Olivia tried not to hover too closely during Noah's time with Barba. It was supposed to be for his benefit, mainly. She could wait. As it neared its conclusion, she busied herself by scooping three bowls of ice cream. "After all that hard work, I think everyone deserves some ice cream." She laid out the bowls and spoons in a row.
"Yay!" Noah charged for the closest one he could reach.
Olivia chuckled. "Do you know what flavor that is?"
"Mommy, you're silly. It's strawberry!" Noah answered.
"How about in Spanish?" Olivia amended.
"Hm…" Noah's face scrunched up in concentration. "I don't know."
Barba plopped into a seat, leaving the one in the middle for Olivia. "That would be fresa."
"Fresa," Noah repeated. "Fresa… Thank you, Uncle Rafa!"
"De nada, Noah."
Olivia happily sat between her boys. She wouldn't trade these special moments for anything. To no one's surprise, Noah was the first to finish his ice cream. "You can go play with your toys while we finish and think about what else you'd like to do before bed."
"Okay!" Noah carefully hopped down and disappeared in the direction of his room.
Olivia gave it a moment, waiting to see whether Noah would dart back into the room or not. It seemed not, so she lowered her mom mask, looking at Barba. "You can stay," she barely managed to tell rather than ask.
"How long are you thinking?" Barba asked.
"Play it by ear?" Olivia suggested hopefully.
Barba took time with his consideration. On the one hand, he didn't want to let Noah become attached and then have things not work out and leave Olivia with yet another estranged relationship to explain to him. In a similar vein, he respected Olivia far too much to move too quickly. On the other hand, he knew first hand what Olivia's job was like, how time consuming, traumatizing, and dangerous it is. He knew that tomorrows were never promised and they were looking at only seeing each other an average of once a week, with Olivia needing to fight to keep that availability. And most of that one day it would be the three of them. "Alright," he agreed.
"Thought long enough to make me nervous, there," Olivia admitted.
"I'm not comfortable taking too many risks with this," Barba told her.
Olivia had just taken a spoonful. In her stunned amusement, the ice cream melted over the edge of the spoon and a little escaped down from the corner of her mouth. Barba found a nearby napkin to catch the pink liquid. Olivia swallowed what had stayed in her mouth, and the spoon came out. She blinked at Barba. "Man takes six years to be direct about his feelings and still worries he might move too fast."
"I didn't know which way it would go. I didn't know I was going to tell you at all."
"I'm so glad you did, Rafa," Olivia murmured, looking into his eyes. She checked again for any sign of Noah before taking Barba's face in her hands and softly kissing him. It was chaste and didn't linger, but it was enough. "I trust you most."
After they finished their ice cream and Olivia had stashed the dishes in the dishwasher, she found Noah to see if he's thought of anything.
"Can we watch a movie?" Noah asked.
Olivia smiled. "Sure we can, and Uncle Rafa can watch it with us."
"Yay! I like Uncle Rafa, he's fun. He plays robots the best with me."
Olivia fake pouted. "Better than me?"
Noah giggled, knowing she was playing. "Sorry, Mommy."
Olivia smiled. "That's alright. Let's see what movie we can watch."
As they settled together on the couch, it was natural for Barba's arm to rest along the back casually, and equally natural for Olivia to lean close to him.
"The Lego Batman Movie… Let me get this right. Batman exists through several mediums already. Legos are toys that can resemble anything from said mediums. There are Batman movies. There are Batman Legos. They made a movie with animated Batman Legos." The concept was one of fascinating inception for Barba.
"...Yes. Now watch." As Olivia pressed play, a soft smirk graced her face and she eyed Barba affectionately.
As the movie played, Olivia was closer and closer to Barba and his arm eventually sank down to be wrapped around her shoulders, helping her get closer still. Noah, for his part, had curled up and was watching from the vantage point of having his head in his mother's lap, which made it very easy to fall asleep halfway through.
Olivia stroked through Noah's hair and pressed a soft kiss to Barba's cheek when she knew her son had fallen asleep. "He's asleep," she whispered.
Barba glanced down to see. "Aww."
"I'll stay right here and let him nap through the end," Olivia added.
Barba smiled at her, knowing she was taking the opportunity to stay close to him. The fingers of the arm around her gently pulled the ends of her hair back, letting him see more of her face. He was no longer paying attention to the movie, and neither was she. He lifted his hand just enough that his fingertips could brush against her cheek affectionately.
Olivia's heart was both full and aching and she wanted nothing more than to stay in that moment forever, just her and her favorite boys. She looked into Barba's eyes and pondered what she could possibly say to bring him the same level of security his beautifully spoken words brought her. She swallowed as a particular memory returned to her.
"What?" Barba asked quietly.
Olivia took a shaky breath, suddenly regretting teasing him when they had their ice cream. She, too, wanted to build on what they had started, not break it. "Remember," she whispered. "When you asked me what I'll be doing when I'm 85?"
It didn't take long for him to remember that exchange. He nodded, wanting to know the follow up.
"And what I said?"
That had been an answer he'd never forgotten, 'squabbling with you'. He nodded again, encouraging her to continue.
Suddenly, Olivia's mouth was all dry and she had to wet her lips with her tongue before speaking again, "Well, that's what I'm hoping for now."
Predictable or not, hearing it so sincerely stole Barba's breath away. She was genuinely lowering her walls for him, inviting him in, and telling him they had a far-stretching future. Careful of the sleeping boy on her lap, he held her closer and rewarded her with a kiss for her efforts.
That kiss in particular, Olivia didn't want to end. Her palm met his cheek to help its longevity as her heart did backflips in her chest. It did break when Noah stirred and they worried he was waking up, but he was only shifting his position. They were in telepathic agreement it was much too early for him to be catching them.
Olivia smiled at Noah's sleeping face, now towards her rather than the TV. "He's so angelic like this," she murmured.
Barba joined her in watching him for a moment, thinking of everything he had already been through in his young life and how different things would be if he'd ended up anywhere else. "You're doing an amazing job, Liv."
Olivia looked at him before leaning her head onto his shoulder.
Later, after Noah had awakened and recruited the pair to play, Barba stayed for dinner. Olivia made spaghetti. Barba stayed through Noah's bedtime.
"Can Uncle Rafa tuck me in, too, Mommy?" Noah requested.
Olivia melted. It had happened the once before, the night she'd had everyone over after getting him back. "That's okay with me," she answered.
"I'm honored, señor." Barba lightly ruffled his hair.
"But first, it's time to brush your teeth and wash your face," Olivia instructed.
Noah let out a dramatic sigh and shuffled off.
"I think your plan is working," Barba told her warmly.
"Lucky me. I haven't been asked about you know who in a minute, or heard anything about it from Lucy, either." She squeezed his hand before checking to see if Noah needed help with his tasks.
Olivia stood in the doorway, watching Barba's turn with Noah and it just felt right. The two had a wholesome bond, interaction always prompted by herself or Noah, no ulterior motives or hidden agendas on Barba's part to push for more, and clearly mutually enjoyed. Her hand rested over her heart when she witnessed him play along and tuck in Eddy the elephant as well. After she took her turn tucking her son in and closing his bedroom door, she met Barba's questioning eyes and promptly answered, "Stay."
She took his hand and led him to her own bedroom. "You know what finally clicked just now?"
"What's that?"
Olivia looked at him meaningfully. "It's because of you I even have Noah. You gave me my son. We have six years and he's five. You've been right here the whole time." She hugged him. "I wish we'd gotten here about three years sooner, Rafa."
Barba held her. "We can't move back, only forward. Besides, you already knew all that. You're just viewing it in a different light." He kissed the top of her head. "Now, surely you can't be having me overnight already while Noah's home."
Olivia sighed. "I know. A couple months to go for that, at least." She checked the time and considered. "The carriage returns to a pumpkin at midnight, Cinderella."
Barba chuckled. "Yes, ma'am."
"Now, if I don't get to see you for a full week? I'm going to be needing enough to tide me over 'til then." Olivia looked into his eyes. "Kiss me 'til we're in danger of crossing the line."
Barba allowed himself to tangle his hands in her hair as he met her request with a passionate kiss.