A/N: I haven't written anything in a realllllyyy long time, so this is just me trying to get out of my state of paralysis.

Beca had been organizing her side of the room for an hour when she heard a couple of loud bangs on her door through her headphones. "What the…"

She finished folding the last of her once scattered laundry and placed it on top of the neat stack she'd established on her bed before sauntering to the door. She looked through the peephole and sighed in exasperation when she saw who it was.

"Open up, Beca. I know you're in there," Fat Amy shouted.

The brunette succumbed to her friend's request and begrudgingly let her in.

Amy quickly crossed the threshold and headed straight for Kimmy Jin's bed. "What's going on with you, short stuff? You've been ignoring my calls all day."

Beca slid her headphones down to her neck. "Hey, what have I told you about messing with Kimmy's bed? As soon as you leave, I'm the one that's gonna get yelled at when she gets back."

Amy calmly exhaled as she sprawled onto the bed and closed her eyes for a moment. "She'll be fine. You worry too much."

Beca opened her mouth to respond but closed it when she realized she wouldn't be able to change Amy's mind regardless of what she said. She sometimes felt as though she were speaking to a brick wall when she tried to reason with the Australian. She turned around and began placing her clothes in a hamper.

A few moments of silence consumed the space between them before Amy spoke again. "Is that why your side of the room is suddenly so clean?"

"What?" The brunette turned toward Amy again, an expression of genuine bemusement gracing her features.

Amy opened her eyes. "No offense, but you're generally a mess, Beca. You only clean when you worry. What's wrong? Don't tell me this Valentine's Day thing is getting to you…"

"I'm fine," Beca said sharply, her tone far from convincing.

Amy narrowed her eyes at her. "Then why are you acting all weird like every other single person today."

"I'm not though. I'm a freaking adult, why can't I clean myself up every once in a while without it arousing suspicion?"

Amy stared her contemplatively as she allowed the brunette's question to marinate in her mind for a bit.

"Have you spoken to Chloe today?"

"Nope," said Beca, curtly. The "p" in the word clearly popping in her terse response.

Amy shifted her body onto one side to fully face her fellow Bella. "Why not?"

"We don't have to talk every day. We're not connected at the hip," Beca snapped, her hands now resting on her own hips.

The blonde knew she was getting under the DJ's skin but she didn't care. All she wanted was to help her friend get to the bottom of her feelings; no matter how irritated it made her.

"Except you are. You're Beca and Chloe…. and together you're Bloe."

Beca's countenance softened slightly; the unexpected portmanteau suddenly cutting through her vexation. "What?"

Amy smiled broadly, her newfound expression bringing a look of delight to her face. "You're Bloe and everyone loves a good bloe."

The brunette shook her head in disbelief and chuckled lightly as she reached for one of her pillows and playfully threw it at Amy's face. "What the hell are you on?"

The blonde began giggling as she caught the pillow before it could strike her.

"Nothing. Just a drug called love," she answered. She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively before continuing. "Bumper and I are going out tonight. You should do the same."

Beca sat on the edge of her bed. "I can't. First off, I'm not in a relationship. And secondly, Valentine's Day is for cheeseballs and I am not a cheeseball."

Amy threw Beca's pillow back at her. "You're a total cheeseball. And I happen to know that Chloe loves cheeseballs."

"Why do you keep dragging Chloe into this?"

"Don't play stupid, Beca. We all know that you two have gigantic toners for each other. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you guys can be hap-"

"Amy…" The DJ interjected softly; the tone in her voice pleading for the death of this conversation.

The Australian was broaching a sensitive topic; something that Beca didn't know if she was ready to talk about. Chloe occupied a very intimate part of her heart and made her vulnerable in a way that was uncomfortable for her at times. She quietly considered her friend's words as she tried to figure out what to say.

Even though she didn't want to admit it, she actually found herself thinking of Chloe quite a bit throughout the day. She thought about what it would be like to be with her on a day like this. What kinds of sappy things would they do? What kind of sweet proclamations would they make?

Her desire to resist Amy's implications about her relationship with Chloe slowly dwindled as she thought of these things. Perhaps it would be best if she did stop fighting her feelings…

Amy could see the ambivalence shining clearly in Beca's dark blue eyes. She stood up from Kimmy's bed and approached the brunette.

"Hey, I get it. I know you don't really like talking about this stuff, so I'll drop it. But I'm just saying…if you ever wanted to make a move, I think today would be as good a time as any."

Beca slowly nodded her head in agreement, still unable to formulate a real sentence regarding the matter.

Amy smiled warmly at her in response, recognizing her agreeance as a small concession. "Well, I'm gonna head out now. Let me know if you need anything, yeah?"

The DJ cleared her throat of disuse before answering. "Yeah. Thanks."

Beca took a deep breath as soon as Amy left the room and spent the next hour thinking about what she should do.

Beca (4:36): Hey, do you know if Chloe has any plans for tonight?

Aubrey (4:37): I don't know

Aubrey (4:39): Why don't you ask her yourself?

Beca (4:39): Why do you always have to be so difficult?

Aubrey (4:40): You just answered a question with a question but I'm the one being difficult, right?...mkay…

Beca (4:41): Fuck off

Aubrey (4:42): It's amazing how you can go from 'help me' to 'fuck off' in a matter of seconds.

Beca put her iPhone aside, her anxiety about the situation making her feel emotionally exhausted. She decides to take a nap to relax as she mentally curses Fat Amy for making her feel a tiny bit hopeful. When she wakes up a couple of hours later, she has a couple more texts from Aubrey.

When Aubrey gets home from class, she finds Chloe lounging on their couch, red, puffy eyelids encircling her bright, blue eyes as she watches a movie.

Aubrey approaches cautiously, her heart clenching tightly in her chest at the sight of her best friend. She sits next to the redhead's legs and runs a palm over one of her hands carefully. "Chloe…what's wrong?"

Chloe finally shifts her head away from the TV and makes eye contact; her movements zombie-like. "I'll be fine, Bree," she replies, her voice hoarse and tired.

Aubrey briefly bites her lower lip, trying to figure out how to tactfully help her friend without exacerbating the situation. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Chloe tries to give her small smile but can't help the tinge of sadness that colors the action. "Of course."

The blonde squeezes her hand and gives her a reassuring smile. "Good, then you should tell me what's wrong. I'm not leaving your side until you do," she replies, her tone soft but assertive.

Chloe produces a light, but noticeably hollow laugh as she sits up from her position and turns the TV off. She's not at all surprised to see Aubrey displaying her trademark stubbornness; a stubbornness she's grown to love despite the difficulties its created in their time as co-captains of the Bellas. She sighs, taking a moment to ponder what words to use.

"I don't know, Bree," she starts. She falters, still hesitating. "I guess I've been feeling sad for a long time now, but I've kind of been bottling it up until today."

Aubrey nods her head slowly as she listens, her green eyes glistening with concern, and her hand still in Chloe's.

"I-I just kind of realized that I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing right now," Chloe continues.

The blonde involuntarily raises one of her eyebrows in response. "What do you mean?"

There's another moment of silence as Chloe gathers her thoughts. "I've been chasing something that's not even real."

Aubrey partially opens her mouth, desperately wanting to say something, but not really finding the words. Her confusion was only increasing.

"It's about Beca…"

Chloe winces slightly as she says the brunette's name, while Aubrey's expression relaxes into one of understanding. She nods and purposely stays silent to allow the redhead to continue.

"You know that I like her and I've been trying to get close to her…. I have gotten close to her…"

Chloe gently retreats her hand from Aubrey's grasp and begins nervously twisting a ring on her left pinky finger. She's suddenly unsure if she's entirely convinced of what she's telling her friend.

"I think she likes me too but I don't know. There's still some kind of weird block between us and I'm just frustrated because I really like her and I just feel kind of hopeless."

Aubrey smiles at her sympathetically, appreciative of her candor. "Chlo…we both know that Beca is probably my least favorite Bella…"

They both take a moment to chuckle lightly, silently knowing the comment to be untrue. "But I don't think you should give up. We can all tell that she likes you just as much as you like her because you're the only that can touch her headphones without getting so much as an ear full."

Chloe playfully rolls her eyes at Aubrey, clearly not expecting her friend to make light of the situation so quickly. "Bree, this is serious."

"And I'm serious. The woman doesn't let anyone but you touch those things. And when you're not paying attention, she looks at you with these googly eyes that make me want to puke."

Aubrey pauses, pleased with herself when the redhead gives her a small smile. "Just give her some time, ok? I'm sure she'll come around. She likes you too much not to."

"You really think so?" Chloe asks, slightly hopeful.

"Yeah…I know Valentine's Day can be hard, especially when you're not spending it with the one person you want to be with, but just be patient. There will be plenty of time of roses and chocolates in the future."

Aubrey flashed Chloe a sincere smile as she finished what she was saying. Though she and Beca didn't always get along, she really couldn't deny how happy the brunette made her best friend…as well as how much they seemed to care about each other. She would never get in the way of Chloe's happiness if she could help it.

The redhead took a deep breath, suddenly feeling a lot better; more relaxed. "Thanks, Bree."

They shared a warm hug before the blonde made a suggestion. "Do you want to go out with Luke and I tonight? I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

Chloe raised her eyebrows incredulously. "And be a third wheel? I think not."

Aubrey giggled at her expression. "Okay. I just didn't want you to be alone. Will you be okay tonight?"

"Yeah, yeah," the redhead muttered. She waved her right hand flippantly, dismissing Aubrey's concern. "Go have fun. It's almost time for you to start getting ready, right?"

The blonde glanced at her phone to check the time. "Yeah," she confirmed. She gave one of Chloe's forearms a quick squeeze before standing up to head to her room. "I love you. Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

"Sure thing," Chloe replied, a grateful smile spreading on her face.

Aubrey (6:08): She'll be home alone tonight. I'm going out with Luke.

Aubrey (6:09): I'm not asking you to spill your guts to her or anything, but you should at least come over tonight and be the friend that she needs you to be.

Beca (7:17): Thanks.

Beca (7:31): Hey, I know this is sort of short notice, but there's this carnival thingy tonight downtown and I was just wondering if you wanted to go?

Beca (7:36): It's ok if you're busy or something.

Chloe (7:40): No, I would totally love to go! :-)

Beca (7:40): Cool :-)

Beca grinned widely at Chloe as the redhead walked up to her a few feet away from the entrance of the carnival. It was the first time they'd seen each other in a couple of days and she hadn't realized how much she missed her until her breath caught in her throat at the sight of her.

Chloe had her auburn hair down in wavy curls and was wearing a simple white tank top underneath a black leather jacket with some tight blue jeans. She looked a little more casual than usual, but was breathtaking, nonetheless.

"Hey," Beca greeted, her voice just above a whisper. She immediately went in for a hug, knowing that Chloe wouldn't accept anything less. Not that she minded.

"Hi," said Chloe, smiling softly. She hugged Beca tightly and pulled back, looking at her with an enthusiastic glint in her eye. She knew that she was probably more excited than she should be to hang out, but she couldn't help herself. The night had taken a turn for the best with Beca's invitation and she was going to enjoy herself regardless of what transpired earlier in the day.

Beca, suddenly melting under the redhead's excited gaze, gave the entrance of the carnival a cursory glance and sheepishly angled her head towards it. "Ready?"

Chloe looped an arm underneath one of Beca's and nodded. After paying for their tickets at the admission center, they strolled into the carnival and admired the scene around them. In addition to the pop music that was blasting all throughout the venue, there were many booths decked out in Valentine's Day decorations as vendors advertised various foods and games to everyone. Red Christmas lights were also strung high along the booths to light the walking paths that had been established around the different events.

Beca watched as Chloe beamed at the atmosphere around them. Seeing Chloe the way she was now made her happier than ever that she took the leap to get them here. "So what do you wanna do first?" she asked, her lips turning upward into a warm smile.

Chloe broke their stride and looked around before grinning. "I haven't been on a ferris wheel since I was six."

Beca followed her line of sight to the Ferris wheel, which had been lit up in red, and sighed. "I hate heights."

Chloe's eyes widened. "Are you telling me you've never been on a Ferris wheel?"

"I hate heights," Beca repeated, already sensing where the conversation was going.

Chloe slid a hand down the brunette's forearm and grabbed one of her hands. "C'mon, it'll be fun." She leaned into Beca when the music got louder and whispered into one of her ears. "I promise."

The softness of Chloe's voice, combined with their sudden proximity, sent a brief chill down her spine. She took a deep breath and nodded her approval. Chloe's reassuring smile did nothing to ease her mind as she succumbed to her charms and allowed the redhead to slowly start dragging her toward the ride.

The line for the wheel wasn't too long, so they managed to make their way onto it after waiting for just 15 minutes. As they got into their seats and buckled up, Beca began fidgeting, realizing that she had no more opportunities to back out. "Fuck, Chloe. You owe me big for this."

Chloe giggled and reclaimed Beca's hand before squeezing it. "You'll be fine."

The DJ braced herself as the ride began moving. "Yeah, whatever," she mumbled.

Though the wheel itself wasn't moving too fast, Beca closed her eyes tightly when their car began approaching the apex of the ride. Chloe pried her eyes away from their surroundings and gently squeezed her hand in a gesture of comfort. She drew closer to the brunette and whispered in her ear again. "Open your eyes. You're missing the best part."

Beca was unresponsive until she felt a warm sensation on the left side of her cheek. She opened her eyes slowly as the warmth on her cheek seemingly traveled to the pit of her stomach in waves. Her eyes met Chloe's amused expression as she registered what had just happened.

"Are you going to keep staring at me? Or are you going to appreciate the view?" Chloe asked, her eyes shining with satisfaction.

By the time Beca made an attempt to look around, their car was already descending. She blushed lightly at her reaction to Chloe's kiss; her cheek still tingling where her lips had been.

"So, like…when does this thing stop?" Beca asked, trying to calm herself down.

"I don't know. We probably have two more cycles to go," Chloe answered.

Beca shook her head in exasperation. "You better be thinking of ways to make it up to me after we get off this thing."

Chloe gave her a genuine smile. "Anything you want."

After making their way off the Ferris wheel, the women spent the next two hours playing various games and indulging in fried and sugary treats. They had both won a few prizes and were on their way to the exit when they stumbled upon an interesting booth.

Chloe was the first one to see it, but Beca was too busy stuffing her face with cotton candy to notice that the redhead had stopped walking beside her. It wasn't until Chloe called her name that she realized she was way ahead of her.

She returned to where Chloe seemed planted and swallowed involuntarily when she followed her line of sight. "Y-you wanna do that?" she asked nervously.

Chloe turned away from the booth and faced the DJ, a curious expression overtaking her features; uncertain eyes peering into dark blue ones. "Do you?"

Beca let out a breathless chuckle. "I mean…" she glanced at the booth again, unsure of what she should say. After about six seconds of silence from Beca, Chloe spoke up, a little disappointment layered within her tone. "Let's just go. It's cool. It's been a really fun night."

Chloe made a step to walk away before Beca grabbed her gently by the wrist and stopped her. "No, no, let's do it."

"It's okay, Beca. We can go."

"No, let's do it. It's just a game…and if we win, it looks like I'll get a nice guitar." Beca gave her an encouraging smile and slid her hand from her wrist into her palm, desperately trying to get rid of the disappointment she knew Chloe was trying to mask.

"Are you sure?" the redhead asked, still unconvinced.

"Yeah, let's go." A few beats of silence consumed the space between them as Beca began dragging them toward the booth.

"Don't you mean we?" Chloe inquired.

"What?" Beca frowned a bit, seeking clarification.

"If we win, we get a guitar, not just you."

"But you don't know how to play though."

"So?" Chloe shrugged nonchalantly. "You can teach me."

Beca rolled her eyes playfully. "I guess."

The booth they went up to was a couples' trivia booth that had been set up in honor of Valentine's Day. They stood hand in hand as the person in charge of the event explained the rules of the game to all the participants. Beca and Chloe would be competing against four other couples in an attempt to win the top prize, a brand new acoustic guitar, by correctly answering questions about each other. The couple with the most combined correct answers would win the prize.

The host handed each person a sheet of paper with the same 10 questions and watched as they quietly wrote down their answers. He then collected their responses and quizzed one couple at a time concerning what they had written about each other.

Thirty minutes later, the two girls soon found themselves walking back to Beca's car, their prize firmly in hand.

"What the fuck are we gonna do with a Home Depot gift card? I can't believe we came in second," Beca groaned. The two earned 16 points out of 20, finishing just three points shy of the first-place couple.

"Well, maybe we can use it to redecorate your side of the dorm room." Chloe giggled as she spoke through Beca's continued groaning. "Maybe get some paint and add a splash of color?"

"Uh, no." Beca dismissed Chloe's proposal with the shake of her head as they approached her car. "First off, we're not allowed to paint the walls. And secondly, I'm sure Kimmy Jin would definitely have something negative to say about me introducing a new color into the room even if it wasn't on her side."

"Okay, what about your car? I think it'd look better with something other than this reddish-brown color."

"We're not painting Alice," replied Beca, impassively.

Chloe's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "You named it Alice?" she teased.

"Just…get in the damn car, Chloe."

Chloe tentatively turned to Beca in the car after they rolled up to her apartment complex. There was a newfound heaviness in the air that contrasted with the overall lightness of the evening. "Do you wanna come up and maybe watch a movie?"

Beca gave her a small smile, grateful that Chloe seemed to share her sentiments about not wanting the night to end. "Sure," she answered quietly.

They gathered Chloe's prizes and made their way upstairs to where her apartment was. After grabbing a couple of drinks from the fridge, they settled down on the couch in the living room and watched a scary movie that Beca had insisted on. It wasn't really that scary, but the brunette thought it was a better choice than any sappy movie Chloe would have picked.

Twenty minutes into the film, she looked over at the redhead and watched as she shivered slightly and grabbed the blanket that was folded across the back of the couch. She was wearing just her tank top now, having removed her leather jacket upon entering the apartment.

Chloe draped the blanket over her shoulders and slowly craned her neck toward Beca, intuitively feeling the heat of azure eyes trained on. They held each other's gaze for a long moment, seemingly falling into a trance of sorts until Beca extended an arm out toward Chloe and whispered something so softly that the redhead almost didn't hear it.

"Come here."

It's a simple request. But they're both aware that it seems laced with something deeper, something unspoken; something they can both feel but can't quite describe. Chloe doesn't think too much about though, and proceeds to quietly shift over to where Beca is sitting, slowly sinking herself into the younger woman's embrace. She instantly feels warmer at the contact; her nerves ablaze at their proximity.

Beca holds her firmly, and gently runs a hand up and down Chloe's arm as they cuddle while finishing the film. Though they are both so comfortable that they could easily fall asleep wrapped in each other arms, their hyperawareness of the situation prevents them from doing so.

So, they finish the film. Wide awake. Unwilling to move even as the credits scroll up the screen.

When the DVD returns to the main menu, Beca reaches a short distance for the remote and turns the TV off before returning her hand to where it had been on Chloe's arm. They lay there in comfortable silence for a while until Chloe speaks, a content feeling within her welling up into words of gratitude.

"Thanks…for tonight," she says softly, her head still resting on Beca's sternum. "I had a lot of fun."

"Me too," Beca replies. She plants a quick kiss on Chloe's head and gently bites her lower lip as she tries to keep herself from smiling.

Chloe begins smoothing out Beca's shirt a little when she makes her next comment. "You know, I never pegged you as the type to enjoy a carnival."

"I'm not. I just go for the fried food," Beca deadpanned, the tips of her fingers now ghosting over an area of exposed skin on one of Chloe's hips.

The redhead glanced up at her with a knowing smile. "I'm not so sure about that."

"Hmm…well, I guess you don't know me as well as you think you do, huh?" Beca suggested, archly.

"And whose fault is that?" Chloe asked, her tone still light.

Beca rolled her eyes in mock annoyance. She then exhaled deeply, giving herself a few moments to steel her nerves for what she was about to say. Whether Chloe was teasing her or not, she knew that she was right. Beca always managed to keep people close to her without actually disclosing who she really was; or rather, the parts of herself she felt were the most important in shaping her being.

"My mom…" She briefly tried to clear her throat of the thickness she could feel quickly building within it. "…She loved carnivals and she used to take me to them a lot whenever there was one in town back home. It was kind of our thing when I was younger…my dad hates them, so it was always just mom and I."

Chloe listened attentively as Beca continued. "To be honest, I usually try to avoid them because they remind me too much of all the fun times we shared. It's…it can get to be really painful."

The redhead linked their hands together in a show of support.

"Today was my first time going to one in a really long time since she died…and I have to thank you for that…. for making me believe and see that I could go and be okay for once without feeling like my heart is being ripped out of my chest."

Beca's eyes were now glossy with unshed tears. Chloe looked up at her again, a pained expression covering her own face upon seeing the brunette's watery eyes. "I'm glad I could help," she says softly. She sits up and wipes away a tear that escaped one of Beca's eyes, placing a kiss on her cheek afterward.

Chloe's kiss lingers longer than intended, and when she pulls back a bit, Beca is gazing at her with an expression she's never seen her wear before. She gently brings a hand up to stroke Chloe's right cheek before leaning further into her personal space. Her lips are half way to Chloe's when she hesitates for a few seconds, not wanting to force Chloe into something she may not want. When the redhead makes no move to remove herself from Beca's grasp, the brunette closes her eyes and leans forward the rest of the way, placing a soft kiss to the other's woman's lips.

Chloe's lips feel better than should could have ever imagined pressed against her own. A warm feeling radiates from her gut as a sense of arousal courses through her veins, urging her to seek more…do more. The kiss intensifies as their sweet timidity begins to melt into a sort of primal passion. Beca's hand snakes its way into red curls as Chloe clutches her shirt, pulling her impossibly closer. Beca is on top of Chloe moments later when the door to the apartment bursts open.

"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa," says a voice, loudly.

Beca leaps off of Chloe immediately, the both of them looking back toward the door to see Aubrey standing there, clearly drunk, with Luke behind her.

Aubrey gingerly walks toward them, trying to maintain her balance. "Oh my gosh, Chloe. I told you."

Beca feels her cheeks heating up a bit as she combs a hand through brown tresses, desperately trying to regain her composure.

"I fucking told you," Aubrey repeats, louder than before. She smiles at the two of them and glances at Luke before whispering to him. "I fucking told her."

He chuckles lightly at his girlfriend's antics and looks at Beca and Chloe sympathetically. "Sorry guys, she's had a bit too much to drink as you can probably tell. I'm just gonna put her to bed and go."

He takes the tall blonde by one of her elbows and begins escorting her to her room. "Just…you know, pretend that this didn't happen."

Beca turns to Chloe and starts laughing when Luke and Aubrey disappear out of sight. "Wow—I—wow. I don't think I've ever seen her that shit-faced before."

"I most definitely have," Chloe confirms, grinning.

They made more small talk about Aubrey for a couple of minutes before Beca decided she should leave. Chloe walked her to the door and sighed as the brunette crossed the threshold.

Beca noticed her sigh and made a move to grab her hands. "Hey, I'll…I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

Chloe smiled warmly and nodded her head in agreement. "Okay."

Beca brought one of Chloe's hands up and kissed the back of it. "Maybe we can grab lunch or something."

A light blush creeped up Chloe's cheeks at the action. "Sounds good."

"Good," Beca replied. She gave the redhead a quick peck on the lips and released her hands before turning away.