He-Man frantically dug at the various rocks and boulders to free Teela. The way she'd landed, her legs were trapped under two different piles of boulders so he was trying to free them one at a time, doing his best to focus on the task and hand and not worry about the consequences of his actions, especially since he'd finally heard her say those three beautiful words to him as Prince Adam, but what did it really mean when part of her still wanted He-Man?

As he pitched rock after rock through the opening he'd made, he puffed, "I bet if I'd asked you to marry me looking like this, you wouldn't have made me wait for an answer. I mean, two hours hadn't even passed after our training session yesterday before you were kissing He-Man!"

He punched at the pile and took enormous satisfaction in watching it shatter into pieces, finally freeing her left leg.

"See if you can move it now." She wiggled it, but grimaced in pain.

He knelt to examine her and it seemed it was just severely bruised and didn't appear to be broken.

"No," she answered his question causing him to breathe a sigh of relief. "I said I needed time to think because everything is happening so fast and I meant that. Unlike you, I'm not a liar!"

There it is, he thought as he tried to brace himself for the explosion that was sure to follow as he got back to work to free her other leg.

"And for the record, I only kissed He-Man out of gratitude because he – or you - saved me from falling into the abyss. Hell, I'd have kissed my mother too if I knew who she was because she gave me the strength to get through it."

"Your mother? You felt her in your mind again?"

"Yes, but let's not get off-topic here. The point is that I only kissed you because I was happy to be alive; you're the one who wanted more."

"No, I didn't really want more, not that way. I was stupid to kiss you like that as He-Man, but it was because I was so happy that you were safe and alive. When you kissed me, all I could think about was how you kissed me on the training room floor."

"I kissed Adam in the training room, not you!" she shouted.

"I AM Adam!" he yelled back as he punched the rocks again. "I've always been Adam, even when I look like this! I'm still the same man I was when I told you that I've loved you for years. You just know the whole truth about me now."

"God, I'm so stupid! You were trying to tell me last night, weren't you? When you took me back to the palace and told me that Adam was jealous because he's in love with me."

"I wanted to," he confessed. "After seeing you nearly fall into the abyss again, I was so terrified I was going to lose you that all I wanted to do was come clean, but instead I chickened out."

She shook her head. "How did I never figure this out on my own? Of course, you two are the same person! That explains why Adam always disappears whenever you're around and why you…I mean, Adam, I don't even know what to call you anymore!" She shook her head. "As Adam, I knew that you were more skilled than you pretended to be in our training sessions. I've trained some serious dunderheads with the Guard and even they didn't catch on as slowly as you did and you're a whole lot smarter than they are. I always thought it was because you had a little crush on me and let me win on purpose so you could spend more time with me."

"Wait, you knew I had feelings for you? Why didn't you ever say anything if you knew you loved me too? "

"You're judging me for not saying anything? Why didn't YOU say anything, not just about your feelings for me, but, I don't know, anything about yourself, like how you have this whole separate life? Do you have any idea how it makes me feel that you're my best friend and I never knew? Boy, don't I feel like a bigger bonehead than Skeletor?"

He couldn't help laughing at her last comment. "I don't think anybody's a bigger bonehead than Skeletor," he joked as he flung another rock away.

"This is no time for your stupid jokes, Adam!" she scolded.

"Oh, come on, Teela, isn't that what you said you always wanted, a man with He-man's strength…" He flung a large boulder through the opening of the cave. "And Adam's wit?" He looked at her impatiently tapping her free foot. "You know you're the only person I know who can still pace with one leg trapped under a ton of rockslide."

"Ha, ha," she muttered. "And that wasn't exactly what I said. I said I wanted He-Man's courage and Adam's wit."

"Well, now you've got both in one," he replied as he kicked away the last of the rocks and finally freed her trapped leg. "You should be able to pull your leg out now."

"Good. Now, I can get out of here and away from the biggest liar I've ever known," She attempted to stand, but immediately stumbled. He-Man deftly caught her before she could fall back to the ground. He lifted her gently into his arms.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"You're injured. We need to get you to someone who can help you, the Sorceress maybe."

"Well, put me down!" She shoved hard on his chest, but, of course, couldn't budge him. "I don't want your crummy deceitful hands on me!"

"Fine!" He snapped as he gingerly set her back down on the ground. "But you didn't seem to mind my hands being on you earlier. In fact, it seemed you rather enjoyed it." He grinned at her as his eyes traveled down her bare body exposed to him again as the blanket had come loose during the rockslide.

"Don't flatter yourself," she countered as she yanked the blanket around herself again.

"Do you really think that's going to help when you know I've already seen it all." He knelt in front of her and then leaned over to whisper in her ear. "And touched it all." He leaned back to watch her reaction and was pleased to see her involuntary shudder. "Are we just going to pretend that it never happened? None of it? Confessing our love for each other? Or that making love didn't change everything between us?"

She softened as the memories of their closeness washed over her, but then shook her head furiously at the betrayal she felt. "But so did finding out you've been lying to me," she fired back hotly. "You know, I've worked so hard for years, competed with every man I ever knew, including you – I mean, Prince Adam - whoever you are, but I guess all my hard work to prove myself all these years has been for nothing if it still didn't earn me your trust."

"You're wrong, Teela, I DO trust you. I would trust with my life. In fact, I have trusted you with my life many times. You are my bodyguard, after all," he reminded her.

"Pfft! As if you even need a bodyguard when you've got all the power on Eternia."

"No, I don't. I only have that power in my He-Man form," he explained. "You've saved my skin countless times when I didn't have my sword or couldn't get to it to make the transformation you just saw."

Teela looked touched. "Really?"

He smiled at her. "Really." He reached out to hold her hand, but she pulled it away angrily.

"I said don't touch me! It still doesn't change the fact that you lied to me for who knows how long!" She paused for a moment, lost in thought.

"I know I've lied to you and all I can do is say I'm sorry and beg for your forgiveness, but I did it to-" He broke off abruptly when he saw her pensive expression. "What is it, Teela?"

"I'm trying to remember the first time I ever met He-Man and it seems like it was years ago." She glowered at him. "Exactly how long has this been going on?"

He sighed, looked down at his feet and mumbled sheepishly. "I first became He-Man right after I turned sixteen."

"Sixteen? So, that means that you've been keeping this secret from me for six years?"

"I only did to protect you!" he blurted out stupidly.

"So, now you think I need protection as if I'm some weakling and not Captain of the Royal Guard?"

"Of course I don't think you're a weakling, not as many times as you've beaten me when we've been training. But you have to understand-"

"But that was all fake, wasn't it?" She reflected back on their most recent training session where he'd easily knocked her down, "You pretending to be incompetent and weak?"

"Some of it, but not all of it," he answered honestly. "For instance when I literally knocked you off your feet, you know, right before we kissed yesterday, that one was real and the fact that you've always been a better pilot than me, that's real. But as you said so eloquently before, I don't have anywhere near the physical strength when I'm just plain Prince Adam as I do when I'm He-Man. I may have the same fighting skills that you taught me, but not the same power behind it."

She saw the hurt in his eyes as he spoke and couldn't help wondering where it was coming from. Was he really jealous of himself? No, that would be stupid, she thought, but then reflected again on him telling her last night that Adam was jealous of He-Man, not because of his superior strength, but because he was in love with her.

"The power you see me use comes from Castle Grayskull and it can only be channeled through the Sword of Power or the Sword of Protection."

"The Sword of Protection? Wait! That means – I'm such an idiot!- Of course, it makes perfect sense!"

He scratched his head. "I'm glad you think your rambling makes sense. What on Eternia are you talking about?"

"The swords, yours and She-Ra's. They're a pair. Twins, in a way."

"Yes, I suppose that's true."

"And so are you and Adora. So if you use your sword to become He-Man, then that must mean she uses hers to-"

He-Man cut her off forcefully. "Stop right there! I know where you're going with that train of thought and you can't. My sister's secrets are her own and I'm not at liberty to discuss them."

Teela rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. "I'm not stupid, you know. I can put two and two together. Just like you're He-Man, Adora is She-Ra."

"I would never think you're stupid. I know exactly how smart you are. Your incredible mind is one of the many attributes you have that made me fall in love with you." When she smiled at the compliment, that gave him a little hope so he reached for her hand again and this time she didn't pull back. "Listen, Teela, I know you're angry with me and you have every right to be. I should have told you all of this a long time ago instead of waiting for my father to lay down the law that I have to be married and have a child by the time I'm twenty-five."

She yanked her hand from his. "So that's what this was all about? You went through all this just so you could use me to produce a royal heir?"

"No!"

"No? I studied Eternian law in school, you know, when I was training to take over the Palace Guard. I know all about that centuries-old mandate that the heir apparent has to be married by age twenty-five and not only married, but ready to produce a new heir to the throne."

"Well, then you knew more than I did. I didn't find this out until my father dumped it on me yesterday."

"But I thought that law hadn't been enforced in centuries."

"Well, my father decided to revive it." He sighed in frustration. "But that's not what this is about. This is about me inadvertently turning into the false persona I created for myself. How many times have you yelled at me for being cowardly?"

"But that's because I didn't know you are also He-Man because you lied to me. If I'd known who you really are, I'd have never believed you were cowardly."

He shook his head. "That's where you're wrong. You do know me. You have known me better than anyone, even my parents."

She looked skeptical. "Do your parents know the truth about you?"

"Just my mother, but she figured it out on her own. My father still doesn't know and you must not tell him."

"More secrets? No wonder your father's so hard on you when he doesn't know who you are either. He doesn't know that you're a hero to the entire planet."

"You've got it all wrong, Teela. Prince Adam IS who I really am, not He-Man. As Adam, I could've turned down this power when it was offered to me. The Sorceress made it clear that I had a choice."

"So, even as Adam, you're a hero because to chose to defend Eternia. You could've chosen to walk away and you didn't. That shows a lot of courage."

"Maybe in that sense, but-" He reflected back on his mother's words to him about being cowardly in not sharing his true feelings with the woman he loved. "But I really am a coward, just not in the way that you've always thought."

"I don't understand."

"Even without this mandate hanging over my head as it is, I've known for a long time that whenever it was time for me to choose a future queen, I'd want it to be you."

"That's really sweet, but how does that make you a coward when you constantly fight to keep Eternia free from evil? And knowing that you chose that life, that's the opposite of cowardly."

"But I never had the courage to tell you how I really feel about you." He leaned his head against the wall and sighed. "I was terrified that you couldn't love me in return as just Adam, the man and not He-Man the superhero, your idol. You have no idea how much you hurt me every single time I'd hear you praise He-Man for his bravery while berating me for my cowardice. It's always been my dream that you'd just notice me as a person. When were making love, when you were a willing participant, when I told you I loved you and you said it back to me, I-I felt like I was in heaven because it was finally me you were seeing; it was me, Adam, that you were making love with, not some fantasy you had in your head about being with He-Man. You have no idea how happy that made me."

She flushed as the memories of their intimate time together flashed through her mind again. "Well, I guess you got your wish today. I told you I loved you before I knew the truth."

"Now that you know, is that still true? Do you still love me or are you too angry? Have I ruined things between us by waiting too long to tell you the truth?"

"I can see now why you're attracted to my brain when you don't have one of your own."

"HEY!"

"I mean, that's got to be the stupidest question I've ever heard. You don't just stop loving somebody because you learn something new about them. You just try to adapt to the new information and decide if it's something you can live with, but that doesn't mean those feelings go away. I meant it when I said I loved you. I'd have never had sex with you if I didn't. I learned my lesson about having casual sex with someone I didn't really care about."

"I know that. Why do you think I was so happy? It wasn't just about the sex, even though it was great. It was about you accepting me for me. So, I guess my next question is, can you live with it?"

"I don't know yet," Teela answered honestly. Upon seeing his downcast face, she added, "But I want to be able to." She gave him a half-smile.

"I guess that's better than nothing. It's definitely better than how I imagined this conversation going. I always figured you'd beat me up for keeping this secret from you."

"Don't think that thought didn't cross my mind." Her comment set them both laughing.

"At least we can laugh about it a little." He smiled at her.

"I've always loved the way you can make me laugh, even when we were children chasing each other around the palace."

"I feel like I've always been chasing you and I was hoping that I'd finally caught you."

"Maybe you have, I don't know. The truth is that I can live with your dual identity and the fact that you may run off to change into He-Man on a moment's notice. I've already been doing that for years, I just didn't know why you always disappeared whenever He-Man was around. I always figured it was because you were jealous of him, but since I didn't really know you, I guess I was wrong."

"No, you were right on that part. I have been jealous of He-Man."

"But how can that be when you're the same person?"

"I'm jealous of his strength and as much as I try to keep my body in shape, I'll never be able to match that as Adam. I'm jealous that people see him as a hero and me as a screw-up. But most of all, I've been jealous of his relationship with you, the way you flirted with him, the way you looked at him as if you wanted to eat him alive. You never looked at me that way."

She sighed and said, "This is so weird looking at He-Man and hearing you talk about him in the third person as if he's not you."

"I told you, Prince Adam is who I am, He-Man is just the disguise I wear to protect the power of Grayskull."

"Now that I'm really looking at you and seeing He-Man as Adam, I can see it's not much of a disguise. Sure, you're stronger, but your basic body structure is the same. Your hair's a little darker, your eyes are a deeper shade of blue, and you're tanner, but still, very similar. No wonder I was attracted to both of you… or both yous… that's not even a word… I mean, both versions of you."

"I always knew you were attracted to both, but I always thought you wanted He-Man more."

"If you think that's true, then you weren't paying attention. There were so many times I felt like I was screaming at you to get you, Adam, to notice me as a woman and not just your childhood best friend." She put extra emphasis on his name to assure him that it was her best friend she loved, not his alter-ego. She wondered if this was what Queen Marlena had been referring to regarding Adam's insecurity around her since his mother also knew the truth about him. She shook her head and laughed. "I can't believe I'm listening to you complaining about being jealous of He-Man when you're sitting here looking like He-Man, but talking to me like you're Adam."

"I am Adam! I'm still your best friend."

"I know. And that's the part I'm not sure I can live with," she admitted sadly. "Even without your confession of love, we were supposed to be best friends. You don't keep a secret like this from your best friend. The fact that I know you're just as in love with me as I am with you makes it a thousand times worse because you should never, ever keep a huge secret like that from someone you claim to love. I love you, I really do, but after all this I'm just not sure how much I can trust you."

"That's fair. I broke your trust by lying to you, but you have to understand that my intentions in doing so were honorable; The more people who know, the more who are in danger simply because they know. You know full well that Skeletor is obsessed with learning Grayskull's secrets. What he doesn't know is that part of those secrets lie with me. Suppose that he knew I'm He-Man AND Adam. He'd do everything in his power to keep me from ever transforming into He-Man again, maybe even try to kill me as Adam to rid himself of He-Man for good. Because of that, I always feared that anyone who knew would be in danger because Skeletor could kidnap you, torture you into revealing the truth, use a truth spell on you, mind control or anything and as powerful as I am as He-Man, as Adam, if he could keep me from transforming, I'd be powerless to stop him from hurting you. Don't you see, it's because I'm so in love with you and can't bear the thought of you being hurt that I never told you. Do you understand?"

"I understand, but I can't lie to you and say that it makes this hurt less. And I hate it because I actually had my dream come true today too in finding a man that was both of you in one package."

"Since the day you told me that's what you were looking for in a man, not a day has gone by that I don't replay that conversation in my head, wishing I could be that for you."

"You weren't kidding about becoming that persona you created for yourself because once again, you're being stupid. You already are that for me and always have been. I just didn't know it until now."

"Then I guess we both had our dreams come true today." He leaned in to kiss her, just one soft sweet kiss.

As well as she could on her injured ankle, she scooted herself closer to him and kissed him back. He responded by pulling her into his lap and deepening the kiss. Their kisses grew more heated as their mouths opened and tongues danced together. When they pulled apart, shaking and breathless, "He-Man? I mean, Adam, I mean…." She sighed in frustration. "This isn't a dream, it's a nightmare! I hate that I don't even know what to call you anymore."

He gently stroked her face and in a soothing tone answered, "When we're alone like this you can call me whatever you want, but if we're around other people who don't know my secret, I'm going to need you to call me by the correct name for whichever form I'm in."

She nodded in understanding.

"But you sounded like you wanted to ask me another question," he probed.

"It may sound stupid, but I…um…I…" Her face turned bright red as she tried to figure out how to phrase her question.

"You can ask me anything," he assured her. "I'm your best friend, too, remember?"

"A best friend who lied to me for years," she reminded him.

"Oh, boy, here we go again. I want you to know that I had every intention of telling you, today maybe. I wanted to see how our date went first, if there was any kind of indication that you could care for me as just Adam, but then when the rockslide happened, I had no choice but to do it the abrupt way that I did to free you from those rocks. I didn't want you to find out my secret that way. I wanted to just tell you, to share all of myself with you. Do I have to explain it to you again why I hid the truth from you?"

"No, I just, I just can't get over this feeling of being betrayed and I'm just…just so confused by what I feel for you. I love you so much, but I'm so angry with you. But yet, I still want you desperately. Then all I was thinking about just now when we were kissing was the way I felt when you were inside me, how it felt so natural and so right. It was incredible and I know you said that it hurts you when I talk about He-Man, so please don't take this the wrong way, but I couldn't help wondering what it would be like if we…" She paused and took a breath to steel herself for what she was about to say. "If we made love with you in this form." She indicated his armor.

He laughed at all her babbling just to get to that. "Is that all you were so worked up about?"

"Yes, and stop laughing at me. After you just told me how I've been making you feel all these years by admiring He-Man, I didn't want to do it again, but I really wanted to bring it up because it was on my mind and I don't want to have anymore secrets between us."

"I can appreciate that. As for your question, I honestly don't know. I know I have this reputation as a ladies' man, but I've never been with anyone as He-Man and as much as I enjoyed making love to you, I'd be afraid to try it."

"But why? We've already done it twice and we're in love and now that you know that I do love you for who you are and not just as He-Man, you shouldn't be feeling that inferiority complex about He-Man anymore."

"It has nothing to do with any of that," he explained. "I'm so much stronger as He-Man. I mean, you've seen my strength first-hand, how I can pick up whole structures and throw them? I'd be afraid that things could get out of hand, that in the heat of the moment, I could accidentally hurt you and you're already injured. Besides, I don't see how it would be any different. I'm still the same person inside with the same memories. Being He-Man isn't going to change the way we make love because my knowledge hasn't changed and won't give me some superior skills at pleasing you in bed."

"Bed?" she laughed. "We haven't actually made it to a bed yet."

"Then maybe that's what we should try next once we get out of here." He laughed with her. "This has been a strange day." When he saw her raise an eyebrow, he added, "But a good one. When I planned this outing for us, I was hoping it would end with nothing more than a goodnight kiss and that we could progress from there and I'd be able to tell you the truth and-"

"Instead, we've been all over each other," she chimed in and kissed him again. He responded instantly, feeling the heat rising between them again despite the cold rain outside.

He pulled back. "Maybe we shouldn't, I was serious about worrying that I could hurt you."

Teela nodded. "I understand. It was just an idea." She lowered her head feeling that staring into his eyes any longer might be too much. She sensed that she had hurt him again just by asking.

"Look at me, Teela." He used a single finger under her chin to lift her up to face him. "I'm not saying I don't want you. I do and it's taking all the strength I have to control myself so I don't hurt you."

"That's a lot of strength, He-Man." She tapped his armored breastplate.

That comment got them both laughing again.

He took her hands in his and kissed her softly. "If it's something you really want, I'm willing to give it a try, on one condition."

"What's the condition?"

"That if it's too much for you, or you're in any kind of pain, you'll tell me to stop before things go too far. I've already hurt you enough emotionally today, I won't risk hurting physically as well."

"Well, as you so nicely pointed out, I already am physically hurt." She gestured to her sore ankle with a laugh. "But it's really not that bad. I don't think it's broken, maybe just sprained or something."

"Good. But, still, maybe we should hold off until you're feeling better."

The emphasis on his words was not lost on her. She knew he meant more than just her physical injury and was trying to gauge her mood. "I'm feeling fine…mostly."

"I don't know if 'mostly' is good enough."

"Maybe this will convince you. She dropped the blanket to expose her body to him.

"That's not playing fair."

"You know what they say, all's fair in love and war."

"Which one is this, love or war?" he teased.

"Maybe it's like you, a little bit of both." She placed her hands on his muscled chest and kissed him soundly, causing him to lose his resolve. The woman of his dreams was on his lap rubbing her naked flesh on him. He groaned as she began to grind against him, causing his erection to begin anew.

"Teela," he growled in his deep, husky voice as he ran his hands down her bare back to cup her bottom. She let out a squeal of delight as he pressed them closer together. Even through his fur pants, she could feel his engorged member pressed against her.

"I need you in me," she gasped between their scorching kisses and she fumbled with his pants and got frustrated because all she wanted more than anything right now was for him to be inside her again and more than that, she wanted to feel him coming apart and spilling into her, filling her until she couldn't take anymore.

"Let me help you." He reached between them to pull his trunks down and they locked eyes as she eased herself onto his swollen penis. She let out a sigh of pleasure as he grasped her hips and pulled down to push himself deeper into her.

Teela's eyes met his again and she whispered, "I love you, Adam."

Adam's heart swelled at hearing those words, especially her calling him by his real name even though he was still in his He-Man form. "I-I love you too," he whispered back and kissed her softly as they began to move together in perfect rhythm as if they were always meant for this. He sighed as she began planting soft kisses down his neck. He gripped her tighter and pushed up into her harder and faster, needing completion. He couldn't explain why because he'd already done so twice today, but he felt an overwhelming need for this union at this moment and to fill her completely with his seed.

"Adam. Adam, Adam," she began chanting his name like a mantra as the pleasure built within her.

Adam felt himself losing control at the sound of his name on her lips and cried her name out loud as he felt himself exploding, his semen filling her deep inside.

Teela shuddered against him as the full weight of her release took hold at the fullness of him within her and called his name one last time before collapsing against his chest in a stupor. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, peppering her face with soft kisses.

She was just beginning to calm again and feel her heart rate slow when she suddenly felt as if she was in a fog, then a burst of power surged through her, her eyes fluttering. She saw in her mind twin babies and a flash of red hair, followed by the birdlike costume of the Sorceress, all through it, she heard Adam's voice calling her name as if he were searching for her. Then she was back, back in the arms of her lover, coming to her senses just in time to hear her name.

"Teela!" He-Man cried her name frantically.

"What? I'm right here. There's no need to shout."

"But you weren't," he explained. "I was calling your name over and over again."

"I remember. I was calling your name over and over too. That was so intense."

"I don't mean when we were making love. I mean, after. It was like you were in a trance or something. Are you okay?"

"Sure, I'm fine." As if to prove it, she attempted to stand, but her ankle gave out on her. "Well, except for that. You were right. I really should get that looked at."

"I can see you're fine, but you weren't…or at least it didn't seem like you were. It almost seemed like you went somewhere else...in your mind, at least."

"I did." She confirmed. She closed her eyes and tried to recall the vision she'd had.

"What happened?"

"I don't know for sure. All I know is that right when we were…er…finishing…when I felt you…"

"Felt me what?" He teased, wondering if she'd have the nerve to say it.

"You know what," she replied in an exasperated tone. "When you ejaculated inside me…or really, right after that when I was just starting to breathe normally again, I felt something else."

"I'm sure you felt a lot of something," he grinned at her.

"Okay, but this was different. This wasn't about us making love…or maybe it was, I don't know, but whatever it was, it was a separate event because it happened after. It was like an explosion of power hit me and I think I had some kind of vision or something."

"Of what?"

"You, I think. You and your sister. I'm pretty sure what I saw was a vision of the past, of you being born, then there was this brief flash of the Sorceress and I-I just had this sudden sense that what I've been looking for revolves around her…and you. But I don't know where you sister fits into it at all."

"Maybe she doesn't."

"But I saw twins being born and a flash of a red-haired mother, so it had to be you and Adora, right? Your mother's a redhead and she gave birth to twins."

"You have red hair too," he reminded her as he gently twirled a lock of her hair between his fingers.

"But I certainly haven't given birth to twins," she countered coolly.

"But maybe you will in the future. Maybe your vision was of our future together."

"Fat chance," she scoffed. "You assume I'll stop being mad at you long enough for us to have a future together."

"Being mad at me didn't seem to stop you from begging me to make love to you just now," he goaded with a teasing grin.

She couldn't help laughing. "I don't know what it was in that moment, but all of a sudden, in spite of being hurt and angry, I felt like I had to have you right then. Is it my fault you're so damn cute?"

"Cute, am I?"

"Now, don't go getting a big head on me. That still doesn't mean I'm going to be bearing you any royal heirs, certainly not twins and especially not if it's just to get your father off your back."

"Never say never," he taunted. "You never know, we might have just made a baby." Was that why he'd had that thought in his head that he needed go fill her up, was it the subconscious desire to get her pregnant?

"You'd just love that, wouldn't you? Then you'd have to get me to marry you to save the throne from having an illegitimate heir."

His face changed from one of jesting to seriousness. "Yes, actually, I would like that, not to get my father off my back, but because whenever I've thought about my future family, all I've ever seen is you as the mother of my children." He planted a sweet kiss on her lips. "You may hate me for this, but while we're being honest, I have to tell you that I was thinking about that very thing when we were making love just now, how much I wanted to just explode deep inside you and-"

"And what? Get me pregnant with the next prince or princess of Eternia?" she scoffed.

"I wasn't thinking of it like that at all, not about producing a royal heir or fulfilling some duty, but just making you the mother of my child because I think you'll be a wonderful mother."

She sighed and since he had risked her becoming even angrier with him but being honest, that she should too. "I have to admit that I was thinking it too, about you wanting a baby and me wanting to give that to you, but doesn't it seem like it's just too soon for us?"

"Maybe it is, but maybe it's not. We both confessed that we've been in love with each other for years so maybe it's long overdue. Whichever it is, I never intended for this to happen today. Three times now we've made love and all I'd really wanted was to spend some time with you alone. When I asked you to come on a picnic with me today, I was just hoping to slowly woo you, to finally feel comfortable enough to share my feelings with you and I had planned to tell you my secret. I've always hated keeping it from you, but with the Sorceress contently reminding me how dangerous it could be for anyone who knows, it always felt like the right thing to do. That doesn't mean I liked it."

"Since you bring up the Sorceress, we should go see her. She was in that vision I had. Maybe she can explain it. I mean, you already suggested we go to her to see if she can fix my ankle."

"We should get dressed then." He glanced at his discarded clothes from earlier and frowned.

"What is it?"

"Well, I took my regular clothes off earlier the first time we made love, but then I transformed into He-Man when the rockslide happened and I, well, I've never transformed into He-Man when I was stark naked before and my clothes just always disappear when I change, then reappear when I change back. I don't know how this works now."

"Well, why don't you just change back to Adam, then and see if your clothes reappear? Then, if they don't, just put them back on. Or you could go even simpler and just put your Adam clothes back on over what you've got on now. It's so dark out because of this storm that if we were to run into anybody, I doubt they'd even realize you're He-Man wearing Adam's clothes.

"That's a good point," he agreed as he reached for his clothing.

"Just hurry up because I think I may need a little help getting dressed with this ankle the way it is."

Adam hurriedly pulled his clothes on, and then helped Teela with hers. "You'll have to carry your boots," he told her as he handed them to her. "There's no way you'll be able to wear them right now. And we'll have to come back for the picnic stuff later. I don't want to risk trying to carry it all at once when I need to carry you too."

"That makes sense."

"Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," she replied.

He-Man scooped her up in his arms and carefully picked his way across the fallen rocks and then hurriedly made his way toward Castle Grayskull.

"This reminds me of the day we destroyed that goblin gateway Skeletor constructed and you insisted on carrying me all the way home," she said with a laugh.

"I enjoyed that very much." He smiled at the memory. "To tell you the truth-"

"Can you actually tell the truth?" she joked.

"Touché" he laughed with her. "What I was going to say is that I wanted to tell you the whole truth then on our walk home because I'd never felt closer to you than I did that day, but as usual, I was too much of a chicken to do it."

"I wish you had. We could have avoided this whole fight today," she commented.

"What makes you so sure we wouldn't have fought then? You are a little hotheaded, after all," He jested.

"Not all the time, only when people do stupid things to make me mad like, say, lying to me for six years."

"Point taken, I guess I deserved that. Do you think there will ever come a time that you'll be able to forgive me?"

"I already have," she replied and leaned her head closer to kiss him gently.

"Does that mean you'll think about being my future queen?"

"I wouldn't go that far…yet."

"Marry me, Teela, please. I love you so much and it would make me the happiest man on Eternia."

"I-"

"Please, don't say no. At least say you'll consider it."

"I will consider it. I love you, Adam, but I need time to process all of this."

"That's fair," he agreed. "Well, here we are." He nodded to the castle before them.

"Good. I just hope the Sorceress can explain what happened to me."