Epiphany Chapter 7, a scandal fanfic

Sometime after the Hampton...

Olivia was lazing around her apartment painting her nails when her phone started vibrating and ringing on the floor next to her. Taking a brief glance at it while being cautious not to mess up her toes, a smile grew on her face when she saw Fitz's name flashing on the screen. Ace.

Sliding over the green button, she put him on speaker and answered.

"Fireball!" His voice boomed through the speakers of the phone.

"Well someone sounds excited." Olivia teased.

"I am excited. Very excited." Fitz replied.

Olivia could tell that he was at the gym because she could hear the machines working and loud metal music blasting from the overhead speakers of his fitness center.

"What gives?" She asked.

"Two questions..." He prompted, still cheery.

"Shoot." Olivia replied.

"You got any plans tonight?" Fitz asked.

"Uh," Olivia stuttered. "Abby and I were gonna go check out this new little French Bistro on 44th. Why, what's up?"

"Tonight is my annual Gumbo Night and when I tell you that you don't wanna miss it..."

"I've never had Gumbo before." Olivia told him.

"What?!" Fitz exclaimed. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." Olivia replied.

"But your mother is southern." Fitz said.

Olivia chuckled. Of course he'd remember something like that. "Yes she is, but she grew up in London. She's not your traditional southern belle." She answered. "I think my Nana used to make it when I was little but not too often."

"Damn," Fitz mumbled. "Now you absolutely have to come. Your life is about to be forever changed!" He drawled dramatically.

Olivia couldn't stop laughing. He was honestly the best human being to ever grace the face of the earth.

"Though I really do want to come and have my life changed, I still have a hot redhead to worry about. We've planned this for weeks. I can't cancel on her."

"Then don't." Fitz said. He was smiling. She knew that much. "The more the merrier. Bring the redhead. I've yet to meet the girl I share you with. Just tell her there's been a slight change in plans. Instead of having coq au vin and baby red potatoes for a hundred and something dollars at some fancy restaurant; you can come to mi casa where you'll be having free, delicious Gumbo. Some might say that's a pretty damn good deal."

"You are shameless." Olivia laughed. "Convince me some more."

"There's gonna be wine." That was the way to get her. She loves wine. "And oh... The bonus: me! I'm gonna be there and you get to see my handsome face. I know you miss it."

Olivia was kind of glad that he couldn't see her because she was cheesing so hard, she was afraid her face was gonna be stuck with that stupid smile permanently.

Sighing, she feigned nonchalance and replied: "I suppose I could make an appearance."

"That's all I ask." He said.

"Should I bring anything?" Olivia asked.

"Uh, no. Just your pretty self is satisfactory." Fitz replied charmingly.

Fitz left work earlier than his shift was supposed to end. After announcing to his colleagues that Gumbo Night had come earlier this year and extending the annual invitation to them, he left to go do some much needed last minute shopping.

Gumbo Night was something that he used to do with Voight. And once a year, to honor the old man's memory, he hosted this night where he just had company and tried to have a good time because sometimes, a person just needed to freaking feel like they had an upper hand on the universe. Gumbo Night is also not normally hosted until the start of the fall season but after the whole fiasco that happened during the weekend at Olivia's parents' cottage, Fitz figure he could do something that could take her out of whatever deep dark hole she had fallen back into after seeing her asshole of an ex. And when Stephen brought up missing his Gumbo, Fitz thought it was the perfect opportunity to gather all his friends together and make a night out of it. Even though he knew that Olivia left the Hampton seemingly happy despite Edison showing his ass, he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was to come. More than anything though, he just really wanted Olivia's company. It's already been almost a week since they've seen each other.

So now here he was, pulling up in front of his loft and unloading a huge box of groceries from the back of his truck.

Two trips in and out, he was able to bring in everything he needed to start Gumbo Night. Beers were being kept fresh in a cooler for his guests, and three bottles of the finest wine money could buy were being kept cool in the fridge for his Fireball.

He moved around some stuff in his living room to create more space as he was trying to turn the room into a game room. The options of cards, dominoes, darts and trivia were given to keep his guests entertained. And with that handled, he was back in the kitchen. Hands washed, apron on, Fitz set out to start prepping to make this year's Gumbo the best yet.

"...Change of plans." Olivia told Abby over the phone as she rummaged through her closet; trying to decide on her outfit for the evening.

"What does that mean exactly?" The redhead asked. "We planned this for weeks, Liv. And tonight is not just us."

"Oh shit!" Olivia exclaimed when she remembered Abby's new friend and co-worker.

Not long ago, they discussed doing a girls' night out so they could all get familiar with each other and she couldn't believe that she already forgot all about that conversation.

"You forgot, didn't you?" Abby said, her tone bordering on disappointment.

Damn it! "Nope. Totally didn't forget." Olivia said. "Look, I'm not cancelling. I'm just saying change of venue, babe."

"Okay." Abby sighed, trying to be open of the new suggestion. "Where to?"

"Gumbo Night." Olivia simply replied.

"Gumbo Night?" Abby questioned, a frown in her voice. "What is that?"

"Damn if I know." Olivia answered.

"Seriously? Just so you know, I'm judging you right now." The redhead said. Then, "Hold on. Give me a sec."

"Ight..." Olivia put the phone on speaker on her makeup desk and dragged a chair in front of her vanity mirror. She sat down and pulled her curly hair up, contemplating which hairstyle she could go with for the night.

"Siri, what's gumbo?" Olivia heard Abby say.

"And yet you judge me for not knowing. How dare you?" She said playfully.

"Oh! I see." Abby said after a few seconds. "It looks interesting. Where exactly is this Gumbo Night happening?"

"A friend's house." Olivia replied.

Not once since she and Fitz met had she mentioned anything about him to Abby. In a way, she thought that by not saying anything, she was delaying the inevitable. That the seconds that somebody else knew about the chemistry and deep friendship that they shared, they wouldn't be them anymore. They wouldn't be Fitz and Livvie or Fireball and Ace anymore. Olivia loved having him all to herself so she never said anything. And maybe that does sound a little ridiculous considering most of her family met Fitz not too long ago but that's just how she felt. Olivia wasn't ready to share him with everyone yet. But she figured tonight was as any good a time to finally introduce her two best friends to each other since neither of them was going nowhere. To say that she was anxious about that would be an understatement but she was going to try and relax and let the dices roll on their own for once.

Sure Fitz and Abby were total polar opposites of each other. That didn't mean they wouldn't get along.

"A friend's house?" Abby repeated. "You're not gonna even elaborate? Do I know this friend?"

"You will tonight." Olivia replied. "So are you in?"

Abby sighed. "Yeah. Whatever. I guess."

"So indecisive." Olivia teased. "Anyways, let's all meet at Peggy's for one drink first before we head to Gumbo Night."

"Sounds good." Abby agreed.

And so it was set. Olivia was crossing her fingers for all to go well.

...

Typical for a Saturday evening, Peggy's was busy when Olivia walked through the doors. Instantly she was met by a large group of people sitting so close to each other, a needle couldn't fit between them. Their gazes were solely fixed on the large screen TV, and everybody was holding hands and holding their breath.

It was baseball night and The Mets made it to the World Series Finals for the first time in a few decades. This was definitely important.

Everybody in New York City was a Yankees fan by default but the minority of New Yorkers that were true Mets fans were truly devoted to that team and tonight, there were quite a few of them gathered at Peggy's. And right now, The Mets were one home-run down and they were batting.

Olivia scanned the overcrowded bar for her redhead best friend before she felt her phone vibrating in her clutch.

She unzipped the small purse and retrieved the phone from it.

One new notification popped up, indicating that she had a text message. It was from Abby.

Running five minutes late, babe. I promise I'll be there soon.

She shot the redhead a quick response back. Okay.

Then she pulled back an empty stool behind the bar and waved her hand to the bartender to get started on a drink.

...

It was fifteen minutes later and a tied game between The Mets and The Royals when the redhead finally walked in the bar with a young brunette tailing behind her. On cue, Olivia stood up from the stool and met the two women half way.

"So sorry." Abby said remorsefully. "Did I mention that Quinn was still learning her way around? Not to mention that traffic was a bitch." She explained as she pulled Olivia into her arms for a hug.

"It's fine." Olivia waved a dismissive hand as her eyes met the brunette behind Abby.

She was young. Olivia thought. Just on a wild guess, Olivia could say she was at least two years older than Quinn and the girl was absolutely gorgeous. She was covered in tattoos from head to toe and she wasn't afraid to put them all on display. Olivia smiled. Now she knew why Abby took such a like to the young girl so quickly. Same coin, different sides.

"Oh, how rude of me." Abby caught herself quickly after the brief moment of silence that settled between the three of them. "Olivia meet Quinn. Quinn, meet Olivia- my other half." She said, all the while waving her hands back and forth between the two ladies. "Now let's get some shots."

Both Olivia and Quinn broke into laughter as they watched Abby stroll to the bar.

No words were exchanged between the two, but Olivia knew that without a doubt that she liked Quinn. If anyone could put up with Abby's crazy ass, they deserved to be liked. So they had that silent understanding between them.

Six shots of patron and limes were delivered to them before they all took a seat. They each took two.

Lime in hand, Abby raised one shot to make a toast. "Cheers to girls night." She said. Looking up at the flat screen TV streaming the baseball game, she added: "The Mets, bad bitches... and New York."

Always cheers to New York.

Olivia chuckled, looking at Quinn who shrugged. "Cheers!"

So they threw back their shots; squealing when the aftermath of a burn settled behind their throats before they bit on their lime.

"Another round please!" Abby shouted at the bartender across the room. Once she confirmed that her order was heard, the redhead turned her attention back to her friends.

"Why are you so jumpy?" Olivia asked.

"No reason." Abby replied quickly and Olivia shot up her eyebrows at her. She sighed defeatedly. "I don't know!" She huffed. "I just want you guys to like each other."

Olivia and Quinn looked at each other, both frowning. "We like each other." They both said in unison.

"You do?" Abby questioned, releasing a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. "Oh. Thank God. It would've been really awkward if you didn't."

Their second round came. Each took two shots again.

"You look hot." Abby said, urging Olivia to twirl so she could admire her whole outfit.

She looked really hot. She was vibrant in a short black and white open back jumpsuit romper that left just enough cleavage to snap a few heads back. She stood six inches taller in a sexy pair of single strapped, leopard suede heels. With her large collection of MAC makeup, she went for a very smokey, yet dramatic look that made the chocolate brown of her eyes shine brighter and her lips were painted a dark shade of matte plum. All of her curly hair was swept up in a high messy bun on top of her head, with the exception of a few locks of straight, trimmed bangs that hung against her forehead.

Hot didn't cover what she looked like.

She looked unapologetically beautiful with a touch of fierceness. Her youth showed in the illuminating glow of her skin and style.

"I'm absolutely in love with your lipstick." Quinn complimented. "Unfortunately, I don't think I'm bold enough to go past a few shades of dark red. Yet."

Olivia bowed in a ladylike manner as best as she could without busting her ass off those sky high heels. "Thank you." She said. "You guys slay me though."

Abby's short hair was probably the best thing she could have done for herself in Olivia's opinion. Now it just seems that any look was absolutely perfect on the redhead with her chic pixie cut. And lately, she's been slaying the rocker hipster look down to a T.

From head to toe, the redhead looked flawless. The little bit of hair she still had was pushed purposely and messily to one side. Her makeup was a few shades lighter than Olivia's and simpler. She had opted for just a touch of bronze eye shadow countered with black winged eyeliner; three coats of mascara and nude painted lips. Her whole outfit though was a knockout.

She wore a Rolling Stones tank top tucked loosely inside a pair of leather shorts that showcased her long legs and her very fascinating, colorful tattoos. Sky high in a pair of lace-up, open toe pumps - a long gold necklace and a brown leather jacket completed the redhead's look.

"You do rocker-hipster justice." Quinn said.

"I know right?" Abby chuckled. "The only thing I'm missing is the faded, hooded eyes."

To that they all laughed again.

"I like your piercings." Olivia said.

Out of the three of them, Quinn was probably dressed the most casual but she was still so effortlessly beautiful and Olivia was seriously considering adopting her style.

She almost had little to no makeup at all, safe for a touch of eyeliner and cherry red painted lips. She wore her dark, shoulder length in beach waves. Her outfit was simple yet still fashionable. The brunette had on a pair loose-ripped boyfriend jeans that were rolled up at the ankles and matching those was a simple black and white strapped pattern crop top and white converse. The flannel shirt that she brought with her was wrapped around her waist in a knot and she looked her twenty-two years of age. All her tattoos were on full display, specially the ones on her arms and stomach. Though Olivia adored her belly button piercing, it was the little hoop in her nose that drove the girl crush home.

QUEENS!

Now that they'd gotten all the compliments out of the way, Olivia checked her phone to see that seven o'clock was approaching fast. She threw back her second shot and tapped at the white gold Movado watch on her wrist.

"We gotta go." She told the girls.

She promised Fitz that she'd be there at seven and between the evening traffic and the hustle-bustle of the weekend, she'd be lucky if she made it across town to Fitz's house in the next fifteen minutes.

"Right. Gumbo Night." Abby said. "There better be booze at that thing."

Olivia smiled. "There will be. I promise."

"Good. Let's go get shitfaced elsewhere."

Abby paid the tab on their drinks and as soon as they walked out into the New York City evening, they were hit by a cool breeze of fresh and pure summer air. Within minutes, Quinn succeeded in flagging down a yellow cab and the three ladies hopped in the back of the taxi as Olivia recited her destination to the driver.

888

When she was three minutes out, Olivia shot Fitz a text message to tell him that she was close. When she arrived at his place, Fitz was already outside, sitting on his steps waiting for her.

Fitz's breath was knocked out of his lungs as soon as Olivia hopped out of that cab. He was aware of the two friends she brought with her and although they each looked equally as beautiful, only one of them had the ability to make Fitz's heart thump as hard as it was at the moment. That lucky lady was Olivia Pope.

Ten feet away from Fitz's door steps, all three ladies froze to admire the panty dropping, clit-throbbing hotness that was Fitzgerald Grant. He'd recently gotten an undercut haircut, so all his gorgeous chocolate curls were pushed up into this puffy cloud and to add to his fainting sexiness, he spotted a five o'clock shadow on his cheeks. In a simple pair of dark jeans and a round neck light blue t-shirt, he shouldn't be so swoon worthy. But you couldn't tell that to Abby or Olivia. Even Quinn who usually goes out of her way to ignore the male population couldn't help but appreciate the man's looks. He was damn hot.

"Two questions..." Abby mumbled to Olivia under her breath.

Already, Olivia was visibly shrinking. Abby was one of those friends with no filters. You couldn't take her anywhere but you also couldn't get rid of her.

"Yes, gingersnap?" Olivia inquired.

"Is this the friend you were being coy about earlier?" The redhead asked.

Olivia rolled her eyes. She was looking at Fitz and God bless him, he was just standing there with his hands in his pockets, waiting patiently. He really should not do that because his mac-truck sized arms only flexed which caused him to look ten times sexier. And then to further put all three women six feet under, he smiled. Like why did he have to do that? He was too damn much! Too much.

"Yes." She answered Abby's question.

The redhead nodded. "Please tell me you're fucking him." Abby said.

"That wasn't a very subtle way to ask that question but for your information, no I am not fucking him as you so crassly put it." Olivia couldn't resist the urge to roll her eyes again.

"You're wrong for this." Abby replied. "So wrong."

Olivia decided to end that conversation right then and there by dragging Abby behind her who then dragged Quinn.

"Welcome. I'm glad you guys could make it." Fitz greeted.

He was going to totally ignore the fact that they were undoubtably whispering about him ten feet away a few seconds prior. He wanted to make a great first impression on Olivia's friends so he thought it was best if he pretended to not notice Abby just drooling over him seconds ago.

Abby's greeting went a little differently though. "You got any brothers? Sisters, cousins? Uncles, perhaps? I'll take anyone from your breed."

Olivia wished the earth would open up and swallow her hole. She couldn't even be mad because this was Abigail in her true colors. Shameless, no filters and a fire cracker. This was her best friend.

While Olivia was wishing for the power of invisibility, Quinn was trying her hardest not to laugh while Fitz wore a smirk on his face.

"You must be Abby." Fitz said. "I've heard so much about you. I'm Fitzgerald Grant."

"I've heard nothing about you." Abby said in response, side eyeing Olivia. "But it's a pleasure to meet you, Fitzgerald." She was courteous and well mannered for all of two seconds before the fire cracker in her was back. She wasn't a redhead for no reason. "So about your family tree..."

Fitz couldn't stop smirking. He liked this girl. His ideal sister would be a lot like Abigail Whelan in personality if he had one. It hasn't even been five minutes yet but Fitz decided he liked the redhead. She had this fierceness about her, not to mention her cool sense of style, her mannerism and her no fuck to give attitude. Fitz had a feeling that they were going to get along just fine and have a kick out of making Olivia miserable together. It was going to be fun.

"I'm an only child. Parents are dead and as far as I'm concerned, I have no living relatives." Fitz informed her.

This was the real test and Abigail Whelan passed with flying colors. She didn't even blink when Fitz mentioned his dead parents. Most people usually wince or start to give him a look that resembled pity or sympathy. Not Abby. Instead, her face just turned into a sad frown before she blurted out: "Well that fucking sucks for me."

Fitz chuckled. "However, I do have a few friends inside who fair pretty well in looks."

"They look anything like you?" Abby asked.

Olivia continued to want to die or disappear.

Fitz shook his head. "No one looks like me, Red." He replied.

"Damn it." Abby cursed. She seemed to have bounced back quickly from that blow. Of course no one looked like this tall glass of orgasm. So much for her luck. "Hopefully your friends look better." She then said. "You got any alcoholic beverage in there?"

Fitz nodded, a smirk still playing on his lips. "Of course I do." He answered.

Abby whooshed past him, still dragging Quinn behind her seeing as though their arms were woven together. In passing, Quinn and Fitz did their very brief introduction which went a lot like the brunette screaming her name to Fitz and him yelling back; "Nice to meet you!"

"I like you." Abby told Fitz before busting through the doors of his apartment.

And then there were two.

One however was still dying of second hand embarrassment. Olivia swears that Abigail Whelan lived to make her life miserable sometimes.

Chuckling, Fitz didn't even bother to ask or say anything to Olivia. He simply walked towards her and pulled her into his arms. Once she was safely tucked in there, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her forehead. Olivia melted back against his chest and screamed. Though, she was secretly happy to be here. In Fitz's arms. Just as they were.

And God... he smelled good!

...

Inside Fitz's apartment, they spent about five minutes on introductions. Olivia met Fitz colleagues who went by the names of: Jake Ballard, Stephen Finch, and Charlie Peterson. All three of them seemed like cool people and one in particular hadn't been able to tear his eyes off a certain redhead from the minute their hands clasped together. Mentally, Olivia did a happy dance. If this night would entailed a lot of misery for her; courtesy of Abigail Whelan, she knew exactly what chip she would play. Stephen Finch was it and by the looks of it, Olivia wouldn't be surprised if the two left together after the get-together to get more acquainted.

In the kitchen, Abby raided Fitz's cabinets for all the alcohol there was. She decided she was going to be a bartender for the night and no one could stop the redhead. No one wanted to. Elsewhere, the guys were still in the living room, going crazy over a UFC paperview game. Apparently, it was a match of champions judging by all the illegal bets they were placing with each other.

"Who'd you bet on?" Quinn asked Fitz, having watched the entire madness go down at the entrance of the living room with a drink in hand.

Fitz faced the brunette with a smile. "The underdog of course." He replied.

Quinn nodded interestingly. "You mean the guy that's getting his ass kicked right now?"

Unless the match gets rigged, the dude Fitz betted on had no chance in winning the title tonight so Quinn couldn't understand why Fitz would willingly bet two hundred dollars with his moron friends.

"Everything in life is like a game of chess, Quinn." Fitz told the young brunette. "The anticipation lasts until the very last second. Just gotta have a little faith in the underdog." And then he walked away, leaving Quinn more confused but also intrigued.

The next second, the brunette found herself joining the boys in their madness. She even wagered a twenty on the guy getting his ass kicked. He'd better win because Quinn Perkins didn't like losing.

...

Following the UFC match, everyone settled around the living room for a game of trivia as gumbo simmered in a huge pot on the stove for a few more minutes. The trivia game was a Boys vs. Girls affair and it's needless to say that the three women came out victorious. But of course, it wouldn't be the battle of sexist if Jake Ballard hadn't opened his mouth and said that his team let the girls win because it was the gentleman thing to do despite the fact that Olivia, Abby and Quinn had gotten most if not all of the trivia question correct.

At eight thirty, gumbo was served with a side of white rice soon after the trivia game by none other than the host himself. At first, both Abby and Quinn were a bit skeptical to try the new dish despite its appraisal by everybody else. Fitz promised them that he would order take outs for them if they found that they didn't like the dish. But it never came to that because after the first spoonful, the two women were sold as moans of delight escaped their lips. Conversation around the table flowed effortlessly as they sipped on top notch wine. It was a great affair and Fitz could hardly contain the smile on his lips at the turn out of the event. He loved having these people in his home and he loved the carefree smiles on their lips. This was a win in his book.

After gumbo, which had been delicious, everyone retired back to the living room once again where they sipped more drinks and fell into easy conversation. At some point, the guys started a whole debacle about sports. It was cue for the women to exit then - volunteering for cleaning up duty because they wanted no part of this heated argument that had come out of nowhere.

"He has such a great ass." Abby admired Stephen Finch from afar while sipping on a glass of wine. "Where do they even make them?"

He was playing darts in the living room with Charlie and with his back to her, Abby was afforded a great view of his body. He was something straight out of a magazine. At six feet tall, he was built, his shoulders broad and muscular and he made just standing and moving around look sexy. Abby couldn't be blamed. She was in deep lust.

Olivia chuckled. She completely understood her best friend's thirst. Stephen was a real catch and he was totally Abby's type. "Some factory in Ohio?"

"I don't understand men." Quinn said. "They're stupid and only care about sports."

"But they also look like sex and good orgasms." Abby added, still peaking at Stephen from time to time.

"Would you just get it over with and talk to him already?" Olivia encouraged. "If you want him, let it be known. You've never been shy before, don't start on me now."

Abby was about to agree with Olivia and thank her for the small little pep-talk when Olivia was summoned by Fitz's loud hollering. Olivia hopped down from her stool to go find him. Abby and Quinn followed suit, wanting to know what it all was about.

When Olivia reached the living room, Fitz and Jake were arguing statistics.

"It takes more than numbers to make a team!" Fitz roared passionately. "Yes, the Yankees have the numbers. On a good day, they are a phenomenal team but it takes a lot more than practice. What your team lacks, mine has."

Crossed arms, Jake wore a sour look. "And what is that?" He asked.

"Heart." Fitz replied. "The Mets are more than just numbers and statistics. Admittedly, they haven't had many World Series championships in a few decades but they're very well accomplished as a whole team. They share the wins and the losses with pride. When they thrive, like they are right now in the series (5-2) it shows through their hard work and dedication."

Jake shook his head. How does he even agree against this? Looking up, he spotted Olivia. He gave her a once over in her outfit for the umpteenth time this night and yet again, how he reacted to her presence still didn't go away. She looked hot and it was taking everything in him not to drool over her. In the back of his mind, he's day-dreaming about what it would be like to fuck her. He wants to fuck her but he also wants to win this stupid argument with Fitz and hold up his team.

"Would you settle this down for us ladies?" Charlie pleaded. "These two are like two words away from trading punches." He threw back the rest of his beer, a smirk of sheer amusement plastered on his face. He was that kind of guy.

"Be honest Fireball," Fitz grabbed Olivia's hand and pulled her towards him more. Entwining their fingers together, he looked up at her and asked: "What team do you think is better: Yankees or Mets?"

Jake's gaze dropped at Fitz's and Olivia's entwined fingers. His brows tightened a little and curiosity filled him up. Were they a thing? His attention was brought back to the matter at hand when Olivia sighed.

"This is tough." She scrunched up her nose.

Jake thought she was pretty cute. And damn, she had these fuckable lips. He wondered what it would feel like to slide between those plump lips of hers and have her suck his soul out. Just the thought was enough to cloud him with lust and stir up a small tent in his jeans. But just as quickly as that tent formed, it downed twice as fast when she uttered her next few words.

"I have a soft spot for underdogs. Sorry Jake but I'll have to go with The Mets on this one."

A series of things happened next. Fitz shot up from his seat on the couch and picked Olivia up. She screeched as he swirled with her in his arms in the middle of the living room. He wore the biggest smile as he kissed Olivia's cheek. On the couch, Jake is running his fingers through his thin brown hair, clearly feeling the symptoms of defeat as he shook his head profusely back and forth. Charlie is still very much amused by all of it and poor Stephen is trying not to stare too long at the redhead perched up against the opposite wall in the living room with her a hand on her hip as she sipped on her beverage. Quinn was very much unbothered by all of it as she scrolled through her dash on Instagram.

"That's my girl!" Fitz said proudly as he put Olivia back on her feet. He wrapped his big arm around her neck and kissed her temple. "High five, baby." He held his hand up and Olivia could do nothing but oblige. She loved seeing him this happy.

A minute later, Jake still couldn't look at the pair and Fitz was still on his high horse, gloating.

"You wound me, Olivia." Jake told her. "I thought we were friends."

Olivia shrugged and offered him a tight-lipped smile. "Agree to disagree." She said.

"Now that that's over, can we get to playing some poker or what?" Charlie asked

...

Before the poker game started, Abby informed Fitz that they were running low on booze. Men don't play poker without booze because sometimes when shit gets serious, they need alcohol to numb the feeling of being the joke at the poker table. So, Fitz was going for a run to the liquor store. It was nearly eleven o'clock and pretty much everything near him was closed but luckily for all of them, there was a 24/7 liquor store just ten minutes from his apartment on foot.

Before he left, he checked in with Olivia who was assisting Quinn with his Apple Bluetooth system.

"I'm going on an errand run." He told her. "Don't go anywhere. I'll be back in less than twenty minutes, okay?"

Olivia handed Quinn her cellphone and turned to Fitz. "Can I come?" She asked.

That sounded like a great idea to Fitz. Apart from their little moment outside when Olivia had first arrived, he hadn't really had the chance to talk to her and he wanted that time with her. Just them. This was the perfect opportunity.

"Of course." He answered.

Olivia nodded. She grabbed Abby's jacket from the coat rack just in case it was a bit chilly outside and followed right after Fitz who took her hand in his as soon as she was within his reach.

But before they were out the door, Olivia was stopped by Abby. "I wanna make cantaritos. Can you grab what I need?" The redhead asked.

"Yeah." Olivia nodded.

So it was going to be a long night after all.

Smirking at the two of them at the door, Abby smirked. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." She said.

Tilting her head to the side and squinting at her best friend, Olivia threw the redhead the finger. "What wouldn't you do, Abigail?"

The redhead pondered the question for a second then nodded. "Good one." She said.

"Thank you!" Olivia flashed back a smile and then they were out the door.

...

In the illuminated streets of New York, Olivia breathe in the fresh air. She didn't even need Abby's jacket after all. it was such a beautiful night out. There was this breeze out that made her want to hop into a convertible, let the sunroof down and release her wild mane of curls into the wind as she flies through a fairly empty road for a very long drive. It was that kind of night out and it brought a deep sense of peace and happiness to her. That happiness was multiplied tenfold because accompanying her was one of the most wonderful human being she's ever known. Olivia couldn't think of anyone else to share this night with.

They'd decided to ditch Fitz's truck altogether as soon as the summer night breeze had hit them and since, Olivia has been plastered at his side. He carried her jacket on one shoulder and tucked her at his side. With one arm around her neck, their fingers entwined, they walked down the streets in a comfortable silence.

"Everything okay?" Fitz asked.

Olivia nodded her head with a smile. "Everything's great." She replied, looking up at him.

They stopped briefly in the middle of the sidewalk as Fitz halted them. He looked at Olivia with this intensity that made her feel as though she was the most beautiful woman in the world. She swooned under the penetrating gaze of his blue eyes.

"You're beautiful." Fitz said.

When he said it, Olivia simply smiled back at him. She felt it. She believed him.

They resumed their walk and Olivia lie her head on his broad shoulder. Damn he smelled good.

This was a great night indeed.

"I love the haircut, by the way." She complimented.

She could feel his smile against her cheek. "Thank you, Fireball."

...

In the liquor store, Olivia browsed the aisles with Fitz rocking to Valerie - Amy Winehouse's version as it played on the overhead speakers. Fitz grabbed a bottle of silver tequila while Olivia chose a favored bottle of wine for herself. She put it in the little green basket that Fitz carried before walking towards the fridges where some of the drinks were cooling.

"Should I grab more beers for the boys?" She hollered to Fitz.

He came into view and shook his head. He raised a bottle of scotch instead and winked. "Poker tends get a rise out of Jake when he starts to lose. We need the good stuff to knock him out."

Smirking, Olivia nodded. "Gotcha."

She slid open one of the doors of the freezers and reached for a large bottle of grapefruit soda. Fitz grabbed a pack of ice and then they were at the register checking out. Olivia's eyes landed on chocolate truffle treats that were on sale seventy-five percent off. They might taste terrible but because they were so cheap, she bought them anyways. Her Nana thought her to never pass up on a good deal. She aimed to make the woman proud beyond her grave.

Ever the gentleman, Fitz paid the bill. Olivia offered to help him with the bags but he politely declined. Even with his hands full he still managed to open doors for her when it was time to leave. He still grabbed her hand to hold when they crossed the street at a stop light. All of that only fully solidified what Olivia already knew about him. He was just an incredible man and she was so proud to call him her friend.

Soon enough, they were back at the house and tangled into the swing of things again.

...

In the kitchen, Abby is fast at work as soon as Fitz and Olivia are back from the liquor store. She searched through Fitz's fully stocked fridge for fruits. She founds some oranges, limes and lemons. Even without the grapefruits which were necessary to make this drink, she thought she could work with what she had in her possession as she filled a pitcher almost to the brim with ice. As she sliced a kitchen knife through the fruits, Stephen came stumbling in the kitchen. He didn't interrupt her masterpiece. He thought he was being respectful by keeping his distance and letting her do her thing. But as he stood in the doorway, watching her drain a whole bottle of tequila into a pitcher of ice and mixing it with other things, Stephen became more than amazed. She was cool. Too cool for him. Like way out of his league and it didn't help that she was sexy as sin to him.

"You're just gonna stare or are you actually gonna say something?" Abby didn't miss a beat as she incorporated the grapefruit soda into the pitcher of ice and tequila.

She's been aware of him staring at her and it took every ounce of self-control she had not to look up at him and melt. Abby didn't know what it was about him that made her like him so much. They'd barely spoken three sentences to each other all night. But damn it, he had the body of a Greek God, the swagger of an Abercrombie model, and a voice so deep smooth, it sounded like it was rolled in a bath full of orgasm. That wasn't all though. He had those wide brown eyes filled with warmth and God, his accent. Aby was a sucker for foreign accent and his was probably going to be the death of her.

"Sex on the beach." Stephen said.

As soon as the words escaped his lips, he cursed himself. What kind of idiot was he? He's been trying to figure out a way to talk to her all night and he blew the one and probably only opportunity he had to talk to her on a drink name! Seriously, what kind of idiot was he?

Abby chuckled. "Well, normally I require a meal first and more than five minutes of conversation before I do entertain the thought of sleeping with a man but I suppose I could make an exception for you."

She watched him blush and shift his weigh from foot to foot. Abby watched him become speechless and for some reason, that made him look all the more attractive to her.

"I didn't mean..."

"The drink." Abby said. "I know exactly what you meant." She squeezed oranges into the pitcher, next she tossed some lime, lemon slices and cherries into the pitcher as garnish before throwing a decent amount of salt into the beverage. Reaching for a ladle, she stirred the drink, mixing in everything together.

"I don't bite, you know. You can join me and talk to me." She opened Fitz's cabinet and found red plastic cups. Placing an empty one on the counter, she slid it over to him, another subtle invitation on her part.

Stephen took it. He fucked up his one opportunity royally but for one reason or another, she was giving him another chance. How could he not take it?

"Wanna be my taste tester?" Abby asked, almost shyly.

Stephen nodded eagerly. "Put me to work."

Abby seized him up and down. Her mind worked fast and sometimes, not always in the purest way. She'd like to put him to work alright. If his body is anything like she's imagining under these clothes, she won't just put him to work. Listen... hmm. Have mercy.

Deciding to seek redemption from her sinful thoughts, Abby poured a ladle of her masterpiece into his red cup and encouraged him to take a sip.

"Holy shit!" Stephen cried.

Abby laughed when he clutched his chest and begin coughing. "Too strong?" She inquired.

Stephen nodded. "There's a whole bottle of tequila in this." He said. "It's strong but it's really good. Are you a bartender or something?"

Abby shook her head. "I'm a tattoo artist..." She begin to tell him.

That piece of information only confirmed what Stephen already knew. Of course she's a tattoo artist and probably a damn good one at that if the tattoos on her skin were any of her work. She was way too cool for him.

"I was trying this thing a few years back," Stephen watched her pause as she thought of the perfect word. She scratched her brows and wrinkled her nose. It was the cutest thing he's ever seen a human being do. She was simply incredible in his eyes. "Hmm... "adulting" I think they call it these days. I got a job as a bartender in college. I loved it. It was a good gig."

"So how'd you get into tattoos?" Stephen asked, clearly intrigued.

She smirked at him as she turned around to grab a tray. She placed the pitcher of tequila cocktail on it and then grabbed more red cups. "That's awfully personal." She told him. She grabbed the tray from the counter and balanced it with one hand on the bottom, another sign of how good she truly was at all this bartending business. Stephen was interested to see what she could do behind an actual bar. "Ask me out and maybe we'll talk about it."

Damn it, she was smooth.

And just when Stephen thought she couldn't stun him anymore than she already does, she turned around and winked at him. "By the way, I'm more of a "fuck-me-senseless-in-a-bathroom" kind of gal. While sex on the beach does sound fun, I don't really like the feeling of sand everywhere."

Stephen watched her leave and disappear into the living room. He was completely bedazzled by the redhead.

"I'm in love." He said to himself.

...

Once the poker game started, everyone got a job.

Quinn played the role of a dealer at the poker table. After seeing what she can do with a deck of card and being deemed impressive by Charlie, the guys agreed that she should be in charge of dealing their cards. It worked out perfectly because Jake had the tendency to spew out the word "cheating" when he was starting to lose too much money.

Abby on the other hand was still a bartender. She was in charge of refilling cups of cantaritos and shots of scotch. She also made sure that bets were carried out exactly how it was supposed to. So far, the game favored Fitzgerald because he was winning big at the table.

As for Olivia, she wasn't really doing much. At the beginning of the game, she had been on DJ duty but soon, she was deemed Fitz's lucky charm because he thought with her by his side, his luck tonight at the table had never been stronger. This role benefitted her very well. She was currently two-hundred and fifty dollars richer because with each round won, Fitz split his shares with her. She really didn't have much to complain about.

Jake was not pleased.

Charlie didn't care much about losing a couple hundred bucks on some stupid poker game.

And Stephen was very focused. He had one goal to execute tonight. He was trying to figure out how he was going to get Abigail Whelan to go home with him. If not that, then he hoped that by the end of the night, he would ball up the nerves to ask for her phone number because there was no way he was leaving without the chance to get to know her a little bit better.

...

Way too many cups of cantaritos and shots of scotch later, the poker game had wrapped up and all six of them sat around the table in the kitchen playing a game of Bullshit. It was hilarious to say the least because with all of them drunk off their faces, it became easier at times to guess when someone at the table was lying about their hand. Everyone learned that Charlie was a terrible liar under the influence. Abby sucked at Bullshit, Stephen was in love... or maybe deep lust, and Quinn was a lightweight.

It was a quarter to two when everyone decided it was probably wise to start filing out. While being in the company of each other was fun, they all had lives to go back to the next morning and liver failure was not an option.

Stephen didn't know what it was that came over him in those final minutes. It might've been the alcohol but suddenly, he felt brave enough to talk to Abby. There was no way he was leaving without her in his arms. He wasn't going to miss his shot at being with the sexiest woman he's ever known. He felt ridiculous around her. This whole night he's felt like he was back in junior high with no game or whatsoever. And she was so tiny; hardly anything to be intimidated by but for some reason, Abby made him lose his sense of confidence. He wasn't the alpha male that had the ability to dominate the female population. He was reduced to a puppy that just wanted attention instead. So in this final moment, he was over the moon for this burst of adrenaline that had him standing outside of Fitz's guest bathroom waiting for her.

When she came out, he didn't hesitate twice about letting her know exactly how he felt. He grabbed her by the waist and pushed her up against the nearest wall in the dark hallway. With the light off, it was almost pitch black but Stephen could still see her glowing blue eyes. They were beautiful and Stephen forgot all about formalities.

"You're gonna kiss me or what?" Abby challenged.

Stephen shook his head as a smirk appeared on his face. She really was way out of his league. He's never met a woman who was so forward and unapologetic before tonight. Before Abigail Whelan. And when he kissed her, Stephen considered that to be the best choice he's ever made in his entire life. She was undoubtedly surprised but as soon as what was happening registered for her, she was kissing him back with a fierceness that threatened to paralyze him. Stephen doesn't believe in God but her lips sure tasted like heaven and her moans were the most delicate sounds to his ears. Her petite body fit perfectly against his and he hoisted her up against the wall, forgetting for a moment just where they were as her long legs went around his waist and her arms around his neck.

God is good.

Pulling away for a brief second, Stephen stared breathlessly into the redhead's blue eyes. His lips swollen, his eyes glazed with lust, he brought his hand to her face and ran his fingers through her short hair. She gave him a bashful smile and Stephen was sure there was no way out for him. He'd gotten a taste and now, he was forever addicted. He drew another kiss from the redhead's succulents lips before retreating back again to peck a freckle against her nose, sweetly. "Come home with me." He demanded.

Abby smiled again and Stephen felt his heart swell up in his chest. "I thought you'd never asked." She replied.

He could only kiss her lips again. He couldn't get enough.

When they walked back into the living room with fingers clasped together, Abby watched Olivia do the most ridiculous dance in her honor.

888

Much, much later, after everyone left and the place was a mess of empty beer bottles, red cups and shot glasses, both Fitz and Olivia retired in the living on the couch with a bottle of wine in the darkness. The thought to call for a cab to take her home didn't even cross Olivia's mind as she lie in Fitz's arms - silence their only companion. She had never felt more relaxed and at home than in that very moment cuddled up against his chest. It might've had something to do with her having way too many glasses of Abby's cantaritos but even that was debatable.

"Here." Voice hoarse, Olivia raised her hand up and brought a rum flavored truffle to Fitz's mouth from the box she had gotten when they made the trip to the liquor store for more alcohol earlier.

Fitz looked down in the darkness and took what was offered to him without question for the simple fact that he trusted Olivia. Once the chocolate hit his tongue, he moaned with delight as the rum flavor melted on his tongue and awakened his taste buds. Fitz was surprised how delicious they tasted considering they were cheap and bought from a convenient liquor store.

"These aren't half bad." He commented.

"I'm a woman of great taste." Olivia bragged as she brought another piece to his mouth. "Open, please."

"Yes, ma'am." Fitz happily obliged.

After the second piece, Fitz took a sip of her wine from the bottle. He then sighed and blew out a breath of exhaustion.

"Tired?" Olivia asked, looking up into his eyes.

Fitz's lips fell on her forehead and he kissed the crown of her head. "Yeah." He replied. "But I'm glad you're here. You?"

"Tired and drunk." Olivia replied.

And to that, they both chuckled.

"But I'm glad to be here too." Olivia added.

For a few minutes, silence fell between them again and they were more than happy to submit to it, not feeling the need to fill in the quietness with meaningless conversation. They were good that way - able to just enjoy each other's company without feeling the need to talk about anything because sometimes even when they said nothing, they told each other everything. This development only occurred over the course of time they spent together in the Hampton and though they're both in agreement that what they shared was rare and strange, they didn't think to question it because they also knew that this rare and strange thing is what makes them work. It's what makes them both such great friends.

"When did your couch get this comfortable by the way?" Olivia spoke, nearly half asleep.

Fitz chuckled. "It didn't." He replied. "This is a new one. Delivered just yesterday. Not bad, right?"

Even Fitz could agree that he was pretty obsessed with his new couch as well. The triple layers of soft velvet underneath him was worth every damn penny that the new recliner cost him.

"You won't hear any complaints from me, Chief." Olivia replied.

Fitz placed another kiss on her forehead before he made a move to get up but Olivia's whining and whimpering was making it a bit difficult.

"Where are you going?" Olivia asked.

"Bathroom." Fitz replied. "I'll only be a minute."

"Fine." Olivia pouted.

Fitz stood up and grabbed the nearly empty bottle of wine and the rest of the truffles. "You're done with those?"

Olivia nodded, eyes heavy with sleep. "Yeah."

She watched Fitz's back disappear into the darkness before grabbing a pillow and snuggling against it. The pillow kind of smelled like him.

...

When Fitz returned back five minutes later with aspirin, two bottles of water and a blanket in hand, he found Olivia almost fast asleep. She was dozing off with her legs hanging over the couch and her face buried in a throw pillow. A smile stretched Fitz's face as he placed the blanket on the arm of the couch and the bottles of water on the glass table in the middle of the living room. He then crouched down in front of her and begin working on removing her shoes. Before he'd gotten to the other foot, she stirred awake and looked embarrassed about falling asleep.

"I'm sorry." Olivia started to apologize.

Fitz just ignored her because he didn't know why she was apologizing for something as harmless as falling asleep. Exhaustion and intoxication were a pretty strong combination and coupled together, he couldn't blame her for falling asleep. So Fitz continued on with his task and succeeded in removing the second shoe before reaching for one of the bottles of water.

"Think you can sit up straight for a bit?" Fitz asked.

Olivia nodded even though the small movement caused her head to pound like crazy. Fitz handed her a bottle of water and she chugged half of it before he put two aspirins in the palm of her hand.

Upon finishing her water, Olivia wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and looked at Fitz. "Thank you." She said.

"No problem." He winked. "Can you kick your legs up."

Olivia folded her knees together towards her chest and Fitz pressed a button on the side of the couch that reclined it into a comfy bed.

"Uh, fancy." Olivia teased.

Fitz smirked before taking some aspirin and chugging a bottle of water himself. He then removed his shoes before climbing next to Olivia and pulling her against his chest. Naturally, Olivia's head found its rightful place in the crook of his shoulder as she gently wrapped her arms around his neck. It only took a second before Olivia's fingers were running through his curls. In return, Fitz's grip on her waist tightened and he kissed her forehead for the third time this night.

"Spend the day with me tomorrow." Fitz proposed.

Olivia sighed, burying her face further into his neck and inhaling his scent through his cotton t-shirt. "So long as you promise to feed me." She replied.

"Always." Fitz said.

Then, Olivia shrugged and completely melted at his side. She felt so relaxed and comfy that sleep wasn't very far behind. But before she dozed off again, this time for what she hopes will be well into the afternoon, she grabbed Fitz's hand that had come up to trace invisible circles on her forearm and entwined their fingers together before kissing the inside of his wrist. "Done and done, Ace."

The last thing Olivia felt before she completely blacked out to the land of dreams was Fitz hovering a blanket over her and him whispering: "Goodnight, Fireball," in her ears.

888

Next morning came and Fitz found himself awake earlier than usual for a Sunday morning - the reason being, this very beautiful woman sleeping next to him. At some point in the middle of the night, Fitz had awaken for a glass of water and made the decision to gather Olivia's unconscious body to his bed. And now, looking at her in her most vulnerable state - unconscious, unalert and blissfully peaceful, Fitz didn't think anything else in the world felt more right.

With the morning sunlight peaking through the curtains and bouncing off her skin, Olivia had this ethereal glow about her that made her look every bit the Goddess that Fitz thought she was. Fitz had never known a woman more beautiful in his lifetime and the urge to lean over to kiss her sweet, pouty lips was threatening to kill him.

Fitz must've stared too long and in the process forget himself as he got lost in the beauty that was Olivia Pope because when she woke up, he was very unaware and therefore, he got busted.

"You're staring. " Olivia whispered, shielding her face from his view.

Fitz sighed. What could he say? What possible excuse was good enough to justify getting caught staring at her like some creep?

Fitz reckoned he could tell the truth. It would be easy and simple. 'You're the most beautiful woman I've ever known and on that note, you should also know that I am madly, desperately and permanently in love with you.' Easy enough, right? But for some reason, he couldn't get the words out. They were stuck on the tip of his tongue and each second he spent not saying them, the words burned his tongue.

It just wasn't the right time- Fitz kept convincing himself but truth be told, he's the one that wasn't ready. He was the coward. Not time.

So to get himself out of this pickle he's suddenly found himself in, he came up with the bullshitest excuse there ever was.

"You're still staring, Ace." Olivia mumbled in her hands bashfully. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Fitz swallowed the sudden dryness in his throat as he begin. "Don't freak out, okay?"

Instantly on alert, Olivia removed her hands from her face to look at Fitz. She looked so damn adorable with those big brown eyes of hers. It also didn't help Fitz that her wild mess of curls were spilling all over his sheets and when she batted her thick, curly lashes at him, Fitz was a goner. He knew then that he would sell his soul to the devil for this girl in a heartbeat with no questions asked. He was in so deep, he couldn't even see a way out. Talk about seriously fucked.

"That's never a good statement, Fitz." Olivia said.

Fitz nodded. "I know." He agreed. "Just try not to freak out though."

The anticipation was killing Olivia the longer he stalled. She was really trying to keep it together but on the inside, her heart was hammering against her chest.

"Okay, spill it."

Fitz fought his hardest not to burst into laughter. This needed to work but he also knew if it did, Olivia would never forgive him. It was better than the latter.

"Alright," He drawled. "So, don't move but there's a spider crawling over you."

"WHAT?" Olivia screamed.

The next series of events that occurred were all hysterical to the eyes. Gone were the sheets and as soon as the word 'spider' registered to Olivia's ears, she was jumping out of Fitz's bed, screaming from the top of her lungs. She discarded her shirt to some other part of the room, leaving her in only a black bra as she shook her hair like crazy.

"Why the hell are there spiders in your room, Fitz?!" Olivia yelled.

Meanwhile on the bed, tears were coating the corners of Fitz's eyes. His head was thrown back and his throat was visibly vibrating from the sound obnoxious laughter escaping his lips. By the time Olivia caught on to his cruel joke, she was way too pissed off and entirely too frightened to find any of it funny. She didn't find anything with eight legs and the ability to crawl funny, so her only response to Fitz's very cruel joke was to attack him with pillows. Of course, that did nothing because it only caused him to laugh even harder while dodging every blow.

"That was not funny!" Olivia cried, clearly annoyed.

Fitz had finally managed to get a lid on his laughter but he still possessed a stupid grin on his lips as he looked at Olivia. "I didn't know you were scared of spiders." He said.

"You got jokes." Olivia rolled her eyes.

"Well, we never really did talk about our deepest, darkest fears." He reasoned. "And besides, you're so tough. I just never took you for the spider-fearing kind of gal."

"Oh shut up, Fitzgerald." Olivia muffled a pillow over his face.

At this point, she was seriously contemplating suffocating him but she quickly had to remind herself that despite his cruel joke, he was still one of her favorite person.

"Are you really mad at me?" Fitz asked.

Olivia shrugged. "I don't know." She sassed. "I just tried to kill you with a pillow. That sound too friendly to you?"

"Wow." Fitz whispered dramatically. "I'm sorry to break it to you, but you're gonna have to forgive me, sweetheart." He said.

Olivia scoffed at him. "Why is that?"

Fitz grabbed her hand and somehow, Olivia was now straddling his lap. She was shirtless, wearing nothing but a pair of his boxers and a black bra. It didn't go unnoticed to the both of them how inconvenient this all seemed but it certainly didn't feel as such because to each other, they were just Ace and Fireball. They shared a level of comfortability with each other that was unknown to many and that was part of what made their 'friendship' so unique all on its own.

"I forgave you for attempting to murder me with a pillow." Fitz replied. "It's only fair that you afford me the same courtesy for scaring you with spider that doesn't even exist."

Olivia shook her head and crinkled her nose in that cute way that could drive any man into the land of insanity. But unfortunately and well… also fortunately, Fitz was currently the only man walking that path to insanity. He couldn't really fault her though. She didn't know what she was doing to him.

"I don't think that's how it works." Olivia said.

"That's exactly how it works." Fitz nodded. "Forgiving is caring." He wiggled his eyebrows.

To further thrust him to the very brink of insanity with no way of turning back, she burst into laughter. The sound unlike anything Fitz has ever known. He was convinced that this was the happiest sound on earth. It was music to Fitz's hopeless heart even if it was at his expense.

"No one says that, Ace." Olivia informed.

Fitz shook his head: completely, stupidly, madly, desperately and permanently in love with this girl. She didn't even know the intensity of that love. Only he did and it threatened to blow him into smithereens every second he spent not proclaiming it and setting it free.

"No one likes a smartass." Fitz sassed. "Now, forgive me, woman."

"… or what?" Olivia challenged.

Fitz raised his brows, clearly feeling attacked. "I never planned on there being an or else but since someone decided to be a smartass, I suppose I'm gonna have to come up with an alternative, won't I now?"

She got no warning. Somehow, this whole pleasant banter had turned into a merciless wrath of kisses being unleashed and Olivia was very adamant on shielding herself from them.

"Am I forgiven yet?" Fitz asked.

Olivia was not blunt enough to admit that she was enjoying all this pampering a little too much.

"Nope!" She replied.

And so begin the onslaught of pampering again.

Olivia had never thought it was possible to get exhausted from laughing while dodging kisses. But she was. She was tired and she could feel a cramp starting in her stomach from enjoying all of this a little too much.

"Okay, okay…" Olivia surrendered, shaking her head back and forth. She started chuckling. "Your beard tickles."

Their foreheads perfectly aligned, Fitz pushed back her mass of crazy curls that were tumbling over her face.

"Am I forgiven?" He asked again.

This time, Olivia did nod even as she wore a cute grin across her lips. "Yes." She answered. "I forgive you for being an asshole."

Fitz gasped. "You're so mean to me." He complained with a pout.

He went to give Olivia one more kiss on the cheek but it was also at that moment that she chose to move her face.

… and then, it just happened.

At first, Olivia didn't even think it happened. It was the sweetest, lightest, softest touch she's ever experienced. She could feel her heart thumping against her chest but being in the moment, she wasn't over thinking it. It's like her brain stopped functioning altogether, so with her mind completely blank, Olivia let her eyes close. It was just ten seconds.

Ten seconds of not knowing death, sorrow or pain.

It was only ten seconds but it felt like forever. Like time had suspended and became completely void as this game changer moment happened. Ten second of nothing but… joy? Ten seconds that felt completely glorious.

It was over way too soon because when Olivia opened her eyes again, Fitz was just staring at her. His eyes were filled with something she couldn't dare to put a name to. She waited for the moment to run its course and for the apologies to come flying out but instead, they simply stared; unable to put into words what had just transpired between them.

The unbearable silence that followed suit was much too unlike them and so the spell was broken.

"Breakfast?" Olivia proposed.

Fitz blinked; maneuvering himself out of the trance he'd been stuck in. Then, it suddenly kicked in and his heart rate sped up. He kissed her! They kissed! It was an accident but it happened and it was glorious. Wow!

Just as quickly as his heart rate had picked up, it dropped twice as fast when Fitz realized that they weren't going to talk about it because the kiss was nothing else but a mistake. A fluke accident that they were going to treat as such by pretending that it didn't happen.

Therefore, with that understanding, all Fitz could say to her proposition was a whispered, "Okay."

…

They went through breakfast not addressing the humongous, pink elephant in the room. Even as Olivia helped Fitz clean up his apartment from the mess of the night before, they still don't talk about it. Not because it was a touchy subject but because deep down, they both knew that the kiss happened and they didn't want to talk about it for fear that it might make things awkward between them. So in this instance, they were both cowards

Olivia huffed as she let go of the big recycling bag she was holding. She was used to being with Fitz in the quiet. Some of their best times together existed because of the comfortable silence they grew to appreciate. But something about this quietness didn't sit well with Olivia. She couldn't stand Fitz not being able to look her in the eyes or him walking around her on eggshells. It was ridiculous. They were mature adults.

To loosen up the cold mood, Olivia quickly ran down the hall to Fitz's room to retrieve her phone. Using Fitz's charger, she plugged her phone against the wall once she was back in the living room. Once her phone powered back on, she connected it to his Apple Bluetooth speakers. Soon enough, the sound of Sam Smith's swoon worthy voice was filling up the apartment as Olivia begin to sing the words out loud. It didn't even take two seconds before Fitz was popping his head in the living room.

"Why do you insist on torturing me?" He asked.

With a smirk playing on her lips, Olivia turned to the sound of his voice and winked. "You'll live, Ace."

And when Fitz smiled back, they both knew they'd be just fine.

888

Hours later found them right back where their day had begin. They were back in Fitz's room, on the bed, staring blankly up at the rotating fan in the ceiling. After cleaning up the entire apartment, taking turns showering, and then eating a late lunch, they were both bored out of their minds.

"What should we do?" Fitz asked.

Olivia shrugged. She was fine. She didn't mind simply lying there with him, doing nothing. Olivia considered any time spent in Fitz's presence to be great, whether they were breaking into his gym late at night or simply laying in silence with each other in the middle of the day. It didn't matter to her what they did. Just his company was good enough for her but she sensed that when Fitz asked her to spend the day with him the previous night, he had something better in mind than retiring back to his bedroom in the late afternoon with nothing to do.

"Wanna go for a run?" Olivia didn't know why she would even suggest such a thing. She absolutely hated that thing called running but it's the best she could come up with.

Fitz on the other hand didn't think it was a bad idea. He figured anything was better than being holed up in his apartment with nothing productive to do. Plus, it was nice out.

"Sure." He replied.

…

Half an hour later, they were at Olivia's place. Fitz was sitting in the living room waiting for her as she changed into her work out gear. As he sat down, Fitz took in her place in its entirety for the very first time. It was very Olivia Pope style: tidy, creatively decorated and most of all, welcoming.

A few minutes later, Olivia came back out dressed in Nike black and grey split shorts, a purple tank top, matching light grey and purple Nike free runs. Her crazy curls were tamed by a thin headband and pulled up into a messy bun.

Damn- Fitz thought.

He didn't know how she made running gears look sexy but apparently, there wasn't an ability that the woman didn't possess. Fitz had the impression that she could wear a trash bag and she'd still manage to make it work.

Olivia went to her full fridge and pulled out two bottles of water. She started chugging hers on her way back to the living room and once she reached Fitz, she thrust the other one at him.

"Ready?" She asked.

Fitz nodded. "Yep."

…

They left Fitz's truck parked in the parking lot of Olivia's building, deciding to instead walk the twenty minutes to Central park. Once they'd gotten there, they did a few stretches before taking off on a light jog as a warm up. Olivia had decided to get a little competitive and Fitz never having been one to turn down a challenge quickly accepted when Olivia proposed a race.

The five miles run was brutal because of the summer heat but it was also fun because every time they wanted to give up, one or the other would trash talk, giving each other the boost they needed to finish the race.

Long distance wise, Fitz crushed Olivia by a mile but when it came to sprinting, she murdered his entire manhood. Fitz had never raced a quicker opponent or one more competitive than Olivia Pope. It was true, people learn something new every day.

After a grueling forty five minutes run, they both passed out on the grass under a sycamore street in Central Park. They were breathless, sweaty and entirely too exhausted to care about the weird looks that people were giving them, let alone fathom the thought of moving from their position on the ground.

"I hate running." Olivia said, her heart thumping against her chest. With all the adrenaline still pumping in her veins, cooling down proved to be more difficult than usual and breathing became a full body task.

Fitz nodded in agreement as he wiped the sweat off his brows with the back of his hand. "Me too." He said. "But on the bright side, I think we just might be qualified for the New York marathon or the Olympics."

"Oh yeah?" Olivia heaved, "Well, good luck to you, Romeo. I'll be sure to bring a lounge chair, with lots of snacks to support you."

Fitz begin laughing which made it even more difficult to catch his breath. Soon enough, he sounded like he was ready to cough up a lung.

"Stop laughing." Olivia said smilingly. "I can't give you CPR when I can barely breathe myself."

Five minutes later, they were back to normal. Their breathings had become regular again and their hearts finally stopped thumping at the speed of a thousand snare drums. Although, their legs were still a working progress.

Olivia still couldn't feel hers at all.

"Come on." Fitz sat up, encouraging Olivia to do the same. "You're gonna cramp up. You gotta get up and walk it off."

Olivia did so with a lot of groans of disapproval. She hated running. She felt all gross and sweaty, not to mention so exhausted. All she could think about was a shower and fast food. Luckily for her, one of two was more attainable.

As they passed by a frozen yogurt shop, Olivia didn't have to think twice before she was dragging Fitz inside the shop with her.

"Let's go make some unhealthy choices." She said.

Fitz could only follow.

The yogurt shop was one of those make-your-own-treat kind of place so it was really cool to be able to play with all the toppings. They both got vanilla flavors with a wide combination of really delicious coverture.

"This is the best thing ever." Olivia proclaimed. A moan of pure delight escaped her lips as she brought another spoonful of the cold treat to her mouth.

Fitz silently agreed. He could never help the admiration that clouded his vision whenever he watched Olivia eat. He loved that she had an appreciation for food and could enjoy the simple indulgence. He loved that she could throw her head back on a Sunday afternoon and moan with avidity while eating a delicious treat without worrying about walking off the calories after. The same couldn't be said for a lot of women.

"So what's up, Ace?" Olivia asked, looking at Fitz across from her in the booth. "Tell me something I don't already know."

"I'm thinking of getting a dog." Fitz informed.

To be honest, the idea of getting a pet has been in the back of his mind for quite a while now. But he's been putting off going to the animal adoption center because of his working schedule. Being the owner of a small business, Fitz liked to be hands on, so therefore he puts in very long hours at the gym. He didn't want to get a pet, only to neglect it by leaving it at his apartment for the better part of a full day.

"Why are you second guessing it?" Olivia asked.

Fitz was amazed with her ability to read his mind sometimes. It was quite frightening but still amazing nonetheless.

"Because I won't have time to care for it." He answered.

"I think you should get it." Olivia said after another spoonful of her frozen yogurt. "We could co-parent if that would make it easier for you."

"Seriously?" Eyes wide, Fitz raised his brows in question.

"Yep." Olivia nodded, swinging her legs under the table like a toddler. "And it's gonna be great."

Fitz could only agree. "It's gonna be great."

So, they were adopting a dog together. They were both smiling. It was going to be great.

…

Much later…

When they'd gotten back from their run and yogurt indulgence, they didn't even debate whether or not they should spend the night together again. As soon as Olivia entered her apartment, she simply packed an overnight bag with her toiletries, seeing as though she planned on showering and washing her hair over at Fitz's house.

Now fresh out of the shower with her hair still wet from a refreshing hour wash, Olivia walked into Fitz's room sporting a large grey over-sized t-shirt and a pair of checkered boxers.

Minutes later, Fitz walked into the room carrying a large box of pizza and napkins in one hand. With the other, he managed a bottle of wine he'd smuggled out of Olivia's house along with two glasses of wine. A smile that certainly reached his eyes blossomed on his cheek when he was presented with the sight of Olivia drying her hair with a towel next to his bed. This was by far his favorite look on her. Her in his clothes looking comfortable and relaxed. That's when she was the most beautiful in his opinion. At that exact moment, Fitz couldn't picture his day ending any better. He had his favorite girl with him, greasy cheese and Italian sausage pizza and a great bottle of wine. He was the luckiest man alive. He believed so with all his being.

Fitz hopped into bed at the same time as Olivia and this time, try as he might, the urge to lean over and kiss her wouldn't go away. So he did. He leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheek knowing that it's as much as they both could handle for the time being. He then thrust the box of pizza in the middle of the bed and opened the top. They wasted no time digging in.

Two slices in, Fitz turned on the TV and started browsing Netflix for something interesting to watch but to no avail. He then switched to Hulu where they had much more success with a TV series. They both decided on Vikings after reading the plot description. They were both hooked on the TV show after the first episode and so they decided to make it a marathon.

The two fell asleep blissfully drunk and exhausted around three o'clock in the morning with the TV still streaming. In each other's arms, they snored, unaware and unbothered by the outside world, for they were the only two who existed when they were together.

And it was great. Glorious even.

Following week...

It was after closing on a Thursday night and Fitz had decided to stay a bit later at the gym to get a much needed work out. He was sort of dealing with a lot of internal battles approaching the anniversary of his parent's death and he found that working out and pushing his body to exhaustion was the best way to deal with the pain that this day usually brought him. He wasn't looking for much company, but when Jake Ballard, his colleague volunteered to join him, Fitz didn't mind as much. He could work out without really talking to him.

So here they were, warming up on the treadmills with the speakers blasting Prince's Purple Rain. Fitz looked lost in his own head while focusing on his breathing and pushing through the burn that started at the back of his leg.

"Did you catch the Yankees's win last night?" Jake asked.

They were barely ten minutes in and he was already out of breath while Fitz hasn't even broken off a sweat yet.

Fitz shook his head. "We already went over this." He replied. "I don't care much for the Yankees."

"That's right, I forgot. You're a Mets fan." Jake chuckled. "You disappoint me, man."

Fitz rolled his eyes. If he knew that there would be talking involved, he would've left to go workout elsewhere or at least use his headphones because that would've been a clear sign that he didn't wish to bond over baseball with a guy who doesn't even get the concept of the game. To Jake, so long as his team won, that made them the best. Fitz huffed. "Whatever."

"Speaking of baseball," Jake said, his breathing labored. "What's the deal with you and that girl from Gumbo Night?"

Jake was curious. He thought Olivia was cute but he'd seen how Fitz interacted with her and he wanted to know what the deal was with them before he made a move on her. It wasn't a question of interest or if Olivia was worth stepping on Fitz's toes. Olivia intrigued him enough to take her on a date or two, but what he was more interested in was tapping her. He imagined she's be a great and fun fuck because ever since he's seen her in that sexy little outfit she wore that night to Fitz's Gumbo Night, she's been featuring in a few of his fantasies that he wouldn't mind making real.

On cue to his question, a mean look graced Fitz's features as his brows tighten. "What girl?"

Fitz knew exactly who Jake was talking about and to be perfectly clear, he didn't give a flying fuck about how cool he was with Jake. If he made a move on Olivia, it will be the last thing he did on this earth. He'll kill Jake before he got within ten feet of Olivia because a guy with Jake's reputation would only hurt her and walk away with no regrets or whatsoever. Fitz was having none of it.

"You know, the one with the fat ass and those dick sucking-"

Fitz didn't even let him finish. He brought the treadmill to a complete stop and snapped his full attention to Jake. "You better not finish that sentence." He said seriously. His chest was heaving and not from running on the treadmill for the past fifteen minutes, although he's sure that played a factor in it. He was heaving because he was ready to punch Jake's face in if he continued his crass description of Olivia.

When Fitz saw that Jake got his message loud and clear (Which was: he wouldn't hesitate twice about fucking him up if he continued to disrespect his friend to his face,) Fitz's tightened his eyebrows and told him: "Her name is Olivia and you'd do best to keep her name out of your mouth and any thoughts you have about her, out of your mind."

The reaction Fitz got next from him after that was not what he was expecting. Instead, the asshole's face broke into a smug ass grin before he burst into laughter. "Oh, I fucking knew it!" Jake said.

"Know what exactly?" Fitz asked, hands at his side- already sick of his shit.

"Be straight with me," Jake begin, wiping his forehead with a towel. "You're tapping her, aren't you?"

Fuck's sake!

Fitz groaned internally. It was taking everything in him not to knock Jake out upside the head. "No." He replied. "And even if I was, I don't think it would be any of your business."

"Ah, got it." Jake scratched his brows before looking up at Fitz. "So you wouldn't mind if I asked her out?"

"Oh but I would." Fitz quickly replied.

"Why's that?" Jake asked. "Is it because she's your girl?"

Fitz wanted to pull his hair. He didn't get Jake's sudden fixation on Olivia and he was starting to blame himself because hadn't he invited Jake to his home, he wouldn't have met Olivia and right now, they wouldn't be having this ridiculous conversation. He already had enough shit to worry about, he didn't need to be worried about Jake getting any closer to Olivia.

"No." Fitz repeated again. And with much more conviction in his voice, he added: "I mean it. Stay the fuck away from her or we're going to have a serious problem."

With that said, Fitz got off the treadmill and left to go hit the weighs. He could already feel a headache coming and he was none too pleased about it. So much for wanting to work out his demons.

888

It started about three weeks after the Hampton - the terrible, sickening feeling that she was being watched by someone at every corner that she turned. Olivia was never really quite sure though. The first few times she felt it, she chalked it up to pure paranoia. After all, who in New York City would want to follow her everywhere she goes? The thought was absolutely ludicrous and borderline stupid.

But her gut is never wrong and up to a few days prior, those thoughts were absurd to her until she started noticing him everywhere.

He couldn't have been more than eighteen or nineteen years of age. He was this scrawny looking kid who wore clothings that looked bought from thrift shops. He had a terrible haircut and the few times that Olivia would spot him, he was either seen on a skateboard or a bicycle on the other side of the street anywhere Olivia appeared to be, at the most inconvenient time. Surely that couldn't just be a coincidence.

At first, Olivia paid him no mind at all. She thought that he was just some harmless kid until she was given reasons to think otherwise. She had been on a friend's night out with Fitz, Abby, Quinn, Cece, Harrison and Stephen when she spotted him outside the restaurant's windows taking pictures of them. Olivia couldn't freak out right then. With Harrison, Fitz and Abby around, Olivia was sure that if she pointed the kid out to either one of them, they would murder the kid and she'd be an accomplice to a homicide. Before she risked getting herself and her friends incarcerated and possibly ruining their lives, she needed concrete evidence.

Little did she know, she would find that evidence three days later.

Olivia had purposely gone to her Pilates class later in the evening instead of her usual morning routine to throw him off. And after stopping for her regular veggie shake at Liquiteria, a little smoothie places on 9th avenue, she gave him the slip next to a corner liquor store. Going inside, Olivia bought a bottle of cheap wine and emerged from the back of the store as opposed to the front door where she had went in.

Olivia watched him look lost and confused, even freaking out a little bit when he could no longer spot her and that was the moment when Olivia decided that she needed some fucking answers from this kid.

She caught him off-guard and he nearly bust his ass off his skateboard when she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him into a secluded alley that reeked with the smell of piss. His heart rate picked up and his eyes grew wide with fear.

"You been looking for me, kid?" Olivia asked.

He looked more than scared when Olivia smashed the cheap bottle of wine she's just purchased at the liquor store against the wall over his head. The red liquid dripped down the wall, most of it soaked through the cement while some on it landed on the floor along with the shards of glass. She held the neck of the broken bottle with a death grip between her and the kid's throat.

"Who are you and why the fuck have you been following me?" She asked.

Hands up in surrender over his head, the kid pleaded with Olivia. "Please don't hurt me."

Though clearly shaken with fear, through it all, he never once looked at Olivia in the eyes. Olivia guessed that he was either extremely anti-social or very autistic. She was betting the latter.

"You'd better start talking, right now!" Olivia seethed.

"Okay. Okay." He nodded vigorously. When he started speaking, he spoke really fast in as little words as possible, almost as if the world would end once he ran out of words. "My name is Silas McLaughlin, and I'm a photography major at NYU. A few weeks ago this guy approached me at an exhibit at the museum of art while I was on a date and offered me a job. At first, I didn't really want to do it because that's not the kind of work I do… I mean, not the kind of photography I take but I'm a broke college student with a very sick mother at home to take care of and I could do with the extra cash he was offering. So I agreed. I didn't know why he needed me to take those pictures. I just assumed you were his wife cheating on him with that white dude I've seen you with all the time and he was just too cheap to hire a real private investigator."

Realization dawned on Olivia when she realized that the white dude Silas was referring to was Fitz. He's not only been following her and taking her pictures. Pictures of her friends were being taken too during their outings.

"Son of a bitch!" Olivia muttered angrily. "Can you describe the guy that gave you the job?"

Silas nodded and went on to describe Edison Davis to a T.

"Where are the pictures you took?" Olivia asked him.

"They're on my phone, in my pocket." He replied. "I upload the pictures from ICloud and print them off at the end of each day."

'Oh, that's just great!' Olivia thought. She wanted so badly to slap this kid upside the head. There was no telling what kinds of pictures he'd taken of her. Pissed off didn't even begin to cover just exactly what Olivia was.

"Give me your phone." Olivia said, her voice eerily cold and calm.

Silas slowly reached in his pocket for the phone and handed it to Olivia. He rattled off the four digit passcode that was on it to her and pleaded with her once again. "Please don't hurt me."

As angry as Olivia was, she didn't plan to touch a hair on his head. Not unless he tried something stupid.

She took the phone from him and tucked it inside the pocket of her sweater. "Silas, look at me."

With a lot of difficulty and a little bit of time, Silas managed to make eye contact with Olivia. His eyes were a beautiful shade of hazel with little specks of green swimming in them. And up close, his shaggy brown hair didn't look so bad at all. He was a good looking kid overall.

"You're gonna delete your ICloud account tonight, do you understand me?" Olivia said very slowly. "After tonight, you are done following me. In fact, you're fired. And if I ever catch you tailing me and taking pictures of me and my friends again, I'll make sure the next place you end up at is in a bus heading upstate straight to sing-sing in handcuffs where you will be picked at for being a little creep and your life as you know it will be over! You can kiss your sick mother goodbye, along with that scholarship you're riding on at NYU and I'll make sure that your life is hell even after you're done serving your time in lock up. I. Will. Destroy. You, kid. And before you call bullshit and try to think of ways to outsmart me, I want you to know that I do not lie. I always do what I promise. Do you understand what I'm saying to you, Silas?"

Silas stood there against the cement wall shitless petrified with the fear of God put into him. He was sweating profusely and what was missing for him to urinate all over himself wasn't much.

"O-okay!" He stuttered. "I-I'll do anything you want. I'll delete the account. I'll stop following you. You'll never see me again." He promised.

"Good." Olivia released the tight grip she had on him and took a step back from him. She dropped the sharp piece of glass she held in defense towards him to the floor. "Get out of here, Silas." She said. "Do a magic trick and make yourself disappear out of my sight."

Still, the poor frightened kid stood frozen against the cement wall, unable to move as if he was stuck in quicksand. Before today, Silas had never met a woman so badass. She just handled him like a gangster. It felt like something straight out of the Godfather and he couldn't get his legs to move because in his mind, as soon as he moved, he was getting a bullet in the back of his head, execution style. He was too young. He had a bright future ahead of him despite his upbringing. He wasn't ready to die.

So he stayed plastered against the wall, asking for forgiveness for his sins. Olivia who was almost on the brink of tears, with anger stomped her feet hard on the concrete ground to help him get a move on because she couldn't understand why he was still staring at her with this look on his face after she told him to leave. "GO!" She screamed.

Silas didn't let himself be told twice. He figured if he ran fast enough, he could outrun a bullet if one was indeed coming for him as soon as he turned his back. He waited for it and nothing came. It wasn't until Silas was on the train did he finally take a deep breath. He was done with New York City. He was going to move to Wisconsin with his aunt where he could never be found.

…

Once Olivia got home, she barely bothered with a shower. As soon as she unlocked the door to her apartment, she jumped straight to her laptop and plugged Silas's phone to the device. Almost instantly, a copy of Silas's phone drive popped on her laptop screen and she accessed the little popping icon to see what it contained.

Ove five-hundred pictures came through the screen and Olivia sat down, horror clouding over her face as she flipped through every single one of them. Hot tears brimmed the back of her eyes as she begin to feel anger rising up in her veins again. That son of a bitch has had her followed; watched: her every movement scrutinized by some college kid who didn't know any better. Her friends were brought into this mess against their consent. Intimate moments that she's shared with them all captured in some form for this freak to see. And for what?!

Olivia couldn't stomach any of it anymore. She printed a few of the pictures and stuffed them into an envelop as evidence along with Silas's phone before she grabbed her keys and left for the police station. If she didn't put a stop to this right now, Olivia had a terrible feeling that she was going to live to regret not taking the right course of action in order to end it all.

A week later…

Olivia was just leaving her apartment with Abby and Quinn for a night out in the town when out of nowhere, he jumped out of a black sedan across the street from her apartment building. He was coming towards her off balance, his skin smelled like he had been soaking in a pool of whiskey for weeks. She barely recognized him at first. He spotted a terrible beard, his hair grew big enough into an afro and his clothes were absolutely disheveled. He looked worse than the last time Olivia saw him.

"No." Olivia muttered under her breath, shaking her head. "NO!" She repeated, this time louder. Almost screaming it from the top of her lungs. "Abby, call 9-1-1."

"I just wanna talk." Edison slurred.

He carried a manila envelop with him as he continued to stumble towards her.

"Call the damn cops, Abby!" Olivia said again.

As he balanced towards her on weak legs, Olivia took a step back and so did Abby and Quinn. God, he reeked.

"I just wanna fucking talk!" Edison screamed loud enough to stop traffic and attract the attention of a few pedestrians. "This is exactly what your damn problem is! You never fucking listen to nogoddamnbody! What is wrong with you?!" He growled.

Abby reached for her phone and started dialing the three digits for the authorities. This man was fucking crazy and there was no way in seven hells she was going to let Edison Davis take another step towards her and her friends.

"No please," Hands in the air in surrender, Edison pleaded with Abby not to call the police. Looking at Olivia, he begged her with his tired eyes for just a minute of her ear, to hear him out. "I just wanna talk." He said.

"You take another step and I'm pressing the call button." Abby swore.

"Okay," Edison agreed dejectedly.

He then looked at Olivia again. There was so much sadness in his eyes, so much exhaustion in his body and then suddenly, out of nowhere, he burst into a river of tears.

"You took a restraining order against me, Liv."

Seeing those tears running down his face in huge droplets, Olivia almost felt sorry for him. Then she remembered what happened the last time she let her guard down and let herself feel sympathy for him. She swore to herself to never make that mistake again.

"Exactly what would you have me do after you showed up to my parent's house and physically assaulted me?" This piece of information was breaking news to the ears of a particular redhead and Olivia could feel the daggers that Abby was shooting at the side of her head but she continued addressing Edison anyways. "What would you have me do after you've had me followed and watched for weeks by some scared college kid?" Olivia yelled. "You tell me if the roles were reversed, what would you have done?!"

Edison looked distraught and exhausted. Like a man fighting a battle that he knows is already lost with a one man army - his demons his only helper.

"Can't you see that I'm trying to get you back, Olivia?" He questioned, as if his intentions should be very obvious to her. "All I want is another chance to prove to you that I can be better for us; that somewhere in there, I'm still the man you once loved and trusted. That we could be to each other what we once were." His voice faded; a clear sign of his defeatedness. "I just want another chance."

Olivia's heart broke for him despite how hard she was trying not to feel anything for him at that very moment. She wasn't a monster or some cold hearted bitch that's able to just shut down when it suits her. Seeing him was hurting her. The thought that she used to know the man that Edison Davis used to be brought her great sadness now that she was looking at him and what became of him. He was a shell of the person he used to be. He was a sad, sad man, lost in such a big world all by himself, with nothing, no one, on a very dangerous path to self-destruction. It truly pained Olivia because she couldn't save him; not even if she wanted to. She could forgive the things he did to her; hell if it would make a difference right now, in this very moment, she could honestly say that she'd already forgiven Edison Davis. But she couldn't save him. He had to want that all for himself and put in the work to build himself back up. He had to do it for himself. Not for her or anyone else. But for himself.

"There is no us, Edison." Olivia said. "There never was."

Talk about kicking a man when he's down. Olivia didn't want to do it but it's what had to be done. He was spiraling out of control and he had prolonged into stalkerish behavior so she felt the need to make her feelings clear to him. She. Didn't. Want. Him. Anymore. Not even if he got better. With those seven words, she managed to shatter the rest of Edison's heart into tiny pieces of dust, gone with the wind as if he never had a beating heart to begin with, just as much as there never was a them.

"How does it feel to know that you have ruined someone who once used to be a powerful, respected man, Olivia?" Edison asked, chuckling brokenheartedly. He could barely do his damn job. Now he just clocks in for a few hours, and spends the day in his office getting drunk before clocking out to get even more drunk. He no longer had aspirations. He used to want to be somebody. With his political savviness and knowledge, Edison Davis once dreamed of running for Senate but those dreams were far behind him because now, all his energy was poured into fixing what he'd broken. All his energy was drained on trying to get Olivia Pope back! He was exhausted and the little bitch doesn't even want to acknowledge his efforts. He was running out of options, out of moves, out of the last shreds of his damn energy. "Are you proud of yourself? Do you finally fell like something important? Has the puppy finally found its bark and grow into a big dog? All my efforts to try and prove to you that we could make this work are shit! You haven't even acknowledged them because you're too busy WHORING yourself out to that white, cracker son of a bitch! YOU'VE RUINED A GOOD MAN AND YOU DON'T EVEN SEEM TO CARE! ARE YOU HAPPY, OLIVIA?"

Olivia's heart continued to break for him even as he rattled off a bunch of non-sense. Although, she should feel happy because karma had gotten him back and served her a great dose of justice on a shiny silver platter; Olivia didn't take pleasure in seeing him like this. He was wrong. So wrong. She didn't feel powerful or proud. Instead looking at him standing approximately twenty feet away from her, Olivia pitied him more than anything. And as for whoring herself out to Fitz, she blacked that part out completely because clearly, that drunk didn't know what the fuck he was talking about.

"Take care of yourself, Edison." Olivia said. "Because the next time you show up at my doorsteps again, I can't promise to be so generous and listen to you again. You've said all that you needed to say and I want you to know that you were heard and although I pity you, I still stand behind my choice to have left you when I did and also, I stand behind my decision to have gotten that restraining order against you. I wish you to get well with all the luck. I have a feeling that you're gonna need it."

With that said, Olivia hailed a cab and all three of the girls hopped in, wanting to get as far away from the basket case that's Edison Davis, as quickly as remotely possible. As Olivia boarded the cab, she could hear him calling out her name.

"… Olivia…"

She gave the driver Mike's address in Brooklyn and he took off, running the meter.

"… Oliviaaaaaaaa!" Edison roared one last time, falling to his knees in defeat.

Olivia heard his screams all the way down to the stoplight two block away.

"Somebody, please explain to me what the fuck just happened, right goddamn now!" Abby requested, staring at Olivia who looked in desperate need of a drink.

888

With the end of summer approaching and a new school year starting for Olivia, this was the most spontaneous thing Fitzgerald Grant had ever done. On a Friday night in mid August, Fitz sat in a booth at a steakhouse diner in Manhattan with his favorite girl and listened over good wine as Olivia told him her plans for the last few weeks of her long vacation.

"I've never been out of the country." Fitz confessed.

Olivia stopped mid-chew on her medium rare steak to gaze up at Fitz with a look of surprise. "Never?" She questioned.

"Never." Fitz replied.

"That's no way for a man to live." Olivia teased.

Her mind was made up and in the spare of the moment, she just blurted it out.

"Come to Spain with me."

A smirk on his lips, Fitz reached for his glass of wine and took a healthy sip of the red beverage. "Just like that?" He asked.

Olivia nodded as a matter of fact. "Yeah. Just like that." She simply said.

And when she looked back up at Fitz, Olivia had the distinct impression that he thought she was joking with him.

"I mean it." She said. And just to prove how serious she was, she added. "I'll buy you a plane ticket."

At that, Fitz straightened his spine, ready to turn down her kind offer even though he knew he would be absolutely saddened by her departure. After all, who will he break state laws with in the middle of the night? But before he could even get it to it, Olivia was obviously ahead of him. She didn't even allow Fitz a second to form his words because she was already too busy convincing him to come with her.

"It seriously would be easier and much more fun to have you with me. I was planning to tour at least five cities in two weeks but if you agree to go with me, we could just go to Ibiza instead. We can rent a house on the beach in the village and you can grill kabobs and I can make sangrias. Think of how much fun it would be! We can do a tourist tour, visit museums and attraction parks, get a tan, go fishing… whatever. We can even get our portraits painted by some eighty five years old grandpa on a cane. It'll look hideous but at least it'll be like our little souvenir from the trip. We can even go dancing for a night if I can get you drunk enough on sangrias."

Fitz chuckled. She was rambling and she looked so damn cute. Fitz didn't know how he was supposed to argue against going when she already had a whole itinerary planned for them. She pitched him what sounded like a great time so now, he absolutely had to go. If not for a bronze tan on the beach, then for the kabobs he'll apparently be grilling. Goddamn persuasive woman!

"When do we leave?" Fitz asked.

Olivia looked at him and she had an expression on her face that read: "that easy?" because she wasn't expecting Fitz to agree this quickly. Although, if she had to spend all night convincing him, she would have.

"Whenever is good for you." Olivia replied.

She wanted to accommodate best with his schedule. After all, he had a business to run. He couldn't just up and leave without talking to his staff first. Olivia wanted to give him time to get his affairs in order but if it was up to her, they could catch the first plane out tomorrow morning.

This all fell perfectly. Since a new week was starting soon, Fitz was sure he had time to change the schedules and talk to his staff. Surely, they could handle the gym without his presence for a couple of days and besides, he had someone he could trust to handle business for him. He had Stephen.

"How about Wednesday next week?" Fitz replied.

Oh, very well then.

"Works for me." Olivia smiled. She reached for her glass of wine on the table and raised it up in a toast. "Vamos a España!" She said excitedly.

Fitz laughed; unbelievably captivated by the amount of cuteness she possessed. He too reached for his glass of wine and winked at her. "Show off." He teased.

Leaning forward, Olivia clinked their glasses together and winked back at him. "Salud."

"Salud." Fitz echoed.

And to that, they both took a long sip of their wine. They were going to Spain!

…

Later found Olivia on her laptop, looking up tickets. Fitz was on speaker with her over the phone as she searched up flights leaving for Spain on Wednesday evening.

"Which do you prefer?" Oliva begin, "Window seats or…"

"Doesn't matter, Fireball." Fitz replied. "I just want you next to me."

"You say that to all the girls or just me?" Olivia teased.

She was aware of their little flirting but it was within boundaries.

"What other girls?" Fitz feigned ignorance. "I can't believe we're really doing this." He said.

"Doing what?" Olivia asked.

"Just upping up and leaving for Spain in four days. Do people really do this?" Fitz asked.

Olivia chuckled on her end. "I think the better question is, why don't people do this often enough?" She replied. "We're going to Spain, Ace! And it's going to be great!" She said strongly.

Fitz could do nothing more than share her excitement. "It's going to be great." He agreed.

It really was.