The early luminosity of Saturday morning spurred through the curtains of Olivia's bedroom. To their surprise, they were still both awake, getting once again lost in the afterglow of themselves. Their romping had quit about twenty minutes ago, and their bodies are thoroughly worn from what was a very passionate night. The events of the day before gave them plenty of stamina. Elliot delivered. A few times.
They were touching and using the pads of their fingers to memorize each other's bodies one centimeter at a time. Elliot rediscovered that one of his favorite things about Olivia was her hair. The habit was something he used to do when she read to him, before their dating days, when they were just friends. The act wasn't as intimate then as it is now; it was more of an endearing quality. However, it was intimate now. Under the sheets of what was a freshly made bed, Elliot twisted and combed through her coffee-colored tendrils with devotion.
"They never succeeded, right?" Elliot spoke softly into her ear.
"How about the nights those same men tried to come into my room with the promise to make me a real woman?"
It was a hard thing to hear in the heat of the moment. Elliot tried to stay calm the more he overthought everything about her admission to Serena. Maybe it was the exhaustion from their all-nighter that was keeping his voice melancholy, or perhaps if he dared raise his voice even a decibel, Olivia would be angry at the question.
"Never," she whispered at the same pitch, "They never got through. I guess my door had a pretty good lock on it, huh?" Elliot tightened beneath her, so she just kept talking, "It was before I met you. Men like that stopped coming around a long time ago."
Elliot moved uncomfortably, "Somehow, that doesn't make me feel any better."
"Didn't think it would." Olivia settled, "Are you going to let me out of this bed sometime today?"
"We haven't slept yet." Elliot deadpanned.
Olivia cocked her brow and smirked sleepily, "Well, someone wouldn't let me."
"I didn't hear you complain once about it," Elliot countered, skimming his hand from her hair down her back, "I could do this all day."
"A day off." Olivia soughed in relief, "I wonder how the guys spend their Saturday mornings…." she queried.
"Not like this." Elliot closed his eyes and listened to the sound of the heater kick on, the sudden rush of warmth coaxing him to sleep. He kissed the bridge of her nose, "Good morning, baby."
"Good morning, El."
That evening, after a dazzling performance, Olivia came face to face with a screwball of bourbon at Flannigan's. The boys were off galavanting the rest of the bar, checking out the bar memorabilia that Jerry, the owner, was so proud to display for his customers. Casey sat next to her at their usual round table, downing another salt-rimmed margarita. Olivia unintentionally catches Elliot's eye across the open room, but she smiles. Less than fifty feet away, and he was still making sure he was okay.
Casey turns around to see who she's smiling at, but Elliot's attention is diverted to another piece of Flannigan history by the time she does so.
"You're oogling your partner, Detective," Casey points out.
Olivia shrugs, "He's just checking in on me."
"Every five seconds?"
"Munch is probably boring him. Elliot probably thinks I'll cast out a line and save him."
"Let him drown. It's girl talk now. My time with you is sacred." Casey said.
"The time I have that is," Olivia laughed, "Okay, you have me."
"You and your mystery beau are getting serious." Casey sipped her drink.
"We've always been serious, Casey; this isn't anything new."
"For Christmas, I want his name. No cashmere scarf, no fancy perfume bottle, or lavender bath salts. His name, Benson."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
Casey changed the subject, "How's Elliot holding up with the ex-wife thing?"
"As good as one can be, we haven't talked about it since. "
"We? Didn't know there was a we."
"Oh, stop that, you know what I mean."
"You mean to tell me that you work across from him all day long and feel nothing?"
"I wouldn't say nothing," Olivia shrugged.
Casey cocked her brow, "So there's something…."
"There is." Olivia sipped her wine, "A whole hell of a lot of frustration."
"Sexual frustration?" Casey raised her brows again.
"Casey," Olivia warned, "Knock it off."
"Sorry, but have you seen the way Stabler looks at you? The devilish smile, the jokes at work— Olivia, the man wears cologne for you. It smells expensive. Men use the good stuff when they want a woman."
"Oh, they do, do they?" Olivia teased.
"Liv, the man is in love with you. Get real."
"Elliot feels…" Olivia mulled, trying to find the right words, "Familiar. When we talk, it's like I've known him for years," she hinted.
"How does your boyfriend feel about sharing you with Elliot? Men get territorial when it comes to their women."
"We're fine, Casey." Olivia insisted, "We're just fine. Still figuring each other out."
"Understandable. Just give me a heads up when the wedding bells in your head start to ring, okay?"
"You got it."
"Maybe we won't make it that far. Things are going well for us. I feel like I'll be the one to mess it up."
"You will."
Olivia gave her a look of concern and was cut off again by Casey, "What! You will, I know you, Olivia, and that beautiful brain of yours overthinks everything. I've known you since before our frontal lobes fully developed." Casey laughed and reached for her hand, "Look, that beautiful brain of yours has saved me from making some pretty big mistakes but shut your brain off and listen to your heart."
"What if that's the problem?" Olivia asked softly.
"If you love this guy as much as I think you do, it won't be. What does your heart want now?"
The question threw Olivia into an unfamiliar state of mind. Elliot was worth everything to her. The thought of being without him made her sick. She avoided Casey's question at first until it reverberated in her mind over and over.
"Elliot," Olivia said mindlessly and without thought. When she realized what she said aloud, she glanced back to Casey, who choked and dribbled the remainder of her margarita down her chin.
Seems like they have a whole lot more to talk about.
Too bad the guys already were coming back to join them.
Pencil tapping. An annoying little quirk that Elliot had possessed that from grade school days. He did it when he was in deep thought or when he was about to ask a rather profound question.
"Have you given more thought to what I asked?"
"Do we really have to do this now?" Olivia whined.
Elliot grinned, "It was a question I'd like to get an answer to. My interrogation tactics are impeccable, and I always know how to get a suspect to talk."
"I'm not a suspect detective," Olivia said.
"No, but you are an uncooperative person of my interest," Elliot corrected, "If you think it's too soon, tell me. I understand."
God, she wanted to say yes.
One night away from him out of anger no less, and she was a crack addict in need of a fix. Elliot being her drug of choice. That night felt so long ago. It was the first night in a week she slept fully clothed, void of affection and mindblowing sex.
It sucked.
His impromptu offer to move in with him came at the coffee stand that morning. Without warning, It caught her so off guard she downed the near-scalding brew too fast and burned her tongue.
All these years later, and he still surprises me.
"It's unprofessional Elliot, you're my partner, remember?"
"It's 7:58. I will become your partner in two minutes. Right now, I'm the man that loves you. It's not like we've been staying together every night for almost a month—Oh wait…" he cheekily grins.
"Think about what that will look like on paper, El. There has to be some HR violation against it." Olivia pointed out.
Just in earshot, Captain Cragen walked by their desks, "HR violation against what?" he asked.
Before Olivia could get a word in, Elliot dropped his pencil and began the ruse, "Olivia's lease is up, and her landlord is looking to jack up the rent. I asked if she wanted to stay with me until she finds a new place," Elliot lied.
"Wouldn't that cause problems on paper, Cap?" Olivia asked.
Cragen shrugged, "I spent the first year of my first partnership bumming it on my partner's couch because I was still saving for a place. We can't leave Benson homeless now, can we?"
"No, we cannot," Elliot smiles, impressed that he got away with his fib. He looked at Olivia and flashed his smile again, "No street urchin life for you."
Olivia squints, "I was never a street urchin, jackass."
They waited until Cragen was safely cooped up in his office again before either one of them spoke, and to be honest, it was a terrifying ten seconds from them both.
Elliot leaned in, "Break your lease, pack your bags, and be the queen of Queens. Please?"
Elliot's insistence made Olivia turn all shades of pink. Cragen's unofficial backing to be under the same roof outside of the station gave her a thrill.
Moving in with a man. This man.
The tight-lipped smile given to Elliot was all he needed to see to know it was a sure thing.
And he couldn't have been happier.
"I'll talk to Frankie, alright? He's not an easy man to deal with, and I don't feel like selling my kidney to break a lease I renewed not too long ago."
"You got his number?" Elliot asked.
Olivia gives him a strange look, yet she pulls out her address book and opens to the page her landlord's number is jotted down on. She hands him the book and points to the line with the number.
"Get ready to have your ass handed to you, El." She warns.
Elliot smirks at her, lifts the book, and dials the extension straight to her landlord's office.
"Hey, is this Frankie? This is Elliot. You ah…met me the other day. I helped you get that refrigerator up to 2B. Yeah, that's me." He laughs.
Olivia's eyes widened, "When the fuck did you help him with a refrigerator?" She mouths.
He swivels his chair and continues on, "Listen, Olivia Benson…Yeah, 4D…She can't come to the phone right now, but can I talk to you about possibly breaking her lease? State of the apartment? Pristine. Any nail holes in the walls, I'll patch myself to save you the trouble. You have better things to do, I'm sure," he laughs again, "As soon as possible. How much to break the—" he pauses and smiles, "You're the man Frankie, she'll be out as soon as she settles in her new place. All right, man, I'll let her know, thanks."
"When the fuck did you help him with a refrigerator Elliot?" Olivia asked again.
"None of your business, I'm just trying to make nice," he teased, "In doing so, he's not charging you a damn thing for breaking the lease early. He called you Detective Princess. He wants to come in person to say goodbye and take the keys back."
Olivia glanced at the clock on her monitor and bit her lip, "If it weren't after eight, I'd kiss you."
Elliot smiled, "Plenty of time for that later. Time to pack your bags, Detective Princess. I want you on my property by Thanksgiving."
"Why Thanksgiving?"
"You'll see."
That night, Olivia and Elliot dropped by her apartment and slowly began the process of packing. Though Elliot had nominated himself to pack her underwear drawer, she instead put him in charge of carrying it all out to the car when she filled a suitcase.
Serves you right for calling me a street urchin
She filled her luggage pieces with as much clothing as the suitcases would allow and zipped them closed without much thought. What remained in her wardrobe were miscellaneous pieces she'd either have to come back for or donate. The same went for the rest of her apartment. With a few more trips and some help, the apartment she'd called home would be void of all things Olivia Benson, life as she knew it would take on a whole completely different direction.
The following week and a half went by in a blur. The last Thursday of November, known as Thanksgiving day, had arrived, and Olivia was nervous. Elliot had gotten up early to get a head start on digging out the icicle lights for the house, seeing as Fin and Munch would help get them up on the roof.
It was just after eight in the morning, and Olivia was standing in the kitchen doorway in bunny slippers, watching Melinda dress the turkey. She didn't know Melinda knew she was there.
"You know it's not gonna come back to life and talk, right?" Melinda said over her shoulder.
"I'm aware….I just don't know the first thing about this kinda stuff. Watching a professional seems like the right thing to do."
"I've cooked a few in my day," Melinda smiles softly, "Growing up, my grandmother put me to work on holidays like these."
Olivia chuckled, "We had two completely different childhoods." She stared at the raw headless bird on the counter and sighed, "This is a first for me."
"Spending it with coworkers?"
Olivia licks her lips, trying to find her words, "Having Thanksgiving."
"You never spent one with Elliot?" Melinda asked.
"Melinda, this is the first—"
"Elliot forgot to flip the pictures on the mantle before I came over," Melinda explained and turned back to season the bird, "He's crazy about you."
"I'm crazy about him too," she smiles shyly.
"Knowing now how close you two are, I can ask this. Elliot had an on-the-job injury a few years ago—"
"What kind of injury?" Oliva asked with concerned eyes.
"Boxer's fractures on his right hand and his second and third ribs were also fractured."
"I can only guess what those were caused from…." She trailed.
A perp, the interrogation room, and a locked door.
Melinda nodded, "The doctors who cleared him sent me a copy of his x-rays to keep on file. I looked at them. External scars may heal, but the bones don't lie, Olivia. I have a feeling you know what I'm talking about."
Olivia nodded, avoiding her gaze, "What did you find?"
Melinda lowered her voice to a sympathetic tone, "Signs of abuse. A six-year-old should never have multiple fractured ribs."
Olivia blinked and crossed her arms, staring intently at a tile of the floor, "He was just trying to protect his sisters, Melinda. When he was old enough to fight back, he did."
"He's a protective S-O-B, that's for sure," she chuckled, "I could only imagine what he would do if someone went after you."
"I don't want to think about it, honestly. I love him. Maybe I'm glad we…are talking about him and me, but…I know they're coming later but, Cragen and Casey don't know. I just want you to be aware of that."
Melinda was surprised, "I understand, Cragen but why didn't you tell Casey? I thought you two were close."
"We are. Before Elliot was back in my life, I told her the whole story. Casey thinks that the Marine I'm dating and Elliot are two completely different people. She thinks she introduced us the night before I came to SVU, and I'm afraid to tell her she's wrong. Casey doesn't like being told she's wrong."
"You'll find a good time." Melinda peered beyond Olivia's shoulder and jutted her chin to the doorway, "I think your boyfriend is lookin' for a kiss."
He stood wrapped in a Queen College sweatshirt that had seen better days, gloves, and a turned-around baseball cap, "Yes, I am," he assures, smiling brightly, "Hi, honey," he nudged her nose with the cold end of his.
"Hi," she smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him in short pecks.
Their acts of affection did not go unnoticed. Their M.E, who was arm deep in a turkey, cleared her throat, "Keep it in your pants, loverboy, you have company comin' over in a few hours," Melinda laughed, crossing her arms.
Elliot pulled his lips away from Olivia, utterly captivated and love drunk by her minty kiss, "Don't you have a turkey to tend to, Mel?" he asked playfully.
"Stabler, I did not just hear those words come out of your mouth," Melinda said, throwing a kitchen towel in their direction.
Olivia was still wrapped in his embrace when he dragged her out of the kitchen. Beyond the threshold to the kitchen and out of sight, Melinda could hear the touches of laughter and the whisperings of sweet nothings. She thought back to the pictures Elliot changed before her by the fireplace.
All he had to do was open up the back of the frame and swap the photo with the one strategically placed behind it.
Every photo he opened up to change made him rigid.
"I don't like hiding her," he said with a hint of misery, "I don't like hiding her at all."
Melinda shook her head and giggled under her breath, "She's the one, Stabler."
A/N: WOW! I didn't expect to be MIA this long, but here I am! I took my last final a few days ago, and I've been trying to get my head screwed on straight since. I hope I still have you guys gasping behind your screens. Next up, we have our favs navigating the holiday. Maybe I'll be nice and post the second half of this tomorrow. Any mistakes are mine, and I sincerely apologize again for vaporizing on this platform. Forgive me? xoxo