DISCLAIMER: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and its characters are the property of NBC and Dick Wolf.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I really must thank law_nerd for providing me with a link to Earth Calendar. I've found some interesting 'holidays' noted there… :-)
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
FEEDBACK: To sunsetwriter[at]mindspring.com
SERIES: Part of the Holiday Shorts series.
Holiday Short – International Chocolate Day
By sunsetwriter
Olivia was mesmerized by the dark chocolate syrup pooling in the small recess between Alex's breasts. The rich, brown color of the chocolate a stark contrast to Alex's alabaster skin. Olivia watched in fascination as a pink nipple stiffened in response to the warm syrup she lightly drizzled across Alex's chest.
Suddenly deciding she could wait no longer, Olivia dipped her head and swirled her tongue around the hardened peak, eliciting a moan of satisfaction from Alex, as the sweet taste of chocolate-coated-Alex registered on Olivia's tongue.
"Olivia…"
"Hmmm?" She really didn't want to stop and talk at the moment.
"Olivia…?"
"Mmmm, I love chocolate syrup…"
"Olivia!"
"Wha-?" The sleeping detective jumped, snapping her head forward and almost biting her tongue in the process.
"Nap time's over. I gotta pee," Elliot Stabler said from the driver's side of the unmarked sedan parked just down the block from Manny's All-Night Pizzeria. They had staked out the small restaurant to try and catch Pedro Ramirez, busboy extraordinaire, who was wanted for questioning in a string of unsolved rapes.
"You must have the world's smallest bladder," Olivia gruffed as she sat up and stretched her neck, stiff from the awkward position she had been in while napping.
He gave her a look. "Yeah, well at least I'm not talking in my sleep and drooling all over myself." He opened the door and stifled a laugh as she reached up to swipe her hand across her chin.
She grabbed her empty coffee cup and tossed it toward her partner. "Bring me a refill if you want me to stay awake then," she called as he exited the car.
Elliot slammed the car door and Olivia rested her head against the back of the seat again. She felt herself blushing at the memory of her recent dream – all because Alex had informed her, rather flirtatiously, that today was International Chocolate Day. Whatever way that was celebrated, she didn't imagine it could possibly be as much fun as the dream she just had. She really hoped Elliot was just yanking her chain by saying she was talking in her sleep.
A few minutes later, Elliot got back in the car and handed Olivia a cup with a tendril of steam escaping from the plastic lid.
"Thanks. I'll stay awake if you want to catch a few winks," she offered as she took the cup from her partner.
"Nah, I'm good for now," he responded as he put his cup in the small cup holder located beneath the dash of the car. "I'm just gonna hafta pee again in a half-hour anyway."
"Ever considered decaf?" Olivia asked with a smirk.
"What's the point of that?"
She smiled as she took a sip from her cup and then frowned at the unexpected sweet taste that assaulted her taste buds. "What is this?"
"Mochaccino," Elliot replied.
"Why? Don't tell me they're out of plain old black coffee," she said as she picked up his cup and sniffed and then switched her cup with his.
Switching the cups back again, he said, "I thought you could use a little sweetening up." He smirked when she glared. "Besides, you mumbled something about chocolate while you were asleep, so I thought you might like it."
So he wasn't joking. She felt the warmth in her cheeks return as she tried to seem unconcerned about his statement. "I was dreaming, I guess." She hesitated for a moment too long. "Did I say anything else?"
Elliot smiled as he realized her discomfort with the situation. "So what were you and Alex doing with chocolate?"
"What?"
"In your dream. Were you rolling around in chocolate syrup together?" He was delighted by the deeper reddening of her cheeks.
"God, Elliot, get your mind out of the gutter." He was so close to the truth that she was afraid of the answer, but she asked the question anyway. "What makes you think I was dreaming about Alex?"
He laughed. "Cause you only blush like that when I tease you about her."
"I'm not blushing."
"And why are you so concerned about exactly what you said in your sleep?"
"I'm not," she answered defensively.
He laughed again. "Whatever you say, Liv."
Olivia's cell phone began to buzz from its place on the seat between them. Elliot looked down to see 'Cabot' displayed on the screen. He reached for the phone as he said, "Well, speak of the devil. I wonder if she would like to hear that you've been dreaming about her?"
Before Olivia realized what he was doing, he had answered her phone.
"Hey, Counselor," he said into the phone as he swatted away Olivia's hands trying to take the phone away. He shifted it to his left ear, out of his partner's reach as he heard Alex's response.
"Elliot? I thought I called Olivia's phone."
"You did. I just thought you might like to know that she's been napping and mumbling something about chocolate syrup in her sleep." Olivia slugged him in the shoulder. "Ow!." Then he said into the phone, "Maybe you can get her to tell you what she was dreaming about 'cause she won't tell me." He held the phone out to Olivia who just scowled back at him as she snatched the phone from his hand.
Olivia put the phone to her ear as Elliot sat there rubbing his shoulder and chuckling. "Alex?"
"Chocolate syrup, huh?"
As hard as she tried not to, Olivia could feel the blush warming her face again. "Yeah, well…"
Elliot laughed. "You're blushing again."
"So what exactly were you dreaming?" When Olivia hesitated, Alex began putting two and two together. "I see."
"Yeah."
"So how late do you think you'll be tonight?"
Olivia sighed. "I have no idea. Unfortunately this place is called Manny's All-Night Pizzeria, so we could be here all night waiting for this low-life to show up to collect his paycheck."
Elliot was just about to tease his partner again when he saw motion on the sidewalk in front of the pizza place. He sat up and squinted through the windshield. He elbowed Olivia and pointed. "Looks like our guy, Liv."
Olivia looked in the direction that Elliot was pointing and said into the phone. "Looks like we may be done sooner than we thought. Pedro just showed up. I'll call you back later." She snapped the phone closed and clipped it to her belt.
The detectives waited for the man to enter the restaurant and then got out of the car and headed quickly to the pizzeria.
Two hours later, Benson and Stabler had finished interrogating their suspect and had put him in lock-up for the night. They each stopped by their desks to check their messages and take care of last-minute paperwork before leaving for the night.
As Olivia was filing the last report in the case file, the desk clerk from downstairs walked in and handed her a thick, padded envelope. "Messenger service just delivered this for you, Detective."
Taking the package and eyeing it curiously, she thanked the clerk. Slipping one finger under the flap, she opened the envelope and emptied the contents. A small, white envelope and a bottle of Hershey's chocolate syrup thudded onto her desk. She quickly looked up at Elliot, but he seemed oblivious as he was hurriedly finishing his paperwork.
Olivia quickly slipped the bottle of chocolate syrup back into the large envelope and then picked up the small envelope. She opened it and pulled out a single piece of stationery and unfolded it to see a short, hand-written note. Immediately recognizing the distinct penmanship, she read the note:
Sweet dreams are made of this.
I'll wait up,
Alex
Bring the chocolate...
Olivia smiled as she slipped the note back in the envelope and tucked the entire package under her arm as she quickly stood and grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair.
"G'night, El," she said as she walked past her partner's desk.
"Night, partner" he responded without looking up. As soon as she got to the door, he turned and called to her. "Hey, Liv?"
She stopped and turned back to look at him. "Yeah?"
He smirked. "Now aren't you glad I answered your phone?"
The End