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The bedroom was dark, quiet, and still. The only light was peeking through the curtains from the streets below, from the green numbers of their new alarm clock set on the bedside table on her side and from the faint light of her phone indicating a new message, but no sound accompanied it to wake the sleeping woman. She wasn't curled onto her side of the bed like so many women of her age did to escape from their husband or lover sleeping on the other side of the bed or from a habit of having spent lifetime sleeping on that side.
Olivia wasn't one of them though. She was sprawled out in the middle of the bed – her left arm was covering the space where his head usually was, and her legs reached out diagonally to the opposite end of the bed. Her hair was all over the pillow her head was resting on and her right arm was hugging another pillow – his pillow – to her chest. Having spent most of her adult life single, she had become accustomed to sleeping in the middle of the bed and taking up as much space as she desired; to which Elliot was not used to at all, having spent most of his life married which came with a side of a bed assigned to him.
He had learned quickly however that sharing bed with Olivia was a whole different experience which sometimes meant putting up with her accidentally rolling herself into him in the middle of the night, other times it was her tugging at him to let go of her, so she could escape to the unoccupied side of the bed and sometimes it was her crawling into his embrace with her icy cold toes finding his calves. And yet even on the nights she fell asleep in his arms, he usually woke alone with her on the other side of the bed with her back turned to him, usually he was allowed to follow her and wrap his arms around her again. And she didn't really care much about the boundaries between his side and her side – some nights his side became hers if she felt like it. But he was too familiar with the couch becoming his bed on the nights he put his foot into his mouth. What he also discovered was that Olivia liked to hog all the blanket, it even led to him buying a second blanket for himself which he used during the nights she wrapped herself into the blanket like a burrito and banished Elliot to the other side of the bed.
She didn't hear him entering the bedroom, she didn't sense his presence through sleep yet, which on the one side he loved and on the other was slightly concerning that someone could sneak into her bedroom without her being alerted to it. Of course, Elliot knew that he snuck in as quietly as possible – he knew every corner and every creak of the floor, having managed to get from the front door to the bedroom without making any noise.
He took off his jeans, socks and Henley as quietly as he could, he'd already left his leather jacket and boots in the hallway. He forewent brushing his teeth and after admiring the woman sleeping in her – their – bed, her chest falling underneath the blanket slowly and steadily, but otherwise she remained completely still and sprawled out to the point that he had to wake her up to make some space for himself. Not that he really minded.
He noticed her shirt poking out from underneath the blanket and came to realize that it wasn't her shirt at all – it was his shirt. Elliot had brought over a selection of his T-shirts when she first gave him a drawer, just so she could steal them and wear them as much as she desired, but she never did. She had no problems stealing his hoodies however – he discovered his old grey hoodie still in her closet – and his current favorite had become her favorite and he found it rarely available to be worn. He enjoyed getting it back with hints of her perfume still lingering in the fabric. And now, he felt some sort of pride in seeing her sleeping in his shirt. It was almost like another way to see his claim on her.
Olivia looked peaceful and bare. It was something he wasn't accustomed to seeing yet. Her face was makeup free, the lines at the corner of her mouth, by her eyes and on her neck were all visible to him in the dim light of the bedroom. Her jaw wasn't set, every muscle on her face was relaxed and he loved seeing her like that. This was becoming one of his favorite versions of her.
He was positive she would open her groggy brown eyes the moment he sat on the bed, and she could feel his weight shifting the bed. If it wasn't for his complete exhaustion, he would've stood there looking at her for much longer. He was so tired and just wanted to wrap his arms around her, kiss her soft lips goodnight and fall asleep next to her.
Elliot moved onto the bed underneath the blanket beside her, he was slow in his movements and initially he succeeded, when Olivia didn't wake up. He rested his head next to hers on the same pillow since she was holding his hostage, his left arm moved around her just below the swell of her breasts and his fingers hooked onto her shoulder, his elbow resting on the mattress next to her ribcage. His other hand moved her left hand back to her side so it wouldn't get buried underneath him, and then he found her neck with his palm.
It took her a moment, but she stirred and then instantly tensed. Her eyes shot open in a momentary terror.
"Liv, it's me," he whispered quickly and kissed her cheek to calm her down – he knew surprising her like this always ran the risk of backfiring, but he couldn't resist. "It's okay, it's only me. You're safe."
"Elliot?" she asked groggily, her body turning towards his and her left hand wandering over his bare chest. Once her half-asleep brain was confident, that she was not in harm's way, her body relaxed again, and she closed her eyes.
"It's me. I'm home," he spoke in between kissing her cheek and neck, his way of gently assuring her it was really him and letting her adjust to his presence. She made a noise in the back of her throat as a reaction.
"You didn't call," she said, opening one eye and turning her head towards his, her hand blindly reaching out for her phone on the nightstand and the pillow falling to the bed from her grip.
Elliot lifted his head, moved his left palm to her neck and pressed his lips against hers to seal the reunion and to assure her that he was in fact there. Her hand returned from her brief and unsuccessful search for her phone, and she wrapped it around his neck, her fingers finding the back of his head. He surrendered himself to her completely, her lips welcomed him back home and he swore to himself that he was done with missions out of state, all undercover work and any other assignments that would take him away from her. How could he leave her again, when all he wanted was to be around her all the time? How could he leave now that he finally had her?
Their lips parted, their foreheads met, and they were breathing the same warm air. He touched her hair and smoothed her wavy hair with his thick fingers, he'd always admired her hair. He liked it, when it was short and long, straight and wavy, dark brown and lighter tones. And he really enjoyed running his fingers through her hair.
"I was going to, but everything happened so quickly and then it was already quite late, and I had no idea how long it would take for me to get back to NY," he explained. He hooked his leg around hers moving himself partially on top of her and pulling her underneath him at the same time. "I didn't want to wake you, but I also wanted to see you," he added guiltily.
She completely abandoned the pillow in favor of reaching out to him and letting her fingers trail his muscular upper body. He kissed her again.
"I wanted to see you too, I've missed you," she approved his decision to show up in the middle of the night, when his lips moved to kiss the side of her head and her neck. She wasn't used to receiving affection like that from any man, but she didn't mind it – she cherished it. "I missed you too. So much," he said into her skin.
"Are you back for good now?" she asked with sudden urgency, wondering if their reunion was gonna be cut short with the morning light and if they should take advantage of every minute they have together before then.
"Yeah, I'm back. The job is done, we got our guys. I'll tell Ayanna in the morning that I'm done with the assignments away from you. I wanna be here. I wanna come home to you every night, cook dinner for you, do homework with Noah and then hold you while you sleep. I want this – I want us," he spoke with affection for the woman in his arms. He didn't want to spend any more nights away from her.
"Good. Because I really want you here," she agreed, she yawned. Her body reminding her of the tiredness now that she could fall back asleep with the knowledge that Elliot would be there when her alarm would go off.
"I'm here. I'll be here in the morning," he assured her.
She mumbled something, but he couldn't understand any of it.
"Go back to sleep baby, we have time," Elliot spoke gently. He wrapped his left arm around her again and nuzzled against her neck. He couldn't wait to spend some time alone with her the next day and he looked forward to seeing Noah in the morning with similar excitement.
She mumbled something again, already half asleep, and Elliot thought she was adorable. There was no question about how in love he was with Olivia. And finally, he was at peace with these feelings. She was his home, so he moved slightly closer to her so that she was fully in his arms, protected by the bulk of his body.
And there with his head next to hers on the same pillow and his arms around her, he closed his eyes. He was home. At last.