A/N: This is nothing new. It has been done many times before, and far more stylishly/entertainingly/accurately, by others. However, it just came to me when I was meant to be working. It's a bit of fluff for a Sunday. A one- possibly two-shot. Robbie is walking Laura home after their little drink in the bar when she asks him about Val and he tells her he is ready for a new chapter (and we all said "Hurrah!").

"So… this new chapter…" Laura's voice was light and breathy; Robbie could hear the nervousness in it.

He smiled to himself as he sauntered beside her, walking her home along the High Street, through the busy nocturnal happenings of the city, hands plunged deep into his pockets and his mind lightened, as though suddenly released from an age-old burden. He heard the scuff of her heels on the pavement as they meandered along. They had been walking for some time and she had dropped the words into a comfortable, yet emotionally-charged silence. Seemingly, she'd needed some time to absorb the phrase he'd found so easy to utter in the bar some hours before.

"Mmm hmm?" The smirk on his face was not coy; rather it was warm and full of hopeful anticipation. He leaned forward slightly to look down at her.

Laura bit her lip, her eyes dark and disquieted. She looked away quickly, as though suddenly fascinated by the murky window display of a bookshop they were passing. He'd caught her unbelievably off guard with his little revelation earlier; she'd almost choked. A stilted acknowledgement of his words, followed by a hasty gulp of her gin and tonic had been all the response she could muster at the time. Now, buoyed by the alcohol in her veins, there was something she needed to know.

She swallowed, "Um… I suppose I was just wondering…"

Her voice trailed off as she turned her face back, upwards towards him. In the balmy streetlight, with her eyes wide, he struggled to recall her ever looking more beautiful.

"What?" He chuckled. "What were you wondering?"

The rhythm of their footsteps on the pavement stuttered and eventually stopped in a darkened shop doorway. They turned to face each other, bright-eyed in spite of the shadows. She regarded his face: noting the lines that his life thus far had etched on his face, the watery depth of his eyes, the inverted arc of his lips.

His lips. She was looking directly at them now.

Tearing her eyes away, back to his, she took an audible breath as a new swell of nervousness rose achingly in her chest. Her forehead creased in a perplexed frown.

She stared upwards at him. He knew. He knew exactly what she was wondering.

Robbie watched as she pursed her lips. Those lips. He smiled again at the thought that tonight might finally have brought him a step closer to kissing them. A new chapter. He'd chosen his words carefully. He hoped that in them she'd heard no sense of expectation or entitlement; he simply wanted her to know his door was now open, so to speak.

It was up to her whether to step through it. And when.

He smiled widely at her. He could wait. He would wait as long as it took for Laura Hobson to turn the page and take up the place he longed for her to have in his life. He just hoped he hadn't left it too late.

The thought caused his smile to fade momentarily. Perhaps he was assuming too much. He had come to feel a physical ache for this woman… but could he be absolutely sure she felt the same way? Granted, she'd pushed him towards his revelation earlier in the bar: her clipped and almost awkward question about Val had seemed to speak volumes, but what if he had misread it? His face fell. In the dim light, Laura watched his expression change and tilted her chin, her own frown deepening.

"What, Robbie?" She whispered. "What's the matter?"

"Ah, nothin'." He shook his head and took a step closer, looking down at her with wistful intensity, silently willing her to take away his sudden doubt. His voice dropped to just above a whisper, "What… what were you wondering, Laura?"

Laura's heart quickened. He was looking at her so intently, causing her throat to tighten. Perhaps this was it. Perhaps this was the moment that she and Robbie might finally take their endless dance beyond friendship. He was willing her towards him; she felt the magnetism in his stance, heard it in his tone of voice. God, how she wanted to feel the warmth of his chest as she pressed herself against it; to hear the low rumble of his words murmured into her hair as he held her, the sultry heat of his breath on her neck. Once again, her thoughts left her breathless: the rising tension of the evening beginning to leave her weak.

Steeling herself, she took a step towards him. And another; her footsteps the only sound in the hazy silence of the doorway. All at once, the physical distance between them began to blur from platonic to something more, aligning itself finally with the closeness they had long since felt for each other. Robbie could smell her perfume: Laura could sense the musty wax of his Barbour coat. She stole a glance upwards at him, her face a picture of eager uncertainty and he smiled back at her, nodding slightly. Yes. Yes, we can do this.

His hands were shaking.

She reached out for one of them, the contact sending a shard of excitement up his spine. Her fingers were cold and clammy, in spite of the evening's warmth. The pad of her thumb traced an experimental line across his palm, prompting him to reach down to take her other hand in his. He squeezed it and watched a small, reassured smile pass fleetingly across her cheeks. She couldn't recall the last time she had breathed.

Slowly, he brought her hands up to his chest, pressing them against his shirt through his open jacket. The action forced her to step closer, closing any remaining distance between them. Spreading her fingers out over the cotton of his shirt, she reveled in the unanticipated but ever-increasing intimacy of the situation. As she looked up at him, her perplexed frown was gone, but her eyes remained wide.

Quietly, Robbie repeated the question, "What were you wondering?"

Her face flushed and she made to step backwards, but he held her hands tightly against him. "Tell me," he murmured.

She took a deep breath, her head spinning with the unexpected turn of the night's events. "Well... I was just wondering… um…" she was distracted as his eyes roamed her face. She swallowed, "this new chapter…" Robbie nodded, attentively, as one of his hands slipped down to her waist.

Laura closed her eyes in a vain attempt to steady herself, " …does it…?" she breathed, interrupted again by his other hand finding her cheek.

"Mmm?" He questioned, wordlessly, so eager for her now. She was letting him touch her. Finally, finally, he was putting his arms around her. And not out of comfort or camaraderie: this time he could feel the inviting curve of her hip through her dress, the peach-like softness of the skin below her earlobe. Involuntarily, his hold on her tightened: he felt his every nerve ending becoming alive and alert. She smelled just as she always did, just like Laura, but somehow everything seemed heightened. He inhaled deeply, simply wanting to breathe her in. How good it felt to hold her, to allow the electricity of her proximity to course in his veins. He was distantly aware of his heart clattering in his ribcage. No doubt she had noticed it too, but he didn't care. All that mattered was feeling her here, against him, letting him hold her, as he savoured the heady, but almost unbearable anticipation of the first time he might kiss her.

"Does this new chapter include me?" She whispered, finally finishing the question, but by now already knowing the answer.

He smiled, almost laughing, his thumb tracing the outline of her jaw, as he tilted her chin gently upwards towards him. "I'd say so. Yes."

A wide smile flooded across her face, but her eyes still danced with nervous energy.

Somewhere far away in her consciousness, Laura laughed at the way she was behaving. By now Robbie had consumed her senses: the gentle, old-school lilt of his aftershave had found her nostrils; the agitated rhythm of his heart was clamouring beneath her palms on his chest; and his almost uncharacteristic, verging-on-possessive hold on her hip was pressing her firmly against him. In the milliseconds before he kissed her, she was overwhelmed by the urgency she felt, and could sense that he felt too. It was as though all of the uncertain flirtation, the overly warm gestures, the age-old friendship and the slow-burning attraction they'd endured for so many years were being violently funneled into this moment, resulting in an explosive pressure that was both exquisite and alarming.

"And when…" Her breath was coming out unevenly.

"Yeah?" Robbie was staring at her in such a way, it made her stomach flip.

"When…" she swallowed, as he ducked his face slightly closer towards hers, "when does this new chapter start?"

He felt her breath on his face and smiled.

"Oh, Laura, love…" It felt so strange but so heavenly to hear him whisper her name like that, "I'd say it already has."

She watched as his lips parted slightly and his gaze flitted to her mouth. She closed her eyes as his nose grazed hers, nudging her backwards so that their mouths could meet. She waited, as Robbie savoured one last moment of anticipation.

And then it happened. The new chapter began.