A big Thank You to the wonderful barsonaddict, who helped me to get the ideas rolling again when I was stuck!

Also, my awesome friend Rose betaed this for me! :)

I hope you guys enjoy this, I'm looking forward to your feedback!

The Way You Look Tonight

The full moon was standing high on the night sky, it's pale light glittering on the water of the Hudson River and illuminating the warehouses close to the docks. It was a clear night and so it wasn't really dark, but Rafael Barba wasn't worried at all about that. Even though he normally preferred the darkness to conceal him and his men, he was relaxed – he'd paid the security men of the government warehouse enough to look the other way for the whole night if he needed them to.

Leaning against a wooden crate in a casual manner, hat pulled low over his face and coat nearly hanging off his shoulders to reveal his suspenders, he turned the page of the small book he was reading, smiling to himself. This was going well, and he would make a lot of money with the alcohol his men were currently carrying out of the warehouse and loading onto their truck.

"Barba? This was the last one."

With a self-satisfied grin, he closed his book and slipped it into the pocket of his coat, pulling the keys to the warehouse doors out in the same move.

"Perfect. Then let's lock up and leave. Nice work, gentlemen."

Letting the keyring swing on his index finger, he pushed himself away from the crates and walked over to the doors as two men pulled them shut. How he loved it when everything worked out smoothly...

Behind him, he could already hear the engine of the truck come to life with a loud roar – Carisi, a new member of his gang, seemed to be overly eager to get the work done. It was the first time Rafael had allowed him along, and he was already annoyed by the boy. He was feeling tempted to kick him out again, but then he'd promised an old friend to give the man something to do.

However, when the wheels suddenly screeched, he knew that something was not going to plan. Whipping around, he saw with wide eyes how the truck with his alcohol was driving off; next to the deep tracks it had left behind he could spot a Carisi-shaped figure lying motionless on the ground. For a short moment, he felt like somebody had punched him in the face and he guessed that he must have paled, but then, anger rushed over him. He knew exactly who was responsible for this, and he didn't even have to look at the shape of the person in the driver's seat to realise that.

"¡Puta mierda! What am I paying you idiots for?!" he snapped, glaring at his men who had mostly gathered around Carisi by now, trying to help the disorientated boy to his feet while he mumbled something about a sexy brunette he'd thought to be harmless.

How much he hated it when things weren't going according to his plan.

OoO

The excitement of the little triumph was still fresh inside of her as Olivia unlocked the door to her mother's place, carrying a bag with groceries. Even though she'd done it several times before, it was just purely amusing to let Barba do all the schlepp for her and go home with the fruits of his work.

After taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and entered, the sickening smell of alcohol, sweat and something that was probably mould from forgotten food hitting her. It was a smell she grew up with, but since she'd left her mother's home with sixteen, she'd become aware of it again, and even after all these years, she found it hard to control her stomach.

Her mother was sitting on the couch, shoulders hanging while she clung to a bottle of cheap whiskey, hair greasy and eyes glassy as she lifted her head and looked at her daughter. It seemed like her intoxicated mind needed a moment to process Olivia's presence, then her expression suddenly hardened.

"Where the hell have you been, Olivia?!" she yelled, staggering heavily as she stood up, the bottle nearly slipping from between her fingers. "Were you with Antonio again?! I told you that I don't want to see you near him, I don't want you to get drawn into my cousin's business!"

Her voice was slurring more and more with every word, and Olivia felt guilt rush through her – sometimes, her mother forgot that her daughter had already joined the mafia, sponsored by her mother's cousin. It had been the only way to keep herself from starving without selling herself to one of the countless factories in the city; she'd been forced to take care of herself since she was a little girl. And now she was coordinating all kinds of dark business for the Lucarnos, passively providing her mother with the alcohol that had taken her childhood so early.

"Coming home late, associating with criminals... you're a disgrace! You disgust me!"

Suddenly, a bottle was flying her way, and Olivia ducked away just in time; the bottle narrowly missed her head and shattered at the wall behind her, the amber liquid dampening the tapestry and leaving a large stain. Tiny little bits of broken glass rained down at Olivia's head and she closed her eyes for the fraction of a second, trying to calm herself down. Moving quickly, she made her way towards the tiny kitchen in the back of the small apartment; she heard how her mother kept yelling insults while the noise indicated that she was searching for a fresh bottle of liquor, and even though she'd learned to live with it, she had to blink a few tears away.

Her hands were shaking slightly as she placed the bag of groceries on the narrow counter, and upon thinking that she didn't want to stay longer than she had to today, she made quick work of pulling a small loaf of fresh bread and a few cans out of the bag. While she stored them away, the noise in the background slowly died down, but Olivia didn't allow herself to relax – when she was drunk, her mother was unpredictable and outright vicious, and she'd made the mistake of letting her guard down once and never again.

After her usual check that there weren't many things her mother could accidentally injure herself with, she grabbed a broom and returned to the living room. Relief washed the tension in her body away as she spotted her mother lying on the couch, hugging an unopened bottle of alcohol while snoring loudly. However, even though her mother was passed out and looked quite peacefully, Olivia didn't feel comfortable to stay, causing her to quickly clean the glass from the floor and throwing it into the trash.

Before leaving, she gently placed a blanket over her mother's sleeping form and pressed a tentative kiss on her cheek after whispering: "I have to go now, but I'll be back soon."

OoO

Rafael slammed the door of his flat shut with so much force that the mirror at the wall vibrated dangerously, but he didn't care. He was frustrated and angry, mostly with himself, because seriously, he should have seen it coming. Competition was fierce since the prohibition had started, one could gain good money with alcohol on the black market, and everyone in New York wanted to have a piece of the cake, the families standing in the front row. And Olivia, she seemed to have her fun while getting into his way.

A curse left his lips as he walked into the living room, lit two lamps and grabbed the bottle of scotch standing on one of the polished cabinets. Pouring himself a glass and immediately knocking it back in two gulps, her chocolate brown eyes crossed through his mind and the way they gleamed when she laughed, showing him again and again that it was unwise to underestimate her. He'd made that mistake once and had learned from it.

"Heard someone knocked your driver out and none of your men noticed."

Rafael jumped in shock and whipped around, the scotch glass nearly slipping from his grip. His green eyes were wide as he stared at his mother Lucia, who was casually leaning against the doorframe, a smirk on her face.

"Mother, how the hell did you get in here?" he asked with a pressed voice as soon as he'd recovered from the unwelcomed surprise and calmed his heartbeat down a little bit.

Lucia sighed dramatically as she took her hat off, carelessly throwing it onto one of the armchairs standing nearby, then her fingers fished a lipstick from her purse. "I have to tell you, that wasn't particularly easy. For some reason, my key didn't fit into your lock anymore."

"Maybe that's because I exchanged the lock last week," Rafael stated dryly, glaring at his mother before briefly turning away to pour himself another glass of scotch. "You know how I hate it when you're coming to my place unannounced, Mamí."

Opening the cap of her lipstick, Lucia rolled her eyes. "What the hell do you need privacy for, son? You never have any visitor, let alone a love life, so I don't see why you're reacting so extremely."

"I would still prefer it if you would knock instead of picking my lock." Rafael ran a hand through his dark hair, not bothering to conceal his disapproval while Lucia applied her lipstick, looking at her reflection in the small mirror by the door, her free hand making a dismissive gesture towards him.

"I just wanted to see if I could still do it. Don't forget who taught you, mijo. Now stop being rude to your own mother and tell me what happened."

This was her way of telling him that she would break into his home whenever she pleased to, and if he wanted or not, he had to accept that. His mother certainly wasn't an ordinary woman, and he'd learnt that there was no use arguing with her about her sometimes rather eccentric behaviour.

Rafael shrugged, his frustration from earlier returning slowly while he sipped his scotch and moved to look out of the window, observing the dimly lit street below for a good minute before he answered: "I really don't know how that happened. One moment we were loading the alcohol on our truck, then suddenly it drove off and we saw Carisi lying next to it, knocked out. Never should have allowed this guy into my gang. And well, I can imagine Olivia from the Lucarno family is still laughing about my face right now, I probably looked pretty stupid."

His expression darkened slightly and he emptied his scotch, placing the glass next to the bottle with a loud thud. Lucia had meanwhile shrugged her coat off and was now sitting on the couch, the corners of her mouth twitching into a smug smirk as he mentioned Olivia. Leaning back, she studied her son intently, the smirk widening while he didn't seem to notice that she was watching him so closely – his mind was occupied with something else.

"It's the third time in less than two weeks that she interfered with my plans, and I swear, Mamí, she's doing this on purpose! I mean, there are enough other warehouses that she could have went to today, and by a strange coincidence she had to take the one where I tried to land my coup – again!"

His gestures were becoming sharper as he started to pace through the living room, seemingly forgetting about his surroundings as his rant started to gain momentum.

"This woman is driving me crazy, mother, and she seems to love it! I swear, next time I will..."

"Yes?" Lucia interrupted him with a knowing tone, her smirk by now having become cheeky, and she cocked an eyebrow. Rafael stopped his monologue, slightly confused as he seemed to return to reality, giving her the time to stand up and walk over to him.

"I know why you are always so flustered when she comes for you. She's driving you crazy in a good way, and you're fascinated by her." A slightly triumphant gleam crossed her dark eyes as she spotted the blush tinting Rafael's cheek red before he masked this reaction with a glare and a disbelieving laugh.

"Do you have oxygen on your planet, mother? I'm certainly not fascinated by her, she's getting in my way all the time and I lost a lot of money today because of her, so..."

He continued to complain and brush Lucia's assumption – which she knew to be correct – off with thin arguments, causing her to stop listening to his rambling. Evidence was on her side, and no matter how deep he was in denial, she knew what was truly going on inside of him.

OoO

Olivia's hands were shaking as she wiped a tear from her cheek while climbing up the stairs to her little flat a few blocks away from her mother's place. She somehow wished the excitement and the adrenaline from earlier would return; when she'd sat in the truck imagining Rafael's flabbergasted expression, she'd felt like there were no worries in the world. But her own laughter always seemed to become a moment in the past she longed to go back to when she visited her mother.

There was so much darkness her mother emitted, the demons of the past haunting her still, and she always seemed to pull Olivia down with her. It took her all her willpower to tell herself that her mother was drunk and didn't mean it when she threw insults at her because she once again couldn't take it to see the reminder of her rape: her daughter, standing in front of her.

Not bothering to light a candle, Olivia entered her flat and locked the door behind her before making her way to her bedroom, hastily dressing in her nightgown and slipping under the covers. For a long moment, she stared up at the ceiling, then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to get rid of the dark cloud that seemed to have sneaked its way back into her mind. Slowly, the turmoil inside of her was dying down and her thoughts started to wander...

-.-.-

A heat wave was hanging over Manhattan and whoever could afford it stayed inside their cool house, keeping the windows closed to keep the heat out. The constant warmth was affecting everyone's mood heavily, and as Olivia and a few of her friends walked through the back alley, there was no way she could ignore the tension that was hanging in the air. She'd already heard from her mother's cousin that there'd been quite a few incidents during which members of rivaling families had butted their heads already because everyone was on the edge from the weather. Therefore, she had a bad feeling as she spotted another group of young people coming towards them from the other side of the alley.

"What do we got here? Lucarno's rabble," one of the young men exclaimed as the two groups came to stop in front of each other, hard expressions and glares making it clear that nobody was on friendly terms here. Olivia crossed her arms in front of her chest and forced herself to straighten her back to appear more confident.

"And they're babysitting. What do you want with that doll, huh?"

She immediately recognised the voice, knew that it was him before he pushed past one of the taller guys. Green eyes gleamed cheekily, matching the cocky smirk he wore as he looked her directly into the eyes, and she briefly remarked to herself how his appearance was finally matching that big brass ego. He'd grown, even being a fraction taller than her; his shoulders were broader and a little bit of stubble was visible on his jawline.

Gone was the small boy that always seemed to have a trace of fear in his eyes when he thought nobody was watching, who tried so hard to conceal his tremble when Barba senior had called. She'd seen that countless times and though she knew that it wasn't her business, she'd asked herself what happened to him at home.

And Olivia wondered how she hadn't noticed this change until now.

"Hey, leave her out of this. You don't want Antonio to hear this, he's her sponsor." The voice of one of her companions ripped her from her thoughts, and seconds later, the group opposite to her broke out in laughter.

"She's a woman, you aren't seriously trying to tell me that they're going to introduce her to the family. Don't make a fool out of yourself, Marcotte!" Barba roared, wiping a non-existent tear of laughter out of the corner of his eye while Olivia's jaw stiffened; her hands curled into fists and she felt the desire to punch him. He didn't know her, had no idea why she was doing this and that she wished she had another choice, and it was making her angry that he was unknowingly making fun of her struggle to keep herself and her mother alive.

"Oh come on, Barba, you wouldn't last a minute against me," she hissed before she knew it, her tone challenging, and he cocked an eyebrow, his expression saying 'try me'.

"What do you suggest, Olivia?" he asked while his smirk widened, her first name coming over his lips rather softly, though not tainting the challenge of his question at all.

"Arm wrestling."

Olivia ignored how everyone behind her was starting to shift nervously upon her confident suggestion; though everybody was feeling edgy, she knew that none of them were really searching for confrontation, and they were aware that one false action could cause a situation to get out of control under these circumstances.

It was ridiculously obvious to her that Rafael was unable to refuse; he was too cocky for his own good sometimes.

"Really? Well, if you can deal with the defeat, mi amor," he said mockingly, gesturing towards a wooden barrel by the wall; a few battered chairs were standing next to it, and Olivia briefly remembered that a few older men of the building played chess there.

"It's okay, I won't be too harsh with you." She grinned at him while moving over, mirroring his action of dragging a chair to the barrel and sitting down. "You ready?"

She stretched her arm out, supporting her elbow on the wood and felt her heart jump as his hand gripped hers; his skin was soft and he didn't seem to know how tight his grip should be. Their gazes locked and she couldn't deny that there was something hanging in the air between them, some sort of electricity that seemed to intensify with every moment that passed.

"If you two need this so desperately, fine," one of Olivia's companions said, gritting his teeth. "Free hand behind your back."

Creases of concentration appeared on Rafael's forehead as his gaze wandered down to their joined hands, and his face turned red moments after the signal to start was given. Olivia flexed her muscles, pressing against him with every bit of strength and willpower she could muster, and the way his face contorted in effort told her that he had difficulty matching her. She ignored the loud cheers of the people standing around them in a circle and flashed a grin at Rafael as she suddenly pressed harder and the back of his hand hit the wood with a loud thud.

Everyone around them started to cheer or groaned in defeat and she couldn't keep herself from smirking triumphantly, patting his hand. "It was a pleasure, Rafael."

His green eyes were showing off his pure surprise about what had just happened as he stared at her while she stood up, letting her fingertips brush against his shoulder playfully as she walked past him, whispering: "Maybe I'll grant you revenge one day."

OoO

Rafael seriously considered it a wonder that he'd been able to convince his mother to leave by claiming that he would go to bed early instead of planning his next heist. And yes, he normally would have worked all night, fueled by his anger and frustration, but somehow he was just tired, and she seemed to have sensed that. He just wanted this day to end, and he sighed heavily as he finally fell into his bed, turning onto his side and staring out of the window for a while before he started to drift off into a light slumber...

-.-.-

He was sitting on the fire escape in front of his room, wiping the sweat off his forehead; the summer heat was still hanging between the buildings, even though the sun was already standing low above the horizon, dipping the brickwall behind him in a golden light. A notebook was lying on his knees and he tried to capture the scene in front of him on the paper, the pen in his hand working quickly and with confidence.

However, as his gaze lifted from the paper the next time, he froze and a tingle ran down his spine. On the street below he could see a familiar face, and he forgot everything around him in that very moment. Her curly brown hair was open, flowing over her shoulders and gleaming in the light of the setting sun, just like her skin; her light summer dress was moving in the gentle breeze as she walked, and he was convinced that it was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen. She was moving elegantly but determined, knowing exactly where she was heading and he couldn't help but admire the confidence that was radiating off her.

His heart jumped as her gaze wandered upwards and met his briefly, the corner of her deep red lips twitching into a soft, lovely crooked smile... It had only been for a moment, but Rafael felt like it was a wonderful eternity before she walked around the corner, vanishing as quickly from his field of vision as she'd entered it.

Taking a deep breath, Rafael shook his head, but he couldn't seem to get rid of the shaky feeling, of the sensation of knees that would surely give in if he tried to stand up in that moment. As he flipped to a blank page of his notebook, he nearly ripped one of them out and his elbow almost pushed the little can with his pens off the stairs... But surprisingly, his hand was steadier than ever before as it guided his pen over the paper, recreating the smile that had burned itself into his memory within the blink of an eye.

OoO

She couldn't deny that she'd picked out this day and this location completely on purpose. One of her informants had told her when and where Rafael Barba would try to steal from the government warehouses again, and sabotaging him was just too much fun to not use this opportunity. There weren't many times she could actually connect work and amusement – and tricking Barba certainly was amusing to her, especially as she always seemed to find a way to do so, no matter how many precautions he'd taken.

It wasn't like he wasn't smart – he was one of the best for heists for a reason – but it seemed like he intentionally left weaknesses in his plans so she could get into his way. And what kind of a lady would she be if she turned down a very promising invitation?

But this time, it didn't go as smoothly as last time – she didn't know how, but somehow her and the men she'd taken with her to assist ended up standing in the warehouse, being on the receiving end of one of Rafael Barba's most infuriated glares. She certainly hadn't planned this, but then it was also nice to see how his cheeks turned red and his Cuban temper threatened to break out of him. He really wasn't her type – a phrase she'd told herself often, but still didn't quite believe – but he was quite attractive when his green eyes were gleaming intensely.

"Are you serious?" Rafael hissed in a hushed tone as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared back at him, holding his gaze with the intent of not backing down. "Aren't there any other people you can annoy?"

Olivia couldn't help but chuckle about this, and she seriously didn't know where the flirty undertone in her voice came from as she replied: "Oh come on, Barba, I know how much you love it when I do this."

Suddenly, the panicked voice of one of Olivia's men broke the tension that had been hanging in the air, causing everyone in the room to whip around in surprise, Olivia's heart skipping a beat. "The coppers are coming!"

For a short moment, everyone stared at eachother in shock, then, they seemed to get infected by the panic their lookout had already been feeling.

"Run!" Olivia hissed and she didn't need to tell them twice; everyone dashed away into different directions, some of the men grabbing some bottles of booze while they ran. She didn't look back as she headed straight for one of the many backdoors of the warehouse, hearing screams from behind her that indicated that the men trying to flee that way were running straight into the arms of the officers.

As she outrightly collided with the door and pushed it open, another pair of hands hit the metal next to hers and as she briefly looked to the side she realised that Rafael had chosen the same path as her. He was right behind her as they stumbled down the narrow metal stairs, blinded by the sudden change of lighting conditions, but still Olivia spotted the two silhouettes moving towards them from the front of the warehouse. Skidding to an abrupt halt, she grabbed Rafael's wrist and dragged him with her as she changed directions, a curse falling from her lips.

The officers behind them yelled, but a brief look over her shoulder as they squeezed through the hole in the fence she'd used to enter the property earlier told her that Rafael and her had a good headstart. And even though this was a dangerous situation for them, she couldn't help but relish in the feeling of her heart pounding against her ribs and the adrenaline rushing through her veins.

Laughter bubbled out of her as they raced down a street; people jumped out of their way, complaining loudly, but she didn't care. It might sound crazy, but she felt alive.

Deciding it was time to change direction again, she pulled Rafael with her into an alley; he was panting harshly next to her and she was rather sure that he didn't share her excitement about the little chase. At least he didn't seem so enthusiastic as she pushed him into a niche halfway down the alley, convinced that they'd managed to outrun the police officers. Her body collided with his as she squeezed herself into the niche with him and even though her muscles were aching and her lung seemed to be on fire, she giggled breathlessly, causing him to give her an irritated glance.

To Be Continued...

A/N - my writing music: Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them OST: Newt Says Goodbye To Tina/Jacob's Bakery helped me a lot to imagine the scene where Rafael sits on the fire escape and spots Olivia. Also, 1920s jazz gave it a nice atmosphere, so I definitely recommend reading it again with the music in the background :D