A/N: This is just little fluffy (maybe smutty in the future) one-shots featuring the first times in the Barson relationship. I also need a break from all the angst and violence and gore I like to write about. I hope you guys like this! I don't own svu or its characters. Enjoy!

"Are you jealous?"

Rafael nearly scoffed at the suggestion, but the way he avoided her eyes and studied his menu with feigned interest was all the answer she needed to confirm her suspicion.

Liv stared at him, a small smile on her face as he blew air out of his mouth and his nostrils flared. She could see his eyes darting around the plastic menu, not focusing on anything in particular. He tried, though, to make it seem like he'd actually been reading the words in front of him, when he pointed out the Cajun Shrimp dish.

Liv suppressed a chuckle, seeing that he remembered he hated shrimp and was now berating himself for picking that off the tons of other items on the menu to act interested in. She plucked up her glass of wine on the table and sipped, finding him utterly adorable in that moment.

She was also a little surprised. Rafael didn't strike her as the jealous type. Plenty of times he had been around when men had shown interest in her. Asking for her number, making a passing comment on how beautiful she was, or even just blatantly staring at her chest or admiring her from behind. He always seemed to find it amusing when she became annoyed easily by their oogling.

But this time, he looked a little…pissed? That wasn't quite the word. He was definitely taken aback by the comment that fell from the waiter's mouth, and the frown that replaced his smile just a second before was accompanied by narrowed eyes. She had caught all of this while she was trying to gently ward off the man, who was supposed to be refilling their wine instead of hitting on her. She bit back a small, satisfied smirk as she thanked him and sent him on his way.

"I can't believe you're jealous," she chuckled, cradling her chin in her hand as he looked up and glared at her.

"I am not jealous."

"Yes, you are."

"I have no reason to be," he countered, flipping the page of the menu back to the beginning for the fifth time in less than three minutes. He waited another minute and then snapped his menu closed when he felt her eyes on his face.

"Why would I be jealous?"

"Because our waiter asked me out on a date."

He reached forward and sipped from his own glass of scotch, looking around at the crowded restaurant, "He did? I didn't notice."

Liv laughed and reached across the table, fingers brushing the back of his hand. The sensation of his skin against hers was…relatively new. They'd briefly touched hands before at work. Passing files back and forth, handing over lattes or even shaking hands when they needed to appear professional in front of superiors at a meeting.

But that was always related to work. This was entirely new. She was touching his hand in a way that signified a shift in their relationship. She licked her lips, trying to steer her mind away from such deep thoughts. This was their first date and she wanted to have fun. She could save those thoughts for later on tonight, when she was alone in her bed after what she just knew was going to be one of the best dates of her life.

"You're cute when you're avoiding the truth."

He narrowed his eyes at her over his glass and set it down, but he didn't move the hand that had her fingertips tracing the lines of his veins. "I'm not jealous. He just needs to be focusing on his job more than hitting on women who are obviously on dates with other men."

Rafael hated that his voice grew short and snippy as the sentence went on, but he couldn't help it. Ok, he was jealous, and Liv knew that, but he was hesitant to admit that out loud.

It was a new feeling for him. Jealousy had never been part of any relationship he had in the past. Only once before, way back when he was dating Yelina, and she would laugh harder at Alex's jokes more than his, or sit next to him when the three of them went out to eat instead of by him. But, he had been a teenager back then, head over heels for a girl that was going to break his heart just two weeks shy of high school graduation.

It was a feeling he didn't like. He thought it made people appear insecure, which he was, and pathetic, which he tried not to be, and desperate, which he definitely was not, and he never wanted to be that guy. And for the most part, in all of his relationship since Yelina, he hadn't been.

He supposed that could have been because every relationship he had since then wasn't serious. It never lasted more than six months, and the majority of the time, he was miserable with them because they were exactly like him. Cold workaholics who drank too much and liked to win and make money and show off their fancy clothes and go yachting on the weekends so they could schmooze with those asshole rich kids they went to school with.

Feeling jealousy on a date was new and surprising to him, but he surmised it was different this time. He was with his best friend, on their first official date. They weren't here as friends. They were here as two people who had romantic feelings for each other, and perhaps that's why the tall, handsome, waiter that blatantly hit on her right in front of him got to him so bad.

She was with him. It was obvious. It should appear obvious, anyway. Of course, all the other times before this when they had sat at Forlini's and went over files, and even after he left the D.A.'s, just caught up three times a week, that never stopped men from trying swoop in and make a move. It didn't bother him then, despite the fact that he was fully aware he was in love with her. But he hadn't been with her, like he was with her now.

"So, what if I am a little jealous," he finally conceded, feeling his cheeks burning. Liv looked a little victorious when he said it, but he would give her that. She called him on it as soon as she saw it because she knew him better than anyone.

"I can't help it. I finally get you out on a date and some guy tries to cut in? I don't think so."

Liv shook her head, grin still plastered on her face, even when the waiter came back and gave her his full attention. Liv stopped tracing the top of his hand, and instead, grabbed his hand, making it clear to the man that was taking their orders that she was on a date. He took the hint and stepped back, his suddenly warm and too friendly demeanor replaced by professionalism.

When he left, Liv looked at Rafael and tugged on his hand, "You have no reason to be jealous. Trust me. I've been waiting for this to happen for a while, and some guy in ill-fitting slacks isn't going to take me away from this. I'm already invested."

Just like that, a weight lifted off his chest and he felt the jealousy drifting away with it. He cupped her hand, thumb tracing over her knuckles as they gazed at each other. "Good, because I am, too."

It was only an hour and a half later, when they were leaving, that the script had flipped completely.

The restaurant he had taken her to was fancy enough that they had a coat check-in, and it being almost April in the city, meant that coats were still very much needed. As they waited, Liv had been texting away on her phone, telling Lucy she was going to be there in less than fifteen. She was eager to get out of the dress and heels and get to sleep, despite wanting to spend more time with Rafael. She had to go in to work for a half-day, but she had made plans to meet him at the park with Noah, and spend the entire rest of the day with the both of them.

As soon as she dropped her phone back in her purse, she looked around from her position in the small line at the checkout counter and spotted Rafael stuck by the hostess stand, a petite blonde woman had her hand on his bicep, smiling flirtatiously at him. He looked uncomfortable, his feet shifting away from her as he caught her eye and a quirked eyebrow.

Liv had joked on him a lot earlier for that little jealous streak he had with the waiter. She thought it cute that he didn't want to admit it, and she appreciated the gesture, she did, even though a few minutes later she admitted to finding it a little sexy that he got all ruffled when the man continued looking down her dress every time he came back to check on them.

She felt a little flair of her own irrational jealousy flair up and she quickly checked both of their coats out, handing the ticket to the woman and snatching them from her hand. She quickly crossed the short space stopped right in front of them, winking at Rafael's relieved expression.

"Here's your coat, honey."

She would laugh later at the look on Rafael's face and the way his cheeks grew a little red. Now, she fake smiled at the woman, who had backed up considerably and was acting as if she had somewhere to be. She excused herself and they took the opportunity to finally leave the restaurant.

"Are you jealous?"

Liv rolled her eyes, hearing her words thrown right back at her face, but she didn't deny them. She merely shrugged her shoulders and laced her arm through his, leaning into his side as the made the short walk back to her apartment.

"So, what if I am?"