Soothing Siblings, Undiluted by Diffidence
Author: ebb in and away
Rating: T (see warning)
Spoilers: Up until now (very few, but the ones that are there are somewhat large).
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Glee.
Warning!: There are some situations in here that might possibly be triggers. If you might possibly have any, please DO NOT READ THIS. I don't want anybody to be hurt or upset. There are mentions of bullying. If you have issues with swearing, you might want to skip this story. If you have problems with two people of the same sex being in a relationship, you may want to skip this story.
Author's Note: So, this chapter gave me some trouble, mainly due to my lack of fashion-related knowledge. However, I was lucky enough to find a dress even better than the one I had originally imagined. The base for Beatrice's dress is at www. lightin thebox ball -gown-sweetheart- floor-length- elastic-woven -satin-evening-dress_ p289125 .html (just take out the spaces), and any changes that I imagined are written out in the story itself. I do want to point out that Beatrice is not wearing the same earrings and necklace shown in the picture of the dress. I don't have any examples, but I can say that the earrings and necklace that Beatrice wears are much simpler and are silver. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
Ch. 27
As it turned out, Rose had been upset about her arranged marriage to Nick. She had informed her parents that, if they made her go through with it, she would elope with the son of the competitor to her family's business. Naturally, Rose's parents called Douglas and Bianca immediately. Both families were relieved to find that the children felt the same way, so they decided to not pay each other for backing out; making the children very happy indeed.
Weeks flew by, all of the friends busier than before, but Nick made certain to bring Beatrice over to Dalton for weekends. Friday evenings were spent together, involving Beatrice watching Warbler practice while doing her homework, eating dinner with their friends, and cuddling late at night, catching up on some much needed sleep as Jeff dozed in his own bed across the room. Soon exams were finished, and they had finally started their winter vacation; much to the relief of the entire group. Wes had started his winter break two weeks before his high school friends did, and he had been helping the Warblers practice so he wasn't bored. He would sit beside Beatrice on the couch and listen to the Warblers as he helped her study. Spending so much time with Beatrice did not cause Wes to lose interest in her, however. Quite the opposite actually. Every moment that Wes spent near Beatrice resulted in his feelings for her growing stronger and, unbeknownst to Wes, Beatrice's feelings for him were growing stronger too.
Nick was cheerfully watching his little sister hang tinsel over any place that she could reach. They had started decorating the house early that morning, the first full day of vacation, and Beatrice hadn't lost any of her energy several hours later. Decorating their house for Christmas tended to take two full days; the first day being dedicated to decorating the inside of the house, the second filled with hanging lights outside and setting up the light show to play with a variety of Christmas songs.
"Little bit, did you hang any tinsel on the stair railing?"
Beatrice went up to the third floor with five colors of tinsel looped around her arm, and Nick started selecting the Christmas carols he would be using for the light show. They had already put up the tree and decorated it, hung a series of wreaths in the front hall, hung the entire family's stockings by the fireplace, and strung tinsel in various rooms. There were several sprigs of mistletoe hung over the doorways of the dining room, living room, and den. As Nick was picking songs for the light show, his cell phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hi Nick, it's Wes."
"Hey, what's up?"
"I was wondering if I could come over to visit today."
"Sorry, we haven't finished decorating yet. Even Jeff isn't allowed to come over until the day after tomorrow, and that's if we can get the light show to function properly tomorrow."
"Alright, can I come over the day after tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Unless the light show gives us problems, but I'll call you if that happens."
"See you then."
"Bye."
As Nick hung up his phone, he wondered if he should let Beatrice know that Wes would be visiting. He decided against it, thinking that it would be a nice surprise for her.
The light show, somewhat surprisingly, went together easily. After five years of having to fight with it each Christmas, Nick and Beatrice were relieved when Nick started the show and none of the bulbs burnt out or flashed at the wrong time. Wes arrived the next afternoon, while Nick and Beatrice were baking cookies.
Ding-dong.
"Beatrice, can you get the door, please? This batch is almost ready."
Beatrice skipped to the front door, feeling rather filled with the spirit of Christmas. She opened the door, and her smile widened into a grin when she saw Wes standing there.
"Hey, Beatrice."
Beatrice leapt into Wes's arms, feeling rather pleased to see him. He laughed as he caught her, swinging her around and holding her tight. Wes set her down after a moment, following her inside.
"Nick-Nick! Wes is here!"
Nick emerged from the kitchen, grinning when he saw the pair of them.
"Hey, Wes. How are you?"
Wes hugged him.
"Good. How are you?"
"Great. Beatrice said she was going to make her kid-friendly eggnog tonight, so I'm in a really good mood."
Wes chuckled.
"May I stay for that?"
Nick looked over at his sister.
"What do you say, Beatrice? Should we let him stay for eggnog?"
Beatrice nodded enthusiastically, letting out a shriek when Wes picked her up and tossed her into the air. Nick was thrilled that Beatrice could bring out Wes's fun side, and that they seemed to truly love each other.
I wonder if they'll wind up dating soon.
"Come on, you guys. Let's go decorate the cookies."
The kitchen was spotless. The cookie sheets and other baking utensils were washed and put away, and Beatrice was perched on Nick's lap as she ate one of the cookies she had decorated. Wes and Nick were each eating a cookie, and the group was talking about the upcoming party to be hosted at Wes's house.
"Mom and Dad are going overboard with decorations. I think we've got five Christmas trees up, not to mention the wreaths."
Wes let his head fall forward and lightly thumped it against the table. Nick chuckled as Beatrice giggled. Wes raised his head.
"How do you guys do it? Every year Mom and Dad wind up arguing over the decorations and the food, the music, everything! By the night of the party, they are exhausted and it ruins the entire party."
Beatrice twisted around to look at her brother.
"Should we help?"
Nick frowned.
"With which part? Their need for caffeine the night of the party, the decorating, or the food?"
Beatrice tilted her head to one side, thinking things through.
"Music and food? That way we can work with Wes and get to work on the food the morning of the party."
Nick looked over at Wes.
"What do you think? It might help your parents relax a little. I mean, they'll have a former Warbler, a current Warbler, and a girl who has attended multiple Warbler practices picking out the music, and two of the four people who made and decorated the cake for the Smythe party working on the food."
Wes stared at the two siblings. After a few moments, Beatrice hesitantly asked, "Wes?" He snapped out of his shock when he heard Beatrice's soft voice, and a smile threatened to take over his entire face.
"Guys, that would be...fantastic. To see Mom and Dad actually enjoying the party for once would mean a lot, I would love it if you could help."
Nick grinned.
"Then it's settled. We're helping."
Wes's mother had broken down and sobbed upon hearing Nick and Beatrice volunteering to help. Wes had muttered to Nick that they should wait in his room, before comforting his mother. Nick had sat on Wes's desk chair while Beatrice flopped down on the bed, both of them having visited Wes before. Wes soon returned, looking rather harried.
"Mom was going to plan more decorations before I talked her out of it."
Beatrice padded over to him, giving him a comforting hug.
"We'll get the music and food done. Things will work out, and your parents will enjoy the party for once."
Nick cleared his throat, and when Beatrice and Wes looked over at him, he was rolling up his shirt sleeves.
"Let's get to work."
Wes and Nick were staring at Beatrice, who was currently darting around the room. They had finished picking out the music after several hours of debate, and had walked into the kitchen to start making cookies, pies, cakes, fudge, and any number of various kinds of desserts. Beatrice and Nick had never seen Wes's kitchen, but Beatrice had taken off upon entering it, exploring it thoroughly. She had become more and more excited as she took in the four ovens, eight burners on the stove, and two gigantic refrigerators with freezers.
"Nick! We could make so much stuff in here!"
Wes was gaping at her, but Nick was laughing as Beatrice started unloading her backpack full of cookbooks. The boys joined her at the counter, and soon the kitchen was filled with the whirring of mixers, the buzzing of various timers, and an assortment of mouthwatering scents that drew Wes's mother and father to the doorway of the kitchen. They watched as the three teenagers worked, Wes stopping Beatrice at one point. When Beatrice turned to see what he wanted, he used his finger to gently wipe a bit of cookie batter off of her cheek. Wes's parents watched as Beatrice blushed and thanked him, and they smiled when Wes gave her a dazzling smile that he usually reserved for people he was incredibly close to. Wes's parents slipped silently away from the room, both considering hanging more mistletoe around the ballroom for the next evening.
It was around ten o'clock at night by the time the friends finished making food. Trays upon trays of varying flavors of cookies were stacked on the counters, three types of fudge were setting in the freezers, and a gigantic cake was decorated to look like a stack of Christmas presents with ribbon twined around it was perched on the counter beside another cake decorated with poinsettias made of icing and adorned with real sprigs of holly. All of the refreshments were prepared, the dinner was ready to be cooked the next morning, and a three-foot-high masterpiece of a gingerbread house was sitting on the countertop beside the trays of cookies. The three friends were exhausted, and Wes invited Nick and Beatrice to spend the night so they wouldn't have to drive home at night. They accepted the invitation, and soon Nick and Beatrice were dressed in borrowed pajamas from Wes. They fell asleep quickly that night, looking forward to the party the next day.
After waking early in the morning, Nick and Beatrice changed back into their clothes from the previous day, gave Wes and his parents instructions for what more needed to be done to the food for dinner, and left. Nick pulled into the garage, exchanging a smile with his sister when they realized that their parents were home. Beatrice burst through the door.
"Mommy! Daddy!"
Their parents came in from the living room, looking happy to see them.
"Hello, sweetheart. Hello, darling."
As Bianca pulled Nick into a hug, Douglas pulled Beatrice into a hug. They traded after a moment, then released their children.
"We're so glad you're home, we have something for each of you."
Douglas held a large box out to Nick, who tore into it.
"Thank you Mom, thank you Dad."
He hugged his parents before returning to his examination of the festive red vest, tie, and handkerchief his parents had given him. Douglas handed a larger box to Beatrice. She carefully unwrapped it, then pulled the lid off.
"Mommy, Daddy...It's beautiful."
Her brown eyes were wide as she gazed at the gown. She carefully set the box down and hugged her parents tight before running a shaking hand over the fabric of the gown. It was a floor length ball gown, a red one with green sheer fabric for sleeves and a strip of green satin around the waist. There were strips of green satin at the bottom of each tier, and Beatrice was fairly certain that she had never seen a more beautiful dress in her life. Nick knelt beside her as she pulled out the red shoes that tied on with green ribbon.
"What do you think, Little bit? Want to wear it to the party?"
Beatrice's wide eyes met Nick's.
"Definitely."
Nick dressed in a white dress shirt, his new red vest and tie, and a black tuxedo jacket and pants. The dress code required for parties hosted by Wes's family could get frustrating, but they made up for it with a more relaxed atmosphere than the parties at Thad's house tended to have. Nick carefully folded his red handkerchief and put it in the breast pocket of his jacket, combed his hair, and went to check on his sister. He found her already wearing her gown, but not her shoes, and she was seated in front of her mirror doing her hair. He stayed in the doorway and watched silently as Beatrice curled her hair carefully, then pulled nearly all of it up into a bun.
"Nick, can you please hold this here while I pin it?"
Nick walked into the room and carefully held the bun in place as Beatrice secured it with bobby pins. There was a curl on either side of her face not gathered into the bun, and she wrapped each of them around the bun, crossing them in the back before pinning them in place.
"Thank you."
"Of course."
Beatrice carefully put her earrings in before picking up her matching necklace.
"Nick, could you...?"
Nick took the necklace from her and fastened it. Beatrice stood, taking care not to harm her dress, then went over to her bed, sitting down and put her shoes on, tying them in place with their green ribbons. Nick held out his hand to her, which she took gratefully, and Beatrice slowly stood. She was slightly unsteady on the high heels, but her parents had gotten shoes with a lower heel than usual, which helped immensely.
"Let's go show Mom and Dad how nicely we clean up."
Beatrice laughed as she grabbed her purse that matched her outfit and had red ballet flats in it, then walked out of the room with her big brother.
Douglas, Bianca, Nick, Beatrice, Jeff, and Jeff's parents were seated in the limousine, and the siblings were staring at Jeff. Jeff was wearing an outfit eerily similar to Nick's, except it was green where Nick's was red. Beatrice finally spoke.
"My brother and almost-brother think way too similarly."
The boys laughed, hugging Beatrice. The limo soon pulled up in front of Wes's house, and the group got out, heading for the warmth of Wes's home. Wes's parents greeted them cheerfully, explaining that Wes was still getting ready to Nick, Jeff, and Beatrice. This struck Nick and Jeff as somewhat odd, but they chose not to say anything in front of Beatrice. They found David, Thad, Trent, Sebastian, Blaine, and Kurt near the staircase, all waiting for Wes to come down. Kurt's eyes widened as he studied Beatrice's outfit.
"I thought you said that she doesn't like skirts!"
Nick had a soft smile on his face as he replied.
"She normally doesn't, but she has to wear dresses to events like these, and she really likes this one."
Wes soon came down the stairs, his face lighting up when he saw his friends. He greeted all of the boys, then turned to Beatrice.
"Beatrice, you look...stunning."
Beatrice's cheeks turned a faint shade of pink at the compliment.
"You look really handsome, Wes."
They hugged, and when they pulled away from each other, Jeff noticed something.
"You match!"
The group looked from Jeff to Wes and Beatrice, then back to Jeff.
"Jeff, I understand that black goes with pretty much anything, but I really don't think..."
Kurt was cut off by Nick's howl of laughter.
"Wes's tie tack! Red and green set in silver!"
The group studied Wes's tie tack and realized that Jeff and Nick were right. As most of the group moved away, Kurt held Blaine back.
"I didn't know that Wes and Beatrice were dating."
"They aren't."
"But why...?"
Blaine cut his boyfriend off with a kiss.
"They have similar thoughts and beliefs about a lot of things, and the result is their clothing sometimes matching like a couple's planned outfit."
They followed the rest of the group around the room, greeting various parents and other guests, all of whom were accepting of the affection that Blaine and Kurt were showing each other. The group of girls that liked to bother Wes formed as the party continued, and Wes was becoming frustrated. He finally pulled Nick, Jeff, and David to the side.
"Nick, Jeff, I'm asking for permission from you guys before I say anything to Beatrice's dad. Would it be alright with you if I dated Beatrice?"
Jeff stayed silent. Nick stared at Wes for a moment, then nodded.
"If Beatrice wishes to date you, then I have no problem with you dating her. However, I have every right to take action if you harm her in any way."
Wes nodded.
"If I harm her, I will inform you immediately and allow you to take whatever actions against me that you wish."
The two boys hugged, and Wes looked at Jeff.
"I get to do whatever I want to you after he's through with you. Other than that, I'm alright with you dating her if she agrees."
Wes hugged Jeff, then David spoke up.
"I get leftovers from them if you hurt her."
Wes nodded.
"Here I go then."
Wes made his way over to Douglas and Bianca, growing more nervous the closer that he got.
"Sir, Madam, I was wondering if you would be willing to speak with me in private for a few minutes."
Douglas and Bianca agreed, following Wes to the empty ballroom.
"Sir, Madam, I believe myself to be in love with your daughter. I find myself smiling more whenever I am near her, and she brings out a side of me that most people never get to see, my more relaxed side. I know that her last boyfriend hurt her, to the point that if she never loved again, I wouldn't blame her. I also know that, in spite of him hurting her, she is still capable of love. With your permission, I would like to have the opportunity to date her."
Bianca smiled at Wes, who smiled back. His smile faded as he took in the calculating expression on Douglas's face. After a long moment, Douglas cleared his throat.
"Wesley, it takes a lot of courage for a young man to approach a young woman's parents in the hopes of gaining permission to date her. Beatrice's first boyfriend was not willing to wait for us to return from a business trip, and he never asked permission when he met us."
Douglas put his hand on Wes's shoulder.
"I'm guessing that you have already talked to Nick about this?"
"Yes, sir. I have been suitably warned about what would happen if I were to harm her in any way. I've gotten the same warnings from Jeff and David. If you were to ask your son, you would learn that I will be more than willing to hand myself over to them if I do harm Beatrice in any way, which I have no wish to do."
Douglas studied Wes for another minute.
"Wesley, you have my permission to date my daughter, but only if my wife and daughter agree."
"Thank you, sir."
They shook hands, and Wes turned to Bianca, who looked slightly teary-eyed.
"May I date your daughter if she agrees to date me?"
"Of course you may!"
Bianca pulled Wes into a hug, which he returned gratefully. The group rejoined the rest of the party, and Wes hurried over to his friends.
"Well?"
The three boys he had talked to earlier were staring at him anxiously.
"I have permission from both Douglas and Bianca to date Beatrice if she agrees to date me."
They pulled him into a hug, then Nick went to get Beatrice away from Trent, Thad, Sebastian, Kurt, and Blaine. Beatrice looked rather confused as to why her brother had come to get her, but her eyes grew wide with understanding when Wes went down on one knee before her.
"Beatrice, I know that we agreed not to date until we were certain that we were both ready, and you have every right to turn me down right now, but I was wondering if you would do me the tremendous honor of being my girlfriend."
Beatrice's eyes filled with tears as she threw herself into Wes's arms.
"Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes."
They clung to each other, breathing in each other's scent and feeling happiness flooding their bodies as they realized what had finally happened: they were finally boyfriend and girlfriend. They pulled apart, joining their hands when Nick, Jeff, and David came over to congratulate them. Jeff then scurried over to the rest of their friends to tell them what had happened. Soon, Wes and Beatrice were surrounded by their close friends, all of whom looked thrilled for them.
Dinner had been eaten, and the guests were chatting, eating desserts, and dancing. Nick took Beatrice to change her shoes before claiming her first dance of the evening. After that, Wes danced with her for two hours; fast dances, slow dances; their bodies moving in sync without having to guess what their partner would do next. They finally were exiting the ballroom when they walked under a sprig of mistletoe. The group of girls who had been irritating Wes for so long tried to bump Beatrice out of the way, but Wes held her tight.
"Only if you're ready."
Beatrice leaned up to him, then nodded. Her eyes fluttered closed as their lips met.
Fireworks. Dazzling fireworks that had to be equivalent in number to a combination of all of the fireworks used in every fireworks show up to that point in time. Beatrice gripped Wes's jacket sleeves as her knees gave out, not wanting to stop feeling the way that she was in that moment.
Wes was experiencing the same fireworks that Beatrice was. While he had kissed other girls before, he had never felt anything quite like this. However, he managed to remember that this was only Beatrice's second kiss, so he pulled away. Beatrice was clinging to his jacket sleeves, and he wrapped his arm around her waist to help her stay upright. Her eyes drifted open slowly, focusing on his.
"Did...did you see...?"
Wes smiled at her.
"Fireworks? Yeah. You?"
Beatrice nodded weakly. The girls who had been such a nuisance in the past looked disappointed, and in a few cases, angry. Wes ignored them.
"Let's go get some punch."
Beatrice beamed at him.
"Let's."
Christmas day arrived, and Beatrice woke up beside Nick, feeling very comfortable in the warm bed. She yawned and stretched, taking care not to wake her brother. Despite the fact that her parents didn't approve of the siblings sharing a bed at their age, they understood that it was a tradition for the brother and sister to wake up beside each other on Christmas morning, when Nick would carry Beatrice down the stairs and into the living room. This morning was much the same, except Beatrice woke up smiling not due to Christmas, but because she was happy to be dating Wes. She waited patiently for Nick to wake up, grinning when his arms wrapped around her. His eyes finally blinked open, and he grinned back.
"Morning, Nick-Nick! Merry Christmas!"
"Morning, Little bit. Merry Christmas. Do you want to go downstairs and eat breakfast?"
"Yeah. Then we can see if Mom and Dad are awake yet."
Nick got out of bed and pulled his sister into his arms. He carefully carried her down the stairs and into the dining room, where they were pleasantly surprised to see their parents sitting at the table drinking coffee.
"Morning Mom, morning, Dad. Merry Christmas."
"Morning, Mommy! Morning, Daddy! Merry Christmas!"
Bianca and Douglas smiled at their children as they greeted them.
"Sit down so we can eat breakfast, sweeties."
Nick sat down with Beatrice on his lap. Bianca brought out a platter of pancakes. The family started eating, feeling rather cheerful. They finished breakfast and wandered out into the living room, Nick carrying Beatrice and sitting down beside her on the floor. Nick and Beatrice had already exchanged gifts with their friends, but they hadn't opened them. The friends had agreed when the boys were in their freshman year that they would exchange gifts early, then open them on Christmas morning. The family tore into their presents. Beatrice was soon wearing her new slippers, and Nick was wearing his new bathrobe over his pajamas. They opened their presents from each other next. Nick was soon sprawled out on his back with an excited Beatrice on top of him.
"Thank you!"
Nick had given her a set of cake decorating bags with a large variety of tips and a book with ideas and instructions.
"Thank you."
Nick was delighted with the collection of records that Beatrice had bought for him, especially since he could finally use the record player he had gotten from his parents for his birthday after the arranged marriage mess. Beatrice climbed off of her brother and they went back to opening presents. Both siblings got a set of colored pencils and a coloring book each from Jeff, which they laughed about. Beatrice finally had only one gift left. As she carefully opened this one, Nick realized who it was from. Wes. There was a DVD inside that had a sticky note attached. 'Play me'. She showed Nick the note, and they got up and put the DVD in the player. By the end of the DVD, Beatrice was crying happy tears. Nick wrapped his arm around her.
"Do you want to go see him tomorrow?"
Beatrice nodded, burying her face in the front of his shirt. Nick picked up the box the DVD and note had come in, and saw something shiny at the bottom of it.
"Little bit, look at this."
Beatrice took the box from her brother and tipped it until something landed in her palm.
"Wes's class ring..." Her voice was filled with awe, and Nick knew exactly why.
Wes had been wearing his class ring the day Beatrice met him, having gotten it early for being on the Warbler council. She had stared at it in wonder after waking up from her nap, taking in the details of the Dalton crest on one side and the Warbler crest on the other. Wes had noticed her curiosity and taken the ring off during practice, letting her hold it and trace the designs and the engraving on the inside of the ring.
Wes had strung his ring on a chain so that Beatrice could wear it around her neck. She guided it over her head and happily traced the contours of the ring.
"Nick?"
"Yeah?"
Beatrice leaned into her brother's side.
"This might be the best Christmas that I've ever experienced."
"Good. I'm glad."
"Merry Christmas, Nick-Nick."
Nick smiled at his little sister.
"Merry Christmas, Little bit."
Beatrice cuddled into her brother's side, and he wrapped an arm around her, both content to just sit in silence while their parents talked about their business and everything they had seen in their travels.