Title: Valentine's Day EO

Author: EOshipmate

Disclaimer: SVU and its characters belong to Dick Wolf etc. No infringement is intended.

Summary: Valentine's Day, EO fluff

Olivia was eight when she stopped celebrating Valentine's Day. Up until then she would pull out brightly colored construction paper and bits and pieces of shiny things and lace she'd gotten from her teachers. She would work independently and determinedly to make enough cards for everyone in her class, checking off each name as she went in colorful markers. Many of her classmates had fancy store bought cards and candy to hand out, but Olivia was satisfied with her contribution. Her teachers often commented on how creative she was. But the night before her third grade Valentine's party at school her mom had come home drunk. This was not unusual in and of itself, but she was also in one of her moods. She had yelled at Olivia for the scraps of paper and glitter littering the floor that she hadn't had time to clean up yet, picking up her box of cards and flinging them across the room. With tears in her eyes, Olivia had scrambled to gather them back up, but her mom beat her to it by throwing her half drunken bottle of wine at the scattered papers, causing the bottle to break, and the offending liquid to coat the remains of Olivia's hard work. Serena had yelled at her daughter to clean up the mess, tossing the broom in her general direction and warning her not to cut herself on the bottle. Then she grabbed a fresh bottle off the counter and headed to the living room to pass out on the couch. The next day Olivia had cut class for the first time ever and hid out at the city library for the entire school day, not wanting to face the shame of not having any valentines to hand out. After that, she made it a habit to skip her grade school class on that day, never went to any school Valentine's dances, and if she had been dating anyone had made excuses or claimed to have other plans on this day. It wasn't a day she wanted to commemorate.

But then along came Noah. Once he was in preschool, Valentine's Day could no longer be avoided. But she took pride in being loving and supportive and surprised herself by enjoying helping her son make his cards. As she would help him cut and paste, she couldn't imagine not being there for her son and helping him celebrate, watching his face light up when she complimented his creativity, and his delight when he received cards in return. So much her own mother had missed by choice and circumstance, and Olivia was determined to be there for her own son as much as possible. She loved the cut-out hearts he made and crooked "I love you"s written on them. She never thought she would like Valentine's Day, but her son was proving her wrong. Of course, he was the only one she wanted as a Valentine. She still avoided the occasion with adults, and now had the good excuse of needing to be home with her son.

On Noah's eighth Valentine's Day, she sat with him at the living room table as he created cards for his third grade class.

"This looks amazing, kiddo," she commented at his glitter and sticker covered heart.

"Thanks, Mom. That one might be for you."

She smiled and affectionately tousled his hair. "That's my Valentine."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm getting too old for that."

"Never," she said playfully then inquired carefully, "You have a real Valentine at school?"

"Not yet," he answered. "There's some kids I think are cute, but not enough to give them a special card or anything. How about you?"

The question took her by surprise. "Um, I really don't do Valentine's except with you."

"You should. It's fun."

"You want me to give one to Uncle Fin?" she teased.

"Maybe not. Phoebe might be jealous."

Liv laughed. "And I suspect Amanda and Sonny will be exchanging their own cards."

"How about the new guy?"

"Valasco? I think that might be a little inappropriate."

"Oh yeah, I guess so. Anyway, I was thinking more like Elliot."

"Elliot?"

"Well, yeah. You like him, don't you?"

She was a little surprised at his intuition, as he had only spent time with Elliot at his Christmas party and for an ice cream treat after attending one of Noah's dance classes. Work and family obligations kept getting in the way of Olivia and Elliot spending much time together, though they had been talking on the phone and texting on a regular basis.

"What makes you say that?" she asked curiously.

He rolled his eyes again. "Mom, seriously? You get all excited when you talk about him, and when you're together you keep making googoo eyes." He made a silly face and kissing noises.

Olivia laughed out loud. "Okay, mister. Maybe I do like him. You think I should make him a card?"

"MmHm."

Olivia picked up some paper and scissors, humoring her son, not planning to actually give it to Elliot. "What should I write?"

"Whatever's in your heart."

She smiled in amazement at her son. Sometimes he seemed like an old soul, wise beyond his years. "What do you think of him?"

"He's cool," Noah replied as he sprinkled way too much glitter on his next card. "He's got a lot of kids. But they're all nice."

"You wouldn't mind if he hung out with us more?"

"Nah. He's funny. And… it's kind of nice having him around. When he came to my dance class a lot of kids thought he was my dad. I mean, I know it's team you and me, Mom, but I wouldn't mind having Elliot on our team, too, sometimes."

A warm feeling filled her heart, and she nodded. "Me, too," she said quietly. And the two of them worked in silence for awhile before Noah began talking about his latest acquisitions in Minecraft.

….

Valentine's Day had been particularly busy at SVU, and Olivia got home just in time to tuck Noah into bed. He showed off the pile of cards and candy he'd gotten at school, and had officially given her the special card he'd made her. She kissed him good night, attached the card on the refrigerator, and headed to the living room to enjoy a glass of wine before bed. Not long after that she received her nearly nightly text from Elliot to check in. She wouldn't admit to herself how much she looked forward to hearing from him, started to expect it. It scared her sometimes, the fear of abandonment that kept her from getting too close to most people. But this was Elliot, and even though he had left her for so long, they had talked about it at length, and she knew he was going to stick around this time, even though she couldn't help but worry.

'Hi Valentine' he texted.

She grinned in spite of herself and texted back an eye roll emoji. 'Whatcha doin'?'

'Waiting for you to open your door.'

She sat up in surprise and set down her phone, butterflies suddenly in her stomach. She got up to the door, took a breath, and answered it to find a smiling Elliot holding a bouquet of Stargazer lilies. "Hey."

"Hey." She stood back for him to come in. "This is a surprise."

"Is it okay? I know you didn't like it when I showed up last time."

She couldn't help but laugh. "Are you drugged up by the Albanian mob?"

He grinned. "The Italians this time."

She shook her head, accepting the flowers from him, and headed to the kitchen to find a vase. He followed. "I just wanted to give those to you in person, wish you a happy Valentine's Day. I can go if you don't want company."

"No, it's fine," she smiled as she arranged the bouquet in a pink vase. "I'm glad to see you. We've both been so busy."

"Yeah. I'm sorry about that. I feel like that's mostly on me, with Wheatley and all. But now that's all wrapped up, so…"

"It's not just you," she interrupted, handing him a glass of wine and walking over to the couch. "Being captain, being a mom… it's hard to find time for anything else."

"Cheers," he said as they clinked glasses. He smiled, thinking back to Fin's non-wedding when they had toasted to partners. "Hey, look, Liv, I know you don't actually like Valentine's Day."

She raised her eyebrow. "You remember that? Then why…" she motioned to the flowers. "I mean, they're lovely, and I appreciate the thought, but…"

"Cupid," Elliot said mysteriously. He then pulled out an envelope.

"You didn't write me another letter, did you?" she teased.

Red creeped up his neck, embarrassed to think of the letter he'd given her. She reached for his hand, squeezing it in apology. "Too soon?"

He handed her the envelope. She recognized the uneven letters and numbers that made out the address, and her mouth opened in surprise. "Noah sent you a letter?"

He grinned. "Look at the return address."

She saw her own name there and suddenly it was her face to turn red. "Oh my gosh." She remembered the night they did valentines and how Noah had offered to clean up the mess all by himself. She hadn't thought about the card he had suggested she write for Elliot, figuring it had gotten tossed with the rest of the leftovers. "Sneaky little bugger."

Elliot laughed out loud. "I figured you didn't know he sent it. But," he looked at her softly with his penetrating blue eyes, "You did make the card."

"He made me," she smiled shyly.

"MmHm," he said as he reached for her hand, holding it softly within his, his thumb stroking the side. "An eight year old forced Captain Olivia Benson to make me a valentine."

"He can be very persuasive," she said trying not to laugh. She was feeling buzzed from the long day, the wine, and Elliot's touch.

"The answer is yes," he said softly. "I will be your valentine."

She swallowed as he drifted closer. This was really happening. He rested his forehead against hers, not wanting to push. Memories came to her of the few times they had allowed themselves to be so close over the years, and all the times she'd wished they could have had more. She suddenly laughed to herself.

"What?" he smiled, pulling back softly to look into her warm brown eyes.

"I never thought my son would be my wing man."

He grinned back at her. "Maybe he's my wing man?"

She reached up to put her hand on his cheek as they smiled affectionately at each other. "Will you be mine?" she asked softly.

"Always," he replied as they leaned in closer. And as their lips finally met, Olivia thought to herself, maybe Valentine's Day isn't so bad after all.

THE END