Closed starter for @writingsinashes
Where partners were concerned, Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson epitomized the meaning of the term. After years of working together, they knew each other inside and out. The years they had spent together resulted in a friendship, and a certain level of trust that was hard to find in most cases. There was no one in the world that Olivia trusted more with her own life than Elliot. He had covered her back on the job, and supported her as a friend on a more personal level.
Olivia could read Elliot’s cues better than she had been able to with anyone else she had known in her lifetime. That’s why when the day came around that Elliot told Olivia of his and Kathy’s separation, she was not entirely shocked. Olivia knew better than most that the couple’s marriage was not exactly the happiest one. While she hated that this was the turn his relationship had taken, especially for the couple’s children, Olivia couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit of relief; often times, Elliott’s marital problems found their way into his partnership when things got rough at home.
Personally, Olivia had been seeing someone for a couple of months, but she rarely took a relationship all that seriously. However, due to their recent case load Olivia’s personal life had taken a bit of a tumble…. As it often did. One thing was always for certain, she generally took the job more seriously than her outside life.
Olivia had arrived to the precinct before Elliot, something that rarely happened before his separation. Figuring his night had likely been as unpleasant as her own, Olivia got them both a coffee on her way in. Hearing Elliot behind her, Olivia’s attention turned towards his voice. “Morning, El.” She said casually. “Coffees on your desk.” She gestured with one hand.
As many questions as Olivia had about his separation, and how things were going, she had been trying to give him space. Making minding her own business one of the hardest things she had been doing lately. “Take the kids to school?” She asked, simply to see if she could fish for some sort of information.
