Prompt #6: Elliot and Olivia go out on their first date in December
Home for Christmas
~oOo~
Olivia hadn't been home for more than ten minutes when her phone began buzzing on the counter. She smiled when she caught a glimpse of the caller ID — Elliot. The last couple of months, since his UC had ended, they'd gotten closer, spending more time together and talking on the phone every day. Recently she'd invited him over for dinner where he'd finally met Noah, who of course grew attached to him right away. It was both a comforting and terrifying thought. She wanted Noah to like Elliot because he meant the world to her, but if he left again, it would be more than just her that broke, and that scared her. Drying her hands on the dishtowel she reached for her phone, clicking the little symbol and bringing it to her ear.
"Hey."
"Hey yourself, whatcha got going on tonight?"
"Oh, big plans over here. Noah is spending the night at Amanda's with her girls, so I figured I'd get some presents wrapped while watching awfully predictable Hallmark Christmas movies."
"Sounds fun, want some company?"
"I'd love some."
"Great, see you in about ten minutes."
"See you then."
True to his words, there was a light tapping on her door just under ten minutes later.
"It's open!"
Elliot opened the door, his head popping in to see her walking from the hallway, a box of unwrapped toys and all the necessary items to wrap them, placed in her arms.
"Woah, here let me help." He quickly walked toward her, grabbing the box from her arms.
"Thank you." She spoke softly, smiling at him as he placed the box down next to the couch.
"You're welcome." He returned the smile, leaning in toward her, grabbing her hand, and bringing his lips to her cheek.
That was something they had been doing for about two weeks now. After a particularly hard day at work, when her squad had lost a victim — a young boy not much older than Noah — Olivia had picked up her phone, and without realizing she had dialed Elliot's number. He'd come over that night, let her cry it out while he held her, and before he'd gone home for the night he leaned in, placing his hand on her shoulder and bringing his lips in to kiss her forehead, then her cheek, before pulling back.
"Thank you for calling me tonight." He brought his hand back down her arm to grab her hand.
"Thank you for coming." She gave his hand a squeeze.
They hadn't really talked much about what that gesture meant and neither of them had taken it any further for fear of overstepping. But they both knew they couldn't continue ignoring whatever it was that they were doing for much longer.
"So— what exactly does an eight-year-old boy ask for for Christmas?" he asked while finding a comfortable position on the floor and grabbing a roll of wrapping paper.
"You know the basics; Legos, race cars, video games." She smiled as she passed him a stack of gifts to wrap.
"Well judging by this pile, it looks like he's going to have a pretty great Christmas." He smiled at her before they began wrapping.
~oOo~
About an hour later, all the gifts had been wrapped and neatly placed back inside the box to be hidden away until Christmas Eve night. Elliot stood up from his spot on the floor and reached to help Olivia up. She grabbed the box of toys before disappearing down the hallway.
"Hey… Are you tired yet or are you up for a movie?" he yelled after her, hoping she'd be up for a movie. Looking for any excuse to get more time with her.
She reappeared from the bedroom smiling before answering him. "What'd you have in mind?"
He smiled at her before walking over to the shelf that held all of her movies. "How about Deck the Halls?"
"Yeah, okay."
A short time later, Elliot found himself sitting on the further end of her sofa. When they first sat down to watch the movie, she had taken the middle seat, but over the past hour, she had found herself closer to him than she originally started at. As the credits began to roll, a sadness overtook her. She was tucked into his side, her fingers playing with the buttons of his shirt while his arm hugged her close to him and she didn't want it to end. Slowly sitting up and looking at him, she gave a shy smile when she caught him beaming at her.
"I had a good time, Liv. Thanks for letting me crash your night."
"I had fun too. We should do these movie nights more often."
They both stood and walked toward the door. "Yeah, I'd like that."
He grabbed her hand and turned toward her. "Listen. I wanna take you out."
She dropped his hand out of shock, or panic, or whatever the hell it was she couldn't quite tell. "Wait what?"
Persistent should have been Elliot's middle name because he didn't let that scare him away, again grabbing her hand but turning her toward him this time.
"Olivia, I want to take you out on a date, if you'll let me."
"A date." He couldn't help but chuckle at her. Not because he was making fun of her but because it was the exact reason he had fallen in love with her.
"Yes, a date. You know— You get dressed up, I stress about whether or not I should wear a tie. We eat some food that I treat you to. Maybe go for a walk and—" he stops then, pauses to bring his fingers to her chin and tip it upward towards him, "then if I'm lucky and I do everything right, maybe I'll get a kiss goodnight. A date, Liv."
She bit her lip and sighed before opening her mouth to speak. "Elliot—"
"Liv, it's just a date. No pressure, no expectations. Don't we owe it to ourselves to see if there's something here?"
She tried to look away before the heat crept into her face, his crystal blue eyes caught hers. "Yeah." A nod. "Okay."
"Well, okay then." He smiled, leaned in to kiss her cheek, and headed home.
So this is how Olivia had found herself on a Saturday night a little over a week later trying on just about everything in her closet before tossing it over her shoulder and moving to the next item. This was just Elliot. She knew that she didn't need to be this nervous but that's just it — this was Elliot, and with him, it would never be "just" anything. Eventually, she decided on a red dress that fell just above her knee, with a slit that ran up to mid-thigh, the sleeves came to her elbow, but the front of it dipped low enough that it showed off just enough cleavage to catch his eye, but not enough that her scars had been visible.
They'd never had that conversation and the first date was definitely not the time or place to have it. She chose nude boots that came up high on her shin bone, deciding to go simple with her makeup with just a little bit of eye shadow, mascara, and a red lipstick, and her hair fell in waves over her shoulder. Taking a deep breath as she heard a knock on her door, she shook her arms as a last effort to rid herself of any nerves, and turned to answer it.
The moment she saw him, those nerves were right back where she had attempted to leave them. He was standing before her in a pair of black slacks, dress shirt, and a light-blue tie that matched his eyes, smiling and holding a bouquet of daisies. He smiled at her, handing her the flowers and leaning in to kiss her cheek. "Hi, these are for you. You look beautiful, Olivia."
She tried to answer, she tried her hardest, but suddenly her throat was dry and all she could manage was a slight nod. Grabbing the flowers and turning, she took a deep breath before managing a "Thank you."
Elliot found it endearing that she was so nervous, especially because it was Olivia. Never in a million years would he ever think he would be worthy of someone like her, and yet it was her that was so obviously nervous. As endearing as he found it, he wanted nothing more than to rid her of these nerves. He watched her as she reached up, grabbing a vase from the cabinet above. Her dress rose slightly, clinging to her bottom as it did. Once the flowers were placed in water, he turned her toward him and lifted her chin to look up at him. "Hey, It's just me okay?"
She smiled and nodded before finally being able to speak her first real sentence of the night. "Yeah, okay. Um, you look nice too. I'm glad you decided to go with the tie." Biting her lip she smiled up at him.
With that he smiles, he shook his head, and looked down shyly. "Let's get out of here, Benson."
~oOo~
He had taken her to a little Italian place on the Coney Island boardwalk in Brooklyn. Following the waiter to the table, Elliot pulled her chair out allowing her to sit before taking his spot across from her.
"Sir, Madam, may I start you off with some drinks?" The waiter looked toward Olivia first for an answer.
"Um, just a glass of Cabernet please." Olivia offered a polite smile.
"Very well Madam. And you Sir?"
"That sounds good, make that two." There was a nod from the waiter before he headed off to the bar.
When it was just the two of them, Olivia looked up, catching Elliot's icy blue eyes watching her. A warm blush crept into her cheeks before she turned away shyly. "Are we really here?"
This earned her a chuckle from him because he almost found it unbelievable himself. He reached across the table, grabbing Olivia's hand that sat along the edge, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles. "Yeah, Liv, we're really here."
"I keep expecting to wake up from this dream."
Elliot shifted his gaze down, catching her eyes and willing them to look back up. "Hey, this isn't a dream. This is really happening. It's us here, in this moment and it's real. Okay?"
"Okay,"
The rest of dinner had passed by with comfortable conversation. Olivia telling how Noah had been awarded a solo at his upcoming dance competition and Elliot talking about how Eli's soccer team would be headed to finals if they'd won the next two games. When the check had come, Olivia reached toward her purse but Elliot stopped her, placing his hand on top of hers. "I know you're not about to try and pay."
Olivia shrugged "I—"
"Liv. Just please let me have this."
Conceding, Olivia gave a small nod, a smile, and a quiet "Thank you" which earned her a satisfied grin from Elliot. He pulled out her chair and helped her into her jacket. Not wanting the night to end, he placed his hand above the small of her back leading her toward the door.
"It's a shame it's so chilly out, the walk along the boardwalk has some beautiful views." Elliot gave her a sad smile.
"I could handle the cold, my jacket is pretty warm."
Tilting his head toward her, he asked, "You sure."
Olivia's next move surprised even her. Grabbing his hand and bringing it around her shoulder, she pulled herself closer to him. "Yeah." She looked over her shoulder to meet his eyes with a flirting smile. "Besides, I have you to help keep me warm… right?"
Elliot felt his mouth go dry, swallowing hard before he answered. "Right."
They'd been walking along the boardwalk for about ten minutes before Elliot pointed out an empty bench. "Want to take a seat?"
"Sure."
He guided her to the bench, sitting down, his arm resting over her shoulder. They sat this way, watching the waves from the beach come crashing to the shore before going back out to sea. Olivia brought her hand up to tuck the stray hairs blowing in the breeze behind her ear and Elliot swore in this moment he could easily die a happy man.
As they stayed seated, Olivia let out a small chuckle when she heard the song that was playing through the speakers overhead. "If I totally geek out right now and tell you I love this song, you gonna judge me?"
He looked at her with squinted eyes from his overly stretched smile, "Never pegged you for a '*NSYNC' kind of girl."
"Well, Detective, there are plenty of things you probably don't know about me."
There was warmth behind her tone, nothing malicious but he couldn't help but feel the regret at how true the statement was. He knew a lot about her, he did; probably more than any other man she'd dated. But there were still things he didn't know, and that was mainly his fault. All the time he'd spent purposely avoiding learning the little things because he knew if he knew about them, there would be no turning back. And he had a duty at the time to stay faithful to his wife… But nothing was holding him back anymore. He was free to love her, as openly and as much as he wanted and she would allow. There was nothing holding him back from knowing everything there was to know about her. "Yeah, well, I'll spend forever learning all of those things, Captain."
Olivia wasn't used to this side of Elliot. The soft, loving kind. She had of course always known he loved deeply but she had never seen it first hand, and it excited her to know what more may come.
As the two of them sat silently together, an idea crossed Elliot's mind. He brought his lips to Olivia's head, kissing it, before bringing his lips to her ear. "Dance with me."
She laughed at first, but when she realized he was serious, she stopped. "Elliot, nobody is dancing." Turning to look up at him, she caught his icy blue eyes staring down at her. In that moment she felt like she was the only thing he saw and it melted her.
"So?" Smiling down at her shyly.
She loved this man, she was in love with him, that much she knew. She also realized that right now, he could ask her just about anything and she would agree. Before she could answer, he was standing, holding his hand out to her. She reached out and grabbed ahold of it, allowing him to pull her to her feet. Letting him lead her out toward an open area of the boardwalk, he brought his hands down to sit low on the curve of her back, while she brought one hand to the back of his neck to hold him close and her other to rest on his chest, feeling his heartbeat against her palm.
Crossing the ocean with my window view
Thinkin' of the time I spent with you
And I close my eyes and I see the family
Thinkin' of their wish list
All dressed up for Christmas
On my own for too many years
I miss the happiness, I miss the tears
When I close my eyes and I'm all alone
And I think of all the love we shared
When I need a friend or a helping hand
I know that you will all be there
I've been gone for so many holidays
But you can light the fire
'Cause this year
I'll be home for Christmas Day
Elliot's head was turned so that his cheek rested on top of Olivia's head as they slowly stepped together. He let out a soft "Thank you."
Olivia scrunched her nose in confusion before lifting her head from his chest. "What for?"
Smiling down at her, he replied, "Agreeing to go out with me… I know I've hurt you— I—"
Before he could finish, she cut him off, shaking her head. "Are you going to leave again?"
Elliot looked at her with shock and confusion across his face. "Never. Not as long as you'll have me."
"Good." She bit her lip and offered him a smile. "Then let's not talk about the past. You're here now and that's what matters. But Elliot, just so you know, there are some things that we'll have to talk about especially if this," she motioned between the two of them, "continues to go the way it is."
"What kind of stuff, Liv?"
Olivia shook her head again, bringing it back down to once again rest on his chest. "Just something that happened while you were away. But not tonight. Tonight I just want to dance with you."
Elliot smiled before resting his head on her again. "Then that's what we'll do."
I see the children playing in the snow
Precious memories that I used to know
And I see the love in the mothers' eyes
Always there to teach us
The real meaning of Christmas
On my own for too many years
I missed the happiness, I miss the tears
When I close my eyes and I'm all alone
And I think of all the love we shared
When I need a friend or a helping hand
I know that you will all be there
I've been gone for so many holidays
But you can light the fire
'Cause this year
I'll be home for Christmas Day
"Noah was asking about you the other day."
Elliot chuckled before speaking. "Is that so?"
"Yeah, he asked if you were my boyfriend." She laughed at the memory of it. She'd been so caught off guard by his question that she'd barely known how to answer.
"Oh yeah? What'd you say?" He was genuinely curious. Depending on the timing of his asking, it was likely it came after he'd asked her to go out with him; which likely led to some confusion as to how exactly to define what they were.
"I told him that you and I had been friends for a very long time, that somewhere along the line I really started to like you. I told him we're taking things one step at a time so I couldn't really give him a yes or no answer. "
Elliot looked down at her, eyebrows raised, "He accepted that as an answer?"
"Yeah, he's a smart kid, Elliot. I think he just wants me to be happy and he can see that you make me happy. I didn't wanna lie to him, especially if this is something we both want. It's going to come out eventually and I didn't want him to feel betrayed." Olivia looked up, biting her lip and searching for any type of annoyance that she had told Noah. "Is that okay?"
Bringing his lips down to lay a quick kiss on her forehead before pulling back and smiling, nodding his head. "Yeah, Liv, that's more than okay. You are an incredible mom, Olivia. I always knew you would be."
She didn't quite know what to say to that, because he did always believe that. He'd said it from the start when she was first turned down for adoption. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, she couldn't speak without the emotion being evident so she just nodded and gave him a soft smile, wrapping her arms tightly around him as they continued dancing.
It doesn't matter
How old you think you are
Something happens to you
When you see that shining star
When I close my eyes and I'm all alone
And I think of all the love we shared
When I need a friend or a helping hand
I know that you will all be there
I've been gone for so many holidays
But you can light the fire
'Cause this year
I'll be home for Christmas Day
When the music died down, Olivia pulled away, turning so she was side by side with him and lacing her fingers through his. As much as neither of them wanted the night to end, it was getting late and the wind was picking up, making the already cold weather become unbearable. They'd stopped at the little cart at the end of the boardwalk for hot chocolate, before walking back to his car, hands remaining intertwined.
He'd walked her to the passenger side, opening her door and shutting it when she was safely in before getting into the driver's seat. Starting the car, he turned to her to make sure she was all settled but he was caught off guard by the image before him. The cold had caused her cheeks to become bright red, her nose a matching shade, and the hot chocolate she'd just taken a sip of left her with a chocolate mustache. And she looked beautiful. He chuckled before lifting his hand toward her. "You um— have a little chocolate— May I?"
"Oh," offering a shy nod, "yeah."
With her permission granted, he reached up, his hand going under her chin, while his thumb swiped along her upper lip slowly. When her lip was chocolate-free, he let his thumb run along her cheek before coming back to rest on the gear shift. "There."
"Thank you." She bit her lip, as she focused her gaze back toward the front of the car. He had this effect on her all night, and if this is what simple innocent touching did to her, she couldn't imagine how she would react when things became more physical.
~oOo~
The drive home was relatively quick, and Olivia could only guess it was because the night was drawing to a close and the idea of that made her sad. She had a lot of things running through her mind. Would he ask her out again? Was he going to kiss her goodnight? She'd hoped he would. God, what was it about Elliot Stabler that made her feel like a teenager again?
Elliot pulled up just outside of her building, putting his car in park, turning it off, and quickly getting out to run to her side of the car to open her door.
"Thank you, Elliot."
"Can I walk you up? Make sure you get in safe."
"Yeah," nodding her head, "I'd like that."
Elliot could feel his palms sweating more and more the closer they got to her apartment. This was Olivia, he'd like to believe she had a good time tonight. He definitely had, and he knew if she'd been uncomfortable or unhappy at any point she'd have made it known. But she hadn't, she actually seemed to really enjoy herself. They slowed their step as they approached her door. She turned to him, biting her lip before speaking.
"Elliot, I had a really good time tonight, thank you."
He took a step toward her, grabbing both her hands in his. "I did too, Liv, thank you for giving me this chance."
They just stood together for a moment in silence, Elliot's eyes glanced down toward Olivia's lips, before moving back to her eyes again.
"Liv..." He was asking permission, he didn't want to do anything she didn't want.
Taking a step closer to him, she gave the slightest nod of her head, so small that if he'd have blinked, he'd have missed it. Elliot let go of one of her hands, bringing it up to rest along her shoulder, and slowly inched his lips toward hers. At the last moment, she took a quick breath in and closed the gap between the two.
Olivia brought her hands up, grabbing the lapels of his coat and pulling him closer. Elliot let his tongue swipe across her lip, begging for entrance, which she happily granted. When they both needed to come up for air, they pulled apart with a gasp and Elliot rested his forehead against hers.
"I should get in, but Elliot… thank you again for tonight."
"No, Olivia… thank you. I'll text you when I get home?"
"Okay, drive safe please." Elliot placed one last chaste kiss on her lips before turning to walk away. He'd made it halfway down the hall before she called out to him. "Wait, Elliot."
He turned around looking at her.
"I don't know what you're doing for Christmas, um, but it's usually just me and Noah and all this food always goes to waste and... Um, well if you, Eli, and Bernie were just going to be at home then you guys could always you know, um, come here… if… if you wanted."
Smiling at her, he said, "You know, everyone of the kids is dating someone and they all seem to spend the holiday with their significant other's family, with work and all it was just always easier. But I think we'd all really like that. I'll talk to Bernie and Eli tomorrow and let you know for sure, but I think you can pretty much count us in."
"Great, I'll uh, see you around."
"Yeah. Goodnight Liv."
"Goodnight, Elliot."
