Disclaimer: Characters don't belong to me. But sometimes I sit around and think about what I'd do with them if they did, then I write that stuff down.
A/N: Total fluffy silliness. A variant of an idea that's been done a thousand times for these two... doesn't mean I shouldn't do it anyway though, right? ;)
For all of Beca's snark and dry, sarcastic observations, she could be oblivious at times. Not just in a socially awkward way, though there was plenty of that to go around, but to little things that others would likely notice.
That others did notice, when she did not.
She was smart, more than smart enough for college even though she'd had no desire whatsoever to attend, and she wasn't oblivious to the fact that her father just wanted the best for her. Wanted to be able to give her things he'd had to scrape and claw and drag himself up high enough to reach. But having something to "fall back on" wasn't something she even considered she might need and even though he meant well, having the words come from him was like a slap to the face. Because it meant that there was doubt she would succeed where she wanted to in life. That he felt she should have a B plan for when the A one fell through.
It stung. It stung in a way that only something from a parent could, and she wasn't too oblivious to realise that the majority of her animosity towards him was derived directly from that. His lack of belief, of faith, in his only child. But he always had been the level-headed half of her parents' relationship. The sensible, rational, forward thinking one. It still hurt though, more than Beca would ever admit to out loud, but that was besides the point.
Beca wasn't dumb, not scholastically speaking at any rate.
But some things *did* go over her head. Were missed on her radar. And they were things that others picked up on like a brightly shining bat signal in the sky.
The thing was, they never said anything. Not to Beca herself. Instead it became a kind of running, harmless in-joke between the rest of the Bellas. A waiting game in which they all placed bets on if or when Beca would pick up on these "things". Fat Amy even had a pool going. Stacie was largely unable to comprehend exactly how a person could miss something so obvious, claiming that the sheer amount of sexual tension that was being ignored was throwing her into heat. Aubrey had argued that she was just horny ninety-nine percent of the time anyway and needed to pay more attention to what they were actually rehearsing, rather than focusing on whatever perverted fantasies she was cooking up about Beca and Chloe.
Because of course it was Beca and Chloe. The "raccoon-eyed" girl with the impenetrable walls and boundaries that went on for miles, and the bubbly redhead who didn't seem to understand the meaning of the world trespassing and was apparently in possession of the only grappling hook that could get her up and over those aforementioned walls. And Chloe seemed to do it so effortlessly. When Fat Amy had pointed the pair out at hood night and commented on their close proximity, Aubrey had rolled her eyes and explained that "that's just Chloe". Which was true, a one hundred percent genuine fact that was irrefutable. Chloe was like that with everyone.
But Beca wasn't.
It was painfully obvious from the beginning that Beca barely tolerated human interaction in any form and that she would sooner stick her face in a camp fire rather than willingly spend time with the majority of Barden's student body. But after a while, she started warming up to her fellow acapella females – with the very obvious and thoroughly warranted exception of Aubrey – and even Jesse wormed his way in. Though that was mostly down to his oblivious persistence and the fact that he was an idiot who occasionally made her laugh. She started to like them and where the vast majority of them took that as a nice, positive development, Chloe took it as a glowing golden invitation. One that she R.S.V.P'ed as soon as it was handed to her.
All Beca had done was not mess up the choreography for once. That was it. And Chloe had beamed and squealed and clapped like an adorable seal, as if Beca had just been signed to a record label in L.A. Or they'd won the ICCA's. Then she'd wrapped the smaller girl in a hug. A full-bodied, rock from side to side, monster of a bear hug.
The auditorium had gone silent, everyone watching as Beca stood frozen and wide-eyed with her arms pinned to her sides.
"That's uh..." she had mumbled, "Wow, I don't, yeah, oh, okay then." Wearing a look of physical discomfort, she had awkwardly lifted a hand as Chloe, still grinning, pulled back and Beca had patted the other girl's forearm as she withdrew it. "That's... great." Chloe had actually apologised once she saw how strained Beca's smile was – and she looked heartbroken and mortified over it, like she'd accidentally killed Beca's pet bird – but the brunette had brushed it off and everyone slowly went back to rehearsing. Fat Amy went back very slowly and she had kept throwing Beca overly surreptitious glances for the rest of practise.
After that, things started to shift. Gradually, and maybe that was why Beca failed to notice it happening, but they shifted nonetheless. Started to change.
Like Chloe continuing to offer help with the dance moves even though Beca already had them down. Their seat positions growing ever closer until one day Chloe was just there, right beside Beca, and Cynthia Rose had been bumped over. Which she didn't mind at all because it put her right next to Stacie and Stacie's boobs. Even Chloe's defending Beca, her attempts at trying to sway Aubrey; things that she found visibly difficult to do, but she did them. For Beca. So it became obvious pretty quick that Chloe might have a tiny little raging toner for the chick with the earrings and eye-liner, something which Aubrey vehemently argued at first, then less and less as time wore on. Eventually she stopped talking about it altogether, which only made the rest of them talk about it all the more whenever she was around just to rile her up.
Amy also had a pool going on how often her anxious neuroses would make her puke.
Things took a noticeable turn when they were paired up for one of Aubrey's heinous cardio exercises. She hadn't even paired them together but the second she mentioned the word "partners" Chloe had latched onto Beca like a baby monkey. Pressed against her back with her arms looped around the brunette's neck from behind. She'd grinned and proclaimed Beca "hers" with a squeeze and then Beca had done the single strangest thing any of the Bellas had seen her do up until that point.
She had reached up and absently curled her fingers around Chloe's forearm, letting her hand rest there as she made some snarky remark towards Aubrey. She just left it there. There may or may not have even been a gentle squeeze. Fat Amy had been so close to saying something that Cynthia Rose almost lost a finger when she clamped her hand over the blonde's mouth, but she managed to in time. Because that was one of the rules of their little wager; no interference. Aubrey had actually demanded that one. So no one had said anything, though Amy started to fidget the longer she had to hold in whatever vulgar remark she'd come up with. Eventually Chloe had pulled back and Beca's arm had fallen thoughtlessly away, allowing rehearsal to return to its regularly scheduled torture.
Then, it was little things. Little things that clustered into one giant, neon painted thing with flashing lights that was so, so obvious to everyone. But Beca.
They would walk into practise together, Chloe's arm looped through the other girl's, and Beca would laugh without an ounce of sarcasm. She smiled more, argued a little less, and when Chloe had problems hitting notes because of her nodes it was Beca who was the first to leave her seat and tear after her when the redhead ran off, eyes shining. Aubrey hadn't been too happy about that, but Beca had brought her back, sniffling but smiling.
Chloe would rest her head on Beca's shoulder while they listened to their ruthless leader, and Beca would let her.
She'd hug her at the end of practise when they, for whatever reason, weren't walking home together and Beca would let her.
Chloe would try to calm her down when Aubrey was being a bitch and Beca would let her.
And now, as they were all sitting and pretending to watch Aubrey decorate her whiteboard – hers because yes she had actually paid for it out of her own pocket – Chloe had pulled Beca's left hand into her lap and was idly playing with the fingers while the brunette typed out a text with the thumb of her right. And Beca was letting her.
Aubrey glanced at them and pretended not to as she spoke and saw the look of distracted contentedness on her best friend's face. Watched as Chloe stroked and tugged randomly at the digits, laced and unlaced their fingers and Beca did nothing to stop her. And she sighed, making a decision.
Chloe, as they all expected, was not oblivious to any of it as it turned out. Except for the fact that Beca was also sporting a matching toner for her in return.
But Aubrey quickly straightened that out.
So to speak.
She didn't tell any of the Bellas about her intervention though and Amy's suspicious side-eyeing of her when Aubrey finally placed a bet didn't do anything to sway her to do so.
Practise came and went in what had now become the usual fashion and Aubrey smirked to herself when she heard Chloe ask Beca to hang back for a minute. They both said their goodnights to Aubrey and Amy and the two blondes exited the building. Fat Amy immediately started talking about what a creepy stalker Bumper was and how he kept calling her at weird hours for phone sex. After a handful of paces Aubrey came to an abrupt halt and apologised, explaining that she thought she had left something in the auditorium and began walking back. Amy followed, reminding her that "we should travel in packs. It isn't safe for two smoking hot chicks like us to be out alone at this time of the nights". Which was a really nice sentiment before she added "Although I'm probably a bit more at risk than you. No offence." Aubrey mumbled a distracted "none taken" before she opened the door, curiously quietly, and stepped back inside.
And she was rewarded – as strange as it was for her to think of it like that – with the very sight she had hoped to see.
They were standing in front of the white board, Chloe's hands holding Beca's shoulders while the other girl's palms rested against the underside of the redhead's forearms.
And Chloe was kissing her.
And Beca was letting her.
Was kissing her back.
Aubrey glanced askance at Amy who was staring at them slack jawed.
"Pony up." She whispered and Amy's eyes darted to Aubrey, then narrowed at the victorious edge to the older girl's smirk.
"You meddling little-"
"Oh." Chloe's surprised gasp cut her off and they looked from one another to find that they were now the ones being stared at. Amy flashed them a sheepish smile.
"Don't mind us." She waved at them to carry on and Beca turned the colour of Chloe's hair.
So, yeah. Beca could be pretty oblivious at times.
But as it turns out, Chloe was more than happy to help open her eyes.