#10: A Touch of Comfort
Prompt: "Come here."
Summary: Chloe comforts Beca after a bad day.
Chloe is lounging in the family room of the Bella house with Stacie and Jessica when they hear the front door slam and see a small brunette blur stomp up the stairs. The storm raging outside briefly amplified when the door open and closed.
"What's that all about?" Stacie wanders out loud whilst filing her nails, looking over towards the redhead sprawled out on the oversized chair.
"I don't know." Chloe says, swinging her feet from over the edge and onto the floor, standing up from her previously comfy position. "I'll go check on her."
Chloe leaves the other two Bellas behind, making her way up the staircase and up to the attic where her co-captain will most likely be found. There's no actual door leading up to the attic space that is Beca and Fat Amy's room, so she passes through the frameway and softly makes her way up the staircase, being sure to rap on the railing as she ascends the final step and let the girl know a presence had entered the space.
"Hey, it's me." Chloe speaks quietly, not wanting to spook her best friend, knowing that if she'd run up the stairs that quickly, she was likely not in the best of moods. Chloe notices a pile of wet clothing laying at the end of the bed furthest away from the stairs.
"Bec?" Chloe doesn't receive a response, but instead spots a giant blob in Beca's bed, hidden by the bed comforter. The redhead sits down onto the edge of the bed, placing her hand onto what she thinks is Beca's back. She hears a mumble from underneath the covers. "What?"
Beca pulls the comforter from over her head to reveal a tousled mess of wet chocolate brown hair, and a pale face with light streaks of mascara running down her cheeks.
"I said if you want to cop a feel, buy me dinner first." Beca sniffles a little.
"I─ what?" The redhead furrows her brow, unsure of what to say to that statement.
"Your hand, Beale. Kinda on my boob at the moment." The brunette glances down to the body part in question.
"OH!" Chloe whips her hand back, embarrassed. "S-sorry, Bec. I didn't mean─"
"It's fine. Most action I've gotten in a long while." Beca says, miserable, laying her head back down onto her pillow and pulling the comforter up a little tighter to her chin.
"What's going on Beca, are you okay?" Chloe asks concerned, running her right hand gently over the brunette's forehead, wiping away a few strands of wet hair that had fallen in the woman's face.
"I'm fine... and I'm not fine. It's just been a bit of a shitty day and was capped off real well." The senior Bella grumbles.
"Do you want to talk about it? Or vent about it, rather?" The redhead coaxes, knowing that it will likely be a slim chance the brunette will divulge anything right now. Chloe is pleasantly surprised when Beca sighs loudly before speaking.
"This whole day has just been kind of lousy. I missed my alarm, which meant I was late… like super late, to the exam I had this morning. Some punk freshman kid spilled his coffee all over me in the afternoon. I didn't have an umbrella with me when this storm opened up on my way home, then some asshole drove by on my walk and completely flooded me with a giant splash. And a few hours ago before I even left campus, I was wrapping up a mix on my laptop, when the fucking thing crashed and I lost everything!" Beca sounds the most upset to Chloe about that one. The redhead decided to take action as soon as Beca started listing off her string of incidents today, pulling up the covers and climbing in next to the woman, snuggling up to her from behind.
"I'm sorry sweetie. I know how hard you work on your mixes."
"Yeah. I was really proud of that one too. Planned on dropping it into the playlist at the station tomorrow." Beca sniffles again.
"Come here." Chloe wraps her arm tight around Beca's midsection, leaning over to place a soft kiss on the back of the woman's head. It only takes a moment for Chloe to realize the amount of skin her arm is coming into contact with, and the vibrations she's feeling from the petite woman's shivering.
"Are- are you not wearing anything Bec?" Chloe gulps, feeling a heat start to rise in her body.
"Like I said Chlo, I got completely soaked on my way home. Kinda too tired from everything to do anything about it, that included putting clothes on." Beca pouts a little, though presses back into Chloe's warm embrace.
"Oh. Um, y-yeah. Yeah, I get that. Sure. Yeah."
"What's wrong with you? Why do you sound so flustered?"
"Nothing!" Chloe lies. She's been secretly in love with the younger brunette for a year now, and now that she's snuggling up to an almost naked Beca underneath the covers of the girl's bed, her heart rate has significantly elevated. "And I am not flustered."
"Mmhmm…" Beca responds, unconvinced. "Well I need your body heat, Beale, so…" the young DJ states, wiggling her body back a little tighter into Chloe's.
Chloe has to take a slow and deep breath to reign in her raging hormones, not wanting to alert the other woman to her feelings. Instead, she exhales from her nose and decides to take advantage of this tender moment with the woman she secretly loves. The redhead tightens her grip around Beca's midsection, melding her legs with Beca's from behind and throwing her sock-covered feet over the brunette's to warm her up. A few moments of silence pass in the room before it's broken.
"Thanks." Beca sighs. "I kinda needed this."
"Of course, Bec. I'm always here for you. Crappy days and all." The seniored Bella places a lingering kiss on the back of Beca's head. "And as far as your mix goes, I know you'll make another one that's a thousand times even better." Chloe compliments softly.
"You can always make me feel better, Beale." Beca smiles into her pillow, already forgetting how cold she had been moments before, how angry she had been before… content in just laying with her best friend, tucked away, listening to the rain fall.