"Where are we going?" she asked, looking up at him as they walked hand in hand.
"Just wait and see," he smiled down at her.
It was the morning after their first time sleeping together. They'd both woken up around 7am, neither of them able to wipe the grins off their faces. She'd woken up before him, and for a few moments, she just lay there contently, watching him sleep. She'd never felt so happy in her entire life - she was certain of that. After a few minutes, his eyes had fluttered open and they had immediately found hers.
"Morning," she'd whispered.
"Morning," he'd replied sleepily. Happily.
He'd pulled her closer to him, and she'd rested her head on top of his chest. They'd stayed there like that for a while, just enjoying being together. After a few minutes, his voice broke the morning quiet.
"Hey,'" he'd whispered, brushing her hair back from her face. "Do you fancy going for a little walk? There's somewhere that I'd like to show you".
She'd groaned slightly in response, bringing his free hand up to her lips. "Can't we just stay here for a little bit longer?" she pleaded.
He'd laughed lightly before kissing the top of her head. "We have the day off, remember? We can stay like this for the rest of the day, but I really do want to take you somewhere".
She'd then lifted her head up to look at him properly, kissing his jaw. "Fine, you win" she'd said with a smile.
So that's what they did. They put on their discarded clothes from last night and left his apartment, their hands entwined together. There was a slight breeze, but they still felt comfortable and warm, especially walking side by side.
After walking for a few minutes, her suspicion grew. "Seriously, where are you taking me?" she persisted, although her tone was light.
"You're about to find out," he teased.
With that said, they turned the corner at the end of the street, and there it was. The place that he was so desperate to show her. The place that she'd longed to go to that night but knew she couldn't.
The park at the end of his street.
"Oh," she whispered, stopping dead in her tracks.
He turned to look at her, trying to read her facial expression. "C'mon, let's go sit on the bench," he said, guiding her over with his hand in hers.
He pulled her down on the bench beside him, overlooking the bridge. It was pretty quiet for a Friday, and he was grateful for that. There were a few things that he wanted to say to her, and he didn't really want people continuously walking past them.
She hadn't said anything for a few moments, and he was starting to get worried. Her face remained the same - mouth slightly open, eyes wider than usual. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand.
"Are you okay?" he asked gently. "I mean, we don't have to be here if you don't want to, we can go back-"
"No," she said firmly. "I… I want to stay here. I've wanted to come here so many times. Ever since that night".
She looked at him then, her eyes filled with regret and wonder at what would've happened if she had come here that night.
Her eyes dropped to their intertwined hands. "I wanted to come here that night, you know. I really wanted to, but I…"
"I know," he reassured her, wrapping his other arm around her shoulder. "You wanted answers, and Oscar… well, he offered you them. It was a risk you had to take".
"A risk that didn't pay off," she mumbled. "Look where it got us. Everything that happened afterwards happened because I met him that night. I should've come here instead, things could've been so different".
He didn't respond right away. He just sat there with her, rubbing his thumb across her shoulder.
"I lied, you know," he whispered.
She turned her face to look at him, eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"I lied," he repeated. "The next day, I told you that I didn't come here, but I did. I waited for you, but I quickly realised that you weren't coming. I didn't want to make you feel bad, or make things awkward, so I lied and said that I didn't show".
"Oh," she whispered. "I had no idea".
She leaned her head on his shoulder, sighing into his neck.
"What did you plan on saying to me that night?" she asked quietly. "You know, if I had actually managed to turn up. What would you have said?"
He puffed out his cheeks. "I would've told you that I didn't regret you kissing me outside my apartment. I would've told you that I have feelings for you, and that probably would've led me to asking you out in my own awkward and unique way".
She laughed at his humour, grateful that he hadn't decided to take the conversation more seriously. She was still so happy from the previous night, and she didn't want that to change.
"Well…" she sighed, looking up at him, her eyes glinting. "That would've been very hard to say no to".
He smiled back at her, before leaning down to press an all-too-brief kiss on her lips. He then continued to look at her, unable to believe that they were together, and that she was finally here.
"Jane," he said, "I did bring you here to say something".
She looked at him quizzically. "Go ahead".
He took a deep breath. "I don't want you to ever second guess how I feel about you. I know you, I know everything about you, so I know that it's inevitable that you'll doubt this - us - at some point, but I want you to remember me telling you this now. I love you, and I'm not gonna stop loving you anytime soon. I've had my fair share of relationships, but none of them even come close to how crazy I am about you. You're the most incredible person I've ever met, and I don't want to imagine my life without you anymore".
He looked at her to see that she now had tears in her eyes. "Hey, hey, don't cry," he said, rubbing her arm.
"Sorry," she half-laughed, wiping her tears away with the back of her other hand. "It's just… I never thought I'd ever hear you say anything like that. I mean, I know you've told me you love me, but this… this was… this means everything, Kurt".
He smiled softly, kissing her temple.
"I love you," she whispered.
"I love you so much more," he replied. "Now that I've said my piece, do you wanna head back to mine? You know… back to bed?"
"That sounds perfect," she assented.
Together, with their hands still intertwined, they got off the bench and walked back to his apartment, feeling happier than either of them had ever felt in a very long time.