AN: Hey everyone! I'm so overwhelmed, thank you so much for the continued support with both this and Taste That Your Lips Allow. Feel free to leave reviews or to private message me about anything :)
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Aubrey watched Beca over the next few days, waiting for a meltdown over the wedding that never really came. She had recently realized that she knew next to nothing about the brunette despite living with her. She only knew her food likes and dislikes. The brunette's relationship with Chloe couldn't be more perfect, the pair of them hardly ever fought and when they did it was about small things that were fixed with a kiss and an apology.
"Everything okay Aubrey?" Chloe asked as she walked into the apartment after finishing work, watching Aubrey watch Beca mixing a new track. Thankfully the DJ had her headphones on and was lost in her work. The blonde made a silencing motion before pulling the ginger over to the kitchen and taking a seat at the breakfast bar.
"I'm learning her," Aubrey spoke in a hushed voice.
"Do I even want to know?" Chloe breathed.
"I barely know Beca and now that we're to be related, I just want to get to know her better," the blonde rebutted. Chloe just nodded before slapping her on the bicep.
"Have fun with that. I'm still learning," Chloe laughed.
-
Mother's Day approached rapidly and Beca had been asked to do a more toned down set at the youth centre so that kids could bring their parents into an environment where they felt safe. A lot of the kids here had family issues and that was something Beca could relate to, her family wasn't exactly picturesque but now it had the potential to be, at least for Aubrey.
Her mind wandered as she lazily mixed the tracks, Aubrey had gone to see Angela and Chloe was off seeing Joanna and Phil for the weekend. Everybody had their plans except for Beca who had no idea where Caitlyn could be. The woman had all but disappeared after the divorce, leaving Beca at primary school and not picking her up.
She thought about that moment a lot throughout her adolescence, misplacing the blame on her father. Had she done something to drive her mother away? The brunette had always strived to get good grades because focussing on school work meant that she didn't need to pay attention to the people around her or her lack of friends.
"You okay Becs?" Luke asked as he walked over to the booth with a coffee before setting it down. Luke and Andrew had moved to New York and opened the youth centre after acquiring a government grant. The two of them were in a similar living situation with Kimmy Jin as Beca was with Chloe and Aubrey. It had worked out though and now they all got together when they could and had drinks.
"Yeah, just tired I guess," the brunette replied with a false smile. Luke wasn't buying it though, staring at the woman and willing her to spill her secrets. Beca rarely kept anything from her best friend but this just felt like too much to let out. Perhaps she was only feeling this way because of the groups of people surrounding her. "Really, it's just my abandonment issues coming out to play".
"Oh. Do you want to talk about it?" Luke asked with a frown and a concerned tone.
The DJ shook her head, "nah, it's probably just my emotions running on high from being alone this weekend".
"Maybe. We're here if you need anything though," he replied before walking off. In the corner of the room Beca spotted Andrew with a group of kids, other children who didn't have mothers in their lives. Her heart ached for them, knowing they'd grow up to have all the same kinds of questions she was faced with now.
-
Chloe sat across from her parents on Mother's Day with the paper on her lap and a bourbon in her hand. She'd been forced into drinking the stronger alcohols as a teen in order to "appreciate" the affect that they could have on the human body. Really it was just her Dad's way of being protective and telling her to keep count of her drinks.
She'd been watching the family all weekend, Cameron with Kylie, her Mum with her Dad. They'd built futures together. In a few months Cameron and Kylie would get married and they were already expecting a child. Her parents had weathered the storm of losing Jack and still come out just a strong as ever. It made her happy to see everyone so united and happy after everything that had happened.
Eventually everyone went to bed except for Chloe and her father who sat and drank in silence, other than the television.
"How's Beca?" he asked casually. Chloe bit her lip for a moment as she worded her sentence in her mind.
"Good. She's really come a long way since we met. It's good to see her happy. We've been looking at getting a pet of some kind actually," the ginger sighed as she set the paper down on the coffee table. She wanted more than just a cat though; she wanted that commitment that everyone else seemed to have. For a second she felt a pang in her chest as she realized that this must be how Aubrey feels the majority of the time.
"But you want more," her father replied as he took in the look on her face.
Yeah, she wanted more.
-
The three girls sat on the lounge on the Monday night, Beca's hands rubbing Chloe's feet while Aubrey stared at a crossword in her lap. It had been a long weekend and an even longer Monday. A boy had bought his pet snake to show and tell and then lost it in the classroom, one of Aubrey's patients had been admitted for trying to stab a McDonald's employee over a cheese burger and Beca had taken a rough beating at paintball.
So they took comfort in each other's company, a promptly delivered pizza and reruns of The Nanny. Aubrey had kept watch on Beca throughout the afternoon after the brunette had been shot in the neck, resulting in a rather sore looking bruise and slight swelling of the area. It seemed like nothing to the DJ but the blonde wanted to be sure. Dr. Mitchell would kill her if his daughter died under her watch.
"Can we get a bird?" Beca asked the two girls out of nowhere. They both stared at her in confusion. Out of all the things she could ask, all the pets they had looked at, she wanted a bird.
"Why a bird?" Chloe asked, catching Aubrey's confused look and mirroring it.
"I like their feathers and chirps," the DJ sighed.
"But they poop like everywhere," Aubrey groaned before throwing her crossword on the coffee table beside the pizza remnants.
"Don't worry, I'll train it," Beca laughed as she noticed Chloe's arched eyebrow. "How hard can it be? I taught you how to do yoga".
"Hey! I was easy to teach! And I'm a sentient being! A bird doesn't even talk," Chloe retaliated.
"Well some of them do," Aubrey cut in. "That does not mean I side with her!" she followed.
"Please?" Beca asked with a pout and a sad expression. Chloe thought for a few moments. Of all things Beca Mitchell could have, she wanted a bird.
"Why not, no roosters though!" Chloe replied, she was not risking her sleep in on the chance that she didn't specify the type of bird.
"Aye, aye Captain!" Beca replied with a cheeky salute.
