Takes place between movies 2 and 3 in my alternate timeline of fics.

This first part is heavy on the exposition and recap because while I have a timeline between this and all my other fics, I haven't written the stories for these milestones. And my brain made me write this story NOW, so they're mostly references for now. Hopefully it'll make sense, let me know if something isn't clear.

A slower burn than my last, but trust me, we get there.

Please let me know what you think, this one means a lot.

As always, thanks to my idea-filled beta for always making me think and pushing me to be better. Really, she should probably get paid for putting up with me.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, though that's probably a good thing considering what I'm doing with these characters right now.

Crossposted on AO3 and Tumblr, chloes-yellow-cup, with links to various gifs that enhance the story, as well as a Spotify playlist (A Pitch Perfect Lifetime) for mood music.

I also know I've taken some artistic license in when songs were released, but please go with it. They fit too perfectly not to use

~B~

Friday, March 10th, 2017

"You could go down tonight. Maybe."

After delivering her line, Beca got up and walked into the Posen-Conrad kitchen for her sixth – or was it seventh - beer of the night. She noticed the silence behind her as she made her way to the fridge and pulled out a bottle. She took her time taking off the cap and throwing it away before she headed back into the living room.

Taking a look around, she noticed they all hadn't moved an inch. Aubrey and Stacie were on one side of their chocolate colored sectional and Aubrey's face was actually running through the exact same expressions as it had when Beca finished her audition back at Barden. It made Beca smile as she took her place next to Chloe on the other half of the couch. Her wife looked at her appraisingly and Beca knew she'd probably be grilled later. Stacie's eyes were narrowed and searched Beca's face. Beca just took a pull of her beer and returned Stacie's look with her usual resting bitch face of neutrality, with a little extra just for Stacie.

~z~

2015-2017

The two couples had gotten incredibly close in the two years since they'd won Worlds and graduated. Beca was truly grateful to the Universe that Aubrey and Stacie had gotten out of their own way and finally admitted their feelings for each other. It had made for an epic moment when Amy had yelled "Staubrey Lives!" as Aubrey had kissed Stacie in front of God and everyone after they had all won Worlds. Beca never would have thought that she'd count Aubrey as one of her closest friends, and now she couldn't imagine a life without seeing her every day.

The four of them had ended up moving to LA in August, two months after they'd returned home from Denmark. They had found a duplex condo, the homes sitting back to back, and Beca's dad had helped her with their deposit and first month's rent as a graduation gift. Once she was settled in the LA arm of Residual Heat, she'd been able to take care of the bills until Chloe found a job. Aubrey had money saved from the Lodge and Stacie had gotten a signing bonus from the "Big Pharma" (as she called it) chemist job she'd been offered when she graduated.

They had rented a couple of U-Hauls -not blind to the cliché - to tow Aubrey and Stacie's cars and driven across country, trading off who drove and with whom at every rest stop. They spent a week doing it, taking their time as well as taking in a few sights along the way. Once in town, they took a week to unpack and settle. Beca and Chloe used that week to pick out a car that they'd share until they could afford a second one.

Once they settled, Aubrey looked into going back to school to complete her final classes to become a lawyer in California and change her specialization to Entertainment law. She also started putting out applications to various firms, hoping to be taken in as at least an intern and work around her class schedule. Stacie settled into her new job and excelled immediately, as the other three had told her she would whenever she'd been struck by a rare case of nerves on the drive to LA. After a few months Chloe got hired on as a dance teacher for ages 10-14 and she, of course, loved every second of it. Beca, also of course, made all the mixes for their routines. Beca continued to work her way up through the hierarchy at the studio, happy to be living her dream with the girlfriend her younger self would have denied needing with her dying breath.

They had all quickly settled into a rhythm that should not have been so easy to find, but because they all had each other, it was. While Aubrey was in school, Chloe would bring over a lunch almost every morning to make sure she didn't forget to eat. She bought a tin lunch box specifically for Aubrey and would leave her notes to remind her to not be grumpy because she's back at school. While Aubrey always rolled her eyes when she read them, she also kept them safely tucked in a box in her desk at home.

"Chloe, you know I'm not actually the same way as I was at Barden." Aubrey said one night after dinner.

"She keeps them, you know." Stacie confided to Beca. "So she obviously doesn't hate them."

Aubrey called from the kitchen. "No one asked you, Stace."

"Love you too, Bree." Stacie smiled.

"I know." Beca shoulder bumped Stacie. "Why do you think she keeps doing it?"

If Stacie was late at the office, Beca and Chloe would walk over and let Aubrey make them dinner to keep her company. The same was true if Beca was late at the studio, though since Aubrey enjoyed cooking slightly more than Chloe, Chloe usually crashed their place instead.

When Chloe had to travel with one of her classes for a competition, one of the others would go with her whenever possible. Since Beca was still trying to make a name for herself at the studio, it was often Stacie or Aubrey who were able to arrange the time off. Whoever stayed home would keep Beca company, as neither couple liked the idea of one of them spending the night alone.

The first time that Aubrey went, Beca stayed over at their condo and thought nothing of sharing a bed with Stacie. They'd done it before, here and there in college. But she'd been woken up by a nudge to her side.

"Are you touching my goodies?"

Beca could barely force her eyes open. "Uh…" She found she had nuzzled into Stacie's chest in her sleep. "No?" She blinked. "You're taller than Chloe?" And she'd dropped back into sleep as if that explained everything. Without moving an inch.

In the morning, she'd apologized to Stacie over breakfast. "Sorrynotsorry I sleep groped you."

Stacie shrugged. "Eh. I liked it."

"You would."

"You did too. I can tell."

Beca just shook her head and took a drink of her milk, ignoring the warmth creeping up her neck.

It became the go to joke every time someone slept over, not that Beca truly minded. Even she could admit it was funny. And it didn't really stop it from happening again. She accepted it was just how she was after sharing a bed with Chloe for so many years.

Of course, there were trips when no one could get time off to be Chloe's travel buddy. When that happened, Beca would end up sleeping on Aubrey and Stacie's couch and only going back home to get ready for the day. And while Aubrey or Stacie rarely had to sleep over as they didn't really need to travel, the same deal applied for whoever stayed home.

Aubrey would make snacks for Chloe and her kids for their competitions; fruit parfaits and various infused waters specifically for dancers that Aubrey had found on the internet. Or, if both Aubrey and Beca were in meetings all day, Chloe would stop by with lunches that had sappy and/or inspirational post-it notes in them.

The three of them even visited Stacie at work a few times. The first one was when she had to work all weekend on a big presentation. Beca and Chloe took far more pleasure than they should in being able to tease Aubrey about how flustered she got seeing Stacie in her lab coat and reading glasses. Glasses that Beca was 70% certain were just plain glass and worn simply for the effect they had on Aubrey.

She had waited patiently for the right moment to test that out, finally handing a magazine to Stacie one day. "Oh my god, they mentioned Aubrey in this article on Ent law!"

"What? Where!" Stacie had grabbed it and started reading.

"I fuckin' knew you didn't need glasses!" Beca pointed at her. "You're just wearing them to get into Aubrey's pants! Which is dumb, because she already loves your big, giant -"

"Shut up!"

"-brain." Beca smirked as she finished.

Any time after that, whenever Beca would see them on Stacie, she'd sidle up and mutter under her breath, "Faker."

Stacie would put her hand on her chest and say, in a voice that managed to be pure sex and offended. "With Bree?! Never!"

Sometimes they weren't very subtle and Aubrey overheard them. She'd round on them, her finger waving between them, suspiciously. "What's going on here?"

They would simultaneously blurt out "Nothing!" Which only made them look guiltier, not that they cared. Beca had asked Chloe one night if she knew Stacie's glasses were fake. She'd laughed and said, "Totes. I mean, did you ever see Stacie wear glasses in the Bella house?"

Beca's mouth had dropped. "Fuck! I didn't… UGH." Beca looked at the ceiling. "Baby, will you still love me when you realize I'm stupid?" She looked back down, sheepish at missing the obvious this whole time.

Chloe had patted her on the head. "Until the end of time." Then she leaned forward until their noses were touching. "But you're far from stupid. You chose me, didn't you?"

Beca had tackled her and tickled her until she cried uncle. They were panting for breath, sprawled on top of each other on the couch, when Beca asked the other question she'd been pondering for a while. "Do you think Bree knows Stacie just wears them to get a reaction from her?"

"Nope." And Chloe had popped the 'p', smiling widely. "She can't think straight when she sees Stacie in them. And we're not gonna tell her."

Beca had agreed. "No way. Not only is it actually adorable, which still pains me to say, but depending on how long it takes her to figure it out, the amount of teasing I'll be able to do with it will be a-ma-zing."

~z~

As they considered each other family over best friends, they hung out all the time. A day rarely went by where they didn't share a meal, and that first year they spent at least one weekend night out on the town. Vacations were sometimes (read: almost always) taken together and visiting each other's families over the holidays wasn't unusual.

Their first 'vacation' was a weekend trip to Disneyland. Stacie grew up in Anaheim, so Disneyland was basically her backyard. Beca had fallen in love when her parents had taken her before her father left. When Aubrey said that she thought Beca would hate a place filled with children, Beca had looked at her and said, in the most serious tone any of them had ever heard her use, "Bree, it's the happiest place on Earth."

Beca had wanted to go the second they got to California, but they only had that one week to unpack and settle in before Beca and Stacie started their jobs. They had to use the time to map out stores, restaurants and best routes to and from work. Beca had absolutely hated the delay but the one good thing that came from it was that one day while Skyping with Legacy, she found that Emily had never been either.

Beca's response was instantaneous. "What?! Ok, we're fixing this. This is NOT ok, Legacy!" It was bad enough that Aubrey had never been, but this was a travesty. On later reflection, she thought maybe she'd picked up too many of Chloe's phrases over the years.

After a group discussion with an excited Emily chiming in via Skype, they were able to pick a weekend in October. They would leave Thursday night, timing it to pick up Emily from the airport, and spend all of Friday through Sunday in the parks. Aubrey had used some connections so that they were able to stay in the Grand Californian for the 'full park experience' that Beca insisted was necessary for a first visit. Emily would stay through the following week and keep Chloe company before she started work the week after.

Once they'd picked up Emily, they'd driven in Stacie's car to Balboa Peninsula before heading to their hotel. Andy Grammer's 'Good to be Alive, (Hallelujah)' was blasting out of the speakers as they all sang at the top of their lungs. It was one of Beca's favorite memories and she brought it out whenever she was having a rough day.

Beca and Stacie had acted as tour guide, beyond ecstatic to show all their girls around and all the hidden secrets they could remember between them. They sang the entire trip: every song they knew from each attraction; something for each show and character they spotted in the park; while waiting in line or even just walking by one of the rides on the way to food. Aubrey even took video of Emily and Beca singing "It's a Small World" at the top of their lungs halfway through the ride and uploaded it the second they were back outside. The rest of the Bellas were both in tears of laughter and jealous that they weren't able to swing the trip this time around.

Beca promised that she'd arrange a full Bella trip the following year, as she and Stacie had splurged on the Signature Plus Passports for all four of them. Despite the price, both considered it a sound investment for their Disney habit as they were already planning as many day trips as possible.

They all went home with a million souvenirs, especially hats, but the first were Mickey Graduation Hats that Beca had ordered in advance so they could have them embroidered in the park. Beca's, Stacie's and Chloe's all said "Class of 2015" with a cap and tassel on top. Aubrey's was 2012 and she'd scoured the internet until she found a place that would custom make Emily's 2018. She had already ordered more for the rest of the Bellas the following year. That first trip they had to buy Legacy a second suitcase – from the parks, of course – to haul all her loot home.

Beca was satisfied that she had instilled the proper addiction by the time they drove home after the park closed on Sunday. She was pleasantly surprised when Aubrey was already talking about their next trip, making Emily jealous she wouldn't be able to go.

~z~

When Beca proposed to Chloe during their first year in the condo, during Christmas week 2015, it was with Aubrey's help. When Aubrey and Stacie both proposed to each other the following Valentine's Day, Aubrey had gone to Beca while Stacie had gone to Chloe.

Beca and Chloe got married four months later, April 22nd 2016, with Aubrey as Maid of Honor and Stacie as Beca's Best Man. When Stacie and Aubrey got married later on August 19th, Beca and Chloe returned the favor. Both weddings had the rest of the Bellas as bridesmaids and groomsmen, though they often switched which side they were standing on during rehearsal.

Aubrey had, with a tiny good word from Beca, gotten an internship with the firm that Residual Heat used. In the past she wouldn't have wanted anything that she hadn't earned herself, but Aubrey was grateful for the chance. The fact that she often had to visit the studio to review and oversee contracts simply meant that she and Beca grew even closer as they worked together. She was hired when she finished school and, as she proved herself, took on a few smaller artists. Eventually she added Beca as a client when Beca was promoted to full producer at the label.

With the bump in their finances, the two couples started looking into expanding into bigger housing, with being close to each other at the top of their requirements. Just before the wedding in April, they found a gated community that was nearing completion. There were two homes, again back to back, that would be available shortly after Beca and Chloe returned from their honeymoon. After some negotiation and agreements on some of the final details going into the houses, they eagerly signed the contracts.

The Beale-Mitchell yard had the pool and the Posen-Conrad had the oversized hot tub. Where the other houses around them had fully fenced in yards, there was a gate that was never closed between the two homes, with a lit path of stepping stones leading basically from one back door to the other. They treated each house like they lived there, entering without knocking on the rarely locked back door. That only happened when they were gone for the day, when they went to sleep, or, at Aubrey's insistence when she'd almost walked in on Beca and Chloe in their living room, if they're having 'couple time.'

~B~

Other than their friendship, there was one other thing that had remained constant over the past several years, and that was Stacie's continuing jokes of the four of them sleeping together.

Technically, it had probably started before they even left Denmark but Beca wasn't sure if she was supposed to overhear it, so she never brought it up. At the celebration party, Stacie and Aubrey had been talking at a table in the hotel bar as Beca had walked to the restroom.

Aubrey had been shaking her head a little. "I still can't believe you want to be with me. Just… me."

Stacie had taken Aubrey's hand. "Of course I do, Bree." Just before Beca passed out of earshot, she heard the smile in Stacie's voice. "Well, us and Bloe." Beca had grinned when she heard Aubrey's choked laughter as the door closed behind her.

So once they got to LA, it didn't really surprise her when, one Friday in mid-July, after a night of heavy drinking and unwinding in her and Aubrey's condo, Stacie had brought it up to the group for the first time.

When Stacie spoke, her tone of voice was deceptively casual, almost bored. "We should totally all sleep together."

Beca frowned and swallowed her drink of beer. "What, like…" and she squinted as her mind groped for the right words before giving up. "Like a wife swap? Except none of us are married."

Chloe chimed up from her spot on the floor, leaning against Beca's legs. "Yet."

Stacie shook her head. "No, like all of us in one bed." She gave Beca a look when her mouth opened. "And no, I do not mean a sleepover." Her head tilted slightly. "Though, I imagine we'd all pass out from exhaustion after, so… kind of a sleepover?"

Aubrey started to cough and actually sprayed wine across the coffee table. Before anyone else could move, Chloe was up and kneeling beside her oldest friend to make sure she was ok.

Beca was frozen, her mind turning over what Stacie had said, mostly trying to decide if she was just living in the gutter more than usual because she was so drunk, or if Stacie really meant they should… 'orgy'? Her mind actually whispered the word even as it was trying to form an image, but the idea was so foreign that the screen remained black. That conversation in Denmark had not prepared her for anything that might be serious. Because Stacie had sounded very serious just now as Beca played it back in her mind.

Stacie had gone to the kitchen and gotten Aubrey a glass of water as well as the roll of paper towels to clean up the mess. She dampened a few folded towels and handed them to Aubrey while she used a few more dry ones to soak up the wine.

"Sorry." Aubrey coughed a few more times. "Just… Wrong pipe. Whew. Maybe we should call it a night since I can't hold my liquor. " And she laughed just a little too hard for it to be anything but forced.

And Beca knew she was firmly in the gutter when her mind snickered. 'I could always ask Stacie how Aubrey holds her licker.'

Beca and Chloe made their goodbyes and headed back to their place, Chloe 'helping' her along by shoving her hand in one of Beca's back pockets. By the time they made it in the door, Beca had forgotten what Stacie had said as she and Chloe stripped each other on their way to their bedroom.

Until Stacie joked about it again three months later. After that, it had become a regular thing where Beca almost always blushed and refused to answer, or just flipped Stacie off if the mood struck her. Which it usually did. Chloe and Aubrey would joke back once in a while, but Beca had never really participated. Until this balmy drunken March evening, when Beca was the one who made the joke before she even knew it was in her mind to open her mouth.

Stacie had been talking about an overnight conference she had to attend down in San Diego and had just started to explain that she'd be going down on Tuesday the 14th when Beca cut her off. "You could go down tonight. Maybe."

To be fair, Beca wasn't sure where it had come from and wasn't really certain she meant what it sounded like she was saying. Though, as she listened to 'Make Me' from Britney Spears playing low in the background, she wondered if maybe the song was to blame. Usually it was Stacie making the sex jokes, so this was relatively uncharted territory for Beca. She grinned internally and took another drink. She knew they were all trying to figure out if she was serious, and she found it amused her far more than it should since she wasn't thinking too closely on that answer herself.

After several long moments in which all three women studied her face, they turned back to discussion of Stacie's impending trip and how long she'd be gone. As per their tradition, Aubrey would lock her house each evening and walk next door to sleep, so she wasn't alone at night. Although, with the giant bed Beca had ordered a month before they moved in, no one actually slept on the Beale-Mitchell couch anymore.

When she'd proudly shown the bed off to Stacie and Aubrey the day it was delivered, Stacie had whistled. "Damn, Shorty. That Expanse would fit you, Chloe, me and Bree and probably half the rest of the Bellas." Turning, she gave Beca a look. "Why do you need such a big bed? Are you finally starting to see the error of your ways and needed the extra space to fit some taller bodies?"

Aubrey had smirked. "Because Beca is a cuddle whore."

Beca had gasped dramatically and turned to Chloe. "You told her!?"

Chloe just nodded sadly. "I did. It was too good to keep to myself." She'd walked over and stood next to Beca. "Besides. It's true. Look." And she'd directed Beca's gaze downward, where she'd already wound both hands around Chloe's waist and pulled her close.

Stacie snorted. "Please, I've known that since the first time we shared a bed while Bree was out of town with Chloe."

Beca flushed slightly. "Damnit." She took a deep breath and looked over at the others. "Hi. I'm Beca and I have a pretty bad cuddle habit." She went easily when Chloe pushed her away toward Stacie, whose long arms snaked out and pulled Beca in. "And now I'm not just cuddling my wife, I've moved on to sharing cuddles with my neighbors and friends." She grinned when she felt Aubrey step up behind her for a group hug that Chloe quickly burrowed her way into. "And apparently I've corrupted them as well."

Of course, when Chloe went out of town to travel with her class on their competitions, Beca would still stay with Stacie or Aubrey, depending on who was able to go with her, at whichever house was more convenient. The first time that none of them were able to get the time off and travel with Chloe, Beca had tried to say she'd just go home alone after dinner, but Aubrey had pointed at the back door.

"You march your little ass back over to your house and grab some sleep clothes and come back here. Don't even try otherwise or I will end you." And she gave Beca a trademark Posen stare down.

Beca laughed then tried to tamp it down. "But your bed is only king size… I'm scared Stacie is going to sleep grope me!"

Stacie threw a napkin at her. "Shut up, hypocrite. Besides, you know you'd like it."

Aubrey nodded. "I know I do."

While Beca had considered dragging her chair to the door for old time's sake, she figured that would make Aubrey's threat turn real with a "Murder Bree" tantrum if it scratched the floor. Instead, she shouted "Bossy!" over her shoulder as she left.

Stacie called after her. "And you still love it."

Beca flipped her off without looking but left a "Maybe!" trailing behind her. At home she grabbed her toiletry bag and some sleep clothes and locked up the house. When they were all done changing and filed into the master bedroom, she'd pushed at Aubrey's hip where the other woman was lying at the edge of the bed.

"Move it, Bossy." While both parties had mock grumbled, Aubrey merely slid to the center while Stacie crawled in on Aubrey's right side with Beca already immediately snuggled down on her left.

Stacie lifted her head from the pillow. "Geeze. You really are a cuddle whore. Don't sleep grope my wife, B."

Beca was half asleep when she answered. "She'd like it." She was out before she had a chance to really register that Aubrey stiffened a bit beside her.

The next morning Stacie sent her home with a kiss on her cheek and a pat to her ass after breakfast so she could shower and get ready for work.

This rhythm, it shouldn't work. But it totally did.

Beca pulled herself back to the present when Chloe stood and stretched. She hadn't been completely oblivious, she'd noticed that Stacie had continued to eye her all night, as if knowing Beca was at least partially serious. Aubrey had seemed slightly distracted and Beca could almost hear the wheels spinning.

They all hugged goodbye and Beca took Chloe's hand and led her through the Posen-Conrad back yard and to their own. Once they reached their back door, they turned to wave at Aubrey, who was standing in her own, watching to make sure they made it inside. Only then would Aubrey shut and lock the door.

Beca sent Chloe upstairs and set about shutting everything down for the night. First she locked the back door, then shut off all but a single soft light in the kitchen, in case they got up for any reason in the middle of the night. Beca then circled the house, making sure all the windows were closed and locked, then the front door. Then she headed upstairs and repeated the process before finally going into her bedroom where Chloe was already in bed, sitting up against their sprawl of pillows.

Beca moved to the attached master bathroom and brushed her teeth sleepily. After washing her face, she walked back into the bedroom and to the changing area, where she slowly stripped off most her clothes and dropped them in the hamper. She felt Chloe's eyes on her as she pulled on a sleep shirt and turned back to the bed. Chloe smiled at her over the top of her Kindle and patted the space next to her.

Beca moved over and crawled across the bed to drop next to her wife. Maybe she'd had a touch too much beer, but it had been a good Friday night. She wiggled over until her head was in Chloe's lap, who adjusted her arms to make room. Beca rested against Chloe's legs, and she stretched her arm out across Chloe's thighs, sighing as her body relaxed itself.

She fell asleep and only slightly stirred when Chloe finally put away her book and turned out the light. Beca rolled over on her side and felt Chloe spoon her from behind as they both called it a night.

A Shared Lifetime:

Series Written Order: Candy Wars, Getting Even, Nowish, They Had Time, The Middle, Hood Night, Bechloe's First Official Christmas, A Taste of Home, Can't Help Falling, The Auditorium.

Series Chronological Order: They Had Time, Can't Help Falling, Hood Night, Bechloe's First Official Christmas, Getting Even, The Auditorium, Candy Wars, Nowish, The Middle, A Taste of Home.