[A/N: Someone gave me this prompt idea on Tumblr and I kind of ran with it! I really like this idea, and I think I'm going to continue to run with it- but please let me know what you guys think!- UnholyHelbig]

Chloe's arm was strapped to the woman's chest, her stance rigid and full of tension as she pressed her across the puke colored lockers. They had been repainted recently, the whole school used to boast the colors of blue and gold- proud, yet humble compared to the new setting that changed the once rough mascot of a Timberwolf into an all-inclusive leaf. A leaf of all things.

It thought the kids that competition wasn't always necessary. That you had to be creative and press your roots into the newly found soil instead of following the current of a pack of predators. The message hadn't been shared before- but now it was clearly plastered against the hallways in cheap PTA posters that were supposed to be done by the kids. Even though Chloe knew damn well a first grader couldn't pull off a glitter border of that magnitude.

She was restraining herself- just like a wolf, Chloe was taught to go right for the throat in any line of attack. She would subdue her prey not only to create a message but to gain respect. Of course, this wasn't the wild, and she wasn't pitted against another mangy animal. Instead, she was staring into the eyes of a chihuahua with a short haircut and too much time on her hands.

"What are you going to do, Chloe?" The woman snipped "Hit me? There are camera's all over this school."

Her turquoise stare flicked to one of the devices in question. She wasn't wrong; the elementary school as suited up with top of the line surveillance. There may not have been any physical witnesses around, but all Karen had to do was put on a sob story and the superintendent wouldn't hesitate in finding the clips.

If Chloe was being honest, she wasn't really sure about the quick second of rage that flashed through her. This woman was just so entitled and privileged. She had been proposing changes to the school every single PTA meeting, pushing for the damned leaf and now proposing that the board take away competition altogether. They had gotten heated enough to be sent on a "Timeout" as Super Intendant Fay so rudely stated into the microphone.

"You would know," Chloe said, lifting her chin slightly. Damn, that temper of hers needed to get under control. The hallway outside of a packed auditorium in suburbia was not the time nor the place to have an outburst. It was wasted on this woman who wore nothing but pale colored polos and khakis.

Regardless, she pulled away, straightening her own button down before giving the woman about a foot of room. Despite her deep confidence in the redhead's ability to restrain herself, Karen let out a breath of relief. Maybe it was contempt, but neither woman had the chance to figure it out before the slight buzz of after meeting donuts filled the air. Most people came for the food and not the actual discussion.

Chloe dreaded it herself- only clearing her schedule because Beca insisted that they become more involved in their children's school life. She couldn't fault her there. It was important to be aware- but Karen really rubbed her the wrong way.

"I hope you two are getting along," Speak of the devil.

Beca Mitchell-Beale had changed magnitudes since her days at Barden University. Both women had. The prospect of pressing a gold-plated ring against Chloe's finger and settling down in a large house with a white picket fence became more and more appealing until the brunette finally decided that it was a close second to her music career- one she had already established quite well.

Her arm warped lazily around Chloe's waist, pulling her into her side with ease. The older girl fell naturally into place- instantly calming a bit at her wife's comforting embrace. Her shoulders dropped some of the tension as she faked a tight edged smile.

"Of course," She kissed the side of Beca's head, "Isn't that right, Karen? She actually has this great recipe for Lemon Margarine that She promised to give me."

"Right!" The woman parted her lips, giving Beca a kind nod "What can I say? I'm a real master chef… Now, if you ladies would excuse me, I have to go find John."

Both women nodded, watching the blonde as she sauntered away. They would bet that she wasn't naturally that swift or that cunning- having to adapt to the life a housewife in the middle of a 50's paradise. "Karen Kay will be the absolute death of me."

A swift slap on the upper arm caused Chloe to draw back as she feigned pain. Her nose crinkling. "Ow! Watch it, Mitchell, there are camera's here, you know? Courtesy of Miss West herself."

"You made a scene in there," Beca huffed, pouting at her finest as she stared her wife down. "I would expect Maddie being put in the hallway in time-out, but you?"

"You wouldn't swat your little hands at Maddie," Chloe grumbled.

"She's six," Beca cocked an eyebrow. She swore some of her uptight attitude from her Barden days had rubbed off on Chloe- the girl more stubborn that submissive especially when it came to the PTA. "And It's Mitchell-Beale to you."

"You shouldn't care what they think," She continued, trying to soothe the brunette. The woman still had her badge clipped to the outside of her collar. She had come right from the studio, the heir of annoyance with a demanding client on her mind. "The most exciting part of their lives is when the office manager orders the super-strength sticky notes."

"Not the point," Beca pulled at her wife's collar, running a hand over the seam of the light blue fabric- her shirt tucked into a pristine belt that stood out from the pitch colors of her jeans. "We're part of this community. You taking out your frustrations on the Kay's will not make it any easier for our girls. Alright?"

The smaller woman had a point, despite her grumpy nature about it all. She as a fuming pile of rage at the moment, Chloe ignoring her own quarrels as she laced her fingers with Beca's- the girl had a cold touch- one that instantly made the redhead run her thumb over the woman's fingers.

"I want to hear you say it." She sighed as she pressed her cheek against Chloe's arm, feeling an odd wave of exhaustion hit her. It had been a long and grueling day at the station.

Arctic eyes flashed over the majority of the room- it was large and cold, the ceilings high enough to echo. There were different pictures around the room of past classes that had graduated from the ranks of Willowdale Elementary school. The two double doors that lead to the auditorium were closed shut now- a mass of ticked off parents rushing for powdered donuts and off-brand juice. The orange kind that came in big clear jugs from a strange company out west.

"Should we make the rounds?" Chloe drew in a soft breath. She knew Beca was always amused when she started to go into her medical lingo, even if it was something her wife had only heard from an episode of Grey's Anatomy. With a little chuckle, she started to walk towards the group of people who weren't closely knit to the Kay's- and Karen of all people.

"Becaw, Chloe!" The warm voice of another stated as he grinned widely. Jesse Swanson was the trademark jock, or at least he had been in high school- a football player that married a real estate agent who still baked fresh cookies in an over to make the house she was listing feel more like home. He was still charismatic, still strong-willed, and most importantly, he could mess with Beca without losing a finger.

His arm was slung over Claire's shoulder, a slack smile on his face as she greeted them with a kind and welcoming smile. Both girls could tell that behind closed doors all of them had dreaded the prospect of another one of these gatherings.

"You really got into it with Karen today," Claire said, her soft golden eyes flicking between the two, trying to gauge the situation. "I'm surprised you didn't jump her right then and there."

"Please," Chloe scoffed, giving her friend a kind smile. "I have some self-control, Conrad."

"Good," Beca cocked her head to the side "I like this place, so no more restraining orders."

"That was one time," She laughed, squeezing the hand that was wrapped around her upper arm. Beca hated most social functions, even if it was with a bunch of small-town people in khakis and neon colored shirts. This place was home, and the younger woman didn't have the most convincing social skills- even after seven years of the pair being here.

Chloe struggled to direct the conversation elsewhere "Have you heard from your sister?"

Claire had her drink raised to her lips, swallowing the neon colored juice from a cheap plastic cup with a strangled gulp as a wide grin pressed against her lips. "Why? You thinking of offering her a job at Mercy West?"

"I've pondered it," The girl said with a slight smirk "If she's as good as you say she is in the field that she could come in handy in the OR."

Claire chuckled, "I think she's ready to settle down with her wife at this point. I sold her a place on Wilmington and 5th, so it looks like you two are getting new neighbors."

"Oh?" Beca knit her eyebrows together "You mean two homosexual couples on the same block?" She turned to face her wife, placing her hand on Chloe's chest right under her shoulder. "Babe, we're tainting the neighborhood. It's spreading like a disease."

Chloe barked out a laugh, Jesse and Claire beaming themselves at the woman's bitter antics. All of them remembered the hissy fit that Karen had made with her little wolf pack of Pinterest mom's when the two of them first staked claimed in Willowdale. The little town had never been harbored to anything other than a standard 1950's couple with a stay at home mom and businessman dad. It had gotten better, though.

"You sound like an anti-gay commercial." Jesse joked, shaking his head at the group of four settled down. "Besides, Stacie's wife is moving back here. She used to go to college at Barden."

"Did she?" Chloe asked, knitting her eyebrows together in amusement. "What are the odds?"