Let the Rain

A Law & Order: SVU fic by Gigi

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Chapter 3: Always in My Head

A/N: So Fault showed up on my DVR twice in the last week. Basically, I had no choice but to go back down the rabbit hole.

"Fuck, Elliot," Olivia exhaled when her partner finally, finally slid inside her. The mattress under her dipped beneath their combined weight, and for a second, Elliot didn't move. He just stayed, buried to the hilt in Olivia, and breathed. Which was more than Olivia could say—he filled her so completely there was no room in her lungs to get any oxygen.

Her eyes fluttered open—when did they close?—when she felt his warm, soft lips on her neck, peppering kisses all over her overheated skin. Everything in her body hummed in contentment. Feeling so stretched and not having to go a moment without touching the man inside and on top of her…hell, she might have even gone so far as to say she was happy. Her nails dug into the tops of his shoulders, having adjusted to Elliot inside her and now desperately needing to move. "El," she whispered as she shifted under him.

The guttural groan he made when she moved was one of the most delicious sounds she'd ever heard, and suddenly he was thrusting in and out of her with all he had. Olivia, still so sensitive from her first orgasm, quickly felt herself falling again. "Fuck, Liv," he panted, swiping her sweat-matted hair from her face, which was twisted in rapidly building ecstasy. "Come on, Liv. Come for me."

xoxoxo

Olivia jerked awake, alone in her sweat-soaked bed. The first few rays of the sunrise filtered into her room, all but mocking her for being stupid enough to leave the bed in her dreams weeks ago. Rolling over, she buried her face in her pillow and groaned in disappointment. As much as her nights were undisturbed now that she was in Computer Crimes, they now left so much time and extra brainpower to devote to reliving every fucking second of that night.

Frustration twisted the sheets around her legs as she peeked over her pillow at her digital clock on the nightstand. Five a.m. She didn't have to be at work for another four hours—another "perk" of CPU. So much time for a life—only there was no possibility of her having one. Not so soon after Elliot.

Possibly not ever, a small, terrified voice whispered in the back of her head.

"Fuck you, Elliot," she huffed into her pillow before pushing herself out of bed. She stripped the embarrassingly soiled sheets and shoved them in her washing machine, throwing in everything she was wearing for good measure. As soon as the tumbling of the laundry echoed through her apartment, she padded back to her room and pulled on running clothes. The fact that this had become an almost daily ritual was almost laughable. At least she'd have no trouble staying in shape even with a mostly desk-based assignment. Elliot sent her on an early bird run every morning to work off each dream, each remembered kiss, groan, bite, thrust…

It was going to be a long run this morning.

xoxoxo

Elliot couldn't stand still anymore, he noticed. He used to be able to sit for a little while and handle not moving forward in a case with some shred of stoicism, but apparently that was over. Now, he paced and shifted like a caged animal. They weren't getting anywhere finding Teddy's abductor. Morales couldn't pull anything from the chat rooms. Their case was circling the drain, and now he couldn't stop prowling around the squad.

"Elliot, Fin," Cragen called from the doorway to his office. His hands were in his pockets as usual. He seemed to have no trouble remaining still. Elliot wondered how his captain didn't fidget more. This job was frustrating as all hell, and being the captain of such a group as theirs had to be damn near impossible. "Where are we on Teddy's captor?"

"The middle of nowhere," Fin grumbled, tossing down his pen and leaning back in his chair. "Can't trace the chat room users, and our last person of interest is in hospice."

Cragen took a second, almost as if he was bracing himself for shutting down another harebrained argument. "Go up to Computer Crimes. See if Olivia can't help you track these guys."

That name made Elliot completely immobile for the first time in weeks. Everyone had been careful not to mention her name within earshot of him, ever since the throw down with Blaine. He hadn't spoken to her since that day either, not that she hadn't tried. She sent him a text about a week after the locker room to ask if he wanted to grab a cup of coffee, trying to reach out and fix things. It still sat in his Inbox, unanswered.

But fuck if he didn't miss her.

And so he surprised everyone—including Cragen—by grabbing his coat and making his way to the elevator. "You coming, Fin?"

xoxoxo

Olivia knew the second he walked into her new unit. It had nothing to do with the fact that her desk had a perfect view of the doors and a simple glance up could tell her who walked in the second there was any movement. No, she didn't dare shift her gaze even a centimeter from her screen. It was more of a visceral awareness. Something intuitive she always had with Elliot from her first time on the job with him. The moment his eyes landed on her, she made absolutely sure she looked like she was focusing on her computer screen. Maybe it would buy her time to keep her face from looking too happy to see him.

She may not have succeeded at that part. She's pretty sure when she looked up she was just short of basking in his presence. Fin probably figured it all out just from that one fucking face. "What are you doing here?"

Elliot's face was carefully blank, but Olivia couldn't help but notice the way his eyes seemed to be darting all over her face, drinking her in as much as she was to him. "We need your help," he murmured.

xoxoxo

What the fuck, Liv? Elliot couldn't help thinking to himself as he watched her type away at her computer. How do you look even more….how do you look like that when you're sitting at a desk staring at a computer all day? When they walked into the unit, Elliot almost had to clear his throat once he saw his partner for the first time in weeks. Nothing obviously had changed about her appearance, but there was this healthy glow in her face that he wouldn't expect from a desk job. He expected her to look a little more Morales-like, with slightly sunken in eyes and forever hunched over her keyboard, maybe even a little resentful about her move.

But she looked like Olivia. An annoyingly refreshed Olivia.

Now if only he could stop staring at her so much before Fin noticed.

"Traces that used to take an entire day now take twenty minutes," Olivia declared, a glimmer of smugness in her voice. She was enjoying herself talking about technology like this. He rarely ever got to see this side of her, and he was with her ninety percent of her waking hours. It was cute.

She'd punch you if she heard you call her cute, he reminded himself. But he couldn't keep the small smile from coming to his face as he observed, "You're really into this."

Fuck. Fin noticed. Elliot could practically feel the detective's suddenly inquisitive gaze boring into the side of his skull as he maneuvered around to look at Olivia's screen.

xoxoxo

"Computer scams, credit card frauds. I haven't seen blood or tears in weeks." Olivia smiled up at Elliot as he walked around the desk toward her. So maybe she was playing up the contentment a little too much, but CPU was a nice change of pace, for a little while at least. The thought of staying in this unit forever, though, made her want to retire early.

She practically felt herself preening under Elliot's attention, loving being able to offer help the one time he ever actually asked for it. This wasn't like her at all, and SVU Olivia would probably be somewhere rubbing her eyes in embarrassment. But CPU Olivia had dreams every fucking night about the man standing not six inches behind her, and damn it if that didn't change the game just a little bit.

Part of her was a little disappointed that she managed to trace SunshineGuy's signal so quickly, because the second she gave them the office at Mercy Hospital they were on their way. Elliot dawdled, however, just long enough to swing back around and give her some hope he'd forgiven her in just two words: "See ya."

xoxoxo

Olivia stared at the phone for a good thirty seconds, tapping her fingers nervously on her desk before she finally picked it up and dialed SVU. She technically didn't have to help them anymore. She helped when they asked, and beyond that she wasn't obligated to continue monitoring POIs for them. But...

But if work was the only channel to get through to Elliot and save their friendship then fuck it. She'd put in the extra hours.

She told herself it was still just to save their friendship. She had to keep telling herself that. So that she didn't do what she did when he walked in earlier. The smiling, the ridiculously obvious "I'm very happy with my decision" routine, the way she felt like she'd burst if he'd even accidentally brushed her arm. She had been a teenage girl earlier, and it was mortifying not even an hour after he left. And it sure as hell wasn't the way to fix a platonic—platonic—friendship.

"Stabler."

"Elliot, I got something you'll probably want to see." Bad choice of words, Liv, she chided herself, flashing back to last month up against his kitchen wall. Hopefully he didn't catch the way her breath stuck in her throat when she stopped speaking.

"I'll be right over."

She barely had to wait five minutes before he walked through the doors, coming to stand just a hair too close behind her as she refilled her coffee cup. "What's up?" he asked, practically bouncing on his toes in urgency. Boy, their case really was at a standstill. Olivia nodded him to follow her back to her desk and sipped her coffee to hide her smile. Her news would definitely be welcome now.

"I pulled Dr. Lucas's cell phone records," she announced as she took a seat. "Here's a log of all his calls and text messages."

"Without a warrant." Elliot looked down at her dubiously. Sometimes the degree to which he forgot she broke the rules just as often as he did amused her. It was the whole "Saint Olivia" nickname that started floating around a few years ago that cemented her reputation of doing no wrong. Olivia scoffed to herself. Elliot gave himself too much credit if he thought every time they got called into Cragen's office it was his fault.

Some of her scoffing came out in her voice as she raised an eyebrow at him over her shoulder. "Well, I didn't think you'd want me to wait." Turning back to her screen, she felt him give in and lean closer, one hand on the desk and one on the back of her chair, brushing against her back so lightly she could have imagined it. But she didn't imagine the sharp intake of breath she took the second she felt it—here's hoping Elliot didn't notice. Control, Liv.

"Look, you know what you need. You want to take a crack at him?" Olivia sent a wary glance in Elliot's direction, not entirely sure why he was inviting her back in. Everything on his face said he was serious, open but he wasn't going to push her if she was still reluctant. Considering her dreams, though, what if enough time hadn't passed? What if she goes back and messes everything up because she's too distracted by…well, by Elliot to function at a halfway decent capacity?

But Teddy's still missing, Liv. Your feelings or attraction or whatever it is with Elliot can't get in the way of finding Teddy and his abductor. "Let's go."

Before she knew it, she was walking by her old desk, which still sat empty. Guess Elliot hadn't had much luck in the way of finding a new partner. Or maybe he hadn't even let Cragen assign him a new one in hopes that she'd realize the error of her ways. No, she reminded herself. You're too compromised when it comes to Elliot. You'll only end up getting another kid killed because neither of you can figure your shit out around each other. That was beginning to become a daily mantra.

"I wasn't planning on coming back," Olivia hinted. If Elliot needed a nudge to accept it and let Cragen assign him a new partner, then she'd push him if she had to.

Elliot didn't miss a beat. "It's in your blood."

"That's the problem."

Or you are.

xoxoxo

God, it felt good having Liv in the interrogation room with him again. Elliot didn't even have to do much, just lean against the wall and chime in every once in a while. He hadn't felt this comfortable in interrogation in weeks, having someone in there with him who would back his play and then take it a step further without even having to ask what the game plan was. Because that's what they did.

Liv was in her element, and if she couldn't see that, Elliot knew he'd lost his partner forever.

Elliot didn't know when exactly he'd decided to try to win Olivia back to SVU…he wasn't even sure he'd forgiven her for cutting and running without even giving him the courtesy of waking him up. But the entire unit hurt without her, not just his dysfunctional habits with transient partners.

"Picture his body, that young, thin, perfect body," Liv's voice had gotten soft and mesmerizing, and Elliot couldn't help but shift against the wall. Before Gitano, he'd only ever known that voice in the context of interrogation or undercover. When she came over, though, there was no way that voice would ever be anything else to him again except a massively inconvenient turn-on.

"El," she sighed into his neck as he picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist. The contact made him growl, especially when she rolled her hips instinctively.

Elliot's fingers dug into her thighs. "Liv," he warned. "If you want me to actually get us to the bed, you gotta stay still."

"Or what?" she hummed into his ear and rolled her hips again. A low, rumbling laugh fell past her lips as he slammed her into the closest wall so he could stay standing. "You'll just fuck me right here?"

He nearly did—but that really wasn't what he should be thinking about right now. Especially when this idiot who somehow made it through medical school thought chloroform was voluntary hiding.

xoxoxo

"Are you sure about this, Liv?" Cragen sat behind his desk more than ready to process the paperwork. As happy as she could tell he was that she wanted to come back, Olivia knew Don wouldn't sign off on her return if she wasn't absolutely sure she was ready.

Olivia sent him a small, shaky smile. "I can't really stay away from SVU anyway, even up in Computer Crimes," she said. Shrugging, she found herself repeating Elliot. "It's in my blood."

"Liv, I'm happy to bring you back here, you know that," Cragen started, his sympathetic features steeling themselves for the biggest issue of all, "but you transferred to Computer Crimes because you wanted a new partner." He stood and walked around front to lean on his desk in front of her. "Has that changed?"

Olivia floundered for words. She was here on impulse alone, and to stop to think about her relationship with Elliot would keep her treading water in a unit that left her with too much free time for weeks trying to make a decision. "I…uh…I'm the only one who can be Elliot's partner, Cap."

Sure. That would sell it.

"True, but can you resolve whatever made you leave in the first place?"

Olivia felt the breath leave her body at his question. She didn't know how to answer that. "Gitano…" She looked down at her lap and squeezed her eyes shut for just a second before continuing, "Gitano made me leave. He made me question my judgment as a detective, and he made me blame it on Elliot. And he did the same thing to Elliot." God, nothing's changed though. Am I making a huge mistake? Shaking it off, Olivia raised her head to look Don in the eye. "But I'm less of a detective without Elliot, and he's not as effective without me either." She shrugged again. "We're partners."

Her captain stared at her for a beat, studying her every feature for any hesitation, before he finally let his stoic smile slip onto his face. "I'm glad you're back, Liv."

Relief swept over Olivia as she stood up and nodded. "Me, too."

He walked her out of the office, squeezing her shoulder as she passed him. "It was a tough decision, Olivia, but you made the right call."

"Thank you, Captain." Turning away from Cragen, she caught Elliot hurriedly turning back to his filing cabinet.

"So you did it?" he asked after he closed the drawer. He was back to avoiding looking at her again.

"I did," she affirmed, following him back to their desks, but he half-turned before even reaching halfway.

"Why?"

Was he really asking her that? Olivia did nothing to stop the amused expression from showing on her face. "I didn't have a choice." You made sure of that.

Elliot was actually disappointed with her. His shoulders dropped the second she finished speaking, and he grumbled, "There's always a choice. Morales is a good man."

Wha—

Elliot, you're a fucking idiot.

"You think I ratted him out?" Olivia asked his back.

Elliot stilled, glancing back at her for a second before he shook his head. "No, I know that's not your style."

Well, that was convincing. "Thanks," she teased, walking past him. For just a second there, it felt like normal. Before Gitano. Maybe she hadn't made a mistake after all.

"What are you doing here?"

When Olivia turned around at her old desk, she finally had Elliot's full attention. He was still hurting; she could see that now that the case was over. Maybe over just what she had done, maybe over Gitano and Ryan, hell, maybe even still over Kathy. But she'd try to make it up to him somehow—they'd get over the hump, eventually. That in mind, she felt her lips quirk upwards just slightly when she told him, "I work here."

A/N: I know that last paragraph sounds like an end, but like hell am I ever going to end a fic on "just friends." I wanted this to be more than just taking us through Web, but unfortunately, Web is packed with shit to write about. Soon (I hope!), we'll get to the delicious awkward stage and oooh I can't wait to see what my fingers write either because I honestly have no clue what's coming next. Please review!