So its been a while since I've written anything so I figured I'd steal a prompt from Bechloe week this year to get the gears turning again.
Prompt: Fire
This wasn't how this weekend was supposed to go. There was supposed to be camaraderie and fun and laughter and some semblance of actually finding out where they are as a group, what their voice is. Instead they've spent it trucking through mud, getting eaten alive by a whole plethora of insects Beca didn't even know existed, and of course fighting with the Bellas.
Fighting with Chloe.
So now here they are, all sitting around the campfire with a defeated slump to their shoulders. The Bellas were all quiet staring at the sparks in the flame, letting the light of the fire dance across their faces and the crackle from the embers sift through their ears. Beca shifted slightly on the log that happens to be her makeshift seat. She looked up around at the faces around the fire until they finally landed on Chloe, the face she had been avoiding since the bear trap mishap earlier.
Chloe must have felt Beca's eyes on her because soon enough baby blues met beca's stormy blue eyes, Beca's breath hitched in her throat once she saw the look of betrayal still lingering in the redhead's eyes. Her stomach dropped into her feet, she never meant to push Chloe away, the Bellas away.
She knew it couldn't have been easy for Chloe, for the last three years Chloe has been the one at the forefront trying to chip away at Beca's armor. Chink by chink it fell away, Beca would like to say slowly yet surely, but if she was being honest Chloe had bypassed most of her walls quicker than anyone has before. There was something about Chloe that just made it easy for Beca to let her in. Perhaps it was her sunny disposition or her constant attempts to get inside Beca's head while still being respectful of her boundaries. Maybe it was the way that Chloe put 100% into everything that she does, including Beca.
Well... Everything besides her Russian Literature class anyways.
Chloe has been so persistent in getting close to the brunette, to really know what made the DJ tick and at first without Beca knowing, she was succeeding. So the sting of Beca keeping something from the redhead that was so important. So integral to who Beca is and who she wants to be.. Well, she can imagine how that must have hurt her. She can still see it resonate in the redhead's eyes.
Before Beca really knew what she was saying words were tumbling out of her, still staring at Chloe, but her words echoed for all the Bellas to hear.
"I thought I could figure it out on my own, but I can't," Beca takes in a breath to steady her voice. Chloe has this look in her eyes that Beca can't quite place but she's sure she's seen it on her face before. The rest of the girls perk their heads up at the sound of one of their captain's speak.
"The Worlds, graduation, Bellas rehearsal, my internship.. I thought I could handle it on my own, but I'm scared of messing up. I'm scared of failure." Chloe lost some of the light that finally started to break through her eyes but was quick to reassure her and soon after Emily and Amy jump in as well. That opens the floodgates for the rest of the Bellas to vocalize their fears and doubts.
"I'm afraid too," Chloe pipes up looking back to her co-captain and Beca feels herself holding a breath. "I'm scared to move on. Scared to graduate, to see what else is out in the world after the Bellas fall away." More reassurance is pushed Chloe's way and soon that fire is back in her eyes.
"That settles it then, I will graduate this year." Chloe goes on to talk about possibly teaching underprivileged children how to sing or dancing exotically. The latter making a hue of red color Beca's cheeks. The rest of the girls go around saying what their plans are after college and what their fears and dreams are.
Beca smiles fondly at them all, these nerds, her nerds. These girls have been with her through ups and downs, through Beca's near constant off putting attitude in her early days as a Bella and through ever thought of doubt that clouded Beca's mind.
"You know when I look back at this, I won't remember performing, I'm gonna remember you weirdos," Beca glances around to each face. "It makes me really sad that it won't ever be like this again. I'm going to miss you guys."
Murmurs of agreeing leave the girls and then there is silence for a few beats.
"I've got my ticket for the long way 'round" Beca's head snaps up to meet Chloe's eyes again. She feels her heart flutter and Chloe starts to sing the song that Beca auditioned with to get into the Bellas and soon she's adding her own harmony to Chloe's and her heart begins to swell.
There was always something special about singing with Chloe, the way that their voices just complimented each other so well, how she could physically feel the music pumping through Chloe and leaving her in the note that escape her lips. When Chloe and Beca sing she feels home, she feels safe. By the constant glint in Chloe's eyes she can see the feeling is mutual.
Soon the rest of the Bellas are harmonizing along with them and then the puzzle pieces fall into place.
They find their sound.
They find their voice.
And everything else seems so silly to Beca now, the fighting, the lying, why would she hide anything from these girls who she loves so much? Who she trusts so much?
They break off with grins on their faces and a renewed vigor to grasp life and the Worlds by the horns. Chloe moves to sit next to Beca, so close their thighs are flush together and the redhead laces her fingers together with Beca's. She loops her other arm around the brunette's and strokes the sensitive skin of her inner arm while she rests her end on the shorter girl's shoulder.
Beca lets out a content sigh that traitorously left her lips before she could catch it. She leans her head against Chloe's and they both stare into the fire, watching it dance and twist to its own little melody. The other Bellas are staring at them cutely but they're off in their own little world at this point. The only thing in either of their orbit it each other.
"Please don't ever keep things from me again." she hears Chloe mumble uncharacteristically small and timid. Beca squeezes her hand in reassurance and rubs small circles against the other woman's hand with her thumb.
"I think I've already reached my stupidity quota for the next several years, so I'm pretty sure you're safe of that happening anytime soon." Beca mentally slaps herself, here they are having this nice moment and her go to response has to be sarcasm? She really needs to work on her people skills.
She feels Chloe smile against her shoulder and shift to look up at her. Beca met her gaze evenly and she feels the air grow thick around them before Chloe speaks. "you're starting to catch on, Mitchell." She speaks in a whisper with that unknown glint in her eyes from earlier. Beca feels herself frozen, paralyzed by those beautiful blue eyes. Chloe closes the small gap between them and kisses her softly and tenderly. Beca's suddenly aware of how soft Chloe's lips are against her own and she feels herself returning the kiss. Her free hand found sudden incentive to move as it slowly snaked to the nape of Chloe's neck, holding the redhead closer for a beat longer before they pulled away and stared at one another again like it was the first time. The flames from the fire seemed to have invaded their way into either woman's' eyes as they were struck mesmerized by one another.
a sudden cheer from their fellow Bellas broke the women from their mutual spell.
"It's about time you two!"
"It was starting to get so bad I could cut the sexual tension with a knife."
"Oh-em-aca-gee!"
Beca turned a bright scarlet red and her eyes went wide a saucers. Did she? Were they? In front of poor Emily?
Her slight panic is halted abruptly with Chloe's warm palm against her cheek and she's brought back to those eyes once again.
"Just ignore them, I'm pretty sure they had a pool going on whether or not this would happen." Chloe had amusement dancing in her voice and her lips were tugging into one of the most dazzling smiles Beca had ever seen.
Beca was to dumbstruck to speak, she just stared at her counterpart in bewilderment, clearly forgetting that she does in fact know at least one language. She feels Chloe pull away from her and she instantly misses the contact, Chloe gets up and looks back at the girls but her gaze ends and lingers on Beca. "Well, I'm going to turn in for the night. Gotta be ready to kick some DSM butt at Worlds and a Bella needs her beauty sleep." She winks at Beca and then saunters off towards the Bella tent.
Beca stares at her retreating backside dumbly and then look over to the other Bellas unsure of what to do now that Chloe was out of her immediate bubble.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Go make aca-babies or whatever it is girls do together!" Amy says and makes an excited hand motion for her to follow the retreating redhead.
That seems to snap Beca out of it, the fog falling from her eyes and she gives Amy a single nod. "Right." Before she clamors from her seat and jogs to catch up to Chloe. Vaguely she is aware soon after of Amy screaming something about Bumper and the sound of a familiar bear trap activating but she's too concerned about Chloe to turn back around or show much of a reaction at all to the blonde. Beca quickly catches up to Chloe and matches her pace before intertwining their fingers again.
"So," Beca drawls, "We have a lot to talk about."
Chloe smirks at Beca, "Out of the frying pan and into the fire, huh, Mitchell?"
And suddenly with Chloe by her side she forgets why she was scared of anything to begin with.