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DUN DUN
THE LAST BARRIER
It was a little after two in the morning. In the darkness of her bedroom, Olivia stared at the ceiling, unable to find sleep. She had tossed and turned in her sheets at least twenty times. It had been an exhausting week at the 16th Precinct, yet her body and mind completely refused to decompress. The bed felt desperately too big, too cold, too empty.
Ever since Elliot had come back into her life and they had finally crossed the line, she had to face facts: she couldn't sleep without him anymore. She needed his warmth, the reassuring rhythm of his breathing, his scent of cedar and leather.
Finally giving in to her impulse, she reached for her nightstand, grabbed her phone, and opened her messages. Her fingers trembled slightly on the keyboard, but she sent a simple, direct, and completely vulnerable text:
Olivia: Hey. Do you want to sleep over tonight?
She pressed the phone against her chest, bracing herself to wait until morning. Elliot had his own demons; he was a notorious insomniac too.
But her screen lit up barely ten seconds later. The reply was instantaneous, raw, and completely no-nonsense. Classic Stabler.
Elliot: I'll be there in 15 minutes.
A deep sigh of relief escaped Olivia's lips. She got up, threw a comfortable cardigan over her tank top, and went to wait for him in the living room, her heart racing like a teenager's.
Exactly fourteen minutes later, the faint sound of a key turning in the lock echoed through the silence. The door opened, and Elliot stepped inside. He had clearly thrown his clothes on in a rush: a pair of jeans, his worn boots, and a dark jacket over a t-shirt. His hair was slightly messy, and his blue eyes, though tired, burned with a fierce, protective concern. He tossed his keys onto the entryway table and immediately locked eyes with her.
"Is everything okay?" he asked, his rough voice cutting through the quiet apartment. "Noah’s asleep? No alerts from the squad?"
Olivia took a few steps toward him, her arms crossed against the chill, a shy, slightly guilty smile playing on her lips.
"Everything is fine, El. Noah is sleeping like a log, and my phone is completely silent."
Elliot stepped forward, shedding his jacket and tossing it over the back of a chair. He stopped right in front of her, scanning her face with that trademark intensity she knew so well.
"Then... what's with the 2 AM invitation, Liv? Not that I'm complaining, far from it."
Olivia looked down for a fraction of a second, feeling her cheeks warm up. It was hard for Captain Benson to admit weakness, even to him. But she took one more step, pressing her forehead against his solid chest, inhaling his scent deeply. Her arms naturally wound around his waist.
"I couldn't sleep," she confessed in a whisper against his t-shirt. "The bed is too empty. I think... I can't sleep without you anymore, Elliot. The second you leave, my brain stays on high alert."
Elliot let out a sharp breath. His broad arms instantly wrapped around her, pulling her so tight against him that her feet almost left the floor. He buried his face in her short hair, kissing her temple with immense fervor.
"God, Liv... if you only knew," he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. "I pace around my loft like a caged lion. I stare at the ceiling waiting for the sun to come up. My place doesn't feel like anything anymore. My home—my only real home—is wherever you are."
He pulled back just enough to take her face in his large hands, forcing her to look at him. Their eyes, hazel meeting blue, locked with absolute clarity. There were no more doubts, no more ghosts of the past, no more walls up.
"So, what do we do now?" Olivia asked, a tender, slightly teasing smile on her lips. "Are you going to drive across Manhattan at two in the morning every time I have insomnia?"
Elliot let out that low, confident smirk she loved so much. His thumbs gently stroked her cheekbones.
"No. I think we’re way past the age of playing boyfriend and girlfriend living in separate apartments," he said with absolute certainty. "We know each other inside out, Liv. Better than anyone else on this earth. We know how the other takes their coffee, we know our nightmares, our silences, our quirks... We are already a family. You, me, and Noah."
He rested his forehead against hers, his blue eyes anchoring her.
"Move in with me. Or let me move in here. I don't care about the logistics, but let's not spend another night apart. I want to wake up next to you every single morning for the rest of my life."
Olivia felt happy tears pricking the corners of her eyes. The proposal didn't feel rushed; it just felt entirely, beautifully logical. It was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Okay," she breathed, before sealing her promise in a slow, deep kiss filled with an infinite amount of love. "Move in, El. Take your place."
When they finally broke apart, Elliot took her hand, intertwining their fingers, and gently led her toward the bedroom. This time, the moment she slid against his chest under the covers, safely wrapped in his powerful embrace, Olivia closed her eyes and fell asleep in seconds—her mind finally at peace, ready for their new life together.