Richelle Mead owns the VA and Bloodlines series.

I'm currently working on a few different ideas you guys have suggested. So hopefully I'll have some of those up soon. This is an idea I've had since before I even started this fic, but just managed to work it out in my head. Review and let me know what you think :)

"Is this going to be our thing from now on?" I asked as I finished off my coffee.

"What?" Adrian said, leaning back in the booth. "Me taking you to art museums and being all romantic?"

I grinned. We were grabbing a coffee and then Adrian had promised to take me to a museum here at Court. We'd had to wait until late afternoon for it to open, but I was excited to see what sorts of exhibits they had on display. "Yeah. That's it exactly," I smiled up at him.

He leaned forward a little, lowering his voice as to not attract any attention from the other patrons in the coffee shop. "I'm planning on taking you to much more romantic places, Sydney. But since we're here, and I know how much you love looking at old art—"

"Old art?" I laughed. "This coming from the artist."

"Hey!" Adrian defended. "I like the old stuff as much as the next guy, but I'm more into contemporary."

I thought back to the painting he'd finished just before we'd flown out to Pennsylvania for Lissa and Christian's wedding this weekend. It was a picture of a very odd looking creature with a horse's head and what looked like a tiger's body. I wasn't sure that could be considered contemporary art, but I wasn't going to mention it.

"Anyway," Adrian continued with a smile, "since we don't have to be at the church until midnight I was thinking we could check out the exhibits for awhile and then maybe head back to the hotel." His smile turned mischievous and he raised his eyebrows playfully. "We do have that awesome jacuzzi tub in the room. Can't let that go to waste, can we?"

I had been wanting to use that tub since we checked in last night, but it had been late and we were both jet-lagged from the flight. We'd fallen right to sleep. The thought of that tub and all the things we could do in it was almost enough for me to suggest skipping the museum all together, but I didn't. There'd be plenty of time for that later and I really was interested in the museum.

"I take your silence as agreement to that plan," Adrian smirked. Then he grabbed my coffee mug and stood up. "I know you want another cup," he said. "You want anything to go with it? The pastries they have behind the counter look pretty good."

"Just the coffee," I smiled as Adrian headed up to the counter. That smile quickly faded when a pretty Moroi girl came out of nowhere and grabbed his arm, spinning him around. His smile faded too when he recognized her, and he very obviously recognized her.

"Adrian!" she said, smiling widely. "Oh my god, where have you been? You were gone for, like, ever. Do you know how much I've missed you?"

I watched them, feeling an uncomfortable urge to get up and drag him away from her. He looked a little stunned, but quickly recovered himself. "Hey... Jeanette," he said uncertainly and my heart started beating again. He didn't remember her name and for some reason that made me feel better. "How have you been?" he asked, but turned and got back online.

They weren't standing close by, but I could hear them clearly in the quiet cafe. The girl, Jeanette, wasn't being very subtle. She placed her hand on his arm and flicked her long brown hair back.

"I'm better now that you're here," she simpered. "Hey! One of my friends is throwing a party tonight. You should totally come." She stepped closer, her hand skimming up his arm and onto his shoulder. "A party's not a party with Adrian Ivashkov."

He had the wisdom to pull away from her at that moment. I don't know what I would have done if he hadn't, but I suspected it would have shocked everyone in the cafe. I could almost taste the magic building up in me, ready to be unleashed. I tamped it down, feeling guilty for wanting to hurt someone just because she was flirting with my boyfriend. It wasn't like she knew he had a girlfriend. Our friends knew about our relationship, but the Moroi world did not. We weren't hiding our relationship exactly, but living in California decreased our chances of encountering Moroi. Especially Moroi who lived at Court and would spread the news. That left very few people who knew Adrian and I were together. And no reason why this girl would know she was doing anything wrong.

"Actually," Adrian said slowly, paying for the coffee he'd just ordered. "I'm not really into any of that anymore. Partying and stuff, I mean. Thanks for the invite though." He smiled politely at her and grabbed my coffee, starting to walk back over to our table. Our eyes met and he smiled sheepishly at me, unsure of how I'd react to this little encounter. I smiled at him reassuringly.

Then Jeanette grabbed his arm again, causing him to almost spill my coffee. Alright, now I was really starting to get annoyed with this girl. He'd just clearly said no, what more did she want?

"Adrian Ivashkov isn't into partying anymore?" she asked in disbelief, adding a fake pout for effect. When he didn't immediately say he was joking she switched tactics. "Well," she said coyly, her hands tangling in the front of his shirt. "We could always skip the party. Do what we did the last time we were together..."

Her invitation dangled in the air between them for a few moments. Just long enough for me to feel the magic rise up again. This time I didn't stop it.

"Uh... I'm actually seeing—" Adrian stammered, but it was too late. Jeanette leapt away from him with a startled cry and I tried my hardest not to smirk.

"What was that?" she demanded of no one in particular. "Something... something just shocked me. Ow!" She retreated even farther away as I flicked my wrist in her direction underneath the table for a second time. It was a small spell, one that just gave it's target a little shock. Nothing that would leave any permanent damage, but it would certainly hurt enough that she would be distracted from her flirting with Adrian.

At first Adrian looked confused as to why the girl was jumping around like an idiot, but by the time she was twitching and running from the cafe, he'd figured it out. He threw me a sharp look, but smiled and shook his head as he sat back down and placed my coffee in front of me.

"You did that?" he asked, but he sounded certain. His voice and eyes turned gentle. "Watching another girl flirt with me upset you that much?"

"That wasn't flirting," I scoffed. "That was an open invitation. But no. That's not why I did it," I lied.

Adrian smirked at me, knowing I was lying but letting me have it anyway. "Oh, of course. So why did you do it then?" he asked, sounding genuinely amused.

"Because," I said, lifting my cup to my lips. "My coffee was getting cold."

Adrian laughed and leaned over the table to kiss me. Even though we were in public. Even though everyone here was still watching him after the scene I'd caused with Jeanette. And I kissed him back, not caring who saw. Let them gossip if they wanted.

When he finally pulled back, Adrian gestured to my cup. "Better drink it quick before it gets cold. I'd hate for you to cast a spell on me for getting in between you and your coffee." I refused to dignify that with a response. "Besides," he went on. "We have to hurry if we're going to hit the museum and still make our appointment."

"What appointment?" I asked, confused.

"The appointment with the jacuzzi tub," Adrian said with a wink.

I nearly rolled my eyes at his smug expression, but did finish my coffee quickly. I claimed it was because I was eager to get to the museum, but we both knew better.