Unlikely

Maybe?

I wake up buried in a huge white comforter to the squeaking of door hinges and clinking of hangers. I sit up rubbing my eye and see Rafael looking around in his closet. What if he's mad I slept in his bed? I yawn and he looks over at me, "Ah, Naomi, all comfy in my bed hm?" He smirked.
"I just figured I'd sleep in here cause you were knocked out on the couch..." I smile awkwardly up at him as he pulls something off the bed side table.
He lingers there for a moment and smiles down at me, "It's fine querido, you looked like you slept well." He went over to his closet again and put on a bright red tie, "Which is good because you can shadow me while I help SVU with a case." He looks at me and I realize I had been watching him and smiling like an idiot.
"Sorry," I stand up, still in the clothes I wore yesterday, "I uh, have to go to the hotel to shower and get ready."
He nods and walks me out, hailing me a cab and telling me to just meet him at his office and we'll go from there.
When I get to the hotel I pick out a nice red sweater and black skinny jeans. No one will be able to tell they're jeans, right? I shower, get dressed, and leave my hair natural. Looking in the mirror, I wonder if Rafael will like my outfit. Woah, no. I shake my head at my own thoughts and grab a few things, throwing them in my plain white bookbag and catching a cab to the ADA's office. I pass his secretary and knock on his door;
"Come in."
I walk in and close the door quietly when I see he looks focused on a file on his desk. Walking over, I sit in one of the two chairs in front if his desk and look down at my feet.
"We can head to SVU in a little bit but before we go ," He leans forward and folds his hands on his desk, "do you have any questions for an ADA?" He smiles innocently as I fumble around in my bookbag to get out something to write with. I ask him a few questions and a conversation starts rolling. Before I know it, we're laughing when Carisi and Rollins knock on the door. So much for going to see them.
"Come in." He's still chuckling from something when they walk in.
Rollins looks at me and smiles at Rafael, "You look happy counselor, who's your friend?"
Carisi comes up behind me and puts his hand on my shoulder, "This is my cousin, Naomi. She's shadowing Barba like I did."
She looks at me then at Barba, then at Carisi, "Alright well, Barba we need to show you a few things."
He nods and I stand to go over and sit on the couch like last time there was serious business going on. Carisi sat in the seat I was in and Amanda sits in the one next to it.
"Naomi," I turn around and look at Barba, "don't fall asleep this time?" I laugh while Sonny and Amanda look at Barba confused. To keep myself from falling asleep, I start to organize a few of the notes and answers Barba has helped me with. What if Sonny thinks something else is going on? He couldn't, right? There was nothing else. I'm shadowing a guy you have a major crush on for some odd reason. No. I'm shadowing ADA Rafael Barba, that's it. That can't be it. I start writing down random things to try to keep my brain from wandering after something that can't happen.
Sonny and Amanda leave and Barba motions for me to come back over to his desk. I shuffle over to his desk and sit down in the same chair as before. He looks at me blankly, half smiling for a moment.
"Barba?"
"Sorry, okay so, what were talking about?" He leans back in his chair and puts his legs up on his desk.
"Uhm last I remember we were talking about the rape shield, before we got way off topic." I giggle a little as I fold my arms on his desk and rest my chin on them.
He leans forward again and smiles at me, "What else do you need to know?"
For some reason the way he said it made my stomach do a flip and I felt my cheeks start to burn. He, on the other hand, was amused I guess.
"Mis disculpas, but what did I say to make you so... torpe?" God damn it.
"I don't speak spanish, Rafael." I looked up and seen a look on his face that meant he obviously knew but was just messing with me now.
"Oh, muchacho, deseo poder ayudarte." He smirked and laughed. "Okay, okay, sorry."
I force a laugh and sit up, brushing my hair out of my face, "I uh, I don't really have any other questions..." I look up at his green eyes, oh god. "right now. But if I think of more, I'll ask."
"Okay," He stands and puts his suit coat on, "How about we go get dinner?" He smiles and puts a few things in his suit case. I look at the clock, 7:30 pm, already? I was a little confused though. He is such a sassy, harsh person but he was being genuinely nice to me since yesterday? Maybe Sonny just over exaggerated when he told me that Barba could literally "strangle someone with a crude remark" but I don't see why he would. What if he liked you too? No Naomi, don't start. But what if this is a date? It wasn't until I felt a hand on my shoulder that I shot up and faced Rafael, who was behind my chair.
"Yes, dinner" I spewed out.
"Are you okay? You seem a little," he raised an eyebrow, "jumpy."
"No no, heh, I'm all good. Let's go." I grab my bookbag and force a smile as he watches me skeptically.
We walk together out and down the steps of the building. When we get to the sidewalk, Rafael puts out his arm as an offer and I politely wrap mine around his. What if this is meant to be a date?
-----
"Then the guy actually takes the belt and yanks it extremely hard, I lived obviously, but he really showed the jury. Without that little demonstration to contribute, I may not have won that one." Rafael was laughing, as was I, as he told stories about trials and criminals he's dealt with. I had little to add since I had never prosecuted anyone and barely have intresting stories.
"So you're telling me you let this guy choke you out, with your own belt, in open court to prove him guilty?" He nodded, an accomplished smile on his face as he took a drink of his scotch. "That's extreme." I laugh.
"It's an extreme job. Sometimes things happen that you have to just take on because you can't make a technique for everything that may happen in a court room." He finished his drink and I just smiled at him, not fully aware of it until he spoke again, "So do you have a nickname? Or just Naomi?"
"Some people call me Ana," he looks at me confused, "It's my middle name and two syllables shorter so" I shrug. "You?"
He nods, "Some of my friends and family call me Raf or Rafi but eveyone at work calls me Barba." Raising an eyebrow and refulled glass of scotch that seemed to show up out of no where, he took a generous drink and handed the waitress his credit card.
Just then I remembered I still hadn't arranged another place to stay for the night, couldn't hurt to ask. "Hey Rafael, do you think I could stay at your place again, I completely forgot to set up a different arrangement." I smile pleadingly, which probably wasn't needed to further convince him.
"That's fine, shall we?" He got his card back and stood up.