A repeated thumping on the door pulled Adelaide out of the depths of sleep and DogNut's arms. Sitting bolt upright, Adelaide took a few seconds to realise what was happening and where she was. She wasn't wearing any clothes, someone was pounding on the door, and she wasn't alone in the bed – and it was then she remembered. DogNut was the person next to her. DogNut. She'd slept with DogNut. Brooke was going to have a field day once she heard, and Courtney was probably going to kill her for sleeping with her not so secret crush. Heck, Adelaide had even been punched in the face by Courtney for hitting on "her" man – even after the fight they'd had the day beforehand.

Next to her, DogNut stirred and groaned, flinging an arm over his eyes in protest before he sat up.

"Hi," Adelaide said, turning back towards him as she brought the covers over her bare chest.

"Hi," he said back, his smile looked the way she felt. "Come here."

He pulled her towards him and into a long, passionate kiss. And then there was an even more forceful thump at the door, causing the pair to end their kiss and mentally curse whoever was interrupting them.

"All I want," DogNut said in a low voice, tracing Adelaide's collarbone with one finger. "Is to spend the rest of my life in bed with you. But I guess we have to save the world, or something."

Adelaide nodded, chuckling a little. "Or something," she agreed before reluctantly stretched and stood up with a sigh, locating her clothes at various points around the small room, and blushing darkly as she remembered how they'd ended up there.

"Don't put those on," DogNut protested, watching the back of Adelaide.

"Shut up," she smirked, unable to stop the idiotic grin that seemed to be permanently etched onto her lips. But then again, she didn't want to put her clothes back on.

"I mean it."

Adelaide threw his shirt at him. "We have to kill sickos, look after the little kids and go back to the Tower. You said so. Also, said sickos are coming to kill us."

He flopped back dramatically. "Who cares anymore? I can think of way better things to do with our time."

She joined him on the bed, their shoulders touching. Adelaide's smile dropped as she stared at the ceiling, not saying anything for a while as she thought. "What happens now?" she asked after what seemed like an eternity.

"We get married, obviously."

"Shut up!" Adelaide laughed, elbowing him. "What happens for real, after we finally beat the sickos?"

"Adelaide Milton, always thinking about the future," DogNut said, rolling over and toying with the ends of Adelaide's hair. "I wish I knew."

"Hurry up!" A voice bellowed from the other side of the door, followed by a hard kick which Adelaide was sure would leave a bruise. Courtney's voice almost seemed as if it was about to break from how loud she was shouting, and would probably hurt for the remainder of the day; not that she cared.

"We're coming!" Adelaide yelled back, sitting up as she shouted but promptly fell back once she finished.

Courtney muttered something under her breath then stomped away.

"You can't hate her forever, y'know." Adelaide said once Courtney's steps had died down and she knew she could talk freely once again.

"Yes I can," DogNut answered, visibly getting angry. "She hurt you."

Adelaide shook her head sighing as she hid her face in her hands. "I'm used to it, don't even worry about it. I'm fine. We can't think about this now, DogNut. Right now, there's no time for hate. We're fighting a goddamn army of sickos out there."

DogNut said nothing for a few moments, tracing small circles along Adelaide's arm. "If it were up to me, no one would ever hurt you."

Adelaide turned to face him, noticing how innocent he looked. Like, the hard boy she'd always seen was just a mask and this puppy-eyed child was what he really looked like. "I love you for that. I mean..." she trailed off, realising what she had just said. She'd said those words without even thinking about them, and she'd meant them. She loved him; she'd known it since the moment she met him but only now had she the guts to tell him.

DogNut pushed back her hair and looked into her eyes. "I love you, Adelaide."

"I love you, DogNut."

"When you asked before about our after... I don't care where we end up, as long as we're together."

"Together isn't a place, DogNut."

"To me it is."

DogNut kissed her long and deep, and the pair knew that they were going to be very late for breakfast or whatever Courtney had tried to get them out of bed for.

Half an hour later, Adelaide headed for breakfast first. The smile was still on her face as she walked out of her room, her cheeks in a near constant blush as she tried to hide it.

Brooke and Courtney were hunched over the table, talking in low voices. They looked up when Adelaide came into the room, but they didn't move apart. The pair of them looked like they'd been there for a long time.

"Where's DogNut?" Brooke asked, looking behind Adelaide for a moment before focusing back on her.

"He's, uh, he's… I don't know," Adelaide answered, feeling her cheeks heat up and internally scolding herself for it.

Courtney laughed. "Sure you don't, Addie."

"I do not! I have no idea where he slept last ni-"

At that exact moment, DogNut chose to emerge from the same bedroom Adelaide had just come out of, causing Courtney to roll her eyes. "Sleep well, DogNut?" she asked sweetly, unable to keep the smile off her face. He looked between her and Adelaide, confused.

"I slept fine?" he answered, but it came out more like a question.

Courtney couldn't hold it back and collapsed into giggles. "I bet you did."

"Knock it off," Brooke said sharply, causing Courtney to immediately stop her giggling.

She wasn't joking – and she wasn't just talking to Courtney either. Adelaide's temper flared. She was angry at Courtney for bringing up where DogNut had slept, and at Brooke for thinking she had any reason to weigh in. but mostly, she was angry at the situation. No matter how much she wanted the opposite to be true; they were there for a reason that had nothing to do with what was happening between DogNut and her. But at the same time, what was happening between DogNut and her was what they were fighting for.

"I'm ready for business," Adelaide told the pair, sitting down at the table. DogNut sat next to her, his thigh touching hers. She let herself lean into him a little. Courtney's eyes flicked over Adelaide, but she didn't say a word.

"We all are." Brooke said, placing her hands flat on the table. "We've got a lot of ground to cover today, and since now our two key members have arrived; we can begin planning. We tell everyone we're leaving, give short goodbyes then we leave, sounds like a plan?"

The group nodded in unison, not saying a word.

Note

My precious children finally admitted they loved each other nawhhhh. After waiting for 500 years, we're finally getting back to the canon world.

Until next time;

Lorna.