AN: This one was requested forever ago by Lady Levinson Turner. She wanted something surrounding the flower show in series 1. So here we are! This one is just completely fluffy Cobert cuteness. I'm afraid Robert may have got a little out of my control and I think ended up out of character. Robert and I blame Cora's hat! Please do review and my PMs and reviews are open to prompts/ideas.

The hall was emptying. It was left to him and Cora to check that all the stalls had enough help clearing away, and then, they too, would meander slowly back to the house.

A quick glance behind him shows Cora still busy on the far side of the hall. She cuts a fine figure in her ivory ensemble. She'd shown it to him a few weeks ago, a new purchase, and today was its first outing. He hadn't initially been sure about the hat, it was very large, but it had grown on him. He liked the way she had to tilt her head to properly see him. He knew she was rather pleased with the outfit, and that had been enough to please him. She always looked beautiful to him, but he had learnt that she liked to feel beautiful (he supposed all women did) and the right clothes helped her with that.

He turns his attention to Mr Molesley Senior, who is still beaming with pride about having won the Grantham Cup.

"Congratulations once again Mr Molesley." The older man smiles. "I wonder if I might ask a favour of you?"

"Of course m'lord."

"The new rose. The one Lady Grantham took a shine too, could I possible take one?"

"Of course m'lord. Least I can do when Lady Grantham has awarded me the Grantham Cup." Robert smiles.

"It was well deserved. Lady Grantham has always been a great admirer of your roses." It was nice that Mr Molesley had finally been rewarded. It had been unfair all these years that Cora's fear of his mother's wrath had prevented her from judging honestly. It might have been his mother that had finally given in, mainly due to Isobel's goading, but it was a small victory for Cora too. Isobel had now given her the power to judge the event more fairly in the future and he knew that would ease Cora's mind. She'd spent the majority of their marriage stuck between her own opinions and his mother's. It was high time his mother started to relinquish some of her control. Cora had proved herself to be more than capable at filling her shoes. But then, that was probably what his mother didn't like. Mr Molesley passes forward one of the roses and smiles gently.

Robert admires the fragility of the petals, and its complex beauty. He could see why Cora found it appealing. She loved red roses and it was something he tried to indulge her with when he remembered to get the gardener to pick them. He still remembered the first time he had given her roses and she had gushed over the romance of it all.

He turns around, expecting to find Cora still occupied on the far side of the hall, only to find that she is not. He scans the room, expecting to find her hidden in some corner just out of his sight, but she is not. He exits the hall, the rose still clutched in his hands. He twists the stem slowly between his fingers.

She is stood outside, near the edge of the village hall perimeter, adjusting her gloves. He smiles to himself. She seems to be lost in thought and gazing at the sky.

He approaches her slowly, hoping that she is distracted enough not to notice his approach. The leaves flutter in the trees and cause the light to dapple across her dress.

He places one hand on her shoulder, smoothing it down her back. She starts slightly.

"Don't move." He can imagine the look of confusion that might be gracing her face. He moves the rose around so it's in her line of sight. She gasps softly. He watches the blush spread along her cheek from his stance behind her.

She reaches forward and clasps the stem just above where he is holding it. He releases it and she gently rotates it once in her grasp before turning to face him.

"I figured the most beautiful person I know deserved a beautiful rose." She blushes and peers up at him through her lashes beneath her hat. She reaches forward with her free hand and squeezes his hand.

"Thank you darling." It's the way her American accent rolls over the word that makes him want to kiss her. He always found it endearing when she spoke his name, but there was something equally charming about her pronunciation of the word 'darling'. He leans forwards and immediately comes into contact with her hat. She giggles softly. "Sorry." She tilts her head and he manages to lean beneath her hat without further incident.

He kisses her softly, just the once. Standing in the village was not the place for a passionate embrace. When he pulls away she loops her hand around his arm and they begin the walk back to the house. She twists the rose around in her hand, and he can see the fascination on her face as she admires the petals.

"You know, when I first saw your new hat I wasn't sure about it. Then earlier I decided it was a very bold fashion statement and it suited you. Now I'm not so sure. It seems it's going to get in the way of things I want to do." She laughs.

"Well I did choose it because I just can't bear how often you want to kiss me." Their eyes meet and hers are full of laughter. She had always teased him. "I hadn't thought about the logistics of the hat to be honest."

"It's alright, I'm sure I can work around it."

"I don't doubt that darling." Her tone is soft and her cheeks are flushed a soft pink. She leans against him, and he knows she is thinking about all the various dresses and complex undergarments he'd overcome before. He blushes at some of the memories. They hadn't been wild, but they had always been quite passionate and sometimes that hadn't been able to wait for clothes to be properly removed.

"I suppose the hat might be quite useful if there was someone paying you unwanted attentions."

"I should hope you'd have swooped in to save me before it came to me attempting to use my hat to deflect them!" He laughs. A strange image floats in his head of her using her hat as weapon. "That's if such a thing ever happened Robert. I'm not exactly young anymore."

"Age has nothing to do with beauty."

"Ahh I see, so you do think I'm old?" Her tone is teasing and she has tilted her head so she can see him.

"That's not at all what I said. Besides, if you're old I must be ancient. I wouldn't dare age myself so prematurely."

"Who said it would be prematurely?" She is biting her lip, holding back her laughter. He stops walking and turns to face her. Her hand drops from his arm. He glances quickly around and finding the pathway deserted, he steps towards her, grasping both her hips and nudging her backwards slowly against the trunk of the tree beside them. Her face is flushing a deep shade of red, almost as bright at the rose she is still clutching firmly within her grasp. "Robert?" Her voice is low with warning.

"You can't tease me and expect to get away with it, Cora."

"You usually wait until we're alone to get me back." This was true. Her teasing and flirtation tended to heighten his desire for her rather than prompt him into likeminded remarks. She could spend days slowly building the tension within him until eventually he would give in.

"I blame the hat. It's just begging for me to negotiate it again."

"So, it's not the wearer's undeniable beauty?" She is still teasing him.

"That's a given my dear. But the hat makes it more enticing. I think it is the thrill of knowing that other than your own, mine will be the only face ever to sit beneath it." She blushes, but she also reaches forwards and grasps his upper arm with her hand, smoothing the jacket fabric and asking him, subtly, to close the gap between them. He obliges.