The next week passed in a haze of idyllic days and even more blissful nights. Jane and Kurt hiked and skied and even took a snowmobile tour of the area. He taught her to ice skate, as promised, and she was thrilled when he promised they'd go as often as they were able when they returned to New York. There was nothing she liked better than gliding along the ice hand-in-hand with him. There was nothing she liked better than being hand-in-hand with him anywhere.
And she spent a good portion of her days doing exactly that. They awoke to breakfast in bed that first morning and took turns feeding each other before sating the hunger that awoke in them for one another. It was mid-morning before they managed to roust themselves from bed, and they spent the remainder of that first day wandering through the local shops. Needless to say, they would be returning with a great deal more stuff than they had left with.
Most of their purchases were Christmas-related, presents for Roman and Sarah and Sawyer, who were flying out after the holiday to spend a belated Christmas with them, but they managed to secretly buy each other gifts as well, tucking those away in their respective suitcases and sternly admonishing one another not to peek.
Not that there would have been much opportunity for that anyway. They were scarcely out of one another's sight, taking advantage of the spacious shower and Jacuzzi tub their room offered to even bathe together. Their lovemaking continued to improve as they grew more and more attuned to one another's bodies, and soon it seemed as if they truly were one flesh when they came together. But it was still the cuddling that they both treasured above all else.
Their last day there, Kurt bundled Jane into her warm clothes and out of the inn, refusing to tell her where they were going, and when she stepped outside there was a horse-drawn sleigh waiting for them. Her face lit up as she looked up at Kurt. "Is that for us?" She'd seen them around New York and in movies, but she'd never thought she'd have the opportunity—or the reason—to ride in one herself.
"It is," Kurt confirmed, glad that his plan for the day was a hit. He handed Jane into the sleigh and settled into the seat beside her, wrapping the blanket tightly around them as the driver shook the reins, and they got underway.
The driver took them through a part of the area they hadn't seen before, and Jane was so mesmerized by the beauty around them that it was some time before she spoke. "Have you been on a sleigh ride before?" she murmured into Kurt's ear as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Nope," he returned as he drew her closer until she was almost sitting in his lap. "This is another first just for the two of us. Maybe we can do it every year on our anniversary. It will be our tradition." One of many he hoped to start with her. And he already had the next one lined up, thanks to Zapata.
"I'd like that," Jane agreed. Creating traditions was a big step in setting down roots, and both were something that had been missing from her life for a very long time. And from the looks of things, from Kurt's, as well. Maybe, just maybe, creating them with her would make him decide he wanted to stay married. He'd said he was happy, and he certainly seemed to be enjoying all aspects of married life so far.
And he was proving to be a far more attentive and sweet husband than she could have envisioned when she learned they were married. Today's sleigh ride was no exception. She didn't know how he'd managed to arrange it without her knowledge, but she loved him all the more for the forethought he'd put into it.
The ride lasted nearly an hour, and when they returned, they roasted the remainder of their marshmallows, making s'mores for lunch before cuddling up next to the fire, as had become the norm for them.
"I'm going to miss this," Kurt said after they had sat in companionable silence for quite some time. "Not just this place, but . . . Not having to wake up worrying about what the day's going to hold. Just being able to relax and spend time with you without any distractions or interruptions."
"Me too," Jane said quietly. "But it won't be like this forever, Kurt. Once Shepherd is caught, and we take down Sandstorm . . ."
"Maybe we could come back here for our tenth anniversary," Kurt suggested. "Or wait, even better . . . how about every tenth anniversary? Not that we can't come back in between if we want to, but those visits can be special. We can stay in this room again, and take our sleigh ride, and . . . What is it?" he asked as Jane swiveled to face him with tears in her eyes. "What's wrong? If you'd rather go somewhere else . . ."
"No!" Jane blurted. "It's . . . it's not that, Kurt. I just didn't know . . . We haven't talked about . . . I had no idea that you were planning to . . . stay married," she said carefully.
Kurt frowned. "Of course we talked about this. I told you if we slept together, it would change things."
"Yes," Jane said carefully, "but considering you told me you were too choosy to get married in the past, I thought you were just . . . warning me not to get too attached to you."
He really needed to learn to express himself better. "And now that you know what I really meant?" Kurt asked. "Is that . . . are you okay with it?" He could scarcely breathe as he waited for her response.
"No," Jane said, and Kurt felt his heart sink into his toes. "It is so much more than okay to me that I can't even begin to describe how fine I am with it." She smiled at him, and then she was in his arms, and they were crying and laughing at the same time as they clung to each other.
"Jane," Kurt murmured when he finally drew back, wiping the tear tracks from her cheeks with his thumbs, "I love you. God, how I love you."
"I love you, too," Jane choked out, and then she was back in his arms again, and time crept by as they held one another. "When did you know?" she asked when she could speak again. "That you loved me, I mean?"
"I think I've known for a while," Kurt said as he rubbed Jane's back gently. "I just hadn't admitted it to myself because I didn't think I had a shot with you. I told myself that the best I could hope for was your friendship, that I was lucky to still have that, but then I got that marriage certificate in the mail, and . . ." He shook his head. "My first reaction was . . . joy. I was thrilled that you were mine."
"Really?" Jane was surprised by his admission. "I never would have guessed that. You seemed so upset by it I assumed . . ."
"Yeah, I . . . did not handle that well," Kurt acknowledged. "Ever since I saw you walking down that aisle toward me in your wedding dress, all I could think about was how much I wanted it to be real, and then suddenly it was, but not because we—you—wanted it to be. It felt like just one more choice that was ripped out of your hands, and I was afraid it would make things so awkward between us that I'd never have a shot with you. And then you told Rich that we would never choose to get married for real, and—"
"Because I honestly thought that was how you felt," Jane cut in, feeling her heart sink at the thought of how much that must have hurt him. "We're really going to have to work on talking to one another instead of assuming we know how the other feels, aren't we?"
"We've got the rest of our lives to do that," Kurt agreed, feeling more lighthearted than he had the entire honeymoon. "No more assumptions. From now on, when I want to know how you feel about something, I'll ask you. And speaking of that . . ." He shifted so he could see her face. "When did you know you were in love with me?"
"When I was walking down that aisle toward you," Jane told him. "I mean, deep down, I knew before that, but like you, I hadn't admitted it to myself. I couldn't help getting . . . caught up in the wedding planning, and I had to keep reminding myself that it wasn't real. But then I caught sight of you as I started down the aisle, and the way you were looking at me . . ." She shook her head, laughing a little. "I remember thinking how badly I wanted it to be real, and I just . . . I knew."
Kurt's brow furrowed. "So why . . . why sleep with me if you didn't think I felt the same way?"
Jane cuddled back into him. "When I decided to stay married, I vowed to make you as happy as I could for as long as you'd allow. And I wanted . . . I thought I'd rather make these memories with you even if I was going to have to give you up someday than never know what it was like to . . ." Her voice grew thick with tears, and she trailed off.
"Oh, Jane." Kurt pressed a kiss to the top of her hair. "You're never going to have to give me up. I'm yours till death do us part. And you're mine." He pulled her closer until there was no space left between them, relishing the new openness between them.
They were together, and they were in love, and they were finally on the same page.