A/N: "Scherzando" translates to playful or joking. Thanks again for reading.
Fourth Movement: Scherzando
"Okay well, she's not working today so you're just going to have to handle it, Greg," Olivia said into her phone as she pushed the farmhouse door open with her hip. Backing into the kitchen with shopping bags hanging from every limb and her cell phone pressed to her ear with her shoulder, Olivia set the brightly colored packages onto the side table and picked up the phone with her hand. "I–" she paused, rolling her eyes and listening to him go on and on about what a pain in the neck the Beacon's florist was when it came to bulk orders. "Yes, I realize that too," she said, feigning sympathy as she walked over to a nearby mirror to touch up her lipstick. Gently running her pinkie along her bottom lip to ensure the line's perfection, Olivia refocused on trying to reason with her employee. "Just explain to her that Natalia is unavailable until tomorrow and that if this order must be placed no later than today that you'll be the one taking care of it," she said, walking into the living room to search for her elusive Natalia.
Olivia hadn't seen her since she'd left for the Beacon that morning and after all the chaos at work on top of the last minute birthday shopping she had to do for Emma, Olivia was in dire need of Natalia's all encompassing embrace…and perhaps a martini or two if she was going to make it through a party of squealing 9-year-olds. How on Earth had Natalia convinced her that this was a good idea? Distracting herself from Greg, who was still completely freaking out, Olivia closed her eyes and bit her lip, remembering exactly how convincing Natalia could be when it came to just about anything.
Greg's voice became more and more aggravated by the second, which abruptly ended Olivia's daydreams and that made her more aggravated than she cared to admit. She knew the only staff member that could handle the Beacon's stubborn-as-a-mule florist was Natalia, but for God's sake, they were only flowers. "Look," she said, jumping into the one-sided conversation with the full intention of ending it. "If she gives you any more flak about pricing, just tell her that I'll be in touch with her tomorrow, okay? She's our vendor. It's not the other way around so just…remind her of that," she explained as she approached the bottom of the stairwell. "Gently," she added. "Then, whatever you think is her best and final offer, lower it by about $50 and I'm sure it'll be perfect." Taking the banister into her hand, Olivia looked up and heard the sounds of running water coming from the end of the hallway. "Gotta go," she said, turning off her phone as to not avail him another opportunity to argue with her.
Sighing heavily to assuage the weight of work from her shoulders, Olivia trotted up the stairs and quietly snuck into their bedroom. Noting the discarded clothing on the bed, Olivia grinned wickedly as she gently cracked the steamy bathroom door open. "Hey princess," she said, peeking in and seeing that Natalia was about two steps away from getting into the shower.
"Olivia!" Natalia yelped in surprise while rapidly pulling her cotton robe back over her shoulders and tightening the flimsy sash around her waist. "You scared me half to death!" She said, bringing her hand to her heart and blushing wildly. "When did you get home?"
"Just a minute ago," Olivia said, pushing the door the rest of the way open, leaning against the frame, and waiting patiently for Natalia to give her permission to swoop in and kiss her. "You wouldn't believe how terrified Greg is of the florist," she laughed.
"Oh, I think I would. That woman's a nightmare, Olivia," Natalia said squeezing by Olivia in the doorway in order to pick up the clothes that she'd left on the end of the bed. "Although, you do realize that you're part of the problem with that account, right?"
"Me?!" Olivia asked, dramatically pressing her hand to her chest in mock offense.
"Yes, you," she confirmed said with a quiet chuckle. "If you weren't so cheap, none of –"
"Cheap! Do you know how much the Beacon spends on flowers every month? We're that woman's bread and butter! I'm doing her a favor," she resolved, folding her arms over her chest.
"Sure you are," Natalia teased, squeezing by Olivia again and shooting her a knowing smirk over her shoulder. "Ordering out of season exotic flowers from across the country and then demanding them to cost as much as a daffodil in the park? That's some favor, Olivia," she said reaching into the shower to test the water's temperature with her fingertips.
"It is," she said, steadfast. "My hotel has the most beautiful flowers in Springfield."
"That it does," Natalia agreed, leaning against the sink and waiting for Olivia to leave so that she could disrobe again and hop into the shower. Seeing that Olivia wasn't in any hurry, she tried another route. "So speaking of favors, could I get you to do one for me?"
"Depends on what kind of favor we're talking about here," she said, unfolding her arms long enough to scoot up next to Natalia at the sink with a familiar glint in her eyes.
Natalia scrunched her nose and mocked Olivia with a snicker, "Not that kind of favor."
"Aw, shucks," she said, deflated. "What is it then?"
"We're out of towels up here and there's a load of laundry in the dryer right now. Would you mind bringing me one?" She asked, hoping that her smile was enticing enough that Olivia would comply.
"And what if I think you won't need one?" Olivia asked.
"Then…I'll be disappointed," Natalia said, pouting for a moment and then smiling when Olivia gave in with a sarcastic roll of her eyes followed by a relenting nod. "Hey," she whispered, stopping Olivia as she turned to leave by wrapping her arms around her stomach. "I missed you today," she added, giving her a kiss on the cheek from behind.
"I missed you too," Olivia beamed, turning around in Natalia's embrace and imagining a hundred different ways that she could take advantage of this situation.
Replacing a fallen strand of Olivia's hair back to the correct side of her part, Natalia basked in Olivia's love for a moment. "Did you find everything you wanted for Emma?" She asked even though she knew that not even death would stop Olivia Spencer from getting each and every gift Emma had asked for…and then some. Sometimes she felt that Olivia's doting was a bit much for such a precocious little girl, but then again she couldn't exactly tell her not to spoil Emma when she herself was spoiled even more.
"I did," she nodded. "I got a little something for you too," she said nudging Natalia's nose with her own.
Natalia sighed and shook her head. "You shouldn't have," she said, downplaying her excitement. "But what did you get me?" She asked, giddily rising to her tiptoes and laughing over the fact that she was unable to hold back her enthusiasm for much longer than a few seconds.
"You'll just have to wait and see," Olivia snickered, lowering her lips to the skin just below Natalia's ear and kissing her there. "It's a surprise for later," she whispered, sneaking her hand under Natalia's white cotton robe and drawing her near.
"Ah! Stop that!" She played, jerking back and slapping Olivia's hand away. "You're such a pest," she said, blushing and smiling so luminously that it lit up the room.
"But I'm your favorite pest," Olivia suggested, batting her eyelashes.
"Maybe," Natalia agreed, allowing time to pass between them, time that was theirs and theirs alone. Bringing herself back to reality and the time constraints therein, Natalia stepped away from Olivia and pulled back the curtain of the shower to get in. "You know, Rafe's going to be bringing Emma home from school any minute now and then we're going to have an entire herd of children to corral in the park so I'd kind of like to take a shower sometime before that happens, Olivia," she hinted, giving her one more chance to leave before she kicked her out.
"I know, I'm waiting for that too," she teased, delighting in the possibilities.
Natalia scoffed playfully at Olivia's brazen suggestion. "Not happening. Now," she said, taking Olivia by the shoulders and spinning her around to face the doorway. "You need to get out of here so that you can get me a towel from the dryer, please. Then you need to get everything set up downstairs while staying far, far away from our daughter's birthday cake until she gets here for her party," she said while gently shoving Olivia towards the bedroom.
Olivia felt herself radiating brighter than a supernova the second Natalia said the words "our daughter." She didn't want to make anything of it since it rattled off her tongue so naturally, but internally Olivia was positively bursting at the seams! When Rafe came home to Springfield a few weeks ago to start life anew, Emma started to mimic him by calling Natalia "Ma," but in her own ever-cautious attempt to not impede upon Olivia and Emma's mother-daughter relationship, Natalia had still referred to Emma as being Olivia's daughter up until now. It thrilled her to hear Natalia acknowledge that Emma was as much her daughter as she was Olivia's – a fact that had been true longer than they'd both realized, but hearing it aloud was almost as if their families had at last become cemented together as one.
Taking Olivia's hand at the last moment and unknowingly breaking the spell that Olivia was under, Natalia pulled her back to the doorway. "Did you hear me?"
Blinking a few times and falling for the woman all over again, Olivia opened her mouth and stumbled in her attempt to speak at first. "Yes," she said breathlessly, followed by an hopeful smile.
"Good," Natalia said, pulling her into the tender and grateful welcome home kiss they'd both been anticipating all day. "Because I'm serious, Olivia. Do not touch that cake," she reiterated, raising a finger to her for emphasis.
Olivia was so lost in the glow of appreciation and wonderment of Natalia's kiss that it took her a bit longer to register the part about the cake waiting for Emma downstairs. "What cake?" She asked finally, a new light coming to her eyes.
Thinking that Olivia was kidding, Natalia laughed as she closed the door on her and then stepped into the hot shower.
Cracking the door open again, Olivia popped her head back in. "You don't think I should maybe just taste a little bit of it to make sure it's edible? You don't want to accidentally poison all of Emma's classmates, do you?
"Nice try, Queen Frostine," Natalia sneered from inside the shower. "Now get out," she barked at her in jest.
"If you insist," Olivia sighed melodramatically, closing the door behind her. Leaning back against the frame for a moment, a curious grin came to Olivia's lips when she thought of the unsuspecting birthday cake waiting all alone and unprotected in the kitchen.
***
She wasn't sure how she'd missed it. The round, vanilla frosted cake was so strategically placed in the center of the kitchen table under a protective glass dome that it was almost embarrassing that Olivia hadn't noticed it before. Walking over to the cake and hovering above it, Olivia audibly cooed when she read the "Happy Birthday Jellybean!" message scrawled out in dyed pink icing. Smiling, Olivia had to admit that she sometimes hated Natalia for being so perfect. The woman had undoubtedly become the favorite mommy by now, but since Olivia reaped all the benefits of the woman's perfection and Emma had never been so happy or stable in her life, she was more than okay with it.
Sitting down at the table, Olivia mused that the cake was probably strawberry because Emma was so fond of pink at the moment, but it was hard for her to tell exactly with all that thick frosting slathered over every inch of the cake. Grabbing the button on top of the dome, Olivia lifted it to swipe some of the icing for a quick and painless taste test. Then, envisioning Natalia's fury in the event that she caught her doing so – especially after such a warning upstairs – Olivia stopped herself and looked around the kitchen to make sure that Natalia hadn't snuck back downstairs. Reassured by the sound of running water upstairs, Olivia ran her finger along the bottom of the cake for a generous heap of icing. Tentatively licking just the tip of her finger at first, Olivia moaned as the rich confection disintegrated onto her tongue. It is strawberry, she realized, having snagged just a bit of the sponge cake along with the icing.
Olivia devoured the rest of her stolen frosting and then walked over to the kitchen drawer for a butter knife so that she could fix the now noticeably smudged cake. Sitting back down at the table, she looked at the cake longingly for a moment, glanced up at the ceiling, and then returned her gaze to the decadent little cavity waiting to happen in front of her. After somehow convincing herself that Natalia would never notice if a small crescent-shaped piece of cake was missing from the bottom layer, Olivia sliced off a chunk and effortlessly slid it into her mouth.
Just as she did so, however, the water shut off upstairs and she heard a very angry Natalia shouting her name, having not received her requested bath towel. Quickly debating her options, Olivia picked up the knife again and tried to cover the exposed pink cake with icing from other parts of the cake; except that whenever she tried to manipulate the frosting in any way, it collected in large globs, which left an even bigger gaping hole of icing and cake than the one she'd originally created.
"Shit!" Olivia cursed herself. Hearing her name being shouted again, Olivia impulsively shouted back. "I'll be right there!" Rushing over to the electric mixer, Olivia prayed that there was extra frosting in the bowl. There was. "Oh, thank you," she breathed to Natalia's statue of the Virgin Mary before scooping up a hefty serving and carrying it back over to the table.
Trying her absolute best to repair the damage, Olivia repeatedly told herself that at least until she saw Natalia's look of disappointment for disobeying her orders, that it had been worth it. This cake was divine and she suddenly didn't care much for the idea of sharing it with a bunch of pesky kids. Covering the cake as carefully as possible, Olivia rushed to the laundry room for a towel, but when she came back into the kitchen, a sopping wet Natalia was standing there waiting for her in her bathrobe. Arms crossed and eyes glued to Olivia, she was as silent as a sleeping lamb, but the look in her eyes reminded Olivia of a ferocious bull about to trample an intruder.
"Uh," Olivia stuttered, looking around for a defense of some kind but seeing that she was clearly the offending matador with a big red target on her forehead. "It's nice and warm…?" She offered, extending the bath towel towards Natalia.
"I can't believe you!" Natalia screamed over Olivia, snatching the linen from her and throwing it to the floor.
Olivia flinched at Natalia's outburst. In hindsight, maybe it hadn't been worth it, she thought. "I'm…sorry?"
"Do you have any idea how long I worked on that today?" She asked, pacing into the kitchen and completely ignoring Olivia's apology as she looked over the cake, which was far from perfect now, thanks to Olivia.
"Yes, I do actually. It's amazing," Olivia said honestly, thinking that a compliment would help ease Natalia's mood…or her punishment. "And you're right, it's definitely edible."
"Olivia…" Natalia said, exasperated as she sat down at the table to look at Emma's sad and partially butchered birthday cake.
"I really am sorry," Olivia soothed, sitting down next to Natalia. "I couldn't help myself," she said, dangerously resting her chin on Natalia's shoulder and pleading with her eyes for her to be gentle.
Natalia glanced over at Olivia and shot her a look that should have killed her on the spot, but then she took a deep breath and sighed as though to stop herself from strangling the woman sitting next to her. "Why didn't anyone tell me how incorrigible you are?" She asked, leaning her head onto her hand and looking back at Olivia, her gaze softening at her request.
"I think everyone probably assumed you knew already," she pouted, raising her brows a little and begging for sympathy.
"You know what this means, right?" Natalia asked, sitting upright and placing both her hands in her lap.
"That…I'm sleeping on the couch?" Olivia suggested, thinking that would be a fair punishment for her crime.
"Nope," Natalia said, getting up from the table. Bending over, Natalia picked up the towel from the floor and folded it, though she wasn't sure why. After being on the floor, she knew she was going to wash it again even if it weren't necessary. "It means that you are a sugar fiend and that I should probably go on a baking strike," she said, walking to the laundry room for another fresh towel. Even in the other room, she was almost certain she heard Olivia's jaw hit the table when the woman gasped.
"But…that's not fair to Emma!" Olivia exclaimed unreasonably once she replaced her jaw from the floor.
"Ohhh no no no, Olivia. Don't even go there," she chastised as she reentered the kitchen. "What's not fair is that one of Emma's mommies couldn't wait another hour to eat cake with the rest of the family. Emma will live. You, on the other hand, I'm not so sure about anymore," she chuckled while wringing out her hair with the towel.
"Oh, I'll live," Olivia said defiantly, standing up from the table and striding up to Natalia to face off with her.
"Yeah?" Natalia dared, closing the space between them and looking up at Olivia. "I give you a week," she said, squinting her eyes.
Olivia glared at Natalia for a moment while touching her tongue to the tip of her teeth as if accepting the challenge. "Okay…you're on," she said, pursing her lips and flipping her hand. "Piece of cake," she concluded.
Natalia raised her brows and scoffed at Olivia's poor choice of words, but chose not to say anything. Instead she nodded, placating Olivia's confidence, and planned to put her resolve to the test. Draping the damp towel over the back of one of the chairs, Natalia picked up the frosting-encrusted mixing bowl and carried it over to the sink to wash out.
"Wait," Olivia said, grabbing Natalia's wrist when she reached for the faucet. "Can I at least have the spatula?" She asked, although if she were going to be honest with herself, it really sounded a lot like begging. "Please?"
"What spatula?" Natalia asked, using the spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl for a generous helping of frosting. "This one?" She asked, lifting the utensil and offering it to Olivia, but then drawing it back quickly when she leaned forward to lick it. "Nuh uh uh," she reprimanded. "You said you could live without."
"I can, but if you think I'm cranky now…" she teased, grabbing onto the spatula and trying to take it from her.
Natalia's resistance was impressive, but Olivia was struck dumb when Natalia swooped in and coyly ran her tongue along the back of Olivia's hand and up between her fingers. Failing to find any humor in this at all, Olivia opened her mouth to protest Natalia's dirty trick, but then when the brunette closed her eyes and moaned ever so softly when her tongue came into contact with the delectable mixture of milk, sugar, and vanilla, Olivia prepared to raise a white flag and surrender.
"Okay, now you're just being cruel," Olivia said after locating her brain amongst the fog. "But you know what?" She asked, lifting the spatula away from Natalia and catching her dark eyes briefly before leaning in to kiss her once, twice. "This is a game that I'm really good at," she purred. Pressing her lips against Natalia's for a third time, Olivia licked the icing off of Natalia's tongue and into her mouth.
Sensing Olivia's resistance to let go of the spatula as they kissed, Natalia held on more aggressively until a roguish thought tripped across her mind. She dismissed it at first, but then when Olivia tried to manipulate her even more while trying to steal the spatula away, Natalia suddenly let go of it, sending frosting flying in all directions. Running from the disaster she knew she'd created, Natalia burst into a riotous fit of laughter when she looked back and saw icing splattered all over Olivia's face and dripping in chunks from her hair.
"Oh my God, Olivia," Natalia laughed, covering her unfiltered amusement with her hands.
Aghast, but still in good humor, Olivia took her time to wipe the icing from her face with a paper towel. The second she could see again, she wiggled her eyebrows at Natalia, daring her to move in one or the other direction, before taking off and chasing her in the kitchen.
"No!" Natalia squealed when she noticed Olivia picking up the spatula and threatening to flick it at her. "I just took a shower," she exclaimed, skittering around the opposite side of the kitchen table in order to keep Olivia away from her.
"You got icing in my hair!" Olivia shrieked, faking out Natalia in one direction before running in the opposite in an attempt to catch her.
"You destroyed Emma's birthday cake!" Natalia shot back at her through laughter. She couldn't help it; she'd never seen Olivia look so ridiculous and if she weren't so terrified at the moment, she'd leap into her arms and kiss her.
Taking a risk, Natalia dashed into the living room in the hopes that if she could just get up the stairs, she could lock Olivia out of the bedroom until Rafe and Emma came home. But her theory was flawed. Olivia was much faster than Natalia and once she made it to the living room, the woman pounced her onto the couch like a jaguar and Natalia was as good as dead. She resisted as best she could, but through their laughs and struggles Olivia managed to smear a thick layer of vanilla icing into Natalia's wet hair and all down her neck.
"There," Olivia said, panting from the fight though still laying on top of Natalia, "Now we're even," she added, carelessly throwing the spatula onto the coffee table.
Breathless as Olivia, but for entirely different reasons – or so she thought – Natalia gazed up at her and licked the icing from her lips. Shifting her body to be closer, Natalia reached her hand around her girlfriend's neck and pulled her down into a kiss. Giggling when she realized that Olivia had probably planned this attack just for this purpose, Natalia arched into the kiss even more. She flicked her tongue against Olivia's and aggressively grabbed her thigh, pulling her close and wanting the time she knew they didn't have.
Olivia's lips quickly left Natalia's so that she could feast upon the homemade icing that she'd fought so hard to obtain. While licking the rich confection from the delicate slope of her neck in long, slow strokes, Olivia pushed Natalia's robe open and ran her hand down the softest skin she'd ever touched in her life. Natalia lifted herself up towards Olivia and moaned gently when her lover reached underneath her to hold her. She beckoned Olivia for another kiss, but was quickly distracted by Olivia's fingers turning her world upside down as though it were the first time she had ever touched her. Hungry, shallow moans escaped her, but immediately ceased when they both heard a car pull up the driveway and the ignition shutting off.
"Damn it," Natalia cursed under her breath, but then immediately and silently apologized to God for doing so.
Olivia groaned as she reluctantly got off of Natalia. She straightened up her clothes and then ran her fingers through her hair, only for them to get stuck in the remnants of icing that had now dried into glue. "Oh this is great," she said, trying to pull the strands apart unsuccessfully.
Natalia giggled as she pulled Olivia into a tender kiss. "Too late to do anything about it now," she said, "Birthday girl's here." Smiling, Natalia cheerfully skipped over to the staircase. Looking back at Olivia with a snort of laughter, Natalia headed up the stairs so that she could quickly get washed up and dressed for Emma's party.