Montserrat had laid out several outfits that she could potentially see herself wearing for her date tonight. She knew she was probably over-doing it, maybe being too dramatic but she really wanted the night to be perfect. It took far too long to get here and she didn't want to ruin it. Though Kara had repeatedly told her that Rafael wold not cancel because of what she chose to wear.

Montserrat stomped down the hallway until she came into the living room where Kara and Sonny were trying to watch some television. They were really trying but the ginger detective was very adamant that none of her previous clothes were good enough.

"What about this one?" she gestured to the baby blue laced dress she was wearing. It was a sleeveless with a deep v-neck and flared only slightly above her knees. "Good enough? Not good enough - is it too slutty!?" she asked in a moment of fear as she looked herself over.

"Not slutty enough," Kara remarked and leaned back on the couch. "Seriously, you can do so much better."

Montserrat's face was in full panic. "But that's not what I'm going for!" she stomped back into the hallway.

"Do you take pleasure in torturing her?" Sonny asked with genuine curiosity.

"I'm not torturing her," Kara said, though there was a betraying smile on her face as she reached for some popcorn on the coffee table.

"Really?" Sonny tilted his head at her. "You've made her change 3 times. What are you intending on doing?"

"Nothing," Kara sighed and called for Montserrat in a loud yell.

The detective came stomping out again, her face almost as red as her hair. "I can't find anything! This dress-"

"-is just fine," Kara finished for her and got up from the couch. She pressed her hands over Montserrat's shoulders, ridding the dress of its folds. "Chill. The dress is gorgeous and just enough slutty but not too much - the perfect combination."

"I really wasn't going for anything in that department, not this time," Montserrat shifted in her spot. "I just...I would just like for things to go well tonight."

"And it will," Kara promised her. "You look gorgeous-" she snapped her fingers at Sonny, startling the man into dropping his popcorn, "Tell her she looks gorgeous."

"You look gorgeous - we need more popcorn!" he said with a frown.

Montserrat rolled her eyes at him. "Thanks. And…thanks, Kara, for dealing with my crazy ass right now."

"No problem," Kara said with a sneaky smile. "I'm just glad it's only for a couple more minutes and then Rafael gets to deal with your crazy ass from here on out. What a happy ending."

Montserrat's face fell flat. "I really hate you."

Kara grinned. "Go get your coat now."

Montserrat may have cursed something under her breath on her way back into the hallway, but Kara had no idea because it'd been in Slovak.

When Kara turned around, she found Sonny giving her that reprimanding look again. "I'm not torturing her!" she exclaimed but ended up smiling a few seconds later. "But it is kind of funny."

Just as Montserrat was returning, there was a knock on the door. Without so much a glance at Kara or Sonny, Montserrat pointed a finger at them while she made her way to the door. "Don't you even dare get up from that spot!"

"I didn't even do anything," Sonny frowned.

"Yeah, but I'm not taking any chances. You're all Kara-upped!"

"What does that even mean!?"

"It means keep your mouth shut," Montserrat promptly instructed then opened the door and stepped out, nearly bumping into Rafael in the process.

"Uuh, I'm not in a rush…" the man said in confusion since she had practically rushed out of her apartment.

"No, no, trust me, you don't want to go in there," she told him but still left him confused.

"Are you sure?"

"Look, right now both Kara and Sonny are in there. Do you really feel like talking to either of them tonight?"

Rafael stared at her for a minute before deciding she was absolutely right. "Huh, I think I might like you even more for that." She completely understood him.

Montserrat smirked. "Thought you would agree with me. Fair warning, that's what you should probably do from here on out."

"In your dreams," Rafael was quick to say. Letting someone win an argument was something he was just incapable of doing. He looked her over and found himself smiling before he knew it. He'd never seen her so dressed up, apart from her birthday. "You look…" he couldn't finish his sentence in one go because he had to look at her all over again.

Montserrat blushed almost as red as her hair, and speaking of her hair…

"I-I'm a little disappointed in my hair though. Ever since it was chopped off by dear Kara, I can't really do anything with it."

But Rafael didn't seem to think like her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up to him. "You look beautiful, hermosa." He raised her hand in his and kissed its back.

Montserrat felt like the air had just left her lungs in one go. "Thanks. You are looking good yourself. Maybe we do belong together." She hardly saw him out of his work clothes but she concluded she liked both styles. There were no suspenders tonight but she admired his olive green collared shirt under his black blazer. "I'm curious to see what the rest of your closet looks like."

Rafael rolled his eyes at her but there was a distinct satisfaction knowing she liked his clothes.

~ 0 ~

Montserrat had no idea where they were going to have dinner and after a while of walking and small talk, she couldn't take it the secrecy. "Can I please know where we're going now?"

"You mean you haven't figured it out?" Rafael side-glanced her with a smug smile on his face.

She rolled her eyes but had to shake her head. No, she hadn't figured it out and it was killing her. "You don't have to be so smug, you know. That's going to get you points deducted."

"I didn't know there was a score being kept…"

"There is and you're already failing."

"Alright," Rafael stopped walking and pointed a finger at a building a few stores down. "You recognize that place?"

Montserrat followed his gaze and saw the Italian restaurant near the end of the block. "I...guess so? Didn't we have lunch there at one point?"

"Yes, and it happened to be the first time we had lunch together. It was the first time...we spent time together... alone." He still remembered how odd he felt that day when Montserrat's lunch plans with Casey had been cancelled due to some unforeseen ADA work. She'd already been having a bad day at work with a particular fallout with Sonny and now she would be eating on her own. For some reason, he couldn't let her do that...so he took her out to the Italian restaurant.

The smile that spread across Montserrat's face was instantaneous. "I didn't know you were sentimental type. I didn't even remember that!"

"I have a good memory," Rafael wanted to be casual but Montserrat saw straight through him.

"No," she kissed his cheek and watched him shift. "You put thought into it and it was a pretty damn good idea. Points have been returned."

Rafael knew the points were just a game she probably invented in the last two minutes, but there was a part of him that was glad to hear his "points had been returned". He was more nervous than he should be but once he looked at the woman beside him he remembered why.

When they finally arrived at the restaurant, Montserrat immediately started to remember the first time she visited the place.

"What are you thinking about?" Rafael pulled her from her thoughts. They had been taken to a table but she'd been looking distant all of a sudden.

"I just remembered that the first time we were here I was angry with Sonny and Kara," Montserrat added a moment after taking her seat, "And nearly you in the end."

"Story of my life," Rafael shot her a smirk, making her roll her eyes. "If you think about it, a good part of our lunches together ended up with some type of bickering."

Montserrat nodded in agreement, almost laughing once she made a mental calculation of how many lunches those included. "Right. My bad. Actually…" she tilted her head slightly as she thought to see of that bickering and ultimately shook her head, "No, no I'm not...because I was right most of the time."

"No, you weren't," Rafael didn't hesitate to correct.

Montserrat would have expected him to just take the fault as a proper date should entail, but she laughed to herself. That would never be Rafael. It'd honestly worry her if he ever lied and say he was wrong. "Let's just look at the menu before we start another round," she decided and gestured to their menus on the table.

"Fine," Rafael picked up his menu and added, in a low mumble, "But you weren't right."

Montserrat looked over her menu with narrowed eyes. She hated - absolutely hated - that her lips wanted to turn into an automatic smile because she was actually really irritated. You're giving in, she realized and accepted it.

"Sorry to say there's no barbecue options," Rafael said after the two had ordered, though he didn't look very apologetic.

"What can you expect from an Italian place, right?" Montserrat picked up her glass that had been filled with red wine for the moment, one that Rafael had recommended, unsurprisingly. "But not to worry, we can leave that for the next date."

"You're already thinking about the next date?"

"I was under the impression that you were completely enamored with me."

Rafael rolled his eyes at her. "You're going to dangle that moment over my head forever, aren't you?"

Montserrat raised her glass as if she were toasting then nodded. "Along with the belt. But-" she started quickly just as he'd opened his mouth to retort, "-for now I do like this chosen place. I haven't had Italian in a while."

"Not even with Carisi being at your place 24/7?"

"Mm," Montserrat's face scrunched. "I prefer to have my dinner in my room. Plus, his food doesn't taste the same as the restaurant food. He says it's because his is authentic."

"I have to give him that, though."

"Yeah, I guess so. I actually had an Italian boyfriend in high school and his food was better than what the restaurants made. Although, he kept trying to give me this weird sauce thing that ultimately was the reason I broke up with him."

Rafael seemed to be at a cross between wanting to laugh at such a ridiculous reason or wanting to ask more about said sauce. "I guess I should mind my own plates, then."

Montserrat paused her drinking and gave him a look that seemed to be of disbelief. "You cook? Like, you actually cook?"

"I am not a helpless man, Montserrat. I know how to cook."

"Okay," she leaned on the table with what could only be described as a mischievous glint in her eyes, "I'm going to file that under 'definitely want that to be a date at some point'."

Rafael really stared at her for a full minute before uttering the question that'd been running through his mind in that moment, "How am I attracted to you?"

Montserrat smirked. "Just say 'yes' and tell me what else you do when you're not in the office."

"What?"

"Oh c'mon, I don't really know what you do outside work - who you are when you're not ADA Barba. Who are you?"

She posed a good question. Rafael supposed he didn't really know who she was when she wasn't Detective Novak. "What do you want to know?"

"Let's start with our families. I have my dad and my brother, my two nieces and Casey. They're all here."

"Is that it, though? Or are there any other Novaks I should dread about?"

Montserrat playfully rolled her eyes at him. "Casey's mother is dead and her dad's back in Slovakia, along with the rest of our family. I haven't really talked to them in a long time, much less see them."

"What about your mother's side?" Rafael thought to ask once he realized she'd only been discussing her father's side. But the moment he asked, her face fell. He almost regretted doing it.

She cleared her throat and had half a mind telling him her mother was off limits...but she didn't want to do that. She didn't need to do that anymore. He was here, he was with her, he wanted to be with her. Maybe it was okay to start releasing those longtime secrets, even if it was little by little.

"I don't know," she confessed quietly. Her hand reached to fiddle with her wine glass' handle. "Regina left when I was four and my Dad always said that none of her family lived near us. I don't know, maybe they do but...I don't really know where they are...who they are. But I'm okay with the family that I have," she added as a last thought, especially when she saw the guilt that had set across Rafael's face. "Naša rodina môže byť malá, ale sme mocní."

Rafael was initially surprised at the foreign language but it passed within two seconds and he ended up fascinated. She sounded beautiful even if he had no idea what she'd just said.

"Our family may be small, but we are mighty," Montserrat said a minute later, quietly and perhaps a bit shy too.

"I like that." As soon as Rafael said that, Montserrat laughed out of sheer embarrassment. "I mean it. That's...poetic."

"I guess so. But now it's your turn. What's your family like?"

"Uh, typical," he shrugged, but Montserrat's face indicated that brief explanation wouldn't do. "Alright fine. I have my mother and my grandmother."

That seemed to please Montserrat judging by the smile on her face. "There we go. God, I didn't know I'd have to go full on detective on you."

"That look was it?"

"Oh no, that was a preview - you crack very easy."

Rafael rolled his eyes. "I'm not used to it," he admitted.

"I'll guide you then," her hand reached across the table for his hand. "Your mom, what does she do?"

"Uh, charter school principal."

"Really? You know my Dad used to teach back in his day," she chuckled. "History teacher. Now he's in the district. Maybe they've crossed paths and never realized it."

"I doubt it. My mother's in the Bronx, so is my grandmother. I didn't know your father worked for the schools, though."

"Uh, didn't come up I guess. But see? Something new about us."

"I guess so," Rafael gripped her hand. He truly did love her smile.

A short moment later, they received their individual dishes.

"This is so delicious!" Montserrat exclaimed after taking her first fork-bite of pasta.

"And not a scent of barbecue in the vicinity," Rafael was proud to say after reaching for his glass.

Montserrat pointed her fork at him. "You're going to have to change that attitude."

Rafael chuckled. "I can't."

"You know I also broke up with a guy because he hated barbecue. Something to think about."

"What if I break up with you over your unique interests, then?"

She almost laughed at him. "Oh please, you're not dumping this," she gestured to herself. "I dare you to forget me."

"Impossible," the word just tumbled from Rafael's mouth. Montserrat wanted to continue with her nonchalant attitude but his admission made her blush more than she would've thought. "And I wouldn't want to anyways."

"You really do have a talent with your words. How were you still single?"

Rafael's expression indicated many things. First, that he wasn't all too surprised with his relationship life. Two, that it wasn't good. And three, that she probably shouldn't ask.

"C'mon, I bet you had to have dated a couple people before me...and Yelina, I guess. You did mention that before."

"I...guess? Maybe? I don't know. I wasn't very popular in high school. It was a Catholic school, so...not a lot of time too."

"Ooh, you're a Catholic boy," Montserrat's eyes glinted with mischief. She leaned forwards, propping an elbow on the table. "I've heard a lot of things about those kind of boys. I went to a private all-girls school."

"And I've heard a lot about those types of girls," he countered with the same look on his face. "So we might actually be evenly matched."

"We'll see how that pans out in the future."

"I look forward to that," he said with all the honesty in the world. She paused just as she was about to take another bite, and shared a smile with him.

The rest of their dinner went by peacefully. Between quick banters and actual conversations about each other, neither realized at what point they'd finished eating. Their equal like for wine kept them at the table for at least another hour after finishing eating.

"I feel like I might already be a little buzzed," Montserrat confessed as they headed out of the restaurant. "How are you so...not?"

"Years of practice," Rafael said with a proud smirk.

"Mm, not sure that's something you want to brag about," she warned.

She didn't see him roll his eyes ahead of her. All she knew was that as soon as she stepped out of the restaurant, the grip on her arm yanked her forwards to meet a pair of lips. She gladly accepted the surprise kiss and tried to keep up with him. He'd caught her too off guard!

When Rafael let her go, she immediately breathed in. "What was that for?"

"I just...realized I could do that." Even as he answered, it still seemed like he was just making that realization. He genuinely could do that from now on, kiss her. He could surprise her with more kisses later on or now...any time.

"Well...feel free to confirm that anytime you want," she bit her lower lip and looked out to the street while her blush faded from her face. "Where did you want to go next?"

"Anywhere you want to go," Rafael said easily. "Your choice."

Montserrat thought for a few seconds. "Oh, how about the waterfront? I love going there."

"Then let's go," Rafael offered his arm for her. She beamed and curled her arm around his. They then headed for her favorite spot.

As they waited at one of the pedestrian stops, Montserrat noticed a pastry shop on the other block. It didn't take much for Rafael to notice where her attention was.

"You want to go in?" he asked but she shook her head.

"Nah, I'm too full anyways. But maybe next time we could. I hardly ever turn down a vanilla latte."

"Seriously?" his face scrunched, almost sounding disappointed. "That's not coffee. That's sugar."

The pedestrian light turned green for them to go.

Montserrat snorted and pulled him on the road. "Sorry not all of us like the hardcore black roast you seem to pour down your throat."

"You would too if you worked with the people I do."

"I work with you!" she stopped just as they'd stepped onto the new street and looked at him with an offended frown.

"Oh right," he blinked in realization. "Well, maybe now you can tone it down a bit."

Montserrat had to look somewhere else before she smacked him. She was a bit irritated but there was a pesky smile worming across her face. "How about I just shove black coffee down your throat instead? Can't be too annoying if you're all chalked up on caffeine, right?"

Rafael somewhat expected that type of answer. He still chuckled like it'd surprised him. "Alright then."

"But seriously," she began again once they continued to walk, "you should probably try to cut down on that coffee. And don't even get me started on your alcohol in-take."

"One date and you're already trying to change me."

Montserrat rolled his eyes at his sarcasm. "Just watching out for you. Don't need you dying on me because you've overloaded your circuits. Does your mother even know how much you drink?"

"I prefer to keep the nature of my job out of her ears. She doesn't need to know about it."

Montserrat nodded. "Yeah, I get that. You're a good son, then."

"Mm, I try to be," Rafael said as if there was something else that went along with that line, but he didn't seem very inclined to explain.

Montserrat filed that under 'talk about later' for the moment. "Well, I think you're a good person in general," she leaned her head against his arm.

Rafael felt strange hearing her genuine remark about him. She believed it without even knowing everything about him. It was incredibly strange but at the same time, seeing her content face, it warmed his heart.

~ 0 ~

By the time the pair reached the waterfront, they were back to their informative conversations about each other.

"I've only been to Cuba once or twice when I was younger. Haven't been there in the longest," Rafael was saying. He brought Montserrat to the nearest empty bench and let her to sit down first.

Montserrat crossed one leg over the other and watched him sit next to her. "I always hear that it has such pretty tourist sites."

"Well, maybe one day we can go," Rafael's heartfelt look made Montserrat feel actual butterflies in her stomach. That was the second time he said that and this time Montserrat was sure he fully meant it. Just thinking about a trip together like that turned her face red. She felt like a school girl but she honestly couldn't care less.

"If we go there, we have to go to Slovakia," she found her voice a minute later, but even then her mouth was a bit dry.

Rafael nodded with a smile. "Have you ever been?"

"I do have double nationality, remember?" she nudged his side. "My Dad says I was almost born there. If they hadn't decided to move before my mother's pregnancy finished, I would've been born there."

"So wait, does that mean your brother was born there?"

"Aha. But it was easy for him to get double nationality here too." Montserrat leaned back on the bench and looked out to the water ahead of them. "I haven't been to Slovakia in years, though. It's so beautiful there too."

"And you speak Slovak as well?"

"Áno," she answered in the language. "And you speak Spanish?

"Sí," he nodded.

She laughed and leaned on him. "I'm going to enjoy hearing that."

"What?" he looked at her, fairly amused with her reaction.

"Your voice...in Spanish. It just sounds different," she let her chin rest on the edge of his shoulder.

"Montserrat," he tilted his head at her, nearly rolling his eyes if her look wasn't so alluring. And who knows, if she thought that about him then who's to say he couldn't use it to his advantage? She'd already found out he loved putting his hands on her legs and was definitely going to be using that against him, so...he should have his own weapon.

There were a few minutes of silence that passed by and in that moment they watched the small waves of the waterfront.

"So...I have to ask," Montserrat really hoped she wouldn't kill the mood with her question, but it was a question that they really - seriously - needed to discuss. "If we're going to continue this, at what point do we have to disclose?"

"Uh…" Rafael took in a breath as he considered their best option, but she took his silence as product of her imprudent question.

"I-I probably shouldn't have asked…" she began to straighten in her seat but the fear that she'd really ruined the moment got to her so she got up altogether.

"No, it's a fair question," Rafael stood up with her. "And we've talked about it before, somewhat but...I guess we should really consider it if we're serious."

"I'm serious," Montserrat quickly nodded. "I'm very, very serious - well, you know, the appropriate seriousness that I should be about this. Not-not the-"

Rafael pulled her up to him for a kiss. He may have found another thing to use against her. She forgot all about explaining what she meant and instead wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen their kiss.

When they pulled apart, they let their foreheads rest against one another. Rafael brought one of his hands to stroke Montserrat's cheek.

"How about we stick to the plan we made about the others not knowing until a bit later?" he asked her. "We're not keeping it a secret - I don't intend to keep you a secret - but maybe…"

Montserrat smiled and gave him a short kiss. "I get it. And I agree. But you realize we'll have to be careful around the others when we're at work? We haven't really done that yet since I've been catching up on cases from home."

"Yeah, but...I'm sure we can handle it. We should just make sure neither your friend Kara nor Carisi say something."

"They won't be saying anything, trust me," Montserrat leaned on him and added, "And if they do, I'll kill them. You'll back me up, right?"

"Throw the case right away," Rafael nodded, making her smile.

"Perfect team," she chuckled.

Rafael was giving Montserrat an endearing look that made her blush straightaway. He stroked tender circles over her cheek. "We are," he agreed in a whisper. He was just so sorry it'd taken him so long to figure it out.

Author's Note:

I loved writing this chapter because it was pure fluff and banter, the best type!

P. S: As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.