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When Rafael gets the text flurry from Liv about the undercover operation going sideways, he sighs in annoyance so he can pretend like he's not scared something went really wrong. He makes his apologies to his party hosts and might offer the driver a triple tip if she gets him to the station as quickly as possible.
He listens with only half-interest as Liv and Declan break down what happened at the raid, with Rollins and Amaro providing back up details.
"Stop," he says as he sees Declan start to look annoyed--they must be getting close to the point where they all ran into each other. "Where's Carisi?"
"Why does it matter?" Murphy asks.
Rafael makes a point of talking directly to Liv rather than giving Murphy his attention. "Carisi was in there first. He had the most time to take in the details. He should be in here."
"He's in holding," Amaro says. "We're letting him eavesdrop." The smirk at the edge of his mouth says he's doing more than that.
"And we're waiting for the blood to dry," Rollins adds with a wry look.
Rafael looks at the group of them. "Excuse me?"
"Murphy got a bit too into character and pistol-whipped him," Amaro says.
"EXCUSE ME!" Rafael shouts. He doesn't mean to. It just slips out. He finally looks at Murphy and watches the man try to bluster in the face of his glare. "You pistol-whipped a fellow officer?!"
"For the cover--"
"And who the hell left him in holding?" Rafael demands, his voice now a dangerous, level monotone.
"He's eavesdropping," Amaro says, which tells Rafael exactly who left him there.
"On what?" Rafael snaps. "He's in a holding cell with a group of people who just got busted at an underage prostitution party. No one's saying shit."
"Someone could--" Rollins starts to say.
"Get him out. Now." Rafael orders.
"Barba, it's--"
"Liv, I want him in this office in one minute, or you are going to find out exactly how unreasonable I can be."
"Jesus, Barba," Amaro says, clearly having lost any sense of a survival instinct, "you're acting like we've insulted your boyfriend."
"No, I'm acting like he was fucking pistol-whipped and then left in holding because you have some grudge about his existence I really thought you'd have dealt with by now, Amaro."
"WHAT?!" Rollins yells.
"Okay, let's pause," Liv says. "Nick, get Carisi into interrogation. Rollins, go with him. Murphy, go… somewhere else. Barba, you stay here for a minute. Then, obviously, you and Carisi can talk."
Rafael nods sharply and stands still as everyone walks out of the office. He doesn't miss the glares both Amaro and Murphy throw at him, but he also doesn't care. Rollins seems to be making a point not to look at him, which Rafael finds curious but doesn't think much of.
"So," Liv says when Rollins shuts the door behind the rest of them. "How long have you and Carisi been together?"
"Eight months," Rafael answers. "One of his sisters does a lot of non-profit fundraising, and I attended an event she was running. He was there."
"Were you two planning on disclosing anytime soon?" Liv asks, tone a bit waspish.
"Yes," Rafael says. "When he hit six months here. I know he told you his history after he got his shield. His ending up here was a complete accident, and we both knew he wasn't going to be lead on anything right away. He wanted a chance for you all to get to know him so no one would think he was using our relationship to get a leg up."
"No one believes that," Liv says.
"Amaro would have," Rafael replies, his voice going sharp again. "Sonny's asked me to stay out of it, but we're both very aware of Amaro's dislike."
"Amaro doesn't dislike him--"
"Liv, don't bullshit me right now. I'm not in the mood."
Liv presses her lips together, clearly uncomfortable. "Why didn't you even mention you were dating someone?" she asks.
"Because I didn't want you to ask questions when I couldn't answer them," Rafael says. "Trust me, Liv, now that you know, I will be talking about him. And I will be picking him up from work and taking him to dinner and dropping off lunch."
Liv smiles. "Is this how I find out you're secretly a romantic?"
"If you ask Sonny, it's not a secret," Rafael replies, feeling himself smiling in return.
"Wait," Liv says, going serious again, "will Carisi be angry you outed him? He hasn't mentioned you, either, which I understand, but he also hasn't mentioned his sexuality at all."
"I have his permission. The six-month rule had some wiggle room in case of bodily injury or illness."
"Okay. Good.." Liv looks past Rafael when there's a knock on the door. "Yes?"
Rollins pokes her head in and looks at Rafael. "Carisi's in interrogation and has been informed you went all protective boyfriend. For some reason, he finds it charming."
Rafael snorts in amusement. "Are you going to harass him about this?"
"Oh, constantly," Rollins replies, completely unrepentant. "Sorry I yelled a minute ago, by the way. Just, like, when it comes to things I'm expecting you to be mad about, human emotions are low on the list."
Rafael can't help his laugh. Sonny's mentioned he feels like he and Rollins are starting to gel as friends and not just co-workers. "I promise it won't happen often."
"Oh, good," Rollins replies and leaves the door open as she walks away.
Rafael gives Liv a nod, then walks to the interrogation room. Sonny's in the chair facing the observation window. He has an ice pack pressed to his face, and he smiles at the sight of Rafael.
"I hear you announced our courtship," he says.
Rafael shakes his head. "Don't be so dramatic," he says softly. He sits on the edge of the table and leans forward, tipping Sonny's chin up so he can see his injuries in the light. "You're going to have at least a black eye."
"It'll heal," Sonny replies.
"They shouldn't have--"
"Hey," Sonny says, the quiet sweetness in his voice making Rafael go quiet like it always does. "I don't like that it happened. Murphy's a dick, and Amaro was being a jerk. But I'm okay. It hurts, but my nose isn't broken."
"That is a terrible standard."
"I took a gun to the face. I get to make the standard."
Rafael tries to stare down Sonny, but Sonny simply looks at him, smiling like seeing Rafael is the best moment of his day. He leans forward and presses a careful kiss just above the cut on Sonny's nose. "I'm still going to wear his balls as cufflinks."
"He'll be flattered you think they're big enough," Sonny replies, reaching for Rafael's hand. He kisses Rafael's knuckles. "You gonna hang out and play bodyguard until Liv cuts me loose?"
"As a matter of fact," Rafael says. He strokes his fingers through Sonny's hair. "And before we leave, I want to update your emergency contact if you don't mind. I'd prefer not to get blindsided if you get hurt again."
Sonny squeezes Rafael's hand hard and kisses his knuckles again. "Yeah," he says. "That'd be great."
"Thank you," Rafael murmurs and kisses Sonny on the top of the head.