Archive of Our Own

All Rafael could think of as he used his fob to open the door of his apartment building was a hot shower, a cold glass of scotch, and Sonny. Court had been grueling, as it had been for the last week and a half, and then there’d been the circus outside afterward, which had only seemed to grow by the day. 

He was no stranger to high profile cases. He’d prosecuted celebrities, politicians, and any number of infamous faces during his days at the DA’s office, and his defense of Richard Wheatley had garnered its fair share of attention, but none of those had been anything like this. 

Who knew that the trial of a housewife would capture the attention of the country? Certainly not Rita, who had referred the case to him, which she sometimes did when a client couldn’t afford her firm’s astronomical hourly rate. Like Rafael, she was never one to shy away from the camera, and she was seething with jealousy at the attention he was getting, not to mention the amount of new clients who had been knocking down his door - some of whom could have paid for Rita’s firm if they wished. It had gotten to the point where they’d had to hire a proper receptionist to field emails and phone calls so Carmen could help him with the case. 

Not that he had time to enjoy any of the newfound success or notoriety. When it all came down to it, a woman’s freedom was at stake, and he knew none of it would matter if he ended up with a guilty verdict. He’d only fail his client on a much larger stage, likely sinking his career for good. 

He did, however, get to see short clips of himself pulled from the Court TV live feed at the end of each day, sent by his mother on the new iPhone she’d purchased just for this reason. She hadn’t upgraded in years, but had wanted to see her son in all of his HD glory. He only wished they weren’t often accompanied by a text saying “You look tired. Are you sleeping?” 

He wanted to reply that he was tired, and no, he was not sleeping, but that would only start a conversation that he definitely didn’t have the energy for, so he’d simply reply “Yes, mami,” and that would appease her until the next batch of clips hit the internet the next day. 

The smell of garlic bread hit him as he stepped off of the elevator onto his floor and his stomach growled immediately. He only hoped it was Sonny’s doing and not one of his neighbors, as pasta cooked by his husband now joined the shower and scotch on the list of things he was looking forward to. 

Luck fell his way for once and the delicious aroma was indeed coming from his apartment, with oregano and basil joining the mix when he opened the door, as well as the telltale pop beats of the music that Sonny always played while he was cooking. Pathetically, his mouth watered, but in his defense, he’d only had a power bar and a dozen cups of coffee all day. 

He had divested himself of his shoes and sat his briefcase on the sideboard by the door before Sonny popped his head out of the kitchen. “Oh good, you’re home! This is about done,” he called before disappearing back behind the wall that separated the kitchen from the entryway. The music volume lowered to a respectable level a few seconds later. 

One of the perks of being at trial was having a fairly decent and reliable schedule. He still had countless hours of work each night, but at least he could do it from home. And, he allowed, it could wait until after a nice dinner with his husband. 

In the kitchen, he found the controlled chaos that always accompanied Sonny’s cooking. Pots bubbling, herbs chopped and waiting on a wooden cutting board, various utensils and bowls in the sink. It was all part of what Sonny called “his process.” Rafael didn’t mind; he cleaned up after himself and the result was always something delicious. 

He saw a bottle of red wine breathing on the island and decided he could forgo the scotch during dinner in lieu of a good Pinot. He poured a healthy portion into each of the two glasses that were sitting next to the bottle and leaned a hip against the island, content to sip and watch Sonny wiggle his hips to the beat of the music as he dished out heaping plates of spaghetti, topping the noodles with red sauce and meatballs. 

“I didn’t have time to make the meatballs, so they’re store bought. Sauce is homemade though,” Sonny said, placing the plates on the small square table that sat in front of the lone window in the room before returning to grab his phone, turning off the music. 

“Store bought? The horror .” Rafael deadpanned as he did his part and placed their wine glasses on the table. 

“You joke, but you were there when Gina brought store bought meatballs to Easter,” Sonny said as he settled in across from him. 

Yes, Rafael was there. It was the first time he’d ever heard Sonny’s mother curse. Who’d known she’d had that kind of mouth on her? 

“Well, your secret’s safe with me,” Rafael assured him, no longer able to keep from digging in. The sound he made upon his first bite was practically pornographic and Sonny grinned in delight, almost as pleased about eliciting these sounds from Rafael at the dinner table as he was in the bedroom. 

As they ate, they chatted about this and that, but mostly just enjoyed a companionable silence. Once his plate was clear, Rafael leaned back with a satisfied sigh. With all of those carbs, he may actually get some sleep tonight. 

“I hope you saved room for dessert. I stopped in Little Italy on my way home and got that tiramisu that you like.” 

Rafael paused, his eyes narrowing above the rim of his wine glass as he did a quick mental check of the date to make sure he hadn’t forgotten an anniversary or one of their birthdays, which he had done before (it had been his own birthday so he didn’t consider it that big of a transgression), but no, it was just a normal Wednesday in June. 

Recognizing the look in Rafael’s eyes, Sonny refused to meet them, instead sopping up the last bit of sauce on his plate with a slice of garlic bread. 

“You are just as busy as I am,” Rafael said, his tone accusatory. “Why are you home early, making a big dinner, going out of your way to buy tiramisu, when you have a full caseload?” 

“Can’t I just do something nice for you when you’re dealing with such a big case?” Sonny asked, finally out of food and forced to look up at him. 

“No.” 

“Okay fine,” he said with a sigh. “I discovered something…interesting today and I wanted you to be in a good mood when I told you about it.” 

Rafael drained his wine glass, wishing now he’d had the scotch, waiting until he swallowed and placed the glass on the table before releveling his gaze on Sonny. “What?”

“So, you know my TikTok?”

“Unfortunately.” 

During the pandemic Sonny had started a TikTok account out of sheer boredom. It gave him a way to talk to people besides Rafael, which, despite how much he loved him, got a little boring after a few weeks of being locked up together 24/7. He had amassed a decent following, around a hundred thousand or so, and while Sonny thought it was due to his legal insights and cooking videos, Rafael maintained it was because of his thirst traps. It was no coincidence that his follower count went up even more when lockdown ended and the three piece suits made their way out of the closet. 

At first Rafael mostly just offered generic words of encouragement while Sonny planned videos, and did his best to ignore Amazon packages containing ring lights and tripods. But then he’d been dragged into the madness, the monotony and mental distress of lockdown lowering his usual guard against all things silly. 

So Rafael lip synced to old Friends dialogue, helped Sonny knead bread dough, and participated in “put a finger down” challenges. He had, however, drawn the line at dancing to “WAP”, no matter how much Sonny begged. He learned a long time ago that the internet was forever, and there was no need for that to be out in the world. 

As lockdown ended and life went back to as normal as it could after a global pandemic, Sonny had less time for videos, but still made about one a week and maintained most of his followers. Rafael had quit participating completely. His practice picking up and his sanity returning had seen to that. 

He did still occasionally find Sonny’s phone pointed at him while he asked him about the Roman Empire or someone named Travis Kelce. He would begrudgingly answer, not looking up from the file he was reading or the legal pad he was scribbling on, but for the most part, it wasn’t really something he thought much about. 

But now he wondered if those old videos had come back to haunt him. Was there a scene they’d lip synced to that was now considered problematic? Or did Sonny use a sourdough recipe from a grandmother who turned out to be a drug lord? He’d always known that stupid app would cause them problems. 

“So, I was eating lunch today, and I pulled it up so I could reply to comments like I try to do every day. You know, engagement is really important. People think that content is-”

“Sonny, think about my level of patience on a good day and then think about what it might be right now. Will you please get to the point?” 

“Yeah, so, anyway, I opened TikTok and saw that I had a ton of new likes and followers. Way more than normal. Like, five hundred thousand way more. And tens of thousands of comments too. And most of them were on one video…”

Rafael didn’t respond, just continued to hold him in that scrutinizing gaze of his, so Sonny soldiered on. “You know that one where I put a bunch of pics of you set to that “Made You Look” song? Of you looking sexy in all your different suits because you wouldn’t do the dance with me?” 

Sonny showed Rafael any video that had him in it before posting it. He knew Rafael griped and grumbled about them, but if he ever actually objected to Sonny posting content of him, he wouldn’t do it. He’d actually been surprised that he’d agreed to the Meghan Trainor video since one of the pictures was Rafael just out of bed, his hair still mussed from the night before. 

“Yes…” Rafael replied, still suspicious. 

“Well, that’s the one most of the likes were on. It went crazy viral.” 

“Oh. Okay.” Rafael had been expecting something much worse and he was self aware enough to acknowledge the ego boost of having people admire his style. Before this week, it might have been a bit weird to think about that many people looking at photos of him, but his trial footage had been watched by millions at this point, so what was a few hundred thousand? 

“There’s more.” 

“Of course there is.” 

“I wanted to know why it blew up. I mean, you’re super hot and why wouldn’t people go crazy over that video of you? But it’s like, two years old and nothing of mine has ever gotten that much attention. And then I noticed that the suggested search at the bottom of the video was 'Alison Friedman hot defense attorney.'” 

Rafael felt the spaghetti in his stomach turn into a boulder, but when he didn’t say anything, Sonny continued. 

“So, I clicked on it. And um, how do I put this? The entire internet is lusting after you?” 

At that, Rafael did finally stand and make his way over to the counter where the decanter of Macallan sat, pouring it generously into a rocks glass. When he stayed there, leaning against the counter, Sonny joined him. 

“Here, maybe you should just see.” He handed Rafael his phone, a TikTok video paused on the screen. In the frozen frame, a twenty something guy’s head floated over a background that consisted of a paused clip of Rafael at trial. Since his outfit matched what he was currently wearing, he could conclude it was from today. In big bubble letters across the screen it said “Rafael Barba annihilates witness in Alison Friedman trial.” 

That wasn’t so bad, he thought, but held his breath as he pressed play. 

“You all have got to see Rafael Barba’s cross of the prosecution’s medical expert ,” said the guy on the screen. “ He made this guy look like a total clown. I’m just gonna play the clip for you guys because I won’t do it justice.” 

What followed was just that, a clip of Rafael going hard at the expert witness. When it ended with nothing more than that he looked over at Sonny. “This isn’t bad. I can handle them ‘lusting’ after my skills as an attorney. And it should help Alison in the court of public opinion.” 

“Read the comments.” 

Again, they weren’t so bad. 

       dude had him sweating!

       rafael barba is the goat

He was starting to think that Sonny was making a big deal out of nothing, but then they took a turn. 

       he can cross examine me ANY day 💦

       He needs to come from behind that podium so we can see that ass

       ↳ go to his husband’s page for that @SonnyTok 

       ↳of course he’s gay no one who dresses like that is straight

      ↳he’s gay? 😭

       i want him to slam me like an old screen door

       EAT ME DADDY

“But these,” Sonny said, interrupting his scrolling and taking the phone from his hand. “Are the ones you should really see.” He handed the phone back after tapping a few buttons. 

Again it was a young guy, probably in his 30’s, against a backdrop of a photo of Rafael outside of the courthouse. Morbidly curious, Rafael tapped the screen to start the video. 

“ Y’all, when I tell you this man has me in a choke hold,” the man began as the picture of Rafael switched to one after another behind him. “ I guess more like I wish he’d put me in a choke hold, right? It’s rude to be that sexy and also that smart and also married. Do you think his husband would let him sit on my face? Just once?” 

“Oh God,” Rafael mumbled, relieved when the video cycled back around to the beginning and didn’t continue. Sonny simply reached over and scrolled the page up one video. This time it was a woman discussing all manner of lewd things she’d like Rafael to do to her. “The caption just says ‘#RailMeRafael’?” 

“You do not want to click on that.” 

“How many of these are there?” he asked Sonny when it was done. 

“A lot. Just be glad there’s no video footage of you and the belt.” 

Sonny lost his phone for the evening as Rafael continued to delve deeper into the side of TikTok devoted to him, refusing to download the app on his own phone. “I don’t actually care about this, but I should know what’s being said about me. It could affect the case.” 

Sonny was putting the now clean dishes away when Rafael wandered back into the room. “A lot of people are asking me to crush their heads with my thighs. Is that a thing?” 

He was standing at the bathroom sink brushing his teeth when Rafael appeared in the doorway. “This person wants me to ‘break their back like a glowstick’? A lot of these are so violent. Is that how it is now? Are you hearing about this at work?” 

“It’s just how people talk,” he mumbled around a mouthful of toothpaste, and shook his head in amusement as Rafael wandered away again. 

Later that night, in bed, Rafael sat up against the headboard with a legal pad in his lap while Sonny snored softly beside him. He was ostensibly reading over his notes for the next day when a horrifying thought occurred to him. 

“Sonny,” Rafael whispered at first, lightly shaking his shoulder. When that didn’t work he shook harder and spoke louder. “Sonny!”

“What? What is it?” Sonny sat bolt upright. “Is someone in the apartment?” 

“What? No.” Rafael was pretty sure he had been about to head for the gun safe in their closet that was now fortunately empty, but unfortunately bolted into place. 

“Oh,” Sonny sank back against the headboard, shielding his eyes from the light of Rafael’s bedside lamp. “Then what’s the matter?” 

“Do I seem straight?”

“What?” Sonny asked again, this time around a yawn. 

“A lot of those videos and comments were by women. Do I seem straight? Is there something about me that makes people think that? Be honest.”

“Babe, never, for one second, did I think you were a straight man.” Sonny patted his thigh reassuringly. “And I don’t think anyone else does either.” 

“So why post that stuff then?” 

"Unchecked lust causing sheer delusion?  Wishful thinking?  Who knows? Don’t worry, you're an obvious homosexual."

"Thank you." He nodded, a finality to it. “Okay, thank you.” 

“Mmhmm.” Sonny slid back down to where his head was on his pillow, snuggling into the comforter. 

“Sonny?” 

“Yes?” It was muffled by his face buried in the covers. 

“Do I seem like a top?” 

Sonny sighed heavily. “What are you talking about now?” 

“Well, this one person said something like, ‘make me your Waffle House hash browns. Smothered, covered, and topped,’” he quoted perfectly even though he pretended not to remember exactly. “And I’m not even a top.” 

“But they don’t know that, Raf.” 

“But do I give off top vibes?” 

“I don’t even know what that means, but I swear to god if you don’t let me go back to sleep it’s going to be a long time before you get topped again.” Sonny pulled the comforter completely over his head now, fully regretting ever having opened his mouth. 

“They’re absolutely feral, Carmen. I couldn’t believe it.” Rafael gesticulated wildly with his coffee cup as they left the small coffee shop a couple of blocks from the courthouse where they met each morning before court. 

“Uh-huh,” Carmen murmured, not looking up from her phone. She’d pulled it out and started searching the second Rafael had told her what was going on. 

“When I started doing those stupid videos with Sonny, you told me barely anyone would see them and that I should just ‘have fun for once’.”

She looked up from her phone long enough to defend herself. “If only I’d been clairvoyant and predicted the completely random course of events that led to this.” 

“Sarcasm is only fun when I’m the one who’s doing it,” Rafael complained, taking a slug of his coffee. 

“Tie me up and fold me like a chair?” Carmen read from her phone, finally hitting paydirt. 

“It’s all obscene! And worst of all it makes no sense.” 

“I’m just a hole. Fill me, daddy.”

“Carmen, please, you’re a mother.” 

“How do you think I got that way?” When Rafael’s jaw dropped, she continued. “Who knew you were such a prude?” 

“I’m not, but can we please have a little professional decorum?” 

“Is that what you called it when you and Sonny used to lock yourselves up in your office back at the DA’s office?” 

“You, um, you knew about that?” 

“I know everything,” she replied in a flat tone that had him very worried. 

He was unable to think on that too long because as they approached the courthouse, they were met with the crowd that had grown larger, and louder, than even the day before. The police had divided them, Alison supporters on one side and detractors on the other. It bode well for them that the crowd of supporters was easily twice as big. 

He was shouted at from both sides as he walked between them toward the courthouse. One side encouraging and the other hurling insults. If they only knew it was the insults that fueled him. 

For the most part, he tried to look straight ahead, not really wanting to garner extra attention from either side, but looked up when Carmen muttered “Oh my God…” 

On the pro Alison side, in a prime spot right at the front of the barricade, was a young man half Rafael’s age wearing daisy dukes and a hot pink shirt with the words RAIL ME RAFAEL emblazoned across the front. 

“God, I hate the internet.”

Over the course of the next week or so, Rafael stayed far away from TikTok and its comments. He didn’t have time to scroll even if he wanted to, not that he wanted to. With the prosecution wrapping up their case, he was doubly busy prepping for their final witnesses and making sure everything was ready to go for them to present theirs. 

Sonny, however, had been doing his best to give the people what they wanted, posting what he was calling “Behind the Trial” videos. Rafael at his desk in their shared home office, collar loose, tongue between his teeth as he scribbled on a legal pad. Rafael standing at their kitchen island in his shirt sleeves, drinking coffee as he read through a file. On Friday he had posted a montage of candid photos of Rafael in each suit he’d worn that week, most taken as he was rushing out the door. His follower account continued its steady climb.

As always, he got Rafael’s permission before posting, not wanting to do anything to jeopardize his case or make him uncomfortable, and even though he’d mutter about objectification, he always agreed, claiming that it was good PR. 

The following Thursday, Rafael and Carmen were sitting at the large table in their conference room, though calling it a conference room was generous since it was barely large enough to hold said table. They were going over the plan for the next day when they would finally begin to present their case, half empty takeout containers, papers, bankers boxes, and folders strewn out around them.

It was a plan that had been in place for weeks, if not months, but ever the perfectionist, Rafael wanted to review it again. 

They were just putting the final lock on their witness order, for the third time, when Carmen’s phone vibrated on the table. Her gasp had her coughing around the sip of iced tea she’d just taken, which drew Rafael’s attention. 

“What? What is it? Did Baker file another motion? Because-”

“No, no, it’s nothing like that,” Carmen said, having recovered. “It’s a Google alert.” She’d had one set for him since their days at the DA’s office, but their frequency had grown exponentially these last few weeks. 

“Oh God, what now?” Rafael asked, though he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

She decided to just rip off the bandaid and slid her phone across the table to him without preamble.. 

On the screen was the headline of a Buzzfeed article that read:  The Internet is Obsessed with Defense Attorney Rafael Barba and Here Are 25 Posts to Show You Why

“Oh for the love of…” 

“Look on the bright side, all of this is good for the brand.” 

“Do I look like a 24-year-old hawking skin care products? I am not a brand.” 

“But the trial has already brought in new clients, and this can only help. And I don’t know about you, but I’d love to move into a real office instead of what used to be a Kinkos.” 

“I bought us a Nespresso machine,” Barba said like that made their ramshackle storefront the height of luxury. 

“You bought you a Nespresso machine! I don’t even drink coffee and you know that.” 

Rafael was rarely bested in an argument, but on those occasions it was usually by Carmen. Knowing this to be such an occasion, he shut up. 

He still held her phone in his hand and he looked back down at the headline glaring up at him. He was contemplating clicking on it when his phone started to buzz on the table next to his elbow. He slid Carmen’s phone back to her and picked up his own. 

       Liv: You told me you didn’t even know what TikTok was!

And then less than a second later. 

       Rita: You’re taking this publicity slut thing a little far, aren’t you?

Not bothering to respond to either of them, Rafael stood, pulling his jacket from the back of his chair and shoving his phone in his breast pocket once he’d put it on. “Let’s call it a night. I have a sudden need to have a conversation with my husband.” 

“Take it easy on him. Most of these posts aren’t even his,” Carmen said, scrolling through the article. “They’re mostly from someone named…BonersForBarba? Oh wow, they found the press footage of you from the Adam Cain case. Good thing there’s no footage of the belt.

“You look really grumpy in most of these,” she continued, ignoring Rafael as he began shoving files he would need that night into his briefcase. “Is that a white people kink?” 

Rafael ground his teeth together. “Stupid TikTok. Stupid pandemic. If I had been in my right mind, I never would have-” 

“I know, sir,” Carmen placated, handing him another folder. 

Knowing condescension when he heard, Rafael just sent her a look before stomping out of the room. Once Carmen heard the outer office door slam, she settled back into her seat, her tea in one hand and her phone in the other, and resumed scrolling. 

The entire cab ride home, Rafael’s phone was vibrating non-stop. It seemed that every one he had ever met, some of whom he had not spoken to in years, wanted to make some comment about the article. Eventually, he stopped looking at it, leaving it in his pocket to vibrate against his chest. If he wasn’t in the middle of the biggest trial of his life, he would turn it off. 

At some point the cadence of the vibration changed and it took him a second to realize that meant someone was calling. He groaned when he saw that it was his mother. He didn’t have the energy for that right now so he ignored it. But when she called three times in a row, he knew she wasn’t going to give up. “Hi, mami,” he answered, doing his best to sound like he didn’t know why she was calling. 

Twenty minutes later, when he stepped into his and Sonny’s apartment, he was still on the phone with her. Sonny, who was on the couch with his laptop resting on his thighs and baseball on TV, looked up to greet him with his typical smile, though it fell a little when he saw the glare Rafael was sending his way. 

“I know, mami,” Rafael said into his phone for the twentieth time in as many minutes, retreating to their bedroom and closing the door. 

It took another thirty minutes of him assuring his mother that this wouldn’t ruin his career and that these days things like this were a good thing (if only he believed that). Finally, after he promised that by this time next week the fleeting attention span of the internet would move on to caring about someone else, she let him go. 

He sat on the edge of the bed for a moment. Taking a couple of deep breaths, doing his best to calm down before speaking with Sonny, but then his phone vibrated in his hand. It was an email and the little bit of it he could read in the notification preview was enough to evaporate all of the calm he’d worked for.

       Photo Shoot
       Mr. Barba, Hi this is Brittany at PopSugar and we’d love for you to

Back in the living room he could see the Buzzfeed article pulled up on Sonny’s laptop screen. “Oh good, you’ve seen it so I don’t have to explain to you why I’m pissed,” he said, standing in front of him, his arms crossed. He’d shed his jacket in the bedroom. Being angry always made him literally run hot. 

“Just now,” Sonny explained. “I’ve been working, but when I saw your face, I knew something new had to have happened. But it’s not a big deal,” he added quickly. 

“Not a big deal? How is this not a big deal?”

“It’s not new content or anything. It’s just sending people toward my page, which isn’t a bad thing. You know, we’re actually making quite a bit of money from-”

“We're rich!” Rafael interrupted. “We don't need more money.”

“No, you’re rich,” Sonny countered. He hadn’t been the one to invest a good portion of his corporate law salary in Apple stock in the 90’s. 

“Well, whether married or divorced, which we may be soon, it's half yours.”

“Well, technically in New York-”

“I do not need a lecture on New York state divorce law right now. Save it for your little followers.”

“All I’m saying is, this isn’t really much different than the videos, you know? You knew about all of this, why are you so upset?” Sonny genuinely looked confused and that made Rafael even angrier. 

“Because TikTok is for young people with nothing better to do; I don’t really care if they see me look ridiculous, but people I know have seen this. It’s humiliating, Sonny.”

“I hate to break it to you, Raf, but all the people who know you already know that you’re sexy.” 

Rafael knew what Sonny was doing. It was what he always did. Trying to charm and deflect, to make Rafael forget why he was mad, but not this time. “It’s all gotten wildly out of hand. I just had to explain to my mother— my mother, Sonny—what railing is!”

“Your mother teaches teenagers. You really think she’s never heard the term ‘railing’? She’s fucking with you! You know she loves messing with you.” 

This actually gave Rafael pause for a moment, wondering if the extremely uncomfortable conversation he’d just had was all for his mother’s amusement. The thought was so distracting that his voice didn’t have as much bite when he spoke again. “I just wish I’d never done any videos. I hate that all of that is out there.”

“Do you genuinely believe that any of this is because of my videos? The only reason they found my account in the first place was because they were already thirsting over you. Yeah, I added fuel to the fire — with your permission I might add — but you can’t blame me for the fact that you’re strutting around on Court TV every day and people noticed.” 

“I am not strutting , I am just doing my job.” 

Sonny shot him a look. “Please, you’re working your angles and you know it.” 

This, Rafael thought, was the problem with falling in love with someone and letting them know you completely. It made it too hard to win an argument when they knew all of your secrets. 

“Okay, fine!” He threw up his hands.  “I’m vain!  I don’t want to look like shit on TV. Sue me! But I didn’t know it would turn into all of this.” 

At this Sonny set his laptop aside and stood, placing his hands on Rafael’s shoulders, lightly massaging them . “It’s my fault. You’re Gen X and you didn’t fully understand the insanity of an internet frenzy. I should have better prepared you.” 

Sonny’s soft tone did as intended, causing Rafael to sound more pitiable than angry when he said, “Yes, you should have.” And then, after a beat. “Aren’t you also Gen X?” 

“Depends on who you ask,” Sonny waved it off. “Plus we know I’m way more hip than you either way.”

“Yes, because those who are hip use the word ‘hip’,” Rafael responded with an eye roll. 

“Look,” Sonny said, rubbing his hands up and down Rafael’s upper arms. “If you want, I’ll delete the videos. Hell, I’ll delete my whole account if you want. It was only ever meant to be something fun for us to do together. And I admit, it was kind of nice knowing that so many people recognize how smart and sexy you are, but I’m the one who gets to share a life with you. But none of it is worth making you feel embarrassed. 

“And while I don’t know that me taking my stuff down will stop any of the madness, I do want you to know that I’ve got your back. Always. And I’ll do whatever you want me to do.” 

“Thank you,” Rafael raised up to place a soft kiss on his lips, thinking for a moment. “But I suppose it’s already all out there…” Sonny smiled knowingly the second he said it. “There’s probably no point in taking it down.”

“Okay, as long as that’s what you want,” Sonny said, almost solemnly, knowing Rafael would get annoyed again if he knew Sonny saw right through him. He knew Rafael secretly enjoyed all of the attention, even if he didn’t want anyone else to know that. “But let me know if you change your mind.” 

“When have I been known to not tell you what’s on my mind? Changed or otherwise?”

“Come on,” Sonny said with a chuckle, kissing him again. “It’s late. Let’s go to bed and I’ll do things to you all those people on the internet only dream of.” 

“By the way,” Rafael said as they walked down the hall. “Carmen knows we used to fuck on my desk.” 

Sonny barked out a laugh. “Of course she does! She was right outside and you were never as quiet as you thought you were.” 

“Excuse me? You’re the loud one.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Sonny said, stopping just outside their bedroom to kiss him again. “Let’s find out, huh? Wanna come rail me, Rafael?” 

“So now you also think I have top energy?” 

“Oh, would you shut up?” Sonny said with a laugh, pulling him into their bedroom.