"Rafaaaaaaa" Olivia whined entering his office making him laugh.
To say that she was restless whist Noah was summer camp would be an understatement. He had only been gone for less than a week and Olivia immediately felt his absence. They all thought she would occupy her time by burying herself at work, but instead she had scheduled activities for both her and Rafael. Even though Noah was away, she made it clear that his Wednesday nights were spoken for. In place of spaghetti night she had planned to try a different Italian restaurant for every Wednesday Noah was at camp. It had been months since his mother had been hospitalised and they had continued to work on their friendship. Rafael didn't take it for granted how hard Olivia had tried to steer them back on course. He met her half way each time and she appreciated it.
"Captain Benson," he greeted leaning back on his chair smiling at her.
"Don't give me that face."
"What face? This is my face."
"You know what I'm talking about. You have that amused ready to disarm ticking time bomb smirk on your face."
"I think you overestimate my ability to express my emotions with my face Liv,"
"Don't even Barba,"
"My apologies, for whatever you may have misinterpreted from a face that's just happy to see his friend." Olivia rolled her eyes and sat down in the chair in front of his desk facing him.
"We are at a standstill with this case we currently have. There's nothing else I can do and I don't want to do paperwork. I'm bored and restless. Entertain me."
"How you have people fooled that you're this completely put together, incredibly mature and commanding human being is truly amazing to me."
"This is a safe space Barba. There's a best friend code and as mine, you are bound to it."
"Well I was going to save this for a rainy day but you reached code red a little earlier than anticipated," he said standing to his feet dropping a quick kiss to her head before heading over to the coat rack where his backpack hung pulling a couple of tickets out of it and handing it to her.
"Rafa!! Tickets to the art exhibition I've been wanting to go to. I've been trying to get tickets but they're sold out. How?"
"I have friends on gallery board, it's a season ticket. So we can go whenever and however many times you may want to." Olivia squealed in excitement jumping to her feet to throw her arms around him.
"Can we go now?" she asked. Rafael rolled his eyes,
"Give me about twenty minutes to finish up and we can go. I get to choose dinner." He pointed out as she nodded.
"I will even insist on paying,"
"Good luck with that." He retorted dryly.
"Ever so chivalrous."
"My mother brought me up right."
"That she has." In their friendship she could count in one hand how often he had allowed her to pick up the check for any meal.
Rafael and Olivia were wandering around exhibition commenting on the pieces displayed and squabbled over which were their favourite pieces and why when they ran into Elliot Stabler with someone Olivia did not know. The fact that Elliot Stabler was in an Art exhibition told enough of the story accompanied with a guilty look on his face, before it switched to one of contempt. Obviously at the sight of who she was with and how they were clearly having a great time up until that point. Rafael placed a subtle hand on her lower back as a sign of support and solidarity should she need it. He knew whatever was transpiring between them in that moment had nothing to do with him. In that moment, she was his friend and he was going to stand by her.
"Elliot," she greeted politely giving him a nod. Since their conversation all those months ago he had slipped into the shadows once more and for the first time, Olivia was okay with it. There was no desire in her to chase him to maintain a friendship that long since has diminished. Perhaps because she had begun to see it from a different light. Whilst she would always be grateful for the years she had with him, she was no longer that late twenty something rookie cop who worshipped the ground he walked on.
"Olivia, Barba." Elliot replied curtly before steering away without introductions to his companion.
"Wow," Olivia breathed out.
"You okay?" Rafael asked softly.
"Yeah, I mean I think it will always be weird to see him with anyone else but Kathy,"
"Or you?" he added carefully.
"Maybe? I don't know. I guess we had so much tension for like 12 years that,"
"It's impossible to not have a what if moment?", he finished.
"But that's just it, we've had said moment. I couldn't go through with it." She replied as he looked at her with evident shock. Olivia let out a deep breath before she began to tell him about that night in her kitchen.
"Wow!"
"I just couldn't do it Rafa. I thought maybe at first it was because if it didn't work I would lose him, but what would I be losing? He had been gone for over a decade and his return only brought chaos in my life. We rode the wave of nostalgia for awhile there thinking it would be enough to sustain us, but however strong that connection was, relationship, whatever you would like to call it, it was always tainted because he has married. Nothing could ever come of it and we still went on as though one did not affect the other. All these months later, I understand why Kathy dictated the words she did. In the end, they were truth. Whilst it may have been hers back then, in hindsight it was just truth. She was the only one who called it, and we dismissed it to justify what would never be acceptable." Rafael listened to her thoughtfully and allowed her to talk it out loud knowing that she was still processing the words she spoke aloud.
"Nothing fruitful would have come out of us, then and now."
Not long after their encounter Rafael and Olivia headed back to his place for pizza. He chuckled as she made herself at home going straight into the guest room and returned in sweats, he once owned she had long since declared hers. She and Noah had always had a drawer in his home, just as he had in the Benson home which hadn't been utilised much until recent days. It also meant that she had no plans on going home.
"Pizza ordered. I'm going to get changed. I had groceries delivered last night so they fridge and pantry is fully stocked. Knock yourself out. There's ice cream in the freezer too." Olivia grinned as she made her way to the kitchen as he chuckled.
"Barba, you're the best friend ever." She exclaimed and he knew it was because she found a new pint of her favourite ice cream in there. Rafael as he got changed and by the time he joined her in the kitchen, she had the pint on the counter, a spoon in her mouth.
