"It's simple, we have each other's backs."
In those seven words, Christopher Meloni captured the intensity of his decades-long bond with Mariska Hargitay, his Law & Order: SVU costar.
Partnered together onscreen as detectives Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson when the procedural debuted on NBC in 1999, the pair formed an immediate connection that would cause many viewers to root for the characters to get together (even though, you know, he was married with children).
"It happened at the screen test," Meloni explained of their instant chemistry, telling People they "walked into the screen test, me telling her a story, and we get up onstage in front of all the suits, and we're just so engaged."
Now, 10 years after Meloni's abrupt exit from the series, Stabler and Benson are reuniting onscreen for the first time in the network's major crossover event to kick off his spinoff, Law & Order: Organized Crime.
While the former partners parted on shaky terms, their IRL counterparts maintained a close friendship that eased the pain of Stabler and Benson's separation for the devoted SVU fanbase.
And because of their closeness, returning to their rapport as one of TV's most beloved teammates was "Pavlovian: Ring that bell, and you get right into Stabler and Benson," Meloni told People.
Added Hargitay, 57, "There was so much shorthand between us, which all goes back to the trust we have. He's always made me feel like I could just jump off the ledge, the cliff, the bridge, and he would catch me, in so many ways, whether it was comedy or acting or friendship."
That friendship dates back to that 1999 audition.
Hargitay was up against Samantha Mathis and Reiko Aylesworth for the part of Olivia, while Meloni's competition was Tim Matheson, John Slattery and Nick Chinlund. And Hargitay didn't actually expect to see Meloni when she walked in for her final audition.
"I walked in, she turns around and goes, 'Slattery!' I go, 'No, Meloni!'" the 59-year-old revealed to People.
But after the duo performed their screen-test, series creator Dick Wolf immediately said, "Oh well, there's no doubt who we should choose."
Hargitay also felt that immediate chemistry, telling People, "I walked in, saw him, and I went, 'That guy. That's the guy.' It went deep, very fast. We both knew that it was something big.
She continued, "I won't say that I fully understood it, but I knew that meeting him was important and life-changing. My father [Mickey Hargitay], my husband [Peter Hermann], Dick Wolf and Chris are the four pillar men in my life. And that happened early."
That level of connection is rare and the stars are well aware of how special it is.
"We've said it's like we don't have this relationship with anyone else," Meloni explained to Entertainment Tonight. "It's unique, it's full of laughter, she's full of love. We just kind of fall seamlessly into that place every time we see each other."
It's also why Hargitay was "devastated" when Meloni shockingly left the show in 2011 after contract negotiations fell apart.
"I was just so sad, because we started this thing and built it together, and we went through so many milestones and spent so much time together and understood so many things that nobody else could understand," she told People. "I had to do so many mental gymnastics and sort of do a reinvention in my own mind, which of course turned out to be a gift, as any sort of growth is. But I was scared; I was sad."
Hargitay remained on the show, with Olivia going from detective to captain and in 2019, SVU became the longest-running drama series in TV history.
Still, despite his dramatic departure, the pair stayed connected. (Hargitay is even the godmother to Meloni's now-19-year-old daughter Sophia.)
But the loyal SVU audience never really recovered from Stabler's exit and the loss of the partners' dynamic. And every time Hargitay or Meloni posted a photo from one of their many get-togethers over the years, fans got their hopes up for his return to the precinct.
"In television, when somebody leaves, obviously there's a grieving period, but the fans never moved on," Hargitay explained to People. "And I think that is just so incredibly beautiful and so incredibly powerful."
Now, after a decade of disappointment, the fans will finally see Stabler and Benson reunite and it wasn't just the viewers longing for this moment years in the making.
"It was this thing that I had really dreamed about," Hargitay admitted.
Ahead of their onscreen reunion, look back on all of Meloni and Hargitay's IRL hangs over the years...
Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni wake up early to promote a new season of their Law & Order shows on NBC's Today show.
Before announcing one of the biggest winners of the night, the 2022 Emmys presenters have a little fun onstage at the Microsoft Theatre.
The Law & Order: SVU stars stop by the Backstage Creations giving suite at the 2022 Emmys, where they have some fun dressing up in their comfortable Spirit Hoods.
"Sunday night dinner," Mariska shared alongside a selfie of her and Chris, who she starred with on Law & Order: SVU for 12 seasons before the actor left the series in 2011.
Hargitay posed this snap with her bestie while on vacation in December 2018 and we're obsessed. "Vacay...A great night with this one. #Reunited #OldFriends #PTL," she captioned it.
In May 2018, Meloni and Hargitay hung out together in New York City and of course they documented it...thank goodness.
"Crazy ppl on the streets of nyc," Meloni captioned this selfie fail and seriously, how can you not just love these two together?
Blurry or not, this snap of the two former Law & Order: Special Victims Unit co-stars spending time together during the holidays in 2017 is too cute.
After Thanksgiving in 2017, the two pals ran into one another and clearly they still have fun no matter what the occasion.
Ugh, how do we get Detective Stabler to give us a smooch?
Hargitay shared this sweet snap in honor of her former TV partner's birthday in April 2017 and said "PFL" at the end of the note and we're dying a little inside because Stabler and Benson are partners for life!
"And then that happened...Just when I thought Valentine's Day was over," Hargitay wrote alongside this kissing picture from Valentine's Day in 2017 and we are again getting teary-eyed at these two loving each other so much.
In 2016, the former TV partners and real-life friends celebrated Christmas together (well, a few days early) and we are in desperate need of an on-screen reunion now.
"Lean on me #PFL #FacialHairDontCare #Hargoatee #HanginWithAFriend #ItsAllInTheEyesKid," Hargitay wrote on this precious picture and we will never get tired of these quick reunions.
In 2015, in the dark of night, New York City's greatest detectives, err, we mean friends, reunited once again and posed for an epic photo.
It doesn't matter how long these two are apart, they always make time to check in with each other and we are totally on board with all the run-ins that have happened over the past few years.
In March 2014, the duo reunited for dinner proving that they will always be partners, even if they aren't acting alongside one another anymore.
Be sure to catch the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Organized Crime crossover event on Thursday, April 1 on NBC.
Binge past episodes of Law & Order: SVU on Peacock.
(E!, NBC and Peacock are all part of the NBCUniversal family.)