The front door to the silent apartment opened. Carisi stepped in, taking notice of the dimly lit place, only the glow of the somewhat silent television illuminating the space. He closed the door and set his briefcase down on the floor. He took in a deep breath and exhaled, feeling exhausted from yet another trial and loads of paperwork. He was happy to be home finally, to be home with you.

It had only been a year, but he was now an Assistant District Attorney for Manhattan SVU. He would occasionally miss being a detective, especially being your partner. He got to see you more, and that was everything to him. Lately though, he gradually got to see you less. Sure, he would still pop up at SVU to get a read into the current case. He got to see the team, you.. but it just wasn’t the same. He felt guilty a lot, knowing work was taking a toll on both of your lives.

With his work as a prosecutor and your work as a detective, work seemed to come first most of the time. Whether he was in the courthouse all day or Captain Olivia Benson was calling your phone during the middle of the night for a potential case, you two barely saw each other.

During his days as a detective, he had the biggest crush on you. He kept it hidden, but sometimes it would show. His eyes would instantly light up whenever he was near you. He kept these feelings hidden for years— even dated someone else for a while, but those feelings never went away. He could only ever love you.

And after some time, you reciprocated those same feelings, and before his last days of being a detective, you both shared a kiss at a charity event the NYPD was holding one night.

Right now, you two shared an apartment. After slipping off his shoes and hanging up his coat on a nearby coat rack, he glanced over at the couch, seeing your sleeping form lying down. A soft smile happened to appear on his face. He assumed you fell asleep on the couch while waiting for him to come home. That had been true— you only liked sleeping in bed when he was right there next to you.

He walked over to the couch and crouched down, his eyes roaming over your every feature. He couldn’t help but stare. He loved every part of you. He raised his hand a little and gently moved a strand of hair away from your face. After a long day of being a prosecutor, this is exactly what he needed— you.