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Fic: Loitering with intent (L&O:SVU : Alex/Olivia)
TITLE: Loitering with intent
AUTHOR: Angie
DISTRIBUTION: Feel free to take this, just let me know where it's gone.
FANDOM: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
PAIRING: Alex/Olivia
SUMMARY: Alex needs to address something that’s been affecting her work.
RATING: R (for language)
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.
WORD COUNT: 2,091
NOTES: Set after episode 2.11 ‘Abuse’.
A briefcase landed on her desk. Olivia looked up, half a sandwich dangling from her mouth, fingers paused over her keyboard. Alex Cabot was standing looking down at her, all blue-eyed determination, which was always an unsettling experience. Olivia tried to daintily bite, remove, chew and swallow the sandwich all at the same time. Alex patiently waited until she had stopped choking before she started to speak.
“So, Olivia…how are you?”
Olivia took a long drink from a bottle of water before answering.
“Uh…fine?” She enquired, wondering if that was the correct response.
“Good. So, look, I’m going to cut to the chase here. Are we going to address this thing between us?”
Olivia’s mouth dropped open, she had definitely not expected that question from the ADA. She glanced around the office to see if anyone was listening. Everyone had mysteriously vanished when Alex arrived. Probably to avoid the usual ass-chewings she dealt out regarding lack of evidence, contravention of warrant limitations, perps strangely ending up with black eyes. Satisfied no-one had overheard Alex’s question, Olivia groped around for something to say in return.
“This…uh…thing?”
Not the most eloquent of replies, but it contained actual words and had the desired effect of making Alex start talking, meaning that Olivia could return to stunned silence.
“I agree that isn’t the best way to describe it. Attraction? Chemistry? However you want to define it, it’s there and I think we need to do something about it.”
Olivia decided that coherent sentences weren’t currently her strong point and went with repeating Alex’s words, adding an upward inflection.
“Do…something?”
“Yes. Going on a date would probably be the best way forward, don’t you think?”
Olivia was sure she felt her head get lighter. She worried that perhaps her brain had fallen out of her ear. Then she realised that worrying about your brain falling out is probably a sign that you’ve still got one. Hers wasn’t being at all co-operative, however.
“A…date?”
Alex’s brow crinkled slightly, showing her confusion at the Detective’s unusual lack of verbosity. Never one to back away from a challenge, she persevered.
“Yes, a date. Then we can see if there’s something beyond this intangible…and we’re back to that word…‘thing’. Because right now it’s affecting our work and I can’t have that.”
That got Olivia’s brain back in gear. She shoved back her chair and stood so that she was on a level with Alex.
“Now listen the hell up. Whatever ‘thing’ is going on here, it hasn’t affected my work one little bit and if you think you…”
Alex held her hands up in supplication.
“Sorry, I’ll rephrase: it’s affecting my work.”
Olivia was taken aback at the confession from the, generally quite arrogant, lawyer. It took the wind out of her sails and the fight she’d been building towards died before it came to a head.
“It is?”
Alex nodded.
“I have a certain reputation here, don’t I?”
Olivia suddenly found the surface of her desk very interesting. She shrugged, trying to appear off-hand.
“I…uh…not really…nothing I’ve heard of…”
Alex smiled and leaned in conspiratorially.
“Come on, Detective, you can tell me. I’m a big girl, I can take it.”
Olivia looked back up, she couldn’t help the matching grin that spread over her lips in response to Alex’s.
“Well, w…I mean, they, the guys…kinda think you’re a hard-ass bitch. And I’ve heard the term ‘ice-maiden’ being thrown around…a little.”
“And why do they have this view of me?”
“Because you’re always making u…them, go back and get more evidence and cover more bases so you’ve really got a case.”
“So they think that I’m too tough on them?”
“Kinda.”
“So why is it that when you came to me last week and asked me to help out on a case that had no relevance to our department, I ended up infuriating Cragen, removing the child from her home and her, very famous, mother and standing up in court to fight the case?”
Again, Olivia found herself surprised. She hadn’t given much thought to why Alex had agreed to take on the case when it wasn’t really up to SVU to deal with.
“I …don’t…why did you take it on?”
“Because you asked me to.”
“Because I asked you to?”
“Yes. Clearly I should have told you to refer the case, call child services in, whatever. I should not have been standing up arguing that case. But I did it because you were so passionate about it. So I need to know what’s going on between us so that I can get back to normal and not be swayed every time you and your big, brown eyes come knocking on my door.”
Olivia blushed a little at Alex’s description of her eyes.
“And going on a date with me is going to help this how?”
“One step at a time, Olivia. We need to see what it is, if there’s anything in it, then we can adjust accordingly. So, what do you say?”
Olivia stared mutely at Alex.
“Obviously I’ve sprung this on you and you probably need time to process it. You have my number, so give me a call.”
A quick nod of the head and Alex was gone, leaving Olivia wondering what had just happened to her.
*****
Elliot found her with her head in her hands.
“Hey, Liv. Sorry I bailed on ya. Couldn’t deal with her bullshit right now.”
He took in his partner’s slumped posture.
“Hey…what’s up? Somethin’ happen?”
Olivia looked up at him, a lopsided smile in place.
“I just got asked out by a beautiful woman.”
Elliot pulled out the seat across from Olivia and dropped into it, keen to hear more.
“Not Brinkley again?”
Olivia snorted.
“I said a beautiful woman.”
“Oh, you were being serious? I thought you were being sarcastic…did you hear that Brinkley got mistaken for Danny Devito again?”
“That’s the third time.” Olivia confirmed.
“So, who’s the mystery woman? And what did Cabot want?”
Olivia looked at him pointedly. He stared back, waiting for her answer. Then his mouth dropped open.
“No way. No fucking way.” Elliot looked around, lowering his voice before continuing. “Alex Cabot asked you out? No way!”
“Thank you for your overwhelming confidence in my ability to attract someone who doesn’t resemble Danny Devito.”
“No, hey, Liv…I didn’t mean it like that…I just…Alex Cabot? I didn’t think the woman did normal human stuff like dating.”
“Elliot! Don’t talk about her like that. She’s…she’s not that weird.”
“So when are you going out?”
He leaned his elbows on the desk. She sucked in a breath through her teeth, her eyebrows going up slightly.
“We…I didn’t…I’m supposed to call her when I’ve decided.”
He regarded her in confusion.
“So…she asked you out…and you didn’t say yes?”
“It was so out of the blue!” Olivia defended. “I…I didn’t really say much…she was confusing me.”
“Olivia, what the hell is there to be confused about? Someone like Alex Cabot asks you out, you fucking well say yes!” Elliot said, looking at Olivia like she was from another planet.
“I thought you thought she was strange and cold and scary?”
“And? She’s gorgeous! If she asked my wife out I’d tell her to say yes.”
“How open-minded of you Elliot.”
“So are you going to say yes? I mean, you are going to call her and say yes, right?” he asked, nodding his head.
“I…I want to. Guess I’m scared. How lame is that?”
Once again, Olivia’s head fell into her hands.
“What would be lame is if you let that stop you. It’s OK to be scared. Hell, she scares the shit out of me too. But she asked you. So she obviously wants you.”
Her head came up, hands still over her face, one eye peeking through her fingers.
“One date couldn’t hurt, right? Like she says…to see what’s there?”
“Sure, can’t hurt. And she’s bound to take you somewhere classy. So you get a nice meal and some good wine out of it if nothing else. And you might get to cop a feel of an ADA!”
“Good God, she’d have me up on a sexual-assault charge. You’d be subpoenaed as star witness.”
“Woah! I get to witness the groping? Excellent!”
She rolled her eyes.
“Go away, Elliot.”
“Nope, not till you call her.”
“Like I’m going to call her with you listening.”
“Well I’m not leaving till I know you’re not gonna to chicken out.”
She sighed.
“Fine. She’s in court this afternoon, I’ll call now and leave a message on her voicemail. Satisfied?”
“Too scared to actually speak to her, huh.”
“Completely.”
“Fair enough.” He didn’t move from his position.
“You’re still not getting to listen.”
She stood up to emphasise her point, walking towards an empty office. He watched her go with a thoughtful expression on his face.
“And stop picturing it or I’m calling Kathy.” Olivia tossed back over her shoulder.
*****
“Hey Alex, I’ve been thinking about what you said and I think we should do it. Not do it. Like, not it. I’m not saying we should have sex or…fucking hell!”
Olivia swore, glad she hadn’t actually plucked up the courage to dial Alex’s number. She held the phone to her ear again, practising what she should say.
“Alex, it’s Olivia. About earlier, I’d like to take you up on your offer. So how about Friday night, around eight?”
Olivia nodded to herself. That seemed OK, simple enough and to the point. No room for ambiguity or making a fool of herself. While she was pressing the buttons to call Alex, she muttered another possibility.
“Hey Alex, how about we skip the date and we move straight to me and you having the best sex of your life on top of your desk?”
She chuckled to herself and held the phone up to her ear, this time hearing ringing. She held her breath, waiting for voice-mail to pick up.
“Cabot.”
Olivia’s brain froze. Alex had picked up the phone. That hadn’t been in her plan. Valiantly she tried to think of something to say. Hello would have been good. But it seemed she couldn’t even form that simple word with her mouth.
“Olivia.” It wasn’t a question.
“Uh…yeah.”
“I liked the second one…but the third had its merits too.”
It suddenly hit Olivia that she was hearing an echo. Alex’s voice was coming both from her phone and from behind her. She squeezed her eyes closed, as if to shut out the world. It did nothing to quiet the clicking of heels approaching her. She also heard a snap as Alex closed her phone. She sighed before turning around. Alex was smirking, but not unkindly.
“I thought you were in court.”
“Evidently.”
“I was going to leave a message.”
“So I heard. I’m glad it was in the affirmative. Friday at eight sounds good. I’ll get a cab to your place and we can go on from there.”
Alex took another few steps towards Olivia, leaving only inches between them. She leaned in to whisper in Olivia’s ear.
“And if all goes well, I look forward to what you, rather immodestly, offered in your third message.”
She drew back, smiling before turning and leaving the room. Olivia watched her go, her heart thudding in her chest. She closed her eyes to remember how Alex smelled when she had whispered to her. When she opened them again she jumped slightly, because Alex was standing in the doorway again. She approached Olivia, more slowly this time, less confident.
“I meant to…that is to say, when I was here before, I wanted to…”
Olivia smiled at Alex’s hesitancy. Here was her chance to regain something of her ‘cool’ reputation. She closed the distance between them and claimed Alex’s lips with her own. The move was smooth and confident. Olivia’s hands went to Alex’s hips, gently bringing their bodies into closer contact.
The kiss was brief, but intense. When their mouths parted, Olivia was heartened to see that the ADA was more than a little flustered. She did have normal, human reactions after all. Olivia decided to keep the upper-hand. She moved past Alex and walked to the door, strutting just a little, for effect. When she reached the door she turned as casually as she could.
“So, I’ll see you on Friday at eight?”
Alex was touching her lips, her eyes unfocused. She looked up at Olivia’s words.
“Uh…yes, Friday.”
Olivia smiled and walked away. Oh yes, Friday was definitely going to be fun.
AUTHOR: Angie
DISTRIBUTION: Feel free to take this, just let me know where it's gone.
FANDOM: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
PAIRING: Alex/Olivia
SUMMARY: Alex needs to address something that’s been affecting her work.
RATING: R (for language)
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.
WORD COUNT: 2,091
NOTES: Set after episode 2.11 ‘Abuse’.
A briefcase landed on her desk. Olivia looked up, half a sandwich dangling from her mouth, fingers paused over her keyboard. Alex Cabot was standing looking down at her, all blue-eyed determination, which was always an unsettling experience. Olivia tried to daintily bite, remove, chew and swallow the sandwich all at the same time. Alex patiently waited until she had stopped choking before she started to speak.
“So, Olivia…how are you?”
Olivia took a long drink from a bottle of water before answering.
“Uh…fine?” She enquired, wondering if that was the correct response.
“Good. So, look, I’m going to cut to the chase here. Are we going to address this thing between us?”
Olivia’s mouth dropped open, she had definitely not expected that question from the ADA. She glanced around the office to see if anyone was listening. Everyone had mysteriously vanished when Alex arrived. Probably to avoid the usual ass-chewings she dealt out regarding lack of evidence, contravention of warrant limitations, perps strangely ending up with black eyes. Satisfied no-one had overheard Alex’s question, Olivia groped around for something to say in return.
“This…uh…thing?”
Not the most eloquent of replies, but it contained actual words and had the desired effect of making Alex start talking, meaning that Olivia could return to stunned silence.
“I agree that isn’t the best way to describe it. Attraction? Chemistry? However you want to define it, it’s there and I think we need to do something about it.”
Olivia decided that coherent sentences weren’t currently her strong point and went with repeating Alex’s words, adding an upward inflection.
“Do…something?”
“Yes. Going on a date would probably be the best way forward, don’t you think?”
Olivia was sure she felt her head get lighter. She worried that perhaps her brain had fallen out of her ear. Then she realised that worrying about your brain falling out is probably a sign that you’ve still got one. Hers wasn’t being at all co-operative, however.
“A…date?”
Alex’s brow crinkled slightly, showing her confusion at the Detective’s unusual lack of verbosity. Never one to back away from a challenge, she persevered.
“Yes, a date. Then we can see if there’s something beyond this intangible…and we’re back to that word…‘thing’. Because right now it’s affecting our work and I can’t have that.”
That got Olivia’s brain back in gear. She shoved back her chair and stood so that she was on a level with Alex.
“Now listen the hell up. Whatever ‘thing’ is going on here, it hasn’t affected my work one little bit and if you think you…”
Alex held her hands up in supplication.
“Sorry, I’ll rephrase: it’s affecting my work.”
Olivia was taken aback at the confession from the, generally quite arrogant, lawyer. It took the wind out of her sails and the fight she’d been building towards died before it came to a head.
“It is?”
Alex nodded.
“I have a certain reputation here, don’t I?”
Olivia suddenly found the surface of her desk very interesting. She shrugged, trying to appear off-hand.
“I…uh…not really…nothing I’ve heard of…”
Alex smiled and leaned in conspiratorially.
“Come on, Detective, you can tell me. I’m a big girl, I can take it.”
Olivia looked back up, she couldn’t help the matching grin that spread over her lips in response to Alex’s.
“Well, w…I mean, they, the guys…kinda think you’re a hard-ass bitch. And I’ve heard the term ‘ice-maiden’ being thrown around…a little.”
“And why do they have this view of me?”
“Because you’re always making u…them, go back and get more evidence and cover more bases so you’ve really got a case.”
“So they think that I’m too tough on them?”
“Kinda.”
“So why is it that when you came to me last week and asked me to help out on a case that had no relevance to our department, I ended up infuriating Cragen, removing the child from her home and her, very famous, mother and standing up in court to fight the case?”
Again, Olivia found herself surprised. She hadn’t given much thought to why Alex had agreed to take on the case when it wasn’t really up to SVU to deal with.
“I …don’t…why did you take it on?”
“Because you asked me to.”
“Because I asked you to?”
“Yes. Clearly I should have told you to refer the case, call child services in, whatever. I should not have been standing up arguing that case. But I did it because you were so passionate about it. So I need to know what’s going on between us so that I can get back to normal and not be swayed every time you and your big, brown eyes come knocking on my door.”
Olivia blushed a little at Alex’s description of her eyes.
“And going on a date with me is going to help this how?”
“One step at a time, Olivia. We need to see what it is, if there’s anything in it, then we can adjust accordingly. So, what do you say?”
Olivia stared mutely at Alex.
“Obviously I’ve sprung this on you and you probably need time to process it. You have my number, so give me a call.”
A quick nod of the head and Alex was gone, leaving Olivia wondering what had just happened to her.
*****
Elliot found her with her head in her hands.
“Hey, Liv. Sorry I bailed on ya. Couldn’t deal with her bullshit right now.”
He took in his partner’s slumped posture.
“Hey…what’s up? Somethin’ happen?”
Olivia looked up at him, a lopsided smile in place.
“I just got asked out by a beautiful woman.”
Elliot pulled out the seat across from Olivia and dropped into it, keen to hear more.
“Not Brinkley again?”
Olivia snorted.
“I said a beautiful woman.”
“Oh, you were being serious? I thought you were being sarcastic…did you hear that Brinkley got mistaken for Danny Devito again?”
“That’s the third time.” Olivia confirmed.
“So, who’s the mystery woman? And what did Cabot want?”
Olivia looked at him pointedly. He stared back, waiting for her answer. Then his mouth dropped open.
“No way. No fucking way.” Elliot looked around, lowering his voice before continuing. “Alex Cabot asked you out? No way!”
“Thank you for your overwhelming confidence in my ability to attract someone who doesn’t resemble Danny Devito.”
“No, hey, Liv…I didn’t mean it like that…I just…Alex Cabot? I didn’t think the woman did normal human stuff like dating.”
“Elliot! Don’t talk about her like that. She’s…she’s not that weird.”
“So when are you going out?”
He leaned his elbows on the desk. She sucked in a breath through her teeth, her eyebrows going up slightly.
“We…I didn’t…I’m supposed to call her when I’ve decided.”
He regarded her in confusion.
“So…she asked you out…and you didn’t say yes?”
“It was so out of the blue!” Olivia defended. “I…I didn’t really say much…she was confusing me.”
“Olivia, what the hell is there to be confused about? Someone like Alex Cabot asks you out, you fucking well say yes!” Elliot said, looking at Olivia like she was from another planet.
“I thought you thought she was strange and cold and scary?”
“And? She’s gorgeous! If she asked my wife out I’d tell her to say yes.”
“How open-minded of you Elliot.”
“So are you going to say yes? I mean, you are going to call her and say yes, right?” he asked, nodding his head.
“I…I want to. Guess I’m scared. How lame is that?”
Once again, Olivia’s head fell into her hands.
“What would be lame is if you let that stop you. It’s OK to be scared. Hell, she scares the shit out of me too. But she asked you. So she obviously wants you.”
Her head came up, hands still over her face, one eye peeking through her fingers.
“One date couldn’t hurt, right? Like she says…to see what’s there?”
“Sure, can’t hurt. And she’s bound to take you somewhere classy. So you get a nice meal and some good wine out of it if nothing else. And you might get to cop a feel of an ADA!”
“Good God, she’d have me up on a sexual-assault charge. You’d be subpoenaed as star witness.”
“Woah! I get to witness the groping? Excellent!”
She rolled her eyes.
“Go away, Elliot.”
“Nope, not till you call her.”
“Like I’m going to call her with you listening.”
“Well I’m not leaving till I know you’re not gonna to chicken out.”
She sighed.
“Fine. She’s in court this afternoon, I’ll call now and leave a message on her voicemail. Satisfied?”
“Too scared to actually speak to her, huh.”
“Completely.”
“Fair enough.” He didn’t move from his position.
“You’re still not getting to listen.”
She stood up to emphasise her point, walking towards an empty office. He watched her go with a thoughtful expression on his face.
“And stop picturing it or I’m calling Kathy.” Olivia tossed back over her shoulder.
*****
“Hey Alex, I’ve been thinking about what you said and I think we should do it. Not do it. Like, not it. I’m not saying we should have sex or…fucking hell!”
Olivia swore, glad she hadn’t actually plucked up the courage to dial Alex’s number. She held the phone to her ear again, practising what she should say.
“Alex, it’s Olivia. About earlier, I’d like to take you up on your offer. So how about Friday night, around eight?”
Olivia nodded to herself. That seemed OK, simple enough and to the point. No room for ambiguity or making a fool of herself. While she was pressing the buttons to call Alex, she muttered another possibility.
“Hey Alex, how about we skip the date and we move straight to me and you having the best sex of your life on top of your desk?”
She chuckled to herself and held the phone up to her ear, this time hearing ringing. She held her breath, waiting for voice-mail to pick up.
“Cabot.”
Olivia’s brain froze. Alex had picked up the phone. That hadn’t been in her plan. Valiantly she tried to think of something to say. Hello would have been good. But it seemed she couldn’t even form that simple word with her mouth.
“Olivia.” It wasn’t a question.
“Uh…yeah.”
“I liked the second one…but the third had its merits too.”
It suddenly hit Olivia that she was hearing an echo. Alex’s voice was coming both from her phone and from behind her. She squeezed her eyes closed, as if to shut out the world. It did nothing to quiet the clicking of heels approaching her. She also heard a snap as Alex closed her phone. She sighed before turning around. Alex was smirking, but not unkindly.
“I thought you were in court.”
“Evidently.”
“I was going to leave a message.”
“So I heard. I’m glad it was in the affirmative. Friday at eight sounds good. I’ll get a cab to your place and we can go on from there.”
Alex took another few steps towards Olivia, leaving only inches between them. She leaned in to whisper in Olivia’s ear.
“And if all goes well, I look forward to what you, rather immodestly, offered in your third message.”
She drew back, smiling before turning and leaving the room. Olivia watched her go, her heart thudding in her chest. She closed her eyes to remember how Alex smelled when she had whispered to her. When she opened them again she jumped slightly, because Alex was standing in the doorway again. She approached Olivia, more slowly this time, less confident.
“I meant to…that is to say, when I was here before, I wanted to…”
Olivia smiled at Alex’s hesitancy. Here was her chance to regain something of her ‘cool’ reputation. She closed the distance between them and claimed Alex’s lips with her own. The move was smooth and confident. Olivia’s hands went to Alex’s hips, gently bringing their bodies into closer contact.
The kiss was brief, but intense. When their mouths parted, Olivia was heartened to see that the ADA was more than a little flustered. She did have normal, human reactions after all. Olivia decided to keep the upper-hand. She moved past Alex and walked to the door, strutting just a little, for effect. When she reached the door she turned as casually as she could.
“So, I’ll see you on Friday at eight?”
Alex was touching her lips, her eyes unfocused. She looked up at Olivia’s words.
“Uh…yes, Friday.”
Olivia smiled and walked away. Oh yes, Friday was definitely going to be fun.
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Want to gush but have to go - off to the geek fest and Summer Glau - Summer FUCKING Glau. - I am assuming that you are currently writing a squee-filled post about this so I won't ask about it here. Look forward to hearing about it (and how you managed to lose all your pictures!?!)
I also owe you a gushing post on the latest B/L but it might have to wait until later tonight as I'm having to go out in a little bit. I'll state for the record that I was blown away.
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I am assuming that you are currently writing a squee-filled post about this so I won't ask about it here. Look forward to hearing about it (and how you managed to lose all your pictures!?!) Yes I was, post now done.
I also owe you a gushing post on the latest B/L but it might have to wait until later tonight as I'm having to go out in a little bit. I'll state for the record that I was blown away. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it and I am going to go off and read your new fic just as soon as I get around to replying to all our conversations.
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well done!
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Yeah, there seems to be a formula to a lot of A/O fic. And it all tends to be angsty. So I just wanted to try something a little different. Although I must say that I didn't intend Olivia to come across as quite so goofy. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
(not to say i wouldnt like to see alex and liv on her desk, haha) - Well, they might get to that yet!
Thanks again.