"Beca!" Beca turned, seeing an excited Chloe run towards her, her arms immediately enveloping her in a hug. "I missed you!"

"Chlo, I've only been at my Mom's for a week!" Beca laughed, still trapped by Chloe's arms around her waist. "Jesus, Chlo, you'd think I'd been gone forever."

"It feels like it!" Chloe giggled, smiling down at her best friend, realising her from the hug. "Now, come on, we're going for coffee or something! We have catching up to do!"

"Seriously, Chlo, I've only been gone for a week, there can't be that much that we have to catch up on!" Beca protested, though barely able to contain her smile at the redhead's enthusiasm. "I have to go and unpack though, so can we do it tomorrow?"

"But I've really missed you, Becs. At least walk me to my dorm?"

"Deal." Beca agreed, figuring it would appease her friend enough to buy her escape.

"Wait, what are you doing tonight?" Beca grimaced at the question she hadn't doubted Chloe would ask.

"Um, nothing. Why?" she replied, trying to downplay the situation as they walked toward Chloe's dorm.

"Beca, it's Valentine's Day! Don't you dare tell me that you're staying home alone." Damn it.

Every Valentine's day since she was old enough to find the holiday depressing, Beca had spent the night at home, alone, busying herself with mixes or school work, or generally anything that kept her mind off of how alone the day made her feel. "I don't do Valentine's day, Chlo. It's a stupid holiday."

"So you're just going to stay at home by yourself?"

"That's the plan." Chloe's face brightened, an idea forming behind her eyes.

"I have a new plan," she started, raising her eyebrows at Beca's frown, "I'm coming over. We haven't spent time together in forever, Becs. No excuses."

"So, you didn't have plans either? Hypocrite" Beca teased as they stopped, having reached the entrance to Chloe's dorm building.

"Not ones that are more important than you!" she beamed, pulling the brunette into another quick hug before turning her back and pushing open the door to her building. "I'll be there around 8, see you tonight!" she finished, grinning over her shoulder at Beca before skipping into the building. Great, Beca thought, just great. Dealing with her feelings for Chloe was hard enough on a normal day, but on Valentine's Day, well, that was bound to make it one hundred times harder. Yep. Great.


It was barely 7:30 and Beca was already pacing her dorm room, freshly showered and dressed ready for Chloe to arrive. It was probably stupid of her to be making such a big deal of this – Chloe had been over plenty of times before – but she just couldn't stop her anxiety building as the time ticked closer and closer to 8pm. A sharp knock stopped her in her tracks, an unexplainable panic setting in as she walked to unlock the door.

"Hey, sorry that I'm a little early, Aubrey has a date and they wanted the place to themselves." Chloe said hurriedly, pulling Beca into a quick hug before stepping back and looking at the younger girl. "You look a bit flustered, you alright?"

"Um, yeah, I'm fine. Do you want a drink?"

"Yeah, sure. Where's the wonderful Kimmy Jin this evening?" Chloe asked sarcastically, gesturing at the empty room before laughing at Beca's frown.

"Believe it or not, she has a date for tonight."

"Well, so do you now, technically. Who needs real dates when you've got my awesome company?" Chloe smiled, dropping to sit on the edge of Beca's bed, placing her bag on the floor beside her.

"So, what're we gonna do then?" Beca asked, suddenly feeling awkward as she stood facing Chloe.

"Well, you're gonna go get me the drink you offered me ten minutes ago and then we'll figure something out." Chloe replied, winking dramatically at Beca as she turned and walked towards the kitchen.

As soon as she heard Beca clinking glasses in the kitchen, she leaned over and hurriedly opened her bag, producing a small, pink plush ladybird and placing it on the bed before rushing to hide behind Beca's desk.

"I don't have anything alcoholic in here, so we'll have to make do with Soda. Chlo? Where are you?" Beca asked, confused as her eyes came to rest on the cuddly toy in the middle of her bed. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed in mock horror, "I was gone for two seconds and you turned into a lady bug?!"

A small giggle came from the corner of the room, a shock of red hair slowly rising above the edge of Beca's desk. "Happy Valentine's day," Chloe beamed at her friend who was still holding the ladybird. "And it's a ladybird, Becs, you sound like a five year old," she finished, smirking as she sat back down in her original position on Beca's bed.

"It's a ladybug!"

"Bird."

"Bug!"

"Whatever you say, bug." Chloe smiled, taking the soda that Beca held out for her and sitting back against Beca's pillow.

"So, anyways, why a ladybug?" Beca asked, stressing the last syllable of the word.

"I don't know. I saw it and for some reason it reminded me of you. Clearly it was destiny so that I could teach you the real word for ladybird" she replied, mimicking Beca and dramatically over-pronouncing the last syllable to demonstrate her point.

"Bully."

"You love it, bug."

"Are you really going to keep calling me that?"

"Probably," Chloe grinned, "It's cute."

"I'm not cute! I'm a bad-ass."

"Beca, you say ladybug, how can you possibly claim to be a bad-ass?"

"I repeat, bully." Beca pouted, crossing her arms over her chest as she took as seat next to Chloe on her bed. Gesturing at the cuddly toy resting on her knees, she turned her face slightly to face her friend. "I didn't get you anything, Chlo," she said guiltily, "Though you didn't exactly give me a lot of notice!"

"I wasn't expecting anything! I actually bought that while you were at your Mom's, not just for tonight. Like I said, I saw it and thought of you." Chloe smiled in reply, like it was the simplest thing in the world. Beca directed her eyes away from Chloe's to concentrate on the toy in her lap, blushing at the idea that Chloe thought of her other than when they were together. Clearing her throat to hide her embarrassment, she asked quietly, "So, how come you didn't have a date tonight?"

"What makes you think that I didn't?" Chloe replied, causing Beca to bring her eyes back up to meet her friend's.

"You said you didn't have any plans."

"No," she replied, "I said I didn't have plans that were more important than you." She smiled down at the brunette, who stared back at her in disbelief. "I'd much rather be here, Becs," she added, leaning down to rest her head on Beca's shoulder.

"So, who was the lucky guy?" Beca asked, before adding, "Or I guess, the poor guy who doesn't get to enjoy your company tonight."

Chloe smiled slightly, her head remaining in its place on Beca's shoulder. "It wasn't really a date; a guy in my English class asked if I wanted to go to a Frat Party with him tonight. So yeah, I'd definitely rather be here." Beca's heart leapt slightly at the fact that Chloe hadn't had a serious date planned for tonight; though it fell just as quickly at the realisation that this still didn't mean that there was anything more than friendship in what they had.

Chloe lifted her head slightly, looking Beca in the eyes. "So, how about you, bug, why didn't you a date for tonight?"

"I hate Valentine's Day," Beca replied, "It's all either happy couples or first dates that amount to nothing. It's just pointless."

"Not all Valentine's dates amount to nothing." Chloe stated simply, her hand slowly moving down Beca's arm, reaching to entwine her fingers with the brunette's. Beca felt her cheeks redden at the intimacy of the situation, but told herself that it was just Chloe's over-touchy personality. Ever since the day that Chloe had barged into her shower and forced her to sing, Beca had been more than aware of Chloe's complete lack of boundaries. Beca told herself that's what this was, simply Chloe's unawareness of personal space, nothing more. Somehow, that didn't change how it made Beca feel. They sat quietly for a few minutes, but when Chloe's head came to once again, Beca found herself breaking the silence without fully realising what she was doing.

"I'm glad you came over tonight."

"Me too."

"You…You're the best friend I've ever had, Chlo, I don't want to lose that." Beca head was screaming at her to stop what she was saying, but her words ran away from her. Chloe lifted her head, pulling back to look at the brunette, but keeping their hands clasped together.

"You're not going to lose me, Becs. Why would you even think that?" Beca leaned forward, lightly pressing her lips against the redheads, before pulling back just as quickly, her brain alerting her to how many lines she'd inadvertently overstepped.

"Shit, Chloe, I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that." Chloe lifted her free hand to trail her fingers over where Beca's lips had been seconds before, staring at Beca, an unreadable expression on her face. Attempting to rescue what was left of her dignity, Beca made to stand up, pulling her hand away from Chloe's, only to be caught in the redhead's grip as she locked their hands tighter together.

"I told you, you're not going to lose me, Beca." Chloe pulled Beca towards her, catching the smaller girl's lips once again with her own. Untwining their hands, she tangled her fingers in Beca's hair, deepening the kiss. Separating after a few minutes but keeping their faces close, Beca smiled lovingly at the older girl as she pulled her backwards to lie on the bed. Wrapping her arms around Beca's waist, Chloe laid her head on the brunette's chest, a sweet smile still playing on her lips.

"I changed my mind."

"What about?"

"Valentine's Day isn't so bad." Beca smiled, placing a light kiss on top of Chloe's head.

"Is that so?"

"Definitely. In fact, I think we should have another one tomorrow, and I'll take you on a real date."

"I'd like that, bug." Chloe smiled, tilting her head up to look Beca in the eyes.

"However, if we are going to date, we're going to have to talk about that nickname."

"Nope. It's non-negotiable. Anyway, I told you, it's cute."

"And I told you, I'm not cute."

"I beg to differ," Chloe replied, allowing no room for argument. Beca couldn't really complain; sure, the nickname was cheesy, but if she was going to be anyone's 'bug', she was glad she was Chloe's.