It wasn't that Alex necessarily minded the portal. It had its benefits to be sure; there were times when it acted out that had given him a great deal of amusement and/or embarrassing moments and then it had its downfalls. And all Alex could think about when he had first been doused into the warm Pacific waters were the downfalls. He had sat at the police station long after he had asked where Emma was, only to be told that she wasn't there and had resolved to wait. Because he was Alex Knightley and she was Emma Woodhouse, and they were never further apart than a mere few hours.
Which was immensely relieving to realize he was correct when she had come into the station fuming not two hours later. He would have waited there for her for as long as it would take, but he was thankful he didn't have to wait in his persistently uncomfortable pants longer than that.
He had slid on a pair of boxers before sliding behind her, planting a kiss on the space he knew would elicit a giggle slightly below her ear, wrapping his arms around her as he did. "Maybe it's a sign from the universe that you need to stop trying to improve them," he laughed into her hair. "What are we looking at, addict?"