Remember, don't let her win so easily, Adam told himself as they both got set in their fighting stances. She made the first move, a jab at his throat that he quickly dodged.

"Good, Adam," she praised him.

"You haven't seen anything yet," he responded with a grin. "I've been practicing."

"Show me what you got," she challenged him as she swung at him with a right hook, but he deftly caught her fist in his hand before it could connect and used his grip on her to turn her around so that her back was to his chest and used his other arm to pin her there.

"Wow, you really have been practicing," she complimented him. As he still held her tightly, she found herself wriggling against him in an attempt to free herself. She turned her head to glance back at him. "You can let go now."

"Oh, but I'm not done with you yet," he smirked at her.

"We'll just see about that." She leaned forward to throw him off, using his superior body weight against him, but before he landed, he used a foot sweep that knocked her down as well so that they landed with him on his back and her sprawled atop him. "Good, Adam, that was really…" she hesitated as she saw the way he was looking at her as if he was a starving man and she was a steak. "….good." she completed as she felt heat rising in her cheeks.

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her, hoping that if she rejected his attempt to get close to her, he could just play it off as part of their sparring. When she made no move to get away, but simply kept her eyes locked on his, he tightened his hold on her pulling her closer. Or was she moving closer on her own? He couldn't tell anymore. He removed one hand from her back to brush a stray lock of hair out of her face.

"Adam," she said his name so softly it was barely audible. This wasn't her normal scolding tone. It was something he'd never heard from her before.

"Teela," he replied as he ran his hand down her face, caressing it softly. He was pleased when she leaned into his touch and closed her eyes for a moment as if trying to savor it.

Teela smiled as she opened her eyes, never having imagined Adam would ever have the courage to make a move on her as he just had. She didn't know what had gotten into him today, but she decided to embrace it and see where it took them. She leaned in and lightly touched her lips to his nervous about how he'd respond, hoping she wasn't reading too much into his actions.


Marlena poked her head into Man-at-Arms' workshop where and said, "Duncan, do you have a moment?"

"Of course, Your Majesty." He looked up from his work and waved her in.

"I wanted to talk to you for a moment about Adam and this ridiculous mandate my stubborn husband has given him. Can't you help me talk some sense into him about it?"

"You heard me this morning. I tried, but he wasn't willing to listen."

She shook her head. "I know, but I just spoke to Adam and he's beside himself over it."

"I'm sure he is," Duncan agreed. "But what can we do about it? Randor is dead set on it."

"I think there's something you can do about it even if neither of us can get Randor to budge. Adam already has someone in mind to meet his father's requirements, but she's…well, she's going to present a few challenges for him."

"I presume you mean, Teela?" He asked with a grin.

"Then you've seen it too? The way they look at each other, the way they back away if they get too physically close in their training sessions."

"The way Teela cuts their training short if it starts to make her uncomfortable."

"The way Adam runs off claiming he's tired."

Duncan nodded. "I've seen all those things and more, but what do you think I can do about it? You know how stubborn my daughter is. She'll never do anything unless she wants to and she would never accept a marriage proposal from Adam if she knew he was being coerced into it."

"I know, but if you could, I don't know, give Adam your blessing and perhaps suggest to Teela that she be honest with her feelings for him as I've done with Adam."

"I can certainly try. So, then I take it you're in favor of this match, my daughter and your son?"

"I can't think of two people more suited to one another," she responded with a warm smile. "Especially now that I know Adam's big secret."

"I…um…I don't know what you mean, Your Majesty," he sputtered evasively.

"That's okay, Duncan. You don't have to say anything. Just know that I know you also know so if you need someone to talk to, I'm here."

"You know, Adam and Teela should be in their training session now. Why don't we go see what they're up to and I can have that talk with her when they're done?"

"Good idea, and I can see if Adam took any of my advice to show her who he really is."


Adam moved his hand to the back of her head to deepen their kiss, his lips teasing hers as they melded together, both relaxing into it. In all his fantasies, he'd never imagined it would be this good, the feel of her lips on his, her athletic body pressed against him. Since she decided to go for it, he thought he might be a little bolder as he moved the hand on her back down to her taut bottom and gave it a little squeeze, hoping it wouldn't ruin the moment.

Teela gave a little moan into his mouth when she felt his hand on her rear and flicked her tongue against his lips and was pleased when he opened his mouth beneath hers, their kisses becoming more heated as their hands wandered exploring each other.

Adam rolled her over and she wrapped her arms around him and hooked one leg over his bottom urging him closer as they continued to share steamy kisses, their tongues dueling.

"Adam!" they heard Marlena shout, just as Duncan shouted Teela's name. The couple quickly broke apart and scrambled to their feet.

"This…uh…this isn't what it looks l-like," Adam sputtered. "We were just…uh…"

"Training," Teela quickly chimed in.

"Yeah, training," Adam nodded.

"Training for what?" Marlena questioned mirthfully.

"You know what, Adam, I think that's enough sparring for today," Teela said. "You're free to go."

"Sparring?" Her father quipped. "Is that what we're calling it now?"

Marlena stifled a laugh as Adam started to leave the room until Duncan said, "Not so fast."

Adam hung his head sure that he was in for another lecture. "You know, Duncan," Marlena suggested. "Since I've already had a good talk with Adam today, why don't we switch what we talked about? You talk to Adam and Teela and I will have a little girl talk," she said as she linked her arm through Teela's and guided her toward her bedroom.

In Duncan's workshop, Adam was already tensed to defend himself. "Listen, whatever you're going to say, you don't have to. I already know I screwed up…again, so I don't need the lecture."

"You think you screwed up?" Duncan laughed.

"Isn't that what you brought me in here for, to yell at me for having my hands all over your daughter?"

"No, though I would have preferred not to witness it. However Teela herself didn't seem to mind when her hands were equally all over you, so why should I?"

"If you're not angry with me kissing her, then what's this all about?"

"If you want to pursue Teela, you have my blessing, but I urge you to be cautious. She puts on a brave front as if nothing can hurt her, but I think we both know she's a little fragile underneath that tough-as-nails exterior."

Adam nodded in understanding. "I know."

"So, have you given any thought to how you're going to come clean with her about He-Man?" When Adam shook his head, Duncan continued, "Well, you're going to have to think long and hard about it, especially if you hope to make her your bride."

"I know. My mother said the same thing."

"So, you did tell her. She'd hinted as much, but I didn't want to say anything in case she was just guessing."

"It's true so you can feel free to discuss He-man's true identity with her if you need to."

"That's good to know."

"So, since Teela is off-duty for the next couple of days, I was thinking of asking her out. Do I really have your blessing to do so?"

"Yes, Adam, you do. Anyone with eyes can see how much you've loved her for years."


"So, I suppose I'm in for a lecture," Teela pouted as she flounced down onto her bed.

"No, Dear, no lecture and I'm sorry we interrupted your 'training' with Adam."

Teela smiled at the queen's joke. "I can see where Adam gets his sharp wit from."

"Definitely not his father." She sat next to Teela and gently patted her hand. "Listen, Teela, if you and Adam want to pick up where you left off before we interrupted you, I have no objections."

"Really? What's the catch?"

"No catch, just a word of advice. Adam may sometimes seem like he's all swagger, like the perpetual ladies' man, but when it comes to you, he's deathly afraid of being himself for fear that you won't like him or at least not as well as you like He-Man."

"Is he still on that jealousy kick?"

"It's not so much jealousy as it is insecurity about you and your feelings for him. If you showed him you cared for him even half as much as he cares for you, he'd be a happy man and can let go of those insecurities."

"Well, he didn't seem at all insecure when he was kissing me."

"Maybe because you were kissing him back."

"Hmmm…"

"Am in interrupting?" Adam called from the doorway.

"No," Marlena replied. "I think we're done here."

Once his mother was out of earshot, he entered Teela's room and closed the door behind him. "Hey, listen, Teela, I was thinking if you don't have any plans for your day off tomorrow, maybe you and I can hang out."

"Hang out? What did you have in mind?"

"I thought we could do a picnic like we used to do when we were kids, around lunch time, down by the lake under our favorite tree, maybe do some swimming and just spend some time together."

"You're on!"

He smiled and then leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek and then hurried toward the door before his courage failed him, but just as he got there, he felt the Sorceress nudging his mind.

Teela knew that look on his face all too well. "What is it, Adam? Is the Sorceress contacting you by telepathy again?"

"Yeah. She's sensing a disturbance coming from the abyss of Grayskull and thinks Skeletor is behind it."

"Then let's go!" she scrambled off her bed and met him at the door.

"I think we should get He-Man involved. Last time you got too close to the abyss, you broke your arm and got trapped there."

"Good point. You're the one who knows how to find him. You go get him and I'll prep a Wind Raider."

"I'll tell him where to meet you," he said as he raced down the hall to his room where he found Cringer curled up on his bed. "Come on, Cringer, we've got work to do,"

Cringer opened one eye and muttered, "Don't tell me I have to become that scary Battle Cat again."

"I'm sorry old buddy, but I may need you since the abyss of Grayskull is dangerous."

Without giving Cringer a chance to argue further, he raised his sword and shouted, "By the power of Grayskull!" to begin the transformation and once it was completed, he mounted Battle Cat's back and told him, "To the loading dock, let's go, Cat!"

When they got there, Teela was already seated behind the controls of the Wind Raider with the engine humming. He and Battle Cat leapt inside and she flew it expertly out into the air.

"Why didn't Adam come with you? I had hoped after he made some progress in our training today that he wouldn't take off again the moment trouble reared its ugly head."

"He's staying at the palace to warn your father and the king and queen in case this is one of Skeletor's diversionary tactics, to lead us one place while leaving the other unprotected."

"That's actually a really good idea. Maybe I'll make a warrior out of him yet."

He-Man laughed and thought if you only knew.

"On the other hand, maybe that's just his excuse so he doesn't have to be around you."

"Why wouldn't he want to be around me? I'm a nice guy, aren't I?"

"Don't you know he's jealous of you? You're so much stronger and braver than he is."

"But my superior strength isn't why he's jealous of me."

"What do you mean?"

Before He-Man could answer, a blast of energy coming from the abyss hit the Wind Raider, damaging its right wing. "Dammit!" Teela swore. "Hang on, we're in for a rough landing!"

"Battle Cat, get ready to jump," he shouted as Teela did her best to slow down the craft to ease the forced landing. Just as they were about to crash-land, He-Man took her hand and they both leapt onto Battle Cat's back as the cat stretched out his long, powerful legs and landed with precision on the on the rock formation in front of Castle Grayskull.

"Whew! That was a close one." Teela breathed a sigh of relief as she slid off Battle Cat's back, He-Man doing the same. "That Wind Raider is done for, though."

"The question is where did than energy bolt come from?" He looked around and cautiously stepped to the edge of the outcropping to look down into the abyss just as another bolt of energy whizzed by him from above. He glanced up to see the Sorceress firing energy beams from the castle window down toward the abyss.

"Sorceress!" he called.

"Skeletor is down in the abyss," she pointed and that was when they saw him standing on the narrow rock bridge that had enabled him to save Teela when she'd been trapped down there.

"How did he get down there without killing himself?" Teela gaped at the bone-faced bad boy as she recalled just how much of a challenge she'd faced when she'd fallen into it.

"It's called magic, Captain Teela," Skeletor cackled. "Something your weak war-minded brain can't comprehend."

"No, but I can," the Sorceress cried from above as she launched another energy beam at him as Teela used her arm laser to fire at him, their combined efforts cracking the ledge he was standing on in two, causing Skeletor to lose his balance. He quickly teleported out of the abyss and raced toward his Sky-Sled. He-Man made a move to follow, but Skeletor raised his Havoc Staff and in a menacing tone said, "Not so fast, you muscular moron! Do you think I'll let you defeat me that easily?"

"Give up, Bone-brain, you lose," He-Man fired back as he drew his sword prepared to fend off Skeletor's attacks.

"No, YOU lose! Let's see you choose between attacking me and saving your precious Captain Teela!" He fired one last energy bolt at the ledge Teela was standing on and gave a satisfied smirk when he heard it crack and leapt onto his Sky Sled and flew away.

"NO!" He-Man cried as he raced back toward Teela and gripped her arm just as the ledge crumbled beneath her feet. "Grab my arm!"

Panic overtook her at the idea of falling into the abyss again and she froze in terror. "I can't!"

"Yes, you can." He gripped her one arm with both hands now as he fought against the severe winds of the abyss that threatened to pull her out of his reach.

"Don't let me fall!" Teela screamed as she felt the winds tugging at her body, pulling her toward the chasm.

Teela, relax. You can do this, the Sorceress told her in her mind.

"Mother?" she whispered softly.

You're connected to the power of Grayskull since you once took it over. Use that connection now. Concentrate on reaching for He-Man, you can do it."

Teela summoned all her strength, concentrating hard on what the Spirit of Grayskull had once tried to teach her about the power and after a couple more failed attempts, finally gripped He-man's hand with her own and together they got her back on solid ground.

The Sorceress smiled at them from above said, "Thank you for the help," and returned to her throne room.

Teela and He-Man hugged each other tightly. "I thought I was going to lose you," He breathed a sigh of relief as he held her close.

"For a moment, I did too," she admitted as she gazed up into his bright blue eyes. She brushed a light kiss against his lips, only intending for it to be a kiss of gratitude, but when he kissed her back, it became more than that.

She quickly pulled away and said firmly, "No." She remembered the heated kisses she'd shared with Adam just a few hours ago and while she was attracted to He-Man, she couldn't do that to Adam, especially since he'd finally had the courage to ask her out. At least, she'd believed that's what he'd meant, that he wanted to date her.

"I'm sorry," he offered sincerely. "I shouldn't have gotten carried away." He sighed. He would like nothing better right now than to share his secret with her and kiss like he never had before, but instead, he added, "This is the real reason Adam's jealous of me, not because I'm stronger." He shook off that thought and said, "Come on, let's get you back to the palace." He called to Battle Cat and they both climbed onto his back.

The ride back to Eternos was a quiet one as neither knew quite what to say. While He-Man couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Teela had initiated a kiss in both of his forms and was once again wondering which one of them she really loved, Teela was reeling over hearing her mother in her head again and feeling her love, wondering if she'd ever meet her face to face. But those thoughts were soon overtaken by those of her complicated love life. On one hand, she'd felt a little thrill that He-Man had kissed her back, but on the other, she'd felt as if she were betraying Adam and she'd very much enjoyed their time together in the training room.

When they arrived at the palace gates, she scrambled off Battle Cat's back as quickly as she could to distance herself from He-Man and made her way toward the gates, but then a thought occurred to her and she turned back around and asked, "What did you mean when you said that was why Adam is jealous of you?"

He wished now that he'd never said it, never let that kiss in front of Castle Grayskull go as far as it had. He shrugged and answered honestly, "Isn't it obvious? He's in love with you." Without giving her a chance to reply, he hurried off, guiding Battle Cat around to the side of the palace. They leaped through the open balcony doors leading into his bedroom and he quickly transformed them back. Cringer sleepily curled back up on the bed, while he hurried to the throne room to make good on his cover story to Teela about his absence from the battle.

He had just finished telling his parents about the trouble at Castle Grayskull when Teela walked in.

"Is everything okay now?" he inquired.

"It is now that we chased Skeletor away from Castle Grayskull again." she relayed the events that had occurred.

"You should've been there helping," King Randor scolded his son.

Duncan jumped in to defend Adam, "It's better that Adam was here to inform us of what was going on here in case Skeletor decided to launch an attack on the palace."

"Besides," Adam added with a note of sadness in his voice. "I figured with He-Man around, Teela didn't really need me."

But I do need you, Teela thought, though she wasn't quite brave enough to say it out loud. She couldn't stop thinking about He-man's last words to her. Was Adam really in love with her?


The next morning, while everyone else was in the dining room having an after-breakfast conversation, Adam was in the kitchen humming softly to himself as he finished the picnic preparations for himself and Teela. He had to admit, at least to himself, that while he was still nervous about attempting to court the woman he loved, he was also giddy with excitement, especially after their unexpected kiss yesterday during his training session which had turned into a lot more than just a kiss. Of course, she'd also kissed He-Man, but when he'd tried to take it further, she'd rebuffed him. The more he thought about it, the more he chose to dwell on that first round of kissing as she'd seemed much more into it.

Until they were interrupted, that was, but even that didn't seem so bad when Duncan had pretty much given his blessing to pursue his headstrong daughter.

He finally felt like he was on the right path. He just wished he could convince his father of that. He'd been hoping to have a moment alone with him so he could tell him of his intentions to court Teela and his progress in that goal, but there didn't seem to be a good opportunity to do that without making it awkward since Teela was right there in the next room and he was sure she didn't know about the king's mandate. If she did, she may not have agreed to this outing with him.

As if reading his mind, his father stepped into the kitchen to see what he was up to.

"Good, Father, you're here. I wanted to talk to you in private about what happened yesterday."

Randor's eyes narrowed when he saw the picnic supplies surmising that his son was planning to skip out on his duties again. "Well, if you're trying to weasel out of it, you can forget it. And what's all this?"

"A picnic lunch for me and-"

Before he could complete his statement, the king cut him off. "What will it take to get you to take a real interest in your future? I suppose you're planning to skip off to the lake with Cringer for some fishing instead of focusing on the task I gave you."

"No, Father, this isn't about-"

"No? Because that's certainly what it looks like."

"If you'd just let me explain-" Adam tried again, but again was cut off.

"Save your feeble explanations and excuses. I'm tired of them. Go on and do whatever you like as you always do, but just remember, the clock is ticking. If you haven't made your choice in six months, I'll be making it for you."

Randor stormed out of the kitchen and Adam heaved a great sigh just as Teela walked in. "What was that all about? We heard your father shouting at you."

"Just the usual, he thinks I'm useless and an embarrassment to the crown."

"But you're not. At least, I don't think you are. I know I give you a hard time, but it's only because I know how good you can be when you really try, like yesterday when we were sparring."

He flushed at her comments as it was high praise coming from her when she held everyone to the same high standards that she set for herself. That made him even more determined than ever to ever to prove himself to her despite his father's lack of faith in him.

"Hey, how about we head out early since neither of us has any other plans? We could hit the lake for some swimming before it gets too hot out."

"Let's go," she agreed.

"Great. Let me just grab a blanket for our picnic and we'll be all set." He went to the storage closet, grabbed the largest blanket he could find, tucked it into the basket to cover their lunch, and then hooked the basket over his arm. He held his free arm out to her and said, "Shall we?"

"We shall," she answered as she happily linked her arm through his.

They walked out of the kitchen arm in arm and were both puzzled to find the dining room was now empty. "Hmm…I wonder where everyone went," he mused, but he also felt a little relief as it meant he wouldn't have to face his father again.

As they were almost to the front doors of the palace, they heard the sounds of shouting down the hall. "How could you speak to our son like that after what you did to him yesterday," Queen Marlena was yelling at her husband.

"Marlena, I understand that you have a mother's instinct to protect your child, but as a mere Earthling, you can't possibly understand how things need to work for the future of Eternia!" the king shouted back.

"OH! A mere Earthling, am I? Well, let me tell you something…"

The king and queen continued arguing as they moved toward the throne room, the sound of their raised voices fading as they walked further away from the younger pair.

"Uh-oh, that doesn't sound good. Do you think we should stay here?" Teela questioned.

"No, it's just more of the same old stuff, but it'll get worked out. Right now, I just want to spend some time with you."

"That's sweet." She smiled at him, very much liking this new, bolder Adam.

As they reached their normal picnicking spot by the lake, he was just getting ready to set the basket down when she released his arm abruptly, stripped down to her underthings and teased, "Last one in is a rotten egg," then ran toward the lake.

"Hey, that's not fair," he called after her as he dropped the basket, quickly stripped of his shirts and his boots and dove into the water after her, quickly catching up to her and dunking her into the water in retaliation.

She came to for air, sputtering and squawked, "No fair sneaking up behind me like that."

"Consider it payback for cheating," he fired back with a mischievous grin.

"You just weren't fast enough," she taunted.

"How can I be when you gave yourself a head start?"

"You're such a sore loser."

"Or you're just a bad winner."

"Okay, fine. How about a rematch, she suggested. "A race to the boat dock and back like we used to do when we were kids. And I bet you still can't beat me even without a head start!"

"You bet, huh? How about we make it interesting and make it a real bet."

"Sure, what's the prize when I win?"

"You mean, when I win."

"HA! Fat chance!"

"Just you wait. As for the prize." He smirked at her with a devilish glint in his eyes, "how about we leave it up to the winner?"

"Sounds intriguing," she replied in a huskier tone, "But that means-"

His voice dropped lower as he completed her thought, "The winner gets whatever they want."

An involuntary shudder ran up her spine as the implication of that, as his tone and the way he was looking at her suggested exactly what he would want should he win. She gave him a seductive smile and replied, "Count me in."

"On three?" he suggested. She nodded in response and they counted down together and both took off.

Adam had never worked hard at anything in his life when he wasn't fighting evil as He-Man. His arms ached from the exertion, but he had to win so he pushed himself harder than he ever had before. It wasn't about winning the bet, though he knew she'd live up to her end of the deal. It was about proving to her that he wasn't the weakling loser he was perceived to be. He reached the dock just half a second before she did and quickly turned himself around and swam as fast as he could, glad that despite his façade of being weak, he'd still kept his body in shape.

"Have you been practicing at this too?" she asked as they collapsed side by side on the grass, both out of breath.

"You have no idea all the things I've been practicing." He didn't dare the tell her this, but since she'd agreed to this outing yesterday, he'd been practicing just how to tell her how much he loved her and how to reveal his secret to her.

"So, you won fair and square. So, what is it you want as your prize?"

"Gimme a minute to catch my breath and I'll show you."

She shivered with anticipation as it wasn't lost on her that he'd wanted to show her what he wanted, not tell her. She reached for his hand and linked her fingers with his as they lay there sunning themselves in the late-morning sun.

The moment wasn't to last though as the sun was soon blocked by huge storm clouds moving in fast.

"Oh no!" Adam moaned. "It wasn't supposed to rain today." There went all his plans for the day.

"I've never seen storm clouds move that fast before," she said in a worried tone as they both hurried to get up and scrambled to get their clothes and boots back on as they heard the roll of thunder and the crack of lightning. "It's going to pour any second now. We need to find shelter."

"That cave we explored when we were little," he suggested as he looked around to get his bearings. "There! That outcropping of rock!" he pointed.

"Good plan."

Adam scooped up the picnic basket and took her hand in his free one just as another deafening thunder boom sounded and a heavy downpour began.

They ran with all their might, slipping and sliding across the increasingly wet ground under them, holding tightly to each other to keep from falling until they finally ducked inside the cave out of the rain and increasing wind.

"Phew!" he sighed with relief now that they were sheltered and he set the basket down on the ground. At seeing the way Teela was shivering, he reached for the blanket and handed it to her.

"Here. You should wrap up in this to get warm."

"Thanks," she said, "But it won't do much good when my clothes are sopping wet."

"Then you should take them off first," he suggested.

She eyes him warily, wondering if this was a come on with the way he'd been behaving toward her since yesterday or if he were just looking out for her.

Her wondering ceased when he quickly added, "I'll turn my back while you get undressed.

"Sure," she nodded with an edge of disappointment in her tone as he turned his back.

Ancients, give me strength, he silently prayed knowing she would soon be naked within mere feet of him.