Prompt #42: As the weather grows chilly, Liv digs out THE red scarf
That was mine
~oOo~
"That was mine." Elliot caught the tails of the red scarf wrapped around her neck. He used them to draw her closer until her shoes bumped against his. "Captain Benson. Scarf thief."
"It was mine first."
"Thief and liar. I wore it on a stake-out, but you whined about being cold, so I let you have it." Elliot grinned when she poked him in the stomach. "You got cold. And I gave you my scarf."
"I found it in your locker when I had to clear out your stuff. You'd obviously stolen it from me." Olivia covered his hand where he'd grabbed the end of the scarf. She slowly unwound it from her neck. "Part of me wanted to destroy it, but it felt like all I had of you. The only bit of warm in the longest winter of my life."
"Olivia…"
"I wore it, you know, after Lewis. I wore it until I felt safe, and then I put it away. It made me miss you even more. Not outside but in my apartment. Middle of fucking summer, and I've got this wrapped around me." Olivia allowed him to draw her into his arms. "Just needed you in those moments. Or whatever piece of you that I could find."
They'd had the Lewis conversation. Elliot hadn't known. She'd seen the devastation on his face.
It had been a conversation that they needed to have. One of many. She'd known it was the only way to move forward. They were different people now.
Better.
Different.
The essence of who they were together remained. Much like the scarf. Older. A little weathered. But still holding on. They'd been through the worst of the storm—now they were able to be together.
They weren't hiding their feelings in a box in the closet.
"Think it might be my turn to wear this." Elliot eased the scarf out of her hand. He looped it around his own neck. "This has seen a lot of important stuff. It's basically a family heirloom."
"A family heirloom?"
"Yeah, Liv, family." He had her back in his arms. His head pressed against hers. "We can let our kids fight over it."
"They're not going to fight over a moldy old scarf."
"Not moldy. And this scarf holds a lot of love in it." Elliot smiled when she leaned back to glance up at him. "Our love, Liv. That's worth keeping. That's worth passing on to them."
"Our love?"
"Yeah, it's like an exclamation point on our story." Elliot smiled when she laughed at him. "You mocking me, Liv?"
"You've been watching romantic movies with Bernie again." Olivia teased. She reached up to take the scarf off him. "Still say it's mine."
"Maybe. But you're mine. And I'm yours. So…maybe it's ours?"
Note: The author of this SVU: Fall in Love story will be revealed in November