The next morning, Olivia was sitting at her kitchen table, trying to organize her thoughts for the millionth time. It was the usual chaos: Ellie was running around in mismatched pajamas, Fitz was parked on the couch in her robe, scrolling through his phone like he didn't have a care in the world, and Olivia… well, Olivia was just trying to keep it all together.

"Liv, I'm out of cereal," Fitz said casually from the couch, without so much as a glance in her direction. "And by the way, Ellie keeps calling me 'Uncle Fitz.'"

Olivia didn't even look up from her planner. "You know, the fact that you're still here says more about your character than I'd like to admit."

"Hey, I'm a good guy. I put up with your quirks. Like how you think you're the only one who can parent Ellie."

"I am the one who does all the heavy lifting around here!" Olivia shot back, finally glancing at him.

"Correction," Fitz said, sitting up and pointing at Ellie, who was now running circles around the living room with a stuffed animal in each hand. "She's the one doing the heavy lifting, and I'm just here to supervise."

Ellie then tripped over one of her own shoes, tumbling to the ground in a spectacularly dramatic fashion.

Olivia jumped up, but before she could get to Ellie, Fitz was already there, scooping her up and making exaggerated "hero" noises as he set her back on her feet.

"You good, kiddo?" he asked, giving her a playful tap on the nose.

Ellie nodded enthusiastically. "Fitz is the best!"

Olivia froze, standing in the middle of the room, her brain short-circuiting. There it was again. That ridiculous, maddening, yet undeniably sweet side of him that made her heart do weird things when she wasn't paying attention.

"Yeah, Fitz is the best," she muttered under her breath, her voice laced with sarcasm, but even she could hear the tiny hint of softness creeping in.

Fitz looked over at her, catching her eye, and for the briefest moment, there was something more than annoyance in his expression. Something softer.

Then he ruined it by winking. "You know, I'm kind of a big deal around here."

"You're aggravating," Olivia said, shaking her head. But she was smiling. She couldn't help it.

That night, after Ellie had gone to bed, Olivia found herself sitting on the couch with Fitz—her couch—half watching a movie and half ignoring the fact that her thoughts were starting to drift again.

"I don't know what's worse," she said, a little more quietly than usual, "the fact that you've wormed your way into my life or the fact that I'm starting to think it's… not the worst thing ever."

Fitz glanced over at her, his usual teasing grin softened for once. "Are you… are you admitting you like having me around?"

Olivia rolled her eyes. "No. What I'm admitting is that I'm probably stuck with you because you've somehow become… endearing."

Fitz leaned in, his grin getting a little cocky again. "Endearing, huh? That's a step up from 'impossible,' and 'aggravating' at least."

"I don't know about that," Olivia said, her voice playful now. "You're still a complete disaster."

Fitz raised an eyebrow. "And you love it."

Olivia's smile faded slightly, and for a moment, the weight of the months spent fighting, laughing, and navigating this ridiculous, confusing co-parenting relationship settled in.

"I don't know," she said quietly, almost to herself. "Maybe you're not as bad as I thought."

Fitz's face softened for a brief second, and when he spoke again, there was no sarcasm, just something genuine. "Liv… I'm not perfect, but I'm trying. I really am."

The silence between them stretched for a moment, but this time, it wasn't awkward. It wasn't forced.

Without thinking, Olivia reached over, grabbed his hand, and squeezed it.

"You're not the worst," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Fitz looked down at their intertwined hands, a small, almost disbelieving smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "You're really not gonna admit you like me, are you?"

Olivia smirked. "I'll admit it when you stop wearing my robe."

"Fair," Fitz said, winking.

And just like that, Olivia realized, she had fallen for him all over again—not the Fitz who was constantly making her roll her eyes, but the Fitz who was there, messy and imperfect, but real. The Fitz who had a way of showing up when it mattered most.