Note: This isn't a multi-chapter story. I was missing these two and wanted to write something. I hope you enjoy it. Beware of S5 and S6 spoilers.

Nick & Adalind – Part 1

The first time he told Adalind he loved her, he hadn't planned it, so consumed he was with keeping her and the children hidden and safe so he could hunt and kill Zerstörer. He left her in the basement of the Postman's cabin with only a hug for a goodbye. Words had utterly failed him, which wasn't exactly a first for Nick. He was terrible with goodbyes, especially when he felt tossed about in a tumult of emotions coursing through his entire body where Adalind was concerned.

He'd walked out with determination in his step but she chased him down and pleaded with him to be careful, catching him by surprise. His stomach curled with tingling excitement as well as dread at just looking at her. Adalind had him completely entranced, as if she'd put a spell on him and he didn't even care as long as he could gaze into her glorious eyes one more time. She was beautiful that night, too alluring underneath the moonlight.

All of a sudden, he couldn't hold back any longer as his emotions rapidly shot through to the surface. She had to know. He needed her to know a truth that had lain buried deep in his bones for a while now, that he loved her just as fresh unsolicited thoughts of never seeing her again pummelled his heart ferociously. After months of biting down all traces of feeling that had left him vulnerable, Nick's heart was bursting at the seams with unspoken words he could no longer keep to himself. He loved Adalind and he needed her to know it, here at the possible end of all things.

Compelled by a force stronger than him, Nick captured her lips with his own, savouring her taste, which served as a stern reminder to fight and to keep on fighting even if he was going against an enemy that could only be described as pure evil. Upon breaking free for want of oxygen, he breathed out those three little words he'd held captive in his heart for far longer than he should have because he'd been afraid of too many things that had kept him from living his life for far too long. It was irrational, he realised. Nick had been afraid of feeling too much, afraid of losing too much, reverting to self-preservation mode as his life passed him by and now it could be too late….

Over the course of their time together, Nick had learnt the sharp strain of separating from Adalind when Bonaparte came into their lives. It was suffocating and astonishingly, it had shaken him to his core. Those few weeks apart had set him off-balance as he spiralled out of control for the first time in his life since the age of twelve, when he had lost his parents in a car accident. He hadn't liked feeling that powerless at all. All his life, Nick had worked hard for control in the midst of the chaos around him, first with his parents' death and later with his aunt trekking them both across the country, never settling in one place until he'd finally reached his maturity. Life had been hard and forming meaningful relationships had been harder but he'd managed it, much to his surprise.

Then he lost his aunt and later Juliette. He'd teetered dangerously close to the edge but instead of the grief sweeping over him, an unexpected light had shone over his life at the time he needed it the most. Nick had become a father and thus had chosen to lose himself in his newfound situation as both protector and provider to his son, which automatically included his onetime enemy, recently former and now mother of his child, Adalind Schade. Even though she wasn't his responsibility, Nick had reluctantly accepted his role regardless. He did it all for Kelly, his son. Although, he couldn't have imagined the change in him, how his cold exterior thawed with each passing day.

When Bonaparte had forced Adalind to leave him and taking their son with her, Nick had completely lost it. Naturally, he'd felt the loss of a son he loved dearly but what was unexpected to him was the level of pain he'd felt at losing Adalind. It was so acute he couldn't think straight. It was nothing at all like he'd felt before, not even the day he lost Juliette. Something dark had settled over him, cracking the foundation beneath. Nick did things he'd never dreamt capable, just to get her back, to get them both back. Clearly, thing had changed between them, he just never realised how much until she was gone. For all the anguish he felt then, Nick could never express, to either himself or his friends the full extent of his emotions, at losing Adalind, framing his pain only around his son.

The first time Nick had thought of kissing her, he'd berated himself, as it happened so soon after Juliette's death. He'd been furious with himself for thinking of another woman when he'd hardly mourned his last. Guilt had wormed its way into his heart as he tried unsuccessfully to quash all involuntary thoughts he had concerning the one woman on the earth he couldn't ever have feelings for in any form. He had tried to remain indifferent towards her, but Adalind had steadily chipped away at his obstinacy. She'd fit him so well, it left him constantly off-balance, particularly every time she was within touching distance from him. The more he fought against whatever grew between them, the more he wanted her, more of her kisses, more of this wild and intense thing that seemed to tie them together no matter the distance.

Between the two of them, Adalind was the first to speak of love. It had happened on the night before he left for Germany with his best friend, Monroe. He remembered how his heart had beat a little wildly against his chest as she fearlessly bore her soul, yearning for him to know just how much she cared for him even if he didn't quite return her feelings or so he had thought. Confusion about their situation…their so-so relationship had weighed on him, he hadn't known what to think but the spark that had flickered precariously deep inside would not be extinguished; not even when he found out her powers had returned and in fear had kept the truth from him. Instead, that tiny spark had grown into a raging flame but Nick was stubborn as well as a fool.

With Bonaparte defeated and Adalind returned him, Nick hadn't amended his stoical stance despite the visibly grown intimacy between the two of them. They were in love. They lived like a couple in love despite the word never once passing between their lips, as though forbidden. Since he fearfully wouldn't allow himself to tell Adalind he loved her, she, he suspected, had taken her cues from him and never said a word in that regard. The obstacles such as loyalty towards Juliette and trust between them and everything that pertained to their past and their outward selves that had marked their previous time together had dissolved away with Bonaparte's death, all except a lifetime of fear that lay festering inside him. It had warped him, his whole outlook on life as though he could keep at bay the very worst of the worst from happening, so long as he didn't admit to himself, his love for her.

So now that the worst had come, he realised he couldn't continue as before. The irony wasn't lost on him as he held Adalind in his arms, that they had been there before but the shoe was now on the other foot. Adalind, fearing she would never see him again had confessed her love for him and it was now his turn.

"I love you." He said softly with all the intensity of feeling he knew he possessed.

"I love you," she replied sweetly and pulled him down into a fierce hug.

A literal weight had come off his shoulders as he exhaled and like clockwork, a cold grip of fear wrapped itself firmly around his heart, dreaded and very familiar. For a man who had lost so much in his life, he never expected Adalind, a Hexenbiest, a woman who once made his life a living nightmare, to have such a hold over his heart. Fear paralysed him with the thought of losing her for good, should he fail to stop Zerstörer and for the briefest of moments, he actually thought of running, of taking her and their children and getting into his Cruiser and just drive, as far as the open road would take them and never look back. However, on the other hand, he couldn't do it. He knew he couldn't walk away from his duty as a Grimm so, he went up against Zerstörer and everything he had feared tragically came true.

Nick, the Grimm, stood between pending doom and the rest of the world. What he hadn't expected was for Adalind to stand next to him and fight alongside him against Zerstörer. It hadn't taken long for him to figure that Zerstörer was unbeatable. They had hit him with everything they had but Zertörer just kept getting back up as they fell one by one, starting with his friends, Hank, Wu and Eve.

Then it happened. Nick watched the woman who, against all odds, had become the love of his life sacrifice herself for him. In the moment, he couldn't believe his eyes. It felt like taking a gut punch with a gravity force of infinity. His whole world came to an abrupt and violent stop where nothing else mattered as he rushed by her side, holding her in his bloody arms as she desperately gasped for air. In an instant, his whole world had shattered and Nick had lost all ability to think, to move, to breathe

Adalind died.

How long he knelt beside her, he couldn't tell. Perhaps it was for an eternity. His whole body had felt like lead, he couldn't move a muscle but it was her final words, imploring him to protect their children that spurred him on to fight a little longer before Zerstörer delivered his final and ultimate blow. He killed everyone Nick had loved, Adalind, Trubel, his friends even Renard, all except Nick. It was by design. Zerstörer had isolated Nick. He robbed Nick of what little strength he had left…his will to keep fighting and all for a wooden stick Nick had found in the Black Forest of Germany.

Zerstörer sadistically gave Nick a choice, to hand over the stick and get his loved one back in return and as if to prove his point, Zerstörer used his magic staff to raise Trubel and no one else, back to the land of the living.

It was crazy, Nick felt as though he'd stepped into the twilight zone and he couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't. The only thing that resonated with him was the thought of getting Adalind back and thus Nick made up his mind. It was an impossible situation but Nick was drowning in absolute grief. He knew he made the wrong choice but his broken heart demanded far too much of him after a lifetime of pain, loss and sacrifices.

For the first time in six years Nick hadn't cared about being a Grimm or the responsibility that came with that mantle, he just wanted her back. He wanted his family and friends back. He hadn't thought twice of giving everything up, of sacrificing the world for Adalind. He would have done it too, had it not been for Trubel who stood in his way and then two oddly tangible spirits of his dead mother and aunt doing everything they could to talk him out of grief-induced insanity binge that almost saw him give in to Zerstörer's wishes.

If he had handed the only piece of advantage he had in his possession over to Zerstörer, the demon may have revived Adalind and everyone else Nick loved and doomed the rest of the world. Instead, because of three very determined Grimms, Nick managed to destroy the monster and stopped pure evil from reigning in the world by paying the ultimate price. It was the life of a Grimm after all and Nick wasn't exempt from its consequences. His aunt had tried to warn him of this very thing years ago.

He had saved the day but lost Adalind and the others along the way. The world nearly came close to ending, all because Nick was too distraught and emotionally compromised to do his job accordingly from the get go but nobody would ever know it. Although Trubel never agreed with him, giving the stick away to Zerstörer, and had fought him until he came into his senses, she seemed to understand where he came from. His family was important to him, and his family was her family. She couldn't see how she could have acted any different had she been the one pushed to the same limits as Nick that night.

After the battle, Nick made his way to Adalind's side. She looked too serene as if sleeping until he felt the coldness of death in her hand and he chocked down his tears. It was a few moments before he remembered Zerstörer, specifically the promise he'd made about raising his loved ones from the dead. Even though the demon was dead, Nick irrationally considered the possibility of the impossible coming true. Trubel was living proof that the magic contained in the staff could do anything and it did but not as expected.

Apparently, one of the perks of defeating evil incarnate was a do-over. Somehow, he reversed time. One moment he was standing in the brightness of day, outside the Postman's cabin and the next, he'd found himself in Monroe's living room the night before, Adalind and all his friends, alive and well and Zerstörer gone. He'd jumped through another portal. Nick didn't know how it came about other than his deep desire to have his loved ones back and he wasn't about to stare a gift horse in the mouth.

Disoriented, he couldn't believe his eyes. It was simply too good to be true until he felt her in his arms and kissed her, paying no mind to the audience around them including Eve, Juliette's avatar. Nick was never the overtly emotional type, especially around other people but nothing could hold back the absolute joy he felt at seeing her alive again, of being able to hold her in his arms once more. He knew the moment he embraced her, he'd never again want to let her go. Adalind was alive and that is all that mattered to him. While in the past, he never publically displayed his affections for Adalind for the world to see because it was something private between them and had wanted to minimise any blowback from some of his friends who perhaps had reservations about their relationship, Nick no longer cared what they thought. If he felt the desperate urge to kiss Adalind, he would and he did. He was completely again and nothing would take his joy away from him again.

*/*/*

The second time he told Adalind that he loved her, she would hear it for the first time…sort of. He knew it would not be the last for either of them. So much had changed from the last. Largely, the fear he'd felt was completely gone. There wasn't some doomsday event bringing turmoil in their lives to deal with. It was just the two them…and Nick's eagerness to watch her reaction as he shared with her the words she long desired to hear from him for a while. Getting to this point had proven a challenge to his patience he couldn't have foreseen. Adalind continued to surprise him, her tenacity, her patience, her ability to make others feel like they mattered. It was hard not to love her.

In the beginning of their relationship when things were still raw between them, they had harboured a few secrets from one another for lack of trust because of the nature of what they were, a Grimm and a Hexenbiest, natural enemies but also as a symptom of their toxic past together. Both had built up walls between them that would take concerted efforts from one or both of them to tear down if their relationship were to work. Adalind had proven the more determined of the two to build some trust by taking that first step and confessing to her powers returning. Everything else snowballed from there, such as Nick revealing what he'd found in Germany, Diana's role in Bonaparte's death among other things.

That night he killed Zertörer, they had returned to their loft as a family changed, in a changed world. They had faced the absolute worst and survived. Through some strange magic, the battle with Zerstörer had survived the reset of time, as though space and time had folded over one another, the past and future melding into one and only he and Diana retaining its memories that were now lost to everyone else. It was enough to give even Einstein a headache and Nick was no physicist as he tried to make sense of everything. Giving up, he tried to put it all behind him but Adalind never let him.

Zerstörer wasn't the only thing done away by the reset.

It hadn't occurred to Nick at the time, that after his harrowing experience in the now defunct reality, upon teleporting back into Monroe's living room and instinctively inspecting Adalind hand for a cursed ring and finding it gone, that that particular moment hadn't been lost on Adalind. On the drive home, he'd kept peering over her left hand as if to make certain it was truly gone, a deadly gift from Conrad Bonaparte that had plagued both their lives even after his death. The ring had been forced upon her with an ominous threat to their children should she ever take it off her finger. Bonaparte had meant for it as an engagement ring between Adalind and Nick's then former Police Captain and Diana's biological father, Prince Sean Renard.

Nick remembered removing the offensive jewellery after killing Zerstörer, something he'd longed to do for months since the time he first saw it on Adalind's finger when jealousy and anger had ripped through him like a hot knife through butter. It was the first time Nick had experienced sharp pangs of possessiveness over the blond Hexenbiest and it galled him to see another man's mark on her body, especially Renard. He remembered the wash of relief over him when he saw her hand bare at their reunion in Monroe's home, a pleasing bookend to that latest chapter of his life, another sign that his "do-over" wasn't truly a do-over. Time had reset to a specific moment in the past but also certain things had carried forth from the "future", as it seemed and Adalind sensed Nick knew more than he let on. He saw the confusion in her eye because she too, had spent much of the drive home looking down at her hand, absently rubbing two fingers where the ring used to be as he'd watched her do countless times whenever frustrated by something.

Hence, when she asked him directly, after putting the kids to sleep, he gave her an accurate but abridged version of the events surrounding Zerstörer, his demise and the removal of Bonaparte's ring. Replaying those images in his mind was as hard as he imagined. It was strange, talking about her death like it was nothing more than a dream only it had happened for real. Adalind had moved to his side, taking his hand in hers and raising it to her lips so he could feel the warmth of her breath against his skin. She was alive, she said without saying a word, knowing he needed the assurance of that small gesture to ease his mind. His tale was wretched and ludicrous at best but he wasn't even afraid she wouldn't believe him. He'd already decided to be completely honest with her, something recent between them after their rocky start. He told her everything except for one thing, the fact that he'd already told her he loved her.

It was on his tongue to say it the moment he laid eyes on her after flying through the portal one last time but Nick had been overwhelmed with seeing everyone alive again, it unwittingly slipped to the back of his mind. However, the urge would well up again the moment they were alone after saying their goodbyes to their friends and got into his Cruiser as they made their way home but Nick bit his tongue and not for the same reasons as before but rather for something completely different. It wasn't every day that he had a chance to confess his love again for the "first" time to the woman who'd proven beyond a shadow of doubt his soul mate. He suddenly wanted the moment to be special and so Nick spent the entire drive back to their loft contemplating everything they had been through together, how he wanted the rest of their lives to be different which meant he had to be different and do things differently.

When morning finally came, real life had caught up to them both. He'd woken to find himself alone in their bed as Adalind tended to their children. His cell phone shrilled loudly next to his ear as if he needed even more confirmation that they didn't live in a bubble. It was the station, a possible robbery or worse, a dead body to deal with, whatever his plans for the first day of the rest of their lives, it had to wait. He hoped he'd make it in time to cook her dinner, something he hadn't done in a while. He would have preferred to take her out but he knew she wouldn't to go anywhere without Kelly and Diana, and the truth was, neither would he.

They'd come so close to losing it all, so whenever they could, they spent every second together as a family. In the days that followed, they'd fallen into a familiar pattern of Nick's day totally engrossed in whatever case he worked and Adalind looking after the children all day, including tutoring Diana whilst guiding her on the finer points of social relations, much like before but with significant changes, among which was Nick's relationship with Diana.

Before Zerstörer came into their lives, it had occurred to him that he'd had the same sort of relationship with the daughter that he'd had with the mother after they moved into the loft together. There was a lot of mistrust and some fear, only he was now on the receiving end. He'd hoped to form a relationship with the daughter but Diana had mostly remained distant because she hadn't wholly trusted him, a near perfect mirror of the relationship he had with Adalind when things began to change between them. It gave Nick a newfound appreciation for Adalind, who never gave up on him despite his stiffness around her at times, whose love had remained steadfast in the midst of the many challenges they'd faced. He'd hoped, in time, things between him and Diana would eventually improve.

To Nick's surprise, it had taken their shared experience regarding Zerstörer to clear away Diana's last remaining shred of doubt about Nick and his role in her mother's life. For Nick's part, it was no less complicated. It wasn't about accepting Diana as a part of his family, that was a given once he realised he couldn't live without Adalind. Nick had to come to terms with himself, the role he played in separating mother and child. Although Adalind had long forgiven him, Nick had secretly wrestled with the consequences of his actions, the primary of which being Diana's wild unpredictability stemming from a lack to real guidance from those who loved her. His mother had tried but she wasn't Adalind. For all the power Diana possessed, he couldn't help but see a little girl reacting to her circumstances because of the grown-ups who'd screwed up her young life before it had a chance to start.

Moreover, as with the mother, once he saw the real Diana and began to understand her, as she exhibited little quirks akin to Adalind with an innocent eagerness to please those around her, he couldn't help but fall in love. It no doubt helped that she was the spitting image of her mother, from the hair, the eyes, chin and heart. Her newly strengthened acceptance of him, not just as the father to her baby brother, or the man who loved her mother very much but also as someone she could absolutely trust had warmed his heart in the weeks that followed.

On the rare occasion than he was home before their bedtime, she'd regale him with her lessons of the day and ask him to tell her stories since she knew all of Adalind's already. It was awkward at first, seeing how easily they slipped into their roles as father and daughter despite never sharing any blood and Renard having her every other weekend. In a way Diana was as much his daughter as she was Renard's and had certainly spent more time with him than Renard. They grew close, closer than Nick ever hoped. One would say it was inevitable.

As the days turned to weeks and Nick's plans fell deeper into the cracks of day-to-day living, he grew more frustrated. How he and Adalind managed to carve out some time for one another, was a miracle in itself but Nick wasn't satisfied. For starters, the loft was increasingly growing smaller with each passing day. It had fulfilled its original purpose but they had now outgrown it, with Kelly about to hit a proper growth spurt, Nick realised the loft wasn't designed to house a family of four. There was also the matter of having no real privacy in such a small space. There's nothing like a crying two-year who wanted him "Momma" when trying to be intimate and having Diana sleeping only a few feet away could easily quench any fires within, those sliding doors to their bedroom weren't exactly soundproof.

They needed to move but Nick was at a loss of how to breach the subject after Adalind went out of her way to make this cold, abrasive industrial loft into a proper home for their family, their "fome". She'd put her whole heart into every corner, every new piece of furniture after his paltry attempts at the start. Everywhere he looked, he saw all of her efforts and he didn't have the heart to force yet another change of circumstances upon her. The day they had moved into the loft, he'd made the decision alone, never once considering her needs. He was single minded and had expected her to adhere to his whims. She'd followed him of course because at the time, she had no means of her own to protect and provide for Kelly after making enemies of the Royals. Nearly two years to the date and he'd grown to love their little loft because she had loved it so much. They'd created far too many wonderful memories within its walls to walk away from it but they also couldn't stay there forever, not without freezing time.

Thus, Nick stealthily planted some seeds here and there during their conversations about the children and what they needed to make their lives easier, like open spaces for the kids to play. He was testing the waters. Without missing a beat, Adalind readily countered by suggesting they create a roof garden. When he mentioned their need for privacy, she suggested babysitting and knew at least of two different people who'd readily take Kelly in for the night whilst Diana spent the night with her father. She was good. Everything he'd proposed, she had a quick and ready answer that would have convinced him if he weren't as determined as she was stubborn.

One day, after a difficult day at the station, he arrived home early to the sounds of joyous laughter ringing throughout the loft, which looked like a mini tornado had passed right through. Kelly and Diana were running in circles as Adalind, in a makeshift costume, did her best to catch them. He didn't know what was going on and so engrossed in their little play, they'd missed his entrance entirely. Nick mesmerised, stood by the elevator and watched as Adalind caught up to Kelly, who wasn't as quick on his feet as his sister, and watched as she lifted him high above her head to squeals of delirious laughter, his hands and feet flailing wildly until Adalind put him back down on the floor to resume her chasing.

However, she'd now zeroed in on Diana when she finally spotted Nick and self-consciously flashed him an easy smile. Adalind looked a glorious mess. Her cheeks were full…warm, as if kissed by the sun. A lump of emotion settled in Nick's throat as fresh realisation of his love for Adalind enveloped him. It took every ounce of willpower not to rush and sweep her into his arms and spill his whole heart before her. Instead, he carefully glided to where she'd stopped, tilted her chin so he'd gaze into her gleaming eyes and kissed her firmly on the lips, sandwiching a protesting Diana caught between them before breaking free and planting a kiss over the top of Diana's mussed up hair. Kelly, wanting a kiss of his own, ran over to his father's side and Nick happily obliged.

The scene was perfect except for one thing that tugged at the recessed of his conscience and Nick had finally made up his mind that the days of Adalind living in the dark about the nature and extent of his feelings for her were at an end. He used Adalind's own idea that would see them spending at least one night alone together at the loft as he conscripted his friends to watch over his son, with Diana already spending the weekend at Renard's place. It was the perfect opportunity to romance his woman finally and as only she deserved after everything they'd been through together.

Initially, she'd resisted the idea of leaving Kelly with Rosalee for an entire night and he understood why. As a result, Nick worked overtime to put her mind at ease and eventually the idea of spending the night alone with him grew all the more attractive as he spoke, which only meant he had to deliver on the goods by making the night truly special for her.

Nick was good at many things, like his job, being a Grimm but he floundered a bit when it came to romance. He was a simple guy, who didn't beat about the bush about anything except the things of the heart and he knew he'd been unfair towards Adalind and needed to make up for his stoical approach to their relationship. He needed to go above and beyond for the woman he loved, and so he did. He set up a candle-lit dinner, cooked by none other but himself with red rose petals strewn strategically from the elevator door throughout the loft, all the way to their bedroom and waited for Adalind to return alone from spending her day with Rosalee. Seeing the surprised look on her face when she stepped into the loft was worth the price of admission alone.

He was waiting for her, dressed in a dark suit and tie with a single, long stem rose clutched between his teeth.

"Hi." She said, a shy smile dancing lightly across her lips.

He was at a loss for words, giving her a curt nod in response as he took in the sight of her.

Adalind was dressed in a slick deep mauve dress with a tasteful but plunging neckline that shot bolts of lightning to Nick's extremities. It was Rosalee's idea that Adalind come already dressed for the evening but looking at her under the dim light of the candles, Nick began to regret his friend's fore thinking as he imagined ripping the dress from Adalind's shoulders before they even had starters. The cello playing softly in the background, courtesy of Monroe didn't help alleviate the pressure rapidly building. Shooing all thoughts of having his dessert long before dinner to the back of his mind, Nick ushered Adalind to her seat.

"Well this is unexpected. Are we celebrating something?" She asked innocently.

"You." He said as he pulled up her chair, waited until she sat down before stepping away to pour her a glass of red wine.

"Me? You did all of this for me?" she said with delight clear in her voice, which only made him feel like a bigger fool for his neglect of her.

"I'm sorry it only took me this long…."

"…Long for what?"

"To show you how much you mean to me. I know I haven't been the easiest person to be around most of the time and you've put up with a lot by being with me."

"Nick, I…"

"No," he quickly pressed his finger against her lips and cut her off before she went too far. "Don't say anything…just enjoy."

Adalind cheeks blossomed under his intense gaze and Nick cautiously stepped back. She already looked exceptionally delicious that night and for a moment, he rethought his plan for the evening but duly resisted the tightening in his pants. He meant the evening to be all about her and not just the sating of his own desires.

They enjoyed his pasta and later some salmon with raspberry glaze over a light conversation, tinged with tension. Their hands slid across the table, coming together in anticipation for the night ahead.

"Dance with me…I mean would you like to dance?" he amended.

"I would love to."

Love.

It was the first time she'd said the word since the note she left behind when she left the loft about a year ago. It sent a thrill down his spine as he took her hand in his and swept her to her feet and against his chest to the sounds of classical music Monroe swore would set the romantic mood he wanted. For a moment, they said not a word, only swaying gently to the music. Nick could barely keep a straight thought with Adalind pressed firmly against him. She did fit him perfectly and this time he wasn't ashamed to admit it to himself. Nick rubbed small circles against the small of her back to distract him from the racy thoughts already rushing through his mind. He wanted her…needed her but was determined to take a back seat until he'd done what he set out to do.

"Adalind."

"Hmmm?" she said, her head leaning gently across his chest.

"Please look at me," he pleaded, almost chocking on the words.

"What is it?"

It was now or never.

"I love you."

With tears welling up in her eyes, she smiled.

"I love you," she said.

"I need you to know that you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I know we didn't have the best of starts and we hurt each other badly along the way." He said.

She tried to speak but he stopped her, "Let me finish. I am sorry but I am also glad because now you're standing here with me and I can't imagine my life without you…." Now with unshed tears in his own eyes, he went down on one knee and immediately a hand flew over her mouth, stifling an errant gasp. He reached down into his pocket, pulling a tiny velvet box and held it to her.

"We are quite the pair, you and I. We've never done anything in half measures, whether it was fighting or loving and yes, we went about this relationship the wrong way round but I know now it couldn't have happened any other way. I love you Adalind Schade and would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

Without a word and tears streaming freely down her cheeks, Adalind bopped her head up and down vigorously in consent.

"Yes!" she cried and fell on his neck, showering him with kisses before he could slip the ring he had bought two days after his fight against Zerstörer over her finger. An exuberant laugh escaped his lips when he stood to his feet, towering over her before scooping her into his arms as her kisses grew deeper, setting his whole body on fire. Before he knew it, they were standing over their bed, ravaging each other like starving pair at a buffet.

"I love you." He repeated fervently between their kisses. "I love you so much."

"Shut up and kiss me," she said as she slid her hand over his front past his belt buckle and Nick nearly buckled from the pressure. He slid his hands over her shoulders and round her neck and untied the clasp of her dress and instantly it cascaded down her body and pooled at her feet. She automatically stepped out, leaving her in just her panties and stilettos; he nearly came just looking at her. Adalind backed over the bed as she watched him removed his jacket and stripped free of his shirt. His hands fumbled down to his belt before he heard Adalind's abrupt cry.

"Nick wait…the ring…."

"Right," he breathed in frustration.

He turned his head and saw the box lying where he'd dropped it when Adalind threw herself at him, still unopened and so he ran quickly to retrieve it.

"Ask me again," she said when he returned.

He looked at her lying seductively across their bed half-naked and lost all train of thought.

"Nicholas Burkhardt, ask me again." She commanded playfully.

Nick took the ring out of it box, knelt on the bed and crawling over her lithe body, peppering her with light kisses that made her body quiver under him. When he reached her mouth, he held the ring on the tip of her finger but refrained from pushing it in. When Adalind finally opened her eyes and he was able to look straight into their depths, he slipped the ring over her finger slowly with each carefully spoken word.

"I love you Adalind Schade, will you marry me?"

Her face lit up once more as she said, "Yes."

A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read my little fic. Part 2 will be written in Adalind's POV and I'm hoping to have it up in a few weeks. Please don't be shy to leave a review, it will be appreciated.