No Strings

Chapter 1

It was the middle of August, and the heat of New York hit you like a sauna as you stepped out onto the street, thankful that despite it being kind of a work gathering, you'd opted for fitted dress shorts. At least the tank top you chose was buttoned and collared, makeup and hair fresh after the day spent with friends out in the city. Luckily the humid evening made for a pleasant walk down to the bar; it was some lawyer's birthday, Trevor? You thought his name was, a casual night some of the squad had invited you to join that you'd happily accepted. You had been at SVU for nearly 10 months now, but was still labelled the "new girl" and wanted to make sure you showed the support to the squad both in AND outside of work.

Pushing the door to the pub, distracted, replying to a couple of texts on your phone as you headed up to the bar, tossing down your card & waiting for the bartender. As you leaned over, smiling to greet them was when you gained attention from the A.D.A. you DID know, who, used to only seeing you in dress clothes, hair neatly tied back, in professional mode, tried to hide his gaze as his eyes wandered up your curves exposed to the humid August night. He certainly wasn't used to this feeling, and he definitely felt the blood rushing to a work inappropriate area.The two of you had worked lots of cases over the time you'd spent at SVU many involving long office hours, long nights playfully (and sometimes not so playfully) bickering back and fourth. Completely professional, but you had gotten along, friends even, you may have been new, but you were smart, quick witted, and had a fire behind your eyes that he definitely wanted to see more of.

"Double Lagavulin, 2 cubes, please. Can you keep the tab open?" You said sweetly, smiling at the bartender as he nodded, pouring your scotch before you spotted Olivia, heading over to her table to join in on the festivities. Luckily, despite her being the Sergeant, she'd been quick to take Y/N under her wing, especially outside work since they had some similar personal history.

"Hey" Liv greeted warmly, "What is this, casual Friday?" She laughed.

"Wow Sarge...." Y/N retorted, laughing herself, "I was out with friends, and it's a million degrees out there. Give a girl a chance to not wear business attire and she's gonna!" Smiling as you took a generous sip of your drink, you noticed Barba seemed quiet, strangely out of character. "What? Ya' never seen a girl drink a scotch before?" You gave him a little nudge, breaking him out of his trance. He shook his head, exhaling a laugh as he rolled his eyes playfully.

"Just never thought you'd be the one drinking it" He replied, taking a sip of his own. He looked nice tonight, still the put together man you knew from work, but simply in a dress shirt, unbuttoned a few buttons, sleeves rolled up already to combat the heat. You had to admit, you did miss the suspenders, but this casual Barba was something you could definitely appreciate.

"You think just 'cuz I'm the newest on the squad and I'm a girl I'd rather a cosmopolitan?" You quirked an eyebrow.

"A Cosmo? Hmm...no, definitely not...." He paused, thinking, "Long Island, vodka cran maybe..." You threw back a laugh,

"Barba please, you know Y/L/N's a not like that, she's proven that over her time at SVU, let her drink her scotch in peace." Olivia laughed from beside you. You gave Barba a wink as an unfamiliar man joined the table. "Y/L/N, This is Trevor Langan!" She introduced you.

"Hi! Happy Birthday!" You exclaimed as you shook his hand, "Glad I could finally meet you." He turned to Liv, offering to buy her a drink, and the two of them disappeared to the bar. A moment passed before the man next to you nudged your arm, bringing you back to reality.