Everyone was already at the bar when she arrived so she made her way to the group.
"Hey, Cap! Nice surprise to seeing you here." Carisi smiled at her and then took a drag from his beer.
Olivia smiled at him as she took the glass of red that Fin was handing her. "Bless you. So do you guys do this often?" She looked around at her squad, they all seemed to be paired up and suddenly she felt the hollow in her chest expand. Why am I always the one alone? She sighed as she took a long drink of her wine, feeling the heat in her cheeks already.
"Not too often Liv. Sometimes it's just nice to get out and forget for a while." Amanda raised her own glass of white in a mock toast towards her.
Olivia nodded and took another drink. Did I eat lunch? She was already feeling the affects of the wine so clearly her stomach was empty, she turned towards the bar and grabbed a handful of nuts.
"Shit, sorry Liv"
Olivia turned to look at Fin who nodded towards the door.
Brain Cassidy walked through the door and stopped dead. A slow smile came to his lips and he headed towards their crowd. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the famous Olivia Benson and her goons squad. I didn't think Captains came and slummed it with the rest of us nobody's!" Brain stopped right next to her, so close their arms were touching and ordered himself a beer.
No drama be damned.
"Nice to see you are just as much of an ass as ever, Brian." Olivia lifted her glass and drained the rest of her wine, she didn't move away from him though. She wanted to see if he would move first.
"Want another?" Brain shifted away from her as he offered.
"Sure, why not?" Olivia turned and stared at him. He looked older but still the same if that made sense. She always knew Brain would never grow up, but she wondered if she really ever gave him a fair chance. She shook her head to herself, nope that door is closed and locked. She smiled at him as he handed her her glass. "Thanks."
Olivia turned to the rest of the group and noticed Fin looking at his watch in a huff. She tilted her head at him but he just smiled at her and continued listening to Amanda's story.
"So, Liv, how have you been?" Brian scooted closer to her again and lowered his voice.
Olivia looked at him, "good, just working and being with Noah. How have you been?" She knew that Brain could be a great guy, but he hated showing it, especially in a crowd.
Just as she felt Brains arm creep around her shoulders she heard the ding of the bar door, signaling another customer. The little hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she turned her stare to the door.
Elliot walked in looking relaxed and met her gaze. He grinned at her before heading towards them.
Damnit, why did he always have to look so good? Olivia took in his jeans and tshirt and swallowed hard. She took a sip of her drink as she felt Brains hold suddenly tighten.
She heard Brain curse under his breath before saying, "Elliot Stabler, get the hell out of here! When did you get back into town?"
Elliot slapped Fin on the shoulder before responding. "Cassidy." He nodded but didn't smile widely, his grin appeared forced. She wanted to laugh.
She watched as the two men shook hands weakly before meeting Elliots gaze. She took another sip of her wine and debated shrugging Brains arm off her but decided to wait for a bit. His arm felt suffocating but she wanted to see what Elliot would do.
Elliot nodded at her "Liv." He turned and ordered himself a beer before leaning back against the bar. "So, Cassidy, I didn't know you were still around. Still doing narcotics?"
Cassidy took a drink of his beer, "been around more than you, how long has it been man? Ten years?"
Elliots jaw clenched before he nodded and took a drink of his beer. "Something like that. I just hadn't heard your name since I've been back, didn't know you were still in the picture, so to speak."
Elliot said his comment causally but Olivia could tell he was irritated. She wondered if he thought Brain and her had come together, especially since Brain felt the need to be touching her.
Brain chuckled a bit. "Maybe I'm just making a comeback."
Amanda rolled her eyes and butted into the conversation. "Cassidy I'm sure Liv changed the locks the moment you moved out, and maybe burned some sage to rid the place of all your demons." She chuckled as she took a sip of her beer, seemingly unaware of her words.
Olivia felt like groaning, she peeked at Elliot, he looked like he had swallowed a bug.
Brain seemed to notice Elliots discomfort to the news that he and Olivia had lived together. Olivia, he noticed, also seemed on edge. Brain drained the rest of his beer. "The thought bother you Stabler?"
"Don't be an ass, Cassidy." Olivia shrugged his arm off her shoulder.
Elliot took a drink of his beer and rolled his shoulders, purposefully looking away from them before saying, "there isn't much about you that doesn't bother me Cassidy."
Fins head popped up at Elliots comment. He hadn't been around when they all worked together but he remembered Munch talking about it. Great.
There was silence that followed Elliots statement. The younger members of the squad could feel the tension but couldn't place the meaning behind it. Fin rubbed his hand down his face and muttered "hell" before walking to the bar for another drink.
"Still a possessive son of a bitch, huh Elliot?" Brian laughed as he signaled for another beer. "To bad you never got a shot at the real thing."
Elliot turned around slowly and placed his drink down on the bar. "You know what Cassidy? You always had a loud ass mouth."
"Screw you Stabler! Couldn't stand that I took your girl? You are such a selfish asshole, always had your cake and eating it too. But hey, maybe I should thank you. She was never going to leave you, perfectly content on being your side piece!"
Elliot heard Olivias gasp at Cassidys last comment and he balled his fists up in response. Had he been ten years younger he would have already thrown his first punch but he knew that wouldn't do anyone any good. Elliot turned to meet Olivias eyes and could tell she was seeing red so he finally said "You don't know what you're talking about Cassidy. You were always a bit slow on the uptake."
"Boys, how about we all just play nice and stop embarrassing yourselves for the night." Amanda commented sweetly but her words held bite to them.
Cassidy stared back between Elliot and Olivia and frowned, seeming to notice a look that wasn't ever there before. "Wait, wait a minute. Did you two fuck?"
Everyones eyes widened at the comment as they stared between Elliot and Olivia waiting for an answer.
Elliot took a long drink from his bottle as he slowly met Olivias gaze. Olivia pushed roughly on Cassidys chest. "My life is none of your business any longer. Do us all a favor and mind yours."
Her cheeks were blazing red as she drained her wine glass. Elliot turned to the bartender and ordered her another glass as well as another beer for himself.
Fin cleared his throat as he headed back to the group with his new drink. "I'll drink to that!"
