#I have officially written svu fanfiction so that's where I'm at

[biblicalhorror]

That Time Carisi (Almost) Punched a Transphobic Asshat in the Face

A short drabble dedicated to @lesbianavabekker

The station was bustling, as usual. Rollins scrolled through a search engine on her computer, looking for anything to connect their current suspect to a grisly string of murders. She typed another keyword into the search bar. Still nothing.

Suddenly, there was a bustling in the doorway. Rollins looked up to see Fin strolling behind a man in his late 50s, wearing an orange polo shirt and grey slacks.

“Terrible outfit,” Rollins thought. “What case is this guy from?”

She got up and followed the parade of cops to the interrogation room, where the man sat, steaming, at one side of the sleek metal table in the center of the room. Rollins stood outside, watching closely through the one-way glass as the man forcefully rubbed his thumbs over his hands over and over again. He seemed nervous but mostly just agitated. Hearing the door open, Rollins turned to see Carisi walk in.

“Hey, what’s the deal with this guy?” She asked him.

“Fin found him. Says he might be a possible lead on the Reichard case. Did you not get the comm?”

Rollins’ hand patted her hip. Where the hell is my radio? She brushed it off. “Must’ve missed that. You going in? Need any backup?”

“Nah, I think I’m good on my own for this one. I’ll let you know if I need ya.”

Rollins nodded, stepping back as Carisi opened the door and headed for the chair opposite the man. Rollins walked closer to the glass, watching the man intently for any signs of guilt.

“Mr. Lesko, my name is Detective Carisi. Do you know why you’re here?”

“Yeah, your dumbass friend thinks I have something to do with that kid going missing.”

“Right…” Carisi nodded, slightly drawing out the word to make himself seem nonchalant. “Did you know him? Hear he was seen hangin’ round your shop a lot.”

“Yeah, I guess.” The man shrugged. “Kids that age are in my store all the time, drunk or high with their friends and looking for cheap snacks. I only saw that one come in alone, though.”

The man looked Carisi directly in the eye. “She didn’t seem to have many friends. Honestly, I’m not surprised she’s missin’ now. A dyke like her probably got herself into some trouble.”

Rollins grimaced. This guy was old, but he didn’t seem that old. Who still talks like that? She took notice of the stiffening in Carisi’s posture as the guy continued to berate this transgender kid.

“Don’t get me wrong. I’ve got no problem with their… lifestyle, but she comes around flaunting that behavior, it’s disgusting. No one wants to see that. A girl like her outta learn to present herself if she wants to make it anywhere.”

Carisi stared at the table, breathing slowly. His hands clenched tightly under the table, outside of the suspect's view. Rollins, however, had a better vantage point. She could see how upset this was making him.

Composing himself, Carisi took another deep breath and looked into the man’s eyes. He opened the folder in front of him, taking out a photo of a teenage boy and slamming it onto the table. “Did you see Tyler Reichard on March 11, yes or no?” he demanded, a little too loudly.

The man smirked, seeing that he’d gotten under Carisi’s skin. “Nope. Don’t think I did.”

Carisi grabbed the table with both hands, pushing himself out of his chair. Without saying a word, he got up and walked out, leaving Lesko alone in the interrogation room. Rollins looked over to Fin, standing in the corner.

“This guy knows something. Keep him talking, I’ll get Carisi.”

Fin nodded, heading over to the door. Rollins walked quickly to the squad room to find Carisi at his desk with his head in his hands. She hadn’t seen him this rattled in awhile. She sat down in her own chair, not speaking for a few seconds.

“Hey, you good? What happened in there?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just…” Carisi looked to the side, staring at nothing while he gathered his words.

Rollins waited for a few seconds before offering, “Do you wanna grab some lunch?”

Carisi looked at her, relieved. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

They sat on a bench, eating hot dogs in silence for awhile before Carisi spoke up.

“There’s something I’ve been trying to tell you for awhile, but I couldn’t figure out how to bring it up.” He paused again. “I’ve been seeing someone lately.”

Rollins raised an eyebrow. “Why would you be afraid to tell me that?”

“Well, his name is Riley. I wasn’t sure how you’d react to the ‘he’ part.” Carisi looked over at her expectantly.

Rollins felt the wind leave her lungs for a moment as she processed what she was hearing. Did her partner just come out to her? She couldn’t say she was shocked, but it had just never occurred to her that someone like Carisi would be into men. She met his eyes, grinning.

“Is that why you got so upset in there? Because that asshole was acting like being gay was a death wish? Because just say the word and I’ll show him what a death wish looks like.”

Carisi tossed his head back, laughing. “No, no. Well, that was part of it. See, Riley is also a transgender man. When he called the Reichard kid… that word... it really stung. Suddenly, it was like being reminded how so many people see people like him. I know how hard that’s been for Riley.” He looked down at his half-eaten lunch. “And I remember when I used to think like that, too.”

“Hey, now.” Rollins scooted closer to him, putting a hand on his upper back. “You’re a different person than you were then. Clearly, people change. You’ve grown up a lot since I first met you.”

Carisi smiled back at her. His phone dinged in his pocket. He pulled it out, looking at the notification.

“Speak of the devil. It’s Riley,” he said, opening the text. He chuckled at the screen. “Oh, hey! I can actually show you this stuff now!”

Rollins furrowed her brow, unsure if this was crossing the boundaries of their friendship or not. Sonny turned his phone screen towards her, showing a video of a tiny sheepdog puppy running excitedly towards the camera, jumping up to pounce and then plopping down with an anticlimactic thump. Amanda giggled.

“Her name is Button. Isn’t that cute?”

“As a button.” Amanda teased. “You seem really happy.”

Carisi smiled again. “I am. I’m really glad you know now.”

The two sat on the bench for a moment, reveling in their bonding moment. Finally, Amanda took a deep breath. “We should get back to the station. I’ll bet Fin’s running out of questions to ask.”

“Oh, please.” Carisi joked. “We’ve only been gone forty-five minutes. I’ll bet he’s just getting started.”