Chapter Text
That Morning
In the morning, Noah found himself waking up in his room. Pushing the sheets off of his body, he guessed that his mother must’ve come home at some time, because he swore he heard her wish him a goodnight and tell him that she loved him, while her hand had pushed his hair back out of his face.
But he could’ve been dreaming.
The last thing he remembered was asking Elliot if he loved him. He doesn’t know why he asked the man who was virtually a stranger up until a few months ago the question. There was just something familiar about the man that made Noah at ease.
One time, when he’d gone over to his Uncle Fin’s house, he’d been looking at some photographs that he’d seen and asked who the man was with his arm around his mom. Fin had smiled, taking the photo down off the wall and told him about Elliot.
When Noah had asked him what happened to Elliot, why his mother hadn’t ever mentioned him before, Fin had sighed and told him the truth.
“Look kid, maybe you better ask your Mom.” Then, he’d put the photograph back on the wall. But every single time Noah had gone over to his Uncle’s house he would stare at the photo, at the way her face was split into a large laugh, like the ones she would have on their game nights, or when they used to put cool whip on the end of each other’s noses while watching a movie. But the thing about the photograph he would look at was the way Elliot’s arm was slung over her shoulder, and how she was leaning into him her face turned up to look at him with those eyes so full of… love. Noah knew what his mother looked like when she was looking at someone she loved.
As he wiped his fist over his eyes, he shuffled down the hallway, seeing his mother’s door cracked open. He could see her outline on the sheets and as he pushed the door open slightly his eyes widened because Elliot was still here. He was… in the bed with his mom. After saying that they weren’t dating.
Maybe he asked her out after she got home last night.
Noah felt himself smile, because his mom looked so peaceful laying there with Elliot’s arm around her middle a small smile on her face, even in her sleep. Before he could decide to back out, Elliot’s head tilted up and their blue eyes met from across the room.
With a smile, the boy stepped into the room eyes glancing down to look at her, the woman who had raised him and loved him and taught him everything. How to walk, talk, doodle, color, cut things out, his alphabet, right from wrong… the woman who was his entire world. And as Elliot’s eyes flicked down to look at her and then back up to him, Noah saw it.
His mom was Elliot’s entire world.
He debated about it for a moment, before he carefully approached his mom’s side of the bed and climbed up carefully, situating himself beneath the covers and against her. She moved, subconsciously allowing him to nestle into her, his arm wrapping around her.
When his head tilted up, her eyes opened slowly as they landed on his eyes.
“Hey sweet boy.” Her hand raised, fingers rubbing against his scalp. “You okay?”
Noah bit his bottom lip as he nodded quietly. She pressed a kiss against his forehead wrapping her arms around him tighter.
“Good morning Elliot.” Noah mumbled against his mother’s shoulder, eyes watching as Elliot tossed back the covers on that side of the bed and slid out.
“Morning kid. I’m going to go make pancakes, do you wanna cuddle with your mom or help me out?”
For a moment, Noah thought about the two options that he’d been given.
“I think I’m gonna cuddle with mom, if that’s alright?”
Elliot just smiled, nodding as he quietly slipped from the room.
Olivia looked down at him, just then, and leaned back slightly in the bed.
“This okay with you?”
It was funny, Noah thought, that it should matter so much what he thinks about adults making decisions – but if Elliot could make his mom smile like she was in that photo at his Uncle Fin’s house?
“What?” Noah laughs, as his mom tickles him slightly. “He said he loves you and he said he loves me too. That’s without dating you, Mom. So, yeah. It’s okay.”
Olivia looks at her son, the most important person in her life and she feels like everything has finally come full circle, she holds his face, kissing his forehead one more time as she pushes his curls out of his bright blue eyes and laughs, wrapping her arms around him, squeezing him close.
“I love you.” She says out loud just as Elliot appears in the doorway - they can figure out for themselves who she's saying it to.
There are some things, she thinks, that are better voiced than admitted silently.
complete.