Forever Has to Start Somewhere
Chapter 20: Christmas Break I
"Alright," Brody declared as he walked towards Jesse. He held coffee cups in both of his hands while a plastic bag hung off his forearm. "I grabbed us both some gas station coffee. I also got myself some gummy worms and you a packet of Mike and Ike's."
"Much appreciated," Jesse answered. He was standing by the pump, watching the number climb to the amount he'd prepaid. He reached out a hand, taking the cup Brody held out for him. He took a quick sip, letting out a soft moan at the way the warmth spread through his body, before saying, "So I figured I'd drive the rest of Pennsylvania. We can switch off right before the border and you can drive us into Lima. Then I won't be so exhausted when I head over to Rachel's."
Brody raised an eyebrow as he took a sip of his own coffee. "You're going to Rachel's tonight? We won't get there until seven and that's assuming we don't hit traffic."
"I want to see her," Jesse said with a shrug. "I'm only going to be there for an hour or two anyway. Her dads have been pretty cool with us staying at each others houses. I don't want to ruin it by making it seem like my top priority upon getting into town was getting their daughter into bed."
"Very responsible of you." The conversation was halted by the loud click of the gas pump as it reached the limit. As Jesse set the handle back on the pump, Brody said, "Hey, I know I already said this but thanks for letting me come with you. Letting me stay with you and your uncle for Christmas is a lot different than letting me stay for Thanksgiving. It means a lot."
"It's no problem," Jesse assured. "The house is way to big for just the two of us and we enjoy having you around."
"Still. Thank you."
"You're welcome." Jesse turned away from the gas pump. He gestured his head at the car. "Now get back in the car. It's freezing out here and I'm ready to get back on the highway."
Brody gave a mock salute with his coffee cup. As he marched around the car, he chanted, "Sir, yes, sir!"
"You shouldn't sass someone who's driving a two thousand pound death trap," Jesse said.
Brody gave a snort as he pulled his door open. "You love this car too much to crash it just to teach me a lesson."
"You're not wrong."
The drive to Lima passed in a way befitting boys their age.
They turned the radio up too loud on the highway. Jesse belted out a rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody that had Brody gaping at him and Brody rapped 8 Mile without missing a single word.
They settled the candy Brody had picked up in the middle counsel and reached for pieces as they argued on ballet vs modern dance. Brody gave him a run down on his opinions on dance trends ("The Cupid Shuffle is just stupid and repetitive. When it comes to a middle school dance, the Cha-Cha Slide is where it's at.") and Jesse told him about some of the more ridiculous costumes he'd worn in high school ("Vocal Adrenaline wore hot pink shirt for regionals. I was so happy I'd transferred when I saw them.").
It was different from the drive down with Adam for Thanksgiving, but Jesse found it wasn't in a bad way. It was just as comfortable and fun, only a little more quiet.
When Jesse pulled into the Berry's driveway, after dropping Brody off at his home and taking his bags up to his bedroom, it was going on eight o'clock.
He parked his car behind Rachel's Prius, not wanting to risk blocking one of her fathers incase they had to leave in a hurry, before climbing out.
His feet crunched in the snow as he walked up to the porch. He hurried up the stairs and rapped his knuckles against the doorway twice.
He drew his hands to his face as he waited.
"Jesse!" Hiram exclaimed as he swung the door open. "Come in, come in. You must be freezing."
"It's not too bad," Jesse dismissed as he stepped inside.
The man shot a meaningful glance towards Jesse's hands. "Your fingertips are bright red." Jesse just gave a small shrug. He let out a sigh that was half amused and half exasperated. "Rachel's in the living room. I'll make you some hot chocolate."
"You don't have to do that," he argued.
"I don't have to, but I want to." Hiram gave him a pat on the back before turning towards the kitchen. "Do you want yours made in regular milk or soy like Rachel's?"
Jesse hesitated for a moment before requesting, "Regular please."
He watched as Hiram held a thumb up above his head in understanding before toeing off his boots and setting his coat on the hooks by the door.
He padded through the entry and to the living room.
Rachel was sitting on her couch. Her legs were drawn up on the cushions with her and she had a stripped throw blanket wrapped around her. A movie was flickering on the TV screen in front of her and a steaming mug sat on the coffee table next to her.
He stepped carefully to make his way behind her without her noticing.
Then he darted down and placed his hands against her neck.
Rachel jumped, letting out a shriek at the initial contact.
A laugh bubbled out of his throat.
She tilted her head back, glaring up at him. Her hands came up to rest over his own. "You are not funny, Jesse!"
"I thought it was pretty funny," Jesse argued. He was smiling as he leaned down to kiss her forehead. He pulled back enough that they were looking into each others eyes. "I missed you."
"You were only gone for a week and a half," she pointed out.
"True, but I miss you when we're only apart for a day."
"You are such a romantic." Rachel's lips slid into a gentle smile. The anger dropped from her eyes, leaving warm fondness in its wake. Her fingers curled against the side of his hands. "I missed you too, though."
"I know you did." He pushed forward, ignoring the way the back of the couch dug into his stomach to reach for her lips. The kiss was a little awkward with them upside down from each others perspectives and his hands on her neck, but they made it work. When they pulled apart, he flicked his gaze towards the television. "What are you watching?"
"Enchanted. It's a Disney movie." She bumped her forehead lightly against his chin, a silent request. He pushed himself up right and allowed her to straighten up. Then he leaned over, wrapping his arms around her, and settled his chin on top of her forehead. "I'm still at the beginning. I could rewind it so you can watch it with me."
"Mmm..." He watched the characters on the screen for a moment before asking, "Is there singing?"
"Some, though it's not really that kind of Disney movie."
He hummed softly. Then requested, "Sing one of the songs for me. I refuse to watch a movie with a bad soundtrack, regardless of whether it's a musical or just music in the background."
"You are ridiculous."
"Maybe, but you love me enough to sing a song for me."
"I do," she agreed.
He tightened his arms around her and pressed a soft kiss to the crown of her head as she started singing, "Storybook endings, fairy tales coming true. Deep down inside we want to believe they still do...In our secretest heart, it's our favorite part of the story. Let's just admit we all want to make it too. Ever ever after..."
They pass the week before Christmas in a steady rhythm.
They have breakfast together everyday – she stays the night at his place Saturday, he stays the night at hers on Wednesday, and on the days in between he picks her up from her house and takes her to the only restaurant in town with a vegan friendly breakfast menu – and in the afternoons they attend her dance classes. Her teachers were his teachers not a year before, so they don't mind him sitting in or participating. He even accuses her tap teacher of looking a bit to excited to see them still together.
Their evenings shift depending on who's available.
They go out to coffee with Kurt and Blaine a few times (and Jesse picks up on the flirty vibes the very first time they went out together and spent the rest of the time making gagging faces at Kurt everytime Blaine and Rachel focused on each other). Puckerman brings his little sister over to Rachel's house one night and they make so many sugar cookies, apparently being Jewish doesn't mean not indulging in Christmas sweets, that Jesse isn't sure they'll be gone before Easter. There's one night they go out to the movies with Mike, Matt, and Tina and Jesse ends up having to hold laughter back the whole time because it almost seems like Tina is the third wheel there.
They spend an evening playing Trivia games with her fathers.
More than a few are spent with Brody and his uncle. They drive through the cities Christmas lights, Rachel both fascinated and confused by some of the displays, with Brody and Jesse singing along to the Christmas Carols on the radio. They sit on the couch one day and try to educate Rachel in the ways of dude movies – Jesse has a not so secret love affair going on with the Speed soundtrack, Brody makes them watch all three Matrix movies even though he confesses to hating the third one, and his uncle tries to convince them that Fast and Furious is actually good.
Kurt comes over on the twenty-third with a gingerbread recipe and a plastic bag full of candy. Their house falls apart within five minutes of finishing, Brody has Dots sticking to his cheeks, and Rachel's hair is absolutely streaked with white frosting but they all end up laughing until their stomach hurts.
"I don't understand," Rachel declared as she followed Jesse out into the living room on Christmas Eve. He settled down on the carpet in front of the tree, tugging her down with him. "Don't you open the presents on Christmas morning?"
"Yes," Jesse answered.
"Then why are we opening one tonight?"
"Because it's a St. James tradition," Joshua declared as he joined them. He bent down in front of the tree, reaching for the boxes under it. Brody followed after, settling down on Jesse's left.
"It's a pretty common tradition," Brody added. "I know plenty of people who open a present on Christmas Eve."
They went quiet as Joshua straightened up. He held out colorfully wrapped packages for each of them.
Rachel and Brody had both protested when they'd noticed the presents under the tree labeled for them. However, over the course of the week they'd come to terms with the fact that Joshua and Jesse weren't going to return them no matter what they said.
"Who's going first?" Jesse asked as he took the one held out for him.
"Rachel?" Brody suggested. He was turning the one in his hand around. "Since it's her first Christmas."
"It is not my first Christmas," Rachel objected. "I've been alive for-"
Jesse raised a hand, putting it over her mouth. "Shh, Rach. It's your first Christmas." She glared at him until he let his hand drop. "Open your present."
"If you ever do that again, I will bite you," Rachel promised as she tore the paper from her present.
It revealed a square box. She peeled the box open and found her breath taken away.
Nestled against black cloth was a simple silver chain necklace. There was a glittering blue gem shaped like a rain drop at the apex of the chain.
"It's a few days late for a birthday present," Joshua declared, "which is why I decided to give you that one for Christmas eve instead of waiting until tomorrow. But, it's made of tanzanite since that's one of your birth stones."
"We chose a raindrop for Don't Rain On My Parade," Jesse murmured. His hand had settled on her stomach, his thumb rubbing against her in a slow arc.
"It's beautiful," Rachel confessed. Her grip tightened on the box. "You didn't spend this much on every one of my presents, did you?"
"That was the most expensive," Joshua confirmed with a nod. A small smile played on his lips, "Though, the others certainly weren't cheap either."
"Oh my god." They turned their heads to find Brody staring at the necklace with wide eyes. "Please tell me nothing you got me was that expensive."
Jesse just shrugged. "St. James' are nothing if not good at throwing their money around."
"Jesse, I can't take it if-"
"Don't," Jesse cut off. His gaze sharpened as he locked eyes with Brody. "Look, I don't have many people in my life that I genuinely care about. I was too self absorbed in high school to make friends and my parents literally couldn't care less about me if they tried. My family is you guys. It's my uncle, and Rachel, and Kurt, and Adam, and you. I know it might seem weird since we haven't known each other very long, but that's just the way it is for me. We're giving you these gifts because we like you, not because we have to."
Brody reached up, running a hand through his hair. His gaze was still a little lost as he stared at the box in his hands. "Fuck, Jesse..."
"Jesse's right," Joshua added. "We invited you to stay with us for Christmas because we wanted you around Brody. Because we care about you."
"This is all way too much," Brody murmured. Though there were tears gathering in the corners of his eyes, there was also a warm smile on his face. "Thank you, guys."
"A thank you already?" Jesse teased, attempting to lighten the mood a bit. "I can't wait to see what you say when you actually open it and see what we got you."
En: I wasn't technically lying when I said Christmas Break wasn't going to be three parts. It's not. It's going to be two!
Even though Kurt's part of their family, I didn't include him in this chapter much since I think he would probably be spending time with Burt, Carole, and Finn. Trying to celebrate their first Christmas together as a family.
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