AN: Hello there! Thank you all so much for your feedback, follows, and favorites. I'll be doing most of my uploads around midnight for the next few weeks, just in case you were wondering. This chapter doesn't flow as well as the previous ones, but I don't think it's too bad. As usual, expect some errors. This may be surprising, but I do actually proofread, I'm just not good at it. *Sorry* I hope you enjoy and feedback is always welcomed. Love y'all!
Disclaimer: I do not own Law and Order SVU or the characters.
"Hurry up! I have to pee" Olivia called through the bathroom door for the third time. Elliot had jumped in the shower before she got up, but now she was wide awake and feeling like her bladder would burst any moment. She pounded on the door, desperately hoping to hear the water shut off.
"Just come in! I'm covered in shaving cream right now" Elliot replied.
"Why are you-oh". She blushed as she realized why he would be shaving in the shower. "Just hurry up!"
"Liv, just come pee. I can't see you".
Olivia thought about it for a moment, but the fullness of her bladder reminded her of her limited time. She really didn't want to pee while Elliot was less than three feet away.
"Fine" She huffed. She pushed the door open, practically running to the toilet. Knowing that she would feel better if he couldn't hear her at all, Elliot began to sing.
Wise men say, only fools rush in
But I can't help falling in love
With you
"As cute as that is, I really don't think the right time to serenade a woman is when she's trying to pee". She quickly finished and left the bathroom, getting herself ready for the day. Of course Elliot came out of the bathroom less than five minutes later with a smug grin on his face.
"Do you always take such long showers?" Olivia asked as she rummaged through her closest, looking for something appropriate for work. Her whole morning routine had been thrown off thanks to Elliot's half hour long shower. They didn't even have enough time for her to shower now. Once she was dressed, she pulled her hair up in a ponytail, hating how oily it felt.
"Liv, where's your iron?" Elliot asked from the living room, completely ignoring her question.
"We don't have time for you to iron, El. We have to leave now or we're going to be late!" She yelled as she grabbed her gun and badge out of the locker drawer of her bedside table.
"I can't go to work with my shirt looking at this" He said as he came into the bedroom with a very wrinkled shirt on.
"What'd you do? Roll it up in a ball?"
"It's been stuffed in my bag with all of my other clothes".
Olivia sighed. "I'm sorry, El. I'll clean out the closet tonight, but there's nothing we can do about that shirt now. Just change at work or something".
It was moments like this that made Elliot hate her bossy streak.
"Fine" He huffed.
"Did you just 'fine' me?"
"What if I did?"
She bit her cheek, trying to ignore the bait he had so obviously laid out for her. They didn't have time for this now.
"We'll talk about this later. We have to go".
*25 minutes later*
"Benson, Stabler, thank you for joining us" Cragen reprimanded as they took their seats. "John and Fin are talking to a witness. You two are doing paperwork until we catch another case".
"Great. First day back and we're stuck doing paperwork" Elliot complained as soon as Cragen returned to his office.
"I wonder why that is".
Elliot rolled his eyes at her sarcasm.
"It's not my fault you had no clue where your iron was" He tried to defend himself.
"It's not my fault it took you fifteen minutes to iron one shirt".
He knew that he was playing with fire, but she was the one that lit the first match.
"What's this really about, Liv? Is this because I disrupted your normal routine, or could it be that I didn't sleep with you last night?"
She shushed him, reminding him that they were still at work.
"Stop it. Someone could walk in at any moment". She didn't want to talk about that at work. He was wrong anyway. Well, not totally wrong...She thought that after such a romantic day together that they would have a romantic night together, but Elliot had put an end to things right as they were getting more intense. She understood and hadn't complained, but deep down she was a bit disappointed.
Elliot stood up, shoving his chair in.
"Why do you care, Liv? They're going to find out soon enough anyway. You're the one that wanted those pictures, but you didn't even bring them. I think that you're mad that I didn't give it to you last night".
She shook her head. "You're wrong".
He leaned down so that he was speaking directly into her ear. "You're angry that you don't have all the control anymore".
She pushed her own chair back and stood so that they were face to face.
"You're crazy" She insisted. "I'm just upset that we were late this morning. What's your problem, El?"
"Right now? You. You need to relax and just let things happen or there's no chance that this will work".
She bit her lip, choosing to walk away. Once she was alone in the cribs, she let the tears she had been holding in fall. Overwhelmed didn't even begin to describe how she was was only their third day together and they were already fighting.
"I'm so stupid" She cried into her hands. A gentle hand on her back made her jump, but the warmth of it was so comforting.
"I'm sorry that I was such an ass" Elliot said as he wrapped his arms around her. She shrugged him off of her, needing some space.
"See? This is what I was worried about" Elliot sighed.
"What?" She asked as she wiped away her tears.
"You are hell bent on keeping distance between us because you're scared and you want to be in control. You're pushing me away already, Liv. You start to let me in and then you shut me out again. I'm trying not to overwhelm you, but we have to get you out of your comfort zone".
"You do it too".
"Not having sex with you doesn't count" He retorted.
"Please explain the difference to me".
"I won't sleep with you yet because we aren't ready for that. We need to figure out how to work as a couple before we take the next step".
"We're engaged!"
"And you freaked out about having to pee while I was in the shower where I couldn't see or hear you. Look, taking the step to move in together isn't always smooth and I didn't expect it to be. Olivia, we can make this work. We just have to be open and honest, and not run".
"Whatever". She stood up, but Elliot grabbed her hand, pulling her back down.
"It's not whatever, Liv. We need to be on the same page".
"I forgot you were a marriage expert since your first one failed so miserably".
She yanked her hand away before leaving the cribs.
"Hey, Liv. Where's Elliot? We just got another vic and thought that you two would want to go so you aren't stuck at your desks all day" John offered.
"Why don't you come with me? Elliot isn't feeling it today" She easily lied.
"Sure".
*Several hours later*
"That's a nice ring you've got there" John complimeneted.
Olivia closed her eyes, silently cursing herself for forgetting about the rock on her finger.
"So is that what's wrong with Elliot? Being a jealous ass?"
Olivia remained silent, not wanting to talk about it.
"It was a joke, Liv".
"I'm sorry John, I'm just having a bad day".
The rest of the work day was filled with awkward conversation and forced smiles from the couple. If Munch and Fin noticed, they were wise enough to not say anything. Olivia was more than relieved when it was time to go. At least they could try to make things better in private now.
"Hey El, do you mind if I drive?"
He silently tossed her the keys, getting into the passenger seat. They were headed in the opposite direction of her apartment, but Elliot decided not to question her about it. She eventually parked on the side of the road, explaining that they would have to walk a few blocks. Unlike the previous day, their hands were shoved into their pockets, keeping some distance between them as they walked. They came across a small park, and Elliot was surprised when Olivia turned into it. She made a beeline to a big tree in the back of the park, sitting on the ground beneath it. Elliot followed her lead, sitting so that they were facing each other.
"My mother and I used to live in that building right there" She said pointing to the building on the other side of the road. "There were a lot of days where my mom couldn't even look at me without crying, so I'd come here. I'd bring my homework or a book and just sit here, under this tree for hours. I actually brought my first boyfriend here. This is where I had my very first kiss". She pointed at a heart carved into the bark with "O+J" in it.
"We carved this one day and couldn't stop laughing at how our initials made OJ, or orange juice. The day my mother died, I sat out here for hours, just remembering it all. After we got done fighting, I wanted to come here. This place provides a lot of comfort for me".
Elliot could see the tears building in her eyes.
"You were right earlier about me opening up and pushing you away. I don't want to push you away, El, You are very special to me, Elliot, and the last thing I want is for you to think that I'm only concerned about sex and the things that I want. I want to let you in and give up some of that control".
Elliot moved over and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead.
"Thank you so much for bringing me here. I know that this is a big deal. I'm sorry for being a prick earlier. I got so scared that you were going to run that I started pushing you myself".
"We're a mess" She mumbled as she turned into his chest. Elliot chuckled, knowing that she was right.
"I love you, Olivia".
He felt her tense up in his arms for a second, but she quickly relaxed again. Saying it now was a risk, but he had to tell her.
"I love you too". She leaned into him even more, smiling when his lips captured hers.
"We're going to make this work" He promised. "We'll start small. I'll cut my showers five minutes shorter and you'll make some room in the closet for me. Oh, and we'll buy another blanket because you ma'am are a thief".
Olivia laughed. "I agree with the last two things, but only five minutes shorter? Really? More like fifteen. I need to shower in the mornings too".
"We could always save time and water and shower together" He suggested with a wink. Olivia elbowed him, but smiled.
"We'd never get to work on time".
They sat together, simply enjoying the scenery and each other. It was getting chilly as the sun began to set.
"This place is beautiful...but we should probably get going". Elliot stood, helping Olivia up afterwards. They kissed once more before walking hand in hand to the car.
"Oh, John knows that I'm engaged".
"Are we bringing the pictures in tomorrow?" He asked.
"Yup. They'll figure it out eventually".
AN: Hi again! I realized that I've mentioned sex a lot more than I originally anticipated in this story. That is all.