"I know this is going to be hard, Henrik. But I feel like we have to do it now, before things get too out of hand. I don't want to allow him to manipulate us any longer. It's clear from our discussion that he had been trying to get us to turn on each other, and whilst I don't know why he would do that, other than being jealous of the change in dynamic between us all." Roxanna reached across the table and took hold of his hand, squeezing tightly as she stared into his eyes. He couldn't help but adore the fervor in her gaze, knowing that she put that same energy into everything she did. "Pay attention!"

"I am, Roxy," he replied before taking a sip of his coffee. "Do you feel up to doing this with me, though? I wouldn't want you to feel beholden."

"I want to be by your side in this, Henrik. It's affecting all of us, so it should be all of us that discuss this."

"Discuss what?"

They both froze, and Henrik looked up to see John there, a frown on his lips. Henrik took a deep breath, giving Roxanna's hand a small squeeze before letting go and gesturing for John to join them. He chose to take a seat next to him, and Henrik nodded a little as he tried to gather his thoughts. "We have to talk about what you've been doing, John. We've finally discovered it, and before things get too far out of control, we need to nip it in the bud."

Henrik wasn't able to see how John reacted to his words, but from the way Roxanna's eyebrows lifted the tiniest bit, he knew that the man hadn't been able to control his micro reactions to his words. "I'm afraid that I don't know what you mean, Henrik. Rox, would you care to explain?"

"I rather think you know what we wish to discuss with you, John. Especially since I left you in tears not three hours ago. Why are you trying to split us up? You know that I love you both, just in different ways. And the way you were trying to smear Henrik in my eyes, it just is beyond the pale. Why would you feel the need to be so duplicitous, when you just could have come to us and said that you were feeling left out, or ignored. Neither of us would judge you for that feeling."

Henrik nodded a little as he picked up his mug and sipped at his coffee once more, wondering how John would react. There was a slight pause before John folded his hands together on the table, focusing his laser gaze on Roxanna. "Why do you think that I was being duplicitous?" His voice was low, soothing, and Henrik recognized that he was trying to control the direction of the conversation, trying to plant doubts in their minds that he had done anything wrong. And a part of Henrik wondered why he hadn't seen this side to their friend before now, since it seemed so plain here.

Roxanna's nostrils flared as she took a few deep breaths, her face hardening into a cool marble mask as she stared at John. In that moment, Henrik hoped that he would never be on the receiving end of that stare, since he was definitely intimidated by her. "You were telling us different stories, trying to play us off on each other. To what end, I'm not certain. I don't want to think less of you, John, because you have helped my research along with some gentle prods. You've been such an integral part of ours lives, and I just want to clear all this up so that we can go forward as friends."

John let out a small scoff as he leaned back in his chair, staring at Roxanna before glancing at him. Henrik frowned a little, trying to figure out what was going through his mind, and John just gave him a small smirk as he shook his head. "You're too idealistic and emotional, Rox. That will be your downfall one day. I was just trying to get you both to see the error of your ways and refocus you on your true passions – research and medicine. That's what you need to think about, not this ridiculous twitterpation. That? Wont' last the year, and then you'll have nothing and no one to fall back on. But if you continue to insist on pursuing this ridiculous romantic entanglement, then it's on your heads. Just don't expect me to continue being there to pick up the pieces."

Though his voice had never risen above a normal conversational tone, Henrik could tell that Roxanna clearly felt like she had been yelled at, as her lower lip was quivering as she stared down into her coffee. "We'll keep that in mind, John. Now, I rather think that you've said your piece, Roxanna's said ours, and you need to leave before you upset her further."

"That's fine," he spat out as he pushed away from the table and made his way out of the coffee shop, never looking back at them. Roxanna's shoulders dropped the instant he was out of sight, and Henrik immediately got up and took a seat next to her, letting her rest against him. The first soft sob broke from her lips before she turned her face into his chest, muffling her mouth.

"Shh, Roxanna, you're okay," he mumbled as he rubbed her back gently.

"I know, but why would he react like that? I thought we were friends, and friends don't treat each other like that. Never." Her hand curled up in a fist on his chest, pulling the fabric of his waistcoat taut against his back with the movement.

"He's always been a bit touchy, but this did go beyond the pale," he agreed before letting his chin come to rest on top of her head. "I know that this doesn't sound like the most pleasant option, but I think we should avoid the lab for a day or two, let him have some time to cool down."

"That sounds like a good idea. You always know exactly how to respond to things, and I wish that I had your cool head at times. Maybe John's right, maybe I am too emotional."

He shook his head a little, his chin dislodging her headband with the movement, mussing up her hair. Letting out a tiny sigh, he lifted his head and tried to smooth it down before tugging on a hank, trying to find the right words to say in this moment. "I need you to be this emotional, Roxanna. As I'm certain you've noticed, I'm not quite as in touch with my feelings as you are. You help connect me with that part of myself. And I think that I need you for that."

She tightened her arm around him as she buried her face into the crook of his neck, her warm breaths fanning out against his skin as she took a few deep breaths. "And I need you to be my rock. I guess that's why I think we're so good together. Do, do you want to spend the next few nights with me? I'm not ready to make love, but I don't want you to go back to your dorm and feel like you're in the middle of a toxic environment."

He chuckled a little, almost nervously, as he nodded. "That would be nice. Though I don't know if I'll fit on your bed. If you haven't noticed, my legs are rather long."

This elicited a watery laugh from Roxanna, and she pulled away from him to look up into his eyes, her tender gaze full of such affection that he couldn't help but take hold of her hand and kiss the back of it. Her look softened even more as she nodded. "You are my tall man. All right, I need to get out of here before we see anyone else that we know, and they ask why my eyes are so red. I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for," he replied as they stood up. He welcomed her arm coming to rest around his hips, since he knew that she needed the comfort of touching him. "I, I had another letter from Maja," he said as they went outside, knowing that he had to change the topic before she fell apart once more. "Everything seems to be progressing well with the pregnancy, but it sounds like she's wanting to see me after the birth. I was thinking…"