january, year three
He takes her on a picnic in the park, with the red chequered rug and the wicker basket and the bottle of wine and everything. It's a real, proper romantic date, and so of course she's extremely suspicious about the whole thing.
She pesters him for the entire walk there, teases him about having a massive crush on her and asks him if he's lost his job or burnt the house down or something and is trying to butter her up before telling her.
He tells her to be quiet and races her up the hill, and when they get there he insists on laying the rug out and setting up the plates and glasses and everything properly before even thinking about telling her what inspired this trip.
"So," she says, nibbling on a cracker with camembert cheese like a hamster, "what's all this about?"
He tries to contain his grin but can't stop it from spilling over his face, and he's even more delighted when she instinctively grins back.
"Well, I've got a surprise for you."
"I hate surprises," she says.
He nods, "I know you do."
He deliberately pauses, and she swats his arm and demands, "Well, go on then!"
Deciding that she's had enough torment, he produces two plane tickets from his pocket and holds them up for her to see.
"What are those?" she asks, voice wary but edging on excitement.
"Tickets," he says, "to New York."
"New York?"
"New York."
She's practically bouncing. "As in, New York, New York? Like, New York City?"
"Yes, that New York."
She pounces on him, planting her lips against his and snogging him until he's forgotten how to breathe.
"Good surprise?" he asks when he's eventually able to pry himself out of her arms.
"Great surprise!" she squeals, hugging him again. "When do we leave?!"
"Tomorrow."
She pulls back immediately. "Tomorrow?"
"Mhmm. And everything's taken care of," he assures her. "Work, your parents, all sorted. All you have to do is pack."
She bolts to her feet. "I have to pack. I have to pack!"
"But we haven't finished our picnic…" he says, watching as her hands go to her hair and she begins to freak out.
"Pack that too, we can finish it in New York!"
a.n. thanks so much for reviews/favourites/alerts, you guys rock! more feedback would be very much appreciated - please let me know what you think and if there's any particular scenes you'd like explored.