It started off as a simple poke.
Just a poke in the side at a crucial moment where Beca's arms were raised and stretched out to reach a box in the closet just out of reach. The result had been a squeak of surprise and a 'thud' as fingers brushed the box just enough to send it off balance and have it topple to the ground.
Beca would have caught it, had she not been hunched over from the sudden attack.
Chloe could have caught it, but she was too busy noticing the way the DJ's arms encircled her sides protectively. Her eyes lit up as the position sparked a memory of a childhood friend and the realization that people who were ticklish were vulnerable to fits of laughter when jabbed properly in the side.
"Beca Mitchell," she began mischievously, taking a step further into the closet.
"...Yes?" the brunette said, warily eyeing the closing gap between the redhead and the door.
Chloe took another step forward. Something - perhaps the glint in her eye - must have tipped her girlfriend off, because Beca instinctively took a step back. Alarm filled the smaller girl's eyes as her back met the wall.
Leaning forward, Chloe put her arms out so that they surrounded either side of Beca's head, her hands splayed against the closet wall. She continued to lean, her eyes focused while Beca's searched frantically for an escape.
She didn't say anything until her nose was inches from the other girl's. "Are you...ticklish?"
Beca's response was a stammered, "...N-no?"
Chloe's smirk widened. "Are you sure?" she asked, her right hand beginning to slide down the wall. Beca noticed the motion from the corner of her eye, conflicted over whether to watch the hand or the hand's owner.
"Yes!"
"Hmm...I think we should test that," Chloe suggested, continuing to stare at her as her hand reached its mark and ghosted along the exposed side of Beca's tank top. A look of sadistic delight sparkled in her eyes as Beca squeaked again and attempted to wriggle lower, as if by reaching the ground she could hide from the assault, but the redhead's fingers kept up their dance and followed her down.
"C-Chloe, s-stop!" Beca whined, sides already heaving with laughter. She had by then reached the floor and was trying to curl up into a ball - the worst possible position for her, really, considering that tightened muscles were the easiest targets.
"Only if you say please," Chloe said wryly. She could see Beca struggling, knowing all too well the DJ's aversion to the concept of begging. Figuring she might need some extra incentive, Chloe's hand crept lower, towards the sole of a foot that had lost its sock over the course of the battle. A tried and true method to cause submission.
Beca's laughter rose to a pained shriek, her foot lashing out in reflexive defense against the attack. The kick caught Chloe by surprise and she leaned backwards to avoid being hit. The momentary distraction was enough for Beca to successfully roll over and lunge forward, tackling Chloe to the same ground the brunette had just been cowering on.
"Ha! Got you now," the girl crowed, grinning at the turn of events even as her body continued its struggle to fill properly with air again. Taking full advantage of Chloe's delayed reaction, Beca's own fingers began scrambling to find a spot that would put her girlfriend through the same torture she had just endured.
It took a moment, but she finally found it in a spot just above the redhead's hip. Chloe squirmed beneath her, attempting (and failing) to fend the hands off.
"Okay, okay! You win! Stop!" Chloe called between breaths, tears streaming down the sides of her face from how hard she was laughing.
Beca smirked, leaning forward to put herself nose-to-nose with her girlfriend as she continued the attack. "...Say please," she growled.
In her cocky mindset, she missed the glint that came into Chloe's eyes. In one fluid motion the redhead lifted her arms and wrapped them around the back of Beca's neck. "...Please," she whispered, then pulled her in for a kiss.
It was a long time before either considered getting up from the closet floor.