A/N: I'm glad y'all are enjoying the story! I promise to move things a long a little more next chapter if you want me to! I had a few reviews suggesting the trainings – I sort of had him meet the squad already but I will def be adding in a few days of training! I'd also like to add in some Cassidy drama, while I think Elliot will have changed I don't think he'll have changed THAT much. Plus we need Cassidy to stir the pot and make some good tension LOL. If anyone has any suggestions I always appreciate feedback!
Elliot fell asleep, his phone tucked into his palm smashed just under his pillow. After their deep conversation, Olivia had mentioned that she needed to start getting ready for bed, as she had a lot of paperwork to complete the following day. Elliot wanted desperately to ask her about the DV incident he had overheard, but felt that she may take offence to him checking up on her in her professional life. She'd survived this long without him, better to not risk her being angry so early in the rebuild.
Olivia hadn't wanted to stop texting, but she also knew he had a long day as well being his formal training had just started, and she also knew he would never be the one to stop the conversation. Elliot had been reluctant to let her go, but he knew she was right. They both needed their sleep, and with the cusp of their future hanging heavy in the air around him, he didn't bother going to his bed. He got the best night of sleep in the past ten years with his phone open to the picture of Olivia and Noah covered in food, the promise of tomorrow with her, on his couch fully clothed.
Elliot's alarm awoke him, followed closely by the sound of his neighbors already beginning their day. He was disoriented at first, until the memories of the night flooded back to him. He touched his lips thinking of her smile and her words of promise to give something more a chance. Arriving at work an hour prior to his scheduled time, he made himself at home in his office. He had brought a few personal items including a few old pictures of his kids. He didn't want them prominently on display for his squad to believe him to be a family man, that wasn't the truth anymore, so he opted to putting them on the shelf beside his private bathroom entrance, still on display but not enough for each person who sat at his desk to notice. Just as he opened his computer and began checking his emails, his phone dinged. His heart jumped expecting another text from Olivia, instead it was a phone call from her number. He quickly clicked the answer button.
"Hey Liv!" He answered more cheerfully than she'd ever heard him.
"What? No 'Stabler'? Don't go changing too much El!" She used her best Elliot deep voice impression causing them both to chuckle. His fingers gripped the phone with more force, hearing her voice was causing it to become difficult to breathe again. He longed to see her face again.
"Don't give me that Benson" he rebutted quickly, both laughing still. "What can I do for you on this beautiful morning?"
"Oh you know, just heading into work, wondered what your plans were for the evening." She smiled as she asked, knowing she had caught him off guard. He was used to the old Olivia who, first of all, never would've let him even broach the subject of suggesting anything more than friendship, and second would never be the one to initiate the contact. There was a lot he didn't know about her, but also a lot that he was soon going to find out.
"I hope seeing you!" Elliot replied quickly, not wanting her to take even a second's pause to reconsider her more than generous offer. "Your place or am I taking you and Noah out?"
"Actually, I was thinking your place? I asked Lucy if she could watch Noah for the evening so we could talk more and not keep getting interrupted." His mind raced thinking of his scantily decorated apartment, if you could even call having three photos and a throw pillow decorated. He also considered how dirty she would probably find his place, his boxers pilled in the corner of his bedroom, bed unmade, and all of two beers in the fridge, "El? If not no worries, I was just able to secure a free night and thought it might be nice but if – "
"Want me to pick you up after work?" Elliot interrupted.
Laughing again relieved, Olivia replied, "Sure, how's 6:30 sound?"
"Perfect! See you then!" As soon as her line went dead his stomach jumped to his throat, he had a lot to coordinate before the day was over and he had a slammed day of trainings. Quickly he dialed another number calling in yet another favor he probably could never repay.
Ten hours later, Elliot was climbing into the driver's seat of his SUV. Fin had done him a huge service and been able to arrange for a house cleaning service to pick up a key from him and do an emergency deep clean on his place. He tipped the service extra for how disgusting his place had been. He'd only been living there a few months, but somehow had been able to never do laundry or touch a sponge. Still having yet to see his place, there was still a lump in his throat that it wouldn't be acceptable to her standards. While he'd seen her place when she was single, it was very clear she cleaned or had her apartment cleaned regularly when he was over earlier in the week.
The back of his neck itched from where his suit jacket had ridden up when he sat down. He wasn't sure if he was just on edge from nerves for their impending time together, but he couldn't stop fidgeting and readjusting his clothes. He'd opted for a white shirt, navy pants, brown shoes and belt, with a checked tie and he wasn't sure if that would've been his prime first time alone outfit. He knew Olivia had seen him in everything from formal to boxers, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he needed to impress her tonight. His fingers tapped anxiously on the steering wheel, and his left leg bounced as he rounded the last turn before her precinct. They hadn't be granted time to text at all through the day, so he hoped she hadn't changed her mind by the time he arrived. He pulled out front of his former second home just before 6:30, he pulled out his cell and shot her a message.
"I'm a little early, do you want me to come up or wait for you out front?" He secretly hoped he could come up and get his bearings in the squad room before he had to train there the following Monday. He hadn't stepped foot in that room since he shot Jenna, and he wasn't quite sure if he would have a flashback or not. He'd rather experience the trauma before all eyes were on him.
"Actually if you wouldn't mind coming up for a minute that'd be great. Caught a break so just have to arrange a few things before I can close up shop!" He threw the car in park quickly before unbuckling his seatbelt and jumping from his vehicle. Almost wanting to just rip the band aid off, he rounded the corner, the same on he had first bumped into her at, the corner to the backstairs that she had been trying to avoid him from. He recalled using those stairs with her many times, and always enjoyed having that secondary exit.
He reached the landing just before the squad room landing and took a deep breath. He'd worked through so much in therapy, but flashbacks still occurred from time to time, and going to the exact location it happened would likely trigger something. He pushed the heavy door aside and entered from the back. His eyes immediately took in how different, but similar it looked. He could see the media rooms had been updated, the desks were conjoining, more modern, and smaller, the Special Victims Unit sign was illuminated and larger, but most of all he noticed how drawn he was to the woman in the white blazer. He didn't have to see her face to know who it was. She had her back to him and she was barking out commands.
"Fin, Rollins I need you both tonight," Olivia held the file folders, glasses perched on her nose as she read the address aloud to them, "The parents are still suspects, but the cousin seems to be sounding better for it. Don't rule the parents out, but focus on the cousin first. He lives with them and you'll need parental consent to talk to him." She passed the slip of paper to the blonde girl from the photos Elliot had seen in her apartment. He had figured they worked together, but seeing that she was her CO and was so close, along with Fin, amazed him. She was able to balance work and personal well apparently, making him wonder briefly if they could've had a relationship and still been partners. Her hair was swishing back and forth as she nudged her glasses back up from the tip of her nose. He could see her side profile and took in the strength she held in her gaze.
"Kat, I need you to man the phones for me tonight, I'm actually going to try and have a full night uninterrupted. Only call if it's something urgent please." Kat, a young attractive dark haired detective, chuckled before responding.
"You finally going out with Goodwin?" Olivia huffed, as much as she loved how close her squad was she'd be happy if they stayed out of her love life. Since Kat was new, she was always trying to fix her up with different friends, all under 40. When Kat found out ADA Garland had tried to fix her up, she found out everything she could about Edgar, now she was promoting the union. Olivia wasn't sure why her love life was so interesting to anyone, since right now it didn't exist. Yes, she had been attracted to Edgar, but she wasn't sure she could cross to the dark side of defense attorneys. Now that Elliot was back in her life, she knew she would never be able to pursue anything with another man until they were sorted out.
"No, thank you very much, I am meeting up with an old friend." No one in the squad had noticed Elliot leaning close by propped up by a wall. He flinched first at the thought of her having a love interest, second at the thought of being just her old friend. He wasn't sure what he would call them, but it had always been more than a friendship or partnership. He briefly flashed to the conversation he had overheard at his office and a wave of jealousy engrossed him. Elliot was always one to stake his claim to Olivia, but he knew he had no right at this point in their relationship, though he hoped that soon enough he could let her know just how he felt about her seeing other people.
Fin balked loudly at her attempt at downplaying her reconnection, "Kat, you don't know it yet, but there's going to be all kinds of craziness now that Liv's old partner is back in the picture."
"Who's her old partner?" Kat replied looking confusingly between the two seasoned colleagues, Olivia rolled her eyes.
"You just wait, I bet you you'll be meeting him before the week is up." Elliot couldn't help but laugh, Fin always knew them so well. He used to call him out even when they were partners. His laugh drew the attention of the small group, Kat looking even more confused when Olivia caught Fin's eye with a warning look.
"I guess sooner rather than later," Fin added under his breath. Elliot stood by, smiling widely taking in Olivia's appearance from head to toe. Her attire was far more feminine than Elliot was used to, and he very much enjoyed it. She wore a light pink flowy top, a white blazer, black slacks that hugged her in all the right places, and her signature chunky heeled boots. Her badge was clipped where it always stayed, and her addition of dark rimmed glasses made her have a certain forbidden essence.
Olivia's eyes met his and her annoyance immediately shifted to laughter. The smile didn't overtake her face like it did his, but Elliot could see it playing at her eyes. Olivia turned back to her squad, "What are you waiting on, a bus ticket? Move people!" She exaggerated her hand motions before turning and brushing past Elliot towards her office. He made eye contact with Fin who rolled his eyes, unsurprised Elliot was already back in Olivia's life. Elliot shifted to follow Olivia towards what used to be Cragen's office. Elliot glanced towards the cage, and was pleasantly surprised to see that several key elements had changed and even while thinking about the traumatic encounter, he wasn't overwhelmed. He guessed some of his anxiety left simply by being in the same room as Olivia again. His feet seemed to glide effortlessly towards her, that same magnetic force propelling him towards her. Though his eyes were yet again drawn to watching her backside, his subconscious mind caused them to wander towards his old desk, or where it used to be. He recalled the day that Kathy texted him that his belongings from the office had shown up at their front door in Queens. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that Olivia had taken the time to drive out to his family home to drop them off instead of chucking them like garbage. Most of the time, if someone didn't clean out their desk their belongings were given away, picked through, or tossed, he knew Olivia would never let that happen to his stuff. He was saddened at the thought of her having to pack up his second home without knowing all the reasons he left, without her knowing he had been in love with her and had to try and figure out his own life before he could fuck hers up.
Kat was left behind by the other detectives, sent to man the phones. She waited a moment after everyone had disappeared to watch the interaction between her captain and this apparent 'ex-partner' of hers. She watched as Olivia brushed past him, just enough that her shoulder glanced his, she watched as he took a deep inhale of her scent as she breezed by him. Kat saw him turn to follow her as his eyes drifted pointedly at her behind. Rolling her eyes she turned back to her task of waiting around for a call and allowing Olivia a night uninterrupted. Kat would never understand how Olivia was single, she was beyond beautiful, intelligent, fluent in several languages, a great mother from what she'd seen, Kat briefly flashed to the display she just saw and wondered if there was something more there. She watched the door to Olivia's office close and though the blinds were drawn, she could she the outline of their figures as they moved towards her desk.
When Elliot reached her office, he took in the vast changes that separated this space from Cragen's. His eyes fluttered at the sight of her name with Captain in front of it, both on her door and her desk. He was astonishingly proud of her for everything she'd done without his influence. She was the commander over a department that meant so much to her, she had a, from the looks of it, loyal squad who trusted her, and she had finally built a family for herself. Elliot noted the drawn blinds and the interview rooms that were locked up for the night. He also noticed all the photos and knickknacks that lined her desk now. She hadn't had much room on her old desk, but with the filing cabinets and extra desk space she was able to customize it to her liking. There were plaques of achievements and commemorations donning her walls, several RBG tributes, a framed picture he assumed Noah had drawn of them, a photo of her and her mother, a photo of her and Noah, and a few of Noah by himself. He couldn't see the photos that faced her direction, those were obviously more personal and less on display to whoever was sitting in these seats, but he desperately wanted a closer glimpse into her everyday life. He closed the door behind himself seeing her take a seat at her desk. He assumed she still had some paperwork to finish up before they'd be able to leave so he had all but accepted to sit by and watch her work for a while.
Olivia adjusted her glasses to push her hair back and perch on top of her head. That little motion caused Elliot to jolt, she looked extremely sexy with glasses, and even sexier with them placed on top of her head. They caused her to have a mysterious aura about her and made her hair look adorably messy when tangled in her locks. She leaned back in her chair causing it to recline a bit, and she slid her arms up above her head. The motion caused her top to stretch deliciously over her breasts and the bottom hem of her shirt to bunch up exposing a piece of her lower abdomen. Elliot's mouth ran dry taking in the flesh he was being offered. He approached her as her eyes slipped close, her fingers balled into fists as they sat crossed over her head. She was obviously trying to think, having the same look he remembered on her face when she was contemplating the particular nature of a case. He took the invitation offered by her closed eyes to move towards the edge of her desk, he perched himself close to her on the same side of the desk as her. She, keeping her eyes closed, sighed, "I'm so ready to be off. This has been the longest week and it's only Thursday."
"I know what you mean." His voice caught her off guard, being so close suddenly. Her eyes shot open and she allowed her chair to return to the upright position, this movement causing them to drift closer in proximity. He quickly averted his eyes, focusing on the photos he was able to see close up that sat behind her.
"Noah draw that?" He asked casually as if he wasn't invading her personal space to the extreme.
"Calvin actually, a while back. He's grown up now, but I kept it from when he was still with his grandparents."
"God, he is isn't he? He's got to be in his 20's now?"
"Yep, just turned 22. We don't see him much, but I keep in touch from time to time. Going to college and doing really well for himself." Elliot smiled, Calvin was the encounter he'd had with Olivia's mothering instincts and he hadn't been wrong about her potential to be a great mother. She was to Calvin first, now Noah. Imagining her the day they took Calvin from her was enough to bring tears to Elliot's eyes. He cleared his throat and continued scoping out his surroundings. His eyes turned past her and found her desk, the photos having been turned so he couldn't assess them from the door were now visible. There was a photo from a professional photoshoot of her and Noah, their heads smashed together looking into each other's eyes, a second was a still of Noah in a teal frame posing recently by the looks of it, and the other photo was of their first squad. They were all wearing Godawful 90's era clothing, Olivia's pants were pulled high, he and Olivia sandwiched tight with Cassidy on her right, Much and Cragen on his left. He remembered the photo well, and could recall they were all celebrating a victory at their favorite bar, the one he had just visited earlier in the week, a few of the uniforms had joined them and insisted on snapping a picture of the squad. He picked up the photo and began to trace his fingers over the figures. It seemed like a lifetime had gone by between that photo and where they sat now.
Olivia watched him study the vintage picture, taking great care when touching each person. She smiled up at him; that was the only photo she still regularly looked at that contained any essence of him. He had been scrubbed from her life, right after Lewis. The only memorabilia had been put into the bottom drawer of her dresser, the one that kept her swimsuits, the one she very rarely, if ever, opened, only opened recently by Noah who was trying to force her to go to the beach. She remembered the day he'd opened the drawer immediately finding the photos, the note and the replica badge.
"What are these mom? Who is this?" He came around the corner holding her long hidden keepsakes. He was studying the man in the photo before asking with childhood curiosity and innocence, "Is this my dad?" Fuck, she thought, of course that would be his first thought. She should've gotten rid of all that junk or at least done a better job of hiding it.
"No baby, that's my old partner."
"I thought Uncle Nick was your old partner?" He continued.
"Yes he was, but this partner was before Uncle Nick. He was my partner when I first became a detective."
"Oh," He sighed, Noah was nothing if not curious. He could never let anything go, "What was his name?"
"Detective Stabler" She stated, trying to play off the fact that she hadn't said that name in nearly a decade, she felt like she'd been stabbed in the gut. All the memories were flooding back to her and she could hardly breathe.
"Where is he? Did he die?" Olivia sighed again, unable to lie to her child.
"I'm not sure baby, he left and we didn't keep in touch."
"Oh. Why was this stuff in your bathing suit drawer though?"
"I didn't want to throw it away, but I didn't want to look at it."
"Oh. Why?"
"Because baby, sometimes someone you care about can hurt you, but that doesn't make you care any less, it just makes it hard to think about." She kept her back turned to Noah as she spoke, not wanting him to be able to read the emotion on her face.
"Oh. Okay. Can we go to the beach though?"
His questions stopped, but Olivia had caught him twice since that day looking in her dresser at his secret shrine. "I wonder what they're all up to now" Elliot commented, breaching the silence.
"Cragen's in Florida, he got remarried to a lovely woman who keeps him active. I'm sure Fin already told you about Munch's antics," She paused as Elliot nodded, "Last I heard Brian was still working at One PP, but that was a few months ago so he might've changed positions. He had a tough go these last few years but seems to be getting his act together again." Elliot noted the pauses in her speech with 'Brian' he also noted the use of his first name not, 'Cassidy'.
"You keep up with Cassidy?" He responded, unable to help himself from trying to dig a bit deeper.
"Um…" Olivia paused, unsure if she was ready to unpack that entire situation with Elliot, especially on their first planned night to talk. She had made up her mind throughout the day that she would not sugar coat her life for Elliot anymore. Even if something would hurt or upset him, she wasn't going to lie to him, and she was going to be forthcoming with information about herself. The last 20 something years hadn't worked well with zero communication, so brutal honesty was going to be her motto, and hopefully his. "Yeah, I mean I used to. We dated for a while, he helped me during the whole Lewis ordeal and stayed after."
A flair of heat burst through Elliot's body without his consent. He was slowly realizing the 'new' Elliot must only be 'new' because he wasn't with Olivia. She brought out a toxic jealousy within him that couldn't be quenched. "You mean to tell me that Cassidy is the man that didn't notice you were missing for 48 hours?" His finger twitched itching to hit something. He couldn't believe that ass hat had been anywhere near Olivia, and the fact that it was him who was the idiot boyfriend who didn't check on his girlfriend for a full two days was the icing on the cake. It made him sick to think Cassidy had not only gotten ONE lucky night with her all those years ago, but had a full blown relationship with her in his absence.
"Woah," She exclaimed stepping up from her seated positon, her eyes wide at his sudden reaction to her confession, their bodies were nearly touching since she didn't bother to move away, just stood bringing them closer. Maybe the old Elliot wasn't so distant, she stood a head taller than him from his seated position. "You left Elliot, you're the one that disappeared, you don't get to sit here and judge how I fixed what you broke."
Her words hit him in the chest, realizing quickly his mistake. He didn't get to crap on the men she dated especially when that man had also been with her and supported her during the most traumatic time of her life. His hand quickly reached out, his fingers softening and uncurling from the fists, his eyes shooting up to hers and softening to apologize as well. His fingertips curled around Olivia's hand bringing their interlaced fingers between their bodies. He stood from his seated position, forcing their distance to shrink yet another few inches. Surprisingly Olivia didn't wrench her hand from his grasp or create distance between them, she allowed him to invade her personal space.
"I'm sorry." He spoke quietly, "I shouldn't have said anything. I just can't stand the thought of you with Cassidy." He sighed, remembering his resolve, similar to hers, that he would tell her what was on his mind and not lie about his feelings for her, "I remember when you told me you'd slept with him and I tried to play off like I wasn't fuming with jealousy. I remember asking myself why I was shaking with rage over another man touching you when I had a wife at home." Her eyes widened at his blunt confession. Sure they'd always had a certain chemistry, but to hear his rage and jealousy for her stemmed back to those first years of partnership was unbelievable. Her breathing slowed and the rage she had felt at his acusations towards Brian were diminishing. "Plus, in that article I read it said your boyfriend didn't realize you were missing for 48 hours, and the fact it was Cassidy adds a whole new level for me."
Olivia sighed, she knew when Elliot found out about her past love life there would be tension, but she also wasn't ready to have to defend herself to a man that was absent for so long. "I get it Elliot, I do, but I also want you to realize Brian is why I am still here today. He was the only constant in my life during that time and he helped me get all my stuff from my demolished apartment and rebuild my life. He gave me a purpose and stayed through all the healing and nightmares and PTSD. He's a great guy and I really did love him, it just didn't work out." Elliot visibly flinched, not only from hearing about her trauma and being reminded of what she went through without him, but also from hearing her say the 'L' word about Cassidy.
"I understand, Liv, I'm glad you had him." He tried to play down the hurt he was feeling at being reminded of his inferiority in her life during that time. His fingers stroked the backs of her hands as she stood perfectly still, mere millimeters separating them. He could feel her retreating though, he knew it would only take a moment for one thing to go off and she would bolt. He decided to stick to a safer subject to reel her back in, "I love what you've done with the place." He gestured around to the office, releasing one of her hands. She retracted the other opting to sit back down now that the situation had deescalated. She sighed as she sat back in her seat, resituating her glasses onto her nose.
"Yeah, it's still a work in progress." Elliot could tell she was still reeling from his jealous reaction when it came to Cassidy. Olivia on the other hand was actually trying to put some distance between them from him touching her again. She wasn't sure why but his jealous nature wasn't a terrible turn off, she actually enjoyed seeing and hearing how he didn't want another man to touch her. As long as it didn't escalate to his former aggression she really didn't mind that he was jealous. Touching her on the other hand, that was difficult to deal with right now, especially seeing him sitting on the edge of the desk she had just so recently fantasized about being bent over. She flushed at the thought, resituated her glasses, and focused her efforts on the computer screen in front of her.
Elliot watched as her cheeks took on a rose pink flush, immediately he began to panic, she was angry and she was shutting him down. Her half-assed response was the first shove off for him. He had been given one chance to prove he wasn't the same selfish, jealous, hot head, distrusting man who had left her and broken her trust and he was blowing it. Elliot's hands began to sweat and his eyes focused on hers, which were refusing to look up at him, still perched on her desk, he could see her trying to focus intently on the computer screen. His misinterpretation of her emotions caused him to panic, he left his perch on her desk opting to kneel, pulling her rolling chair away from the desk and sandwiching himself between her and the desk. Her eyes flashed immediately to his in shock, his body forcing her legs to separate to accommodate his sudden intrusion. Olivia's mind was racing a million miles a second, what on earth was he doing? He rested his hands on her forearms, which had quickly found the armrest, her fingers gripping the end for dear life.
He grabbed her arms tightly and began his misdirected apology, "Liv, I'm so sorry, I had no intention of coming here and accusing you or making you feel like you need to explain anything about your life. I never meant to hurt you and I don't mean to be a selfish asshole right now, when it comes to you I just lose my head. That's no excuse but-"
Olivia hadn't heard a single word that was uttered, she was focusing on how his warmth could be felt through her slacks, the slacks that were pressed up against the sides of his torso. Her inner thighs were sandwiched between his outer thighs and the edge of her armrests. Her fingers were holding on so tight to the edge of the rests they were ghostly white, her arms were searing with heat from his hands. She could feel the rough callouses of his fingers scratch the tender skin of her forearm. Her eyes drifted down watching his lips as they formed words that didn't make sense to her comatose brain. Before she could think any better of it she closed the distance between them, sliding forward in the chair. Her body's momentum propelled her forward towards his squatting form catching him off guard. He nearly lost his footing and stumbled back, correcting himself by letting go of her arms and grabbing hold of the backs of her thigh and tried to hoist himself up. Her fingers pulled him towards her by the back of his neck, they both froze, him half carrying her in a near squatting position, her with lust filled eyes, nails digging into the back of his neck urging him closer. His surprise and shock from the sudden movement were dashed seeing her eyes at half-mast hungrily eyeing his lips. Gathering his bearings in all of a second, he used all the muscle in his leg to pull them to a standing position sliding her body tighter to his. He whirled them around and set her form on her desk. He could feel the heat of her body pressed tightly up against him, her breath was so close, ghosting against his lips. He slid his hands slowly from their previous place of support at the back of her thighs to the crux of her knees. Elliot pulled hard once sliding her suddenly to the edge of the desk. A gasp escaped her lips at the sudden movement and her chest pressed eagerly against his. He could feel the slight pucker of her nipples against his chest through his dress shirt. His eyes flitted back and forth between hers, but her pupils were glued to his lips.
The second his hands touched her arms, she knew it was over. Olivia had been so good at pushing any brief touches to the side and ignore the fire it lit inside her when they were partners, but she was out of practice, ten years out of practice, and she was unable to stop the flame that grew into a fire the second his fingers touched her. She couldn't help the fact that twenty plus years of restraint were out the window. There was nothing she could do to stop her body's primal reaction to him, and she was sick of fighting it. When he pulled her to the edge of her desk, she could feel his sudden hardness press into her core. A flood of heat invaded her groin and she felt her nipples peak under her thin bra. Her hands began to pull at the little hairs at the back of his neck, while she stared at his lips watching them separate briefly to obtain tiny bits of oxygen. She felt his labored breathing beneath their sandwiched chests. His hands moved from under her knee and trailed heatedly up her outer thigh towards her hip. She whimpered as she finally looked up for the first time in an eternity. Lust that mirrored her own, was reflected in his blue pools, her fingers stilled and her breathing became increasingly labored. All the times when they were partners she had been able to read him like a book, this was no different. He wanted her just as much as she wanted him.
He could feel her heart rate increase as he stared down at her. He couldn't believe where they stood, he was pushed intimately against her, on her desk, his hands were quickly making their way to his favorite part of her anatomy, and she looked like she wanted to eat him alive. He could feel the warmth of her breathe against his lips as he considered the consequences of sealing their lips together right now. He knew lust and longing was what had driven her to move her body against him, and while he felt the exact same way he didn't want their first kiss to be in a lust induced stupor. Freezing, his palms stopped just short of the junction between her thigh and hip.
Olivia's eyebrows knitted together slightly feeling his fingers pause, but with his body pressed so tightly she could feel, and see, how much he wanted her as well. She moved one hand from behind his head to his upper arm, feeling the muscles beneath it, and pulled it tighter causing his hand to involuntarily slip higher towards her hip. She then wrapped her legs together behind his back pulling him even closer to her and causing the front of his pants to rub intimately against her core. His eyes closed at her movement and a slight groan escaped his lips. His forehead rested against hers as he tried to find the will to break their intimate embrace, but finding less and less reasons to.
Elliot couldn't help that his body wouldn't cooperate with his mind, he moved both hands then, to wrap around to her ass and pull her even more into him. His forehead still pressed tightly against hers causing her neck to crane and her back to arch. A quiet moan escaped her lips causing his breath to hitch, she pushed her chest even further into his as she tore at the skin on his neck, and surely wrinkled the shoulder of his dress shirt. "Liv…" He whispered huskily, quickly moving his head down towards her ear, intent on explaining all the reasons they should stop this right now. Olivia, had other plans. With the new vantage point she began to kiss along his collar bringing her lips hotly around his neck. Another groan escaped Elliot's lips, thereby encouraging her movement. She slid her tongue out, tasting his skin for the second time trailing it along his neck towards his ear. She pulled his lobe into his mouth and he let his hot breath tickle her ear as he pushed against her, intent on quenching the ache her movements had cause in his pants.
"El" She whispered hotly in his ear. That was the final straw for him. He pushed fully against her earning another low moan and moved one hand to tangle in the back of her hair, he pushed her more fully into his neck and began to trail kisses of his own down her silky throat. He reached the lip of her blazer, intent on moving towards the center of her chest when Olivia grabbed his tie and began to start unknotting it. Her other hand moved to start untucking his shirt intent on feeling his skin hidden underneath. The motion caused him to stand up again, this time looking in her eyes fully again. Fuck. His fingers began to trail up the sides of her blazer until they reached the neck. Just as he slid the pad of his finger underneath a loud rap at the door caused them to freeze. Olivia quickly tore her face from his neck and shoved him off her. His hands quickly began to reknot his tie and rush around to the other side of her desk. His erection still straining in his pants he untucked his shirt the rest of the way and crossed his legs in an attempt to hide the evidence of what they were doing.
Olivia felt like a horny teenager who was almost caught by her parents. She quickly ran her fingers through her hair and wiped her lips on the back of her hand, she cleared her throat, "Yeah!" She shouted, just a little too loud and just a little too out of breath. She didn't dare look at Elliot, knowing she would break into a laugh if she made eye contact.
"Sorry Cap, just wanted to let you know we got a call, DV out in Queens, is it cool if I take it? Uniforms already have it under control." Kat couldn't help but notice the flush on Olivia's cheeks and chest, she could see her blouse was more wrinkled than it was before she left the squad room. She also noted that Elliot's tie was knotted incorrectly and in a much firmer knot than it was before, his shirt was untucked and wrinkled and he sat uncomfortably in the chair across from her. She smirked looking between the two seemingly embarrassed people who sat before her.
Olivia cleared her throat, "All good, be careful and wear your vest."
"Will do!" and just like that they were alone again. Olivia slowly peeled her eyes away from the main door to her office only just meeting Elliot's eyes. A smile immediately formed across his face as he took in her slightly rumpled appearance. Olivia began to chuckle looking at the tie that was sloppily tied and his untucked shirt, partially her doing, partially his as he was using the shirt tail to cover his formerly hard member.
"I'm glad we didn't touch much as partners, we would've been in so much trouble." Elliot laughed looking up at her flushed face. Olivia couldn't hold back as she slumped back in her chair again laughing harder. She picked her glasses back up from her desk and placed them on her nose.
"Well, hopefully now Kat will stop trying to fix me up with all her friends, both male and female." Elliot laughed harder at that statement recalling Olivia's, and his, encounter with Babs Duffy. Olivia lowered her glasses giving Elliot her best captain face before adding, "You better not say a word."
"I didn't say a word!" Elliot exclaimed throwing his hands back in mock defense, though she could read his thoughts, he didn't need to say anything.
"Okay I really need to get this paperwork done so we can get out of here. Do you think you'll be able to keep your hands to yourself over there?" She smirked watching the flush cover his face and neck as she called him out.
"Listen, Benson, I'm not the one that practically tackled me to the floor!"
"Yeah well maybe if you'd stop putting your hands on me in the first place that wouldn't happen."
"So if I want it to keep happening I should just keep 'putting my hands on you'" he mocked with air quotes. It was Olivia's turn to turn blood red. Rolling her eyes, trying to play it off, she woke her computer from sleep mode and began typing up her last few emails of the night.
Elliot was suddenly struck by her beauty. It was like he was always aware of how gorgeous she was, then out of no where he would become overwhelmed by it all over again. He watched as her nimble fingers typed quickly at the keys, she'd always been a fast type-r while he would sit for hours trying to find the q key. Her glasses were sliding down her nose slowly, almost so slowly you wouldn't notice unless you stared at her for long enough intently enough. He couldn't believe she was giving him permission to stare at her right now, to be in the same room as her, to touch her. He flushed thinking of their extremely brief encounters. They hadn't even kissed yet and he was already about to burst. He knew it wasn't just from being celibate for so long, it was Olivia and it always had been. Even in their early days of partnership she was his reason for carrying on. He would look forward to seeing her, to sitting in the car with her, to smelling her hair when she walked past him. He could recall the first time he noticed she changed her perfume, he commented on it earning him a thorough side eye.
Olivia climbed in the car intent on another long night. It was the 9th year of their partnership and they'd had to pull an all day-er plus an all night-er the last few days intent on catching a serial predator. The only solid lead they'd gotten was a man who would come to this particular laundry mat on either Thursdays or Fridays with a load of laundry that they presumed contained the clothes he wore during the victims attacks. Olivia had opted to meet him at the scene instead of having him pick her up, she was seeing a new man and didn't need Elliot to know about him just yet. When she was leaving her new mystery man's apartment, she made sure to spray extra perfume intent on covering up his overwhelming aftershave she knew would permeate her pours after their long night together.
Olivia slid into the car carrying two coffees from a higher end coffee shop, Elliot immediately picked up on the fact that the shop was across town. He also noted the slight bruising near her neck, almost finger print like. After the initial wave of coffee smell dissipated, he whiffed her perfume, it was something floral, not lilac but maybe daisy, and a little something deeper, maybe woodsy. He knew her perfume and her shampoo, he'd smelled it every day for 9 years, "You got new perfume." He stated mater of factly.
Olivia's wild eyes whipped quickly to his, shock crossed her face, never would she'd have thought he would notice. She had decided to change it up as she no longer smelled her old perfume since she used it for so long. This one was a Marc Jacobs brand, something floral and fruity and came in a far too large far too feminine bottle, but she loved the smell of it as soon as she picked it up at the counter. "Uh, yeah I got it a few weeks ago but hadn't put it on yet." She decided to leave off the question of 'how'd you notice?' though she supposed she couldn't talk because typically around father's day he would come in smelling different and she knew Kathy had purchased him a different brand of aftershave or cologne.
"I like it." He stated simply, "And tell your new boyfriend I look forward to meeting him." He smirked into the coffee that must've cost her a few extra dollars.
"Okay!" She stated, shaking him out of his memory, closing her computer with a thud. "Ready to go?"