A/N: We're going to call this around May? Idk. Please review.
Two Months Later:
"Benson." Came the familiar voice and stressed tone he knew too well.
"Hi babe," he said in an amused tone.
She breathed out a sigh of relief. "It's so good to hear your voice."
"Hard day?" He asked and she sighed. It was Thursday and she was off the next day and following Monday. They were moving into their new place so she'd been working late in preparation for her two days off and had barely seen her at-home squad.
The 5 were getting cramped in the small apartment, so everyone was thankful that that they'd finally gotten the condo and were cleared to move in.
Their home dynamic had relaxed a bit more once they l talked to Dickie and he had "stopped his bullshit," as the Elliots put it, earning them both a slap for language.
Emma was just happy her brothers were no longer at odds.
El and the kids had gotten a lot closer, too, with the littles wanting their daddy more and more. Liv was happy enough to oblige them for some peace and quiet when she got home from a wild day.
They were kinda killing the co-parenting game, if she was being honest.
Overall, Eli had been doing okay, but they'd all noticed a change in his demeanor as Kathy's birthday approached. The biggest change being that he'd abruptly stopped calling Liv "mom."
"It wasn't me, I swear to God," Dickie defended himself to their group chat.
She tried to not take it personally, because more than anything else it made her worried, but it stung a little.
"Hard week," she said after pausing for a bit to gather herself. "I miss you."
He smiled small. "I miss you. Sorry I had to leave so early today. I wanted to spend some time with you this morning."
She chuckled. "El I've barely been home don't apologize."
"Shhhh" he said and could tell she was smiling now.
"Any chance of getting out of there early?" He asked, knowing her answer.
She looked up at her clock noting the time of 2pm.
"No baby I'm sorry… I have at least another 5 hours of work," she sighed.
"Hey hey… it's okay. Can the kiddos and I stop by and bring dinner?" He asked and he heard the smile in her voice. "That would be amazing babe…"
"Alright… I'll see you in a few. I love you."
"I love you, too."
El and the kids brought her dinner around 4:30 and then left her to work.
Her phone buzzed with Eli's picture some time later and she groaned looking at the time. 9pm.
"Shit." She muttered. It'd been much longer than 5 hours.
"Hey buddy you ok?" She asked, standing up to tidy her desk and start packing up.
"Hey- yeah uh will you be home soon?" He asked softly and she could tell he was upset.
"You know what, you just called at the perfect time. I'm heading home now. Are you ok?"
"Yeah I'm okay…" he said softly. "Just miss you is all…"
"I miss you too honey. I'll be home in 20, okay?"
"Alright... see ya soon momma," he said softly causing her heart to swell.
She walked in 20 minutes later with his favorite ice cream to find him on the couch.
"Hey buddy…" she said cautiously and she sat next to him.
His eyes welled up and leaned into her. "I miss her so much," he whispered through tears and Liv took a deep breath. She wrapped her arms tightly around him.
"I know baby… I know and I'm so sorry…" She whispered and he sobbed into his chest.
"Alright… sh sh sh alright… I'm here Eli. I'm here and I always will be. And your mom is so proud of you. The man you're becoming. The son and brother you are. We love you, Eli."
She held him until he calmed and he sat back wiping his face. "S-sorry… there's just been a lot of change."
She handed him his ice cream and sat back with hers. "I understand buddy.. talk to me? Me and dad have to know what's going on to be able to help you and make adjustments." She said gently.
He sniffled and took a few bites before he shook his head. "It's really nothing… that can be changed I mean I.. I just miss mom."
She nodded and rubbed his arm. "You're allowed to."
"But… you don't uh… you don't mind th-that I call you mom… we... we talked about it but not really I..." he trailed off.
She smiled small. "I don't like to bring it up because I want to let you do what is best for you. You can call me whatever, whenever. It's not going to stop my love for you."
He nodded and took a deep breath. "Thank you… for everything." He said with a nod.
She shook her head. "Thank you… Eli you just lost your mom and took on two little siblings and me with no questions asked. You're so much stronger than you realize. I'm so thankful to call you my son." She said, seriously and he nodded putting his bowl down to hug her again tightly.
She held him tightly and kissed his head before he sat back. "Thanks for the ice cream." He smiled small and she grinned. "Of course… don't tell dad." He laughed and she smiled as they continued to eat.
"Are you okay with the move?" She asked after a while and he nodded.
"Definitely… plus I don't know if Noah told you but Sammi lives in the building a few stories below us." He said, smiling big.
She tried to play dumb and act shocked, but then they both laughed. "Of course he told me," she said and Eli laughed. "He can't help himself."
They say chatting for a while longer before she glanced over at the clock that was approaching 10:30. "Alright, my boy, you gotta get to bed it's late."
He nodded and they both stood hugging each other tightly. "Thanks again… for everything, momma," he said smiling small and she nodded.
"Anything for you, son."
He nodded and headed to his bedroom, stopping at the door way. "Love you mom."
She smiled and nodded. "Love you more baby."
She walked into her room to find Elliot sound asleep and towards the middle of the bed. One hand was on his chiseled abs and the other was above his head. She bit her lip at the sight before her.
He'd been letting his beard grow in and she loved it more than she'd admit to him.
I get to sleep with that for the rest of my life, she thought to herself. Despite the stab of arousal coursing through her, she was too exhausted to act.
She locked the door, locked up her gun and stripped down naked, too tired to even shower.
Her eyes traveled to the end of her bed and she debated putting on his T-shirt that he'd tossed there, but decided against it, knowing she'd get exactly what she needed the next morning if she slept this way.
She crawled in beside him, slipping under the covers and cuddling up to him. He wrapped his arm around her instinctively, causing her to smile against his chest.
"Are you naked?" He muttered sleepily after a few moments and she laughed softly.
"Yes. But I'm exhausted tonight, so after you take the kids to school tomorrow and before the movers come, I'm all yours."
He groaned and she giggled softly, smiling again when she felt him rub her back soothingly.
"Eli ok?" He asked softly, still half asleep and Liv nodded. "Yeah… he's okay. Just misses Kath."
El nodded and squeezed her closer to him. "Thank you," he whispered and she nodded pressing a kiss to his chest.
She woke to soft kisses being trailed from her neck down her chest and stomach. She stretched, elongating her body and reaching her arms above her head.
She smiled as she felt him moan against her lower belly when her breasts jutted out.
Opening her eyes, she glanced over at the clock on her nightstand.
8am.
Kids were at school and today was moving day. The movers would be there at 10 so they had plenty of time.
He spread her legs wide and his lips found the top of her clit. He ran his tongue around it, causing her to moan softly.
Liv relished in his gentle movements and closed her eyes, keeping her arms above her, her breathing causing her chest to rise and fall dramatically.
He worked her for a while, running his tongue up and down her slit and sucking softly on her clit.
"Please… El please…" she whispered, needing release and knowing he wasn't teasing her with his fingers for a reason.
It'd been a week and a half since they'd last had time to be together, and they both knew the stretch he was about to give her was going to be out of this world.
Her breathing was quick and shallow and her moans were growing louder. He held her legs steady as they began to shake and ran his tongue down to her opening at a torturously slow pace.
"Oh El… fuck baby," she moaned softly. "Please…"
"What do you need," he said in a low growl.
"You baby, I need you…"
"You have me…" he whispered, flicking her swollen clit several times with his tongue and teasing her entrance with his finger.
"What do you need right now?" He asked, pulling back slightly to look up the soft curves of her body.
She whined at the loss of contact, her hands gripping the pillows behind her as he took her thighs in his strong forearms, spreading her wider.
"No ones home, Liv… you can be as loud as you want," he said against her. "Tell me what you need right now," he commanded in a gravely but loving tone.
"Fuck Elliot I need to cum… I need you to make me cum please," she whined between panted breaths. "Please baby… please…" she begged and he smirked, assaulting her again with his mouth. Nipping, sucking, and allowing his tongue to swirl in tight circles, he brought her over the edge as she screamed his name and every expletive she knew.
When her shaking stilled, he kissed back up her body, up the chord of her neck and to her lips, passionately attacking them.
She moaned at the taste of herself on his lips. "El please fuck me…"
Her hands went to his sides, running them down to his hips and gripping on, her blunt nails digging in ever so slightly.
He grasped himself and pushed into her, capturing her lower lip as her jaw went slack and her eyes rolled back.
He had to fight his way into her, which made him smirk a bit. She felt his lip curl up and bit at his upper lip as he found his way deep inside her, his hilt making contact with her still overstimulated clit.
He passionately kissed her as he began to move within her. She let out short moans and allowed her hands to travel up to his back where she gripped and scratched him.
It didn't take either of them long, and he began to speed up, leaning back slightly so he could see the pleasure on her face.
"Oh El," she moaned as she squeezed around him, arching her back up into him as best she could under his weight. "El yes…" she panted out, forcing her eyes to open.
They'd relearned each other well over the last year and a half. Their bodies, their signals of release, the best ways to touch each other- but their newest and most favorite thing was eye contact as they reached their peaks of pleasure.
Her brown eyes meeting his blue was all it took for her to begin shaking beneath him.
Gripping his arms tightly, he grunted as she clenched around him, barreling into her to try and fight against her constricted walls. She began crying out his name even louder than her earlier cum, and he grunted her name as he released into her with several powerful thrusts.
He collapsed on top of her with a groan, both parties out of breath and spent.
"Liv…" he moaned breathlessly as they held each other tightly, relaxing from their highs.
She let out a low moan as he began to slide from her. She gripped him tightly and whined out a quiet, "no, stay."
He kissed her again passionately and kept himself inside of her for as long as he could before she allowed him to pull out.
"I needed that…" she whispered against his lips with a smile. "How did you know that was exactly how I needed it."
He kissed her slowly. "It's my job to know what you need and how you need it," he said softly. "For the rest of our lives."
She smiled against his lips. "That starts today…"
He kissed her again, holding himself over her on one forearm and brushing the hair from her face with his free hand. "It does. You ready?"
She laughed and he smiled. "I've been ready for 25 years."
He kissed her again and rolled on his back next to her, taking her hand. "I brought coffee and bagels."
She grinned. "You're my favorite…. Well, my 2nd favorite."
His head whipped to her as she giggled. "Who's your first??"
She rolled on her side to hug him. "It's a 7-way tie between our kids."
He squeezed her tightly and smiled at her calling them theirs.
"Fair enough…" he said thoughtfully, playing with her hair softly. "Speaking of the rest of our lives…" he trailed off and she looked up at him.
"Hmmm?" She asked, getting comfy in the safety of his arms.
"What are you doing for the rest of yours?" He asked gently and she glanced up at him, confused.
She felt his heart begin to race from where she was laying and watched as he reached over to his nightstand, grabbing a small velvet box.
Her eyes welled up and her head fell to the side a bit as her lip quivered. Her left hand that was resting on his chest gripped onto him and she sat up just a bit, in complete shock.
He popped the box open to reveal a simple wedding band, adorned with small diamonds all around the top. He rested it on his chest next to her hand, gripping it with his now free one.
"I was going to do something big but… the kids said you'd most likely prefer something more intimate. And uh… there's no place I feel closer to you than in these moments… when it's just us two. Laying together and enjoying the silence and one another I… they're just my favorite," he said as tears came to his eyes. "It's like a culmination of everything I wanted since the moment i laid eyes on you 25 years ago. So I know it's not a big grand proposal or a big grand ring but… Jesus Olivia I love you more than life itself and I want to take this next step with you. Even if it isn't right away I just want you to know I'm so committed to you and your kids... to our Emma and being the dad she deserves... and to our Noah and being the best example of a man I can be to him… I want them to see this commitment too. I want to set that example for our sons and daughter that are still at home. I want this moment to mark the start of the next chapter of our lives… cause we have so many amazing things coming up."
He paused to gauge her reaction. Her eyes were watered and she braced herself for the question she'd waited so long to hear.
"Liv…" he took a deep breath, "Will you marry me?"
She blinked and the tears fell like a waterfall. Shock from the unexpected moment, so much love, and pure joy. He waited for what seemed like forever before she could find her voice. "Yes!" She exclaimed in a whisper.
The grin that spread across his face was contagious. "Yes!" She said again, more confidently and she climbed to straddle him, leaning down and kissing him passionately.
He wrapped his arms around her and his own tears joined her's on his face as their lips dueled. She sat back after a few moments and he took her hand, slipping the ring on her finger.
"El… oh El it's beautiful!" She said and he smiled, running his hands up her thighs.
"It's technically a wedding band but… I knew you wouldn't want something flashy and I wanted you to be able to wear it on the job, so…"
She shook her head. "Baby it's perfect… this moment… you…this ring…" tears started to fall again.
He smiled. "Before you ask… kids know and approve. And Emma actually helped me with the ring."
She looked at him with a raised brow and he chuckled. "Back when we went shopping for daddy daughter dance. We walked by a jewelry store and saw it and… we just knew."
She shook her head and breathlessly chuckled. "I love you Mr. Stabler."
He grinned up at her and swiftly flipped them over so he was on top of her again. "I love you, Mrs. Stabler."
She giggled against his lips and he smiled harder against hers. "That was the rule right? I can call you that once I put a ring in your finger."
Nodding through her tears she cupped his face. "I did say that," she went to speak further but he cut her off with a kiss.
"I know, I know... Benson-Stabler for work and the kids," he said, causing her to smile, "but how about just Stabler when we're in bed."
She kissed him slowly and nodded, smiling again. She is whimpered when she felt him harden again he breathed out a soft chuckle. "I don't think we have time…" she whined and he shook his head.
"We will make time, Mrs. Stabler," he said and she giggled.
And make time they did.