Title: Unhurried wait

Rating: T/M
Pairing: Aubrey/Chloe, Beca/Benji, Triple Treble friendship
Genre: AU-ish, Friendship, Romance
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me; I just like playing with them.
Notes: Written for me, myself & mine

Word Count: ~ 1,970

A/N: For AN go to chapter 1.

solid time break - xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

scene break - (*)(*)(*)(*)

Chapter 4

They have been discussing the opportunity of such recreation for a week now and Benji was relentless in his attempts to entice Beca with... what would you think? Of all things it appeared to be roller skating! But with each wide-eyed expression of his face and each overexcited speech Beca felt inspired to test it out. Which is why she was standing before the local renting center of the roller skates and roller blades. Contemplating going in to check out the lay-out and prices, Beca still felt a little hesitant. At a light tap on her shoulder Beca turned around and saw no other than Aubrey, the blonde leader of the Bellas.

"Beca, hello." Aubrey felt compelled to talk to the brunette and try to alleviate the anxiety the girl emitted. "What are you doing here?" She glanced at the glass doors of the renting center.

"My friend is a huge fan of the roller... everything." Strangely, Beca replied without hesitation, letting out a laugh and causing Aubrey to smile a little. "So he's been pestering me to join him on one of his rides during this Friday."

"And you've never tried it before." Aubrey concluded, maintaining a soft tone, figuring Beca might be sensitive to the subject. Noticing the slight red tint of her cheeks, Aubrey ventured to admit, "I didn't fare all too well on these either."

She continued as Beca faced the blonde, "Chloe had dragged me here out sophomore year," Aubrey shook her head, "it was a total disaster. I hadn't been able to stand straight, much less skate." Aubrey was awed at how easily she could say something private like that to an almost stranger.

"Yeah? I'm sure Chloe wasn't deterred that easily." Beca was now openly smiling, but Aubrey could tell that it was friendly and not gleeful in the least. "Oh, no she wasn't. She kept us coming here for almost an entire month every other day after classes." Aubrey paused to see what Beca would say.

"No luck, I bet?" The DJ continued before Aubrey could react, "my dad, well, my stepdad," Beca clarified, "took me to these countless times. After what had seemed like hundreds tries he's admitted my total inability to hold my balance on these wheels!" The laughter was instantaneous from both girls.

"You're telling me! Chloe was pouting for another month every time she went out to skate stating that 'You'd rather have an nth marathon of Buffy than go and keep me company'." Two meetings and one duet gave Beca the opportunity to recognize the signs of 'Chloe-in-passive-aggressive-mode', besides she's got to give Aubrey kudos for perfect personalization. "I refuse to feel guilty for my hobbies and not wanting to get out of my favorite armchair!" With each passing minute it seemed they became less and less bothered with what they were letting slip out.

"That sounds like Chloe, though you know her better. She does have 'the pout power'." Beca did a double take. "Wait, Buffy marathon?! As in "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" with all the hot vamps and half-resolved gay issues?" At Aubrey's timid nod, Beca shamelessly launched herself at the senior, pulling her in half-armed embrace almost hollering. "Dude! We're totally setting up these two dorks on their skating thing. We have to watch them series together! It's more rad to do so with someone! And Chlo and Ben will be rocking out their thing!"

Suffice to say Aubrey Posen was astonished. Not only a person three years younger than her acknowledged the classic series but also loved them! In the year 2011 no less! And it seemed that Beca wanted nothing to do with Chloe in a romantic sense, as it was clear that this 'he' friend of hers wasn't going to be just a friend for long. And Aubrey really wanted a partner in crime.

"Certainly merits a consideration!"

"Bree, you're really gotta relax!" Beca let go of a beaming Aubrey and received a punch to the shoulder. "Hey, no violence, dude!"

"Quit with the 'dude', Beca." She threatened to hit the freshman again, while hiding a smile. Beca cowered jokingly. "So, are you braving that?" The freshman looked at the center.

"Nah, me and Ben will find something else to do. Where were you going?" Beca motioned for them to start walking. Aubrey raised the packet she has been holding, "I went to the store for some things, on my way home." Beca noted how Aubrey's referred to her dorm room. "With all the stressing of the senior year and the Bellas, me and Chloe had drank everything away – tea, coffee, other beverages. It's a refill time."

"I know how it can be. Sometimes the only thing left in my fridge is water, when I'm all in the mix." During their conversation Aubrey listened attentively when a thought appeared, Chloe's certainly correct – we can change the Bellas and I think I can agree with her that Beca might be one of the things we need to make us superb. Feeling much calmer with Chloe's gushing about Beca and her great voice after seeing the look in the freshman's eyes when she was talking about her friend, Aubrey searched for the moment to mention the Bellas in the mids of their conversation.

As they reached the intersection that led to different dorms, the Bellas captain determined it was time. "Both of us would be glad to see you at the Auditions in three days, Beca. Chloe's mentioned to me you impromptu duet."

"It really was. That girl is something special." As Aubrey was scrutinizing her, Beca was examining the senior subtly in return. "I'll come." Beca held out her hand, which Aubrey grasped in firm handshake and then unexpectedly for both of them pulled Beca in a loose hug. "Don't make her wait too long." Disconnecting their hands, Beca raised her in a farewell and reminded louder a dumbfounded blonde, "We should see about those marathons."

At Beca's hushed words Aubrey fell into a brief stupor, seized again by jealousy and worry, but at the reminder of their mutual favorite past time her face split into a grin. Waving back Aubrey then hummed all the way to her and Chloe's home.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

After the auditions (2nd week of October 2011)

After all the commotion had settled down and the girls gathered their things, Chloe threaded her arm through Aubrey's and tugged her to the exit from the auditorium. Bree was pensively observing the stage, mulling over the seen participants. At Chloe's insistence she turned and smiled brightly at her best friend.

"It's a pity that Benji won't make the Trebles." The blonde sighed. "He has such a strong voice. Of course, we don't need more competition than there already is, but from the artistic point of view Bumper will certainly show himself a swine." The four of them did manage to arrange a brief get together the next day after Beca and Aubrey bumped into each other. Benji and Beca made a great impression on both Chloe and Aubrey and vise versa. The blonde captain felt for the curly haired man because a blind man couldn't have missed his desire to sing in the group.

The redhead nodded in regret for their new friend, but the excitement for the Bellas couldn't be silenced for long.

"I think, the Auditions went great! So many girls came!" Chloe gushed, almost skipping and Aubrey nodded.

"We certainly can take our pick!" Bree then halted their movement and slung her arm around Chloe's shoulders. "What do you say, we go to "Mary's" and have a celebratory cup of coffee?" She encouragingly squeezed Chloe's arm and tilted her head.

"Don't you think it's a little untimely?" Chloe pointed out. "I just don't want you to worry or think later that we jinxed it." The second captain leaned into Aubrey's side and searched her face.

"I have a good feeling about these girls, Chlo." The soft yet giddy expression on the blonde's face prompted Chloe to start hopping again. The redhead couldn't contain her glee that everything seems to be falling into its place.

"I'm buying today! And no protests!" She shook her finger good-naturedly. "You can have anything you want! In the spirit of a great day?!" Aubrey had no desire to argue so she nodded her head in agreement.

The girls habitually clasped their hands and whilst radiating the sense of happiness, went to get their favorite lunch.

(*)(*)(*)(*)

"Jesse really needs to mind his place." Benji grumbled. He noticed how his roommate has tried to start a conversation with the brunette after she got off the stage. Benji wasn't thrilled to see it. Although he and Beca haven't gotten to the point of putting a definition to whatever the situation between them was yet, Benji held high hopes in its further development. Right now they were heading towards the Quad as to spend the rest of the afternoon under the warm sun and finishing some of the school work. Their hands were linked and the distance between their bodies was almost non existent.

"I like it when you get all protective." Beca smiled at first but then her expression became thoughtful. "Which is strange."

Benji glanced at the brunette and asked "But good strange... right?"

"It's adorable strange." The DJ grinned. "Which's, again, totally not me." Beca then stepped in front of Benji and put her arms around his neck. "But I like it. And though K. Clarkson is not your style, you rocked it." Benji's hands found their way on Beca's waist as he pulled her a little bit more closely.

"You don't seem to like the song," he pointedly looked into her eyes. The twitch of Beca's fingers prompted Benji to change the subject. "Well, what do you think is my type of music high?"

"Ben, I certainly know that you are a great fan of Queen, and let me tell you," she ruffled his hair on the back of his head, "contrary to popular belief, not everyone loves those guys!" Benji could only grin and nod.

"Also, I happen to notice that you just can't seem to stop yourself from humming 'Salisbury'." Her voice then dropped to whisper "And my personal favourite..." the brunette hummed "is your rendition of 'Lady in Black'." Beca winked then at Benji. "Still, from the oldies I prefer the royal grandeur." She looked at him almost daringly.

When they were together Benji felt as if Beca challenged him in the best ways possible. And he sincerely hoped that he was giving her the same.

"'It's a kind of magic,'" Benji murmured. "'It's a kind of magic,'" his hands grasped Beca's midriff more firmly. "'A kind of magic!'" he continued with a little more lilt. Benji's smile grew as Beca joined in with "'no way'" and bass beat. "'One dream, one soul,'" his deep voice flowed the words and as Benji heard a little tentative but strong voice adding to his own "'One prize, one goal.'" As if feeling the rise of his emotion, Beca held tighter onto his neck as they together sang the last line of the first verse "'One golden glance of what should be!'" and Benji twirled them. The nearby kiosk with cold drinks barely escaped the collision. They giggled as the last vowel dropped and they scrambled to regain the balance, grasping each other tighter, almost leaning on the booth.

Their eyes met amidst the cheer and they both froze. The air was suddenly sizzling between them. Benji moved his hands lower, down the girl's backside and he lifted her up, bracing Beca's legs on his hips. They forgot that it was a middle of the day, that many of the student body was roaming around and anybody might see them. They simply didn't care.

A warm breath was shared as their lips pressed together, with a hint of hesitance, common for all first kisses, which disappeared as the kiss grew deeper. Still grasping firmly onto his neck, Beca slowly moved her right hand caressing Benji's cheek. Their lips meshed together perfectly. After briefly engaging their tongues the couple broke a connection, feeling as if the electricity was running through their bodies.

"Hm, the oldies never fail, do they?" Beca gasped, causing a smile to bloom on Benji's face.