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For Rafael, having Detective Amaro alone in his office with him was a very, very rare occasion. Sonny usually volunteered to stay behind and help Rafael do the grunt work, but right now he was the lead Detective on another case (one that Rafael wouldn’t be prosecuting, for obvious reasons) and was very busy himself, so he got Amaro.
The Detective wasn’t unpleasant - he was witty and funny when he was in a good mood, and he wouldn’t be at SVU if he weren’t competent. Rafael was also well aware that the two of them had a lot in common, but he didn’t deal well with Amaro’s short fuse and bursts of anger, so being alone in a room with him could turn explosive pretty quickly.
But right now Amaro was sitting across from Rafael, staring at a case file and picking at the tip of its manila folder until it split in the middle, not really paying attention to anything Rafael was saying.
“Problem, Detective?,” Rafael asked calmly, not wanting to inflame the other man just yet.
Amaro looked up from the file, but not directly at Rafael. He looked out at the window behind him and shifted in his seat, clearing his throat. He remained silent for a moment, his eyes scanning Rafael’s bookshelf until they fell on a framed picture of him and Sonny on their wedding night.
“How did you ask Carisi out?,” Amaro blurted out, then frowned.
Rafael chuckled, leaning back into his chair as he considered the Detective. “I simply asked,” he shrugged.
“Taking the simplistic road doesn’t sound like you,” Amaro said.
This time it was Rafael who frowned. “Well. He was here, we were working late, and I asked him to dinner as a thank you for his help.”
That was a rather simplistic way of putting it, Rafael thought to himself. After all, It’d taken months of long stares and casual brushes of fingertips before Rafael opened his mouth. And even still - it hadn’t been a smooth dinner invitation because Sonny hadn’t quite caught on to the fact that it was supposed to be a date until they got to the restaurant and Rafael mentioned he’d made reservations.
“Wait,” Sonny had said, tilting his head to the side. “Is this a date?”
Rafael had held back a grimace. He hadn’t known he was that rusty in the dating department. “If you’d like,” he said, offering him an out. Since Sonny hadn’t actually agreed to be here on a date, he wouldn’t push it. “If not we can sit at the bar and talk shop.”
Sonny shook his head urgently. “No, no,” he chuckled. “I’ve been meaning to ask you out for forever, I just didn’t have the guts.”
“I didn’t know I was quite so intimidating,” he’d teased, uncertainty lifting off his shoulders.
“You’re not intimidating,” Sonny started, cheeks flushed. “I just… I like you, Rafael. I like you a lot and I didn’t want to screw it up and miss my chance.”
Rafael smiled up at him and took his hand. “Well, don’t miss it, then.”
Sonny nodded. “Okay,” he smiled back. “It’s a date.”
So no, it hadn’t been exactly smooth sailing at first, but their first date went amazingly well, and so did the next and the next and soon waking up to Sonny in his bed became the best part of Rafael’s day. Three months into their relationship, Sonny had moved in. A year later, they were engaged.
Rafael looked down at his ring finger now, three years after that first date. Back then Rafael had wondered if maybe they were moving too fast, but now he knew they’d actually taken too long to get where they’d wanted to be all along.
“Why do you ask?,” Rafael said, looking back at Nick. “Romantic trouble?”
Amaro scoffed. “I wouldn’t call it that.”
He looked back at the file in his lap and didn’t elaborate, so Rafael let it go for now. He knew Amaro had gotten divorced a year before and it didn’t surprise him he was looking to get back in the game; the man was young, attractive, full of pent up energy. What did surprise him was Amaro coming to him for advice.
Rafael would think he’d go to Olivia or, hell, even Sonny would be more receptive to Amaro’s woes than him. But the Detective was staring off into the distance again, shifting like he couldn’t get comfortable.
“How close are Carisi and Dodds, really?,” Amaro asked.
Rafael felt a flash of annoyance go through him. “Are you suggesting something, Detective?”
“No, not at all,” he said with both hands up in a defensive motion.
If Amaro wanted to start antagonizing him in his own office Rafael was more than comfortable with asking him to leave. It was so difficult to take Amaro at face value that Rafael almost missed the signs of what was actually going on.
“Get to the point,” Rafael urged, reading the shift in the Detective’s expression as something close to hopelessness.
Rafael recognized that look. It was one he’d seen in the mirror, looking back at him for months while trying to decide what to do with his attraction to Sonny.
“Does Dodds date?,” he asked, half-exasperated. “Because I did what you said you did with Carisi. I asked him out for dinner. He showed up with case files and went straight to the bar.”
Rafael relaxed back into his chair. Amaro wasn’t trying to pick apart his relationship with Sonny, he wanted help .
“From what Sonny tells me, he’s not really looking, but he’s always open,” Rafael said. Sonny was never short on anecdotes about his best friend. “He’s also mentioned he’s almost criminally clueless when it comes to flirting and other’s true intentions.”
Amaro huffed. Or was that a chuckle? “You can say that again.”
“You should try and actually use the word date next time.”
“Yeah, but what does he like?,” Amaro leaned forward. “Because a dinner clearly wasn’t enough.”
“I never would have guessed you were one for grand gestures,” Rafael joked, and Amaro rolled his eyes. “But I can ask Sonny and refer back to you.”
Rafael thought Amaro would ask him not to tell Sonny, which he would regardless, but the Detective simply nodded.
“I’d appreciate that,” he said.
So later, Rafael broached the subject with his husband while they were preparing dinner. He was chopping tomatoes into tiny cubes, careful not to chop the tip of his fingers, and Sonny was standing beside him with tears in his eyes as he chopped onions.
“You won’t believe the conversation I had with Amaro today,” Rafael started. “I think he’s trying to ask Dodds out.”
“Dodds?,” Sonny paused. “Nick is going to ask Mike out?”
“Well, I certainly don’t mean William,” Rafael joked, but Sonny wasn’t really listening to him. He was staring at the wall, a look of dawning realization on his face.
“Holy shit, that makes so much sense” he said. “We could help them.”
Rafael chuckled. “What, you mean like matchmaking?”
“It worked for us.”
“I don’t think Rita crudely telling me to take my head out of my ass and ask you out counts as matchmaking.”
Rita had seen his infatuation from miles away, a wolfish smile on her face as she prodded the truth out of him. To call the speech that followed a “rant” wouldn’t do it justice because Rita always did have a way with words, and she knew exactly how to kickstart Rafael into action.
Sonny looked at him fondly, resuming his chopping. “Maybe not, but it helped, didn’t it?”
“Yeah, it worked out pretty well,” Rafael leaned his weight against Sonny’s arm for a second. “But do you think Amaro would go for it? Would Mike?”
“Things have gotten a lot better since Nick started therapy, you know,” he shrugged. “He’s not as broody and we actually talk sometimes.”
“And does he talk to Mike?”
“Now that you mention it, yeah, he’s always striking up conversations with him,” Sonny considered it for a moment. “Routine stuff, gym, boxing, some game that was on during the weekend.”
“How riveting.”
“Come on, Raf,” he said placatingly. “I’ll talk to Mike, see where his head space is.”
“Fine,” Rafael let out a dramatic sigh. “Ask him what he likes to do on a date because Amaro said he asked him out for dinner and it didn’t work.”
Sonny laughed lightly, shaking his head in fond amusement. “Oh, Mikey.”
Sonny took to his mission the very next day. He waited for the right opportunity, when it was just the two of them shooting the shit. He wouldn’t want to broach the subject between home visits or during briefing. In order for this to work, Sonny would have to be super casual about it.
So he sat back in his super casual pose, nursing his sacred cup of coffee after lunch as Mike had his dessert, and went for the kill.
“Hey Mike, what do you think would be your ideal first date?,” he asked. Rafael would have scoffed at him, saying that was too on the nose, but Sonny knew Mike, he knew their dynamics, and this would work.
And just like he’d expected, Mike sat back, tilting his head to the side as he considered Sonny’s question with a very contemplative look on his face. He hummed in consideration, thinking hard.
“Watching a boxing match on the TV, ordering some pizza and having some beers,” Mike said after a couple beats, completely sure and confident in his answer. “Why? Everything good with Barba?”
“Oh no, everything’s great. We’re perfect,” Sonny smiled. “Just trying to get some fresh ideas so we don’t fall into boring routines, you know? We like variety.”
Mike nodded in understanding, then chuckled. “Somehow I don’t think Barba would appreciate a match and some greasy pizza.”
“I think you’re right there,” Sonny laughed along. “But he likes these black and white, classic movies, right? So I can download some and we can make our own pizzas from scratch.”
Mike’s eyebrows shot up like he’d never even consider that. “You two really are good together, uh?”
Sonny ducked his head, feeling his face heat up. “Yeah, we’re pretty great.”
Mike threw a question back at Sonny (yeah, because this was how they operated) and they exchanged notes about dates and rated their favorites. By the time their lunch hour was up, Sonny had a full report about Mike’s preferences.
Sonny took a moment to text Rafael about the boxing match idea, then went back to his desk as he watched Nick approach Mike’s gingerly, offering the extra cookie he’d gotten after lunch. “Extra”. Right. He smiled at the two and got back to work.
Amaro had been rounding Rafael for almost a week and it took him way too long to realize it was because he was waiting for Rafael to update him on the thing with Dodds.
Sonny had texted him a full paragraph with the Sergeant’s dos and don’ts, but he hadn’t considered the urgency he could feel radiating from the Detective as he came and went from Rafael’s office more often than he’d done in the four years they’d been working together.
So Rafael stopped waiting for them to have a moment alone and pointedly asked for the Detective to stay behind when the rest of the squad - namely Fin and Olivia - got up to leave. The two of them shot Rafael a curious look, but raised no question.
Amaro stood by the chair he’d just vacanted, and Rafael watched him physically square up.
“Problem with the case, Counselor?,” Amaro asked, his face almost too neutral.
“You remember what you asked me the other day, about Dodds?,” Rafael asked, and Amaro replied with a sharp nod. “I got some intel that might interest you.”
Amaro let out a long relieved breath, then sat back down, attention on high. For a moment, Rafael wondered if he’d acted the same before he and Sonny got together. This contained eagerness he saw in Amaro, pretending he wasn’t fully invested in this even though he was practically vibrating off his seat.
Rafael smiled softly and relaxed in his seat, pulling out his phone so he could read Sonny’s report word for word. He’d hate to leave anything out and unintentionally hurt Amaro’s chances with Dodds.
The Detective listened quietly, nodding as Rafael read, and, when he was done, Amaro stood up with a smile so big it made him look like a completely different person. Rafael knew in that moment that he’d be successful in his courting of one Mike Dodds.
“Thank you, Barba,” Amaro said genuinely. “I know what to do.”
Nick watched with a small smile as Dodds took a slice of pizza from the box and served Nick before serving himself. They each had a beer, and the TV was on as they waited for the game to begin.
Mike leaned back with both plates, handing Nick his with a satisfied grin, then settling back as Nick tucked his softest blanket around them.
Nick looked down at the pizza, then at Mike. “Okay so just so we’re clear, this is a date, right?”
Mike ducked his head, grin never faltering. “When Sonny asked me what my ideal date was and you asked me to do exactly that, I figured that you were interested,” he shot Nick a look so cheeky he had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from physically reacting. “You don’t even have to be a Detective to piece that one together, especially because of the candles.”
Mike looked around the room with a big smile. Nick had scattered a couple handfuls of tea lights around the TV room, and they lit up the space in a warm glow that reflected back in Mike’s kind eyes.
“I am,” Nick said firmly. “Interested, I mean.”
His smile grew even bigger, and Nick felt Mike’s sock-covered toes massaging his foot. “I’m sorry about that dinner, though, I had no idea. I can be very clueless sometimes.”
“That’s on me,” Nick chuckled, shaking his head. “I was too worried about what you’d say if I actually called it a date.”
Mike nodded in understanding. “And what changed now?”
“Other than me getting tired of moping around? Barba helped,” he shrugged. “And Carisi too, apparently.”
“They’re good friends,” Mike said, face soft. “Thank you for not giving up.”
Nick saw Mike’s fingers tighten around his plate and his expression flickered momentarily, going from the open tenderness he’d been sporting to something to something painfully apologetic.
He reached over, taking one of Mike’s hands and squeezing. “I couldn’t,” he said. “I really, really like you, Mike. I’m just trying to be honest with you.”
Mike looked at him, face open again. “I appreciate that.”
Nick leaned in a little, then waited to see if Mike would do the same or if it was too soon. But Mike didn’t only lean in - he closed the distance between them completely in one quick move.
The first touch of their lips made Nick sigh, relief flooding him. Mike’s hand cupped his face with a touch so adoring Nick felt his third rib ache.
It was a perfect first kiss, Nick thought, and when they parted, Mike had a brilliant smile on his face. He couldn’t help but lean in for another one, then another, the both of them growing more confident with each slide of their lips together.
Nick learned really soon that Mike was a bit of a tease, only allowing a small brush of tongue to touch his lips before pulling back and making Nick chase after him with a grunt.
They missed the first fifteen minutes of the game like that, trading kisses and playing footsie under the blanket. Nick had to reheat the pizza afterwards, but it was okay because Mike followed him into the kitchen, propped him against the counter and proceeded to kiss the living days out of him as they waited.
The next morning, Rafael got to his office to find a brand new bottle of his favorite scotch on his desk, bow and all, and Mike treated Sonny to lunch at his favorite hole in the wall across town.
A couple months into their relationship, Mike jokingly said that Sonny and Rafael would have to be their best men. Nick agreed, but he wasn’t joking.