It was a surprisingly slow day for SVU which meant that the detectives had plenty of time for the worst part of the job: paperwork. It was boring. And exhausting. Olivia had loaded her body with coffee that day but to no avail. She found herself slumped over at her desk, staring at a piece of paper and reading the same line over and over again without making much sense of it. Her vision soon blurred and she felt her eyes slowly beginning to snap shut when a sudden disturbance at the side of her head jolted her back from dreamland to the dull reality of the day.
"El. Quit it," she instantly said as she straightened herself out, grabbing the paper airplane that had hit her on the side of the head and crumbling the paper in her fist. She didn't need to look around to see the guilty face of the person that had thrown it. Elliot had been messing with her all day – something he liked to do when they had down time.
"Bet you wouldn't yell at your work wife if she threw it at you," he retorted with much amusement as he teased his partner, swinging from side to side in his chair like a five year old. It was rare to see him with his defenses down and his goof intact, but being left by yourself at a desk for too long can do things to you.
"Why d'you keep messin' with me like this, El? Huh? I think you'd be nice enough to clue me in on what's been so damn funny by now," she shot back, her words sharp on her tongue. As her eyes met Elliot's, her features softened. Those baby blues always did get to her. She sat back in her chair, her hands folded across her stomach, and sighed. "I'm sorry."
"You know what I think you should do?" Elliot asked, turning his chair so he was now facing Olivia.
"What do you think I should do?"
"I think you should call your work wife."
As soon as he finished his sentence he was hit with the Olivia Benson death glare. Lucky enough for him he'd spent enough time with her to become immune. The only thing it got out of him was a bout of affectionate laughter.
"No. Really, Liv," he began as he rose out of his chair and headed over to her desk. "She makes you happy. You're friends or whatever. I get it." He paused for a moment, his mouth opened as if he was going to continue on, but opted for the safer of the two choices floating around in his head and started his walk out of the squad room. Just before he reached the end of the aisle he turned around and caught Olivia's attention again.
"Call her," he mouthed with much emphasis before turning around and making his exit.
"'Or something,'" Olivia said to herself as her brows furrowed. "What does that even mean?" she asked as she thoughtlessly reached for her phone sitting on the desk in front of her. She flipped it open and made the short trip with her fingers through her phone's menu and phone book to Alex's number. She stared at it for a few moments, her thumb hovering over the call button, before she pressed it and brought the phone up to her ear.
"Cabot," came a voice shortly after a few rings on the other line.
"It's me," Olivia replied instinctively, leaning back in her chair once again as her eyes traveled to the ceiling.
"Hey Liv," Alex said, smiling into the phone. Her voice warmed as soon as she realized it was the detective on the other line.
"Slow day, huh?"
"Oh, don't jinx it," Alex instantly replied, hovered over her desk equipped with a pen in her hand, scribbling away with the phone attached to her ear with the other.
"Are you busy?" she asked curiously, not wanting to disturb the ADA if she was in the middle of something. "I can call back later if you are, no big deal."
"No, no." Alex finished what she was writing and dropped the pen with a sigh. She leaned back in her chair, her back aching after being hunched over her desk for quite some time and the dull pain of a headache starting to pulse in her temples. "I was just wrapping some paperwork up in my office. Why, what's up?"
"Nothing," she replied, her voice light but unsure. She paused for a moment before she smiled and breathlessly laughed. "It's just... it's stupid. El's been on my case lately and it's been getting to me a little, I guess."
A smirk grew on Alex's lips at the thought of Elliot teasing Olivia, still standing clueless and in the dark, from his desk across the way. "Well I'm sure he meant nothing of it," Alex offered up for comfort, sliding her glasses off of her face and twisting them around in her fingers. "Hey, are you doing anything later? I was thinking we could grab a drink after work or something. If you aren't busy."
A smile glazed over Olivia's face as she spun her chair from side to side. She hated to admit it, but Elliot was right and she was glad that she had listened to him and called Alex. Her friend did make her happy, and the propositioning of drinks after work with Alex made her even happier.
"Count me in," she finally replied, after what seemed like an eternity of silence for Alex.
"Fantastic." She paused. Alex could just see Olivia fiddling at her desk, wearing something cute as always. She hadn't seen the detective at all that day, which was a rarity, and had found herself missing the brunette almost hoping that a case dropped in their laps that called for her presence.
"Well, I guess I'll let you get back to your paperwork," Olivia finally said against her will. She had no desire to get off of the phone with Alex, but couldn't think of anything else to say. Even sitting in silence with her on the phone would be nice, but it felt weird and almost inappropriate to do something like that at work. Olivia pinned it all on the fact that she'd use anything as an excuse to get out of the paperwork that sat before her.
"Alright," Alex stated simply, finding herself almost blushing at the awkward, yet adorable, woman on the other line.
"Talk to you later," Olivia said, ready to pull the phone away from her ear and end the call.
"Liv?" Alex called after a brief moment, causing the brunette to push the phone back to her ear.
"Yeah?" she asked, sounding so eager it almost made her cringe.
Alex laughed, audibly this time.
"Nevermind. I'll catch you later," she said, shaking her head to herself as she hung up the phone.
Olivia snapped her phone shut and threw it down onto the desk. Why was everybody laughing at her? What had suddenly become so funny about her? Had Alex been laughing at her or something else? She was sure that Alex would at least tell her if there was some big joke going around about her that she had just so happened to be let out of. She grudgingly looked down at her desk at the small stack of paperwork that was left for her to finish, noting that whatever was going on was the least of her troubles. If she didn't get that paperwork finished, she wouldn't be around anymore to find out the answers to her questions.
An hour later and what seemed to be the impossible earlier was now possible as she finished the last bit of the horrid paperwork. She threw her pen down with a relieved sigh and repeatedly balled her hand into a fist to relieve the tension and cramping that had made itself known about halfway to the finish line. Elliot had come back quietly and had remained that way since his return. She eyed him suspiciously. The only thing she hated more than Elliot teasing her was Elliot when he was completely silent.
"You call her?" he asked without looking up from whatever he was doing at his desk.
"Shut up," she retorted from her side of the ring.
"You called her," he said casually, a smile threatening to break though at any moment as he pictured his partner's displeased expression.
"So?" she asked, letting her curiosity get the better of her, not to mention fighting against Elliot's incessant teasing was becoming tiring.
"And?" he asked expectantly, dragging his eyes away from his desk to look over at Olivia.
"And we're going out for drinks later. What, you wanna come or something?" she questioned as she stood, stretching her legs for the first time in what felt like forever.
"Has it suddenly become a crime to be curious at what your partner's up to?"
"I don't know, I feel I should be asking the same question," she said, a brow raised.
"Liv, I don't know what you're talking about," he said a bit rushed, directing his attention towards his desk once more.
Olivia walked over to his desk and looked down at him as he picked up his pen and started writing, his chicken scratch barely able to be made out on the paper.
"You know, it's getting' old, El. I wish you'd tell me what's up with you lately 'cause I know it's not nothin'." She stood there for a moment more, looking down at him in silence. She didn't expect him to say anything. He never said anything when she was talking to him about this. Whatever this was. "I'll see you later," she added as she began to walk away.
"I'm sure you'll find out soon enough," he muttered, another smile tempting to grace his lips once more. He loved Olivia with all his heart and regarded her with all the respect he had, but it was times like these where he couldn't help but think about how dense she could be, especially when it came to matters that involved herself.
She found herself standing in front of the ADA's office. She wasn't sure how she got there, her feet just sort of carried her without permission. What she was sure of is that she was sure to go crazy if she stayed at her desk for another moment. If she stared down at another piece of paper, read another word, she would lose her mind. And the sight she saw when she peeked her head through the cracked door was enough to make her forget about whatever she had been so unsure about just moments ago.
There was the Ice Queen herself, lounging back in her chair with her glasses resting on the tip of her nose while her legs were propped up on her desk, her shoes dangling off her toes. Even when at rest she still wore the unmistakable face of determination that continued to have it's effect even without the piercing blue eyes. Olivia took a moment to take in the scene and enjoy it while it lasted before she noisily pushed open the door and cleared her throat.
Alex snapped upright immediately, her shoes flying off and landing on her desk, her glasses falling off into her lap and her eyes opening to catch Olivia entering her office. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't catch the blush from gracing her cheeks and touching her neck lightly.
"You know you better watch yourself if you want to keep the whole impenetrable Ice Queen thing you've got goin' on around here, Counselor," Olivia told her with a small smile of satisfaction as she shut the door behind her before slumping down into the chair in front of Alex's desk.
Alex looked like a deer caught in headlights and cleared her throat, attempting to grasp any professionalism that she had left after being caught in that scene while she grabbed the black frames from her lap and put them back on her face. "I was just... resting my ey-"
"You were taking a nap," Olivia butted in before Alex could finish trying to justify what she had been caught doing.
Alex paused with her mouth open. Her eyes narrowed and she broke out with a smile and a laugh. "I was taking a nap," she repeated after Olivia, nodding her head. "Promise you won't tell?" she asked, doubt evident in her voice. She know Olivia wasn't going to let her down, but she really didn't want anybody else walking around, thinking she did normal things like napping. It would make her seem more like a human being, and that certainly didn't fit into the whole persona she had going on around there.
"I'll think about it," Olivia offered, crossing her legs and getting comfortable in the chair. Her eyes then settled into another moment-too-long gaze, locked in by Alex's blue eyes. At first, it used to make her feel nervous – like the ADA was studying her like she did a case before she presented it in court. But now, she felt comforted by it. She felt safe. Calm.
Alex only broke away to look at the watch on her wrist, returning to look at the warm brown eyes again.
"You want to get out of here?" Alex finally spoke, breaking the silence between them. The day had been slow and she was sure that nothing was going to come their way. If it did, they were always a phone call and a car ride away.
A shameless smile grew across Olivia's lips and she tilted her head a bit, her eyes faltering from the blonde's for a moment as a sudden wave of nerves washed over her coming from a place unknown.
"Yeah, c'mon," she replied, rising from her seat. She took a step forward and scooped the shoes up from the desk, dangling them from her fingers in front of Alex's face.
Alex looked up at her with a somewhat bashful grin, the embarrassment of the scene she had been caught in just minutes ago washing over her again. "Thank you," she said quietly before she took the shoes from Olivia and set them on the ground, sliding her feet into them and standing up from her chair.
"Don't worry, Ice Queen. Your secret's safe with me," Olivia said as she turned and walked towards the door. "For now," she called over her shoulder just as she opened the door and stepped out, eager to get rid of this place and have her mind focus on something other than work for a while. If that was even possible.
Alex bent down to grab her briefcase before following Olivia out the door.
"You don't even know the half of it, Detective," she muttered, allowing herself to fully enjoy the view as she followed Olivia out of the building.