Fic: A Better New Year
Title: A Better New Year
Author: redknightalex
Fandom: Law and Order: SVU
Pairing: Alex/Olivia
Word Count: 1,400
Rating: PG
Warnings: None, unless you count fluff as a warning
Summary: On New Year's Eve, 2001, minutes before the ball was to drop on an eventful and horrifying year, Olivia was doing the rounds as a beat cop on the streets of Times Square. Little did she know that Elliot had plans of his own and brought along a surprise for her, just in the nick of time, for a better new year.
It was December 31, 2001 and it felt like hell had frozen over. The low for the day was, according to the weather reports, supposed to be a doable 20 degrees with a slight wind-chill yet when you had to stand around for hours on end, dealing with the drunk and disorderly while still trying to watch out for terrorists, it became a nightmare.
The New York City Council had asked all police units to send a volunteer to Times Square, even if they weren't beat cops, to help with the demand the federal government was placing on the city for protection. Ever since the September 11 attacks on the city, on the nation, everything had gone to hell, even if hell seemed to be slightly frozen at this moment.
Olivia, knowing that many of her squad mates had made special plans for the evening (including Munch, although what exactly he was up to she never wanted to know), volunteered for the extra duty. She had figured that spending an evening alone, in her apartment, with Chinese food and cheap wine decorating her coffee table would be only slightly better than standing in the cold and protecting her city. It might also win her a few extra points with the feds and the higher ups but she doubted they ever read her name unless it was some mishap with a perp. Things happened and although for her to expect them to remember this small tidbit of information after sitting behind a desk so long was asking for a bit much, she still had a little hope.
So she got up, made the stand, and received a curt nod from her Captain while the others smiled gratefully at her. Elliot, once she had sat back down into her chair, seemed to slowly start to wonder why she had spoken up, and had given her a quizzical look.
“No specials plans for the evening?” he asked, head tilted slightly to the side.
Olivia pushed the papers around on her desk, hoping to appear busy enough that he would leave the subject alone. “No.”
He nodded, leaned back in his chair, and studied her. For a moment, no one spoke, until, finally, Elliot rose, gave Olivia a pat on the shoulder, and made a bee-line for the door, stopping only briefly for his jacket. Plans indeed.
She pulled her uniform jacket, one that was slightly looser on her body than it had been before, closer around her as she scanned the crowd for any “suspicious behavior”. She heard the talk of other officers on the street through her earpiece, some complaining, some out-right bitching, and others speaking of one man who was naked, drunk, and very much a problem. They were ten blocks down, asking for assistance, and Olivia contemplated making a run down. Her square unit was secured, at least as secured as she could make it over the sea of a couple hundred people she saw behind the short metal bars, until the seas started to part.
Curious, she moved towards the mass movement. Moving a sea of people on a night like this, at a time like this (two minutes to go before the ball dropped and a new year began), was more than strange and, to be entirely honest, would probably require an act of God to accomplish. And this was a deliberate line, straight for her.
Olivia kept her distance, one hand close to her mic while the other gingerly toyed with the safety to her gun, as she watched the moving crowd. The parting got closer, still closer, so close that she could almost make out the blue of a uniform....
Elliot sprang into view, wearing the blue coat of an officer in uniform, and his shield catching the reflections of a hundred different lights as it bounced freely off his chest upon each step. His hand, behind his back, pulled someone else along with him.
“Elliot,” Olivia began, letting her hands fall freely to her side, and moved to the barrier. “What are you doing here? And who's with you?”
Elliot smiled and pulled alongside him a familiar face and she wore the shyest smile that had ever graced her lips.
Olivia began confused, looking between the pair. “Alex, what in the world are you doing here? It's late, I'm on duty-”
Elliot jumped over the barricade, revealing himself to be made up in full uniform, and took the mic out of Olivia's ear. “Don't worry, I'll cover you.”
He gave a quick wink at her before turning to the crowd, his face serious as he twisted the mic into his ear and switch it on. His eyes began a scan of the crowd, all professional, and Olivia decided to just go along with it. She turned to the ADA, dressed warmly, yet still with a stylish look about her, and focused her full attention to her.
Of course, it was hard not to, as she found the blond woman to be absolutely captivating.
“Alex,” she began, clearing her throat to cover her surprise, “don't you have plans or something?”
Alex moved forward and placed her hands on the cold, metal bars, showing off slender, gloved hands. “I didn't have plans tonight, at least until Elliot gave me one.”
Olivia stared at her, confused, and trying so hard to regulate her breathing. The cold, winter air was suddenly forgotten, and the loud cheering from the crowd as the ball started its descent became a dull buzzing in her ears as she moved up to the barricade, placing her own gloved hands on the bars, to either side of the blond's.
“Elliot came to my apartment earlier,” Alex began, her eyes focused solely on her hands, or Olivia's hands, the latter didn't know, “and looked at my boxes of Chinese food, bad wine, and just as bad music before explaining to me a plan.”
The ball was halfway there. Elliot stood behind her, watching the crowd, but never near her (she could always feel the eyes on the back of her neck, if need be; partners just knew those things). The crowd was cheering louder. Her heart was beating harder. And everything seemed to slow.
Alex's eyes lifted up, glanced at the dropping ball, the coming dawn of a new year, of a new day, of a new opportunity, before shifting her stare to Olivia.
Olivia's stomach did flips. The glasses, it must be the glasses, it was always the glasses and the way they framed her face.
“He gave you a plan?” she echoed, her hands clenching against the metal bars, holding her steady. The near proximity of this woman did things to her that no one could ever find out and if holding onto a metal barrier that chilled her to the bone would be the price, she would take it willingly.
Everyone started to count as Alex leaned over the bars, her hands coming up to frame Olivia's face. The cold of the gloves, and the warmth of the hand underneath it, increased her heart rate exponentially.
“He gave me a plan to come out here and wish you a Happy New Years,” Alex yelled in a whisper, floating gently above the crowd before landing in Olivia's ears.
Gloved fingers traced smooth patterns across Olivia's skin as they pulled her closer.
The crowd continued to count the numbers down.
Alex's face grew bigger, her eyes grew lighter, with every slight pull the hands at Olivia's cheeks gave.
Then, right as their lips were about to meet, just as the ball finished its descent and the crowd erupted into cheers, Alex stopped to mutter against her mouth.
“Happy New Year, Olivia.”
The fireworks went off, the sounds of a weary nation letting out a sight of relief, all floated in and out of her ears as the pounding of blood rushed through Olivia's veins and the soft, warm lips covered her own. The world drowned out of sight, out of mind, and, for a moment, she too felt that small reprieve and let herself slide right into a small measure of peace as hands wove into her short hair and the only thing that suddenly kept the two apart were the damn metal barriers.
Those wouldn't last.
When they parted, gasping for cool air as the flushes on their cheeks warmed their bodies, Olivia smiled and pressed her forehead against Alex's.
“Happy New Year.”
Author: redknightalex
Fandom: Law and Order: SVU
Pairing: Alex/Olivia
Word Count: 1,400
Rating: PG
Warnings: None, unless you count fluff as a warning
Summary: On New Year's Eve, 2001, minutes before the ball was to drop on an eventful and horrifying year, Olivia was doing the rounds as a beat cop on the streets of Times Square. Little did she know that Elliot had plans of his own and brought along a surprise for her, just in the nick of time, for a better new year.
It was December 31, 2001 and it felt like hell had frozen over. The low for the day was, according to the weather reports, supposed to be a doable 20 degrees with a slight wind-chill yet when you had to stand around for hours on end, dealing with the drunk and disorderly while still trying to watch out for terrorists, it became a nightmare.
The New York City Council had asked all police units to send a volunteer to Times Square, even if they weren't beat cops, to help with the demand the federal government was placing on the city for protection. Ever since the September 11 attacks on the city, on the nation, everything had gone to hell, even if hell seemed to be slightly frozen at this moment.
Olivia, knowing that many of her squad mates had made special plans for the evening (including Munch, although what exactly he was up to she never wanted to know), volunteered for the extra duty. She had figured that spending an evening alone, in her apartment, with Chinese food and cheap wine decorating her coffee table would be only slightly better than standing in the cold and protecting her city. It might also win her a few extra points with the feds and the higher ups but she doubted they ever read her name unless it was some mishap with a perp. Things happened and although for her to expect them to remember this small tidbit of information after sitting behind a desk so long was asking for a bit much, she still had a little hope.
So she got up, made the stand, and received a curt nod from her Captain while the others smiled gratefully at her. Elliot, once she had sat back down into her chair, seemed to slowly start to wonder why she had spoken up, and had given her a quizzical look.
“No specials plans for the evening?” he asked, head tilted slightly to the side.
Olivia pushed the papers around on her desk, hoping to appear busy enough that he would leave the subject alone. “No.”
He nodded, leaned back in his chair, and studied her. For a moment, no one spoke, until, finally, Elliot rose, gave Olivia a pat on the shoulder, and made a bee-line for the door, stopping only briefly for his jacket. Plans indeed.
She pulled her uniform jacket, one that was slightly looser on her body than it had been before, closer around her as she scanned the crowd for any “suspicious behavior”. She heard the talk of other officers on the street through her earpiece, some complaining, some out-right bitching, and others speaking of one man who was naked, drunk, and very much a problem. They were ten blocks down, asking for assistance, and Olivia contemplated making a run down. Her square unit was secured, at least as secured as she could make it over the sea of a couple hundred people she saw behind the short metal bars, until the seas started to part.
Curious, she moved towards the mass movement. Moving a sea of people on a night like this, at a time like this (two minutes to go before the ball dropped and a new year began), was more than strange and, to be entirely honest, would probably require an act of God to accomplish. And this was a deliberate line, straight for her.
Olivia kept her distance, one hand close to her mic while the other gingerly toyed with the safety to her gun, as she watched the moving crowd. The parting got closer, still closer, so close that she could almost make out the blue of a uniform....
Elliot sprang into view, wearing the blue coat of an officer in uniform, and his shield catching the reflections of a hundred different lights as it bounced freely off his chest upon each step. His hand, behind his back, pulled someone else along with him.
“Elliot,” Olivia began, letting her hands fall freely to her side, and moved to the barrier. “What are you doing here? And who's with you?”
Elliot smiled and pulled alongside him a familiar face and she wore the shyest smile that had ever graced her lips.
Olivia began confused, looking between the pair. “Alex, what in the world are you doing here? It's late, I'm on duty-”
Elliot jumped over the barricade, revealing himself to be made up in full uniform, and took the mic out of Olivia's ear. “Don't worry, I'll cover you.”
He gave a quick wink at her before turning to the crowd, his face serious as he twisted the mic into his ear and switch it on. His eyes began a scan of the crowd, all professional, and Olivia decided to just go along with it. She turned to the ADA, dressed warmly, yet still with a stylish look about her, and focused her full attention to her.
Of course, it was hard not to, as she found the blond woman to be absolutely captivating.
“Alex,” she began, clearing her throat to cover her surprise, “don't you have plans or something?”
Alex moved forward and placed her hands on the cold, metal bars, showing off slender, gloved hands. “I didn't have plans tonight, at least until Elliot gave me one.”
Olivia stared at her, confused, and trying so hard to regulate her breathing. The cold, winter air was suddenly forgotten, and the loud cheering from the crowd as the ball started its descent became a dull buzzing in her ears as she moved up to the barricade, placing her own gloved hands on the bars, to either side of the blond's.
“Elliot came to my apartment earlier,” Alex began, her eyes focused solely on her hands, or Olivia's hands, the latter didn't know, “and looked at my boxes of Chinese food, bad wine, and just as bad music before explaining to me a plan.”
The ball was halfway there. Elliot stood behind her, watching the crowd, but never near her (she could always feel the eyes on the back of her neck, if need be; partners just knew those things). The crowd was cheering louder. Her heart was beating harder. And everything seemed to slow.
Alex's eyes lifted up, glanced at the dropping ball, the coming dawn of a new year, of a new day, of a new opportunity, before shifting her stare to Olivia.
Olivia's stomach did flips. The glasses, it must be the glasses, it was always the glasses and the way they framed her face.
“He gave you a plan?” she echoed, her hands clenching against the metal bars, holding her steady. The near proximity of this woman did things to her that no one could ever find out and if holding onto a metal barrier that chilled her to the bone would be the price, she would take it willingly.
Everyone started to count as Alex leaned over the bars, her hands coming up to frame Olivia's face. The cold of the gloves, and the warmth of the hand underneath it, increased her heart rate exponentially.
“He gave me a plan to come out here and wish you a Happy New Years,” Alex yelled in a whisper, floating gently above the crowd before landing in Olivia's ears.
Gloved fingers traced smooth patterns across Olivia's skin as they pulled her closer.
The crowd continued to count the numbers down.
Alex's face grew bigger, her eyes grew lighter, with every slight pull the hands at Olivia's cheeks gave.
Then, right as their lips were about to meet, just as the ball finished its descent and the crowd erupted into cheers, Alex stopped to mutter against her mouth.
“Happy New Year, Olivia.”
The fireworks went off, the sounds of a weary nation letting out a sight of relief, all floated in and out of her ears as the pounding of blood rushed through Olivia's veins and the soft, warm lips covered her own. The world drowned out of sight, out of mind, and, for a moment, she too felt that small reprieve and let herself slide right into a small measure of peace as hands wove into her short hair and the only thing that suddenly kept the two apart were the damn metal barriers.
Those wouldn't last.
When they parted, gasping for cool air as the flushes on their cheeks warmed their bodies, Olivia smiled and pressed her forehead against Alex's.
“Happy New Year.”