Iniquity
Jezyk
Spoilers: Nothing in particular.
Disclaimer: Come sue me. I dare you.
Part One
After six days and nights of meals consisting of coffee and whatever they could scrounge up out of the vending machine in the hallway, Elliot reasoned that they deserved a decent dinner served to them on plates they didn't have to wash. Olivia didn't bother to argue because she hadn't gotten to wash the plates from the last meal she'd had and, after the six intervening days, she feared that either the food was so thoroughly attached that she'd never get them clean or, worse yet, the mouse she suspected lived in her apartment when she wasn't there, which was most of the time, had already done her the service of removing the food remnants.
Either way, she'd be relying on food from alternate sources until she could replace all of her dishes.
It was surprising to find a sizable line at the restaurant. With the ridiculous hours they kept, there were rarely any other patrons in the seedy establishments still serving food when they got around to eating. Except that it was only a few minutes after seven in the evening and it was a Saturday, so half of Manhattan was out for dinner, a good portion of which was in line in front of them. Olivia pulled her jacket tighter around her, wishing she'd followed Elliot's lead and stayed in her work clothes. But she'd wanted to change, to put on an old pair of jeans and a comfortable sweater. The well-dressed date-goers around her, decked out in their finest visual pheromones, made her feel terribly insecure. Elliot's clothes might have been wrinkled, but there were no holes in his pants, at least not to her knowledge, which was something she couldn't say about her own air conditioned pants, ones that she'd owned since college.
Being the partner that he was and thus rather adept at mind reading, El turned to her with a smile, lowering his voice to a whisper and leaning down to drop it in her ear. "Relax. You still look better than any of them."
Thankful for the low lighting that hid her blush, she smiled and tried to brush him off. He had no idea what his flirtatious comments did to her, simply because, she was well aware, that he honestly didn't mean anything by them. He was just trying to make her feel better, to take her mind off her outfit. And it worked, like always, because she was busy trying to not respond in an inappropriately flirtatious manner as that would be infinitely more embarrassing than being underdressed.
Another couple pushed by them, stopping by the maitre d' to put their name on the waiting list before heading off to the bar to wait.
Olivia turned to her partner, rolling her eyes in a show of disinterest. "Ok, Mr. Smooth, how about you put our names in before anyone else gets in front of us?"
Suitably chastised, Elliot obeyed her command, leaving Olivia to find an unoccupied patch of wall on which to lean. Elliot was much better at those things, his bulky muscles and brooding glare could send people scurrying much faster than her own narrow frame, but she managed to find a spot anyway, along the archway leading into the bar.
If there was one thing Olivia loved to do off-duty, it was people watching. She loved observing people's interactions with each other. She loved imagining interesting stories behind the relationships she fabricated. And studying people was much more entertaining when she wasn't working, when she didn't have to look for evil and twisted behaviors, when she could make believe some wonderful love affair was unfolding. Her eyes fell on the couple who had brushed past them moments earlier. The woman had taken the seat at the edge of the bar, the only spot available. Her date stood at her elbow, just to her left. He was an average, decent looking man, thick brown hair, a wide, friendly smile. He was smart, Olivia decided, based on his wire-rimmed glasses. His suit was expensive, his shoes freshly polished, and, although she had nothing on which to base her assessment, Olivia firmly believed he smelled great, due to some obnoxiously expensive cologne his ex-wife had given him for his last birthday. He was a doctor, his patient, attentive stare on his date's face, wealthy, intelligent, irresistible to any woman on whom he directed his attention. And, based once again on nothing at all, Olivia simply knew his name was something as offensively well-bred as he was himself, something like Chase or Finley. While he might be most women's dream, Olivia predicted she'd possibly make it to the appetizer with him before she ran for the door.
Her eyes turned on the woman just as Elliot returned to her side. While he announced it would be about a half hour, she took in the multitude of shades making up the blonde hair, what stylists promised would make it look natural, while in reality announcing to everyone that the woman wasn't a natural blonde. Before she got any further, the woman shifted in her seat, turning her body to face her knight, a familiar profile stopping Olivia's thoughts in their tracks.
With her heart pounding in her throat, Olivia glanced at Elliot, who'd forced his way beside her, sending another couple scampering. His eyes were on her, however, mercifully not anywhere else. He smiled, a rare, unguarded light in his eyes, one that Olivia only witnessed when they got a good result, like they had that night, watching a poor, mistreated child find a loving home with his grandmother.
He nodded toward the bar, moving forward as though he already anticipated her agreement. "You want a drink?"
Her eyes went wide as she turned, grabbing his arm in an unprecedented display of neediness. "I think there's room on the bench over there." She saw nothing of the sort, but everything inside her said she needed to get Elliot as far away from his wife as she could, at least until she could figure out what Kathy was doing with that man.
Elliot ground to a halt half a second later, letting her hand on his arm force her to stop as well. "You mean that overcrowded bench right there?"
Seeing no other choice she shrugged. "I guess I was wrong."
His concern was obvious in the way his lips drew into a thin line while his brow furrowed. "Are you ok?"
Realizing how absurd her behavior must seem to him, especially since she belatedly noticed she was still gripping his arm, Olivia tried to find a way out that didn't involve telling the truth. "You know, I'm really not feeling so good anymore. Maybe I should just go home."
Elliot's eyes searched her face, his concern melting into something more closely resembling distrust. "What's going on?" He turned around, his narrowed eyes sifting through the crowd. "There an ex around here I need to beat up?"
She couldn't hide the grin that formed, although he rarely behaved like a jealous boyfriend, it never failed to give her a vicarious thrill. Not one that she would admit to, however. She shook her head. "No. I just-" She didn't actually have anything to say and her stomach chose that moment to growl, letting everyone around them know she was quite hungry.
"It won't be that long. I'm starving." He smiled, daring her to dispute her own feelings. "Even if you're not."
A group of six was called to their table, freeing up a considerable amount of space on the bench. Olivia collapsed happily onto it, glad to have the lure of the bar bypassed for the moment. Elliot sat beside her, getting closer and closer by the second as more people forced their way into the small seat. The side of his body was pressed fully against hers, his arm draped across her shoulders for lack of other places to put it. Luckily she detached herself from the moment, finding something to focus on besides the contact that she knew she shouldn't enjoy, let alone cherish.
But really, ten yards away from his wife, who by all appearances was cheating on him, it was hardly the time to be harboring such feelings for the man. She concentrated her thoughts on Kathy and her friend, trying to conjure up their images in her mind's eye, dissecting the interaction she had seen. Certainly she was predisposed to assuming a romantic relationship between them, she'd decided everyone in the place was on a date the second they'd walked in, but she recognized that was simply because she was not and the idea made her uncomfortable. More accurately, the idea made her jealous. Because she rarely found time to date and when she did, the men she dated were either assholes or wusses or rapist wannabees. All the decent ones were taken, like Elliot.
The thought bothered her because it could well be that a decent, loyal man like Elliot was married to a cheating bitch. But she decided that wasn't, couldn't be, the case. It was Elliot, after all. No one in their right mind would cheat on him. Olivia couldn't see the point in cheating on her partner, not when she considered him to be one of the few, truly honorable men out there. Kathy couldn't possibly expect to find a better man than she already had. Which made it particularly rotten to cheat on him.
But the more she thought about it, the less likely it seemed that Kathy was out on a date. She was one of the few women, besides Olivia, who wasn't in a skirt. And Kathy had really never seemed the type. She'd always struck Olivia as a sweet, faithful, suburban housewife, which until seeing her with another man, Olivia had considered an insult of sorts. So Kathy was probably going out to dinner with a colleague, which Olivia could hardly say anything about, since she herself was having a platonic dinner with a gorgeous man.
Still, she knew better than to mention such a thing to Elliot. Because honorable and decent as he was, Elliot was more likely than not to jump to the same conclusion as Olivia had originally and pound the man to pieces before he even asked if it was a date.
"You're really quiet, Liv."
She wasn't prepared for his voice to be so close and felt stupid for jumping at the sound. The crunch of bodies on the bench had resulted in Elliot pushing even closer to her while she was preoccupied. Normally, she would have simply shrugged at his comment to avoid explaining where her mind had been, but she saw the subject of her thoughts responding to the hostess for their seats and she felt compelled to distract him. She dared to throw a glance at him, even though he was far too close to her to chance eye contact. "I'm just tired. Aren't you?"
He nodded, a movement she actually felt in the cramped space. "Yeah, but I can't sleep if I'm starving." The hostess paged them and Elliot jumped to his feet so fast Olivia almost fell on the floor. "Finally."
Olivia followed him wordlessly, her mind dwelling on two possibilities. The first was that Stabler was hardly a common name, and would most certainly get the attention of a woman who bore the same name. And secondly, there was always the chance that they were about to be seated next to Kathy and her dream date.
Elliot stopped walking as he reached the podium, causing a stab of fear to course through her. But Elliot hadn't seen anything, he was simply waiting for her, allowing her to go ahead of him, as all men with manners would. With another reason to hate anyone who would consider cheating on her partner, Olivia followed the woman to an empty table, intensely pleased that she hadn't spotted Kathy. She was looking for the other woman and hadn't seen her, therefore, Elliot, who wasn't looking, probably hadn't seen her either.
Their table was small and dimly-lit, located against the back wall. Under any other circumstances, it would have seemed extremely romantic. A waiter appeared, rattling off a list of specials and wine suggestions, while Olivia scanned the room. She tried to appear nonchalant as she searched for Kathy. But the other woman was nowhere to be seen and Olivia knew that meant wherever she was, she had to be in Elliot's line of sight.
Overcome with anxiety, Olivia had no idea how she'd be able to stomach eating a huge Italian meal. Her stomach was in knots, allowing no room for food, except that Elliot would definitely notice if her appetite suddenly disappeared and he'd call her on it, likely eventually wheedling the truth out of her. It was something she needed to avoid at all costs because as bad as it would be for Elliot to discover that his wife was cheating on him, provided that was indeed the case, it would be indescribably worse for him to learn of it from Olivia. And somehow she knew she would wind up seeming guilty of something if she was the one to tell him.
So Olivia forced herself to pay attention to her own dinner companion rather than searching out someone else's. She nodded her agreement when Elliot suggested wine, more than happy to knock back a few glasses to take the edge off her nerves. Despite the disconcert she felt, she munched on the bread in the basket, feeling her hunger reawaken in the presence of food. Elliot was slightly outpacing her with the wine, ordering a second bottle without hesitating.
By the time the food came, Olivia's anxiety was toned down considerably. It was much easier to focus on the man before her, transformed by alcohol into a loquacious flirt. Although, she was perfectly aware of the fact that alcohol had the same effect on her, allowing her to giggle and blush at his comments. But it was familiar ground for them, something they did rarely, something they could trust each other with. They would never act on it, Olivia knew, and that made it ok. It made it safer than with anyone else. And there was no reason that Olivia would ever have to tell him how much she cherished having his attention on her like that.
His attention was tunneled on her, so much so that she nearly forgot there was anything amiss. Until she noticed him squinting at something behind her. Finally he shook his head and looked at her sheepishly. "I keep thinking I see Kathy."
For a moment, time stood still. She didn't know what to do. She felt guilty keeping the truth to herself. She could hear the guilt Elliot felt for his behavior in the way he said his wife's name. But Olivia had no idea how to respond. She didn't think she could bear to tell him that he was right and she didn't think she could bear to keep the secret. Swallowing hard, she turned, figuring that seemed like the appropriate response, and followed the path to where he'd been looking.
Just at that moment, Kathy turned in her seat, reaching for the napkin that had fallen from her lap.
"Son of a bitch!" Elliot was pushing back his chair, about to jump to his feet.
Olivia could only imagine the damage a drunken, irate Elliot could inflict on a civilian. She was on her feet before she even thought about it, blocking his path, grabbing his arms to get his attention back on her. "Elliot, calm down."
His eyes focused on her, hard and cold and full of hate as he hissed at her. "My wife is here on a date with a man."
Moving her hands to his chest, Olivia held his gaze despite wanting to look away from the anger there. "And it would probably appear very much to her that you're here on a date with a woman."
Elliot stared at her, his face fading first to confusion, then blankness. He glanced over her shoulder, but his eyes quickly returned to hers. "But-"
Out of desperation that the evening would end in the emergency room, Olivia smiled seductively at her partner. "And a very attractive woman, I might add."
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a long time before he finally stepped back and settled into his seat. When his eyes fell on Kathy, who still had not noticed him, he seemed nervous, unsure, but when he turned back to Olivia, he offered her a determined nod. "Although my date does appear to be rather undressed for this place."
It took another glass of wine before he started to relax and Olivia knew she wasn't about to. Because Elliot was clearly trying as hard as he could to listen to her, which meant there wasn't much leeway. Olivia had no idea what was happening behind her. She didn't like being unprepared in any situation, especially not one where her partner was liable to go crazy and attack at any moment.
The waiter returned to offer them dessert. Olivia quickly shook her head, knowing that getting Elliot away from there was the best course of action. But Elliot smiled and ordered something for both of them. As soon as they were alone again, he nodded in the direction of Kathy. "They're having dessert."
Olivia sighed, realizing that not only was their perfectly fun meal ruined, but also nearly every chance for a peaceful resolution to the evening. Elliot was no longer paying any attention to his partner. He was staring at his wife and her companion, fully planning on watching and waiting, expecting they'd hang themselves if he gave them just enough rope.
"I really think we should go." Her stomach was knotting up again and she sorely wished she hadn't eaten so much nor drank so much. The wine was still with her, keeping her warm and slightly dulled, although she could recognize that the adrenaline rush had left her partner as sober as ever.
His eyes left Kathy's back finally, fixing on Olivia's with the same deep-seated betrayed anger. "You saw her."
It wasn't a question and she wasn't prepared to lie, but Olivia found herself feigning confusion anyway. "Who?"
If it was possible, his eyes grew darker, clearly every bit as angry with her as with Kathy. "That's why you wanted to leave."
She didn't bother to dispute it. He always knew when she was lying anyway and it never served to do anything besides piss him off. "I still think we should leave."
She expected him to fire back, to start an argument with her because she was a safer target than the wife who might well already have one foot out the door on him. So his silence bothered her. As did the slack-jawed stare that was aimed over her shoulder once again. With a feeling of dread that she'd never felt before, Olivia turned slowly.
Standing at their table, Kathy and her date stood, locked in an embrace, topped off with a passionate kiss.
Not quite as shocked as the jilted husband, Olivia made it to her feet before Elliot, which gave her enough time to block his path as he sprang from his chair. She leaned in, knowing he was coming at her fast enough to hold her up. "Don't, Elliot."
"I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill both of them."
Olivia stood her ground, slowing him down with her weight. "Don't do this, not here, not in front of a bunch of witnesses she can use to take your shield from you."
His hands were on her upper arms, trying to move her. "Get the hell out of my way!"
In a last ditch attempt, knowing that it would not be difficult for Elliot to shove her out of his path, she grabbed the lapels of his jacket, yanking hard enough that his eyes turned to her. "Killing them is not going to help anything." She was surprised that he simply stared back at her, perhaps crushed enough by his wife's actions to not know what to do without her input. "Please, El, think. Please!"
Even as their eyes remained locked, the hush of the room became apparent, a shocked squeak echoing throughout the restaurant. For a brief moment, Olivia saw the glimmer of moisture in his eyes and she wanted to save him the embarrassment of breaking down in front of so many people.
But having garnered the attention of Kathy and her friend, it quickly became clear that Elliot's thoughts weren't on saving face at all. No, his thoughts were clearly on revenge.
Unfortunately, Olivia didn't realize the change until his mouth pressed down over hers.