A/N: Muse, where did you go? Sorry I suck so much at updating this story and basically all longer stories that I write—I always hit a wall. Maybe I should just stick to one-shots.
The weeks following their fight, Olivia had been treading lightly, as if any misstep might be the end of her and Alex. She knew to some extent that Alex was far more rational than her but she still heeded the blonde's warning.
Like the past few nights, she found herself in the kitchen, preparing dinner for the rest of her family. The thought of finally having a family made her smile as she stirred the macaroni and cheese—Ben's request for dinner. In an attempt to keep it a bit healthier, she made it from scratch instead of out of the box even though she had consumed the boxed product numerous times within the last few years—Ben didn't need to know that.
"It smells…cheesy." Alex's voice echoed into the kitchen, the sound of her socked-feet sliding against the floor before she settled next to Olivia.
"Good evening, gorgeous," Olivia replied as she leaned over, kissing the blonde's cheek. Alex scrunched her face in response as she laughed.
"Kinda like you," Alex teased, earning a glare from her girlfriend.
"I am not cheesy." Olivia shook her head as she stirred the macaroni once more before turning off the heat. She quickly scooped some in two bowls that had already been set out, resting on top of a baking sheet. With her other hand, she grabbed onto a mixture of breadcrumbs and seasoning, sprinkling those on top.
"What exactly are you doing to my mac n' cheese?" Alex questioned as she watched the brunette place the baking sheet into the oven.
"Making it more suitable for Manhattan's finest Assistant District Attorney, of course. Can't have you eating a glob of cheese and pasta." Alex pulled the oven open and peeked at it, only to have the detective push the door close on her. "I'm just baking it for a bit so it'll have a crunchy topping."
"Maybe I like cheese globs and pasta," Alex teased as she leaned back and inhaled deeply. "Ben! It's dinner time, go wash up!" The sound of movement made its way to the kitchen before they could hear the water running in the bathroom.
"So what wine goes well with macaroni and cheese?" Alex raised an eyebrow at the brunette, wondering if she was serious or not.
"I can't say I've ever matched wine to macaroni and cheese but I'm willing to give it a go," She replied as she walked over to where she kept her wines, perusing through them.
A few minutes later, Ben made his way into the kitchen, and Olivia smiled as she looked over at him. The adorable boy was holding his sister under her arms as he helped her walk to the kitchen—a task that she had been trying to accomplish recently.
"Wow did you help her walk all the way in here Benjie?" Olivia questioned as she scooped up the macaroni and cheese for him and a little for Lexie as well.
"Yup! She's getting better, Mama. She even asked me for help!" Olivia smiled fondly at the boy, the word 'mama' still making her heart flutter.
"Oh did she? What did it sound like this time?" The detective teased as she placed their bowls on the table before pulling hers and Alex's out of the oven.
"She said my name! And held out her arms. I thought she wanted me to pick her up but then she started walking so I helped her."
"Well aren't you a perfect big brother." Alex grinned as she scooped Lexie up and carried her over to the sink so that she could wash her hands before she started eating. Ben found his way into his seat and grinned widely as he grabbed onto the larger bowl, smelling it.
"My favorite!" He cried out as he grabbed onto a spoon and immediately dug into it.
"Hey, can't you wait for your Mommy and sister?" Olivia teased as she brought her and Alex's bowls over. "Besides, I thought your favorite kind came out of the box."
"My favorite kind is any kind you make, Mama." Ben grinned wide and Olivia rolled her eyes playfully. He certainly knew just how to get what he wanted out of her. "And you, Mommy," Ben added once Alex sat Lexie into her chair and grabbed onto the wine glasses for her and Olivia.
"Mhm, whatever you say charmer." Alex grinned as she set a full glass down in front of Olivia and herself before sitting down next to the brunette. "Now you can eat," She teased Ben as he shoved another spoonful into his mouth, far before Alex finished her sentence.
As dinner progressed, Alex was acutely aware of Olivia's hand which had conveniently landed on her thigh the moment she sat down. She expected the brunette to give her leg a gentle squeeze like usual and then let go so that she could eat but somehow she was eating just fine with one hand. Said hand had started stroking up and down her thigh about two minutes ago and Alex found herself struggling to focus on feeding herself while making sure Lexie was fine eating on her own.
"Liv…" Olivia hummed softly in response, her hand stopping its motion and instead sneaking between the blonde's legs, her fingertips stroking against the seam of her jeans. "How much wine have you had to drink?" She teased with a raised eyebrow, subtly glancing down at the hand on her upper thigh.
Olivia shrugged as she picked up her almost full wine glass and sipped out of it. "Not much." She knew Alex already knew that and Alex knew the brunette was playing naïve.
"You seem a little…distracted this evening," Alex stated, trying her best to avoid a blunt question as Ben glanced up at them curiously before eating more of his dinner.
"Definitely not the alcohol. Maybe contact high?" Olivia grinned as her hand slid further up, her fingers finally brushing up against the seam of Alex's jeans at the apex of her legs. Of course, Alex almost dropped the wine glass that she was holding as she hardly expected Olivia to do that. It was one thing—and somewhat normal because Alex knew the detective loved her legs—for Olivia to stroke her legs in a sexual manner but the detective had never been so blunt. Although, Alex certainly wasn't complaining as she swallowed down her sip of wine and set the glass down as carefully as she could.
"Mama, can we watch the Little Mermaid tonight?"
"No!" Olivia stifled her laughter at Alex's quick reply, the blonde immediately blushing once she realized how quickly she had answered.
"Mommy's right. It's late already since I took so long to make dinner. She can read you and Lexie a book tonight while I clean up and then you two are off to bed," Olivia explained as she tried to ignore the pleading puppy-dog eyes that Ben pulled out to use on her.
"But…It's not even bedtime! What are you and Mommy going to do?"
"Mommy and I have some adult stuff to take care of, Ben," Olivia explained as her fingers pushed firmly against the apex of Alex's legs, making her meaning very clear.
"I can help! I wanna be an add-alt too!"
Olivia laughed at the eagerness in the little boy. "Sorry buddy but you won't be able to do what your mama and I are going to do until you're older than all the numbers on the clock," Alex replied as she smirked at the brunette, her own hand settling on top of Olivia's and slowly sliding it out from between her legs.
"More like military time," Olivia corrected as she raised an eyebrow at the blonde.
"What's military time?" Olivia shook her head and laughed. Ever so curious…anything to stay up a little longer.
"Military time goes from zero to twenty-four and doesn't use AM or PM. Since its seven pm right now, we'd say that's nineteen-hundred in military time," Olivia explained as she gave Alex's thigh one last squeeze before standing up. "Now go brush your teeth and do it well because Mommy is going to check!"
Ben squealed in response as he ran off into his bedroom and Alex glared at the detective. "Good hygiene is important, Liv, and you know little boys hate brushing their teeth."
"Okay tooth-nazi," Olivia teased as she started clearing off the table. "The sooner you get his teeth clean and him in bed, the sooner we can…do our adult activities." Arms circled the brunette's waist as she set the dishes into the sink and she couldn't help but smile as she turned around in long arms.
"You know…Ben is going to be brushing his teeth for at least three minutes," Alex whispered hotly in her ear as she pushed Olivia backwards and into the countertop.
Olivia chuckled as she glanced behind Alex before placing her hands firmly on Alex's hips and pushing her away a few inches. "As much as I'd love to take you on an unconventional place, we have an audience and three minutes won't be nearly enough for me."
"Ma!" Lexie giggled as she bounced up and down in her seat, perfectly aware that the women were talking about her.
Alex pursed her lips for a moment before stepping away. "Fine, hurry up with the dishes and I'll put them to bed." The blonde quickly walked over to Lexie and plucked the little girl out of her seat, not bothering to give her the chance to walk to the room like they normally did.
"Don't forget that you promised you'd read a book to Ben!"
"You promised!" Alex corrected as she slipped out of the room.
Almost an hour later, Alex quietly extracted herself from Ben's room where Lexie was sleeping peacefully next to him. Normally she would've slept in their room but she wasn't comfortable with having such a young child in the room while she was trying to have sex.
She carefully closed the door part way before heading toward her bedroom, the smile on her face growing as she pushed the door open, looking expectantly for the detective. An hour would've given Olivia plenty of time to prepare, maybe even put on something sexier than her work clothes…
Alex stopped abruptly as she took in the sight before her. Her jaw dropped slightly as her eyes trailed over the brunette spread out on their bed. She took two more steps into the room before shaking her head. Seriously? She walked over to the detective and confirmed her suspicions; Olivia was fast asleep.
Alex couldn't help but chuckle as she walked over to her dresser and pulled out her pajamas, slipping into them rather than the sexy lingerie that had long ago been pushed to the back of her drawer—they could never seem to find the time to consummate their relationship and it was driving both of them up the wall.
With a deep sigh, Alex slipped into bed next to her girlfriend, curling up underneath the covers. Out of curiosity, she pulled down the covers just a bit to reveal that Olivia had even tried to dress up for her. The detective was in a pair of black underwear that the blonde knew framed her rear end perfectly. Her breasts were pushed up nicely in a black bra, a white tank top hardly concealing anything. She figured that the brunette must've gotten cold before pulling on the tank top and curling up under the sheets.
Another day, Alex told herself as she pulled the covers back over her sleeping girlfriend and cuddled up next to her. It had to happen eventually, right? With their luck, they'd finally be able to do it on their wedding night. Alex's eyes flashed open at the thought. Wedding? Where the hell had that come from? They hadn't been dating that long. Five months was definitely too early to be thinking about that.
With a shake of her head, Alex closed her eyes again, settling back down against the pillow as her arms slid around Olivia's waist, bringing their bodies flush together. If she couldn't have sex she'd settle for the next best thing, just holding Olivia close.
The detective groaned softly, her head nuzzling against the top of Alex's. "Mm, love you, Alex…"
The blonde grinned as she pressed a kiss to Olivia's collarbone, silently confirming that Olivia was still mostly asleep. "Love you too, Liv."