A/N: I warn you in advance, this is FULL of fluff… hopefully not TOO OOC though. Thank you for reading, alerting, reviewing and reading these crappy little author notes at the end and beginning of every chapter. It is appreciated, and so are you. =)

Sorry it took me so long to upload… *sighs* life gets in the way

Side by side, they sat together on Olivia's couch, a week after Dani Beck had departed. Olivia had asked him over for dinner, knowing that he had only an empty house to go home to, and for once, he had taken the risk and said yes.

"Why did you kiss her?" she asked sudden, a look of sadness crossing her eyes.

He didn't have to ask who she was talking about. "What does it matter?" he asked impassively.

"It matters…" she said.

"I could, I guess," he shrugged.

"El-"

"DON'T!" he barked. He looked away from her. This was why he had never invited himself over to her house; it was why he had always made their relationship strictly professional. It was easier that way, easier not to fall into the wrong conversation.

Olivia sighed heavily. "El, please, look at me…"

It took all of his strength to meet her eyes, and what he saw there was the desire mirrored in his own eyes. For twelve years, as long as they had been partnered up, he had pushed away the longing he felt for her. He never made a move, he never asked her to dinner, in fear that it would end in desert of a different kind. He had always been faithful to his wife, not only because it was morally correct thing to do, but because what he felt for Olivia was too special to ruin with a one-night stand. What he felt for her was powerful, overwhelmingly so at times, but definitely powerful.

His hand seemed to have a mind of its own, as his fingers gently brushed the texture of her cheek. She closed her eyes at his touch. "Oh, God…" she moaned softly.

"Liv…" he whispered.

She snapped her eyes open and looked at him.

"Maybe I should go," he admitted. Olivia couldn't form the words to ask him to stay, and so when he rose from the couch, she didn't stop him. He reached the front door before he turned back to look at her. "Dani was a nobody… she meant nothing to me. When you left there was something inside me that snapped, and I needed to know I could break the rules, I needed to know that I could make the mistakes with her that I couldn't with you."

"That doesn't make sense," she frowned.

"Yes, it does," it made perfect sense in his head. He tried to explain it. "It didn't matter if I ruined our partnership over a kiss, it didn't matter if I said all the things I wanted to say to you, because she wasn't permanent, Liv. It was only a matter of time before you came back, before everything went back to the way it was before, when I had to remain silent and I had to stop myself from crossing the line with you. I did, Liv… so many times I stopped myself. But I could break the rules with Dani, I could say what I wanted and it wouldn't matter…"

"You used her?" Olivia asked.

"God no," he snapped. He ran a hand over his head. "Geez, Liv. I'm not like that."

She shook her head. "What then?"

Elliot laughed. "She was you."

"Me?"

He nodded gently and moved her fringe away from her eyes. "Yeah, I got to do something with her, that I never could with you."

"Why not?"

"Why not, what?"

Her voice was unsteady. "Why couldn't you do it with me?"

Elliot shrugged. "I'd just mess it up."

"What do you want to do, El?" she challenged. "Right now… here I am… what do you want to do?"

He leaned in and touched his finger to her lips. "I want to kiss you."

"Okay," she nodded invitingly.

"And then…"

"Yeah."

"Then I want to carry you to your bedroom, and I want to make love to you over and over again," he smiled almost shyly.

"Alright," she whispered. "But you better make your move now, before I wake up."

Elliot grinned then. "Oh, no, for this… you need to be wide awake."

"Okay," she said with a gentle nod, gripping the material of his shirt and pulling him closer. "I'm awake."

Elliot pressed his lips to hers then, and slipped his arms around her waist, beginning the kind of romance that lasted a lifetime.

THE END!

I know it's sappy, but I was trying something new with SVU… did it turn out okay? Reviews would be MASSIVELY appreciated, even if you didn't enjoy it, that comment is welcome too. =)