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Rafael waits until the courtroom is empty before he packs up and leaves. He tosses things into his briefcase, not caring how they land. When he walks out of the courtroom, he's not surprised to find Liv, Rollins, and Sonny waiting for him.
"You saved our asses," Rafael says to Sonny.
"Rollins could have found it as easy as me," Sonny replies with a shrug.
Rollins punches Sonny lightly on the arm. "Take credit, you asshole."
"And you were right about Calhoun and Buchanan," Rafael adds. "Hubris got them in the end."
Sonny chuckles, and his dimples deepen as his smile widens. "Oh, come on, anybody with a good Catholic upbringing could have called that."
"Well, you're the only one with one of those around here," Liv says before Rafael can say something similar, "and we're grateful for it. It was good work, Carisi."
Sonny bobs his head like he's trying not to agree. "Thanks, Sarge." He cuts a glance to Rafael and straightens his shoulders. "But come on, this was a team effort. We should celebrate."
"I plan to," Liv says, her one-sided smile telling Rafael she's about to land a joke. "At home with Noah."
"And I plan to at home with Frannie," Rollins adds.
Sonny clasps Rafael's shoulder for a moment, squeezing tight. "I'll drink alone if I have to," Sonny tells Rafael, "but I'd rather not."
Rafael huffs a laugh. "With such a heartfelt invitation, you better be buying."
Liv and Rollins laugh and wave goodbye as they all reach the bottom of the courthouse steps. Liv and Rollins turn left. Rafael and Sonny turn right. Half a block away from the courthouse, Sonny's hand drops from Rafael's shoulder and presses lightly at the small of his back. "Hi," Sonny says.
"Hi," Rafael replies. "Stop deflecting how hard you saved all our asses."
Sonny laughs, and it's nothing like his chuckle from before. He throws his head back and lets it go, presses his fingertips warmly against Rafael's back, and then he busses a kiss into Rafael's hair as he quiets his chuckles. "At least let me buy you a drink before you flatter me like this."
"Sonny, I'm serious," Rafael says as they turn a corner onto a slightly quieter street. He lets himself turn more towards Sonny and hums happily when Sonny drapes an arm around his shoulders. "If you hadn't thought to go back through every recording we had of the guy, he could have walked. Rita and Buchanan had that jury at 50/50 at best."
"More like 70/30," Sonny replies, though the grin he gives Rafael shows he's joking. "I'm glad I helped," Sonny says, sincere in that bone-deep way he has. "I'm glad I found a way around what I couldn't say."
Rafael almost stops short, but Sonny's arm around his shoulders keeps him moving down the block. "What?"
"I'll tell you when we're sitting down," Sonny says.
"Did something--"
"I didn't tell you before now because it was inadmissible," Sonny interrupts. "So, it wasn't relevant."
"I think I'm the one--"
"Rafael," Sonny says, pausing just before they walk into the door of a hole-in-the-wall bar they've come to enjoy, "do you honestly think I'd keep anything case-related from you if it could help?"
Rafael just manages to swallow back a petulant 'yes.' He doesn't actually believe that, but this case has been a goddamn disaster, and its legacy will only make things worse. Rafael still doesn't have a final count on the number of cases that may come up for appeal, but Doctor Warner has told him she's found two other bodies that were identifiable through DNA or fingerprints at the time of their deaths.
"No," Rafael says as Sonny pushes open the door of the bar and gestures him to go first. "But whatever you're about to tell me better be inadmissible in all fifty states."
"Get us a table," Sonny says, pressing another quick kiss to the top of Rafael's head. "I'll get our drinks."
"I want nachos, too."
"Well, you did win a case today," Sonny replies, and he gives Rafael a sweet grin that makes Rafael want to yank him close and kiss his smile right off his face. He finds them a table, instead.
He checks his phone while he waits for Sonny to come back with their drinks.
Olivia: Let me know if you need an emergency call to get you loose from Carisi.
Olivia: I know he's not gonna brag about his work, but he might talk your ear off anyway.
Rafael can't help but shake his head at her messages. If only she knew, he thinks.
He looks up and watches Sonny lean on the bar to order their drinks and food. He says something that makes the bartender grin, then turns and points at the half-empty glass of the man sitting nearest the order station. Rafael wishes he could record the moment and send it to Liv to explain that the only emergency intervention he'll need is not slowly dying from affection as his boyfriend casually buys a drink for someone because they're in proximity when he orders.
He sighs as he puts his phone face down on the table. They'd planned a weekend away weeks ago, but then Rudnick had happened, and everyone--including Rafael--was on triple shifts, and they'd never had the chance to go away and spend time together and have a real and unhurried discussion about when they'd disclose.
"When?" Rafael had asked with a scoff when Sonny had first proposed the weekend away.
"We keep mixing up ties," Sonny had replied. "I'm confident that we're in a 'when' situation, thanks."
Rafael had found he had no counter-argument, and he'd been even more surprised that he didn't want to scramble for one. "Okay," he'd said instead. "That's a fair argument. Let's do it."
And then Rudnick.
Rafael sighs and reaches up to loosen his tie. He stands to take off his suit jacket and hang it on the back of his chair, then opens the top button of his shirt. He's rolling up his sleeves when Sonny comes back with their drinks. He waits for Rafael to sit down again before he puts his beer in front of him.
"You all right?" Sonny asks as he sets down his own beer and stirps off his own jacket before sitting.
"Just trying to decompress," Rafael says as he takes a sip of his beer. "What did you know that was inadmissible?"
Sonny pulls off his tie and opens the top two buttons of his shirt, then rubs his hand across the back of his neck. "On the road coming back from Buffalo, Rudnick needed to use the restroom. There were a couple of guys getting impatient, so I opened the door to tell him to get moving, and he was talking to himself."
Rafael closes his eyes and sighs. "I assume it was similar to what he admitted on the tape?"
"Yeah. But he had an expectation of privacy, and just me going on the stand saying I'd heard something would have been way too easy for Calhoun and Buchanan to rip apart. I didn't knock to warn him, either, so he had no chance to decide if he wanted me to hear."
Rafael briefly considers all the ways he could have spun Sonny's information to their benefit. He comes up blank almost immediately. "You're right. Completely inadmissible."
"It's okay, though. We got there in the end. We won."
"I want to enjoy the win, but there's a shit storm coming," Rafael replies.
"We'll deal with shit storm prep tomorrow," Sonny says, reaching out a hand to touch Rafael's wrist. "Today, we can appreciate what we pulled off."
We. The word rolls through Rafael's head as he takes a drink of his beer. He thinks about the missed weekend trip and everything that's happened instead. Sonny reading his moods and knowing when to encourage him, when to reassure him. Sonny dropping off homemade food in microwavable containers because he knows Rafael's got no plans to leave the office during trial prep. Sonny goading Rafael into a run over the weekend to help him clear his head. Sonny kissing him good morning and kissing him hello and kissing him goodnight. Sonny refusing to discuss the case once the trial is on because they've both spent the day mired in it and a movie and some couch time is going to be better for them before bed.
"What are you thinking about?" Sonny asks, beer halfway to his mouth. He's got that soft look in his eyes that Rafael's learned over time means Sonny's been watching him and enjoying the view.
"This is one of the worst trials I've had," Rafael tells him. "But you made it a lot less awful."
"Good," Sonny says.
Rafael smiles at his confidence. "I don't know how you managed to prop me up constantly and still have any energy to do anything else."
Sonny shrugs. "It didn't feel like it was a constant thing. I'd offer support, and you'd take it, and you gave it back to me."
"I did?"
"Yeah. You'd stop talking about the trial, or you'd suggest we get take out, or you'd listen if I was frustrated. All the same stuff I was doing for you."
Rafael thinks about that for a moment. "That's not how I remember it."
"Get a good night's sleep with all this behind us, and you'll probably see it more clearly."
Us.
Rafael looks down at his wrist. Sonny's hand is still right there, still touching him just the tiniest bit. Under the table, their ankles are pressed together. Rafael was the one to stretch his legs so that they would. He lifts his hand so he can place it over Sonny's. He looks at Sonny and thinks about the last few weeks. "Are you on call this weekend?"
"Nope. Amanda pulled the short straw for coverage if we need it."
"It's a little late to book a trip," Rafael says. "But you could pack a bag and stay with me this weekend. We could stay in, maybe fill out disclosure forms." Rafael watches Sonny's smile slide from his general happy grin to the soft, private smile he's been getting since long before their missed weekend away.
"That's a nice plan," Sonny says. "I like it."
Rafael squeezes Sonny's hand and knows what he's about to say next is exactly the right thing when Sonny squeezes back. "You should probably know I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you."
"Good," Sonny replies, leaning across the table to kiss Rafael quickly on the mouth, "I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you, too."
After everything Rafael's had to drag himself through these last few weeks, it almost feels too easy. But Sonny smiles at him, and Rafael smiles in return, and he lets their combined support of each other carry them into the next moment.