Picture Prompt #29: A couple kissing in the shower

Tired of Waiting

~oOo~

Olivia had just poured herself a glass of wine when the intercom buzzed. She looked at her watch: 10:25pm. Everything had been calm when she left the station. It was too late to be a visit from Rollins and she wasn't expecting any deliveries.

Her heart started to race but she tried to stamp down the thoughts that were flying through her head.

It wasn't going to be him.

She pushed the button on the intercom, wine glass in her other hand. "Yeah."

"Sorry to bother you, Ms. Benson," came the voice of her doorman who refused to call her Olivia no matter how many times he'd been asked. "There is a Mr. Stabler here to see you."

She froze, sure she wasn't hearing right. There hadn't been a single word from Elliot for months. No matter how many times she'd tried to get information from Ayanna, the woman wouldn't break. All she'd known was that he was safe and not ready to come back yet.

And now he was there. At her apartment.

Shit. Her messy, lived-in, too-busy-to-clean apartment.

"Ms. Benson?" She could imagine the smug smile on Elliot's face, down in the lobby waiting for her to respond.

"Yeah, uh, sorry," she said, wiping the sweat that had formed on her forehead with her arm, careful not to spill her wine on her white T-shirt. "You can send him up."

Noah was spending the last weekend of summer with the McCanns, but that didn't mean that his things weren't strewn everywhere. His dance bag was by the door. There was a stack of video games in front of the TV. The sink was full of dishes and all of Olivia's shoes were laying outside the hall closet.

Shit.

She left her wine next to a stack of mail and started running. She grabbed everything that belonged to Noah and threw it in his room. She pulled up her bedspread before cursing herself for considering that Elliot would even see that room. The shoes were tossed in the closet and the dishes were haphazardly piled on the top shelf of the dishwasher.

Olivia surveyed the mostly passable space, deciding it would do, when she heard his knock. She took a deep breath as she walked toward the door and opened it, revealing Elliot Stabler leaning on the door frame. She'd somehow forgotten in the time that he had been away just how much space he took up. He was a wall of muscle with a duffel bag slung over one shoulder and a healing red wound above one eyebrow.

"Hey, Liv."

There was a smirk on his lips, like he was keeping a secret or working hard to contain a much larger smile. She wanted to cry, laugh, throw her arms around him, or punch him for leaving in the first place, but what she did do was stand frozen in the doorway, hand on the door, eyes on her partner.

"I didn't realize you were back," she said, trying to buy herself a little time to slow her heart rate, which was erratic from both the frantic cleaning and from seeing him there.

"I just got back this morning," he said, adjusting the strap of the bag on his shoulder. "Haven't been home yet. Went straight to the office…and then here. Can I come in?"

Olivia gave her head a little shake. "Yeah, yeah. Sorry."

She stepped aside as Elliot walked into the apartment, his shoulder brushing against hers as he went.

He hadn't been inside her apartment since the night he brought Noah home. As he placed his bag on the floor and walked to the kitchen, far too comfortable in her space, that night was the only thing she could think of. She remembered his closeness, the desire in his eyes, the feel of his hands on her hips and his cheek against hers.

Olivia was still standing near the door when Elliot turned back to look at her. She really needed to pull herself together or he was never going to wipe that bemused look off his face. It was an expression that was doing things to her that she didn't know how to handle.

"Noah home?" he asked, as she grabbed her wine glass and walked into the kitchen, standing with the breakfast bar between them.

"He's spending the weekend in Woodstock," she said calmly, even though Elliot's presence was making her anything but. "Last hurrah before school starts. Can I get you something to drink?"

He nodded towards her glass. "That works."

Olivia nodded and made herself busy getting his drink, happy to have a momentary reprieve from looking into his eyes. "So the case…everything is wrapped up?"

"Mmhmm," he hummed. "Arms dealers. We got the kingpin, intercepted a deal that could have been a threat. All in a day's work."

"Or a couple months'," she said, handing him a glass across the counter. His eyes were soft and she couldn't help sighing into his gaze. The nervous energy she'd had started to fade away as he stood in front of her, taking her in like he'd missed her as much as she'd missed him.

"I told Ayanna I'm done with undercover," he said, the last half of his sentence muffled by the wine glass he brought to his lips.

Olivia raised an eyebrow in question and Elliot laughed. "At least long-term undercover work. An afternoon or evening here or there is one thing, but I can't go under like this anymore. It's too much of a strain and it's not fair to my kids, or…"

His voice drifted off but they both knew what the end of the sentence was. Something stirred deep in her belly knowing that she was a consideration when he was planning the future of his job. But then, this was the path they were on. As many walls as she threw up and as many times as they left things unsaid, there was an inevitable destination they were both headed toward, if only they were willing to keep moving forward.

"So what's next for you then, Detective?"

His eyes crinkled at the corners and he took another sip from his glass. "More than anything, I would like to take a shower. I traveled for…" he paused, and Olivia realized he still didn't want to share too many details of his case, "hours, spent the day at OCCB, and it's hot out there, if you hadn't noticed."

Olivia thought this was his way of saying he had to leave, but then she saw the look on his face and pulled her eyebrows together. "Here?"

He shrugged. "You do have a shower in this place, don't you?"

"And don't you have one in your own apartment?"

"You would really send me all the way home, dirty and grimy, stinking like I ran a marathon on a humid summer day?"

Olivia smiled, reveling in the back and forth that they'd always been so good at. "What I can't understand is why you thought it was a good idea to come here, dirty and grimy and smelling like you haven't bathed in a week."

"That bad?"

"It's not great."

Olivia could feel herself flirting and it made her happy. She felt light, allowing herself to have fun without overthinking everything.

"So?" he asked, with an expression that made her wonder if he was asking about more than a shower.

She rolled her eyes, even though he wasn't really putting her out as much as she was making it seem. "Towels are in the closet in the hall."

He lifted his glass, held it towards her as if in a toast, and downed its contents before straightening up and taking a step toward the bathroom. "Come with me."

"What?" she asked, the word bursting out of her as heat crawled across her face.

"It's late and I want to talk to you," he said with a shrug, like his request was nothing out of the ordinary. "You going to tell me you wouldn't fall asleep on the couch if I left you alone?"

She wanted to argue and say no, but he was right. The only reason she was still awake was because she was standing up. And filled with the adrenaline of having him in her home.

"So you want me to sit in the bathroom while you shower?" she asked, incredulous.

"Why not?"

"For many reasons," she said, even though her mind had wandered off into things she shouldn't be imagining. "Let's start with the fact that I have a clear, glass shower door."

Elliot's face was cocky and self assured, as if he knew she would go along with this. "Turn your back."

"You're serious." It wasn't a question and it was laced with her disbelief.

He offered her a final smirk before he turned and walked down the hall without a word.

Olivia stood in place, slowly spinning her wine glass on the kitchen counter. She heard the closet door open and close, as well as the one leading into the bathroom. There were a few moments of silence while she tried not to imagine Elliot removing his clothes, standing naked just a stone's throw away from her.

She heard the sound of the water followed by that of the large glass door sliding along the track.

She couldn't go in there, right? This wasn't them. She'd seen him in various states of undress over the years, but this idea of his made no sense. She could wait until he got out.

Right?

Her heart was racing as she tried to stop imagining Elliot in the shower, but the frantic beating sent the blood around her body, pulsing in places she wished it wouldn't.

Shit.

She did want to go in there, more than anything. She reasoned that by this point, steam had probably coated the shower door anyway. She could look down at the floor while she walked in and sit on the toilet lid with her back to him.

It was crazy, and maybe it was thanks to the wine, or the overwhelming exhaustion fogging her brain, but her mind was made up. She lifted her glass, took a large gulp, and walked down the hall.

Olivia paused outside the bathroom door, resting her head against the wood and taking a deep breath. She knocked lightly.

"You know you can come in, Liv."

She watched her hand reaching for the knob. It wasn't too late to turn around and walk back down the hall, but she couldn't make herself do it.

The room was hot and full of steam when she walked inside. She kept her eyes down, as she had planned, and took a seat on the lid of the toilet, facing away from him.

"Didn't think you would come," Elliot said. His voice was playful. She wasn't sure if she wanted him or wanted to kill him.

"Well I'm here." She wasn't sure what to do, so she looked down at her hands and waited.

"So how has your summer been?" he asked as if it was completely normal to have conversations with your former partner while one of them was naked…and wet.

"Uh, it was good," she said, the urge to look toward the shower getting stronger by the minute. "Noah did a couple of dance camps. McGrath took a few vacation days, which got him out of my hair for a while. So, no complaints."

He was quiet while she took a few deep breaths, the steam tickling her nose. "Not even that I wasn't around?"

"Hmm?"

"You said no complaints."

He'd caught her off guard, which made her involuntarily look up, catching a glimpse of his silhouette through the shower door.

Her eyes shot back down to her lap. Jesus, the room was stifling and seeing him wasn't helping.

"Liv." She hadn't answered his question but his voice brought her attention back as she heard the sound of the door slide open. "Hey, do you have any exfoliating stuff?"

"Are you kidding me?" she asked, abandoning her mission of averting her eyes. She stared at his face peeking out through the glass door, unable to believe that any of this was happening.

"What?" he asked with a shrug. "I have dry skin."

"And you have to exfoliate now?" She shot him an exhausted look that left him completely unfazed. "It can't wait until the next time you shower? In your own apartment?"

He didn't answer. Olivia let out a sigh, got up, and dug in the cabinet under the sink. She stared down at her feet as she carried the small pot of coconut body scrub towards the shower, but when she reached forward, her hand brushed his and she couldn't help looking up.

"Elliott." There was warning in her voice, but his hand stayed on hers. "What are you doing?"

"I missed you."

"We can't…" Her eyes found his and she couldn't continue her thought.

"Why?"

"Elliott," she said, looking back toward the floor even though his thumb was now rubbing light circles across the back of her hand. "We've talked about this."

"Yeah, and that was before Ohio," he said, giving her hand a squeeze. "Before I thought I'd lost you. It was before I went through…just a bunch of shit on this case. I don't want to wait anymore."

His hand dropped from hers and the door slid open a little further. "There's a lot of space in here," he said, "and the water's still hot."

"Tankless water heater," she told him. "It was one of the selling points that made up my mind on this place."

She kept her eyes on his as she slowly stepped out of his reach. She registered the disappointment on his face before he slid the door shut, separating them once again. With a sigh, she walked back to the toilet and sat with her head in her hands.

Elliot was quiet while Olivia wrestled with herself. He was asking too much of her. In all the time they'd known each other, they'd barely ever hugged and he was asking her to get into a shower with him. Twenty-five years of wondering, and this is how he wanted it to happen?

There would be a time when she felt Elliot's lips against hers, when he held her in her arms and she'd know all the things about him that she'd hadn't been able to experience before. But like this? She wasn't sure.

She was losing her resolve. She wanted to do the right thing. She didn't want to ruin what they had between them. But Elliot was right there, asking her to cross the line, wanting her. She was exhausted from trying to hold it all in, keep it all together.

Olivia turned to look at Elliot's form through the fogged shower door, watching as he reached to scrub his back, the room filling with the smell of coconut.

Maybe it was time to take a risk.

She stood from her place on the toilet lid and reached for the hem of her shirt, pulling it over her head before she could give it too much thought. Her hands shook as she undid the button on her jeans and slipped them down her legs, taking her underwear with them.

She closed her eyes briefly, and took a few tentative steps towards the shower. Elliot didn't seem to be aware of her, so she gave herself a few more seconds to calm her nerves before removing her bra and sliding the door open.

Olivia's eyes moved down Elliot's back, her breath catching in her chest at seeing him fully. He hadn't heard the door open, so she stepped quietly into the shower behind him, the warm spray of the water pouring over her head. She hesitated for only a moment before moving forward, pressing her chest against his back as one arm wrapped around his waist and the other closed them into the stall together.

She felt Elliot startle at the sudden feel of her against him, but he recovered quickly, placing his large hand over her forearm. He hummed a surprised yet content sound. "Hi."

"Hi."

"I didn't think you'd do it," he said. She wrapped her other arm around him and pressed the side of her face into his back, taking in the feel of his skin, his hand moving softly along her arm, and the curve of his ass pressing into her core.

"Me neither."

He grasped her hand, bringing it up to place a kiss on her knuckles. "What changed?"

Olivia sighed and snuggled into him further, the hand on his stomach playing idly with the hairs she found there. "I'm tired of waiting, too."

Without warning, Elliot spun around and took her face in her hands. There was no more than a second's hesitation where his eyes asked if it was okay and hers answered with a resounding yes, and then his lips were on hers. She sucked in a breath and she felt his lips part, his tongue brushing against her bottom lip.

It was intoxicating, better than she'd ever thought it would be. She wanted more, all of it, anything she could get. Her arms reached up over his shoulders, one hand sliding up his neck to the back of his head. She opened her mouth to his, their tongues finding each other's as an involuntary moan escaped from somewhere deep inside her.

She could feel all of him against her, and it was dizzying to know that they were here after all this time. It was everything she'd ever wanted but never believed she could have.

"Olivia." He said it into her mouth like a prayer before stepping back, his eyes taking in her nearly sixty-year-old, scar-covered body for the first time. "You're…"

She wanted to smile, big and goofy, like a child whose birthday wish came true, but she kept it in check as her eyes dragged slowly across the planes of Elliot Stabler while the shower splashed down on her back. He was big, everywhere. Muscles and curves, tattoos and definition. She shook her head in disbelief, her smile betraying her.

Elliot's hands found her hips, sliding up her ribcage, brushing the sides of her breasts. "So beautiful."

It was a whisper, as if he were saying it more to himself than to her. She placed a palm flat against his chest and watched her fingers as she moved them lower, to his abs then his hip, stopping just before reaching the place she knew they both wanted her fingers to go.

His hand went to the back of her neck, tangled in her wet hair, and he pulled her to him, his mouth hot on her neck, placing sloppy wet kisses between small soft sucks as he moved down to her collarbone. She gasped as a hand found her breast, squeezing it in his palm.

"El…"

He stopped to look at her, eyes hungry but searching. "This okay?"

Her throat suddenly felt tight with emotion as she tried to wrap her head around what was happening, so she nodded, her eyes filling with tears.

Elliot smiled, big and excited, and she remembered it was them. It just felt right. Everything was going to be okay and knowing that made her want him more.

This time, her hands cupped his face as she pressed her lips hard against his. Her mouth opened, eliciting a groan from him. She felt frantic—kissing him while her hand roamed across his body, down his back, to cup his ass. She pulled him to her, his desire evident against her belly.

He had one hand in her hair as the other traveled between them, fingers playing against the trimmed curls between her legs. Her head fell back, water from the shower landing on her face, as his finger slid between her folds.

He stepped them back so only her hair was under the shower. His mouth left hers, traveling back down her neck to her chest. She opened her eyes to see Elliot's tongue circle her nipple before he took it into his mouth, sucking deep and hard.

His tongue and fingers worked in tandem bringing her so close to the edge, so quickly she could barely process what was happening. His fingers circled with the exact amount of pressure she needed as his mouth left her nipple and moved to her other breast.

She needed to touch him. She was about to fall apart and she was desperate to know how he felt in her grasp. She slid her hand between them, wrapping her fingers around him, eliciting a hiss from between his lips.

"Livia…"

She gripped him a little tighter as the thought of holding him like this made her orgasm come even more into focus. She lifted a leg up to his hip, holding onto him with her leg hanging long down the side of his own.

They were so close that when she pumped her hand, she felt it against both their bellies. Elliot made a sound that she'd never heard from him before, but she only had a moment to appreciate it when one of his fingers slipped inside of her.

"Oh my god, Elliot!"

She was already losing control when he added another finger, thrusting in and out while his mouth went back to her neck. She moved her own hand faster, up and down his length in an erratic pattern as she tried to hold on.

Elliot groaned, his mouth next to her ear making goosebumps form along her skin. "So…sexy."

"I can't," she said as she squeezed her eyes shut tight. Her head fell back. "I'm gonna…I…"

His thrusts kept going as his thumb found her clit and all at once she was gone, pulling him to her as she mumbled sounds and intelligible words into his chest.

Olivia took deep breaths as she came down, the smell of the coconut filling her brain. She knew she'd never again think of anything else but this moment when she used that body scrub.

Elliot wrapped his arms around her and she lowered her leg back to the shower floor. Her hip let out a pop and she laughed a little–at what sex was like at this age, but also from the sudden awkwardness she felt that Elliot had seen her that way.

"Hey, Liv, look at me," he said as his thumb and forefinger grasped her chin to tip her head up toward him. His eyes were soft, making her melt further into him. "You're beautiful."

Olivia could feel a blush on her cheeks and ducked her head so her forehead rested against his.

She reached behind her to turn off the water, suddenly wanting nothing more than to have him in her bedroom. "Let's get out of here."

They didn't talk as they got out of the shower and toweled themselves off. Olivia caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, eyeliner smudged and hair in tangles. She hadn't even used soap or washed anything while in the shower, but none of that mattered as she opened the bathroom door and walked silently to her bedroom, Elliot at her heels.

She turned to face him as he waited patiently for her to take the lead. She gave her head a small shake, still unable to believe they were there, and stepped toward him. She reached out and unhooked the towel at his waist, letting it fall to the floor before he did the same with hers.

Her hands traveled across his chest, to his abs, all the way down and around to cup his ass. He held her breasts in his hands, thumbs playing idly with her nipples.

"I never thought…" he started and his eyes met hers.

"I know."

Always in sync, they moved together, their lips meeting as they walked together to the bed. The back of her legs bumped up against the mattress and Elliot easily lifted her to sit on the edge. She could see what he was going to do before he even started.

"Elliot, you really don't have to—"

"Yes, I do," he said with a tone that was dead serious. "God, Liv. I don't even want to tell you how long I've wanted to do this."

Olivia smiled and ran her hand along his head and down his cheek. He placed a kiss on her thumb as it ghosted across his lips.

Raising one eyebrow and giving her a cocky look, he lowered himself to his knees. He kissed a line up the inside of her thigh, painfully slow and so unbelievably sexy. She watched in awe as his tongue poked out of his mouth, sliding into her, running bottom to top.

She wanted to keep watching, but her eyes closed involuntarily as the sensations from his mouth overwhelmed her. Elliot nuzzled his face into her more deeply and her head fell back, her body arched as she held herself up on her elbows.

He was good at this, working her up like they'd been doing this for decades rather than doing the exact opposite. She reached for him, but her fingers could only find the top of his head.

"Elliot, I need… Elliot…"

He hummed and it reverberated through her body, causing her to emit a guttural sound that she'd never heard herself make before.

"Elliot, I want you," she said, trying to grip him while his tongue continued to swirl. "I don't want to wait anymore. Please."

He looked up and smiled. "Good, because I think my knees are too old for this."

Olivia sat up, reached under his arms, and pulled him towards her, scooting back along the bed as his weight pressed on top of her. She could feel every inch of him along her skin but she arched her back, pressing her hips up against him in a need to feel more.

Elliot met her hips with his own, the force of which pushed her deep into the mattress. He slid back and forth, teasing her with a smile on his face.

"Detective Stabler, I think you are enjoying that a little too much," she said, her voice breathy as she squirmed beneath him.

"Don't act like you aren't," he said, placing a kiss on her neck. "Captain."

Olivia pushed his chest with both hands, making him frown, before she flipped them and straddled his hips. She looked down at him through a curtain of wet hair and smirked. "It's not bad."

Elliot scoffed, but she bent forward to kiss his chest and neck. The sound he made when her lips met his pulse point sent a shiver through her body. She ground her hips into him as she continued to kiss and lick any part of him she could reach. She rocked her hips against him until he groaned and grabbed her wrist.

"I'm going to embarrass myself if you keep moving like that."

"Is that so?" she asked, and languidly pushed herself up against him.

His mouth fell open as a moan escaped his lips. Olivia watched him in amazement, wanting to see him like this every second of every day.

"Yeah, uh…yeah. Mmhmm," he mumbled and she smiled and sat up straight, running her hands idly across his chest.

Olivia reached between them, lining them up. His eyes met hers, big and blue. His hand came up to tuck her hair behind her ear. He caressed her face as she sank down slowly, gasping when her pelvis met his.

"Elliot, god…" She tucked her chin to her chest as she took a moment to adjust, but it didn't take her long. It felt like he was made for her, the perfect fit, her other half.

She started to move, a small sound escaping her throat as he hit all the right places inside her. His hands went to her hips as she tossed her head back and rocked into him. It was perfect. It was everything.

It was Elliot.

She felt her breasts bouncing a second before he reached up and cupped them. She leaned into him as she found a pace that made them both gasp.

"Liv, I have to, I'm gonna…"

She could feel the pressure building inside her. She leaned forward, rubbing against him with every thrust and let out a little yelp. "So close, El. I'm so close."

His eyes were shut, his mouth pulled into a tight line of concentration. His muscles strained against her as he gripped her hips hard enough to leave marks.

Her breathing got faster as she felt her climax build. "Elliot, fuck!"

His eyes shot open at the profanity on her lips and locked on hers. That was all she needed. She called out his name as every part of her body lit on fire. She felt his muscles tighten under her as he pulled himself toward her, thrusting up as he found his own release.

Olivia felt like a rag doll, unable to hold herself up any longer, so she let herself fall weightless up against his chest. His hands smoothed along her back as they worked to let their breathing slow. She rested her cheek against his skin, turning slightly to place a kiss among his soft hair.

Elliot hummed and hugged her tight.

"I had no idea my night would go like this," she said, her voice gruff from calling out.

"I'd hoped it would," he said. Olivia rested her chin on his chest and shook her head at the toothy smile on his face.

"You planned that?"

"I fantasized that," he corrected, his hand playing with the strands of her hair lying long down her back. "I just didn't think it would actually happen."

Olivia felt sudden panic rising in her stomach, worried about all the things she'd always worried about, even while Elliot was still inside her.

"So," she said, nervously biting her bottom lip. "What now?"

He pulled her forward and lifted his head from the pillow to kiss her hairline.

"Now we sleep." He said it simply like it was the only obvious, most natural answer. And maybe it was.

She nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck, breathing him in and releasing a content sigh. "Okay, partner."

The author of this SVU - Quills & Shutters story will be revealed in October