Epilogue
"Greek hospitality is still not a myth. If I had accepted all those ouzo shots they offered, I would have passed out every night."
He laughed, probably at the mental image, and she laughed along.
"So that's why you declined my offer to drink today." He raised his glass of scotch in her direction.
"Sorry." She smiled, raising an imaginary glass in return, making him grin.
"It's good to have you back. Both of you."
"It's good to be back," she agreed, even though two days ago, at the airport, she had thought the complete opposite.
She wouldn't have minded staying at least another week, eating more souvlaki, watching the sun rise over the sea, taking barefoot walks in the sand, hand in hand with the man she loved.
"I think someone's here to see you." He motioned toward the entrance of his office.
"Nana!" the little girl squealed, breaking free from her grandpa's hand and racing into her grandma's open arms.
"Sweetheart." Diane wrapped her in a tight hug and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "I missed you so much."
"I missed you too." The four-year-old clung to her until they heard Will's voice.
"Hello, Princess Maggie."
She looked at Diane, who whispered a silent "Go" to encourage her.
"Uncle Will!" Maggie ran to Will, who scooped her into his arms and lifted her, making the girl giggle with happiness.
Diane walked over to Kurt and gave him a peck on the lips. He placed an arm around the small of her back, and together they watched their granddaughter with quiet admiration. She was wearing a red-and-white dress Diane had bought her. Will was right, she did look like a princess with her long, light brown hair framing her face and big blue eyes that could look at Diane in a way that made it impossible for her to say no to anything she asked for.
"It suits him," Diane whispered to Kurt.
"Definitely."
"Are you whispering about me?" Will asked.
"It's our secret," Diane met her partner's gaze with a grin.
"Mommy says whispering when other people are around is bad," Maggie noted.
"See? Someone has manners around here," Will lifted the girl proudly, giving Diane a teasing glance.
"What does that mean?"
"It means that you are a smart girl," Will said, placing the tip of his index finger on her nose.
"Thank you. You are really smart too," she giggled again, hugging his neck.
"I'm afraid we have to go. We have a show to catch," Kurt reminded them.
"We are going to see a puppet show!" Maggie shared excitedly.
"That sounds like a lot of fun," Will noted.
"Do you wanna come with us?" Maggie invited him along.
"Maybe another time. Someone has to work too, you know."
Diane rolled her eyes playfully, then mouthed a silent "Thank you".
Will kissed Maggie's cheek, then handed her to Kurt, and the girl hugged her grandpa's neck.
"Did you have a chance to take a look at the Davis-case?"
Diane rolled her eyes again at Will's question.
"Yes, I'm up to speed," Kurt assured him.
"We'll have a meeting in the conference room tomorrow at nine."
"Sure thing, boss," Kurt answered jokingly.
"Have fun, and see you both tomorrow."
o-o-o
"I'm exhausted." She landed on the couch with a sigh, looking around the almost empty room at the light of the candle they'd lit to substitute for the laps they hadn't unpacked yet.
"Me too." He plopped down next to her and poured champagne into both flutes.
"But we did it," she declared, taking a glass
"We did. To new beginnings." He raised his glass.
"To new beginnings."
They clinked their glasses. Taking only a small sip of her drink, Diane placed it on the coffee table. She was even too tired to drink, but toasting to their new life that began today was important. Kurt drained his flute and placed the empty glass next to her still-full one.
She leaned with her back against him, and as he wrapped his arms around her, she got comfortable in his warm embrace.
"You still have doubts?" he inquired.
"No," she replied without hesitation. "You?"
"No." He kissed her temple, making her smile. "I'm looking forward to our life together."
"Living and working together."
She squeezed his hand and entwined their fingers.
"As long as I don't need to address you as 'boss'," he joked, and their chuckles broke the mood, but only for a few seconds.
"We have always been a good team professionally."
She was aware this would be a different dynamic than before, and she wasn't sure exactly how it would work, but spending more time together was why they had both agreed to it.
"We have. But if it doesn't work out, we will find another way."
"We will."
She liked that it was a compromise where neither of them had to make big sacrifices. Still, it required a commitment from Kurt that she hadn't been sure he wouldn't regret after a while.
"Because this–us–finally, living together again, in a home we've chosen together … this is it."
"It?" she asked, even though she suspected what he meant.
"Our only second chance at happiness, and we won't let anything jeopardize it."
"We won't."
She looked at their entwined fingers, their wedding bands sparkling together in the flickering candlelight.
They had made a decision to tie their lives together again and wear the symbols of their love every day from then on. No one had declared them husband and wife, and they hadn't signed a paper to seal their oath. The two of them had simply chosen to put their wedding rings back on, to call each other husband and wife again, for as long as they both shall live, and beyond.
o-o-o
Maggie didn't need to hear her grandma read or sing to her that night. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, worn out by the excitement of the day.
Diane covered her with the blanket, placed a soft kiss on her forehead, and tiptoed out of the room with a smile.
Kurt was on the phone when she entered the kitchen.
"Your mom just put her to sleep… Yeah, we'll be there… Good night." He placed his cell on the counter and approached her. "That was fast."
"She was so tired. We might not be able to wake her tomorrow morning."
"I wouldn't worry about that. She will be jumping on our bed earlier than our alarm goes off."
She chuckled at the not-so-pleasant memory of Maggie doing it once or twice before.
"We'd better try to get enough sleep before then."
"Are you sure you really meant 'sleep'?" he asked, but she let it slide.
"What did Liam say?"
"Eryn's organizing a cocktail party at their firm, and she invited us."
"And you said yes to a party willingly?"
Who was he, and what had he done to her husband?
"Any chance to dance with my wife," he explained with a proud smile.
It had been her idea for them to sign up for dance classes together. At first, he'd needed quite a bit of convincing, but to her delight, he'd embraced it with more enthusiasm than she'd ever expected.
"You have a wife I don't know about?" she teased.
"Just the one," he said, folding his arms around her waist.
"No one danced syrtaki the way you did, hon," she reminded him, smiling at the memory of them dancing on the boat after dinner, as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I hope that was a compliment."
"It definitely was."
"So you really want to go to sleep?"
"Do you have something else on your mind?" She played along, enjoying his closeness.
"I'll tell you in the shower," he whispered in her ear, and her chuckle was silenced by his lips on hers.
o-o-o
One hand on his shoulder, the other in his, her face resting against his tuxedo jacket, they swayed to the slow rhythm of the song.
"They look happy," she noted, eyeing the newly weds dancing close to them.
She saw themselves in Eryn and Liam, and truly wished they would be luckier. That not only their love but also their happiness would stand the test of time and the difficulties of life.
"And you look beautiful."
She heard him say, and she peered up to meet his smile.
"And you look very handsome."
Seeing him in a tuxedo reminded her of their own wedding day many moons ago. It had been nothing like this fancy event –just a small gathering– but Kurt was just as handsome now as he had been back then.
"I feel like the luckiest guy in this room," he whispered, making her chuckle.
"Our son might disagree with you on that."
Her gaze returned to the other couple, and she observed how Eryn's father approached them to ask his daughter to dance.
"Okay, I'll take second place, but just for tonight."
Kurt placed a kiss on her cheek, and she got lost in his gaze for a few seconds until someone touched her shoulder.
"Mind if I cut in?"
She smiled at her son and let go of Kurt's hand. He hugged Liam before walking to his seat, his eyes finding their way back to them as soon as he sat down.
"Thank you for everything you've done to make this day happen for us, mom," Liam said as they began moving together to the music.
"It was my pleasure, darling. It makes it all worth it, seeing you two so happy. And Maggie was the most adorable flower girl."
Diane thought it had been a smart idea from the new parents to wait with their wedding until their daughter was old enough to participate. She was still too young to remember this day, but the recordings would serve as her memory.
"You two looked perfect in your matching purple dresses, walking down the aisle with her in your arms."
She appreciated the compliment, but even more so the honor of playing such a special role in their wedding ceremony.
"She's already a joy to dress."
"Eryn still hasn't decided if we should bring her with us to our honeymoon," Liam revealed.
"I understand her hesitation, but if you decide to leave her here, your father and I would be happy to look after her."
She loved spending time with her granddaughter and felt a special connection to her ever since she'd been born.
"I know. We appreciate all the help."
"It's our pleasure," she smiled, grateful they didn't need therapy anymore to make their relationship work. "Do you realize this is actually our first dance together?"
"I know, I was nervous about it, but dad gave me some tips."
Diane glanced at Kurt, who was watching them, and they shared a smile.
"You are doing great," she squeezed his shoulder.
When the song ended she hugged Liam and walked to Kurt, whose eyes never left her.
"Maybe it's time we retire to our room and leave the dancefloor to the young ones," he suggested, sharing a plan he might have been forming over the last few minutes.
"What are you talking about? We could go all night," she teased, not doubting he agreed.
"I may have other plans for us," he breathed into her ear, making her feel warm at once.
"Care to share?" she challenged him, her voice low as she brushed her lips against his ear.
"I'd rather show you," he whispered, offering his hand, which she eagerly took.
"Then let's get out of here."
o-o-o
Leaving Maggie at the nursery school the next morning was harder than expected, but they reassured her with promises of more time together over the weekend, and another puppet show very soon. Diane was already looking forward to taking her to different performances in a few years.
Running a little late, Kurt pulled into their parking space in the office building's garage, and they hurried to the elevator.
Nearly four years had passed since he'd signed the contract with Lockhart/Gardner as their part-time in-house ballistics advisor. He consulted on firearms-related criminal and civil cases, supervised hired experts, and prepared them for testimony. His non-exclusive contract allowed him to take outside work, provided there was no conflict of interest.
There had never been a need to find another arrangement, because this one simply worked. They often arrived and left the firm together, and even when they didn't work on the same cases, they found ways to spend time together during the day.
This whole setup had been Will's idea, and they were both grateful to him for helping them with his out-of-the box thinking.
As the elevator reached the 20th floor, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his, lingering until the doors slid open on the 28th.
"My office. 12:30?" she asked as they stepped out.
"I'll bring lunch," he promised.
She flashed him a smile and walked briskly to her office, where her first appointment was already waiting.
THE END
A/N:
This is the end of a story that's very dear to my heart. I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into their future. I have to admit, figuring out their work-life balance gave me the biggest headache.
On TGF, Kurt had different jobs. I have written several versions of their balance in my fics and read even more versions from other writers. I didn't want to repeat myself, or copy something, so I came up with a new idea. I hope it makes some sense. And if it doesn't, well, I tried.
Thank you to everyone who followed this story at one point or another.
I've recently moved to AO3, so my new stories can be found there, and more will follow.