"Wake up," Beca nudged Chloe under the duvet. With a groan, the ginger rolled over and snuggled further down into the tangle of sheets. "Wake up, Chlo," Beca repeated, a little louder this time. She couldn't help but smile at her girlfriend – Chloe's red curls were covering the pillow like a fiery red mane, just the opposite of Beca's more tamed chocolate locks. When Chloe still didn't respond, the small brunette jumped on top of her, tickling her under the sheets. "Wake up, Red!"
With a shriek of laughter, Chloe sat up, nearly knocking Beca off the queen bed they shared. "Okay, okay, stop it Becs! I'm up!" she exclaimed breathlessly, looking flawless in spite of the slight look of sleepiness that still lingered on her beautiful face and the fact that she had just woken up. "What do you want?"
"Do you know what day it is?" Beca winked at her, obviously having some difficulty containing her excitement.
"Err…?" Chloe stared at her confusedly, apparently the sleepiness hadn't worn off yet.
Beca had to laugh at her puzzled expression. "It's your birthday, silly!" Beca laughed, grabbing Chloe by the cheeks and leaning in to kiss her quickly on the lips. "Come on and get ready, the Bellas have made breakfast for you," the brunette began straightening the sheets and making the bed while the ginger hurried into the bathroom.
When Chloe was finally done, Beca had finished putting on her makeup and those 'ear monstrosities' (as Aubrey called them), and was waiting by the door to go downstairs with her.
"Morning, Becs," Chloe smiled at her.
"Happy birthday, baby," Beca smirked back, giving her another kiss. "Let's go get some breakfast."
As soon as the duo reached the bottom of the staircase, Chloe was grabbed up in a tight bear hug by a waiting Cynthia-Rose. A boisterous yell of "Happy birthday, Red!" followed by a nearly inaudible one, came from the couch where Stacie and Fat Amy lounged next to Lilly, who was still braiding her thick, black hair.
"Smells good," a pretty much forgotten Beca Mitchell remarked, wandering into the kitchen where Aubrey was busy flipping pancakes over the stove. "Morning, aca-Nazi," she winked at the former Bella captain, who had come to spend a couple of nights at the Bellas' house for her best friend's birthday, even though she had graduated over two and half years ago.
"Morning, Hobbit," Aubrey retorted quickly, but with a sparkle in her bright eyes. Despite the friction both the DJ and the former acapella captain had had at first, they soon became close, and Aubrey had expressed her staunch support time and time again for Beca as co-captain of the Barden Bellas.
Beca responded with her signature eye roll as she placed a stack of plates on the counter. "Need help, Posen?"
"Yeah, sure, you can set the table, I guess," Aubrey answered, without even glancing up from the bubbling batter in her saucepan. "Amy was in here just ten minutes ago… trying to convince me to let her help with the 'tasting' and you know how that always turns out."
The shorter girl had to laugh as she laid the cutlery neatly on the table. "Yep, there would be no food left in here." She remarked, heading over to the coffee machine for a steaming cup of the strong, dark liquid. Sipping it slowly, she waited until the blonde had finished cooking all the pancakes and drizzled them with sweet, sticky syrup. Setting down her mug, Beca picked up to of the plates and, together with Aubrey, set them down on the table.
"Okay, come on, aca-bitches, let's have some breakfast!" Aubrey clapped her hands sharply and called above the din of chattering girls. Not surprisingly, Fat Amy was the first to come barreling in. Next was Chloe, whom Aubrey wrapped in a warm hug. "Happy birthday to my best friend," Aubrey whispered in her ear.
"Thanks Bree!" exclaimed Chloe, as she looked over at the table set with pancakes, syrups, juice, and berries. "Wow, what a spread. Especially compared to the cereal we've been having the past few days." She winked playfully at Beca, who blushed furiously at the mention of her awful culinary skills.
"Hey, hey, don't look at me. I'm not the master chef, okay?" Beca shot back good-humoredly. "It was my turn to make the breakfasts for the week – that's the only reason why I was even getting any food ready. You're lucky I didn't burn the house down."
Everyone laughed heartily. "Snarky as always, Mitchell," Stacie teased, playfully shoving Beca as the girls sat down and began eating.
"Soo… how did you girls get all the decorations set up so quickly? Last time I checked, they weren't here, and that was just before I went up to bed." Chloe asked, as she gestured to all the streamers and balloons hung up around the house and adorning the banisters.
"Ask the Fuhrer," Beca sarcastically replied, glancing across mischievously at Aubrey. "Ow!" she yelped as the blonde kicked her sharply on the shin. "That fucking hurts, Posen," she grumbled, making a big show of rubbing her bruised leg.
"Language," Aubrey smirked back.
"Focus, guys!" Chloe exclaimed, exasperated by her friends' antics. Sure, they were the people she was closest too, almost like a second family, but honestly, they sometimes were just downright frustrating.
"Yeah, okay… so long story short, we did it after you went to bed," Stacie said as she helped herself to another serving of pancakes and syrup.
Chloe's blue orbs widened in astonishment. "But… I went to bed after midnight! You mean you guys didn't sleep until…?"
"4 in the morning," Beca shrugged as Chloe's jaw dropped. "You're welcome. And we don't really mind, in case you're wondering. There's this drink called coffee," she raised her second cup.
"Anything for the ginger," Fat Amy pointed out.
"Hey! You didn't even help!" Stacie exclaimed.
"Well, that was because Bumper and I had some things to do, and we were, yeah… you know –"
Beca immediately clapped a hand over the Australian's mouth. "Okay, no – don't, oh God, nobody wants to hear about you fucking Bumper!" she yelled, her own face flushing, much to Amy's amusement.
"Buuhh is doo…" Amy spluttered and Beca only tightened her hand over her mouth, giving her a glare that meant shut up. Chloe had a hand over her own mouth, trying not to let the giggles escape.
"Anyway, we – minus Amy for that matter – had blown up the balloons the day before, we'd hidden them in the spare room's closet, and all we had to do was hang them and the streamers up," Aubrey finished, as Beca left Amy alone and returned to her meal.
"But how did you get those streamers up there?" Chloe pointed to the lights dangling from the high ceiling, each adorned with a pink or red ribbon.
"Lilly," Beca, Stacie, and Cynthia-Rose chorused without any needed explanation, as said Japanese girl smiled and muttered something that, by this time, nobody really bothered to try and figure out.
xxx
After Amy and Stacie had finished the breakfast dishes, the girls sat down for an intense game of Mario Kart, something that seemed to happen a little bit too often in the Bellas' house. In the first round, they let Chloe win (since it was her birthday, after all). However, by the second round, Fat Amy had grabbed the controller and declared that she was going to "whoop all you twig bitches' ass", much to everyone's dismay, as the Australian was the best among all of them.
"I was the best Mario Kart player in Tasmania," she remarked, as she finished first once again. Beca rolled her eyes so hard that Aubrey was surprised they hadn't fallen out of her head.
"When does Chloe get to open her presents?" Stacie piped up from the couch where she was reclining. She'd been painting her nails again, and was waiting for them to dry since she had found out long ago how hopeless she was at video games of any sort.
Beca was at the phone, looking through the Chinese takeout menu, one of Chloe's favorite things to eat. "What about after lunch?" she suggested, as she picked up the phone to order some food. The other girls nodded in agreement, while Chloe squealed in anticipation.
In about two hours, the girls had not only finished another three rounds of Mario Kart, but also their Chinese takeout. As Beca and Lilly dried the last few dishes and placed them back in the cupboard, everyone eagerly gathered around on the carpet to bring out the presents for the birthday girl.
Aubrey went first. From her pocket, she gave Chloe a small box wrapped in brown wrapping paper. Chloe eagerly tore it open, and was delighted to see that it was a matching set of bracelets; one said 'Chloe' and the other 'Aubrey', while a small heart-shaped charm that read 'Best Friends' dangled next to the clasp. "This is beautiful," breathed Chloe, as she grabbed Aubrey into a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you so much, Bree."
"My turn!" Stacie obviously couldn't wait any longer. She gave Chloe a larger box that had been wrapped in pink wrapping paper and tied with a fancy green bow. Chloe winked at the leggy brunette and quickly untied the ribbon.
"A cuticle care kit?" she grinned. "You're adorable, Conrad,"
Stacie giggled, flushing a little bit. "Well, it's my hobby, and I hope you like it!"
One by one, the girls all presented Chloe with the various gifts. Lilly had bought her a knitted sweater that Chloe immediately put on; Fat Amy had managed to purchase all of Chloe's favorite snacks, chocolates, and candies; Cynthia-Rose, knowing the ginger's affinity for baking, had gotten her an assortment of baking equipment.
Finally, it was Beca's turn to give Chloe her present. Fishing a small jewelry box out of her drawer, the brunette gave it to the ginger. Inside, there was a red and black flash drive labelled 'Chloe' on it. "It's just some mixes that reminded me of you," Beca sheepishly admitted.
"Is this what you've been working on the past few days?" Chloe asked, turning the flash drive around in her palm, remembering seeing Beca working tirelessly yet secretively at her computer and other mixing equipment for the past few weeks. When Beca nodded, she wrapped her up in an embrace. "Thank you so much, Beca… I haven't listened to it, but I know I'll love it!"
xxx
Later that night, Beca and Chloe was lying together on their bed; most of the other girls had also gone to sleep at Aubrey's insistence, although Fat Amy was still downstairs, making sure none of the pizza or birthday cake was going to waste. Both girls were just enjoying snuggling in each other's company after a long, tiring, but fun day.
Chloe glanced over at Beca, remembering the first time they had met at Barden. She could still remember how Aubrey had disdainfully dismissed her as "too alternative", but Chloe had been instantly attracted to the aspiring DJ in a way she couldn't explain. Beca, who had been so quiet and seemed to be hiding something, had opened up to her in a relatively easy manner. As the months went by, Chloe couldn't bear to leave her side, making the decision to fail Russian Literature three times so she could be not just with the Bellas, but most importantly, Beca.
Beca stared at Chloe. The girl who had changed her life completely – who had changed her. The girl who had barged into her shower, who had broken down all the heavily guarded walls that she had set up, the girl who had taught her how to love again. They were polar opposites, but hey, people have always claimed that opposites attract. Three years ago, Beca would have scoffed at that saying, but now she knew it to be true. She sighed contentedly; she had Chloe Beale, and she was the happiest girl right now in the world.
The silence was broken first by Chloe. "Thank you so much for an amazing birthday, Becs," she whispered in the smaller girl's ear.
"You know what?" Beca asked, and through the darkness Chloe thought she could see the smirk she'd grown to love. "There's still one more thing I'm doing before this day is over."
"What?" Chloe asked, her curiosity piqued.
Getting up from the bed and flipping on the bedside lamp, Beca dug through her drawer and finally found what she wanted, a little black ring box. Chloe's breath caught in her throat as Beca opened it to reveal a silver engagement band. On the inside, the tiny engraving read, 'Shoot me down, but I won't fall, I am Titanium'.
That song. The first one they had ever sung together.
"Chloe," Beca began, tears gathering in her sparkling eyes, "We've been together for nearly three years now, and I love you with all my heart. We're going to graduate soon, and I've been waiting so long to ask you this: will you be my wife?"
The seconds seemed to drag by like hours as Beca waited with bated breath for Chloe to answer. What if she said no? What would she do?
"Yes!" the ginger finally managed to choke out, her voice hoarse with emotion, and Beca breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Yes, Beca!"
Unable to conceal her joy, Beca slipped the ring onto Chloe's finger as their lips crashed together and they embraced tightly.
"I love you so much, Chloe," Beca whispered in her girlfriend's ear when they finally drew away.
"I love you too, Becs… more than anything in this world," Chloe exclaimed breathlessly. "This is the best birthday, ever." She said, as both lay back down on the bed in each other's arms. It almost felt too wonderful to be true. Chloe had to pinch herself to make sure that she wasn't dreaming.
"Shoot me down," Beca began singing softly.
"But I won't fall," Chloe continued, harmonizing perfectly as their sweet voices blended in unison, her delicate fingers tracing the silver ring on her left hand.
"I am Titanium…"