A/N: So, when I started this, I wasn't expecting it to evolve into a full blown multi-chapter story in quite the way it has. Seems I've lost the art of a short story, sorry! Anyway, I hope you're all still enjoying it!

Warm fingers splayed across her stomach, tips stroking softly back and forth. The scent of the blonde's laundry detergent filled her nostrils as her face was still buried in the soft pillow beneath her cheek. She had only just woken up, the rhythmic stroking of those fingers against her bare skin coaxing her back to consciousness. Amanda, it seemed, had been awake for a while, and, Olivia assumed, was a little bored.

"Good morning," she mumbled into the pillow, snuggling herself back into the warm body behind her. Amanda as the big spoon didn't work so well, since Olivia was taller than her. But they seem to have decided it was only fair that they take it in turns to be the little spoon.

"Morning," Amanda replied, voice husky with sleep. "Did you sleep well?"

"Surprisingly so," Olivia nodded, threading her fingers through Amanda's. "You?"

"I always sleep well when I'm next to you." The words were followed by a gentle kiss to the nape of Olivia's neck. Amanda held her lips there for several moments, inhaling the scent of the woman in her arms.

There was a soft sigh in response. "Yeah, me too. Maybe that's why I slept so soundly. Usually after tough cases like that, I find it hard to get a good night's sleep."

"Ditto," Amanda replied, arms tightening around Olivia. "But with you here, it seems I can find that peace. You scare my demons away, Liv."

At those words, Olivia decided it was time to face the woman lying behind her. She wriggled herself around one hundred and eighty degrees so she was lying face to face, almost nose to nose, with the younger detective. She reached out to brush some wayward hairs away from the woman's face. Amanda's bedhead look was never the most put together, she'd discovered. But she'd also discovered she liked the tousled, unpolished, raw morning Rollins.

"I'll never let anything happen to you, Amanda," she whispered quietly, following up the promise with a chaste kiss to parted lips.

Tears sparkled in blue-grey eyes as the affection and desire she felt for and from the woman before her swept throughout Amanda's body. She had never felt like this before, she realised suddenly. Sure, the beginning of relationships had been exciting in the past, full of intrigue and passion and the anticipation of discovering one another. But this; what she had with Olivia? No, that was something different.

"Liv, what are we?"

"What do you mean?"

"To each other. What are we doing? What is this?"

Whether this was the right time to have this conversation, Amanda didn't care. She suddenly realised that she needed some clarity. She needed to know she was on the same page as the woman in her arms. She needed to know they were heading in the same direction, that she wasn't the only one thinking of their future in the way she was. She needed to know she wasn't alone.

"What do you want this to be?" Olivia replied softly.

"I asked you first," Amanda pouted, reluctant to say anything without getting a signal from Olivia first. She'd been wrong about relationship dynamics before. She didn't think she could take that humiliation when it came to Olivia.

The woman smiled gently, recognising that Amanda wanted to hear from her before she spoke. Olivia understood that and was happy to oblige.

"Well, over the past few weeks, I think we can agree we've been dating. Discretely, of course, because of our work situation."

"Yeah, dating, right," Amanda nodded. "But where are we going? I mean, do you see us going … beyond dating?"

"I do," Olivia confirmed, a small smile playing across her lips. "Do you?"

"Yes," Amanda replied immediately, her eagerness making Olivia chuckle.

"Good," the brunette replied. "I'm glad we can agree on that."

"So, um, does that mean we're still just dating or …?"

The uncharacteristic timidness which came over the blonde was both endearing and curious to Olivia. She wondered briefly who had hurt this woman in the past to make her lose faith in her own instincts when it came to her relationships.

"Well, I think this is steadily morphing from just dating into a relationship as far as I'm concerned. What do you think?" Olivia deliberately wanted to hand the opportunity to talk back to Amanda, feeling as if it was important that the woman put into her own words how she was feeling about their relatively new dynamic.

"I think so too," Amanda grinned shyly. "I was hoping you'd say the 'r' word, actually. And, just so you know, I've not been dating anyone else since we started seeing each other. I don't do that."

"Neither do I," Olivia reassured.

They shared a gentle kiss, an unspoken promise of fidelity to one another. Both women had seen the aftermath of betrayal in their line of work. Neither had ever had any inclination to cheat on their partner.

"So, we're exclusive, right?" Amanda asked. Olivia nodded. "And together?" Another question. Another nod. "You're my girlfriend?" Question. Nod. "And I'm your girlfriend?"

Olivia laughed. "I think that's a given, Amanda."

"Say it."

The brunette sobered, gazing into those intense, cool eyes which, despite their colour, always seemed to radiate warmth. At least, they did when they were directed towards Olivia.

"You're my girlfriend, Amanda Rollins."

Olivia found herself on her back in moments, the grinning blonde having rolled her over and straddled her hips. She bent down, kissing her firmly as her hands ran up and down Olivia's sides, dragging the fabric a little higher each time.

"Hang on, what does this mean for our work?" Amanda asked suddenly, sitting up straight, still astride the dark-haired beauty.

"We'll have to tell Cragen," Olivia said simply. "But I don't think it'll be a problem as long as we continue to act professionally at work. We probably won't be paired together often on cases from now on. The department considers it an impairment on our judgement if we work with people we're, well, more than colleagues with."

"So, everyone will know?"

"Is that a problem?" Olivia asked. In truth, she didn't love the idea of her private life being splashed all over the precinct. There was a reason she tried to avoid dating anyone from work. The blonde appeared to be the exception to the rule. There was something about her Olivia had been unable to resist and for whom she was willing to put up with a little light teasing from Finn which she was sure would be coming her way.

Amanda vehemently shook her head. "No problem at all. God, Liv, I can't wait to tell everyone I know about my fucking fabulous, gorgeous new girlfriend."

Olivia laughed heartily, the movement jiggling Amanda up and down slightly. "Ok, glad to hear it. I suppose we have a plan then. I'll tell Cragen on Monday. And if you don't mind, I think I should tell him alone; we've worked together for so long. But I expect he'll want to speak with you too."

"Ok, whatever it takes. I don't mind being interrogated by the brass if it means I don't have to hide how I feel about you any more."

"Well, just because our relationship," the word made her heart beat a little faster, "is public, doesn't mean we can make out at work. In fact, it's really important we keep things extra professional. No lingering looks or touches, ok?"

"Oh, I can keep my hands to myself. Not sure I can say the same about you though," Amanda added, looking pointedly at her thighs where Olivia's hands were now stroking just below the hem of her sleep shorts. At the comment, however, Olivia withdrew her fingers before Amanda's own captured them and pulled them back up. "Did I tell you to stop?"

Olivia grinned widely, fingers digging lightly into the firm flesh as the top of Amanda's thighs. At the pressure, Amanda leaned back down, resuming their kiss. Lips met with a renewed intensity, the conversation about their relationship having fuelled their desire for one another. Amanda's hands resumed their journeying up and down Olivia's sides, inching the large t-shirt the woman had slept in higher and higher each time. It was when this material bunched beneath the woman's breasts that their kiss ended.

"Liv, are we -"

"Don't stop," Olivia breathed out, reaching up to pull Amanda's mouth back to hers. "Don't stop," she whispered against parted lips. "Don't stop."

The build up, the weeks of waiting, the nights spent in one another's bed, the pent up anticipation had all suddenly bubbled to the surface. Olivia's entire body was on fire. She wasn't sure whether it was because of the featherlight graze of Amanda's fingertips against her bare skin or because she herself desperately wanted to explore the blonde's body. Either way, she realised they'd waited long enough.

Amanda didn't break their kiss as she placed her hands flat on either side of the woman's body, fingers following the contours of her ribs, curling lightly against the curve of her back. Her tongue danced against Olivia's, a give and take of control as they took the next step in their relationship. And then her hands began to slide upwards, pushing the material up and over the woman's generous breasts, thumbs grazing the underside of the globes as the skin was exposed at last.

Goosebumps erupted across the smooth skin, pebbled nipples hardening against the air. Except it wasn't the cool winter temperature which had triggered the reaction. It was the way Amanda's thumbs were stroking backwards and forwards, massaging the soft tissue. Olivia let out a little groan, the sound swallowed by their kiss as she felt Amanda's thighs tense beneath her own fingers which had become temporarily frozen as she was distracted by the sensations on her own breasts.

"Liv," Amanda breathed out, breaking the kiss at last, unable to wait a moment longer to gaze down at the body beneath her. She sat up, hands remaining where they were, all but framing the breasts now exposed to her. "God, you're gorgeous," she murmured, drinking in the sight of the woman laying below her.

A small voice in Olivia's mind tried to remind the older woman that she hadn't gone to the gym in a couple of weeks but she batted it away. While she, like every other woman on the planet, had suffered from a lack of confidence in her body at times, the way Amanda was gazing down at her, with a reverent expression on her face, Olivia recognised that she didn't need to play into any body hang ups.

"Let me take this off," she said, grasping at the bunched material of the t-shirt which was lodged above her breasts and beneath her armpits. She tugged it free and tossed it aside, laying back down on the pillow and giving Amanda an uninterrupted view of the woman's torso.

"Jesus, you're perfect," Amanda marvelled before she ducked her head down and placed a kiss to the centre of Olivia's breastbone. "Perfect," she said again. "Perfect." The word became a mantra, each repetition accompanied by a kiss to the smooth, soft skin. Olivia's fingers came up to tangle in Amanda's hair, fingernails scraping her scalp lightly as the woman surrendered to the worship she was receiving.

It didn't take long for Amanda to kiss over towards the right, lips trailing a path towards their goal. Soon, the puckered, sensitive skin of Olivia's dark pink nipple bumped against her lip, her hot breath causing the brunette to gasp at the sensation. Amanda steeled herself for a moment before parting her lips, allowing them to envelope the hard nub, trapping it lightly and flickering across it with her tongue.

"Amanda," the woman above her groaned.

Hearing her name said in that tone, from those lips, did something funny to Amanda's stomach. And made her desperate to hear it again. She ran a circle with her tongue around Olivia's nipple, feeling every ridge of the tight skin. Another moan. She circled again, lips tightening slightly, followed by sucking the areola deeper into her mouth.

"Oh yes," Olivia gasped, fingers grasping at Amanda's tangled hair, anchoring the woman against her breast. And while Amanda didn't want to go anywhere, she did feel obligated to pay some attention to the neglected nipple straining against the cool air.

She left the first one with some reluctance but was soon rewarded with the discovery of the other breast which Olivia seemed more than happy with too, judging by the sounds of encouragement. Amanda was pleased to discover that her girlfriend was vocal in bed. Not only did it bode well for communication when it came to sex but she had always rather enjoyed the smug feeling which came with making her lover lose control of the noises they made because they were overcome with pleasure.

When both breasts had been thoroughly worshipped, Amanda trailed her lips back to the centre of the woman's breasts and kissed a trail up her chest, up the line of her neck, across her jaw until she reached her lips.

"You're so hot," she murmured before kissing the woman hard.

Olivia's hands now clawed at Amanda's tank top, the word 'off' mumbled into the kiss. Briefly sitting up, Amanda tugged her top over her head without ceremony and lent down to resume their kiss but a hand in the middle of her chest stopped her progress.

"What?" she asked, sitting up.

"It's my turn to admire you," Olivia replied simply, eyes trailing over the athletic figure sat astride her. She managed to shut out the voice which was trying to remind her of their age gap, pointing out the pertness of the blonde's breasts, the firmness of her stomach. But Olivia was committed to the moment. She didn't need old hangups destroying what was being shared. She sat up, cradling Amanda in her lap, face now inches from the woman's breasts.

"You sure about this? Amanda asked as their eyes met.

"I'm sure," Olivia nodded. "I've never been more sure about anything in my life, Amanda. And I think it's time we acknowledged that last night was our fifth date."

The blonde beamed. "It was."

"Do you remember what I said about our fifth date?"

Amanda chuckled. "I think I vaguely recall, yes."

"So, you've asked if I'm sure. Now it's my turn to ask if you're ready to take this step."

Those deep chocolate eyes gazed into her own, trying to detect a flicker of doubt. But Amanda knew they wouldn't find any. She'd never had any doubts when it came to Olivia, not about how she felt, anyway.

"I'm sure, Liv. I'm ready. We're ready."

A/N: Next chapter will be NSFW!