Two Hearts Beat As One: Chapter 7
It was approaching Hallowe'en, and the Schuester household became a beehive of activities during this time of the year. For one thing, they had to decorate the house and Will wanted to go all out about it. They also had to organize the candy they bought for trick-or-treaters into individual small paper packets, an old habit of Emma's. Will allowed her her quirks, even when she insisted that they pack the candy using plastic gloves, because he still thought they made the cutest sound he's heard in his life. She was still freaked out by having candy which others have touched, and she didn't want it to happen to the children. He thought that was reasonable, so he helped her willingly with the monumental task.
For another thing, Will's birthday was approaching, too, on the eve of Hallowe'en. They decided to have a small dinner party with Will's parents and a couple of close friends.
"So, no presents this year for me. We've agreed the babies come first," Will said as they sat by the dinner table, small mountains of candy piled up on its surface.
"Don't you think that's unfair, Will? I mean, you gave me that ladybug brooch on my birthday last July," huffed a heavily pregnant Emma.
"That was an exception, because I bought it for you for our anniversary, not for your birthday. The realization that we were having twins made me change the present I gave you, remember the second ladybug onesie? I rest my case, it doesn't count as a birthday present," he said slyly.
"You do realize that I'm not buying that," she told him. "Besides, I think you'll really like my present. And, what is it with you and ladybugs?"
"Ladybugs remind me of you, my cleany bug. Oooh, what is it, what's my present?" he said excitedly despite what he just said earlier.
Emma rolled her eyes, but she was clearly pleased with the cleany bug comment. "I thought you said no presents for you this year? I was about to get you one, but now, I'm not so sure," she teased him.
He gave her a sad look with his puppy dog eyes, which she found to be very endearing.
"I think one little present is okay," he relented.
"We'll see," she said, getting up, and giving him a kiss. "You know I can't resist your puppy dog eyes!"
xxxxx
On his birthday, Will sat by the couch in the living room, showered and all dressed up in a pale orange dress shirt and matching dark pants and vest. He surveyed the room, feeling content with the work both he and Emma have put out for the past three days. Fake cobwebs hung from the ceiling corners of every room on the first level of their home, some with multicolored spiders on them. On the door, a stick-on likeness of a witch made it appear that she crashed on it while flying her broomstick. The bannister of the staircase was covered in more cobwebs and pictures of black cats with shining yellow eyes. The ceiling in the hallway leading to the kitchen were hung with little ghosts and ghouls. Hallowe'en had always been his favorite holiday, and he was surprised when he discovered that Emma loved it, too, when they started dating officially after all the drama they went through.
"Em," he called out to her. "Come over here and sit with me on the couch. You need to rest. Everything's been ready for an hour."
She emerged from the kitchen, wearing an orange ensemble for the occasion, matching with Will yet again. "I was just checking on your pumpkin pie. I wanted to make sure it's setting properly." Will always had pumpkin pie on his birthday since he and Emma dated, and it had been a little tradition of theirs ever since then. He never had a birthday cake anymore because who needs a birthday cake when your girlfriend, now wife, could make the best pumpkin pie in the state.
"We don't want you to go into labor now," he said seriously, reaching out for her when she sat beside him on the couch. "How are my baby boy and girl? Did Mommy tire you out, babies?" he cooed at her belly, kissing it twice and rubbing it affectionately.
"Oh, Will," she gave him a kiss on the cheek when he returned to her eye level. "I'm fine, the babies are fine. They are going to be really good footballers, with the way they have been kicking inside me. Stop worrying about us, okay? It's your birthday, relax! So, do you think our guests will like the decorations?"
"They better," he said smiling and giving her a peck on the lips. "We've worked hard putting them all up. Do you think we have enough candy for tomorrow?" He gestured over the big black cauldron over by the door which was filled to the brim with candy.
"I think we have more than enough," she laughed.
"We still have half an hour to kill before our guests arrive. What should we do?" he asked suggestively.
"What are you playing at?" she said slowly, suddenly suspicious.
"Nothing!" he said, shaking his head. "I was just going to suggest that I could open my present now."
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Will, I didn't get you anything," she said seriously. "Would a kiss suffice? I was so busy with the decorating and planning your birthday dinner menu that I actually forgot to buy your present."
"Really? I thought you were going to get me a little present," he fake pouted.
"Well, in my defense, technically, I told you I might get you one."
"I'll take that kiss, then," he said, already leaning towards her.
They kissed on the couch like a couple of teenagers, giggling into their kisses until the doorbell rang, signalling the arrival of their first guest.
"I'll get it," said Will, giving Emma a final kiss.
Will opened the door to find no other than April Rhodes, a big wide grin on her face.
"Well, hello there, Will Schuester, piping hot as always! Happy birthday!" she greeted.
"April! I'm glad you came! Come in, come in," he said after receiving a big hug from her.
"Hello, April," said Emma, standing beside the living room couch.
"Hi, Emma! It was nice of you to invite me to Will's birthday," she said in a suddenly formal way. "I brought you something," she said, holding out a dark green bottle.
They had run into each other the other day at the grocery store while Emma bought some more candy for Hallowe'en, Peanut M&M's, Will's favorite. Will had a mini-meltdown when he found out she'd gone alone to the store, but when he calmed down, he was glad that she invited April. April was now based in New York, on Broadway, but she was currently visiting family.
"Emma can't have wine right now, April. I think you know why not," Will beamed at Emma.
"Relax, Will, it's sparkling apple cider," April informed him.
They sat in the living room while April recounted her adventures on Broadway. Emma noted how entertaining April was, especially when she was sober, which was the case right now. April had confessed that she was kicking her habit of drinking. It wasn't fun to mess up lines in the middle of a play or to stumble on stage during a live performance. She had learned her lesson the hard way.
The other guests arrived roughly five minutes apart. The dinner party consisted of Will and Emma, April, Will's parents, and a dear friend to them both, Shannon Beiste. Dinner was an enjoyable affair, April providing mostly the entertainment for the evening. Shannon, who never met her before, was quite engrossed at her stories and her antics. Will's parents graciously listened to everything, putting in a few comments on the side. Secretly, Will was thankful that no alcohol was served during the night, heaven knows his mother could be quite a spectacle herself when she had had a couple of glasses of wine. Luckily, everyone was on their best behavior that night.
Emma observed Will across the dinner table. He couldn't have picked friends who were complete opposites as Shannon and April. But he looks so happy.She was glad she invited both ladies over. He caught her staring at him and gave her a smile and a wink.
When it was time for dessert, Will's mother insisted that they sing Happy Birthday to him. Will felt a bit embarrassed by it and blushed a little, which Emma found cute. She brought out his pumpkin pie, with a little candle stuck in the middle of it.
As April's last high note died down, Emma said softly, "Make a wish, Will."
He looked at her face, then stole a glance at her belly before looking back into her eyes, smiling. "I already got most of my wishes this year, but I need to make one more." He glanced at everyone around the room before returning his gaze significantly at Emma. He then closed his eyes, made a wish, and blew out the candle. Everyone had a piece of the pie, which all agreed was the best they had, before the guests left. That made Emma blush but beam with happiness. Will's parent's had given them both big hugs and kisses before leaving.
"We're going to need to discuss that baby shower at some point, Emma. It has to be at our house," said Doodle Schuester to her daughter-in-law.
"Okay, Mom. You can call me anytime," Emma said, grinning.
"Happy birthday, son! I'm sorry we didn't give you any presents today. We'll make it up to you with the baby shower," said Will's Dad.
"It's fine, Dad. Good night!" Will said.
They waved goodbye to his parents at the front porch and went back inside.
xxxxx
"Are you going to give me my present now?" Will asked while they cuddled in bed that night after the kitchen had been cleaned up.
"I'm giving it to you now," she said, hugging his chest tighter.
"Oh, you mean the cuddles? So, you really didn't get me anything?"
"No. I'm sorry. I'll give you another kiss to make up for it. Is that okay?" she asked apologetically.
"It's cool." He smiled at her before turning off the bedside lamp.
"Happy birthday, Will!" Emma greeted him before kissing him slowly and sweetly.
He smiled into her kiss, content with his birthday present. He got bonus kisses from her after the first one, but both succumbed to sleep after a short while, tired out from all the preparations they made that day.
xxxxx
On Hallowe'en morning they both slept in. When they woke up at ten, they carved their pumpkins into simple jack-o-lanterns, none of them like the one Sue used to have in her office years ago. The day went on in an unexceptional manner after that. By six o'clock, they got ready for the trick-or-treaters.
Emma had pressed him two weeks ago that they dress up as characters from The Sound of Music, so it turned out that their costumes were patterned after Captain von Trapp's and Maria's. Emma loved her light blue dress with flower patterns, which was more billowy than the original owing to the fact that it had to accommodate her baby bump. Will was dressed in a dark blue suit, which he didn't consider as a particularly impressive costume, but he humored her, as he always did. She even fussed over his pocket square, insisting on folding it herself and putting it in the breast pocket of his suit.
At 7 pm, the children began arriving. Will and Emma smiled and made small talk while they handed out the candy by their front porch, the jack-o-lanterns lighting up everything with a warm orange glow. They had dinner by the living room, much nearer to the porch where they had candy-giving duties. More than once, the children commented on their costumes, saying they weren't at all scary and asking what characters they were based from.
"We're dressed as the Captain and Maria from The Sound of Music," Will explained to a precocious seven-year old with curly red hair who was dressed as a fairy. "You should watch it with your Mommy sometime, it was my favorite musical when I was around your age. It got me into singing."
Emma smiled happily at the scene. Will was going to be a wonderful father, he was great with kids. They waved the little fairy along her way after giving her candy. Emma leaned over to Will and kissed him on the cheek.
Noticing that more children were coming, he smiled and said, "Why don't you go sit down for a while I man the fort?"
"I'm only taking your offer because my feet are killing me right now." She went to the living room where she elevated her slightly swollen feet.
She joined him after some minutes, and before they knew it, it was ten o'clock and they were almost wiped out of candy. Luckily, only a few stragglers came, and by eleven, it had been 30 minutes since no one came by the door.
"I think it's time to close shop," Will said contentedly, putting his arm around her shoulder as they sat on the couch.
"Yeah. But are you ready for something else?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Look inside your breast pocket," she said eagerly.
He looked at her quizzically before getting his pocket square out. He unfolded it and found a surprise.
"Two tickets to a midnight showing of The Sound of Music!" he smiled brightly at her. "You planned it all along!"
"I would be honored if you would be my plus one," she said.
"I would love to be your plus one," he said as he kissed her forehead.
"Do you like your present?" She returned his bright smile. "It was either that or Rocky Horror, but I wanted to be less adventurous this time since I don't want the babies to get hit by flying toast."
"It's brilliant!" he said, giving her a kiss on the lips this time. "And we're already dressed for the show."
"I just need to get something from the bedroom. Do you need anything?" she asked.
"No, I'll use the downstairs bathroom to freshen up. Be careful on the stairs!" he bellowed after her.
xxxxx
The midnight showing of The Sound of Music was a perfect end to their evening. They both enjoyed the show as it was their favorite when they were children. Some parts still made Emma cry, and during those times, Will would gallantly offer her his pocket square.
When they were dressed in their nightclothes after a very long day, Emma had a final surprise for Will. She handed him a small wrapped package.
"I got you a present after all," she said, winking.
"What, another present? You seem to be spoiling me," he said happily, carefully removing the wrapping paper.
What he unwrapped was a boatswain pipe.
"I know your grandpa gave you one when you were eight before he passed away, but you lost it. Your Mom told me the story of how you cried for days about it and wouldn't let her and your dad buy you a replacement. I figured it went well with what I planned as your belated birthday present," she said shyly, "I hope you like it."
"I love it. And I love you," he said quietly, hugging her to him. "Maybe I should invent some calls so that I can summon our children with this whistle someday," he said jokingly.
"William James Schuester, I refuse to allow you to call our children with a whistle," she exclaimed, a bit affronted.
"Just kidding!" he said as they slipped under the covers.
When the lights had been turned off and they were drifting to sleep, Will heard Emma whisper on his chest, "I love you, too." He hugged her tighter to him and they fell asleep in each other's arms.
AN: I didn't intend for this chapter to go this in direction, but The Sound of Music just wouldn't leave my thoughts! xD I hope you will still continue to read this story. Please review! :)