Hey guys,
Starting this new AU fic, hope you enjoy it.
In this Olivia is 19, and Elliot is 22. He is not married!
I think this will be a long one, I have a lot of ideas

It had been a terrible day, not that she had a lot of good days lately. She was late, late to her job that was single handedly paying for her bills. Her mother had been sprayed on the couch when she got up, drunk out of her ass even in the morning and Rob was in the bathroom, making her wait to start her day. That wasn't even what upset her, Serena had met Rob 7 months ago, and he had been a constant presence in the household ever since, matching her mother in the love for vodka.

Olivia couldn't stand him, but until she could save some money, she'd have to stand him being insufferable at every chance. In the mornings, besides taking the bathroom for himself, he had the habit of leaving the door purposefully wild open, wishing for her to get inside without noticing him there, but she realized that pretty early on. He would come behind her while she was washing dishes or cleaning something, it made her extremely uncomfortable.

So here she was running late on the subway trying to get to the bookstore she was working in. Liz's Conner was a small, but really popular bookstore in Manhattan, Elizabeth Donolly had been nice and gave her a job even if she didn't really need new employees, so she had to make up to keep her job. She was good at selling books, her mother being a professor, she knew her way around literature. But Liz always told her she spent too much time talking to the clients, trying to get to know them, but it was just who she was.

She got to her station only 10 minutes before she had to start working, she usually made it with 30 minutes to spare. It was cold, so she took comfort in the hot cup of coffee she was holding, while making a few mental lists of things she had to do throughout the day. She had a paper to turn in today, her night classes taking most of her precious sleep time, but she was almost getting where she wanted, which was the police academy. Her mother hated it, she said it was a waste of her potential, but it was really all she ever wanted to be. Since learning of her mother's attack, she wanted to help people in the same situation, even if it was just so no other little girl had to take care of her drunk mother ever again. That's also why she volunteered in the women's shelter, making her days even more busy, but somehow fulfilling.

Christmas was near, and there was a lot of movement in the store. A lot of people did their shopping in the last week before Christmas, so it was only going to get worse. Of course she gave up any celebratory date with her mother many years ago, one less thing to worry about. She made her way to the locker room and stored her purse and coat, thanking God for the heater inside the place.

"Morning, Liv! Late night?" Alex worked alongside her, and they formed a good friendship, she was one of few people who knew about her mother. She was also studying, but to become a lawyer. But this job was optional for Alex, her family was really well off, she just did to prove she could.

"Yeah, my class ran late, my mom was really loud last night and my phone didn't wake me up this morning" She fished the phone out of her back pocket and sighed "Well, of course it didn't, I forgot to charge it" she threw the phone on the counter.

"I'd lend you my charger, but that phone should be at an antique store. I don't even know how it still works, Liv'' Alex picked up the old phone like it was going to explode at any given moment.

"Well, it still works, I can't spend money on a new one right now" she answered.

"I wish you would let me help you" Alex had been trying to lend her some money, but her pride got the best of her, and she refused profusely her ofer.

"Don't start, I don't have the energy to fight about this right now" Just in time to end the argument, the first customers began to enter the store.

It was close to 1 p.m when she heard the door above the bell ring.

"Welcome to Liz's Corner, I'll be with you in a second" she didn't look up from the cash she was finishing counting. Alex had just taken her lunch break and she was alone at the store, she forgot to pack her lunch, so she would have to make do with an old granola bar she had somewhere in her purse.

Finally finished with the money, she wrote down the amount she had at the register. Looking up she saw a man walking around the store, looking completely lost. She made her way over to him, giving a warm greeting.

"Good afternoon, can I help you find something specific?" a pair of the clearest blue eyes she had ever seen looked up at her and she felt time stand still. The man should be around her age, maybe a year or two older. He had short brown hair and looked like he spent a lot of time at the gym.

He was also looking at her, his expression slightly startled. The silence began to turn just a little uncomfortable so she tried again "Sir?" he shook his head focusing on what she was saying.

"Right, sorry. I'm looking for a Gardening Book for my mother, she's getting really into it now" he finally gave her an answer. She bit her lower lip thinking back at the books they had on gardening. His eyes fell to her lips unconsciously, but he tried his best to look away.

"I have a couple of options for you here on this shelf"she said moving to the said shelf, and pointing to the books "These are the latest ones I have, Mr…" she waited for him to say his name.

"Stabler, Elliot Stabler" he looked at her "But call me Elliot, please"

"Alright, Elliot, here is what I have… feel free to choose and you can find me in the cashier for payment, ok?"

"Sure" he answered and she got back to the counter.

He spent some time looking over the books, and from time to time she would find her eyes making their way to his figure. A couple of times he was looking back at her, and gave her a smile, before returning to his task. After about 20 minutes, he made his way to her, setting the books on the counter.

"Found something you liked?"

"Couldn't really decide, so I'm taking these two" he put his hands above the books.

"Great!" she scanned the books and told him how much he had to pay, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear and looking up. He was smiling at her and she felt the blush creeping up her cheeks. He passed his credit card and she gave her the bag.

"Thank you for buying with us, Elliot. Hope you visit us soon '' It was the phrase they had to say to each customer, but she suddenly felt embarrassed to say it for the first time since she began working there. She wasn't used to feeling this moved by a man, to be fair, she didn't have a lot of experience in that area. She had Burton, almost married him, but that went south very quickly. Then there was David, they stayed together only a couple of months, and he moved away. Now she had Brian on and off, not really entering a relationship, but having someone to take the edge of when she needed it.

"I'll make sure to come back" he gave her a smirk and turned around to leave. Just as he was getting to the door, he stopped. Turning around, he walked until he was in front of her again.

"Did you forget something?" She asked. He nodded at her.

"You didn't tell me your name" it was her turn to smile at him.

"Is that right? Well, I must fix that'' She made her way across the counter extending a hand at him "Hello, Elliot Stabler, I'm Olivia Benson" He took her hand and she felt like a bolt of electricity had just gone through her.

"Well, Olivia" her name rolled out of his tongue like something forbidden "I'll see you soon"

He turned again, this time walking out the door, looking quickly back at her before mixing with the street movement. She stood looking at the door not really understanding what had just happened. She took a deep breath and thought

Well, fuck.

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