"The One" – Part 48

Summary and additional notes in part 1.

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! Here's another lengthy chapter!

To the folks I can't PM -

Anonymous - Haha! The way this thing is going it just might. But there's some good stuff coming up - fluff, drama, comedy, twists - and all in the next handful of chapters! Thanks for the review!

I3FADAM - Awesome! Very glad to hear that :D Am happy you're enjoying them. Thanks for the review!

Author's Note #2: This is not related to my Degrassi timeline fics. (See my Author's profile for details!)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Degrassi!

-oOo-

As Adam walked towards the kitchen, the sound of laughter caught his ears. He instantly smiled, happy that Fiona and Joe seemed to be getting along well. He had a feeling that they would! He lingered near the entrance. It wasn't his intent to eavesdrop, but he was curious to know what they were talking about.

Fiona sighed. "The 'no sex' thing is getting really frustrating," she admitted. And hearing references to Adam's very active sexual past wasn't helping matters.

Joe chuckled and she gave him a look.

"Sorry, I don't mean to sound dismissive or anything! It's just, I know he really loves you and doesn't want to screw anything up. I'm sure it's killing him too! To be honest, I'm surprised he managed to hold out for this long," he said.

Fiona smirked. "You're not alone in that regard!"

They both laughed.

"For him it's pretty major," Joe acknowledged. "But you don't have that much further go. Just two more weeks, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

Joe grinned at her. "I can't speak from experience, but from what I hear you won't be disappointed!"

"Oh, I'm sure I won't!" she affirmed. In the past, their sex life together had always been good. Both of them had gained lots of experience over the years, so she was curious to see how things would go for them this time around.

The vote of confidence made Adam smile, but he knew they needed to have a talk. He made his presence known.

"Good morning!" he said in a cheery voice. He came up beside Fiona and kissed her cheek.

Joe grinned. "He lives!" he teased his friend.

"Har har," Adam responded. He looked at their food. "Say, do you have another one of–"

"In the freezer," Joe and Fiona said at the same time. They look at each other and laughed.

"Whoa, that was scary!" Adam joked.

"Great minds think alike!" Fiona quipped. Joe nodded in agreement.

Adam grabbed a box from the freezer and opened it on the counter.

"Thanks for the placing the roommate ad, bro," Joe told him.

Adam looked up. "No problem, man." Fiona chuckled at the 'guyspeak'. "Any good replies?" he asked.

Joe smiled. "Yeah. A few guys even posted their picture."

Adam gave him a look. "We don't need pictures. Looks isn't one of the qualities we're checking for! Solid credit history, stable employment, good references – that's more important."

Joe laughed heartily. "I was joking!"

"Oh," Adam responded, feeling a bit silly about his lecture. He placed his food in the microwave and set the timer.

Fiona looked at Joe and mouthed, "Liar!"

He smirked and shrugged innocently.

Adam walked away from the microwave and joined them at the table. "Do you want to start going through potentials?"

"Sure. There's no time like the present," Joe replied.

-oOo-

After they ate, Fiona and Adam were practically giddy as they returned to the room. The moment the door closed Adam crashed his mouth onto hers. He pushed her up against the wall as they kissed deeply. Fiona ran her hands through his hair, pulling him closer towards her. The passion exploded between them as they continued to make out.

The two were breathless when they finally pulled apart.

"Wanted to do that all morning!" he told her.

Fiona grinned. "So why didn't you?" she teased.

"Well, would of have been awkward with Joe there," he quipped.

"I thought you liked threesomes?" she joked.

Adam looked into her eyes. "I don't like to share," he said intensely. "I want all of you."

She stared back with the same intensity. "Same here," she told him. "So why can't I have you?"

Adam blinked. "We should talk." He reached for her hand and led them to the bed.

Fiona took a seat and turned towards him, waiting for him to begin this conversation. She idly noted that for the first time she could recall having to 'talk' didn't worry her. She felt calm and relaxed as she looked into his eyes. He smiled at her and she couldn't help but feel incredibly happy. She knew no matter what they were going to be okay.

"I love you," Adam stated. "I love you so much there aren't words to describe it. You're the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. I meant it, when I said I want everything with you. I do. I don't have the best track record when it comes to relationships, so I want to do everything right this time. I don't want to skip steps because it's easy. While it's easier to do in the short term, I don't want us to face problems in the long term because we did."

He sighed. He wasn't sure if what he was saying made any sense, but he decided to soldier on. "I think we need this time, to learn more about each other. Our hopes, dreams, fears, where we're going, where we've been – all of that. The past two weeks with you has been extraordinary. I can't wait for the next two, and of course celebrating one month together."

They both smiled at each other, clearly on the same page about that!

"Because when it comes to us making love… you have no idea how much I want to take you in this room, throw you on the bed, and get to it," he told her impassioned. "But in a way, I feel like if we can make it through this month, we can make it through anything."

He really meant that. It seemed impossible to not give into temptation. He wanted her in the worst way. It seemed like having sex with her was always on his mind. There was no doubt in his mind that Fiona was the one for him, so he constantly questioned why he should hold back at all!

However, Clare's words really got to him. Love wasn't always enough to keep people together. He saw how deeply Eli loved Clare. He loved her until it hurt. He held on tightly when it would have been better for them both to let go. They needed time to breathe and reassess where they were going. As much as it had hurt Adam to let Fiona go when they broke up, he didn't want them to stay together until reached the point of resenting each other. Adam saw that happening with Eli and Clare. He tried to warn Eli, but his friend stubbornly held on. By the time the couple ended things they had long past the point of repairing the damage.

It made him wonder, if love wasn't enough then what was? When he thought it through, three things came to mind. Sharing similar values, wanting the same things out of life, and being able to weather storms together. He thought they had the first two on lock. To him, the last was a wildcard. Sure they fought hard for their relationship as teenagers, when they first starting dating. But as adults, their relationship wasn't battle tested. There was no easy way to discern this, other than working through issues together. Perhaps this was their test. If they could survive a month, soak up all they could learn about each other and make it to the other side, it only reinforced their commitment to one another.

Fiona studied him closely. Getting through the past two weeks had been rough, but in a way she was proud of them. It made no sense to her, because it was frustrating as hell not to have him in the way she wanted! But she also knew he was worth the wait. Once they had sex, she was certain no one was going to see them for days! She could see how that would bring an end to the 'getting to know you' phase. And it certainly wouldn't be conducive to integrating each other in their lives!

She took a deep breath. "Okay."

Adam raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Okay?"

She let out a laugh at the expression on his face and nodded. She then placed her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Adam smiled broadly at her as she pulled away. He brought a hand to her cheek as he stared into her eyes in wonder. "You're really okay with this?"

"The wait is killing me," she admitted. "But I think you have a point."

He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"I love you, Adam," she told him.

He grinned and pulled her closer. "I love you, too," he responded. He then brought his lips back to hers. They shared a few sweet kisses before Fiona pulled back. Her arms remained around his neck.

"We need to renegotiate our ground rules though," she declared. "Right now we're playing fast and loose, and the cool down period is getting harder to bear."

Adam sighed. "You're right," he agreed. It was getting rather torturous.

"Of course I am!" she teased. "How about hands above the waist only?"

He loved being able to roam and feel her curves, but if they were going to survive the next two weeks they had to draw the line somewhere. "That seems reasonable."

"As for clothing removal, shirts only. From now on the bra stays on," she denoted.

"Are you sure?" he questioned, clearly disappointed.

She laughed and kissed his cheek. "Do you want us to get through the final two weeks or not?"

"I guess…" he grumbled.

"Adam!" she exclaimed, amused. He promptly switched to a neutral expression. She giggled and leaned forward, returning her lips to his.

.

tbc

A/N: Hmm, so those are the new rules. Seems reasonable, no? ;-) Fiona and Joe are made full of win!

Review! You know you want to :D

In the next chapter… we're one step closer to the reception and some old friends make an appearance!

Off topic: I'm posting the final chapter of my other fic, "Space" this evening. It's a four-shot.