"What's this really about?" His hands are on his hips, back straight and legs spread in his typical DA stance. There's an edge in his voice that she doesn't recognize but the tilt of his chin speaks of lines crossed and promises broke. Her chin rises to match his as her eyes sharpen.
"What else would it be about, Councillor?" There's a pause before he responds, a beat where he considers backing off, but there's something in him that can't help but spit the name out.
"ADA Haden." The silence that follows is dangerous. It is unchartered waters and he can't tell if the barely restrained fire in his veins is professional or personal. He's mad that she'd keep this from him, this clear violation of impartiality, mad that she will now expect him to conceal this fact, but mostly he's mad at the images in his head and how they refuse to go away.
He sees them on the inside of his eyelids, they are far too vivid, far too real because he knows them both, knows every inch of their faces and every shade to their eyes. He likes Hadan, thinks him mostly a decent man. Years ago they had studied side by side at a local café, spent many nights quizzing each other and occasionally getting drunk to act as wing-men. But in this moment, considering him pressed against Olivia, he thinks David undeserving. He thinks of this kind intelligent man and feels an embarrassing primal need to be better, to be more. Rafael Barba is smart and there is some distant part of him that can recognize and categorize this emotion but he is too focused on the moment to care.
There's a part of her that wants to fight back, to simply walk out that door, yet she slips into character and discloses the relevant details. As she tells her story he feels the fight drain from him. He thinks about the Liv of 2012, the Detective who didn't yet have a son, who hadn't yet been tortured by Lewis, who he had yet to even meet. He wonders who she was. But he is grateful for this Liv, and with that in mind he feels his jealousy ebb away.
He doesn't apologise - they never really do - but he sits across from her and concedes to only bring it up if opposing council does. The bitter taste in his mouth disappears as her eyes soften; because it's 2015 and she has a son and she is sitting before him with a dangerously knowing smirk.
That night he thumbs his phone, considering texting the old friend. His absence in Rafael's life hadn't been particularly noteworthy but Barba imagines losing Olivia and feels almost bad for the other man. He wonders if David – who had always been such a straight shooter, who had unabashedly dreamt about growing old in the Hamptons on a cushy retirement fund with a happy family – ever regretted trading in the unsanctioned relationship for the promotion. He wonders if he himself would have done the same. The Rafael of 2012 he thinks would have in a heartbeat, but the man of 2015? He's not so sure.