Pure Intentions? Chapter 21
A/N: Kakerot Bardockson: Your musical suggestions inspired me to write this chapter. I was stuck in how to move this story forward and voila your PM prompted my muse to come up with this chapter. Thank you for the great suggestions. I thought the musical choices are apropos to this fandom. Hope you all enjoy. Please note there is a reference to Filmation's 'Into the Abyss' in this chapter.
Reclining back in his seat, Prince Adam removed his fine tweed gray jacket handing it to Teela as he gestured to the back of the vehicle with his head. "Here, you can use my jacket to change out of the dress, so you don't catch a cold."
Grabbing the offered material from him, she unbuckled her seat belt and walked toward the back of the Attack Track, as she stared daggers at him. Seeing her, Cringer moved out of the way, keeping his eyes low to the ground. Reaching him, she bend over to scratch the cat behind his ears causing him to purr deep in his throat.
As Teela continued to stroke Adam's pet, her hair fell over her shoulder blocking Adam's view of her blue-green eyes. He watched her movements by using the rearview mirror, she watched him through her cascading hair. Silently they studied each other, until with a determined shake of her head Teela straightened up. With a sly smile she turned her back to the Prince, reached behind her back and started unzipping her dress, his jacket laying on the back seat next to Cringer.
Adam gulped. She wouldn't just drop her dress, would she? Holding his breath, he watched her remove her arms from the straps as she bend her chin to her chest. In the last minute, she caught the top of her dress with her chin, holding it pressed tightly against her bosom. With a sideways bend of her torso, she reached over to grab his jacket bringing it up her front. Holding the jacket with her teeth, Teela tied the jacket's sleeves behind her back creating a drapery. Knowing that she wore bike shorts under the dress, thus covering her derriere, she fully unzipped the dress.
With a slight swoosh of fabric, the dress slipped off her lithe form. Turning her head slightly, she caught Adam's reflection in the mirror. Smiling at him, she slowly turned to face him as she located the one valise she carried with her as the rest of their belongings were in the accompanying Attack Track. Striding confidently to it, she unzipped it pulling out her trusty white Captain's uniform. Continuing to use Adam's jacket as a screen, Teela pulled on her uniform ending the short striptease.
Adam never once took his eyes off her. Neither did she, keeping their gazes interlocked through the rearview mirror. Wordlessly, she rejoined him in the front of the vehicle taking her seat and fastening her seatbelt.
To calm the storm, Adam decided to turn on Attack Track's entertainment system. Reaching into his pants pocket, he withdrew a flimsy triangular object that Teela had never seen before.
"What's that?", she asked curiously.
"It's a prototype for a new data drive your father is inventing", he answered as he pushed the drive into a specially made slot in the vehicle's console.
Turning the knobs that controlled the volume and bass levels, Adam inclined backwards in his seat to see if the Attack Track would be able to read the files on the drive. Within minutes, a tune very familiar to both Adam and Teela blared out of the speakers.
Hearing the music, Teela rolled her eyes and covered her ears. Shaking her head side to side she spoke up stating loudly over the music "OH…Not this", as Adam had brought along a file containing songs from their childhood. Songs they had listened to over and over while growing up. Songs only they knew as they were not from Eternia. More specifically, the songs on this data drive were once imbedded on a cassette tape lodged within Queen Marlena's ship from Earth.
Teela had once enjoyed these songs. She, the Queen, and Adam had spent many a nights huddled together in front of warm fires or staring up into the clear star studded Eternian night sky listening to these songs as the Queen reminisced of her life prior to crash landing on Eternia.
Queen Marlena had insisted that she and Adam learn every lyric to each song so that they can sing along with her. Impressionable at that young age, Teela had complied with the Queen's wishes going as far as choreographing dances to the songs under Marlena's tutelage of what dancing looked like on Earth.
It seemed her father, in his genius was able to transfer them on this futuristic looking flimsy drive, so that Adam could drive her madder. She knew what would come next.
Adam would ask her to stand up to perform her choreographies. In a game they had made up as children, he took the role of a musician and she that of a dancer each performing for the Queen. No sooner than the first beat pumped out of the speakers, Adam raised his arms in the air clenching his fists as if he was holding a pair of drumsticks. Keeping tempo with the song, Teela continued shaking her head at his antics.
She couldn't believe his choice of songs. Deciding she would let him know her displeasure, she reached over and turned the music off.
"Why did you do that?", he complained immediately.
"I'm not in the mood!", she stated.
"Stop being so rude, Teela." "You could have asked me to lower the volume instead of shutting it off completely", he stated angrily as he turned the device back on.
Teela once again reached over to shut it off; however, this time he had expected her move. Once again surprising the redhead with his supremely quick reflexes he covered the knob thus blocking Teela's hand.
"It stays on", he commanded in a tone that did not leave room for argument. Puzzled and hurt at his demeanor, Teela pulled her hand away. Prince Adam, Crown Prince of Eternia did not usually speak to Teela in such a tone. It had only happened once before, when he had dismissed her from his presence. Teela remembered what happened afterwards. They had shared a picnic as a means to reconcile their differences, followed by a game of survival hide and seek, leading to Teela slipping over the ledge of Grayskull's draw bridge down into the bottomless abyss surrounding the legendary fortress.
Having learned her lesson, Teela decided to concede to his wishes. Closing her eyes, she let the songs' words bring forth delightful memories of their childhood. Opening one eye, she saw that Adam seemed engrossed in the music himself. Teela recognized the band as one of Queen Marlena's favorite. The Queen had shared with them that the artists on the cassette were a mixture of 80's rock, country, romantic ballads, and synth pop. She couldn't recall all of the artists names but was sure the Prince could as he was gifted with extremely well developed memory skills.
Soon one of her favorite songs came on. She remembered it was called "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor. Teela had secretly added this song to her own workout tape as the song motivated her to push herself to her limits. She also knew that someone else in this vehicle also loved the song. Turning around in her seat, she saw Cringer lift his head off his paws as he recognized the song's beat. Standing up, the great cat positioned itself in the middle of the moving vehicle, shaking his head to the tune of the music.
Both Adam and Teela simultaneously burst out laughing at Cringer's dance. The Eternian green tiger always tried his paws at dancing to this song, feeling like the song was meant for him. Every time he heard the phrase for which the title received its name, Cringer would sit on his hind legs let out a roar and point to himself.
"Wwhat?", he questioned when he noticed that Adam and Teela were gazing at him with silly smiles on their faces. "You know this song is about me, right?"
"Rigghtt", the vehicles passengers stated at the same time. "Jinx", they quickly blurted a phrase Adam's mom had used with them when they would simultaneously blurt out the same words.
Age and the passage of time had changed nothing for the three childhood friends. Secure within the impenetrable metal of the Attack Track, they continued their journey reminiscing about years gone by. Soon, Adam and Teela joined Cringer in the back after having turned on the automatic driver option. The music continued blaring loudly after Teela turned up the volume.
Eventually, another Survivor song came up. Teela knew how much Adam enjoyed this one in particular. It was a romantic ballad entitled "Is This Love?" Strumming on an imaginary guitar, Adam began to sing aloud. Teela forgot what a pleasant voice he had. Actually, she acknowledged that Prince Adam was talented in many of the arts. He could sing, dance, play many instruments, sculpt, and paint. She knew him to be an avid lover of the arts. Having the best tutors in the land also helped him further his talents.
Watching him perform, Teela sat back down in her seat. It was a long time since either of them had a respite like this. She admitted she was enjoying this ride. Closing her eyes, she began paying attention to the song's lyrics. It bespoke of a man questioning his emotions wanting to know if what he was feeling was more than a crush. Over and over the singer asked if what he was feeling was love or just physical desire. Abruptly opening her eyes, she stood up walked to the back of the Attack Track just as another song started. Assuming a Rocker's stance, Teela pushed Adam out of the way. She couldn't take it anymore as the song he was just singing hit to close to home. She had the same questions for him. Did he love her? Did He-Man?
Angrily, she started to belt out the lyrics to the song currently playing. To Teela it summarized her current emotions toward these men who were driving her insane.
Removing her collapsed staff from her waist, she brought it up to her lips using it as a makeshift microphone. Dropping her octave lower and growling the words, Teela emulated the singer's raspy edgy voice. This was a song from a female performer. A badass female rocker, whose song lyrics were perfect in describing Teela's current predicament and mood. Staring at Adam, she sang the words directing them at his prone form. Keeping beat with her booted heel, Teela copied Adam's movements as she plucked her own imaginary electric guitar while she sang. With heartfelt emotions she yelled the titles song "I Hate Myself for Loving You" (by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts). He-Man may have taken her heart, but she still held on to her pride. If Adam and He-Man were one, Teela used this song to let him know that their breakup wouldn't crush her. As she continued singing, Teela began swaying her hips side to side to the rhythm of the music. Slowly, she gyrated her upper body in snakelike movements to the beat of the music. Bending her head forward, she swung her head side to side, her long hair flying around in circles with her movements.
Adam was enthralled. The song's words did not escape him. Of all the songs on the drive, Teela decided to perform to that particular one. It was clear to Adam, that their secret affair had resulted in his best friend experiencing feelings of self-loathing. He hated what he had done to her. Without realizing it, he stood up approached the heavily breathing Teela and wrapped his strong arms around him. Pulling her unresisting head towards his chest, he placed his chin on the top of her head holding her close. After a few minutes he released her. He wanted to apologize to her, but decided against it in the last minute. He knew that doing so, would mean disclosing his secret to her. He wasn't ready to do so yet. He couldn't. He had to make her love him. Too much was at risk for him to fail in this mission.