It's a different feeling watching Beca than it was last time. Last time she felt a little awkward, like she was staring up at an idol who was just a bit outside her world, until she stepped backstage. Chloe felt calmer this time, less focussed on the spectacle of it all and more on Beca's voice. It was no accident that Beca was the vocalist for a band successful enough to be performing Times Square on New Years Eve. She could sing damn well. Chloe let herself get washed away in the music, leaning against the edge of the backstage area with a few of Seven Keys' other entourage as she watched.
Beca is pulled into a conversation with Dylan and their manager as she returns backstage after the performance, but she takes Chloe's hand anyway and gently tugs it, requesting she follow her. Chloe's not entirely sure what they're talking about, choosing to direct her attention elsewhere as it seems to be something technical, but it still feels nice that Beca went to her anyway.
"Hey Chloe," Dylan draws her attention to their conversation some moments later, and she tilts her head in acknowledgement. "Has Beca told you abou-"
"Shut it," Beca snaps, cutting him off, and Chloe feels the tension in the girl's hand, still holding hers. "That is my thing, it is personal to me, and I will choose what happens with it, and you've agreed to that literally in writing. I'm starting to fucking regret telling anyone-" Beca cuts herself off with a grumble, shaking her head as if disappointed. Chloe's not entirely sure what to think of the interaction, until Beca turns to face her and her demeanour immediately changes.
"Sorry Chlo, he's just pushing me about something we're not sure on before the band's officially done. Anyway, d'you want to head back out and watch the show or something?" She asks, all the harshness gone from her voice, and Chloe just gives her a small smile and nods.
"You really don't need to tell me your private stuff about the band anyway," Chloe reassures, as they walk back out past the security, Dylan having awkwardly apologised and walked off to spend time with some of his friends who'd also come to New York for the night.
"I promise it's nothing bad, but you do kind of need to know about this one. Before I decide what's happening..." Beca explains, looking down as her voice turns cautious.
"You've not changed your minds about finishing up just now, have you?"
"Oh god no. That's certain. It's just-" Beca stops, shaking her head. "I'm terrified to tell you. Can you give me an hour or something?" She asks, her tone turning pleading, and Chloe pulls them to a stop at the edge of the path and drops Beca's hand.
Beca panics for a moment until Chloe instead puts one arm around her shoulders and pulls her closer.
"Of course, baby. Whenever you're ready," she replies, Beca feeling herself blush at the pet name.
"Thank you," She whispers in response, pushing up on her toes slightly to place a light kiss on the redhead's cheek.
Chloe's arm shifts to her waist as they walk further back into Times Square, not wanting to be too close to the front this time. The crowd is as diverse as can be in age and every other demographic, Beca quietly hoping that the spot they pick amongst an older section just as the next act starts means no one will recognise her.
She's wrong, of course; she had literally just been on stage. An increasingly steady stream of fans finds her, and they're polite and usually young and just want an autograph and they don't ask any hard questions about Chloe, but it's starting to annoy her. She just wants to spend an evening with Chloe.
"Want to just walk somewhere for a while?" Beca asks softly, just after another group of three girls had left with an autograph.
"Sure," Chloe responds, and they start walking to nowhere in particular.
"Sorry, I just want to get away from fans and be with you for a while. I should've known people would recognise me just after I've been on stage," Beca explains once they're a couple of minutes away, hands now joined and gently swinging between them.
"It's fine. You're so sweet with them."
"I kind of have to be."
"You don't like that part of things, hey?"
"I... don't know. I appreciate that people like me. Or the band. It's good, I'm not unhappy we've been successful or whatever. But I'm not a people person."
"I've noticed that. You don't even talk about people much, I don't know anything about your family or friends back in California... I mean, it's totally fine if you just don't want to tell me, but-"
"I don't talk about people much, you're right, it's not just you. But I want to tell you stuff about everyone and me and I don't normally want to do that," Beca sighs, trying to ease her nerves about what she's about to say.
They're in front of a grand building with a large set of stairs - it looks like a museum or something - and there are people scattered around them, huddled together, talking. Beca's not sure if she needs space or closeness for this conversation but she takes the risk, gently pulling on Chloe's hand to get her attention, and gesturing over to a spot off to the side, away from anyone else, and she nods. Chloe hasn't responded to Beca's admission, other than a squeeze of her hand, but Beca thinks she knows there's more to say and is just waiting for her to talk.
"I wrote a lot of the songs for Seven Keys, but none of the sappy love songs. I don't do feelings and crap like that. But I..." Beca feels herself stop, and she quickly shakes her head and take a deep breath, feeling Chloe pull her closer. "I wrote a song about you. It's a sappy love song, and it's probably the best song I've ever written. So we recorded it, and they want to release it as a final single kind of thing, but I get final say on whether that happens. Which actually means I want you to decide."
Chloe doesn't respond verbally at first, instead shifting to wrap both her arms around Beca in an almost-awkward sideways hug, burying her face against the girl's neck. Honestly, she's not quite sure what to say, because she feels like she's just turned into a pile of mush with Beca's admission. It was bad enough hearing that she was somehow an exception to Beca's need to be closed off, but a song? About her?
"I don't know what to say, but I mean that in a good way. You're so sweet," Chloe finally speaks, before somehow pulling Beca even closer again.
"I'm glad you're not freaked out or something then," Beca answers, her voice still nervous, and Chloe pulls away slightly.
"Nothing like that will freak me out, Becs. We both know that things between us are kind of... intense. I don't usually tell two-night-stands I love them and mean it, you know," her tone turns light as she finishes, and Beca grins, thankful for the tension easing.
"Have lots of two-night-stands, do you?"
"Technically you're the only one actually... the others are one," Chloe winks, and Beca just shakes her head.
"I know it's not technically my business what you've done for the last couple of months but like..." Beca trails off, instead making her point by wrapping her arm around Chloe's waist.
"You getting possessive there?"
"Maybe."
"Don't worry. I haven't slept with anyone since you. I kept getting drunk and hitting on girls that looked kind of like you but the uni friends always stopped anything happening," Chloe explains, and Beca is almost surprised at the honesty until she remembers who she's talking to. "I don't have to worry about you while you've been on tour, do I?" Chloe adds, teasing. She doesn't expect a response, really.
"Nope. You know I'm almost prudish when it comes to literally everyone except you, right?"
Chloe laughs at that, placing a kiss on Beca's cheek, slightly longer than any they've shared earlier tonight. Long enough to say something without speaking.
"Can I hear this song?" She asks, changing the topic after their comfortable, slightly sexually-charged silence has gone on long enough.
"You know, I was so nervous about telling you it exists I forgot to be nervous about whether you'd like it," Beca half-jokes as she reaches into her bag and pulls out an iPod and set of headphones, but Chloe can hear the seriousness behind it.
"If I melt into a puddle of happiness over this it's your fault," Chloe tells Beca as she takes the headphones, putting them on and watching as Beca presses play on a song on the iPod, titled only with a series of numbers.
Beca is worried about a long and silent three minutes, thirty-seven seconds, until Chloe starts reacting in real time. She doesn't say anything, but she keeps trying to move even closer to Beca, or she turns and gives a loving smile, and Beca notices her eyes tearing up as the song ends, but she can tell they're happy tears. She likes it. Beca can't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Best song I've ever heard from you guys," Chloe grins, handing the headphones back to Beca. "Seriously, though, I love it. I love your voice. I love you… you should release it."
"You sure? My main concern is just… it's kind of obvious who it's about," Beca explains, and Chloe nods.
"Yeah, it is, but I guess… that's only because we know everything between us anyway? It's not like its public, and sure, some people will dig around and work it out, but… I don't really mind, if it's my opinion you're worried about," Chloe answers, Beca nodding.
"It is actually you I'm worried about. For once I'm not freaked out about putting something personal out there. I guess I should go tell the guys and apologise for snapping at Dylan…" Beca trails off. "Later, though," she adds, leaning her head against Chloe's shoulder, "this is nice."
Beca lets herself start talking to Chloe only a few minutes later, forcing her own walls apart to let Chloe in. She talks about her weird friendship with Ashley, as close as anything after fifteen years but still quiet on the feelings – but getting better, she hopes. She talks about how she's never really liked kids, but she's kind of made an exception for Tristan's little girl, and she thinks Tristan's wife is pretty cool too. She mentions that her parents are not exactly together, and she's only recently got back in proper contact with her mother, but she leaves the detail of that mess for another time.
"Are you going straight back to Sydney from here?" she asks Chloe, when their conversation reaches a natural pause.
"No, via LA. 2nd to 6th… will you be around?"
"Yeah, we're heading back to California tomorrow. Do you want to meet Ashley while you're there?"
"I'd love to. It's getting near midnight, should we head back to Times Square?" Chloe turns the conversation, and Beca nods, letting Chloe help her back up to her feet from the stairs. They're largely following a huge crowd back to where they were previously, the slightly more famous acts now performing on the stage and people trying to find the best spots to see everything that'll happen at midnight. Somehow they manage to find Dylan and Chris with only a few texts, confirming their decision about the song.
"Did you ever come up with a name?" Chris asks, voice raised slightly to beat the noise of the crowd.
"Would it be weird to call it Chloe, if it's not obvious enough already?" Beca asks, and Chloe laughs lightly at the suggestion. "What? It's a great name."
"Thanks, it definitely is," Chloe replies with a teasing grin, feeling the guys judge their cheesy interactions more than she actually sees any judgement on their faces.
"That works. You cool to talk to people?" Dylan asks, and Beca confirms, before Chloe & Beca both say goodbye and shift away to find their own space.
They're not really concerned about seeing the stage, and the fireworks are visible from everywhere anyway. They just want to be with each other.
"I know it's super cheesy to ask, but we've kept it pretty PG tonight so like…" Chloe starts, about a minute from midnight. "Can I kiss you at midnight?"
"Definitely," Beca answers, fighting her shyness to add, "I mean, you could kiss me now if you wanted to."
So Chloe does just that, the two girls only breaking apart as the countdown starts, and quickly returning to their kiss as the new year begins.
A happy new year, indeed.
A/N: And that is the end of Seven Keys, only 87 days after I intended to post the ending.
I kind of like writing this little universe, but no promises of anything more at the moment.