Strawberry Moon
Summary: Even as a prisoner, Jane's relationship with Kurt will always be something special. Post-s1. Angst that turned into fluff.
He's giving her special treatment, treating her in a way he would not anyone else in her position. He knows that. Everyone knows that. (She will always be special when it comes to him).
She gets to consult on cases, whether tattoo related or not. And he asks her if there's something she needs or wants to help pass the time; a book to read or something. She shakes her head and shrugs. (She hasn't had time to amass that many hobbies in her short lived life, what between saving the world with him and simultaneously burning it down). He ends up bringing her a stack of books, different styles and genres and she finds out, eventually, what her favorite is.
He knows she likes to run and surprises her one morning when he walks in with the workout clothes and running shoes they had confiscated from her safe house. There are rules for this newfound freedom. Of course there are. For starters it's only once a week. And he has to come with her. (No one's sure if it's for her safety, his peace of mind, to keep her in line or just because he misses her, misses spending time with her; of course no one dares to ask).
Patterson jokes that if she suspends her disbelief just enough, she can pretend the tracking device on her ankle is a new fancy fitness tracking technology. She laughs. They both do. At least the word "tracking" is still in there.
The first time she steps out, she wants to cry. Of happiness, of sadness, she's not sure. She realizes for the first time that it's summer and she squints in the morning sun, can't help but smile when the warmth hits her skin. That's the first summer she remembers experiencing.
They ride in silence and she's grateful he doesn't make her wear the handcuffs. And when they run along the pier, he keeps her same pace, running in step with her, arms brushing occasionally. (He can pretend all he wants that he does it because it's his job, but the electricity that sparks with every touch is what he craves. He craves more, so much more, but this will have to do for now).
The first few times they say nothing. Well, nothing beyond, "do you want some water?" and "it's time to go back". They say almost nothing else until that one time she comments about how different New York is in the summer, and this seems to start a new part in this new odd relationship of theirs.
He starts talking to her then. He starts really talking to her, nothing very important (the walls are back up, more fortified than ever) but still, it's progress. He tells her about Sawyer and his extravagant plans for the summer that keep evolving by the day. She loves the way he smiles when he talks about his nephew (the boy's the last source of true innocence and truth he has left in this world).
He surprises her one afternoon when he shows up randomly at her cell and carries with him civilian clothes for her. She assumes she's needed for a case. But then he takes a back door, and nothing about their outing seems official or case related. And when they end up at an ice cream parlor and she asks him what they're doing here, he shrugs and says "just a little taste of summer."
They're surrounded by more people than she's seen in months (he makes sure that when they go for their morning runs the pier is almost empty). It feels nice being surrounded by so many people, to hear sounds and voices and chatter, people laughing, bickering and joking. He keeps a hand on the small of her back, keeps her very close. And she knows it's part of his job, making sure she won't try to make a run for it in the crowd, but still she lets herself enjoy it, lets herself enjoy his touch, his proximity. And she wants to tell him that she is done running. She is done running from her sins, from her lies, from her past and from her crimes. She is done running from him (the only running she wants to do is with him if he'll have her).
He asks her what flavor she'd like and she shrugs. She doesn't know what she likes. She whispers that she doesn't even know what ice cream should taste like. He tells her not to worry and asks the young man behind the counter if they can taste. She tastes almost every single flavor they have, and when she still cannot decide, they end up ordering six scoops and sharing. He finds a small booth towards the end of the place, secluded in the corner, and he slides in after her (she knows he is keeping her blocked between him and the wall but she decides to take Patterson's advice and suspend her disbelief on this one too).
Half the flavors she picked are full of artificial coloring and it stains her tongue blue and green (but she doesn't complain because she decides this is what childhood must feel like and she savors that). They order so much and by the time they're done her stomach hurts and she feels almost sick (but still she smiles because, again, this is what it must feel like to be happy, she thinks).
When they step outside, his hand leaves her back for a moment and the gasp that escapes her lips in unmistakable. Only a moment later, she feels his hand slip into her, his fingers thread through hers and when she looks up at him, when she tries to get something from his face, it's blank, almost as though he has done nothing. She smiles, licks the remnants of the cold sweet dessert off her lips and lets him lead the way to his car. (She will forever consider this to be their first date, much to his annoyance, because on their real first date he really went all out and he hates that she thinks this was their first date).