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The moment Elliot Stabler got out of the plane from Italy, he told himself that it’s just gonna be a quick visit. Just needed to take care of some things his new bullcrap boss assigned him to. Nothing more. And after that… boom, he would dip out. Almost as if he’s conditioning himself to avoid someone.
Not just someone.
He’s avoiding her.
Why, Elliot? Why are you avoiding her? he thought to himself.
He fears that once he sees her face, everything he’s established—his new life, new people, and most importantly, his family—he fears that once he sees those brown eyes that had stared back at him over the last twelve years, he would leave everything behind.
But no. Elliot is ashamed. He’s ashamed of being a coward, leaving like that without a note, without telling anyone.
He wouldn’t do that.
He had to take a taxi to get to where he’s going. His thoughts took over him as they passed the familiar streets he once roamed, chased perps through, and shared drives on with Olivia. It all became quiet. The taxi turned to that one corner he knows all too well. It was their old office. Or atleast his.
Elliot glanced at the window, trying to catch a glimpse—not because he forgot about the place. Elliot knew the ins and outs of that place like the back of his mind. He glanced because he wanted to see how much it changed.
How much had she changed? he wonders.
The cab continued past the building, about to take another quick, sharp turn at the corner, only for it to be interrupted by Elliot.
“Uh, hey, could you just pull over there?” Elliot said.
He pointed near the sidewalk in front of the coffee shop they always went to when Starbucks was always full. Their coffee was really good—but mostly, it was the memories and sleepless nights.
The driver turned his head to look at him. “Didn’t you tell me we were going to—”
“Nah, I changed my mind.” He gave him a sly smirk. “Could you just pull over there, please?”
The cab driver shook his head in an okay manner and pulled up the street. Elliot got out, paid cash, and even left a tip—something he learned to do in Italy, because no way the New York–style detective Elliot Stabler would’ve done it during his time here.
The wind hit his face, a little harsher. Maybe it’s the city’s way of giving him a huge slap for being such a dick and leaving without a word.
He sighed.
Elliot took his time glancing around the building, his knees sort of shaking—maybe itching to go in? Nah. Again, this Elliot Stabler wouldn’t do that.
He took his time processing what was new about the edgy-looking building that had always seemed out of place. It felt heavy. The memories inside that building came flooding back to him. Oh, how he’d miss those days—with the people, and with his partner.
Now he’s just some underdog in the Polizia in Italy. Still somewhat connected to NYPD, but it didn’t feel like family. It doesn’t hit the same.
Behind him, the coffee shop is fuller—fuller than before. Probably because of the rising population in New York, or the shop itself getting recognized for its superior service and quality. He smiled to himself. Remembered how he was their coffee man, knowing everyone’s go-to orders.
He wondered if he still knew.
Just as Elliot was about to walk the streets, the main entrance to the building swung open, revealing four people.
Among those four people… was her.
“Liv….” He gasped for air. Breathing out her name feels illegal. At least for him to do so.
There Olivia was, walking down the steps outside their building, laughing along with Fin and two other people he didn’t know. The blonde one—he’s never seen before—and another guy holding their things for them. They all seemed close. Like… like a family.
What now, Elliot? You think she can’t get a life without you? Then what do you call this?
He tried to brush off his thoughts to focus. To focus on Olivia. Trying to get the most out of the moment.
Oh, what are the odds… the moment he decided to visit is right at the perfect timing he sees Olivia. Though he kind of hoped for it to happen. He’d already been thinking about it two weeks before he left Italy for his agenda here.
As if the universe is pulling them together.
Olivia was laughing and smiling, the blonde one maybe cracking a joke that got her head thrown back.
Elliot smiled like a fool—but his eyes told something else…
Is he… crying?
He’s blinking the tears away fast. Real fast, because if it all goes blurry, his vision of Liv would be gone.
Because if she disappeared into a blur, it would feel like losing her all over again.
The moment stretched.
Too fragile.
Her hair was longer now—longer than when he last saw her. Her eyes gleaming, and her laugh…
Her laugh—he could hear it from a hundred miles away. Echoing.
Elliot’s smile slowly faltered away, getting back to his senses. He knew it. He shouldn’t have taken a quick visit. He promised himself all business—but what is he doing now?
He’s standing in front of her.
Elliot then received a call, but his eyes were still fixated on Olivia. He glanced at his pocket.
Kathy was calling. Oh, perfect. Probably to check on him, or how his flight went. He paid it no notice.
And then, in one unexpected moment, Olivia turned her head—and made eye contact with him.
The cabin had just lost its pressure.
Her laugh faltered as well, processing who she just saw—because she couldn’t quite take a good glance at the ghost of her past.
Elliot immediately broke the contact just milliseconds after it happened. No, no, no… this never happened.
He picked up the call, pretending to be on his phone, and rushed out—just in perfect timing as more people swarmed the area. His heart was racing, trying to get as far away as possible, turning the corner because he could feel her eyes.
He could feel her eyes searching… following him.
Ignore what you just saw, Liv. Please.
He took a turn into an alleyway, hoping he’d lost her. Kathy, on the other end, was asking about things—only to be answered by Elliot’s quick breaths.
“Elliot?” Kathy spoke on the other end. “You okay?”
Elliot, still panting, replied, “Yeah… yeah. Uh, listen, Kathy, I gotta call you back later. I—I have to go.”
Then the line went silent.
He swallowed, gathered himself, composed himself, and then left—never turning back again, because he might run right into her arms if he did. He just saw her again. Still beautiful as ever.
Because Elliot Stabler somehow always sees what’s beautiful… in things that are ephemeral.
______
Amanda was cracking a joke when it happend. They were supposed to go to lunch on this diner but out of the corner of olivias eyes…
Something shifted.
She didn’t know what it was at first. Just a feeling. You know the type when you can feel someone staring at you? Yeah, that feeling
That quiet, instinctual pull she had learned never to ignore. The kind that had saved lives. Call it cops instincts
Her laughter faltered, just slightly.
Her eyes lifted.
And the world around her, tilted. Wait no…. It didn’t tilt
It stopped.
Because standing across the street—
was Elliot.
For a second, her brain refused to process it.
It couldn’t be.
Because Elliot didn’t exist in her world anymore. Not like this. Not in flesh and bone and breath. Her old partner….. He——He lived in old case files, in ghosts of conversations, in the empty space beside her that had never been filled again.
So this—
this had to be wrong.
A trick of the light. A cruel overlap of memory and reality. Oh she thought her mind is playing mind games again.
She didn’t hear it fully.
“Liv…” she remembered the way he calls her.
Her chest tightened and walls around her closed. She couldn’t breathe the way she used to.
Her eyes locked onto his.
God.
It was him. She knew it
Older. Tired. Different in ways she couldn’t quite place—but still him.
Still Elliot. Her partner who she’d really miss and would’ve given up anything for an answer why he left the team.
Why he left her.
Her smile disappeared.
Replaced with something quieter. Sharper. Something that looked a lot like disbelief— Olivia’s thoughts ran
Because it felt like betrayal.
Because how dare he.
How dare he stand there like nothing had happened?
Like he hadn’t walked out of her life without a word.
Like he hadn’t left her to pick up the pieces alone.
Like he hadn’t—
Her thoughts cut off. She blinked once and then he was gone.
Wait! What——?
People moved between them, filling the space, blocking her view. Her heart stuttered, confused. Wait no! you don’t get to do that.
You don’t get to show up out of nowhere and then disappear again.
Her body reacted before she could stop it—she shifted slightly, trying to catch another glimpse, trying to confirm that she hadn’t imagined it.
But he was already gone.
Elliot Stabler had always been good at leaving.
“Liv?”
Fin’s voice cut through the noise.
She blinked.
Once. Twice.
“What?” she said, too quickly.
“You good?” Fin’s eyes narrowed slightly—not pushing, just noticing. “You looked lost there for a minute.”
Behind him, the others had gone quiet, subtle curiosity flickering across their faces.
Olivia straightened herself. “Yeah,” she said, brushing it off with a small, controlled shrug. “I just—just thought I saw someone I knew.”
Amanda didn’t look entirely convinced.
“Someone important?” She asked, casual “Who?”
A lifetime sat in that question. What is she supposed to say? Oh its just my partner of twelve years popping in the corner of my eye. Definitely not someone important
She exhaled lightly, shaking her head just enough.
“No,” she said.
“Just… someone from a long time ago.”
It didn’t explain the way her chest still hurt.
Or why her eyes kept drifting back to where he had been standing—as if he might reappear if she looked hard enough. Elliot Stabler had always been something that happened to her, not something that stayed.
“Come on,” she added, forcing a small smile back into place, already turning away before anyone could look too closely. “We’ve got lunch to eat right?”
The conversation picked back up. But Olivia carried the moment with her. Her mind betrayed her with one lingering thought though.
Even if what she saw was right, if…..he was really here.
Then why’d he leave her again?
.