He comes home to silence. One of the lights in the kitchen is on, just as it always is, but he ignores it. Taking off his shoes, he leaves them there in the mudroom and continues on his way inside.
Everything is dark when he goes upstairs; all of the bedroom doors are closed. He leaves them that way, making his way towards the room at the end of the hall. The door creaks as he pushes it open; he glances in the direction of the bed, but the figure nestled underneath the covers remains asleep. He closes his eyes for a second as he closes the door behind him and loosens his tie.
When he opens them again, bright red digits glare in his direction, coming from the digital clock on the bedside bureau. It is exactly one-fifteen in the morning. He watches it for a minute, until the digits change, before walking into the bathroom and turning the lights on.
A few minutes later, he's stepping into the shower, wincing slightly at the feel of cold water on his skin. It isn't what he was looking for. So he reaches out and fiddles with the handles until the water starts to go warm.
But it isn't warm enough. He reaches out and fiddles with the handles again until the water becomes hot enough to actually cause him pain. Ignoring the stinging feeling, he leans back into it, closing his eyes again.
He's done this before. And it hadn't worked then, just like it isn't working now.
No matter how much the water burns, it cannot take away what he has seen.
A/N: Yeah...so I get kicked off the computer yesterday and then I get bored, so I go on a one-shot marathon...and SVU's not mine.