Peter & Mariska - Fourteen [A Short Story]

One - First Meeting

The day had been nothing short of perfect. This was always one of her favorite days of the year, and he never failed to make it amazing. From the slew of pink and white balloons that were dotted around her bedroom, to the '14' that was in her coffee, and even spending the day just the two of them - with half of the day spent in bed - everything had simply been perfect. She was happy - truly happy; with her job, with her life as a whole.

Most of that happiness was thanks to the man that was now sitting across from her at the table in the crowded Italian eatery, looking incredibly handsome in a pressed black suit with a navy blue tie along with his white shirt; the navy blue tie matched perfectly with her own short sleeved, fitted navy blue mid-thigh length dress. Her hair flowed down her back and over her shoulders in loose curls, and she kept her make up to a minimum but just enough. She had teamed her look with a pair of black heels, which matched his black shoes.

She watched him as he flipped through the menu, and her eyes sparkled even more at the sight of the silver band on his left ring finger. She glanced at her own left hand, a soft cliché loved up sigh escaping her lips at the sight of her own silver band and diamond ring that were sitting proudly on her ring finger. A symbol - she had been his for fourteen years already; she would be his forever.

The path from meeting to marriage wasn't the smoothest of paths; she was nervous when she first met him and that resulted in her embarrassing herself, something they laughed about now. But, things straightened out quickly and before long, they were glued at the hip. Their love story was almost like a fairy tale - there were twists and turns, but through it all, they managed to stick together.

"Mariska?"

The sound of his voice brought her back to the present, her gaze lifted from the ring on her finger to the green eyes that had been keeping her grounded since the day she met him. Her plump, pale pink lipstick covered lips curled into the happiest smile as she watched him smile at her as well.

"What?"

"I said your name a few times, honey," he chuckled, tilting his head to the side in a curious manner; "Where'd you go?"

She leaned up a bit, her fingers still curled around the plastic covered menu as she gave him a shy smile before speaking;

"I was thinking."

"What about?" Peter asked, giving her the smile that made her heart skip a beat. She let out a soft giggle, shrugging slightly as she replied;

"When we first met."

******

November 2001.

It had been an absolutely long morning of filming for the cast of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.

Mariska - the lead actresses on the popular police procedural drama, and the woman whom played Detective Olivia Benson - yawned as she exited her dressing room. She was met outside the room by her co-star and best friend, Christopher Meloni, who played her partner on screen, Detective Elliot Stabler. She gave him a smile, and the two of them chatted intently as they walked through the studio where they were filming a courtroom scene for this particular episode, which was the eleventh of their now third season. The pair made their way towards the larger, spaced out portion of the studio they were filming in. The portion was set up to look like the inside of a courthouse, thus serving as their courtroom scene. Things would actually be great; that is, if the heating was working properly today. The studio's heat was having some difficulties, which meant that the frigid November temperatures could be felt. Mariska wrapped her arms around herself, feeling as though she was about to freeze through the white top she was wearing along with her dark colored trousers and shoes.