Divorce had done Elliot Stabler a world of good. Olivia took another swallow of her pinot noir and let her head drop slightly, allowing her long angled bangs to mask her eyes. She shot a surreptitious glance at her partner, the fourth or fifth in the last, oh, ten minutes. He was deep in friendly argument with Fin, perched on the edge of a bar stool, Guinness in hand. Tonight's outing was not spur-of-the-moment, they had planned it weeks ago and Elliot had dressed for it - skin-tight faded blue jeans and a thin black sweater with a v-neck. He had pushed the sleeves halfway up his muscular forearms - and dear god were they muscular. The first weeks after Elliot and Kathy split up he had drowned his stress in the gym, working out in every spare minute. He had become slightly addicted to the sweat and the endorphins and four months later was still on a daily regimen, and damn did it show. Olivia had watched as his shirts became tighter and shoulders broader, until he had eventually started buying new clothes.
That sweater, for instance - she would have never imagined him deliberately choosing something so trendy and fitted a year ago, and yet tonight he looked stunning. There was not a female in the place who hadn't looked at least once, herself included.
He must have felt her gaze - he turned his head slightly and his eyes caught hers. He smiled and tipped his bottle in her direction. Fin followed his gaze.
"Hey, birthday girl! Whatcha doing sitting by yourself? Come on over and help me explain to your partner why the Patriots will NOT be in the Superbowl this year!' She laughed at Fin and slid off her bar stool. The slight heels of her black boots and tight jeans gave her an unintentionally sexy swagger as she walked toward her two closest friends, and she grinned internally as she watched them both watch her.
The two men looked at each either and back at Olivia. She rolled her eyes and smirked at them both. "Seriously?! You are such - men!"
"Damn, Liv, it's just - what we do - right, Elliot?"
Elliot took another long draw from his bottle, and Olivia watched his lips close around the neck with envy. "If by 'what we do' you mean 'watch Benson walk at every possible opportunity', then yep, I guess it is."
Fin laughed, and raised his bottle. "Let's drink to Benson's walk!" Elliot and Fin clinked bottles and swallowed.
"I'd rather drink to Benson walking away", Elliot added.
"What?" Olivia asked, confused. "You want me to leave? You just told me to come over!"
"No, no - I don't want you to leave - I just enjoy the view as you walk away." Elliot looked at her with a naughty grin and took another swallow. Olivia felt her cheeks grow warm. His blatant flirting was so out of character with their normal 'deep dark secret' unresolved sexual tension flirting, replete with stolen glances and 'accidental' touches.
"Ahh", said Fin. "So you are a rear-view man?"
"Now don't get me wrong, Fin - I love cleavage as much as the next man. But there's something about a firm, curvy, luscious - umm - rear view - that gets my attention every time."
Olivia snorted. "So it's true - men really don't talk about anything but sports and sex."
"Now Liv, you know that's not - okay, yeah, pretty much." Fin agreed.
"Hey Liv - didn't you leave something at your seat?" Elliot asked, grinning. "Cause I sure would love to see you walk back over there and get it."
She snorted. "In honor of my birthday could you not be an ass, Stabler?"
"Well - okay. Maybe. Sure, I'll give it my best shot".
Fin laughed at the standard Stabler/Benson bickering. "Speaking of birthdays, Liv, what do you want for yours? What's your birthday wish this year?"
"You mean besides world peace and no more sex crimes and a 1968 Mustang convertible? I don't know - the usual. True love. A new blender. The best sex of my life. Oh - and books. You can never have too many books.".
Fin give it some thought. "Okay, Stabler, I can handle the blender. The rest is on you, my man."
Elliot drained his beer and banged the empty bottle on the bar. "Done". Olivia felt her heart rate rise at his answer. True love AND the best sex of her life from Elliot Stabler? 12 years of dreams come true. He cut a sexy sideways glance her way. "At the moment I was thinking of something more immediate..." he waited until her eyes met his, and a patented Stabler/Benson smoldering eye-lock took place "...like, oh, I don't know - a birthday spanking, perhaps?" His eyes were pure heat and confidence.
(Don't faint, Benson) Olivia felt her throat close and her pulse go from normal to heart attack in a nano second. Her eyes dropped immediately, then she looked up at him through her bangs. (Just breathe...) Her cheeks flushed, and she couldn't keep her eyes on his for more than a second. He knew...
And he knew. In that same nano second, her reaction to his suggestion told him everything he needed to know. She had seen and recognized his not-so-hidden dominant self, and acknowledged it, and shown him a flash of her submission. He would bet a month's pay she was wet.
And he was right. The image of being over Elliot's lap, wriggling under a bare bottom spanking, sent waves of signals to her brain and between her thighs.
Fin roared with laughter, drawing the moment to a close. "Good luck with that, man. She would kick your ass and you know it." He took another drink, still laughing. "Hey! Rollins! Come on in here, you sexy doc!" He got up to greet the ME.
Eliot slowly turned his attention back to Oliva. He leaned very close to her, and said against her ear "No, I don't think she would do that all". His warm breath against her ultra sensitive ear was agony. "Wouldja, Liv?" He pulled back enough to meet her eyes again.
What she was there was - new and hot and surprising. She saw the same cocky Eliot Stabler, her best friend and partner and flirt, but she also saw an intense, hungry, passionate dominant Alpha male who was ready to own her. And she knew exactly how to respond to THAT Eliot Stabler.
"No, Sir,' she responded quietly, and was rewarded with the quick intake of his breath and flare of heat in his eyes. He reached out and stroked her cheek with the back of his first two fingers and murmured "Good girl".
Damn. She was drenched now. Nothing like a 'good girl' from your man to get your juices flowing, she thought, then blushed at her own use of the words 'her' man. He broke his gaze and looked over her head. "Cabot, you made it! What are you drinking? Liv, you want another one?" Olivia nodded, not trusting her voice.
Alex came up and hugged Oliva. "Happy birthday!" She placed a festive package on the bar. "White wine for me, Eliot."
"I'll go fetch, ladies". He slid off his bar stool and walked away. Alex grabbed Olivia by the arm. "Oh my god. OH MY GOD."
"What? What's wrong, Alex?" Olivia had to focus, she felt - drugged.
"He was coming on to you!"
"Stabler?"
"Yes, the sexiest man in the NYPD was practically eating you alive with his eyes! Well, even more so than usual, I mean!"
"More so than usual?" She looked around the bar for a new arrival, anything to save her.
"Come on, Liv, it's so obvious it's almost a joke around here, to everyone but you guys. But he's not hiding it tonight, is he?"
Oliva sighed. "No. No, he's not."
"And he looks so hot tonight...damn."
"Yes, he does." She blushed again."God, I can't believe I just said that out loud." They both laughed.
"What did he say to you?" Alex asked.
"When? Oh, nothing - we were just - yeah. It was nothing."
"Nothing? Is that why you looked like you couldn't breathe when I walked up?"
Suddenly drinks landed on the bar in front of them. "Ladies. Drink up."
Alex laughed. "Why Detective Stabler, are you trying to get us drunk and take advantage of one of us tonight?"
He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind Olivia'a ear. "Oh, I don't believe I need to get anyone drunk to do that, Cabot." Her mouth dropped open in shock. And Olivia's heart froze in her throat.
"Why Eliot Stabler! I do believe you have finally grown some balls!" Cabot laughed out loud. "Good for you!" She raised her glass. "Happy birthday, Olivia - I have a feeling it's going to be a very good year." They all raised their glasses.
"I'll drink to a good year, for sure". said Eliot. "We deserve it." He looked straight at Olivia.
He was killing her tonight. 'We' deserve it? As in 'you and I' deserve it? The hardcore flirting was bad enough, but the open references to the two of them as a couple were just killing her. Why now? Why tonight?
Fin and Munch walked over to interrupt her reverie. "Hey birthday girl, time to open presents!"
"You guys should not have done this! We don't do presents!" she protested.
"Maybe not, but it's not every day that one of NYPD's hotties turns 40. So start ripping paper, Liv!"
The stack of gifts on the bar had grown considerably.
Olivia sighed and started opening packages. They ranged from silly to practical to touching; the lovely beige and black vintage lingerie from Alex had drawn particularly loud approval from the gathered crowd. After the catcalls and requests for a fashion show had died out, Eliot reached into his pocket and handed her a small flat package. "One more", he grinned. She took the elegantly wrapped box, uncertainly.
Crap. It looked like jewelry. It looked a LOT like jewelry. She met his eyes, questioning. "Open it", he said softly. She slowly pulled the tape from the silver paper, a little too slowly, stalling. Why did this particular gift make her nervous? His behavior made her suddenly shy and uncertain around him, and uncertain of what the package might contain.
Yep, Jewelry. What was he - "Ohh!" she gasped softly. It was a necklace - more of a choker, really, an expensive. elegant gold link chain with a flat burnished medallion in the center. It was engraved, with a rich sparkling stone set in the center - her birthstone. She held it up to the light to read it. It was a series of numbers. She looked at him, puzzled, and flipped it over to see another set of numbers on the back. They looked familiar, then she realized it was her badge number - which meant...she turned it back over, and tears welled up in her eyes. It was his badge number. "Ohhh, El," she said softly, and walked to him, where he sat on nearby barstool.
It was his turty uncertain, as he looked into her tear-filled eyes. "Liv, do you - " She interrupted him by placing her finger on his mouth.
"It's perfect", she said simply, and put her arms around his neck and embraced him tightly."Thank you", she whispered against his ear. "Thank you thank you thank you!" The hard warmth of his body against hers was a shock - she had almost forgotten what a full-out Stabler embrace felt like.
He shivered slightly at the feel of her warm breath and lips against his ear.
"Should we leave you two alone?" Munch said drily.
"Not until we see what warranted that response", said Alex. "Come on, Olivia, show us!"
She reluctantly pulled away from Eliot's warmth, and drug her eyes from his. She held the chain up to show her friends. "It's beautiful - but what..."
"Damn...", said Fin, reading the digits. "You did good, man. That's brilliant." He looked at Cabot. "His badge number."
"And mine is on the reverse", said Olivia. She was surprised at how shaky her voice sounded.
"Does this mean you're going steady?" Munch snorted.
"Nah", said Stabler. "It just means I've got her back".
"Unless I am not as smart as I think I am, looks like he'll have her front before the night's over", Fin said to Munch, and they both laughed and clinked their bottles together.
"What's so funny?' asked Oliva.
"Nothing, Liv. Happy birthday."