Love, Olivia

Risks

Olivia's in the kitchen opening a new bottle of wine for them, dressed in a pair of his sweats that she'd rolled twice at the top and an oversized t-shirt. She's fresh out the shower and her hair is halfway dried and begins to wave up into amber tendrils all over her head. He had just finished showering after her, just as eager to get the grime of the work day washed off. He's matching her almost in a pair of sweats too as he leans against the doorframe to the kitchen.

Zara has a game tomorrow morning that they both are definitely going to and he had convinced her to spend one more night with him. He knows he should probably feel guilty but he also knows that Olivia was just waiting on one small reason to spend one more night. Nick's mouth tips up in a smile when she turns around to face him with two glasses half full in her hand. She's fucking beautiful. Maybe it's the fact that she's here standing in his kitchen barefoot with no makeup, and her hair is going all sorts of ways that only happens when she lets it air dry. He only gets to see her like this here in his house when they're together, and he hates to think about all the bastards who've gotten the privilege to see her like this.

"You got some crumpets or cake to go with this?" He teases her and takes the rosé from her hands. She admonishes him, shaking her head with a small smile.

"C'mon, humor me for a little," a laugh escapes her. Normally he left the wine drinking up to her and went for a beer, but she always had him taste a sip or two of her glass trying to get him to enjoy a glass with her.

She took a sip from her glass and wished he could get a taste of it on her lips. If only it were that easy.

Slow.

He reminds himself.

She intakes a breath of air and he knows he's been caught looking at her full lips that she's now biting the bottom of.

"You done?" She rasps and smirks over at him before pushing past and going around into the living room. Her body relaxed into the leather sofa with her feet stretched out onto the wooden coffee table. He followed behind falling next to her and took a few sips from his wine. "It's good huh?" She looked over at him just satisfied that he was drinking the wine.

He reached over and tucked her hair behind her ear. Her face tilted into his palm with her eyes sliding shut. The tips of his fingers knitted into her hair, with his thumb lightly massaging her temple. "What are we doing?" He grates. The four words hold the future attached to them.

"We're sitting here drinking wine, and I'm debating on if kissing you again is a good idea," her tongue runs over her top lip and the movement of his thumb stops. She's barely half way through her glass so he knows she's definitely not drunk.

"Liv.." he chides her, feeling the effect of her words on his libido. "That's not what I mean," Nick leaned to place his wine glass on the coffee table and turned more towards her. He had kissed her and she was more than approving. For months they tiptoed around this conversation. When words exchanged between them began to have meaning; the hugs turned longer and lips that touched cheeks or foreheads. It's time for them to talk about it.

"Nick- we know exactly what we're doing," she sets her wine down also and matches his position on the couch. "I want you to know I'm fine. If anything is going too fast between us I'll tell you," her hand comes up to take a hold of his that rested on his knee. Their fingers intertwine with one another and it feels so natural that it almost scares her.

"You're my Sargeant," he states it as if they both don't know how much they've just put at risk.

"I know," her voice is barely above a whisper. The serious talk wasn't supposed to come this soon. Olivia wants to enjoy the honeymoon stage, the relief of finally admitting what they both have been feeling. But that just isn't possible anymore. He isn't just her partner these days. She's running the precinct now- it's going to cost them a lot more than just switching partners.