Author's Note: This is my very first fanfic, and to be honest I don't think I have written any fiction since the last time I took a standardized test. I hope you like it enough so that I may flesh out these characters and take you on the story with me. Let me know what you think, tell me what you liked, what you didn't like. Please keep it constructive. Thanks for reading!

Never one to be late, Olivia was putting the finishing touches on her makeup as she got ready to dash out the door to have dinner with her favorite couple, Harrison and Mike. She gave herself a onceover in her floor-length swivel mirror, slipped on her heels and out the door she went. It was a heady summer night and she was grateful she chose to wear such a breezy, backless dress to dinner, inviting the intoxicating heat to envelop her. Olivia wasn't sure what type of dinner her friends had planned but she'd agreed to meet them at their place so they'd all ride together; their dining choices never ceased to surprise her and she expected nothing less of them tonight. She called Harrison to let him know she was pulling up to their driveway only to find them already waiting outside for her to join them.

Mike enthusiastically waved hello as she put the car in park and got out to greet them.

"Eager much you guys? Sheesh, I just told you I was pulling up! " she said as she greeted them.

"Uh, yeah, eager to get the hell out this house. Tired of being cooped up and let's not forget all the details from your vacation that you owe us missy, we've got a long night ahead of us," replied Mike as he squeezed her tight.

Liv hugged Harrison and greeted him hello, both so used to one another that they'd never make fanfare out of a greeting. They had an unspoken gentle bond that people often failed to comprehend. Olivia and Harrison had known each other since childhood, their fathers having been great friends, was until their fathers lost touch with one another. At one point, it felt like Olivia and her family had dropped off the face of the earth. It wasn't until years later that Harrison found Olivia; out of curiosity he searched for her on Facebook one day and found she had been studying abroad in Spain. Once he reached out to her he found out both of her parents had passed away by the time she was 17, and she'd been pretty much handling herself on her own since.

Olivia, of a precocious nature, had graduated high school with college credits and was already venturing out on her own college experience abroad by the time Harrison located her. Eventually she returned stateside to complete her education at Brown, and managed to carry herself with the resiliency and silent dignity. Reuniting with Olivia had brought Harrison a much-needed lifestyle education, having been a spoiled silver spoon darling all his life he forged a friendship that rivaled thick and thin and came to find solace and inspiration in Olivia that he'd been missing once he witnessed how she took on life despite having suffered such hardship.

He'd been a mess since his rebellious teenage years, oft misunderstood by his parents whose indulgent laissez-faire parenting only helped to encourage his bad behavior. By the age of 24 when he had reunited with Olivia he was teetering on the brink of alcoholism, and it was her way of taking on life that inspired him to change his ways. He sought help for his issues, came out to his family, and chose to live a more authentic life. As Olivia graduated she'd made plans with Harrison to start a creative consulting business with the money her father had left her. And thus began the greatness that is now Pope & Associates. Olivia's natural talent, Harrison's outgoing nature, and Steve, Olivia's old mentor and friend whom she'd met while on her travels in Spain functioning as their first successful client there was nothing that could stop their business from being a success.

As they made their way through the dimly lit jazz restaurant with Mike and Harrison following the waitress closely to their seats Olivia saw him through a window pane before he saw her. There he was, Fitz, in all his glory after all these years, sitting at a restaurant forcibly smiling over drinks with his brother and friends. Of course, he'd look as good as ever. As fate would have it, gloriously lounging there. His slim toned physique, his undying penchant for choosing a navy-blue suit to drape his 6'2" frame, bringing out his eyes and contrasting with his tawny skin. Not one to let her emotions show Olivia quickly put on her poker face and mentally gave herself a silent pep talk to happily get through her dinner with her friends. Her dinner dates were after all eager to listen to the stories of her latest adventure, and her secret past was no one to deprive her of a night of storytelling over a glass of bourbon on the rocks.

She sat as far as possible with her back towards Fitz as she silently hoped and prayed he hadn't noticed her. She wondered if he'd have the gall to approach her? How would she explain his existence to her friends? Would she casually drop the bomb that she'd been his mistress and that their dalliance had ended in agony? Would they see her in a different light if she revealed it all? Not one to dwell on hypotheticals, or let the mood get melancholy, Olivia ordered her drink and vowed to make it a good night. If Fitz noticed her she figured she knew him well enough to guess he wouldn't dare approach her in public lest he face his own inquisition, and if he did—then she'd cross the bridge when she got there. The illusion of having her back to him served as a shield and she brought herself back to the present with her tablemates.

Fitz on the other hand felt like he'd been struck by thunder the same way as the day he met her. It was as if she'd walked across the restaurant, no, not walked, it was more as if she'd flown across the restaurant in slow motion. He felt as if time had frozen; he couldn't believe that after two years they'd somehow end up in the same restaurant. He'd given up searching for her, he'd clearly understood her silent wishes that she did not want to be bothered nor found. Not long after their breakup, once he was of sound mind again he'd come to find she'd closed her physical place of business, so he couldn't resort to seeking her out there, his calls went straight to voicemail—a clear indication she'd blocked him, her apartment seemed vacant those few times he passed by hoping to catch her.

After a few attempts he gave up looking for her, keeping his latent apology within him, hoping for a day in which he could tell her how sorry he was. From that point forward Fitz decided he needed to realign his priorities if he hoped to emotionally heal and eventually survive. As time passed he learned to cope with his grief, and adapted to the new normal in his life. These memories came rushing back to him as he sat at the restaurant, a witness to her glacial entrance. Get it together! he thought to himself, trying not to give himself away at his jovial table. He decided this was neither the time and the place to approach Olivia, but he felt it in the depth of his soul that the universe was signaling to him it was time to finally apologize to her; time to get that closure. So that he could feel at peace with his apology, whether she accepted it or not. It was time.

The rest of his dinner went by in a blur, try as he might he couldn't recover from the effect of seeing Olivia in the flesh, but he hoped no one took notice. He'd been reticent since his life had gone to shit, the perk of it being that no one questioned his moodiness too often. He'd vacillate from being engaged in conversation to being distraught all the time, certainly they couldn't have figured it out that this time was any different. Or so he thought.

The minute he got into the passenger seat of his brother's car the inquisition began.

"Are you alright Fitz?" asked his brother John.

"I'm fine, just really tired," replied Fitz.

They rode the rest of the way to Fitz's apartment in utter silence. John wasn't convinced with Fitz's answer but he wasn't going to nag, he'd learned long ago to respect Fitz's reserved nature. Just the way Fitz looked in his passenger seat told him he wasn't ok—eyes closed with his head tilted back and his tie in a loose knot with a dark shadow on his face, if he'd had his eyes open he would've been able to gauge what was going through his mind as he sighed deeply here and there.

"There was a woman at the restaurant…" Fitz announced out loud without thinking as he kept his eyes closed.

"OK…." John tentatively said with much caution. "And who was she that she's got you so frustrated?" asked John.

"Someone I have history with—it's just I hadn't seen her in a long time and it threw me for a loop. I've been looking for her for some time, and of all places I find her there—in the midst of our dinner," Fitz replied.

"So you're love struck? That's what's got you so disoriented tonight? What's her name? What was she wearing, maybe I saw her?! Where'd you two meet?!," questioned John impatiently. He was clearly excited that there was some life left within Fitz after all.

"Her name's Olivia. We met years ago actually—we had what you could call… a very passionate affair." Fitz let his words linger in the air and basked in the silence. John's lack of reaction encouraged him to go on.

"She was wearing a black dress, it was strappy, her whole back was exposed. In fact she had her back to us—her gorgeous, chocolate complexion, toned back that I want to devour with kisses is what Fitz wanted to say—Anyway, I doubt you saw her but it doesn't matter because it's all so fucked up now. I fucked it up—made sure of it actually." Fitz finished with a deep sigh.

More deadly silence shrouded the car and Fitz found himself wishing he hadn't said anything at all. Seeing Olivia had suddenly opened the dam and he didn't know how to control it; his revelation coming up like word vomit. He figured he'd already said too much so he went on: "We got involved four years ago, Mellie and I were at our most apathetic and I just… I felt I couldn't control it. I lost control—my senses. She was like a breath of fresh air and despite all my better judgment I dove right in. Long story short when Jerry died we'd been at it for a while and I felt like it was some sort of karmic retribution for me stepping out on Mellie. And in a fit of rage during an argument, I revealed that to Olivia—that she was somehow guilty of the death of my son by association for being with me. My brain lagged and it just came out of my mouth, I didn't mean to blame her. I know that now. Anyway, I fucked it up and haven't seen her since. She made sure of that," Fitz ended his exposé.

"Wow, my perfect older brother…" was all John could think of saying.

Fitz gave a dry chuckle, unbuckled his seatbelt and headed up to his apartment after wishing John a good night. He'd revealed to John something that had been haunting him for years which he hadn't even shared with his therapist. He poured himself a scotch, downed it and went to bed feeling exposed—thinking of how Olivia had managed to open him up with just her impromptu appearance once again.