I'm sorry the last scene is a bit rubbish. I've been trying to write it for a couple of months. I hope it's not an anti-climax.

Tanith Panic, I made a mistake in the last chapter - Robyn was supposed to hear Dylan in the alley on the way back from finding her purse in the ED. I'll go back and update it after I've posted this chapter if I remember. I'm glad you don't mind 'get his smooch on'. It did seem very Robyn but not at all Dylan! Thank you for your review.

Kay southern, thank you for your review. Robyn really is going to get a surprise - whether it's a nice surprise or not will probably depend on exactly what Lofty and Dylan are doing! I have written two other Dyfty stories - a romance called I've Got Your Number (which might at some point get a sequel) and a friends one-shot called One Tiny Moment.

Thank you to pamelayng for the follow and favourite.

Robyn marched down the alley and looked in the gaps between the bins.

And then she saw him.

No. Not just him. Them.

Robyn stared, unable to believe it. "Oh my God! Why didn't you tell me?"

They both started and then Ben looked at her, his face full of guilt. "Robyn, I'm so sorry. I never wanted you to find out like this."

"Well, neither did I, to be honest," said Robyn. "Hanging around in alleyways, doing God knows what (and just so you know, I don't want to know what)… I thought you two were better than that!"

But she couldn't keep the smile from her face.

She dropped to her knees and hugged both of them. "I'm so happy for you!"

Ben was staring at her in confusion. "You mean… you don't want Dylan!"

"Only for fixing you up with!" said Robyn.

There was a spark almost of amusement in Dylan's eyes. "I appreciate the thought, Robyn, but you're too late. About… how long would you say, Ben? Six months too late?"

"YOU'VE BEEN TOGETHER FOR SIX MONTHS?" shouted Robyn.

"Well, we did break up for a little bit," said Ben. To Robyn's delight, he pressed his lips lightly to Dylan's. "And I suppose we kind of broke up last night too. But everything's fine now."

"It was my fault," said Dylan.

Robyn went slightly weak at the knees. Dylan never usually admitted anything was his fault. He must really love Ben a lot if he was saying things like that.

Ben was smiling. "It doesn't matter, Dylan. It's all in the past. It's the Ghost of Christmas Past - and all I care about is my Christmas Present tomorrow and our Christmas Future."

"It's the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come," corrected Dylan.

"I obviously need to listen to that tape," said Ben. He scrambled to his feet, then bent down and offered his hand to Dylan, helping him to stand too.

Robyn nearly died. They were so adorable together. She put her hand into her pocket and felt the coin there. "Lofty, did you ever find out who your Secret Santa was?"

Ben shook his head.

"It's me," said Robyn. She held out the twenty pence piece to Ben. "So here you are."

"You got him a twenty pence piece!" almost shouted Dylan. "I hope you're not implying my boyfriend's cheap."

"Of course not!" said Robyn, though she couldn't help wondering if that was what Jacob thought about her. "Okay, so maybe he did live in a loft so he wouldn't have to pay the rent... but hey, we've all had our skint moments!"

Dylan looked as though he'd never been skint in his life. Robyn couldn't help thinking he probably hadn't.

"Robyn's not implying anything, Dylan," said Ben. "You remember what I told you about the tossing?"

Robyn clapped her hands to her ears. "Okay, I do NOT want to hear this part!"

"The COIN-tossing!" said Ben loudly.

"Oh, right," said Robyn. "Sorry."

"Remind me not to tell you about my Pancake Day traditions," said Dylan.

Ben looked at Dylan in delight. "You like Pancake Day! So do I!"

"Not that we'll get to eat many," Dylan warned him. "For the most part, I toss and Dervla swallows."

"Oh my God!" If Robyn had worn contacts, they'd probably have fallen out.

Ben burst out laughing, hugged Dylan tightly and kissed away his embarrassment when he realised what he'd said.

Robyn wanted to hug them both. "You two are just too adorable!" She held out the coin to Ben. "Please take it."

Ben looked at the coin for a moment and shook his head. "I can't, Robyn. I can't take it. You love Christmas and I want you to enjoy it."

Robyn smiled. "I do love Christmas, but you and Dylan have just given me the best present ever. Besides, if I spend tomorrow at home, it will be just me and the DVD player. If I'm at work, I can have a good moan with Louise and drop hints to Rita that I know about her and Iain."

Ben stared at her. "Rita and Iain? That's who you found out about today?" He thought for a moment. "Now you mention it, I can sort of see it."

Dylan sighed. "I thought everyone knew about that. Even I've known for a week and I don't even care." He looked at Robyn, concern on his face. "Robyn… you won't tell everyone, will you? About Ben and me?"

Robyn opened her mouth to say no, but then she smiled. "If you accept my 20p and stay at home tomorrow, I won't say a word."

Except to Louise, of course.

Ben was surprised by how much he was enjoying A Christmas Carol. He hadn't been sure at first and it had bothered him slightly that Dylan had chosen to sit on the sofa instead of on his lap, but it hadn't been too bad once he'd got used to it.

He was actually quite disappointed when Dylan leaned over and switched the tape off.

"What are you doing?" said Ben.

"I don't listen to the end," said Dylan. "It's a bit silly."

Ben made a sound of surprise and disbelief.

"When Scrooge becomes a new man; Tiny Tim is all right; yada yada. It's a bit twee."

"You're not ruining this," said Ben. He leaned across and switched the tape recorder back on.

"It's my boat; my rules," said Dylan, and switched it off.

"Come on!" Ben switched it back on again.

Dylan moved to switch it off again, but Ben smacked his hand away.

Dylan looked a bit shocked, but Ben quite enjoyed it.

His skin was on fire as he continued to listen, but part of his attention was on Dylan, waiting for his next move.

Come on, Dylan. Next time, I won't just touch you. I'm going to grab your hand and take you into that bedroom and tear off that horrible yellow shirt and…

"Are you even listening?" said Dylan.

"Of course!" said Ben, and waited for Dylan to switch the tape off.

He didn't.

Clearly, more aggressive tactics were needed.

Lofty got up and walked over to the sofa. There wasn't much space between Dylan and the arm of the chair, but Lofty somehow squidged himself into it. Dylan's arm, which had been resting on a cushion, went around Lofty just enough to play with his hair.

Lofty settled himself comfortably against Dylan, listening to the thumping of his heart and knowing he was part of the reason why it was going so quickly. He reached for Dylan's hand.

The story came to an end. The tape recorder clicked off.

"Twee," said Dylan.

"But happy," said Lofty.

"Are you happy?" asked Dylan, almost as though he didn't care about the answer. It was a sure sign he cared a lot.

"No," said Lofty.

He felt Dylan move uneasily. "No?"

"You're not kissing me and you've still got your clothes on," said Lofty.

Dylan didn't exactly take his time about remedying the first. He allowed Lofty to help with the second. "Now go to the bedroom. We don't want Dervla waking up."

"Who needs a bedroom?" said Lofty.

Dylan held his face close to Lofty's. "My boat; my rules."

They went into the bedroom.

They didn't reappear for quite some time.