#in which kathy and liv are almost actually friends

[bensonnstabler]

okay so i came across a buzzfeed article from like three years ago about tv couples that never got together but who fans wanted to which had the audacity to leave out elliot and olivia. thankfully one of the top comments underneath made buzzfeed’s pop-culture faux par very clear and it soothed my soul briefly. BRIEFLY.

(if this was a podcast i'd insert at this point that abby lee miller audio about who i assume was kathy from candy apples disturbing the peace. yes the irony is sending me)

one person, however, decided to comment the following

“Um, no. And it's gross that fans think they've been pining away for each other even though he was married to Kathy. And just because Kathy is dead now I don't think Olivia would be that disrespectful to his kids.”

and since it was over three years ago and i cbf making a buzzfeed account thought i’d subject y’all to my reply

firstly, calling any harmless fandom opinion “gross” is what is truly gross here. did i vomit in my mouth a little when i saw one of the entries being barney and lily from himym? yes. do i think the people who do ship those two are gross? absolutely not. i thought we left ship-shaming in the TLJC and destiel cesspools tyvm.

secondly, i am the first in line to get mad at the fact kathy just straight up died. it’s a waste of a perfectly good character (letter notwithstanding) and sends the message once again female characters on primetime are ten times more dispensable than their male counterparts. also i'm willing to give partial credit for it being said that it would be ooc for olivia to want to get together and that it brings up relevant issues of elliot never truly “choosing” olivia. but they have imo jumped over that hurdle (and some) and after an actual decent conversation i think with the way liv is now (can we hear a little commotion for the boundaries chat in the trial of richard wheatly ep) it would be perfectly within her arc to allow herself to fall romantically for elliot.

am i concerned that its dragged on too long? yes

am i fucking frustrated at the lack of momentum from s23 to s24? also yes

but i think we need to accept that what we have is a product of circumstance. both good (extensive evidence of one of the most chemistry-laden tv partnerships on and off-screen) and bad (CM leaving suddenly and WL jumping in to reinvent the wheel with so much force it might as well have been that scene from Cars)

with the latter we were always going to get the bare minimum of stabler references. under different creative influences yet the same chris circumstance – i totally think there could have been some like “he’s deep UC” or “last i heard he’s in rome and unable to communicate” moments which would have made the no contact one hundred percent more digestible

which puts me back on my kathy bs; i am wholeheartedly on team  “they should have split up in rome and had to come back to NYC at the same time” or at least team “if you must kill her off at least have them separate them first". thus either way, i guarantee we still would have gotten the same grief dynamics and the initial (and current - let’s be honest) hesitancy we did in ROTPS (...and almost every moment thereafter)

TLDR; lets all be friends but if eo doesn't become canon i will sue

[turnthepage11]

Hi catch me spiraling because I'm thinking about Perverted but in the Ellie universe.

Some highlights:

- The second Liv is arrested, Elliot goes straight for Ellie because Tucker called CPS because where else is she going to go? Both sets of grandparents are dead, she has no aunts or uncles, really SVU is not her blood family so CPS has to be called. (And Elliot never tells Liv that Tucker did that. Makes it sound like he just picked up Ellie and took her home with him because that's who Ellie feels most safe with.)

- And he calls Kathy on the way to Ellie's school and just says "Liv's been arrested for murder." And she's flabbergasted because Liv? His Liv? And then she remembers, Ellie and he tells her he's picking her up from school, can she stay with her today while he straightens this all out? And then Kathy goes ballistic. "Does this Tucker even know what he's talking about? This is Olivia. And he really decided to lock her up knowing she has a child at home?! He couldn't ask her child to confirm her whereabouts??" And she realizes then why he's going to get Ellie because oh my God they called Child Protective Services didn't they? And like fuck either of them are letting that happen to Eleanor Louise Benson, their sensitive little spitfire, they'll get charged with kidnapping first.

- And Elliot thanks every God and Saint there is because Liv had put him on Ellie's pick up list after a mishap when Ellie was younger and Liv couldn't go get her from school that ended with him having to pull her as a cop and not just Uncle Elliot and it turned into a mess.

- Because it allows him to get Ellie quickly and without any fuss, and Ellie is both confused and excited because Uncle Elliot never comes and gets her during the school day, and most of the time it's bad but sometimes it's good so she's hopeful.

- And she's trying to chatter but Elliot's rushing her to the car because he doesn't know how much of a lead he has on CPS, if Tucker called them the second he arrested Liv or if he didn't do it until she was at Rikers. And right as he's pulling away, the CPS car pulls up to the school and goddamn it he's in such deep shit.

- When he gets home, Kathy comes and gets Ellie, who now knows that her mom is in trouble and she's in jail and she can't stop crying because she's been sick all week, she's hasn't even left the house why do they think she hurt someone?

- And when Elliot realizes that Liv can get out on bail, Kathy is the one to tell him to put the house up for Liv's bail. Because she knows that she didn't do it, seeing Ellie more than confirms what she had already believed and Ellie hasn't stopped crying since she's been at their house.

- CPS shows up at the precinct because they know that Elliot pulled Ellie from school and Cragen is watching wearily behind him because what the fuck has the other disaster twin done now?? And they tell him he's in trouble for pulling Ellie out of the school building until suddenly Elliot remembers Liv had filled out paperwork to designate him as Ellie's guardian a few years back should anything ever happen to her. And god bless that woman for keeping that paperwork in her desk because she knew she'd lose it at home and he digs for it in her desk and luckily it's not buried in a file folder and he thrusts it at the CPS worker and they look it over and accept it and tell him that they'll be checking in on the situation and Elliot lets out a breath as one fire has been put out and Cragen is giving him that look and Elliot just is exasperated.

- "What, was I supposed to tell her no?" And Cragen just looks up at the ceiling in a "dear sweet God" look and just waves his hand at him.

- "I'm not even dealing with that now, go find out if Liv is finally ready to be let out of Rikers." And he hears Rebecca Hendrix's recommendation screaming in his head as Elliot walks out of the squad room.

- And Ellie calls Kathy "Auntie Kay" instead of Miss Kathy which is a big deal because Kathy knows that Aunt/Uncle status is reserved for the squad and she's just a moon that makes it's occasional appearance in Ellie's universe but Ellie trusts her enough to call her "Auntie" and her heart swells.

- Luckily Ellie falls asleep after playing with baby Eli because it distracts her from her mother and Elliot just takes Liv home because they all decide to just leave Ellie there, things are still too up in the air and they don't want to disrupt her if she's asleep.

- And then Harrison is there and Liv thanks the universe for the way the day has played out because Ellie has managed to miss all the traumatizing things.

[trueromantic1]

The Myth of Me and You Is Fiction Turned To Truth

Summary: After the events of both seasons (SVU 22x16 and OC 1x08), Olivia and Elliot find themselves in the unique position of knowing where there love story will end up, but having no idea what exactly will transpire to get them there. One thing they do know? Their love can only grow deeper, and that they’re bound to enjoy the journey.

Author’s Note: For the purposes of this story, SVU 22x16 ended on May 28 (canon) and OC 1x08 ended on June 4 (not canon). This picks up on June 7.

Title comes from Great Ones by Maren Morris. It’s definitely an EO song.

Rating: M, possibly Explicit eventually

ff.net: here

AO3: here

Her phone beeped, drawing her distracted gaze away from the paperwork in front of her. Seeing the text message notification lighting up the screen, Olivia took off her glasses and put her pen down, picked up the phone, and leaned back in her chair with a sigh as she unlocked it.

Can I buy you dinner? There’s news.

She frowned, trying to tell his mood from those few words. Realizing it would be impossible, she glanced out at the nearly empty squad room before hitting the call button instead.

“You didn’t have to call. I know you’re at work still Liv.” Judging by the voices she could hear in the background, he was still at work as well. She knew they’d been dealing with the lawyers and IAB ever since Morales turned out to be a mole and decided suicide by cop was the best way out.

“It’s fine El. I needed a break from the paperwork for a minute anyway. The one thing they never prepare you for is just how much paperwork you do when you’re in charge of a squad. So, what’s going on?”

He chuckled, and she could hear the creak as he leaned back in his own chair. “That’s what dinner is supposed to be for Liv. If I tell you now, what would be the point of dinner?”

She smiled, recognizing his tone as the slightly flirty one she’d been hearing more of ever since what was supposed to be Fin’s wedding. Neither one of them was ready to jump into a relationship, but they’d come to a silent understanding that night by the water. “I don’t know Elliot. We’ve never needed a reason for dinner before. Why don’t you just tell me the news now, and then you can come over to my place later and we’ll get Chinese. Noah’s taking advantage of it being summer vacation and is at a sleepover so his friend’s mom can take them to an early show of a ballet she worked on costumes for. Apparently, they allow friends and family to come for free on Tuesdays, but it’s normally during the school day.”

“Oh, I bet he’s excited. Sleepover during the week and going to a professional ballet performance?”

“Yes, he’s thrilled. It’s all he talked about all weekend. Now quit stalling Elliot. What’s going on?”

“I never could get one by you, could I? Okay. Well, Angela Wheatley woke up earlier today, and is expected to make a full recovery. Bell and Washburn went over to the hospital once they cleared her for visitors. And we’re finally supposed to be done dealing with IAB and the lawyers over this. We still have to wait for IAB’s official report, but I got the feeling none of us were going to get in trouble for what happened. They told Bell they’d already spoken to you as well, so you should be done with them for now too. And then on a more personal note, you remember I told you I was looking at apartments in the city? At Fin’s not-wedding and then that I had some more appointments the rest of that weekend? Well, I found one, and I went down and signed the lease today during lunch.”

“El, I’m glad things are working out with the case, and that IAB will be out of all of our hair. It’s still bothering me what exactly Richard Wheatley was planning with that fake text sending me to the hospital. But I guess we won’t know unless he decided to tell us. But way to bury the lead! El, that’s great! I can’t believe you found a place in just a week. You didn’t just settle for something did you? You need a good place for you and Eli to make a home.” She knew he’d been anxious about getting out of the one bedroom short-term he’d rented after Kathy’s death, so she hoped he’d taken his time to find something he really liked.

“It’s nice, knowing you worry about us. And thanks. Don’t worry, it’s actually a great place. Rent’s a little higher than I’d planned, but I can make it work. It’s about halfway between here and the one six actually. About two blocks from the school Eli will be going to, assuming they’re back to in person by then. And it’s a three bedroom two and a half bath, which I figure will come in handy if any of the kids decide to visit and don’t want to drive home ever. And it’s near a park, in case anyone else wanted to visit. I take possession this Sunday, and Bell gave me Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday off so I can get some stuff moved in. I’ve got some furniture scheduled for delivery on Monday.” The calm she’d been hearing more and more in the last few weeks shone through, which she knew was at least in part because he’d finally started talking to someone. But she thought a lot of it had to do with settling back into the city, since he’d confided that as much as they’d been happy in Italy, the energy had just never been exactly right to him.

“I’ll always worry El, you know that. I’m glad though. Now you and Eli have all summer to get settled in. Hopefully he’ll meet some of his future classmates, so he won’t fell so new when school starts back up. And you know, it just so happens, I might know someone who could come help you get things set up. You know, if you were interested.” She made sure to infuse her voice with a hint of suggestion, upping the playful flirting they’d been indulging in just a bit. She mentally patted herself on the back when she heard the hitch in his breath followed him clearing his throat. His next words, voice lowered and with a hint of a growl, proved he hadn’t lost a step either, as she felt herself flush with arousal and a corresponding dampness between her thighs that she was fast becoming reacquainted with that caused her to cross her legs and shift in her seat to try to alleviate the pressure.

“Is that so? Well, far be it from me to turn down someone willing to work up a sweat with me. Why don’t we discuss it more over dinner? I should be able to be to your place by 7, if that works for you.”

She checked the time, then the stack of papers she needed to finish, then glanced into the squad room. Seeing her people were now at their desks, folders open in front of them, she quickly calculated it’d be at least another hour before she could even think of leaving, especially if she planned to take three days off next week. “Make it 8?”

“8 it is. Want me to pick up our usual on my way over, or are we having it delivered?”

“Hmm, better pick it up. You know how busy they get. If you call it in when you leave, it’ll probably be just about ready by the time you get there.”

“Sound good. I’ll let you go so you can finish up all that paperwork. See you in a few hours Liv.”

“Alright. Bye El.” Hanging up, she pressed the phone against her chest a moment, savoring the warm feeling she always seemed to get when she talked to Elliot these days, before standing up and walking out into the squad room.

“Anything you guys haven’t finished by 7, you can leave until tomorrow. Short of a new case, you can all clock out then, since we’re currently between cases.” She turned to head back to her office and the stack of paperwork, but turned back around when Amanda spoke.

“Are you clocking out then too Cap? I know Noah’s at that sleepover. You shouldn’t stay late finishing paperwork anymore if we aren’t.” Her detective’s voice was concerned, and she realized just how much her stress and worry over the last three months must have shown, despite how hard she tried to hide it.

“Yes, he’s already called me to say goodnight, because apparently they will be too busy the rest of the night with sleepover stuff to worry about me. But don’t worry, I’m clocking out then too. Even if that pile of paperwork is only going to grow when you all turn in your paperwork.” She turned again, hoping to make it into her office before anyone thought too hard about her clocking out when she didn’t have to, but Fin’s teasing voice told her she was too late.

“You? Clock out early when you don’t have Noah waiting at home? What’s up? You got yourself a hot date or something?”

She was a Captain. Had been a police officer for over twenty years. She’d had to keep her cool when being questioned on the stand by lawyers all the time. But she knew, she knew, that she couldn’t hide the hitch in her step or the slight wince as he asked his question. Even as she turned back around, her face carefully blank, she knew he’d caught her. “Date? No, I don’t have a date. Who would I even have a date with?” Internally, she winced again as she heard a voice that sounded suspiciously like Elliot Stabler tell her that asking that many questions just made her sound defensive, and therefore all the more suspicious. Registering the varying degrees of shock on the three’s faces, she smirked to herself for surprising them at least.

“Oh, I don’t know. A certain Detective, maybe? I saw you two together at the ceremony, off in your own little world by the water. Almost like old times, ‘cept the flirting was a little too obvious.”

Trying to control the embarrassed flush she could feel, she internally cursed. She’d hoped everyone had been too preoccupied to pay attention to her and Elliot, but knew that had probably been too much to hope for. She knew the rumor mill had picked right back up when he’d returned, and people realized they were talking again. “Alright, yes, I’m meeting Elliot for dinner. But it’s not a date. We’re just going to do some catching up over Chinese. We haven’t really had much time to just talk since he came back.” She ignored the pointed look he shot her, and appreciated that Amanda and Kat at least pretended not to be interested, as she finally made it back into her office. She heard his footsteps though, saw him shut the door behind him as she sat down behind her desk.

“You sure about this? I just don’t want you getting hurt. Don’t forget, I was here when he left.” She could see the worry clouding his face, and resigned to give him the truth. After all, he’d been there for it all.

“I’m sure. We’re…Taking things slow. We’ve talked, and while neither one of us is ready to just jump straight into a relationship, we’ve discussed it, and have agreed that’s where we’re heading. So we flirt some, and we spend time together, and we talk. We’re not defining it yet. I know it sounds like dating, and maybe in a way it is. But what’s important to us is rekindling our friendship, first and foremost. We’ve already talked about why he left, how he left. And I’ve told him not only what it did to me, but I’ve told him what he missed. He was…Devastated. It turns out the whole family was in France at the time, and by the time the kids came back, it had already become old news. He swore he would have come back had he known, and I believe him. I’d always wondered if he’d just stopped caring, but if you’d seen how he looked, you’d have had to believe him too. So yes, I’m sure about this. We’re going to take things slow for now, but we know where we’re going to end up, even if we aren’t sure when that will happen. Speaking of Elliot though, I’m going to take a few personal days next week to help him get moved into his new place. He gets the keys on Sunday, and his furniture comes Monday.”

He still looked a little worried, but she could tell he would take her at her word. “If you say so. I have to say, I’m surprised you guys already talked about that. But I’m glad. You deserve to be happy Liv, and I think he’ll make you happy. And don’t worry, I’ll cover next week for you. And I’ll let the others know you’ll be taking some time, and make sure they don’t ask you any questions.” He turned and left the office, leaving the door open behind him as he went back to his desk, stopping to talk to Amanda and Kat on his way.

Putting her glasses on and picking up her pen, she smiled to herself as she went back to her paperwork. She still had a lot to work through before it was time to head out, though she was hoping the anticipation would make the time pass faster. Afterall, it wasn’t every day she got to head home to a hot meal and an even hotter man, not that she’d tell him that. His ego was already inflated enough.

[63l3]

                                verse three :   main :  i’m back where i belong.

this verse is my major verse for elliot’s return so here are some of the basic details if you’d like to plot something !  (  i also have another general returned verse for any other plots where he comes back earlier / later / in a different way  ) 

just hanging around his house dealing with having shot jenna and waiting to see if he'd be cleared and he was gone around two to three months before he officially left.  with IAB conducting their investigation there was nothing he could do but sit around and free time doesn’t really agree with him. 

he gets restless and snappy and kathy does try to be there for him but living with him was hard she decided to start divorce proceedings again, tired of fighting  —  el let her go without an arguement.  their marriage had been dead for a decade anyway and he knew they were clutching at straws trying to stay together for eli’s sake.

he'd been about to put in his papers when an old friend of his caught wind of what was going down and offered him a place working as a uc in the unit he was leading and el takes the position

i’m setting his return in season 16 around the time of episode  ‘ undercover mother ’  he,  like murphy is working undercover in the sex trafficking ring,  though he tends to deal more on the drug side of the equation.  working with the underage victims makes him sick and he’s had to shut down a lot in his three years undercover to prevent himself from killing the targets of the operation.  the only thing that gets him through it is knowing that figuring out where the head of the snake lies will allow them to save hundreds,  possibly thousands more girls like the ones he sees every day.  still,  he has on occasion helped martha thornhill to buy girls and get them out of the life. 

he has olivia’s badge number   (  4015  )   tattooed on the inside of his left wrist,  almost always hidden underneath his watch.  he got it about a year into his under cover stint because he wanted to feel closer to her again.

a few months after leaving the unit elliot sent liv his medal as it happens in this deleted scene 

getting arrested by svu in a sting operation  (  not the super bowl sunday raid but another one shortly after where amanda,  sonny and nick are undercover  )  was actually a huge relief for him.  he wasn’t about to ask to be pulled out from undercover but working with these people was destroying him slowly and though he knows he wouldn’t have done well being retired and at home either he often regretted taking the uc position.

in the three years he spent undercover elliot didn’t seen any of his children in person though he keeps an eye on them all from afar.

during the william lewis ordeal he was on the other side of the country and didn’t know a thing about it   (  had he,  he’d have come back for her,  undercover be damned  )  he didn’t find out until over a year later when he spotted an old newspaper in one of the rundown houses they were using with her on the cover but by then, after so long without a word ?  he assumed she wouldn’t want to hear from him at all

when first arrested elliot is cold and angry,  it takes until he sees olivia again for him to start to feel like himself.  even then it takes him a few weeks to shake off the persona he’s been living in and return to more of the elliot we know. 

with the help of svu they’re able to get johnny d and a number of other upper level traffickers allowing the case elliot was working on to be closed.  after his exemplary performance in the undercover unit IAB let up and he’s able to keep his badge and go back to work as normal.  el requests to be placed back at svu

things with he and liv are tense at first but he’s determined to win her over.  elliot is beyond proud of liv’s rise to sergeant though disappointed that being back in the unit won’t mean having her back as a partner.

elliot grew out his beard while undercover but shaves it off soon after coming back to svu 

liv partners him with rollins who he views as a giant pain in the ass at first but they quickly develop an annoying brother / sister type of bond and she becomes a dearly loved pain in the ass / @alwaysfine 

elliot spends a almost all of his free time trying to reconnect with his children once he’s back and thanks God that he came back in time to be able to walk maureen down the isle.  eli is 8 when he gets back and while he and kathy aren’t on good terms after his extended absence she lets elliot take him every second weekend.  he has trouble getting the kids to forgive him for leaving at first but once he’s able to win them over they set up a family dinner every wednesday  (   which he hates having to cancel though he has to for work semi regularly  ) , dickie only comes every so often. elliot is still working on repairing their relationship.

once he’s done with uc he gets an apartment in the city not too far from the precinct which maureen, kathleen and lizzie decorate for him. 

*  i’ll probably add to this as i think of things but this is everything for rn