Someone Needs A Happy Ending
By Misha
Disclaimer- Not mine. I’m just borrowing them for a little while and will return them when I am finished.
Author’s Notes- Another Dante fic! This one is a response to two requests I’ve gotten for him. One was for a “kiss that shouldn’t happen” (though I take liberties with the description) and the other was for a scene that focused on the subtle flirtation of two characters falling in love. This takes place before “Take You Away From Here” (well the final act anyway) and is the lead-up to the events of that fic.
Pairing- MC/Other
Rating- PG-13
Summary- Olivia and Dante have a conversation about his growing feelings for Eleanor.
Words- 1657
They were in Olivia’s hotel suite, going over what they knew for the thousandth time when it happened. When Dante finally slipped.
It started out simple, they were discussing the final days of the tour and how they weren’t any closer to getting answers when Eleanor yawned mid-thought. She smiled sheepishly. “I guess I’m more tired than I thought.”
“It is late,” Dante told her indulgently. Olivia just rolled her eyes but stayed silent.
“I guess I should go to my room then,” Eleanor said softly, standing up.
Dante got to his feet as well, his hand resting on her back as he walked her to the door. “Do you want me to walk you to your room?” He offered as they stopped by the door, his hand still on her back, his body only inches from hers.
“No,” she told him with a smile, “but thank you for offering.”
“Anytime,” he assured her. They stood there for a moment and Dante’s eyes landed on her lips. Her soft, pink, incredibly tempting lips. It would be so easy to kiss her, but he knew there were a million reasons that this was a bad idea.
Still, the need to touch her was overwhelming, so before he could stop himself, Dante bent down and brushed his lips to her forehead. Eleanor let a soft sigh, her hand coming to rest on his chest.
They stood there like that for a moment, totally lost in each other, before Dante took a step back. “Goodnight, Eleanor.”
“Goodnight.” She whispered, giving him a long look before turning to go.
Dante stood there, watching the door long after she was gone, wondering what he had just done.
He’d almost forgotten that he wasn’t alone when Olivia spoke. “Well, that was cozy.”
Damn, he silently cursed himself, though he wasn’t sure if whether it was for kissing Eleanor (even though it had been an innocent kiss on the forehead) or for being so wrapped up in her that he had forgotten Olivia was there.
Dante turned to look at his cousin, “what do you mean?” Maybe if he played it cool, she’d let it drop. Though since this was Olivia they were talking about, not likely.
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t play dumb, it doesn’t suit you. What in the Hell are you doing Dante?”
He sighed and then turned on his heel, pouring himself a glass of scotch. “I have no fucking clue.”
“You’re supposed to be helping her clear her name so she can marry Liam,” Olivia reminded him, a glass of red wine in her hand.
“Technically, I only sighed up to help you,” Dante pointed out.
Olivia raised an eyebrow. “So you’re not committed to helping Eleanor?”
“Oh, I am,” Dante assured her, a little surprised at his own fierceness, “just not with the same target goal as everyone else.”
The engagement tour was wrapping up in a couple days and Dante had already decided he wouldn’t be going back to Cordonia with the rest of them. The more he thought about leaving Eleanor though, the less he liked it.
He had originally agreed to help her because it meant helping Olivia, but it hadn’t taken long for it to be something more. Or for him to see how this whole mess had started in the first place, because Eleanor was definitely the type of woman you risked everything for.
“What do you mean?” Olivia asked suspiciously.
“I’m going to ask her to come with me,” he admitted, thinking of the plane ticket he had purchased. He hadn’t been sure whether or not he would give it to her, whether he wanted to risk, but after tonight, he knew he had to at last try.
Olivia stared at him and then smirked, “you always did have to be unpredictable. What makes you think she’ll go? She loves Liam.”
Dante shoved away the pain that the words caused. “Maybe, because he isn’t making her happy,” he pointed out. “I’ve only known her for a few weeks, but even I can see the strain she’s under. This whole situation is making her unhappy.”
Olivia was silent, obviously unable or unwilling to contradict his words. “It’s not just about Liam,” she said finally, “she feels loyal to the Beaumonts. They’re broke, you know, and they’ve convinced her that her marrying Liam is their salvation.”
Dante sipped his drink, considering the information. “That can be taken care of,” he said after a moment. That was actually the easiest obstacle to remove because it only required money and he had plenty of that.
Olivia raised an eyebrow, “you really are in deep, aren’t you? What is it about that girl?” There was a touch of bitterness in her voice. Dante knew it had nothing to do with him, and little to do with Eleanor, so he ignored it.
“I don’t know,” Dante admitted, “but I’ve never met anyone like her before. I’ve never had the urge to play knight in shining armor, until now, until her. I just want to whisk her away and make her smile, as stupid as that sounds.”
“Well, I agree it sounds stupid,” Olivia said dryly, “but it’ll appeal to her. If you want her to go with you, say it like that. Offer to take her away, make it sound as dreamy as possible. It’ll appeal to her romantic heart.”
“Can you sound a little less cynical, Livvie?” Dante asked with a smirk.
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, I’ve grown very fond of her. Fond enough to understand her. Do you know how she ended up here?”
“I know the basics,” Dante answered, remembering how only a few months ago he’d listened to Olivia rant about the American waitress who was ruining everything, never imagining she’d ever be more than a curiosity to him. Though, even then, he’d thought she was crazy for willingly subjecting herself to the lion’s den that was the Cordonian Court.
“She got swept up in the romance,” Olivia reminded him, “in dreams of love at first sight and fairytales and the social season just reinforced that for her, especially when Liam was so smitten.” The bitterness was stronger now. “But then she had a rude awakening at the Coronation and everything that’s come after. She’s trying to fight for her fairytale, but it’s not coming easy. But she’s too romantic, too loyal, to just give up.”
“And you think if I appeal to the romantic in her, she’ll come with me,” Dante said quietly, wondering if she was right.
Olivia shrugged, “I honestly have no idea, but I think she’d be more likely to go for the romantic option, then if you told her to just cut her losses and get out while she can.”
Dante thought she might have point. He had gotten to know Eleanor well enough to know that she was strong and stubborn and loyal, but also romantic and thoughtful. He could see the strain on her, but she kept fighting because it was what she knew how to do and he had to give her another option, show her that there was another ending to her story.
“You know if she does leave with you, it’ll make coming back to Cordonia difficult, right?” Oliva said after a moment.
Dante shrugged. “That really doesn’t bother me.”
Cordonia had never really been home and it had been years since he had been there for any significant period of time.
Olivia laughed, “somehow I’m not surprised.” Her laughter died suddenly. “This will break his heart; if she goes, I mean.”
Dante didn’t have to ask who he was. “After everything, you’re still thinking of his feelings?”
“He’s a good man,” Olivia said quietly, “the best one I know. He loves her, Dante.”
“And you still love him,” Dante said quietly and immediately regretted it when she winced. “Livvie, I’m sorry.”
“It’s ok,” she said with a shaky smile, “after all, it’s true. I do love him. It’s why I wanted him to pick her in the end, because it would make him happy.”
And now here was Dante, ready to spoil Liam’s happiness and whisk the woman he loved away from him. But he couldn’t bring himself to care about that.
“I don’t care about Liam’s happiness,” he said after a moment, “I care about Eleanor’s happiness and yours, but that’s it.”
“Yes, you’ve made that very clear,” Olivia said dryly, she sighed, “there’s no scenario where everyone ends up happy, is there?”
If it was a fairytale, there would be. There would be a way to free Liam from his forced marriage and have him fall in love with Olivia while Dante swept Eleanor off her feet. But that wasn’t likely to happen.
“I doubt it,” Dante told her quietly, “sometimes I’m not sure anyone gets a happy ending.”
He knew that there was a chance, a good one, that Eleanor would turn his offer down but that she still wouldn’t end up with her prince. That both Eleanor and Olivia would be heartbroken as Liam was forced to marry the blonde bitch and Liam would also be miserable.
Dante tried to tell himself that at least he’d be able to go home and pick up his life if that happened, but he had a feeling that it would be with a lot of regret and wonders of ‘what if’ and images of soft blue-grey eyes.
Olivia tossed back the rest of her wine like it was juice and didn’t cost more than most people made in a month, before pouring herself another glass.
She held it in her hand, her red nails tapping on the crystal stem, and turned to him, her expression deadly serious. “Take her away from here, Dante. Sweep her off her feet and take her far from here. Make sure that someone emerges from this mess with a happy ending.”
- End
