A/N: Hey guys! Happy Holidays! Here's the final chapter of this little Christmas fic.
Enjoy!
I don't own pitch perfect.
"There is no way in hell that any of my godchildren will become a Treble!" Aubrey indignantly said, causing Chloe to chuckle. Of course that won't be true. Bailey, who Aubrey was currently cradling in her arms, will become a Bella just like her mommies.
Apparently Aubrey was adamant in breaking the rules of having an all-girl acapella team to have Connor, who Jesse was currently playing with in his arms – to be a Bella too. Anything to make sure he doesn't become a Treble.
"How about you two don't decide the future of my progenies? They're barely a few months old. Besides, what if they don't want to become acapella nerds too?" Beca then said, taking her place next to Chloe on the couch.
"I don't know Becs, I don't think it would be too bad." Chloe then said placing a kiss on her wife's cheeks.
"So Connor can undoubtedly become a Treble?" Jesse then asked hopeful.
"Don't push your luck Jess. Connor's going to Julliard." Beca then replied with a chuckle.
"Ooh, Julliard, that sounds fancy." Dylan then said, joining his sister and sister-in-law. Theo followed uit, sitting right next to him.
The Bellas slowly gathered to the living room. It was their annual Christmas party, the attendees growing since the very first one they shared. Dylan was visiting one again for the holidays, this time bringing his boyfriend along. Cynthia Rose and her wife happily sat across the boys, next to Ashley and Jessica who were still gushing about Beca's latest project. Next to Chloe and Beca were Emily and Benji, Emily wanting to move closer to the twins who were in Aubrey and Jesse's possession. Stacie walked over to Aubrey's side, taking away Connor from Jesse's arms. "Anything but a Treble." Stacie then said with a smirk.
"Trebles aren't all bad." Jesse then said in his defense just as Amy sat down next to him. Bumper would have been there with her too if not for catching the flu. Aubrey had made it clear that if he showed up anywhere near the twins the flu would be the least of his problems. Bumper was of course planning to defy Aubrey, but Lilly's appearance outside their hotel room that morning had convinced him to stay put.
"So, we're starting our gift exchange now?" Flo then asked, settling down next to Lilly who sat next to Amy.
"Well, it's about time to. Come on, I have an awesome gift to who I picked." Amy grinned just as she turned to look at Stacie and Aubrey's direction.
"Hey, we're keeping it PG this year. Preferably G but let's face it, that's not going to happen." Beca then grumbled.
"Oh come on Shawshank, that was so not what where I was heading." Amy then replied. "Trust me, you'll like it too."
"How about we actually get this show on the road now?" Jessica asked impatiently and the Bellas chorused in agreement.
"So who wants to start?" Emily then piped up and Amy's hands shot up almost instantly.
Chloe and Beca exchanged looks and nodded. They were hosting the party so they do have a say and things. "Fine. But this better be good Amy." Beca then said before chuckling at Amy's response of it would be the best.
Amy made her way through the Christmas tree, grabbing a box-shaped gift before moving to the center of the living room. She cleared her throat and looked over to Stacie who nodded in support. "Okay." Amy started to say. "I figured this would be the most appropriate gift. We've all been friends for a long time and, I've been your best friend, Shawshank, for as long as I can remember. Like all the Bellas, we've seen you and Red here fall in love, grow to become better. More importantly, we've seen you, Beca, transform into who you are today."
Chloe smiled, Amy's little speech was true. So much has happened over the years and she couldn't help but be filled with happiness of how things turned out to be.
"Are you saying you're my secret Santa, Amy?" Beca asked confused.
"No, I'm saying please don't be mad about the gift I'm about to give to your wife cause I got Red." Amy then said, walking towards Chloe.
Chloe looked at Amy curiously, wondering what she meant. Beca seemed to be sharing the same thoughts as her. She opened the gift, tearing off the wrapper and opening the box to find a picture frame facing down inside the box. Chloe reached inside to flip it over and found a picture of her and Beca all cuddled up outside Beca's little pillow fort in the middle of the living room, sound asleep. It was that night that Beca transformed the living room of the Bellas house into Chloe's own version of a winter wonderland.
Chloe found herself beaming up. It was a lovely gift. "Amy, how…" Chloe started to ask and Amy simply shrugged.
Beca chuckled. "So that's what the speech was about."
"You knew about this?" Chloe then asked.
"Well, Amy might've taken the picture when she stumbled on the two of you, showed it to me, and we might've sat on that little piece of evidence until the following Christmas to convince Beca to let us get away with whatever we deemed appropriate as Christmas time decors." Stacie answered in place of Beca.
Chloe laughed. "That's what they had above you, this picture?" she asked in between giggles. "I've always wondered why you let them get away with it."
Beca's face was furiously blushing right then and Chloe could only hope to guess what was going on in her mind.
It was quite the domino effect really.
Amy took that picture, she and Stacie strong-armed Beca with it to let them decorate the house the way they wanted it, including the mistletoes that prompted their brief accidental kiss. That kiss that sent sparks flying everywhere, that made Chloe want to tell Beca and that made Beca realize the feelings she was trying to ignore.
Sure it took time for all the grand schemes to come into fruition but all those little things, they summed up to what they had now.
Chloe beamed at Amy and Stacie and then at Beca who was trying not to blush as much as she was doing.
"Ehem, Chlo, you're turn." Ashley then said as Amy took back her seat.
"Right." Chloe said, her heart beating rapidly in her chest as she set aside the perfect gift that Amy got her.
It was three weeks ago.
She and Emily found themselves in a Christmas bazaar after getting lunch together, with Beca busy with some projects and Benji with his own endeavors, the two found that they had the perfect chance to find the perfect gifts for their significant others.
That's when she found it, at a stall that sold various different trinkets.
A music box.
One that looked the same as the one she saw outside of Mr. Blythe's store back in Stanford.
And when she played the music inside, she heard the sweetest of melodies.
She had thought back to the little girl she had met, Chloe hasn't thought about her for the longest of time, and wondered if the music box ever made its way to her at some point. She never did get the chance to give her that music box like Chloe had intended to, but the redhead hoped that she be happy wherever she was now.
It didn't take Chloe long to decide to get that music box. If she didn't get the chance to give it to that six year old girl before, she could at least give it to Beca.
And maybe they can share the tale of an unsuspecting Christmas that involved a music box on a shop window.
Beca watched as Chloe stood up and made her way to the Christmas tree. The Bellas were all turning their attention to Amy and Stacie who never told them anything about that picture – good to know they kept their word until now.
Dylan was trying to tease Beca about the picture, "Should've known you're a softie when it comes to my sister a long time ago." he said while Aubrey and Jesse were still bickering about Connor's future, the former Treble trying to reclaim his godson from Stacie and failing at that.
Chloe made her way back to Beca, handing her a small boxed-shape present looking a little bit giddy. "I really hope you like this. It's kind of hard to top last Christmas' gift." she said with a wink.
Beca was about to try to shake it but Chloe stopped her. "Don't, that might break." Chloe instantly said.
With Emily almost blurting out the same thing.
"What did you get her, a glass figurine or something?" Dylan then asked her sister who shook her head.
"I found it." Chloe said proudly towards her little brother prompting Beca to feel a little bit more curious than before about Chloe's little gift.
"Oh my God, Chlo! After all this years?" Aubrey then asked in disbelief.
Chloe then turned to her best friend "Emily and I found it by chance."
"And you dragged Legacy into this?" Aubrey replied with a chuckle, shaking her head.
"Okay, what is going on?" Beca finally asked and Dylan sat up straighter, emulating the same giddiness that Chloe usually possessed whenever she was excited.
"Oh this is going to be good." she heard him say and Beca quirked an eyebrow at his direction. "Chloe had this little obsession before, I can't believe I almost forgot about it. I do think it's incredibly sweet she found it and decided to give it to you as a gift. I say it's just fitting. Besides, I think it's actually funny that Chloe's obsession got Bryan to meet his future wife."
"Yeah, especially since Chloe's been in love with this girl for ages. Tell me munchkin, have I ever thanked you for helping her get over a kid Chloe could barely even remember?" Aubrey then asked, teasing her best friend too.
"Should I be worried?" Beca playfully asked as she slowly unwrapped the gift, tearing small pieces of the wrapper just to try to annoy Chloe and maybe build suspense. The Bellas around her were already teasing her about it, and giving her a hard time for never saying anything about this childhood love.
"It's not like that!" Chloe replied, her face flushing up a little. "Beca, I swear! It's not like I had a childhood sweetheart or something, it's just… I met this girl before outside an antiques shop one Christmas Eve, well day of Christmas Eve. She looked really sad and heartbroken and, well, she was staring at this music box inside the shop."
Beca's head snapped up, turning to face Chloe at the mention of the music box, stopping midway at unwrapping her present, revealing a cardboard box that concealed the gift inside. She could hear her heartbeat starting to pick up as Chloe went on with her little tale. "I think she wanted it. She said that she had one before but broke it and…"
"And Chloe wanted to be the heroine to this little girl and give her the music box. Again, obsession." Aubrey finished for Chloe and Chloe turned to face Aubrey, quirking her eyebrows.
"I just, I don't know. She got to me, okay?" Chloe replied and Beca found herself staring at the half opened gift, her hands trembling as she finished opening it up.
"Don't be jealous, Becs, it was ages ago." Chloe said reassuringly – she was worried over Beca's sudden silence and seriousness – but Beca could barely hear her over her heart beating so much louder and faster.
Because there, in her hands, was the music box she had long wanted to find. It was similar in each and every way to the one outside the shop, identical to the one she had broken the day it had crumbled.
Beca took a deep breath as she sat there in disbelief, her hands slowly turning the wind up key.
It was her…. It was… It was Chloe… It was Chloe all this time, that girl who… she thought to herself, piecing things together.
"Becs, are you okay?" Chloe asked, worried as Beca's hands covered her mouth to muffle a gasp, her eyes welling up.
It was the right one. It was the box she was looking for.
"Oh my God." Aubrey spoke in a whisper astounded and Beca knew she was piecing things together after all.
"Please don't be mad. I just, I wanted to give that music box to my mom before I met that girl, and then it girl, and I… well I never did fulfill that promise to myself or my promise to her but I did want to give it to someone who was special to me."
Beca set the music box aside and pulled Chloe in a tight embrace, peppering her face with kisses before nuzzling her head on Chloe's neck.
"No, Chloe, you did." she said still surprised. "You absolutely did. You kept your word. You loved me all along." Beca continued, pulling away to look Chloe in her eyes with the biggest of smiles.
And Chloe gasped as realization hit her too.
Beca couldn't help but laugh as she kissed Chloe softly on her lips, the other Bellas piecing the puzzle together, Dylan already calling their other brothers and sister out of sheer excitement as he realized the truth.
And Beca couldn't help but be astounded by her luck. She remembered how she had lost faith in Christmas and she found it funny how Chloe managed to make her a believer in holiday miracles all over again.
Once when she left her a promise decades ago.
Twice, and three times over during their years as Bellas and after.
And finally now when she's realized that Chloe kept her promise all along.
