Thanks for the reviews everyone. So sorry I haven't updated in like a week, but this chapter took me forever to write! It's really long, so I hope you like it! Fair warning, it's like midnight, so let me know if I totally screwed up something that I didn't catch myself. Thanks, enjoy!
You've Got A Hero's Face And Right Here In Your Arms Is The Safest Place
Elliot groaned as a shrill beeping noise pulled him from his peaceful slumber. He habitually thrust his hand out to hit the snooze button on the alarm he thought was the source of the sound. When he hit nothing but air, he finally cracked his eyes open to find an unfamiliar surrounding that looked nothing like his bedroom. He blinked his eyes clear and surveyed area around him. It took him a groggy moment before he remembered that he was in Olivia's apartment. Reinforcing that point, he felt Olivia shift her head on the pillow in his lap.
As the noise continued, Elliot realized that it was his cell phone going off. Fumbling through his pockets, he finally managed to find the offensive object and flip it open. "Hello?" He cleared his throat and answered.
"Where are you?" No matter how out of it Elliot was, he'd never be unable to recognize that voice.
"Good morning to you too Munch," he yawned, rubbing his forehead with an open palm.
"It's not gonna be good for long if you and Olivia don't get over here really soon. Cragen's not in a friendly mood right now."
"John, what are you talking about?" Munch's mind games weren't good for someone who'd just woken up.
"Do you happen to be anywhere near a clock right now?" Elliot released something that was a mix between a sigh and a groan. John was never the straightforward one. He held the cell phone between his shoulder and his ear so that he could look at his wristwatch. His other arm was still tangled in Olivia's grip. He slid back his sleeve and blinked the clock face into focus. "Damnit!" He cursed into the phone, seeing that he was almost two hours late for work.
"Yeah," John remarked, hearing him. "I've been calling Olivia's cell phone too, but she hasn't picked up."
"Okay, well I have to get ready. I'll stop by her apartment on my way over." He praised himself as he remembered to cover their tracks, glancing down at his partner.
"See ya." Elliot heard the phone click off before he could respond. He yawned one last time as his left arm stretched out to the side.
He looked down at Olivia, unable to stifle the blissful smile that made its way onto his lips. She appeared so angelic as her chest slowly rose and fell with each breath and a stray wisp of hair hung over her serene face. Her head was resting against their still entwined hands. Elliot could already feel the prickling sensation begin to rise up his arm, telling him that it was asleep. He let out a regretful sigh, as he knew he had to disturb her peaceful rest.
"Liv…" He murmured, moving the obstructing lock of hair from her face. "Liv," he repeated, gently squeezing her shoulder with his free hand. "Wake up," he affectionately requested, searching over her face for some sign that he heard her.
Olivia finally stirred, rotating to her other side so that she was facing Elliot, her eyes still shut. "Ten minutes…" She sleepily requested, softly smacking her lips together as she snuggled her face into his shirt.
"Olivia," Elliot used a gentle warning tone as he stretched out his other arm that had finally freed itself from her grasp. "We're late for work. You don't have ten minutes to get ready much less sleep." Feeling the sensation come back into his fingers, he tenderly rubbed the middle of her back in a small circular motion, hoping to wake her up.
"Five minutes," she purred, only relaxing even more under his touch.
"That's it," Elliot playfully declared, coming up with an idea. Slowly, so that he wouldn't startle her, he moved his arms out to the side. He was able to reach far enough to the side so that he could manage to slip his left hand under her knees, setting his palm up. His other arm dexterously worked its way under her shoulder blades in the same fashion. Elliot felt the floor with his feet, steadying himself before he rose to his feet, easily picking Olivia's petite frame up with him.
Olivia seemed unconcerned by her sudden shift in movement as she tossed her dangling arms over Elliot's shoulders and lulled her head over, pressing her face against his neck. He couldn't help but chuckle at her as he firmed his position on the ground. Unable to bring himself to set her down, Elliot started talking to her in an attempt to slowly pull her out of her lethargic condition. "Did you sleep well last night?"
"Dreaming…" she sighed in a somewhat muffled voice as Elliot felt her breath against his bare skin. He could tell by her voice that she was still half-asleep and probably completely unaware of what she was saying. Only in a harmless way, he couldn't help but take advantage of her tired state.
"Dreaming? About what?" He implored with a grin as he leaned her forward, partially revealing her face.
"You…" Elliot couldn't help but notice the faintest hint of a smile appear at the corner of her lip as she spoke.
"Oh." A mischievous question crossed his mind and he couldn't help but voice it. "Dirty dream?" Though she didn't answer, he swore he saw a big grin on Olivia's lips as she dropped her head back down out of sight. "I'll take that as a yes," he quietly laughed, suddenly noticing soft snoring sounds coming from Olivia.
As Elliot watched her sleep again for a few minutes, he finally decided what to do. Readjusting the unconscious figure in his arms, he headed along the small path in the living room that led to Olivia's bedroom. Once they reached the door, he was forced to turn sideways to allow enough room to get through. He felt Olivia's weight begin to put a strain on his arms as he finally made it to the bed. Gratefully noting that the bedspread was already tossed to the side, he tediously bent over and delicately dropped Olivia's body onto the sheets. He literally had to pry her arms from his neck as he straightened up, a quiet mewl escaping Olivia as he did so.
Elliot smiled as he reached over her and grabbed the bedcover. Grasping one corner with his left hand and the other with his right, he pulled the material over Olivia, letting it rest right below her chin. "Sweet dreams, Liv," he whispered, grazing his lips over her forehead as he stood to leave.
--XXX--
"So I heard the perp you dragged in yesterday was a total creep," Fin casually remarked as he and Munch walked into the squad room, seeing Elliot sitting at his desk.
"Aren't they all?" John rhetorically asked, throwing a glance at his partner as they pulled up chairs to their adjoined desks.
"But this guy's in his own category of creep," Elliot spoke with disgust as he vividly saw the interrogation play back in his head. The whole thing still disconcerted him. He turned his focus back to his work when the sound of distant footsteps caught his ear. Straining to hear them better, it sounded like someone was running towards the squad room. Elliot cautiously kept an eye on the door, surprised by the figure that ran through it. "Liv?"
The detective's face was slightly flushed as she stood, out of breath, in the doorway with one of her hands on her hips for support. Her hair was still damp and her shirt had been somewhat crudely tucked into her pants. Elliot guessed she taken a whole five minutes to get ready this morning before dashing over to the station. He was about to talk to her when the Captain's office door opened.
He stuck his head partially out of the door, propping himself up with a hand against the frame, when he caught sight of her as well. "Olivia?" Cragen looked her up and down as confusion covered his face.
Olivia traced her hair behind both her ears as she quickly tried to come up with an excuse for her lateness, mistaking his confusion for anger. "Look, Captain. I'm really sorry I'm late. I was just…"
"I thought you were sick?" He asked, the rest of him appearing from behind his door.
"Sick?" A mystified look settled in her eyes as she echoed him.
"Yeah Liv," Elliot quickly jumped in to save the story he'd concocted up this morning. "I told him you were staying home because you didn't feel well, like you asked me to." He locked his eyes onto hers, trying to give her a look that said just-go-along-with-it. "Are you feeling better now?"
"Yeah." She prudently shot him a subtle glare as she got the message. "I'm fine now." Reiterating the point, she gave Cragen a small, reassuring smile.
"Okay." He could sense that something was peculiar in the two detective's behavior, but Cragen didn't bother pushing it as he disappeared back into his office.
"Elliot?" Olivia broke the silence, crossing her arms. "Could I talk to you?" She brushed by him and made her way towards a back room.
"Sure." He tried to act casual as he followed her out of the squad room. Once they were out of earshot, Munch couldn't help but comment.
"Oh yeah," he nodded sarcastically, watching his partner stare at a computer screen. "That was real subtle."
Fin didn't even look up as he rolled his eyes and picked a few papers up from his desk. "How 'bout you mind your own business and finish these reports on the MacGuire case." He pitched them forward onto John's cluttered side of the desk, the breeze sending other papers scattering to the floor.
"You gonna pick those up?" John sent an aggravated gaze over his glasses, raising an eyebrow at Fin's actions.
The detective just gave a look of incredulity as he met John's eyes with his own glare. "You pick 'em up. 'Sides, they wouldn't even be there if you cleaned all the crap off your desk and actually did the work you're paid to do."
With a grunt, John bent over in his chair and snatched the papers up, slightly crinkling each one as he threw them down on the table. "You call what we get a year 'pay?'"
"So quit!" Fin shot back, becoming irritated. "'Til then, you better finish that paperwork for Casey or it'll be both our asses."
John sighed as he sorted through the parts still left to be completed. "You think she'll be able to get an indictment on Reid without the victim?"
"The clothes in his closet and the matching DNA should be enough to get him on the rape," Fin shrugged.
"But what about the attempted murder? No weapon, nothing to connect him to." In all their searches, the two hadn't been able to find the gun anywhere and no one close to Reid had a gun registered under their name. They did find a pawnshop owner that had sold the same type of gun to someone matching Reid's profile, but without the actual gun, it was all just circumstantial. And for all anyone knew, it could be resting at the bottom of any number of bodies of water.
"We'll just have to see what Casey can do with what we got."
--XXX--
"You. Explain." Olivia shoved her open palm forward, connecting directly with Elliot's chest and sending him stumbling backwards into the room. Checking to see that no one had seen them, she shut the door behind her and faced her partner.
"Good to see you too." Unable to stop himself, he grinned at Olivia's adorable mix of puzzlement and touched anger.
"Yeah, wonderful." She shrugged him off and crossed her arms, impatiently waiting for an explanation. "Now do you mind filling me in? The last thing I remember is falling asleep on the couch."
"You don't remember this morning?" He hid his smile and couldn't help but slightly tease her, mocking her stance.
"Why? Should I?" There seemed to be a hint of worry in Olivia's voice as she tried to read Elliot's face.
He just shrugged and laughed, fighting the overwhelming sensation to pull her into his arms. "Yeah," he finally offered her, "we feel asleep on the couch. I woke up and realized we were late for work."
"So you just leave without bothering to wake me up?" She seemed genuinely upset as she accused Elliot.
"I tried to wake you up," he quickly contradicted, throwing his hands up defensively. "You just mumbled 'five more minutes' each time and fell back asleep." Elliot's expression became slightly more serious as he idly watched his arm move up from his side, eventually slipping his hand into Olivia's. He searched her eyes as his filled with compassion. "I'm sorry," his voice was hushed as he grinned.
At his apology and under his touch, Olivia could merely sigh as her anger melted. "No, it's all right." She affectionately squeezed her hand around his before releasing it. "I can't believe Cragen actually bought that whole 'sick' thing," she chuckled and shook her head, changing the subject. "Next time you're going to lie to him, fill me in so I don't look like a complete idiot."
"Well I had to tell him something. He was a few seconds from going over to your apartment and dragging you to work himself."
"Yeah, somehow, I don't see Cragen doing that." She shook her head and turned around, reaching for the doorknob to leave.
"Wait," Elliot stuck his arms out to wrap them around Olivia's waist, but quickly thought better of startling her like that and let them drop to his side again.
"What?" Olivia glanced behind her, remaining where she stood.
"You're not still mad at me, right?" He spoke with childlike innocence as he pouted his bottom lip and leaned forward to rest his chin against her right shoulder, straining to see her face from the corner of his eye.
"How could I be mad at that pretty face?" Olivia cooed jokingly, twisting her right hand up to tenderly pat his cheek with her palm.
Elliot grinned at her response, finally deciding to do something he'd wanted to do for the past week now. "Would you want to do something with me tonight, maybe go out for dinner?"
Almost instantly, Olivia noticed herself start to happily glow at Elliot's question, elated at the thought of finally being on a date with him. "Yeah," she answered, maybe a little too abruptly. "I'd love to." She felt the pressure of Elliot's chin on her shoulder leave as he picked his head up.
Elliot reached his hands out to turn her around to face him. Locking eyes as he rested his hands on her hips, a smile appeared on both their lips. "Pick you up at eight?"
"It's a date," she agreed, reluctantly moving his hands away as she opened the door to the room. "We should go before Munch has time to get suspicious."
"Please," Elliot slightly rolled his eyes, following her out of the room. "He just needs a few uncertain seconds and he can be suspicious about anything."
--XXX--
Elliot nervously adjusted his tie and collar as he stood outside Olivia's apartment door, waiting for her to appear. He couldn't pinpoint exactly what had him so worried, but he had a pretty good idea. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been on a date, having spent the last twenty years or so with Kathy. But that really wasn't the excuse. The real reason he was so apprehensive wasn't the actual date, it was who he was going on the date with.
Elliot had never felt for anyone else what he felt for Olivia. Whenever he saw her or heard her voice, his breath was taken away. Every time he held her in his arms, he wanted to hold on even tighter and never let her go. There wasn't anything about her that he didn't love, making this all the more nerve-wracking. He was terrified of the thought of doing anything to ruin what they shared. As he heard the door begin to open, he felt his breath catch in his throat. The second he saw her though, all his anxiety and misgivings dissolved.
Olivia wore a flowing black dress, the bottom of the material caressing her knees as it moved. The neckline settled a few inches below her neck, curving up to turn into the straps that rested on her shoulders. Her hair was elegantly curled around her face as she smiled. She already had her jacket on and her purse in her hands.
"You look beautiful," he remarked in awe, unable to pull his stare away.
"You don't look too bad yourself there handsome," she returned the compliment, her eyes trailing over his charcoal suit and crème colored shirt, set off by his navy blue tie. "Ready to go?"
Just as Elliot was about to answer, he moved his hands, hidden behind his back. "Yep." With a grin, he produced his left hand, holding a bouquet of half a dozen red roses. He leaned forward and offered them to Olivia.
"Oh my God." Olivia gasped in pleasured surprise as she accepted them in one hand and cradled them against her other arm. "El…" She glanced up as her eyes twinkled in delight. "They're beautiful." She wrapped her free arm around his neck and pulled him into a half hug.
"I'm glad you like them," he answered, watching her look them over.
"Like them?" She repeated, catching his eye. "I love them!" Tears threatened her mascara as she delicately touched one of the crimson petals. She couldn't remember the last time anyone had given her roses, especially on a first date. As she thought about it, a small frown settled on her face.
"What's wrong?" Elliot inquired, brushing his hand against her cheek, alluring her gaze up at him.
"I don't have anything to put them in," she explained sheepishly.
Elliot smiled, pleased at the prediction he'd made earlier. "No problem." He finally pulled out his other hand from behind his back, revealing an exquisitely cut glass vase that was able to bend light into prisms if it caught it at just the right angle. "I thought I'd bring you something to hold them, just in case," he playfully winked. She stared at the vase, her mouth slightly hanging open as her expression remained blank. "What?" He searched her face. "Too much?"
Olivia completely opened her mouth and carefully shook her head, trying to find something to say. Finally, she decided to settle on the obvious. "You're incredible," she declared in glad astonishment.
--XXX--
"If you wanted Chinese, we could have stayed home and ordered take-out," Elliot couldn't help but point out as he glanced over his menu at Olivia.
"Hey, you said I could choose," she defended herself, returning his stare across the small table.
After leaving Olivia's apartment, Elliot had left where they went up to her. He was worried that she might be angry that he didn't have reservations at some big fancy restaurant, but she didn't let it show if she did. Instead, she happily suggested they try a small Chinese restaurant across town.
"Yeah, my mistake," he sighed sarcastically, seeing if he could get a rise out of Olivia.
"Oh relax." Reaching her menu over the table, she mischievously smacked the top of his head with it.
"Hey!" Elliot drew back in his chair, pretending to cower with his hands above his head.
"Good job tough guy," Olivia laughed. "I'm sure people are glad to know they have you keeping New York's streets safe."
"Physical and verbal abuse," he observed, holding his hands over his heart as a sad expression crossed his face, "you hurt me."
"I'm sure you'll live," she promised him, resting her arms on top of the menu and against the table. "Oh, food!"
Elliot turned around to see the waitress walking towards them with a large round plate in her hands. He was just about to tell Olivia that they hadn't ordered anything when she stopped in front of their table. "Here you are," the waitress smiled as she set the dish between them. She also set a small plate in front of each of them before whisking away again.
"I love these things!" Olivia declared, picking a fork up from the side of her place mat. There were about ten small, fried, triangular shaped things on the plate that Elliot had never seen before. "I hope you don't mind, I ordered an appetizer while you were in the bathroom."
"What are they?" He raised an eyebrow and studied them as Olivia transferred a few to her plate.
"They're rangoons. Try one." She picked one up between her thumb and forefinger and temptingly held it out towards him. Elliot just examined it with a doubtful stare. "Come on," she pressed him. "It's not gonna bite." Hesitantly, he took it in his hands. Glancing up, he saw Olivia had already eaten half of one.
"Fine," he sighed, caving in and finally taking a bite out of it. Thoughtfully chewing on it, he found it wasn't that bad.
"See, you're still alive," Olivia pointed out, taking a sip of her soda as she smiled.
"All right, you win. I know nothing and you know everything. All bow to the great Olivia." He surrendered, over-dramatically bowing down his hands and head to her.
"You just crack me up Stabler," she tried being sarcastic, but her words quickly turned into a laugh, bringing a smile to Elliot's face. The two continued their jesting and bantering as they waited for the waitress to come back to take their order.
"Hey Elliot?" A concerned frown settled on Olivia's face as she tried to get her date's attention.
"Yeah?" He glanced over at her, casually bringing his hand up to scratch the side of his neck.
"Are you all right?" She folded her hands on the table and anxiously studied his face.
"Yeah," he shrugged, moving his hand around to scratch under his chin, then the other side of his neck. "Why?"
"Well, don't take this the wrong way, but you look sort of… red." She informed him, a troubled look in her eyes.
"Red?" He suddenly stopped itching and faced her. "What do you mean?" Instead of answering, she bent over and grabbed her purse from under the table. After a few quick seconds of shuffling around in it, she finally pulled out a compact. Olivia flipped it open and held it out in front of Elliot so that he could see for himself.
Disturbed by her comment, Elliot snatched away the compact and held it up to his face. Sure enough, his skin was gaining a reddish hue to it, especially around his neck. Upon closer exception, he quickly recognized it.
"Liv, what are in those?" He felt himself stumbling over the words as he pointed to the plate of rangoons between them.
"Um, I don't know. It's just like bread, cream cheese…" She felt her voice faltering under the pressure of his insistent glare.
"Is there any shellfish in there? Like lobster or something?"
Olivia slightly nodded as she thought about it. "Yeah. They're crab rangoons. But you can't even taste it, so I didn't-" She was abruptly interrupted as Elliot jumped to his feet. "Elliot, what's wrong?" Grabbing the napkin from her lap, she tossed it on the table as she rose to her feet as well.
"Come on!" He urged her, grabbing her hand as he dashed towards the front door. Olivia awkwardly stumbled behind him, trying not to run into the tables and corners they passed. "Pay for the food and meet me in the front of the building. I pull the car around." He dropped her off at the cash register in the front of the restaurant, refusing to slow down.
"Elliot!" She yelled after him, now anxiety-ridden at his behavior. "What's going on?"
He faced her momentarily, long enough to get an explanation out. "We have to go to the hospital!"
--XXX--
"Elliot, I am so sorry!" As Elliot pushed forward his front door and flipped his lights on, he listened to Olivia desperately apologize again. "It's all my fault. I feel terrible!" A grin crossed his face as he slipped his jacket off and stood in his living room, waiting for Olivia to follow him. Once she had stepped inside and thrown her coat to the side as well, Elliot grabbed her hands and pulled her into his arms. His hands rested on her lower back.
"Liv…" His eyes lovingly gazed into her guilty ones for a silent moment before he said more. "I'll live, really. It's not entirely your fault, you didn't know."
"Yeah…" Olivia bit her bottom lip and placed her hands on his arms, right above the inside of his elbows. She eyed him up with a skeptic stare and studied his face. "You'd think that fact that you're allergic to shellfish might have come up in all the years I've known you!" Playfully, she smacked one of his arms with an open palm.
"I'm sorry," he grinned, allowing his arms to slid away from Olivia's body. "I just didn't think it was that important."
"Life or death situation not important? Then what is?" Her question was rhetorical as she headed towards the couch in the middle of Elliot's living room.
"Liv, you heard the doctor. It's just a little rash and it should be gone in a few days. Nothing life or death." His feet automatically followed her, plopping himself down on the cushion next to her.
Olivia laughed at his statement as she looked him over again. "Elliot, you're bright red! And itchy…" She added warningly, noticing as he tried to discreetly scratch his exposed arms.
The rash that had started on his face and neck had long since grown, covering every inch of his skin from the waist up. Not only that, it also brightened in color, turning his skin a rosy red. His skin was also becoming dry and increasingly itchy. Elliot had recognized it the moment he looked into the mirror. He was having an allergic reaction. Luckily, it wasn't a serious allergy, so a rash and hives were the worst it ever got. He'd also been through enough of them to know that he had to see a doctor as a precautionary. The doctor he'd seen in the emergency room had merely prescribed him a lotion to use on the affected areas, promising that it should be gone in a day or two.
"Elliot! Stop!" He was rudely snapped back into reality as he felt Olivia's hand slap his arms away from each other. Glancing down, he realized he'd been unconsciously scratching his forearm again. "Where's that stuff the doctor gave you? He said it should help with the itching."
"Here." Elliot hesitantly produced the tube of ointment from his pocket and handed it over to Olivia, feeling a prickling sensation on his back. "Damnit!" He cursed, instinctually curving a hand around to scratch the area.
Olivia let out a slightly irritated sigh as she got to her feet and moved to the other side of Elliot. "I would have hated to be your mother when you got chicken pox." She grabbed his wrists and forcefully shoved his hands down to the side. "Haven't you ever heard of the itch and scratch theory?"
"What's that?" He turned his head to the side so that he could watch her from the corner of his eye.
"Common sense," she sighed, smiling at him. "Something itches, so you scratch it. Which, in turn, makes it itch even more, so you scratch it more. And it just continues until you're totally and completely miserable and wished you hadn't of scratched in the first place. Is your back bothering you?" She removed the top of the container, much like a toothpaste tube.
"Is that your subtle way of suggesting I take my shirt off?" He grinned, still craning his neck around to keep her in his vision.
"Well, I'd be the last one to object if you wanted to." She felt her lips curl into a smile as she flirted with him.
"Depends, does it involve scalding coffee?" He referred to the incident that happened earlier this week.
Olivia just laughed, hiding her slight embarrassment as he brought that up. "Just shut up and strip Stabler." Her voice lost all seriousness and composure, as she was barely able to stifle her laughter.
"Fine." He crossed his arms and clutched the material at the bottom of his shirt. "But if you start pulling out whips and chains, I'm out."
"Darn it!" Olivia pretended to be angry. "You've figured me out." She was quickly silenced as Elliot pulled his shirt over his head, leaving nothing but his bare back and ripped muscles, which despite its reddish hue, left Olivia breathless.
Elliot didn't fail to notice this as a smile crossed his face. "What? Speechless?"
"Just a little." She didn't even bother to deny it as she started to massage the cream colored lotion into his skin, starting at his shoulder blades and moving down his back.
"Hey Liv?" Elliot suddenly broke the comfortable silence.
"Hmm?" She quietly inquired, turning her attention.
"I feel bad that we had to cut dinner short. We could go out and try to find someplace else to eat if you wanted."
"Oh no." Shaking her head, Olivia turned his offer down. "It's too late to go out now."
"It's New York," he objected, contradicting her. "I'm sure someplace is still open."
"Really El, I'm fine. Besides, everybody would be staring at us."
Feeling Olivia finish his back, he picked his shirt up and turned around to face her. "Staring at us?" He repeated, slipping his shirt back on much to Olivia's obvious displeasure. "Why?"
"In case you haven't noticed," she raised an eyebrow at him, "all you need are some claws and a tail and you could easily pass for a lobster."
"Oh gee, thanks." Had it not been for the fact that his entire face was already red, Olivia could have sworn he was blushing in embarrassment.
"I still like ya lobster man," she laughed assuredly, throwing her arms around his shoulders as she leaned forward into the embrace.
"Lobster man?" He chuckled as he repeated her for clarification. "Wonderful, I sound like some villain or alien from one of those old horror movies."
"Speaking of movies, you have pay-per-view, right?" Olivia lifted her arms off of him and reached for the remote control lying on the coffee table. She expertly flipped the TV on and began skimming through the channels, setting her head against Elliot's chest.
"Yeah, starts on 502." Elliot felt a smile creep on his face as he slid his arm down and placed his hand on Olivia's bare shoulder.
"Let's see…" She read each of the titles aloud as she passed them, also voicing her opinion. "Because of Winn-Dixie, no. Alexander, next. Beauty Shop, nope. XXX: State of the Union, ugh. The Upside of Anger, Ice Princess, Be Cool… Any of these sound good to you?" There was a touch of aversion in her voice as she waited for Elliot's opinion.
"Whatever you want," he shrugged, not much of a movie person himself. "The last time I went to the theaters I saw the Spongebob Squarepants movie, so I'm not too picky."
"That reminds me, do you have any popcorn?" Sitting straight up, Elliot's hand fell from her shoulder.
"Yeah, up in the cupboard. I'll get it." As he was about to stand up, Olivia put a hand on his chest.
"I'll get it," she corrected him, rising to her feet. It took her a few minutes to locate the popcorn, open a bag, and stick it in the microwave. Setting the timer, she sauntered back towards the couch and sat back down.
"Killing Mr. Griffin," Olivia found another movie with the remote. "That actually sounds half-way interesting."
"Whatever," he said again, feeling the tingling sensation come back into his skin, right under his neck. Subtly, so that he wouldn't disturb Olivia, he ran his fingernails back and forth over the area, trying to soothe the itch.
"You have no willpower, do you?" Olivia broke the silence, sitting forward and shuffling around to face Elliot. "What part of no itching doesn't get through to you?" Her irritated expression softened into a smile as she seized his wrists in her hands. Elliot merely watched as she pressed her open palms against his hand and closed her fingers between his, immobilizing them.
"Easy for you to say," he shot back, trying to scratch his neck with his shoulder blade. "That's all I can focus on."
"Well…" Olivia spoke flirtatiously as she bent forward, resting their foreheads together as she gazed into his deep blue eyes. "I guess I'll just have to take your mind off of it." Pushing their hands out to either side of them, she softly pressed her mouth forward, meeting Elliot's lips with her own. Elliot, happily surprised, returned the affection, slightly leaning into it. Olivia gently pulled out of the lock, a smile curling her lips as she repeated the innocent kiss a few more times.
Suddenly the timer on the microwave went off, startling Olivia as she jumped back from Elliot and jerked their hands apart. She turned to the source of the noise as she quickly caught her breath.
"You all right Liv?" With slight guilt and concern, Elliot carefully studied her. The last thing he wanted to do was push her into something that she wasn't comfortable with, especially after her attack. He wanted to respect her boundaries and allow her all the space she needed.
Olivia tossed her head back around to face Elliot, flipping her hair back as she did so. "Yeah," she genuinely smiled, "fine." She pushed her hands off of the couch as she stood up to go retrieve the popcorn. Pulling the steaming bag out, she carefully pried it open. "Popcorn?" Olivia hopped back onto the couch, pulling out a handful of popped kernels.
"Thanks," he grinned, taking some from her hand and tossing a few into his mouth.
"Movie time," she declared, settling back into the couch and nestling up against Elliot again, a position she seemed to favor. Elliot didn't mind at all as he slid his arm around her waist and reached for the popcorn.
--XXX--
"It is so late…" Olivia mumbled as she snuggled closer against Elliot, both of them already seconds away from dosing off. "I should go." They were both sprawled out on the couch. Elliot completely stretched out on his back, Olivia lying next to him with her head and arms on his chest.
"Least we don't have to work tomorrow," he yawned, sleepily stretching his arms out and then resting them on her back.
"Good point." Neither could manage to keep their eyes open as they talked. "I should still go home."
"All right," he sighed indifferently.
"I should, but I don't want to…" Another yawn escaped her as she remained motionless, though somehow succeeded in prying her eyelids apart.
"Why not?" Elliot felt her stare on him and opened his eyes as well.
"Cause you're not there, and I want to be with you." Her voice barely topped a whisper as they locked gazes. "Last night was the first good night's sleep I had in weeks. No nightmares, no dreams, just sleep. When I'm with you, I forget everything else. When I'm in your arms, I feel safe, safer than I've ever felt before. And I never want you to let me go."
Elliot felt his tired eyes mist over as she spoke, glad that she could feel safe again, and even gladder that he was the reason why. "And I'll never let you go, ever." He ran his hand through her hair, still lost in her eyes. "You can always feel safe with me Liv, I promise you that."