"Hey, babe, where's Josh?" Olivia asked her wife as she entered their home, finding it uncharacteristically quiet. Amanda continued to refresh her internet browser, seemingly unaware of the lieutenant's presence. "Earth to Amanda," the older woman sing-songed, plopping down next to the blonde. "You okay? Have the results been posted yet?"
She shook her head, realizing that Liv would interpret that as a response to her inquiring about the detective's well-being and not the other question, so she answered verbally. "I'm fine," she breathed, noting pressure in her chest as she spoke. "Josh is at his cousins'. Told him he probably didn't wanna see my reaction if I fail."
Amanda had been waiting for this moment for several years, and now that it had finally come, she wasn't sure if she was ready to find out if she'd passed the most important test of her entire life.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be here with you today," Olivia lamented, placing her hand on her wife's back and rubbing circles into the T-shirt she was wearing.
"It's okay," the younger woman assured her. "I've been live texting Alex, and she is thoroughly entertained by my nervousness."
"I'm glad you've had someone to talk to," Benson acknowledged, "but if the DA-elect is already being mean to you, I think I'll have to give her a talking to," she continued with a smile.
"She's been nice," the ADA-hopeful assured, "just good-natured teasing." Amanda refreshed the page again. She'd felt fairly confident about the bar on the days she was taking it, but as time went by afterwards, her self-assurance had faltered some, and in these last few fateful moments, it had vanished completely.
"So, is Josh sleeping over at Aaron and Cody's?" Amanda nodded. "We have the house to ourselves tonight?" Olivia asked gently in attempt to distract the anxious woman next to her, reaching out to brush some hair behind her shoulder.
The blonde refreshed the page, humming and leaning into her wife's comfort. "Yeah, but don't get too excited. I won't exactly be fun if—" She cut herself off as the website loaded, her test results plain to see. "I passed! Oh my God, Olivia, I passed!"
The lieutenant felt Amanda relax into her entirely, and she squeezed her tightly to her body, brushing her lips against the crown of her head. "I'm so proud of you, 'Manda," she beamed, pulling away to get a look at the woman's face as tears cascaded down her cheeks.
Her voice grew soft after a few seconds, Olivia's tender fingers wiping hot droplets of water from her face. "I'm a lawyer now," she announced somewhat distantly, testing the title on her tongue and letting out a frenzied laugh. She covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my God."
"Hey, well, I need a warrant," Benson feigned seriousness, chuckling when Amanda shoved her arm playfully.
"I have to tell Alex." The newly barred attorney typed against the keyboard of her phone frantically, receiving a response in an instant. "'You're hired'," the woman recited with a snort. "Oh, and a smiley face."
After sending a series of laughing emojis, Rollins threw her computer and cell phone to the side, turning her attention to Olivia. "You have to call me 'counselor' now, lieutenant," she declared, pulling herself onto her wife's lap and smirking mischievously.
The older woman was more than happy to play along. "Well, then, how should we celebrate, counselor?" she stressed, resting her hands on the other woman's hips.
"Hmm," Amanda pondered, interlocking her fingers against the nape of Liv's neck. "Maybe a little of this?" She leaned down to brush her lips against her wife's, barely just teasing her with the contact before pulling away. "Or maybe this?" She reattached her lips to the brunette's, her fingernails scratching against the woman's scalp as she felt a pair of hands grip tightly onto her. "You got any ideas?"
