They had managed to lose themselves in their research, and Henrik had found the disagreement with John slowly fading away as he became more and more engrossed in what he was doing. Though part of him was now desperately itching to get into a theatre and apply some of the concepts he was theorizing about in real time. Finally, Roxanna rested her hand on his upper shoulder before tapping her wrist. He nodded and pushed his glasses up his nose before looking at the clock, seeing how late it had gotten.

"I am starving. Do you want to go get something with me?" She looked between him and John, a soft smile on her lips, as if she wanted them both to come along. John didn't look up from his microscope as he shook his head, and Roxanna's shoulders fell just a little as she let out a deep breath. "All right, I guess it's just the two of us, Henrik."

"Don't you need to finish what you're working on?" John asked quietly, trying to sound neutral, though Henrik almost swore he could hear censure in his voice.

"I've reached a good stopping point for the evening. There's no point in pushing ourselves to the brink of breaking, is there? After all, that could lead to a longer time out of the lab." John glanced up at Henrik, and he shrugged a little at his friend, an open smile on his face. "Besides, I like spending time with both of you outside these four walls. We're supposed to be a trio, aren't we?"

John's eyes narrowed as he looked at Roxanna and then Henrik. "I suppose that I can put a pin in my research for the evening. Where did you want to go?"

Roxanna let out a little squeal before hugging them both. "Oh, I am so glad you changed your mind, John! I know, this is important, but we need to take time for us, too!" Winking at Henrik, she kissed John's cheek before taking hold of both their hands and practically dragging them from the room. "And since I'll be driving, I'll keep our destination a secret until we get there. Trust me, I know you'll like it."

Henrik knew there was no arguing with her once she had an idea in her head. She became a force of nature at that point, and brought everyone along with her. John tried to roll his eyes a little, but there was a soft twinkle behind them that belied his earlier condemnation of Roxanna. "Who said that you're driving?" John asked as they burst outside, and Roxanna giggled a little as she shrugged.

"Well, I'm not going to be doing too much drinking tonight, since you both know that I have a pretty intense exam in the morning, I can at least be the one to drive us home," she replied as she stopped next to her car, looking at them both. "And John, please, take the back so that Henrik doesn't have to scrunch up. You know it hurts his back so."

Henrik fought to keep from rolling his eyes at her, and the broad, slow, wink she directed at him told him she knew that he wanted to. "I can handle it for a night, Roxy. It's not like we're going to drive halfway across the country."

She face melted into a dreamy smile as she looked at him, and he wondered what he had said to make her react so. "You're right, it would be difficult to get to Missouri and back in an evening. But if you want to sacrifice your back, go for it, you numpty." They got into the car, and he chuckled a little as John clambered into the backseat before pulling the seat up so that Henrik could get in.

"There's something so saccharine about you two," John muttered as Henrik fastened his seatbelt. "I do hope that I manage to avoid catching that during the course of our friendship."

"No, you'll join us one day, I know you will," Roxanna said glibly as she started to drive. "After all, we become like the people we surround ourselves with. And I think if I keep the both of you at my side, well, I could do much worse in life."

Henrik glanced up into the rearview mirror, catching John's eye and watching him roll his eyes in annoyance. That rankled him immensely, though he schooled his features to not let on what he had seen, since he didn't want to make a scene. A relieved sigh left his body when he saw that Roxanna was taking them to their favorite bar, and as soon as she turned off the car, he was getting out, John hot on his heels, almost forcing him into the building, forcing Roxanna to run to catch up to them.

She sounded a little of breath when she took hold of his hand, letting him lead her over to a free table. "I just want some chips and a beer, Henrik," she said as she looked up at him. Though she was smiling, he could see a bit of sadness behind her eyes, as if she was starting to see just how little John thought of her. Without hesitating, Henrik nodded and then bent to kiss her tenderly. "Thank you for trying. There are just some times when he's irritable and unapproachable. Someday, I'll be able to read him better."

"And he can be kinder," Henrik replied quickly before kissing her once more. She shrugged and he nodded before heading up to the bar, placing their order and taking the beers back. Before he could get to the table, John had taken a seat next to Roxanna, his hand coming to rest familiarly on her wrist as his thumb stroked back and forth almost lazily. Henrik wondered what sort of game their friend was playing at, and he felt a deep frown mar his features as he strode over to their table and handed Roxanna her beer before taking the seat on her other side, absently tapping his fingers against his glass as he tried to think of something to say.

"John was apologizing to me, Henrik, can you believe it?" Roxanna murmured in his ear before she rested her head against his upper arm. He nodded a little, breathing in deeply to catch a waft of her perfume in his nostrils. "I know that our tempers can get short when we're in the lab, because we want, so badly, to come to grand conclusions. We just can't let those snappish attitudes tear us apart. I need you, both of you, in my life." And then, Roxanna was lifting her face up and pressing her lips against his jaw, kissing it softly a few times until he bent his head and pressed his lips against hers in a warm buss.

"I promise, I'll try harder to make things work for all of us," he said, looking John in the eye. It was quite neat, really, how he had managed to smooth things over when he wanted to discuss with Roxanna his concerns about John. From the pleased as punch look John gave him, he knew that the other man was thinking the same thing. Henrik just wondered how long it would be before things truly came to a head.