Sucking on the tips of her fingers, Rose glared at Christian, who was currently sprawled out on the floor laughing."That hurt!" Turning to look at Lissa she said, "Did you not just see your boyfriend attack me?" Her voice was exasperated, obviously pining for support.

Slowly looking up from some papers she was reading over, Lissa looked over the situation before softly laughing. "Well, you had been throwing paper wads at him for the past hour."

"You're taking his side?!"

"All he did was burn the paper you were throwing at him."

"It was a violent attack!" Rose gestured towards Lissa with her hand, whose fingers were slightly pink at most.

Lissa laughed and shook her head before looking down at her papers once more. Rose directed her gaze at Christian once more, who was smirking at his victory. "I'll show your skinny Moroi ass who's boss, mister."

Grinning, Christian replied, "Rose, please, there really isn't a need to call me mister."

"Okay, that's it," was all Rose had to say before she began to get up from the couch she had been sitting on. Before she could fully stand though, she felt a hand on her shoulder and she was swiftly brought back down. Looking over at Dimitri, who had been quietly reading another one of his western novels, she asked slightly upset, "What?"

Without looking up from his book he said, "Sorry, Roza, but my job is to protect him. So I can't my girlfriend beating him up." The way he said her name didn't have her falling heads over heels for him immediately; she didn't melt just that easily anymore. So she began to protest once more, and all Dimitri had to do was look up from his book and gaze at her quietly. He slightly rose his right eyebrow, and her words were easily silenced.

Chuckling (if that deep rumbled Dimitri produced from his throat could be called that) he used his free arm to pull Rose into a hug. It was there she stayed, her head resting against his chest. From the floor, Rose spied Christian making gagging motions which were soon accompanied by him saying, "Just get a room."

Sticking her tongue, Rose retorted, "Ooh, haven't heard that one before. And please, I've seen you and Lissa in way more intimate positions." Winking for good measure, Rose smiled victoriously when she saw a slightly blush creep across Christian's face.

Their little battle of wits was interrupted by the motion of Lissa getting from her desk. Standing up immediately, Rose waited to hear where they would be going from her best friend. All she got was a blank stare from Lissa and then a, "Oh! Sorry, Rose. I'm just going to use the bathroom."

Sighing, Rose slumped back down to the couch, upset that they weren't going to go anywhere. About to return to her position of comfort against Dimitri's chest she was interrupted by the words of Christian. "Alright, Hathaway, Belikov, I need your help. Ever since Lissa has become Queen, I've had trouble...spicing things up."

Dimitri quirked his eyebrows in response, and Rose made a face. Dimitri began by saying, "Uh, Chrstian, I don't think - "

But he was promptly cut off by Rose who said, "Hold up, lover boy. Just because we've seen you guys kiss doesn't mean we want to know everything."

Christian cocked his head sideways, slightly confused before exclaiming, "That wasn't what I meant! Get your heads out of gutters…both you thought…" He looked to them, the question going unspoken. He received slight nods, to which he responded by saying, "You two really are quite the pair."

Rose and Dimitri proceeded to give each other semi-sheepish looks, but otherwise shrugging off the whole misunderstanding. "Well, what did you mean then?"

"I guess, just the general romantics. She works all day, dealing with Moroi who all have sticks up their asses, and I can only help so much. Then, when it's all over, she comes back to the room and works more. My witty remarks and good looks aren't going to cut it for much longer."

Rose rolled her eyes as Christian finished up his little spiel and was about to say something when she felt a sharp jab to her side. She looked towards Dimitri who was shaking his head. He seemed to be taking this rather seriously. Leaning back she sighed, "You're such a romantic."

He smiled and said, "That is why you love me, no?"

"Amongst other things."

Their personal interlude was interrupted by Christian, whose voice was tinged with annoyance, "Yes, I get it. Your relationship is great, now care to help me with mine? Do you know how long it took me to convince myself to even ask for your help."

Rose was forced to hold back another snarky remark, so Dimitri took over by saying, "Why not take her out for a dinner? Maybe a movie? Just make it extra special. She'll love it if it's from the heart."

Christian was nodding, probably taking mental notes, and was about to say something when Rose decided to voice her thoughts, "A double date!"

Christian frowned slightly before saying, "That wasn't exactly what I had in mind, Rose."

"Why not? Dimitri and I are going to be there anyway. Might as well make the most of it."

And to her surprise, Dimitri supported Christian in this battle. "Rose, I think one of Christian's problems is that they're not getting enough alone time."

She scrunched up her nose, slightly upset, before getting up from where she was sitting and throwing her cell at Christian. "Fine, make a reservation for two the Court restaurant. Say seven o'clock."

Fumbling with the phone, Christian managed to say, "What? Tonight?"

"Yes, tonight. I'm bored and need to get out of this room. Besides, it's a saturday. You'll be able to at least keep her in until the afternoon tomorrow. Now i'm going to keep her distracted."

"You know, I question my sanity, coming to you guys for help. You're hardly a normal relationship."

"And you and Lissa are?"

"Fair point."

"Now, get to dialing, lover boy."

Rose made her way to bathroom door and without knocking, walked right on in. "Rose!" The muffled protests of Lissa could still be heard as Rose closed the door behind her.

Sighing, Christian said, "I don't even want to know what she's going to do to keep Lissa in there." Dimitri simply shrugged with a smile on his lips before going back to his book.

With the phone against his ear, Christian started, "Hello, I'd like to make a reservation for two…"

"I can walk on my own just fine, thank you." Despite her words though, she let Rose guide her out the room, arm in arm. "Where'd Christian and Dimitri go, anyway?"

"You always want to know everything Lissa. Can't some things just be a surprise?"

"Is that what this is, a surprise?"

"You're missing the point."

The moment they left the royal suite, they say Christian and Dimitri waiting. Christian was especially spiffy, dressed with a jacket and tie. And Lissa, she was dressed in a beautiful jade dressed that fit her snug and showed off her legs exceptionally well. The two made quite a pair.

Rose and Dimitri paled in comparison, their outfits simple and practical. Still, Rose's curves were well showcased in her nearly all-black outfit and Dimitri's personality shined through as he wore his signature brown duster.

The four of them may have been unlikely friends, perhaps even more unlikely to be in the relationships they were, but it had worked for them so far.

Christian, as always, was stunned. "Lissa, you look beautiful."

And Rose didn't need to be bonded with her best friend to know what she thought of Christian, her face told everything. "Thank you, Christian. You look...dashing." She laughed at the adjective she had chosen to describe her boyfriend with, "Rose had me get into my best dress. Though, she wouldn't tell me why."

Rose grinned, "Well, I try. You're welcome, Christian - for making your date look hot." Glancing towards Lissa she added, "Not that you aren't always hot, your Majesty."

Of course, Lissa was still in the dark about what was planned for this evening. "So what exactly is happening tonight."

Smiling, Christian said, "Why don't I just show you." Taking the Queen by her arm, the two walked side-by-side, looking regal.

Rose fell in step several feet behind Lissa and Christian, and Dimitri appeared by her side. Further behind them was the rest of the Queen's guard. It was quite a procession, but even inside the royal court, there was always the risk of danger. Besides, Rose knew from first-hand experiences that it was totally feasible to break out the court - so that meant it was just as possible to break in.

For a second, Lissa looked over her shoulder to her best friend, but quickly turned to face front after Rose made a face that said to enjoy the night and not to worry about her or any queenly duties. Yes, the two knew each other that well, that Rose could portray all of that in her face.

Once they reached the first-class restaurant inside the court, Rose and Dimitri broke off to the side as Lissa and Christian were lead to their table. People were prone to staring at the odd couple, but for once, no one interrupted the couple.

The restaurant looked liked it had been barfed out of some romantic film, but still, Rose supposed that it was still sweet. There was a single candle flickering on each table, a rose resting in a vase at the center, and a white tablecloth to really set the mood. To top it all off, there was a violinist playing in the corner. It was almost laughable, but not just quite.

After doing a quick scan of the room, her attention returned to the Queen and her brooding boyfriend. They were looking in each others eyes, smiling and saying unspoken words. "They look happy, don't they. You seemed to know exactly what they needed, Dimitri."

Looking up to the Russian, she smiled to see him already gazing down at her. "That's because I was working off of personal experience, Roza." Breaking from his badass god mode for a second, he leaned down to brush aside a stray hair before kissing her on the lips.

What seemed like way too soon, he pulled away and reverted back to his Guardian mode. His face stern once more. Smiling, Rose knew she just had to have the last word. "Whatever you say, comrade." And peeking out of the corner her, she watched the ends of his mouth turned up into small smile.