Otalia Fic: Foreheads and Firsts
Title: Forehead and Firsts
Author: laughsunshine
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Guiding Light & CBS do.
Summary: Olivia watches her two most favorite girls and Rafe from afar. & Rafe figures things out. May continue, not sure if it's good enough. [Sidenote: Today I attempted to draw Natalia from memory...and I ended up drawing what I would like to think is a perfect mixture of Natalia and Olivia. Like, if they could somehow have a child, it would look like my drawing. She has everything of Natalia's but her eyes and lips. She has Olivia's eyes and lips. Funny.]
Space.
Olivia was used to space. She always made sure she kept people at a distance. But Natalia broke her of that. Olivia craved closeness. And not just from Natalia, but from friends. Yes, she had friends now. She's always known she had people who cared for her, but now everything was so polite and kind between her and the people of Springfield--even Phillip sometimes. It was amazing how Natalia changed her for the better. And as she sat in the chair in the living room, she wanted to be close to Natalia. But Rafe was home.
It pained Olivia to pretend she didn't love Natalia whole-hearted-ly. But the timing to tell Emma and Rafe just didn't feel right. She had let Emma eat over at the farmhouse to celebrate Rafe's 25th day home. She wanted to quickly pick up Emma and leave for the Beacon but when she heard voices of conversation, her interest was piqued. Olivia stood up, crossed the room, and peered into the kitchen, making sure not to be noticed.
"I'm learning about different cultures in school Rafe!" beamed Emma.
"Really? What didya learn about?" inquired Rafe.
"Well, in Cambodia, it's bad to touch the forehead of a child unless you are the parent," said Emma matter-of-factly.
"Like this?" said Natalia as she snuck up from behind and kissed Rafe's forehead.
Rafe laughed as he tried pushing his mother calmly away, "Oh Ma!"
"Me! Me!" squealed Emma.
Natalia brushed Emma's hair from her forehead and kissed it. Olivia's eyes welled up with tears. This is the family she always wanted for Emma; something strong and loving. She sniffed to try and keep her tears at bay, which in turn, caused her presence to be known.
"Come join us Mommy!" said Emma.
Olivia walked in and placed her hands on her daughter, "Hey Jellybean. Did you enjoy your visit with Rafe and Natalia?"
"Mhm, we had spaghetti and I had chocolate fudge cookies for dessert!" said Emma with a huge grin.
Olivia gave Natalia a disapproving look when she heard Natalia let her have sugar so close to bedtime. Natalia pouted and instantly Olivia forgot why she had been disapproving.
"Hey Olivia, I was wondering if I could take Emma to a museum this weekend. Could I take her?" politely asked Rafe.
Both women were shocked but Emma squealed with delight.
"Please Mommy! I wanna spend time with my almost big brother," pleaded Emma, complete with puppydog eyes.
Olivia stuttered a bit before saying, "Uhh, yeah, sure." Natalia ruffled her son's hair, proud to see him take initiative. He was surely changed from his juvenile state that led him astray.
"Hey Emma, why don't we go upstairs and go get your book bag so you can go home?" asked Rafe. Emma complied and skipped out of the kitchen. "I'll be up in a minute!"
Rafe got up and walked over to the two women. "Look, Ma, don't get mad at me for saying this, but I think I know why you didn't marry Frank." Natalia's eyes widened and Olivia stuck her hands in her coat pocket, fidgeting endlessly. Rafe looked at Olivia. "I think I knew a while ago. I knew you loved my Mom; it takes more than just a friend to go visit her son in jail, harass his warden, fill prescriptions, and make sure he's okay. Frank's a good guy, but Ma didn't love him. You shoulda heard the way she talked about you Olivia." Natalia blushed and Olivia raised her eyebrows. "I'm not gonna pretend it didn't freak me out at first, but all I want is for you to be happy Ma. And Emma is so happy. And I'm happy. And I'm home. I'm home!" Rafe raised his hands up at the exclamation. Natalia began to cry tears of joy. "Oh Ma, don't cry. You're too beautiful to cry Ma." Olivia pressed her lips together and nodded in agreement. "And also, Emma's not as blind as you guys think. In my opinion, she knew before either of you did." The two women burst out in laughter, breaking any tension left in the house.
"Rafe, where's my Harriet th--,"muttered Emma as she walked back in. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing baby," said Olivia, opening her arms to her daughter. "Say goodbye to Natalia and Rafe, it's getting late."
Rafe walked to Emma and whispered in her ear. This caused the 9 year old to smile the biggest smile. "Let's let Ma and your Mommy say goodnight. I'll bring your stuff to the car." And with that the two kids walked out of the kitchen.
Natalia glanced at Olivia. Olivia gazed upon Natalia. The two women embraced.
"That was easy," said Olivia, pulling back to face Natalia, but not completely letting go of the brunette.
"Yeah," said Natalia as she unintentionally lowered her eyes to Olivia's lips.
Then it happened. A sweet, simple kiss. The feeling of each other lingering on their lips. The space officially closed. The two women stood there for a moment and just took in everything. That's when Natalia couldn't take it anymore.
"Move back in, please," whispered Natalia.