Alex came out of the bathroom from brushing her teeth to find that Olivia had on her pajamas.  “Liv, get out of them right now!” she demanded.

 

Olivia giggled and twirled around in Alex’s Tweety pajamas.  “You’ll have to catch me first,” she said, running off.

 

Alex chased her around her room.  “Take them off, Liv!”

 

Olivia stopped dead in her tracks, causing Alex to run right into the back of her.  “Haha, fooled ya!”  She shook her butt at Alex.

 

“Liv, why do you have on my tweeties?”

 

Olivia shrugged.  “Cuz I wanted a change of wardrobe?”

 

“You’re not gonna fart in them are you?”

 

Olivia laughed.  “No.  Why?  Do you want me to?”  She turned around again and bent over.  “Although I think I can squeeze one out.”

 

“Oh my god, Liv!  You better not!”

 

“And guess what?  I don’t have on anything under these.  So Tweety saw my putty tat!  In fact, he’s looking at it right now!”

 

Alex screamed, a look of pure horror on her face.  “Liv!  You’ve scarred Tweety for life!”

 

“I wonder do they make Tweety boxers,” Olivia teased.

 

“They better not!”

 

“I’ll have to get me a pair,” Olivia continued.  She pouted at Alex and said, “Please, pretty please.  Can I wear them?”

 

Alex sighed and got in bed.  “Ok, Liv.  You can wear them to bed.”

 

Olivia smiled happily and cuddled up to Alex.  “The pokies love Tweety.”

 

“Tweety’s gonna have nightmares.”

 

Olivia pulled Alex into her arms and kissed her.  “I’m gonna be having very sweet dreams.”

 

Alex shook her head.  “Oh, Liv.”

 

“I wish we didn’t have to go to school tomorrow,” Olivia pouted.

 

“Yeah, me too.”  Alex yawned.  “I’m sleepy.”

 

“Me, too,” Olivia replied, laying her head on Alex’s chest.  “Thanks for standing by me.”

 

Alex smiled.  “It’s my job.”

 

**************

 

Olivia woke up a few hours later to find that Alex was no longer beside her.  She heard muffled crying from the bathroom.  Getting out of bed, she walked over to Alex’s bathroom door.

 

“Alex, sweetie.  Are you ok?” Olivia asked, knocking softly.

 

“I’ll be fine,” Alex mumbled, frantically swiping at her tears.

 

“Let me in, sweetie.”

 

“No, I just need a few.”

 

“Alex, please?”

 

Alex sighed.  She knew Olivia wasn’t going to go away until she opened the door.  She got up and unlocked the door then reclaimed her spot on the floor.

 

Olivia looked at the pile of tissues on the floor.  She didn’t even have to ask because she knew she was the cause of Alex’s tears.  “Oh, sweetheart…”

 

Alex refused to make eye contact.  Olivia slid down on the floor beside her and wrapped her arms around her, but Alex’s tears kept falling.  Olivia lifted her chin and forced her to look into her eyes.  She saw the raw pain in their cerulean depths.  “It breaks my heart to see you cry.”

 

“It just hurts so much.  I just…I just can’t get past all those cruel things you said to me today!  You swore at me, you called me a bitch, you made fun of me for being rich.  How is that ok?  I expect it from others but not from the love of my life.  I didn’t ask for my parents either.  I try to be strong for you, but you just break me down in the process!”

 

Olivia felt even worse than she had before.  “It’s not ok, it’s not.  God babe, I’m so sorry.”

 

“You don’t understand, Liv.  If I could trade places with you, I would,” Alex sobbed.

 

“I’m sorry I made you feel so bad, sweetie.  Will you forgive me, Aly?  I want us to move past this.”

 

“I-I’m trying to get past it.  I keep telling myself that you were just angry, that that’s not who you are 99% of the time, but it still hurts!  So fucking much.”

 

Olivia wiped her own tears away.  “Sweetie…if I could go back and erase all the pain I caused you, I would.  I swear.  You know that, right?”

 

Alex nodded and brushed away stray tears.  “I know,” she said almost inaudibly.

 

Olivia turned Alex’s face toward her again and softly kissed her lips.  “Let me make love to you.”

 

“No,” Alex said defiantly, folding her arms.

 

“Please,” Olivia pleaded, staring into her eyes and stroking the inside of her thigh. 

 

“Stop trying to seduce me with your eyes, Liv.”

 

“I wanna get your mind off this.”

 

Alex pushed Olivia’s hand away from her thigh.  “Liv, you don’t get it!  You can’t fix everything with sex!”

 

“Then how do I make this right?  I want us to be ok again.  I want you to be ok again,” Olivia responded, desperate to do anything that would make Alex forgive her.

 

“I…I don’t know,” Alex responded.

 

“I don’t want you still mad at me.”

 

“I’m not mad at you, Liv.  I’m just…hurt.”

 

Olivia unbuttoned the first few buttons to Alex’s pajama top and massaged her hand over her heart.  “Tell me where it hurts.”

 

Alex smiled for the first time since she’d been in the bathroom.  She loved Olivia’s ability to make her smile even when she was determined to wallow in self-pity.  “All over,” she pouted.

 

Olivia continued to massage.  “Feel better yet?”

 

“A little,” Alex said, smiling shyly.

 

Olivia pressed her lips to the warm skin over Alex’s heart.  “I love my Aly Poo,” she mumbled against her chest.

 

Alex laughed in spite of herself.  “I thought we agreed on Alikins.”

 

“I love my Alikins, too,” Olivia teased.

 

“Will you hold me?” Alex asked.

 

“I thought you’d never ask,” Olivia said, pulling Alex into her lap.  She tilted her face and rubbed her nose against Alex’s as Alex wrapped her legs around her waist.

 

“Will you rub my heart again?”

 

“My pleasure,” Olivia said, starting to massage again.  After a few minutes, she asked, “So does my Aly Poo forgive me?”

 

Alex looked down into Olivia’s deep chocolate pools and felt her heart melt.  “Oh, Liv.  You make my insides all gooey.”

 

Olivia giggled.  “That was the plan.  So do you forgive me?”

 

“Yes,” Alex said, softly kissing her lips.

 

Olivia grinned from ear to ear.  “Come on, let’s get some sleep.”

 

They went back in Alex’s bedroom and climbed into her bed.  Alex cuddled up to Olivia again and pulled the comforter up over them.  “You’re soft.”  She looked down at her pajamas Olivia was wearing.  “I see Tweety serves you well.”

 

Olivia chuckled.  “I guess he does.  These are mighty comfy.”

 

“So are you,” Alex replied.  She looked at the bedside clock and groaned.  “We have about three hours before we have to get up.  Let’s see who can fall asleep first.”

 

“I bet you will.”

 

“No, I bet you will!” Alex protested.

 

Olivia yawned.  “I just might.”

 

“I like watching you sleep,” Alex told her.

 

“Do you now?” Olivia asked.

 

“You betcha.”

 

Olivia wrapped her arms tighter around Alex.  “I love you, Aly Poo.”

 

“And I love you too, Livvykins.”

 

Olivia grinned.  “Livvykins?”

 

“Yes,” Alex said, grinning widely.

 

Olivia lightly nibbled on her bottom lip.  “You know…only you can get away with calling me something like that.”

 

“Don’t you just love my terms of endearment?”

 

“I do,” Olivia replied.

 

All of a sudden, Alex’s stomach growled.  Olivia laughed while Alex blushed.  “Is someone hungry?”

 

“I guess all that crying worked up an appetite,” Alex joked.

 

Olivia’s smile slightly faded.  “No more tears, ok?  I hate to see sadness in your beautiful eyes.”

 

“I hate to see it in yours, too,” Alex responded.  She got out of bed and continued, “I’m gonna go get us a snack.  Don’t fall asleep on me, ok?”

 

“Ok,” Olivia said, smiling again.

 

When Alex came back, she had a plate of chocolate chip cookies and two glasses of milk.  She handed Olivia one glass and carefully got in bed.  Olivia dipped a cookie in some milk and took a big bite.  Alex smirked as she watched Olivia wolf down cookie after cookie.  “You know…for someone who talks about me being hungry, I’ve only managed to grab two from my little cookie monster.”

 

“I can’t help it!  These are so good!” Olivia replied with her mouth full.

 

Alex bit into another cookie.  “Glad you like them.”

 

After Alex had taken the plate and glasses back downstairs, she resumed her spot next to Olivia.  “Good night, sweetie.”

 

“Night, baby,” Olivia replied, reaching over and turning out the lamp.  She then placed her hand under Alex’s top and rubbed her stomach gently until she heard the soft, even sounds of her breathing, letting her know that sleep had taken over.