Chapter Text
Olivia's apartment was unusually quiet and comfortable, like a lull between storms. Outside, Manhattan still roared with horns and sirens, but inside, there was only the distant sound of the fine rain pattering against the windows and the clinking of silverware that Bruno was clearing from the table. He wore a gray t-shirt, the fabric still wrinkled, and his hair, damp from the shower, left drops on his neck. Olivia watched him from the armchair, a glass of wine between her fingers. Her face was lighter than usual at work, but there was still that tension in her eyes, the trace of someone who never allows herself to fully relax. Bruno put the dishes down in the sink and approached her, stopping behind the armchair. His hands landed on her shoulders, and he leaned in to brush his lips against the top of her head.
"Are you still thinking about yesterday's case?" he asked softly. Olivia let out a small sigh.
"I always think about it, but no, it's not just that."
"Then what is it?" She swirled the glass between her fingers, the wine reflecting the light in ruby hues.
"I think it's the fact that I'm here, with you, and part of me still feels like… I shouldn't." Bruno gave a slight smile, sitting on the arm of the armchair, close enough for his perfume to mingle with hers.
"You say that every time."
"Bruno…" she began, but he interrupted her with a firm look.
"Liv, we've been together for months. Do you really think I'm going to keep pretending I don't know you outside the unit for much longer? That I don't think about you every time you go out to chase someone without a vest?" Olivia looked away.
"Do you think it's easy for me? I'm your boss, I have a name, a reputation. If they find out, it won't be you who goes down. It will be me."
"I know," he replied, with a calmness that hid a hint of bitterness. "But I can't pretend anymore that what we have is just… a mistake." She looked at him, and for a moment time seemed to stop. Bruno had that effect on her, he made the world slow down. His gaze didn't have the layers of judgment she faced every day; it was direct, almost disarming. After a long silence, she murmured.
"It's not a mistake." He smiled, satisfied, and slid his fingers along her chin, making her look up.
"Then stop talking like it is. It's not wrong to fall in love with someone."
"And who said I'm in love with you?" He gave a sideways smile and kissed her neck.
"I think when you scream my name when I'm fucking you." Olivia let out a small laugh.
"You're an idiot, you know that?" She shook her head, amused, but the smile faded slowly. "There's something else bothering me."
"Let me guess," he said, crossing his arms. "The newbie." She raised her eyebrows.
"Griffin?"
"Yeah. That look of someone who knows more than they should, and the way he's always flattering the new boss, I bet my badge he's her informant." Olivia leaned back in her chair.
"You really think so?"
"I don't think so, I feel it." "The guy's been here two weeks and already has access to reports I can't even open, and you know the new boss loves knowing who's doing what at SVU." The brunette frowned.
"She's always liked to control everything, but Griffin… he seems too inexperienced to be a spy."
"Or too smart to look like one," Bruno retorted, leaning forward. Olivia crossed her legs, thoughtful.
"I'll keep an eye on him, but I want you to be careful. If he's an informant, the last thing we need is to give him a reason to distrust us." Bruno laughed, with that crooked smile she knew so well.
"Relax, Captain." "I know how to keep a secret."
"You don't help when you call me Captain in bed," she replied, laughing. He let out a short chuckle.
"It's just that I like authority." She pretended to roll her eyes, but her face softened.
"You're impossible."
"But you like it, admit it." She didn't answer immediately, just let the silence fill the space, then placed the glass on the table and looked at him.
"I do, very much." Bruno held her waist, pulling her slowly.
"Then stop thinking about Griffin, the boss, all of Manhattan. Just think about now. And what I'm going to do with you in a little while." She hesitated, her fingers playing with the collar of his shirt.
"If it were that simple…"
"It is simple," he murmured, before kissing her.
The kiss was slow, full of care and contained urgency. When they pulled away, Olivia rested her forehead against his and stayed there, breathing together.
"I don't know where this is going," she said.
"Neither do I, but I know where I want it to be now."
"With me?"
"Always."
The rain intensified outside, and the sound filled the space between the words. Bruno pulled her by the hand to the sofa, and they sat together, her leaning against his chest.
"When I was younger, I thought love and work were two things that couldn't coexist. That to be good at what I do, I needed to give up everything else." Bruno ran his fingers through her hair.
"And now?"
"Now I see that maybe I was wrong, but I also don't want to lose everything because of a wrong choice."
"You don't have to carry everything alone, Liv. Not the job, not the secret, not the fear."
She was silent for a moment, then looked at him, and there was something different in her gaze. A kind of surrender, a certainty that he was telling the truth.
"You talk as if it's easy to trust."
"It's not, but it's worth it." Olivia rested her face against his chest and closed her eyes.
"Sometimes I think you're too good for me." Bruno chuckled softly.
"No, that's all you deserve." She smiled, without opening her eyes.
"That's what scares me the most." He squeezed her hand.
"Then let me scare you a little more, as long as I stay by your side."
___________
The bedside lamp was still on when they lay down, but no one bothered to turn it off. The world simply dissolved into a comfortable silence, as if the entire apartment held its breath after what they had just experienced.
Bruno lay on his side, his arm under the pillow, observing Olivia as if she were a rare landscape he wasn't allowed to look at for long. Her hair was tousled, her breathing still slowing, her skin warm against his. The brunette ran her hand across his chest, tracing invisible lines.
"You're staring at me again," she murmured, her eyes still half-closed.
"I'm just checking if you're real," he replied, smiling. "Sometimes it feels like you're going to disappear tomorrow morning." She opened one eye lazily.
"Why would I do that?"
"Because you're you. And I… I'm just a guy who got really lucky today."
"Today?" She laughed, low and soft. "Terry, this has been happening for months."
"I know," he said, dragging a finger along her waist. "But each time feels like the first, I'll never take being with you for granted!" Olivia sighed, moving closer until their noses almost touched.
"You say things that make me feel awkward."
"Well, someone needed to make you feel awkward. You're always in control." She raised an eyebrow.
"And you prefer it when I'm not around?" Bruno pretended to think.
"I prefer it when you're happy." She smiled, that rare smile she didn't show to the squad.
"I am happy." They stayed there for a few moments just breathing together, wrapped in the crumpled sheets.
Then, Olivia spoke again, in a voice so low it sounded like a thought escaping.
"You always seem so… calm afterwards."
"After what?" he asked, with that disarming smirk.
"You know." Bruno laughed.
"It's just that I like being close to you. It calms me down, let's say... I'm going to say something kind of silly, maybe, but a good blowjob has that power."
"Kind of?" Olivia teased.
"Okay. Very silly, I didn't mean to sexualize it too much, I... it's just that being with you, inside you, calms me down."
She moved closer, resting her head on his shoulder.
"I like this side of you, even though you think you need to seem tough all the time."
"I am tough."
"You snore when you pass out on the couch."
"I don't snore!" he protested, indignant.
"Yes, you do," she insisted, laughing. "And sometimes you murmur."
"Mumble what?"
"I don't know, but once it seemed like you were trying to trap someone in the dream." He covered his face with his hand.
"Great. Now you're going to use that against me."
"I'll save it for when you annoy me at work."
"You would never do that," he said, turning and pulling her closer.
"Don't underestimate Captain Benson."
"I never underestimate you," he replied, serious for a moment. Olivia looked up, meeting his gaze in the dim light.
"I know." Olivia's breath mingled with his, and slowly, Bruno began to play with a strand of her hair, twirling the strand around his finger and letting it go.
"Have you ever imagined… this?" he asked.
"This what?"
"Us, like this."
She hesitated to answer, looking at the ceiling as if choosing words that wouldn't give too much away.
"I… didn't think it would happen. I thought you were too young for me, too impulsive… and that you'd realize I came with too much baggage."
"Olivia," he said, pulling her chin so she looked at him, "I knew exactly what I was getting into."
"You knew?"
"Of course not," he admitted, laughing. "But I wanted to try anyway. I still do." Olivia closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.
"This… scares me sometimes."
"I get scared too," Bruno confessed. "But in the end, I always come back to you."
"This is dangerous."
"I like living dangerously." She gave him a light tap on the shoulder.
"You're unbearable."
"You love it."
"Maybe."
"Maybe?"
"Maybe a lot," she murmured, hiding her face in his neck.
Bruno smiled, pulling her closer to his chest. His hand traced her back in slow, almost automatic movements, as if he already knew its shape by heart.
"Liv," he said suddenly.
"Hm?"
"I like sleeping with you." Olivia chuckled softly.
"Is that your romantic declaration?"
"I'm serious. I like seeing you relax, knowing you trust me enough to sleep with me the way you do."
"And how do I sleep?" she asked, feigning disinterest.
"Completely surrendered," Bruno replied, kissing the top of her head. "You only do that when you feel safe." She was silent for a few seconds before admitting it.
"I feel safe with you." Bruno closed his eyes, breathing as if that sentence had filled some void he didn't even know he had.
"I feel safe with you too."
Olivia touched his face, her thumb sliding through his stubble.
"You should stay here more often," she said, almost without realizing she was saying it. He opened his eyes.
"I'd like that."
"I'm not saying to bring your things," she quickly corrected.
"I know. But… I'd like to be here whenever you want me."
"I always want to," Olivia murmured. Bruno smiled, that slow, satisfied smile he only gave when he was completely surrendered.
"Then I'll stay." They stayed like that, embraced, their legs intertwined under the sheet. After a while, Olivia spoke again, her voice sleepy.
"Terry… when all this comes to light… I don't want you to think for a second that I'm going to abandon you to protect my career." He cupped her face in his hands.
"I'm not afraid of you abandoning me. I'm afraid of being a burden to you."
"You're not a burden," she said firmly. "It's… the opposite."
Bruno took a deep breath, almost relieved, and touched his nose to hers with an almost youthful tenderness.
"I like you so much, Liv." She closed her eyes, resting her forehead against his.
"I like you too. More than I should."
"Then we're screwed," he joked.
"Completely," she agreed, laughing.