Disclaimer: I don't own the show or the characters, and I never - sadly - will.
"Where are we?" Kris asked as she stumbled once again on the uneven ground, the tip of her boot catching a big rock. She felt his hands grip tighter at her waist as he held her steady while she tried to regain her balance; she could hear him chuckling softly behind her. What a smart aleck; he wouldn't be laughing if the situation was turned around.
"Almost there, I promise," he said for what felt like the hundredth time. It was getting to the point where she didn't quite believe him anymore.
"Almost where?" she probed, but she knew he wasn't going to spill. He'd been excited about the prospect of surprising her all morning, and she doubted he was going to give it up now. Especially since she'd already asked him several times.
A sudden gust of wind threatened to knock her off her feet, but he was finally guiding her down. Sliding around her - his hands never breaking contact with her shirt as he moved to stand in front of her - he applied a small pressure to her sides to let her know he wanted her to sit down. Reaching out blindly beneath her, her hands moved back and forth as she slowly lowered herself down until she felt the rough surface of a rock beneath her. A rock. How romantic, she smirked to herself as she finally relieved her weight from her legs and sat on the rock.
She could hear him moving and sitting down next to her. She let out a small squeak of surprise as he suddenly lifted up her left leg and pulled it across her body, almost knocking her off the rock as he turned her. "Junior!" she complained in shock as she felt herself losing balance for what had to be the tenth time that morning. She knew he wasn't going to let her fall off the rock, but the sudden movement startled her.
He laughed as her leg slid over the rock, her thigh pressing against his as he lifted her up to settle her down on his lap. The grin on her face widened as he reached behind her and expertly untied the knot in the bandana and let it slide gracefully from her eyes. She waited a moment for her eyes to adjust to the light, but after a moment she realized there wasn't any light.
"What time is it?" she asked, the darkness completely surrounding them. Resting her hands on his shoulders to support herself, she readjusted herself on his lap until she was sitting a little more comfortably. As she moved, she could feel his belt clip catch on the bottom of her sweater. Reaching down, not being able to see much of anything, she managed to pluck the material off of the tiny metal rod.
"Getting frisky already?" he asked as he felt her hands at his belt.
"Ha," she mock laughed, her hands reaching up to shove him lightly. He rested his hands on the small of her back and pulled her closer to him, until he could feel the fabric of her sweater brush against his t-shirt. "Seriously," she murmured as she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck, "though, what time is it?"
"Judging by how freakishly slow you walk," he laughed as he felt her flick the nape of his neck, "I'd have to say it's probably around three."
"And this couldn't have waited until around six or seven? When, you know, I could actually see it?" she asked.
"Well, seeing it would kind of defeat the purpose."
Kris's eyebrows knitted in confusion as she studied Junior's face. She tried to look around her, but all she could see was pitch black darkness. "God," she muttered as he bent forward and down to pick something up off the ground, pushing her backwards and down towards along with him. "Are you trying to rearrange my spine? Is that the surprise?"
He quickly sat back up, ending her sarcastic comments. She heard a soft click and then she could see his face clearly illuminated in front of her in a soft, yellow glow. "Hey," he whispered before clicking the flashlight off again. "Can I sit down?"
Recognition immediately showed on her face as she started to smile. "Junior..."
"That's the smile I love," he told her softly. "That smile that spreads from one side of your face to the other." He reached up and brushed her hair behind her ear, his fingers dancing across her skin and resting on the edge of her lip. "I don't just watch," he said, a grin of his own forming, "I see." He paused for a moment. "I see you."
"Maybe," she whispered, leaning forward and brushing her lips softly against his, her fingers giving a playful little tug on the hairs on the back of his head. "But we're alone in the woods in the dark." She repeated the words as if she'd only said them to him yesterday. And in her mind, sitting here with him now, it felt as if it had been yesterday. "You eyes play tricks on you."
Junior shook his head slowly, and it was amazing to Kris how their relationship had come full circle. She remembered that day all too well in her mind. The panic she'd felt about losing Wildfire, the pain and sorrow she'd felt when they'd found Houdini. She remembered sun tanning on her back while the rest swam in the hot spring and the secrets they'd all shared together. And she certainly remembered this rock and that night.
So much had happened in their lives since then, and so many things had changed. But being back here with him now made her feel like nothing had happened at all. And as she leaned in to meet his lips with hers, she didn't feel like Kris Davis, wife of Junior Davis, daughter-in-law of the Ken Davis, successful jockey extraordinaire. She felt like Kris Furillo, fresh out of juvenile hall and looking to turn around her life.
"I love you, Junior Davis," she whispered against his lips. And when she felt his lips curve into a smirk, her lips turned into one as well. "I love you so much.
"But if I hear a mountain lion roar, I swear to God that I'm going to kill you."
"No worries, I cleared our little rendevous with them before I brought you out here. You're safe." She half rolled her eyes as he slid his hands up the back of her tank top, his fingertips icy against her skin. "Now, if you don't mind," he leaned forward and kissed the corner of her mouth, "I have another," his lips left a warm trail across her check, "memory of ours," until they reached her jaw line, "that I would also like to recall."
"Is that so?" she asked, her breath catching slightly in her throat as he found a spot on the nape of her neck that he enjoyed. He nodded against her neck, the hair on the top of his head tickling her chin. Lifting his legs up, he turned ninety degrees until he was straddling the rock. As one of his hands moved to slid across her stomach, he carefully leaned against her, pushing her down against the rock.
"I don't know if you recall," he whispered, his lips pressed against her ear. His words froze on his lips for a moment as he felt a shiver run through her body, straight from her head to her toes. God, he loved how he still had that affect on her. "A certain little something-something in a beat up old trailer..."
As if she could forget that. It was one of the moments that she'd burned into her memories forever; she'd made sure of that. "Yeah," she responded, turning her head to the side so that she could catch his lips with hers. "But not here. There's a big rock under my back."
Pulling his hand out from under her shirt, he pressed it against the rock and lifted himself back up into a sitting position, pulling her up with him. "Hmm... my memory must be faulty. I was sure that you said that before we got to the trailer."
"As much as I have enjoyed this surprise," she told him, her hands unwrapping from his neck and sliding down his chest, "I think that that particular memory would be better relived back at the house. In that nice, comfortable, king sized bed." She gathered her hands into loose fists, collecting handfuls of his t-shirt and using them to draw him in closer. "Don't you agree?" She brushed her nose against his before kissing him softly.
"Becoming a Davis has completely spoiled you, I'm afraid," he told her, shaking his head and letting out a sigh.
"What can I say, the charmed life just suits me well." She pulled him even closer and pressed her lips against his ear, "I promise I'll make it worth your wait."
"You'd better hold up your end of the bargain, Mrs. Davis," he warned her.
She playfully bit his earlobe. "Just take me home, Mr. Davis, and I promise that you'll want to lay in bed all day remembering it."
She didn't have to tell him twice.