drabble; prompt: forgive
pairing: (platonic?) rafael barba & olivia benson
word count: 300 words
note: post the unholiest alliance
prompt from thebarsondaily [tumblr]
begin
He rapped on her office door, two sharp knocks, and she looked up, still in the midst of rearranging her files on her shelves.
"The files for the Gleeson case." He said crisply, dropping a folder onto her desk. Without meeting her eyes, he added. "Welcome back, Lieutenant."
She watched him go, a funny feeling descending upon her. She didn't like it, this awkwardness, it wasn't them. "Wait, Barba."
He stopped, but he didn't turn.
"We need to talk."
Finally, he turned around with a wry half-smile. "What about?"
"You needed to ask that?" Disbelief was written all over her face.
He raised an eyebrow sardonically, but said nothing.
She gritted her teeth. "Look, I'm sorry for not telling you about me and Tucker."
"On the contrary..." he drawled. "I'm not sorry for telling 1PP about you and Tucker. I have nothing to be sorry for. I was merely doing my job."
Unlike you. The unspoken words hung in the air.
"Why are you so angry anyway?" She burst out.
"I thought you trusted me. After all, we're supposed to have each other's back." He shrugged. "But I thought wrong."
"Barba, it wasn't like that. I..."
"You know what?" He interrupted. "What's done is done. You don't owe me an explanation. And frankly, I'm not interested in one."
His words cut her deeper than she expected, and for a moment, she thought she could feel actual, physical pain.
She took a deep breath. "Fine. Can you forgive me so at least we can still work together?"
He finally raised his eyes to meet hers, and there were no traces of anger left, just resignation.
"Liv, it's not my place to forgive."
With that, he turned and left, leaving their relationship irrevocably changed.
Suddenly, she wondered if Tucker was worth it.
end