Henrik woke up to find Roxanna curled up next to him, her arm carelessly thrown around his waist whilst her face was buried in his neck, her warm breaths fanning out against his skin as she slept on soundly. He didn't want to disturb her in that moment, since every bit of her was so relaxed, but he had more pressing needs to take care of. Carefully, he disentangled himself from her, hoping that he wouldn't disturb her as he padded over to the bathroom and quickly relieved himself.

As Henrik washed his hands, he stared at his reflection. "Why didn't you give her the ring yesterday?" he asked himself, trying to figure out why he had chickened out. He had had plenty of opportunities to do just that, but every time he had thought it was right, something had stopped him from doing so. And now their time was running out, and he still had no idea when or how he was going to ask her to marry him.

"You didn't pull the covers up when you left," Roxanna murmured as she padded into the room, wrapping her arms around his waist before laying her cheek on his back. "I got so cold, that I had to come find you."

"I'm sorry, darling," he murmured as he turned around, wrapping his arms around her before dropping a soft kiss to the top of her head. "I was thinking that we could go walking around Boston today, since we've never really taken time to do that. Unless you had other plans?"

She shook her head before looking up at him. "I think that sounds like a lovely idea. I glanced outside, and it looks like there was fresh snowfall overnight. We have a veritable winter wonderland at our feet."

He made a soft sound of pleasure in his throat as he stepped away from her. "That sounds wonderful." She grinned and nodded as they made their way back into the bedroom. He watched her take a seat on the bed as he pulled out fresh clothes from his bag and quickly dressed before pulling on the new jumper that Roxanna had bought him for Christmas. "Aren't you going to get dressed?" he finally asked as he ran a comb through his hair.

"I was just taking my time watching you. It is a pleasurable habit of mine." He nodded a little before taking a seat on the bed next to her, smiling when she rested her head on his arm. "I suppose that I should get dressed now, though. After all, the day is fast getting away from us." He nodded as Roxanna popped to her feet, going over to her closet and tossing a skirt and shirt onto the bed before opening her dresser and taking out a matching set of lingerie.

Roxanna dressed slowly, as if she knew that he couldn't take his eyes off her, and he tilted his head to one side as her flesh was slowly hidden from view. He hadn't realized just quite how erotic it was to watch someone he loved roll stockings up her legs until that very moment, and he had to fight the urge to pull her down on the bed and kiss her senseless. After all, there would be time for that when they got home and he could undress her just as slowly.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked after clearing his throat, and she nodded, helping him to his feet before taking hold of his hand and leading him out to the entryway. He watched as she tugged on her beloved boots, taking care to tie them tightly before popping back up to her feet. Henrik smiled as he wrapped Roxanna's scarf around her neck, leaning in to kiss her delicately before wrapping his own scarf around his neck and slipping into his coat.

Roxanna shrugged into her coat and then opened the door, stepping outside and shivering a little as a cold breeze whipped past them. "Bloody hell, Henrik, it's so cold!" He nodded as he locked the door, slipping the keys into his pocket before fishing out his gloves and handing them over to his partner. She pulled them on, and he chuckled a little to see that her fingertips fairly swam in them. He slipped behind the wheel and drove them into the city centre, parking in an open space before helping her from the car and starting down the sidewalk towards the bay. As always, the water beckoned to him, even as it repulsed him, though he hoped that one day he would be able to have a healthier relationship with it.

"Oh, my god, Henrik! What a small world!"

Roxanna gave him a quizzical look as they paused on the streets, and he just gave her a small smile. "Serena! I didn't realise that you'd be here still. I thought you'd be heading on to your university."

"Yes, well, plans changed a little, there. And this must be your Roxanna. She's gorgeous, Henrik." He gave her an askance look, since there was a purr to her voice that spoke of more than mere admiration, and Serena just raised an eyebrow at him, causing him to nod a little as he watched Serena hold out her hand, shaking Roxanna's firmly. "I bet you're probably wondering who I am." Roxanna nodded dazedly, her free hand batting around for Henrik's until he clasped it tightly.

"A little, yes. But I trust that one of you will tell me who you are? Yes?"

Serena laughed gently as she adjusted the fuzzy fur hat on her head. "I'm Serena McKinney. Henrik and I were actually seatmates on the plane a few days ago, and we had a great conversation about what we'd be doing here and of course, the most important thing in the world to him."

"Serena…"

"What, Henrik? She deserves to know that you think of her as the best thing to ever happen in your life, if she doesn't know that already." Serena's smile softened into something so bittersweet that he wondered what had happened to cause her to stay in Boston for the holidays, but before he could ask, the sadness seemed to be stuffed down into her soul once more as she plastered a knowing smirk on her lips. "You know, if I didn't know better, I'd start looking for the place where your angel wings broke off your back during your fall from heaven."

Roxanna giggled a little as her entire posture relaxed, leaning towards Serena a little. "I'm not an angel," she said as she blushingly tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"You aren't? Well, fallen angels would say something like that." Serena reached out and touched Roxanna's arm delicately, the smile on her lips widening a little. Henrik cleared his throat, feeling weirdly uncomfortable with the attention his new friend was giving his partner. "Oh, Henrik, don't glower so! I would never try to come between you and your beloved. It's just fun to flirt!" She winked broadly at him before turning her attention back to Roxanna. "It's really adorable how protective he is of you, Roxanna. I hope that my partner would be so gallant."

Roxanna nodded as she stepped a little closer to Henrik's side. "Yes, well, I really do feel like I may have landed a keeper here. Since we're just wandering around aimlessly right now, would you like to join us? After all, any friend of Henrik's is a friend of mine."

Henrik hoped that Serena would say no, but from the eager nod, he knew that he'd look like an ass if he suggested that perhaps that wasn't the best idea. "That would be lovely, yes. Though it looked like you were headed somewhere?"

"Towards the water. We're both called by it, for some reason." Serena nodded and went around to his other side, slipping her hand into the crook of his arm. "Well, let's head out, Henrik. It's so nice to be part of a trio once more." Serena tittered and he shook his head quickly, realizing that he would always have to be on his toes when it came to Serena, but he was almost certain that that wasn't entirely a bad thing.