A/N-I'm not quite sure where the inspiration for this one came from, but I realized it could fit into what we've seen in the promo/sneak peeks of tonight's episode (5x05). Hope you enjoy!

The blinding light from the press cameras was particularly distracting as they made their way out of the restaurant. They had been out as a couple for about a month, but the pressure from the media had only increased. It seemed like every day, the swarm of media around them, no matter where they went, grew larger. They couldn't have a moment alone outside of either the Residence or her apartment. Everywhere else, there was at least a chance of eyes being on them constantly. But they didn't regret it, deep down. They had grown weary of loving each other in hiding. It was new and it was scary, but they were free.

Sort of.

The freest they had ever been.

Fitz, to some degree, had grown used to being surrounded by the press. As the President, they seemed to want to know his every move and delve as deeply into his personal life as they could. Olivia hadn't experienced much of that herself until the photos of her in the Residence had been leaked. They speculated and pressed her, and they would be lying if they said it wasn't wearing them down a little. Despite their strength together as a couple who knew that nothing would tear them apart, they craved a little peace. Even after everything they had been through together, it was testing them. All of the cameras flashing. All of the shouted questions. They usually tried to ignore it and did so somewhat successfully, but Fitz had been struggling. It seemed like the questions coming from reporters were growing more personal. It made him so angry, but it made Olivia uneasy and nervous. Especially the crowd. Olivia Pope could handle it with a hand tied behind her back, but when she was with him, when they were in public together, she was his Livvie. it was different. It opened her up and made her vulnerable in a completely different way.

It wasn't easy, for either of them.

He felt her tense in his embrace as they drew closer to the car, as the shouting got louder in a last ditch attempt to get their questions heard. As the crowd pushed harder against the perimeter of agents around them. Then he heard it. A voice that stood out amongst the rest, close to them, and not backing down.

"What's it like tapping that sweet chocolate ass, Grant?"

Fitz looked up, wide-eyed and nostrils flared, seeing a scuzzy looking guy who was chewing gum and smirking. There was no doubt in his mind who had made the sleazy remark. He just knew. As he stared at the man, something inside of Fitz snapped. He lunged for the greasy-headed reporter before his agents could anticipate the move. Olivia attempted to stop him, but he easily slipped from her grasp. He was too quick and too strong for her, in that circumstance.

"Fitz, don't!" she called out to him, still reaching to try to stop his recklessness.

He was livid.

"You low-life sonofabitch," he snarled in disgust, drawing his hand back to pack a punch.

David, one of the agents, caught his arm before Fitz could throw the blow. He struggled against the agent's grapple, desperately wanting to bust the reporter's face in. The disrespect was baffling. How dare he talk about her body that way? Like she was just a sex object. Like he even had a right to lay eyes on her. The scene was only intensifying around him as Fitz tussled against the force that held him back. They were trying to restrain him, to calm him and get him out of there before the situation got out of control. Fitz had given them something to report and it was a frenzy.

Olivia moved around to a face him, ignoring her agent, Phil, who was trying to shield her from the scuffle. When she met his gaze, there was a fire there that frightened her. He averted his eyes back to his task though, and she knew she needed to do something. She understood, but he needed to stop. It could be salvaged, but if he kept making a scene, it would make him look like a loose cannon.

She needed to stop him.

"Fitzgerald!" she shouted, just a hint of scolding laced in her commanding voice that refused anything other than his attention.

She knew he heard her, but he was still jerking against David, trying to free himself.

"Look at me," she demanded.

He obeyed her, and when he saw the solemn expression she wore, he relaxed enough for the agents to release him. Three Secret Service agents who surely weighed in at close to half a ton couldn't stop him, but the words of his 120 pound lover could. The way she looked at him.

'My every feeling is controlled by the look on your face.'

The words he had once told her in the Rose Garden. It was still true.

It was amazing, the power she had over him.

He was still absolutely seething under the surface, his face flushed with the rage he felt. She watched him loosen is tie a little, needing to cool down. She stepped to him fully and tucked into his side where she had been before he had pulled away to handle the slandering of her name. They started walking again. Part of her was proud that she had someone who was willing to stand up for her that way, even if they would have to deal with the blowback later. He cared for her, her reputation, and the public standing of their relationship enough to want to punch a reporter who had tried to reduce her to a fetish.

Chivalry wasn't dead.

She resisted the urge to give him a very public kiss, knowing well that they had indulged the press enough for one day. They had to reshape the narrative. I had become too much. The dirtying of her name. It bothered her, but not nearly as much as it bothered Fitz. Yes, they had engaged in an affair, but the world was seeing it as something it wasn't. It had never been about the sex for them, regardless of how good it was. They had fought against their feelings for each other. Fought hard. Turning the other cheek in hopes that it wasn't real. Hoping that it would go away. But it hadn't. And even later as they both ran or pushed the other way, their feelings had remained the same. They were in love. For better or worse. But the public only saw a sex scandal, and while it broke down Olivia's spirit more than a little, she knew it was breaking Fitz's heart.

They got into the car, the sound of the reporters finally muffled by the closed doors. Olivia sighed quietly and reached over, taking his hand. The hand that had so nearly collided with the reporter's face on her behalf. It wasn't fair. None of it. They were finally about to be in love openly, but the world wouldn't let them have it. Olivia wished that they could just be ordinary people. That they could disappear to Vermont and just...be.

But he had a country to run, and she had to be there to support him as he did it.

For better or worse. They might not have the rings to prove it yet, but that's what they had in mind. They were doing it together from now on, they had decided. No matter what.

He was too quiet. Still obviously angry and fuming internally over the situation. She brought his hand to her lips, kissing each of his knuckles affectionately.

"I think it's time for that interview," she told him.

It was time for them to tell their story.