"Hey, there they are," Cynthia Rose pointed at the door where their former captains had just appeared. Beca turned and a surprised laugh overwhelmed her when she saw Chloe enter with her new short hair cut.

From various corners of the room the Bellas joined Aubrey and Chloe near the door, they were hugged and teased and then Beca stood before her best friend.

"What happened to your hair?" she asked. Chloe fluffed her short locks.

"I'm a business woman now. I have to look all mature and stuff," she grinned.

"You look amazing," Beca told her and the redhead laughed. Then they hugged and for a moment all the other Bellas simply looked at the two of them reuniting. They had all seen Beca getting fidgety over the last few days, running routines they had down just because she couldn't concentrate on anything new and they were glad that torture was now over. As Beca pulled out of the embrace again, though, they all occupied their eyes elsewhere, trying not to smile at how decidedly nervous Beca was to see Chloe again.

"I need a drink, who's buying?" came from Aubrey and Amy lifted her hand.

"First round on me, after that you're on your own, princess," she told her former captain and Aubrey lay and arm across her friend's shoulders.

"Fair enough," Aubrey agreed and was about to walk off with Amy and the rest when she noticed that Chloe wasn't coming. "Chlo, you not thirsty?" She asked turning toward her friend.

"You go ahead, I'll catch up with you," the redhead promised.

"Well, I'll be at the bar for a while so good luck with the up-catching part," Aubrey quipped and then winked at Chloe and Beca. The Bellas captain frowned at the blonde's good mood.

"Who's that woman and what she's done to Aubrey Posen?" She asked Chloe who laughed.

"That is Aubrey, believe me. She's… well, some things have changed in her life. She's a lot more relaxed now. You know, last month, she send her dad packing when he showed up at her apartment unannounced and caught her with her… wait for it… new girlfriend."

"You're kidding, right?" Beca stared wide-eyed at this story.

"Not kidding. She called me afterwards, in panic, and it took me over an hour to talk her down. But she's talked to her parents since and now she's out and loud and proud… she's just… this incredibly crazy chick who enjoys her life. And I'm happy for her," Chloe said and smiled. But it seemed a little bittersweet to Beca who knew her well enough to look behind any Aubrey-is-happy-story to see that Chloe was not.

"So, what is new in your life?" Beca asked but tried to kep it nonchalant.

"Oh, I love this song, let's dance. Come on," and Chloe took Beca's hand, pulling her to the impromptu dancefloor of the fraternity house they were at and put her arms around Beca. The brunette was surprised but not too surprised to not match Chloe's dance moves. "Hmmm. somebody upped their moves while I was away. Who's been teaching you those, Mitchell?" Chloe practically purred into Beca's ear and the Bellas captain flushed instantly. Luckily, they were too close to even look at each other and Chloe couldn't see the heightened color in Beca's face.

"CR has taken over the choreo, she's… teaching all of us," she got out while Chloe pulled her closer still.

Beca had imagined this moment a thousand times, not this grinding at each other exactly but the moment they were seeing each other for the first time after Chloe had graduated. And in none of her fantasies had it been even close to this. It overwhelmed her in its intensity. She didn't want to just be physically close to Chloe, to dance, to hug, to even get so close to kissing. That was what had her go almost crazy the year before. She'd had such a hard time to work through all of this attraction business, who she liked, why she liked them and why it didn't work with Jesse. She knew she liked Chloe and she wanted the redhead to know that… but this was the wrong way altogether. And it made Beca panic for just a second and push Chloe away a little too aggressively.

"Whoa, there, little lady," one of the frats said as Chloe bumped into him but the former Bella paid him no mind, she just looked at Beca, confused.

"I'm so sorry, Chlo, I… I'm sorry," Beca said and left the dancefloor. She felt like a fool, an idiot. Chloe must think she was a total spaz or worse, some kind of freak. She was shaking her head when she felt a hand grasping hers. She wanted to pull away but that hand was stronger and it was familiar. Chloe had caught up with her and was trying to talk to her.

"Beca? What is going on?"

Beca turned but didn't look at Chloe. She looked down at their linked hands then at the crowd around them.

"Talk to me, B," Chloe begged and the smaller woman nodded.

"Not here," she agreed and they went outside, through the ruckus of a lively party. The cool air hit Beca as soon as she opened the door. It had been raining for days but had stopped that same afternoon. Still, none of the partying crowd had chosen the front porch for dwelling, it was empty. Beca sat down on the front steps and Chloe joined her.

"It's cold," Chloe commented. "You good without a jacket?"

"Yeah, it was too warm inside anyways."

"I'd say," Chloe tried to tease but Beca didn't smile like she usually would, she stared out into the quiet neighborhood. "What's going on, Becs? Did I do something wrong?" Beca shook her head.

"It's not your fault. It's me, I'm an idiot."

"If you were you would be in good company. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable in there. I just… I missed you," Chloe said.

"I missed you, too," Beca answered and let Chloe take one of her hands in hers. They sat for a while.

"So, tell me about your life, Chlo. What's happening?"

"Nothing much. The job is great, challenging. The people are nice." Beca laughed.

"That's probably because nobody can resist you, red," she told Chloe who rolled her eyes. "What about… your personal life? You dating?" Beca asked, not even sure if she wanted to know the answer.

"No, I'm not dating," Chloe answered without hesitation.

"You're not even trying?" Beca looked at her friend surprised. How would anyone not want to date Chloe? What was wrong with people in Richmond?

"Aubrey has tried to set me up a couple of times but…" Chloe shook her head.

"But?"

"Nothing, I'm just not in the mood to invest time…," Chloe stopped, smiled self-deprecatingly and then said: "Not when I'm hooked on somebody."

If everything that had happened already tonight had overwhelmed Beca, this news simply drowned her. She felt dizzy, nauseous… her eyes flooding with tears. But she was still conscious enough to not let them fall.

"That's…," Beca's voice sounded weak as she stared into the dark of the neighboring yards. "I didn't even know," she tried again, her voice now too shrill in her own ears. She felt Chloe's eyes on her and she tried to smile, it became a grimace.

"I thought you did," the redhead said, her voice very soft.

"No, you never said anything."

"I thought it was one of those things friends know without words. I didn't want it to get awkward, you were with Jesse then." The last sentence confused Beca. Why would Chloe crushing on someone be awkward, what did her own relationship with Jesse have to do with it? Beca looked up at her friend.

"You don't know?" Chloe asked.

"Know?"

"Oh, Beca," the redhead smiled as if at someone who failed to understand the punchline to a joke - a good one. She lifted her hand and pushed some of the other woman's hair back. Then she carressed her face, smiling now in a dreamy fashion. "It's you."

Beca tried to follow the conversation, she really did but the words Chloe was saying threw her into an emotional rollercoater she had not been prepared for. She had known that it would be… challenging to see Chloe again, that she would have to be careful not to reveal her feelings - she had been so sure her feelings would be unwelcome, Chloe was way out of her league. And now… did Chloe actually say that she liked Beca? Or was she misunderstanding things once again? Damn, this shit was far too complicated! How did any two people ever get together with all these… feelings that left your body sweating and pulsing and your brain turning to mush.

"Beca?" Chloe roused the younger woman out of her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Do you… are you okay?" Beca shook her head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you, I…"

"No, I… just to be clear about this, okay… you like me? Like 'like like'?" She felt like an idiot once again but she had to know that she had understood this. She didn't want any more misunderstandings.

Chloe smiled.

"I like like like you a lot, more than a friend. I keep thinking about kissing you… and then some. And I'm sorry if that is… awkward or totally inappropriate… I just… I think you should know. I'm not very sensitive to boundaries as you know and I think I might… break through some of yours that you don't want me to break… I just… I can't help myself with you," she finished her little speech and smiled apologetically.

A convulsive laugh worked itself free of Beca and Chloe raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Whatever you want to do, Chlo… really, just break away," she told her friend.

"Does that mean…?"

"That I like like like you a lot, too," Beca finished the sentence and they both smiled at their continued sillyness. "Kiss me?" Beca finally asked and Chloe answered by simply leaning in and pressing her lips to Beca's.

All reserve broke from them, emotions running amok through their bloodstreams and hands and lips helping along. They ended up breathless, leaning their foreheads together.

"I figured you would be an amazing kisser," Beca said and touched her index finger to Chloe's lips. The redhead played with it some before asking:

"How did you figure?"

"By the way you form words when you say them, or sing them. The way your mouth wraps around them. I think I've spent hours just stating at your lips," she smiled and Chloe chuckled.

"Nice," she said and kissed Beca some more. They lingered, there was no rush right now, only the slow burning desire of getting to know each other better. But it didn't warm the younger woman quite as well as she would have wished in order to stay outside with the redhead.

"Are you cold?" Chloe asked when she noticed the slight shiver in the brunette.

"A little."

"Let's go inside then, get a drink," Chloe suggested and then stood. She took Beca's hand with her and pulled her up.

"I think I'd rather dance some more," Beca said and wiggled her eyebrows. They laughed.

"That can definately be arranged," Chloe agreed and pulled Beca after her, never letting go of her hand.