If the Bellas noticed Chloe's and Beca's hands clasped together as they made their way through the hall, they didn't say anything about it. They all exchanged looks because it was clear that something was up, but since not the redhead nor the DJ said a word about it, they didn't push it.

Stacie seemed to be the nervous one of the group especially the days right before the competitions and the day of the competition she was almost impossible to be put up to. She made everyone practice the choreography over and over and made Beca check the set list and the tracks as well. They had chosen songs of different genres, meaning pop, rock and hip hop. They were going to kill it and they all knew it but everything had to be perfect if they actually wanted to win.

If you asked the DJ, she would tell you that she didn't know how she managed to get through the day without chocking the taller girl. But after all she did know what helped her control herself and of course it involved a very pretty girl with bright red hair and sparkly blue eyes. Eyes that, more often than what she intended, shot looks at Beca and made the muscles of her entire body relax in less than a second.

All the groups were supposed to go to Lincoln Center at 7pm, the competition starting at 7:30pm, so they had still five hours to get some rest and get ready after finishing rehearsal.

Some of the Bellas, including Amy, Stacie and Flo, opted for spending some time in the city center to go shopping, promising they'd be back in time for the ICCA's.

Chloe, Beca and the other girls left decided to stay in the hotel and relaxed in the recreational part of the building, which offered pool game, bowling and a café. They played a couple of games of pool and they headed to the tables to grab a coffee. Chloe sat next to Beca, to nobody's surprise, but what seemed to actually surprise everyone was how unconsciously closer and closer the two co-captains got as time passed. I mean, more than usual.

They laughed, they talked, they smiled. When it was time to get ready for the ICCA's, Chloe slipped her hand in Beca's, this one turning her head with a questioning look as if she was asking the redhead if she was sure about it. They had held hands before, even when they made their way to the hall earlier that morning, but it hadn't gone unnoticed by Beca that the others had that weird suspicious look on their faces and the DJ was maybe a bit concerned with what Chloe wanted from their relationship. Maybe a lot concerned. If we could even call it a relationship, Beca thought.

Her worries disappeared when she looked into those beautiful shining eyes, filled with something that Beca could only translate as love. The tiny DJ's heart skipped a beat, her breath hitched in her throat and she stood still for a second before one of her most genuine smile made its way to her face. Beca was beaming and everyone could notice that from a mile distance. And that smile, that Beca so rarely wore and always reserved to Chloe, made the redhead fall for the brunette even harder.

They hadn't had the famous conversation that morning, but their last interaction was already a start and they both couldn't be happier for now.

Stacie, Amy and Flo were back already and after they all got changed, they headed to Lincoln Center together.

Chloe was visibly agitated. She had been chewing on her bottom lip from the second the girls got on the bus. She had been nervously playing with her necklace or fixing the hem and the sleeves of her shirt.

They were now in the dressing room behind the stage, being next to perform.

"Hey, Red."

Beca dropped herself on the chair next to Chloe, flashing her a warm and supportive smile. "Nervous?", she continued.

"Is it that obvious?", Chloe returned the smile with a worried yet doubtful one.

"A little". Chloe raised an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe a lot", Beca corrected herself grinning. "But you're adorable when you're anxious."

A genuine smile appeared on the redhead's face, while Beca's eyes opened widely.

"I didn't- I didn't mean to say it. Out loud." Beca was now blushing hard, but that only made Chloe smile broaden. Her fears wiped away at least for a while.

She reached out and took Beca's hands in hers. "I'm glad you said it out loud. Although I have to say I'm surprised. Public compliments? That's new from you, Becs." Chloe winked and smiled mischievously.

Beca blushed harder trying to put together words that could actually make sense.

"Becs. Becs. Breathe. You're supposed to cool me down, not freak out yourself!", the redhead chuckled. Luckily that was enough to bring Beca back to normal. I really need to stop zoning out every time she flirts. Or is takes my hand. Or smiles at me. Gee, I'm a goner.

Beca gently squeezed Chloe's hand, giving her an enamored smile and after an instant Chloe's grin was matching hers. Yup. Definitely a goner.

They spent what felt like hours staring lovingly at each other. Bright blue melt with blue navy, their hands still joint together as Chloe's thumb rubbed circles on the back of Beca's hand. It was the speaker that brought them back to reality, making them acknowledge that they were actually not alone there. Not that they cared, honestly. They were the next group performing, though, so they had to approach the side of the stage within a few minutes now.

Reluctantly the two captains broke the intense moment of staring, but before they disentangled their hands and got up, Chloe leaned forward and placed a soft kiss at the corner of the DJ's mouth, lingering there for a second and then pulling slightly back.

The instant her lips brushed against the soft white skin, a shiver ran along Beca's back and she smiled widely with her eyes squeezed shut. Chloe didn't pull all the way back, though, and locked eyes with Beca whose face was now only utmost a couple of inches away from Chloe's.

"We have to go find the others."

"Yeah. We do."

Neither of them seemed to want to actually stand up, but after sighing loudly Beca stood and tugged at Chloe's hand to make the girl get up from the chair. The brunette squeezed the redhead's hand, giving her another quick knowing gaze before making their way together to the Bellas.

They were about to go on stage, when Chloe locked eyes with her co-captain, mouthing a "good luck" and sending a wink her way. Beca looked around, looking if the other Bellas were all already walking to the stage, then moved quickly next to Chloe and leaning closer to the redhead's ear and whispering "We're gonna win this, although I know I have already won."

She then kissed Chloe's cheek and rushed onto the stage, taking her place among her "sisters".

They won. They out-performed the other groups, including the Treblemakers. When the judges announced the winner, nothing could stop Fat Amy from jumping on the stage -literally, she jumped her way to the stage at a speed nobody thought was humanly possible-. The other Bellas followed right after her, walking through a cheering and clapping crowd. Some of the spectator shook their hands in passing while a chant of "Bellas!" filled the air.

The two captains were right next to Amy, who was now holding the trophy above her head, yelling something about how she managed to wrestle multiple crocodiles and so she had to win this championship. That made the Bellas laugh out loud, although some other people who heard the Aussie were now wearing confused looks.

Three championships. Three!

"Alright nerds, listen up! Tonight, we celebrate!", she yelled at the girls once in the backstage. "And I might regret this later, but first round of drinks is on me!", she continued, getting a loud cheer in return that almost broke through her eardrum.

"Tequila shots, everyone. Mandatory! You can't refuse such a wonderful way to start off the night. And no, Beca, these don't count as a drink. Although yes, you are still paying for them. Think of it as Bellas-bonding stuff."

Amy stated the very second they stepped inside the bar. Beca rolled her eyes but silently agreed with the Aussie. After all it was a night of celebration, she could manage to buy her best friends a drink. She dropped herself on one of the chair of the table the girls had chosen and Chloe sat next to her, their arms brushing against one another when she squeezed closer to make room for Stacie to sit next to her. At the contact with the skin, a warm shiver ran through Beca's body, that tensed a little getting the attention of the redhead who turned towards the DJ with one of the widest smirk Beca had ever seen.

"You okay there?", Chloe whispered in her ear not losing the grin.

Beca nodded, "Sure thing. I'm perfectly fine-", she interrupted abruptly when she felt Chloe's fingers lightly touching her inner thigh and softly rubbing circles on the sensitive skin. Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened when she looked astonished at the redhead next to her -now incredibly close- and with her jaw dropped open.

"What are you doing?", Beca hissed but couldn't help the ghost of a smile to pop on her face.

"We're bonding, like Amy said. You seem so tense, do you want a rub?", Chloe said pushing her hand up further on the inside of the DJ's thigh. Beca instantly froze and blushed so hard that her cheeks were now of a vivid glowing red. "Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything here, we're still very far from that", she then whispered as her fingers resumed drawing patterns and circles on the sensitive skin. She turned her attention to the Bellas, joining in a conversation about the other groups' performances at the ICCAs as if nothing weird was happening under the table with Beca, who was still shocked and unable to distract her attention from the light touches on her thigh.

The shots arrived shortly after and after a toast to the Bellas, they downed them quickly except of course for the two captains. The two girls locked eyes for a second, then raised the small glasses and clinked them. "To us".

"To us."

The alcohol burned down their throats, as they threw back the shots. The others had already moved to another subject but the two captains still had their eyes locked with each other. They were like studying each other, taking in every inch of skin, every little detail. Their eyes roamed on the other's face for what felt like a second. Chloe's hand had long stopped moving but was still rested on Beca's thigh. It wasn't until Amy spoke to them that they realized where they where and with whom,

"Not to stop your eye sex session, but we're ordering the drinks and you two need to tell us what you want. And yes, Beca, you have to hand me your wallet."

The two snapped out of the trance they were in at the sound of the fellow Bella's voice. Beca blushed for what seemed to be the 100th time that day and snorted loudly before giving the Aussie the money for the drinks.

Chloe on the other hand seemed pretty comfortable with the whole situation, she giggled and winked at Beca before turning her head to the other girls and joining in the conversation. How the redhead managed to act so natural after such embarrassing moments, Beca will never know.

The night went by easily -and honestly far too quickly, if you asked Beca- with frequent smiles, looks and light brushes of arms and hands every now in then. They decided to call it a night after the 6th round of drinks when Stacie decided it was a good idea to strip to her underwear and jumped on the little stage where the karaoke was and started fooling around with the guy working there. Not that he minded, of course.

After dragging Stacie off the stage -and above all off the boy- and making her wear something more than just undergarments, they headed all back to the hotel. While CR and Jessica tried to keep Stacie standing and slowly walked -more like stumbled- on the way to the house, Chloe grabbed a hold of Beca's hand. They shared small smiles while walking, every now in then glancing up from the sidewalk. They talked about the night, about the victory, about anything that popped into their minds, and it felt like the easiest thing ever.

The two were quite intoxicated themselves, but managed to get to the hotel hall without falling face first on the ground, although Beca defied gravity a couple of times managing to literally trip over herself. They quickly said goodbyes and everyone headed to their rooms. Chloe was now leaning on Beca, their arms intertwined, giggling her way to the room because of how clumsy the two captains were being, barely holding it together.

The second Beca managed to put the key in the door lock and open it, Chloe bolted to the bed scattering around clothes and heels on the way and falling face down on the soft sheets. She then scooted and moved under the covers, turning on her side to face Beca, who was still standing near the now closed door.

"C'mere.", the redhead muttered patting the spot on the bed next to her.

Beca looked at her with dreamy eyes and a big smile, then moved to take of her clothes and slipped under the covers with Chloe. As usual, they moved closer until their foreheads were almost touching, a few inches separating their faces.

Beca could feel Chloe's breath on her skin and shivers ran along her back up to the back of her neck. She locked eyes with Chloe. Even in the dark of the room, she could see a glimpse in the gorgeous blue eyes that made her want to close the already small distance and kiss the redhead. She managed, though, to clear her mind a bit and regain a bit of self-control, drawing in a deep breath and lightly sighing, "We have to talk about this".

"Yeah. We have."

Chloe's fingers ghosted on the DJ's cheek, tracing the line of her cheek bone and then moving down to trail the jaw. Beca's eyes fluttered shut as she felt Chloe's face even closer to hers. When she reopened them, she found that same pair of outstanding eyes looking at her with an expression that Beca could only read as a question. A question that was silently asked again when the redhead's eyes darted down to the DJ's lips, only to climb up again an instant later.

"We really have."

It happened in an instant. The hand tracing Beca's skin cupped her face and pulled her slightly closer to Chloe, who leaned in and pressed her lips against Beca's. It was warm, it was soft, it was loving and it ended soon, when Chloe pulled back only a couple of inches to scout the tiny DJ's face for a negative reaction. She barely had time to reopen her eyes, though, as Beca eagerly joined their mouths together again tilting her head to the side and flushing her body against Chloe's completely.

Her hand moved instantly to the redhead's hip, pulling her closer, while Chloe's hand slipped behind Beca's neck with the same purpose.
The kiss that was soft and gentle not a minute ago, was now much more heated and passionate, rough and extremely liberating. What the two had bottled up in the past months, years even, bursted open and free hitting them both with incredible strength.

The kiss deepened as Beca bit down on Chloe's bottom lip and then soothed it with her tongue, drawing a low moan out of the redhead who parted her lips to let the brunette in. Their tongues clashed and it felt like electricity was running through their bodies. They battled for dominance, winning one second and losing the following one. Beca's hand was pressing on the hot skin of the redhead's lower back, climbing up bit by bit until it hit the bra and promptly slid under it to touch the soft skin. Chloe shuddered under the touch and another moan escaped her lips before she could hold it back. The redhead's hand moved to the side of Beca's neck, scratching the skin before moving down, ghosting over the DJ's breasts before continuing the trip down and then digging her nails into the sensitive skin over her stomach and side.

It was now Beca's turn to moan, breaking the kiss to draw in a quick breath. Chloe took advantage of the distraction to move to Beca's neck and started to alternate soft kisses to small bites to rapid licks with her tongue to soothe the bruises already forming on the pale skin. The redhead's hand moved up again and cupped the DJ's breast, causing the younger girl to dig her fingers in Chloe's shoulder.

They went on like this for a while. Panting, moaning, exploring each others' bodies. It was the alarm clock that stroke 3am with a beep that brought them back to reality. They broke the kiss, stopped the movements with the hands, and pulled away slightly. They were still so close that their noses were brushing as well as their lips. Chloe hadn't opened her eyes yet, almost afraid to see some sort of regret in Beca's eyes, which Chloe felt staring at her and boring a hole into her.

Opening her eyes might ruin everything. Beca would run away because of what happened, because it was just the spur of the moment, the alcohol. She would lose her best friend. Useless to say that Beca's worries were pretty much the same, the only difference being that Beca needed to see those eyes and see what Chloe felt about it. She couldn't hide, she needed to know if it was too much for her. That urge was what made her raise her hand and cup Chloe's jaw, as a way to make the redhead open her eyes.

She eventually did and the sight made Beca's eyes fill with panic. The usually beaming and cheerful bright blue eyes were now misty and teary. Beca tensed instantly but didn't move. She waited. She waited for her best friend to say something, because she just couldn't form a single word and let it out of her mouth without having tears forming in her own eyes.

"Are you going to run?"

It was a whisper, barely audible, but it felt like thunder to Beca. The brunette sighed -almost relieved- smiled broadly, her whole body relaxing.

"I will never run from you. I'll be here for as long as you want me."

Tears started falling from Chloe's eyes, tears that Beca promptly kissed away. The DJ hugged Chloe as hard as she could, keeping her so near that their bodies seemed to melt into one again. The redhead tucked her head under Beca's chin, leaning her forehead on the girl's chest. The sobbing gradually stopped many minutes later and the breaths evened, meaning that Chloe had fallen asleep in the DJ's arms.

I could get used to this, Beca thought, although the image of Chloe crying was still burned into her mind. I'll do anything I can to have her beautiful smile again on her face. Anything, not to have her wrecked like this again especially because of me.

She gently pulled the girl even closer, as if to protect her. And it was with Chloe in her arms that she fell asleep, never letting go of her and hoping to never have to.