Sorry for all the delay, guys. I've been going through some serious writer's block lately and I'm almost completely over it, but here's a fair warning: This chapter is mostly fluff except for an encounter with a certain antagonizing someone. Enjoy, though!

As the party dragged to a close, Shadow and I made a mad dash for the hallway, but were caught by Della on the way out. "Hey! Get back here!" She called furiously as we left, "You know what you're doing is wrong!"

We turned around sharply and Shadow growled, "What are you trying to do? Get me euthanized? Someone's going to hear you!"

"Good. You stopped." She stood up straighter and I sighed very obviously, making it known that I wanted to leave. "Look," she said in a softer voice, "I will tell somebody about you two. Don't think I'm bluffing. I worked on Project Shadow for years, so I know how easy it is to piss him off."

Shadow bared his fangs and grabbed me by the wrist. "Oh please." he muttered, trying to lead me away.

"Wait." I refused to move until he turned around. "She has a point."

He sighed similarly to as I had done before. "What do you want from us, Della?"

"I think this is sick! It's bestiality for God's sake! So I'm going to say it again, but this is the last time. I. WILL. EXPOSE. YOU. TWO. I swear."

"You can try." Shadow countered, "But you're never stopping us from being together." By now, I was thankful that the lobby was empty except for us three, because Shadow grabbed my hand and kissed it. "As melancholy as it sounds, it's the cold truth. Besides, even if we're exposed and separated, I'll always have a way to get to Maria. And we can still be together. For as long as we fricking want. So screw off."

At first I wasn't sure if it was just me who was shocked, but then I saw the expression on Della's face. It was no longer strong and powerful, it was weak and unsettled. But then it suddenly became hard and angry. Her eyes narrowed and she stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind herself.

After a few seconds of silence I clapped quietly while Shadow looked proud of himself. Then I laughed. "That was quite the impassioned speech you gave there. Where did that come from?"

"Thought of it on the spot. But what did you expect me to say? 'Okay, you're right Della, we'll just never look at each other again'?"

"No, I-"

"Doesn't matter." He interrupted me, "I think we scared her off. Sorry she was such a nuisance, I haven't seen her in a while."

"Why did you stop seeing her anyway?" I asked.

"Well, she has a tendency to purposefully mess things up when she's angry, and she even got demoted once. This is a great example of that behavior."

"Really?" I wondered, "What else has she messed with?"

"Well, one time when I had only been out of the chamber for about two months, she put on a coat and made it negative six degrees Celsius in the lab for a week. Scientists were complaining that they wouldn't go inside, but the professor wasn't there because he was sick and she was the only other person permitted to use the thermostat."

"Oh my God! What did you do?" I asked, watching a sly smile begin to pervade his face.

"I bit her."

"... Why?"

"I was mad! Another time, she was trying to fix one of my rocket shoes and I flew into a wall. And honestly, I had a right to punish her for both times. If I wasn't the Ultimate Life Form, that impact probably would have killed me! Not to mention that I would've gotten frostbite or something that other time!"

"Well don't worry, she's not in charge of you anymore." I promised, hugging him close to me and kissing the top of his head.

"She's not in charge of us." He corrected me, looking up with a joyous expression on his face.

"Uh-huh. Yeah. This is becoming a little dramatic." I said under my breath.

He apparently heard me because he squirmed out of my grip and responded, "I couldn't agree more."

I laughed again, and this time he laughed along with me. The stressful day was taking a positive turn. "It's only three o' clock. Wanna do something now?" I asked.

"Sure, but one last kiss before we have to go back out into the public again." Shadow requested.

"Sure." I gave him a kiss on the lips, and he kissed me back. It lasted a few seconds before we backed away, and I wished it wasn't over. "I suppose the words 'I love you' lost all meaning when it was the first thing I said that displayed my attraction for you," I commented, "but I really want you to know that I love you."

Shadow couldn't help but smile a bit. "The first time you told me that was this morning, wasn't it?" He teased, "And I met you yesterday, correct?"

"Uh, yes." It sounded ridiculously goofy to say aloud, but it was true. We had both proclaimed our love for each other the day after we even began interacting. "But there was always something there." I replied, "Something between us. Something that compelled you to follow me around, and something that told me to let you do so. There was always that same something that brought our two worlds together, no matter how, whether it was speaking, embracing, kissing, or simply being in the same room."

His face became soft and serious. "That's true. That's so true."

And then we kissed again. This time very passionately. I bent down slightly and my fingers interlocked behind his neck, while his hands sifted through my hair.

When the kiss was over, he looked up into my eyes and said, "I've also said this before, but I love you too." He closed his eyes and leaned his head forward ever so slightly, so that our foreheads were touching.

"With all of my heart."