On the following days, Olivia felt like she was slowly, finally returning to her older self again. Less defensive. Still a bit introspective because that was her nature, but not long hours without interacting like she had been doing on the past few months.
She knew her workmates were noticing the shift on her mood and behavior too, but they didn't really made jokes about her looking happier or anything. Mostly because the shift was being gradual on its own. But it was being slightly held back as well because she still had that little worry in the back of her mind, that her friends would find out about her rendezvous with Casey and start to treat both of them differently, even if not on purpose.
Of course she wouldn't just stop living her life the way she wants to, simply because people could disapprove it. But she did care about her workmates a lot, and finding out they might not be as accepting as they think they are themselves would be like discovering she would have to go to work everyday by walking on coals bare feet.
She had faith that, if or when they find it out they would be completely okay with it. But her fear wasn't less real just because of wishful thinking. She tried to think that those were worries she would have to think about in the future. Like Casey had told her, one day at a time.
And at that present moment, she had bigger fish to catch - which meant Casey and, with her, figuring out their relationship.
They were going out on their usual friend-dates for around two or three weeks already, and Liv was actually kind of grateful for taking that route. She needed to feel safe in order to make things work out, and being in familiar spaces and having usual conversations with her did help a lot with that.
She also had the distinct impression Casey was leading the pace, in a positive way. The suggestion of going slow, when she let Liv know it was okay to kiss her that night in her office, sometimes holding Liv's hand during the dates, kissing her cheek. And by that, making Olivia know she was okay with the detective doing all those things, too.
Normally, Olivia would feel extremely intimidated - if not offended - by such behavior on her date's part since she always dictated everything in her life according to her own will and ways. But Casey was... oddly transparent with her actions, and she knew the ADA had no ill intentions whatsoever, on the contrary.
Olivia also had the impression that Casey probably had a bit more of experience on the dating field than she had herself, which explained a lot the way things were going like that.
What mattered was that she was liking it so far, and it didn't take too long for them to want to do something less commonplace next. And that's precisely where Olivia was heading to, going up the stairs, looking for her apartment. When she did, she rang the doorbell.
Soon, Casey was opening the door, at the same time she tried to hold a huge orange cat back with her bare foot.
"Come in before this brat goes out.", she said, and Liv did as she was told, her mood already going upwards. Casey closed the door and headed towards Olivia, but before she could get any closer, the cat got first to Liv and started to rub around her legs.
"Oh, hello there, cutie!", Olivia chuckled, looking at the cat as she took her coat off and hung it behind the door. She meowed at Liv, looking back at her with mellow green eyes. "You never mentioned you had a tiger pet, Casey."
"An ADA like me needs top-notch protection, detective. Florence wants you to pick her up, the little attention-whore." Casey said, playfully rubbing her foot against Florence's back. "Be aware you will have cat hair up to your soul after that, though."
"I'm okay with that." Olivia said, picking Florence up in her arms. "Whoa girl, you're heavy. You're too big to be a cat and too little to be a lion."
Casey observed as Flo purred and kneaded Liv with her paws when the detective rubbed under the cat's chin, and how Liv was thrilled with the pet's attention - if there was an universal truth, it was that anyone melts to animals' love at first sight. The ADA loved seeing that relaxed, playful side of Olivia. God only knows how rare of a sight that was with their nerve-wracking work routine.
Seeing that Casey had a funny look on her face, Olivia turned to her.
"What?"
"I'm just here observing as you greet my cat before me."
"Oh, someone's jealous." she said.
"Can't blame you though, that little shit is incredibly cute."
A small pause.
"So are you."
"A little shit?"
Another pause.
"A cute pussycat." Olivia let it slip, not without a mischievous smile that soon turned into a laugh when Casey's face looked more like a sample of the rainbow, displaying all the colors to ever exist on it. "I'm sorry, I just had to."
"I'll allow it.", Casey replied as if a judge in court, which was hard to take seriously with her ears redder than a strawberry popsicle, and a small shy smile on her lips. "Now, leave the damn cat alone and come over. Dinner's ready."
Olivia let Florence go and followed Casey to the small kitchen, table already set. Flo followed the detective, staying close as Olivia asked where was the restroom so she could beat some of the cat fur away from her clothes and wash her hands before eating.
"Take a sit.", Casey said when Olivia returned. Seeing Florence sitting by the detective's feet like a miniature guardian sphinx, she added. "She loves it when people come over. Because that means a lot of ear scratches and people saying all the time how cute she is."
"Seems like the perfect reasons to me." Olivia answered. The night had barely started and it was already being amazing, she thought as she took her eyes from Florence at her feet and looked up to Casey, her back turned as she got the food from the oven.
Casey was always impeccably well dressed, not even a hair out of place as Fin once said, so it was interesting to see her so casual - bare feet, a pair of black sweatpants and purple tank top, the grey straps of her bra showing underneath.
Someone else would probably think Casey was too casual for a date, but Olivia felt even more welcomed by it. She was seeing a side of the ADA she wouldn't show many people. If any at all. The detective was also casual that night in her jeans, blouse, a leather jacket, so she really didn't mind it.
Casey's hair was up in a messy ponytail, and Liv caught herself looking at the nape of her neck and bare shoulders. Before she had the time to process that, Casey turned around, a dish in her hands.
"Whoa, Casey. That looks good.", she said, looking at the dish of pasta covered in Bechamel sauce and broccoli branches, some cheese on top.
"Family recipe - which means I got it online."
"Isn't that how people get anything done nowadays, though?"
"Precisely.", she said, as she put the dish on the table and went back to serve cat food in a bowl, shaking it to call Flo, who would only leave her new best friend unguarded for the sound of a meal ahead.
Casey joined Olivia at the table with a bottle of wine to go with the pasta, and dinner went by smoothly as they chatted. The food was as good as it looked. The plans for the night consisted in having dinner and hanging out, maybe watch something later but that was still open for debate. After the pasta, Casey took some ice cream from the fridge for them.
When they finished eating, Liv started to gather the dishes to help Casey out, who protested right away.
"You are visit, I'll take care of it."
"Overruled. What am I supposed to do, just sit here and watch you do stuff?", she said, amusement in her voice. Casey chuckled.
"It's only a couple of plates and cutlery, I'll be done in a minute."
She took the dishes to the sink and started to wash it. Olivia watched her do the task for a while. She had had plenty of time during the dinner to actually think of the thing that had barely crossed her mind a bit earlier, before Casey had turned around with dish in hands. After thinking for a moment, Olivia finally gathered the courage to stand up and walk towards the ADA.
"Almost done here." she said without turning around, hearing Olivia's movement and heels clicking slowly on the floor.
Liv had a lopsided smile on her face - she had something else in mind. From the counter, Florence observed with her big green eyes as her new friend got closer and closer to her human.
Casey felt Olivia's presence right behind her a second before she felt the long, soft touch down behind her neck. The ADA froze on the spot, and Olivia watched as her skin rose in goosebumps all over.
Her friend had been setting the pace so far, Olivia had realized, so she felt it was her turn to set some things in motion, too. As usual, no beating around the bush. Because she was wearing boots and Casey was bare feet, the detective was a bit taller than her for the first time ever, which was weird but interesting. New.
Olivia touched the back of her neck with one of her fingers, barely touching the skin. She turned her hand to caress Casey's neck with the back of her fingers, and down to the portion of her back that her tank top wasn't covering. The detective stepped closer to her friend, resting her right cheek against the ADA's left ear. Olivia's caressing hand traveled from her back down to her bare forearm, feeling Casey's soft skin now textured with shivers.
Casey's wet hands were now simply resting against the sink, the nearly finished dishes now immediately forgotten. Olivia felt Casey lean back against her body, turning her face slightly towards Liv's. With her free arm, the detective embraced Casey around her waist.
Saying she was attracted to Casey would be the understatement of the century - Casey was a top quality Olivia Benson MagnetTM with her fresh, sweet smell of flowers and soft skin and classic-statuesque profile; with her sun-like presence so powerful that looking at her directly would probably kill; with her absolutely dorky reactions under Olivia's compliments or innuendos.
Liv nuzzled her neck and kissed her skin softly but longingly. Everytime the sun came out so bright Olivia felt like she could burn, she felt her heart pound like thunder storm underneath her ribcage and butterflies fly all over underneath her skin, making her shiver as well, under Casey's touch.
On Casey's side, her impressions and feelings about Liv had already started to shift since day one.
Still holding herself on the edge of the sink with one hand, she lifted the other arm up and back to hold Olivia's neck against her. Cold from the water, Casey's touch against her friend's warm skin made the detective breathe in heavier with surprise against the ADA's neck. Liv's silky hair brushed Casey's face, as if caressing her, too.
Casey's feelings were now less about how strange it would be to date her friend-who-also-happened-to-be-a-woman and more about how awesome it would actually be. The electricity around Olivia had always been alluring to her, but not the same way it had been lately.
Or maybe it was, but she hadn't known that yet up to that moment. It was hard to tell at that point.
Just like Liv's intelligence and fearlessness towards the challenges laid before her were characteristics Casey had always admired a lot, and now there was no way to define those things other than "hot" - like Liv's body pressed against her back and her lips against her neck, soft and gentle.
She pulled away from Liv only for time enough to turn around in her embrace, facing her. She looked at Liv's eyes, dark not only in color, feeling herself being dragged in by the undertow dwelling in them. They haven't really kissed since Olivia's confession weeks before, both of them just letting things happen naturally.
The way Liv wrapped her arms tightly around her and looked at her with her intent as clear as daylight seemed pretty natural to Casey.
It was the ADA who leaned forward and kissed her lips this time, holding Olivia's head between her hands, thumbs brushing against the detective's cheeks. Unlike the previous kiss, Casey parted her lips as soon as she felt Liv's pressing against them, giving her room right from the start. She soon tasted the wine.
Slowly, she licked Olivia's upper lip with the tip of her tongue, looking straight into her eyes as she did it. Casey wasn't sure if she was more attracted to the small gasp Olivia let slip when she did that or to how she answered it - by gently biting Casey's bottom lip, holding it for a second between her teeth, teasing her.
What Casey was pretty sure though, was that her organs had probably just turned into melted lava underneath her skin. Her hand traveled through Liv's minty-scented hair, dense and smooth and fresh like a curtain of rain under her fingertips.
Every action she did, Olivia had a reaction for it - kissing her with the same intensity, biting Casey's lip, holding her tight; Liv's reaction to Casey's fingers in her hair was making the ADA lean against the sink and slip a hand under her tank top, resting it on her waist. She gripped a little, wanting to feel Casey's warm, velvet-like skin against her fingers.
Olivia heard a very brief, but deep moan from Casey and she thought she couldn't like her more, but she was clearly wrong. Casey could almost hear the sound of the electricity in the small gap between them, and she could definitely feel it.
Liv went from Casey's lips to her face and back to her neck, kissing her a couple of times there. Then, she simply rest her chin on her friend's shoulder, the side of her face once more against Casey's, and held her close around her waist. Casey did the same, her arms around Olivia's neck as she still leaned against the sink behind her.
They stood there, embracing each other, savoring every little thing in that simple action.
At the same time, one was aware the other was debating if they should go further or not. Would that be rushing it? Or be too much? Even if both of them felt like going on, they didn't want to spoil what they had achieved so far. They enjoyed the moment for a little longer as they tried to choose the direction they should go.
However, that decision ended up not being made by any of them. Olivia leaned back from the embrace a bit, so she could look down at her feet.
"Here she comes again." she said in a low, soft voice imbued with humor, seeing Florence happily rubbing against their legs, breaking the ice a little. Casey also looked down, her head resting against Olivia's.
"I think she wants us to leave room for Jesus.", Casey answered. Liv's chuckle immediately filled the room, her chest vibrating pleasantly against hers and passing the laugh to Casey as well, before she added "Who would say she's so strict."
Olivia's chuckle grew into a laugh and she looked at Casey, whose smile made her look like she was beaming even more than her usual sun's daughter-self.
"Maybe we should listen to your Chaperone Tiger.", Liv concluded. Casey agreed, knowing exactly what she meant.
She was starting to notice it, that when she was alone with Olivia, their interactions sometimes sounded more like some crazy talk full of weird codes that one would still understand perfectly what the other was saying - if not better than saying things in full, normal-phrased sentences.
She kissed Liv's lips quickly before walking around her, completely forgetting to finish the little dishes left. They served themselves another glass of wine before going to the living room in a line of ADA-Detective-Feline Chaperone. Florence curled herself on Olivia's lap the best she could - she was way too big to fit her whole body onto her legs -, as Casey got the controller and flipped the channels for something they could watch.
When she finally set on something, Olivia was intrigued by the choice.
"I'd never think you were the sci-fi type." she said, looking at the Star Trek: Voyager rerun on the screen.
"I used to watch the older seasons with my grandma and siblings back in the day. It brings back fond memories. But really, it's awesome." She then started to talk about all the ethic vs duty conflicts the stories usually focused on, and all the philosophical and moral questions it made all the time.
"I've always thought it was a bit too nerdy, but it doesn't seem too bad now that you are telling me about it."
Casey chuckled.
"Everyone always think it's about space and futuristic made-up gadgets, but it really is about what makes us human."
Liv turned to the screen, an expression of genuine curiosity on, one of her hands petting Florence sound asleep on her lap. That "dark side" of Casey, covered by the bright side of her daily life as the most unforgiving ADA she has ever worked with, really was full of surprises. Olivia was loving to see that side.
Before any of them could see, the night had advanced a lot, and both of them would have a long next day ahead.
Olivia got ready to leave, putting her coat on.
"Thanks for the dinner. The night was incredible.", the detective said, seeing a mission accomplished type of smile spread on Casey's face, her dimples really evident by it.
God, she's cute , was probably the thing she had been thinking the most on the last few weeks, closely followed by God, she's hot.
Casey stepped closer and kissed her.
"You're welcome, Liv. I really enjoyed it, too.", she replied, still embracing Olivia, looking at her with a ray of happiness dwelling in her spring-colored eyes.
"Next date will be on me."
"Of course it will.", Casey answered, breaking the embrace and leaning down to pick up Florence in her arms before she opened the door.
Before stepping outside, Liv looked back at them and saw the two sets of green eyes looking at her, belonging to two big, red, pretty creatures - less like "pets really look like their owners" and more like a god's offspring with her mythological feline sidekick.
It was Olivia's turn to have a funny look on her face.
"What?"
"Nothing.", she simply said. "Good night, Casey."
Casey squinted a little at her answer. But she just replied the detective.
"Night, Liv. See you tomorrow."