I do not own L&O: SVU!

Sudden movement on the bed caused Barba to wake up. He was groggy and completely out of it but then memories of last night came rushing back to him: Olivia had made a move on him and was now sleeping in his bed. He glanced over at the other side of the bed and there she was sitting on the edge of the bed stretching. She was dressed in one of his shirts. Butterflies fluttered in his chest. He still couldn't believe that this was real.

He was caught mid-stare when she looked over her shoulder. The smile was sleepy but still beautiful. She got off the bed and went into the bathroom for a few moments. Eventually she came back and flopped onto the bed. Barba had laid back down to get some more sleep since it was only 5:30 in the morning. He had barely noticed the flop but when she snuggled up against his back, he open his eyes. In one swift motion he moved so he could be facing her.

It was still dark on that early October morning so they couldn't make out the others features but that didn't stop Olivia from softly kissing Barba. Sighing happily into the kiss, he moved his arm under her so that she was half way on top of him. Eventually she pulled away and laid on his chest so that his chin was touching her head. Within moments, they both had fallen back to sleep.

Barba had awoken again around 7. Even when he got out of bed, Olivia hardly stirred. He began his morning routine: pee, wash hands, brush teeth, start coffee, take a shower, and getting dressed. By the time Barba had gotten his first few layers of clothes on, Oliva woke up. She silently watched him finish tucking in his shirt and straightening out his suspenders for a few moments. Knowing that he was going to be awhile, she went off into the bathroom.

She came out wrapped in a towel and drying her hair off with another. Barba was fixing his vest and suit jacket while looking in the mirror. Once everything was in order he turned around to go grab one of his watches but he got distracted by Olivia instead. Though it was cliché, he couldn't help but stare with his mouth agape. He could swear he was much more suave than this but she turned him into a blubbering, horny teenager again. He adverted his attention to his watches and was trying to put his focus into choosing one. Olivia wrapped a damp arm around his waist and peered into his watch box.

"Is it really necessary to have so many?"

He still wasn't used to her touching him, so his body stiffened slightly at her touch. Breathing momentarily stopped. He soon relaxed against her.

"A good watch completes a good outfit." Smirking he glanced down at her. "However, I suppose there's some exceptions to that rule."

"You aren't very good at pick-up lines, Barba." She playfully shoved him and made her way to her clothes pile.

"Well apparently they work." He turned to face her, after picking out a watch.

As she was picking up her clothes off the floor, Barba hugged her from behind and buried his face into her neck. She smelled of his soap and shampoo, only on her it smelled much sweeter. There he placed a few playful kisses. This was a dream come true and he wanted to savor every moment.

After offering to wash her clothes and let borrow his, he went out into the kitchen where there coffee was waiting. He poured two cups, placing Olivia's on the counter. He was adding cream and sugar to his coffee when Olivia emerged from the bedroom in one of his sleep t-shirts and her jeans from the day before. She took her cup off the counter and went around to the other side where there were bar stools and sat down.

For a few moments, they sat in comfortable silence. Simply enjoying the presence of each other and their coffee. Their silence was disturbed by Barba's cell phone ringing. He answered promptly for it was his boss. After a few "yeses" and "sures" Barba hung up.

"I have to go in earlier than I thought. My boss wants to move our lunch to a breakfast." He moved around the counter, to where she was sitting. "You can stay here as long as you'd like. If you leave, just text me so we can make plans to talk about all this. Because you know, I have to talk about everything." A nervous chuckle left his mouth. "So, I'll see you later."

He gave her a peck on the cheek and turned to leave but she grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Liv, I need to—"

He was cut off by her kissing him. It was a kiss that Barba would never forget. This is one of those first goodbye kisses that are so sweet and soft but also somewhat sad. Their night together had been mostly innocent but it was the start of new chapter in both of their lives. As much as was a goodbye-see-you-after-work kiss, it was also marking the real beginning of their relationship. They both lead lives that they could be swept away by reality at any moment and they could very well never come back. This was their first step into their new reality together.

/ / /

Olivia lounged around Barba's house for a little while, until she knew she needed to go into work. Luckily at the station she had a change of clothes stored there that she could change into. After a few more moments lounging in Barba's extremely comfortable bed, she rolled out of bed and went into work.

She was hoping that no one would see her coming into the station looking like a scrub lord, but that wasn't her luck. Both Fin and Amaro were there. They mumbled Hellos but their curious glances said otherwise. She escaped to change into better clothes and put some makeup on. Feeling better she plopped down at her desk and got to work on the growing pile of paperwork.

Throughout the morning, Olivia and Barba texted back and forth for awhile. She only became aware of it when she happened to catch Fin staring at her with a curious look on his face. Suddenly, she felt embarrassed. Is this what teenagers looked like while texting their romantic interest?

The rest of the day was normal. She questioned victims, did paperwork, and interviewed suspects. By some stroke of luck, she was able to leave at 6. As she was on her way out, she called Barba.

"Hey, by some miracle, I'm able to leave at a decent hour. Are you home?"

"Yeah. Do you want me to order something?"

"No, I'll pick you something, my treat. See you in a bit."

Olivia hung up, as she was getting into the elevator. Amanda was a few steps behind her and slid in between the closing doors.

"Hey, Fin, Amaro, and I are going to go get drinks, wanna come?" Rollins offered.

"No thanks. I already have plans." Olivia smiled.

"Aw, man. Bummer. Well, have fun with your take-out date. See you tomorrow Liv."

Amanda slid out of the elevator and disappeared into the small crowd. Olivia sometimes hated working with the nosiest people on this earth.

Olivia ordered Indian and then caught a cab to Barba's. When she got there he had already set the table and was opening a bottle of wine.

"I hope you like Indian because that's what I picked up."

Barba grinned and kissed her on the cheek. "That's what I was going to order. Glad we're on the same page."

They ate until they were too full and drank until they were tipsy. Eventually they stumbled into bed and feel asleep within minutes. These were the nights where their love grew the most.

/ / /

Thankfully, the following morning was a Sunday. They both had the day off. Barba awoke earlier than Olivia. He used this time to make them breakfast. The opportunity to cook didn't arise very often so he gladly took it in stride. He decided to make what his mother would make for him on Sunday mornings, when she had the time to do so. Scrambled eggs mixed with spicy rice, her secret enchilada sauce, and tortillas filled with beans and sausage. Just as he was setting the table and pouring coffee, Olivia came out of the bedroom.

"What smells so good?" Technically that whole sentence was a long yawn but the point was still made.

"Just something mi madre made for me as a kid. It's the best breakfast you'll ever have."

With how much food he ate while he was with her, he began to wonder if he should start exercising more. Then again, he didn't mind. As long as she was happy and well fed, he was happy.

After their great breakfast, they went back to bed. For awhile they laid there in silence, almost dozing off again.

"Hey, Liv. Are you asleep?"

She grumbled but turned to face him, eyes still shut.

"You know I have to talk about all of this."

She sighed, rolling away from him and pulling the covers up over her head.

He laughed softly and scooted closer to her, nuzzling into her neck. "Wakey wakey."

She flopped and turned to face him. This time her eyes were open.

"What do we need to talk about?"

Barba huffed. "There's plenty to talk about."

Olivia sat up against the headboard and Barba followed suit. Before talking, he grabbed her hand and planted a kiss on the back of it.

"To start, I need to know what this is or what this is going to be. I know it's the new thing to "not label" relationships. Call me old fashioned because I need a label."

"This isn't just some rebound or anything. I didn't initiate this out of loneliness. This is something I wanted." She gave his hand a squeeze. "I want to keep our relationship under wraps right now. I know that isn't professional. However, I want to be sure that we will work and it's worth re-arranging our jobs for, okay?"

Barba was reluctant but he nodded anyway. "I understand. I don't like keeping things hidden but I understand your reasons. This can't last forever though. People will start to get suspicious. Especially all those in your squad. They're damn good at what they do."

Olivia huffed. "Yeah, tell me about it."

Barba kissed her gently, before laying back down. She cuddled up to him. "I can't believe that this is actually happening. I was so sure that when this damn soulmate countdown stopped, I would be forever doomed to lo—er, want someone I could never have." Dropping the L word was something he didn't want to do. He silently panicked, hoping she let it slide.

"Regardless of a countdown, Barba, I think no matter what, everything would always lead to this."

They shared a few kisses before they both fell back asleep and enjoyed the first of many Sundays spent together.

I know this wasn't a particularly exciting chapter but I wanted to get some fluff out there before the action/drama picks back up again! ;)

Enjoy ~