A/N: Sorry for the delay, but better late than never, right?
"Liv's in her office?" Barba asked, getting back to his original intent. He held the coffee in his hand, knowing from his earlier conversation with Dodds and Fin that she'd need the caffeine boost.
"Yeah," Carisi answered. "But…" Before he could warn Barba that she was with someone, Barba had lightly knocked on the door and started pushing it open.
"Hey, Liv, I just stopped by to…" Barba froze in his tracks at the sight before him.
Ed had slipped his hands around to Liv's lower back and pulled her body into his. Olivia slid her arms underneath his jacket and ran her hands up his back on top of his shirt.
The kiss was innocent enough, but she found the comfort of it almost startling. Just as she'd thought earlier, hearing his voice had calmed her. Feeling his reassuring presence was soothing in a way that she didn't quite understand. She hummed against his lips as he deepened the kiss.
Neither of them heard Barba's knock, but they both heard him stop short with his introduction and swear under his breath. Olivia practically flew backwards as she and Ed broke their embrace.
He grabbed her arm to keep her from falling over her chair and just looked at her with curiosity and amusement. She was acting like they'd been caught having sex on her desk or something.
"Barba," she said quickly. "What are you doing here?" She smoothed her shirt. Olivia knew she was overreacting, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd been caught.
"I uh," he stumbled over his words. "I was uh… I just stopped by to bring you some files." He said as he slightly lifted his briefcase. Had he heard her moan? Barba didn't think he'd ever be able to shake this moment from his memory.
"Oh okay," she said and forced a smile. "Come on in."
"Captain." Barba greeted Tucker curtly, and tried to act somewhat normal.
"Barba." Ed said with a slight nod. The tension was out of proportion to the situation, and he didn't know what to do. This was absurd.
Barba turned back to Liv and lifted the coffee. "I also brought you this." He saw her look down at the iced version on her desk. "But I see you've already got some."
"Yeah, Ed brought it." She answered with a quick glance toward Tucker. "Thanks anyway."
Determined not to act as weird as Liv and Barba were making this, Ed stepped toward her and ran his hand down her back. He was about to lean in for an innocent side hug when she tensed. He looked at her for an explanation but her expression was stoic. Her reaction annoyed him, but he wasn't going to show that in front of Barba.
Instead Ed just smiled at them both and told Olivia he'd text her later about dinner. She nodded even though she didn't remember them making plans for dinner tonight. Ed left her office door open and gave Carisi a hard look as he headed across the room toward the hallway.
Carisi followed Tucker into the hall. "I'm so sorry Captain, I tried to warn him, but…"
Tucker held up a hand. "It's fine, Detective."
Ed said nothing more. He just got on the elevator and left. What exactly did Carisi think Barba walked in on? If he wasn't so frustrated by having his attempt at a simple romantic gesture interrupted, he would find this whole thing funny.
He decided to walk part of the way back to his office. The crisp air would hopefully help him clear his mind and figure out what to do. He pulled his cigarettes and lighter from his pocket and lit one for the walk.
Liv's reaction also bothered him. He didn't want to feel insecure. They'd already survived a stress test that could have derailed them, so this thing with Barba shouldn't upset him so much. It did anyway.
He puffed his cigarette and made a mental note to change his shirt and jacket before dinner. He told Olivia he was trying to quit, and he was. He'd cut back significantly, but it was a stress response, and this was his biggest source of stress at the moment.
Ed's comment to Olivia about dinner had been more for the ADA's benefit, but she'd agreed. So now he also needed to figure that out. He decided to text her when he got back to IAB and see what she wanted to do.
Back in Liv's office, she and Barba were still recovering. He went about pulling files from his briefcase and handing them to her one at a time. Stalling.
She sat down at her desk and tried to act normal. Whatever that meant at this point.
"What are these?" She asked as she started flipping through the folders. They appeared to be old case files. One was from a case they'd closed over a year ago.
"Found them this morning and thought I should return them." He answered. His plan to test the waters of their reconciliation was completely ruined, so he didn't even try to sound convincing.
"Barba." She said with a tone that told him she saw right through him.
He looked up to find her watching him. There was still a hint of embarrassment in her expression, but he also saw Olivia, his friend, wondering what the hell he was really doing here.
"I just wanted to stop by and make sure that we're okay. That this wasn't going to be a problem once we were back at work." He said with a bitter laugh. "Guess it didn't go exactly how I'd planned."
She laughed out loud at that. "That's an understatement." She felt silly for her earlier reaction, and she still had no idea what precipitated it. "We're fine. You don't need a pretense to drop in, especially if you come bearing gifts." She nodded toward the now lukewarm coffee he'd brought.
"Yeah, well, someone beat me to it." He answered with a hint of annoyance.
"It doesn't mean I appreciate it any less," she said trying not to sound frustrated. She thought they'd gotten to a good place, but he was acting strange. If they hadn't hashed it out yesterday, she'd think he was actually jealous.
"I'll get used to it," he said. This was on him. She wasn't doing anything wrong from a professional standpoint or in terms of their friendship. He was the one with a problem, so he'd be the one to suck it up.
"Okay," she said. She'd give him some time and space to figure it out. "Since you're here, let me fill you in on the latest."
She and Barba discussed their current case and discussed strategy. The perp, a 17-year-old, had lawyered up as soon as they said "DNA". So they were just waiting for the public defender's office to send someone over. The boy's parents were with him and were obviously in shock at the charges against their son. So far, all signs pointed to him being guilty.
Ed tried to focus on his computer, but his phone kept taunting him. His silent phone. He'd sent Olivia a couple texts about dinner. She still hadn't responded after over two hours. He knew she was probably just caught up in a case, but he still felt unsettled.
He turned his attention to the report on his computer. He could still see the phone in the periphery.
"Damn," Tucker cursed under his breath. Then he opened his desk drawer and tossed the phone inside. He slammed the drawer and slouched back in his chair.
Not two minutes went by before he opened the drawer to make sure he didn't have his phone silenced. Then he shook his head. He was being ridiculous. She'd text or call when she had time.
It was after 6 o'clock when she finally wrapped up for the day. Their teenaged perp would be arraigned in the morning, and their victim was spending the night in the hospital due to an allergic reaction to the antibiotics she'd been given to prevent STDs.
Olivia grabbed her phone and saw missed texts from Ed asking about dinner. She was tired and really just wanted to go home, so she told him as much. She invited him to join her later and said they'd order in. It didn't go unnoticed by either of them that at a time she normally would have withdrawn to be alone, she didn't push him away.
Ed was relieved. He knew it was probably just work that kept her occupied all afternoon, but part of him had bristled at leaving her with Barba. He was trying hard not to feel jealous, but this whole situation agitated him.
He also knew that the 8:30 time she'd given him meant Noah would be in bed, so he'd be able to talk to her. He hoped she wasn't upset with him because he hadn't done anything wrong. Unless him being annoyed by Barba's interruption was somehow not allowed.
Tucker told her he'd pick up dinner on his way, and she didn't object or even ask where he was going. He smiled to himself as he walked out of the Thai restaurant with their takeout and hailed a cab. His smile faded when he let his thoughts wonder. As much as he didn't want to acknowledge it, there was still a small part of him that was waiting of the other shoe to drop. After all they'd been through, sometimes it just seemed to good to be true that they were still making it work.
Olivia poured herself a glass of wine and headed to the living room to wait for Ed. Noah hadn't napped well at daycare, so he'd gone down even earlier than usual. She was thankful for the few extra minutes to herself. She knew Ed was annoyed with her reaction to Barba's interruption, but she honestly had no explanation.
Her phone chirped, and she knew it'd be a text from Ed saying he was downstairs. He thoughtfully refrained from using the buzzer when he knew Noah was asleep. She popped up and buzzed him in. Then she went to refill her wine glass, not wanting him to know that she was already starting her second.
Ed knocked lightly before opening her door. She met him and took the bag of food. She smiled when she saw it was from her favorite Thai restaurant. It was too far to deliver, so it was a rare treat.
"Wow, my favorite. Thanks," she said putting it on the counter before going to get some plates.
"Of course," he said as though it wasn't a big deal. To him, it wasn't. It was just more of his determination to be mindful of how important she was in his life and to show her in the little ways that added up over time.
"What's with the special treatment today?" She asked. "First, with the coffee and now this. I know it was way out of your way."
"It's not that far," he said minimizing the effort.
"Well, I appreciate it," she said and kissed him before digging into the bag to retrieve their dinner.
He smiled. That was the point, he thought. He watched her dish up a plate for each of them.
"You want wine or bourbon?" She asked.
He looked around and saw the already opened wine bottle on the coffee table. "Wine's good."
She handed him their plates and went to grab another wine glass. They met up in the living room. As soon as they sat down, he reached over grabbed a bite of her shrimp with his chopsticks, prompting her to swipe a piece of his chicken. They exchanged a smile and then went back to eating off of their own plates.
"Mmm, so good." She said in appreciation of the spicy curry he'd brought her. She was again surprised at how well he seemed to remember all of her favorites. She knew his general food preferences, but she wasn't sure she could name his favorite restaurant, let alone his favorite meal. She'd have to fix that.
"I'm glad you like it," Ed said simply. They ate for a while in silence, but he couldn't help himself from diving right in. "So how'd things go with Barba?"
She swallowed her last bite with some added effort. He wasn't wasting any time. "It's going to take him some time to get used to seeing us together. It'll be fine."
"Okay," he said. He wanted to ask her why she reacted the way she did, but he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer.
"I'm sorry it was so awkward," she said as if reading his thoughts. "I honestly don't know what that was."
"We weren't doing anything wrong," Ed said.
"I know," Olivia said with a sigh. "I just… I don't know. I felt caught."
"Well, we were," he said with a smirk. "But jeez Liv, it's not like I had my hand up your shirt or something. It was just a kiss."
She nodded and gave him a small laugh. "You're right."
"Are you sure this isn't going to be an issue?" He asked with some hesitation.
She looked at him, not quite sure how to answer since she it seemed there was something he wasn't saying behind the question.
"Look, I get that you're not into PDA, especially in front of your squad or at the station, but today…" Ed trailed off.
He didn't want to say out loud the thoughts that had been plaguing him all afternoon. Fear that deep down she really was ashamed of their relationship. He couldn't say he wouldn't understand if she was. However, now that they'd been outed, he thought it wouldn't be such a big deal.
"Today," he continued. "It seemed like maybe you still weren't ready for our relationship to be public."
Olivia reached for his now empty plate and stacked it with hers on the coffee table. Then she scooted closer to him. He stilled.
"I think that cat's out of the bag already," she said. Her voice was low and steady. She looked him in the eye seeing the toll that the last few days and weeks had taken on his confidence.
She ran her hands up his arms and over his shoulders before letting them come to rest at the base of his neck. He watched her in silence.
"I'm not embarrassed about us," she assured. She ran her thumbs over his jaw before kissing him lightly. "Noah and I are so lucky to have you in our lives, and I don't care about the past or what anyone else might think."
She kissed him again. This time with more intensity. She still didn't know why she reacted the way she did earlier today, but she was determined, once again, to ease any doubts he might have about her commitment to making this work with him.
Ed let her actions and words push the uncertainty out of his mind. Neither of them were one to say something just to appease the other, so he didn't doubt her assurances. And the way Olivia was kissing him right now, left no room for any doubt at all.
She finally pulled back and let her forehead rest on his. "I'm sorry if the way I reacted with Barba today made you feel otherwise."
"I understand," he said, but knowing that wasn't fully true he quickly added. "Kind of."
"Really, I don't know why I overreacted the way I did," she said.
"Well, if I'd been doing what I really wanted to do to you at that moment, you'd have had a reason to…," he teased. He wanted this behind them, so he could get her back in his arms.
She laughed, and just like that, his fears were gone. Besides, she invited him to happy hour with her squad, so she wasn't avoiding being seen with him.
"Let's move this to the bedroom," she said pulling back and starting to reach for their plates to clean up.
Ed stopped her. "Let me get those." She let him take the plates from her and rolled her shoulders. "Why don't you just relax?" He said. "I'll take care of this stuff."
She eyed him, a little skeptical of his continued doting. He just cocked his head and gave her his signature shy smile. The one that said he knew he'd made the right move, but he didn't want to be acknowledged for it.
"And then I'll take care of you," he called as he headed toward the kitchen with their dishes.
She just smiled and headed toward her bedroom. If he wanted to take care of her tonight, she was't going to argue.
The rest of the week went smoothly. Olivia and Barba slowly eased back into working together. Tucker was spending more nights at her apartment than his own. Their perp pled out, and their victim recovered. If SVU could just get through a couple more hours, they'd be able to make their planned happy hour.
Dodds insisted that he'd be on duty. He was the newest to the squad, and his dad hadn't made things any easier on any of them. He promised that if things were quiet, he'd drop by later.
Olivia knew he felt it was some sort of penance for his father, so she let it slide. Besides, someone had to stay at least until the end of the shift. Everyone else started heading to the bar around four.
She texted Tucker to see when he was going to meet them. As she waited for his response, she started collecting her things. A knock at the door cause her to look up. She was expecting to find an ever eager Carisi, so she was surprised to see Ed.
"Hey," she said warmly. "I though you were going to meet us there."
"I finished early," he said and crossed the room to give her a brief embrace. "So I thought I'd come walk over with you."
She surprised him by letting the hug linger. He was definitely aware of her wide open office door.
"It's out of your way," she said pulling away and finishing her task of packing up. "What, did you take a cab here?"
"I don't mind," he answered. He truly didn't mind. "It just means I get a few more minutes with you."
"Thanks," she said. Her voice had taken on the breathy quality it got when her emotions were threatening to make an appearance.
"Place looks empty," he said and nodded toward the door. "You have a light day?"
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," she said. Was their ever a light day at SVU? "I think everyone else already took off. I was just helping Dodd's with some last minute scheduling issues, but I think he's got what he needs."
"So he won't be joining us?" Ed was trying hard to separate Mike from his father, but he still hadn't fully warmed up to Dodds Jr.
"Not now, but maybe later," Olivia said. Her disappointment was clear, so he tried to act like it mattered to him, too. "I know he's not your favorite person, but he's a good guy."
"I know, I know." Ed said as he took her bag from her shoulder and followed her out of the office. They were still chatting as they walked through the squad room toward the elevators.
"Have fun tonight, Lieutenant," Dodds called to them. "You, too, Captain."
"Thanks," Olivia answered.
"I hope you can join us later, Sergeant," Ed said sincerely. If it would make Olivia happy, he'd get on board with it.
"Thank you, Captain," Dodds said obviously surprised. "I'll try."
Olivia squeezed his arm in appreciation as they stepped onto the elevator. He just laughed and shook his head. He was so whipped. He would literally do anything for this woman.
"What?" She asked as the elevator doors closed leaving them alone.
"Nothing, Liv, nothing." He said. Then he draped his arm around her shoulders. She realized he wasn't going to tell her what he was on about, so she leaned into his side, content that he seemed to be in a good mood at least somewhat due to her.
When the elevator stopped, Ed let his hand slide down from her shoulder and rest at the small of her back.
She let him guide her out of the building and smiled to herself. She had no idea what had gotten into him lately. He'd always been thoughtful, but the past couple days he'd been down right chivalrous. It felt nice, to be treated with such care and attention, but it also felt strange to be taken care of.
They covered the short walk mostly in silence, arms linked. When they were just a couple blocks away he finally spoke.
"You're sure this won't feel awkward?" Ed asked. This was the first time they'd be together in a social setting with her squad. Dodds was really the only person who'd seen them out and about during the recent job shuffling, and that wasn't really a casual thing.
"Maybe it will to them," she answered honestly. She felt the muscles in his arm twitch at her honesty. "But… they'll get over it."
"Humph," he sighed.
"It'll be fine," she said. "Let's just have a good time. If we don't act weird, they won't act weird."
He pulled his arm from hers and slipped it around her waist pulling her into his side. Their hips bumped along the last few steps to the bar. He knew she was right. The detectives would look to her to set the tone, so they just had to act normally.
Ed let go of Olivia so he could open the door. She immediately spotted Fin standing at a hightop off to the left. Rollins was seated on a barstool next to him and they'd managed to secure one other stool. Carisi was just approaching them with two beers, one of which he handed to Fin.
"Hey guys," Olivia called to them as she and Ed approached.
"Please sit," Carisi told Olivia as he motioned to the chair. She wasn't going to refuse because she knew she'd lose the fight. None of the men around her would sit if she was standing.
The group exchanged greetings, and Ed went to get him and Olivia a drink. Bourbon, neat for him and on the rocks for her.
After an hour or so, they were still having a good time and Dodd's texted that he was going to stop by soon. Ed fielded Carisi's seemingly endless questions. Fin listened in while Amanda and Liv caught up on their kids.
Ed watched Olivia interact easily with the detectives, giving them each attention while never fully losing sight of him. He let his arm drape over the back of her barstool, and she periodically brushed her shoulder against him or tapped his elbow to draw him to a particular point of the conversation.
He followed her lead and didn't refrain from incidental touches, but he didn't take it any further. So he was surprised when she took his hand and stood suggesting they go buy the group another round. Dodd's arrived just as they were heading to the bar, so they took his drink order as well.
When they got to the slightly crowded bar, Olivia stepped in front of Ed and squeezed up to the bar to try and get the bartenders attention. Ed wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed himself into her back. She wiggled her ass in response and shot him a smile over her shoulder.
To their right people were shifting around as different customers tried to approach the bar to order. Ed and Olivia weren't paying that much attention. She was trying to catch the bartender's eye, and he was enjoying the few minutes away from the prying eyes and ears of the others.
"I'm glad we did this," he said. "Seeing you interact with them outside of work is nice."
"And they seem perfectly unfazed by you being here," she answered simply and leaned forward over the bar a bit further trying to find the bartender. Her movement caused her ass to dig into him, and he let out a low rumble in her ear. She shivered.
"Lieutenant," he said with a slight edge to his voice.
"Sorry," she said with a small laugh. She hadn't really meant to tease him, but she wasn't sorry about his reaction.
"Are you?" He teased back.
"Well," she said. "Maybe this should be our last round." Then she leaned back into him once again. He practically growled in response.
"I can't wait to get you home and out of those clothes," he said with an almost predatory edge to his voice.
Before Olivia could respond, she heard a familiar clearing of the throat next to her and closed her eyes. Of all people to have overheard that, it had to be him.
"Barba," she breathed and then turned to look at the man who'd worked his way through the bar crowd and was now standing next to them. "I didn't know you were coming."
Poor Barba just keeps showing up at the wrong time! Or the right time, depending on how you look at it ;)