she was kind - elliot/callie - diy_prompts - (perception)
Username: littleton_pace
Prompt Letter/Word: P for perception for diy_prompts.
Fandom: Law&Order SVU
Summary: A new story begins.
Character/Ship: Elliot/Callie (original character played by Melissa George)
Author's Notes: An original storyline set in season 11, mentions events of episode 11x13 P.C. Completely separate from my other Callie work; the only thing the same is Callie.
Disclaimer: Written for entertainment only. No copyright infringement intended.
She Was Kind
Elliot wasn't sure what to expect of the witness he was travelling to interview. But if Caleb Cross worked with the fiery Babs Duffy then Elliot suspected he might be an eccentric kind of guy. The address his Captain had given him was in lower Manhattan, at what had once been a coffee shop. Now it was the headquarters for Caleb's gay rights organization, Look Underneath.
Parking his car directly out the front of the building, which had some faded pictures of coffee cups on the window, Elliot let himself through the front door and approached what appeared to be the reception desk where a pretty, fair-haired woman was sifting through paperwork in a rusty file cabinet.
"Excuse me?" Elliot asked, holding out his police badge and ID. "I'm Detective Elliot Stabler, here to see Caleb Cross. Is he available?"
A smile slowly spread across her face. "I'm Caleb."
"Oh..." Elliot felt awkward, he wasn't all too familiar with transgendered people. "I see."
Seeing his discomfort, Caleb smiled again. "Don't freak out; I'm a woman. Although you are not the first person to make that mistake. You are the first cop too, though."
Elliot felt slightly more at ease. He could deal with a run of the mill lesbian. "Sorry."
"It's okay. With my name, and my job," She smirked. "I'm used to it. Call me Callie. My parents are just fond of androgynous names. My sister's name is Dylan." She nudged the file cabinet draw closed with her hip. "So, what can I do for you, Detective?" She asked easing back into her desk chair.
"I was wondering if you could tell me about your association with Babs Duffy." Elliot said, immediately noticing the grimace across Callie's face. "I take it you've heard of her."
"Everyone's heard of her. Especially now with the media frenzy."
Elliot noted a hint of distaste in her voice, as well as an accent he couldn't quite identify. "You not a fan of hers?"
"Oh, no. She's great." Callie said too quickly. "Well, for the cause... and in very small doses. Causes like ours need a microphone like that; so people will listen."
Elliot took out his notepad and poised his pen to write. "How long have you been in business?"
"Only about six months." She gestured to the surroundings. "Clearly redecorating isn't a priority. I made a start on fliers though..." She pulled a bright green sheet of paper off her desk and held it up in front of her face.
"You don't have to be a minority to fight for equality," Elliot read the headline. "Cute."
Callie nodded. "I like it."
"So, do you have any interaction with Babs at all?"
"Not really. She came to visit when we first opened up shop here, held a rally nearby, pissed off some locals." Callie seemed proud. "Got us on the map."
"Does your organization support lesbians specifically?"
"No, that's one of the areas where Babs and I are yet to agree". Callie replied tersely. "In my head, you can't fight for equality and then just select the minorities you want to help. Gay, straight, bi, black, Asian, whatever the hell you are, you're welcome here." She leant back in her chair and eyed him up and down. "And what are you, Detective?" She asked with a cheeky grin, cocking her head to one side.
"On duty." Elliot replied, unable to stop his lips curling into a smirk. "So your relationship is purely professional?"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
Elliot shrugged. "She seems the type to hold a grudge after a bad break-up." He raised his eyebrows.
Callie looked like she might laugh. "I'm not gay."
Elliot was puzzled. "You said you were." He reminded her.
"No..." She said slowly. "You assumed I was; I just didn't correct you." She smiled smugly. "It's a fun game I play sometimes, although not a great advertisement for a Detective."
Elliot let her little comment pass; he had mistaken her for a man. Now they were even. "You're straight."
"You don't have to be a minority to fight for equality." Callie chanted, swaying back and forth in her desk chair.
Elliot cleared his throat; harmless flirting had suddenly became a little more dangerous. "I didn't see you at the walk-in Babs staged at the precinct yesterday..."
"That's because I wasn't there." She went back to filing papers. "Making noise... is not my strong suit."
Elliot narrowed his eyes at her, his initial analysis of her was that she was quite forward. Even after twelve years with SVU he still met people he couldn't figure out. "You don't seem like the wallflower type to me."
"Yeah; but you also thought I was a man." She smiled, holding her tongue just between her teeth. "So your perception is a little shaky..."
"You're making fun of me."
She blushed. "Oh, no, I'd be much too scared to make fun of a Detective."
Elliot had no reply for her, but his wedding ring felt like it was burning through the skin of his finger. "If she contacts you about another secret rally, will you give me a call?" He asked, handing over one of his business cards. "With someone out there targeting lesbians; be on the lookout for anyone out of the ordinary?"
"Absolutely." Callie took it from him, and flashed another smile.
As he left, Elliot heard her giggle under her breath and go back to work. He found himself wondering if she was like that with everybody; sweet and flirty, or had it just been for his benefit? He was used to victims or suspects hitting on him, but witnesses or interviewees were generally just friendly, or overly-friendly when it came to prostitutes and strippers. Or they were completely closed off and unhelpful. Ironically, the fact that she was so normal and their conversation had been so easy was what was so strange to Elliot, a thought that stayed with him for the rest of the day.
Callie tucked Elliot's business card into her jeans pocket and went back to filing. Her sister came bustling in from the back room swatting at her arms.
"Do not go in there." Dylan said, jabbing her thumb back to the storage room. "Spiders everywhere." She pulled her strawberry blonde hair out of a ponytail and shook it out. "Did I hear a guy?"
"Yeah, a cop. Asking about Duffy." Callie replied. "He was cute; had this whole hunky caveman thing going on."
"This is why you suck as a boss," Dylan said shaking her head. "You can't keep your eyes on the job."
"I can." Callie argued, her eyes wandering outside as the Detective's car pulled away. "I just prefer not to."
---
Prompt Letter/Word: P for perception for diy_prompts.
Fandom: Law&Order SVU
Summary: A new story begins.
Character/Ship: Elliot/Callie (original character played by Melissa George)
Author's Notes: An original storyline set in season 11, mentions events of episode 11x13 P.C. Completely separate from my other Callie work; the only thing the same is Callie.
Disclaimer: Written for entertainment only. No copyright infringement intended.
She Was Kind
Elliot wasn't sure what to expect of the witness he was travelling to interview. But if Caleb Cross worked with the fiery Babs Duffy then Elliot suspected he might be an eccentric kind of guy. The address his Captain had given him was in lower Manhattan, at what had once been a coffee shop. Now it was the headquarters for Caleb's gay rights organization, Look Underneath.
Parking his car directly out the front of the building, which had some faded pictures of coffee cups on the window, Elliot let himself through the front door and approached what appeared to be the reception desk where a pretty, fair-haired woman was sifting through paperwork in a rusty file cabinet.
"Excuse me?" Elliot asked, holding out his police badge and ID. "I'm Detective Elliot Stabler, here to see Caleb Cross. Is he available?"
A smile slowly spread across her face. "I'm Caleb."
"Oh..." Elliot felt awkward, he wasn't all too familiar with transgendered people. "I see."
Seeing his discomfort, Caleb smiled again. "Don't freak out; I'm a woman. Although you are not the first person to make that mistake. You are the first cop too, though."
Elliot felt slightly more at ease. He could deal with a run of the mill lesbian. "Sorry."
"It's okay. With my name, and my job," She smirked. "I'm used to it. Call me Callie. My parents are just fond of androgynous names. My sister's name is Dylan." She nudged the file cabinet draw closed with her hip. "So, what can I do for you, Detective?" She asked easing back into her desk chair.
"I was wondering if you could tell me about your association with Babs Duffy." Elliot said, immediately noticing the grimace across Callie's face. "I take it you've heard of her."
"Everyone's heard of her. Especially now with the media frenzy."
Elliot noted a hint of distaste in her voice, as well as an accent he couldn't quite identify. "You not a fan of hers?"
"Oh, no. She's great." Callie said too quickly. "Well, for the cause... and in very small doses. Causes like ours need a microphone like that; so people will listen."
Elliot took out his notepad and poised his pen to write. "How long have you been in business?"
"Only about six months." She gestured to the surroundings. "Clearly redecorating isn't a priority. I made a start on fliers though..." She pulled a bright green sheet of paper off her desk and held it up in front of her face.
"You don't have to be a minority to fight for equality," Elliot read the headline. "Cute."
Callie nodded. "I like it."
"So, do you have any interaction with Babs at all?"
"Not really. She came to visit when we first opened up shop here, held a rally nearby, pissed off some locals." Callie seemed proud. "Got us on the map."
"Does your organization support lesbians specifically?"
"No, that's one of the areas where Babs and I are yet to agree". Callie replied tersely. "In my head, you can't fight for equality and then just select the minorities you want to help. Gay, straight, bi, black, Asian, whatever the hell you are, you're welcome here." She leant back in her chair and eyed him up and down. "And what are you, Detective?" She asked with a cheeky grin, cocking her head to one side.
"On duty." Elliot replied, unable to stop his lips curling into a smirk. "So your relationship is purely professional?"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
Elliot shrugged. "She seems the type to hold a grudge after a bad break-up." He raised his eyebrows.
Callie looked like she might laugh. "I'm not gay."
Elliot was puzzled. "You said you were." He reminded her.
"No..." She said slowly. "You assumed I was; I just didn't correct you." She smiled smugly. "It's a fun game I play sometimes, although not a great advertisement for a Detective."
Elliot let her little comment pass; he had mistaken her for a man. Now they were even. "You're straight."
"You don't have to be a minority to fight for equality." Callie chanted, swaying back and forth in her desk chair.
Elliot cleared his throat; harmless flirting had suddenly became a little more dangerous. "I didn't see you at the walk-in Babs staged at the precinct yesterday..."
"That's because I wasn't there." She went back to filing papers. "Making noise... is not my strong suit."
Elliot narrowed his eyes at her, his initial analysis of her was that she was quite forward. Even after twelve years with SVU he still met people he couldn't figure out. "You don't seem like the wallflower type to me."
"Yeah; but you also thought I was a man." She smiled, holding her tongue just between her teeth. "So your perception is a little shaky..."
"You're making fun of me."
She blushed. "Oh, no, I'd be much too scared to make fun of a Detective."
Elliot had no reply for her, but his wedding ring felt like it was burning through the skin of his finger. "If she contacts you about another secret rally, will you give me a call?" He asked, handing over one of his business cards. "With someone out there targeting lesbians; be on the lookout for anyone out of the ordinary?"
"Absolutely." Callie took it from him, and flashed another smile.
As he left, Elliot heard her giggle under her breath and go back to work. He found himself wondering if she was like that with everybody; sweet and flirty, or had it just been for his benefit? He was used to victims or suspects hitting on him, but witnesses or interviewees were generally just friendly, or overly-friendly when it came to prostitutes and strippers. Or they were completely closed off and unhelpful. Ironically, the fact that she was so normal and their conversation had been so easy was what was so strange to Elliot, a thought that stayed with him for the rest of the day.
Callie tucked Elliot's business card into her jeans pocket and went back to filing. Her sister came bustling in from the back room swatting at her arms.
"Do not go in there." Dylan said, jabbing her thumb back to the storage room. "Spiders everywhere." She pulled her strawberry blonde hair out of a ponytail and shook it out. "Did I hear a guy?"
"Yeah, a cop. Asking about Duffy." Callie replied. "He was cute; had this whole hunky caveman thing going on."
"This is why you suck as a boss," Dylan said shaking her head. "You can't keep your eyes on the job."
"I can." Callie argued, her eyes wandering outside as the Detective's car pulled away. "I just prefer not to."
---