Pumpkin Pie 6
Author: Casey
Story: Nothing is Ever Easy universe, Pre-NIEE: Real World AU
Challenges: Pumpkin Pie 6 (face paint), Papaya 28 (did I do that?), Green Tea (tea time)
Toppings & Extras: Whipped Cream, Chopped Nuts (RWAU)
Word Count: 1,137
Rating: PG
Summary: Beau and the girls.
Notes: Fall 2002. Jessie, Ani and Beau are 7, Kira’s 6, Jez is almost 4. Ickle!Beau torture/fluff. For the ease of things, much like Mick is Beau and Ren’s adopted brother, Kira and Ben (who has appeared only rarely in my pieces) are Beau and Ren’s cousins from out of town.
Beau was fairly certain Jessie and Ani really wanted to play with his cousin but were disguising it as both of them to be nice. He only went because Kira begged him to. When he and Kira arrived and Jez was the only other one there, his gut feeling condensed into certainty. “I could go home,” he suggested once they reached Jessie’s first floor playroom.
The older three girls exchanged looks that he could only describe as evil. “No, you gotta stay, Beau!” Kira said with a big smile. “We’re only here for four days and I want to see my cousin.”
“You don’t seem to care with Mick or Ren.”
“They’re busy with Jez’s brothers, remember?” She then pouted at him. “Please stay, Beau!”
He sighed. “Fine, but the first girlie things and I’m outta here.”
“Tea party time,” Jessie and Ani crowed, high-fiving each other.
Within ten minutes, Beau was seated at the small table, jammed between Jez, who looked about as interested in the proceedings as he was, and his cousin. “Why are you here?” he whispered to the younger girl.
She shrugged. “Colin’s being a stupidhead and Jay and Bri are away for the weekend. And I was bored.” Beau didn’t often talk to Jez since she was his friend Jon’s little sister, but they seemed to be in the same boat here.
“Must’ve been really bored,” he muttered.
Jez grinned at him and took a sip of imaginary tea before holding up her cup to tap against his. “Consider yourself tinkled!”
He blinked. “Dad always told me it was ‘cheers’.”
“Mom and Dad use that one and I think it’s funny,” Jez declared. “Plus,” she added in a conspiratorially whisper, “we get to say tinkled.”
“Tinkled is a really weird word.”
“But funny.”
“Mr. Highcastle, would you like more tea?” Ani asked, interrupting.
Beau’s nose automatically wrinkled at the title. “No, I’m, um, still half full.”
“But it must be getting cold!”
Not even sure why, he pulled the plastic cup to his chest. “That’s okay.”
Jez and Kira, almost in concert, elbowed him hard in the side. “Just let her fill up your cup, stupid,” Kira said.
“Ow! Okay, jeez, fine,” he muttered and held out the cup to be ‘refilled’.
He and Jez mostly stayed quiet - this endeared the little girl to him immensely - while the other three girls chattered and forced them to ‘drink’ lots of ‘tea’ until Beau was ready to gag. His brothers and Jez’s were off having all the fun and it just wasn’t fair!
“Why don’t you leave?” Jez whispered at one point.
“Because if I do, all three of them will make me miserable for ages.”
She tilted her head. “Okay, makes sense.”
Finally, some decision appeared to be reached as Jessie jumped up and raced out of the room.
Beau’s “What’s going on?” got greeted with giggles from the older two.
When he glanced at Jez, she shrugged. “I’d run now,” she said.
“No! You can’t leave yet!” Kira whined.
Beau sighed. “But, Kira…”
“No, you’re staying. Another half hour, okay?”
He glanced at the clock, able to read it well enough to know when a half hour elapsed. “Fine. Only that long, though.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
She grinned. “Good.”
When Jessie returned with a large box, Beau’s sense of foreboding only increased. She set it gently on the table. “Mother won’t mind as long as we leave it neat,” she said and opened it.
“Oh no, no, no, no,” Beau said, instantly shoving back from the small table, shooting Jez a glare as she slapped a hand over her mouth to try and contain her giggles.
The other three girls all grinned at him like sharks. “You promised you’d stay.”
“Not when it involves make-up! That’s really girlie.”
“And a tea party isn’t?” Jessie asked, amused.
“Not like make-up!”
“C’mon, Beau, it’s not like anyone would see. We’ll all pinkie swear not to tell, okay?”
Jez held out her pinkie solemnly and the others followed suit. “Pinkie swear!”
“Just a little, okay?”
Beau wasn’t sure how he got himself into these situations, truly. What amazed him more was that he let the girls at him armed with all sorts of things. Jez watched the proceedings from a distance, looking ready to bolt if the older girls turned on her with the same energy they applied to ‘dressing’ up Beau. At least, he reasoned with himself, there was no camera and no dresses or girlie clothes. He promised himself he would run if those came out.
Then he heard it - the chatter of familiar voices.
He looked around for a hiding place as Jessie, Ani and Kira paused in their ministrations and finally had to settle on ducking behind Jez and the tea table. “They’re still gonna see you,” the little girl told him.
“Shh! Maybe I’ll get lucky.”
She pondered this for a second. “This doesn’t seem to be a lucky day for you,” she said as Jessie’s housekeeper proceeded a seeming parade of boys, consisting of all four of Jez’s brothers, both his brothers and cousin as well as Ani’s two brothers.
“Hey, guys, we want to play Capture the Flag but it’s better with more people. Want to come? With the five of you, we’ll have even…where’s Beau? Don’t tell me we missed him!” Ren said.
“Beau’s in the bathroom,” Jez said.
If that got him out of being spotted, he swore he would marry her someday.
“I can wait for him.”
He stayed very, very still under the table as his tormentors giggled but chanced a glance up at their legs. Not surprisingly, Mick was at the back of the crowd - and staring right at him. His adopted brother merely tilted his head and then looked amused before shooting Beau an okay sign. The younger boy felt a rush of relief. If anyone was to spot him, Mick was by far the best one.
“Okay. We’re gonna play in our backyard into the woods,” Kento, Jez’s oldest brother, said. “Don’t take too long.”
“We won’t,” she said brightly.
Beau was shocked that the older three weren’t giving him up but they thankfully trailed the boys out of the room. As soon as the door shut behind them, Jez hopped up. “I think you’re safe.”
“You are amazing.”
She grinned at him. “I know. You’d better actually go use the bathroom and wash all that off.” Then she stared.
“What?” he asked.
“Just making sure I remember this for blackmail.”
“How do you even know what blackmail is?”
“Youngest of five,” she said easily. “Now hurry up! I want to play.”
“I’m going!” He paused, glancing over his shoulder on the way out. “I owe you one.”
“Yeah, I know.”
He grinned at her and then vanished down to the bathroom.
Story: Nothing is Ever Easy universe, Pre-NIEE: Real World AU
Challenges: Pumpkin Pie 6 (face paint), Papaya 28 (did I do that?), Green Tea (tea time)
Toppings & Extras: Whipped Cream, Chopped Nuts (RWAU)
Word Count: 1,137
Rating: PG
Summary: Beau and the girls.
Notes: Fall 2002. Jessie, Ani and Beau are 7, Kira’s 6, Jez is almost 4. Ickle!Beau torture/fluff. For the ease of things, much like Mick is Beau and Ren’s adopted brother, Kira and Ben (who has appeared only rarely in my pieces) are Beau and Ren’s cousins from out of town.
Beau was fairly certain Jessie and Ani really wanted to play with his cousin but were disguising it as both of them to be nice. He only went because Kira begged him to. When he and Kira arrived and Jez was the only other one there, his gut feeling condensed into certainty. “I could go home,” he suggested once they reached Jessie’s first floor playroom.
The older three girls exchanged looks that he could only describe as evil. “No, you gotta stay, Beau!” Kira said with a big smile. “We’re only here for four days and I want to see my cousin.”
“You don’t seem to care with Mick or Ren.”
“They’re busy with Jez’s brothers, remember?” She then pouted at him. “Please stay, Beau!”
He sighed. “Fine, but the first girlie things and I’m outta here.”
“Tea party time,” Jessie and Ani crowed, high-fiving each other.
Within ten minutes, Beau was seated at the small table, jammed between Jez, who looked about as interested in the proceedings as he was, and his cousin. “Why are you here?” he whispered to the younger girl.
She shrugged. “Colin’s being a stupidhead and Jay and Bri are away for the weekend. And I was bored.” Beau didn’t often talk to Jez since she was his friend Jon’s little sister, but they seemed to be in the same boat here.
“Must’ve been really bored,” he muttered.
Jez grinned at him and took a sip of imaginary tea before holding up her cup to tap against his. “Consider yourself tinkled!”
He blinked. “Dad always told me it was ‘cheers’.”
“Mom and Dad use that one and I think it’s funny,” Jez declared. “Plus,” she added in a conspiratorially whisper, “we get to say tinkled.”
“Tinkled is a really weird word.”
“But funny.”
“Mr. Highcastle, would you like more tea?” Ani asked, interrupting.
Beau’s nose automatically wrinkled at the title. “No, I’m, um, still half full.”
“But it must be getting cold!”
Not even sure why, he pulled the plastic cup to his chest. “That’s okay.”
Jez and Kira, almost in concert, elbowed him hard in the side. “Just let her fill up your cup, stupid,” Kira said.
“Ow! Okay, jeez, fine,” he muttered and held out the cup to be ‘refilled’.
He and Jez mostly stayed quiet - this endeared the little girl to him immensely - while the other three girls chattered and forced them to ‘drink’ lots of ‘tea’ until Beau was ready to gag. His brothers and Jez’s were off having all the fun and it just wasn’t fair!
“Why don’t you leave?” Jez whispered at one point.
“Because if I do, all three of them will make me miserable for ages.”
She tilted her head. “Okay, makes sense.”
Finally, some decision appeared to be reached as Jessie jumped up and raced out of the room.
Beau’s “What’s going on?” got greeted with giggles from the older two.
When he glanced at Jez, she shrugged. “I’d run now,” she said.
“No! You can’t leave yet!” Kira whined.
Beau sighed. “But, Kira…”
“No, you’re staying. Another half hour, okay?”
He glanced at the clock, able to read it well enough to know when a half hour elapsed. “Fine. Only that long, though.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
She grinned. “Good.”
When Jessie returned with a large box, Beau’s sense of foreboding only increased. She set it gently on the table. “Mother won’t mind as long as we leave it neat,” she said and opened it.
“Oh no, no, no, no,” Beau said, instantly shoving back from the small table, shooting Jez a glare as she slapped a hand over her mouth to try and contain her giggles.
The other three girls all grinned at him like sharks. “You promised you’d stay.”
“Not when it involves make-up! That’s really girlie.”
“And a tea party isn’t?” Jessie asked, amused.
“Not like make-up!”
“C’mon, Beau, it’s not like anyone would see. We’ll all pinkie swear not to tell, okay?”
Jez held out her pinkie solemnly and the others followed suit. “Pinkie swear!”
“Just a little, okay?”
Beau wasn’t sure how he got himself into these situations, truly. What amazed him more was that he let the girls at him armed with all sorts of things. Jez watched the proceedings from a distance, looking ready to bolt if the older girls turned on her with the same energy they applied to ‘dressing’ up Beau. At least, he reasoned with himself, there was no camera and no dresses or girlie clothes. He promised himself he would run if those came out.
Then he heard it - the chatter of familiar voices.
He looked around for a hiding place as Jessie, Ani and Kira paused in their ministrations and finally had to settle on ducking behind Jez and the tea table. “They’re still gonna see you,” the little girl told him.
“Shh! Maybe I’ll get lucky.”
She pondered this for a second. “This doesn’t seem to be a lucky day for you,” she said as Jessie’s housekeeper proceeded a seeming parade of boys, consisting of all four of Jez’s brothers, both his brothers and cousin as well as Ani’s two brothers.
“Hey, guys, we want to play Capture the Flag but it’s better with more people. Want to come? With the five of you, we’ll have even…where’s Beau? Don’t tell me we missed him!” Ren said.
“Beau’s in the bathroom,” Jez said.
If that got him out of being spotted, he swore he would marry her someday.
“I can wait for him.”
He stayed very, very still under the table as his tormentors giggled but chanced a glance up at their legs. Not surprisingly, Mick was at the back of the crowd - and staring right at him. His adopted brother merely tilted his head and then looked amused before shooting Beau an okay sign. The younger boy felt a rush of relief. If anyone was to spot him, Mick was by far the best one.
“Okay. We’re gonna play in our backyard into the woods,” Kento, Jez’s oldest brother, said. “Don’t take too long.”
“We won’t,” she said brightly.
Beau was shocked that the older three weren’t giving him up but they thankfully trailed the boys out of the room. As soon as the door shut behind them, Jez hopped up. “I think you’re safe.”
“You are amazing.”
She grinned at him. “I know. You’d better actually go use the bathroom and wash all that off.” Then she stared.
“What?” he asked.
“Just making sure I remember this for blackmail.”
“How do you even know what blackmail is?”
“Youngest of five,” she said easily. “Now hurry up! I want to play.”
“I’m going!” He paused, glancing over his shoulder on the way out. “I owe you one.”
“Yeah, I know.”
He grinned at her and then vanished down to the bathroom.