Two Steps Beyond
Part 124
By the time Santana arrived home, she found Nick, Jeff, and Brittany sitting on the couch talking. The three were so caught up in their conversation that it wasn't till Santana sat down next to Nick did they pause. "Welcome home." Nick told her after giving her a kiss. "We were beginning to think Cassie was going to keep you all day."
"It felt like it." She replied as she leaned against Nick. "But I can tell you, she wasn't happy about the long day either. When things go wrong in this world, it's crazy. I've never seen someone wrangle damage control like that."
"Is this one we won't hear of or was it that big that regardless we'll hear about it?" Jeff asked as he glanced at the list Brittany was making.
"I'm pretty sure you're going to hear about it, but I'm pretty sure she's kept the damage to a minimum. Some people are just stupid." Jeff and Nick nodded. "Now, what were all discussing when I came in?"
"Christmas!" Brittany stated as she looked up from her list.
"Alright, what about it?" Santana asked.
"Jeff and I realized that we have a bit of shopping to do." Nick told her.
"What sort of shopping?"
"We need a tree." Jeff stated. "And everything that goes with it."
"I see." Santana said. "Britt, what are you doing?"
"Making a list of everything we need. You know I love Christmas."
"That you do. Guys, you realize what you're getting yourselves into, right?"
"We do." Nick replied. "But Jeff and I love Christmas too. So, we were thinking tomorrow we'd start our shopping."
"That way we'd hopefully have everything we need to start decorating before Thanksgiving when all the craziness really begins." Jeff added. "And looking at Britt's list it's a good thing Blaine left me his car keys because we're going to need both cars.
"Speaking of Blaine, has anyone heard from him and Seb since they arrived beside that tweet of them poolside?" Santana asked.
"We did as we actually called them." Nick told her.
"You guys bothered them on vacation?"
"We did, but they didn't mind. We actually texted them first to make sure we weren't interrupting anything." Jeff told her.
"Alright, how are they then?"
"They're really relaxed and said this was just what they needed." Brittany told her. "And they're going diving tomorrow which is why they're taking it easy today."
"By chance did they say how Blaine's deposition went?" Santana asked.
"No, and we didn't ask." Nick told her. "After everything that's happened they deserve to enjoy this week or so. We can ask them all about it once they've relaxed and are back home."
"Fair enough. May I see your list Britt?" Brittany nodded and handed the tablet to Santana. As she looked it over she glanced at Nick and Jeff. "When do you want to start shopping?"
"We were thinking tomorrow since we weren't sure when you were going to get home today." Jeff replied.
"That works. This is actually a really good list Britt."
"Thanks! Did you see anything I forgot?"
"Not a thing, you've got all the necessities."
"Do you realize that even though it's dark out it's still more than thirty degrees warmer here than when we left New York Bas?" Blaine said as he leaned back against Sebastian's chest.
"I do." Sebastian replied as he set his glass down next to them. "And while I love fall and winter there is something to be said for warm weather." He continued as he wrapped his arms around Blaine.
"And what is that exactly."
"Less clothing." Blaine laughed at Sebastian's answer, but he agreed. Since they'd arrived at the house the two of them had been wearing nothing more than their bathing suits. "Though, I would prefer less."
"What, you want us to be nudists for the next few days?"
"I wouldn't object."
"I know you wouldn't. And it's not a bad idea really. Though, we might have to be careful of our sun exposure. Don't want to get burned."
"No, we wouldn't as that could put a damper on things in more ways than one." Sebastian replied. "And I really wouldn't want to have to try and explain that to my sister."
"Or Cooper." Blaine said while he laughed. "He'd never let us hear the end of it."
"That's very true. So, when would you like to start our lives as nudists?"
"How about some ground rules first?" Blaine asked as he rolled over so that he was now looking at Sebastian.
"Depends on the ground rules?" Sebastian said as he cocked on eyebrow.
"They're simple. No propositioning the other on the balcony upstairs as the view isn't obstructed."
"What about in the evenings since the beach will be barren of people and we have no neighbors?"
"That's negotiable."
"Fair. Next."
"If we go out the front door bottoms need to be worn."
"Anything else?"
"Obviously if we're out in public clothes need to be worn."
"Of course. And?"
"That's it." Blaine replied before kissing Sebastian. "And since we only have a few days, let's get started."
"I love this carefree side of you B."
"I only feel like this around you Bas." Blaine told him before getting off of the lounger they were sharing to remove his swim trunks. "What do you think?"
"Beautiful." As Sebastian replied he removed his as well and tossed them onto the chair with Blaine's.
"You're gorgeous Bas."
"Thank you. Now get that fine ass of yours back on this chair."
While enjoying the clear skies and the sound of the waves crashing nearby, Sebastian grabbed a blanket from nearby and draped it over them. Blaine glanced back at him and smiled before resting his head back on Sebastian's chest. With everything that had been going on, it felt nice to truly just relax. The sound of the ocean, the fresh air, and the lack of sleep ended up having quite the effect on them as they ended up falling asleep out on the chair.
When Sebastian's eyes slowly opened, he at first thought he'd only been asleep for a little while. But that realization was quickly pushed aside since the sun was coming up. Even though he didn't want to bother Blaine who seemed to be sleeping so peacefully, Sebastian needed to stretch. He'd just settled back down when he felt Blaine's head move on his chest. "Bas." Sebastian had to almost strain to hear him with as quiet as his voice was. "What time is it?"
"Go back to sleep B." He replied before wrapping his arms back around him. While he'd woken up, the last thing Sebastian wanted to do was move anytime soon. "I plan to."
"What time is it?" Upon hearing Blaine's question, Sebastian reached for his phone which was sitting on the table.
"It's quarter to seven, though it's more like quarter to eight for us because of the time change." Blaine looked up at Sebastian, and then took in his surroundings. "Before you ask, yes, we fell asleep outside last night."
"Do you want to go in?"
"Not unless you want to, I'm comfortable." Blaine didn't verbally answer; he just curled up closer to Sebastian. "Guess you are too." Sebastian watched the top of Blaine's head move as he nodded. They ended up getting almost two more hours of sleep before the alarm went off. Yet this time around Blaine was the first to wake. After turning if off, he carefully moved on top of Sebastian before leaning down to kiss him.
"Time to get up." Blaine said softly as Sebastian's eyes fluttered open. By the time his eyes were fully open, Blaine was sitting up on Sebastian's lap. "Breakfast?"
"No, but I know something else I want."
"That will have to wait." Blaine replied before getting off Sebastian's lap and the chair. "We have a boat to catch in an hour."
"True." Sebastian said as he sat up. "But fair warning, this feeling isn't going to go away."
"I don't want it to. We're just going to have to wait. So again, breakfast?"
"Sounds great actually, but nothing too heavy."
"Wasn't planning on it." Once Blaine walked into the house Sebastian couldn't help but smile. Their first day of vacation had been absolutely perfect. And the second was a clear continuation of the first.
Since they'd stayed up late watching movies, they clearly weren't getting an early start on their planned shopping that day. So when Nick walked into the kitchen to start the coffee pot he was surprised to not only find it made, but Brittany was in the kitchen making them breakfast. "Morning Nick!"
"Morning Britt." He replied as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "It smells amazing."
"Thanks! Is Santana up yet?"
"She is, but you know her she doesn't like to get out of bed in the morning."
"True. Would you do me a favor?"
"Sure."
"Go tell Jeff and Santana breakfast is just about ready."
"I can do that." Nick didn't have far to go as Jeff was walking towards the kitchen as he was walking out so he headed for his bedroom. "Time to get moving." He said as he sat down on the edge of the bed.
"I don't want too…too comfortable."
"Brittany will be upset if you don't."
"Why and if you say because I'll be delaying Christmas shopping I'll throw something at you?" Santana said as she pulled the blankets up.
"Actually my dear, Britt made breakfast for all of us and it's about ready." Those words peaked Santana's curiosity, so she rolled over and looked at Nick who was taking a sip of his coffee. "I'd hurry since it smells great."
"Britt cooked?"
"She did. She made French toast. And considering it's one of mine and Jeff's favorites I'd get that butt of yours up or else we'll eat it all."
"Is that a threat Duval?"
"No, that is a promise Lopez." That was all it took and Santana was soon sitting up in bed and had taken Nick's coffee cup from him. She'd just finished her sip when Jeff called out that it was done. "See." Santana nodded and lifted the covers off of her and got out of bed. When they reached the kitchen, Jeff and Brittany were already seated at the table. "Should I ask what brought this on?" Nick said as he took a seat.
"I felt we needed a good breakfast so we could be productive shopping." Brittany replied as Jeff passed the platter around the table. "I hope you guys like it." With as amazing as it smelt, all of them hoped it tasted as good.
"Wow, this is really good Britt." Jeff said after swallowing his first bite.
"Thanks. Blaine taught me how to make it."
"Remind me to thank him." Brittany smiled and nodded. "Do we know where we are going first?" Jeff asked as he looked across at Nick.
"Well, according to my Dad we need to check the ceiling height before we do anything. Said the last thing we need is buy too big of a tree and have to take it back. And considering we live in the city, he's right."
"Easily done. Can I just say it's weird that we're going Christmas shopping while Blaine and Seb are on a beach somewhere?"
"You can." Santana agreed. "But I doubt they're complaining. They were both really looking forward to this trip. Plus, they're already ahead of us."
"How's that?" Nick asked.
"They already have a tree and a bunch of decorations that Lexi left there. So they'll only have to get things to add their own touch to things. But neither thinks it'll be much as they both love Lexi's taste."
"Well, knowing Blaine they'll be doing a bit of shopping even if they love everything. I think he loves Christmas almost as much as Britt." Jeff said.
"Remember, Seb's almost as bad. I couldn't believe their dorm last year." Nick added.
"What did they do?" Santana asked.
"They had lights framing the ceiling. All their windows had lights." Jeff said.
"They had a mini-tree, stockings on the door. Though, we all had them on our doors."
"They had all that in their dorm." Santana said.
"They did, it looked really cool." Brittany said. "They let me help them decorate the Warbler common room too."
"That reminds me, I need to have my Mom ship me my ornament." Nick said.
"Me too."
"What ornaments?" Santana asked.
"Last year for Christmas, Blaine and Seb got us all ornaments for Christmas. They have our names on them, plus the Warbler logo. They wanted them to be reminders of how special that year was going to be." Nick told her. "The kicker was they didn't give them to us, they hung them from the tree in the Common room. And before we all left for break they told us all to go in and take a closer look at the tree."
"Mind you, these ornaments had been on there for a couple of weeks. But none of us looked close enough to see all of our names were on them." Jeff added.
"That was sweet of them."
"We all thought the same thing." Nick said. "They had the foresight to realize just how special last year was going to be for all of us. Not just as friends, but for the Warblers as well."
"Speaking of gifts, please tell us the money limit on gifts wasn't put in place because of us." Santana said.
"Nope, it's always been that way." Jeff told her. "With as many of us that exchange, it gets expensive regardless of whom you are. Just beware, Trent is a thrifty shopper and finds all sorts of deals. So you might end up with something that normally cost more but he got an excellent deal."
"Also know, you ladies aren't expected to get gifts for everyone." Nick told them. "Only get gifts for who you want. But if that's everyone, that's fine too. I think you'll be surprised by how creative the guys are though."
"How so?" Brittany asked.
"Let's just say that there have been some homemade gifts in the past that have been pretty cool."
"Like?"
"Know that cool Pilsner glass I have in my room." Jeff said. "The one with my initials frosted on it." Brittany nodded. "Thad made one for each of us two years ago."
"Are you serious?" Santana asked.
"He is." Nick told her. "So as Jeff said, you might be surprised by some of the guys' talents."
"Were you able to get in touch with them?" Artie asked as Tina took a seat at the Lima Bean where, Sam, Mike, and the others were already waiting. After taking a sip of her coffee she looked at all of them.
"I was."
"And?" Sam asked.
"None of them are coming home. Brody's parents are coming to town for Thanksgiving, since Rachel and Brody are going to be here for a week or so during Winter Break. Santana is working during break so she's not coming. And since she's not coming home Brittany's not coming home. But they will both be home during Winter Break during the same time as Rachel is."
"Let me guess, they're boyfriends aren't coming home for Thanksgiving either." Mike said.
"You are correct. I spoke with Santana last night briefly and she said basically everyone is staying put except for Blaine and Seb who went on vacation."
"Wait, so Blaine and Seb are ditching both families?" Artie asked.
"I wouldn't say they are ditching them. They're spending part of their break with Cooper, Lexi, and the kids. But as for parents, yes, they are ditching them. But like the others will be home during Winter Break."
"Did you ask them if they wanted to get together over Winter Break?" Sam asked.
"I did and they said it depends on their schedules according to Santana. It seems they have quite a bit planned while they are home."
"Couldn't we all get together at the Winter Concert and then go out to Breadstix or something?" Artie asked.
"From what I got from Rachel and Santana spending anytime at McKinley isn't high on their priorities."
"But I bet they'll spend time at Dalton." Finn said as he sat down.
"I'm sure they will." Tina told him. "Both Rachel and Santana are pretty pissed still about the way Brittany was treated last year. When I mentioned to Rachel that Mr. Schue wanted us to come by she practically laughed. The same could be said for Santana."
"What happened to piss them off?" Mike asked.
"Uh, Mr. Schue forbid Britt from seeing Jeff or the Warblers before Regionals. Basically she was told to stay in the rehearsal room while everyone else could leave and wander around." Artie told him. "Then Rachel came in with Brody and she tried to take Britt out of the room and we told her what was going on."
"That couldn't have gone over well." Mike said.
"It didn't." Tina said. "Rachel laid into Mr. Schue pretty bad and then walked out of the room with Brittany. And when Britt came back it was clear she saw Jeff and the guys because she couldn't stop smiling."
"Why didn't you guys say anything?"
"We wanted too, but…Mr. Schue was already stressed and we didn't want to add to it." Sam said. "Trust us, we know it was wrong."
"That must've been a long bus ride home." Finn said. "I'm sure Brittany wasn't happy."
"Oh, Britt was happy since she left with the Warblers." Artie told him. "Britt's parents were there and told Mr. Schue it was fine with them that Britt left with the Warblers. Honestly, I don't blame any of them for not wanting to be around, especially Brittany and Santana." As he said this last part Artie looked directly at Finn.
"Yea, I know I messed up, but I apologized. And we've all cleared the air. Obviously I was wrong because well, Britt's still with Jeff and Santana and Nick became official."
"Don't forget Britt lives with Jeff and Nick as does Santana when she's in the city which is every weekend." Tina added. "And judging from the pictures they periodically post, are extremely happy."
"I've noticed that too." Finn said. "And I'm happy for them both."
"Is Kurt coming home?" Sam asked.
"Not for Thanksgiving but he might be home for Christmas this year."
"Great, so we could have all of them in town at once." Artie said with a sigh. "Maybe it's a good idea that they might not stop by McKinley."
"What do you mean?" Mike asked.
"You really didn't keep up with everything, did you? Oh, Kurt didn't only piss off Blaine and Seb. He basically pissed off everyone." Artie told him.
"Artie is right, Rachel even moved out of their place and in with Brody." Finn added. "According to Burt, Rachel was sick of all the crap that was going on. And things got nasty the day she moved out because all of them were there."
"What do you mean by all of them?" Sam asked.
"Brody, Blaine, Sebastian, Nick, Jeff, Santana, Britt, and one of their friends that Burt didn't know."
"That's a grouping that's just asking for trouble when it comes to Kurt." Artie said.
"It basically was. Kurt got into it with all of them."
"Please tell us he's given up hope of ever getting back together with Blaine." Tina said.
"He has. He's finally come to the realization that Blaine is happy with Sebastian."
"Took him long enough." Artie said with a laugh.
"Agreed." Finn told him. "Too bad he had to lose so much before it happened."