If you guys haven't been reading Knappster's one shot stories in Omelette, take a moment and read chapter 11 (Burn), for some truly painful angst. The first half of this chapter is in direct response to that. (Be nice to Knappster though, she's the person that makes sure this is readable.)
Aubrey sighs happily as she feels arms being tightened around her. She doesn't exactly know how long she's been awake, but the breathing next to her has barely shifted before her bed partner is pulling her closer.
It's nice, she thinks, to wake up and be this warm, this comfortable. She's never felt so right laying next to someone like this. Not even Chloe when they'd crash after binge watching too many movies or seasons of Friends. It's almost as if the arms she's laying in were made specifically for her. To be the strong, comforting presence she needs, but at the same time provide the warmth and comfort she never got as a child.
She feels the body next to her shift again, this time pulling away slightly, and she frowns. She tightens her own arms and groans in protest but the gentle chuckle entices to open her eyes and offer a more serious glare. The sight that greets her quickly melts her annoyance and permanently burns itself into her brain, sure to be there until the day she dies.
Stacie's smile is soft and kind. She's resting on one elbow, her other arm still wrapped around Aubrey, their legs still tangled together. The sun is shining directly on her, but Stacie doesn't seem to mind the soft morning sunlight, and Aubrey doesn't mind the brightness. Her skin is clear, almost glowing with the light, making everything else seem soft and ethereal, and her eyes have more blue than gray this morning, making them appear more of a sea green than the gray green she so often sees.
"Morning," Stacie says, smiling wider.
"Hi." Her answering smile is soft and content.
Aubrey adjusts herself so she's closer to Stacie, missing the warmth and the connection. It's comforting to be so close to her, and it fills Aubrey with a sense of home, something she's always had a hard time finding. She felt it to a lesser degree with Chloe when they met freshman year, but with Stacie, it's like Aubrey has the home and family she's always desired. Stacie adjusts her own arm, not removing it entirely, resting it on Aubrey's hip. Her fingers dance lightly over Aubrey's lower back where her tank top has ridden up.
"How'd you sleep?" Aubrey asks, her voice a little thicker than before. She gently tries to clear her throat and dislodge the feeling that's building in there.
"Never better," Stacie answers with a sly grin. "In fact, I had a very interesting dream." Stacie punctuates the end of her statement by running her fingers from Aubrey's hip to her abdomen. They pause right above the tie to her sleep pants before returning to her hip.
"Oh?" Aubrey cringes internally at the breathiness of her voice.
"Mmm," Stacie responds, her eyes flicking between Aubrey's own and her mouth.
"What was it about?" This time there's barely any voice to Aubrey's question. Not that Stacie needs it, because as soon as the last word is out of Aubrey's mouth, she connects their lips.
There's a beat of absolute stillness around them when their lips meet. It's peaceful, like waking up from a long and restful sleep, the one moment right before eyes open and the world becomes real. Then Stacie's lips start moving.
It's everything Aubrey had thought it would be and Aubrey can't help but pull Stacie closer to her. She tangles a hand in Stacie's hair, her other resting at the back of her neck, feeling the heat and steady, if slightly elevated, beat of Stacie's pulse under her palm.
Stacie's lips are soft and reassuring; gently encouraging her but not pressuring her to move it along. It's sweet that Stacie is happy to go Aubrey's slower pace. That's not to say Aubrey is hesitant, because she isn't. She's been thinking of this kiss for what feels like ages, even going as far back as to the actual moment she met Stacie, and she returns the kiss with equal, if not more, fervor.
Stacie moans quietly as Aubrey asks to deepen the kiss, her tongue smoothing lightly over Stacie's bottom lip. The brunette eagerly obliges, opening her mouth and happily meeting Aubrey's tongue with her own.
Their kiss continues, languid and perfect, and just as relaxing as the rest of the morning has been so far. Which kind of confuses Aubrey, since she would figure that if anything, kissing Stacie would do the opposite of relax her. And she does feel a warmth settling low and deep, but it's not overwhelming. It's there, she feels it, but she isn't letting it dictate her need.
That is, of course, until Stacie's hand moves up, successfully sneaking under Aubrey's tank and brushing her thumb over the bottom of Aubrey's rib cage.
Aubrey gasps at the feeling, opening her eyes and pulling away slightly. She didn't realize it before, but as soon as her lungs take in more air, she can feel her heart beating heavily against her ribs, and the warmth that had settled low in her gut has turned into an inferno.
She meets Stacie's eyes, so much darker now than they were before, and can see her lust reflected back in them along with something else that Aubrey didn't think she'd ever see. A sort of love, so deep and understanding that Aubrey had thought only soulmates could feel as deeply as she feels for Stacie. As she thinks Stacie feels for her.
Stacie's lips are swollen and red, and she pants lightly against Aubrey's lips. She doesn't move to reconnect their lips though, instead choosing to wait until Aubrey is ready again.
Aubrey can feel a strong surge of something rush through her, and she eagerly brings Stacie back to her. Their lips move together again, but this time it's more heated; Aubrey finally allowing to heat and passion to take over.
She keeps her right hand on the back of Stacie's neck, and allows the other to trail down along the contours of Stacie's neck. She stops and traces her clavicle, thumb gently pressing into the dimple between the two bones. She breaks their lips away and leans over Stacie, letting her left hand hold herself up and allowing her right hand to continue its descent.
She gazes down at Stacie, taking in the wide, dark eyes bright with lust, the panting, the flushed cheeks, and smiles to herself. She's proud that she can turn Stacie into this panting mess. Her hair, usually so perfectly coiffed, is mussed from Aubrey's hands and sleep, with a few strands sticking to the light sheen of sweat on her temples. But mostly, it's the feeling that Stacie is letting Aubrey affect her like this, that makes her proud. She knows from stories that she's overheard between Beca and Chloe that Stacie isn't one to get easily flustered or allow people to fluster her.
She smiles and kisses Stacie gently, before pulling back, just slightly, and asking, "So is this what your dream was about?"
Stacie smiles, her hand tightening on Aubrey's hip as the other cups her cheek. "Almost," Stacie says, still sounding a bit breathless.
"Almost?" Aubrey's sure Stacie can hear the playful tone in her voice.
"Let me show you," Stacie answers, hooking a leg on Aubrey's hip and easily flipping them.
She doesn't give Aubrey much of a chance to respond before connecting their lips together. This kiss is shorter than the others, as Stacie moves her mouth to Aubrey's cheek then jaw, kissing along her jawline and down her neck. She stops when she reaches Aubrey's pulse point, and sucks, gently taking the skin between her teeth.
Aubrey moans, not even noticing that Stacie's hand has moved again and is raising up, still under her shirt, to cup her breast. When Stacie's thumb brushes over Aubrey's nipple, she moans again, and her hips involuntarily roll.
She feels Stacie chuckle against her neck as she swipes over it again, adding just the lightest amount of pressure and her thumb grazes the nipple, and groans in frustration.
"Patience," Stacie says, lifting herself from Aubrey's neck and gazing down at her.
Aubrey whimpers at Stacie's teasing. "Please," she breathes. She can feel the heat and moisture gather at her core, and she's slightly embarrassed about how turned on she already is. And she knows that it's not even Stacie's skill that is turning her into this panting mess, though Stacie is certainly skilled, but that it's Stacie herself. And she couldn't be happier that it is Stacie.
Stacie must see something in Aubrey's expression, because before Aubrey knows it, she's reconnected their lips, and shifting her weight back over her hips to better hold herself up. Her hand continues to gently massage Aubrey's breast, her tank top now bunched just above it.
Her other hand, no longer needed for balance, takes the opportunity and trails down Aubrey's abdomen, leaving a trail of goose bumps in its wake before it stops at the tie to Aubrey's sleep pants.
"Are you sure?" Stacie breathes, pulling back just enough to allow for the words to pass between them.
Aubrey, unable to answer, just nods and lifts her hips when Stacie pulls a string, loosening her pajamas enough to pull them off.
Stacie connects their lips once more before resuming her trail south, her mouth leaving hot, open mouthed kisses down her neck, passed her collar bone and stopping for a minute to admire both of Aubrey's breasts before moving further down.
Aubrey's heart feels like it's going to beat out of her chest and her hands tightly grip the sheets beneath her. She feels Stacie's warm breath on her, and shivers when it ghosts over her hip bone after a loving kiss was placed there.
She meets Stacie's gaze as Stacie stops just before she connects where she so desperately needs her.
"What are you waiting for?" Aubrey pants, needing Stacie to continue.
"Are you going to get that?" Stacie asks.
"What?"
Stacie's eyebrows furrow and she jerks her chin to Aubrey's phone where it lies on her nightstand.
Aubrey looks over at the phone, hearing, for the first time, the vibrating.
She shakes her head. "No, ignore it."
"Aubrey," Stacie starts, before a loud silence interrupts her. She furrows her eyebrows and looks around.
"Aubrey!"
Aubrey groans and brings her hands to her forehead. "Why?"
"Aubrey come on!"
"Come on, Aubrey," Stacie says, sitting back and moving to the edge of the bed.
"Wait, where are you going? Just ignore it!" Aubrey tries to grab Stacie's arm, desperately trying to make her stay.
"It's time to go!" The buzzing on her nightstand is louder now, as is the voice outside.
"Aubrey!" A loud pounding hits her door and Aubrey shoots up, legs tangled in the sheets and forehead plastered in sweat. She quickly tries to compose herself, groaning as she shuts off the alarm on her phone.
"I'm up!" She calls to Chloe, who is still hitting the door like it has personally offended her.
"Finally!" The redhead calls through the door. Aubrey can tell she's moving back to the kitchen, probably ranting along the way about Aubrey's uncharacteristic tardiness.
Chloe knows, of course, that extended time with her family tires Aubrey out, and that, combined with the after New Year's traveling rush, exhausted Aubrey enough that as soon as she returned back to her and Chloe's apartment she promptly crashed. The tiredness and stress frustrates Aubrey enough that she knew she would need to rest before Bella's rehearsal. And though the redhead couldn't know what she just interrupted, but that doesn't make Aubrey any less frustrated.
The holidays were exhausting enough, and Chloe and Stacie's constant texts barely got Aubrey through it. It helped, of course, that Stacie texted Aubrey most often through the break, seeming to not be happy to be home with her mother and sister.
It didn't help that Beca had chosen to spend this Christmas and New Years with Chloe and her family, so Stacie had nobody to rant to. But Aubrey doesn't mind being that person for Stacie. Especially since Stacie was that person for her this time around.
It was truly beneficial to Aubrey, though, since being the main person that Stacie was ranting to, she learned a lot about the freshman. Which, Aubrey thinks, makes their connection feel even stronger. Knowing and learning about Stacie was easily the best part of her Christmas break, and she can't wait to actually see her in person.
She hasn't heard from Stacie since the brunette got back to Barden a few days earlier. Classes start again tomorrow, but Aubrey had called for a Bellas rehearsal to add some extra practices before Regionals in a few short weeks. She had ordered everyone to keep up with cardio over break of course, but knowing the girls she's sure the only cardio any of them got was opening their presents or having sex. (The latter pertaining mainly to Beca and Chloe – she didn't want to think about anybody else in the bedroom.)
Aubrey quickly shakes off whatever frustrated state her dream left her and throws on the first work out clothes she finds, mindful that probably half of this rehearsal will be cardio.
"Finally," Chloe says when she finally makes it out to the living room. She's sitting on the couch, arms crossed and legs bouncing. "If you wanted time to yourself you should've put a scarf on the door like we agreed."
Aubrey pauses from slipping her shoes on and look up at Chloe. She's confused, no doubt, but Chloe's words elicit a bright blush to bloom on her cheeks. "What?"
"Look," she says, getting up and making her way to the door as Aubrey finishes tying her shoe. "I'm not judging, you're alone, you don't like sleeping around and I'm sure you're tense and frustrated." Chloe opens the door and makes her way out while she speaks, voice travelling down the hall as Aubrey hurries to catch up. "But if you're going to play with yourself can you not schedule a Bellas rehearsal and force me to come back to change? I love you Aubrey," she says with a sidelong look at the blonde, "but I don't really want to hear that."
"I wasn't doing anything!" Aubrey tries to insist as they reach the main door. She doesn't even sound convincing to her own ears and she knows Chloe doesn't buy it for one second.
She doesn't; just raises an eyebrow at Aubrey as they walk down the steps and towards the rehearsal space on campus. She walks along, still staring at Aubrey with a disbelieving smirk growing on her face at Aubrey's deepening blush.
"Shut up," Aubrey mumbles, trying not to admit any guilt. She can't control her dreams, and even if she could she knows she probably wouldn't anyway. Or at least wait until she had time to have that particular dream. "It was a dream," she admits a few minutes later as they enter campus.
She doesn't make eye contact with Chloe but can feel the redhead eagerly grinning at her, waiting for more information. When Aubrey doesn't give it she frowns.
"Okay but who was in it?" Aubrey remains silent, walking faster and leaving Chloe behind.
Chloe catches up and keeps pace with Aubrey. "You're really not going to tell me?" At Aubrey's silence, Chloe sighs. "Fine, but I'm pretty sure I know who it was about anyway."
Aubrey shoots Chloe a glance but keeps walking, smiling to herself when Chloe lets out a huff of frustration.
They reach the rehearsal space where, luckily for Aubrey, none of the girls have arrived yet. She quickly unlocks the door and places her things on a nearby chair and taking off her jacket, leaving her in just a long-sleeved thermal tee, before going to the board to write out the day's plans.
Thankfully for Aubrey, Chloe chooses to set up chairs instead of pestering Aubrey more about her dream.
She's about done writing her plans when a soft, but familiar "Hey" comes from behind her, startling her. She jumps, unintentionally losing her grip on the whiteboard marker and sending it towards the tall brunette behind her.
Luckily for Aubrey, who doesn't think she could embarrass herself any more this day, Stacie is quick and coordinated enough to catch the marker, grabbing it between her two middle fingers on her right hand, the tip brushing against Stacie's wrist to leave a prominent blue streak.
"Sorry," Aubrey mumbles, looking down and trying to hide her blush.
"It's no problem," Stacie says with a laugh, handing Aubrey back her marker. "How was rest of your break?"
Aubrey replies only with a grimace.
"That good, huh?"
She finished writing and caps the marker, going to her bag and placing it back. She turns back to Stacie, and answers her with a shrug. "My parents aren't great people to be around. They only really wanted me back for appearances sake, so other than a few mandatory parties, I pretty much had nothing to do." Stacie nods with understanding, and Aubrey smiles lightly back at her. "I'm glad to be back, though."
"I'm glad you're back too," Stacie tells her with a genuine smile. She, Beca, and Chloe had all been back for a few days now, and while they haven't really talked since just after New Year's, Aubrey knows how the other two can get, probably either leaving Stacie to either fend for herself or suck it up and deal with their disgustingly fluffy antics.
"You had the other girls to hang out with, I thought?" Surely Stacie could have found other people to hang out with instead of waiting for her.
"I did," Stacie agrees nodding. She waits a moment before finishing her thought, intently studying Aubrey's expression. She doesn't know what the brunette finds, but with a final nod and a shy smile Stacie continues, "but they aren't you."
Stacie's words awaken the warmth in her belly that was ignited during the dream, and Aubrey can't help but smile back at the brunette. "I missed you too."
Stacie surges forward, wrapping Aubrey up in a hug. When Stacie's hand brushes the back of Aubrey's neck on its way to her shoulder, a few very vivid scenes from the dream flash through Aubrey's mind. She squeezes her eyes shut at them, knowing that it's not the time or place for the reminder. It's not fair to Stacie to have those thoughts around her either, and Aubrey tries to rein them in and just live in the moment. It doesn't work well, and Aubrey can feel her face getting warmer.
They break their embrace when they hear a loud squeal, and both turn to look at Chloe who is jumping up and down excitedly and squealing at them. Aubrey is sure her face is so hot she could cook an egg on it.
She clears her throat, trying to regain some form of composure and looks back to Stacie. "Practice is about to start. Why don't you go say hi to the other girls for a moment while I make sure everything is set up?"
Stacie tears her confused gaze from where Beca is trying to wrangle a hysterically laughing redhead and offers Aubrey Beca's signature smirk. "Sure thing, Bree."
As Stacie walks back to the group, easily immersing herself in their conversation, Aubrey turns to face the board and buries her face in her hands and groans. She takes a minute to compose herself before turning to the group and starting their cardio.
A little over two hours later, the group of grumbling freshmen (and Denise) are walking out of the auditorium as Aubrey and Chloe clean up.
It takes, what Aubrey considers to be a long time in regards to the redhead, for Chloe to bring up Aubrey's dream again, but in reality is only a few minutes after the others have left.
"It was about Stacie," Chloe says, a proud smile on her face.
Aubrey doesn't answer with anything other than a firm "Shut up," which only confirms Chloe's suspicions.
"I saw the way you threw the pen at her," Chloe continues, stacking chairs happily as she teases Aubrey. "Y'know, normal people just ask each other out on dates. Throwing things usually comes later on in the relationship."
Aubrey sighs, taking the teasing. It does no use arguing with Chloe when she's like this, and Aubrey would rather let her have her few minutes of fun while it lasts. Instead, she pulls up her sleeves, warmed from the exercise and the reorganizing, and grabs her bag.
"Are you coming Chloe?" She asks over her shoulder as she makes her way to the door. She's nearly there when she realizes she hasn't heard a response from the redhead and turns around to see what's up.
Chloe's frozen in front of her own bag, staring intently at Aubrey's hand that's carrying her bag, a frozen expression torn between bewilderment and shock on her face.
"Chlo?" Aubrey asks, waving her hand in front of the redhead's face. A few very confusing seconds later, Chloe seems to snap out of it, shaking her head and tearing her eyes away from Aubrey's bag. "You okay?"
"Fine," Chloe offers a smile, but it's unconvincing at best.
"Right…"
"It's good, just thought I forgot something at home. No big deal," Chloe shoulders her own bag and walks up to Aubrey. "Ready to go?"
Chloe's still acting off, but Aubrey shrugs. She knows Chloe isn't telling the truth, but figures if the redhead is lying, it's for a good reason.
"Yeah," Aubrey says, walking out with her best friend. "Let me just lock up really quickly."
Chloe nods and waits for her, thoughts running through her head and connections solidifying.