Delicate Balance, Ch. 41/?
After their tense drive back to Alex's apartment, Alex knew Olivia was giving into her feelings for her. Olivia had still turned her down for drinks though, so today Alex knew that she would have to start breaking her own rules in order to prove to Olivia how serious she was and that "no" was no longer an acceptable answer. She needed to show her that what she felt for the detective was not just a physical, fly by night attraction. In all of Olivia's stubborn glory, Alex was starting to fall for the detective and as every day passed, she increasingly wanted to be with her. Therefore, on Thursday she decided to get old fashioned on Olivia and send her a bouquet of stargazer lilies directly to the precinct. In a unit that was mainly comprised of men, the delivery of flowers was exceptionally rare so when they arrived, all heads turned.
"My, my, Olivia, you shouldn't have." Munch said, admiring the fragrant flowers being held by the deliveryman in the doorway.
"Oh, you know me. I'm such a romantic at heart." Olivia laughed at him, returning to her work, but having a pretty good feeling that the flowers were for her.
The college-aged deliveryman looked to his clipboard for a name. "Is there an Olivia...Benson here?" Thoughts confirmed, Olivia slowly raised two fingers in the air, thus indicating to bring the flowers to her.
"Well, you might not be a romantic, but someone sweet on you sure is." Munch replied.
The man set the lilies in the center of Olivia's desk. When he left, Olivia spotted Elliot staring at her with a sly smirk across his face while going through his inbox. He was dying to know who had bravely sent her flowers to a room full of men that drooled at the notion of learning the slightest detail about Olivia's personal life. Olivia knew all too well who had sent the flowers, but she still reached for the card embedded between the sweet-smelling blossoms.
"So who's the lucky guy?" Fin asked, walking over and sitting on the corner of her desk, trying to catch a glimpse of a name on the tiny card that Olivia held tightly against her chest before slipping it into her pocket.
She looked up at him and bat her eyelashes playfully. "Who said it was a guy?"
"Oh my bad, 'Livia." Fin remarked, sliding off of her desk and raising his hands defensively. The other two male detectives laughed and accosted her with a crescendo of inappropriate locker room commentary, knowing Olivia could take the heat and throw it back with the best of them until Cragen came out of his office in a huff, noticing that the men were all surrounding Detective Benson's desk, and that none of them were working.
"What's going on out here?" He asked with his hands on his hips.
"'Livia got flowers from some chick." Fin remarked shamelessly, to which Olivia dropped her head to her hand in an effort to hide, fully regretting her previous smart remark.
"Well, unless that someone has anything to do with investigating the suspect that's reaping havoc out on the city of New York right now, get back to work." He ordered.
Thank you. Olivia thought to herself, for once relieved that Cragen's angry outburst had resulted in interrupting her fellow detectives' prying.
"Munch, Fin...don't you have somewhere to be right now?" Cragen continued, pointing to his watch and returning to his office.
Fin nodded over to Munch and the two exited the precinct. Elliot also returned to work. Olivia reached into her pocket to retrieve the card and opened it behind a file in front of her so that Elliot couldn't see what she was doing.
"Give us a chance. -A."
Olivia's cheeks flushed. She quickly rubbed her face with her hands in an effort to blanche out the pink coloration and get back to her work before Elliot noticed. Despite Cragen's scolding of the squad for not working, the day was slow, and it was going to be difficult for Olivia to focus now that Alex had sent her the flowers. The scent of the lilies permeated the entire room so even when she got up from her desk, a reminder of Alex's feelings for her was all around her. Alex was really outdoing herself with her courtship of the detective. She had done some of the most romantic, flattering things Olivia had ever experienced, but the fact that it was all coming from Alex - a woman who seemed to always keep her heart and emotions at bay - was beguiling.
About an hour later, Munch and Fin returned to the precinct and were questioning a suspect for one of their cases. Munch exited the interview room after a few promising minutes and asked Cragen to call Alex. Moments later, Alex came in wearing what appeared to be a new, cream-colored suit. She passed Olivia, who was standing by her locker, putting up a few files to take home with her, and walked straight over to Elliot.
"Hey, Elliot." He looked up at her and nodded. "What interview room are they in?"
"Who? Munch and Fin?" He asked.
"Well, obviously not you and Olivia." She remarked with a laugh.
He snickered back, not entirely amused by her sarcasm, but not turned off by it either. "Room 2."
Alex nodded at him. "Thanks." She noticed that Olivia had gotten her flowers and watched her return to her desk, taking a seat. "Nice flowers, Olivia." Olivia's eyes shot up to her, trying not to act surprised or nervous in front of Elliot who could read her like a book. "You have a secret admirer we don't know about?" She asked, reaching to her desk for the card that Olivia had left by her keyboard, but back in its tiny envelope. She leaned back on the desk opposite from Olivia's and crossed her ankles.
"Uh..." Olivia stammered as Alex started to open the envelope while watching her squirm at her desk trying to think of something to say.
"I thought you weren't seeing anyone." Elliot interjected.
"I'm not." Olivia said, snatching the card back from Alex and putting it into her pocket.
"Well, someone sure is romancing the hell out of you, Liv." Elliot said with a chuckle. "I should be taking notes. Kathy would be begging for a fifth child if I did half the stuff this person has done for you in the past few days. What's the problem?"
"Yeah, what's the problem?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow to Olivia.
"I think both of you need to mind your own damn business." Olivia returned both of their penetrating gazes with a playful glare.
Alex snickered and got up from the corner of the desk to walk towards the interview room. She smiled to herself. She was close. She could feel it, but right now she had to get back to work.
When she returned from watching Munch and Fin interrogate their suspect, which resulted in a satisfying arrest, she approached Olivia, who was back at her locker gathering her things to go home.
"You look nice." Olivia acknowledged, scanning her quickly as to not be noticed by her colleagues who were still present.
"Thank you." She saw the look Olivia gave her and it boosted her confidence. Now she just had to push the right button, right now, and Olivia would surely give in to a date.
"Got a date tonight or something?" Olivia asked, pulling some things from her locker.
"That all depends." Alex said, hushing her tone.
Olivia laughed, "On what?"
"On you." She whispered so no one around them would hear.
Olivia looked around to see if anyone had heard her before leading Alex further down the hall so they could talk somewhere a little more private. "You're really starting to push that envelope, Cabot. First you send me flowers and now you're asking me out not ten feet away from my partner? I thought you didn't want people do know."
"What's to know? You won't go out with me." Alex teased. Olivia pursed her lips and shook her head at Alex. "Do you like the lilies?" She asked with a smile.
"Yes, of course I like them." Olivia thanked her with a smile. "But you have no idea how close you came to outing yourself."
"It was a risk I was willing to take." Alex sighed. "Never in my life have I had to work so hard to get a date with someone. You'd better be worth it, Olivia Benson." She wagged an accusing finger at the detective.
"Don't get cocky; I haven't said 'yes.'" Olivia said, smiling and folding her arms over her chest.
"Oh, you will. I'm not letting up until you do, Liv, so you might as well surrender."
"That sounds an awful lot like harassment, Alex. I could have you arrested." Olivia played back.
"Good, I'll sign off on the arrest warrant myself. A holding cell was not the kind of date I had in mind, but it'll do if that's your best offer."
Olivia laughed and shook her head. "You're incorrigible."
"Yes I am, so stop making me beg. It's not becoming of me."
"No, it definitely isn't." She joked with a smile. She looked up into Alex's blue eyes and sighed. "But that suit is." Olivia smiled. "Would you have dinner with me tonight?"
"I thought you'd never ask." Alex said with a wink. "Do you have someplace in mind?" Olivia nodded. "...And where would that be?" She asked.
"Well, would you mind if we didn't go out? I mean, you've been so patient with me. I was thinking that maybe I'd cook for you."
Alex raised an eyebrow at Olivia's suggestion. "Really?" Alex asked with a smile. She never pictured Olivia to be much of a cook, but the chance to be alone in Olivia's apartment was not an opportunity she was going to turn down. "I don't know, Olivia, are you a decent cook? As you well know, I'm pretty picky." Alex teased.
Olivia laughed. "I know my way around the kitchen, thank you, and I'm prepared to handle even your harshest criticism. Although, I'm not expecting to hear any." She added with a playful sneer.
"Duly noted." Alex said, impressed with Olivia's confidence. She gathered Olivia's files from her hands and put them into her own briefcase to help. "Lead the way, detective." Alex followed Olivia to the exit, both of them bidding Elliot a goodnight on their way out.
Elliot briefly glanced up and waved goodnight to Alex and Olivia, a pencil in his mouth, and then returned his eyes to his computer screen to complete the task at hand before returning home to Queens.
Part Forty Two