AN: Okay, it's no secret but I'm not a Tuckson fan. I only sail on one ship and that's the S.S. E/O lol. Haven't written for these two in a while and I feel incredibly rusty so don't hesitate to review. I wouldn't mind the input but this will likely be just a one-shot.

He followed her tonight. Well, not her…them, actually. He didn't mean to but he couldn't seem to help himself. Not when he saw her, picking up and putting her lips to his hand. His hand. Tucker. He's been out of the loop for a while of course but he didn't think he was that far out the damn loop.

Is this not the guy who tried to take their badges more than once? Did Elliot not put his family's home up for her after that prick put her in jail? Isn't Tucker the same asshole she defended him against when some messed up kid accused him of child molestation? Every answer to those questions is a resounding hell yes!

"What the f*ck is she doing with him?" He asks himself.

He was perfectly happy sipping Coronas after work when he noticed the two of them uncharacteristically cozy at the bar. It's not his usual spot but his new career as an investigator in a law firm has him in all kinds of unfamiliar places. He never thought he'd be employed by the other side. But as it turns out, there are some good defense attorney's out there who actually still have souls as yet unsold to the devil or the highest bidder.

After SVU and post-Kathy, he needed something else to do to keep his naturally inquisitive mind occupied.

Post Kathy. It's been almost two years now. Six months after his forced retirement he finally decided to get his head out his ass and deal with the demons surrounding it, the problems in his marriage and the cowardly way he didn't reach out to Olivia after having his back for over a decade. It took some time, he and Kathy gave it one last solid try but they eventually gave in to the inevitable and got divorced.

And now, he finds himself tailing Olivia and Tucker. Again, it wasn't intentional but he was a little too shocked, and even more intrigued not to. They'd actually started keeping in touch after William Lewis turned her into someone nearly recognizable. He had to beg for weeks but Olivia finally threw him a bone and decided to give me the time of day. Elliot just had to agree not to give her shit about the fact that she was giving Cassidy an actual shot.

That first time they talked, they discussed things they hadn't talked about…ever. She opened up to him not only about her kidnapping and then present beau Brian, but also about David Hayden and her friendship with Bayard Ellis. Elliot talked about how some couch time with a good shrink turned out to be better than sitting in confession, the better relationship he has with his kids because of it and how cutting her off was one of the worse things he's ever done to anyone and…to himself.

Reconnecting gave Elliot hope that they could salvage even an iota of the closeness they used to share. Being partners all that time gave them a seemingly unbreakable bond, a definite connection. Selfishly, he thought after he and Kathy called it quits, that Liv would be an option. That, what everyone else had seen over the years but they tried to hide, would finally be allowed…an opportunity for exploration.

But it didn't happen, never seemed to be the right time.

And now she's with Tucker of all people after all he put both of them through. He knows that people change. Elliot's changed. Olivia's changed. However, he finds it hard as hell to believe that Tucker has changed enough for her to have developed amnesia or even forgive the many times he tried to destroy them.

But, Elliot sees them together none the less, and has followed them home. Well, to her home. Tucker walked her up and ten minutes later he's leaving. Elliot doesn't know if they argued or if the man doesn't have the habit of staying overnight yet. Still he finds himself outside her door anyway, hoping she doesn't think it too late to buzz him up.

It's likely the three Coronas giving him the liquid courage to try it in the first place. And despite the reality of the situation, there's something inside of Elliot that needs, wants and feels like he deserves an explanation for her dating that asshole. There has to be a good reason. She has Noah in her life now right? God knows kids aren't enough to nip at the loneliness sometimes, and he's glad she has the family she's always wanted and deserved. But come on, Tucker? Not him. Anyone but him! Elliot didn't love Cassidy but he'd still choose him over Ed "whose career can I ruin today" Tucker.

So, he hits the buzzer and hopes for the best.

"Yeah, who is it?"

"Liv it's…it's me Elliot."

"Elliot? It's…11 o'clock."

"I know, look…can I come up please?"

Seconds later he hears a clicking as the door pops and wastes no time rushing through the lobby and boarding the elevator. Hitting the 10th floor button, he thinks how he's dropped her off a couple times but has never actually been inside her not-so-new-anymore digs. Aside from their initial conversation, communication has been few and far between, dwindling down to birthday and holiday well wishes despite Elliot's best attempts.

She knows about the divorce, he was at least that honest but never confessed how somewhere in the back of his mind that he'd always figured they'd give it a go. Then again, things rarely go as planned.

At least not for Elliot. A kid post the age of forty, a career ending case, divorce and working for a firm of defense attorney's prove that.

When she opens the door, Olivia's face is void of all make-up, she's barefoot and in her dark blue cotton robe. There's nothing remotely sexual about her appearance but seeing her like that manages to take his breath away and he's suddenly struck dumb and mute as he takes her in.

"I haven't talked to you since Christmas," she says, answering the door and then moving immediately to sit on the sofa. "Thanks for Noah's dinosaurs by the way, but what brings you by so late?"

"I uh," he begins. "I saw you and…

"Saw me?" She asks, folding a leg beneath her where she sits. "What do you mean you saw me," she continues. "When?"

"At the bar, just now…with Tucker."

Olivia sweeps one of many errant growing locks behind her right ear as he surprises her with his answer.

"And you followed us here?" She asks, raising her eyebrows before crossing her arms defensively against her chest. "Why?"

"Does anyone know?"

"Yes," she answers abruptly, not wanting to get into the details of Barba dropping a dime on them and the fallout from Ed's priest cousin. "And what business is it of yours Elliot, you aren't on the force anymore."

His eyes slip closed for a second because it still stings more than it should.

"You're a lieutenant whose unit is regularly looked at by IAB," he points out. "They can't be happy about it and sooner or later-

Having been kicked out of SVU even if it was for a short time was punishment enough. More tidbits he doesn't need to be made aware of.

"So you followed me home at 11 o'clock on a Friday night because you have my best interests at heart, that it?" She asks. "I can take care of myself Elliot, always have. It's under control."

Olivia gets up from the sofa, preparing to see him to the door. But he hasn't budged, Elliot is stubbornly, without right by the way, standing in her living room hands stuffed in his pockets because he can't wrap his head around it.

"What now?" She asks at his back, realizing he's yet to move.

He grits his teeth, clenches his jaw and takes a breath before attempting to answer.

"I just…I don't get it Liv," he manages. "Why him…how could you…why him?"

She moves to face him then, trains those dark brown eyes right onto Elliot.

"Of all the things I don't owe you, an explanation or justification of who I choose to see in my personal life is right there at the top," she asserts.

"I know," he agrees, dropping his eyes to the beige carpeting. "I just…he came after us so many times Liv," he reasons. "And you told me how he did the same to Amaro after I left so…I never thought you'd align yourself with him let alone date him."

"Yeah well, neither did I," she says. "But people change. I could never have predicted you'd pretend as if our partnership never mattered."

Elliot steps forward then, mostly because he feels how being in close proximity still affects her just as much as it does himself.

"I can't apologize for that enough," he begins. "But if you need to hear it again, I'll say it."

Seeing her eyes soften, he knows she believes his sincerity.

"You don't have to," she nearly whispers. "But if you're still calling yourself my friend the only thing that should matter to you is whether or not he makes me happy."

Elliot knows the answer before he asks, yet it doesn't stop him from posing the question anyway.

"And does he?" He asks, taking another step closer.

"It goes without saying," she offers. "Why else would I be with him?"

Her hands hang limply at her sides and he does something he's never done beyond undercover work. He reaches for them.

"What are you doing?" She asks, but doesn't shrug off his hold.

"You didn't answer the question."

In her stocking feet he's several inches taller so he looks down, waiting for an answer.

"I'm not alone anymore," she asserts. "He understands the job…when I have to call and cancel a date…he's been good for me."

But Elliot doesn't hear a simple 'yes' nor much of the explanation because he's hypnotized by the movement of her lips, and those three Coronas, maybe it was four, has him leaning towards the mouth of his former partner.

The kiss isn't as clumsy as it possibly should be and it's the right amount of moisture and languidness to be instantly enjoyable. When Olivia starts to participate he feels those clichéd fireworks and that heat in his belly so, Elliot closes the distance between them, melding his body against hers. As he abandons her hands for her waist, she rests warm palms against his chest and he immediately begins to wonder if she can feel just how fast his heart is beating.

Until she pulls back, then steps away all together.

"That-shouldn't have happened," Olivia tells him, running a hand through her dark, growing locks, having turned towards the windows. "You should go."

Elliot watches as she touches her fingertips to her lips in the reflection of the glass. Cleary she's just as effected, but he won't push her. Not tonight.

"If you're free at all tomorrow," he begins. "Can I see you, so we can talk?"

"What else is there to say?" She asks, turning to face me once more.

"Liv, I-

"We haven't spoken in months Elliot, I haven't seen you."

Olivia walks into the kitchen and grabs a glass. When she opens the refrigerator he sees her reach for the wine bottle, but thinks better of it and pours water instead.

"It's not from a lack of trying on my part," he reminds her, approaching the counter. "You've blown me off."

"I have responsibilities, a son, a life outside of you Elliot, we aren't joined at the hip anymore," she says, before drinking the water like she wishes it was something stronger.

"You've always had a life outside of me," he contends. "Now that it includes Tucker there's no room for anyone else?"

"Not just anyone else, you Elliot!"

She immediately realizes she's just yelled and pauses to listen for Noah.

"Look, Ed is the man in my life," she says, calmly. "And seeing as though you hate each other, that's drama waiting to happen that I don't need nor do I want my son to witness."

"You know I'd never do anything to hurt that little boy," he tells her.

"I know," she says, putting the glass in the sink before rounding the counter. "But sometimes we unintentionally hurt people we care about."

Elliot's done it to her, so of course she knows first-hand.

"So that's it?" He asks. "I don't get to see you or Noah anymore so long as you're with Ed?"

A combination of anger and disappointment returns to the depths of Olivia's eyes trying to remain both emotional and physically distant from him.

"How would that be any different than your absence from my life for months?" She asks, busying herself by picking up some of Noah's toys. "And…all the time before that."

Elliot rests his hands on his hips, shaking his head at just how much an idiot he's been. The attempts he's made to reach out to her over the months weren't rejected just because she was with someone else, or busy with work or her son. It was because she's protecting herself.

From him.

He goes to Olivia again, stilling her hands from picking up any more toys. It's funny how easily and natural touching her is becoming.

"It's never gonna be the right time for us is it?" He asks.

She takes a breath and squeezes his hands back just slightly.

"What us?" Olivia questions. "The only us there's ever been is our partnership and that didn't exactly end well."

"I'm sorry," he repeats, for what seems like the millionth time. "I don't wanna be the cause of anymore pain for you," he adds, reaching up to thread a hand through her hair. "I just wish-

"I know, I know," she says with a smirk. "That it was anyone but him."

"You know me so well."

"I used to," she counters. "I couldn't have predicted you'd show up late on a Friday night to grill me about who I'm dating or…kiss me for that matter."

"True," he tells her, dropping his hand to her waist. "But I like keeping you on your toes."

If she's surprised, she doesn't show it. Apparently she's getting used to his hands on her as well. She nods and he can see in her eyes that she's grown serious again.

"You know I can't just kick him to the curb because you don't like him," Olivia says. "I wanna give this thing with him a real chance."

"And you'll only resent me if I interfere instead of letting things take their own course," he concludes.

"Yes."

"So no more dropping by unannounced?" Elliot asks.

"Right."

"No more grilling you about Tucker?"

"Absolutely not." Olivia asserts.

"And no more kissing?"

She can't help but laugh and mildly blush at his question.

"After all this time I don't even know where that came from," she admits.

"But you weren't surprised."

"No," she says. "And I'm pretty sure you know that already," she adds, eluding to her participation before she came to her senses and pulled away. "But yes, no more kissing."

If Elliot has to wait out the predictable course of a relationship for two people who so obviously don't belong together, he's not going to do it without giving her another hint of the passion he knows she doesn't share with that son of a bitch.

Olivia knows it's coming because there's a small smile on her lips before he covers hers with his own again. He slows things down even more so than the first time, completely sliding his arms around her waist to pull her against him. One of her hands grasps the back of Elliot's neck while the other lays against his chest as he coaxes her mouth open to taste her. And though the low moan she probably doesn't think he's heard doesn't encourage him to do so, he finds the strength to pull back.

"Last one," Elliot says, trying to catch his breath as he rests his forehead against hers. "Promise."

"Right," she whispers.

A few seconds later they break apart and she walks him to the door.

"Can you send pictures of Noah from time to time, let me know how he's doing?"

"I think that'd be okay."

"G'night Liv."

"Night El."

The End…probably.

End A/N: Just a little something I had rumbling around in my head. Let me know what you think.