31_days | [Oct 25] [FRINGE] THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD

Title: The Weight of the World
Day/Theme: Oct 25 '08, The Weight of the World
Series: Fringe
Character(s)/Pairing: Olivia Dunham/Peter Bishop
Rating: G

Peter watched Olivia as she drove to the residence of their latest person of interest, in yet another mysterious series of events possibly connected to what had become known as The Pattern. She looked tired. Beautiful, yet tired. He didn’t blame her. After everything that she had been through, she deserved points for breathing in and out, Peter had thought to himself. They had known each other for three months. Was it really only that long? Why did he feel as though he had known her so much longer? And why did it bother him so much that she put on a front for him?

“What?” Olivia asked with a hint of self consciousness as she spotted his eyes examining her.

“You seem… tense,” Peter said.

“I’m fine,” Olivia said with a dismissive tone, her standard response whenever it felt as though Peter was starting to see through the fortress that she had built around herself. After what she had been though it was a constant effort to maintain a calm, professional demeanor when sometimes all she wanted to do was scream. Sometimes the cyclonic emotions inside her would threaten to manifest themselves. She would notice herself clenching her jaw, concentrating too hard or her fingernails digging into the steering wheel like they were doing now.

Peter noticed these things too, she could tell, and that only added to how out of control she felt. Olivia had tried to suppress any feelings that she now considered dangerous. She couldn’t trust anybody now, and when Peter looked at her it felt as though he could see right through the façade that she had created. What scared her even more was that she wanted him too. She desperately wanted him to and she wondered if she would ever have the courage to let him know.