DISCLAIMER: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and its characters are the property of NBC and Dick Wolf.
THANKS: To Leslie for the awesome sketch of Alex & Olivia that sorta inspired this story and to all of you for reading and especially everyone on the Yahoo Group, vivalab – you guys rock!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Part of the story range, Undercover.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.

Undercover III: Charades
By VivalaB

 

Part 2

Two silent figures sat in the car, two blocks from, 'The Kitty Bean', reluctant to move.

"We should go in," Olivia said, looking out the windshield at the bustling streets of up market Chelsea.

Alex nodded in agreement, her eyes fixed through the passenger window on a dark haired woman wearing a striking red coat, "Should we arrive together, or should one of us go in first?" she asked absently, watching as the woman stopped at a bookstore and turned to stand with her back against the wall.

Olivia shrugged, "If we go in together…holding hands, everyone will notice our arrival," she replied.

"A lot of people hold hands, doesn't mean they're in a relationship," Alex answered, watching as a tall blonde in a blue coat, approached the woman in red and embraced her.

Olivia shifted her head to look at Alex's angular profile, "Look at us, we're a good looking couple…trust me, if we walk in holding hands, people will take notice," she said confidently.

Alex smiled as she turned to meet brown eyes, "If one of us goes in first, orders a coffee and the other arrives a short time later and…kisses…the other in greeting, everyone will definitely know we're a couple," she added, trying to sound casual.

Olivia swallowed, "Which do you think will draw more attention?" she asked, feeling her mouth dry up as she waited for the answer.

"Definitely the kiss," Alex said, her eyes glancing down at Olivia's parted lips.

Olivia licked her lips instinctively under the close scrutiny, "What type of kiss are we talking about…on the cheek…or…" she faltered, unable to stop her own eyes shifting to Alex's mouth.

"The mouth," Alex whispered absently, transfixed by the visibly beating pulse point at the base of Olivia's throat.

The air in the Mustang thickened with tension as both women looked at each other.

Olivia felt her cheeks flush as she caught a glimpse of cleavage between the parted lapels of Alex's coat and deliberately cleared her throat, "Um, I'll go in first, you wait fifteen minutes," she instructed, avoiding Alex's eyes as she turned to exit the car.

"I can't"

Olivia turned towards her and smiled, "It's only a kiss, pretend like I'm your boyfriend and just plant one on me and I'll reciprocate appropriately," she reassured her lightly.

"It's not that," Alex smiled, "This is your car…you need to leave me your keys," she clarified, wondering if Olivia trusted her enough to look after her, baby.

Olivia shook her head, "For a minute there, I thought you didn't know how to kiss," she said, removing the keys from the ignition and handing them to Alex, "If anything happens to her," she paused, patting the steering wheel affectionately, "You better hope Hammond can find you a place to hide," she said smiling.

Alex accepted the keys and snorted, "Fifteen minutes," she confirmed.


Olivia casually sipped her cup of coffee as she flipped through Curve, she was surprised to find so many thought provoking, interesting articles, not to mention the amount of attractive women gracing the pages of the glossy magazine.

She discretely looked at her watch again and glanced around The Kitty Bean. Twelve couples, chatting amongst themselves were scattered around the lounge space, with another three women over at the serving bar of the split level coffee house. She was seated on a two seater sofa beside one of the windows in the middle of the room, just below the two small steps to the upper level, affording everyone an unobstructed view. Four members of staff, all women, bustled about, clearing tables and filling orders.

At the breakfast bar by the door, two women and a man were in deep conversation as they sipped form their large cups. The women were seated on bar stools while the man stood between them. She was about to call Alex and ask her to have a good look at him, when the object of her thoughts appeared in the door way.

As Alex opened the door, a gust of wind parted her unfastened raincoat, exposing her knee length black dress, with a daring neckline and matching suede boots. Her hair floated behind her, almost as if she were underwater as she stepped casually into The Kitty Bean.

Olivia nearly swallowed her tongue as she watched Alex make her entrance, she noticed several of the patrons turn and look at the new arrival and felt her heart beat faster at what they were about to do. She licked her lips nervously.

Alex cast her eyes around the room, smiling casually at strangers as she sought out the short haired detective, easily spotting her by the window and moved gracefully towards her.

Olivia watched, spellbound as Alex approached, her mind racing as she placed the magazine on the small table in front of her. She stood up, opening her arms in greeting as Alex reached the sofa.

Alex smiled warmly at Olivia as she moved into her arms, embracing her tightly and running her fingers through Olivia's short hair, "What about the kiss?" she whispered into the nearby ear, her pulse racing with anticipation.

"Trust me, with that entrance, everybody noticed you," Olivia replied quietly.

Alex blushed as she pulled away, allowing Olivia to help her off with her coat.

"You look incredible," Olivia said, trailing her eyes down the slender frame before placing the coat over the chair beside the sofa, next to her own.

Alex smiled, reaching for Olivia's hand and squeezing it gently, "Thanks," she answered shyly.

"I'll get you a coffee," Olivia said, motioning for Alex to take a seat.

A few minutes later Olivia returned and placed a large cup on the table before sitting down next to the blonde on the compact sofa. She instinctively placed her arm across the back of Alex's shoulders and settled in next to her.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Olivia asked quietly.

Alex looked at her and smiled "The man at the door, I don't think he's with the two women, but they seem deep in conversation about something, lowered their tone as I entered," she commented.

Olivia shook her head, "The whole room stopped talking when you entered, Broadway couldn't have stage managed it any better," she replied.

Alex frowned in confusion, "I didn't think anybody noticed," she answered honestly, reaching for her coffee.

Olivia snorted, "Please…you turn heads every time you walk into a room," she said, nodding affirmatively.

Alex shook her head, "I wish," she replied, taking a sip of the hot liquid and turning to face Olivia.

"You do…You're an incredibly beautiful woman Alex," she whispered, holding her gaze.

Alex searched the dark eyes, finding nothing but honesty and smiled, "So are you," she said quietly, feeling her chest expand.

Olivia frowned, ready to dismiss her comment, when a finger landed on her lips, silencing her.

"You are," Alex stated softly, waiting for the frown to disappear before she withdrew her hand.

Olivia watched the hand move away and captured it in mid air, gazing into a captivating sea of cerulean blue. She licked her lips as Alex did the same and felt the air between them shift.

"Sorry to interrupt," a female voice said.

Olivia lifted her eyes to the unwanted interruption, meeting the apologetic smile of the woman who had served her earlier, "Can we help you?" she asked as Alex placed her cup on the table.

The blonde haired woman, in her late twenties handed her a flyer, "We're having a tasting night tomorrow, all coffee is free to regular customers," she said smiling.

Olivia shook her head, "This is the first time we've been here," she answered, squeezing Alex's shoulder.

The woman looked directly at Alex, "We hope you'll be here more often," she said shyly, blushing as she moved away and headed for the next table.

Olivia turned to Alex and leaned in closer, tightening her hold, "Told you everyone noticed," she whispered.

Alex swallowed at the proximity of Olivia's face, her breath blowing delicately across her heated skin. She shook her head, "Looks like we're in," she said quietly.


"Why did you bring that?"

Olivia turned and smiled at the seated blonde, "We all have our vices, this is mine," she replied.

Alex shook her head, "Nintendo?" she sighed.

Olivia ignored her as she finished setting up her games console. She moved over to the sofa and sat down next to Alex, "It's not just Nintendo, it's a wii…it's a unique gaming experience," she said, correcting her as she looked up at the large screen TV , mounted on the wall in front of them.

Alex followed her gaze, "Really? Gaming is your thing?"

Olivia nodded, "Better than that sack of CD's you brought, what is that?" she asked, pointing to the three, neatly stacked towers of music next to the sound system.

"An education," Alex said huskily.

Part 3

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