Notes: This is for Iris. Thanks for bringing this ship into my life. First Bechloe fic. Reviews and stuff are most appreciated. Hope I do them justice.
xxxxx
The first time it happens, it freaks Beca out a little. A lot.
Despite becoming good friends with the other girls in the Bellas, she isn't sure what the protocol is for situations like this. Sleepovers have never been high on her list of priorities and she'd never been invited to any growing up.
So the night before their performance in the final at Lincoln Centre, after a few drinks in Cynthia Rose and Stacie's hotel room, when Beca announces that she's going to bed and Chloe also gets to her feet, Beca begins to feel a little nervous.
"I'll come with," Chloe says brightly before stumbling slightly on her way out the door. When they reach the room that Chloe and Aubrey are sharing, Beca slows but the redhead continues on down the corridor.
"Uh, Chloe?" Beca calls, gesturing at the closed door.
"I don't want to wake her," is Chloe's response before she holds out her hand to Beca. With every step she takes towards the other girl, the nervous energy coursing through her increases tenfold until Beca's pretty sure that she's going to explode when she slips her hand into Chloe's.
"What about Amy?" Beca asks, allowing herself to be led around the corner at the end of the corridor to the first room on the right. Amy had disappeared pretty much as soon as they'd landed, leaving Beca with her bags and a cryptic message about settling an old score. She'd promised to be back in time for the competition though.
Chloe gives the shorter girl a slightly exasperated look before smiling.
"I doubt we'll see Amy before breakfast."
Beca unlocks the door and lets Chloe in first.
"Cute room," she says before making a beeline for the bed nearest the window. She bounces onto it and lies back. "Comfy."
"That's my bed," Beca says, closing the door and glancing warily at Amy's bed, her unopened suitcase lying on top of the sheets. Chloe doesn't budge though and instead kicks off her boots. "Do you need pyjamas?"
"I mostly sleep without," Chloe says, looking up from the covers when she hears Beca make a slightly choked noise. "But I'm good with shorts and a t-shirt." She eyes the blushing brunette curiously before her head flops back down onto the covers. "Do you think Cynthia Rose and Stacie are a thing?"
"I hadn't really given it much thought," Beca says truthfully. Aubrey hadn't deemed it one of their rules so why would it matter if two members of the same group are dating. "Why?"
"They're cute together, when they think no-one is watching," Chloe says, sitting up suddenly to pull off her cardigan. She tosses it onto the floor where Beca immediately snatches it up and folds it before placing it on the chair in the corner of the room. "Beca Mitchell is a neat freak?" Chloe raises an eyebrow, giggling slightly at the other girl's increasingly red face.
"Freak might be a little bit harsh," Beca says, turning to rummage through her bag. She locates her pyjamas before tossing a pair of old basketball shorts and a tanktop to Chloe. At Chloe's bemused look, Beca sighs. "I thought about going to the gym in the morning, okay?" The redhead nods and holds up the shorts. Bundling up her own washbag and pyjamas, Beca gestures to the en-suite. "I'll be back."
"Take your time," Chloe says, giving the other girl another kilowatt smile.
Beca changes quickly, runs a toothbrush around her mouth then spends five minutes sitting on the edge of the bath staring at her (still-blushing) reflection in the mirror.
"It's nothing," she tells herself. "We're friends. Friends share beds all the time. And okay, it might make more sense for her to sleep in Amy's bed. But Amy could come back at any time and…" Beca tails off and shakes her head. "Get it together, Bec."
Exiting the bathroom, Beca calmly stacks her clothes on top of her suitcase and turns to face the bed where Chloe is already under the covers, face screwed up in concentration as she taps out a text message.
"Want me to check that before you send it?" Beca asks. "Drunk texts are…" She tries to come up with a way to finish that sentence but pulls up short. She's tired and they've had a long day and now she's faced with unexpectedly having to share a bed. Her vocabulary has deserted her.
"Done," Chloe announces with a flourish before setting the phone down on the bedside table. "I was just letting Aubrey know where I am in case she worries in the morning. And I'm not drunk drunk. Mildly tipsy maybe. Are you getting in?"
Beca nods and forces her feet to take the necessary steps to get her to the other side of the bed. It's a double. There's plenty of room for them both. Beca lets herself sink into the mattress slightly before turning onto her side to get comfortable. Chloe is battling with the practically flat pillows, trying to get them to plump up a little.
"You can have one of my mine," Beca offers. "I usually sleep with one anyway."
"Thanks," Chloe says gratefully, slipping it under her head and sighing contentedly. "That's better already."
They lapse into a few moments of silence before Chloe reaches above her head to flick the light off.
"Sweet dreams," she murmurs before yawning into the darkness.
"Night," Beca says, rolling onto her back again and clasping her hands behind her head. Easy, she thinks to herself. This isn't a big deal at all.
It's still the middle of the night when Beca's eyes are forced open against their will. It takes around half a minute for her brain to stop panicking about where they are and another few seconds for her to realise that someone is singing.
Scratch that.
Someone who is pretty much lying on top of her is singing. Squinting into the darkness, Beca remembers that she's sharing a bed with Chloe. She isn't entirely sure why the other girl is so close: why her body is pressed into Beca's right side, why her head is resting on Beca's shoulder, why their legs have twined together so comfortably and why Chloe's hand is resting, almost possessively, on Beca's hip. And she isn't given any time to process it because Chloe's voice has started again and her lips are so close to Beca's neck that the shorter girl finds herself shivering.
"I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose, fire away, fire away," Chloe croons softly against Beca's skin and goosebumps flare up all over her rigid body. "Ricochet, you take your aim, fire away, fire away."
Memories of the first time she'd heard Chloe sing this song rush into Beca's mind; how confident the older girl had been standing there, buck-naked; how embarrassed Beca had been, not least because she couldn't stop herself from checking Chloe out. But when their voices had started to meld together around the lyrics, Beca had forgotten to be completely mortified by the situation because they had sounded amazing.
And it sounds amazing now. Ridiculously amazing given that it's… Beca reaches for her phone to check the time and groans. 4:17.
"Chloe, knock it off," she says quietly but the voice is relentless.
"You shoot me down but I won't fall, I am titanium," Chloe sings, lips brushing against Beca's skin causing the shorter girl to jerk away violently. In the darkness, somehow she manages to jab Chloe's face with her shoulder.
"OW! My nose!"
"Shit!" Beca exclaims, scrambling for the light switch. They squint at each other for a few seconds before Beca grimaces and jumps out of bed to get some toilet roll. Chloe's nose is bleeding. "I'm so sorry," she says, offering the wad of bunched up paper from a distance. "You were singing and you were really, really close to me and I…"
"Thought punching me in the face would be a good solution to get me to stop?" Chloe asks, no hint of malice in her voice whatsoever. In fact, behind the tissue paper, Beca can see a huge grin on her face. "I was singing?" Beca nods, wondering how on earth Chloe had managed to sleep through it all. "What song?"
"Um. Titanium?" Beca says, sitting down on the end of the bed. "It sounded really good."
"Up until the point where you assaulted me?" Chloe supplies, grinning again when Beca begins to get flustered. "Beca, please chill out. I must have been dreaming or something. It's been a long time since I sleep-sang." Gingerly she takes the tissue away from her nose before giving it another couple of quick dabs. "Better?"
"All good," Beca agrees with a nod. "I am sorry…"
"Stop it," Chloe says. "More apologising leads to less sleep and the last thing we need to be at the competition is tired and grumpy."
"Just try to save your voice for your solo?" Beca asks, drawing the covers up around her and reaching for the switch. The last thing she sees before she shuts off the light is Chloe sticking out her tongue. "Dork."
"Nerd," the other girl's voice counters in the darkness before a hand reaches out under the covers to tickle Beca's side. The brunette squirms out of reach, right to the edge of the bed.
"Sleep!" she instructs, checking to make sure that Chloe has retracted her hand before settling back down, hands clasped behind her head once more for a couple of more hours of sleep.
xxxxx
The second time it happens, Beca manages to refrain from smacking Chloe in the face.
The departing seniors in the Bellas – Chloe and Aubrey – have already handed over the reins to Beca and the other freshmen and they've had their final riff-off of the year with the other groups. All that remains are Beca's final two exams, a couple more shifts at the radio station and her move to the suburbs for the summer to get better acquainted with her stepmother and stepbrother.
Her eyes are burning from memorising pages and pages of notes that she can't even remember taking. It's close to midnight when she slams the book closed, shuts off her desk lamp and flops heavily down onto her bed-slash-sofa.
She's roused moments later by something hitting her bedroom window.
"Seriously?" she mutters into the darkness, dragging herself upright and pulling the curtains open. Her face falls into a frown when she sees the person down on the path, carefully weighing which stone to throw next and she quickly wrenches the window open to stop them. "Chloe, are you nuts?"
"Beca!" Chloe calls, dropping the remaining stones to the ground, shushing them when they clatter around. "You're awake."
"You're drunk," Beca notes. "Stay there a second."
Chloe attempts a salute and fails drastically on every level, leaving Beca chuckling as she finds a pair of sneakers and a sweatshirt to throw on top of her tanktop. She jogs down to the front doors and finds Chloe wandering down the path.
"Chlo, come on, time to go inside," Beca says, catching up with her friend and steering her back towards the doors. "Where have you been? And why are you here?"
"Frat party… the Beta Alpha Charlie … something end-of-year thing," Chloe says, gesturing expansively with the arm that isn't wrapped around Beca's waist. "Aubrey ditched me to make out with that Donald guy."
"A Treble?!" Beca asks in mock-shock.
"I know!" Chloe exclaims, leaning heavily against Beca's shoulder as they attempt stairs together. "So, I thought I'd see what my good friend, Beca, is doing."
"Your good friend was about to smash the window with her Math 106 textbook because her final is at three tomorrow and she really sucks at math," Beca grumbles. "How was the party?"
"Boring," Chloe makes a face of disgust. "It's supposed to be the best party of the year. And I could have made out with any of them. But I didn't."
"Right," Beca says, fixing Chloe with a bemused look. "Go you?"
"Yes! Go me," Chloe says with a nod before grimacing. "No more nodding. Why is your room so far?"
"It's literally the next door on the right," Beca says with a laugh before producing the key from the pocket of her pyjama pants. "You're going to have to borrow the basketball shorts again, is that okay?"
"I can make those look hot," Chloe says, resting her head against the wall while Beca unlocks the door and switches the lights on. Kimmy-Jin is out for the night, cramming for her final exam with her friends, and Beca isn't sure if she'll be back before morning or not so she directs Chloe to the chair at her desk while she rummages around in the wardrobe for the shorts and a spare tanktop. "I like your jeans."
Beca glances over her shoulder to find Chloe smiling lazily back at her.
"I'm not wearing jeans," Beca points out, gesturing to her pyjama pants.
"I know," Chloe rolls her eyes. "Just those jeans you always wear. I like them."
"Okay," Beca says slowly, finding the shorts and presenting them to Chloe. "I'm just gonna… um…" She backs away towards the bathroom. "I'll be back."
"Take your time," Chloe says before frowning. "Déjà vu."
In the bathroom, Beca steels herself once more for someone invading her personal space while she tries to sleep.
"Whatever you do, don't hit her again," she warns her reflection in a whisper. There's a thud on the other side of the door and Beca hurries out to find Chloe in the shorts and her bra, sitting on the floor. "You okay down there?" Beca asks, biting down on her lip to stop herself from laughing when Chloe looks up at her in confusion.
"You're really tall," Chloe stares up at her for a few more seconds before looking down at the floor. "I can sleep here."
"Nope, not happening," Beca says, moving behind Chloe to hoist her up onto the bed and trying very hard to ignore the ripple of excitement that courses through her as her hands lock around the other girl's waist. "Here," she helps the other girl pull the tanktop over her head before offering to get her some water. Chloe acquiesces and downs every last drop from the glass Beca gives her.
"Sleep time?" Chloe asks, flopping down onto her side and backing up against bookcases that line Beca's bed. Beca kneels on the mattress cautiously.
"Are you sure about sleeping there? You're not going to throw up or anything?"
"I have the stomach of a… strong-stomach… thing," Chloe says, eyes already closing as a wave of sleep falls over her.
"I love your way with words," Beca laughs, lying down next to her friend. "Just yell if you need anything."
"Mmm," Chloe murmurs.
Unable to sleep, Beca recites formulae over and over in her head, driving herself crazier and crazier with things she should have learned months ago. All of that is driven out of her mind when an arm snakes out around her waist and she feels Chloe shuffle closer.
Again? Beca sighs and waits for the singing to start.
It isn't immediate though. First of all, Chloe has to get comfortable. Her head finds that nook between Beca's head and shoulder, burrowing in, and the feel of Chloe's lips as they just brush over Beca's neck causes a visceral reaction in the brunette. Unbidden, she feels her hips rise up from the mattress and frowns, unsure as to what's happening.
Next, the rest of Chloe's body edges closer again so she's sort-of-but-not-quite lying on top of Beca.
Okay. This is fine. This happened the last time. Just…
"Her eyes, her eyes make the stars look like they're not shining," Chloe whispers, her breath causing the hairs on the back of Beca's neck to stand up and her hips want to do that roll-thing again but now she's pretty much pinned to the bed.
Unlike the first time, when she'd woken up mid-song, Beca is treated to the entirety of the first verse and chorus. She makes a couple of half-hearted attempts to wake the redhead but can't seem to find it inside herself to stop her completely.
Until, that is, she feels Chloe's own hips grind down against hers.
"Shit!" Beca exclaims and forces herself out of the clutches of her friend, all too aware of the noise she's making as she clatters to the floor. "Ow."
"Bec?" Chloe's drowsy voice sounds. "Where did you go?"
"Down here," Beca responds, grimacing up at the ceiling and trying to ignore every single impulse that's telling her to get back into bed and do something about those feelings. Chloe's head appears over the edge of the bed.
"The bed is more comfortable," Chloe states, holding out her hand for Beca's. "Have you hurt yourself?"
"No," Beca says, rubbing her elbow. "Nothing serious. You were singing again."
"Again?" Chloe frowns and Beca feels her stomach sink slightly when the word she wants to use to describe her friend drops into her mouth: adorable. "I'm sorry for waking you."
"I wasn't sleeping," Beca says, running her hands through her hair, trying to decide if she can get back into the bed or not. "I'm too psyched about the exam. I'm going to go for a walk, clear my head, okay? Just stay here. I'll be back soon."
Chloe nods, sensing waves of agitation wafting off the other girl. Beca grabs her hoody and sneakers once again and rushes out of the room, welcoming the cool air when she makes it outside.
What the hell is going on with me?
Chloe is her friend, her friend, who is very confident about her looks and her body and her… oh god, her body. Beca screws her eyes shut as she tries not to picture Chloe buck-naked in the shower or half-naked on her bed. Or just naked anywhere. Chloe, her friend, who is sweet and kind and… hot. Cute. Adorable. Funny. And talented, with that voice that sets Beca's nerves on tenterhooks, that causes all kinds of ridiculous goosebumps to pop up all over her body.
Beca slouches down on a bench in the courtyard and stares at the ground. It's too quiet for her. She needs some music to help her make sense of this, of these feelings. She needs anything (barring Bruno Mars) and she needs it now. She needs to lose herself in something, anything other than feelings for her friend that she's pretty sure she shouldn't be having.
It takes another five minutes for her to work up the courage to go back to the room. Chloe is fast asleep, curled up against the back of the sofa leaving Beca on the edge of the mattress again. She slips off her sneakers and hoody and reaches for her iPod before she pulls the covers up over herself. With a playlist designed to help her drift off, to clear her mind, she closes her eyes and waits for it to take effect.
But Chloe's arm is back around her waist and her head is on Beca's shoulder but her lips aren't brushing against the shorter girl's neck.
This time they're planting a soft kiss to the corner of Beca's mouth.
Fuck.
xxxxx
Hi Aubrey. Just wondering if you ever noticed that Chloe sings in her sleep sometimes? Does she do it often? Should she be seeking medical advice? I don't want her to cause any more damage to her vocal cords. Beca x
Beca reads the message over a few times before hitting the send button. She flops down onto her bed and closes her eyes. The maths exam had gone better than she'd expected, especially after barely sleeping a wink. Chloe had left early, though not before Kimmy-Jin had arrived back at the room looking freaked out.
"Where's my lucky rabbit's foot?" she'd shouted, throwing things around the room in a blind panic for five minutes before Beca had calmly pointed out that it was hanging from a chain around her neck.
The buzzing of her phone on her desk causes her to bolt upright, scrambling to read Aubrey's response.
Hahaha, you are so aca-screwed x
Perplexed, Beca starts to chew her bottom lip, her forehead crinkling up as she waits for another message to come through. Possibly one with a little more explanation. Nothing.
"What the hell does that mean?!"
xxxxx
The third time it happens… well.
Just stopped for gas. See you soon! Xxx
Beca's stomach flips over and she tosses her phone onto the bedspread, trying to ignore the weird dizzy sensation working its way through her body. She'd woken up extra-early that morning, a mass of nerves. This is the first time she's ever organised a sleepover and she wants everything to be perfect, even though only one of the Bellas is coming to stay.
Her dad and stepmother had left a week ago, flying north with Beca's stepbrother, to visit family in Toronto. Beca had been invited along but had elected to stay behind to look after the house (more specifically, the pool) and their dog, an old, docile retriever called Max. They've stipulated no wild parties but what Beca has in mind barely fits that description.
Her plans for a Bella get-together have been dashed somewhat by pretty much every single one of her teammates though. Aubrey is already in France with her parents for the summer, Stacie is working nights in a bar, Cynthia Rose is in rehab after losing most of her possessions in a game of poker, Lilly is touring Canada with her sideline project – a dance crew, Jessica, Denise and Ashley are at a performing arts summer camp and Fat Amy is back in Tasmania for a month, writing the first draft of her memoirs.
The only one who answers her text with any enthusiasm is Chloe.
Initially, Beca had been less enthusiastic about Chloe being the only one there. In order to deal with whatever feelings she'd had about their last sleepover, Beca had all but ignored Chloe for the remainder of the semester.
But now, the redhead has been in touch every day since Beca has been at her dad's for summer vacation, whether it be a text or a phone call that stretches into the small hours of the morning, a message on Facebook or an email containing videos of cats jumping into or out of boxes. Chloe can't wait to visit and, as usual, her mood is infectious and consequently Beca can't wait to see her again.
Half an hour passes before Beca hears a car pulling into the driveway. She jumps up from the bed and heads down to the front door, greeting Chloe with a wave as the other girl hops out of her car.
"Hey!" Chloe calls, flashing Beca a huge grin before pulling her bag out of the trunk. Beca starts down the path to help but Chloe waves her away, dropping the bag onto the grass to wrap her arms around the shorter girl. "I can't believe you stayed in that tiny dorm all year when this place is fifteen minutes from campus." Beca pulls out of the hug to glance at the house.
"It's not bad, right?" she says with a chuckle. "Come on. You've been bugging me about the pool all week."
"You just want to see how this looks in a bikini," Chloe says with a wink, gesturing up and down her body.
"We've seen each other naked," Beca reminds her.
"Then maybe I won't bother wearing the bikini," Chloe jokes, watching as Beca's cheeks flush. "So easy." Beca rolls her eyes and reaches for Chloe's bag, hefting it towards the house.
Swimming is followed by a messy cooking session in the kitchen which results in some of the most amazing Mexican food Beca has ever tasted. When they collapse onto the sofas in the lounge afterwards, she groans and rubs her stomach.
"Never eating again," she moans.
"Until I make you pancakes for breakfast," Chloe reminds her.
"Pancakes," Beca says, raising an eyebrow. "How can you even think about eating anything else right now?" Off the salacious look Chloe gives her, Beca feels her cheeks redden yet again.
"So easy," Chloe laughs, throwing a cushion across the lounge. "So, what next?"
"Apart from a nap?" Beca asks. "I don't know. A movie?"
"You hate movies," Chloe points out.
"True. You can watch a movie and I will take a nap," Beca decides, toying with the cushion in her hands before she looks over at Chloe. "At least if you're watching a movie, you won't start singing all over me." Now it's Chloe's turn to blush. "I asked Aubrey about it… the sleep-singing. She was unhelpful, to say the least."
Chloe turns her gaze towards the television screen even though it's switched off and remains completely silent.
"We don't have to talk about it," Beca says with a slight shrug. "I guess there are worse things you could do at night…"
"Aubrey didn't say anything?" Chloe asks, wrenching her gaze from the television to look over at Beca, a troubled expression on her face.
"She said that I'm 'aca-screwed', whatever that means," Beca raises an eyebrow at Chloe's agitation. "Look, forget that I said anything. Pick a movie to watch and I'll try to enjoy it." She sends a smile across the room and Chloe nods before sliding off her sofa to look through the pile of boxes next to the DVD player. Beca excuses herself from the room and heads for the kitchen, wishing that she hadn't brought up the sleep-singing. She opens the fridge to grab a couple of beers and pops the lids off before returning to the lounge.
Chloe has nestled on Beca's couch, legs curled up beneath her to leave enough room for the other girl. She accepts the bottle from Beca's outstretched hand and takes a long pull on it, making a face after she's swallowed.
"We have stronger stuff…" Beca starts after tasting the beer but Chloe gestures for her to sit.
"It's fine," Chloe says. "So, I thought we'd start off easy with the movies." She presses the play button and Beca cringes.
"A musical?"
"Grease is a classic," Chloe protests. "You're supposed to be napping anyway. So shush. Nap."
"I'll give it a shot," Beca grumbles, settling down into the cushions. "You're going to sing every song, aren't you?"
"Pretty much," Chloe grins and Beca is pleased that the awkwardness of a few minutes ago has dissipated.
As anticipated, Beca finds herself falling asleep midway through the film, mumbling apologies to Chloe who merely sighs dramatically and shakes her head before telling Beca that it's okay, maybe they'll watch another film when she's more awake.
The next thing Beca is aware of is a voice in her ear. She cracks one eye open to see that the end credits of the movie are still rolling. Apart from that, the room is in total darkness and she's flat out on the couch. Then the voice stops and she twists her head around to find Chloe wedged between her body and the sofa cushions.
"Shorty get down, good Lord," Chloe's voice mumbles causing Beca to go rigid.
"Are you kidding me?" she hisses towards the ceiling. She attempts to get off the couch but Chloe's arms are wrapped tightly around her waist. "Seriously?"
She places her hands on top of the redhead's and attempts to pry them apart to no avail. Chloe's singing continues unabated, her mouth somehow moving inexplicably closer to Beca's skin.
"I can't get her out of my mind," she sings, causing Beca to stop struggling. Chloe's lips brush against the side of her neck and she exhales shakily. "I think about the girl all the time."
A strangled noise escapes Beca's mouth as she feels Chloe's hips roll forward against hers. She needs to get off the couch now. She needs space and she needs Chloe's hips to stop doing that. Beca bites down on her bottom lip as the other girl's hands unclench from around her waist and take up residence on her hips.
"I like the way you work it," Chloe's voice drops down into a lower register and Beca is aware of the all-too-familiar goosebumps rising up all over her body. Fighting against Chloe's hold, she manages to swivel around. All the while, the singing gets louder and louder and Chloe's hips are still managing to jut forwards into Beca's causing the brunette untold amounts of frustration.
"Chloe," Beca tries to wake the other girl up and marvels at just how deep a sleeper her friend is. "Chloe, come on. Time to wake up."
"Hey-oh-hey-oh-hey-oh-hey-oh," Chloe sings out and, cursing herself, Beca decides there is only one course of action to get Chloe to shut up. Summoning her courage, she takes a deep breath before leaning forward and pressing her lips against Chloe's. Silence falls in the room and Beca feels the grip on her hips relax.
Aware of the fact that she should be taking advantage of her freedom, Beca discovers that she can't bring herself to detach from Chloe's lips and it isn't until the other girl's eyes pop open in surprise that she realises what she's actually doing. She pulls away hastily, leaving Chloe staring at her, a questioning look on her face.
"What… was that?" she asks at last, taking in Beca's bright red cheeks and parted lips.
"Uh… nothing," Beca says, attempting to roll backwards off the couch. Unsurprisingly, she lands with a thud on the floor. She lies still for a few seconds, hoping that the world will open up and take her away from this situation. Far, far away.
"You were kissing me," Chloe's disembodied voice says.
"You were singing and I couldn't get you to shut up and you wouldn't let go of me so I kissed you," Beca says in a rush, pressing her palms against her eyes. The last thing she wants is to see Chloe's face right now.
"Oh."
"Yeah," Beca says, still not trusting herself to move from the ground. The sensation of Chloe's hips rocking against hers is all too present in her mind and she's a little scared that her legs will not cooperate if she tries to go anywhere.
"The sleep-singing thing… it doesn't happen often," Chloe starts to offer an explanation before falling quiet. "I feel a little awkward trying to explain this while you're lying on the floor. Are you okay?"
"Dying from embarrassment, but yes, I'm okay," Beca says, raising a hand to give Chloe a thumb's up. She hears her friend giggle before lowering her hand. "So, am I the first recipient of your late-night warbling?"
"I don't warble!" Chloe says indignantly. "And no. Aubrey got to listen to me sing night after night for about two months when we shared a room in our Freshman year." There's a pause and Beca hears movement up on the sofa before Chloe's head pops over the edge. "Hi."
"Hello," Beca replies, still unwilling to move from her position on the floor. "So, was the singing directed at Aubrey?"
"No," Chloe says immediately. "She was just unlucky to be in the same room. The intended recipient was a senior in the Bellas. Who I had a major crush on."
Chloe sighs a little, unaware of the effect this admission is having on her friend.
"We had… a thing. It meant more to me than it did to her and she kind of broke my heart," she finishes, attempting a smile before she clears her throat. "So. There you have it. My secret is out. I sleep-sing when I have a crush."
Slightly alarmed by look on Chloe's face, Beca tries to think of something to say that will comfort her friend but comes up with nothing. Instead, she reaches up and grasps Chloe's hand, squeezing it hard.
"It's me, isn't it?" Beca says eventually. She already knows the answer but feels her stomach lurch anyway when Chloe bobs her head up and down a couple of times. "I guess I should have figured that out sooner, huh? The songs were kind of a giveaway… you were singing No Diggity by the way."
Chloe groans and makes a face.
"I'm not exactly known for my subtlety, even my subconscious," Chloe says before edging back onto the sofa fully. Beca keeps her grip on Chloe's hand and pulls herself upright. "You're not freaking out."
"No," Beca says, shrugging her shoulders slightly. "Not freaking out. Did you think I would?"
"I thought you might," Chloe answers truthfully. "You're hard to read sometimes. Most of the time actually. I can pretty much never tell what you're thinking. You're a closed book, Beca Mitchell. Until now, anyway. That kiss was… something."
Beca blushes and looks away from Chloe, focusing on their joined hands. She runs her thumb over the back of Chloe's hand, trying desperately to think of something to say. She isn't good at this. Luckily, Chloe fills the silence before she can come up with anything.
"Tell me what you're thinking," Chloe says quietly, reaching over to hook her finger under Beca's chin. When their eyes meet, Chloe offers her a reassuring smile that only succeeds in creating more butterflies in Beca's stomach.
"I'm not good at this," she admits.
"I know," Chloe says, letting the pad of her thumb run over Beca's bottom lip before taking her hand away.
"I don't sing in my sleep," Beca begins carefully. "But if I did, you would be the… uh…" She breaks off, completely aware of how cringe-worthy she sounds but Chloe is squeezing her hand again and she clears her throat. "You would be the reason. If I did."
"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Chloe beams, shifting backwards against the cushions and gesturing for Beca to climb up off the floor. "I won't bite, promise."
Beca shoots her a wry grin and pushes herself up off the ground, dusting off her jeans.
"I love those jeans," Chloe notes, waiting for Beca to decide if she's going to lie down on the couch again.
"That's not the first time you've told me that," Beca says, finally making up her mind and sinking back down onto the cushions. "The night you came over after that frat party… you told me the same thing then. I wasn't even wearing jeans."
"I don't remember," Chloe says, biting down on her bottom lip.
"That was the night I realised," Beca confides, figuring she might as well lay everything bare now that she's started. "And I didn't handle it well, clearly."
"I honestly thought that I'd done something awful that night," Chloe says, watching Beca's face intently. The younger girl is lying flat on her back, eyes turned towards the ceiling, teeth worrying her bottom lip. "You ignored me…"
"It was easier than admitting to myself what I was feeling for you," Beca interrupts quietly, turning to look into Chloe's eyes. "You kissed me that night." Chloe's jaw drops.
"I did not," she says in horror.
"Right here," Beca lifts her finger to point to the corner of her mouth. "That freaked me out."
Without warning, Chloe leans forwards and presses a soft kiss to the spot Beca's finger had indicated. When she pulls back, her eyes keep their lock on Beca's and she offers the brunette a shy smile.
"What about that time?"
Wordlessly, Beca shakes her head causing Chloe to lean in again, this time leaving a series of lingering kisses from the corner of Beca's mouth down to her jawline before placing a final one against the other girl's lips. Pulling away, she raises her eyebrow slightly.
"And that time?"
"No," Beca winces at the pitch of her voice and clears her throat. "No. That was all good. But just to be clear, maybe try that last one again."
"For clarity's sake," Chloe nods, pressing another kiss against Beca's lips; the type of kiss that feels like it lasts for hours but simultaneously feels far too short; the type of kiss that sets off sparks up and down Beca's spine; the type of kiss where it feels like all of the air has been sucked from Beca's lungs and her head is starting to spin…
And then the pressure lessens and Chloe moves away, eyes sparkling as she takes in the look on Beca's face.
Both girls exhale before sharing a smile.
"Are you okay? You look like you might pass out," Chloe murmurs, sliding her hand up to cup Beca's cheek, sending another series of sparks pinging around the brunette's nervous system.
"I think I get what Aubrey's text meant," Beca muses as Chloe's hand starts to trail southwards.
"Oh?" Chloe pauses, fixing Beca with a questioning look.
"I am so aca-screwed."