"Becs?" Chloe hesitates.
Beca's brows instinctively rise with suspicion. Chloe Beale is not hesitant; she is confidence and ease personified, and the only time that Beca has ever heard her voice edge with this particular brand of nervousness had been the day that Beca had squirmed for an hour for want of something coherent to say before ultimately (gracelessly) blurting out her feelings for the redhead.
"Yeah?" Beca answers, stilling her fingers in Chloe's hair as Chloe's dance anxiously across Beca's uncovered stomach.
"I want- I mean, I have to- tell you something. And I don't- I'm really hoping that you won't be angry with me, okay? Just… try to listen, okay?"
Beca frowns. "You're making me a little worried, Chlo."
"I know," Chloe sighs tremulously. "It's just that this isn't exactly- normal, and I'm afraid that I might hurt your feelings, and I'm not even really sure how to…" She flutters her hand urgently through the air as she trails off.
"Hey, it's just me, Chlo," Beca tries to comfort, tugging affectionately against a strand of flaming red hair. "Talk to me," Beca murmurs. "You're not, like, breaking up with me, are you?" She asks nervously, as quickly as the thought occurs to her, while making a valiant (but woefully unsuccessful) attempt to keep her voice from trembling.
"No," Chloe shakes her head. "No, of course not. I love you, Becs," Chloe vows earnestly. "I love you so much, and I don't want to lose you, and that's why this is so hard, but I think- I think you might really hate what I'm about to tell you, and I just- I don't even want to say it, because it seems really cruel of me, but it feels- more wrong to keep it from you, okay?"
"Chloe," Beca swallows thickly, "what is it?"
"I had a dream, the other night," Chloe inhales deeply and Beca can feel her hold it for a moment as the redhead tenses, curled up against Beca's chest. "And it- it was one of those dreams," she says, darting her eyes uneasily up at Beca to be sure that she understands.
Beca nods encouragingly. She definitely does understand. Chloe has more X-rated thoughts than most porn directors, Beca's pretty sure; she knows what those dreams entail.
Chloe remains quiet for a moment, so Beca asks hesitantly, "Did- Is there something… different, that you wanted to try?"
Chloe isn't usually shy about proposing new things in the bedroom (the first time that they had used a strap-on, Chloe had simply broke it out from beneath the bed and, without asking, had promptly harnessed it to her hips to fuck Beca with it – not that Beca had minded, of course), but Beca isn't really sure where this conversation is going, and she feels like it's a reasonable question to ask, given Chloe's vague introduction.
Chloe bites her bottom lip and slowly sits up, folding her legs beneath her and taking her hand to draw shapeless designs across Beca's palm.
"Sort of," she admits softly. "I- Aubrey was in it," Chloe confesses, almost inaudibly.
"I'm sorry, what?" Beca reacts, sitting abruptly to corner her back against the headboard of Chloe's bed. "You had a sex dream about Aubrey?"
"Well," Chloe's brow furrows nervously, "not… exclusively about Aubrey."
"What?" Beca frowns.
"Well, you were there, too," Chloe whispers. "And me. And we were – "
"That's okay," Beca holds up her free, quivering palm, and closes her eyes. "I get it."
"I'm sorry," Chloe rushes out. "Beca, I'm so sorry. It's not- I mean, you're… amazing in bed, and it's not that you're not enough, I swear, it's just that- I had the dream, and then I was planning to ignore it – and I tried to, Beca; I swear I tried, but it- I can't get it out of my head. It felt like I was cheating on you, and I know it's wrong to tell you about it, but it felt worse to hide it away, and- and say something, Becs," Chloe pleads frantically.
Beca's thoughts spiral out of line.
Chloe wants to have sex with Aubrey? Chloe wants Beca to have sex with Aubrey? Chloe wants them to all have sex… together?
Beca had known, falling for Chloe Beale, that she was in for one hell of a ride, but- Jesus fucking Christ, this can't be socially sanctioned, can it? Granted, lesbianism in general isn't entirely accepted, anyway, and Beca has always been very good about coloring way outside the lines, so she doesn't really care, but –
Beca pauses.
But what?
It's not like Aubrey isn't pretty. She is, if Beca thinks about it (which she really hadn't, before now); Aubrey is stunning, in the aristocratic, graceful manner of royalty. She's beautiful. Not like Chloe, of course – Chloe is warm, and endearing, and the kind of pretty that drops you to the floor with a twinkle in her baby blues and a beam that heats you from the inside out – but Aubrey definitely isn't hard on the eyes, either.
And socially sanctioned had never really been Beca's thing (see ear monstrosities, inked skin, and alternative clothing for confirmation), but- is this even right? Like, how would it even work?
And, anyway, even if it could work, all this assumed that Aubrey would even agree, which seems like a huge stretch to Beca. They get along alright, these days (they hadn't really had much of a choice, with Beca's frequent stays at her and Chloe's shared apartment), but they still bicker and roll their eyes an awful lot. Plus, Aubrey's militaristic and straight-laced (by no fault of her own, if the mentions of Aubrey's upbringing are to be believed), and she does not color outside the lines like Beca does; she keeps her coloring neat and precise, with appropriate shading in all of the appropriate places, and nowhere else.
"Beca, please," Chloe whispers desperately.
"I- I mean, I don't know what to say?" Beca laughs breathlessly, floundering for words because she knows that Chloe needs to hear something. "Is this, like, something that you- actually want to do?" Beca furrows her brows as she watches Chloe with intent eyes.
"No," Chloe bites her lip. "Yes," she sighs out a moment later. "Sort of. But not if you don't want to," she adds quickly. "I love what we have together, Beca – just you and me – and I'm incredibly happy with you. I don't want to risk that for a stupid fantasy, and if you're uncomfortable with it, then we can just forget that I ever brought it up…"
"But…?" Beca says, offering a small, tender smile full of affection to encourage Chloe to continue. Because she knows that Chloe isn't finished.
"But- don't you think it would be… hot?" Chloe breathes, flushing until her cheeks practically match her hair. "I mean, Aubrey and I have known each other for a long time, and I never really thought too much about it, you know? But she is gorgeous, right? And we've always been really close – and the two of you are just so…" Chloe makes a small hum of struggle, but it almost sounds like a moan, to Beca, and she feels herself squirm a little as she pulls at Chloe's hand.
"So… what?" Beca asks as Chloe compliantly spreads herself atop of Beca, their mouths separated basically only by the words that Beca breathes between them.
"Passionate," Chloe swallows. "Both of you," she adds hoarsely. "Haven't you- I mean, haven't you ever wondered if all of that passionate arguing could transfer into ridiculously passionate sex?"
"No," Beca answers honestly, raising her hands to palm Chloe's bare hips. "It's not- I guess it isn't a crazy thought to have," Beca permits quietly, darting her eyes to Chloe's reddened lips as her tongue swipes across them, almost touching Beca's. "But I just- always thought of you."
Chloe nods, but seems to gain some confidence from the confession. "But… if you think about it now?" She murmurs, her mouth brushing teasingly across Beca's. "If you really think about it, Beca? Aubrey's forever long legs twisted between yours?" Chloe kisses her softly. "All that blonde hair, tangled in your fingers?" Chloe purrs, flickering a kiss across Beca's jaw. "Her mouth, all painted red with that lipstick she likes so much," Chloe breathes into her ear, "leaving smudges down your neck?"
Beca swallows.
Okay, so it admittedly sounds super hot as a fantasy, sure – especially with Chloe whispering the words, naked above her, and the redhead's lower body grinding into Beca's thigh with arousal at just the thought – but that didn't mean anything about reality.
"Yeah," Beca agrees, gasping as Chloe's teeth nip against her earlobe in search of a response. "Yeah, okay. That sounds- not bad."
"It sounds sexy," Chloe argues seductively, her lips buzzing against Beca's skin as she hums.
"Yeah, but- oh, god," Beca shudders as Chloe whines softly and dips her hips into Beca's thigh again. "How would that even work, Chlo?"
"Are you saying you want it?" Chloe asks, snapping her head back to eye Beca with ecstatic disbelief.
"I don't know," Beca shakes her head and tries to compose herself.
It takes a minute. Fucking sue her. It's not like it's an easy feat, with a hot redhead on top of her and her hot pussy wetting against Beca's leg, and her own arousal practically flooding from her core.
"I mean, I love you, Chloe," Beca tries softly. "I don't- Would this be a one-time thing, or…?"
Chloe bites her lip and shakes her head. "I'm not sure. I mean, if we liked it… would you be open to doing it more than once? Are you- I mean, are you open to doing it at all? I don't want you to feel- threatened, or anything. I love you, too, Beca, and even if this did happen, I don't want you to think that that will change."
"Is Aubrey even gay?" Beca asks abruptly.
It's a pretty important inquiry, given their discussion. And Chloe's never mentioned anything about Aubrey being sexually flexible, so that could seriously hinder things, anyway.
"She's- explored," Chloe giggles lightly.
Huh. Well, that doesn't exactly sound as- between the lines as Beca had pegged Aubrey Posen, does it?
But Aubrey's apparent willingness to evaluate her sexuality made the notion itself infinitely more feasible, and that much more probable. It would still be a stretch, Beca is convinced, but it contributes just a little more reality to the situation, and reality is what Beca needs to focus on.
"Can I think about it?" Beca requests, after taking a moment to contemplate.
Her mind is cloudy, and the thoughts that Chloe's putting in her head sound ridiculously fantastic right now, but Beca knows she isn't thinking straight. She can't, with Chloe nearby – Beca never could. But she isn't deluded enough to think that this doesn't have the potential to go terribly, terribly wrong, and Beca needs to consider what this could mean for them.
"Of course," Chloe nods frantically. "I'd actually be a little offended on behalf of our relationship if you didn't," she admits.
"I just don't want to rush into anything," Beca tries to explain, calming her body until the arousal is more of a distant need, rather than a pressing one. "It sounds… you know… as an idea and all, but- Aubrey's not just a stranger, Chloe. She's your best friend, and you're- close with her in ways that I can't ever be. And if it happened, I might- get jealous," she confesses, averting her eyes. "Not that I think Aubrey would try to sabotage our relationship or anything," Beca rushes. "It's just- something that we should think about, right?"
"Yeah," Chloe nods. "It definitely is. And I've thought about that, too, Beca; I mean, I know that there's, like, no risk that you and Aubrey would run off together and leave me behind, but when it first occurred to me, I- had a little trouble imagining anyone else's hands on you."
"You did?" Beca asks, smiling shyly.
"Of course I did," Chloe frowns bemusedly. "Beca, you're mine," she declares possessively. "You're my tiny DJ, and, I mean, I want this – I think I've made that pretty clear – but I'm not going to lose you because of it. If it's something that you decide you don't want, I totes respect that, and I won't push you into it. I would understand. If it were anyone but Aubrey, I wouldn't ever be okay with someone else touching you. But I trust her," Chloe reasons, "and I understand if you don't have that trust for her, so it would totally be okay if you didn't want to do this, okay? Our relationship won't suffer for it at all, so don't agree just because I want to. If it happens, this is something we should both want, okay?"
"Yeah, okay," Beca nods. "I'll uh- I'll think about it."
Beca does think about it.
It's embarrassing, because Beca can think of almost nothing else for weeks. And every time she sees Aubrey, Beca blushes a furious red while Chloe babbles away and tries to distract the blonde from Beca's reaction.
Beca wonders if Aubrey's waxed. She wonders how Aubrey's skin would look against Chloe's. She wonders how talented Aubrey is with those long, delicate fingers, and that waspish tongue. She imagines Aubrey's hair matted against her temples, and tangling with Chloe's against the pillow, the colors fusing together like streaks of summer warmth. She eyes the cut of Aubrey's shirt, and imagines the blonde's breasts pressed against her own. She wonders how Aubrey's slim frame would feel, and how it would look with her legs curled around Chloe's waist.
God, Beca can't think of anything else.
She and Chloe have the conversation again, several times – always mentioned by Beca, while Chloe grants her time to process and consider – and Chloe reassures her that whatever Beca decides, the two of them are solid together, and that Chloe isn't going anywhere.
Chloe reassures Beca of her love and devotion for her.
And Beca continues to think, and wonder, and imagine – but, eventually, it seems like there are more reasons for her to accept Chloe's offer than to decline it.
Beca's main concern is her relationship with Chloe, and, quite frankly, they are solid together. Beca knows they are. She spends nearly every night in Chloe's apartment, and they talk all the time, even when they're not together. Chloe makes her happy, and if the beam that lights up Chloe's face whenever they're together is anything to go by, then Beca somehow manages to do the same for Chloe. They love each other, endlessly, and –
And that's actually all that matters, to Beca.
So she wonders what she's actually waiting for.
But, she realizes during her time studying Aubrey, Beca could- maybe feel something for her.
She likes the way that Aubrey's fingers absently twirl her spoon in her coffee as she pages through her textbooks. She likes the way her eyes shimmer with challenge every time Beca mentions something even minutely debatable. She likes the way her face looks, late at night and early in the morning, unmasked by make-up and too sleepy to be confrontational. She likes how Aubrey curls up in the corner of the sofa like a snoozy kitten after an exam, her head perched upon the armrest as she stares mindlessly at the television before she distractedly murmurs a question that she isn't sure she answered correctly.
It's weird, for sure, but more than that, it's dangerous. It's hazardous to her relationship with Chloe, and Beca just can't have that. So Beca tells Chloe about her concern, and hopes desperately that Chloe won't feel offended.
"I- maybe have feelings for her, too," Chloe admits, scanning her eyes across Beca's face. "She's- I mean, I told you I never really thought about it before, but now that I have, it's- sort of hard to un-notice her, you know?"
"Yeah," Beca nods uncertainly. "But… what does this mean, Chlo? Because I'm- insanely happy with you. And now I'm kind of worried that this could be a bad idea."
"It could be," Chloe says quietly, "or it could be a really good idea."
"How?" Beca frowns. "How could this possibly still be a good idea, Chloe?"
"Well," Chloe gnaws contemplatively at her lower lip, "Aubrey isn't exactly seeing anyone, is she?" She asks rhetorically. "And, I mean, if you have feelings for her, and- if I have feelings for her, then what if- what if she could have feelings for us, too?"
Beca's immediate instincts tell her to scoff. Because that's crazy, right? But, truthfully, what Chloe's implying doesn't actually- sound so bad…
"What if she could?" Beca returns quietly.
"Chloe's being weird."
Beca frowns. She hears the muffled sound, but she can't make it out clearly over the music in her ears, so she lowers her headphones to the coffee table, and asks, "What are you doing here?"
Beca honestly just wants to ignore that Aubrey had spoken at all, but that would be rude, and if this thing has any chance of happening, it's probably best that Beca tries to not be that. But Beca hasn't been alone with Aubrey since Chloe's suggestion a month before, and she's been avoiding it to the best of her ability – but Aubrey is supposed to be in class right now, like Chloe, which is why Beca is here, and the only thing that Beca can think to wonder is why Aubrey isn't there.
"My class was cancelled," Aubrey sighs, like it actually pains her to have some free time. "The professor is sick," she explains shortly.
Beca actually smiles a little affectionately when she realizes that it's probably the lack of forewarning that had unsettled Aubrey, more than the idea of free time – although she clearly doesn't know what to do with the latter, either.
"Chloe's being weird," Aubrey repeats. "Is she okay?"
Beca fidgets nervously, but nods. "Yeah, she's- Chloe's fine."
"Are you sure?" Aubrey raises her brows expectantly. "I know you're not always great with emotions, Beca, but she is being weird."
Beca rolls her eyes. "I'm fine with emotions." Most of them, anyway. Not these ones, exactly, but- well, Aubrey doesn't need to know that, right now. "And she's not being weird."
It's a lie. Chloe's behaving as strangely as Beca is, trying very hard to restrain desires that she breathes hotly into Beca's ear at night as she buries her fingers in Beca's heat, and she's been working even harder to obscure Beca's fumbling awkwardness every time Aubrey is in the same room as them.
And Chloe's been making advances; subtle ones (or so Chloe thinks – but Chloe's definition of subtle isn't at all the same as Webster's), touching Aubrey's wrists and offering her a neck massage after a long day, pressing more frequent kisses to Aubrey's cheeks and landing them millimeters closer to her mouth, each time.
Chloe is being weird, and it was only a matter of time before Aubrey began to wonder about it – but Beca shouldn't be the one being asked.
"You're an idiot," Aubrey scoffs. "How can you not see it? She's rambling way more than she usually does. And she's even more touchy than usual, which is difficult to achieve. And you're being weird, too," Aubrey decides. "You turn red all the time. What gives?"
Beca panics.
(And turns red.)
This conversation should not be happening right now – not without Chloe – and Beca has no idea what to say. But she knows she needs to come up with something.
"Um…"
Fuck yes.
Beca dryly considers that a rousing success.
"Well?" Aubrey demands impatiently. "What the hell, Beca?"
"Uh… Look, it's just- Chloe's fine, okay? We're both fine. Trust me," Beca implores.
"No," Aubrey frowns. "If it was just one of you, it'd be slightly more acceptable, but you're both acting strangely, and I want to know why."
"You probably don't, actually," Beca mumbles, darting her eyes across the room and praying to every deity she's ever even heard of that Chloe will come home right now.
"Is it a sex thing?" Aubrey asks, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "That's usually the only subject that really makes you blush, and Chloe just sounds extraordinarily excited every time she speaks. So is it sex?"
"Uh…"
"Look," Aubrey sighs heavily, like Beca's just admitted to her assumption with her hesitation, and lowers herself onto the couch beside Beca, "Chloe can be- inventive, when it comes to sex, okay? It's nothing to worry about," Aubrey promises. "If she suggests something that you don't like, then just tell her. I know it's difficult for you to use your words," Aubrey rolls her eyes, her soothing tone giving way to slight irritation and something that Beca thinks (maybe hopes, a little) could be exasperated fondness, "but Chloe will understand."
"Sure," Beca nods confusedly.
Because, seriously? What is she even supposed to do, here? Like, this is the perfect segue for a threesome proposal, right? (Assuming that there is a perfect segue for that kind of thing, obviously.) But Beca is so not supposed to be the one extending it.
"So…?" Aubrey asks expectantly. "What does she want you to do?" Aubrey smirks.
Beca blushes until she can practically feel it in her toes.
Why the actual fuck did Aubrey have to ask her that?
"You- should ask Chloe," Beca demurs.
Smart. That's smart. That was a really smart thing for her to say. Aubrey should ask Chloe. Chloe will be much better at this than Beca is.
Aubrey laughs. "Maybe," she shrugs. "It would certainly be easier. But you're here now, and Chloe isn't. Plus, Chloe won't blush like you are, and I'm kind of enjoying this whole watching-you-squirm thing," she grins brilliantly, as green eyes glimmer with cruel amusement.
But, oh god, Beca wants to watch her squirm.
Under Chloe.
Under Beca.
Beca wants to see her squirm all over.
"Um…"
"Come on," Aubrey nudges her shoulder lightly. "It can't be that bad."
"I didn't say it was bad," Beca blurts. And promptly blushes an even hotter red. "I mean, it's not- it's… different," she settles uncomfortably.
"How different? What kind of different?" Aubrey urges.
"Look, I think – "
"That I should ask Chloe," Aubrey finishes, rolling her eyes. "Yes, I know. But I'm asking you, so just spit it out, Beca."
Fucking Christ, Aubrey is frustrating. Like, infuriating. Why can't she just leave it alone?
"Well?" Aubrey lifts an imperious brow into her hairline. "It's obviously not just going to disappear on its own, Beca," she huffs impatiently. "You'll have to talk about it with Chloe, anyway, so you might as well get used to talking about – "
Beca– is stupid.
Seriously. Like, she is raging with stupidity.
She has to be.
Because intelligent people do not lurch forward to kiss their girlfriend's best friend without preamble, no matter what the circumstance.
But Beca clearly is not intelligent. She. is. fucking. stupid.
And her mouth is on Aubrey's before she even gets to think about how it happened, her tongue shoving furiously through Aubrey's surprised, parted lips and her arms trapping the blonde against the couch, holding Beca up around her.
Aubrey isn't kissing her back (big surprise there), but… she isn't exactly pushing Beca away, either. Which is confusing.
The blonde's palm is simply stationed over Beca's heart, like Aubrey meant to push against her, but she doesn't. She's just laying there – receiving Beca's kiss, but not quite reciprocating it.
Beca's blood is whirring, and her thoughts are racing.
She's kissing Aubrey.
Aubrey is underneath her.
Aubrey's not moving, which is worrying. And encouraging.
That's pretty complicated, right?
Aubrey's mouth is warm, and wet, and Beca feels hot.
Beca is kissing Aubrey.
And- fucking shitballs, Aubrey's tongue is sweeping across hers.
Oh, shit. Shit.
Aubrey is kissing Beca.
Beca's not thinking anymore. She can't. She tries, and she knows that she should, because Aubrey doesn't know that this is okay, like Beca does, and Beca should really- voice that, at some point, right? But Beca can't think about any of that, because Aubrey's tongue is rubbing against hers and the blonde is moaning.
Moaning!
And–
"Oh my God!"
And that's not Aubrey.
Author's Note: Oh. Hey, Triple Treble, where did you come from, when I clearly have two open stories to update? Harumph. You'd think I'd be satisfied with a Mitchsen story and a Bechloe one, but no; I need them all together, apparently. *le sigh* I went searching for a TT story, and wanted to cry when I couldn't find any new ones. And then my brain produced this, and I have another chapter and a half written. It'll only be three chapters, though – and maybe more, but if those get written, it'll only be after I finish Sixteen Days. I promise. Please review, and tell me what you think!