A/N: My first bellson (ish) fic hinted about how they met so I decided to expand it. This story happens during late season 13. Enjoy!

Sou tua amiga, amante, serpente, meu doce bem

Soma, mas não some, fica e a gente dorme

(Intimidade - Liniker)

Olivia couldn't say she was excited about the NYPD charity ceremony her Captain had guilt-tripped her and Amaro to go to that evening. Those were not her kind of things but she knew Cragen would never ask her to go if he didn't have a good reason. Which he had.

The Captain had told her that he had completely forgotten about the charity ball and had promised Eileen, his new girlfriend, a trip upstate that same day. Olivia couldn't think of anyone who deserved a break more than Captain Cragen. So even if she wasn't all that excited to go to a charity ball full of cops, she had said yes and had made Amaro agree as well. She tried to see the good side of it. It wasn't everyday that she could wear a nice dress.

"O-livia-aaa!"

Amaro had met her in front of the place the ceremony was being held in. He had been nagging her the entire day about a football match he would be missing and she had a feeling he would be soon leaving her behind in order to find a sports bar that would be playing the game.

"You're late, Nick."

They walked up to the entrance where a few people were still arriving.

"And you're looking nice, mami."

"You call me mami inside and I swear, you're a dead man."

"Got it, ma'am"

After going around doing more small talk than cared for, Nick finally spotted some seats in a table that wasn't completely full and ushered Olivia to sit down. She didn't know the two people who were already sitting but by looking at Nick's face he did.

"Nick Amaro!" A young looking black woman with a huge grin exclaimed. She was sitting next to an also young looking latino man.

"Ayanna Bell! Are these seats free?"

"Yeah, just waiting for you to arrive."

"¿Y klk, Nicolas?" The other man, who Nick also seemed to know, fist bumped him. They all seemed like old friends and Olivia was starting to feel left out.

"Barón! ¿Y tu? ¿Que haces aquí?"

"Ya, tu lo sabes, keeping company to my dearest friend."

"Aka, nobody wanted to come and I was stuck with Carlos. Speaking of partners, Mr. Amaro. Would you introduce your friend?"

"Olivia, this is Ayanna."

"Nice to meet you."

"She's in homicide. Great detective. Officer Carlos Hernandez, not that great," Nick finished playfully.

"How's SVU treating you, Nick?" Ayanna asked.

"I've got the best partner of the unit," Nick answered, pointing to Olivia.

"You guys seem close," Olivia commented as the guys went up to the bar to get everyone drinks.

"That's my little brother," Ayanna said, as she looked at Hernandez and Amaro talking at the bar.

"Ha! Yeah, I know the feeling."

Ever since Nick had arrived she felt quite protective of the younger man. It was hard at the beginning, she had to admit. The transition between her twelve year long partnership with Elliot was anything but easy. She was still going through it, she supposed but Nick had made it easier. It was also the first time she was in the position of being the older, wiser one. It was a position she was enjoying. Nick looked up to her and even though that meant she felt a lot of responsibility towards him. She supposed that was the feeling of having a little brother, somehow. Her own sibling was still a sour spot in her heart.

"They are cute but they are work." Olivia was brought back to reality by Ayanna's comment.

"I remember hearing about you and," she continued, not seeming to remember her old partner's name, "your other partner."

"Stabler," Olivia concluded, already knowing where that conversation was going.

"Yeah, him. You were partners for a long time, no?"

" Twelve years. He left the force...recently."

"Must be tough."

"Yeah. I know such a long partnership is not that common. We had a long run."

"I hate this," said Ayanna as soon as the announcer proclaimed they would have a break in the ceremony.

They had been sitting on the table listening to Captains and Lieutenants talking on the main stage for over 40 minutes.

"I usually ditch these things to be honest," Olivia had not a lot of experiences with ceremonies even though she had been in the force for a while. Elliot had always managed to keep them free of that burden. One more thing that is different now.

"You think I'm here because I want to?" Ayanna asked. Finishing her drink she continued," lost a bet." She winked at Olivia, a small smile on her face.

Olivia smiled back. She liked Ayanna, she thought. She seemed right on her page.

"No,you didn't!" Hernandez interrupted. Pointing his finger to Ayanna he said playfully, "you're just running away from home."

"Shut it, Carlos." Ayanna looked at him with a pointed face.

"Trouble in paradise?" Nick asked.

Ayanna sighed, "more like a fire storm in paradise."

Before anyone else could ask more about it she directed everyone's attention to Olivia who so far had remained quiet.

"What about you, Liv? Got any paradise to set fire to?"

"Me?" Taken by surprise by everyone's stare at her, Olivia almost spit the drink she was just having, "no, no. Nothing like that."

Nick and Carlos had offered to grab more drinks again and they were taking their sweet time at it. Usually that would be hell to Olivia. She wasn't the best at small talk, especially with people she didn't know but something about Ayanna made her be at ease.

"So, running from home?" She couldn't help but be curious. Besides, Ayanna didn't seem all that mad that Hernadez brought the topic up. Maybe she needed to vent? Olivia was bored enough to offer to be that person.

"Not that interesting. Just, you know. Problems."

The detective didn't seem to want to share that much after all. Olivia could understand that.

"Men can be that way."

Ayanna laughed out loud, spilling the rest of her drink on the table. "I'm sure they can," she started, wiping her hands on her thighs from the spilled drink, "but I wouldn't know."

It took a couple of seconds for Olivia to get the hint.

"Oh,"she said mortified, "Ayanna, I'm so sorry I-"

"Don't worry," the detective interrupted. She was still laughing, "you're fine, Liv."

"So, I'm out."

Nick had returned almost twenty minutes later with a warm drink and a fake sorry look on his face.

"What do you mean you're out?" Olivia had been enjoying her conversation with Ayanna but the deal was that she and Amaro would endure the whole thing together.

"You've found a friend!" He said, indicating Ayanna who was eyeing their interaction with an amused expression, "people have seen my face."

"Seriously, Nick? This has nothing to do with that football match you wanted to watch tonight?"

She supposed she really sounded like a big sister after all. Or worse, a mom. That thought gave her goosebumps.

"Ya tu sabes…" Nick gave her his puppy eyes look he always used to get his way before begging, " Liv, come on."

Deciding she didn't want to sound like the mother of a 30-something man anymore she finally relented, "take your Cuban charm away from here."

"You know I love you, Liv." He kissed her cheek before getting up and looking at the other detective with a boyish grin on his face, "Ayanna, you take care of her?"

He was really playing with her patience.

"Nick, get the hell out."

"See you on Monday. You're the best, Olivia. Ayanna, great to see you." And just like that he was out.

"Little brothers, I'm telling you," Ayanna pointed to the empty chair where Hernandez had been, "mine ditched me without even saying goodbye."

Half an hour later the speaking part of the ceremony had finally ended. Everyone was now free to wander around and network. Ayanna and Olivia continued in their place, neither had any desire to network that evening.

"Wanna get out of here?" Ayanna suggested.

"I - you know what?Yeah. This is terribly boring. Besides, nobody seems to be very interested in us."

"You're right. This is more for sergeants and up. Maybe one day?"

"I can't say I'm very interested in getting up the ranks. At least not for now."

"I know what you mean. It's all about politics. So how about we take advantage of our detective's status and ditch this party? It's still super ealy. We could go somewhere?"

Olivia was definitely interested. The thought of going home alone early on a Saturday night seemed depressing. She was enjoying Ayanna's company. It wasn't everyday that she had the company and the will to go out.

"Sure, I'd love that."

"Okay, let's go."

Before leaving they had stopped at the free bar to get some water bottles.

"Beatrice, my friend!" Ayanna apparently knew one of the waitresses that was working at the bar that evening. "I didn't know you were here tonight."

Beatrice, a tall brunette, smiled charmingly at them before handing them their water bottles, "and I see you're already ditching the event. Sneaky of you, Ayanna."

"You know me. Tell me what you can do for me tonight."

Beatrice started taking alcohol bottles out of a cabinet, "got this bottle of champagne, not the best but you know."

"I'll take it."

As soon as Ayanna had agreed Beatrice took a small bag from under the balcony and stuffed the champagne bottle in it.

" Liv, this is my friend Beatrice. Beatrice, Detective Olivia Benson."

"Hi," Olivia wasn't sure what was happening but she decided to just go along with it.

Beatrice waved at her direction before she busied herself looking at some other bottles.

"You know what, Ayanna? Take this one as well," she said, holding a bottle of tequila in Ayanna's hand, "I feel like tonight it's a tequila night, don't you think?"

"Beatrice, you always read my mind."

The detective slipped the bottle into the bag quickly before anyone could see what they were up to.

"What was that?" Asked Olivia when they stepped out of the building.

"The perks of having a bartender friend," she explained calmly, "it's almost like a tradition? She always slips me drinks. Oh, and that means we'll have to go to my house to drink these."

"Are you trying to get me drunk, detective?" Olivia asked jokingly.

"No, but I'm trying to get myself drunk."

The cab trip to Ayanna's place was fast and soon they were sitting in her living room, drinking questionable champagne. Ayanna proved to be a fun company and Liv caught herself laughing more than she had in a long time.

"I think I better stop," Olivia said apologetically looking at the mess she had just made on the floor. She was laughing so hard that she dropped the champagne glass she had propped precariously at the end table.

"Had enough?" The other detective asked, getting up to get a broom. They hadn't even drunk half a bottle but she supposed her tolerance was lower these days.

"When my glass ends up on the floor I feel like it's about time," she got up to try and help but Ayanna brushed her off.

"Yeah, I've reached my limit as well. Besides, that's some bad champagne," the shorter detective quickly swept the glass to the corner, "I used to be able to drink much - now?"

"Oh, wait till you get to my age." Olivia sat down again. She has been thinking about her age more often than not these days.

Ayanna sat down next to her.

"You're not that older than me," she said, looking at Olivia with a smile.

'You're just being nice, Ayanna."

"Well, at least you don't look old."

"Thanks for that. I feel pretty old though."

"Well, you shouldn't. For all I know, you're still pretty hot."

"This is nice."

They had finally reached a comfortable silence and Olivia didn't even realize that she said that out loud.

"What?" Ayanna asked playfully, "the cheap alcohol or my old couch?"

They had moved even closer during the evening. Olivia hadn't even realized but they were now sitting so close to each other their legs were touching.

"The company. I don't have many female friends - or friends. I'm not that good at relationships," she confessed. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe she just trusted her brand new friend but Olivia felt like she could say these things to Ayanna. She wasn't a really open person, usually.

"And who is?"

"I've always wanted a family, you know? Kids and all that. But I've never really acted upon it." She was looking at a picture behind Ayanna. There was the detective with another woman, a much taller one, hugging each other in front of a lake. They seemed happy, in love.

"What about the 12 year long relationship?" Ayanna asked curiously.

"There was no relationship. At least, not in that sense."

"But there was something," she insisted.

"Yeah, I guess." Olivia relented. She still didn't know exactly what it was with Elliot but she knew that there were feelings. Complex, annoying feelings.

"Why -"

"Married," she answered. No reason to deny it. She had tried to deny it herself for a long time but the more she thought about it. She knew that his family was the reason why she wouldn't allow herself to feel the feelings she had for the man.

"He was married, had kids I'd never - I'm not a homewrecker."

"Did you love him?"

"I reserve my right to remain silent."

"Got it."

"Elliot used to say I was married to my job."

"It's hard out there for women."

"I'm actually - After Elliot left, something woke up inside of me. I don't know, maybe it's just my biological clock ringing but I'm putting myself out there more. Not that it has worked yet but I don't think anyone can say I'm not trying."

"That's good to know," Ayanna smiled again, letting her hand rest in Olivia's thigh.

Olivia didn't really mind. In fact, she appreciated Ayanna's warm hand. She usually hated being touched by people she barely knew. Again, Ayanna was proving to be an exception.

"What about your fiancé?"

"Denise," she said pointing to the picture Olivia was looking at earlier, "I love her."

There was no hesitation in Ayanna's voice.

"We are - I don't know. I've tried everything," the shorter detective eyes were suddenly watering, "sometimes, we just gotta let go."

"Does she love you?" Olivia whispered.

"I like to think so."

After getting emotional over failed relationships both detectives decided that they didn't want to spend the rest of their evening being sad. Ayanna finished telling one of her one of her worst but funniest dating experiences with one of her coworkers.

"Oh, Ayanna, that's terrible. You know, maybe that was for the best. Dating a coworker? Not the best thing in the world."

"Ah, tell me about that."

"It was such a long time ago. Let's just say -I've had some bad experiences."

"Everyone says that. Don't mix pleasure with business."

"Maybe it would be easier," Olivia whispered under her breath.

"What do you mean?"

"With a woman. I'm just saying - I don't mean any offence."

"You're fine."

"It's just- I don't seem to have a lot of luck with men."

"So you've never…?"

"No, but I've heard that I had a gay vibe before."

"Have you thought about it?"

"Honestly? I've never told anybody this..."

"Your secret is safe."

"Not a secret I just - I don't know."

"So there was someone."

"Alex."

"You never?"

"No. It wasn't like that - at least, I didn't - I don't know."

"humn."

"I think we went on a date once."

"You think?"

"It was actually a couple of months ago. I was pretty clueless."

"I can believe that," Ayanna laughed, "where is she now?"

"God only knows," she sighed.

"Will she come back?"

"Yeah. She always comes back."

"I think I better go now."

She didn't want to though. She didn't want to go back to her empty apartment in the middle of the night.

"You should stay."

"I don't know."

"Olivia," Ayanna took her hands, "stay?"

Olivia glanced over the picture behind Ayanna once more. The happy couple by the lake.

Ayanna pressed on, "you know I've been hitting on you the whole night, right?"

"You know I'm very much clueless, right?"

Olivia didn't know exactly how the transition between sitting beside each other laughing at past dates and making out happened but she was definitely pleased that it did. She couldn't even blame it on the alcohol anymore because she had been sobering up for the last half hour. But soon, way sooner than Olivia could ever imagine they had moved to the bedroom.

Their time together was as passionate as it was tender. Alcohol wasn't running high in their system anymore but it was comfortable, intimate. They were both longing for that: intimacy. Yes, they had just met but Olivia felt like she knew Ayanna for a long time. Maybe because they were so much alike? She couldn't quite say but it was exactly what she needed, at the right time.

"I think - maybe I should go now?"

"Stay," Ayanna said as she was falling asleep at her side, "sleep."

"Ayanna?"

They had slept in comfortably until they heard a voice calling from the living room.

"Shit. Shit, Liv - It's Denise"

"What do I do?" Olivia was wide awake in a matter of seconds. This had not been how she'd imagined their next day.

"Shit."

Ayanna was trying to put on clothes mid panicking. Olivia tried to make sense of everything. They hadn't done anything wrong, right?

"Ay - it's like eleven o'clock," the woman's voice was getting closer.

"Hey. I'm coming out," Ayanna shouted from the bed.

"I called you ten times, Ayanna. I know it's your day off. I thought maybe we could talk?"

They could hear the steps right outside the door.

"Shit," the shorter detective finally found her pants.

"Since it was your idea anyway. You ok?" Denise was right outside the door now.

"I'm fine. I'm coming."

"Ayanna, what do I do?" Olivia whispered. She had managed to put on her dress and shoes.

"Ay, I didn't come to fight I just - oh" Denise had opened the bedroom door. Ayanna took a deep breath before putting her hands up in surrender.

"'Nise, listen"

"Oh,I get it." Denise's shocked expression had quickly transformed into a very angry one.

"No, no you don't," Denise had turned to leave the bedroom and Ayanna left after her, "wait."

"It's ok, I just thought - I thought you wanted to - nevermind."

"Denise, I want to -"

Olivia had no idea what she should do. Deciding that it was better to leave, even if she had to go through the women that were now in the living room, she too followed them.

"It's very clear what you want, Ayanna."

The two women were in the direct way of the front door so Olivia's plan to leave quietly would not be possible. Maybe she could try to help?

"Denise," she started quietly.

"Don't," Denise's flaming glared bored into her, "don't you dare. I don't wanna listen to you."

Bad idea, she thought.

"Let me pass, Ayanna," Denise was also trying to leave the apartment but Ayanna moved to the front door just in time.

"Can we talk, please. Please, Denise."

"You know I want to kill you right now, right?"

"I know, I get it."

"Her?" Denise pointed to Olivia.

"Uhmn, I think I better go," Olivia felt like the worst human being on the planet. Rationally she knew she hadn't done anything wrong but reality was way different than theory.

"Olivia, this has nothing to do with you, ok? I'm so sorry," Ayanna said apologetically

"I - it's ok. I just, I think I better go now."

"Ayanna, I think she should go now."

"Ok, ok," getting out of her way, Aynna let Olivia pass through the door, "I'm sorry," she said before she left.

"It's ok," Olivia answered. She was in the elevator in a matter of seconds. She supposed she had to feel bad but she couldn't help but smile. What a night and what a morning. She felt like a teenager.

In the end, Denise had stayed. Maybe that meant they would work things out? She didn't know these women but she had a sense that they loved each other. She would root for them. She couldn't wait to tell Nick though. He'd always tease her about her boring Saturday nights. This one sure beat any football match.