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Post Meridiem (7014 words) by cypress_tree
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Law & Order: SVU
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Characters: Rafael Barba, Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Additional Tags: 5 Times, Hurt/Comfort, First Time, Literal Sleeping Together, but also sex
Summary:

Five times Rafael went to bed alone, and one time he went to bed with Sonny.

The 5 + 1 format is just an excuse to explore the growing relationship between Rafael and Sonny. The scenes show us snapshots of their progress, and the tenderness between them is palpable at every step.

I love the ending, the fact that they understand that the best way to resolve a misunderstanding is to actually sit down and talk. Wonderful.

So Far In A Few Blocks (45184 words) by PhillyStrega
Chapters: 5/5
Fandom: Law & Order: SVU
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Characters: Rafael Barba, Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr., Bella Carisi, Teresa Carisi, Amanda Rollins, Olivia Benson
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Bakery, some talk of homophobia, Family Drama
Summary:

“See anything you like?”

The guy who’d been charming Amaro now seems to have focused his energies on Rafael. He’s draped himself along the top of the pastry case, long arms crossed and fingers tapping at the glass. Even with the smattering of gray at his temples he looks too young and too self assured. Embroidery on the breast of the pale pink apron he wears over his dark blue button up announces him as ‘Sonny.’ Which. Yes, that fits.

“Just looking,” Rafael quips. “I’ll take a coffee if you sell any to go with your small mountains of sugar.”

Sonny looks concerned and then says, “this is a bakery,” like he’s seriously thinking Rafael somehow missed that. “Sugar is kind of our thing.”

An AU where Sonny runs his family's bakery and neither he nor Barba are very good at letting themselves have what they want. Maybe they can figure that one out together.

Rec:

Lots of banter and lots of tender moments in this story. Because they're not working together, Rafael and Sonny's relationship moves relatively normally, until all the drama hits. Italian families, you know? ;)

I love their moments together, and the care and love they have and show for each other. I'm extremely picky about my coffee shops AUs, and this one is one of the best.

A Flawed Mosaic (41578 words) by AHumanFemale
Chapters: 8/8
Fandom: Law & Order: SVU
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Characters: Rafael Barba, Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr., mentions of other characters
Additional Tags: Amnesia AU, bottle episode, Not Medically Accurate, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Angst, Slow Burn, the slowest burn i have ever written, bed sharing, Wedding Drama, Dancing, Kissing, teases at smut
Summary:

“You’re Rafael Barba. Assistant District Attorney for Manhattan,” he answered and Rafael let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. At least until Carisi smiled so wide and happy and added, “My husband.”

The words were so alien to him that he honestly couldn’t respond for a second, just kept staring at Carisi’s happy face and at the stitches in his head while he saw flashes of blood on the car window. He couldn’t imagine his expression but knew it was something less than comforting as he watched Carisi’s face fall, his eyebrows draw together.

“What?” Carisi asked finally, eyes flitting to the nurse still hovering in the corner of the room. “What’s the matter?”

--

[Or, Carisi gets amnesia and believes they're married and Rafael has to play along... risking his own heart in the process.]

Rec:

This is a wonderful fic featuring my favorite trope: fake boyfriends, only this time, only Rafael is in on the deception, because Sonny genuinely believes they are together.

I love the overall domesticity of that fic, of Rafael playing along and discovering the kind of person Sonny is. Without spoiling you, I have to say that I didn't see the twist coming at all!

All My Todays (1727 words) by surrenderdammit
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Law & Order: SVU
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Age Difference, Short One Shot
Summary:

Who would've thought? Rafael Barba has a Soulmate.

Rec:

This is a mixture of Groundhog Day and Soulmates tropes, where people who come close to meeting their soulmates repeat the day over and over until they actually meet them. It's only Rafael's luck that it is the day he ran out of coffee...

A very short fic, but funny and sweet.

The Nature of Things (44537 words) by greygerbil
Chapters: 13/13
Fandom: Law & Order: SVU
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Characters: Rafael Barba, Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr., Amanda Rollins, Olivia Benson, Odafin "Fin" Tutuola
Additional Tags: A/B/O, Canon-typical discussions of sexual abuse
Summary:

When the young alpha Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr. joins the Manhattan SVU, he is excited to get to meet Rafael Barba, who is somewhat infamous for being the only omega A.D.A. in the U.S. so far to work with a sex crimes unit. Sadly, Sonny does not leave the best first impression, but during the investigation of a serial killer case, Sonny and Rafael start to work more closely together and Rafael might find out that he judged Sonny too harshly at first.

Rec:

So A/B/O is not really my thing, but I've read a couple of this fandom that I really like. The Nature of Things is one of them.

I love how neither Sonny nor Rafael let themselves be defined by their inner nature, how they insist on taking their own path, despite society's prejudices.

An excellent fic, that you should try even if the trope is not your cuppa.

In Vino Veritas (13551 words) by etothepii
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Law & Order: SVU
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Characters: Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Additional Tags: Internalized Homophobia, First Time, Drinking
Summary:

“Hey,” Sonny said during a lull in the day when it seemed like a good idea to ask the question he'd been pondering for a while now. “If two dudes get married, like, to each other. How many bachelor's parties do they throw?”

Rollins shot him an annoyed look from her desk. “What's that supposed to mean?”

He matched her look. “What do you mean, what's that supposed to mean? It means exactly what it sounds like. If two dudes get gay married, how many bachelor's parties do they throw?”

(As it turned out, the answer was two, but held at the same time so that one bachelor's party could crash the venue of the other one.)

Also known as: Sonny Carisi's Life, as Told Through Binge Drinking.

Rec:

This was the first fic I chose for this bingo. I was glancing through the tropes, saw "Denial of Feelings", and thought, Oh, In Vino Veritas will be perfect for this.

It's also one of the first fics I read in this fandom, mumble years ago, back when we hadn't even reached 500 fics, and it's one I reread regularly. I love Sonny's cluelessness, and how helping another makes him realize how similar their situation is. I love how Sonny's professional compassion is at the forefront, but that same compassion is utterly lacking in his personal life and spills out in cruelty towards others (Barba, I mean Barba).

A wonderful story of self-discovery and self-acceptance.

Noche Sin Estrella (92608 words) by Lambnoire
Chapters: 15/15
Fandom: Law & Order: SVU
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Characters: Rafael Barba, Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr., Olivia Benson, Amanda Rollins, Odafin "Fin" Tutuola, Ed Tucker, Kim Rollins, Lucia Barba
Additional Tags: Case Fic, Slow Burn, Major Character Injury, References to past cases, Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Summary:

When Rafael Barba is injured during a complicated case, the squad must work quickly to identify the culprit while building up evidence against an abusive father. Meanwhile, Sonny Carisi struggles to come to terms with a realization as he fights not to buckle under the pressure of the investigation.

(Contains canon-level depictions of violence and references to physical and sexual abuse.)

Rec:

Yes, this fic is back! Another classic of this fandom, that the writer had taken down, but she posted it again very recently, so you can now read it if you missed it the first time.

It's got a great plot, around a believable case (by show standard, not reality standard). I love how oblivious Sonny is, how long it takes him to realize that, yes, those are sexy feelings. I love the ensemble cast, all the characters gravitating around our favorite couple.

An excellent story!

Wedding Plans (4982 words) by Kaye_21
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Law & Order: SVU
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Characters: Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr., Rafael Barba
Additional Tags: Fluff, Humor, Tropes, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Pining, Misunderstandings, First Kiss, First Time
Summary:

Barba's ex is getting married, and he needs a date for the wedding.

Sonny agrees to help. For a price.

They both get more than they bargained for.

Rec:

One of the classics of this fandom :)

First, let me tell you that fake boyfriends is one of my favorite tropes. Like, top three. The forced intimacy, the shared guilt? I eat that with a spoon. This fic delivers in spades: Barba needs a date, Carisi needs a lawyer to shadow. A match made in heaven right?

I won't spoil the twist, but let me just say that it had me laugh out loud. I hope you'll find this fic as funny and sexy as I did.

Discovery (3120 words) by MJ
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Law & Order: SVU
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Characters: Rafael Barba, Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Additional Tags: Post-Episode: s19e13 The Undiscovered Country, Rafael is ok, Sonny is ok, Not A Fix-It, First Dates
Summary:

Barba's left the DA's office. Carisi just has to make sure he's okay. There's pizza and a conversation, and a few discoveries about each other. Carmen is mentioned and so are cats.

Rec:

Of course for the Episode Based prompt, I had to go with something based on An Undiscovered Country, as this episode was pretty traumatic to the fandom. This one might just be my favorite.

As a lapsed Catholic with a complicated relationship with the Church myself, I always like seeing Sonny's (and Rafael's) faith discussed, especially in such a nuanced way.

I also love their easy banter and how they negotiate the change in their relationship.

Smile More (5945 words) by LikeABrokenClock
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Law & Order: SVU
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Characters: Rafael Barba, Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Additional Tags: Fluff, Light Angst, Musical References, Pre-Barisi, Get Together, First Date, First Kiss
Summary:

There's a million things Rafael Barba hasn't done, one of which is take Sonny Carisi on a date. (Just you wait.)

Rec:

By pure luck of the draw, I'm reccing the same fic as punk-rock-yuppie, today. Such is life :D

I love when fics have the protagonists stumbling into their first date. Two idiots in love, you know?

This one is also chock-full of Hamilton references, which is a good thing since watching the show has renewed my obsession and I haven't listened to anything else since.

I love the tenderness of this story, the way Sonny soothes Rafael's uncertainties, and how the tables are turned at the end. A lovely fic!