As he stood in front of Teela, a wave of uncertainty washed over him. Adam didn't know if she would like what he had planned, but the truth was he had thought about it for the better part of the day and it was the only thing that had seemed to fit all of his criteria for the evening. The hardest thing to decide had been the location. He had wanted it to be some place special that was also secluded so they wouldn't have to worry about anyone interrupting or spying on them. He hoped she would find it at least a little appealing, but first he had to prepare her.

"We have to go to your bedchambers," he announced as he took a hold of her hand and led her to the doorway.

"What?" she asked. "Why are we heading there?"

He looked at her and noticed a faint blush rising on her cheeks. He chuckled a little at her discomfort and answered, "I want you to grab a sweater or get into something a little warmer. We're going to be outside in a slightly colder environment than you're used to."

Teela narrowed her eyes, pulled her arm away from his, and stated firmly, "Now, let's just get one thing straight, Adam!"

He turned around, deeply surprised at her tone as well as her expression. "What?"

She jabbed her finger in his chest a couple of times as she walked closer to him. "I know we're courting now, but that doesn't mean I've suddenly turned into this wilting flower that needs to be taken care of and protected. This is what I usually wear outside at all times of the day and night, so it will suffice now. I'm not changing, so we might as well skip going to my bedchambers."

He gaped at her for a second and then replied, "I don't think you're a wilting flower and I certainly don't think you're unable to take care of yourself, Teela. It's just that it is late in the afternoon, it's going to get a little chilly, and what kind of boyfriend would I be if I took you out in such conditions when I'm completely covered from the neck down and you're not!"

Her blush from earlier deepened from embarrassment, especially when she heard him refer to himself as her boyfriend and basically laid out his "responsibilities" as such. She looked down as she brushed her foot absentmindedly over the tiles on the floor. "Oh, well, I see your point. But trust me. I'll be all right."

He shook his head and rolled his eyes a little. "Fine, Captain," he said exasperatedly, but she could tell he was joking. He stepped away from her a little, looked down the hall in each direction carefully, and spoke aloud, "Open the gate, Sorceress."

Instantly, one appeared in front of him and he extended his hand to her. "Right this way, my lady," he directed softly. Once she took his hand, he pulled her through the gate and when they stepped out, she noticed they were high on a mountain and that they were standing close to the edge. Instantly, she rushed forward into Adam's arms to get away from the cliff.

"Oomph," he huffed half-jokingly as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Where are we?" she asked as she also wrapped her arms around him and turned her head to each side to study where they were. It looked familiar, but she wasn't sure why.

Adam didn't reply; he merely kissed her forehead before making her turn around. When she did, she gasped as he slipped his arms around her again from behind. He placed his lips next to her ear and whispered, "If you don't like it, we can go somewhere else. I just thought we wouldn't be bothered here and I like the view."

Teela leaned back in Adam's arms as he held her and smiled at the Royal Palace in the distance. He had brought her to the very top of Mount Eternia. "No, no," she replied hurriedly, "I like the view, too. What made you think of coming here?"

Adam shrugged, pulled her to face the opposite direction, and stepped beside her. "I don't know. I just…" He trailed off when he heard her gasp again and he instantly smiled. This was the reaction he had been hoping for.

Teela stared at the scene before her. It was obvious someone had spent a lot of time setting this up, and without a doubt she knew that person had to be Adam as He-Man. The last time she had been on Mount Eternia, she had been with He-Man trying to capture an Energy Beast back inside the mountain. At that time, He-Man had cut the top of the mountain off, moved it aside, and then moved it back again once the creature had gone inside.

This time, He-Man had done something else with its top. He had smoothed a portion of it down and placed a table with two chairs there. On the table were a satin tablecloth, two covered dishes, wine, a small candelabrum with lit candles, and a vase filled with red roses.

"Do you like it?" he whispered a little anxiously as she continued to stare. He had expected her to gasp, but he hadn't expected her to stop moving and talking all together. "I'm not exactly too knowledgeable in the art of courting and since I screwed up with wanting to take you to your room to get a sweater, I know I might have messed this up, as well. It's just…"

He couldn't get any more words out, because suddenly Teela's mouth was on his. She pressed their lips together desperately and the contact was so close and fierce that Adam could do nothing more than leave them as they were. Any attempt to move them or return the kiss would have been futile, and he had a feeling she was trying to silence him, anyway.

When she pulled back, tears glistened in her eyes and she whispered intensely, "No, Adam, you got this right. You didn't mess anything up. It's perfect." She grabbed his hand tightly. "I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. You know how I am." She laughed a little as the wind whipped around them. She then looked at him shyly. "You were right about this location, and it turns out you were right about the sweater, too. I am a little cold." She then averted her eyes to the ground in embarrassment.

He shook his head, laughed a little, and pulled her into his arms. "I'm glad you like it. You had me worried there for a second." He then pulled back from their embrace and said, "Let's get you warmed up."

He led her to the table and pulled out a chair for her. As soon as she sat down, he unbuckled his tunic and dropped his belt to the ground. She gawked at him. "Adam, what are you doing?"

"What's it look like?" he replied amusedly. "I already told you! I'm trying to warm you up!" He winked at her and for a brief moment, he started swaying to some inaudible music and began to pull his tunic off slowly in the same rhythm. As soon as Teela widened her eyes even more, he laughed heartily and finished pulling it off quickly. "Like this…" he added as he draped his tunic over her legs. "Whatever were you thinking, Captain?"

She immediately scowled at him, but she couldn't hold the expression for long as he continued to laugh gleefully. She found herself smiling, chuckling, and saying her usual line when he had joked with her in the past before she had found out he was He-Man: "Oh, Adam!"

He grinned at her for a few moments more before his face grew serious. "Do you need me to go back to the palace to grab a sweater for your arms?" he asked softly. "It will only take a second."

She shook her head and answered, "No, my legs were the main things that were bothering me, so problem solved."

He quickly picked her hand up from the table, brought it to his lips as he bent down and whispered, "Glad to be of service, my lady." He kissed her knuckles softly before retreating to his own seat. When he sat down, they stared at each other for several moments more before Adam grabbed the bottle of wine out of the bucket of ice he had it resting in and poured them each a glass.

=)=)=)

Adora stood inside her bedchambers and paced a little. She didn't know where Adam was, and she was a little worried. Logically, she knew he was okay. She was sure the Sorceress or Adam himself would have contacted her somehow if something had happened. Surely, someone would have seen something. She just didn't like not knowing where he was and why he was there. As she had told him earlier, she didn't like for him to be out of her sight for too long after everything that had happened.

Unfortunately for her, she hadn't seen him since the security meeting had been adjourned. She had stayed with her father to talk and he…she didn't know what he had done. She had spent all afternoon looking for him until her father had sent a guard to tell her (and Adam) to get ready for dinner in their formal wear.

That's another reason why she had wanted to find Adam ahead of time. She was meeting the extended family tonight. Yes, she had already met her grandfather, but now she would be meeting aunts, uncles, and cousins. She had hoped Adam would show up to do what he had done when she left Etheria to meet their parents. He had stayed with her the entire time and told her things about their parents to make her feel as though she already knew them. At the very least, it gave her a heads-up on what to expect. He had calmed her significantly, and if Adam had not been by her side then, she might not have gone into the throne room and shown her face.

In some ways, this meeting was a little more stressful. After all, it was almost a certainty that King Randor and Queen Marlena would love their daughter, despite her concerns at the time, but the same could not be said about the people she would be meeting today. She wouldn't have a bond with these people before they even met like she had with her parents, so they would base their judgments of her on what she presented of herself. What if she made a fool of herself and didn't have perfect Eternian etiquette? This was supposed to be formal tonight, and while Adam had taken the time on a few of his trips to Etheria to show her the proper silverware to use with what meal and things of that nature, she knew she was a bit rusty and had forgotten a lot. She would have liked to go over it again with him as well as learn who everyone was ahead of time.

She took a deep breath and realized she might be a little too dependent on her brother in these situations. She couldn't help it, though. Sometimes she still felt like a stranger on Eternia and her brother's presence always helped to calm her. She was never alone when he was there.

Sighing, she looked at herself in the mirror. She had on the same red flowing dress that she had worn to dinner earlier in the week. She assumed it would be formal enough for this dinner since it was similar to what her mother wore all the time. It would have to do regardless.

She glanced over at the time and saw that she had several minutes to get to the dining room or she would be late. Scurrying outside of her room, she went to Adam's door and knocked. Surely, he had to be there now to get ready for the event.

The door was never answered.

=)=)=)

Teela slipped a piece of fish into her mouth as she observed her surroundings. Adam had brought her to the highest peak on Eternia to have dinner and she couldn't help but be awed at the sublime beauty she saw in every direction. She saw Eternos and the palace to her right. In the far distance to the left she saw the ocean sparkling from the setting sun, and all around she could see lush, green forests and rivers with rushing water. After a few more moments of taking it all in, she looked to Adam with a smile and said, "This is really beautiful, Adam. Thank you so much. I would have never guessed in a million years that you would bring me here for our first official date."

He shrugged as he smiled and replied, "Truthfully, the idea occurred to me late this afternoon, and while I would like to say I picked this with solely you in mind, I must confess that wasn't entirely the case." She raised an eyebrow quizzically, so he explained. "I thought you would enjoy it, but honestly, I also picked the spot so I could…look around at Eternia one last time."

An understanding dawned in her eyes. "Of course, he's going to Etheria soon. He wants to enjoy being home while he can," she realized. She reached across the table and grabbed his hand comfortingly.

"And, I wanted to share these moments with you," he continued as he squeezed her hand lightly. "When I go to Etheria, I want these memories of you…your beauty surrounded by Eternia's beauty. I think they'll get me through possible bouts of homesickness."

Tears filled her eyes but she didn't let them fall. Instead, she whispered, "I'm going to miss you so much! I don't want you to go!"

"I know," he said sadly; "I don't really want to go myself. I'm going to miss you, Mother, and Father, but there's no other choice really." He then studied her for a few moments. "What's really unfair is that we haven't had much time to court and now I'm leaving the planet. Who knows how long I'll be gone!" He looked down briefly before meeting her eyes again. "Please tell me I won't come home to find that you've replaced me with another guy." He grinned forcibly.

She could tell he was trying to look like he was teasing her, but she could also tell that he was kind of anxious. "Not a chance," she assured him confidently. "I'll wait for you no matter how long it takes."

His grin turned into a genuine smile. "Good," he replied. He stared at her for a few more moments before he released her hand and went back to eating.

Teela didn't follow suit. Instead, she simply observed him while her thoughts ran rampant. She really didn't want Adam to go. She wanted to be selfish and keep him with her on Eternia…and he didn't really want to go either, but he felt obligated. Truthfully, she still had to get used to the fact that Adam was a man who actually did put obligations and responsibilities first, even ahead of his own wants and desires. For so long, she had thought the opposite and she now found herself wishing that the opposite were true. She shook her head as she realized it was really going to happen—Adam was really going to go to Etheria. It might be months before he would be able to return home. She wouldn't even contemplate it being years, even though she knew it was a possibility.

As these thoughts occurred to her, Adam looked at her again and asked worriedly, "Are you okay? Aren't you going to finish eating?"

She looked down at her food for a moment and seemed to scrutinize the plate. "You know what, Adam?" she replied after a few moments and met his gaze. "I changed my mind! I'm not going to wait for you to come home from Etheria! I refuse to do that!"

Adam widened his eyes apprehensively. He stood up, prepared to plead with her if he had to, but his words fell silent as he heard hers.

"I'm going with you! It's as simple as that, and I'm NOT taking 'no' for an answer! Despite the fact that you'll have your sister with you, you and I—regardless of whether you are Adam or He-Man—have always been together. I'm your partner. You've already told me in the past that there is no one you'd rather have at your side than me, so how can we even contemplate my not going? It solves your problem completely."

"Teela…" Adam began.

"No!" she snapped firmly, hearing a negation in his tone. "We don't want to be apart, and you know you won't miss Eternia nearly as badly with Cringer and me with you on Etheria. We've always been your main companions aside from Father, and you know having both of us there would make a lot of things easier for you! At the very least, you won't have to worry about our lack of courting…"

Adam walked to her side of the table, knelt down beside her, and grabbed her hand. "Teela, I don't want you to feel like you have to go. I know you want to console me, but I promise I won't worry about you courting another guy…well, at least not when I'm fighting." He grinned a little. "And, I won't let homesickness get to me. It's not like I can't visit. I visit Adora all the time, so I'm sure I'll have time to come home from time to time when I'm there."

She shook her head. "I want to go, Adam! I want to be with you! And, you know as well as I do that I can be a real asset to the rebellion." When he opened his mouth to interject, she snapped, "And, don't you dare bring up that I'm Captain of the Guard! I'm going to have to give that up anyway to be with you, so it doesn't make a difference if I'm away now. My absence from the Guard was going to happen regardless."

Adam closed his mouth and she nodded triumphantly. "I'm going," she repeated resolutely.