A/N: valentines was pretty fucked up -.- i have NO idea what the hell is going on in girl's minds, and trust me, you people never cease to mystify me... i don't think i'll ever figure out what i did wrong. to all guys who also got fucked over by your girl during valentines for no apparent reason, i feel you bro. i feel you...

mParis: thank you :)

LoverGurl10621: glad i got you to laugh. at least im making other people happy and cheerful... and here's the update you're waiting for :)

RozaDimka: oh, there would be plenty of Rose suffering, i assure you :p and dimitri as well, obviously, with his lust for her... i HATE love triangles. you're right, they're way too cliche. i prefer just two people in love with each other, and no disturbances in the form of another person appearing and messing things up... at least you'll never read that happening in my stories. unless, of course, i go insane at some point in time (which is going to be pretty soon if i don't find out what the hell made my gf so pissed off)

majic91: it was my intention :P to be honest, i feel 'i know you want me' by pitbull is pretty... meaningless too. sure, its a good song to grind to, but besides for that, its useless... shit, i'm EXACTLY 6 ft. like... 183cm? :( oh well. big truck? well, the only 'big' trucks in singapore are garbage trucks... oh, and here i am, becoming lazy again :P SORRY!

XoxoBlueRavenoxoX: again, glad to make you laugh :P its good to know that i still haven't lost my sense of humor. now, its been a while since ive read the VA series, so what IS dimitri's personality again? cool, distant and aloof? i forgot.

enjoy, then!


The diner was small and sparsely furnished, having a distinct rustic feel to it that instantly made Dimitri feel at home. Each table was spaced reasonably far apart from the one beside it, providing a little bit of privacy. There was an old jukebox at the far end of the diner that caught Dimitri's eye the moment he stepped into the diner to a nostalgic ring of the bell above the door, and he headed for it, excitement stirring within him at the prospect of playing some good ol' country music.

He had just flipped through the first few discs when the screen door of the diner opened noisily, the bell clanging loudly as it was swung around. Suppressing a smirk at how he had managed to get under Rose's skin – oh, how he enjoyed teasing her and watching as her face turned beetroot red from anger – he turned around just in time to see the person in question scowling and stomping towards him, drawing quite a lot of interested glances her way from the patrons.

"If this partnership is going to work," she said through gritted teeth when she reached him, her hands held stiffly by her side, "we need to set down some ground rules."

Dimitri shrugged in response and pivoted back to the jukebox once he was sure he wasn't in any danger of being murdered by Rose. "Sure, if you think that it's going to help." He browsed through the songs available for playback by pressing a button, frowning when he scarcely recognized the artists and the demos.

Rose placed her hands on her hips and glared. "You don't?"

Dimitri spared her a wry glance. "I don't play by rules, Rose."

"Well, then!" she snapped, her face turning slightly red again, "I guess that it's time to learn, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess," Dimitri murmured dismissively, only vaguely aware of Rose's temper spiking again beside him as he tampered with the controls of the jukebox to search for a song he actually remembered from his childhood.

"You're not even listening to me!"

Sighing when he reached the end of the selection of music and was still unable to find a single track he recognized, Dimitri strode to the empty table beside the jukebox and seated himself wordlessly.

"I'm talking to you!" Rose spluttered indignantly.

Dimitri laid his hands on the table, looking exasperated. "Then talk."

"But you were the one that – You know what? Forget it." Rose shook her head wearily, suddenly feeling days' worth of fatigue weighing down on her, and she squeezed herself into the seat across from Dimitri in an effort to put as much space between them as possible, deciding to appease her stomach before torturing herself further by attempting to hold a conversation with him. "We'll eat first. Then you might be more co-operative."

If Dimitri was out just to make her peeved all the time, she won't give him the satisfaction by throwing a hissy fit – or explode with asperity, which he more often evoked out of her.

She picked up the menu at the side of the table and feigned interest in a picture of a very unappetizing plate of what appeared to be spaghetti.

Or worms with a hearty topping of tomato sauce.

She felt Dimitri study her like an organism under a microscope and she tried her best not to squirm. A few seconds later, to cover up her increasing discomfort under his perusal, she waved the waitress over to place her order which she wasn't quite ready to make.

"What would you like?" The waitress, looking to be in her mid-thirties with oversized breasts almost popping out of the confines of her uniform, asked in a sugary voice that Rose found odd. Lifting her head from her detailed analysis of the menu, Rose was about to order when she realized that the waitress wasn't addressing her with that question.

No, she was smiling stupidly at Dimitri and he returned it instantly with a dazzling smile of his own.

Rose cleared her throat, even as her insides clenched with a foreign emotion. "Excuse me?" she prompted, a little more sharply than she had intended.

The waitress ignored her, leaning even more towards Dimitri with a sultry look in her eyes that had Rose's own narrowing. From her side of the table, Rose could see exactly how good a view Dimitri had of the woman's abnormally large breasts – implants definitely, a part of Rose felt deigned to point out.

To Dimitri's credit, he wasn't salivating like other men probably would be doing in his position. However, Rose would be damned if his gaze didn't dip downwards to the woman's ample chest for a fleeting second and her jaw clenched involuntarily. "What do you suggest I get?" Dimitri asked, his voice low and gravelly. "I can't decide."

Can't decide, her ass. He just wanted a little more attention, Rose thought with a little more irritation than she should feel in such a situation. Not that she cared about what Dimitri was doing; nuh-uh. She was starving, and that was making her irritated.

Rose watched through narrowed eyes as the waitress flirted a little more with Dimitri, and at one point in time, brush his shoulder with her breasts purposefully when pointing at something on the menu.

Her hands fisted convulsively under the table.

Finally, Dimitri settled on a chicken burger with fries and black coffee, but not before he whispered something in the woman's ear that had her blushing furiously.

She was about to walk off when Rose hailed her and she looked at Rose as if seeing her for the very first time. "I'm sorry, didn't see you there," She apologized sweetly, though her eyes were shooting daggers at Rose. "Can I take your order?"

"Yes, you can," Rose said through gritted teeth, silencing the voice inside her brain to punch the woman in the nose. "I'll have a sausage with fries."

"Are you sure about the sausage?" the waiter asked with mock concern, shook her head slightly then gave a pointed, smug look at Dimitri. "Won't want you to be biting off more than you can chew now, would we?"

"That. Will. Be. All." Rose forced out every word, checking the absurd impulse to proclaim that Dimitri was her partner, and the woman shrugged before walking off.

Dimitri eyed her with open amusement.

Rose glared at him, challenging him to say a single word, her stomach still churning with anger.

He mimed zipping his lips, locking it and throwing away the imaginary key, but his eyes were still laughing.

"I'm going to the toilet," Rose announced, unable to stand being the subject of Dimitri's scrutiny any longer. "I'll be back," she felt inclined to say, then added, "so you better not be going anywhere."

Dimitri just smiled.

Rose stalked off to the toilet.