Quote Prompt #37: "You pierce my soul. I am half agony. Half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever." — Jane Austen, 'Persuasion'

Pierce My Soul

~oOo~

In a crowded room, Elliot had always been able to sense Olivia. They could be in the middle of an investigation with cops and witnesses and suspects around them; he'd always known where she was. Ten years apart hadn't changed that.

When Elliot arrived at Fin's wedding (or not wedding), Elliot had found her in seconds. He glanced towards her immediately. They'd always been like magnets, drawn together by a force outside of their control.

Tonight seemed like the perfect opportunity to hopefully move their relationship forward. He was tired of being stuck in the purgatory of grief. He was ready—ready to acknowledge his heart belonged to Olivia.

They danced together a few times before deciding to take a moment to themselves. Elliot knew Fin was keeping a close eye on his captain. He wasn't going to let anyone hurt Olivia.

Noticing how cold she seemed, Elliot went to grab his coat for her. He was returning when he overheard her talking with one of the guests. He didn't recognize the couple with her and decided to wait, listening in to the conversation.

"What about you, Captain? No wedding bells for you?"

Olivia laughed. It was a forced, heavy sound that didn't sit right with him. "Romance doesn't seem to be on the cards for me. I'm married to the job."

While Olivia extracted herself from the conversation, Elliot was reminded of a quote from a movie Kathleen had forced him to watch recently. He grabbed his phone, draping the coat over his other arm. He wanted to get the words right.

For her.

For the potential of them.

"El? Thought you got lost." Olivia lifted up the two glasses of wine in her hands. "I grabbed us drinks."

"Here. Let me." Elliot unfurled his coat and waited until she turned to set it carefully over her shoulders. "There."

"Something on your mind?" Olivia asked when he guided her away from the party until they were standing alone. She held out one of the glasses of wine to him. "El?"

"Listen." Elliot had thought it was such a good idea five seconds ago but faced with those glittering brown eyes—his courage was starting to fail him. "I…"

"El?"

"Just don't laugh." Elliot saw her gaze dart to his ears which had undoubtedly turned red. "I've been trying to reconnect with my kids. Rebuild our relationships."

"Right."

"And the girls wanted a movie night with dad." Elliot knew he was drawing it out unnecessarily, but he wanted her to understand. He didn't want any more misunderstandings. "They got to pick the movie."

Olivia's lips twitched, but she didn't give in to the urge to laugh at him. "Oh?"

"I wasn't paying attention to most of it, but there was…there was a part in the movie where one character wrote a letter to the other. And it's burned into my brain." Elliot took a hasty sip of his wine. "It was everything I've felt about you—about us. Everything but said far more clearly than I could ever express."

"Gonna quote a movie to me?" Olivia reached out to rest her hand on his forearm when he shrugged. "Tell me."

"You pierce my soul." Elliot had to clear his throat before continuing. All the amusement had disappeared out of Olivia's eyes; her hand tightened on his, and she seemed to sway a little closer to him. "I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone forever."

"Elliot."

Elliot forced himself to continue. He wanted her to hear everything. The whole moment from the movie that had captured his feelings for her. "I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own…"

Before Elliot could finish the quote, Olivia had caught him by his tie. She dragged him forward until their lips met. He somehow managed to loop his arm around her and set his wineglass down on the wooden railing behind him. Her fingers had a tight grip on his tie, refusing to let him go.

Not that he wanted her to release him. He was happy for her to hold onto him forever. She had fully pierced his soul over twenty years ago—and he'd never been the same.

"You interrupted me." Elliot grinned when she finally leaned back, reaching up to run her thumb across her lips. "I wasn't finished."

"Seemed like you were finished." Olivia straightened his tie out before slipping her arm around to loop around his neck. "What else was there?"

"Something about loving you—and having loved you from the beginning." Elliot glanced over her shoulder to where people were still dancing. He could see Fin keeping an eye on them. "Dance with me again?"

"Again?"

"I want to make up for all the times I couldn't ask you." Elliot took her glass out of her hand and set it beside his. "What do you think, Benson? Have a dance left in you?"

"Maybe one. Just for you."

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