Hey guys! Here's a quick fic I batched up for the holidays. I thought it'd be fun to write a holiday piece. Expect updates (hopefully) every day! I have finals this week so we'll see how this goes...
To clear up any future confusion, this (the caroling part, not the very first part) starts twelve days before Christmas. So, it's Saturday, December 14th, 2013. The winter performance will occur on December 21st, a week after. And, yes, I know that the twelve days of Christmas actually don't start until the day of Christmas, but...
Also, this fic does include some rated-M language, so if you aren't into that stuff... I don't know what to tell you. It's not too bad (it'll literally be less than ten words, maximum), but if you aren't comfortable with any swearing at all then you might want to leave now.
Disclaimer: I do not own any familiar songs, characters, locations, etc. that I mention below.
On the twelfth day of Christmas my weirdo gave to me...
Twelve Caroling, Complaining Bellas
Beca was exhausted. It was times like these where being the Bellas leader truly and utterly sucked.
Lately, Bellas rehearsals have been running extra long and have been extra exhausting. She blamed Jesse for organizing this stupid event. In order to bring more funding to the a cappella community at Barden, Jesse (now leader of the Trebles) had the brilliant idea of having the groups put on a winter performance, where he decided that the Bellas should be given the most amount of songs due to the fact that they're the current national champions. The High Notes opted out, and the BU Harmonics were able to bring two songs to the following list- Santa Baby and "All I Want For Christmas Is You", both Madonna's renditions of the popular songs. The Trebles were doing three songs, while the Bellas got stuck with five. Three songs were chosen for all the groups to sing altogether ("The Most Wonderful Day of the Year", "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", and the traditional "Jingle Bells") and even a duet. With the help of a pianist and a select few of the group members, Beca and Jesse were going to perform a duet to "Baby, It's Cold Outside", which Beca thought was the cheesiest thing on the planet. Of course, they had to include their winning number from the ICCA's, so Aubrey and Chloe came into town to practice and perform in other set lists and, thankfully, help Beca. Fortunately, they were going to get most of the earnings, which were to go for their own tour bus to travel around in. There would be singing, dancing, and even a Santa for the kids at the end of the concert to bring in younger audiences. To top it all off, Beca and the other groups had to stay in for the beginning of Christmas break, which, of course, sucked. And all of this was Jesse's fault.
After a day of solely only Bellas rehearsal, she rummages around for her dorm key card for five full minutes and, finally, she tiredly enters the room she claimed for herself. Hastily, she takes off her shoes and sighs, relieved at how comfortable it was to have them off. Her hand flies to the hair band around her wrist and wraps it around her brunette locks into a high ponytail. She kicks off her ruby red heels and pushes it aside with her aching feet, letting out another sigh at how amazing it felt with them off. She lays on the bed and closes her eyes, hoping her mind would settle down and fade into a stream of unconsciousness. After a couple minutes squirming around on her bed trying to find a comfortable position to ease her aching muscles, she groans and reaches for her phone. Immediately, her finger scrolls down her list of contact until she reaches "Weirdo"'s number. She places the phone atop her ear, with her left cheek pressed onto her pillow. After a few rings, he finally picks up, his own voice groggy. "Hello?"
"I don't like you, you know."
"I don't like you that much either; You just woke me up from a great nap…" She hears him yawn as the guilt began to sink into her skin. She frowns.
"I woke you up?"
"You did, but it's fine. Any particular reason why you're calling? Y'know, other than to tell me that you don't like me." He chuckles, making her smile.
"I can't sleep… Too sore."
"Want me to come over?"
This is why she liked Jesse; he knew that she was too stubborn to ask these kind of questions, so he asked them himself. "Please?"
"I'll bring food, if you want. How's Taco Bell?"
"Sounds good. See you in a bit."
"Can't wait."
She hangs up and finds herself unable to take the grin off her face. She can't believe he has that effect on her, and it killed her. Jesse wasn't perfect (a la coming up with the idea of having a winter performance), but sometimes she found herself amazed at how she actually almost believed he was. She'd never, ever, say that out loud. But she thought it; she thought about it a lot. It was all his fault.
He comes in a little under twenty minutes, in his pajamas, equipped with a plastic bag of tacos and his backpack slung around his shoulder. He places the food onto her desk and brushes the snowflakes out of his head with his fingers, then sits down onto her bed, where Beca was currently propped up against a mountain of pillows busily playing a game on her phone.
"No tomatoes?"
"No 'hi'? No 'thank you'? No 'hello my devastatingly handsome boyfr—'," She rolls her eyes and leans over to kiss him just to shut him up.
"No tomatoes." He confirms once they break apart, smiling goofily at her.
They eat their tacos in silence, just enjoying each others company. "So, why don't you like me?" He asks after gulping down his last bite.
She groans and lays back into her bed, then closes her eyes. "It's all your fault that I'm sore." He raises an eyebrow, causing her to roll her eyes. "We rehearsed in our costumes for the first time today. I'm going to chop off my legs and arms just so I don't have to do this stupid event." She groans again, bringing her feet to rest on his lap. Instinctively, he massages them, sending her into bliss.
"And how is that my fault?"
"You're the one who created the stupid event."
He stops massaging her to throw his hands up into the air innocently. "Whoa, whoa! I'm not in charge of your costumes! You should really be blaming Aubrey."
She scoffs, throwing a pillow at his head. "Nope, still your fault." Her eyes dart from his hands to her feet, a silent indication to Jesse that he should continue massaging her feet. He picks up on it, making her smirk triumphantly.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, it'll all be over after this weekend," He reasons with her, only getting a huff in reply, "Aren't you Christmas caroling with the girls tomorrow?"
She grunts. "Please, don't remind me."
He chuckles lightly, only earning a light smack on the shoulder. "I brought movies! Only the Christmas classics, of course. We've got all the Home Alone movies, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Santa Clause movies, The Polar Express… Ooh, even A Charlie Brown Christmas. They're all great, they'll totally take your mind off caroling tomorrow."
She blinks, bites her lower lip, and then laughs nervously. "Actually, on second thought, I should probably get some sleep. Caroling is hard work, you know, and I should probably rest up—"
"Oh, come on Becs! The holidays aren't the holidays without Christmas classics! Charlie Brown is only twenty-five minutes long." He gives her his best puppy dog eyes and pout, only making her laugh at how ridiculous he looked. He grins, takes out his laptop, and inserts the DVD in. "We can go to sleep right after, okay?"
"Whoa there, buddy. Did I say you could sleep over?" She asks, folding her arms playfully.
"I— uh…"
She snickers and gives the dumb boy a light peck on the lips. "You can stay… But only if you make me breakfast tomorrow. I want pancakes. None of that waffle bullshit."
His eyebrows scrunch together, and his mouth forms a quirky little half smirk. "Deal." He scoots next to her, laptop included, and wraps one arm around her shoulder, gently massaging it.
Somehow, all her aches and pains melts after being scrunched up into Jesse's side. She felt warm and safe under his touch, and she just felt so… Happy? It was so… Weird. She didn't like how all of her worries faded when he was with her, and how reliant she had become on him. Her need to be independent was slowly shrinking, and that scared the shit out of her. She didn't like it, but she was strangely okay with it. The thought of him not being there with her scared her even more, and the thought of that just made her want to run. She felt like some stupid, lovesick girl in one of his beloved movies. She didn't like that. But she liked him; she liked him a lot.
He distractingly slides his hand down to her waist, rubbing his palm against the smooth surface of her milky skin. She closes her eyes, happy, and soon enough, she's snoring softly into his cotton tee shirt.
"Stacie, for the love of God, please pull your skirt down. There might be children there!" Aubrey snaps at the tall brunette, who looks over at Beca with an eyebrow raised. Beca shrugs apologetically, choosing not to get onto Aubrey's bad side. For once, Beca was thankful to have Aubrey take role of the leader this time. Sure, she was still controlling as ever, but it took a load of responsibility off Beca's back.
The blonde hands everyone their santa hats and fliers that encouraged people to come to the event. They all pile into the tour bus they rented for the day and pull over at hot spot number one. All twelve (which included two new Bellas, Emily and Sam, plus Chloe and Aubrey) take their appropriate places in front of the giant Macy's that Aubrey's family owned and began their numbers. They start with a preview of "Jingle Bell Rock", then work their way into a clip of "Silent Night", which attracts a crowd of cheering people who danced and swayed along to their singing. They end with the full versions of "My Favorite Things" and "Let it Snow", and then begin another round of the same songs for the next half an hour. Exhausted from singing, dancing, and handing out fliers, they collapse into the nearest café, where Beca and Chloe decide to order drinks for everyone.
"I don't think my voice will be fully recovered by the time this weekend comes around. That was exhausting," Beca says with a frown on her face, "I can't believe we agreed to actually doing this. It's taking off so much practice time for semi-finals."
The red head lays a hand assuringly on her shoulder. "You guys will be fine. After all, it was you who whipped us all into shape in just two months. Plus, it's only semi-finals, you don't have to pull out all of your best stops. Anyways, this winter performance will be totally worth it. I can't wait to see your and Jesse's duet. You guys are totally cute, the crowd will love it!" She squeals.
"This whole thing is so, ugh, it's so cheesy. We could've gone without the duet, the Santa, the caroling… We don't even need our own tour bus."
"You're such a downer. Where's the Christmas spirit, Beca? It'll be so much fun, you won't regret it."
A bell rings, informing them that their order was up. They carry the tray of coffee and tea to their booths, handing each individual their own order. The Bellas all murmur their thanks.
Aubrey is the first to speak up after they all take their sips of their drinks. "Alright, so we're heading to Tinker Square, then to the biggest neighborhood in Georgia, Harold Street."
"You're going to kill us, Aubrey!" Fat Amy yelps, panting at the thought of it with her tongue lolling out of her mouth.
"Yeah, we won't have a voice after today!" Cynthia-Rose complains. The whines erupt from around their tables, with Aubrey trying to reason things out with them, however to no prevail. Beca clears her throat once, enough to capture their attention. "I've decided that we're getting three days off, okay? We'll come back on Wednesday. I think we all deserve it."
"But, Beca… What are you gonna tell the other groups? We need all the rehearsal time we can get!"
"They'll have to rehearse without us. We all need to rest our voices and bodies." Except her. She still has to rehearse that duet with Jesse.
Aubrey lets out a frustrated huff, only making Beca's eyes roll. "I'm the leader here, now. Remember?" Beca snaps. She hears the controlling blonde's tongue click against the surface of her teeth, a sign that shows that she's given up.
Suddenly, Beca receives a text from Jesse that told her to go straight to the Trebles house after they were done. He asks her what she wanted him to make for dinner and that a bath will be ready for her once she gets there. She blushes at the text absentmindedly, however it goes unnoticed by Fat Amy, who takes her phone and reads it out loud. The girls give their collective round of "aww"'s around the table. She glares at Amy and tries swiping her phone back, failing when the Australian stashes it away under her boob, making Beca grimace.
"I thought it'd be something sexier from Treble boy. You know, maybe a picture of his—"
"—Amy, no."
"I can't see Jesse doing that. I mean, it doesn't seem like he's into that thing. Far too much of a goody-goody. Or is he? But thn again, I've totally been with nerds, and let me tell you, they are definitely in my top five hunter 'prey', according to type. Is Jesse one of these? Do tell, Beca." Stacie smirks deviously, making Beca groan and throw her face into her arms to hide the redness of her cheeks.
"Guys, leave Beca alone. What her and Jesse do or don't do is their business." Chloe pipes, relieving Beca. She peeks out of her cradled arms and sees Amy texting on her phone, chuckling. Her eyes wide in horror, she grabs the device from Amy's strong grasp, only to find that it was too late. Underneath the horribly inappropriate response that the blonde put together was the dreaded word 'delivered'.
"You are the worst." She glares at the girl who was devouring her muffin greedily. Amy shrugs, her eyebrows twitching to the right, where Stacie was busy filing her nails.
"They were," Fat Amy lowers her voice, "her words, not mine."
Beca scoffs. "Whatever. Are you guys almost done? Anyone up to a nap in the bus or is it just me?"
Benji welcomes her in, wearing his signature magician cape and a smile, rather than Jesse, who was too busy in the kitchen to answer himself. "Hi, Beca!"
She gives the grinning boy a warm smile. "Where's Jesse?"
She follows his pointed finger to the kitchen, her stomach growling at the aroma. Suddenly, she feels a pair of hands cover her eyes from behind her. Her first reaction was to elbow him in the gut, but she somehow refrains. "Gross, your hands are sweaty." She whines, only earning her a light hearted chuckle.
"Sorry. Dinner's not done yet so why don't you relax for a bit? I kicked out the guys for a couple hours, well except Benji. He's leaving in a couple minutes, though."
He leads her to his room and into his bathroom, where a bath was already running for her. He uncovers her eyes and she takes in her surroundings, her eyebrows raised.
"Candles? Seriously?" He shrugs, an easy grin on his lips. "You're nauseating."
He responds by pressing his lips against hers, as she slowly raises up onto her toes to match his level. His arms wrap around her waist as her fingers find its way onto the back of his neck, holding him closer to her, deepening the kiss. After a few brief seconds, he pulls away. Beca stares at him, confused.
"The food."
She tries her best to hide her disappointment. "So I guess you won't be joining me then?"
"As much as I really, really, would love to, I don't want to burn the house down." He softly laughs, then gives her a quick kiss before tearing away from her, leaving her alone. She bites her lip, angry and frustrated at the effect he had on her. They haven't been together for more than seven months, and already the unbreakable Beca Mitchell's walls were unguarded. He somehow broke down her walls while they were still 'just friends', and the fact that he just kept going deeper and deeper scared her.
Once she was all cleaned up, she lets her hair air dry and finds a fresh bra and underwear from the laundry left over from the last time she slept over. She digs in his drawers for sweats and a loose T-shirt, finally finding one under a thick layer of Treble merchandise. She strays out of the confines of his bedroom and into the kitchen, sneaking up next to him while he was busy decorating their plates with potatoes and chicken strips. He steadily drags the tip of the ketchup bottle to make a (somewhat messy) smiley face onto both plates. He drizzles gravy in the shape of a heart onto what she assumed was her potatoes onto her plate, and poured some into his own volcano-shaped mound of spuds.
"What in the hell are you doing, Swanson?"
He jumps, now only just realizing that she was there. He grabs the back of his neck and laughs, a sure way sign that meant he hadn't had a clue, either. She snickers and swipes a finger into the potatoes, ruining the picturesque heart drizzled gravy atop, and brings the plate to the island. He follows suit, bringing along two juice pouches to go with their five-star meal.
"I hope you like it— I actually made this myself." He boasts, puffing out his chest. She blinks slowly, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Oh? Really now?"
"Yes! Is that so hard to believe?"
She shrugs innocently, digging her fork into the food in front of her. "So what's all of this for? Is this a significant day or something? Did I miss our 200th day anniversary?" She jokes, but genuinely curious to know why he was being so generous.
"Nothing, I just felt bad, I guess."
She stops chewing. "Felt bad?"
"All these winter performances, you know. I didn't realize how much stress would be put on you."
"And you're not nearly as stressed out as I am? You're the one organizing this." She replies, giving him a wary eye.
"I am- But I knew what I was getting into—"
"And you don't think I knew what I would be getting into? That's bull." She accuses, crossing her arms over her chest tightly.
"No, no. Jesus, Beca," He runs a hand through his hair, obviously running himself into a corner, "I feel bad that you're under all this stress because of me, okay? You should be at home for the holidays, not doing something you don't care about, all the while having to control the girls and deal with Aubrey. You deserve a warm bath and a good meal, that's all."
She frowns, dampened at the thought that Jesse felt guilty for all of this and felt the need to repay her. "You don't need to do all of this, I'm fine. I can handle it. There's nothing back home, anyways. It's great being here, at least the fighting isn't as stupid and dumb as the ones my family get into every year. Even if we are singing and dancing and singing some more, and even if it is exhausting, I'm good, okay? You don't need to feel bad."
He gives her a small smile, choosing not to reply to leave her alone with her thoughts. However, after a few brief minutes, he speaks up. "So... Do you like me again? Is this dinner good?"
She breathes a sigh of relief, happy to get the awkwardness out of the way. "I don't know, Jesse. The chicken is kinda... Eh."
His fists meet the table, making the silverware clank noisily on their plates. "Bummer. I couldn't actually make what you asked for, but we can totally—"
"That was fucking Amy!"