'I like that shirt.'

My heart was beating. So loud, I was sure he would hear it. It was the first time since I'd been transferred. I had planned for this, dreamed of this one single moment. The one single confrontation.

"What are you doing here?"

Seven years and I'd only heard this tone a handful of times. He was so emotional that he had complete control. It was terrifying.

'Heard what happened between you and Blaine.'

I'd actually only heard within the last half hour. My old squad room was much too secure to have me find out about it so fast. My new squad room was the middle of information but I still hadn't heard.

"What can I tell you, he's a prick?"

He looked at me. Blue eyes. So full. They were windows to the soul, and his soul was hurt.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Why? Because it would hurt you. Worse though, it would break my heart. My poor fragile heart. Already it was bruised from our recent decisions together.

'Elliot, we've been partners for seven years, longer than anybody else here. We needed a change.'

He looked at me. Soulful was just the tip of the ice burg. Confusion, sadness, anger, a whole slew of emotions bursting out from those brown eyes. And I felt all of them. Those emotions were catching.

'I'm Sorry; I should have talked to you.'

I should have. Now that I'd done it. Now that I'd already hurt him. Hurt him and more. Hurt myself.

'It's just… It was just too complicated.'

Complicated was an understatement. Complicated didn't begin to cover how tangled this was. My feel-… our attachment to each other made our relationship… difficult. Complicated… Then he gave me a signal with his eyes. I was supposed to say… something his eyes told me, they didn't say what and I was silent.

"Thanks for dropping by."

Those four words cut me deeply. I loved him. He was my closest friend, my ally, a pain in the rear, but I still loved him. With all my heart. Elliot would never know. And it hurt me to know that he was taking this badly. Almost as badly as I was.

He walked past me and I knew this thing between us needed to be fixed before it destroyed both of us.

-Olivia Benson