White

Summary: Benson spends New Years Eve alone at the station, hoping to get work completed, and is visited by an unexpected friend. EO.

AN: First SVU fic, don't own this … unless someone decided to give that to me as a Christmas present. XD I also tend to not write in first person much, so if the dialouge seems oddly written, let me know!

The scratch of the pen across paper seemed out of place, yet not unusual in the late of the SVU unit, and a lone light was on besides one of the computer desks. A half-flat can of diet cola sat on top of two completed files that I had kept shoved in the bottom of my desk, and after a few moments, the chair scraped across the floor as I stood to stretch. After a quick glance to the clock, and deciding to ignore the fact that it was nearing midnight, I made my way to the cold coffee and poured myself a generous mug. I hated the stuff just as much as anyone else did, but I squeezed my eyes shut and downed the cold drink in one gulp.

"Cramming?" A voice at the door caused me to jump, and I nearly sent the mug flying across the room, before realizing who was standing in the doorway. Elliot Stabler crossed the room, looking horribly ridiculous in a woolen jacket, fluffy red hunting hat and a think blue scarf, and he shed the layers quickly, apparently knowing that he looked just as ridiculous as I thought he did. "Cause that's the only time I have ever seen you throw that cold stuff down your throat." He pushed a steaming Starbucks cup into my hands, and I accepted it gracefully, "I knew you'd be here Liv."

"What are you doing here Elliot?" Bringing the cup to my lips, I gasped and nearly sprayed it across the blue collared shirt that my partner was wearing. "Hot … you could have … dammit … all over my work!" I sputtered and pushed the cup back into his hands, knowing that my annoyance was now directed towards the fact that the rest of my night would be gone, knowing that Stabler would find some way to keep me from working on New Years Eve. As I mopped up the coffee I had managed to spray across my desk, I watched while Stabler made himself comfortable at his own desk, "Are you sure Kathy would approve of you working late tonight?"

"She won't care," the disgust in Stabler's voice made me freeze and I set aside the wet, coffee-stained paper towels. Yanking the rest of the unfinished files across the desk towards him, flipping through them angrily, "She left me, with the kids, no warning, no mention from the kids; they're all gone."

"What?" This time, I did send things flying, and soon the neatly organized papers that I had just completed were scattered all across the floor. "Dammit," I cried, tossing the wet paper towels into the trash, and I dropped to my knees, trying to collect the papers by dividing them between the two cases. As I crawled around on the floor, I picked up each paper and pushed my hair from my face as I went on, "Why would she leave you so suddenly? And without any sort of warning?"

"Don't ask me." In seconds, Stabler was kneeling besides me, collecting the papers into his own hands, and he stuffed them into the two case files. "All there was was this note that explained exactly what I told to you, and nothing more, no phone number, no email, no way that I could even contact my own children. I didn't even sign any divorce papers with Kathy, she did this all on her own." Standing, he looked down to where I still knelt, and offered me a hand.

"Don't pretend you're so surprised Liv," Elliot pulled me to my feet, "You've worked with me for nearly thirteen years and probably know every single detail about any sort of going-ons between Kathy and I." He dropped my hand and sighed, looking down, "Of course I saw it coming, but I never expected her to not give any sort of warning to me about my own family."

"I'm sorry," Looking down as well, I realized that I really didn't know what I would be able to say about the recent split between Stabler and his wife. After a few moments, I glanced up and sighed softly, knowing I would have to watch my words, "If you need anything Elliot, then you can talk to me, I'll be able to listen if you need to talk to me." I met his eyes briefly, unsure about what I could say, and then I swallowed, stepping back and grabbing the files from his hands. "Get out, I'm trying to work."

"Liv," Stabler reached for his partner's wrists and pried the paper folders from her hands, pushing them across the desks, out of her reach. He pulled her closer, trying to meet her eyes, "Did I say anything to offend you? Anything Liv, just tell me what it was, even if you think it's going to possibly offend me." Hesitating, he laced his fingers with hers, and paused, meeting her dark brown eyes, "Olivia? Please?"

"I shouldn't be so … upset about this." The words were chocked out slowly, and she blinked her eyes rapidly, hoping that she could hide the emotion in them. "El, don't … hate me, if I tell you this … but I'm sorry." Benson glanced down at the way her fingers were laced with Stabler's, and she let her tongue flick out against her lips quickly, "Really sorry."

"Liv … what are you going on about?" Loosening the grasp he had on Benson's wrist, he stepped back an inch or so, just enough to let them meet each others' eyes. Stabler paused, and looked back down again, admiring the way that the black on Benson's shoes shone when the light him them, keeping his gaze relaxed.

"You know ..." Trailing off, Benson leaned forwards and brushed her lips lightly against Stabler's, resting her hands on his chest, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck. After a few seconds, she pulled back, "...I've wanted to do that for nearly twelve years." Her cheeks were tinged slightly pink and she looked away as the blush on her skin increased as the seconds passed.

"All this time Liv?" Stabler looked up, and he reached for Benson's hands again, "You should have … why didn't you ever tell me about this?" He stood and pulled his partner towards him, keeping his eyes on hers, "Olivia, please, just tell me why you waited this long before saying anything about your feelings to me."

"Because I wasn't about to get caught in anything with you and Kathy," Benson pulled her hands from her partner's grasp, and leaned across the desk to grab back the files that she was working on. She picked up the hot coffee that Stabler had brought for her, and pushed it back into his hands, before leaving her stuff at her desk. "Do you mind Stabler? I have work I want to get done," she dropped into the chair and pulled a file towards her, eying him quietly.

"No." Pulling out the chair at his own desk, Stabler pulled another of the incomplete files files across the desks to his own and leaned back in the chair, watching as Benson's pen scratched across the table. "Liv, please, if you just want to talk about this, and I mean, about your feelings for me, then just do it now. The longer you want to keep giving me the cold shoulder, or whatever this is, then you only realize that we're going to have a tough time trying to continue working together."

"I'm not trying to wreck our professional relationship Elliot," Sighing, I ignored the coffee sup as he placed it back in front of me, and I folded my arms across my chest, letting out a sigh. "I want to keep it from falling apart because of the fact that the minute that you told me that you and your wife split, I decided that I had every right to kiss you without knowing your feelings." Twirling a strand of hair between my fingers, I swallowed hearing the chair scrape back as he crossed the floor to stand in front of him.

"Liv, you know that's not the case," Reaching for my hands, Stabler ran his thumbs along the callouses along my thumbs, the touch grateful on her sore and stiff hands, and he re-laced his fingers with mine. Looking down at our hands, he gave my hands a gentle squeeze before looking back into my eyes, "I don't know why you think that I'm reacting badly to your feelings towards me. Not once did I say anything to you that may make you think that my reaction to you kissing me is negative."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Narrowing my eyes, I pulled my hands from between Stabler's, keeping my eyes trained on his, before breaking our gaze. "Sometimes, I never understand why the hell you even are willing to stay around here for so long, especially when you knew that Kathy hated that you barely came home. Did this job really mean more to you than your own family?"

Pausing, Stabler looked down for a few moments, then glanced up to lock his eyes on mine.,"You mean more to me than my family right now." He leaned forwards slowly, covering Benson's slightly chapped lips with his own, then pulled back, realizing that she wasn't responding to his kiss now.

"You … you're okay with this Elliot?" Looking down, I swallowed nervously, each moment with the two of us only causing my heartbeat to quicken as he nodded in return. "We're … we're going to get hell from Cragen for this, you know that interpersonal relationships don't go over well with him." I risked a quick glance into his eyes, "El, we shouldn't."

"We should." Elliot gave me his flawless smile, just as the clock struck midnight, and from someplace in a different world, I heard the city explode with excitement, ringing in the new year. But the only thing I truly focused on now were my partner's lips slowly covering mine as he held me in his arms. "Happy New Year Liv."