Rosette's Best Christmas

Disclaimer: Chrono Crusade and its characters do not belong to me…

The grand white doors opened as two petite figures were ushered into a crowded room filled with colourful decorations and music through the speakers. The two new occupants of the room glanced around themselves in wonder, oblivious to the attracted gazes from those around them as they admired their beauty.

"Wow! Look at all the lights and decorations! Satella has really outdone herself this time!" exclaimed 14 year old Azmaria as she admired the decorations in her friend's home.

"Puh-lease… Do you suppose that lazy bum will do all the work herself! She might have just ordered her servants to help her do all these!" replied Rosette though smiling despite herself.

"Oh Rosette, you know how much effort Satella puts into these parties. She stayed up for nights just to prepare those handmade table decorations herself for the last Halloween party!" Azmaria said as she turned towards Rosette with a slight frown, forming a crease on her otherwise perfect face. A pair of large round ruby eyes adorned Azmaria's small face that also featured light makeup to emphasize her ripe lips and perfectly arched eyebrows. Those very same pair of ruby eyes were now staring at her friend in a mixture of disbelief and a touch of displeasure though the recipient of the stare ignored her friend's unspoken reprimand.

Rosette, looking equally entrancing herself, looked at her younger friend and smiled proudly thinking, 'Azmaria has turned out so well. After all the time spent at battle and everything she has been through in her young life, she deserved this.' Returning to the conversation at hand, she replied, "I know how much effort she has put in on these parties." Acknowledging her agreement though she continued in a worried tone, "She should have asked her servants to help her with all these though. Look at these!" Rosette waved her hand in the general direction of the items that filled a nearby table. "Imagine how much time she had to invest just to do something like this." She picked up a decoration on the table and showed it to Azmaria to prove her point.

"Hey! Over here!" The girls turned as they noticed a hand waving and trying to capture their attention. "I am here!" called out Joshua, Rosette's brother and Azmaria's date for the Christmas ball.

"Where is Chrono?" Rosette asked her brother as she approached him while searching for signs of her boyfriend.

"He went off to find Satella a while ago..." replied Joshua with a glint in his eyes.

Rosette glared at her brother. He knew he should have known better than to release that little tidbit of information to his sister. It was simply too juicy to be dismissed. It certainly did not help that his sister's reactions were always so funny whenever he brought up anything to do with Chrono. He chuckled to himself before bracing himself for the tirade to come. As expected, Rosette did not disappoint and proceeded to berate her brother for his negligence in duty to protect her boyfriend.

Meanwhile on the opposite side of the room, the occupant of Rosette's thoughts stood leaning against a wall, seemingly unaware of a brewing storm across the room. Chrono looked at the glass of wine in his hand. After swirling the drink for a bit, he took a big gulp and glanced up at the approaching figure.

"So you agree to my plan?"

"Yes. It did get a bit tricky when I had to convince the chef to be a part of this. He was a bit reluctant about having to juggle extra work on his hands when he was already busy enough with the preparations for this party." Satella shrugged as she stopped in front of Chrono and leaned against the wall beside Chrono.

"You know that I really appreciate your help in this, right?" Chrono said with a smile though it was immediately replaced with a frown. "What if... What if she doesn't like it?" Chrono said hesitantly, glancing nervously across the room at his girlfriend who was dressed in a startling black mini dress for the night.

Satella gave her friend a playful shove. "Since when is Chrono, the most fearless demon, ever scared or worried about such matters?" Noticing Chrono's unease, a thought occurred to her and she took up a serious demeanor, "This is certainly not a time for you to decide on a last minute back out. You aren't thinking of that right?" Seeing Chrono's immediate responses in the negative, she let out a breath of relief. Changing to a softer tone, she patted Chrono gently on the shoulders, "It will be fine. No matter what, you guys are serious about each other and most importantly, you know that you will both love each other no matter what right?" Chrono nodded and straightened himself with renewed confidence in his eyes.

"Thank you so much Satella for all these. You will definitely find the one guy who will love you just the same one day too. "

"I know. " Satella smiled and shoved Chrono in the direction where an increasingly impatient Rosette stood waiting. "Now run along to find your girlfriend before she comes and suspects me of stealing her boyfriend again." She grabbed a drink off the tray of a passing waiter as she watched a nervous Chrono approached the beautiful girl across the room. It was also that very same girl whom Satella herself had found to hold an increasingly important and affectionate place in her heart. With a thoughtful smile, Satella turned and continued her duties as host of the party.

"There you are! I was starting to get worried that Satella might have done something to you! I'm gonna kill that witch one day…" said Rosette in a threatening tone.

"Don't worry. I'm a demon, remember?" laughed Chrono.

"Yeah yeah.. but she's also a woman with amazing curves that I don't have!" Rosette cried as Chrono stared at her in disbelieve. "Men are so susceptible to that. Besides, who knows what she might have up her sleeve?"

"Sis, are you being over-protective with Chrono again?" teased Joshua as he joined the group again after a dance with Azmaria. Joshua grinned as he watched his sister getting into another round of jealous rage. She loved Satella dearly as a friend though at the same time, she had been getting into several bouts of jealousy lately due to Chrono's recent increasingly frequent meetings with Satella. Poor Chrono had been too honest a guy to mask his meetings and always confessed to his meetings with Satella. Chrono had a hard time facing the wrath from his sister and turned to Joshua for help whenever Rosette went into a jealous rage. What his sister did not know was that Chrono's recent meetings were all due to preparations for the surprise that Chrono had prepared for his sister tonight. As surprises went, it involved the recipient of the surprise to remain clueless about the surprise itself and thus the poor fellow had to face the music after confessing to his meetings and yet remained unable to explain the meetings.

Azmaria glanced around the group uncomfortably. After exchanging knowing looks with Joshua, she jumped up and bursted out "Uh… Let's go get some drinks, Rosette." as she tugged on Rosette's arm, seeing that the blonde was about to explode.

"But… but.. That boyfriend stealing witch.."

"You can deal with her another time." Azmaria said, tugging Rosette away from the group and towards the dance floor. "Don't worry. Chrono's with Joshua. I'm sure Joshua will take good care of Chrono…" she reassured Rosette after noticing the expression on her friend's face. "Let's have some girlfriend time while we are here." With that, she dragged Rosette to the center of the pool of dancers dancing to the latest tunes selected by the DJ.

"So, did you manage to get Satella's permission?" Chrono turned away from the retreating figures of the two ladies and looked at Joshua who continued, "You know, you had been going through all those weeks of wrath just for this."

"Yes. Thanks for helping me keep it a secret, Joshua. The only problem now is what'll Rosette think…."

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. Especially after what the both of you went through together."

"What if she doesn't think the same way as me? After all I'm a demon and she's a human…" Chrono suddenly felt a surge of uncertainty filled him as the moment approached. "What if she has her regrets? What if she..."

"She agreed to go out with you, didn't she?"

"Yeah, but…."

"Don't worry, everything will be alright." Joshua reassured his friend. "You both have been through thick and thin. Now is definitely no the moment to be unsure of yourself. If she has any regrets or if she doesn't feel the same way, she wouldn't have gone into the crazy rages about you meeting with Satella in the first place." Chrono nodded. Joshua always seemed to have a way with his words that helped comfort and assure Chrono whenever he needed it. Definitely a person whom he could trust to have his back. Especially in moments such as this.

"Ah-hem. Ladies and gentlemen, and boys who are still acting pre-mature, I have an announcement to make." said the DJ, in charge of the songs, through the microphone.

"We have a song dedication to a certain Miss Rosette Christopher from a certain Mr Chrono, with the song 'My heart will go on'. We wil-"

"If you don't mind, I have something to say." Interrupted Chrono, snatching the microphone from the DJ. The crowd stopped chatting and dancing. Everyone stopped and turned to the stage where Chrono stood, looking handsome in his evening attire that, although minimally accessorised, complemented his look for the night perfectly. Rosette stared at Chrono in confusion as Azmaria pushed her towards the front of the stage while a spotlight came on and focused on Rosette. Everyone forgot to breath for a moment as they witnessed the unfolding scene. It was as if time had froze and Chrono was the only one who was unaffected by it.

Chrono took a deep breath as he stared into Rosette's eyes while snow fell from the top, where a snow maker stayed concealed in the ceiling. Rosette stretched out her hand caught the falling snow in her outstretched palm. White snow fell and rested onto her shining blond hair while she returned her gaze to Chrono. Enraptured by the beauty of the scene, Chrono's breath caught in his throat. He wanted to jump down form the stage and give her a kiss on her rosy full lips though his mind told him that it was not the moment yet. Something from the back of his mind reminded him that he had a duty to fulfill at the moment. Chrono gave himself a light shake and continued.

"Rosette" He stopped and took a deep breath, repeating again."Rosette. After so much suffering, I've finally found you. You had been the love of my life and will always be. Even though I'm not the most perfect guy in the universe, you still accepted me." said Chrono, looking at Rosette.

Taking a deep breath he continued. "You accepted me for all I am. When I am sick, you take care of me. When I am having a bad day, you comfort me. When I am sad, you share my sorrows and when I am happy, you share my joy."

Chrono walked down the stage with the microphone in his hand and walked over to Rosette. He took the cake that a waiter passed to him. The cake that chef stayed up all night to finish so as have it as a form of blessing towards Chrono whom he himself has gotten to know as a wonderful young man who had helped Ms Satella to her recovery from her emotional wounds suffered in her past.

The cake had the picture of a watch on it. A golden watch. Rosette stared at the cake and looked at Chrono as understanding dawned on her. "Rosette, you have been there with me, sharing with me the most important moments of my life. Without you, I would have been dead. You had always put yourself on the line for me. This watch is a reminder of what we shared and what we had been through. Although the past is gone and we know not what the future holds for us, one thing is for sure- I want you in my future."

Taking a shocked Rosette's hand, he continued. "Now that we have been through so much together, I have one question to ask you. Will you marry me?"

Rosette looked at Chrono, shocked but with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes.

Everyone around them took a sharp intake of breath.

After what seemed like centuries, Rosette shrieked, "Yes! Yes! A million and a billion yes! Yes I will marry you!"

Everyone let out their breaths upon hearing this and started cheering.

"She agreed! She agreed, Joshua!" Chrono turned to Joshua who was beside him. But Joshua was nowhere to be seen.

In fact, Joshua was on the balcony and holding Azmaria in his arms. They looked up at the full moon that was shining brightly as if it was smiling down at the deeply in love couples below while they enjoyed the beauty of the night.