no room for tree houses.

Mellie, Marcus, and Olivia all turned their heads over to Fitz, looking to him for direction.

"I helped my dad build it originally. It was a long time ago, but I think I still remember how we did it."

"Rad, we can take my car to the hardware store. Fitz, put together a list of what we need, and we can leave in ten," Marcus instructed.

Olivia told her mom and Cyrus about their plans for the day. Though they felt they were far too old, they were eager to help in anyway that they could, providing them with money in order to buy the materials. The four of them drove downtown to the nearest hardware store buying all of the materials that they needed.

It was a crisp December day, cold enough to snow, but there was not any precipitation at all. This Christmas had not been a white Christmas in the DC area, which while disappointing, seemed to be having its perks now since they were able to build without worrying about pesky ice and snow.

Plank by plank and board by board they tore up the old tree house, replacing it with the new wood they had purchased. Starting from the bottom step of the ladder, they worked their way up, covering the platform, the porch of the house and then the three walls and roof that made up the small house. The whole time they laughed and joked, sharing memories of the old tree house to Marcus. By the time they were done, it was just about five in the afternoon, and they went back inside where Maya had prepared some hot chocolate for them all.

Olivia sipped her hot chocolate, looking through the sliding glass of the back of the house. She saw little Ethan, Molly, and Claudia standing outside in the area that bordered their two backyards, staring up at the tree house in awe.

"You want to tell them it's theirs?" Fitz whispered from behind Olivia.

She normally would have been startled to hear a voice behind her, but not Fitz's it was far too calming to scare her.

"I think you should do the honors," she looked up at him. She knew that the tree house had probably meant far more to him than to her or Mellie. "After all, it was originally your masterpiece. You just gave it to me because some racist teenager was mean to me on my birthday."

"Livvie," he chuckled. "That wasn't why I gave it to you."

"Oh really? Then why?"

"To make a move on Mellie, of course," he laughed, and breathed out a sigh of relief that she had laughed along too, glad that she knew though it may have been true it was all humorous now.

"Come with me?" he asked and held out his hand, which Olivia grabbed, sending sparks throughout them both that neither admitted to. They walked over to the Richter children.

"Do you guys want to go up?" Fitz asked. They looked at each other questioningly, unsure whether to be talking to this stranger who was in front of them. Knowing that they were more familiar with her presence as their neighbor, Olivia stepped in.

"Ethan, Claud, Molly, this is my good friend, Fitz. He used to live in the neighborhood when we were around your age. Him and his family lived in your house before your parents moved in," she smiled, hoping this would break the ice.

"Really? You used to live in our house?" Molly asked.

"Um yep, I used to live right there. And that window over there used to be where my old bedroom was. I moved away though once I got older," Fitz explained, pointing to the window, and once again substituting the truth for something easier to digest, seeing as they were just kids.

"That's my room!" Ethan bursted with such excitement, it was as though he had won some sort of sweepstakes, making Fitz laugh.

"Did you build this today, Livia?" Claudia asked in a shy voice that made Fitz melt.

"I did," she nodded, "but it was mainly Fitz who did. He actually built it a long time ago with his dad from scratch."

"You did!" Ethan boasted again. "That is so cool!"

"Mhmm," Fitz nodded. "I saw it was looking a little rusty, and I thought that there was no way any kids could be playing on there anymore."

"Yeah, our mom told us we weren't allowed to climb on it," Molly eagerly shared.

"She sounds like a smart woman," Fitz laughed. "But it's safe now. See?"

Fitz began climbing up the ladder, jumped a few times onto the platform, showing it was safe. One by one, the three children climbed up to the top to join Fitz.

"This is so cool," Ethan once again exclaimed. "I've always wanted a tree house."

"Then it's yours," Fitz said. The children looked up at him shocked.

"Are you sure, Mr. Fitz?" asked Claudia looking up at him with big eyes.

"Absolutely! But listen, I need to make a deal with you," he said, squatting down onto their level. "I don't just build tree houses for any of my friends. If you're going to keep this tree house, you have to promise that you'll use it to have fun."

Olivia looked up at the scene before her, making her heart warm. She didn't remember ever seeing Fitz interact with kids before, but he seemed like a natural. She was surprised to see the kids warm up so easily to him. They each came down with Fitz dropping to the ground last.

"Livia, Livia! Mr. Fitz said we can keep the tree house!" Molly spilled like it was a big secret.

"So I've heard," she gazed at him, and he gave her a shrug.

She then felt something pulling at the hem of her coat and looked down to see Claudia.

"Livia, will you and Mr. Fitz play with us? We want to play Red Light Green Light, but we don't have enough people…"

"How about it, Mr. Fitz? Want to play Red Light Green Light?" Olivia smirked at him.

He started walking away from them with his head down, creating distance between them.

"I don't know, Livvie. I'm sorry guys, it's just that I think I'm a little too old for these games and," he pivoted around facing them before shouting at the top of his lungs, "GREEN LIGHT!"

A/N: A lot of fluff in this chapter to really just show the passage of another calendar year as Fitz's feelings grow more intense and Olivia's feels more and more conflicted. It's a build up, but it's happening very, very soon.