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Alex: *shakes her head* That doesn't sound crazy at all. *looks out over the water, her eyes scanning the horizon as she wishes more than anything to reach it. She speaks slowly, slightly unsure of herself* I want to try it.
Olivia: *squeezes Alex's hand* Then what's stopping you? It's your life, Alex. Live it like you wish. Don't let anything stop you. *Smiles widely* Carpe Diem--seize the day.
Alex: *turns to look at her, smiling, her confidence returning* Let's do something. Something random. Let's seize the day!
Olivia: *Can't help but smile at the look on Alex's face, and she stands up, pulling Alex with her, not letting go of their hands, tugging her away from where they were sitting, a large smile on her face* Come on.
Alex: *laughs* Where are we going?
Olivia: *Beaming, now, shrugging* I have no idea
Alex: *laughs again, grinning broadly* So we're just going?
Olivia: *laughs with her, picking up pace, just a tad, looking back, her eyes dancing* Pretty much, yeah
Alex: *clings tighter to her hand as she hurries after her, her smile widening* And when we've gotten somewhere worth being, we'll just know?
Olivia: *Looks back, her eyes still twinkling, but an oddly serious undercurrent in them* Well, that's how I knew to follow you onto the deck, wasn't it? *She tugs on Alex's hand again, picking up her pace just a tad bit, still beaming, laughing a little* Come on!
Alex: *laughs, quickening her pace* You do realize there's not many places to be on a ship!
Olivia: *Chuckles* Well, you've only ever been in the 1st class. *Winks back at Alex* There's plenty of places to be on a ship...all that matters is where you really want to go!
Alex: *grins, clutching her hand tightly* Take me to meet your friends!
Olivia: *Quirks her eyebrow, slowing down in stride a little, but still keeping a steady pace* You sure? *At Alex's nod, she smiles and nods* Alright, but consider yourself warned. They're...interesting folks. *Smile widens* But probably some of the best damn people you'll ever meet. *Tugs Alex's hand towards the entrance to third class, downwards towards the hull of the ship, holding her hand tightly*
Alex: *grins* And I want to meet that little girl you were playing with earlier.
Olivia: *Turns her head over her shoulder as they travel down the narrow staircase* She'll love you. *squeezes Alex's hand* The guys will, too
Alex: *slightly nervously* You really think so?
Olivia: *Faltering momentarily in step so she can fully turn around and look Alex in the eyes, her voice sincere* I know so. *Squeezes her hand once more before continuing on down the stairs, a large smile on her face*
Alex: *grins and follows her. Though she is still nervous, something in her feels that she can trust Olivia, trust her judgment, and as Olivia leads the way through the halls, she takes a breath, her smile never faltering as she clings to the other woman's hand*
Olivia: *smiles widely, oddly not conscious of what Alex might think of her, due to their obviously poor surroundings, knowing it must be quite a drastic change from what she's normally used to. Instead, Olivia keeps walking on, her fingers laced tightly with Alex's, her heart beating rapidly in her chest as she makes her way through the twisting, angular halls* So--first stop-- *Olivia turns back towards Alex, winking* Cora. I'm sure she's just twisting, right about now, for something to do, anyways. She's a spirited little kid. The only downside of that is she's always bored.
Alex: *grins* She's young, she has every right to be bored when every second of her life isn't filled with something interesting. Time passes before we know it, we should always be doing something we find worthwhile!
Olivia: *Turns to Alex, smiling softly* See, you've got it. *winks before turning to knock softly on Cora's room door, not letting go of Alex's hand, even when the door swings open and Cora's beaming face stares up at them from the floor, or when Olivia grabs the little girl in a huge upwards motion, carrying her mid-air against her side, the little girl giggling. Olivia says in a serious, yet still oddly-playful tone* You really shouldn't just throw open the door like that, Cora. *When Cora giggles, Olivia squeezes Alex's hand and turns towards her, beaming* Cora, Alex. Alex, Cora.
Alex: *smiles softly and waves a little with her free hand as she give's Olivia's hand a gentle squeeze* Hi Cora. *smiles softly* You're a very pretty girl.
Olivia: *Watches Alex interact with the girl, smiling softly and chuckles when Cora beams at the compliment, reciprocating it, stumbling over her words a tad. Olivia shuffles Cora in her arms, readjusting her weight, not able to tear her gaze away from Alex's smiling face*
Alex: *glances at her, their eyes meeting and she blushes slightly* So are we taking her with us to go see everyone else?
Olivia: *Still staring at Alex, a soft smile on her lips before she breaks away to look down into small brown eyes, her tone teasing* Want to come see your big ape uncles, Cora? *At Cora's enthusiastic nod and giggle, Olivia makes a face at the girl before she turns back to Alex, smiling* Yep. I'm pretty sure she's coming. *She squeezes Alex's hand before she once again continues down the hallway, adjusting Cora's weight against her once more, waiting for Alex to walk in stride with her, this time*
Alex: *walks in pace with her, slightly behind as they can't fit three wide in the small corridors. She smiles softly at Olivia, resisting the longing to lay her head on her shoulder, instead giving her hand a gentle squeeze in return.*
Olivia: *Takes in a soft breath, reveling in the calm, casual, quiet moment between them, knowing that, in a couple of moments, everything will be anything but calm. Wincing, Olivia hesitates for a moment before throwing her room door open, blinking at the empty room. Save for a rather large, snoring man on the top of the bunk bed. She turns towards Alex, smirking, pointing their joined hands towards the bed* And that *Loud snore* would be Elliot.
Alex: *brings her free hand up to cover her mouth and muffle the laugh, her eyes dancing. She calms herself and removes her hand* He seems like a very wonderful man.
Olivia: *Chuckles when Elliot snores again, loudly* Oh, yeah, he's a keeper alright. *She chuckles again, looking around the inside of the room and down the hall before pulling both of the ladies in, closing the heavy-duty door and smirking, her eyes devilishly glinting. Sets Cora down gently...raising a finger over her lips to silence the giggling girl before turning to Alex, squeezing her hand one more time* These doors are as good as sound-proof. *She winks before letting go of Alex's hand, instantly missing her touch, looking into her eyes and promising* Just gimme one sec. *Smirking, she climbs up to the top bunk, getting over to one side, close enough to Elliot, her smile wide before she screams, loudly* ELLIOT! WAKE UP! KATHY'S RUNNING DOWN THE HALL NAKED!
Elliot: *shoots up, smacking his head on the ceiling* AH SHIT! *rubbing his head with his palm, glaring and looking downright miserable, though infinitely more awake. He colors slightly when he sees other people in the room, both of whom are laughing and making rather poor attempts to hide that fact* What the hell Liv?
Olivia: *Smirks* Morning, beautiful! *She pats him on the cheek, her tone teasing* It's what you get for being a pervert. *Her smirk turns into a genuine smile* Besides, there is someone downstairs that I'd like you to meet. *Gestures towards Alex, who is laughing behind her hand, she hops off the bed, ruffling Cora's hair in the process, before motioning from Alex to Elliot, still practically beaming* Alex, Sleeping Beauty. Sleeping Beauty, Alex.
Alex: *moves closer to the bed and extends her hand upwards, suppressing her laughter momentarily, trying hard to put on her proper manners* It's a pleasure to meet you, Sleeping Beauty.
Elliot: *Blinks, his eyes going wide momentarily, gazing over at a smiling Olivia, before he turns back to Alex, beaming, forgetting all about his earlier irritation in light of what he saw unfolding before him. He hops out of bed, so that they're on an even level, and shakes Alex's hand, his grip firm, winking at her before he bats his eyelashes, his voice up an octave* You can't deny I'm beautiful.
Alex: *grins broadly, laughing as their hands separate* You're an absolutely beautiful man.
Olivia: *Rolls her eyes, at Elliot's cocky grin and 'I told you so' and walks over, shoving him in the shoulder playfully, moving so that she's standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Alex, smiling over at Cora's giggle before shaking her head at her friend* You wish, Romeo. *She shakes her head again before gesturing towards the messy room* Where's Fin, anyways? Didn't he say he was gonna be in here since Sergei was taking his bed for a while? *Turns towards Alex and smiles, stage whispering* Fin's not very good at poker.
Alex: *laughs* Well he has my sympathies. I'm horrible myself.
Elliot: *Looks between Alex and Olivia for a moment, smiling slowly, before looking down and smiling at Cora, ruffling her hair before picking her up in his arms* Hey, you. *He turns back towards Alex and Olivia, nodding towards the door* He's at the bar. *Shakes his head* Probably losing this bed in poker, too. *Smiles at them both before leading the way towards the bar, carrying Cora in his arms*
Alex: *moves to walk with Olivia, purposefully brushing her hand ever so slightly against the other woman's, smiling a little, though her eyes are focused ahead*
Olivia: *Turns her head towards Alex, searching her face, before a slow smile makes its way over her face as she twines her fingers with Alex's, moving in a little closer, their pace leisurely, behind Elliot, before she leans in even closer, whispering gently against Alex's ear, her eyes twinkling* Told you he'd like you.
Alex: *shivers slightly at the nearness, though her smile grows, she gives Olivia's hand a gentle squeeze* I like him too.
Olivia: *Notices Alex shiver and smirks, her tone light* Are you cold down here, too? I only have so many jackets to offer, y'know. *She smoothly switches the hand she held Alex's with, bringing her other arm around the blonde's shoulders, smiling into the air between Alex's neck and shoulder, gazing up at Alex's face from the angle she's in, her heart threatening to burst out of her ribcage, her throat dry in anticipation of how this would be received, her words still gentle against the cold, recycled air around them* Better?
Alex: *unsure of herself, her smile faltering slightly from her nerves. She gazes at Olivia for a moment, and feeling the other woman's grasp start to loosen, she snakes her arm around Olivia's waist, their sides pressing slightly together, she manages to murmur* Much better.
Olivia: *All at once exhales a sigh of relief and inhales a sharp gasp of surprise at Alex's touch, leaving her body stiff, momentarily, before she completely relaxes into the moment, closing her eyes briefly before looking over into Alex's eyes, smiling softly, gulping, sure that Alex can hear her heartbeat, it's so loud*
Alex: *smiles slightly nervously at her as their eyes lock, she swallows hard, unable to think of anything to say so she says the first thing that pops into her head, trying to keep her tone light* So...who is Kathy anyway?
Olivia: *Chuckles a little, watching Elliot up in front of them talking animatedly with Cora, shaking her head* Kathy is this Swedish girl that Elliot danced with, yesterday. According to him, she's the best dancer he's ever seen--gorgeous--beautiful smile...*She shakes her head again, her smile just a little wider* He's head over heels for her. She's the only thing he'll talk about. *Looks down at Alex, searching her eyes a moment before looking back at Elliot and Cora* It's great, really. I haven't seen him so happy for a while. Even if it seems a little out of the blue. *She shrugs a little, jostling Alex with her* He seems happy. Extraordinary things can happen in the blink of an eye. *She smiles fully down at Alex*
Alex: *smiles up at her* I think I know the feeling. *blushes and instantly averts her gaze when she realizes what she's said, she continues on, trying to pretend the previous words never left her mouth* It's beautiful, really, when love sneaks up on a person like that. I hope the two of them can find happiness together. It's what everyone really deserves in this world, to love and be loved unconditionally.
Olivia: *Stares intently at Alex's face, searching it desperately, her heart caught in her throat, blocking the way for any words to find their way out and, when she finally finds them, they're barely a whisper of acknowledgement* It is. *She turns away for a moment, looking towards Elliot's chipper step and then down at the wood of the floor* It's as frightening as it is liberating. *Shakes her head, looking back up towards Elliot, her eyes soft* I think the hardest part is not knowing, for sure. *Olivia takes in a breath, knowing what she's really talking about, and feeling her heart clog her throat, once more. Because as easy as it is to live in the unknown, it still scares the hell out of her. After a couple of moments, her words, still soft* But..he deserves it. *She looks back down at Alex* And I think they'll make it. Get their happy ending. Because they deserve it, y'know? There's got to be a lot of good karma stocked up for them, somewhere, right?
Alex: *swallows hard* They say true love only comes once in a lifetime. I hope they do get their happy ending because it's definitely a beautiful thing. *smiles softly as she watches Elliot with Cora* And I think he may just make a good husband, a good father.
Olivia: *Beams, watching them with Alex, both of their laughs echoing down the halls as he holds her* He would make the best father. And there's no doubt he's the best guy I know. Hell, even I'd marry him, if I wasn't...*stumbles over her words a little* Well...if he wasn't practically my brother.
Alex: *blushes, her mind reeling with questions. She knows what Olivia was going to say and she wonders why she hesitated to finish the sentence. She knows the obvious reasons, the shunning by regular society, but she wonders why, even as they have their arms around each other, Olivia would hesitate. She blushes deeper as she realizes how she has mentally linked the two of them and she swallows hard, gazing ahead, her words coming out softly, barely above a whisper* Kathy is a very lucky woman then.
Olivia: *sucking in a deep breath, gazing at Alex out of the corner of her eye, her fingers tightening around the blonde* Yes. She is. *Turns towards Elliot again before looking back at Alex, locking eyes with her, holding her gaze, the words on the tip of her tongue. And so am I. She tastes them for a moment before letting them settle, a slow, large smile working its way over her face as she tightens her grip on Alex, wondering if she'll get the chance to tell her, someday*
Alex: *gazes at Olivia, her own smile widening slightly at the sight of Olivia's. She turns her head forward, her arm tightening around Olivia's waist, feeling how it presses their sides together. Her heart thuds in her ears and she thinks again over laying her head on Olivia's shoulder before she realizes with a tinge of sadness that they have reached their destination*