Work Text:
“You’re so fucking gorgeous,” is breathed into the side of his jaw, mere centimeters from his ear, soft full lips brushing against his skin as the words are spoken. In an uncharacteristic show of weakness, Rafael shivers at the genuine warmth in those words, not meant to flatter, merely unable to stay contained in Sonny’s mind, and ringing completely sincere. It was hard to believe that the handsome detective currently pressing him against the wall of his office really thought so highly of him as his usual comments and compliments suggested, or at least it had been until he wound up in this position.
He wasn’t even sure how they’d gotten here, in all honesty, the last several minutes had been a blur, Sonny’s lips and his long, lean, form distracting Barba from analyzing the situation too clearly, a fog of affectionate lust clouding his brain in the most delicious way. One moment, they’d been doing their usual thing, bickering good-naturedly over one of SVU’s most recent cases, and the next, Rafael was being pulled up out of his chair by his lapels and kissed within an inch of his life. Normally, he’d be more than a little pissed off about the treatment of his designer suit, or at least curious about what had set Sonny off when months of flirting and baiting and teasing hadn’t. Now, though, Rafael could only think to be grateful for the fact that the ridiculous detective-cum-lawyer had made a move, had finally given some indication that he wanted more than just their little bouts of flirting—that he wasn’t as straight as he’d appeared.
He was drawn back to the present when Sonny chuckled and moved to bite at the lobe of Barba’s ear lightly. “Ya know, I can practically hear you overthinking this,” Sonny admonished, drawing back enough to look down at Rafael, amusement evident on his flushed face, his eyes shining with mirth. It didn’t even occur to Rafael to mind, for once, that he had to look slightly up at the younger man. “Whaddya need to know, hm? That I’m into guys? That I’m into you?,” he asked, accent thicker with what Rafael had to assume was passion. It was a different sort of passion than he was used to seeing from Carisi, not passionate curiosity or passionate indignation, but something undeniably romantic, given the softening of the other man’s handsome features.
Only seconds passed before Sonny spoke again, clearly able to tell what Rafael was thinking by the expression on his face, a thought that should have been horrifying to the ADA, but somehow wasn’t. “Of course I’m into you, Jesus. I mean, look at you. Rafael, you’re so damn smart and sexy, and your dry sense of humor fuckin’ gets me every time. You’re, like, everything I find sexy,” Carisi paused for a moment, when he caught the surprise on Rafael’s face, disbelief crossing his own. “Wait, you thought this was just me gettin’ my rocks off, didn’t you? Or maybe a game of Straight Guy Experiments, damn the consequences?,” he added, exhaling sharply and taking a step back, much to Rafael’s dismay, his blond brows furrowing together in frustration.
“No, no. Hey, I didn’t say that,” Barba spoke, surprised by the softness of his own voice, taking a step forward as well and invading Sonny’s personal space. His green eyed gaze was intense, but clearly affectionate, making Sonny’s breath catch when it was coupled with Barba’s large hands settling on each of his broad shoulders. The tension that had Sonny standing stiffly slowly ebbing away at the touch. “I think you’ll know what I mean when I say that I couldn’t exactly be sure of what you wanted. Even when you had me up against the wall, with your tongue down my throat, I couldn’t be sure if I’d goaded you into it or not,” he explained, going for the diplomatic as possible route. Naturally, it made Carisi crack a smile.
“Maybe you did, a bit, but I would have gotten there on my own eventually. Anyway…now that you know, Counselor?,” Sonny asked teasingly, his own hands coming up to rest on Rafael’s back, delighting in the heat of the older man’s body. Barba was powerless against the shy delight written all over Sonny’s face and body language, a smug grin forming on his face, green eyes all but twinkling.
“We get the Hell out of my office,” he answered easily, tilting his head up and angling for a kiss. “As much as I have thought about fucking you in my office, I’d really prefer to take you out, first,” Barba continued, his smile twitching wider when Sonny scoffed benevolently and bent to kiss him again.
This time, knowing that it was coming, and their passionate lust not the driving vehicle, their kiss was soft and affectionate, months of pining and getting to know one another coming to a head in their gentle embrace. Sonny’s hands spread out on his back and tugged him a little closer, sighing happily when Rafael complied and pressed against him once more. Barba’s own hands slid up to the back of Carisi’s head, slipping into the soft hairs at the base of his neck, the hairs soft under his palm because they were so short that Carisi didn’t gel them up. They pulled back after a few moments without deepening the kiss, mutually deciding not to up the ante again and wind up defiling any of the horizontal surfaces in Barba’s office.
Damn it all, Rafael knew that it was more or less a romantic notion convincing him to not throw caution to the wind and have Sonny right here, right now, and he found that he didn’t care. He’d never much been someone for romance, mainly he’d only ever ridiculed it or watched it from the outside, but Sonny had made him reevaluate a lot of positions that he’d formerly always held to. Something about Sonny made him want to be romantic, to be soft and affectionate, to experience what it was to adore and be adored in return. His normally tightly controlled emotionless mask slipped up whenever it came to Sonny, the younger man’s innate ability to read him making him feel giddy for once. It was clear that every thought in his head must have been laid out for Carisi to see, for Sonny’s expression was entirely serious, if pleased, as the detective bent to press their foreheads together tenderly, an unspoken acknowledgment that yes, Sonny knew how Rafael felt and that he felt the same.
They both inhaled deeply as they reluctantly pulled away from one another, hands lingering and slowly sliding away as if to prolong the contact. Barba immediately turned to his desk and tidied it quickly, putting away casefiles and legal pads into their designated spots in his desk, feeling Sonny’s gaze as he did so, a warmth settling into the spot between his ribs. “You’re staring,” he pointed out smugly, buttoning his suit jacket and closing his briefcase, before turning to face Sonny again. The detective was grinning widely, blue eyes shining with delight, satisfaction coloring the lines of his face and body.
“Sure am,” Carisi proudly admitted, moving over to the door and removing the door stop, his long-fingered hand coming up to hold the door open as he nudged the door stop to the side with his foot. Rafael rolled his eyes affectionately when Sonny continued to hold the door as he approached, insisting on holding it open for the older man like the perfect gentleman his mother had raised him to be. Obligingly, Rafael exited his office and let Sonny shut off the lights and close the door behind them, watching Sonny’s body shift as he moved.
“You’re staring,” Sonny repeated jokingly, lips quirked in a jovial smirk, turning around to direct his amusement at Rafael. Rafael fought another smile, though he couldn’t hide his true happiness.
“Am I?,” he asked, feigning disinterested innocence as he turned his back on the detective and headed towards the elevator, a wide grin finally forming on his face unfettered as he heard Carisi’s snort behind him.