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They’d been sat in the squad car for at least 30 minutes before either of them said anything unrelated to the case or the suspect whose house they were staking out.
“Carisi?”
“Yeah?”
“Why do you keep sniffing the air like that?” She turned and caught the magical moment in which his ears turned bright red, swiftly followed by his cheeks and neck.
“You, er, you smell nice.” He told her, looking at the house across the street, clearly avoiding her gaze.
Evangeline smiled and quirked an eyebrow. “I… smell nice?”
“Yeah, at least I think it’s you. You bake?” Unsure if that question was related to what they were talking about or whether he was deflecting, she answered anyway.
“Yeah, bread, cookies, tarts, why?”
“Then it’s definitely you.” He looked at her now sipping his coffee. Noticing her confused look, he reached a hand up and lightly tugged at the knot of his tie, loosening it.
“You smell like fresh bread and yanno baked goods and warmth.” He muttered the last part, clearly embarrassed.
Eline chuckled and grabbed his coffee from his hand, taking a sip before holding it out for him to take.
Sonny was surprised when his coffee disappeared from his grasp. Even more surprised to see her take a sip out of it like it was her own. ‘Does this mean she’s comfortable with me?’ He wondered.
He’d only been her partner for 2 weeks and while they didn’t talk much, he definitely enjoyed her presence. It helped that she was good at her job and she seemed to have faith in him. Sonny thought back to the conversation he’d had with Fin and realised the small changes, there were little things, instances when she’d cover him a little more when there was a gun pointed at them. She really did have his back.
He’d been with SVU a month now and he knew his time was coming to an end. Detective Amaro would be returning soon and because he was a temporary transfer, he’d be handed off to someone, somewhere else. Carisi took a moment to look over at his partner and it seemed to concrete the fact that he really didn’t want to go.
Sonny and Evangeline returned from their stakeout nearly 4 hours later, turns out their perp had never gone home. Rollins and Fin had found him attempting to rape a woman in a back alley behind his club.
Eline stood at her desk, looking about ready to collapse with exhaustion. A warm hand on her shoulder made her look up. Sonny stood there, only a few inches taller than her, with a gentle smile on his face.
“Ey, you want some coffee?” He eyed the pile of paperwork on her desk. She nodded.
He walked off and she turned back to her desk catching Olivia’s eye in the process. Benson beckoned her into her office.
“What’s up Liv?” She asked, closing the door. She looked up at Eline and then down at the file splayed out on her desk.
“You’ve been Carisi’s partner for 2 weeks now, I just want to know how that’s going so I have something to put in his report before the transfer.”
Evangeline’s head shot up. She knew Sonny was only supposed to be with them temporarily but the thought of him actually leaving didn’t sit well with her. Not that she wouldn’t be glad to have Nick back but...
“Transfer?!” She asked. Olivia nodded. She knew it wasn’t going to be easy on Evangeline, Liv was all too aware of the bond that partners could form.
“IAB have informed me that we’ll be getting Amaro back soon.” She told her. Evangeline nodded absentmindedly trying to block out the tinge of sadness she felt. They weren’t friends by any means, simply partners but even without the talking and joking they’d recently discovered they could do, he was just nice to have around.
Her head span and she sighed.
“Is there any way we can have him as a permanent transfer?” She asked, almost meekly.
Olivia watched her friend for a moment. “You want him as a permanent partner?” She stated.
Evangeline nodded.
“It would make sense. It’s better than me bouncing between you and Amaro, besides he’s not a bad cop. He could be useful here and I remember what it was like before Cragen got me settled here. He’s been bounced around a lot and I know how bad that sucks.”
“Okay.” Eline’s expression turned hopeful. “I’ll see what I can do.”
She stood up and made her way to the door before turning around. “Thanks Liv.”
“Don’t make me regret it.”
Evangeline stepped out of Liv’s office and looked at Carisi who was sat at his desk, most likely writing up some reports he hadn’t gotten to yet. She saw the steaming cup of coffee on her desk and couldn’t help but smile.
Walking over and sitting down, she clasped both hands around the cup and lifted it up, taking a deep sip. Barely any milk and sweetened to perfection. Sonny was watching her as she looked up.
“Thanks for this Carisi.” He shrugged.
Eline reached forward looking for the report she was supposed to write up and frowned when she noticed it wasn’t with her pile. She checked a few drawers and under some other folders but still nothing.
“What ya lookin’ for?”
“My report for today, I can’t fi-” Her eyes zeroed in on the missing folder, open on Carisi’s desk.
“I grabbed it, figured we were both there so you didn’t need to write it if I could. Why don’t you go home, get some sleep. I can handle this.”
She eyed him for a moment and realised that arguing with him wouldn’t change his mind.
“Alright, I’m honestly not gonna argue with you, night Carisi, and thanks. I owe you.” She said, pulling on her coat.
Momentarily, she placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed before walking away. Sonny tried to shrug off just how much he enjoyed her touch.
“Carisi, where’s Floyd?” He looked up at his sergeant.
“I sent her home, figured she’d worked hard enough.” Olivia nodded, glad he’d made the right choice.
“You’ll fit in just right here Carisi.” She said, closing her office door, ready to go home to Noah.
“I put in for a permanent transfer, made a few calls, positions yours if you want it.” He nodded.
“Yeah!” Olivia gave a small smile and began to walk towards the elevator.
“You’ll have to thank Eline in the morning, she was very adamant.” She told him over her shoulder before she left, leaving him alone with his joy and surprise.
Sonny couldn’t hold back his grin, glad he didn’t have to leave. Tomorrow, he decided, he was going to buy his partner those cupcakes she liked so much. A whole bunch of them.