A/N: This is set as a continuation of my one-shot 'What's a Kiss?'. It could actually be chapter 2 of that story, but I really didn't want to lock in the ending like that. We can imagine that they both are smart enough to know when they have a good thing. Buuutt…they aren't. So here is my continuance. It will be in two parts.

So this started out in my head as an M rated Fic, and fair warning, part two of this will raise the rating. I just thought that what I had as part one would be intriguing enough plot-wise for those that didn't want to read the pervy bits. Here's to hoping!

So, with my further ado set at the end…

Now What?

Connor had gotten an urgent call from the ARC as soon as they had broken off their kiss. The anomaly detector was acting up, and none of the techs had been able to figure it out. He had to go and check it out. It was important, something he couldn't ignore... as much as he would like to. Abby had let him kiss her, and she'd kissed him back. Connor began to hope that just maybe she felt something for him, too. They could pick up where they left off when he got home.

He'd left Abby with a shy smile and a kiss on the cheek. He'd stopped by Lester's flat and gathered his things after getting finished up at the ARC. He thought it was likely that Lester would kill him and his diiactadons if he stayed around too much longer. They would be just as glad to be home as he was.

He had released Sid and Nancy in the flat when he returned, and watched their reunion with Rex with a smile. Abby had watched and laughed with him at their pets' antics, but then had beat a hasty retreat to her room. He found himself awkward and shy around her again, and loathed to disturb her when she was plainly trying to avoid him. He would give her some space. She hadn't answered his question about where they were going from there, and he was fresh out of courage.

He'd laid out every bit of it he had when he asked her if she had meant it when she kissed him, and then he tapped reserves he didn't know he had when he had kissed her. Abby avoided him while he unpacked his things, and was still avoiding him when he made his way back to the main floor. Hours later, desperate to regain some level of comfort between them again, he stopped in front of her as she tried to move past him silently on her way to the kitchen.

"Would you like to rent a movie and pick up a pizza?" Connor asked hopefully.

Abby looked up at him, eyes wide, "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds brilliant. Let's go."

Abby didn't know how to react to this new development between her and Connor. She was starting to think that she had made a mistake telling him he could move back in. What she really needed right now was some quiet where she could get it sorted in her head. Connor had been tiptoeing around her since returning from the ARC, but that just made it seem even weirder between them, so when he offered up pizza and a movie she jumped at it. It was an old comfortable routine with the added benefit that she could pretend to be engrossed in the movie so she wouldn't have to talk.

At the video shop Connor stepped back to let her pick the movie. She would have preferred it if he would have done his usual routine of him trying to convince her that it was his turn to pick yet again. He would get horror or sci-fi and she would complain, but it would be like it was before. Once again…it was just weird. Abby compromised, picking out a film that she wanted to see that she remembered Connor saying he wanted to see also.

Their conversation was nervous and stuttered, Connor rambled on about the technical emergency that had caused him to have to go back to the ARC, and it was obvious he was talking to fill the dead air between them. She knew he was just as uncomfortable as she was; she wondered if he was regretting their kiss as much as she was…wasn't she?

She was catching herself evaluating Connor in ways she had never allowed herself to think of him before. He was wearing a pair of tight electric blue skinny jeans, and she kept stealing glances at his tight little bum. What didn't help matters was that he was wearing one of his skintight black t-shirts, as well. He had definitely filled out since she first met him. All the field work had helped, and he worked out in the ARC gym with her regularly (they spotted each other when they lifted weights). He would never be large or muscular, but he was wiry, toned and tight, and stronger than he looked.

Even though she had labeled him in her mind as 'just a mate' and 'not an option' she had couldn't help but notice how defined his shoulders and arms were now...his chest was pretty nice also. He always wore a vest, so she hadn't been able to check out his stomach, but she was willing to bet it was worth looking at. She could almost see the faint outline of his abs through his shirt. Oh god…she was staring again. She hoped he hadn't noticed.

Connor stole another glace at Abby as she sat stiffly on the couch next to him. She appeared to be completely engrossed in the video; she was even ignoring his snarky comments. He thought he had caught her looking at him, but every time he had tried to meet her eyes she had looked away. Frustration and sadness welled up within him, and he gave up trying to talk to her. Despite it all, she apparently didn't want to have anything to do with him, now. Maybe she had just kissed him out of sympathy.

His stomach hurt. Miserable at the outcome of what he thought could be the best day of his life, he just sat there when she said she was knackered and off to bed when the movie was over. She had looked at him only a handful of times, and she barely spoke a few words to him. Connor was starting to think he'd made a giant mistake, forcing Abby to answer him. He sat staring at the telly, tearing himself to pieces over everything he must have done to muck up his chances with Abby. In the end, he decided that it was just a case of who and what he was. If she didn't want him, he'd stop trying. The rejection just hurt too much.

He stumbled up to his room, heartsick and broken. He'd start looking for a new flat tomorrow. He couldn't bear to be around Abby with this strain between them.

Abby lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. She didn't know how to reach out to Connor, didn't know what to say. She only knew that they couldn't go on like they had this evening. He had sat there looking wounded and miserable all evening, and she knew it was all her fault. He'd put himself out there for her, and then she had gone and given him false hope by letting him kiss her. But it had been a good kiss…better, even, than the one she had laid on him. She had to fix this; she had to go talk to him. She would apologize for the kiss; tell him that they should just be friends.

She padded upstairs to his room; she had heard him stomping up the stairs a couple of minutes ago. She walked into his room without a thought; she was used to their casual encroachment of each other's space. She froze as she saw him standing by his bed, barefoot and shirtless, and with his jeans already unzipped. His eyes traveled up and down her body hungrily before he realized what he was doing and blushed as he looked down at the floor. Abby suddenly felt self-conscious standing there clad only in her vest and knickers.

They had been flat-mates for a long time, and this wasn't the first time he'd seen her like this, but it seemed different now. He turned his body away from her, but not before Abby spotted his growing erection. Abby couldn't ignore the flush of heat that the look in his dark eyes had generated in her. There was no question about it any longer, and she didn't know how she had managed to avoid seeing it for this long. Connor…her adorably sweet, geeky Connor…was smoking hot. She was glad she wasn't the only one affected, despite the fact that she had come up to tell him it had been a mistake.

"Connor..." she said, shocked at how low and raspy her voice had come out.

She saw him close his eyes and swallow. He turned to look at her, pain and desire written across his expressive face.

"You need something?" he asked, his voice hard, bitter.

Taken aback, she strode towards him. She didn't want him angry at her, although he had a right to be. She stopped in front of him, and knew it had been a mistake to get so close. She forgot sometimes how much larger he was than her; he came off as so unassuming and harmless that it usually didn't register. She was struck by how badly she wanted to run her hands over all that bare skin, and his abs were just as tight and toned as the rest of him. Her eyes flicked from his downcast eyes to his lips and back.

Connor was determined not to let Abby see how much he was hurt by her rejection. He fed the anger and bitterness, because if he didn't, he would cry. He didn't want to cry in front of her, which would just cement her low opinion of him. She thought he was weak, not worth her time, not her type. He wasn't good enough for her, and he needed to accept that he never would be. But she was so near, and she smelled so good.

Connor looked up from the floor to meet her eyes, afraid of what he would see there, but determined to get her rejection of him over with so he could try to move on. He laughed at himself; he didn't know who he thought he was fooling. There was no getting over Abby. He allowed himself a lingering look at her body as he raised his gaze to meet hers. It would probably be his last chance to see her like this, and he was going to take full advantage of it. He met her eyes finally, defiantly, let her see the way she had destroyed him, how badly he wanted to touch her, kiss her.

Abby's words froze on her tongue. Connor's intense stare rocked her to her core. Heat, tingling desire coiled low in her belly. She wanted him. Her mind flashed through images of her life with Connor. He had always been there to smile at her, cheer her up, and lend her support, even when it hurt him as a result. He had not said a word about not having anywhere to go when she kicked him out at a moment's notice. And she had missed him…more than she had ever thought possible. She had kept turning to talk to him, finding herself disappointed when he wasn't there.

She couldn't imagine her life without him…she didn't want to. It was hard to think, hard to reason. He was near enough that she could feel the heat coming off of his skin. Her heart hammered in her chest, her breath quickened.

She loved him.

"Connor..." she whispered.

He stared back, waiting…angry and sad. He looked as if he was bracing for a blow, and it made her ache for what she had done to him. She only had herself to blame, she had rebuffed his advances for so long that it had become a habit to her.

She did the only thing she could think of to take that look off of his face…she kissed him.

He sighed and melted into it, his arms coming around her gently, his mouth on hers for a few delicious moments before he stiffened and pulled away, although he couldn't make himself release her completely. She was just going to push him away again. He was tired of feeling like her marionette.

"Abby I can't take this! I don't know what you want from me!" he bit out, tears standing in his eyes.

He had done it...it was her turn. Her turn to be brave. Her turn to admit what was burning inside of her.

"I love you," she whispered.

Connor stared down at her, thinking he must have heard her wrong. She watched as her words registered with him. His eyes lightened, hope shining in them. He gave her a disbelieving half-smile as a tear escaped and rolled down his cheek. He dashed it away, embarrassed.

"You do?" he asked tentatively.

She nodded, "I'm sorry for...I'm just…afraid," she admitted.

"You're afraid? Of me?" he asked, incredulously.

Abby nodded, biting her lip, "Yeah. Of us. What it would mean for us. What if it didn't work out? What if it ruined our friendship? Do you know how much it means to me? And what about the ARC? We work together, if it doesn't work out then we're stuck working together…"

He had thought of all that…even when the possibility seemed so remote that it was laughable. He'd come to a solution to that way of thinking a long time ago. The answer had made the risk worthwhile; maybe it would for her, as well.

"What if it does work?" he asked softly.

His arms tightened around her, heat flared in his eyes again as he saw Abby looking at him…looking at him like she wanted him as badly as he did her. She captured his lips for another kiss as her answer. He groaned as she pushed her body into his; he gasped into her mouth at the sensation of her soft skin on his as she pressed against him even closer.

The risk was definitely worth it.

TBC in part 2.

A/N: So…I think it is a possibility that they could have skipped the drama if they could have had the time/courage to talk about their relationship earlier in the day…but what's the fun in that? And really…these two? I-S-S-U-E-S. They both ate their Angst-y O's for breakfast.

Next chapter (it'll be up quick, I promise) rating goes up.

If you enjoyed reading this (or if you hated it) please review? It makes for a well fed, active muse.