a/n: This chapter is pure domestic fluff. I wanted to write something that would show Nick and Adalind doing something completely ordinary just to show that for him it was all about Adalind and not the excitement of her being wesen and involved in his life. Thanks again for the many wonderful reviews, follows and favourites!

Moment 9

With a grin, Adalind tumbled backward onto the mattress. The tight grip she had on the front of his jacket pulled him down with her and he let out a soft grunt as he lost his fight with gravity and his weight settled over her. She wriggled a little and smiled.

'I like it.'

He rolled off her, flopping onto the bed beside her and moved around to get comfortable. 'I like the last one better,' he decided.

Adalind rolled her eyes, propped herself up on her elbows and glanced over at him. 'You haven't liked a single mattress we've tried.'

Nick looked up and over at her. 'Hey, I come home with a lot of aches and pains,' he defended. 'I want the perfect mattress.'

'Did you have this much trouble choosing one with Juliette?' Adalind wondered.

Nick shook his head. 'The bed and mattress came with Juliette.'

Adalind considered that. 'You like my mattress,' she pointed out. 'I think the third one we tried was like mine.'

Nick shook his head. 'I hate your mattress.'

Adalind scoffed. 'You slept fine in my bed.'

'That wasn't the mattress,' Nick told her, 'that was you.'

'Flatterer.' She smiled which turned into a frown as she slid off the mattress. 'Next one then?'

It took another six mattresses before Nick was happy. It would have been four but the first one he liked Adalind had hated.

'This is what you think is comfortable?' she huffed, shuffling around.

Nick hummed in confirmation. 'You don't like it?'

'Too hard.'

'Next one, then,' he said sitting up. He probably should have been annoyed it was taking so long to find a mattress but without Juliette he was finding there were a lot of things he could take his time over.

Besides, he didn't mind spending the day with Adalind even if it was just shopping for a mattress for the loft he'd purchased.

'What?' Adalind said, following him. She was starting to sound a little impatient with him but she always sounded a little impatient with him when she thought he was being stupid. He kind of liked it. 'Nick, if you like this one, get this one. What does it matter if I like it?'

Nick looked at her, really looked at her. When she glanced up at him and their eyes locked he said, 'It matters.'

She flushed a little. Soft pink suffusing creamy cheeks and he suddenly wished they weren't in the middle of a store. 'Oh,' she whispered. 'Really?' she drawled the word with something that could have been a smirk.

Nick stepped closer until he was almost flush against her, one hand going to her hip, tugging her that last little bit closer. His other hand landed on the small of her back and her own came to rest on his chest between them. She looked up at him and he smiled. 'Really.'

'Not this one then,' she agreed.

'No,' Nick agreed. 'Not this one.'

'Do you guys need help? Or is this one of those times I'm going to need to call the cops?' the voice interrupting their moment sounded annoyed and given that Nick could imagine what had prompted those calls to the cops he couldn't say he blamed the guy.

Nick stepped away from Adalind and turned to face the employee who had wandered over to them with an expression that suggested he knew where the fire hose was and wasn't afraid to use it on them – stock be damned. Adalind's soft laugh suggested she'd interpreted the look the same way.

'We're good,' he told the guy. 'No cops needed.'

'We could use your help though,' Adalind butted in before Nick could dismiss him. Nick took that to mean she was genuinely sick of mattress shopping because by the time she'd outlined what Nick was looking for, the guy had narrowed it down to two. They both hated the first one but the second elicited a delicious moan from Adalind that prompted the employee to wince.

'This one,' Nick agreed.

The employee stalked off to get the appropriate paperwork, muttering under his breath about horny couples and how he really hated retail. A sentiment he repeated when Nick had to be difficult and organise to pick up the mattress instead of taking the store up on their complimentary delivery.

'Your paranoia is showing again,' Adalind informed him once they were back in his car.

'There is nothing wrong with not wanting anyone to know where I live,' Nick defended. 'And it's not like you can talk. You've been hotel hopping for the last two weeks.'

'That's not paranoia,' Adalind scoffed. 'There are people out to get me.'

Nick couldn't argue with that; the royals were still showing an interest in her although neither of them were entirely sure why. Their initial interest he could understand but now it felt like they were targeting her out of revenge for the men she (and Nick) had killed. Which only seemed to be getting more of them killed. It seemed like a lot of effort when they could just leave her be and keep their men alive.

Still, he'd have preferred her not living out of a suitcase and changing hotels everything two or three days. What kind of life was that?

An hour later they were standing in an aisle filling a basket with cleaning products. 'This was always my least favourite thing about moving,' Nick observed.

Adalind shrugged. 'I liked knowing that I was the one to make sure the whole place was clean before I started moving in my things.' She caught sight of the hopeful look on his face and added, with a roll of her eyes, 'Yes, I'm going to help you clean. If you ever expect me to spend time in your fortress of paranoia I'm going to be helping you clean it.'

'Fortress of paranoia?' he repeated with a laugh.

'Your grimm is showing,' she informed him sincerely.

'You haven't even been there yet,' he pointed out.

'I saw the photos on your phone,' she reminded him. 'It's not a house Nick and calling it a loft is a little optimistic.'

Nick shrugged. The moment he'd seen it, he'd known he'd wanted to buy the old paint factory. Maybe he was being paranoid, maybe his grimm was showing. Or maybe he'd just been watching a lot of home renovation programmes with Adalind. Honestly, it was probably a combination of all three, but when he'd seen the ad for the living space above the old factory, noted the address and how far it was from prying eyes, he'd known he had to buy it when Adalind wouldn't.

The dubious look on Adalind's face when they pulled up outside the building had him smiling. She looked wholly unimpressed by the garage space and when they got into the elevator and she saw the old-style grate he had to lower before it would engage, she frowned. She did let out a sigh of relief when she actually stepped out of the elevator and saw the loft itself.

'Alright,' she admitted, 'it has potential.'

Amused, he watched her inspect every inch of the loft, calling out comments as she went. She liked the kitchen although she said it needed a few appliances updated (he'd already known that), she took one look at the bathroom and declared that was the first thing they were renovating. She liked the open master bedroom but said he needed to find some way to create another space. She had ideas about how to use every bit of the loft and when she headed up the stairs to the roof he knew it had won her over.

She'd been right there beside him while he watched those home reno shows after all.

And he kind of like watching her make plans for his loft like maybe it was theirs.