A/N: Alright avid readers, here is my last update before my break and it's all Mitchsen (unlike the last chapter) … oh, and there's a little bit of angst to leave you with before I take off for vacation (someone had to go and ask for more drama). You can thank me for it when I get back early next week (or sooner if you want)
Disclaimer: I don't own Pitch Perfect or Pitch Perfect 2, nor do I intend any offense.
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The rest of the year and summer went by quickly. Aubrey redeemed herself when the Bellas won the National Acapella Championship and then both Beca and Aubrey spent the summer in paid internships; Beca at a radio station and Aubrey at a local law firm. The idea of the two of them getting an apartment together was batted around a few times, but it was finally decided that they would wait for a bit before taking that step. Instead, Aubrey and Chloe moved into a place just off of the Barden campus.
The Fall term started with Beca continuing towards her degrees in Music and Business while Aubrey started her first year of Law School at Barden. Beca replaced Aubrey as co-captain of the Bellas with Chloe, who somehow managed to fail Russian Literature so she couldn't graduate. The two girls easily fell into a routine.
Beca spent nearly every evening with Aubrey at her apartment. She was beginning to think that maybe she should have moved in with her girlfriend, but there was still this little knot of uneasiness in the pit of her stomach when she thought of it. She didn't know why it was there, only that it was there and following her instincts had worked for her in the past. Little did she know that ball of unease was going to rear its ugly head in the not so distant future.
On most days, Chloe didn't know why she agreed to room with Aubrey again. I mean, for all the time Beca spent there, she should have been the one living with Aubrey. Chloe sighed as she thought about her two best friends. The two girls had two extremes of behavior, at each other's throats or sickeningly sweet. Chloe knew how strong willed and opinionated both girls were, so it came as no surprise that the two girls had epic fights when they truly disagreed about something. At least Chloe had to admit that it never seemed like the two girls were every really angry with one another, and if one did get mad, the other quickly worked to make things better.
What did surprise her was the softer side the two girls showed towards each other, particularly in the privacy of the apartment. The two girls were extremely affectionate towards one another, holding hands, caresses as they passed by, soft kisses. Beca would rub Aubrey's feet while she read her Law books or bring her food while she studied. One time Beca even did Aubrey's cleaning and laundry so she didn't have to take a break from studying for a particularly important exam, I mean the Big BM cleaning! Aubrey would listen to Beca vent about Bellas practices and then rub her shoulders while she gave the smaller girl suggestions. It wasn't uncommon for Chloe to find the two of them in Aubrey's room, Beca sitting at Aubrey's desk with one headphone covering an ear while she worked on a mix, her arm extended so that her fingers were linked with Aubrey's, who was sitting on the bed reading a book.
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Beca and Aubrey moved around the kitchen smoothly as the prepared dinner together. Instead of going out to someplace fancy for their one year anniversary, they decided to stay in and cook with each other, something they had come to enjoy over the past few months. Their dance around the kitchen was something that they had become accustomed to, with small touches, fingertips grazing over a hip or shoulder, and much to the chagrin of Aubrey, occasionally over her ass. There were small kisses and friendly 'additions' with one partner either helping by adding more of a particular spice, or leaning around the other to steal a piece of whatever they were chopping.
Beca sighed as she watched Aubrey chopping fresh parsley, she could get used to this. Hell, she was used to it and she wanted it to last forever. That's when that feeling in the pit of her stomach resurfaced as it did every time she thought about her future with the blonde she loved. Aubrey looked back over her shoulder at the brunette and Beca smiled back, ignoring the feeling.
The two sat and enjoyed their dinner, catching up on their week and Beca complaining about the lack of focus in the Bellas. Aubrey gave her a little smirk, "Now you know what I had to deal with."
Beca whined, "Yah, but you made it look so easy."
Aubrey reached out and took ahold of her hand, "Why do you think I was so hard on you?"
Beca smirked at her, pulling her hand back quickly, "But I don't want to be an aca-Nazi."
Aubrey gave a play glare at her before leaning up over the table to meet Beca half way, kissing her softly. She gave the other girl a smile as she sat back down, "Don't worry hobbit, you could never be this good."
The two girls finished their meal in easy conversation. When they were done, they moved into an easy dance around the kitchen again as they cleaned up after their meal, putting the leftovers away and doing the dishes.
After everything was cleaned up and put away, they moved to the couch. Aubrey leaned back against Beca, the brunette running her fingers lazily through the blonde's hair. After sitting in silence for a couple of minutes, Aubrey sat up and pulled Beca's hand into her lap, holding it gently while her thumb stroked lazy patterns over the back of it. She looked into Beca's eyes, "Ok baby, what is it?
Beca gave her a strained smile, "It's nothing Bree, it will wait until tomorrow."
Aubrey squeezed her hand, "It's not nothing Becs, now talk to me."
Beca gave a small sigh and reached out and pushed back a stray hair from Aubrey's face, "I didn't want to ruin our anniversary with this, I know it's just me being stupid."
Aubrey captured the smaller girl's hand and kissed her palm, "If it's bothering you, then you aren't being stupid. The only stupid thing is ignoring it and hoping it will go away."
Beca visibly deflated, "Fine, but remember this wasn't my idea to talk about it today." Aubrey nodded, not looking forward to the talk but knowing that her girlfriend needed to get it out of her system.
Beca gazed over Aubrey's shoulder, starting out into space, "When we were cooking dinner tonight, I stepped back and just watched you." She brought her eyes back into focus and gave Aubrey a loving smile, "I watched you and thought to myself, 'I can see us still doing this in twenty years.' I see a future with you Aubrey, a real future where we are happy together."
Aubrey tightened her grip on Beca's hand, a panicked look coming over her face. Beca quickly dropped her other hand onto their linked hands, squeezing Aubrey's hand, "Oh, no, no, no Bree. I'm not asking you to marry me or anything." When Beca admitted that, Aubrey visibly relaxed and her grip loosened on Beca's hand. Beca continued, "But what just happened worries me Bree."
Aubrey looked confused, "What do you mean Beca?"
Beca tried to smile, "I can envision a future with you, with us, in it. I love you Bree and want to spend my life with you. But when I brought it up just now, you panicked."
Aubrey tried to make an excuse, "Well you just caught me by surprise."
Beca squeezed her hand, "Bree, we both know that isn't it and all of this isn't being helped because of my history. I have a hard time letting people get close because I'm afraid they are going to leave me, like my Dad did, so I always expect the worst."
Aubrey squeezed her hand again, reaching out to brush her thumb over the smaller girl's cheek, "I would never leave you like your Dad did Beca."
Beca gave her a weak smile, "I know you would never cheat on me like he did on my Mom, but you could leave me."
Aubrey didn't know what to say, so she just sat there waiting for Beca to continue while a tear slowly slid down her cheek. Beca took a deep breath in, "Do you see me in your future Bree? Do you see the possibility of us? Or do you still see yourself with the perfect guy for you, the perfect guy for your parents?"
Aubrey started to say something, then stopped. She couldn't lie to Beca, "I don't know Beca. I'm so sorry but I can't answer that." She looked up to see tears streaming down Beca's face as she just looked at Aubrey.
Beca took a shaky breath, "Well I don't think we should continue to see each other if you don't see a future for us. It's not fair to either of us to keep our relationship going if it's not going to go anywhere."
Aubrey started to hyperventilate, her stomach started rumbling. Beca pulled her into a hug, tears streaming down her cheeks as she tried to calm the other girl before continuing, "Breathe Bree, just breathe. I'm not breaking up with you but I want us to take a break from each other for a week. Seven days to think about what you want. Can you see a future with us in it or does your future still hold that perfect guy? I hope to God you see me in your future because I don't know if I can give you up."
Aubrey sobbed onto Beca's shoulder as the smaller girl whispered in her ear, "I love you Aubrey Posen and I'm not going anywhere unless you tell me to go. I'll be right here in a week if you still want me."
Beca disengaged herself from the blonde, standing up but still maintaining her grip on the other girl's hand. She started backing towards the door, her grip tightening on Aubrey's hand until she couldn't back up anymore without breaking contact with her girlfriend, if she could still call her that. She tipped her head to the side and gave Aubrey a weak smile, "Aubrey Posen I love you and all I want is for you to be happy, even if that isn't with me. Think about what would make you happy, please. I'll come back in a week and we'll talk, that is if you even want to see me again."
Beca finally let go of Aubrey's hand and turned towards the door. She paused with her hand on the doorknob, turning to look back over her shoulder at the blonde sobbing on the couch. Her resolve almost crumbled when she saw how broken the indomitable Aubrey Posen looked, but she twisted the knob and stepped out of the apartment. The door shutting behind her had a sound of finality to it and she swallowed hard before letting the tears fall freely down her face.
