Thanks to the amazing Dylan Cruca for this prompt. And to her and gypsyscarfwoman for always being willing to proofread my stories and brainstorm with me. You guys are the best!
Jane took a deep breath as they stepped out of the airport into the bright sunlight of Venice, and memories of their previous trip here—memories she'd done her best to bury for the past eighteen months—came flooding back. She chanced a glance up at Kurt, wondering if he was as affected as she was, but he was in cop mode, his face blank as he scanned the area for threats, and her heart sank as she recalled that they weren't here to vacation.
They were here to chase down a lead on her brother and find out if he was responsible for their former teammates' abductions.
She'd thought the distance between them couldn't possibly get any greater, but the next few days proved to be such a roller coaster of emotion that they felt further apart, even now that they were together. They did eventually find Roman—or rather he found them—and Jane's heart was in her throat as she watched Kurt leap from a bridge onto Roman's speeding boat in a desperate attempt to catch him.
"Don't ever do that to me again," she half-ordered, half-pleaded when they returned to their hotel. She'd remained in the same spot where she last saw Kurt until he'd returned—wet and dirty, but blessedly alive—to find her. "When I saw you speeding away like that, I thought—" She paused before she could say she thought she'd lost him, but he knew her well enough to finish the thought, and Jane winced at the look on his face. "Kurt—"
"Forget it, Jane," Kurt said wearily. He grabbed a clean shirt and a pair of boxers. "It's been a long day, and I'm not very hungry, so I'm going to grab a quick shower and go to bed." He headed into the bathroom before she could say anything more.
Jane was sitting on the edge of the bed when he came out. "I'm sorry, Kurt," she said without preamble. "I'm sorry that I left without telling you, but I knew if I did, you'd talk me out of it."
"Which is exactly why you should have stayed," Kurt shot back. "You said you loved me too much to let me walk away from my life, but I didn't have a life without you, Jane. I didn't have a home. Everywhere I looked in our cabin, I saw you, so I . . . I started practically living at the office, chasing down every lead we got, every theory I could come up with about where you might have gone, until I realized that the NYO had better resources and was close to an airport with nonstop international flights. So I packed up our stuff and moved back to the apartment. But it wasn't home anymore either. No place has been without you. No place ever will be."
Jane's heart hurt at the devastation in his voice, and she closed her eyes as a tear trickled down her cheek. "I'm so—"
"Please don't say you're sorry again," Kurt practically begged. "I don't want you to keep apologizing. That's not what I need from you, Jane."
"What do you need?" Jane asked softly. She would walk to the ends of the earth for him. In point of fact, she had.
"I want us to stay married," Kurt told her. "I never expected going into it that it would be some fairytale happily ever after, but I married you for better or worse, and I'm as committed to that now as I was when I said my vows. But I need to know that you feel the same, that you won't run away again if the going gets tough. I've spent the last eighteen months not knowing if you were alive or dead, Jane. I can't go through that again. I won't."
"Kurt." Jane's heart broke at the devastation in his voice. She rose and wrapped her arms around him. He didn't resist, but he didn't hug her back, either. "I'm not going anywhere without you again, I promise. And there's nothing in this world I want to be more than your wife. Now and forever."
Kurt searched her eyes until he was convinced of the truth of her words. "In that case, I've got something that belongs to you." He rummaged through his suitcase for the small box that had traveled with him on every trip.
Jane's breath caught in her throat as she spotted her wedding band sparkling in Kurt's palm. She hadn't worn it long, but her finger had felt bare without it every day since she'd taken it off. "Oh," she gasped softly as he reached for her hand, and she realized he meant to put it back where it belonged.
"For as long as we both shall live," Kurt repeated his vows as he slid the ring onto Jane's finger once more. She was in his arms before he finished speaking, and he hugged her back fiercely, his lips crashing down on hers as he walked them backwards to the bed and proceeded to put it to much better use than just sleeping in as he'd originally intended.
It was ten days after their return to New York before Jane and Kurt were apart for any significant length of time. They'd rescued Reade and Zapata and Patterson with Rich Dotcom's help—Jane still had trouble believing he was now working for the FBI—and she was relieved that none of them were holding a grudge for her brother kidnapping them. They were much more upset at what she had put Kurt through, but since the two of them had worked things out, they let it go with nothing more than strongly worded warnings not to be such an idiot again.
On this particular Saturday, Kurt—as the newly reinstated head of the Critical Incident Response Group—and Reade had a meeting with Director Hirst that the rest of the team wasn't required to attend, and he pressed a kiss to Jane's forehead when she groaned as his alarm went off.
"Go back to sleep," Kurt suggested once he was dressed, leaning down to kiss her more lingeringly. He paused in the doorway to look at her for a long moment before he left.
Jane sat bolt upright the moment she heard the front door close behind him. The look in his eyes as he'd studied her—the unspoken Will you be here when I get back?—had driven away the remnants of sleep, and she cast about for a way to set his mind at ease before the perfect idea occurred to her. She couldn't restrain her smile as she quickly dressed and got to work.
It was nearly six o'clock before Kurt made it home, after a long, boring day of meetings and paperwork that had all seemed more like busywork than a necessity on a Saturday, and he sighed with relief as he stepped into the apartment. "Honey, I'm home," he called teasingly as he entered the living room, and then stopped dead at the sight that met his eyes.
The living room had been completely transformed. The stack of boxes that had resided in the corner since his return was gone, and everything was in its place, giving the apartment a homey feel to it that it had been lacking for far too long.
Kurt turned in a circle, transfixed. The blanket he and Jane had spent many a night cuddled together under was once again on the back of the couch, family photos had been returned to their old places on the wall, and his favorite of her sketches of the cabin in Colorado was framed on the wall adjacent to the couch.
Jane cleared her throat behind him, and for the first time Kurt registered the mouthwatering aromas permeating the apartment that could only be from the little Italian place they had discovered together the week after they'd moved in together. His stomach grumbled, reminding him that he'd skipped lunch today as he noted that the table was set with their best china in a romantic candlelight dinner for two.
"Do you like it?" Jane asked anxiously.
Kurt swallowed down the emotions clogging his throat. "I love it. But you should have waited until tomorrow, when I was home to help you."
"Actually . . ." Jane took a deep breath. "I asked Hirst and Reade to keep you busy today so I could get it done. I could see that you were nervous about leaving this morning, and I wanted . . . I needed show you that I'm serious about staying this time. You mentioned in Venice that you hadn't had a home since I left, and I haven't had one without you either. I thought it was past time I remedied that."
"God, I love you," Kurt said as he pulled Jane into his arms.
"I love you too," Jane said as she laid her head on his chest so she could hear the beat of his heart, savoring the feel of his strong arms enveloping her. Some days it still felt like a dream to be back with him, and she would never take this feeling for granted again.
Kurt's stomach grumbled again, and she chuckled as she stepped back. "What do you say we feed that monster before the food gets cold?"
"Sounds good to me," Kurt said fervently. He grabbed a bottle of wine out of the refrigerator and poured them a generous serving before taking his seat. Conversation flowed easily throughout the meal, and when they'd finished, he rose and held out a hand to Jane. "The dishes can wait. Dance with me?"
Jane went willingly into Kurt's arms, and the two of them began swaying to music only they could hear. "Do you remember the first time we danced like this?" Kurt asked eventually. "When we were undercover at Rich's party?"
"How could I forget?" Jane said with a smile. "You told me you were too choosy to get married. I figured I didn't have a shot with you."
"You're the only woman in the world who ever has," Kurt said with raw honesty. "To be honest, I'd given up on finding someone to spend the rest of my life with, but I fell for you so fast it scared me. I was already dreaming of a future with you at that point."
Jane's smile lit up her entire face as she drew back enough to see Kurt's. "Really?"
Kurt nodded. "I was thinking about you all day today too," he murmured in Jane's ear. "How I was going to kiss every inch of your gorgeous body until you were begging me to come inside you, and then make love to you until you screamed my name."
Jane laughed in giddy delight at the thought. "Sounds like quite a challenge you've set for yourself there, Mr. Weller."
"Trust me, Mrs. Weller," Kurt said as his hand drifted low on Jane's ass to pull her hips more tightly against his, "I'm more than up for it."
"Oh yeah?" Jane seductively rocked her hips into his to test that for herself. "Good. I'm looking forward to it."
She'd half expected Kurt to scoop her up in his arms and rush to their bedroom, but he surprised her by continuing to sway as they slowly made their way in that direction. They kissed as they went, long, deep, drugging kisses that left her hazy with desire.
Eventually, they made it to their bedside, and their dance turned from sensual to sexual as they undressed one another. Kurt continued to sway slightly as he lifted Jane in his arms and laid her down on the bed, propping himself up on one elbow as he leaned in to trace the bird tattoo on her neck with his tongue.
He leisurely kissed his way down her neck to her breasts, ringing her nipples with hot kisses before he sucked one into his mouth. Jane's hands roamed down his chest, but he pulled them away as she neared his abdomen and placed them on the pillow above her head. "Nuh-uh. No distracting me. I said I was going to make you scream, and I'm a man of my word."
"We'll see about that," Jane muttered, and Kurt flashed her a grin before lowering his mouth to her other breast, lavishing an equal amount of attention on it before he continued his unhurried path downward.
The slower pace definitely heightened the anticipation, and by the time Kurt reached the apex of her thighs, Jane was so keyed up that she came the moment he put his mouth on her. Her hips bucked uncontrollably, and she was dimly aware that she cried out his name before the intense waves of pleasure dragged her under.
Kurt was grinning cockily down at her when she came back to herself, but Jane was too sated to be annoyed. "Come over here and get inside me," she demanded before he took it upon himself to try to make her beg. She'd leave him begging next time.
Kurt was only too happy to oblige, lowering his forehead to hers as he pushed inside, and the two of them would have been stunned—or perhaps gratified—to know how remarkably similar their thoughts were at that moment.
It wasn't a place or a building or furnishings that made a home, it was the people you loved that shared it with you. Whatever they faced going forward, they would do it together and treasure the memories they made forever.
At long last, they were finally home.