It seems like my plotbunny and my muse have become friends again. I am going to try and keep this up, but of course I can't make any promises. And thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter!

The following Saturday, Harry made sure he got home on time so he could take his time to cook and tidy up before Ruth came over. Because he barely spent any time at home and had a cleaner in twice a week, his house was practically spotless to begin with, so it didn't really need a lot of tidying up, but it took his mind off things and helped him to pass the time. He took Scarlet out for a quick walk, and afterwards he began working on his lasagna. It was one of the few dishes he could make really well, and had done so many times over the years, so the chances of him messing it up were next to none. Once he had put the lasagna into the oven and set the table for two, there was just enough time left for him to take a shower and change.

After his shower he made a few final preparations, most importantly preparing a simple salad to go with the lasagna, while a violin concerto by Bach played in the background to calm him down. He had suddenly become very nervous when it dawned on him that this was the first time he had actually invited Ruth over to his house. This was a world away from dinner in a fancy restaurant, or an exciting fling in a hotel room far away from home. This was something much more intimate and real, in his very own home. Harry didn't have any more time get himself nervous and worked up over this, because at that moment the doorbell rang.

He walked into the hallway with Scarlet hot on his heels, who was very excited to see who the visitor was. As he opened the door he realised he was still wearing his apron. It wasn't the first impression of the evening he had intended to make, but it was too late to do anything about it now. The door opened to reveal a nervous looking Ruth, who started smiling as she noticed the apron. "I see you're still in full cooking mode," she said. "I hope I'm not too early?"

"No not at all, I am actually all finished. I just sort of forgot to take this off," he answered, gesturing to the apron. "Come in," he said, stepping aside to let her pass.

Harry took her coat and hung it up whilst Ruth was greeted enthusiastically by Scarlet. "Hello girl," she cooed as she crouched down and scratched the little Jack Russell behind her ears.

"Would you like a glass of wine?" Harry asked as he led the way into the spacious kitchen/diner.

"Yes please," Ruth answered as she followed him, taking in her surroundings at the same time. She had never been to Harry's house before.

"I can give you the grand tour later if you like," he said as he noticed her looking around. "Is red OK?" he asked as he held up a bottle of Merlot.

"Oh yes I prefer red wine, so that's perfect. And I'd definitely like a tour of the house later," she said.

"Have you lived here long?" Ruth asked as Harry handed her a wineglass.

"Not that long actually," he said. "Remember when that kid broke into my house and cracked open my safe? I moved not long after that."

"Oh that's right, I completely forgot about that. Did you mind moving house?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Not really. It's not as if I spend a lot of time at home anyway. To me it's little more than a pile of bricks that have been neatly cemented together for me to live in. This house has a better garden though, which is nice for Scarlet I suppose."

Ruth wanted to make a comment about making a house more personal and homely in order for someone to feel at home there, but she was interrupted when the timer went off.

"Dinner's ready!" Harry said with a smile, as he gestured her to take a seat at the table.

The lasagna had indeed turned out the way Harry had intended, and dinner was a success. Conversation flowed a lot more easily than either of them would have expected, and they discovered that they had loads to discuss that didn't involve their job. As it turned out they had a very similar taste in music, and to Ruth's pleasant surprise Harry was a lot more fond of classic literature than she would have expected. There were no awkward silences, just the occasional natural pauses in their conversation while they ate. It felt as they had been having dinners like this one for years.

After they had both finished eating Harry cleared their plates away, and refused to let Ruth help him clean up, no matter how persistent she was. "Bugger," she suddenly heard him swear under his breath.

"What's wrong?" she asked, hoping nothing serious had happened.

"I completely forgot about the dessert. I had intended to make one, but I completely forgot. I'm sorry."

"No, don't worry about it. It's ok. I don't need a dessert. The lasagna was lovely, and I've had more than enough to eat." she replied.

"I could quickly pop to Tesco and get some ice cream if you like?" Harry said.

"No honestly, don't. I'm fine. Besides, I shouldn't eat too many desserts anyway, it's bad for my waistline." she said, trying to reassure him that he shouldn't worry too much about it.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with your waistline," he said as he walked towards her. "It's perfect the way it is."

He rested his hands on her hips and leaned forward to kiss her. Ruth was momentarily overcome by her emotions when she realised what he had said. No other man had ever called anything about her perfect. After a short moment she realised what was going on, and responded eagerly to the kiss.

When they at last ended the kiss she said: "are you going to give me the grand tour of the house now?"

"You surely don't waste your time, do you?" Harry said as he raised an eyebrow.

Ruth immediately went beet red. "N-no I didn't mean it like that. I truly meant it when I said I would like to see the rest of your house, and I-I wasn't implying..."

Here Harry cut her off. "I'm just teasing you Ruth, don't worry. Honestly, you're the easiest person joke around with."

"Cheeky bastard," she said as she playfully slapped his arm. "Well, lead the way then and show me your house."

There wasn't all that much to show her. There was a large reception room downstairs, and upstairs a spare room, a study, the bathroom, and of course the master bedroom, which Harry had saved for last.

Ruth sensed a healthy bit of tension between them as she peered into the bedroom, which was tastefully but sparsely decorated, but was still very Harry.

She felt an arm encircle her waist from behind. "Would you like some coffee?" Harry asked her, his mouth very close to her ear.

Ruth didn't know whether it was the wine, or the fact that they were already standing in his bedroom – perhaps it was a combination of the two – but she suddenly felt like being very bold and forward for once.

"Coffee is nice, but there's something else I'd much rather have," she said as she turned around and kissed him hard.

Harry took the hint immediately and he started moving her backwards into the room, never breaking the kiss, until the back of her legs hit the side of the bed. He laid her down gently on top of the duvet and moved to lie beside her, before resuming his attack on her mouth. "This is a much better idea, I agree," he said as he moved down to kiss her neck and collarbone. "Coffee is overrated anyway."

Ruth awoke slowly, and felt disoriented for a moment. She was in pitch blackness and didn't know exactly where she was. But suddenly it all came back to her, and she felt relieved. She looked to her right, and noticed that Harry was still sleeping soundly. She peered over his sleeping form to the digital clock on his bedside table, and noticed that it was 2.30 in the morning. They had been asleep for hours.

She suddenly began to feel a bit uncomfortable. This hadn't been part of the plan at all when she came over earlier that night. The plan was to have dinner with Harry, just that. She could only hope that he didn't think she was being too presumptuous this early on in their relationship, if he was even considering it a relationship yet. They hadn't exactly talked about how they were going to define this thing, whatever it was that was going on between them. Ruth wasn't really used to serious relationships, and she dreaded the awkwardness a talk like that was inevitably going to bring along with it.

Trying not to wake Harry, she moved over to the side of the bed. Perhaps it was best if she snuck out now, to avoid a whole lot of awkwardness in the morning.

"Not trying to sneak out, are you?" she heard him say before she had even managed to swing her legs over the side of the bed.

"Of course not," she lied.

Harry reached over to switch on the lamp on his bedside table. "Are you sure?" he asked as he turned around to look at her.

"Well, maybe I did," she admitted hesitantly as she bit her bottom lip.

"Why?"

"Because I thought it might be awkward in the morning. It's not as if I had planned for this to happen, and I didn't want you to think that maybe I did."

"Ruth," he said, taking her hand in his, "other than having dinner with you I didn't have any expectations about tonight. Not that I wouldn't like anything more to happen of course, but it wasn't all part of the master plan. But I'm glad it did, and of course I didn't think you'd have a hidden agenda when you came over tonight."

She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Stop worrying so much, and try to enjoy these moments while they last," he said as he cupped her face with both hand and kissed her softly.

They both lay down again, Ruth with her back to Harry, allowing him to wrap his arms around her.

"Please promise me that you won't try to sneak out again after I've fallen asleep," he whispered in her ear. "I would like for you to be there tomorrow when I wake up."

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere," she whispered back.

Within a matter of minutes they were both fast asleep.