She wasn't really sure why she'd done it.
She just had.
She had been walking home from the studio at 5:15 - like usual - and had passed the flower shop next to that coffee shop where she and Chloe liked to go - like usual - and she had... stopped.
It probably wasn't related to Valentine's Day at all.
It probably wasn't because of the display in the window, the surprise of bright yellow sunflowers mixed in with dozens of bouquets of roses, that caught Beca's eye from half a block away.
Nope.
It had nothing to do with that.
It especially didn't have anything to do with the fact that sunflowers (which, truly, were an unusual sight on Valentine's Day because weren't roses the usual flower of choice for Valentine's Day? Beca did not know. She did not buy flowers because who would she even buy them for?) were Chloe's favorite flower.
No.
But Beca happened to stop anyway.
Then she was suddenly standing at the counter with a bundle of them in her hands and making conversation with the cashier about how they were not for her significant other, how they were instead for a friend.
(The cashier did not believe Beca's story about that. She really did not believe it when Beca told her she was only buying these flowers for her friend because they were her favorite and because the happy, bright, sunshiny yellow reminded her of Chloe. The cashier did not believe her at all. But she smiled and wrapped the bouquet up in a clear plastic sleeve, not in the Valentine's Day heart-patterned sleeve, because Beca had insisted that it wasn't a "Valentine's Day thing" anyway.)
Then Beca continued on her way back to her apartment which she shared with her friend Chloe who was nothing more than a friend and who Beca did not have feelings for (at all).
She put her laptop on the coffee table in the living room as she walked toward the kitchen where Chloe was most likely cooking dinner because she said she wanted to cook since Beca worked later than she did and then Beca always did the dishes as a thank you and it worked. Chloe was cooking dinner. It smelled good - like usual - and Beca told her that it smelled amazing - like usual - which made Chloe turn around with that megawatt smile of hers that made Beca smile too.
Chloe saw the sunflowers in Beca's hands and gasped lightly in surprise, but for some reason Beca felt like all the air had left the room, or maybe that all the air had left their entire apartment, because for a moment she couldn't breathe.
Then Chloe smiled at her again and said "Those are gorgeous."
"Yeah, they are. I got them for you." Beca replied, finally finding air somewhere.
Chloe raised an eyebrow at her, wanting Beca to say more, and probably wanting a reason, but Beca did not really have a reason for buying Chloe flowers because it wasn't a Valentine's Day thing and Beca didn't have feelings for Chloe anyway.
So Beca half-shrugs with a genuine smile that she feels like she can never hold back when she's in a room with Chloe and says, "They just reminded me of you" which might sound like it has some other meaning like that she thinks Chloe is gorgeous too, (and doesn't she?) but Beca doesn't think too much about that.
Chloe does not seem to read into it either, at least for the moment, and instead busies herself with getting a vase out from the cabinet beside her and filling it with water for the flowers. Beca drifts around the island in the center of the kitchen to bring them to her, and Chloe smiles brightly at her as she situates them in the vase.
"Thank you Beca."
Beca smiles in return because she doesn't really need to say anything back because she knows Chloe knows what she is thinking anyway, and besides, saying "you're welcome" or "no problem" seems inappropriate.
Chloe returns to the stovetop and shuts off the burners, then tells Beca that the food is ready whenever she is hungry.
"Good" Beca says, already moving to get out plates and silverware to set the table (well, the breakfast bar where they always ate dinner side-by-side) with. "I'm definitely hungry."
She sets the dishes on the countertop and turns around right as Chloe attempts to slide past her. Her breath catches again at the sudden proximity when they both stop quickly to avoid running into each other.
Chloe's eyes meet hers and she somehow asks the question they've both been struggling with all day and for infinite days before today without even saying anything at all and Beca instantly realizes that she has no doubts in her mind that the answer is definitely yes. That is a good thing, because Chloe's hand is suddenly soft against her jaw and the earth momentarily stops spinning on its axis.
Chloe is frozen for a split second and before she can rethink her decision, Beca surges forward and kisses her and Beca swears that she's been struck by lightning or electrocuted or something because of the surge of electricity that flows from their connected lips all the way down through her fingertips which have somehow hooked into Chloe's belt loops and down through her feet into the cold wooden floor.
And then she's pushing Chloe against the island and lifting her up onto the countertop so that she can put herself between Chloe's legs and then she's wrapping her arms around Chloe's waist for more contact - like she can't possibly connect with Chloe as much as she wants to but she's trying as hard as she can - and Chloe's hands find her way into her brunette locks and she's kissing her even harder than Beca knew was possible.
And they break away from each other for a moment for air and Beca can't even restrain herself from placing small kisses down Chloe's jawline and then down her neck, and she can feel Chloe's heartbeat going a hundred miles an hour just like her own under the impossibly soft skin beneath her lips.
Then Chloe's hands are on her neck and she pulls her back up into another deep kiss and they both sigh when they release and it takes a minute before Beca can even open her eyes up again and when she does, they're wet.
And Chloe's are too.
"Beca." She says quietly, her voice wavering.
"Yeah?"
"I'm in love with absolutely everything about you and I hope that this means that you feel the same way about me."
Beca nods and presses her forehead against Chloe's, her arms returning to Chloe's sides to pull her even closer.
"Yes." She says, taking a deep breath before continuing. "You're my sunflower in an endless field of roses."
Chloe smiles tearfully as she waits for Beca to continue.
"And I never realized how much I appreciated, how much I needed, and how much I loved sunflowers until tonight."