They stroll in unison to Elliot's bedroom, Olivia right behind him, holding his hand tight as if she's worried he might not actually be real, or like he'll slip away if she doesn't keep this grip. He's not ignorant to this; he can feel it. And he stops short of the bed. In one smooth motion, he both turns to face her and rotates so she's the one facing away from the bed now. Giving her hand a light squeeze, he says, "I am right here, and I'm not going anywhere." He doesn't need it to be said. He's fully aware of her trepidation, that she still isn't a hundred percent convinced that he is back for good. Elliot knows that this is his fault, he doesn't blame her for it. He vows to do whatever in his power to make amends and help her heal the wound of his abandonment.

Realizing that it's possible she may be apprehensive about doing anything more today, he asks, "are you sure about this?" Olivia raises her brows and blinks at him. She thinks she must have heard wrong. She can't quite believe that the guy who had told her to let him have her orgasm, that he'd caused, with his hand, in his shower, is now asking her if she's sure about continuing. "Are you?" She doesn't mean to sound insulted, because she's sure he does not mean it in an offensive way. But she feels like she's been making herself quite clear about deciding that this is what she wants.

She looks down again at the bulge that still shows no sign of shying away under his towel. And there's no need for him to answer, she knows that he still wants this, wants her. Olivia understands now that he needs to know that her underlying fear of whether he's really here to stay isn't overriding her desire to experience him in a way she's been wanting to for so long. She steps toward him and wraps her arms around his waist. Elliot's muscles tighten and flex at her touch, and he doesn't take his eyes off her as she removes his towel, springing him free from its restriction. She moves her face as close to his as humanly possible without making contact and looks at his lips.

He's got the message loud and clear without her saying anything. He mimics her actions and removes her towel. He brings his hands up to, finally, give her breasts the attention he's longed to for…for longer than he's morally allowed to say. She takes a sharp inhale at the feel of his hands and instinctively leans into his touch. She decides to feel something she's always wanted to as well, and moves one of her hands from his waist, down in between them. He responds with a sharp inhale of his own. Their heart rates accelerate, matching one another. Then there is nothing but echoes of groans of approval when his fingers skate across her nipples as hers grip him and tease his tip.

Their mouths go slack and they bring them together in a desperate kiss, tongues fighting for dominance and teeth clamping down on each other's bottom lip. Elliot knows he won't be able to take much more. He's held off about as long as he can, because he wanted to first thank Olivia for showing up for him when he needed her most. It wasn't the first time she had, and that was long overdue. Now that it's done, he still wants the chance to study her body before getting lost in her. He pulls back, his hands moving up to her shoulders, and tells her "let me look at you." She's breathless and frustrated at the loss of contact. When it registers what he's said to her, she takes a hard swallow and reluctantly steps back. "You're beautiful," he says with a smile, and he means it with every fiber of his being. He's infatuated with her body, the shape of it, the curves and fullness that came with age, the way it all feels in his hands. She returns his smile with one that doesn't quite reach her eyes, and he's confused. He feels like it's obvious, that she should be able to tell he's completely enamored with her figure after what they've done so far today alone. She seems to be losing the spark that they just had only a minute ago, and he tries to shrug it off as just nerves, which he understands because he feels the same way. He continues his eyes' exploration, looking down from her now much-less-relaxed face, to her neck, down a little more…

It's then, standing in front of one another at their most vulnerable, when Elliot's mind is on nothing but taking note of the fine details of Olivia's body, that he notices something he had not until now. And he could blame it on the fog of lust that clouded his mind when he was just trying to get her into the shower. He could blame the fact that his hand was so excited for the destination that it had not quite appreciated the journey. But the reason he hadn't noticed before was not nearly as important as the fact that he sees now. As his eyes trail over Olivia's body, they come into contact with several scars. And though he hadn't seen her for ten years, though he's never seen her completely nude until today, he already knows. Elliot knows that these scars are not just residuals of the job. He's had enough brushes with death in his career to know that these are…significant. From what, his mind could fall down a deep well into the darkest of possibilities.

Olivia watches Elliot's face twitch and contort at what she recognizes as him finally noticing the marks of the worst memory she has, only just beating out the day she found out he'd left her. She's unsure if she is upset with herself for not warning him or if she was hoping that he just wouldn't notice. She knows that it was a Catch-22 scenario, because warning him would only have made him more anxious for this moment. And there was no way that this man, who had previously known all the parts of herself that she'd rather forget, wasn't going to find out about this part of herself that she'd always remember no matter how many times she has tried to suppress the memory. Elliot realizes he has been staring and feels terrible because he knows that she couldn't have been looking forward to this moment at all. When he looks up again, he sees that Olivia's eyes are still locked on his and it registers to him that she's frozen in place. Her head shakes ever so slightly. It might have gone undetected if he wasn't watching her so intently for even the smallest sign of life. Without words, she's just asked him to grant her the same grace she's been giving him about whatever caused that panic attack of his today. And she only has to ask once, because Elliot knows that he owes her this and much more. He refuses to ruin this experience for either of them but especially her.

He gives her a soft grin, silently letting her know he understands the let me explain later plea she's just made. He reaches his hand out in the far-too-great distance between them, and Olivia hears "come here," in the gentlest tone, one that she never would've thought possible from a man like Elliot Stabler. Yet the reverberation is at concert level. It rings in her ears and breaks the ice that has had her frozen in place. She takes his hand, her fingers interlocking with his as she strides closer. Automatically she feels safer, Elliot's warmth melting away her fear that this moment, like many others before it, would be ruined by…she doesn't allow herself to finish that thought. Olivia lifts her free hand up to touch his chest as Elliot places his on her face. He smooths his thumb across her cheek and brings her lips to his. The connection is a spark that reignites the energy they'd had when they first entered his bedroom. And they know that there's plenty to talk about, but the agreement they just made with this kiss, to put a bookmark on difficult conversations, is a promise neither is willing to break.

She trusts him when he walks her back toward his bed without breaking their kiss. Like a dance they had rehearsed for years, when in reality it was one they had just started not too long ago today, they easily slide down and back onto his bed. It's impossible to separate them now. And that statement isn't just about the way her hands seem Krazy-glued to his biceps, it's not just about the way one of his arms is snaked around her waist. As her head lands on pillows when he carefully lays her down, and she spreads her legs for him to steady himself in between, they speak to each other with actions. He is asking her to give him the chance to make up for leaving her and missing the better and worse of the past decade. She is telling him that she's willing to try for him and for them. When he shifts and his tip grazes her clit, her body jolts with the need to finally join with his, and she can't let it be known non-verbally.

"Elliot please," she moans, and his mind almost splits in two as the opposing thought that he would never make Olivia ask twice for anything and the idea of hearing her beg for him again pull on opposite sides of his skull. He decides, for now at least, to let the former be victor of this tug-of-war. He grabs his erection and lines himself up at her entrance. As he effortlessly sinks into her, the harmony of their bodies cause them to simultaneously close their eyes and let out the sound of relief from long-delayed pleasure.

Olivia has never felt someone so…hard…for her. And she doesn't think this is at all the appropriate time to consider any of the lovers before him, but it's only because she can immediately tell the difference. Already, there is no comparison to the feeling of Elliot inside her. She's confident enough in her sexual abilities to know that it wasn't because she couldn't arouse a man to his fullest potential. No, it was definitely because they all simply were not him. She had never allowed herself to bare her soul to any of her exes or previous conquests because, and she could never admit it back then, her soul's match was unavailable, and then it had disappeared without a trace.

She doesn't want to think about that, not right now. She opens her eyes to find that Elliot is looking down at her like this is the first time he's seen her. And she would really like to get to more of the physical and less of this sappy emotional shit. She tries to buck her hips up to get things started, but there is just so much man on top of her. He has to be the one to do it, and she has no problem telling him, "go." This time, Elliot lets the other half of his brain have some fun; he wants to hear her beg again. He chuckles, brings his lips down to brush against her chest and says "patience, we've got all night" in the deepest voice he can manage, knowing that she can feel the vibration all the way through her. Olivia knows him well enough to figure out that he's doing this on purpose, and maybe during another session she can exact her revenge. But right now she is about her instant gratification, so she puts her ego to the side and decides to give him a show. Olivia tilts her head, arches her back so that her breasts are on full display and croons "Elliot, move now, please," in the most singsong tone that she would never in a million years let anyone else hear from her.

It works better than she even expected. He throbs inside her in response, and she thinks he actually growls before he begins to thrust repeatedly. He moves, and now he can't stop moving. And Elliot is sure that he has just RSVP'd his personal invitation to Hell. Because all he can think right now is that nothing has ever felt as good as Olivia Benson and the most intimate part of her pulling at him. Shouldn't that be an awful thing to think? The man had been married most of his life, and he wasn't trying to be disrespectful. But he's so lost in this feeling that he resigns himself to the fact that he just might burn in the afterlife. It's a price he's willing to pay if it means he spends the rest of his time on this side of Earth buried deep in Olivia as many times as she'll grant him access. "Hold on," Elliot grunts, and he lowers his upper body so that there is hardly any space between them.

Following his command, her arms slide under and around and she clings to him, scratching at his back as he moves his legs up slightly, widening hers and driving deeper into her. Olivia feels herself approaching the same height that she'd already free fallen over in the shower. But she knows that this won't be the same. Because as talented as Elliot's fingers had been, the feeling of his actual manhood hitting a spot within her that nothing else has touched is bound to send her on a spiral unlike any trip she's ever taken. He's close to completely losing himself, and even though he already got her, he won't let this end without finding out how it feels to have her come around him like this. He accelerates the rhythm a little more and trails kisses up neck, up farther and demands, right next to her ear "let go Liv, give it to me." And there's no way she can last after hearing him say that. Screaming his name, her body quakes as her walls clutch on his rock solid erection. The feeling of her grasping him from the inside out draws a deep moan from him when he finds release, drilling into her as his strength gives way to his orgasm. He collapses on her, trying his very best not to crush her with the full weight of his body.

They are a collection of loose limbs and heavy breathing and disheveled pillows and sheets. It's her turn to cradle him, just as he did in the shower, and she revels in the feeling of returning the favor. After taking a few beats to regain his senses, Elliot gathers himself up and slowly pulls out. They both inhale then let out a sigh, feeling the effects of their passion. He moves to lay beside her, leaning up on his right elbow to look down at her. She closes her eyes, taking a moment to adjust to the empty feeling. She didn't know she would miss it already, but she's not exactly surprised either now that her body knows what he feels like.

"Olivia" he calls for her, and the sound of her whole name in a tone exponentially calmer than when he opened his front door earlier causes her eyes to flutter open. His are crystal blue, glowing with a shine she has never seen before. "You okay?" Elliot's question makes her smile and her heart skip a beat, because she loves that he can be so rugged one minute and affectionate the next. "Yeah, I'm great actually. How are you?" He gives her the grin that she's sure is just for her and answers, "better now."

They share a gentle kiss, and it's the final piece to the foundation they've laid today, ready to build anew but with the tools they'd handcrafted back when they were two detectives standing in the rain in baseball caps and trench coats. Elliot and Olivia hold each other tight, the bittersweet symphony of their love story a silent lullaby flowing through the air around them as they drift off to sleep in one another's arms.