a/n: Merry Christmas!
For the Doux Bebe Archives Christmas Challenge

Sometimes it's a case of better late than never. I forgot to calculate for the formatting time FFN puts me through and fell asleep on top of that (the joys of having a laptop) and then FFN decided to throw me an upload error as the cherry on top. It's a little longish maybe, because I can't write a short story to save my life,(blame my muse, I always do) but at least it's still a version of a one-shot. (Fight me, Lynn)

MISTLETOE

"Isn't it a little early to be asking me about dinner?" Fitz didn't bother to open his eyes but he smiled lazily. The staff here was more than attentive to his needs but he hadn't realized how late it was. Not that it mattered. Here on his friend's semi-private island off the coast of Belize, Fitz had found himself not keeping time the way he used to.

Then again, a lot of things weren't the way he was used to. Mellie had the kids and they had gone out to the ranch - their divorce agreement allowed her the full use of it whenever she was with Karen and Teddy, as long as she gave plenty of advanced notice - leaving him on his own. After that, the house in Vermont felt too big for him. It was definitely too empty for this time of the year, especially on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve, houses should be filled with laughter and lights and presents under the tree. He'd shipped his presents off to California so the kids would have theirs come tomorrow - Christmas morning - and the only one he had left was tucked safely away - not that he expected to actually get the chance to give it…

It was that thought that had prompted Fitz to make one quick call a few days ago and now here he was, on a secluded beach, his very own private villa a short walking distance behind him. It was large enough to be airy, yet small enough so that he didn't feel overwhelmed by the luxury, all hardwood floors and filmy draperies and fireplaces in every room, no doubt for the romance and intimacy of it all. With the exception of a single resort on the tip of the island, there were only five of these private guest houses scattered along the coasts and no one within walking distance - and that was just the way he wanted it.

At the moment, he was comfortably stretched out on an unfamiliar beach at the ocean's edge, on the kind of lounge half-chair that keeps you low to the ground and lets the waves wash up on your legs, the last of a tropical sunrise sunset smoothie in one hand. Fitz was wearing an unbuttoned casual natural linen short-sleeved shirt and matching longish shorts that came down to his knees.

He couldn't fault the staff for their excellent care - they were excellent with their duties, polite and unobtrusive. Housed only a short distance away, they came in and prepared his meals, kept the place clean and the fridge and pantries stocked with anything that he could possibly want. They'd even strung up an enormous Christmas tree in the main living room of the villa - but after that, they'd been smart enough to figure out that what he wanted most was to be left alone.

"That seafood pasta bowl with the conch salad and coconut shrimp was delicious -unless the chef has something else in mind?"

"That does sound delicious. Do you think you could have the staff can make enough for two?"

The unexpected answer sent a shock through Fitz and had him scrambling to his feet. "Olivia?"

She nodded, a half smile hovering on her lips as she removed the huge sunglasses, her eyes sparkling as they gazed up into his. "Hi."

Seeing Olivia here was the last thing Fitz had expected and it took a moment for his heart to return to anything resembling normal. She was a vision in white, from her cropped jeans to the short white camisole that ended just inches below the curve of her breast and the sheer over sized shirt that gave him peak-a-boo glimpses of soft brown skin. She held a pair of white sandals in one hand and looking downward, Fitz caught a glimpse of white-tipped French manicured toenails before he brought his gaze back up to hers.

"I hope you don't mind that I told the staff that I wanted to surprise you." She asked a silent forgiveness for that tiny lie. It was mostly true, but the truth was, now that she was here, Olivia was terrified that Fitz would take one look at her and turn his back on her - and that in light of all she had done, he had every right to.

"How did you find -?" Fitz was still a little bit stunned but he still couldn't tear his eyes from hers. At least he had enough sense to close his mouth on the question he was about to ask - Olivia Carolyn Pope - as Chief of Staff, among other things - had the ability to find anyone in the world.

He couldn't stop the next question that flashed unbidden through his mind. "Why?"

And what did the fact that she could, that she had - mean?

He wouldn't ask, though. He couldn't - could he?

The answer turned out to be - no, at least not yet, anyway. That and too many other unasked questions on both sides lingered in the air between them, filling the spaces with awkward pauses, but at least they were actually speaking to one another. The last time they'd been in the same space had been maybe two months ago, things had happened - and most of it hadn't involved talking. But it hadn't ended happily ever after and between then and now, they hadn't talked at all.

Olivia knew how Mellie was spending the holidays - "…and I was - concerned - about how you were spending yours." She confessed. "Especially after I discovered that you weren't spending it in Vermont."

He shrugged. "Well, knowing that the kids are with Mellie, there was nothing really to keep me there." Only after he'd said it, Fitz realized how accusatory his words sounded. That wasn't his intent, but the truth was the truth.

"I understand." Her voice was quiet in spite of the ocean's roar. "And I'm sorry for that."

"Why? You had nothing to do with any of it." Fitz asked in spite of himself. "So, now that you've seen with your own eyes that I'm just fine, what now?"

For a moment, Olivia just stood there, looking at him; Fitz never could resist his feelings when she did that and it was just as true now as it was then. Everything he knew about her flooded up inside him, reminding him of who and what had had a hand in that. He remembers telling her that there was nothing she could do that he wouldn't forgive her for and dammit, it was still true.

She gestured back the way she'd come; now that he actually looked, Fitz could see the ivory limo waiting by the villa's steps.

"I'm staying at the resort for a few days." She explained. Another awkward space found its place as they both became aware that there were guest rooms at Fitz's disposal, both of them more than aware of the uncertainty reflected in one another's eyes. "I mean, since I'm here, I thought I might as well not waste the trip…"

Her voice trailed off and she didn't know what to say next. Olivia didn't know if she dared to ask the questions that filled her, or give Fitz the chance to ask the ones she was sure were behind his gaze.

Fitz wondered the same.

"I don't want to presume…" they spoke at the same time. That made them laugh and dispelled some of tension between them but not all.

What the hell was he supposed to do? Fitz thought. "Were you expecting to stay here? Do you want to? - I mean, there are plenty of guest rooms here."

"No, I wasn't." Olivia's answer was quick; she hadn't wanted to assume anything - she hadn't dared. That thought forced her eyes to flicker away from his for a moment, but she forced them back. "I don't know - I just don't know if that's wise at this point."

Fitz nodded, that was true enough. "And yet you're here."

"And yet I'm here." Olivia agreed. She paused before she spoke again. "I didn't come here to hurt you, Fitz."

"Then why are you here?"

Olivia had known that this question would be one of the first ones Fitz would ask, but now that she was standing in front of him, the warm breeze swirling around them, now that his warm blue eyes were looking down into hers, she couldn't find the words to explain herself to him. She couldn't find any words, period.

"I have rooms at the resort, so if you want me to go, I will."

Fitz knew that the yacht that brought her from the mainland wouldn't be leaving until after New Year's and he was just as sure Olivia knew it too. So maybe he could wait for answers. They had time.

"Looks like I'm stuck with you either way." A reluctant smile tugged at the edges of Fitz's lips, one that spread a little wider as he saw the same cross Olivia's face, guessing that she couldn't help herself either. Some of their old magic seemed to rise up all around them - and that was okay.

He shrugged, meaning for it to be an careless gesture, but in truth, Fitz found himself caring very, very much. They had time. That was something that they'd always seemed to lack.

"Since you're already here, how about dinner -" Obviously his heart seemed to be taking over from his head and was doing all of the talking. " - and dancing?"

"Dancing?"

"The resort is throwing some kind of what they're calling a grown and sexy Christmas bash - I hadn't decided whether or not I was going, but since you're here, why not?" He'd read the announcement brochure that had been left for him by the staff and had been debating with himself over the last few days over whether or not to attend.

Olivia's unexpected presence just made the choice that much more difficult; he couldn't ignore the fact that she was on the island or even how he felt about it. He wasn't the one who was always running and he refused to start now. He was no fool either; this way there would be no assumptions made, no commitment from either one of them. And like it or not, his heart told him that there was no way Olivia was getting off this island without being in his arms at least once, even if that was all that happened between them. If it turned out to be a selfish self-centered present to himself, then so be it. It was what he wanted and it seemed the safest way to make that happen.

As usual, she read his mind. "That sounds safe enough."

Neither one of them is certain that she's right.

She doesn't know how she made it through their conversation without her wanting to wrap her arms around him and have him do the same. Oh, she knows that she came off as cool, calm and collected - Olivia Pope in perfect, immaculate control. That persona had served her very well through the phone call that reserved her a room on this very private island, it had carried her through the flight to the Belize mainland and the yacht ride that had brought her here. But now that she was face to face with Fitz, that same facade had crumbled and they had both known it for the deception that it was.

The truth had been in his eyes when he'd looked down on her as they stood on the beach. It had helped that he hadn't told her to leave within the first five minutes of her arrival. So shouldn't she be at least hopeful about that? Maybe, but something else was at play here, and Olivia wasn't sure exactly what it was - but whatever it was, it made her nervous.

The evidence of that was there in the idiotic number of dresses sent up from the hotel's boutique that were presently lying draped across her bed. She was ridiculously nervous to the point that Olivia didn't know what she wanted to wear. Normally, she knew what image she wanted to project, but not this time. She couldn't decide which one would be the perfect one for a night like this. A million thoughts, a million choices swirled through her mind and she can't seem to focus on a single one.

Who am I tonight?

Who do I need to be?

The voice in her head changed without her even realizing it. Show him who you are.

If she wants him, she's going to have to earn him.

In the end, they'd agreed to meet in the resort's lobby; when she stepped out of the elevator and into the crowded lobby, she paused and looked around, not seeing him. Olivia was oblivious to the number of admiring looks thrown in her direction and for just one minute, everything around him seems to disappear, giving Fitz the opportunity to just stand there while his heart did crazy things to him and his eyes drank her in from head to toe.

The cut of the halter dress was simple and subtle in its sexiness as it clung to her in all the right places, along all the soft warm curves that he knew so well. The deep bronze fabric held a purposefully understated shimmer that complimented her skin-tone perfectly.

Unwillingly, Fitz was put in mind of Olivia the last time he'd seen her a little more than two months ago, remembering the sight and scent and the taste of that other her, the Olivia only he was privy to, the woman whose lips melted under his every time he kissed her, the one woman on this earth whose taste he had never, could never tire of

Even as these thoughts and images tumbled through his mind, Fitz saw the moment when Olivia's gaze found him. Her eyes locked onto his and as she walked towards him, he got to take in her beauty all over again. Her make-up was as immaculate as it always was, but tonight something was different. Was it the smoky eyed shadow that made her eyes glow or was it the deep crimson color of her lips? Or was it something altogether undefinable, something that was simply Olivia?

Fitz didn't know and as Olivia walked towards him, he found that he didn't care. Time reversed itself; he was back on the trail again, his heart was beating just as fast now as it was then and he knew that if he weren't careful, he'd be falling in love all over again.

Had he ever really fallen totally out of love with her at all?

Olivia had always been able to read the intensity in Fitz's gaze even when he'd been trying to hold back - like he was doing now. The fact that he was ignited a small spark of hope in her. She had every expectation of his response, he had every reason to be wary. But even so, what she saw sent a thrill of anticipation through her along with a swarm of butterflies swarming around her insides. She took a deep breath and smiled as she walked towards him.

She admitted seeing Fitz was a big part of it - he was almost too handsome in a dark blue suit and crisp matching shirt - he always did look his best in blue, she remembered. It didn't help that not only that he'd decided to not wear a tie but he'd also left his shirt undone just enough to give a peek at the curls of chest hair but now she's remembering how soft those curls actually felt, how defined they felt, whether she was resting her head on his well chiseled chest or snuggled up by his side, fingers tracing their way through them, and if she could close her eyes she could feel him right now and smell the unique male-scent of him, but she can't take her eyes from his and better yet he cant seem to take his gaze from hers and she doesn't even know it but her walk changes, her hips moving in a sweet, hot primal feminine rhythm that has every man in the vicinity paying attention but no one else in the lobby even matters - he's here and she's here and it's a beautiful tropic night and nothing and no one else matters at all…

Olivia closed the space between them and looked up at him. "Hi."

"Hello." It took Fitz a moment to find his voice and when he did he spoke the first words that came to mind. Then his eyes softened. "I mean - hi. And you look beautiful."

"So do you. Thank you." Olivia felt the warmth that flooded into her face in response to the heartfelt intensity in his words. "I reserved us a table out on the patio, along with a bottle of champagne and appetizers - I hope you don't mind? I'm not feeling particularly hungry right now." Not for food.

Neither am I. Maybe he should mind, Fitz thought - but he couldn't quite manage it. Not with the way Olivia looked tonight, not the way he was feeling tonight, there was something was simmering just between the surface and anything was possible.

She turned away, to lead them to the patio area, leaving Fitz with the first glimpse of the back of her dress and that left him more than a little breathless. It exposed way too much of her flawless brown skin, ending just a breath short of being indecent above her hips, and that gave him indecent thoughts of running his fingertips, his lips, his tongue along her spine while his hands did incredible things to the rest of her…with that in mind, Fitz couldn't resist the offer the dress offered. His hand went to the small of her back, unable to resist the opportunity to splay his hand across her lower back possessively.

He could feel her reaction, a slow shiver that danced across her skin and it fueled the secret smile that spread across his face as he followed her lead.

Their table was out on one of the many private circular patios branching out from the main dining veranda, on the opposite side of the building from the nightclub, but they could still feel the throb of the beat like an echo in the air, mingling with the sound of the surf. She pauses to give the headwaiter her name and then they were being guided around a circular deck,with private open air booths scattered around its perimeter. The air is soft and warm, while the candles scattered about lent each table their own personal private circle of intimacy.

Instead of his regular scotch or her regular red wine, the promised bottle of chilled champagne sat in its bucket of ice, their waiter standing beside it and a silver wheeled tray stand beside him.

Olivia allowed their waiter to pop the cork and pour each of them a glass of the bubbly liquid before he was dismissed.

"Champagne?" Fitz lifted an eyebrow at her.

"Why not?" Olivia lifted her glass towards him, the champagne bubbles dancing upwards like tiny liquid bursts of light..

He couldn't think of a good answer so Fitz lifted his own crystal flute to touch hers, smiling at the chime as they touched.

Olivia uncovered one of the domed dishes on the tray and revealed a bowl of plump, deep red strawberries resting in a bed of equally fresh whipped cream. Olivia leaned forward and plucked one from its nest.

Fitz watched, fascinated, as she flicked her tongue out, scooping up a tiny bit of the rich cream before taking a delicate bite of the ripe fruit. "Why champagne, Livvie?" the old nickname- lover's-name - slipped out without thinking.

"Ask me later." Olivia took another bite - she closed her eyes and hummed in appreciation at the sweet, tart taste. She licked her lips, slowly and very, very deliberately.

Watching her, Fitz was forcibly reminded of how sweet her mouth could be. He was unconscious of the fact that her licking her lips made him do the same.

"How much later?" Not that he really cared at the moment. Fitz watched as she reached for her glass and drained it, then held it out towards him for a refill.

"Later." Olivia smiled at him with a provocative little grin. "Because right now, I want some more champagne - and you want some more champagne."

"I do?"

He's amused, actually, he's more than amused and it was his turn to grin. "Olivia Carolyn Pope, are you trying to get me drunk?"

"Ask. Me. Later."

Later sounded good. Later turned into two bottles of champagne later, the second one being a full magnum, a Louis Roederer 1996 Cristal. Later turned into laughter and easy conversations that stayed far, far away from the elephant in the room by mutual but silent agreement. Olivia was happy. She was more than a little tipsy too. Fitz was surprised when he realized that he was too - and even more importantly, he didn't care.

Nor did he care that over the course of their conversations, they both had slowly shifted closer to one another on the table's half-crescent banquette while Olivia caught him up on all the gossip that had happened in DC, updates that had him laughing like crazy and her joining in, reminding Fitz all over again how glad he was to be done with all of it. Free from the burden of command, his heart was ready to float right out of his chest with it.

And having Olivia here with him, breathtakingly beautiful in the glow of the low lights all around them was everything.

Even though they'd started off being completely aware of keeping a careful distance from one another, the flow of champagne had washed most of that caution away and if they weren't exactly side by side -yet - because now he was sure that whatever else might or might not happen, they will be before the night was over, that was fine with Fitz. In fact, the certainty of it bubbled up in him like champagne in his veins, or maybe it's her. No, he knows it's her, it's all her and it's always been her and that makes it only fair that now he was taking full advantage of this opportunity to enjoy this side of her that even he hardly ever sees.

So yes, he's more than tipsy, but so is she. More than that, she's fully aware that he's watching her. He can tell by the look that comes over her face every now and then and it says she doesn't care - more than that - she wants it, she welcomes him to truly see her.

Watching her laugh without a care in the world had always been a rare thing; so rare that as Olivia tossed her hair back from her face, Fitz found it hard to resist the urge to slide his fingers into the mass of her thick soft waves and tug her head back further still. Everything in him tightened as he imagined himself leaning forward, pressing his lips to her throat, grazing his teeth against her soft warm skin, lapping at her delicately while his lips travels where they will and she's shivering … Fitz feels himself throb at the thought and to pull his mind away he reaches for the second bottle of champagne and pours the last of it into his glass.

"Looks like we're going to need another bottle." He says. He takes a deliberate drink from his glass, all the while looking into her eyes.

"Hey!" Olivia started to protest.

"Shush." There was the excuse he needed; Fitz shifted himself a little closer and leaned in, breathing his words into her ear. "It's Christmas Eve, aren't you going to be a good girl?"

His voice was just low and warm and husky and held just enough insinuation still Olivia in mid-motion, in mid-sentence, in mid-thought, while the words themselves melted her will to answer - it wasn't just her eyes that were captured and held by his.

When she finally managed to find her voice it was to murmur this: "If I wanted to be a good girl, I wouldn't have worn this dress. And if you were going to be a good boy, you would be sharing."

Fitz took that as an invitation; he moved a little bit closer before raising his glass to Olivia's mouth, watched her eyes close as her crimsoned lips parted and she drank.

Fitz's nearness had parched Olivia's throat to an exquisite dryness so the chill of the champagne was more than welcome. Her eyes closed as she fell into sync with him. Every inch of was hyper-aware of every inch of him; the slow rasp of his breath, the heat and scent of him rising from his skin - she even imagined that she could feel his heartbeat through his fingertips traveling the length of his glass as he held it against her lips.

"Why did you really come here, Olivia? Was it to be naughty" - his purposeful pause sent another hypnotic, erotic thrill through her - "or was it be nice?"

Fitz watched and waited until Olivia's eyes opened slowly, revealing the dreamlike intensity in her gaze. Her eyes drifted involuntarily to his mouth and he felt her gaze like a kiss upon his lips.

She raised her eyes to his with another potent smile. "Ask me later."

He's never been in a place like this, not Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III; up until now, his world had been all cotillion balls and formal events with proper waltzes, chiffon curtsies and black-tie bows.

That meant that Fitz hadn't known what to expect. As Olivia led him through the nightclub's doors, he hadn't expected the deep, rhythmic wave of music that greeted them. The mellow beat was a living thing, wrapping all around them and welcoming them in.

Olivia turned to face him, her body beginning to move to the music, hands playfully beckoning to him to follow her in the dance.

"Olivia…" Fitz still felt a little unsure of himself, tried to protest one last time, but Olivia only shook her head at him. She pressed her body close to his for just a minute, raising up to press her lips close to one ear.

"Do you want me naughty or nice, Fitz?" She dared him, not giving him a chance to answer before taking his hand and turning away to lead him deeper into the middle of the crowd as one song ended and another began, while Fitz became mesmerized by the sensuous swing and sway of Olivia's body reacting to the smooth beat and then those same rhythms were drawing him in, the bass beat sliding under his skin, along with the lyrics…

It was a beautiful day…

It's gon' be a beautiful night…

Break out that champagne, everybody get a glass…

~ Champagne Life - Ne-Yo

Fitz felt the mood change between them as soon as they reached the middle of the dance floor. Olivia turned to face him, body already moving to the beat, her eyes challenging him to join her, her hands reaching out to his while her crimsoned lips curved in another seductive smile that he can't help but return.

Her touch changed him and as he began to slowly move with her, Fitz felt the last of his reservations melt away, taking with it his worries, his suspicions, his weaknesses and fears, unable to resist the woman who was the love of his life. Anticipation bubbled through his veins and the world narrowed down to this shifting space of shadows and neon lights. They may be out in public, but the club's atmosphere offers the illusion of privacy and intimacy and there's a sultry, not so subtle invitation that was impossible to resist, not when Olivia is this bold eyed woman dancing before him, still holding his hands in hers and sending him her own silent invitation with her body that has never stopped moving, brushing against him one moment, then swaying away the next.

This song slides seamlessly into the next, Olivia taking him from one groove to the next. Fitz is all in now, his body more than ready for hers, ready to follow wherever she might lead.

You want this…

You want this… Can you handle this - well come here then…

~ Do You Want This ~ Janet

It's been a long time since Olivia had felt like this, feeling every iota and atom of her femininity. She felt flirty, she felt as if she were light itself, shimmering and buoyant, happy as she hadn't been for too long of a time.

Letting the music guide her, Olivia spun her body around and with her back to him, she purposefully backs her body up to his with a deliberate swivel of her hips and a slow shimmy of everything else. She closed her eyes as Fitz's hands moved to cradle her hips in his hands, leaning back into him for a moment, her body never stopping its dance against his, lifting her arms over her head, her body giving into the magic of the night, to the pulse of the music and the knowing that none of this would have meant anything without Fitz being here.

He was the only man who could ever make her feel this way and this made Olivia promise herself that would never willingly run away from him again. They were something to fight for. For every obstacle they overcame, they deserved another chance - their love will always deserve another chance.

As if he were reading her mind - and maybe he was - because in this moment there was magic and anything was possible - Fitz's hands moved again to envelope hers in his, he turned her to face him. She didn't try to hide the emotions that she knew were etched into her expression and written plain to see in her eyes despite the darkened atmosphere and the haze of sensuality that hung over them both.

Their eyes locked as the heavy bassline hits them both; the music creating a whole new level of intimacy between them. Olivia kept her arms in the air as Fitz pulls her closer, his fingers slid slowly from hers and just as slowly made their way down from her wrists to her shoulders, the delicacy of his fingertips against her skin her feel precious and fragile all at once, her eyes closing as tiny explosions of sensation washed over her.

Her arms lowered themselves until they wrapped themselves around his neck, as Fitz's hands kept going, traveling down her sides, purposely encircling her tiny waist and pulling her even closer before settling on her hips, where his body caught the rhythm from her body and answered it with his own.

Fitz couldn't tear his gaze away from her face as her eyes closed in surrender to his touch. His body was moving in sync with hers now - his dance floor inhibitions long gone now - before he can even think about it, one well-muscled thigh was sliding between hers; he's hard and he knows that she can feel his erection, even though they're in a crowded space, he wants her to feel it, feel him, to know how hot and hard he was for her.

His hands grip her ass and pulls her even closer. He remembers all too well how Olivia's body feels against him, how he feels when he's deep inside her and how it's too easy to want that now and again.

And forever.

Baby, tonight you need that, tonight believe that

Tonight I'll be the best you ever had

~ Tonight ~ John Legend

Several songs play after that, but by now their focus is only on one another; hands are traveling over long familiar places, love games are being played with lips hovering millimeters from one another and hands teasing and caressing deliberate pleasure points but at the same time the both of them purposefully holding back from that pleasure, welcoming the sexual tension flowing between them. It's foreplay of the sort they've never experienced before.

His hands on her bare back - that sweet, soft smooth expanse of skin that he's been thirsting to touch all night - were moving up and down in heated patterns over her flesh, doing crazy things to them both.

This crazy level of sexiness is definitely not one-sided. Looking down at her with eyes that had gone dark and intent, Fitz can read the same desire in Olivia's face; her eyes were closed, her lips parted wantonly as if she can't catch her breath and if he thought he was hard before now he was the man of steel, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound…

The song that's playing slams into him, reminding him that Olivia will always be his kryptonite.

You can't keep your hands off me - touch me right there - rock my body

I can't keep my hands off you - your body is my party…

~Body Party ~ Ciara

It's dark and no one can see, and even if they can, Fitz is so far gone there's a part of him that doesn't even care. One hand dips lower, finds her thigh and draws it up against him with an excruciatingly slowness, groaning as he feels her hands clutch his shoulders tightly, her body melting into his. They aren't dancing now - he doesn't know what they're doing but neither does he care because whatever it is, it's exquisite.

He's finally undone when one hand finds its way into the hair at the back of his neck and the other brushes against the outer curve of his ear. She knows without a doubt what that does to him; Fitz is not thinking anymore, his hand is tangling itself into her hair and less than a heartbeat later his mouth is slamming down onto hers and her senses tumble over into overload. Rational thought is no longer an option as his lips plunder hers, his tongue plunging into her mouth, tasting her until he can think of nothing else. Then he's dragging his mouth from hers.

"Let's go." His voice is a growl in her ear and her answer is a moaned yes.

It was an eternity before they made it outside, until his chauffeured car had been brought around and they were inside.

Fitz was wild with wanting her; as soon as the car was moving, he pulled Olivia onto his lap facing him, her thighs straddling his, grinding himself against her and feeling her match him movement for movement, sliding his hands all over her body, palming and squeezing that perfect ass, forcing the most delicious sounds from her lips as he puts her exactly where he wants her, exactly where he needs her, where he can feel the heat rising from her core, riding him - the way she moves her hips lets him know that she's given all control over to him, whatever he wants, however he wants it - wants her - it's his for the taking.

His hands slide upwards, stopping just beneath Olivia's breasts. Her hips are still moving rhythmically against his body. Her eyes flutter closed as she arches backwards and he's burying his face in the warm valley between her breasts. His grip on her tightens as Fitz sweeps his thumbs across her nipples, finding them already stiff and swollen and oh so ready for his touch. He kisses them through the soft fabric of her dress, and the sound she makes - a sound that's part gasp and part whimper and all Olivia - tells him that she's close to the edge and it's close enough that it threatens to take him with her if he's not careful. But he doesn't want that - at least not yet.

Instead he claims her mouth again, lips and tongues tangling together in a kiss that is equal parts of hot and wet and sweet. Olivia is tugging his jacket from his broad shoulders,wanting, needing to be that much closer to him. Her hands find their way to his shirt, unbuttoning his shirt just enough to stay on the right side of decency, but enough so that she can caress the bare skin she finds there, a whispered wordless sound of satisfaction escaping her. Fitz's hands come up to cup Olivia's face. For a moment they pull apart to gaze into one another's eyes. Then Fitz was pulling her back into his embrace, his kisses turning tender for the rest of the ride.

The limo's roar is already an echo in their memories as they make it from the car and through the front door of Fitz's bungalow. As soon as the door closes behind them, Fitz has Olivia pinned firmly in place against it. It was no effort to lift her up and hold her there, pressing himself against her, her dress riding dangerously past her hips, her center riding up and down his throbbing cock with only layers of cloth between them. For a moment he lets Olivia have her way with him, watches as her head falls back and she's lost in the foreplay. He wants her lost, he wants her so far gone that when he finally strokes himself into her that she will instantly fall apart. He has so many ways that he wants to make her come and all night in which to do it.

He can't wait.

"Did you miss me, baby?" He leaned in close whispering in Olivia's ear. When all she did was moan out her response, Fitz repeated himself, accentuating his words with a extra slow grind against her. "Did you?"

"Ye - yes!"

"Good…" he let her legs down slowly, loving the way he can feel them tremble. He wrapped an arm around her to help hold her up. "I missed you too and you know that I am nowhere near finished with showing you just how much I've missed you, don't you?"

She whimpers again as two fingers find their way beneath the scrap of lace between her thighs and finds her wet and swollen and waiting for him.

Her eyes are closed, her body weak, but Olivia manages a tiny smile as her hand find him, glides over the stiffness in his pants - it's her turn to stroke and play. "I should hope not."

The way that her hand tightened on his shaft makes Fitz even harder. He lowers his mouth to hers, groaned as her tongue flickered against his lips, coaxing and teasing his tongue into a sweet play with hers, until their kisses and her touches threaten his balance of control and he's close to senselessness. But there's other places he wants to put his mouth and some of them should involve the use of a bed and if he isn't careful they won't make it past the entryway.

Olivia has taken control of this moment; she moves so that it's his turn to lean against the door while she kisses him, while her hands stroke him up and down his entire length so that it's him that's groaning, hips thrusting forward into her hands she finishing what she started in the limo, tugging his shirt free of his slacks and unbuttoning what had been left of his shirt.

It was Fitz's turn to close his eyes in the wake of rising pleasure as Olivia's lips trailed open-mouthed kisses across his upper chest and the thick column of his throat - he lets his head fall back as her fingers find his belt buckle. Something overhead catches his eye; something that wasn't there before Fitz pauses to see what it is. Olivia senses his momentary distraction and her gaze follows his.

And they both look up at the sprig of mistletoe dangling overhead.

For a moment they're both quiet, then Fitz looked down at Olivia. "Did I mention that the service here was excellent?"

"I don't think that the subject came up in conversation before now." Her answer was accompanied by her hand sliding into his hair again, the slight pressure urging his mouth back to hers.

"You're probably right." Fitz murmured against her lips. "At least we're putting it to good use."

"We're not - not if you keep talking…" Before Olivia could finish her sentence, Fitz's lips were covering hers again, snatching both her smile and her breath away.

The pause between them has reset the fire between them to a low simmer, Barely less intense than how they were minutes ago, just dialed back a notch or two to a slow burn, and that's okay in the long run because after all, if they hadn't have stopped, he would have taken her right there in the hallway and Fitz would much rather have her in his bed - or at least close to it.

It took longer than it should have to get to his bedroom, because now they were kissing again and there was no getting enough of that. Every few steps one or the other of them felt the pure and all-consuming need to kiss or be kissed. It outweighed the need for oxygen or rational thinking.

"Fitz." The breathless way his name left her lips echoed the blinding desire as he does the same.

"Livvie." He's helpless here, unable to stop kissing her, unable to control the need to simply ravish her mouth while her hands strip his shirt from his shoulders and then her hands are everywhere and so are his. "Ahhhh…Livvie… I can't…fuck…"

He scoops her up in his arms and takes the last few strides into his bedroom. It's all flowing draperies, from the long windows to all four sides of the four poster California king sized bed where the moonlight spills a pale wash of light across the pale white sheets and it's just perfect. He walks over to one of the corner posts of the bed, before letting Olivia down, letting her body slide down the length of his body.

She's here, she's really here, in the place where he'd thought that he would never find her. Once again, Olivia seems to read his mind, sense the train of his thoughts, Fitz can see the same wonderment in her eyes. Her lips parted as though she were going to speak but he hushed her before she could, laying his finger across her lips.

They stood together in the near-silence. It's quiet, almost completely still except for the sound of the ocean waves beyond the windows that came and went like the beating of their hearts and that was all the reminder he needed. Fitz hands settled on her tiny waist and drew her slowly into his arms. He kisses her slowly, thoroughly - as deeply as he can because he needs to let her know that this is it for him. The running and the doubts and the misunderstandings - they all stop here. Now. Always and forever.

He's done running and letting her run as well and he means for her to know that. There may be words down the road, some of them harsh - he doesn't doubt that they'll be arguments and debates, explanations and apologies months and years in their misty future. But that's just it. They are all in the future and there is no place for them here.

Here is where his mouth takes hers, softly and slowly as if they have all the time in the world because he realizes that they do. They have eternity.

Her body is rising up into his, lips parting beneath his hungry mouth with the softest moan…

Has Fitz ever kissed her like this? His tongue was softly sweeping its way into her mouth, delving deeper as though he can't stop and then neither can she; their mouths slide from one kiss to the next and then the next until she's this trembling mass of nerves and sensations from head to toe and even then… He. Just. Won't. Stop.

She's clinging to him, unsure if she's able to stand on her own. Where Fitz leads, she follows, so when he turns her body away from him, she doesn't question him, when his hands reach for her wrists and guide her hands upward so that she's reaching for the uppermost part of the bed poster she doesn't ask why.

When he sweeps the hair at the nape of her neck aside, she shivers. Goosebumps pebble her skin and tighten her nipples into an almost painful yet glorious ache as his breath caresses her there, lips just ghosting across her flesh.

"I've been wanting to do this all night." There's a growl in his voice that sends waves of desire surging through her veins, barely warns her of what's to come and then his mouth was on her, biting the back of her neck, tongue soothing the sweet and unexpected sting. Fitz's body was hot against hers, hard against hers, fingers were undoing her top and then her bra in one smooth movement. and reaching around her to cup her breasts in his hands. His fingers found her nipples, playing with their sensitive tips until Olivia was writhing helplessly, her bottom pushing back against his hardness as his mouth played wantonly against her skin.

A moment of intensive private pleasure crashed through him as Olivia's back arches as his thick tongue traced hot patterns down the center of her spine all the way down to the small of her back. The sounds that she's making are incredible, flooding him with heat that only increasing the hardness between his legs. Fitz's hands gripped her hips locking her into place even as he sank lower, until he is happily down on his knees, mouth and hands everywhere they can reach, squeezing and licking and kissing her incredible body.

The sight of her head falling backwards in a blind spasm of pleasure, sends the most delicious sensation rocketing through him. Fitz spins her around without thinking. He's acting on pure instinct, the pure pursuit of pleasure, glancing up to see her dark eyes focused on him as he slowly peels the rest of her clothing away, leaving her in nothing more than her crystal red-bottomed shoes.

His mouth takes her then; he can't help himself. Fitz moans aloud as his lips make contact, as his mouth takes her into his mouth, tongue automatically pressing against her swollen bundle of nerves. There's no time to waste, he wants Olivia in the worst way - but first he needs her to be over the moon, to shake and moan as he finds every drop of pleasure that she can give him, that makes him moan deep into into her dripping wetness, makes his tongue swirl hard against her clit, to find its way into her inner channel again and again and she's exploding exquisitely on his tongue, moaning and then crying out his name.

Everything about her reaction releases Fitz's last shreds of control. He comes to his feet, stripping off the last of his clothing and again, locking his eyes on hers, neither one of them able to tear their eyes away from the other. She can't take her eyes from him, and neither can he takes his eyes from hers.

Gloriously naked, Fitz moves forward; scooping Olivia up in his arms, he's crushing her to him, mouth to mouth, heart to heart, soul to soul and all the rest. In an instant he takes them into the center of the bed, and in the next he's burying himself deep inside her and she's coming apart on this first ecstatic stroke into her tonight. She's drenching him, inner walls clenching and unclenching around his sweet cock and even when she thinks that she can't take anymore of this pleasure, she does, she can. The both of them are crying out in pleasure unlike anything either of them had ever experienced before. This is pleasure beyond definition, ecstasy beyond imagining.

This is the very definition of love and love making.

His mouth moving over everywhere, across every inch of her skin proves it. How helplessly he calls her name proves it. The way his hips grind into hers, making sure of her pleasure over and over and over again before his own proves it.

And at long last, when they are both lying in a tangle of breathless, exhaustive bliss, there is no denying any of it all.

One of the last sensations Olivia was left with before she was left in a satiated stage of exhaustion was one of utter and complete satisfaction. She must have dozed off for a time, because when she came back to consciousness it was to the sensation of Fitz's eyes watching her. Her eyelids lifted lazily to meet his gaze, and she wondered what it was that it meant.

A second sensation came to her then, one that was cool against her flesh, one that drew her attention to her wrist. Olivia lifted it into view. There was something there that hadn't been there before - and totally unexpected.

"Fitz?" Her eyes went from the platinum charm bracelet that he'd managed to place on her wrist to his eyes.

His eyes were unapologetic. "I didn't think I'd ever get the chance to give this to you - but at the same time, wherever I went, I found that I couldn't leave it behind. Even now."

Olivia sat up, Fitz following her as she studied his gift; there was a charm of the Capital and the White House, and then a rose - no doubt for the Rose Garden - and even as the tears stung her eyes, Fitz shifted and brought out another box. And when Fitz lifted the lid, Olivia found her tears flooding over and trailing down her cheeks, because inside the box was something that she had never expect - a sprig of mistletoe, with tiny diamonds taking the place of where the berries belonged.

"I never expected this…"

"Neither did I…" Fitz reassured her. "All I could do was hope…" But hope was all that anyone needed, wasn't it?

Hope filled the space between them and brought their lips together in a benediction for the future, and when it ended, it was clear that Olivia had found her own version of it.

"I'm sorry that I hadn't gotten you anything for Christmas." She murmured against his mouth.

"Seriously?" Fitz asked. As far as he was concerned, she'd given him hope for their future and that was everything.

"Seriously." Olivia was insistent. "What do you want for Christmas?"

A gleam came into his eyes.

"Ask me later." Fitz said, just before he tumbled her backwards into the sheets, replacing his grin with a kiss.

~ end ~