Forever Has to Start Somewhere
Chapter 21: Christmas Break II
Christmas morning they gathered around the tree to open the rest of the presents.
Rachel got an assortment of jewelry and CDs ("I am never going to be able to wear any of this to school without worrying about a slushie staining it," Rachel lamented as she ran her finger along a silver bracelet set with amethysts.). Jesse and Brody both received new watches. Then Jesse unwrapped several new instruments ("I missed when you played the trumpet," Joshua said with a shrug of his shoulders when Jesse saw the case.) and new sets of sheet music for each. Brody received new dance shoes as well as figure skates and a premium membership for an ice rink near NYADA ("You said you'd like to try a musical on ice at some point," Jesse explained when Brody opened the skates. "I thought you should have a pair to practice with."). They handed Joshua a package of vodka laced chocolates and a bottle of his favorite whiskey that they'd asked Rachel's dads to pick up for them.
The rest of the morning was spent lazing around the house. They watched movies through the afternoon – Love, Actually, Polar Express, and the live action version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. After they ate dinner Jesse took a some of the new instruments for a spin. He played Gavotte on the trumpet because it had been one of his favorite pieces when he played frequently, made an attempt Time Keeper by Ronnie Laws on the saxophone even though he didn't remember that instrument quite as well, and played Hello for Rachel on his new keyboard.
"I didn't know you could play," Rachel murmured. She was sitting on the edge of his bed, watching as he settled the cases for his gifts in with his old keyboard set up. The sky had gone dark outside."Guitar and piano you told me, but not trumpet or saxophone."
"I stopped," Jesse said.
"Why?"
"Vocal Adrenaline took up most of my time once I entered high school and when I wasn't there I had dance classes or vocal lessons. I kept up on guitar and piano since they could be useful in competition," he explained. He straightened up once he had the cases set up. "I just didn't have time for the rest."
"Did you miss them?"
"Sometimes." He walked to her. She shifted so he could stand between her legs and wrapped her arms around his waist. She rested her chin against his stomach, peering up at him. "They were a large part of my life for a long time."
She gave a soft hum. "Can you play anything else?"
"I took violin lessons for a while, but I didn't enjoy it much." His fingers toyed with a loose strand of her hair, twirling it around. "I don't know if I told you yet, but thank you for celebrating Christmas with me even though I wasn't around for Hanukkah."
"It's fine," she murmured. Her fingers tapped against the middle of his back. "I wanted to spend the holidays with you and Christmas was more convenient this year."
"Still." Jesse let the strand of hair on his finger fall. He tucked it behind her ear. "I promise we'll do Hanukkah as well next year."
He watched as a smile spread across her face. "Next year, huh?"
"Next year," he confirmed.
He settled his hand over her hip and pressed his thumb against her skin. She took it for the push it was, falling down on her back and pulling him with her.
He hovered over her, taking in the way she looked with her hair sprawled out along his bed.
"You, Rachel Berry," he murmured, "are mine and I'm not intending to let you go anytime soon."
"I don't mind being yours," she whispered. Her hands slid up his back and buried in his hair. "As long as your mine as well."
"Sounds like a plan." Jesse leaned down until his lips ghosted against hers. "Seal it with a kiss?"
"Absolutely."
He captured her lips with his, letting their bodies communicate their promise for them.
Free of his duties as the member of a new family celebrating their first Christmas together, Kurt took to spending the week between Christmas and New Years at Jesse's place with them.
He and Rachel are both sleeping at their own houses, but that's pretty much all they were doing.
Joshua had given his chef the week off so they take turns making breakfast – Kurt has an awesome crepe recipe and Jesse makes omelets for the three of them on a day when Rachel doesn't come over until a little later – and figure out what to do for the day from there.
They go to the mall and Brody and Jesse carry the bags while Kurt and Rachel take advantage of the after Christmas sales. They go figure skating at the rink in Lima so Brody can start breaking in his new skates. They take a trip up to an all-ages karaoke bar in Westerville and end up speeding down the highway on their way back to make Kurt's curfew.
"Kurt and Rachel are spending the night, right?" Joshua asked as he came down the stairs on New Years Eve. He was pulling his coat on over his clothes, dressed for a work party he was attending.
The four teenagers were sprawled across the living room. Rachel and Kurt sat on opposite sides of the couch. He was holding her foot in his lap while he painted her toenails a teal green. Jesse sat on the floor near Rachel with his back against the couch. His guitar was slung over his shoulder and a book full of empty sheet music sat on his lap. He was jogging notes into the lines of the paper he was on. Brody was settled in the arm chair, his legs hanging off one side and his head hanging off the other. His phone was held in front of his face as he swiped at the game on the screen.
"Yeah," Jesse agreed. He didn't look up from what he was looking on. "We're gonna turn the Times Square Ball drop on later."
"Kurt and Rachel should come to New York next year," Brody mused. "We can go down and watch it live."
Josh smiled a bit. It seemed like Brody was finally getting the message that he was apart of this family of theirs now. "Alright then, I want all three sets of car keys. I'm leaving the key to the liquor cabinet with you."
"What?" All four of them said together. They turned to face him.
"Are you encouraging us to drink while underage?" Rachel questioned, her eye blown open wide.
"New Years is a special occasion," Joshua declared. He folded the collar of his jacket. "I'm not saying you have to get plastered, or even that you have to drink at all, but I know what teenagers are like. I would rather you be drinking in a controlled environment with my permission than out at a party where something could happen to you or your drinks could be messed with. Especially Rachel and Kurt, since I'm sure they haven't had any before."
He held his hands out, beckoning them towards him with his fingers. "Even if you aren't intending to drink, I want your keys just in case." There was a moment before the three teens tossed him their keys one at a time. "Thank you. I'll be back between one-thirty and two. Have a good night guys."
"Okay."
They all watched as he headed out the doorway.
"Did that really just happen?" Kurt questioned when they heard the door shut behind him.
"Uh huh..." Jesse murmured. "He's never done that before. He's usually pretty strict about limiting me to wine and champagne."
"Maybe he just trusts you more now?" Brody suggested. "You're the one who said you'd matured a lot recently."
"I did," Jesse agreed.
Rachel and Kurt went back to school on the third, so Jesse and Brody headed back to New York the same day.
They planned on arriving in New York later that day and sleeping the fourth away. On the fifth why were supposed to pick Adam up from LaGuardia.
As they set off on the highway, something in Jesse felt settled.
He wouldn't be able to make it back for a while, he was hoping he could swing Regionals but he wasn't quite sure yet, but he had spent enough time with the people he cared about that the distance would be bearable.
En: So really quickly, I hope nobody is off put by the underage drinking thing in this chapter. My parents philosophy has always been what I described here - it's better for my sisters and I to drink on special occasions in a controlled and watched environment than at a party away from their eyes where we could get in trouble. I purposefully didn't mention whether Kurt and/or Rachel drank because that's gonna be relevant in a few chapters when I do Blame It On The Alcohol
We're back to our regularly scheduled programming - aka: 1 chapter based off an episode - in the next chapter.
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