Work Text:
Robin is enjoying her Sunday strolling to pick up some groceries for the week when she hears a laugh. His laugh. She whips her head around and looks across the street and sees Strike, his unmistakable bulkiness sitting in a chair on the patio of a smart looking restaurant with a nicely dressed woman sat across from him. She just stands there, with her mouth agape watching Strike listen attentively and talk animatedly with this woman she’s never met before.
She quickly starts walking down the street. Thinking as she does that She doesn’t know why it’s bothering her so much. They aren’t dating. They’ve never even kissed properly. But, She’s just felt that since her birthday and then his, and through the holidays to the present sunny spring that they’ve been moving in a direction that would lead to them getting closer in a more intimate way. Cormoran certainly has been what she would consider flirting with her, openly. With lingering touches and not so secret eye contact and sneaky glances, even in the company of others. She’s thought she’d been flirty too, matching his pace, maybe she hadn’t? She wants more with Cormoran; she can admit that much to herself now. She thought they’d been on the same page. Moving towards a shared goal, albeit slowly she’ll admit. Had she gotten it all wrong? What if he had grown tired of waiting?
She’s thinking of ways to casually bring up her walk around that restaurant to him at the office tomorrow to see if he mentions he was in the area too, when she realizes she doesn’t want to. She’s tired of living in ifs, buts and maybes. She’s sure she wants Cormoran and if he doesn’t want her, they’ve been through awkwardness before and she was sure they’d be able to manage professionally. She quickly changes directions and crosses the street and starts walking back towards the restaurant. Strike facing her way down the street notices her as she approaches and looks shocked to see her for half a second before a smile lights his face and he clamors out of his chair and boisterously says
“Robin, what’re you doing here?” Robin can feel the blush enveloping her face and neck as she smiles politely to the attractive woman and turns to strike and says, “Cormoran, just let me say this..” she looks at his eyes and sees questions, she jumps right in “I thought we were getting closer” strike interrupts “ uh Robin I’d” Robin shakes her head and says “No just let me say this, please” he bites his bottom lip and stares at her, she continues quickly, “Cormoran I thought about this. About Us. And since my divorce of course I thought we were going to eventually, you know try and make a go of it since I had thought we both had you know felt something for each other, best mates and all..” Strike opens his mouth to say something but Robin holds up a hand and continues, “Now today I walk by and see you sitting here with a beautiful woman and I don’t have any right to be jealous but you never told me you were meeting up with anyone today, and again it’s not like you’ve done anything wrong, why would you have to tell me what your plans are and who plan to see. But still it’s just a shock to see you out with someone... else. And again you’ve not done anything that warrants me being upset. And I’m rambling and I’m nervous and I’m sorry but what I’ve been trying to say is that I think I might be in love with you and I can see that you have moved out on and are on a date and I am so so sorry for intruding and dropping all of this on you Strike I just... I just had to let you know.” She stops talking and avoids his eyes and starts walking away past him.
Strike stands there stunned and then quickly turns and yells “Robin” she stops and turns, inwardly groaning at how much of a fool she’s made of herself surely he’s going to request a dissolvement of partnership. When she finally looks at his face she sees his smirk and his eyes beaming in the sunlight, he says, “Can I take you out to dinner tonight?” She’s shocked, “um what? Me? No? what? Me? What about?” Robin says as she turns to smile politely at the woman still seated at the table across from Strike. Strike clears his throat, “As I was trying to say earlier, Robin, I’d like to introduce you to Ilsa’s friend Victoria. She's a realtor, we were talking about finding a new office space.” Robins blush turns redder as her eyes widen in understanding. Strike looks at her and smiles softly. “So... dinner date tonight?” Strike says a hopeful tone to his voice. Robin looks into his eyes and responds quietly through a smile “yes, I’d like that”. Strike's smile takes 10 years off his face “Great” he says, still embarrassed Robin quickly turns to walk away. Strike all but shouts “Robin wait” she turns again. Strike says as he gestures towards his vacated chair “would you like to join us? As I was explaining to VictoriaI’m not much use to make a must have list without the input of my partner.”
Robin looks to Victoria and back to Strike, “Oh of course” she says, as she makes her way to the patio. Strike pulls the chair out for her and then moves to sit in the one right next to her. She shakes hands with Victoria. Victoria politely tries to focus on the office hunt and not on the declarations made and starts with, “ Right, as I was explaining to Strike this area may be your best option” as she’s pointing to an area on a printed out map on the table and talking about tube stops and building ages, Strike leans over and whispers to Robin, “Just for the record, I know I’m in love with you.” He grabs her hand on her lap under the table and he glances at her sideways and sees her eyes widen and her blush deepen even further, but her hand tightens around his, and she sits there thinking what took them so long?