Rafael was sweating, which was insane for May 11th. Yet here he was, sitting outside on Columbia's lawn, with the sun beating down. Gabriela was graduating from Columbia today, and seven weeks ago, Rafael never imagined himself attending graduation, or dating one of he graduates, or being here with Sonny of all people. But then, he met a girl in a bar, and everything changed.

"That poor kid should have been walking with them today if somebody hadn't cut his boys off," Sonny commented. Him and Gabriela's friend were going steady, a phrase which Rafael was embarrassed he used even if he didn't say it out loud. Since both were obviously not going to sit with their partner's family, it made since that the two would sit together. Rafael wasn't unconvinced he might kill Sonny during the ceremony. Of course, the two dressed in completely polar opposite attire: Rafael in a full suit, the coat slung over the back of the chair, and Sonny in jeans and a polo shirt. This was a look Rafael had never seen from Sonny, but it was a weekend and his day off, so he didn't exactly have to dress to impress. Rafael, on the other hand, chose to do exactly that.

"Detective, do you really think this is the best time to talk about a case, especially one so sensitive to the crowd around us?"

"Sorry. Just thinking out loud. You really gonna call me detective?"

"Would you rather I call you Dominic? or maybe Junior would be more suitable?"

"Hey, alright, counselor. Detective will work just fine."

The names were being called out painstakingly slowly and Rafael didn't know how much more of this he could take. Also, the flowers he brought for her were sure to wilt in this heat. The speaker was a big film director with generic, nondescript advice, and the students who spoke were abysmal, except for Gabriela's speech, which was quite good. Not like he was biased towards his girlfriend or anything. Not like he listened to her practice it over and over again, pacing back and forth in his apartment.

Finally, Gabriela's name was called, and she walked across the stage, beaming with pride as she shook the president of the college's hand and took her degree. Rafael and Sonny stood up and clapped, and Rafael couldn't be more proud of his girlfriend. Also, he was no longer dating a college student, which put him at ease.

After all of the names were called, the graduates descended onto the lawn to celebrate with friends and family. Rafael stayed on the fringe of the crowd, feeling very old compared to all of the kids running around, newly graduated college. Sonny was much closer to their age than he was, and even he seemed to be out of place.

"Hey! There she is. Gabriela Martinez, college graduate." Sonny congratulated as Gabriela approached the two men. "Congrats, kid."

Thanks, Sonny. Hey, Maddie's just over there with her sorority sisters." Gabriela offered as Rafael wrapped an arm around her and Gabriela reciprocated.

"Why don't you go find her, detective?" Rafael asked, looking at Gabriela as he spoke.

"Yeah, alright, alright, I get the message. I'll see you two lovebirds later." Sonny said as he walked away.

"Congratulations," Rafael said to her. He handed her the flowers and kissed her cheek.

"Thank you," she said, grinning from ear to ear. "Sorry you had to sit through that whole thing."

"Don't be sorry. I wanted to," he reassured her. "Also, your speech was excellent."

"I couldn't have done it without you."

"Yes, you could have, and you practically did. I just made sure you ate and slept."

"Well thank you for that," Gabriela laughed and kissed him on the lips, a big smile still on her face.

He pulled away with a smile that wouldn't quit and placed his free hand on her cheek. "So, what are you doing the rest of the day? I thought if you wanted to escape from forced family time, we could go out to dinner."

"There's a big family dinner that my parents are throwing as a celebration. You should come."

"Really?"

"I was going to invite you earlier but I didn't know how you felt about meeting the parents and whatnot. Also, you're a workaholic, so it's not an unfounded assumption that you'd be busy."

Rafael chuckled. "Fair enough. I'm just glad you're not avoiding the meeting of the parents, as many a couple do when they're not sure they're going to last or are embarrassed by their partner."

"I think we are clearly beyond that. So? Do you want to come?"

Rafael thought about it for a minute. "I'm going to tentatively say yes, but I might get called into work and have to leave."

"That's fine. So, let's go make the introduction."

Rafael and Gabriela walked over, hand in hand, to a group of people of all ages gathered together with flowers and balloons. A middle aged woman and man broke out of the group and met Gabriela and Rafael a few yards away.

"Mami, papi, this is my boyfriend, Rafael."

The term boyfriend made Rafael even happier. It just felt so fitting. Boyfriend, he played it in his head over again. "Nice to meet you," he greeted as he shook her mother's and father's hands respectively.

"Rafael, come and meet the rest of the family," her father insisted. He lead Rafael over to the larger group of people, who welcomed him with open arms, while Gabriela and her mother followed suit, giggling and whispering. She held up her degree and her family cheered, as did Rafael.