Olivia crossed the street, her heels clicking against the pavement.

It was already late, but she was feeling really restless that night, like she wouldn't feel since before telling Casey about her feelings. The conversation she had had with Huang a few days earlier had given her the courage she needed to do this.

On the same day it had happened, Olivia told Casey about how Huang had approached her, and about their talk after that. And on the night before, she had asked Casey if it would be okay to reveal about their relationship to Elliot. She seemed a little unsure, but she still trusted Olivia, and Olivia trusted Elliot - "If A = B = C; then A = C, right?" , the ADA had said.

She climbed the steps, getting closer to the door, internally apologizing to Kathy before calling Elliot.

"Hey, El. I'm sorry for calling at this hour, I... I need to talk to you. I'm here on the porch." she said. "I'm fine, don't worry. I'm right here outside."

Less than a minute later, he was there opening the door, concern deep in his blue eyes by the unusual visit.

"Are you alright, Liv?", he asked.

She cursed herself a little for acting like such a drama queen. But she really needed to do that.

"No, El. I'm fine, really.", she reassured him.

"Wanna come in?", he offered.

"Oh, no, thanks. I won't be taking too long."

He squinted at her, intrigued, but he just closed the door behind him and directed her to the bench on the porch, where they sat together.

"What's up, Liv?", he whispered, concern still in his voice. "You show up in my house at almost midnight on a Wednesday night, and still there's nothing wrong?"

"I was going to apologize for waking you up, but I see you weren't sleeping." she said, referring to him still wearing the same shirt and pants from work earlier. "I'm still sorry though."

"Spill it, Liv."

She sighed, leaning forward and placing her elbows on her knees, hands together. She then looked at him.

"Casey and I are dating."

His clear eyes went wide, taken completely aback by the revelation.

"Did you just say you are dating Casey?"

"I did."

"Casey Novak. Our ADA. The attorney version of Davy Jones?"

Olivia's tension melted a little with her laugh.

"Yeah. All of them."

Elliot made a "not bad" kind of expression that still had dashes of surprise in it.

"Well, I mean, she's… very pretty."

Liv laughed again, but this time with a warm feeling spreading inside her heart. It was evident Elliot was still caught by surprise and was trying his best to "have the right reaction" to it.

"I guess that explains a lot.", he said. "I mean, about the way you've been on the last months. Was that it?"

"Yes.", she replied, looking down at her hands. "I was feeling… very conflicted. And scared."

"That we wouldn't understand?"

"Yeah. Casey and everyone else, really."

"Is your name still Olivia Benson? Are you still annoying and addicted to coffee and still watching my lame ass out there to protect me?"

She didn't answer, but he saw her smiling. He smiled too.

"Then nothing changes, Liv. You are still my partner and my best friend. Only difference now is that you're probably 78% more dangerous to mess up with, now that you have Casey towering next to you, ready to kill anyone who pisses you off by using the sheer force of her angry stare alone."

Olivia just nudged him. She had tears pooling in her eyes.

"She isn't that Monolith of Wrath she makes everyone think she is, you know. She is actually quite dorky when she is a civilian."

"That's probably the most shocking revelation of the night."

She chuckled.

"Can't say I wasn't surprised when I saw that side of her, either.", she said.

"I have to say I'm not surprised you like girls."

"Your face when I said that told me differently."

"Okay, maybe just a bit. I'm not surprised about Casey, either."

"...just because she plays baseball with you?", she raised her brow, amused.

"Sometimes stereotypes are correct, aren't they? I mean, look at you. Ouch!", he said, pretending to be hurt when she pretended to slap his shoulder, clicking her tongue. He then wrapped an arm around her shoulders, bringing her close in a half-embrace, leaning his head against hers. "I'm happy you told me. Please, tell me what happened, during all these months."

Olivia then gave him a summary of what had been going in her life, how her explosion at Casey was related to that, and how she decided to apologize and reveal everything to the ADA that same night, almost two months before. How Casey accepted her feelings, and how she decided to try dating Liv.

As if guessing what was also going through Liv's mind, Elliot said:

"I won't tell anyone about it, Liv. Don't worry. But… Huang is right. Eventually, you two will have to disclose the relationship to the bosses."

"I know. We are just… making sure this will keep going on for a little longer, before disclosing anything to the bosses, or anyone at all. I'm just telling you because…"

She interrupted her sentence, looking down at her hands.

"Yes?"

"Because I trust you. And the reason I told you was more to let you know what was happening to me, before. I know how you were worried. And that I was pretty stupid with you, more than once. I'm sorry about that, too."

"That's alright, Liv. I… I may not know how it was like for you, dealing with all of that on your own, but I understand. And after you tell people, if anyone's a prick to you, just let me know and I'll make them eat their own teeth."

He gripped her shoulder for a moment, and she placed her hand over it, her brown eyes showing all the gratitude that was thundering through her heart, more than the actual words she said to him as reply.