A/N: A little action
DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and its characters. TStabler© owns the narrative, dialogue and plot of this story
"He declined?" Elliot looked at the waiter as if he had two heads.
The waiter nodded. "He says he's fighting a cold and would hate to get you both ill on your honeymoon, but he will take you up on that invitation soon." He handed Elliot a card. "He asks that you call him tomorrow."
Elliot took the card from the waiter with a disappointed smile, nodded, and watched him walk away.
Olivia sighed, running her finger along the rim of her champagne glass. "You said you wanted time," she muttered.
"Yeah, but…" he stopped, slipping the card into his breast pocket. "Are you about done?"
Her eyes widened. "With my dinner that hasn't arrived yet?"
"Sorry," he laughed. "I guess…I kinda want to get out of here." He rubbed a hand down his face and looked over at her. "We could…get that pizza."
She smiled at him and took the last sip of her champagne. "You got it," she winked and got out of her seat.
He leaped up to help her, pulling out the chair and holding his arm out for her. He smiled warmly, then laughed at himself. "I think…for the first time, I'm nervous around you."
She tilted her head, squinted a bit, then slapped him hard in the chest. "Well knock it off," she joked with a laugh. She looped her arm around his and followed as he led her out of the restaurant and into the twilight.
He looked up and sighed. "You just don't see stars like this is the city."
Olivia hummed and said, "Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they aren't there. You have to look through a lot of smog to find the beauty sometimes."
"Whenever I really wanted to see beauty, I just looked at you," he said. "God, that sounds so cheesy." He laughed a hearty chuckle and shook his head. "But it's the truth," he said as he stopped walking and looked at her. He let his arm unravel from hers and his hand slid down her skin to take hold of her own. "I didn't tell you about…"
"You don't have to talk about it," she interrupted, her feet moving again as she pulled him back down the walkway. "Honestly, the less I know…"
"Liv," his voice stopped her. His eyes narrowed as she turned to him again. "Please? I…I didn't tell you because I didn't want it to affect this. Us…here." He licked his lips and one hand flew up to brush the hair out of her face. "I know you. You'd spend most of your free time on the phone with her trying to fix things when all I want is…"
Her hand laying over his suddenly stopped his words. "What?" she asked, her eyes pleading with him to tell her more, say it.
He took a shaky breath, leaned closer to her, and whispered, "You." Without another second of hesitation his lips touched hers. A slow, sweet, soft kiss. His other hand came to her other cheek, cupping her face as he deepened the kiss and moaned lowly.
She returned his moan with a gasp and a sweet noise from her throat. Her hands slipped down his shoulders and gripped tightly, kissing him back. She moaned softly as she pushed him away from her slowly, licking her lips with closed eyes. "El," she whispered breathlessly.
"Why did you…"
"We're not alone," she whispered. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close as she spoke into his ear. "He followed us out here."
He growled a bit, then let his own arms envelop her. "He's not getting anywhere near you. Not now." He kissed her cheek, loosened his grip, and walked her further down the stone path to their cabin. "He gave up," he said, looking over his shoulder as he unlocked their door. "Guess he just wanted to make sure we…"
"Were a real couple?" she finished with a laugh. She tossed her handbag down on the table, then touched her fingers to her lips. "You…um…that was a…you…"
"Kissed you," he said, nodding. "Under the stars, in the middle of a cobblestone road, on the edge of a lake." He looked her in the eyes. "I kissed you."
She titled her head, her eyes closing slightly. "Why did you…"
"I've wanted to…" he bit his lip and pulled his tie loose. He shrugged off his jacket and took a few more steps back toward her. "You have no idea how long I've waited to do that. That moment…on that fucking horse, Liv, I wanted to just grab you and kiss the shit out of you. But I didn't want to…"
"Scare me?" she questioned, folding her arms. "You really think you scare me, Stabler?"
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I didn't want you to think I was only doing it…" He wiped his brow and looked at her, then lowered his hands to her shoulders. "I didn't want to come off like the asshole who thinks he can get some ass because the setting's romantic or there's alcohol involved." He smoothed his hands down her arms and smiled. "I didn't want you think it was just us undercover, either, I wanted you to know, when it happened, that it was all just…you."
She blinked, licked her lips, and smirked. "It was a little bit you, too, ya know."
"Yeah," he whispered, bending his head, giving her a smirk of his own. "Maybe."
Her smile widened. "Maybe," she whispered, her arms looping once again around his neck.
They met in a kiss more passionate than their first, her arms tightened as his fell to her waist. Unconsciously, they moved, their bodies dancing backward toward the bedroom. His back hit the door, and he fumbled with one hand to twist the knob. But before he could open it, his cell phone trilled and chirped, breaking the pair apart.
"Shit," he hissed, prying his mouth off of hers. "Sorry." He cleared his throat as he dug into his pocket for the offensive device.
She caught her breath and smoothed her hair back as she watched him answer the call.
"Stabler," he spat into the phone. "Yeah, we made contact. No, no, not yet, just an introduction and…an open offer." He had his eyes on Olivia as he spoke. "No," he said, determined and fierce. "He won't." He cleared his throat and cracked his knuckles, then said, "Right, Cap. As soon as anything happens, we'll call you."
She rolled her neck and took another deep breath as she watched him hang up. "We forgot to call him."
"Yeah," Elliot said with a nod, dropping his phone back into his pocket. "That's why he called. He was worried."
She eyed him for a moment. "You said 'he won't," she began. "He won't what?"
"I'm not letting him hurt you," he assured her, a fierceness in his eyes she'd seen before, only this time it was backed by an emotion she'd thought she'd only imagined there before.
She nodded slowly, then folded her arms. "I, um, I'm not really hungry anymore, El."
He watched her walk past him into the bedroom. "Liv," he choked out, sounding helpless. He stared on, his mouth drying out, as she peeled her dress off. He couldn't help smiling at the way she seemed not to care he was there. "I swear, he's not gonna hurt you."
She shook her head as she knelt down and pulled clothes out of her suitcase, then looked at him as she scoffed. She smirked at him and eased into a pair of yoga pants and a tank. "You're staring."
"You just…" he wagged a finger from side to side at her. "You don't even…"
"Please," she chortled. "You've seen me in less, I've changed in front of you before, and did you forget when you were undercover and…"
"No," he laughed. "I definitely did not forget that. He licked his lips. "That's tattooed on several parts of my brain." He winked at her, took a few steps, and sat on the bed. "We know how this guy operates, and if we're right, he's gonna be setting up camp right across the brook, getting ready to watch our every move for the next two days."
She nodded. "We have to make this look good." She sat next to him, one hand resting on his knee, the other rushing through her hair.
"We don't have to make it look like anything more than what it is," he shrugged. "We don't have to pretend, we don't have to do anything you…"
His sentence was cut off by her lips; her kiss. He moaned in surprise, then relaxed and wrapped her up in his arms. He felt her nip and tug at his bottom lip as she pulled away from him, and he looked at her, wide-eyed. "What was that for?"
"I was getting even," she told him. "And…I was letting you know…that I'm not letting anything happen to you either." She smiled. "You don't get to play hero all by yourself. Partners, remember?"
He got a good grip on her and swooped, dropping her flat on the bed half beneath him. He leaned over her, looking down into her eyes. "How can I forget?" He brushed his lips over hers again, then whispered, "You sure you're not hungry?"
She swallowed, then with an exhale, she sat up. "You order the pizza, I'll make the coffee." She blinked. "You really wanna do this?"
He nodded. "I should tell you. You have a right to know," he said. "And…it's a clean slate for us to…"
"You have a real problem with yes or no questions, you know that?" she laughed. She kissed the end of his nose and rolled off of the bed.
He watched her walk with a smile. There was a lightness in his heart that hadn't been there in so long, he'd forgotten what it felt like. He got off of the bed and started to change, when shadows through the window caught his attention. He narrowed his eyes as he pulled his tie off and walked toward the open curtains. "Shit," he gruffed, watching their suspect pull into the parking space at the cabin across the way. "Bastard's early."
A/N: The man's identity revealed, and he gets more of a show than he bargained for. Next!
