Disclaimer: If only wishing made it so...
Author's Notes: This was originally written for a challenge - to write a missing scene from Loophole where Olivia went to check on Elliot after he was thrown through the window. It's very short and slightly...corny? I guess that'd be the word. Oh, and if it wasn't obvious, there are spoilers for Loophole ahead.
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"What are you doing here?" Elliot asks, opening his front door. "I figured you'd be at work." He steps back, allowing Olivia to step inside. He'd never tell her this, but he's happy to see her. His apartment is too empty for him to enjoy the time off from work, and with the exception of a ten minute visit from his eldest daughter and a quick phone conversation with his brother Patrick, he hasn't spoken to anyone in almost two days. The sight of his partner standing in his doorway automatically fills him with emotions he's not sure how to address just yet.
"I'm here to take care of you," Olivia jokes, eliciting a small snort of amusement from her partner. "We hit a dead end and there's not much we can do at 11:30 at night. Cragen told me to head home and get some sleep. I thought you might need some cheering up."
He smiles softly, nodding once before starting toward the kitchen. "Maureen stopped by earlier and brought pizza. You want some?"
"You know how I am with pizza. Do you even have to ask?" Olivia grins, following him. She gets plates from his cupboard while he opens the refrigerator, taking two bottles of beer off of the door with his good hand. "I'm surprised there's any pizza left. You can usually polish off a good six or seven slices on your own."
"I haven't even opened the box yet," Elliot tells her. "You just missed Maureen. Her roommate called her having some crisis right after she walked in the door, so she left me with the food and took off about five minutes before you got here."
"Everything okay with her roommate?" Olivia asks, reaching for a paper towel to wipe the grease off of her slice of pepperoni pizza.
"According to Kathy, her roommate's quite the drama queen. Maureen didn't seem too worried when she left, so I'm sure it's nothing," he watches her for a moment, then raises an eyebrow. "That's actually more disgusting than the grease."
"Don't come to me for CPR when you have a heart attack from all the crap you eat," she scolds, making him laugh.
"I'll remember that," Elliot assures her, watching her take a bite of her pizza. Even with the extra stringy mozzarella cheese, he can't take his eyes off of her.
"Do I have sauce on my face?" she asks, setting the slice down on her plate and reaching for a fresh paper towel. He just gives her an embarrassed smile, ducking his head slightly. "Elliot? What?"
"Nothing," he says, looking back up at her and making sure their eyes meet. He sees the blush invade her cheeks as she suddenly realizes why he was staring at her. Neither of them even try to hide their attraction anymore, despite the fact that they are both reluctant to say the words out loud. "Want to stick around and watch a movie after we finish eating?" he asks, quickly changing the subject.
"Yeah," she smiles. "I'd like that."
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The End.