Good Push?

Beth was an older sister. That much was true. But even though she was older than Eric, she liked to think that she was not the stereotypical older sibling who was nosy simply because they had reached the earth first. 

She liked giving her younger brother space, allowing him to live his own life, to experience things and just deal with everything on his own. That being said, there was a limit to how long Beth could stand to the side and just watch her younger brother suffer. 

She had been standing to the side for two years now. It was time to act. If she did not, her younger brother was in serious danger of dying a bitter old man. Not because he was not someone incapable of love, and of being loved.

 But all because of a witch. Who had latched on to her baby brother, and by the time that Beth had realised what was going on, it had been too late. 

Beth had never liked Melissa Summers, the woman being too cold, too sharp for her sweet, kind-hearted brother. Eric might have loved hiding the fact that he was actually a gentle soul beneath all of the logic, and the unfeeling mask that he wore. But at the heart of him, Eric was a kind person, someone who would not even hurt a fly. That Melissa on the other hand was something else. She had nearly torn Eric apart. And by the time he had finally managed to end things with her, Beth had been worried that there was not enough of him left for him to be able to pull himself together. But Eric had managed. 

It had involved him packing up his life and moving from the city to Beauville. But he had managed to pull himself together. And for a while, Beth had thought that him dating again would soon follow, that he just needed a bit of time. But after two years, she'd realized that Eric needed a bit of a push. Something that had been cemented in her the moment that she had walked into his apartment the day after what would have normally been the anniversary of his and Melissa's relationship. Somebody who was over things would have treated that day like it was just any other day. But Beth had walked in to find her brother obviously hung over, and judging by his red-rimmed eyes, it had been clear that at some point during the previous night, he had been crying. 

That woman was not worth her brother's time, let alone his tears, but it seemed that even after two years...Melissa Summer's claws were still deeply embedded in her brother. Which was why Beth had decided to come up with the blind date plan. Blind dating, even if it was a shot in the dark, meant that her brother was going out again, meeting people. And Beth was hoping that the more people he met, the greater the chance of him finally realizing that not everybody was Melissa. Not all of the women out there in the world were seeking to hurt him. Some were in a similar situation to him. And even those who were not were genuinely kind people who would be willing to spend the rest of their lives with him. Beth just wanted her brother to remember the power and the joy that love held. He needed it. And so she did not hesitate to push and prod him a little bit until he finally caved and agreed to go on the blind dates. But now that all was said and done with Eric having given her his word that he would go on the dates, Beth was second guessing herself. 

Having put the twins to bed, she and James were enjoying some quality time together, the two of them curled up on the couch watching TV. A glass of wine in hand, Beth took a healthy sip, then with a huge sigh, she burrowed closer to her husband.

"Do you think I did the right thing?" She asked, not looking away from the screen. The woman in the TV was doing some complicated crying that seemed to involve a lot of her fainting all over the place. While the male lead looked on with a heartbroken look in his eyes. Beth was pretty sure that by the end of the movie the two of them would have like a thousand kids, be married, and be living their best lives so she was not really focusing too much on it. Instead the majority of her attention was on her husband, waiting for his view on things. 

There was a moment of silence, and then she felt the gentle press of James' lips over the top of her head before his hand reached around and pulled her closer.

"I think that you did what any other worried sibling would do. You are scared for him and to be honest, so am I,"

"Maybe the blind dates will be good for him, maybe not. Either way, it is still better than him staying in limbo, unable to move forward," Beth nodded. Tilting her head slightly, she kissed her husband's jaw and settled back down. James always knew just the right things to say, to make her unease go away.

"Thanks, I really needed that," She told him. He hummed in response. Then his hand began to move very deliberately up and down her arm.

"James, your hand seems to be a bit lost," She told him, her tone playful.

"That is true, my dear wife. I keep encountering a lot of fabric. Maybe if I looked a bit further I would meet skin. Mind helping me with that?" It was an awful line but Beth found herself giggling.

His hand wandered a bit lower and she let him. Once again she tilted her head and this time she did not stop at just one kiss. She peppered the side of his face with gentle kisses, the mood slowly becoming more heated...then there was a loud cry from upstairs and they split up.

Just like that whatever it is that could have been was instantly shattered. If one twin was up, no doubt the other was too. There would be no intimacy that night. With one last brief brush of lips against her husband's double the two of them shared a look and then got up.

"Duty calls," Beth said and James nodded. There would be night of romance quickly turned into a night of parenting. While it would have been nice to spend some quality time with her husband. Beth still did not mind how things turned out. She was with her loved ones after all, her people. That was what she wanted for her younger brother as well. For him to have her. But to also have a family of his own, somebody in his corner wh