#and yes I did give him fins that look like butterflies on purpose smile

[wellhellothereem]

Kimono Sebastian drawing I did since I don't want my only Pressure post to be the shitpost :'D

[thatesqcrush]

The Secret

Rafael Barba x Reader. 

CW: language, some suggestive language, some angst, tooth rotting fluff.

Prompts filled: “Hey if your inspired could you do prompt 26. "Do you think they can hear us through the tent?” “Yes we can.” With Barba and a new detective? Maybe the squad went on a camping trip? If you don’t have time then no worries!” @bre160997 plus “Hi, hun! If it's okay, could I request prompt 12 + 29 from the Lyric Starters? Maybe a fight with Barba in front of the SUV or something, I'm really just craving for angst from @i-t-s-a-n-d-y & finally, from @thefanficfaerie Dr. Who Challenge: “Then you stole me. And I stole you… What made you think I had any intention of ever giving you back.”

WC: 2118

--

“Did you hear? We are going to do some team building exercise this weekend?” Amanda groaned as you entered the locker room.

“What? No. I was going through a case file all afternoon with Barba.” You replied, as you gathered your belongings.

“Barba and Y/N sitting in a tree… k-i-s-s-i-n-g.” Amanda sang, which garnered a glare from you.

“Oh stop it!” You threw your jacket at Amanda who caught it. “It’s not like that.”

Amanda cocked her brow at you. You sighed, defeated. “Okay, it’s like that. But please don’t say anything to Olivia. Barba and I haven’t made it official. He keeps stalling. And there is a ton of disclosure paperwork that needs to be completed.”

“I’m aware – you forget Sonny and I…” Amanda wiggled her left hand at you. You rolled your eyes.

“I know – but it’s different. You and Carisi had a long history together. You each had rank. I’m the newbie.”

“And Barba is the hand that rocks the cradle.” Amanda snickered. “Why do you think he keeps stalling? It’s been six months.”

You grabbed your jacket from Amanda. “So what exactly is this team building exercise?” You asked, ignoring her question. 

Truth be told, you were terrified as to why Rafael kept stalling.

--

“What the hell is this place?” You wondered out loud, as you stepped out of the SUV.

“Welcome to Bear Mountain!” Sonny replied, slapping his hand on your back. He walked past you and you watched as the rest of the team climbed out of the car.

“Fresh mountain air, private trails, a clean creek. We’re going to have ourselves a true mountain adventure and take to the wildness.” Oliva replied.

A woman with wild hair and a hippie dippy dress approached. She had a wide , friendly smile. “Are you the police group from NYC? SVU?”

Olivia nodded.

“Welcome, welcome! I’m Teres, and I am the owner of these grounds. “ Teres clapped her hands and the bangle bracelets she wore clinked together.

Sonny raised his brow and Amanda jabbed him in the ribs.

“These grounds are actually behind my family’s orchard and farm. We have tents set up for you all, but there is also a micro-cabin with a fully functioning bathroom and shower. While it seems like you have left the world behind, we are 10 minutes from the local grocer, diner, deli and pizza place. Barton’s Orchard is also a 15 minute drive. Tymor Park is 2 miles down the road. There you will find a swimming pool, more hiking trails, a lake for boating, volleyball courts and more.” Teres continued. “Is everyone here?”

Olivia looked around. “We’re waiting for one more.”

You turned to Liv. “Who else is coming?”

“Barba.” Olivia replied. “Thank you for having us, Teres.”

Amanda looked over at you and winked.

--

“The purpose of this weekend is to bring the team together. Now that we have Kat…” Olivia announced, smiling at the young detective. “And Y/N.” She smiled at you. “Carisi is our new ADA and Barba is our new Bureau Chief. Things at the one-six have shaken up. I thought this would be a nice way to get away from the hum-drum of the city and do some old-school bonding.”

At that moment, the rumble of a car approaching the grounds filled the air. You watched as Rafael got out of the cab. He was way over dressed naturally - this did not surprise you. He seemed awkward and out of place. He frowned looking around before his eyes met Liv’s and he smiled brightly. He walked over and said hello. You tried to say hi but he brushed you off and immediately you hated the weekend and wanted to go home.

Your whole life you lived by the motto that you don’t shit where you eat. You didn’t do workplace romances. Then you transferred to Manhattan SVU and had a random hook-up with one very sexy Cuban man after your first hard case who just happened to be the Bureau Chief. But after that one incident, in which you both swore could never happen again, you both couldn’t keep your hands off each other.

But it was a secret. Months and months passed. Now it was six months in. You kept wanting to tell Olivia – but Rafael kept saying it was not the right time. More and more, it felt like the guilt of the relationship was taking its toll. You finally caved one night to your partner, Amanda, spilling every last drop.

Amanda took the information in stride and promised she would keep it all under confidence. That said, she did enjoy occasionally ribbing you from time to time about it.

Night quickly approached. The whole time Rafael dodged you as best as he could. You pulled out your phone and wondered if you could fake an emergency to escape. The campsite claimed there was wi-fi but the connection was shitty.

“Hey.”

You looked up at Fin, who crouched next to you. “Hey.” You replied dejectedly while you nibbled at a s’more.

“You okay? You’ve been quiet all day. Not like you.” Fin replied. You sighed, watching Sonny and Amanda across the campsite with Rafael, laughing over God knows what.

“Yeah. Just tired. Camping isn’t my thing.” You replied. “I need to be in actual civilization.”

“I get that. I don’t do nature either.”

“I think… I am going to head to bed.” You replied standing. You stretched out your hand. “Want the rest of my s’more?”

“Nah, I’m good.” Fin replied. “Maybe Barba wants it. He’s always hungry.” He laughed and jutted his head towards the direction where Barba was.

You hummed and gave Fin a smile before heading to your tent. The ground was cold and hard. Sleep was futile.

It was one weekend. You could do this.

--

The next morning, breakfast was being had and Olivia was busy going over some of the bonding activities everyone was going to partake in. You decided to take your coffee to go, walking up a trail.

“Y/N, you shouldn’t go by yourself. Barba, why don’t you accompany her?” Amanda replied, with a wink to you. “Unless you want to go kayaking with us.”

You shot a look at Amanda. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Nonsense – everyone should be in pairs. You never know what could happen.” Olivia replied. “Besides this is about team morale and building.”

“Great.” You gritted. Rafael looked at you and gave you a small, forced smile.

“After you, detective. Lead the way.” Rafael replied.

The walk up the trail towards Tymor Park was mostly quiet between you. After you were far enough from the campsite, you whipped around and stepped in front of Rafael, causing him to take a step back.

“I was trying to get away from you!” You hissed.

“Look, Y/N, I don’t know why you are so upset with me.” Rafael began. “I told you I wasn’t ready to disclose.”

“When will you be ready? Why don’t you respect me or our relationship?” You replied, sitting on a rock.

“That’s not true – you know I respect you. It is just complicated.”

“No, it’s not. You are making it complicated.” You watched as a white butterfly flitted by.

Rafael sighed and sat on a rock next to you. “I thought we wouldn't last a month. But then we did, and then another month, and I'm still not sure how this happened.”

Rafael pulled your chin to face him. You jutted your chin out from his grasp. ““It feels like you don’t care.” You scoffed. You stood and crossed your arms. “Well?” You asked, exasperated when Rafael didn’t immediately respond. Your eyes began to shimmer with tears that threatened to fall.

You looked over your shoulder as you began to march in the opposite direction. “I’m going back to the campsite. If you want to follow me, that is your prerogative.”

---

Rafael used the opportunity to think about what he wanted to do as he followed you back to campsite. Truth was that he did like you – a lot. He might even dare to say his feelings bordered on love. But ever since Yelina had broken his heart so many years ago, he was reticent about any kind of relationship. Certainly his line of work didn’t allow for romance and he used that to his advantage.

Then you came along. And turned his whole world upside down.. 

You were the newest detective after Kat Tamin. You were like a breath of much needed fresh air. You weren’t jaded like the other detectives and thought outside the box. When other detectives offered stereotypical analysis, you had a way of providing another vantage point that might not have been otherwise stated.

You were also thirteen years his junior.

Rafael worried that disclosing the relationship would make him come across some kind of old man pervert. And instead of telling you and leaning on you, he decided to push you away because it was easier to avoid than deal with feelings he wasn’t used to.

When you had gotten back to the campsite, you stormed off to where Fin and Sonny were, joining them in a card game. Your eyes met Rafael’s and you glared at him before turning to Sonny and laughing at what he said.

Rafael felt his heart sink a bit. And then he gathered what resolve he had and vowed to make things right with you. He didn’t want to risk losing you.

---

After a day of more bonding activities, you all sat around the campfire. Sonny strummed his guitar – a hobby of his – as he lead everyone through a round of Wagon Wheel.

Picking me a bouquet of dogwood flowers

And I'm a-hopin' for Raleigh, I can see my baby tonight

So rock me momma like a wagon wheel…

Finally, everyone decided to hit the sack and call it a night. You were settling into your sleeping bag, when you heard the zipper to your tent open. You turned on your flashlight and directed it to the tent opening.

“Who the fu—”

Rafael poked his head in. “Can we talk?” The light shone directly into his eyes, nearly blinding him. He blocked the light with his hand.

You sighed. “I’m going to bed. Make it quick.”

Rafael climbed into the tent and settled next to you. You set the flashlight between you, causing an eerie glow. Rafael took your hands in his and pressed kisses along your knuckles.

“Hermosa, you deserve to know the truth. What I feel for you…” Rafael sighed, shaking his head. You felt your heart thud in your chest and your stomach churned. You thought perhaps he was going to break your heart for good.

You interrupted him and began to speak, your voice shaking. “Please spare me the humiliation…”

“No! If I ever made you feel like I don’t love you. That was my fault and I’m a bad liar.” Rafael replied.

“You love me?” You asked, your voice hopeful.

“I do.” Rafael replied. He pressed a chaste kiss to your lips. “Then you stole me. And I stole you… What made you think I had any intention of ever giving you back.”

“I love you too Rafael.” You replied. You climbed over to his lap, knocking over the flashlight. You leaned over and pressed your lips against his. Rafael groaned, and opened his mouth, returning your kiss. He stretched out his leg and pulled you into his lap. His hands ran up and down your thighs, squeezing your ass as you hungrily kissed each other. His tongue danced with yours and you ground yourself against him. You could feel his cock harden. You moaned loudly as he lowered his mouth to the slope of your neck sucking on a sweet spot, causing you to grind further down. “Oh Rafael!”

Rafael slapped his hand over your mouth. “Sshhh.”

“Do you think they can hear us through the tent?” You asked.

“Yes we can.” A voice that sounded a lot like Olivia’s called out. “And here I thought we would have to worry about Rollins and Carisi.”

You and Rafael burst into laughter. “Well, I was going to suggest disclosing in the morning, but I think we were found out.” Rafael replied.

“Good. Now that they all know…come here.” You replied – your voice was filled with want. You wrapped your hand around Rafael’s neck once more and pulled him down on top of you.

FIN.

Tags: @madpanda75 @tropes-and-tales @delia26 @mgarner1227 @beardedmccoy @youreverycolor @neely1177 @the-baby-bookworm @mrsrafaelbarba @skittle479 @ottosuricato @delia26 @sass-and-suspenders @mommakat32 @dreila03 @beccabarba @garturbo @lovebennycolon @imjustreallynosy @sweetsummertime99 @whyissvuruiningmylovelife @annabelleb49 @scarletsoldierrr @cesarofangirl78 @redlipstickandplaid @redlipstickandblacktea @zoeykaytesmom @differentshadesofgray @misssirenlove @esparza-army @bananas-pajamas @mishaissocoolike @thefanficfaerie @theenchantedgalleryofstories @catnip987 @choppedgalaxynerd @pieceofshittytitty @ktiz90 @evee87 @itsjustmyfantasyroom @blk0912 @choppedgalaxynerd @detective-giggles@rampantmuses @jazzyjoi @caked-crusader- anyone else, just ask! xo

[lukatheselkie]

HMC - Aquarium

@hetaliamondaychallenge

So, uh, terrifying story that happened while I was writing this. The HUGE common Plecostomus we have jumped out of the tank he’s in. This thing is like 15" (38.1cm) long. He jumped between the wall and the tank. Thank goodness Dad was awake so he could grab him. He got slightly injured, but he’s acting normal so I think he’s okay. Talk about an adrenaline rush though! (If anyone wants to know, he has a nick in two of his fins. That’s the only visible injuries, but he did thrash about so he might have internal injuries. I hope not. I love him too much, and he’s too young.)

Headcanon that Sweden has social anxiety.

Pairings: SuNor, DenFin, IceMano

Warnings: Cussing, light hearted/joking death threat

Soft reminder that the age of consent is 15 in Iceland, and 14 in Italy. (Yes, this is mostly aimed at any American readers.) Iceland is 16-17, and South Italy is 22-23. I saw talk of a ten-year gap for Iceland, but I couldn’t figure out if it was law or not. Either way, they fall into this rule.

    Berwald frantically reaches for his boyfriend’s hand, and squeezes it hard when he has hold of it. Luaks glances at him and gives him the smallest hint of a smile. It’s enough to fill his stomach with butterflies, which does a good job of distracting him from his anxiety. Lukas squeezes his hand back when he sees him relax, a gesture that is as much a reward as it is a show of how proud he is of Berwald. He knows how hard it is for him to be around strangers, even if no one is paying attention to him. “Takk for coming with us, Ber. Mathias insisted it wouldn’t be the same without you.” Said man appears beside them and throws an arm around Berwald’s shoulder. Speak of the devil.

    “Of course it wouldn’t be the same without you! We love you.” Tino comes up beside him, rolling his eyes. “But nothing could rival my love for you!” He releases Berwald, and wraps his arms around Tino eagerly. The Finnish man gives a sigh, then pecks his lips.

    “Sometimes I don’t know what to do with you.” Mathias grins at him.

    “You love me.”

    “Fortunately for you I do. So very much.” He wraps his arms around his neck and pulls him down for a deeper kiss.

    “Some of us are actually trying to look at the fish. Can you not make out next to them? It’s startling.” Mathias presses closer to his lover and Emil fake gags, turning away from them. He looks into the closest tank, and flinches back when he comes face to face with a Green Moray Eel with an open mouth. Lovino, who was about to take his hand, falls into a fit of laughter. Emil bristles slightly, and crosses his arms over his chest. “Hmph! I see how it is! Well, I won’t comfort you when a shark decides to charge your stupidly handsome face!” Lovino raises a brow at him, then winks. His face turns crimson, but he doesn’t move.

    “Are you sure you want a shark to think I’m handsome? They might steal me away.” Emil huffs, grabs his hand, and squeezes it tightly.

    “They will not! I won’t let that happen. I will punch and or fight a shark if I have to!” Mathias jerks away from Tino.

    “Nej! Don’t you dare!” He lowers his voice so the humans around them can’t hear him. “This is my aquarium, I won’t let you hurt anything living here. And that goes for anywhere in my country. And… I don’t want you to get hurt.”

    “Fine. Your flirty sharks get to continue on without knowing pain.” Lovino chuckles, then ruffles his hair. Emil sends him a light hearted glare, and grabs his hand. “I won’t let them flirt with you. I’ll show them that you’re my boyfriend.” After a moment of staring at each other they laugh, knowing he’s joking. He may be childish, but he knows acting like he owns someone is a bad thing to do. Lovino brushes their noses together, squeezes his hand, and points at one of the fish coming closer to them, looking curious. Wanting to impress his boyfriend, Emil puffs out his chest a bit, stares at the fish for a moment, then tells him what it is. “That’s a porcupinefish, or blowfish. It can also be referred to as a balloonfish or a globefish. Sometimes they are called pufferfish, but this fish isn’t what most think of when they say ‘pufferfish.’ They belong to a different family.” Lovino stares at him, obviously impressed. Mathias gives him a weird look, and he blushes again. “...Or something like that. Like I would know about a fish.”

    “I love your random knowledge, Emmy. Please don’t take it back or downplay it.” Emil scowls at him, cheeks turning crimson.

    “I told you not to call me that,” he grumbles, burying his face in his chest. Lovino runs a hand through his hair, smirking. Mathias gives him a high five. Lukas shakes his head at them.

    “I won’t ever embarrass you on purpose like that,” he whispers to Berwald. “Not unless you want me to.” The Swede nods, barely hearing him. He’s staring at a different tank, watching an octopus move their arms about. Lukas notices and walks him over there, shielding him from the crowd. “There. Now you can look closer.” Berwald nods excitedly, gives him a bright smile that lasts maybe a second, and focuses on the arms. The octopus waves a few about for a moment, then starts crawling over the rocks on the bottom. They disappear into a crevice, which causes Berwald to frown slightly. “Let’s look at the seahorses, Ber,” Lukas suggests quietly, already leading him toward them. His attention is quickly diverted to them, thankfully.

    “Look h’w beat’ful th’y are,” he mumbles. “B’t n’t as beaut’ful as du,” he looks at Lukas. He immediately turns his head away, trying to hide his blush.

    “Don’t say that out of nowhere like that.” He scoffs, and Berwald squeezes his hand lightly in apology. “I suppose it’s fine this time. But don’t do it again.” They both know he likes it.

    “Ja, okej,” he says to tease him. He doesn’t fall for it.

    “Good.” A thick silence falls over them. It’s a matter of who breaks first now, and Lukas knows Berwald’s biggest weaknesses. “Because if you did, I would have to make coffee for you in the morning. Oh, and breakfast. Then we would have to have a Fika together later in the day. Then we’d have to go to bed tangled in the blankets, cuddling fiercely. We wouldn’t want to have to do that, now would we?” Berwald lets out a tiny, nearly impossible to hear whine.

    “Nej fair.” Lukas smirks at him. He looks back at the seahorses, trying his hardest to ignore him. It’s not working. His hair clip keeps distracting him. It’s slightly crooked. He has to fix it. He turns toward him, and straightens out the clip. Lukas gets on his tip toes and kisses his forehead in response.

    “Takk. Jeg elsker deg.” Berwald’s cheeks tint pink.

    “Jag älskar dig med.”

    “You are aware this means you lose, right?”

    Ja.” Lukas laughs. Mathias bounds over, Emil and Lovino in tow. Tino follows after, smiling at his boyfriend’s antics.

    “Berry, there’s a touch tank! We have to pet some of the fish!” He grabs his wrist and drags him to the touch tank. “Look how pretty they are! Oooooh this one is colourful!” He dips his hand in the water, and slowly reaches toward one of the fish. He laughs a bit when his fingers brush against it. They are informed it’s a Japanese Pinecone Fish. Tino puts his hand in the water next, lightly running his fingers over a Thicklip Grey Mullet.

    “You’re such a charming fish,” he murmurs. A soft, loving smile plays at Mathias’ lips. Lovino looks into the tank next, curiosity shining in his eyes. He lightly touches a Blackbelt Hogfish, smiling at the big eyes. He beams at Emil, reaching out his other hand encouragingly. The younger man shakes his head quickly.

    “I will not touch a fish that I could scare away.” Despite his words, he peers into the tank. After a moment, he caresses a Black Sea Cucumber. “It tickles,” he hums to himself, smiling brightly. Lovino watches him affectionately. Lukas’ eyes dart around, looking for a new fish to touch. Berwald sticks his hand in the water, and a Damselfish willingly swims up to it. He runs his fingers delicately along their body, biting his lip to keep his smile in check. Lukas’ heart fills with joy at the sight. Then, he does the same as Berwald, allowing a fish to come up to him. A Two-Banded Seabream nibbles at his fingers, and he giggles. He pets the fish, who eagerly accepts his affection.

    “You’re very cute. Almost as cute as my Ber.” He watches his boyfriend turn red. They stay there until another group comes up, forcing them to leave for Berwald’s safety. Their next stop is the gift shop, which is thankfully mostly devoid of other people.

    “Look at all the stuffed animals!” Mathias practically runs to the wall full of them. Tino watches him for a moment to make sure he’s not going to knock anything down, then examines the shark teeth necklaces. Lovino discreetly grabs a Green Moray Eel plush, and shoves it toward Emil. He squeaks, too scared to make any noise. After a few shallow breaths, he’s glaring so hard Lukas wonders if Lovino is losing years from his life.

    “You absolute asshole! You scared the shit out of me!” He places a hand on his chest, taking deeper breaths. Lovino puts the eel back, snickering a bit as he turns back to Emil.

    “I would apologize, but I’d be afraid you would call it fishy.” He holds up a clownfish plushie.

    “I am going to strangle you for that joke,” he grumbles as he pulls him in for a kiss. Lukas shakes his head and saunters over to Berwald, who’s investigating the “An Ocean of Plastic” area. He takes his hand, squeezing it when he feels how stiff he is.

    “I won’t let anyone get close to you. I promise.” He nods, relaxing a bit. His eyes catch on an otter plush, and he shuffles toward it. When he’s close enough, he snatches it and hugs it tightly to his chest. “Do you want that?” He nods frantically, hugging it tighter.

    “H’s n’me is L’kas.”

    “Is it? I’m honored.” Berwald shyly wraps an arm around his waist.

    “B’t he’s n’t as imp’rtant.” He buries his nose in his hair. Lukas starts rocking them slightly, knowing it will help his love calm down. “Tack.” When he’s settled down a bit more, he goes to a jewelry display. He picks out a golden seahorse hair clip, and an intricate octopus choker made to look like a baby octopus is clinging onto the neck. Its eyes are made of purple sapphire, and the tentacles are carved silver. He determines they’re perfect for Lukas, therefore he’s getting them.

    “Mathias. Decide on one. You can’t take home ten stuffed animals.”

    “But I want them all!” Tino raises his brows. “Please?” He sighs defeatedly.

    “You can get what you can carry. No more.” He’s too lenient. But seeing his smile is more than worth it.

    “Oh! And I picked out a shark tooth necklace for you! I saw you looking at them.” He flushes a bit. “I noticed you didn’t actually get one, so I thought I would make it special.” He holds out one of them shyly. Tino carefully takes it then pulls him in for a kiss, causing him to drop his armful of plushies. “And this pretty violet shark is for you! It’s exactly the shade of your eyes.”

    Emil groans loudly when Lovino wraps an alligator plush around his neck. “Absolutely not. You are not getting that. Don’t make me deal with it.” Lovino chuckles, putting it back.

    “I was joking anyway. I really want this.” He holds up a Love Pearl kit. “I was hoping we could pick one out for each other.” Emil’s face softens. “This isn’t because I like the idea! I just thought you might.” He blushes hard. “And I picked out a dragon for you too. Because the bastards remind me of you. Fiery and protective.” Emil hugs him tightly.

    “I picked out a jellyfish plush for you. They remind me of you. Dangerous if not handled with care.” Lovino’s face rivals a tomato now. Emil kisses both of his cheeks, then starts going through the Love Pearl collection.

    As they leave, they discuss how they weren’t kicked out, despite being a bit rowdy at points. When they make it back home, they break off into couples. Berwald puts the jewelry on Lukas excitedly, smiling at how amazing he looks in it. Mathias insists on putting Tino’s necklace on him, and purposefully drops it down his shirt so he can fetch it. Lovino and Emil open their Love Pearls, both complaining about the process and the necklaces they chose for each other; a unicorn for Lovino, and a flamingo for Emil. Lovino gets a white pearl for health, and Emil gets a cream pearl for happiness. They all agree they had a wonderful day.