"El, it's ok to cry, you know?" Olivia asked, sitting next to him on his couch, looking at the letter in his hands. The letter that Kathy had left, stating that she just couldn't deal with the stress of their marriage anymore, that she had filed the signed divorce papers, and was now on her way to another state with her boyfriend, the man she had been having an affair with for the past three months. It went on to say that she would not fight for custody of the kids. He could have full custody, because she just wanted to get away.
"I don't need to cry," Elliot replied, setting the letter down on the coffee table.
"El, your wife just left you without so much as a goodbye, I think this is an appropriate time to be upset," Olivia assured him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Elliot shook his head, turning to look at her,"It's ok, Liv. I really don't need to cry. I saw this coming a mile away," he said.
Olivia furrowed her brow in confusion,"What do you mean?" she asked curiously, letting her hand drop from his shoulder as she sat back in the couch.
Elliot sighed,"I knew this would happen. We weren't happy anymore. I didn't think she would just run away, giving up all of her rights to the kids, but I knew she was going to file those divorce papers, and if she didn't I was going to," he explained, following her actions and leaning back in the couch.
Olivia nodded simply,"So, where are the kids?" she asked.
"Well, it's a Friday night. Kathleen and Maureen are probably off at some college frat party. Lizzie is at Makenzie's house. Dickie is at Luke's house, and Eli is already asleep in his room," Elliot explained. He had gotten home from work a little after eight, dismissed the babysitter, and found the letter Kathy had left. The first thing he did when he found it was call Olivia, and now here they were.
"Oh, well, if you're ok, I should head home. I have some Chinese takeout and a bad movie on cable with my name on it," she said with a smile, standing up.
Elliot stood up quickly, blocking her path,"How about you eat that takeout and watch that movie here with me? I'm not too upset that she left, but I really jut don't want to be alone right now," he admitted. Olivia gave him a soft smile, she understood him not wanting to be lonely, and she was actually kind of glad he wanted her to stick around. She was not looking forward to heading home and spending the whole night curled up alone on her couch, as she had done many times before.
"Ok, El, I'll stay," she said, sitting back down on his couch.
"You find a shitty movie we can make fun of, and I will order the food," Elliot instructed, tossing her the remote.
"Ok, I want-" Olivia started.
"Liv, I know what you want. This isn't the first time I've ordered us Chinese," Elliot cut her off with a smile as he took out his cellphone. Olivia returned the smile, and then turned, focusing on her mission to find a laughable movie on TV.
Half an hour later found them curled up on separate ends of the couch, eating their Chinese food and watching some cheesy movie Olivia had found on Lifetime."I wish this shit would happen in real life," Olivia mumbled, taking a long gulp of her beer, and watching the couple on the screen.
"Oh come on, Liv, don't tell me you've never been swept off your feet by some guy before," Elliot said, facing her.
Olivia shook her head,"Never. Dean came pretty close, but I broke it off before he really had a chance," Olivia said, putting her empty Chinese food cartons on the coffee table.
"Why?" Elliot asked, as if he didn't already know the answer. As if he didn't know everything about that woman.
Olivia sighed,"You know why El. Don't act like you don't," she said, facing him.
Elliot scooted closer, sitting next to her,"Why?" he repeated.
Olivia gave another exasperated sigh,"Because I don't want to get fucking hurt, ok? Is that the answer you were looking for?" she asked, frustrated that Elliot was making her talk through this with him, yet again.
"Why do you think that everyone is out to hurt you, Liv?" Elliot asked.
"Because, El, everyone that I have let myself care about gas hurt me," Olivia replied, softening her tone and looking away from him, back at he TV.
"I haven't hurt you," Elliot said softly, trying to get her to look at him.
"Fucking liar," Olivia scoffed.
"Ok, well maybe I have," Elliot admitted,"But I always try to fix it," he added.
Olivia finally turned back to look at him,"That doesn't make it ok," she said seriously.
"I try, Liv. I'm sorry I'm not fucking perfect, but you have to believe that I would never intentionally hurt you. You're my best friend," Elliot replied softly.
Olivia sighed, sitting up and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder,"I know. I'm sorry, El. I'm supposed to be here, comforting you, and instead I'm making it worse. I think I should call it a night," Olivia said, getting ready to stand up.
Elliot stood up silently and followed Olivia to the door, seemingly seeing her out, as he always did when she came over,"Hey Liv," Elliot said as she reached for the doorknob.
"Yeah?" Olivia questioned turning her head to look at him. Elliot's lips were on hers before she even knew what was happening. It wasn't a heated kiss. Just a simple, loving, emotion conveying kiss.
Elliot pulled away, resting his forehead against hers lightly, and Olivia turned her whole body towards him, resting her hands on his chest,"You didn't make it worse. You never make anything worse. You always, always know how to make things better. Just seeing your smile can brighten my whole fucking day. I'm sorry that I've hurt you before. Hurting you is the last thing I ever want to do," Elliot said softly, pulling away to look into her chocolate eyes. Olivia stood there with her hands on his chest, his around her waist securely, completely frozen. "If you're waiting for me to apologize for that kiss, it's not going to happen. I cannot even explain to you how long I've wanted to do that. This is the first time I've really had an opportunity, and I took it," Elliot added after a few moments of silence.
"I, I don't want you to apologize. The kiss was, it was fantastic. Everything I've ever dreamed it would be, really. I'm just a little shocked. I didn't really expect it," Olivia explained, shaking her head slowly, a soft smile creeping onto her lips as she looked back into Elliot's gorgeous eyes. Elliot's only response was a smirk before he leaned in again, pressing their lips together once more. This time, however, the kiss grew frantic, frenzied, as Elliot licked Olivia's bottom lip, asking for permission. Olivia's only response was a small moan, which Elliot took as a definite yes. They stumbled back and fell onto the couch, Olivia on top of Elliot. Olivia giggled, yes giggled, Olivia fucking Benson giggled, as she moved her hands from his chest to cup his face lightly. Elliot moved his hands to the small of her back, pressing her against him lightly.
Things were just about to really hear up when a small voice came from the hallway,"Daddy?" Eli questioned, stumbling sleepily out of his room. Olivia and Elliot jumped apart quickly, before the boy finished rubbing his eyes and could see them.
"Livvy?" Eli questioned, squinting.
Olivia smiled warmly,"Hey sweetie."
"Bud, what are you doing awake?" Elliot asked, clearing his throat.
"I had a bad dream," Eli replied with sad eyes. Elliot glanced at Olivia, who was looking at the younger boy with a sad, small pout.
He resisted the urge to kiss the pout off of her lips as he looked back at his youngest son,"Why don't you go pick out a story, and I'll come read it to you? Good stories always make the nightmares go away," Elliot suggested.
"Ok," Eli said with a grin, turning and heading back into his room quickly.
Elliot turned to Olivia once Eli was out of sight and kissed her softly,"It won't take very long. Usually about five minutes in, he's out like a light," Elliot assured her, standing up.
Olivia pulled him by his tie back down to her, giving him a short, but heated kiss,"It's ok. Go read to your son. I'll be here when you finish," she said, leaning back into the couch and picking up the remote. Elliot gave her a smile as he headed towards his son's room. He couldn't wait to get the little tike back to sleep, so he and Olivia could pick up where they had left off. This night was really starting to look up.
Well, what'd you think?