Title: For Once in My Life
Author: sitarra
Rating: PG-13 for now for some language.
Disclaimer: I do not claim to own anything in this story. Elliot Stabler, Olivia Benson, and fellow recognized characters are not my own. 'Be my Baby' is performed by the Ronettes and is not mine.
Summary: AU story with a mix of Elliot and Olivia's high school and college/marine life and everything after.
A/N: I realize a lot of people are doing high school stories. The only high school in this story will be flashbacks of Elliot and Olivia's time in high school together. Most of the story will focus on college and getting through the marines and school. Also, Motown songs will be featured predominantly in this story as that was a great era in music.
Big shout out and thanks to Darkalley29 for helping me build confidence to post this chapter!
'I'll make you happy, baby
Just wait and see
For every kiss you give me
I'll give you three
Oh, since the day I saw you
I have been waiting for you
You know I will adore you
For eternity'
May 27, 1981
Hundreds of families assembled on Washington High School's football field. The class of 1981 was finally ready to graduate. Dozens of flashes went off at once as parents took pictures of their child walking across the stage, diploma finally in hand. It was the perfect day for the occasion. After raining nonstop the week before, the current week held nothing but beautiful sunshine and blue skies. There had been worry that the field wouldn't dry in time but a heat wave had cleared up any worry.
As Elliot Stabler listened to the valedictorian drone on with his final speech of the morning, he glanced around at the sea of loving families and looked for the only person he wanted to see. A broad smile crossed his face when he spotted her. Her – the reason he was even graduating high school with honors. She was probably the reason he was even graduating in general. Her study ethic had always made him want to work harder. Plus her study methods for him were very encouraging.
She smiled back at him when she caught him looking. Her beautiful white smile matched his as they looked at each other under a cloudless sky. She mouthed something at him and pointed toward the front where the stage was located. He thought about shaking his head no but decided he could attempt to wait until the end of his classmate's speech before holding her in his arms.
Olivia Benson just chuckled to herself as she watched her boyfriend turn around again. That was the third time she had caught him looking at her while he was supposed to be watching the stage.
She would forever be grateful for the day she met Elliot Stabler three years ago. She had just been a shy freshman when she had been paired up as the sophomore football player's biology lab partner. He had been rude and crass and they only spoke when necessary. For two months almost, she thought he was the epitome of a jackass.
Until the day she was unable to hide the bruises.
He had been so concerned. He asked about it during class and throughout the school day but she was tight lipped. At least, she was until he pulled her aside after school. She was vague but she had assured him she wasn't in an abusive relationship.
"You're in some kind of abusive relationship to be sportin' bruises like that," he had told her. "Boyfriend? Or parents?"
As her eyes had turned down when he said parents, he had received his answer.
"It's complicated," she had said.
Slowly, he had nodded. "Yeah, I know all about complicated."
When their eyes met after his statement, a friendship had been born.
She never even told him the truth until a year later after a party they both attended. He was off again with his girlfriend and the guy she had been with had ditched her so Elliot and Olivia decided to take a walk instead. They learned a lot about each other that night and now, a year later, she was his girlfriend.
She would never forget the day he finally asked her out. Or the nervous look on his face.
E
O
November 10, 1980
It wasn't exactly the most beautiful of days. It was raining, not a drizzle but not a downpour. It was that annoying level in between. And it was windy.
"Do you think it'll let up soon?" Olivia asked, staring out the window in English class. Class hadn't started yet but she was one of the few who actually went to class promptly instead of clowning around in the hallways.
"Probably not," Elliot answered, leaning in close to her. He had been touchy feely lately, which was fine by her, but it was unusual for him. "I think it's supposed to rain nonstop for the next couple of days."
She glanced at him. "I just wish it would stop. I don't feel like walking in the rain today."
"You know I can give you a ride, right? I drove today because of the rain."
"That death trap?" she teased. "No, thank you."
Elliot rolled his eyes. "Liv, it is not a death trap."
Elliot's uncle Bobby had helped him purchase a used 1974 Chevy corvette by letting Elliot work at his bar for the last few years. The seats were falling apart, the doors would stick, when it was too cold out it was questionable whether the engine would actually start half the time, but he loved his car.
"Come on, Liv, think of the hair," he tempted, knowing her affinity for her hair. "You don't want it getting all wet, do you?"
Olivia contemplated what he was saying. Her love of her hair, the occasional make-up, and sometimes dressing like a girl should was about as girly as she ever got. She was tomboyish most of the time. She enjoyed sports and she didn't mind if she actually happened to sweat. What she didn't know was that Elliot loved this about her.
"I suppose I'll let you give me a ride home in the death trap," she finally relented. He smiled broadly at her. Her heart fluttered in her ribcage. "But only if we can make a pit stop."
E
O
"You have an odd relationship with ice cream," Elliot noticed as he watched Olivia devour her chocolate ice cream cone as they sat in his car.
They had kind of a tradition. Whenever he drove her home, nine times out of ten they would stop by a popular ice cream shop and find a place in Central Park to sit and talk. Most of the time, it was so Olivia wouldn't have to deal with her mother right away. He didn't mind; he got to spend more time with her. Alone.
"It's not a weird relationship," Olivia corrected. "I'm just probably the only girl you know who's not afraid to eat anything other than a salad in front of a guy."
Elliot chuckled. "That is probably true."
A comfortable silence fell over the two, except for the car's radio playing in the background. They enjoyed listening to the old classics together, the classic Motown. All of the other kids at their school kept up with the latest music. Well, most of them anyway. A common group of friends they hung out with shared their musical interests.
"Shayne's having a party this weekend," Elliot remembered. "He told me to pass along the news to you."
Olivia shrugged. "I don't think I'll go."
"Got a hot date I don't know about?" he teased. She usually told him about any guy that even asked her out.
She smiled. "No. I just don't feel like it."
"Your mom drinking again?" he guessed.
She glanced over at him. "Again implies that she stopped at one point. She's always drinking but no more than usual these days."
"So why don't you want to go then?" You love going to his parties."
"I don't know. I just…" She flung her head back against the headrest. "I'm tired of doing the same thing every day. I'm tired of life. I'm tired of dealing with my mother. I'm tired of everything."
"Even tired of me?" Elliot asked timidly. Surely she couldn't be tired of him. In his opinion, they didn't see each other enough for her to be tired of him.
Olivia smiled over at him. "I'll never be tired of you, El. You're my best friend."
Inside his ribcage, Elliot's heart fluttered rapidly. "Then what's wrong, Liv?"
But she only shook her head. How could she describe to him what she had been feeling lately? Her mother had been on her case lately, not that there was anything new about that. She was simply getting fed up with her mother's threats and accusations. It was like a repeat of last year when her mother had found out about her relationship with Thomas. Her mother simply knew, insisted even, that she was involved with a boy and was planning to run off with him to get away from Serena.
No amount of denying it on Olivia's part would convince Serena otherwise. So Serena continued to yell and hit and beat Olivia until Olivia begged her to stop and promised her she wasn't going anywhere. Olivia would cry herself to sleep at night, wishing for someone to talk to and take away her pain. Sometimes she would call Elliot, usually with a stupid question about a homework assignment, just to hear him talk and take her mind off of the hell that was her life. She had a feeling he knew her questions were all just a ruse. After all, he was the one that usually called her with questions about their homework assignments seeing as how she was the one that took pages of notes. But he humored her and eventually he would have her in tears of laughter.
She was starting to worry… well, not worry necessarily, that she was developing feelings for Elliot. Romantic feelings. But she didn't know if her feelings were coming from the right place. What if it was a repeat of her relationship with Thomas? No, it couldn't be. But what if it was transference: she wanted to love and be loved by Elliot since her own mother couldn't seem to love her. No, it couldn't be that either. She felt different feelings than she felt with Thomas every time she looked at Elliot.
She didn't quite know when her feelings for him had changed, only that it was in the spring. He had touched her shoulder after a jog one day in gym class to ask her if she wanted some water. Her skin had tingled for hours afterwards and she had gone to sleep that night with a goofy grin on her face.
Okay, she definitely had romantic feelings for Elliot.
But she was positive he didn't feel the same way. Although, he was more touchy feely lately and they were hanging out more.
No, he just saw her as one of the guys. Didn't he?
Although, he had broken up with his on again off again girlfriend Kathy.
But how long was that going to last? It usually only lasted a few weeks.
Although, it had been four months so far and Kathy had really fucked up her relationship with Elliot this time. There was no way Elliot would take back someone who had cheated on him.
"Liv? Earth to Liv," she heard from her left. She shook her head to shake her thoughts away. There was no use in dwelling on her life now. She turned her head to see Elliot looking at her like she had three heads.
"Are you okay, Olivia? You disappeared on me there."
She reached over and patted his leg. "I'm fine, El. I was just thinking."
"Are you sure you're okay?"
He was looking at her so tenderly and loving; oh, she had it bad when he looked at her with those icy blue eyes of his.
"I promise I'm okay," she told him one last time with as much conviction she could muster up. "Maybe I just need more sleep."
"You know, you gotta stop staying up so late studying," he teased. "You're gonna start making me look bad when I bomb on tests and you pass them flying colors. I might have to start looking over your shoulder."
She punched him in the shoulder. "You already do that."
His smile disappeared from his face. "Oh, you know about that?"
He succeeded in his goal of making her laugh. Her sweet chuckle filled the interior of the car, causing him to smile. He loved the sound of her laugh and the sight of her smile. It brightened her face; her tan skin would glow radiantly. But in his opinion, she didn't smile or laugh nearly enough.
He wanted to change that.
Elliot watched as Olivia leaned over to fiddle with the radio. His eyes traveled her features. Her dark brown hair reached down to her shoulders; she had been letting it grow out. She had styled in the current popular fashion, the feathered look, and oh, how he longed to run his hands through it. His eyes followed the smooth slope of her nose. It suited her face well. He wanted to cup her cheek in his hand, it looked so soft. And then he would draw his lips closer to the supple lips he longed to taste.
"Hey, um, Liv?" Elliot stuttered out.
She glanced his way. "Yeah."
Suddenly, he couldn't look at her as he said this.
"I, uh, I was, um, wondering. Would you… what I mean to say is would you be interested in… um, I mean, do you want to… ugh…"
Olivia chuckled. "Spit it out, El. You're starting to remind me of when Tommy from chemistry asked me to go out with him."
"Exactly!" he blurted out. Olivia only stared at him blankly, confused. "What I'm trying to say or ask you is uh… do you want to go out with me one night? Like, to dinner or a movie or even a walk in the park. Or it doesn't have to be any of those. You could pick what we do or we could just play it loose. Or…"
"Elliot!" Olivia practically yelled to get him to stop babbling. He looked at her nervously. She would have laughed if she didn't think it would crush him and his ego. "Elliot, are you asking me out on a date?"
"Um, yeah, yeah, I am."
She was going to say no, he just knew it. She was either going to laugh in his face or slap him. Either way, his reaction to the rejection of his best friend wasn't going to be pretty.
But then she did something he never expected.
She smiled.
"I would love to go out with you, Elliot."
E
O
May 27, 1981
Elliot made his way through a crowd of families with their graduates. He hadn't spotted her yet but he knew she was near. She was the only one that had showed up today for his graduation. He expected it but he was still a little hurt. Sometimes he wished his mom wasn't as sick as she was. And he wished his father cared more about him or that he was at least proud of him. Not that giving him broken bones, ignoring him, and beating him didn't make him feel like he was bringing honor to the family name.
But none of that mattered to him anymore. Not when he had Olivia at his side. He hated leaving her every night but he loved seeing her every morning before school. He had gotten in the habit of dropping her off later every night and picking her up earlier every morning. With his father away from the house most of the time and his mother usually on another one of her creative ideas, his home life was normally no problem anymore. But Olivia on the other hand… He practically counted down the seconds until he was able to remove her from the hell of her apartment. He had only met her mother once and it had been from a distance. Olivia had finally told him about her mother's reaction to Olivia's relationship with Thomas, one of Serena's students. Elliot had been the one to suggest that he stay out of Serena's knowledge and sight until she was back on the wagon for more than six months. She was a scary woman, Serena Benson, but for some reason Olivia still loved her no matter the shit she was put through.
"I hear you just graduated from high school," a familiar feminine voice said from behind him. Smiling to himself, Elliot turned around.
"Yeah, I did. That interest you?"
The female stepped closer to him, her hands going to the sash that hung from his neck.
"A little. I kind of have this thing for slightly older guys."
"Oh, yeah! Well, I'm also going into the marines in the fall."
"Ooh, a man in uniform. I bet none of the girls will be able to keep their hands off you."
"Probably not."
Olivia laughed and punched his shoulder. "You are so cocky. Why'd you have to ruin it?"
"Hey, I have you," he reasoned. "I can afford to be cocky."
She raised her brow. "Oh, is that right?"
He pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her tightly. He drew his face closer to hers but didn't yet press his lips to hers.
"That's right. I thank god every day for bringing you into my life."
Olivia brought her hands up to the nape of his neck. She threaded her fingers through his brown locks of hair and nipped at his lips with her own.
"Do you spend your nights thinking of those cheesy come on lines?" she asked teasingly. "Because I've got to tell you…"
Her words were cut off by Elliot's lips on hers. Every single time, it never failed to take her breath away. She had kissed boys before but most of them had been all over the place and a little too grabby. Not to say that Elliot wasn't occasionally all over the place but she understood the hormone surges. Elliot was gentle and rough and everything in between. She imagined he was the type of man that women were reading about when they read those romance novels. Although occasionally his hormones would get the best of him, and she would have to tell him to slow down. He always apologized and they always returned to business.
Slowly, he pulled away so they could catch their breath. His eyes had a sparkle about them; a sparkle that she liked to think was because of her.
"You were saying?" he said smugly.
She smiled sweetly at him.
"You've already got the girl."
'So won't you please?
Be my, be my baby
Be my little baby
My one and only baby
Say you'll be my darlin'
Be my, be my baby
Be my baby now'
I'm just putting the feelers out with this chapter. Let me know if you like it.