Olivia Jensen is on her way to ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ғᴀsᴛ (sprinted) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2015-12-10 09:57:00 |
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Entry tags: | # 2018 [12] december, maizie wolfe, olivia jensen, savannah posey |
Who: Olivia Jensen, Maizie Wolfe, & Savannah Posey
When: December 4, around 2PM
Where: The Oval Office
What: Cats are out of bags! Or something.
As silly as it was, when Savannah spilled something on her shirt while eating her late lunch, she immediately jumped out of her seat and began making her way back to the Oval Office to change her shirt. It wasn’t like they had access to washing machines but if she could at least scrub at the spot before the stain set, maybe the shirt wouldn’t be ruined. Her heels clacked down the halls as she approached the Oval Office and when she stepped into the room, out of the corner of her eye she spotted Maizie and Olivia, strangely enough sitting at opposite ends of the table. It was such a strange sight that she was momentarily derailed from her task and instead walked over towards them. Maizie and Liv had been much closer moments before, but the recognizable sounds of Savannah’s footsteps in the hall had driven them apart in a hurry, desperate to hide the fact that she was walking in on exactly what it looked like she was walking in on. Not that they were doing anything wrong by taking advantage of the empty Oval Office to make out, but this wasn’t exactly the way Maizie had pictured telling Savannah about her and Liv. So she slouched against one of the cushions on the floor, tried to slow her breathing, and looked anywhere else except at Liv -- looked, in fact, at Savannah’s approach. “You girls doin’ alright?” Savannah asked, stepping closer and looking between them. Maybe they were fighting again. Savannah really hoped that Olivia wasn’t relapsing into her holy terror phase because she was sure she’d go crazy and -- Eyes widening in shock as they landed on a red mark on Maizie’s neck, Savannah gasped, ”Maizie Lou Wolfe, is that a hickey on your neck?”' And just like that, with only one question, they’d been caught. Because what could she say? It wasn’t like Maizie could claim the spot her neck, which still felt warm from Liv’s mouth, was a bug bite or a birthmark or something. Savannah wasn’t stupid. So she swallowed, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and answered, “Yes. I mean, I haven’t seen it, but that’s a safe bet.” Olivia's eyes glanced up at Savannah, then over in the opposite direction to Maizie -- okay, she was super proud of how red that mark was already -- before they settled down on the makeshift centerpiece in the middle of the table. Was she supposed to say something, too? She opened her mouth to do just that before she realized that maybe they still had an out. It wasn't like she had to be the one who'd put that there! For all Savannah knew, maybe Maizie was totally hooking up with someone else besides the girl whose bed she shared. So she stayed quiet for now and tapped her fingers on the table's edge, trying to play it cool. Maybe it was totally cowardly, not giving Maizie any back up on this, but Olivia was sure they both knew she'd just make things worse if she started talking just then. Crossing her arms and furrowing her brows, Savannah kept her eyes trained on Maizie, so focused on Maizie that she all but forgot that Olivia was even there. After a moment of just looking at her, she pursed her lips before asking, “And just who gave you that hickey?” Savannah’s life was certainly more hectic these days. Running the LBJ was hard work and business with the Hellhounds kept her overwhelmed, but had she been so out of touch that she missed Maizie getting a boyfriend? Keeping her eyes deliberately focused on Savannah, Maizie nervously wet her lips. She kind of regretted now that she and Liv had moved so far apart, because maybe the spotlight of Savannah’s displeasure wouldn’t seem so bright if it were shared between the two of them. No, on second thought, better not to turn any more attention on Liv than she was about to with her answer. “Well, it was Liv, of course. I mean, because we’re together now -- she’s my girlfriend.” And with that she did look away from Savannah, turning her gaze toward Liv in search of support (even if it was just the unspoken kind); it was met by an anxious, shifty look before Liv's eyes dropped to the table's surface. “We were honestly going to tell you, and it hasn’t even been that long since --” Breaking off, Maizie pressed her lips together to stop the words flowing out of her mouth. It was just going to sound like she was making up excuses, no matter how much truth lay in what she was saying. They really hadn’t been trying to hide anything. "I guess we didn't know when would be a good time to bring it up what with all the like… ankle breaking and rough birthdays and allied shelter people getting arrested and work and stuff." As frightened as Olivia was of Savannah, as much as she found herself irrationally annoyed that Maizie had just said that without asking her if it was okay, the silence Maizie had left nearly begged for words to fill it. Still, her jaw was set and her response was directed to the tabletop. They totally could've hedged a little longer, played it off as something else other than the super obvious hickey that it was. Olivia had all the best intentions of telling Savannah eventually, but she hadn't been lying when she'd said there had never seemed to be a good time. It wasn't just all the shit she had going on too, though. How exactly did you navigate telling one of your roommates that you were sleeping with the other one -- and oh, wait, one of them was also the other one's kid? Olivia had been lucky Savannah could forgive her after what had happened on her birthday. How could they come back from this? She could see only one outcome, one that ended with her moving out of the Oval Office again. Savannah’s lips remained pressed together in a tight, thin line as she listened to Maizie and Olivia speak. She could have interjected, because Lord knew she had a million and a half questions, but honestly she’d learned that when people were put on the spot all kinds of truths would unintentionally slip out. Once she was sure that the girls were done with their initial outbursts, she sighed and lifted a hand to run through her hair. “For the record, I don’t care that you two are datin’ each other. I’m happy that you’re happy. But all the lyin’ and sneakin’ around is somethin’ I won’t tolerate. When did this really start?” This was exactly what Maizie hadn’t wanted to happen. Making Savannah angry again, when they were barely in this new phase of their relationship where they actually got along, was the worst. And she never meant to hide anything from Savannah, really -- it had just taken her and Liv this long to figure things out, what with the time apart after the carnival, and the mugging, and all the other crap that Austin regularly threw at them getting in the way. Well, okay, maybe they could have filled her in a tiny little bit sooner, but it wasn’t like they were concealing anything on purpose. “Not that long, promise. I mean, Liv and I only really started to figure out this --” Maizie gestured between the two of them, hoping that would suffice to explain what she was talking about. “-- after she got hurt. So, like, maybe a month? And we had to get things straight before we could come to you about it.” Savannah’s lips settled into a line as she mulled this information over. It had been almost two months since Olivia and Nadia were targeted by the Cats, and if what Maizie was saying was true, their relationship had been changing ever since then. And they’d been sleeping in a bed together all that time… in the same room as her. How out of touch was she? Opening her mouth and faltering for a moment, Savannah said, “Maizie, can you and I talk in private right now? Liv, if you’ll wait out in the hallway, I’d like to talk to you afterwards.” "Um, yeah. Sure." Leaving just then was pretty much the last thing Olivia wanted to do, but it couldn't be helped. Not when she was walking on thin ice with Savannah again. She pushed herself up to stand, grabbing her crutches, and saw herself out, closing the door behind her. Maizie watched Liv go, chewing on her lower lip. Once the door was shut behind the other girl, she turned back to Savannah, wearing an expression that hovered between wary and miserable. Odds were good that she was about to be chewed out for something. Dad totally would've flipped if he found out that she and her girlfriend were basically living together behind his back -- even if was done unintentionally. Why should Savannah’s reaction be any different? Drawing herself up with a sigh, Maizie asked, “So … what did you want to say?” Sighing herself, Savannah raised a hand to run the fingers through her hair nervously, and said, “If I hadn’t practically walked in on you, were you gonna tell me? Did you feel like you couldn’t tell me? I just--I don’t understand all the secrecy and I don’t understand how all this was happenin’ right in front of my eyes but I was blind to it.” “Of course we were gonna tell you!” Maizie wasn’t sure how many times she had to reiterate this same point, but maybe lying about Daddy’s bottle of alcohol was working against her here. Except she still didn’t think about that as lying, just -- Okay, that was way off topic. “And it’s not that I thought I couldn’t tell you; I just wanted to tell you in the right way.” Which had obviously blown up on her in a spectacular fashion. “Because you’re, like, the person who’s opinion means the most to me, and I don’t want you to think I’m being immature or impulsive or something with this. Liv and I, we’re not a whim or a -- a flight of fancy. This is something we really, really want.” “How do you know? Are you sure this isn’t about your dad? You actin’ out in some way?” The words were out of Savannah’s mouth before she could really help it, but it was a question that had been weighing on her mind ever since her eyes landed on the hickey on Maizie’s neck. Maizie stiffened at the mention of her dad and looked away from Savannah, pursing her lips. How could she even think that’s what this was about? The implication stung. “I just--I mean, have you ever been with someone like this before? It’s easy to get lost in--in sex, or whatever you two are doin’ and ignore the real problems,” she pressed on, feeling a little flustered at the idea of Maizie in such an adult situation. A part of Maizie would always be that skinny, knobbly-kneed little girl she’d met more than half a decade ago, even if in all honesty Maizie was growing into a woman. “I’m not just some rebellious, horny teenager,” Maizie returned, her tone nevertheless skirting the edges of petulance. It wouldn’t help her cause any to get snippy, which was about the only thing keeping her from going all the way there. “In fact, Liv is probably the one of the biggest reasons why I’m dealing as well as I am, because she’s been super supportive this whole time. And that goes both ways. We’re helping each other handle the real problems, not ignoring them.” “Okay then. I just--I had to ask and be sure,” Savannah said, stopping herself there before she said anything else stupid without thinking about it first. This was all uncharted water for Savannah. Parenting wasn’t something that she’d planned for, especially not without Gray. He’d always been the one who handled things like this with Maizie, so it had left her rather unprepared for a bomb like one Maizie had dropped on her… or rather, the one that Savannah had walked into. Biting her lip, Savannah just looked at Maizie for a few moments, wondering what to say next. It wasn’t like she had to be worried about either of them getting pregnant thanks to the fact that they were both girls, but there was still the emotional vulnerability being with someone brought about. Finally, she said, “I’m glad you two are friends. It’s important to have that with the person you’re with. Just remember that, okay?” The worst of it seemed to be over, maybe, and Maizie slouched slightly in relief as the tension in her upper back and shoulders start to fade away. Compared to what she’d expected, Savannah was actually taking it really, really well and was pretty much just trying to look out for her, which was kind of sweet. In fact, it suddenly reminded her about how afraid she’d been after Dad’s death that Savannah wouldn’t care about her at all. Though that fear had been chased away a long time ago, it kind of cast this whole situation in a different light to think about how much she’d longed for just this kind of connection between the two of them. Impulsively, Maizie stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Savannah in a tight hug. “Okay,” she said, her voice muffled as she spoke against the older woman’s shoulder. “I’m listening. I promise to remember everything you said, and I promise to be careful.” Savannah’s arms wrapped around Maizie, holding her tight and pressing a kiss to the side of her head. “In the future you can talk to me about this stuff, you know? If you want…” she said, trailing off a moment before adding, “I don’t know much about parentin’ but I remember being a teenage girl. That has to count for something.” “It counts.” The idea of getting into relationship details with Savannah was still kind of weird, especially taking into account the whole walking in on them thing. But it felt like one of those things where it was important to try. Maizie lifted her head, without pulling away just yet, and looked at Savannah with interest. “Did you ever date a girl? Before Dad, obviously?” Savannah gave a small laugh and shook her head. “I never had a serious girlfriend but…” she paused, wondering where the line between friend and parent was. Savannah was of the opinion that sex and love wasn’t something to be ashamed of though, and if you couldn’t talk about it you shouldn’t be doing it, so she continued, “I’ve been with women, before. I think I’ve felt more physically connected to women but more emotionally with men, so I guess that’s why I never dated a girl. Have you felt like this about another girl before?” Maizie bit her lip and, after a moment of hesitation, shook her head. She hated to give Savannah any more reason to believe that she wasn't ready for a relationship with Liv, but lying would only get her in worse trouble. “I mean, not in a serious way. You know how strict --” Stopping herself, Maizie shook her head again. “Let’s just say I was curious and, looking back, yeah. I had a couple crushes, maybe. But the way I feel about Liv is different than I've ever felt about anyone. I actually know her really well, for one thing, instead of just being infatuated with the idea of dating.” Savannah turned her head to the side, kissing Maizie’s temple. The mention of Gray hadn’t gone unnoticed and she tightened one of her arms around Maizie’s shoulders. Gray was a textbook over protective dad and she was sure that if he were still here, he’d be freaking out about the whole situation. But it was just Savannah and Maizie now… and Savannah was figuring out how to navigate through this the best she could. “It take time, figurin’ all this stuff out. But bein’ friends is a good start. Me and your dad were friends for a while before we got together.” Giving Maizie one last squeeze, Savannah released her from the hug and gave her a smile. “Speakin’ of, I think I better talk to her, make sure she and I are on the same page. Could you send her in?” “Okay.” Even though her own chat with Savannah had gone alright in the end, that didn’t really settle Maizie’s nerves at all. Knowing that Savannah and Liv were about to go through the same line of questioning, and that there wasn’t anything she could do to affect the outcome, made her stomach twist. With a last glance back at Savannah, she slipped out the door of the Oval Office and into the hall, where Liv waited, looking doubtfully at the door. Going in to see Savannah felt like trial by fire. Olivia hadn't had much in the way of discipline growing up, not even from her aunt once she'd moved to Minneapolis, and the only real repercussions for her actions were those given to her by her coaches. She also had no idea how Savannah was going to handle this. The woman had been a lawyer, after all, and she was tough enough to handle Rodeo. "What's up?" she asked, nerves forcing her expression to be a little more confrontational than she actually felt. Talking with Maizie had helped her understand this all better, but Savannah still had worries when it came to the actual relationship and the chances of the girl she considered a daughter getting hurt. It was even more complicated, though, because after Gray’s death, Olivia had become a more permanent fixture around the Oval Office and Savannah couldn’t help but thinking of her as something of a daughter as well. Sure, a daughter that might only be 8 years younger than her, but one all the same. “I’m not gonna waste time with small talk, sweetheart. If you really care about Maizie then you don’t want her gettin’ hurt with any of this. It’s just -- you’re older than her and you had a chance to live your life on your own before everythin’ happened. You’re both so young--” Savannah stopped, not even sure what she was trying to get at, before Olivia interrupted. Olivia had been glancing down at one of the cushions at the table, wondering if it would be rude of her to sit down or whatever, before she finally decided that she had an extenuating circumstance and she needed to do so before the conversation heated up. "Just because I'm not, like." She'd almost said 'super old,' but that could've been interpreted as rude and the last thing she wanted to do was piss Savannah off more than she already probably was. "Hold on." She lowered herself down carefully onto one of the cushions, her crutches to her side, then looked back up at Savannah. "I don't want her to get hurt either, you know? So I feel like we're both on the same page with that." Savannah couldn’t help but worry that the more she voiced her concerns about their “young love” the more they would keep from her. But she could remember what it was like to be 18 and in love for the first time. Everything felt like the real deal and when that first love came to an close, it felt like the end of the world. She would never tell Maizie and Olivia that they couldn’t but that didn’t stop her from worrying. “Just -- be careful okay? She’s already been through a lot this year.” "It's not like I don't know that." The retort was an automatic response, one that Olivia couldn't help but say despite the fact that she instantly regretted. She risked looking up at Savannah's face, then dropped her eyes back down to her hands. "Sorry. I mean, like." Okay, that wasn't an actual sentence, but her throat felt like she'd just swallowed five eggs or something. "I really like her," she said after a moment, still speaking mostly to the floor. "I'll be careful." “And don’t pressure her into doin’ anythin’ she’s not ready for. It’s--” Savannah paused, running a hand through her hair nervously, skin crawling with nerves at the idea of having the sex talk with Liv. “Physical stuff comes with a lot more emotions than you might be prepared for, okay?” Olivia blinked a few times, eyebrows furrowing together, as she tried to parse out the words that had just come out of Savannah's mouth. Were they really about to talk about that? Like, considering what Savannah had walked in on, she couldn't exactly blame her, but. "I am the last person doing any pressuring in this relationship," she blurted, then immediately winced at the implication. "I mean, not that I'm doing anything I don't want to do, but --" She cut herself off, her face burning, and added, "Okay." Savannah’s brows rose as she listened, every instinct in her telling her to run away before this got worse, but she was supposed to be the adult of this situation, dammit. Not quite meeting Liv’s gaze, she just nodded a few times (probably way more than was necessary) and said, “Well. Good. That’s good. Consent is sexy, you just remember that.” "I -- Obviously." Olivia was pretty sure she'd asked Maizie if she was sure about things like, at least twelve times when they'd first hooked up, but that wasn't exactly information she wanted to volunteer. Still, she didn't want to make Savannah feel like she wasn't listening. So she added, with obvious effort, "I definitely won't pressure her into any sex stuff or emotional stuff she's not ready for." Oh God. “Well, I think we’ve had about enough of this conversation. I did need to bring something else up with you, though. I know Lita has said you’re healing well. Have you thought about what you want to do around the library now that you should be cleared for work again?” And if her motivations in asking the question was to keep Maizie and Liv from being up her unsupervised, well, who could blame her? Olivia's eyes remained narrowed even as they shifted away from the sex talk. Nick had been bugging her to return back to work for the last few weeks, but she'd managed to have an excuse every time. With Savannah on her case now, too, she wasn't sure she'd be able to escape so easily. "I haven't really given it a lot of thought," she said honestly, because for her there was nowhere else she could work besides scouting. And with her ankle still broken, she couldn't exactly do that any time soon. “Nick mentioned to me the other day that they need more help with water. It’s not all physical labor,” Savannah reassured, anticipating Olivia’s concern. “Even though the spring we get the water from is fresh, we still have to treat it. Maybe you can help out with that for a while as your ankle keeps healing,” she suggested. "Okay," Olivia said doubtfully. She didn't have much experience dealing with authority figures off the track, but she had a feeling that it wouldn't be a good idea to disagree with Savannah just then. (Even if she already dreaded being around some of the others from her department on a regular basis.) She chanced a glance up at Savannah, trying to read her facial expression, before she looked down at her hands. Was Savannah mad at her? She honestly couldn't tell. "I'll ask him if he can set me up with something." “Great. I’m sure you and Nick’ll be able to figure something out.” Savannah had never had to play the concerned parent before and she was finding that she really wasn’t sure how to proceed from here. So she just gave Liv a slight smile. “Anythin’ else you want to talk about, honey?” Olivia's eyebrows raised at the term of endearment, wondering exactly what that meant. After so much time around Savannah, she knew well enough how often she used the word, but was it like, meant as a passive aggressive form of politeness, or did she actually mean it? "I don't think so," she said, pausing and waiting for some kind of interruption or interjection before carrying on, but Savannah remained silent, waiting for Liv to finish her thought. "I guess just like... " Was Savannah mad at her? Was she disappointed? Was she going to kick her out? She wished Maizie was next to her; Maizie would know what to say. And really, anything would probably be better than what actually came out of her mouth instead: "What do you want to have for dinner tonight?" She was still learning how to do this whole parenting thing, but Savannah had to believe she was riding on the right side of the learning curve and that they’d all make it through this -- together. And that was all they could really aim for. So, suppressing a smile, Savannah said, “Why don’t I go get Maizie and she can weigh in?” |