A/N: Hello, long time no see. This story is also available on ao3 under the same title. I am really into SVU these days, so I'll be updating daily. Hope you like it. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Law and Order: SVU or any of its characters.

He remembers why he hates this neighborhood. Filth and garbage on the streets, hobo fires burning, everyone looking shady as hell - it was no place for a body to live in. He had survived worse though. So had his childhood friend Emanuel, on whose urgent request Rafael had set foot into the worst part of Queens. The situation was tricky but Rafael was sure he could save his friend's neck. His major concern at the moment was finding a cab back home.
'Perfect timing for my phone's battery to die', he thought.
Could have called an Uber then. He thought it unlikely that he would find a taxi at the witching hour with a driver who wouldn't rob him. Just as he thought of trouble, trouble walked towards him with its head bowed, eyes staring.
Rafael sighed and raised his hands as the hooded man held him at knife point.

"Take it easy"
"Shut up", the guy growled, "Gimme your wallet and your watch. Right now!"
"You don't have to shout"
Rafael retrieved his wallet, slowly and with his eye on the assailant. The man had such restless eyes.
"You got a pocket watch too, right?"
Rafael stopped halfway in getting his wrist watch off.
"What?"
"I bet it's gold. Give it to me"
"Why would I have a pocket watch? I am giving you my wrist watch"
"Shut up!", the guy held the knife to his throat, "Gimme your pocket watch"
Rafael asked, his tone nothing but condescending,
"Did you just snort a line or something? Either that or you're quite stupid. Why would I carry two watches?"
Any further harm was prevented by a woman's yelling. She pointed her gun at the guy and shouted,
"NYPD! DROP YOUR WEAPON! DROP IT RIGHT NOW!"
The guy took his chances with running away, without any of Barba's belongings.

Rafael was relieved to see the man disappear into the dark alleys. He turned to the woman.
"Officer, I tha..."
She was shaking. The adrenaline was making her quake like a tong. Barba asked,
"Are you all right? Officer?"
She informed him,
"I am not a cop"
He stopped short of reaching her, scrutinizing the gun she held in her shaking hands. If his new friend had stopped to take a look at the copper's gun, he would have eaten his shoe. The woman had just saved ADA Rafael Barba by brandishing a hairbrush as a gun. Rafael would have laughed if she weren't in such a state.
"It's okay. He's gone. Calm down", he tried.
He lowered her hairbrush-holding hands. She was breathing through her mouth.
"Oh god. I could have shot him", her words were a whisper.
Rafael controlled the urge to laugh again.
"You couldn't have. It's a hairbrush. Not that it wasn't used to its full potential"
The woman looked down at her hands and the hairbrush. It was clear that Barba's savior had suffered a shock, however mild.
"Let's get you home", he offered, "Where do you live?"
"C-couple of blocks away. I'm fine. I can go by myself"
"No, you helped me. I must see you get home safe. Come"
As he laid an arm across her shoulders, drawing her close to provide support, a thrill coursed through Rafael. The moonlight fell on the side of her face. It showed to him the pretty, albeit excited, specimen of a woman. He joked on removing his arm from her shoulders.
"If it's a long walk, you might need to wield that hairbrush again"
"Saved"
"What?"
Her eyes fixated on his face. She spoke,
"I saved you, didn't just help you"
"Ah", he said, "Semantics"
"Not at all. And what were you thinking, calling the guy stupid and all?"
"I'm just having a bad day, I guess"
"And the right person to take that out on is the guy mugging you, of course"
The roll of her eyes preceded Rafael's smirk. He enjoyed banter. The woman did not wait for his repartee though.
"Who walks through Queens alone at night, dressed like this?", she eyed his expensive coat and shoes, "Is it your first time here?"
"Not really", he was curious, "Do you always walk alone through here at midnight?"
"No", she looked away, "It's my first time"
After taking a right turn together, she gave him her hand.
"Annie. You are?"
He shook it,
"Rafael"
Annie smiled, oblivious to how much the sight fascinated him. She pronounced it like the Spanish do.
"Rafael - that's a nice name. Strong, traditional"
"Thank you"
They walked some more steps. He couldn't stop himself from asking,
"So what do you do, other than moonlighting as the dark knight in Queens?"
"I work in publishing. Fiction, mostly. What do you do, Rafael?"
Hearing his name in her voice soothed him, made him feel lighter. He said with a smile,
"I'm an attorney"
"Figures", she grinned, "I could tell from that suit that you weren't exactly blue collar"
The grin reached him too.
"I actually work for the District Attorney's office"
"Interesting. So you put the bad guys in, not bail them out?"
"Basically"
"That's nice"
They stopped before a house without a gate, Annie turning to Rafael. She seemed better.
"Well, thank you for walking me home"
"It was the least I could do. Thank you"
"No prob..."
Interrupting their conversation, the house's door burst open and an old lady almost came sprinting to Annie.
"Where have you been?! We were so worried! I've been looking out the window for an hour! Your Uncle was getting ready to go out and look for you"
Without any pretense of decorum, she looked at Rafael from top to toe and asked Annie,
"Who's the handsome fella? Were you out to meet him?"
Rafael tried not to chuckle at Annie's embarrassment.
"Aunt June, stop it. This is Rafael. He was just walking me home"
"After she", Rafael cleared his throat when Annie pinched his hand, "She was... helping me find a cab"
"Rafael, huh?", Aunt June's chubby cheeks had adorable dimples in them, "Cómo estás?"
"Muy bien, senora", he smiled.
The old man approaching the trio had to be Annie's aforementioned uncle.
"Where have you been gone to, kiddo? Your Aunt was so worried about you!"
Like wife, like husband.
"And who's this?"
Aunt June chirped,
"That's Rafael. He was just 'walking her home', dear"
"Guys, if you could not be yourself for a minute", Annie said, "He needs a taxi. Right?"
Rafael nodded,
"Yes, I do"
The uncle said,
"I drive one for a living. I'll drop ya. Upper East Side, is it?"
Annie warned him,
"Uncle Mick"
Rafael looked from one face to another. He had never thought his night would turn out so. It was a surprise he soon came to be glad for.

A day passed but Rafael couldn't get Annie and her hairbrush out of his mind. She seemed... fascinating. He wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to know why she was walking back home at midnight, why she lived with her Uncle and Aunt, why her eyes lit up so much that the stars were jealous. He wanted to walk her home again.
'Screwed'
Admitting he had a crush on his shaky little savior was easy to do. Getting her to meet him again - that was the puzzle.

"You have to come over right away. Oh Annie, they are so beautiful!"
Annie smiled and held the phone to her left ear,
"Slow down, Aunt June. Who are they from? Is there a card?"
"Yes", came the reply, "You want me to read it to you?"
"Yes please"
Aunt June read,
"Annie, I am sending you a cliche in floral form as a token of my appreciation. I'd like to thank you properly. Allow me to do so at your convenience. Yours, Rafael"
Heartbeats quickened. Joy intensified. Annie was speechless.
"And then he's written his number. He wrote 'Yours, Rafael' - what a sweet young man. Oh Annie, please call him!"
"I will", she confirmed.
Once her heart stopped racing at the thought of the handsome attorney, Annie asked her Aunt June for the number and dialed it.