"Hey Jesse, can you ―" Benji stopped in the middle of his sentence for he needed to shake his head to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Standing in the middle of their kitchen, Jesse was dressed with a pair of boxers only and an apron he must've borrowed from his mom because it read "Best mom ever" on the front. He was deeply busy with… cooking? Benji sniffed the air and his surprise only grew bigger when he didn't pick any nauseous smell.
Usually, when Jesse tried to cook, it would end up in burned or really disgusting food. He couldn't follow a recipe, he always messed it up, no matter how small. He insisted, however, to always have at least two nights where he'd take care of dinner. After a few attempts, Benji would hand him the Chinese delivery menu or the pizza place delivery menu and they'd order. Today, though, was different, and when Benji went to dip his finger in the pot on the stove to taste the sauce, Jesse slapped him with the back of his wood spoon.
"Don't you dare! This isn't for you, Benji." He said, momentarily looking up from his recipe book to glare at his best friend.
"Sorry if I want to make sure you don't poison anybody. Who's it for anyway?" he asked, turning around to try to steal a cookie cooling off on the counter.
"Beca." He replied simply, kicking him on the thigh when he saw him try to take a cookie. "I've got the perfect date planned out tonight."
Benji snorted, which earned him a scowl from Jesse, who chased him out of the kitchen. The younger man grinned, stopping at the entrance.
"Does she knows about this one or is this a surprise date like the last one?" he asked, barely able to restrain the childish giggle cascading out of his mouth.
He profited Jesse's look of disbelief to steal a cookie and ran to his room just before his roommate started chasing after him, shouting.
"That was two years ago!" and hit his nose on a closed door, only hearing Benji's giggles on the other side.
Jesse rolled his eyes and went back to his cooking. This time was different. First of all, because Beca was with him, and he second, because she was very aware that tonight, for their date night, he was doing something special. She'd been a little wary when he told her so, but also remotely excited. Over the last two years, Jesse had proved to her that not only endings were the best parts, but that what comes after those endings is even better.
When college was done and they had survived Aubrey's threats (she had mercifully ― her terms ― agreed to mend the oath for Beca since she was the one who helped them win the competition, and the blonde was graduating so she wouldn't have to see them together) and two other ICCA's, they found out life wasn't that stressful. Jesse was working in a music store during the day and making various soundtracks that he sent out to a bunch of movie agencies during the night. He was living with Benji, who had found the perfect job: he was a game tester. Which meant he got almost every video game before everybody else, and he'd usually test it with Jesse. Of course, he also had to report any glitch and sometimes the games weren't that good, but still; he was paid a good wedge to actually play video games all day.
Beca was still debating whether she wanted to go to LA and try out for the producer life or stay in Atlanta, but in the meantime, she worked as a late-show host at the local radio station, and she made sure to play all of her mixes anytime she could. She lived not far from the campus, but she was only home when she wanted to work on her music or when she wanted to be by herself a bit. Otherwise, she was always at Jesse's place, because everything there felt good, and she liked Benji; she was also getting better at video games thanks to him.
Tonight was different from their usual Thursday nights, though, because Jesse had warned her that this was a special-surprise date. Last time he told her something like that, they ended up in a fancy restaurant, laughing at the straight backs and red lips while they were in jeans and t-shirt. When the host man had told them this was a high class diner, Beca smirked and shot back "Oh, I'm very high." And since there was no dress code sign, he didn't have no choice but to let them in. She was really looking forward to Jesse's date ideas; every week they'd do something nice together instead of just being at his place playing video games or doing music, or even watching movies. They alternated who decided what they'll do.
Beca was never really good with dates, and she remembered their anniversary only because for two years in a row, it was the night their groups would try to rip at each other's throat through an a capella competition. This year, though, she had managed to forgot it was this week-end. When Jesse ringed her and told her to meet him at the campus, she dreamily put on a coat and walked there.
When she arrived, she couldn't help the smile that stretched her lips from ear to ear when she saw him sitting on a blanket, waiting for her at the exact same spot he had surprised her three years ago with a juice pouch and a speech about movies. She let him pull her down and sat next to him, still smirking.
"Hey weirdo." She said, shaking her head as she looked at everything displayed on the blanket; a bottle of white wine (because red wine was awful she says), a plastic dish in which there seemed to be some kind of sauce, and another one with pasta.
"Hey beautiful" he answered, beaming with pride as he let her realize he had cooked for her ― and successfully.
"You sure went out of your way; did you make sure to throw away the sauce jar before we go back?" she joked, knowing by his look he was waiting for her to compliment his culinary prowess.
"You are so not funny." He pouted, folding his arms.
She rolled her eyes but smiled and kissed him gently before placing a hand over her stomach.
"I'm starving, and this looks delicious!" she answered, and that made him smile again.
They opened the bottle of wine, but when Jesse tried to pour some in Beca's plastic wine glass, he spilled some on her shoes. Way to go Swanson! That doesn't start you date really well! He scolded to himself, and wiped the alcohol away while Beca watched, an amused smile on her lips. He was so cute when he was this nervous; he never learned that he didn't need to impress anymore, he just kept going out of his way to amaze her ― frankly, it did work every time, but she loved him even without all this.
Jesse had managed to serve the pasta and sauce and not put it everywhere on the blanket, but when he dropped the bread on the grass, he sighed.
"I'm sorry, this isn't going at all like I planned it!" he apologized, cleaning the dirt from the bread.
"It's okay, your sauce is really good, I love it!" she answered, squeezing his knees in an attempt to reassure him.
They were almost through with the meal when gulls started to circle over their head, having seen the bread crumbs everywhere. Beca had never liked flying birds, she was actually afraid of them, but it didn't come out as a panic attack, more like an attack mode, and as soon as a bird tried to approach to close, she took off her shoe and threw it at it. The bird went away, only to come back even more dangerously close to have Beca's other shoe thrown at it. They ganged up on the couple, though, and they stole the last piece of bread.
"Motherfuckers" she muttered as she sat almost in Jesse's lap, who was trying to hide his laughter because he'd always thought it was a strange fear she had and she was always so cute, trying to act all fierce and hide behind him at the same time
"Beca, they're just gulls!" he started, and tehn he realized they had stolen the bread. "Gulls that stole the bread! Oh gosh, this is getting worse!" he whined.
"Gulls that were attacking us, yeah! Maybe we can pack up and move to the next step of this special date?" she offered, wrapping her arms around his neck and side glancing subtly to see if the birds were gone.
"This was supposed to be a charming picnic in the sunset, and it's a nightmare!" he groaned in a childish tone.
Relax, big baby, it's not a nightmare, and we still have all night for you to sweep me off my feet." She answered, poking his shoulder with her words.
He nodded, and they went back at Jesse's apartment, to find it empty of any best friend. Beca quirked her eyebrows at her boyfriend and he smiled his devilish i-have-a-plan smile that could either be one of the best moment or the worst. Last time he had this smile on, he had planned at a place where honey is made, and that's when they discovered he was allergi to bees. Another time, though, he had organized a date with the dolphins of the aquarium when Beca had told him they were her favorite marine animals; she was fascinated with their communication system. Hey had swam with the dolphins, and there was a photo framed in Beca's living room of the two of them beside them in the water.
"Uh-oh, I know that smile. What have you planned for me tonight?" she asked, a little cautious.
"I made something for you." He said vaguely, before hiting the play button on the stereo.
Immediately, a soft and slow piano melody started playing. He turned down the lights a little bit, and opened the tv. There was a fire burning in the tv, and she realized it was a dvd of a fireplace that he must've bought for this occasion. She couldn't help the smirk from her features, and she laughed lightly when he guided her to the couch and sat down with her.
"What do you tink? Is this cheesy enough for the badass DJ Mitchell?" he asked with mischief; he already knew the answer from her glistening eyes and undying smile.
"Yes, always, Jesse. You always find a way to make it cheesier every time, and a part of me loves that beyond possible." She answered, snuggling close to him.
"I hoped you'd say something like that" he murmured in her ear, leaning closer to place teasing kisses on her neck.
Beca's eyes closed, and she offered more of her neck to him, feeling her stomach tightening as his hands traveled along her arms, sending shivers of desire everywhere. She turned around when she couldn't take the soft biting and open mouthed kisses on her neck anymore, and she brought their lips together, smiling through the kiss. She had always liked Jesse's lips; they were soft as a girl's, but his facial hair made their kisses equally rough and soft; it was a mixture she fell in love with the first time she kissed him. She sat on his lap, his hands burning her tighs as they slowly moved up.
She wouldn't have noticed the DVD glitch if it hadn't been for the recored sound of cracking wood in the fire. Her ear picked up the repetitive sound and she looked at the TV to see the fire was stuck in an endless glitch. She couldn't help the chuckle and Jese instantly looked where she was looking.
"I swear the universe is against me tonight!" he whined, burying his face in Beca,s neck.
"We don't need the DVD, Jesse, no fireplace is still good for me." She said, taking his face in her hands to force him to look at her.
He stopped the DVD and tunred off the TV, nodding. She waited patiently, maybe not so patiently, after all, because she slowly started to rub her pelvis againt his abdomen while he was searching the remote, and he shot her a side glance, unsure if she was really doing it or if he was dreaming it. When he found it, Beca was leaning over him, her arms on both side of his head, her hair tucked to one side, and she was really grinding against his hips now, trailing kisses down his neck to his collar bone.
He managed to stay focused on his task long enough to achieve it, but as soon as the TV was off, his hands grabbed Beca's hips and his lips sucked hers in a passionate kiss. He was about to take off her shirt, having already lost his, when the door opened. Immediately, Beca pulled down her t-shirt and Jesse wrapped his arms around her to protect her.
"Hey, sorry! I, uh I forgot something!" a familiar voice called from the doorway.
Benji came in, his hand placed over his face, smiling apologetically. They sighed, having both thought it was an intruder, and Jesse groaned of displeasure; everything was going fine for a first tonight, and now his best friend just ruined a nice moment between them. Jesse rolled his eyes at his posture. Beca's cheek were flustered with red, and she glanced at Jesse, embarrassed.
"Benji, it's okay, we're not naked or anything, you can take off your hand."Jesse said in a slightly annoyed voice.
"Oh good!" Benji answered with relief, putting his hand down. "Hey Beca, how are you?"
"Hi. I'm good, thanks." She said, nodding slowly, looking at Jesse who knitted his eyebrows at his best friend.
"You said you forgot something?" he pressed.
"Oh, yeah! Sorry. I won't be long." He promised, storming out to his room.
"I'm so sorry" Jesse whispered in Beca's ear as soon as his roommate was out of sight.
"It's okay, don't worry. Do you want to put your shirt back on?" she said, her fingers tracing random patterns on his bare chest, feeling butterflies in her stomach as she did so, her mind picturing what would've happened if Benji hadn't interrupted.
Before she could let her thoughts drown her in lust, Benji was out of his room and he made sure they knew he was gone by stomping the ground and slamming the door. Not before he had told them something along the lines of "have fun and clean up after yourselves, please!" which he must've found very funny because they could hear him giggle in the hallway. Now all Beca could think about is Benji knowing what they were doing on that couch, and she grimaced at Jesse, who was thinking the same.
"I'm sorry, this really isn't anything I've planned." He apologized again, and Beca simply smiled at him.
"As I said before; it's okay, Jesse, really."
He sighed, this wasn't what he had in mind when he had planned their perfect date night, but she didn't seem to mind. She asked what was next and he gave her his Jesse grin, the one he usually had when he had something sexy in mind. She raised her eyebrows, and let him put her in the mood again. He took her hand and they went from the couch to the bathroom, where he let water run in the shower as he undressed her. His hands were burning on her skin, and her whole body was almost shaking from desire as they finally stepped in the shower.
Jesse should've known by now, though, that the universe was really against him tonight because when he tried to get on his knees, one of Beca's legs already over his shoulder, he lost his balance. He fell on his ass and the slippery floor of the shower threw him backwards, and he hit his back on the faucet. The sharp pain caught his breath in his throat, and his eyes widened. Beca pressed a hand over her mouth, but not to muffle a scream of fear, but to restrain the laughter from coming out. She couldn't hold it for long though, and she dropped on her knees to, kissing him through bubbles of laughter. Soon, he was laughing too, even though his back did hurt a lot, and he gave up.
"That's it! I'm giving up! Perfect date is ruined forever. This is the worst!" he said, lifting his arms in the air in discouragement.
Beca couldn't stop laughing, but she managed to help him back on his feet. They stepped out of the shower and he winced when he saw the red mark, big as a hockey puck, on his back. He sighed and resigned in asking her what she wanted to do.
"How about we order Chinese and settle for one of your unpredictable movies and you tell me everything about it?" she said, snaking her arms around his waist to hug him close.
"You're only suggesting this to make me feel better." He protested half-heartedly.
"Is it working?" she shot back, grinning.
"Maybe." He smiled and kissed her.
Later that night, after she fell asleep during Mean Girls, he declared her the worst movie watcher ever (she already had the "most moment ruining person ever" title and also the "less empathetic romance movie watcher ever" title) because who could even fall asleep watching that movie? She rolled her eyes at him and said she was tired. They went to bed, and as soon as her head touched his shoulder, she felt sleep wrapping its arms around her as he did so too. Before falling back into Morpheus' world, though, she murmured something that made Jesse smile so hard she could feel it through his whole body.
"Tonight was perfect, you are perfect. It was fun. I love you."