A/N: Hey everyone. thank you all for the reviews! I know this story might seem different than most Olitz stories, but I promise you it is. It will just be a bit of a slow burn. Here is chapter 2, majority of which is a flashback. I'm going to be bouncing around between the "present" (summer 2019 and Raya's wedding) and the "past" (summer 1996 and Olivia's summer she spent in LA). I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 2

**Summer 1996**

Olivia paused and took a deep breath, just as Abby had taught her to do. Having a roommate that was also a yoga instructor had benefitted her quite a bit during her stressful college career. It taught her a lot of breathing practices and meditation techniques that she used while completing her Political Science degree at Yale.

College was a particular struggle for Olivia as she was forced into a program she wanted no part of. She understood the honor of being accepted into Yale, and she was appreciative that admissions had accepted her. However ever since she was a little girl, all she wanted to do was sing and write music. She used to write songs with her mother up until she died in her childhood. Olivia learned to use that pain to feed into her creativity and came up with some of her best work while she was in high school.

Becoming a singer/songwriter was something that her father Eli was not going to accept. Especially not when he had hired the best minds to teach his daughter, paid for her to attend the best schools, and do everything within his power to make his daughter a golden ivy-league candidate. Olivia was grateful for her father's dedication, so she agreed to put aside her music career in order to go to Yale and major in Political Science just as her father had wanted. She struggled balancing her school with her music, but with Abby's help and all around Zen, she pushed through.

After college her dad had insisted she go on to law school, but it was at that point that Olivia had to put her foot down and say no. She made clear that she did not want to go into law. She wanted to become a singer, she always had. Her father was not going to have it. He had yelled at her, calling her a "waste" a "naïve idiot" a "moron with no future." By the end of the intense bitter fight, Olivia booked the first one-way ticket she could to LA to prove her father wrong.

This was by far the most spontaneous thing she had ever done. She was never one to do anything too outrageous in her undergrad years, and now here she was with only a single suitcase and the money in her purse landing into sunny Los Angeles. She had no idea what to do once she got off the plane, where she would go, where she would stay, how she would find work. The only thing she knew was that she was not going to go back to her father in DC.

One by one everyone de-boarded the plane while Olivia remained fastened into her seat. She watched as the people in the rows behind passed through the aisle.

"After you." She heard a thick Scottish accent and looked up. She saw a young man no more than two or three years older her. He was handsome, kind brown eyes, lazy scruff leftover from the night before, and dark, rich black hair.

"That's alright. Go ahead." Olivia replied.

"Are you sure? You know, passengers typically exit the plane front to back." He was charming too, giving her a smooth smile.

"Well, I'm in no rush, so go ahead."

"Alright then." The man dismissed Olivia and made his way off the plane.

Eventually, once all the passengers had left, Olivia knew she too had to get off and face her new life ahead of her. She exited the plane and walked through LAX. Walking down to the baggage claim area, Olivia took in all her surroundings. This was LA. This would be where she was finally going to start her life, the life she wished she had started four years ago. Olivia spotted her flight's carousel and searched for her lone suitcase. She spotted it on the other side and ran toward her bag, just barely getting a grip of the handle on her bag and pulling it off of the carousel with all of her strength. She put it on the ground and took a moment to catch her breath. She really needed to start getting some muscle in her arms.

"Excuse me, but I believe you have my bag there," Olivia looked up, hearing the familiar voice and seeing the man from the plane earlier.

"No, this is my suitcase," Olivia explained.

"Are you sure? I'm pretty sure that's my bag," The man reaffirmed. It was a generic black suitcase, nothing about it unique or special.

"Here I'll check," Olivia offered.

"Oh no, you don't have to-" but it was too late as Olivia unzipped the suitcase revealing its contents. Lying on top of all the clothes laid a pile of unfolded and wrinkled boxers. The man immediately blushed.

"I uh I suppose those boxers aren't yours," he sighed. "You take me as the type of person more likely to wear briefs," he heartily laughed.

"Oh my god. I am so sorry!" Olivia apologized full of shame as she zipped the suitcase closed as quickly as she could. "This is yours. But that means…where is mine?" She wondered out loud. From the corner of her she saw her bag go immediately past them and lunged forward to grab hold of hers. She felt the bag lift off the carousel with ease and saw the man behind her grabbing hold and helping her take it off.

"Thanks. And I'm sorry about the confusion again." Olivia apologized.

"That's alright you can make it up to me," Olivia looked at him quizzically. "Would you like to grab a cup of coffee? I normally wouldn't ask this of complete stranger to respect their time, but seeing that you're not in any rush…" He trailed off, staring at Liv.

She was absolutely beautiful. He was never one to be this direct with asking any girl out. He had always been shy. But there something about her that made him know he had to act quickly or he would regret it. He never believed in love at first site, but this felt pretty damn close for him.

"It's on me," he offered.

"Well, I suppose if you're offering," Olivia went on with a hint of a laugh in her voice. Here she was in a completely new city, and she was already making her first friend. She felt pretty confident things were going to be alright in the end. "My name's Olivia, Olivia Pope."

"Stephen Finch," he held out his hand to shake Olivia's. "Nice to meet you Olivia."

"You too Stephen."

"Well shall we? I know there's a Starbucks right before the parking garage of this place," he led Olivia down the airport toward a café.

"So, how long are you here for?" Stephen asked taking a sip of his iced latte.

"Uh…well it's actually kind of funny. As of now I have no return trip planned…" Olivia explained, staring at the floor, feeling slightly ashamed to have made as reckless a decision as she had.

"Wait, you mean to tell me you have you moved to LA, and all you have is that single suitcase?" Stephen asked in awe pointing down to the suitcase.

"I'm a pretty good packer."

"And what made you decide to just up and move from DC to LA?"

Olivia paused not sure how to answer. She wanted to be a singer sure, but her music was never something she talked about except with her closest of friends. She was pretty private about that element of her life. After being harassed by her father over her goals she had adopted the habit of not bringing it up, especially to strangers. Just as she was thinking of a list of potential excuses she could give Stephen for her move, her train of thought was interrupted.

"Let me guess. Seeking fame?"

"Yeah, I uh I've had this dream of living in LA for a while and I guess…I just thought it was time," she said plainly, remaining vague.

"Actress?" Stephen took a stab at guessing Olivia's plans.

"Oh no. I couldn't act if my life depended on it."

"Good, good, because you took me as a model anyway," he bluntly flirted. He heard her laugh, and he swore he never heard anything more beautiful. He had never been this straightforward in his attempts to flirt. She was bringing out a feeling of confidence in him. He found it easy to talk to her and not be his typical reserved self. She was simply magic to him.

"I'm no model," Olivia laughed.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. So what are you here for?"

"I write songs," Olivia said. She had only known Stephen for about ten minutes, and here she was telling him one of her more secretive passions.

"I write songs and I sing a little," she told him. She was impressed with how easy it was for her to tell him about her singing. She usually hated to be in situations that seemed to brag about her talent. It always made her feel uncomfortable. But here she was sharing these details with a man she met at the airport.

"You're a singer!" Stephen spoke excitedly. "I would love to hear you sometime."

"Oh no, I don't sing…I mean I do. I do sing! But I'm just starting out here; I don't really have any gigs lined up or anything. I have no plan, no connections." Liv fiddled with the straw of her drink, embarrassed by how much of a beginner she was to this whole "show biz" life.

"Well everyone starts somewhere," Stephen said with a smile and took a sip of his drink. He placed it down and took a minute to think to himself. "I'm a writer. And I-I actually write for a music magazine, which is why I think it's so amazing that you're pursuing music. I know some people in the industry, if you would like I can help you get in touch with them."

Stephen worked for Billboard magazine that much was true, but he was no writer. He aspired one day to be a professional writer that was always his goal, but he was working at Billboard as an office assistant. His daily tasks included making copies and passing out memos, not meeting and working with singers and music producers. He just wanted to impress her.

"Are you serious? That would be amazing!" Olivia exclaimed. Stephen nodded slightly cringing on the inside by his own lie.

"I can't believe I decided to leave my home life today with no absolutely plan, and I run into you. Are you a guardian angel or something?" Olivia smirked.

Stephen laughed but felt a wave of dread on the lie he had just created. He quickly changed the subject to push away any future guilt.

"So where are you staying?"

"I haven't exactly figured it out yet. Do you know any cheap motels I could stay at until I find a place?" Olivia asked. Stephen's eyes immediately lit up.

"As a matter of fact I do. One of my roommates moved out to Seattle just last month, and my buddies and I are looking for a roommate to take his spot."

"Oh Stephen, you've been so kind already. I couldn't possibly also accept an offer to stay with you."

"Don't think of it as 'staying' with me, think of it as 'moving in.' We really are looking for a roommate. The rent isn't too bad, and the building handles water expenses."

"But what about you're other roommates?" Olivia didn't want to intrude and have Stephen's roommates feel uncomfortable with a random person they had never met moving into their home.

"They won't mind. They're some of the coolest guys you will ever meet. You'll love them!" Stephen then hushed his tone and leaned in. "Being housemates wouldn't be too weird, I mean after all, you did already see my underwear. "

Olivia giggled at Stephen's charm. She was really liking him. He was so easy to talk to it was like they had been friends since childhood. Olivia nodded her head and agreed.

"Okay. Thank you, Stephen."

"My pleasure. Now let's drink up so I can introduce you to the other guys." Stephen lifted his drink off the table and Olivia followed, clinking their iced lattes as a toast to a new life.

"Hey guys, this is Olivia. She just moved here from DC and needed a place to live. I figured she could cover for Lenny," Stephen announced as he entered the door to the apartment with Olivia behind him. "Don't worry she's not a serial killer or anything, I did an extreme background check on her," Stephen joked. It dawned on him though that he had not done any kind of background check at all.

"You're not a serial killer right?" He said peaking over his shoulder at Liv.

"No," She laughed.

"She's not a serial killer," Stephen announced again.

Olivia looked around the apartment. It was pretty good sized. Good for LA. The Living room was equipped with a TV and a gaming system, a big couch as well. She saw two men stand up from the couch.

"Olivia, meet Huck and Harrison." Stephen gestured toward the two men standing up.

"Hey."

"What's up?"

"Hey guys. Thank you for letting me stay with you. I know it's pretty sudden, but I swear I'm a pretty low maintenance roommate. I'll try not to be any trouble at all." Olivia spoke apologetically. She felt bad just barging in here even with Stephen's invitation.

"Don't worry about it. You're totally fine." Huck responded.

"What brings you to move to LA?" Harrison asked.

Olivia looked at Stephen and felt reassured in her confidence to come clean about her dreams.

"I want to be a singer."

"That's cool. I have a guitar if you ever want to borrow," Harrison said.

"That's ok. I actually play piano, not much guitar," Olivia explained. "I'll probably have to buy a keyboard to practice, as long as you guys don't mind of course."

"No problem, as long as you promise to give me some lessons," Harrison smiled, receiving a grimacing look from Stephen who felt a flare of anger seeing his roommate flirt.

"Right, well I'll show you to your room. Follow me," Stephen said as he walked through the living room and showed Olivia the way.

A few minutes later after settling Olivia into her room and showing her the general layout of the apartment, Stephen returned to his friends in the living room.

"Where's Olivia?" Huck asked, not looking up from the screen of the video game that he and Harrison were playing.

"She's unpacking," Stephen heard both Huck and Harrison let out a snicker. "What? What's so funny?"

"Nothing, man. You just got it bad," Harrison laughed.

"What are you talking about?"

"With that Olivia girl. You got it bad. I can tell. It's all over your face."

"No I don't. I don't know what you guys are talking about. She's just a friend I made at the airport." Stephen insisted on shutting them down before it created any potentially embarrassing scenarios.

"It's pretty obvious, dude," Huck added. Stephen let out a long sigh. He knew he was going to be at the mercy of his two roommates so long as Olivia was around.

"Hey man, don't be ashamed. It's actually pretty cute this little puppy-dog crush you've got going on," Harrison laughed, jabbing Huck on the side with his elbow to encourage him to continue the teasing.

"I don't have a puppy-dog crush!" Stephen raised his voice, but kept it low enough so Olivia wouldn't hear.

"Look call it whatever you want." Huck said. "I'm just glad to see you finally get over Georgia after like what…two years?"

The three men immediately shut up upon hearing footsteps enter the room.

"You're all unpacked?" Stephen asked.

"I've got all the basics done." Olivia replied. "I'm going to have to go shopping to get some things though. I was hoping you could show me around tomorrow morning. I don't really know the stores in this area."

"Of course, Olivia. We can make an LA holiday of it. Do some shopping at the most classic stores, hunt for famous people, go to the beach."

"Sounds great! Thank you, Stephen for everything!" Olivia turned around and headed back to her room for a shower and some sleep. Once she was out of earshot the tormenting once again began.

"'We can make an LA holiday of it,'" Harrison laughed mimicking Stephen's voice and accent. Stephen took the couch pillow, chucking it at his head.

***Summer 2019***

Raya finished showing all of the men their rooms for their stay. She was worried on how Fitz was going to take staying in the boathouse, but he seemed to be completely fine with rundown shack.

Raya whizzed through the main area of the resort with her heart racing and her hands running through her hair. She didn't know what she was going to do. She didn't know what she was going to tell her mom. She didn't know who she was going to ask to walk her down the aisle on Friday.

"So where is he?" Raya's eyes shot up, seeing Leena approach her.

"Oh Leena, thank god," Raya was almost in tears.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?"

"Leena I don't know. I know I said I would know, but I can't tell. And now they're all staying here. What should I do?" She began to cry.

"Hey Raya, it's ok. It's going to be fine," Leena rubbed her back to sooth Raya after a few minutes of crying. "You said they're all staying here now?"

Raya nodded and let out a sniffle.

"That's good," Leena said.

"That's good?" Raya couldn't follow. If the three men figured out that they all had been with her mother around the same time, there's no telling what kind of brawl could possibly break out; not to mention how humiliated her mother would be once it went public that Olivia did not know who her daughter's father was.

"Yeah, it's good. This is a good chance for you spend time with them - all three of them. Maybe spending time bonding and learning about them will help you figure it out. For example, both my dad and I are allergic to dogs. Maybe you can spend time with them and then use process of elimination."

Raya looked up at her friend. She had a very good point there.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right." Raya smiled. So what if she didn't know which guy her dad was. She would spend time with all three of potential dads learning about each one to figure it out.