They had finished dinner, but it was still 7. The had talked about everything that came to their minds and they both had a really great time just enjoying each other's company. Beca didn't want to part ways yet, but she couldn't think of anything to keep the redhead by her side. Just as she was about to give up and say goodbye, Chloe turned to her, biting her lip and with an apprehensive look in her face. The brunette thought she looked cute, but it was weird seeing the normally confident redhead look so nervous, and she wasn't sure she liked it.

"So… I was thinking, if you have nothing to do, would you like to hang out a bit more? We could go to my place and watch a movie, or anything else really, whatever you want"

And Beca knew she had to say no. She had told Ed she was going to finish the songs, but how could she? The redhead was clearly nervous about asking her that, there was no way she was rejecting her. Besides, she really, really wanted to hang out with her, so she did what any responsible adult would do.

"Sure, of course, I don't have work to do, like, nothing at all. Yeah, I'm completely free right now" Bravo, Mitchell, that was believable "Okay, so, yeah, whatever you want to do. We can even go to my place if you prefer"

"Really?" The redhead's whole expression lit up. "That would be so cool! Do you have a home studio? Can you show me?" Beca chuckled in response.

"Yes, Beale, of course I have a home studio. Come on, I'll show you.

/

They arrived to Beca's apartment 20 minutes later. It was nice, it had really big windows in the living room and a small couch in front of a television. Beca led her through the hallway to a closed room, and when she opened it, Chloe's mouth hung open.

"Beca… Can you play all those instruments?" Apart from her mixing equipment on a desk, there was a white grand piano on a corner, next to an electric and an acoustic guitar. On the other side of the room the was a beautiful black cello, and on a shelf above it laid a sax, a trumpet and a clarinet. Hanging on the walls were a violin, a banjo, an ukulele and several different kinds of tambourines, and laying on a chair there were… bagpipes? That's unexpected.

"Um… yeah, I like to play all the layers on my songs, I'm not very good at most of them, just… good enough to make it work" The brunette answered looking sheepishly at the floor.

"The bagpipes though? I don't think I've ever heard those in any of your songs. How did you even get into it?" Chloe asked, looking around in amazement.

"Oh, Celtic music is so beautiful. I wouldn't even dare to try and make that kind of music. It's just… too beautiful. And the bagpipes, they're just… I don't know how to explain it. They're annoying to most people, but the sound they make it's… I don't know, no other instrument can make me feel like that. It's so expressive. When you're playing a sad song, you can hear the heartbreak, and when it's a happy song, there's just nothing cheerier. To me at least… It might sound stupid to everybody else".

Chloe looked at her, completely lost in the girl. She was so passionate about music, she breathes and lives it. She could just sit and hear her talk about music all day. She seemed lighter, a smile stretched her face and her eyes looked brighter, and Chloe couldn't get enough of it. It was contagious, it made her feel happy too.

"Play them for me?" Beca looked at her for a long minute, like she was deciding whether to do it or not.

"Okay… Take a seat…"

The brunette went to the chair where she had left the bagpipes and arranged them around her frame. She filled the bag with air and then she started playing. The notes that came out of the instrument were beautiful, but so, so sad. She could feel what Beca had described, and she felt her own heart breaking as she felt Beca's pain coming out of the bagpipes.

When she finished, the redhead got up and enveloped in a hug that the brunette eagerly returned.

"That was so beautiful, Beca" She whispered. "But enough sad songs for today. Can I watch you work for a while? I know you have work to do, you didn't fool anyone". The redhead teased and Beca blushed.

"Yeah, I mean, I can not do it… I just have to add some touches to some of Ed's songs, but he did say that we weren't on a hurry and not to work myself too hard so…" She said with a shrug. "Which reminds me, I'm going to text him real quick to let him know I'm definitely not finishing his songs for tomorrow, give me a sec" She said pulling out her phone. "Okay, done. But yeah… you can see me work, although it's gonna be boring, it's just me in front of a computer. Are you sure you don't want to do something else?"

"Yeah, I'm sure, I'll let you know when I'm bored" The redhead answered with a smile, getting comfortable in her chair.

Just as Beca's computer was booting up, her phone chimed and she looked to see that Ed had answered her text.

Ginger Ed: Yes! Did you finally get a life? We're both skipping tomorrow. No work! We need to celebrate you FINALLY overcoming your addiction to work. See ya on Thursday!

"Lazy, ginger bastard…" Beca muttered to herself.

"What?" Chloe asked, holding back a laugh

"Nothing, that was fucking Ed Sheeran, letting me know he's cutting work tomorrow. You just can't trust those soulless gingers" Beca said with a smirk towards Chloe.

"Wow, you'd wound me if I believed you. Ed Sheeran is the living proof that gingers do have souls. Besides, you like me" She said in a sing-song voice that last part, and Beca rolled her eyes at her.

"Whatever you say, Beale. Let me work"

Chloe watched Beca work for an hour before getting bored. It was really cute, the way she bit her lip and furrowed her brow in concentration, how her fingers never stopped moving over her board, or tapping a rhythm on the desk, and how she looked closer at the screen when she couldn't figure something out. But she ended up craving actually talking to her, so she stood up and pulled her headphones from her head.

"What do you think you're doing? If you were anyone else, you'd be dead by know. You do not touch my headphones!" Chloe beamed at this.

"Am I that special already? Aww Becs"

"Shut up" The brunette blushed. She needed to be more careful with what she said. "Okay, so I assume you're bored. What do you want to do?"

"I don't know, movie?" the brunette scrunched her face in disgust.

"I don't really like movies… Sorry, I know that's what you do for a living. But they're just so predictable… That's probably putting you off, I know it's weird, sorry…" She said, looking down.

"Don't be sorry! That's okay, but I'll show you some movies that are not predictable, you'll see. But for now… how about TV series?" she offered with a smile.

"Yeah, that works, I actually like them. What do you want to watch?"

"Oh, I know, why don't we start one none of us have seen? That way we can watch the whole thing together"

"Sure. Have you watched Mr. Robot? I heard it's good, but I haven't started it yet. It's about a hacker or some shit, we can leave it if it's not any good".

"Okay, that works, let's go!" She said standing up.

/

"This show's awesome, I can't believe I waited for so long" Beca said as she loaded the third chapter.

"It is, we're doomed, I don't think I'll be able to stop watching now"

They were cuddling in Beca's couch. She'd been surprised when Beca didn't move away when she wrapped her arms around her, and she had to say, the brunette was a damn good cuddler. Her tiny frame felt so good against her.

"I know, if we're watching this together, you're not leaving until we're done with the first season"

Chloe couldn't complain, so she just smiled and pulled the brunette closer to her.

/

Beca woke up hours later. They'd fallen asleep sometime during the fifth chapter, which was weird, Beca never just fell asleep, she had to try hard and put an effort to get there. She turned to wake Chloe up to get her to bed.

"Hey, wakey wakey" She said, shaking the ginger softly. "We fell asleep, it's really late, go sleep in my bed, I'll take the couch"

"Oh no you won't, you're coming to bed with me and we're cuddling. Lead the way, I don't know where your bedroom is" the redhead said, getting up and grabbing Beca's hand, her mind still a bit foggy with sleep.

"Okay…" The brunette couldn't say no, she loved cuddling, although she'd never admit it. Badasses don't cuddle. But Chloe was so warm and she felt so good.

They got to her bedroom and Beca threw a sleeping shirt and some shorts at Chloe. "Here, you can sleep in those, I'm gonna use the bathroom, unless you want to go first" The redhead shook her head before taking her top off and the brunette blushed and looked at the ceiling. "Jesus… okay, right be right back." She said as she rushed out the room with her own sleeping clothes.

Fifteen minutes later, they were both in bed. Chloe had her head in Beca's chest and an arm over her stomach, and Beca had both her arms around her, holding her tightly.

"I didn't expect you to be a cuddler, you know? You're really really different to what I thought, but in a very, very good way" Chloe said as she stroked the brunette's abdomen lightly, and Beca sighed in contentment.

"Not everything is what it seems. But you can't tell anyone, if you do, I'll deny it and call you a filthy liar". The ginger chuckled at this and buried her head in the crook of Beca's neck.

"Your secret's safe with me. Now got to sleep. Good night Bec".

"Good night Chlo" The brunette replied, closing her eyes and letting her breathing match the one coming from the ginger in her arms as they both drifted to a peaceful slumber.

/

Chloe woke up the next morning to an empty bed and no trace of Beca in the bedroom. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and got up to find her friend.

She found her in the kitchen, in front of the stove, with that cute look of concentration on her face.

"Morning DJ" Beca jumped, which made the pan she was holding to go flying and the contents to spill everywhere, including Beca's arms.

"Motherfucker! Don't scare me like that. Ouch. This hurts like a bitch. Shit" She said waving her arms that she had probably burned.

"I'm so sorry Bec! I didn't know you'd react like that. Here, let me help you" She took her arms and put them under the cold water in the sink. "How did that even happen?"

"I don't know, shit like that happens all the time. I don't know if I have some kind of curse of if I'm just clumsy as fuck. Probably both combined". Chloe chucked and shook her head

"Do you have a first aid kit?"

"Yeah, in the bathroom"

"Okay, go there, I'll be with you in a minute, I'm just gonna turn off the stove so we don't burn the whole house" The redhead said as she turned off the water.

When she got to the bathroom, she found Beca sitting crossed legged in the toilet and humming under her breath. She looked like a child and Chloe smiled at the image. She grabbed the first aid kit that the brunette must have left for her next to the sink and kneeled in front of her.

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"Nah. I could really take care of it myself, I mean, I do it all the time, but since you offered…" The brunette answered with a smile.

"This may sting a bit" The redhead cleaned it and wrapped it, and when she was done she planted a kiss on it. "All better now" She looked up and locked eyes with the brunette, who was looking at her lovingly, and they stayed like that for what seemed like hours, lost in each other's eyes. "You're really not making it easy for me to be just your friend, you know?" She said without breaking eye contact.

"I'm sorry… I'm probably confusing you…" The brunette whispered, still looking into her eyes.

"You say sorry too way much. Look, I'm free today again, if you don't have anything to do, I'd like to have a talk. Is that okay?" The brunette nodded and they got up to leave the bathroom.

"I made you breakfast though. I didn't get to finish, since you interrupted me and I almost died, but there should be enough pancakes for the both of us. We can talk later?"

"Sure, I want to see for myself if those are edible. If you can cook too, you're not getting rid of me. Ever" the ginger answered playfully and the brunette shot her a glare, but she couldn't keep a smile off her face".

After cleaning up everything from their breakfast, they both took a seat on the couch, facing each other. None of them knew how to start the conversation, so Chloe figured she should go first since she suggested it.

"All right, so, I know I said we could still hang out as friends, but that's not really what I want, and I know that's not what you want either, so can you tell me what's holding you back so we can address it? I know we have known each other for less than a week, but I really, really like you".

"I really like you too, Chloe, but… I mean, I'm not made for this. I'm like, faulty, you still don't know me that well. I've never been in a relationship, hell, I've only kissed two people in my whole life. You're just perfect, you could have anyone. I really don't understand why you could possibly want to waste your time in me" She said, with a low gaze.

"Beca, look at me" Chloe said, cupping her cheek. "You're not faulty, please don't talk that way about yourself. I don't care about the experience you have. I haven't dated many people, I'm really picky. But I go after what I want, and I really want you. You're funny, smart, talented, and you have one of the biggest hearts I've ever seen. Please, just give me a chance to take you on a date. We'll go slow, we don't have to be anything, just two people getting to know each other. That's what we're doing already, but it would make me really happy if you agreed to call this dating"

The brunette looked at her for a long moment. She didn't know what to do. If this had happened a couple of years ago, she'd have jumped to the opportunity. But she had given up on relationships. That was the hardest decision she had ever made. She cried herself to sleep every night, thinking how she'd never have what she had always wanted. Her whole life, she craved the intimacy of having a significant other. She'd go all out just to get her heart broken. So she had come to terms with the fact that it was just never going to happen, to avoid getting her hopes up just to be shattered later.

And then she met Chloe. She wasn't just a crush. She had just told her something she had never even told Benji and Stacie, and she didn't even have to try. She felt like she could trust the redhead with her life, which was stupid, she didn't even know her, but she seemed genuine.

Then she realised that all that was stupid. She had given up on love, thinking that nobody could ever want her that way, but here was Chloe, begging her to give her a chance, and she was saying no. Really, so, very stupid.

"Okay" She said quietly

"Okay?" The redhead said, a smile stretching her face

"Yeah, okay, but, um… I'm not ready to… you know, have a full on relationship. I mean, I don't know how to do it, so… you'll have to be patient with me. And also… this may make me a dickhead, but I can only do this if we're exclusive, like… I know I just said we couldn't be a real thing, but… I don't think I could handle you seeing other people while… you know, we go on dates. So, I'd understand if this isn't something you want I just… thought I'd be honest with you" The redhead was beaming at this point, and she launched herself to the brunette, enveloping her in a tight hug"

"Of course I'm interested Beca! This is all I wanted, we can take it as slow as you want, and I swear to help you every step of the way. And of course I won't see other people, are you crazy? Why would I want that?"

"I don't know… you know, I don't think I can offer you a physical relationship, at least not beyond cuddles, and I understand you have needs… and it might be selfish to ask you not to look for something I can't give you, I jus-"

"Okay, I'm gonna stop you right there" Chloe said, with a serious expression now. "I'll take what you give me and nothing more, and I swear I'll want for nothing else. I told you I go after what I want, and I want you and nobody else right now, so don't even think you're not giving me enough, okay?" she finished, stroking Beca's cheeks with her thumbs while she held her face.

"Okay" she whispered.

"It's completely okay if you say no, but do you think you can handle kissing? Because I've been wanting to kiss you for days"

"Yeah, I think I could" She said with a smile. "But not right now. I'm taking you out on a date today. I'll pick you up at 4. You can kiss me after our date, if you still want to. I mean, that is, of course, if you'd like to go on a date with me today, if not, that's totally cool". Chloe couldn't help but laugh.

"Do you even listen to me Beca? Of course I want to go on a date with you. I thought I'd be the one taking you out, but this is even better" She said excitedly and bouncing on her seat. "Where are we going? I need to know what to wear"

"I'm not telling you. But dress casual. Do you have to go get ready now or can you hang out a bit more?"

"I'm definitely hanging out. Aubrey should be home by 1, I'll go then so she can help me get ready. How about we continue what we were doing last night?" she said, getting herself comfortable in the couch.

"We can definitely do that" The brunette said, setting up the computer with a soft smile.

She couldn't help but feel a bit at ease. Maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay. Maybe she'd found somebody special. But she couldn't turn off the voice in the back of her head telling her that she was making a huge mistake, and that she was going to pay for it.

A/N: So, we're getting there. The hard part starts now, but I promise there will be minimal angst, it's just not what I'm trying to accomplish with this story. Please tell me what you think. Do you think Beca will be able to handle it? And do you think Chloe will try to go too fast?

Also, I'd like to know if you'd prefer longer updates, since now I have a little more time, or if you think this length is okay.

Thanks to everyone who reads, and special thanks to the reviewers! It really means a lot to know that you think I'm doing something good with this.