Olivia pees, washes her hands, and minutes later, steals his shirt from the floor.
"You're starting to make that a habit."
"That gonna be a problem?"
"I learned to share a long time ago, Liv," he says. "What's mine is yours."
"Be right back."
Olivia returns to the kitchen and digs her cell out of her purse to text Marsha.
Can you stay until morning?
Moments later she sees the text bubbles appear.
I can. Enjoy yourself, Captain Benson. See you in the morning. 9am good?
It's perfect. Thank you.
When she returns to his bedroom, she hears the sink running and then shut off in the en suite just before Elliot comes out unashamedly nude.
"You gotta get back home?" He asks, climbing beneath the covers and laying on his side to face her.
"No," she says, joining him in bed. "I'm not looking to cut the night short."
Olivia turns to mimic his position, scooting over to meet his lips.
"I love being here with you," she says, caressing the skin of his cheek. "But I have to admit, I was nervous and doing a lot of overthinking."
"Me too," Elliot admits. "After all this time and with the obstacles we've faced, I feel this overwhelming pressure to get everything right."
"I can't remember the last time I had a date this good, let alone with a man who cooked for me, danced with me, and tempted me to distraction," she confesses. "Trust me when I say, you got everything right, Elliot."
"You telling me you don't usually put out on the first date?"
She laughs and gives him a playful punch to the shoulder.
"I probably would've put out in my office if Bell hadn't called," she tells him. "But I get the pressure you feel," she continues. "I think we both know where this is going and for me, that's the scary part. I remember all those knock-down drag-out fights in the squad room."
"We're both different people now, Liv," he points out. "We're older, wiser and neither of us avoids mental health issues or views seeing a therapist as punishment anymore."
"True. It helped save my life."
"And not to toot my own horn but my communication is a hell of a lot better too," he goes on. "Not just with emojis either," he adds with a grin. "I use actual words instead of punching walls or lockers or taking my anger out on perps," he says, threading fingers through her growing tresses. "Or you."
"I have noticed that Stabler 2.0 is better in all those ways," Olivia acknowledges. "I trust you, Elliot, I do. But I've made some changes myself and you may not like all of them," she advises. "Anything with Noah comes first, I won't be able to respond to your calls or texts as fast as I'd like to, I have PTSD, nightmares, and the occasional not-so-sexy panic attack."
He moves to lay on his back, gathering Olivia in his arms.
"We have all that in common," he reasons, beginning to rub soothing patterns near her waist. "My son who's barely out of high school has a million questions about the impending birth of his first child, Ayanna considers me her number two with our seemingly evolving group of talented misfits, which may affect my communication some days and we can compare notes on which grounding methods we like to use during a panic attack."
"I'm a fan of box breathing," she reveals, rubbing her fingers over his chest.
"How 'bout that? Me too," he tells her. "But if I can, I like the water method," he adds. "Taking a cold shower or at minimum running my hands under a cold tap."
"That were you were doing in the bathroom?" Olivia asks. "Having sex with me gave you a panic attack?"
"Absolutely not," he says, laughing with her. "I was just washing my hands after I peed," he explains. "My response to being with you for the first time was anything but panic-inducing, Olivia," he rasps. "I never thought we'd get here."
"Me neither," she admits. "I put up walls, made excuses, and told myself you were just lonely from losing Kathy," she adds. "After confronting the hurt and anger from how abandoned I felt, I had to admit to wanting you and push through the fear."
"Fear of what?"
"I was catastrophizing a relationship before one started," she answers. "Scared of all the ways we can hurt each other because of how deeply we've always connected."
"Did you think about all the ways we could love one another?" Elliot asks.
"I'm what you call an optimistic realist," she begins. "I hope things go well, but I'm aware of all that could go wrong."
"What made you take a chance?"
"The orgasm you gave me in my office didn't hurt," she says, making him laugh. "Ten out of ten," she adds, laughing with him. "No notes."
She looks up from his chest, meeting his eyes.
"But seriously, El, it was a few things," she goes on. "Every time we work together makes me long for what we used to have," she tells him. "And I was told to start thinking about what I deserve."
"Such as?"
"Love and companionship instead of taking DD5s home on the weekends," she answers, trying to stifle a yawn. "A sounding board that's not my shrink, some reciprocated support, and multiple orgasms several days a week to name a few."
"You deserve all of that, especially multiple orgasms," Elliot tells her as she returns her head to his chest. "But you deserve some peace even more."
"We both do."
Olivia lets him up long enough to extinguish the lamp at his bedside before cuddling up with him again.
"Nite, Liv."
"Goodnight, El."
She sleeps better than she has in months but gets up early enough to make it home so she can make breakfast for Noah. Olivia locates a spare toothbrush beneath his sink. She's rinsing when he comes up from behind in boxer briefs, snaking his arms around her.
"Did you have to leave so many hickies?" She asks, eying herself in the mirror while wearing a towel. "I'm gonna have to wear turtlenecks to work for a week."
"Not my fault you're so damned edible," he rasps, planting open-mouthed kisses against her neck, making her moan.
Olivia's imagination is running wild with all the ways they're gonna ruin each other for other people.
"I uh—I have to get home," she says, trying to resist his teasing. "M-make some chocolate chip pancakes."
"I think this sink is strong enough to handle us," Elliot says, his hand finding its way beneath her towel and between her legs.
"I should," she tries as he parts her folds and finds her clit. "Fuck," she says, her breaths starting to quicken. "Relieve my sitter."
Widening her stance for him feels instinctual. It takes all of two minutes to make her climax again. Afterward, Elliot turns her and sits her on the counter near the sink. He kisses her deeply and passionately as he steps out of his boxers and inches his way inside her again.
"I'm sorry if I make you late," he says, starting a satisfying rhythm.
"No, you're not," she tells him, smiling.
"No, I'm not," he admits.
"He doesn't wake up before ten on Saturdays," Olivia offers. "I have some time," she says grasping his ass with both hands. "Harder."
The towel falls away when Elliot carries her out of the en suite and to his bed, sitting her on the edge of the mattress. He grabs the lube, getting them both ready before putting her legs over his shoulders. She grasps his biceps as Elliot gives her short, quick, punishing strokes over and over again. She's unashamed about the sounds and string of profanities he forces from her throat before having yet another orgasm just before he finds his.
Elliot collapses beside her smiling and winded.
"Guess it's good I hadn't showered yet," she says after catching her breath.
"Yep," he manages. "You wanna do that together?"
Olivia laughs.
"Hell no," she answers. "I'd rather do the walk of shame without a hitch in my step or another broken ankle from you trying to find a new position on wet tile."
"Come on, Liv," he says, turning to face her. "I'm not twenty-five. It'll be at least another half hour before I could go again."
"I don't know."
"I promise," Elliot asserts. "It's just hard to keep my hands off you after not being able to touch for so long," he admits. "But I can do it."
Six months later…
He kept his word. She went home to Noah uninjured, sexually fulfilled, and hopeful for her and Elliot's future together. It hasn't been easy with the stress and time commitment required from their jobs, the birth of his latest grandbaby, Noah's many activities, and Eli's first days wearing a badge and gun.
But it's working.
Fin notices how much more she smiles and happily points it out every chance he gets but for her sake, not in front of the other squad members. Noah adores Elliot, mostly because he spoils him and doesn't talk to him like he's a dumb kid. And her former partner's brood wasn't surprised when they revealed they were together, only that it took so long. Bernie, in her dementia-idled mind, thinks the two of them have been married for years.
Nobody corrects her.
They support one another through hard cases and bring each other coffee or food on random days. He surprises her with flowers. They found a spot secluded enough for them to fog up the windows in her police-issued SUV, fulfilling at least one fantasy to have sex in a forbidden workplace location. Olivia feels a sense of balance, stability, and overwhelming happiness she doesn't believe her meditation practices alone were providing.
And this time, she feels like it's gonna last. They disclosed just three months in.
"Noah gone to bed?" Elliot asks as she plants herself at the kitchen counter.
"Yeah," Olivia answers. "He was pretty tired after his dance class's summer finale extravaganza," she adds, smiling. "There's two weeks before his performing arts camp starts so I get a break from his stinky, sweaty laundry."
He laughs as he loads the dishwasher.
"You're gonna miss him when he's away."
"I will," she admits, momentarily getting emotional. "It's gonna be quiet around here."
Elliot approaches her, and bends down, giving her a lingering kiss.
"I'd be happy to make some noise with you," he says after they come up for air, making her laugh.
Aside from the ridiculously good sex, it's their shared sense of humor that Olivia is happy about the most. It was a big part of their working relationship she missed with his unexpected departure.
"Course you would be," she tells him. "You're trying to get away from a screaming newborn."
"Not just that," he urges with a smirk. "You do know I'm in love with you, right?"
He, of course, was the first to say it and has been saying it in multiple ways. She still hasn't.
"Yes," she answers, taking his hand and leading him to the sofa.
"What are we watching?" Elliot asks.
"That Game of Thrones spinoff?" She suggests.
"No thanks," he tells her. "Saw enough incest in SVU," he adds, taking the remote.
"Great British Baking Show?" Elliot suggests.
"Uh, negative," Olivia tells him. "You start watching that, baking everything you see, and next thing I know, I'm twenty-five pounds heavier with a cookie habit."
"And you'd still be just as edible," he offers, making her smile. "The Diplomat it is," he tells her. "Maureen says the two leads have great chemistry."
"I can relate to that," she says, her head falling against his shoulder as he puts an arm around her.
"Me too," he whispers against her hair.
Ten minutes go by before either speaks again.
"El?"
"Mm?"
"In another six months when that little voice in your head starts whispering for you to buy a ring, don't do it," Olivia tells him.
"How do you know I'd listen?"
"Because you bought me some very nice jewelry before you even saw me naked," she answers, making him laugh. "And I know you, El, you're a nester. You can't help yourself."
"Touché," he says. "Handpicked that ring you wore for our UC because I wanted to see how it'd look on you."
"And figure out my size," Olivia says, meeting his eyes until he gives in.
"Okay, okay," he admits. "So, if you're telling me not to propose, then what are you proposing?"
"That we keep going like this for as long as we make each other happy—"
"—Like Fin and Phoebe."
"Right."
"And if in say, ten years when Noah's traveling the world in some wildly popular dance company and Eli and Becky have a handle on the whole parenting thing—"
"—And we've both been forced into retirement," Elliot points out with a smirk.
"Hard to imagine but, yes," she agrees, stifling a yawn. "Then maybe we sell our places, build a house in Aruba, spend our days covered in sunblock trying to avoid melanoma—," she starts.
"—And our nights covered in each other, trying to avoid the pull back here and out of retirement?" He concludes. "Sounds amazing, Liv."
"It does?"
"It does. You got yourself a deal."
She gets up, straddles him, and places both arms around his neck.
"You know I'm in love with you too, right?"
"I had a feeling," he says with a smile. "But it is nice to hear."
She gives him a sleepy grin before burying her face against his neck.
"Let's get you to bed," he rasps, using his strength to stand.
Olivia instinctually wraps her legs around him.
"Stay with me forever," she whispers on the way to her room.
"Forever isn't long enough, partner. But I'll be here."
And those two procrastinators of love live happily ever after.
The End.