A/N: Ok, so obviously by the time I post this the episode will have already aired, but when I saw the March 10th OC promo, I couldn't get out of my head how flirty they sounded, so I had to write a fluffy date night piece. Enjoy! Thank you to my beta WhatBecomesofYou! :)
"You're undercover again."
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion at her words. Instead of the disappointment he would have expected if he was actually going undercover, there was a smirk on her face. "Am I?"
She stepped closer to him, cupping his face. "You're undercover as Elliot Stabler."
"I'm afraid you'll have to explain that to me, slowly, like I'm five, Captain."
She laughed and looked at him with something resembling fondness. "It means you look like yourself again, like the partner I remember, the partner I missed. You're not burning buildings as Eddie, or running yourself ragged to battle Wheatley. You have no responsibility to be anyone or anything but yourself now, so you're back to being Elliot."
"You sayin' I look good, Benson?" He grinned.
She rolled her eyes. "Don't flatter yourself, but yes. It's good to have you back, El. Really is."
His smile grew wider. "It's good to be back."
"Really?" Only a few months ago, he'd told her it was nice to not be him for a while. "You mean that?"
"I do." He may not have necessarily felt that way before, but restarting his weekly visits with the therapist, as well as the beautiful woman standing across from him, were certainly convincing him otherwise.
"Good."
He cleared his throat. "By any chance, does this new operation involve inviting my friend Olivia over so I can make her dinner?" The sound of her laugh warmed his heart, but didn't do a thing to calm his nerves.
"Maybe. Why don't you try it, and see what happens?"
His boyish grin made her heart melt. "Hey my friend, Olivia. Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night? You, me, some imported Italian wine, and my homemade carbonara?"
"Well, my friend, Elliot, I'll have to see if Lucy can watch Noah, but I would love to spend the evening with you, some wine, and your cooking." She tilted her head to the side, coyly smiling at him.
Elliot fought the urge to press her against the wall and kiss her senseless.
Don't get ahead of yourself, Stabler. You'll scare her off.
"Mama and Eli are gonna be at Maureen's. Why don't you drop Noah off there too? He can play with the twins."
"Oh. Uh." She hesitated; she knew how much her sweet boy wanted to be part of a family, knew how much he loved the Stablers when they went to the Christmas gathering, knew how much she longed to be part of a family like this. Still, she couldn't help the stabs of anxiety that pricked at her. "I don't know, El. Noah gets attached so easily; I think maybe we should wait on that. I'll ask Amanda if he can stay with her and the girls if Lucy can't watch him."
Regret filled Elliot's features. He hated that her current bout of anxiety was because of him and his actions. "I'm not going anywhere, Liv. Ever again."
"I'm really happy you're back, and I love spending time with you, but you have to understand that it's going to take me a while to believe you're here to stay, for good."
He sighed. "I do. I get it. I guess I wish-"
"You know something I've learned over the years? We can't change the past, and it doesn't do any good to regret what we have or haven't done, because what truly matters is what we do moving forward. You're a good man, and I've forgiven you. I missed you. I want us to get to know each other again and to become whatever it is we are meant to be to each other. All I ask is that we have to go slow, ok?"
"Ok. That works for me."
"So." Seductiveness laced her tone, as she turned back toward him, a mysterious smile crossing her face. "What time should I come…over?"
He let out a groan. "You can't talk like that if you want this to go slow, Benson."
"Sex o'clock?"
He choked on air. "What!?"
"I'll be at your place at six." She said, with a playful smirk. "You're such a man."
"Yeah, sex, I mean six works."
She rolled her eyes before walking away. "See you then, Stabler."
This woman was going to be the death of him, and he was going to enjoy every minute of it.
X
The closer it got to six o'clock, the more antsy he became. He wanted everything to be perfect for her. He knew she wouldn't care if he used the fancy dishes and silverware, if he bought her flowers, or if he wore a tailored suit. She was the type of woman who would be fine with sweats, Chinese takeout, cheap beer, and a dumb movie, but she deserved all of this and so much more.
He'd fucked up so many times in the last decade. Hell, in the last twenty-three years, but who's counting anymore? He didn't deserve the second chance she was giving him, but he'd sworn to do this right by her. He was going to pamper her, show her just how much he loved her, like he should have years ago. Like he'd always wanted to.
He was in the middle of stirring the sauce, when he heard a knock on the door.
Shit, she was early, and he wasn't ready.
What if she wasn't early? What if he got the time wrong?
Geez, Stabler, she probably had a long day at work and is starving, and was hoping to get to eat now, but you waited too long to start cooking, so now the love of your life has to wait. You're a douche.
Another set of knocks interrupted his panic.
"I'm coming!"
She's probably cold. You're making her wait outside in the cold, dumbass.
His heart skipped a beat when he opened the door.
"Hey, we closed the case so I thought I'd come by early. I hope that's ok."
He grinned. "Yeah, the food is almost ready. Come on in, beautiful." He seriously needed to talk to his therapist about how to control his word vomit around this woman.
"El-" She tried to hide the blush in her cheeks, to no avail.
"I didn't-I mean-" He was terrified of pushing her, of making things move too fast. "I mean I did mean-I-you know-"
She laughed and cut him off. "Elliot. Breathe. It's fine. Thank you. You clean up pretty nice yourself."
"Why, thank you, Captain. Can I take your coat?"
"And they say chivalry is dead." She teased, handing him her coat and letting him hang it on a hook. Her heart warmed when she took in the sight of everything he'd set up for their dinner. The table was set with what must have been Bernie's fanciest dishes. A bouquet of red roses sat in the center, and he'd poured them each a glass of what looked like a delicious red wine. He'd lit a few candles, and as she watched him plate the food, she didn't think it looked half-bad either.
"Wow."
"You like it?" He beamed at the compliment.
She returned his smile. She definitely liked it. So much that she had to restrain the parts of her body that wondered how else he could please her and show her love. "Italy made you romantic."
He feigned offense. "Please, I've always been romantic."
"You have not. I had to go out and buy a Valentine's Day card every year for you to give Kathy because the ones you picked were lame. Or you'd forget until the day before." She rolled her eyes and laughed under her breath.
"Maybe I didn't have the right girl." He took one of the roses from the vase and handed it to her with an exaggerated flourish. "For you, my friend."
"Mmm." She took a whiff, inhaling the soft smell of the rose. "Something tells me friends don't set up romantic dinners for their other friends, though."
He cleared his throat and grinned. "Flowers for the most beautiful woman in the world, then?"
She raised an eyebrow, blushing. "Now it sounds like you want to get lucky, Detective."
"Does this operation involve getting lucky?" His eyebrow raised in turn. "Because, if it does-"
"Elliot!" She swatted playfully at his chest.
"Captain, I want to make sure I understand all the requirements of this undercover assignment. So I can do it properly."
"I don't usually let men get lucky on the first date," she teased.
But God, did she want to. Especially since this was the last first date she ever wanted to have.
"Usually, meaning there have been exceptions?"
"Are you asking for my dating history again?" He shrugged and she rolled her eyes, deciding to have a little fun with this. "Brian Cassidy was my exception."
He groaned and slid his hand over his face. "No, not Cassidy. Wh-?"
"I'll tell you that story later. Right now, I'm starving, and I believe you promised to feed me."
"Well, I did..."
"If you're good, I may let you indulge in, shall we say, another part of this undercover operation. Later."
"What would that be?"
"Uh-uh. You can find out after dinner if I like what you cooked." She smirked, knowing she planned on letting him indulge either way, but what he didn't know…
X
"How was it?" He looked at her expectantly for her verdict, hoping that his cooking had passed muster with her.
"It wasn't too bad." She dabbed at the corner of her lips with the napkin and smiled at him.
"Just not too bad? Geez, way to bring a guy down." He grinned at her, hoping he'd read the joke right.
"It was delicious. Honestly. Thank you, El."
In addition to being impressed by his newfound cooking skills, it felt nice to be able to relax and really talk to each other. Even though he'd been back for a year, they hadn't gotten much of a chance to do that. Their conversations usually revolved around work, or were interrupted. Tonight was two old friends getting to know each other again, exploring what they could be.
"You're welcome." He gave her a hopeful look before speaking again. "Hey, by any chance, does this undercover operation involve getting to kiss my friend, Olivia?"
Her heart skipped a beat. "I-I don't think friends kiss."
"What about partners, then? May I kiss my partner, Olivia?"
"I don't know, my partner, Elliot. Maybe you should try it, see what happens." She gave him a seductive smile that sent his blood rushing south.
"I'd be glad to, Captain."
"My title turns you on, doesn't it?"
"Hell yeah, it does." He tangled his hands in her hair and kissed her long, slow and deep. Twenty-three seconds. One second for every year he'd been in love with her, and he hoped that she felt every bit of it. "For the record though, everything about you turns me on," he said, with a growl, as they broke apart, and he looked at her as if . "You're gorgeous, and sexy, and intoxicating, and delicious, Olivia Benson."
"El-"
"It's the truth, and before you say I don't know that, since I haven't seen you naked, I will always think that. No matter what, because I love you."
"I love you too." She smoothed her hand down his chest, feeling the ripples of muscles under her touch. "May I have another kiss, Detective?"
"I'd be crazy to deny you." He kissed her again, harder and faster this time. "Best undercover operation ever."
She laughed into the kiss. "Oh, we're not undercover. This is us, El. It always has been."
As their hands began to wander and explore, their kisses became more heated, and words became moans and whimpers, all he could think was damn right.
A/N: Thanks for reading!
