03 | EVERYTHING CHANGES
Fandom: Law & Order: SVU.
Pairing: Nick Amaro x Reader.
Words: 1,967.
Warnings: Mentions of domestic violence.
A/N: English is not my first language, so, sorry if there are grammar mistakes or if the redaction is poor. *Gif is not mine*
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“Detective Nicolas ‘Paranoia’ Amaro”
Nick started to suspect something wasn’t okay in your home when, one day at the same ice cream shop, your phone ranged and the one calling was your husband. You were so nervous when you hanged up and even though you tried to hide the way your hands were shaking, Nick was a detective and he noticed it.
“Are you okay?” He asked you once you went back to your table. It didn’t matter how much he tried to look into your eyes, he couldn’t.
“Yes, I just... I need to go home now, sorry” you said, picking up your purse.
“Hey, calm down. What happened?” He asked, standing up and trying to get closer but you gave a step back.
“Everything’s fine, I didn’t pay attention to the time and it’s late. I have stuff to do” you insisted and looked at him for a couple of seconds.
He saw it. All the fear you were feeling, he could see it in your eyes and even though he knew he shouldn’t have let you drive in that state, you didn’t give him the chance to stop you. When he realized, you were gone.
That was the last time he saw you. You didn’t pick up his calls or answer his texts. He discovered where you lived ‘cause his worry made him track your phone but he never went to talk to you. He didn’t want you to be mad at him because of that.
One day, he saw you in the supermarket but when he was about to walk to you, Sean appeared, so he watched you from the distance. Nick remembered you told him that Sean hated going to the supermarket, so, why he suddenly was there with you? Why were you wearing sunglasses on a cloudy day and inside the supermarket? Why didn’t you look as happy as you looked whenever you two went for ice cream?
“What is going on in that head of yours?” Olivia asked him one day. Everyone in the unit knew something was happening to him, but only his partner dared to ask.
“My paranoia” He simply said and Olivia frowned.
“Look, someone has to go to Heather’s building to ask about her husband, do you want us to go?” She asked, but right away she added: “C’mon, Nick, you need fresh air”
Nick didn’t object, he just stood up, grabbed his suit jacket, and followed her to the exit of the precinct.
“You had followed her?” Olivia asked when he told her about you, but she wasn’t shocked. She knew that was Nick’s way to make sure everything was okay with someone he cared about.
“I just wanted to know if she was fine and… I swear... she doesn’t leave the apartment if he doesn’t go with her” Nick said and his partner could feel all the frustration he was feeling.
“Sure it’s nothing,” Olivia said, trying to help him to calm down “You can’t be there twenty-four seven, Nick. Maybe it’s a coincidence that she goes out with him every time you’re watching”
Nick knew Olivia could be right, but his guts told him otherwise.
“It’s here?” Nick asked once his partner parked in front of their destiny “(Y/n) lives here”
“There you go” Olivia smiled and palmed his arm “You have an excuse to see if your paranoia is right”
They went into the building, they asked in a couple of apartments about your neighbor they were investigating, while you were inside making lunch for you and Sean.
“Good evening” Olivia greeted you when you opened your door “I’m Detective Benson from NYPD, can I ask you some questions?”
“Sorry, I don’t have time,” you said and when you were about to close the door, she put her hand on it.
“Please, it won’t take more than five minutes”
You were about to say “no” again when another person approached your door, and you didn’t know if you were happy or worried about it.
“(Y/n)” Nick said, making his partner turn to him. You tried to smile, but your smile didn’t show up when he looked down at your baby bump.
Everything happened quickly, you heard Detective Benson asking something and then, your husband, Sean, was behind you.
Nick looked at his hand on your arm and how you tensed when he appeared. He noticed the worry in your face that you tried to cover it up quickly.
“Oh, you’re Cesaria’s son,” Sean said, looking at Nick. You never thought he could remember how he looked “The cop… Look, mate, if you’re here for what Heather Smith is saying about Mark, the only thing I have to say is that the bitch is lying”
“The what, excuse me?” Olivia asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Sean chuckled.
“Sorry, but Mark has been my friend since we moved in here and he’s a nice guy,” Sean said.
“A nice guy?” Nick asked, looking at you “Is he?”
“Well, he’s always been nice with us,” you said, nodding and looking at your husband who just squeezed your arm, pulling you closer to him. To Sean, you sounded convincing, but to a pair of elite detectives, you didn’t.
“It’s everything we have to say about it, now, my wife is making us lunch, so, excuse us” Sean smiled and asked you to get inside your apartment. Nick tried to find your eyes before the door was closed, but he couldn’t.
“Cesaria’s son?” Olivia whispered, looking at Nick and grabbing his arm to pull him out of the sight of the peephole.
“I didn’t know she was pregnant” Nick whispered.
And he didn’t know ‘cause you always wore baggy sweaters and jackets whenever you were seeing him and you never talked about it.
“You saw her? How she tensed when he appeared?” he asked, looking at his partner.
“Yeah, I think your paranoia is right,” Olivia said once they started to walk to the exit of the building. “Heather told us Mark has a friend in the building that treats his wife the same way”
“I’m not going to the precinct” Nick shook his head, handing the car keys to his partner “I’m gonna wait outside until he’s gone and I’ll talk to her”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes” Nick nodded and looked at her “I don’t like this”
“I stay with you, partner”
After an hour of waiting, Sean left the building to go to work, so Nick and Olivia waited ten more minutes in case he had forgotten something, but he didn’t come back. So, they got into the elevator and then, knocked on your door.
“(Y/n), it’s me, Nick!”
“You again?” They heard your voice before you opened the door.
Once the door was opened, Nick looked at you and his heart broke ‘cause he knew you were crying seconds before attending them.
“Can we get in?” Nick asked you and even though for a moment you doubted, you moved so they could walk in “How are you?”
“I’m fine” You answered, turning around to turn the t.v off and inviting them to take a seat in the armchair.
“Congratulations” Nick looked at your belly and that made you put one of your hands in it. Suddenly, your baby moved, like if it knew that it was the conversation topic.
“Thanks”
The three people in the room stayed quiet. Olivia didn’t want to ask anything, ‘cause she wanted to give Nick the chance to bring up the subject he wanted to talk about. She was there, only as moral support for his partner.
“Look, earlier I noticed you wanted to say something else about Mark and Heather,” Nick said, trying to be as careful as he could, but you shook your head right away.
“I didn’t” And you added: “As Sean said, Mr. Smith…”
“I know what he said but Heather was in the hospital, you’re saying she did that to herself?”
You have heard about what happened to Heather Smith, the whole building knew she was found unconscious in her apartment by her mother and Mark Smith was nowhere to be found. You’ve been hearing their arguments since you moved in there and you knew what she used to pass through ‘cause you’ve been there too. But Sean told you it’s none of your business, so, you took your gaze anywhere but Nick’s eyes. You knew you couldn’t lie to him if his brown eyes were looking at yours.
“I haven’t heard anything” You shrugged “Why don’t you ask someone else?”
“That’s the thing, (Y/n)” Olivia got into the conversation and hearing her voice made you turned to her. Nick’s attention went into your apartment and how it looked “All the people we asked said Mark was always screaming to Heather. You live in front of them, you should have heard something”
“Well, I didn’t”
“Why are you protecting him?” Nick asked, looking at you again.
“I’m not protecting anyone” you sighed “If people told you they heard things, you don’t need me for your case”
“Yes, the people in this building hear a lot of things” he repeated and you knew exactly what he meant. If your neighbors heard Mark screaming to Heather, sure they have heard Sean screaming at you. “What happened to your wall?” he pointed, but you didn’t turn ‘cause you knew which wall he meant.
“I don’t know; it has always been like that” you lied.
“And that portrait?” Nick pointed to a broken portrait in the coffee table.
“It fell”
“Do you remember the first time I saw you in the supermarket? You had a bruise in your eye, you remember what you told me it happened?”
“Yes, I do” The truth is that you didn’t, so you stood up to go to the table to take the dirty dishes to the kitchen, but he followed you.
“What did you tell me?”
“Nick…” Olivia tried to stop him, but he ignored her.
“What are you trying to do?” You turned to him, trying to stay calmed and keep your posture.
“I’m trying to help you” but he didn’t say it as calmed as you were. He was like, begging you to talk so he could take you out of that hell.
But you chuckled “I’m fine, I don’t need your help” and turned back to the table.
“Your shoulder doesn’t say the same”
You pulled your sweater back up trying to cover what they already saw. “That was an accident”
“An accident? Like the accidents your mother used to have when John was alive?” He asked, trying to stand in front of you to look for your gaze “You left New York ‘cause you said you didn’t want to become like your mother and you know who I see when I look at you now? I see her in you”
“You need to leave, now.” You said looking at him. Your eyes were getting cloudy but you were not sad. You were pissed and it wasn’t even with Nick.
You were pissed because you couldn’t answer back Sean the same way you do with Nick. Because you didn’t have enough courage to pick your things up and leave him. You were pissed with yourself because Nick was right. You became your mother.
“(Y/n), please, let me…”
“If you came here to make me talk shit about my husband, then you’re not getting anything. I’m fine” you insisted but he didn’t move an inch.
“I can arrest him right now…”
“No, you won’t!” you shook your head and look at Detective Benson “I’m not pressing charges, without a victim you don’t have a case so, now, leave my house”
“We need to go, Nick,” Olivia said, grabbing her partner’s arm and pushing him to walk out of your apartment.
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