"I'm coming up."
Olivia stops mid motion in unbuckling her seatbelt, fingers hovering over the button on the latch.
"No. You're not." She shakes her head, pushes the button.
"I'm staying."
She looks up slowly, words caught in her throat. Her mouth hangs open and she stares at Elliot for a long beat before she gets her mouth working again. It's fruitless because he's already speaking.
"I'm staying on your couch tonight."
She laughs, a little forced. "No. I'm fine Elliot."
But he's moving, opening his car door and she realizes now he'd already turned off the engine, undone his seatbelt before he'd even spoken. His mind already made up.
She rushes to get out of the car and by the time she's shut her door he's on the sidewalk next to her, scanning the street like her own personal bodyguard.
"I'm not a civilian." She should be mad, annoyed, but instead there's a warm giddiness spreading from her belly to her fingers and toes.
He grins at her, "Humor me."
She pulls her eyes away from his because all she can think of is him standing in her living room in his boxers and it's not helping her at all.
"You're not staying." She tells him, her eyes focusing over his shoulder.
"I'm coming up." He insists again with a smile that she can hear even as she refuses to look at him.
She shakes her head again, but is tired of this pointless argument. "You stubborn son of a bitch." She scolds light heartedly as she starts for her door and hears him follow.
They don't speak as they make their way up, every step increasing her nerves. She has a psycho stalker after her, but the thought of Elliot trying to spend the night is the only thing raising any concerns.
She pauses once she opens her door. "Ok. You came up." She looks up at him, eyebrows lifted, hoping the challenge will get him to back off.
"Let's go," he gestures. When she doesn't budge he pushes the door open and strides in first.
Olivia stares at him from her doorway as he flips on lights, checks the rooms.
She finally walks through her door, closing it and toeing off her shoes, waiting in the safety of her kitchen until he comes back. The truth is she's not standing there out of fear of White; she's standing there to avoid the intimacy of Elliot in her home.
When he finishes his checks he removes his shoes too, meeting her in the kitchen. She looks down at his socked feet and back to his face with an expression of astonishment. "You're not staying!"
"I already told you I was." He takes off his jacket, moving back to the door to throw it on a hook before he bolts the front door and puts on the chain.
"What about Kathy?" Olivia asks, going for the nuclear option, the thing that feels undeniable.
"She knows I have to work." His eyes meet hers from where he stands at the door. Olivia's mind gets stuck on the word: work. It should be a comfort, it should allow everything to neatly fall into place. He's her partner, he's watching her back. That's all. Everything above board.
But there's something in his eyes. And her heart is beating a little too fast, the earlier tingle of heat in her belly is like a fire.
She turns away, reaching for a glass of water, filling it from the tap and drinking deep. She needs something much stronger. Then she feels Elliot move closer. She is still turned away from him, the half glass of water in her hand. He reaches around her from behind, plucking the glass from her hand and she turns her head to watch him take a long drink from it, his eyes never leaving hers.
It's work. She tries to tell herself.
She moves to her bedroom, pulling a blanket and pillow off her bed and turning back to find him hovering at the doorway. They stare at each other for a tense moment before he steps back and allows her to place the items on the couch.
From the corner of her eye she can see him removing his tie and she swallows, closes her eyes. She can still feel the intensity of his gaze on her and she mutters a hasty goodnight before she retreats to her bedroom and shuts the door.
As she lays in bed, she thinks of him out on her couch. She doesn't get much sleep.
A/N: This drabble was stuck in my head after posting the latest chapter of Infinite Possibilities, so I had to put it somewhere! If you want more, then check that one out - new chapter up on Monday :)