Enjoy :)

Dick Wolf owns everything

Simplicity

They had gotten Noah to school just in time for class to start. He had begged them to let him play hooky and Olivia almost said yes, but her parent mind thought better of it. Plus, she was excited to spend the day with El and she promised Noah tomorrow they would do whatever he wanted to do. Just the three of them.

"Is that ok?" Olivia asked him after Noah got out of the car. He had been acting differently all morning. Since he came into her bathroom, and she noticed something there in his eyes. She wasn't sure what was off, but she knew him. He would tell her nothing was wrong and hold it all in, like they both used to do.

Things were different now between them in the best way. She had let all her guards down, let him back in her heart, which was a lie because he had always been there, but now she had stopped denying it. And they had discussed, argued, and shared things that they would have normally buried. She was feeling so good about herself and her life now with him in it.

All her walls were down. She had been vulnerable and leaned on him, and he hadn't run. He hadn't broken down and stormed off. He had pulled her close to him, soothed her in a way that she thought at one time would have only ever happened in her dreams.

"Yea of course…" he said a small question in his eyes as to why she would think it wouldn't be ok. "I love spending time with Noah… you know that." And he smiled at her. His eyes bright.

And she did know. She smiled back and nodded, feeling warmth spread over her at how much he already loved her son.

Maybe she was just being paranoid. She had a bad habit of waiting for the other shoe to drop. With every relationship she ever had, she knew at some point it would end. For most of her adult existence the men in her life would leave her, and at some point, she decided she needed to be the one to leave them first… before she got too attached. Something her and her therapist had talked about at length. It had been obvious.

Abandonment issues.

She always hated that phrase. It was so cliché… made her feel weak somehow. And yet she knew there was clear truth behind that description of herself.

She had always had an issue with abandonment considering how she came to be and how her mother had not dealt with it and used the bottle to forget. People who knew this about her couldn't really fault her for it. Then Elliot had left and tore her wide open. She was a walking broken mess for months and did her best to glue herself back together but never really healed.

Until this… until Elliot came back into her life and swept her off her feet and loved her in a way only he could. Healed her. Made her feel more herself than she had felt in years. Ten to be exact.

For a long time, she thought maybe she had a problem with commitment. A fear of it. She wasn't against marriage, or getting married, but the thought of it ending in divorce… or being stuck in a relationship that fizzled out was… terrifying. All the married couples she had crossed paths with on the job always seemed… resentful. She didn't want to ever feel caged or stuck… or… well… abandoned. It always seemed to come back to that. So, she chose to be alone. To protect herself.

But this was Elliot. She didn't need to protect herself from him… anymore. And she only protected herself from him in the past because she had to. He was married and not hers to want.

He was the only one she ever wanted. Truly wanted. She knew that now. And knowing what life could be without him… she never wanted to feel that again. So yes, she was terrified, but only because to lose him in any capacity again would be… the end for her. It wouldn't be something she could move on from and that thought scared her.

But he is here now… and he is hers. He has been more open and honest with her in the last few weeks than all the years they were partners. She had seen whole new sides to him, and most importantly he wanted her to. Her walls were down, and he loved her.

Loves her… he's in love with her. And she's in love with him.

She didn't want to ruin this day with him over nothing, so she put her worries in the back of her mind. There were a few errands she wanted to run, and then she had some ideas on how they could spend the rest of the day. Noah had baseball practice after school so they wouldn't need to pick him up till after six.

"I need to run by a hardware store and a drug store if that's ok El. Then we can swing by your apartment." She said looking at him as she started her car.

"Sounds like a plan beautiful." He said and took her hand in his.

EOEOEOEOEOEOEOEO

They got back to Olivia's apartment around ten which left them all day. There was something so sweet to her about being able to do these everyday things with him. Normally she was left to do errand things by herself or if she was working too much, Lucy would offer.

While they were in the hardware store, she had sent El to find her some nails and a hammer to hang some new pictures for her, so she could sneak off and get a copy of her key made for him without him knowing.

He had always had a key to her place. Even early on in their partnership he had made some comment about her living alone and how no one would be able to help her if there was an emergency. She had of course rolled her eyes at him and made some smartass sarcastic comment at his obvious worry for her. But later that day she had run out and made a copy and left it on his desk for him to find in the morning.

He had taken it and never said a word about it. But she knew it meant something to him. It had meant something to her. And now it would mean even more.

He had mentioned leaving Lucy's key on the counter for her, and Liv had noticed the slight sadness in his voice. That's when she realized she wanted him to have a key to her place.

"Hey sweets…" Olivia said putting her bad down on the counter.

He smiled and eyed her. "Yes, my love?" he said moving to place his hands on the counter facing her.

How two words make her knees feel week, she'd never know. Maybe it was because he was saying it… about her. His love… she is his love. She couldn't keep the smile off her face.

"I got you something at the hardware store…" Olivia said raising her eyebrow.

"Oh?" He said clearly curious. What on earth could she have bought him at a hardware store.

Olivia slid her hand in her front pocket and pulled out a key and placed it on her counter. He couldn't believe it. She was giving him a key to her apartment. It might as well be the actual key to his heart because she had always had it even before he knew her.

Emotion swept over him. He remembered the first time she had given him her key. Well, she hadn't actually given it to him. He had brow beat her about it and she had left it for him on his desk. He never brought it up again for fear he'd say too much. Too much about how it meant the world to him that she trusted him to have a key to her home. The only person who had a key to her home.

And after that he had only used it on a few occasions. He felt like he couldn't… well shouldn't. It was well… only for emergencies. This key was different. They weren't partners at work anymore. He could use this key now whenever he wanted. That was the point of it. Letting him in. He felt the ultimate honor of her sharing her home with him.

She stood there waiting for him to take it… or at least say something.

"El…" she said a little hesitancy in her voice.

He looked up at her, seeing that she was questioning if what she had just done was good or not. He quickly moved around the counter to her side and pulled her into him.

She felt him take a deep breath in, tightening his grip on hers. She sank into him, bringing her arms around his neck, standing on her toes to fit herself to him better. She smiled into his neck.

He felt her lips on him, and he needed more. He pulled back to look at her and grabbed the back of her neck pulling her lips to his. He heard her hum happily and it was the most satisfying sound. He lazily slid his lips over hers, taking his time. He could do this all day. He would happily sit on her couch and make out with her like a teenager.

He finally ended their slow and simmering kiss and when he looked at her, she had this lazy smile on her face, and it took her a minute to open her eyes. It was so damn cute and amazingly arousing.

Once she regained her composure, she grabbed the key off the counter and handed it to him.

"And it's not just for emergencies…" she said, winking at him. He laughed at her comment and swayed with her.

"You are just too damn cute for your own good…" he said genuinely smiling at her. She snorted a laugh at his comment and then they both laughed at her response.

Elliot let go of her and dug his keys out of his pocket. He took a key off, and replaced it with the new one Liv had just given him.

Olivia watched as he set down the other key on her counter.

"What's that one for?" She asked.

Elliot looked up at her. He knew after he told her it might turn into something heavy for them.

"It's the key to your old place…" he said looking into her eyes, trying to gauge her reaction to this piece of news.

Olivia looked at the key and then back at Elliot.

You… you kept the key to my old apartment?" She said and she felt her heartbeat quicken.

He smiled and looked down at that key. A key he thought he'd never get rid of… till now.

"Yea… you gave it to me…" he paused. "It's been on my key ring for almost twenty-three years."

Olivia felt the full weight of what he just said wash over her.

Of course it had. Of course he wouldn't have taken it off…. That meant he had it all these years.

He had it in Italy.

Olivia cleared her throat and tried like hell not to cry over this. It was just so… him… and that hit her hard. Even when he left her, he couldn't help himself. He took pieces of them… of her with him. He couldn't have known she moved, and yet he had kept it anyway. And not only did he keep it, but it was on his key ring. Not tucked away in a box or tossed in a drawer.

It was on his key ring. A ring that he kept in his pocket. A ring that went everywhere with him… and crossed an ocean.

He hadn't talked about Italy since she asked him not to standing in the park in the snow. It was too hard for her to imagine a whole other life for him over there. One that didn't include her. She knew it was selfish to feel that way, but with everything that has happened between them now, it was hard to think about.

But she had been there. In his mind… his heart… and on his key ring.

"I can't believe you kept that…" she said, and it was the truth. He just softly smiled at her.

"I figured you would have gotten rid of it at some point over the last ten years… or lost it." Olivia said, looking into his eyes now.

"Never." He said. His voice was stern but his eyes were soft. He heard a shaky breath slip out of her.

He chuckled to himself. He knew she didn't want to hear about Italy but, he was going to test the waters a little.

Elliot wrapped his arms around her again and slid his hands onto her lower back pulling her back into him.

"There wasn't a day that went by while we were apart that I didn't think about you."

He could see her eyes becoming glassy, and she dropped her chin and her eyes down.

He waited for her to come back to him. Once she lifted those beautiful long lashes and met his eyes again, he continued.

"Liv… I know talking about Italy… is… hard for you." He said, feeling her fidget slightly in his arms.

"But I need you to know… I never stopped thinking of you. I never stopped loving you… I kept this key because well… you're home. You've always been home to me, and I knew at some point I was going to come back to you. Kathy knew it too…" he said and breathed out a heavy breath.

Olivia eyed him carefully. "What do you mean?" She asked.

Ok he thought. This was going to be a big confession. She had shared all her darkest moments with him, put herself on the line… and he wanted to do the same. Normally he kept his marital problems between him and Kathy… but Olivia is the love of his life. There was nothing he wouldn't tell her… nothing he wouldn't want to share with her. He was just a little worried about how she would take it. He knew her. She would blame herself. But that wasn't the case.

"Well… the last few months in Italy things were… fine, but we both could feel the divide. We still loved each other but, we were just going through the motions… we weren't in love anymore." He said taking a breath.

It had been a long time since he had been in love with Kathy. He knew it and she knew it. And it wasn't like she was in love with him, and he was the one that had changed. They both fell out of love with each other decades ago. It hadn't been until Olivia entered his life that he realized it. He had stayed out of duty. Out of a love that was young but couldn't stand the test of time. Even with five children.

"We both were looking for something else and and a new country and an ocean couldn't fix that." He added.

Olivia tightened her grip on him. He could feel her barely breathing. He knew her mind was running… running over all the details of his marriage that she knew, all the nights she forced him to go home when really all he wanted so desperately was to drive home with her. But she didn't know that then. She didn't know how every moment away from her, his heart ached. His soul longed for her. It wasn't her fault. He and Kathy weren't meant to be. His heart had always belonged to someone else.

To Olivia.

It really didn't paint him in the best light though. He thought what he was doing was the right thing. But all he had done was push Kathy into a small part of his life. Keep her there. Share… well nothing really with her… not his feelings, not his anger, not his pain… not his dreams or wants or desires. And that wasn't fair to either of them. Their kids were all they really shared at the end. They had been leading separate lives for a long time, and Italy only put a band aid on it.

Band aids don't fix bullet holes…

They had tried. They had really tried but…

He needed her to know it wasn't her fault.

"Liv… don't even think for one second that you're to blame for my marriage problems. It was never your fault… I need you to know that." He said, and her eyes reflected softness back to him. He could still see a hint of guilt, but he'd settle for what she was telling him silently. Just like how his guilt for leaving would never go away, he knew the guilt she felt for feeling like she didn't do enough to keep his family intact would always be there too.

But she needed to know she is his family too. She's never been an outsider looking in, as much as she may have felt that way. She is his family.

"I know you've always felt like you needed to keep my family together…" and her eyes darted down and then back up at him quickly.

"But Liv… you are my family. Just because I was married and had kids when we met… it didn't mean you and I weren't connected in that way."

She settled softly back into him sliding her hands over the back of his neck. He could feel her accepting what he was telling her.

"Then Fin called." Elliot took a second remembering that phone call. He smiled to himself.

"He told me about your award… told me to call you…" he said laughing quietly to himself. Olivia raised her eyebrows to his chuckle.

"I was… too nervous… to call. I wanted to hear your voice so badly… I'd spent years hearing it in my dreams and now I had a chance to hear it… and I guess I chickened out."

She smirked at his remark. She had never seen this man chicken out. Never. It was funny to think that of all things and all people, she was the one who made him nervous. Again, another side of Elliot she didn't know existed.

Elliot felt the heaviness of those moments after he had talked to Fin. It seemed like a lifetime ago. He had dialed her number a hundred times that night only to hang up. What would he say? What could he say?

That's when he wrote the letter. He told Kathy it was for her award ceremony, but it wasn't. It was a back up plan in case she didn't want to see him or talk to him. He knew there was a chance of that, he wouldn't have blamed her. But he needed her to know… just how much she meant to him. It all felt so silly to him now. His worry… his fear… his nervousness. It had all amounted to nothing in the end because he was here now, holding her in his arms.

"So, I told Kathy about it, and she was the one that suggested we go. To support you… but I knew… I knew I wasn't going back to Italy. I also think Kathy knew it too. There was no way I could see you, and then…" he paused trying to quell his aching heart at even the thought of saying the words.

"Leave again…" Olivia finished for him. She could see the instant flash of pain and guilt in his eyes. She hadn't meant to say it so quickly, it just came out.

"Sorry…" she said a little sheepishly giving him a small smile.

He brushed her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear and then left his fingers to slide through her soft locks till his hand found the nape of her neck.

"I will never leave you again. Ever…" he said with immense clarity in his voice. Making sure she heard him.

"I know…" she said calmly making deep eye contact with him. Connecting their souls with two words. Letting him know she heard him, and she believes it.

He looked deep into her eyes seeing himself there. Seeing everything that had transpired between them in the last twenty-three years. Their partnership, his leaving, the endless nights he spent thinking about her, the trauma she went through and the joy of that little boy of hers and finally the whirlwind romance that took his breath away every single time he thought about it.

"Liv… sometimes the choices you make… are the wrong ones… even when you think they're right. Loving someone and settling are different things… but knowing…" he paused feeling his own emotions move inside him, "Knowing you've found the one you're meant to be with… it's… it's everything."

Her eyes became glassy with tears again at his brutal honesty. She felt the same way. It was everything.

Is everything.

Elliot and Noah are everything to her. How this man could love her so much, and pine for her… holding a burning torch that never went out… she'd never understand, but she also now would never question it.

She could ask herself the same thing. How could she love a man who she'd faced death with, argued with, hated herself for loving for years… and yet as complicated as their journey to get here was, loving him was the simplest thing she has ever done. And it was everything.

She just… loved him. Unconditionally.

And that was it. There were no conditions. There was no, in the cover of darkness… or only in her dreams. All the strings holding them, hooking them, pulling them back from each other had been cut. And now it was simple.

All the thoughts that once raced through her head… like would they be compatible… what her body looked like… would he be attracted to her… how they would tell everyone… it all seemed like little bumps in the road, not impossible hurdles. Nothing was too complicated now that Elliot was in her bed, and she had finally been able to give him all of her.

She felt her immense desire for him burn deep in her stomach and if she didn't do anything about it quickly, she would go up in flames right here in his arms.

She brought her lips to his in a flash, and glued herself to him, pulling him closer to her with her right hand, while her left hand moved over his neck, and into his short hair, cementing their lips together.

His hand fisted in her shirt, and the other smoothed over her jaw as he parted her lips with his tongue, kissing her back with just as much need as she had. She seemed to have a way of making his dick hard in an instant just with her mouth.

She was beginning to feel lightheaded from all the heat between them, so she hooked her leg around his, knowing he would keep them grounded until he couldn't. She could feel how hard he was already, and her own body trembled at the anticipation of sex with him. It had been too long without him all over her. They both deserved medals for never crossing this line during their partnership because if either of them had known just how impossibly good it was… they both would have destroyed each other.

His hand then slipped down her side, and both of his hands found the top of her jeans and slid down between her pants and her skin to her ass and gripped her.

He groaned in her mouth when he realized she wasn't wearing any underwear. Goddamn he thought… there was something so incredibly sexy about Liv being bare under her jeans. The arousal it caused made him almost incoherent.

He pulled her into his erection, and to his heart's desire, she breathlessly moaned his name in his ear. They were both still fully clothed and just the sound of his name on her lips in pure desire was enough to almost shatter his resolve.

He spun them in the direction of her hallway as her lips found his again, and this time her tongue sought his out. He was trying to get them to her bedroom before she made his knees buckle, but she had other ideas. She broke their kiss unwillingly.

"Couch…" she demanded before moving her hands to his ass and pulling him and his burdened erection into her eliciting a desperate moan from both of them and sending a devilish smile across her face.

Her lips were at his ear again, "I can't wait that long…" she whispered, and then pulled his earlobe in her mouth.

How could he not oblige her request?

He hauled her up against him and in two steps he flung himself into a sitting position on her couch, Olivia straddling him. His hand slipped out of her jeans and unbuttoned the front of them, pulling the zipper down. He needed more access. He needed more room and more skin.

He felt her breath quicken as she used her position to rock herself against him through their clothes. His hands slipped back under her jeans to her ass helping her rock herself into him. She placed her hands on his chest, as her head dropped back, arching into him.

His mouth watered watching her. With her head back she exposed an expanse of skin his lips hungered for. God she was killing him with this show she was giving, and yet he couldn't tear his eyes off her to do anything about it.

He could feel her shutter at the sensation the friction was causing her, and he knew just how wet she would be. And he just couldn't take it anymore. He needed a taste.

He yanked on her pants, but the position she was in only allowed them to come down so far. Just the top of her beautiful ass was now out of her jeans, but it wasn't enough. He connected his mouth to the skin on her chest that his lips had been aching for and tried to turn them so he could lay her down and get her pants off.

She was coming back from the edge he brought her to, and her mind and body were still in a frenzied state. His lips were now sending goosebumps rippling across her skin and she was getting overwhelmed by her sheer need for him. It was driving her out of her mind. The throbbing between her legs, and the scorching trail of heat his lips were leaving all over her skin had her in a blissful fog.

Before either of them knew it, they had fallen from the couch and onto the floor in El's efforts to move them. They were now wedged in between the couch and the coffee table, Olivia still on top. Elliot quickly shoved the table out of their way, planning to roll her under him so he could take her pants off, but then she sat up and whipped her shirt over her head, and he was trapped in the mesmerizing view of the goddess above him with all her beautiful golden skin.

Her bra was sheer turquoise lace, and he could see her pebbled nipples and they distracted him from his current plan. His hands slid up her torso and covered her full breasts, his thumbs finding her nipples and teasing them through the thin fabric.

He moved his hands to her back and pulled her down to him and kissed her fervently as he found the clasp and unhooked her bra, pulling it out from between them.

When the rough skin of his hands cupped her breasts again, it sent a throaty moan out of the back of her throat that made Elliot jerk under her.

His sharp movement beneath her reminded her that he still had all his clothes on. And that just wouldn't do.

She started to unbutton his jeans, biting her bottom lip in the anticipation of being reminded just how much his body reacted to hers. She wanted to see and feel just how hard he was for her. She wanted to taste him and send him into a bliss riddled spiral. But he grabbed her hands before she could get peek, holding them where they were.

"You first…" he teased, a wicked grin forming on his lips. The second she went for his pants the thirst he had to taste her was renewed.

She huffed at him, in no mood for playing games, and stood up and shimmied out of her jeans as he pulled his shirt off, tossing it off to the side of her living room somewhere.

Olivia then yanked on his jeans from the bottom, and he lifted himself a little to help her pull them off. He reached up and immediately grabbed her arm pulling her back down to him. Their lips connected again, and his hands roamed over all her naked skin as she slid up against his cock.

"I wanna taste you…" he whimpered in between their lips sliding over each other's. She could feel herself getting wetter by the second, and her mind was turning to mush.

He gripped her hips and then pulled her by her thighs up his body and moved his arms underneath her, so she was now straddling his face.

The second he brought his mouth to her, she doubled over trying to find something to hold on to keep her from collapsing.

"Ohhh my God… Elllliiooottt…" she moaned. She took a sharp breath in as his tongue flicked at her core, and then his lips closed around her and sucked.

"So fucking good…" she murmured licking her lips. Her mouth felt dry with all the panting she was doing, and she remembered how much she had wanted to taste him.

She turned herself quickly around before Elliot had too much time to protest, and moved herself back over his face, her ass now in full view. His heart almost stopped when he realized what she was doing.

She leaned over him kissing her way down his abdomen, and she heard him suck in a sharp breath, and then moan her name when she touched him. He was so thick and hot in her hands… he was perfect. She slid her thumb over his tip, and she felt his hands slide up her ass and heard him hum with contentment.

His hands pulled her back to his mouth by her hips as she slid him in her mouth. There was something so completely erotic about them both giving each other oral pleasure at the same time.

As much as he satisfied her in every way, it was just as satisfying for her to give him pleasure.

She kept her hand at the base of him, taking him in her mouth a little farther each time, and swirling her tongue on his tip. She could feel herself on the edge, and by the sounds Elliot was making he was close too.

His moans made his lips vibrate sending her into an orgasmic saturated spiral. He slid his tongue into her and circled her clit with his thumb and she shot up, the sensation catapulting her into oblivion. She arched back, and screamed his name as she came, shaking and trembling over his face.

Olivia desperately wanted Elliot to come as her orgasm was still rocketing through her, and with all the mental capacity she had left, she took him back in her mouth, moaning as she licked and sucked him hard, and she felt his mouth leave her as his thumb was still stimulating her trying to keep her orgasm going.

"FUCK… Liv… I'm gonna come…." he growled. And before she knew it, she was tasting him.

EOEOEOEOEOEOEOEO

They both laid on her living room floor, breathing hard, and totally spent. Olivia's eyes were closed as she laid on her back, and she had a lazy smile across her face. They were both still facing opposite directions, and Elliot's hand was slowly tracing up and down her leg.

She started to giggle and took a deep breath in and sighed. She felt like a teenager again.

"Well, I guess there's a first time for everything." She said and laughed again.

Elliot sat up, groaning as he did and looked at her.

"First time… huh?" he said, a boastful look on his face.

"Hmmm yea… I've never wanted to do that before… you." She said not even caring that Elliot had that smug grin she sometimes hated on his face, and that comment would only inflate his ego more.

His grinned widened.

She smiled and rolled her eyes at him, sitting up on her elbows, surveying the damage to her living room.

"So beautiful… what do you want to do now?" he asked, his smug grin softening into the content one she saw every time he looked at her.

"Hmm… I think…" she said eyeing him coyly, "A nice long bath sounds good…" and she pushed herself up, gave him a quick kiss, stood and walked down the hallway.

El sat there for a second before he heard her yell, "Are you coming?"

Oh yes… he thought, and he got up and headed for her bathroom.