Only on his way out of the Ministry had Konrad remembered that he needed milk. Well, it wasn't just for his cat (and yes, he was spoiling the little guy THAT much), it was also for him, who apparently couldn't start a day without being all grumpy without his bowl of cereal and milk, or just a large cup. The problem was that he'd had a long day, and he was too tired to look for another grocery store, so this one nearby would do.

Stepping inside, he was glad that he could at least untie his scarf from around his neck and take his gloves off, but he was still keeping the coat on. And now... the difficult and rather annoying part. The... looking for the right isle. Apparently, all he could find was meat. Pfffft. He wasn't even a big fan of the idea of eating meat, loving animals and all, but he still hadn't taken it out of his diet.

Now... where was the milk?

Stifling a yawn, Rose strolled into the nearby convenience store for a coffee before she headed home. It was way too cold outside and she could do with something hot. Besides, a coffee could cure her of the headache she'd been having the last couple of hours.

She walked over to the self-serve machine and proceeded to fill her cup with the hot beverage as she thought about how stressful work had been lately. She was still unhappy that Armen was back..and forcing a smile everytime she saw him was rather stressful. Anyway. She was going home now..so she was happy. Tired but happy. Taking a sip of her coffee, she paid for the drink and was about to head for the door when she spotted someone familiar nearby. Heh.

"Konrad."

It was getting on his nerves, that milk.

It's not like Konrad was sleepy, and it wasn't even that late, but it was still dark earlier than usual, since it was winter. His only problem was that he was tired, and he wanted to go home and just bury his face in the nearest pillow, or maybe read something. Or snuggle Klaus. Anything, but he wanted to be comfortable while doing it.

More than that, this store seemed to have EVERYTHING, which made his mission even more difficult. He walked through different isles, with vegetables and fruit, all sorts of cleaning products, drinks... and he just passed the chocolate paradise when he froze as he heard his name. He didn't even need to turn around to figure out who it was; of course he'd recognize her. Running a hand through his hair in a failed attempt of taming it, he spun around anyway, with a tired smile on his face. "Hi." Ugh, he probably looked like a mess, with his hair all tousled and maybe a slight trace of darker circles around his eyes.

Not to say anything about the only word that escaped his mouth. Lame.

Rose took a sip of her coffee as she looked at him. She couldn't help but notice how tired he looked. Was he having a hard time at work as well? Well..work hadn't exactly been stressful for her..except for the fact that she had to keep faking a smile whenever her boss was around..which was pretty hard and frankly, she didn't like it at all. But, she couldn't afford to lose this job. Not now. When things were going so well for her.

Oh, right. Konrad. "So, how are you?" Rose asked, taking another small sip of her coffee.

"Besides the fact that I really need a pillow right now," or someone to throw some icy cold water in his face to come back to his senses, "I'm doing well," he said, his smile getting a little wider. Eh, too bad they hadn't run into each other a few hours earlier, so Rose could've seen the way he was practically glowing all day. He had his reasons. Now, on the other hand... he looked like a dying flower.

"How about you? Funny place to bump into each other." The thing is, he was glad to see her, and maybe he could even forget about that always welcoming pillow for a few minutes, since they kept seeing each other less and less after - err, never mind. He wouldn't say THAT part out loud, only because she could take it the wrong way... and it really wasn't the case for misunderstandings. Not with the new source that made him glow like that all the time, except for when he wasn't so tired.

Rose smiled when he said that he was doing well. That was nice to hear. It had been a while since she'd seen him..and she kind of wanted to keep it that way. After what happened at their last meeting.. Erm, right. She continued to sip at the coffee and ran a hand a hand through her hair. All she wanted to do was hit the bed but..she could chat with Konrad for a few minutes.

"I'm doing great." Tired but great. After a parents moved out, she'd also started to feel kind of lonely. She supposed she was used to them being around all the time..but whatever. Her smile widened just a little at the thought of seeing Mason soon..and she she could also feel her cheeks turn a little warmer. No blushing, Rose. She quickly took another sip of the beverage.

"So..how is work?"

"Good," he said with a slight nod when she told him that she was doing great. "I'm glad to hear that." He really was. The only thing he hated was that everything seemed to be weird between the two of them once again, with all these shallow questions and answers; not that it was anything new. Now that she was asking him about work... the only thing left was to ask him about the weather. Then he'd know for sure that any attempt of having a totally friendly relationship with Rose was doomed, and that was the last thing he wanted to happen. She was probably waiting for an answer, though. "Work is... uh, you know, mostly paperwork and boring stuff," he smiled a little. "Anything interesting in your department?" It was safe to talk about this in a muggle store, wasn't it? They weren't that stupid to mention something about magic. Besides, it was all deserted.

However, Konrad couldn't stop thinking about something, and he probably had nothing to lose if he said it out loud. "Rose?" He couldn't really tell whether his voice sounded so awkward simply because he was tired, or because he was actually afraid to say what was on his mind, even though he didn't want to admit it. "I... I was hoping we could clear the air." Since the last time they saw each other, they left things... ugh. "Maybe I just can't think straight right now," since he had to hold lots of yawns, "but I feel like I'm talking to some random stranger."

That was when he remembered the first time the sun shone after the storm that had been their break up. He missed acting so foolish around her, like they'd kept poking and tickling each other back then, but then again, things would probably never be normal again between them. You know, he'd even tell her about everything that happened with Roxanne, even though he wouldn't really enjoy the teasing that would probably follow.

Now, the only thing he hoped was that he didn't make her regret greeting him with all his stupid thoughts.

Yes. Rose did realize that things were extremely awkward between them..but she had absolutely no idea what to say to him. If she teased him, he didn't seem to like it..and she didn't want to have a serious conversation with him. So, she continued sipping at her coffee, waiting for him to respond. Paperwork? "Yeah. That does sound kind of boring." When he continued to ask how things were in her department, she gave a small shrug. "Alright, I suppose." The only thing she didn't like about her job right now was her boss. Inez was so much better but..whatever. She didn't feel like talking about her troubles right now. She was way too tired at the moment.

Ooh, right. Here it was. Rose listened as Konrad said that he felt like he was talking to a stranger and..she didn't know what to say. Again. She was completely lost for words. Rose remained silent for a while, just concentrating on her coffee.

"I guess things are just different with us right now. We've both moved on..and I guess we don't have anything to say to each other.." Rose didn't really believe that but that was the only explanation as to why things were so awkward between them.

Konrad was about to ask whether there was something bothering her at work or not, since she didn't seem so enthusiastic about it, but he didn't really care anymore. No, scratch that. He still cared about her, in a friendly way, that is, and he hoped she knew that he would always listen if she had any problems or simply wanted to talk, laugh, cry, yell or whatever, but her next words made him freeze there in his stance.

They both moved on... and THAT is why they didn't have anything to say to each other? Really? That was what she thought? "I... I thought that... we could finally get over it and move on," as in, be friends again, "now that we are both... dating." Ooops. She didn't really know that things were official between him and Roxanne, but she probably didn't care either, apparently. What made him feel worse than ever was that she seemed so... indifferent.

"I suppose I was a fool to believe that," he mumbled as he started to fiddle with the gloves he was holding, just so he'd have an excuse to not make eye contact with her. You see, it hurt less if he didn't have to look at her as well, since it felt like she was about to tell him to never try and see her again.

... it felt like breaking up all over again, but this time in a different way.

Rose was about to respond when..

WAIT. Did he just say 'we are both dating'? Rose stared at him in shock. That meant he was dating. That meant he had a girlfriend. That meant he'd moved on. She couldn't stop the smile that was spreading across her face. She was happy. SO happy for him..that she wouldn't ever be able to express in words. "Konrad, that's wonderful news! Who's the lucky girl?"

But. Back to what they were talking about earlier. "Look, I'm sorry, Konrad. I didn't mean to be so blunt but after what happened the last time, I honestly didn't know what to say to you."

Rose chewed on her lip for a moment, lost in thought. She'd always wanted them to be friends. They were friends before they started dating and she wanted them to be friends again. Was that too much to ask?

"Do you think we'll be able to get along as friends?"

...

Konrad honestly didn't know what to think anymore.

He was prepared to see Rose turn around and walk away, probably never wanting to hear from him ever again, but something else caught her attention instead, her face brightening up in a way he hadn't seen in a very long time... or at least around him. Heh. And... who was the lucky girl? "Uh... do you remember the one I told you about? Roxanne?" If telling Rose about this wasn't bad enough, what was worse was that he felt his cheeks burning. LITERALLY burning. Ugh, he was already preparing himself for the teasing.

... and then she was apologizing. Really, all she did was confuse him more and more.

Do you think we'll be able to get along as friends?

...

Those words kept echoing in his head as he looked at her and, out of nowhere, he burst into laughter. He even forgot about the milk he was supposed to look for, and he wasn't thinking about the much needed pillow either. All he could do was laugh. "Really, Rose? Are you really asking me this?" She may think he was insane to laugh like that, and he probably was, but he couldn't help it. "The only thing I ever wanted was for us to be the way we were before... you know," before being all head over heels and in love and - blahh. "I thought I made that clear enough." Didn't he?

Oh merlin! The guy was blushing..which wasn't that surprising really. He blushed a lot. Annd, yes. She did remember him saying something about Roxanne. The American, right!? The one she had teased him about the last time. "Well, tell me about her." Heh. She wasn't going to let this go easy. Rose liked annoying him..and she was going to take full advantage of this opportunity.

o_O

"Konrad!" Rose nearly yelled. GOSH. Why on earth was he laughing like that!? "Are you okay?" The guy was starting to sound crazy and she honestly didn't like it.

"I never asked what you wanted, Konrad. I want to be friends as well..but, do you think we would be able to get along?" That was the question.

She... she wanted to know about her?

Sighing dramatically while playfully rolling his eyes, Konrad was sort of glad that he prepared himself for what was coming. But... what should he tell Rose? "Well... uh... you know how... the magnets work? The opposite sides... attract each other?" Oh, dear. He barely even started and he was already rambling. Anyway, he hoped Rose was still the very smart woman he knew, and that she'd get the idea that he seemed completely different from Roxanne, but that didn't matter. "She's... lovely, really. Makes me grin most of the time, which is something." Because Mr Grumpy over here wasn't that cheerful to smile all the time. But... see? Only the thought of it put a smile on his face, even though he didn't realize it. "And... she seemed to get along with Klaus much better than someone else I happen to know," he couldn't help but smirk at that. Yes, Rose, he was talking about you.

Was he okay? Good question.

In response to that, he only rolled his eyes once again with a grin plastered on his face. As she went on, though, that grin slowly turned into a smile. "It takes two to want to get along with each other," which was what he tried to tell her in the first place. "If we did it once, we'll manage a second time as well, don't you think?" Now that they both had a very good reason to not think about each other... romantically... why wouldn't it work?

... even if it might sometimes feel weird, when memories decided to come back. Nahh, he'll just get used to it. You know, maybe they just weren't meant to be together... that way. Friends, on the other hand, one could never have too many.

Rose had to bite her lip from laughing.. Oppsites attract, eh? But, he seemed to really like her..which was great. When he continued to say that Roxanne made him laugh all the time, she couldn't help but smile. "I'm so happy for you." She was glad that he'd found someone that made him..smile..like he was smiling now.

Oh, right. Rose smirked before she continued, "So..is she pretty? I mean, she couldn't be as pretty as me but..you know what I mean." Heh. Rose was just kidding, of course..and she kind of hoped Konrad took it as a joke as well.

Oh, wait. Was he talking about her? Rose had never liked Klaus, true. The cat scared the heck out of her. "Well..." Rose said, suddenly feeling embarrassed. She couldn't really tell him that she didn't like his cat now, could she?

Rose gave a quiet sigh of relief. He said what she was afraid to say aloud. "I think we will." A grin slowly made it's way to her face. They knew each other for a really long time to not end up being friends.

"Thank you," he found himself saying as his lips twitched into a small smile. What was he thanking her for, anyway? For being happy for him? Probably. It really meant a lot to him, knowing that they could finally end the war of awkwardness and be friends because... not even Roxanne teased him like Rose liked so much to do, and he'd miss that, as annoying as she could get. Perhaps because she knew he could never really get mad at her, the little minx.

As for her next question...

Blink, blink.

She couldn't be as pretty as me... "Of course," he smirked at her with an eyebrow raised. Well, you know how they say; once you like someone, he or she is the most beautiful in the world. "Yes, she is. No taller than you, though, if that makes you feel better. I still have to lean down to -" Errr. Realizing what STUPID thing he was about to say, he cleared his throat to stop himself. She didn't need to know too many details.

Konrad couldn't help but grin as she seemed to agree with him. "Friends? Peace on Earth? No more uncomfortable and awkward moments?" Yes, he was that happy. The only thing he still wanted was to squish her into a literally breath taking hug, but he knew what that would lead to. He was content with what they had.

Rose rolled her eyes in exasperation. "What are you thanking me for?" For feeling happy for him!? Heh. "You still have that annoying habit of thanking people for everything, don't you?" That was the one about him that got on her nerves..and he knew that. But, yes. The smile on her face widened even more when she saw how happy he looked. She was going to have to meet Roxanne sometime. She honestly did sound like a lovely person.

"Yes? She is as pretty as me?" Rose responded, with a smirk. Waiit.. ugh. Did he really have to go that far? Too much detail, Konrad. Thankfully, he stopped himself in time..so good. Anyway. Moving on. "Does she work in the Ministry as well?"

"Yes." To all of what he'd just said. Rose just hoped they'd follow through..but as long as she didn't mess things up like she usually did, things would be okay..right?

"Uh..." Back to that, were they? "I already told you. It's not my fault that I have manners... even when they are not needed." But it was better to say thank you and please even when there was no need than to not say that at all. Heh. "After so many years," well, not so many, but still, "I still don't understand why you get so annoyed about it," he smirked.

And... pffft. Leave it to Rose to hear only half of what he had to say. He wanted to tease her about her height, and she was concerned that Roxanne might be prettier than her. Women. He decided to try to not tease her, though. "You're both beautiful." In love with Rose or not, it didn't mean that he stopped thinking that she was beautiful. And... really? Was she trying to make him say who was the prettiest? He wasn't even going to think about thinking about that.

"Yes, she does. You should behave, you know?" That probably annoying smirk was back on his face. "She works in the MLE." And that meant that he had to be on his best behaviour as well, even though they didn't really go that deep into this subject, and he wasn't sure what exactly she did there. "But... how come you get to ask me so many things, and you share nothing with me?" Hmmm?

And then she said it. A simple 'yes' that spoke volumes, and didn't fail to put a wide grin on his face. He really was happy to hear that, although it bothered him that it took them so long to do this. Did Rose need some sort of proof that Konrad won't just go and kiss her or something? Well, whether he liked it or not, he knew what he was still allowed to do and what not.

Now... he knew he was going to say something stupid, but it just came out. "Uh... Rose?" Stop, Konrad! "You didn't happen to see the milk around here... did you?" Wasn't he the best person ever to ruin nice moments?

"I don't know..it's just you do that all the time." Rose said, with a light shrug. But, she didn't know why she didn't like it though. He was chivalrous, no doubt..but to apologize or thank her all the time just got on her nerves. She took another sip of her coffee..which had grown cold by now. Yuck. Rose made a face before she finished off the coffee in one gulp. What? She didn't like to waste stuff. She tried really hard not to laugh when Konrad diplomatically said that they were both beautiful. Heh. Rose kind of expected that. "Thank you. I know I am." Rose said, with a smirk. Heh.

MLE? Nice. "Well, I'll behave when I meet her." Not that Rose was going to be meeting her anytime soon but whatever. She wasn't even sure if Konrad would be okay with her meeting Roxanne at some point..just like she wasn't comfortable with him EVER meeting Mason. That would be..awkward. Hm? Share nothing with him? Rose raised an eyebrow. "What do you want to know?"

So, great. No more awkwardness between them. Rose grinned back at him..and she suddenly burst out laughing when he asked her where the milk was. Heh. That was so random. "I'm sorry but..I have no idea." She laughed again before she nodded towards the person behind the till. "You could ask him."

Pfffft.

"Fine," he huffed, "I take back what I said. Happy?" At first, he meant to look all hurt and annoyed, but he just couldn't hold back the smirk that was playing on his lips. Ehh. He also chuckled as he saw the face she made as she drank what was left of her coffee, but decided against asking about it. There were things he didn't need to know. Hehe. As for her comment... "Miss High Handed," he mumbled under his breath, although he hoped she would hear him.

...

"Who said anything about meeting her?" Blink, blink. Konrad really hoped she had no intention of meeting Roxanne, because... well, because it would be super awkward. Which is why he preferred not to know much about that Mason guy of hers. "I was just trying to say that you seem a bit too curious." To be honest, he wasn't curious at all. But he wasn't going to say it out loud, of course.

Just as she burst into laughter at his question, he did too. "Do you mind... if we take a look around?" It would certainly be good if he could chat with her AND look for milk. "I've already seen more meat than I expected, fruit, vegetables, drinks, cleaning stuff and chocolate. But no sign of milk yet. Not even cheese or eggs." Milk was usually around cheese and eggs, right?

"Hey, what did you just call me?" High Handed? Rose was high handed? PFFFT. She smirked before she punched him lightly in the arm. "That's rude." Heh. Not really but she liked annoying him..if it wasn't so obvious until now. She didn't know why she liked pulling his leg so much though. Maybe because he didn't take her joking around seriously? Maybe.

"Don't worry. I'm don't think I'll be meeting her anytime soon." Yeah, she would like to meet Roxanne someday but she was pretty sure that was never going to happen. Besides, it'll be kind of awkward..right? Rose raised an eyebrow when he said that she seemed a little curious. "Well..you can hardly blame me." He could ask whatever he wanted to know..anything except Mason, of course. She didn't want to talk about Mason with him..that would be weird. "..I'm not going to ask anything else about Roxanne..you can relax." Rose grinned.

"Um.. No, I don't mind." Rose looked slightly amused. She'd already finished her weekly shopping earlier but she didn't mind helping Konrad out with finding the milk. Heh.

"Don't pretend you didn't hear, because I know you did," he smirked at her, only to make a tiny step back when she punched him in the arm. It felt more like a simple touch, of course, but he liked to play along, which is what he wanted to do. "I thought you knew what happened when you did that." Smirk back on his face, he was ready to start another tickle war any time. He so didn't care that they were in a store.

As Rose mentioned that she probably won't be meeting Roxanne anytime soon, he only nodded. Well, he wouldn't mind the two of them meeting, of course he wouldn't... what he feared was being in the same place with the both of them. THAT would be awful. However, something else she said managed to catch his attention. "Why can't I blame you? Jealous?" Before he could think twice, that last word just came out, and he really hoped she knew he was joking. He didn't want them to be back to THAT subject.

Heh, good thing she found him amusing. Whaaat? Was it so unnusual for a man his age to need... milk? He was ready to deny that it was not only for Klaus, but for him as well, if Rose was going to tease. Anyway, as he slowly walked around, he found himself in the isle with oil and stuff. Really?

Leaning back against the wall of the store, Jake looked around for Penelope. He was pretty excited to see her, considering they were going to pick out their egg today. This seemed like the best place to do that, too. Surely they had good eggs here.

Was it weird that he was excited to raise an egg with Penelope? If so, that was too bad. Because he couldn't wait to get their little Eggbert.

Today was the day she and Jake were going to get their egg! Which sounded totally weird, and at the moment, she couldn't remember why they'd even gotten into a conversation about raising an egg (besides that chickens were evil), but she was looking forward to starting their little...project? Was that what you would call it? Hmm.

It took a little while to find the store they'd agreed to meet at to get Eggbert from, but finally she reached it and she instantly spotted Jake. "Hey," Penelope said, smiling as she reached him.

It was easy to find Penelope once she showed up. Jake pushed away from the wall, grinning instantly. "Hey," he replied, waving.

Stepping over to the door, he pulled it open and held it for Penelope. "How's it going?" He asked, still smiling as he walked inside. He stopped walking for a second to look around the store. "There," he said, nodding toward a back corner of the store where he could see the groceries.

Penelope waved back too, then stepped through the door when he opened it. "Thanks." She smiled. How was it going? "Pretty okay, I guess," she replied with a shrug. "How about you?" She paused, glancing around what she could see in the store, but only briefly because he apparently already saw what they came for. She nodded. "Let's go then," she said, gesturing for him to follow her as she headed to the groceries section.