"How long can you stay?" She asked while her fingers toyed with his crucifix.
"Well…" his voice held that flirtatious tone. The one that usually made her want to smack him, but right now it only made her heart pound. She wasn't the least bit surprised when he kissed her. His strong arms wrapped around her and she could feel his hands spread on her lower back. "If my UC phone stays quiet," he grinned against her lips, "I can stay all night."
"Perfect," she breathed and she pressed her lips against his…hard. Who knew how much time they actually had. They needed to talk, but she also really needed this. The reassurance. The connection. The affirmation of his love.
The force of her movement caused him to stagger backwards, but he quickly recovered. His hands slid from her back to her ass as he steadied them both. Her body already throbbed. His tongue brushed against her lips and she opened for him with a moan. His tongue swept her mouth, and he gripped her ass, pushing her impossibly closer.
Her hands moved from his shoulders, dipping beneath the hem of his shirt. She pressed her hands into his abs, as she deeply felt his body rise and fall with every ragged breath.
His hands grasped the hem of her shirt. Their lips broke apart and she slipped her hands out from under his shirt so he could quickly remove her top. The room air felt cool on her bare skin, and she could feel her chest rapidly rising and falling. Elliot kept his hands on her hips, but paused as his eyes raked over her. "God, I missed you." His rough hands ran over the curves of her body. She leaned into him, her bare skin brushing against the fabric of his shirt. Suddenly, that barrier became intolerable so she pulled away in order to toss his shirt next to hers. She groaned when his warm chest pressed against hers, and his lips roamed over her neck and shoulder. He brushed one of her bra straps off of her shoulder replacing it with his lips.
One of his hands trails across her belly and hips before settling at the edge of her pants. God she wanted this. "Bed?" The word comes out in a rushed whisper. It was less of a question and more of an inevitability. His hand trailed down her arm and she grasped his hand, leading to her room.
A trail of clothes began to form as they staggered from the door to her bed. She stepped out of her pants just as the back of her legs hit the edge of her bed. He paused only long enough for his eyes to drift over beautiful form. His lips were suddenly at her ear as he'd lowered them both down to the comfort of her mattress, "You are so goddamn beautiful," he murmured. His fingers traced a light line from the compass necklace, laying delicately against her chest, to the edge of her bra, down her sternum and to her belly button. "So damn perfect."
His mouth was again on hers, and his hands were everywhere she wanted them to be, and it was perfect. He was perfect. And just as she was teetering towards the edge, just as she was about to topple into oblivion, the words left her lips. "I love you."
-000-
Elliot did not intend for this to be a booty call, when he talked to Amanda, his only thought, his only desire was to see Olivia. Maybe talk, but this was so much better than what he imagined.
This was different than before. Last time was filled with desperation, longing and uncertainty. But this? This was different. This was warm. This was passionate. This was them.
Afterwards, they laid together in silence, a warm buzz still radiating from their bodies. Her fingers curled around her necklace. The compass.
His fingers traced the curves of her body. Her gaze focused somewhere in the distance, and she seemed absorbed in thought. He pressed his lips to her shoulder, tasting the salt from the light sweat from her flushed body. He snuggled into her, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Where are you?" He asked softly.
She sighed, but tilted her head towards him. "I'm here," she promised.
"Are you okay?" She seemed lost in thought, leaving him slightly unnerved.
Her fingers dropped from her necklace, and the compass situated itself against her breast. She turned over, hugging herself into his torso. "I'm perfect." She kissed his chest, "Just wish this didn't have to end." She hesitated, "and that you didn't have to leave." Her eyes dropped and she turned her face into him.
His heart broke and he hated himself for doing this to her. To them. But the damage was done, and he was deep into his role now. He couldn't come back. Not yet. His fingers tangled through her hair, and he wished he had a better answer for her. "I don't want to leave." He admitted. It was true, but it wasn't just the job keeping him away. He still felt stuck and lost, and while that feeling alleviated somewhat in her presence, it never let up entirely. She deserved more. More than what his broken self could give.
They both laid still, only the sound of their breathing filling the room. His hands lightly rubbed up and down her back, memorizing every dip and curve of her spine. He felt her draw in a long breath, like she was preparing to say something, ask something, but his phone began ringing, effectively obliterating the warm comfort of the moment.
Damn it damn it damn it. His phone almost never rang at night. Why now? Why tonight? Damn it. His eyes drifted to hers and he could feel her disappointment. Part of him wanted to leave it. Stay here. Pretend he never got a call. But he knew that would be stupid.
She apparently felt the same when she said, "You have to get that, El." He didn't want to get it. He wanted to stay here in this bubble with her warm body pressed into his.
He let out a frustrated groan before reaching over her to snatch his UC phone. "What!" He snapped. Lucky for him, his persona was pretty surily so he could get away with the angry frustration he felt.
"There's a problem at the shop. Boss wants ya there to take care of it." The gruff voice on the other end barked.
"What the hell could he possibly need me there for at this time at night!?"
"Hell if I know, but he said it could only be you."
"Fine. It better not be something stupid even an idiot like you could have solved." Elliot snarked.
"Go to hell." The call ended.
Elliot dropped back onto one of her pillows, and lifted a fisted hand over his head. His eyes darted to her as she sat up and started to kick her legs over the side of the bed. In one swift movement, his hand grasped her forearm, pulling her back against his chest.
"You gotta go, El." She couldn't restrain her disappointment, and honestly he couldn't either.
"Just one more minute." He needed one more minute of this, of her, before diving back down to the darkest pits of humanity.
She complied, and relaxed, allowing her body to meld into his. He placed a lingering kiss on the crown of her head. "I'm sorry."
She took a shaky breath before responding, "Just…" he knew she was holding back some emotion. "Just be careful." She tilted her face up towards his, and her large brown eyes bore into him. "I need you to come back. Okay?"
He lifted his hand to her cheek and kissed her gently, "as soon as I can," he promised, "I'll come home as soon as I can."
-000-
She didn't cry. At least not right away. It seemed cruel really. That he could be here one minute, perfect and all consuming, and the next minute be gone. She reached her hand to the spot where he laid only minutes before. The sheets were still warm so scooted over, laying her head on the pillow he previously used.
She hadn't seen him for six weeks. They only got one night, and even that was cut short. She missed him. She wanted him home.
She reached for her phone. How was she supposed to sleep now? Now that she felt so alone. To her surprise her phone screen lit up. She couldn't contain her smile when she answered, "Just breaking all the rules now, are we?"
His warm chuckled warmed her head to toe. "I was never really good at following the rules."
"Don't I know it," she teased. She rolled onto her back and pulled the comforter higher up her body. Her fingers bunched the fabric of her blankets. "How long can you talk?"
"Mmm, like a half hour."
So, he was working in the city. She didn't know if that made things better or worse. It was excruciating knowing he was close, but also so far away.
"Liv?" He said softly.
"Yeah?" She rolled onto her side.
"I'm sorry I couldn't stay."
"Me too," she admitted.
Some silence passed between them before he asked, "So uh. What's goin on with you this week?" His conversational attempt was clumsy, but appreciated.
She was a safe subject for him. He couldn't talk about work. And he wouldn't talk about the other things. Things they probably should talk about. She sighed. "Just the normal stuff really. Prepping a case for Carisi. Noah's got a science fair thing at the end of the week. Hoping Amanda's baby will come soon."
"That's right. She's getting close?" She could hear the smile in his voice. That man was a sucker for babies.
"Yeah," she smiled. "Any day now."
She heard the city sounds echoing through his end of the phone. "You get to be godmother again?"
"Of course." She laughed, "Well I guess not "officially" you stingy Catholics…" she teased.
"Hey. You were an unofficial godmother to my kids and you did better than their actual godparents."
"I don't even know who the real ones were." She really couldn't remember.
"See, that's how good they were," he joked.
They both laughed, but then fell into silence. After a moment he spoke up. "Shouldn't be too much longer."
She sighed. She wanted to believe that. She really did, but something told her this separation would be longer than either of them wanted. She wasn't sure what to say, or how to answer. "I don't want you to rush. I just want you to be safe."
"I'll be safe if you'll be safe."
She laughed at the irony. "I don't exactly have a record for reckless decision making." She tried to lighten the mood.
"No," his tone matched hers, but neither really felt any levity at the moment. "But you are the one who got shot most recently."
"Yeah," she tried a teasing tone again. "We know that was a fluke thing."
"Liv," his voice suddenly felt heavy and serious. "Just…just stay safe okay. I'll be careful, but I need you to stay safe. For Noah… and for me."
She felt the emotion behind his request, and it triggered an all too familiar wave of affection. "I love you," she admitted softly.
It still astounded her that she could admit it, and it astounded her even more every time he returned her admission with his own, "I love you too."