The candles were a bit corny (Valentine had always thought that Parasoul wasn't the best with romance, but she had never thought that she would actually take advice from movies of all things), but it added a nice touch to their small table. The food, a warm plate of vegetables topped with rich white cheese, was already set out. The room was empty save for them. In the dim candlelight, pictures of past soldiers lined the wall, as if looking at the two from the world beyond.

One picture, Valentine couldn't help but notice, resembled a woman all too much like Parasoul herself.

"Nice place you got here," Valentine commented. "Being a princess sure does come with some good stuff."

Parasoul chuckled. "Oh, it's usually filled with people. This is where they eat, after all."

"Hard to believe," Valentine said. Parasoul's base was hardly a fairy tale princess's castle, but it was still nice. Even the mess hall seemed clean.

Maybe that's just because everything's clean and the other tables are gone, Valentine thought. But then again, how would I know?

With the work that Parasoul gave her, she was usually gone from sunrise to sunset, only contacting the princess through a cell phone or walkie-talkie.

Valentine grabbed her fork and then popped a piece of cheese covered broccoli into her mouth.

"So you like it?"

"I love it." Valentine grinned. She sat down, and Parasoul soon followed after her. Her red hair glowed in the candle light and shadows danced across her skin.

"I'm so glad that we can be together tonight." Parasoul sighed. "Things have been so messy lately, though I'm sure that you already know that. You don't have to watch the news because you're the one making it."

Valentine chuckled. She couldn't help but smile; for all the seriousness Parasoul showed, underneath she was the funniest people that Valentine knew. She doubted many knew that beyond Umbrella and Valentine herself.

"It's been such a mess with the skull girl around." Valentine looked down to her food, though she had yet to actually touch it. "I had hoped that after my mother it would be gone - really and truly gone. There are enough problems in the kingdom, the entire world, already."

"I know what you mean." An image flashed before her mind. No, not an image, a girl. A broken girl with metal for bones and the blackest of Skull Girl blood in her veins.

Valentine shook her head. This was her date, and she was not going to waste it thinking about her.

After all, Valentine thought enough about her already.

Just enjoy your date, Valentine thought. It's not like you and Parasoul are a normal couple who can have this every Friday.

And maybe that's what it made it so special. Valentine at least tried to tell herself that.

"So," she said, suddenly breaking the silence that had settled over them. "You, uh, look great tonight."

Parasoul blushed. "Oh, thank you, Valentine. You look wonderful yourself."

Despite her best wishes, silence filled the room once more. Save for the clacking of silverware on Valentine's food as she ate, there was nothing to break through the quiet.

Tell her something else, Valentine thought. Ask about the weather, or if she's hungry or if-

Parasoul's cell phone rang, the sound filling the room. Valentine couldn't be sure who jumped higher - her or Parasoul.

"Uh, please excuse this," Parasoul said before quickly pulling the cell phone from her pocket. "Oh, hey Adam, do you have any more news?"

The conversation went on for a while. She spoke mostly in code words. Though Valentine was used to most of them, some words did escape her. It was one thing to discuss politics; now, it seemed as if Parasoul were speaking another language entirely.

Valentine looked back down to her food. Her plate was looking more and more bare by the minute.

When the phone call finally ended, Parasoul sat down and sighed. "Sorry about that. You know how work is."

Valetine didn't reply. She didn't even look up from her plate of food.

The two weren't alone. The girl had crept in through the silence and the phone call, as if using it to hide the fact that she was there.

The girl ran through Valentine's mind and hovered in front of her eye.

She was there now, just like she always was. She had been there ever since Valentine had done one of the only things a nurse never should have done.

"Let's not think about work."

"Huh?" Parasoul raised an eyebrow.

"Turn off your phone and let's talk about something, anything, else. Your sister, me, you, this food, which by the way is getting cold. Try it, would you? It tastes pretty good." The longer that she spoke, the faster that her words came out. But it drove the girl away from her mind, and that was enough.

"Oh," Parasoul replied. "Of course." She picked up her phone. "I don't know why I didn't do that earlier."

"It's important. Everyone needs a break, right?" Valentine's voice shook slightly.

Relax, Valentine thought. This is your night; don't let it go to waste.

Parasoul nodded. "Tonight I'll let you make the orders."

Valentine grinned. "Good," she said, picking up her fork again. "Then let's eat."

Parasoul's lips were warm against her own. Valentine pressed her lips in further before letting her tongue slide out of her mouth. The other woman was warm, and their bodies were so close that she could hear every breath that the princess took and feel the beat of her heart against Valentine's own.

Everything moved quickly. Parasoul's hands slid down Valentine's back, past her black shirt and blue pencil skirt (which were far more comfortable than her work uniform), while Valentine's hands went up the princess's back and into her hair.

Their cell phones were off, and in a way it seemed that their memories were as well. There was no past and there was no future, no one but them close together.

And for now, while the world outside fell apart and into despair, that was enough.