DISCLAIMER: Guiding Light and its characters are the property of Proctor & Gamble. No infringement intended.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Special Occasion
By still_nina
"What on earth have you done to my kitchen?"
Olivia – clothes stained with frosting and fruit juice – jumped off the couch, where she'd been about to fall asleep. She looked at the evidence that she was actually wearing and that was impossibly to hide, before she smiled sweetly at Natalia.
"I'll clean it up, I promise." She walked towards the kitchen, past Natalia.
"What were you doing in there? It looks like a bakery exploded."
"It's not that bad." As she turned around the corner into the kitchen that Natalia loved so much, she had to admit that maybe it was. That bad.
"Oh." She turned and looked sheepishly at Natalia. "I was gonna clean it up before you came home. I was just a little tired."
"Did you take your meds?" Natalia was already halfway to the sink, reaching for a glass and Olivia rolled her eyes.
"Yes, I did take all my pills. I had lunch. I drank enough water. I was just tired after standing in the kitchen for a couple of hours."
"Doing what exactly?" Their conversation had completed its circle and they'd ended up at the beginning.
"It's a surprise." Olivia watched as Natalia looked at her in confusion, before her eyes widened. It seemed like the other woman had finally connected all the dots and realized what the ingredients that were left sitting around the kitchen would add up to. With two quick steps, Olivia walked to the fridge, dragging Natalia with her. "Happy birthday." She held out the cupcake that repeated her words in frosting. Natalia didn't say anything when she took the tiny version of the giant cake she saw still sitting in the fridge and Olivia quickly got some matches from a drawer to light the cupcake's single candle.
"I know you don't want a big party or anything, but there'll be a couple of people later, to help you eat that monster." Olivia pointed inside the fridge, before she closed its door again. "Emma wanted cupcakes to take to school tomorrow, but this one's just for you."
Natalia still didn't say anything and Olivia was getting worried when she saw tears in the other woman's eyes. Before she could ask what was wrong, Natalia suddenly wrapped her arms around her. "Thank you." Olivia smiled at Natalia's whisper, relieved at the joy she heard in her voice. They stayed like that for a while and Olivia closed her eyes as she enjoyed the warmth of Natalia's body.
"You're welcome." Olivia took a step back, only keeping hold of the hand that wasn't holding the cupcake. The candle was still burning, slowly dripping wax onto the floor, but Natalia didn't seem to care. "Make a wish."
Natalia's eyes locked onto hers and Olivia felt heat spread throughout her body as Natalia blew out the candle while she just kept staring into Olivia's eyes. In a flash, Olivia remembered the kiss they'd shared the week before, after Emma's project and with a jolt, she realized that she wanted… something. Something that she knew she wasn't supposed to have or want in the first place. A thin grey line of smoke travelled towards the ceiling and she let her eyes follow it, in order to break the connection between them.
"Emma is upstairs, wrapping your presents. She insisted she could do it herself." She took another step back and looked around the kitchen, trying to decide where to start cleaning.
"There's presents?"
"Of course there are presents. It's your birthday silly."
"Oh." Olivia knew most of Natalia's life had basically been about taking care of Rafe, and that there hadn't been anyone to just take care of her on special occasions. That was one of the reasons why she decided to actually go through the trouble of baking the cake herself instead of picking up something at Company or Towers.
"Sit down. Eat your cupcake. Relax." She smiled, trying to lighten the still somewhat heavy atmosphere of the room. "Come on, Old Lady. Today, the Spencer women are at your service."
Natalia did take a tiny bite of the cake, but instead of sitting down, she once more took a step closer to Olivia. Olivia had to close her eyes, when Natalia leaned forward to kiss her cheek and when she opened them, Natalia was still there, right in front of her and there was nothing Olivia Spencer could do, but lean forward herself and press her lips against Natalia's.
The kiss was brief and easily explainable. Many friends shared kisses, especially on special occasions, such as – for instance – a birthday. However, they had never been the kind of friends who shared kisses and when Natalia returned to Olivia's lips for second peck and Olivia leaned in for a third… it didn't really matter what kind of kisses they were.
"Happy birthday," Olivia whispered once more and it could have been awkward, but instead it somehow wasn't. Natalia just smiled and finally sat down. Neither woman said anything when Olivia started to put things into the dishwasher. She also started the coffee maker and the smell of fresh coffee and the comfortable silence settled over them like a familiar blanket. Home, Olivia thought. This is what home feels like. She was humming softly under her breath as she cleaned the kitchen, only glancing at Natalia every few seconds as the other woman slowly ate every last crumb of her cupcake.
The End