Author's Note: Did you catch my little nod to the man who brought life to Rafael Barba, the incomparable Raul Esparza?

The door to the apartment he shared with his partner had never looked so good to Sonny as he stepped off the elevator and trudged down the hall. He was grungy, exhausted, drained, and deeply questioning his career choices. The only thing keeping him moving forward was the thought of his nice, comfortable bed.

Peace and relief flooded through him when he opened the door. The lights were low, and Rafael – dressed casually in jeans and a soft t-shirt – was kicked back on the sofa, with his feet propped up on the coffee table. Soft music filled the air, and Sonny vaguely identified it as some Broadway musical.

You can be my best friend,
I can be your right arm.
We'll go through a fight or two-
No harm, no harm.

Barba had reading glasses perched on his nose and a book in his hand. Sonny thought he had never looked better in all the years they'd been together. He unceremoniously dropped his briefcase, jacket, and tie in a heap on the floor, stumbled across the room, plopped down onto the sofa, and buried his exhausted, aching head in his partner's side.

Rafael didn't say a word for several moments, but Sonny groaned in ecstasy when he felt the strong, tender fingers begin to slide through his hair. "So." Barba had an innocent note in his voice. "How was your first ECAB shift?"

"Fuck. You."

He felt the low chuckle as much as he heard it. "I was kind of hoping you would when you got home, but based on your current state I would imagine that's off the table for tonight."

Sonny rolled his eyes as he flipped to his back and laid his head on Barba's lap. "SVU caught three cases at the same time just before midnight Friday."

Rafael nodded and resumed running his fingers through Sonny's hair. "I got your texts," he replied. "Tough cases?"

"I got them all arraigned this afternoon. McNamara."

"McNamara is a good judge." Barba set his book aside and removed his glasses. "He has a sense of humor, which makes him easier to work with than many. And he's fair."

"He gave me pretty much anything I asked for." Carisi closed his eyes and nuzzled into Rafael's abdomen. "I think he felt sorry for me having pulled an ECAB." He fell silent, eyes still closed.

"Other than completely wiped, are you okay?"

Sonny sighed. "The stress and lack of sleep got to Rollins and me. We had a big yelling match in the middle of the bullpen."

"I'm sure that endeared you both deeply to your former lieutenant."

"She pretty much told us both to stuff it." He paused. "She said I abandoned her."

"Did you?"

The rhythmic feel of Rafael's fingers in his hair was rapidly turning Sonny to mush. "No. Maybe…" He sighed. "I didn't mean to." He somehow managed to open his eyes and peer up at Rafael. "I feel so torn between my loyalty to my friends and old squad and my new job."

Rafael's eyes were soft, sympathetic. He ran the back of his fingers along Sonny's cheek. "I can empathize with you about the difficulty and stress of a hectic ECAB shift, because I've been there," he said softly. "And for that, I can tell you it won't always be this way. You'll prove yourself and move up and they'll dump those on some other poor, unsuspecting junior ADA." His lips twisted with sympathy. "But I never went from working as a detective to the courtroom. I jumped straight to the DA's office."

"I see them running around like chickens with their heads cut off, and I keep thinking if I was still there, I could help take some of the load." He sighed heavily.

"You waited a long time to move into the right position in the DA's office." Rafael's voice was low and soothing. "And now you can keep helping and supporting them. You haven't abandoned them, mi amor. You are just helping them in a different way now. Rollins will see that in time."

"I sure hope so. It sucks when your best friend is screaming at you in front of the entire squad."

"Like you said," Rafael reiterated. "Stress. Exhaustion." He lifted Sonny's hand and kissed his palm. "Speaking of, did you get any sleep at all this weekend?"

Sonny shrugged. "A few hours here and there in the Crib."

"Then let me get you something to eat, get you a shower, and into bed."

"I'm not sure, but I might be too tired to even eat," Sonny frowned.

Barba smirked. "You'll sleep better if we get some food in you," he said with a passable imitation of Sonny's Staten Island accent.

"Ass," Sonny laughed, and sat up. "Feed me. Then, please for the love of God, put me to bed."

And Rafael did just that. He made Sonny a sandwich, and once he was sure he had sufficiently eaten, he shooed him off to the shower. When Sonny exited the bathroom clad in boxers and a Fordham t-shirt, Rafael had turned down the bed and only a single lamp was on.

"Thanks, babe," Sonny said, sliding into the cool sheets with a grateful sigh. To his surprise, Rafael then climbed in behind him, curling against his back and sliding arms around his waist. "It's a little early for you to be going to bed, isn't it?"

Rafael shrugged and nuzzled his shoulder. "I can always get back up once you're asleep."

Sonny smiled and turned his head to kiss Rafael deeply, hungrily. "I love you," he said.

"I love you, too." Rafael smiled and stroked his cheek. "Now get some sleep." He paused, and his smile widened. "You know all those cases you arraigned today?"

"Yes," he replied tiredly.

"They're SVU cases. So tomorrow, you get to go start prosecuting them."

"…Shit."