They Had Time

by Psy456

A Bechloe endgame rewrite of the first movie that literally no one asked for. There is Staubrey groundwork, but they're not the main focus in this story. Story 4 (for now) of my A Shared Lifetime series.

11. A Bechloe Interlude

~B~

They spent that first week back from Spring Break hashing out what songs to include in their set.

Beca finally had to put a hard limit on the song length when it went above five minutes and Aubrey backed her up, saying that under four was better. Once the songs were finally settled, Beca spent half the next week putting the mix together, always being sure to run the various edits by the group to get their opinions. The other half of the week was spent deciding on solos and who would do them. Then the real work began. The girls not only had to memorize the new, admittedly complicated, mix as a whole, but also their individual parts in it, while Chloe and Aubrey also started to work on the choreography they'd have to memorize next.

"You sure you don't want any input in that?" Chloe asked Beca as they all took a break one afternoon.

Beca shook her head. "Not me. I'm the one who ran into Aubrey's boobs, remember?" She forced herself not to blush at the memory.

Aubrey laughed. "That's because Chloe was distracting you." She gave Chloe a pointed look. "On purpose. All day." Chloe merely batted her eyes at Aubrey like the embodiment of a Disney cartoon.

"What?" Beca thumped Chloe in the leg. "Dude. Not cool."

"Yeah, that's accurate." Fat Amy said from where she'd collapsed on the floor. "I believe you thought she was hot."

Beca groaned. "I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

"Nope." Aubrey agreed, though Beca noticed her cheeks had turned slightly redder than they had been.

Chloe shoulder bumped her. "Your face when you realized where you were? Priceless."

"You mean when she finally lifted herself up from Aubrey's chest?" Stacie grinned unapologetically at Beca when she spun in her chair to glare at her. "You were redder than Chloe's hair."

"I hate you guys so much." Beca groaned and covered her face with a towel. "Why do I put up with you again?"

"Because we're fun." Jessica said, grinning when Beca peeked at her.

"This is fun?" Beca grumbled, taking the bottle of water Chloe handed her.

"Well, it is for us, if that counts," Ashley said and ducked the towel Beca threw at her.

"No." Beca ignored the rest of them as she dug in her bag, handing Chloe one of the protein bars she'd stashed earlier. "I still hate you guys."

"Thanks." Chloe tore it open and took a bite. "But this is not proving the 'I hate you' statement."

Beca rolled her eyes. "Just… eat your snack bar."

Slowly the routine came together, the last steps were ironed out and they grew serious about their rehearsals; Beca was always aware of the rapidly approaching deadline that was now less than two months away. They still had daily rehearsals, but now they had them twice a day when schedules allowed, but most of them spent the evenings back at the Bella house for homework and dinner.

Beca and Chloe had suggested, and - to their astonishment - Aubrey agreed, that they take one weekend night off, either Friday or Saturday, to hopefully keep them from becoming as burned out as they had been before the semi-finals despite the increased rehearsals. They'd watch a movie, to Beca's chagrin, or sometimes, after a lot of alcohol, challenge Beca to make mixes on the fly of whatever random songs they threw at her.

Finally Stacie convinced them all to go to a karaoke bar just off campus that she was familiar with. They were sometimes a little lax about carding people and she was fairly confident they could all get well and truly smashed in addition to blowing off a little steam.

They stayed until the place closed, picking the worst songs imaginable for each other as they all took turns buying rounds for the table. They laughed and joked, pushing and heckling; they even created numbered scorecards on napkins, holding them up during each song. Except the rankings were reversed – the more you messed up, the higher your score. The winner (or was it loser) had to drink a glass of the cheapest alcohol on the shelf; Stacie (or at least her smile and low cut shirt) had gotten a discount on purchasing a whole bottle for the table.

All in all, it was a great way to let some of the tension fall away. Even Aubrey stayed relaxed and took the drinks Chloe, Beca and Stacie slid in front of her; the three of them had an unspoken agreement to ensure Aubrey had a drink at all times, just to see her – for once – forget everything else and just live in the moment. Despite the fact that Beca was almost positive Aubrey had drank more than the rest of them, she was the one who screwed up the lyrics the least. Aubrey switched to beer halfway through the night, and they all stared in amazement as Aubrey drained her pint in one go and then belched out the entire alphabet after slamming her glass on the table. Beca thought it was the single most impressive thing she'd seen Aubrey do outside of anything music related.

"If I'd known you were this much fun, I'd have tried to get you drunk months ago." Amy signaled the waitress to come over where she ordered Aubrey another one.

"Months ago I'd have been at home making lists." Aubrey said as she sat back with a contented smile. "I'd have never done this because I'd be afraid I'd…"

"Pull a Posen?" Amy flinched when Beca hit her in the shoulder. "Ow! Did you learn that in prison, Shawshank?"

"Rude." Beca sat back as the rest of the table looked anywhere else – except Stacie and Chloe, who were trying very hard to keep their annoyance from showing.

"Something like that," Aubrey murmured, managing to look both amused and embarrassed at the same time.

In a rare showing of contrition, Amy reached across the table and put her hand on Aubrey's arm. "I'm sorry."

Aubrey just shrugged her shoulders. "It's okay. It's something I've learned to live with." She smiled. "And I haven't really had the urge to do it since… that… day, so it's fine. Really, Amy."

Despite the bump in the mood, the rest of the night went smoothly. The dubious title of 'karaoke winner' had gone to Ashley and she'd promised them all painful retribution when Amy poured an almost full glass of vodka as her 'prize.' At the end of the night, Beca looked around and smiled as they tumbled out the door, Chloe hanging off her side as usual. These girls meant the world to her. They were her people.

While it wasn't far off campus, Beca was grateful that the walk back began the sobering process. As the girls started to split off into the various directions of their different halls, promising to make it to the next rehearsal, which was thankfully not until late the next afternoon, Chloe looped her arm through Beca's and tugged her closer.

"You're too drunk still to let you wander off unattended." Chloe didn't seem to notice that she was leaning into Beca's side, making them walk slightly at an angle from Stacie and Aubrey who were somewhere behind them.

"I am?" Beca blinked slowly and frowned. "Are you sure? I don't feel like I'll wander off."

'Plus, like, there's no chance in hell I'll leave your side before I have to.' Beca thought and immediately rolled her eyes at herself.

Red locks bobbed as Chloe nodded. "Yup. It would be irresponsible of me to let you get lost." Her voice took on a very earnest tone, her bright blue eyes wide and sincere. Beca tripped a little as she got lost in them.

A snort to their left brought their gaze to Aubrey and Beca asked "What?" as the blonde drew even with them. It amused her to realize Chloe said it in unison with her.

"Oh please. Both of you are too drunk to walk straight. Of course, that could just be because of your –"

"If you make a toner comment right now…" Beca tried to mock glare at her but thought she only ended up squinting like she was staring into a bright light. She was aware that she was slurring but before she could regroup, another snort to her right distracted her. She turned, tugging Chloe along with her, and staggered slightly as the earth wobbled beneath her.

Stacie rolled her eyes. "It's not like she'd be wrong, DJ." She shrugged as Beca gasped, Chloe mirroring her again. "I know; the truth hurts." She looked past them to Aubrey and gave her a flirty wink. "My roommate is out of town this weekend, you want a safe space?" She ignored the repeated twin squawks of outrage from Beca and Chloe and waited for Aubrey's reply.

Beca slowly swung her head around to look at Aubrey, noticing that instead of the refusal that she'd have expected, Aubrey looked like she was considering it.

"Why do I think that's not exactly what you mean?" When Stacie just shrugged as they continued walking, Aubrey sighed. "You sure your roommate won't mind if I sleep in her bed?"

Stacie opened her mouth to answer, the gleam in her eye giving them an idea of what might come out, but Chloe interrupted.

"Aubrey, you used to not like it when I would even sit on your made-to-military-standards-bed. It took a full year before you stopped wincing. You're going to sleep in someone else's without permission?" Chloe's eyes were sly, as they looked between the two women. Beca made a mental note to never get on Chloe's bad side.

Stacie spoke before Aubrey could. "You forget she let me sleep in her bed during Spring Break."

"Oh shit!" Chloe slapped her forehead, almost knocking herself down before Beca grabbed her at the last minute. "That's right! I forgot!"

"Wait, what?" Beca held up her hand. "This sounds… kinda familiar…" Her eyes widened. "Wait, did you guys actually… you know." She waved her free hand around her waist. "You know." She added a small pelvic thrust for good measure. The sober part of her that was buried at the bottom of a sea of alcohol couldn't believe she'd asked that, much less thrust her fucking hips in public.

"NO!" Aubrey yelled and then coughed to hide her sudden panic.

"No, Aubrey wasn't in it at the time." Stacie answered and Beca swore that she heard her mutter, "Unfortunately."

"That's right…" Beca snapped her fingers as a memory leaped forward. "Because you were doing airport runs. And Chloe had this… obsession with laundry?"

Chloe shrugged. "I needed to keep busy." Beca felt a wave of remorse as she suddenly remembered why Chloe wanted to keep busy. Chloe must have noticed because she kissed Beca's cheek. "But that's the past. And now I'm drunk with my three favorite peoples in the whole wide world."

Amused at how Chloe had almost exactly mirrored her earlier thoughts about the Bellas, Beca refocused on Aubrey. "And you let her sleep in your bed?" Beca asked again, still surprised considering the feelings of everyone involved. Not that Chloe had told her anything, but Beca knew there was something between Aubrey and Stacie, even if she didn't know the details.

"It was the least I could do." Aubrey shrugged. "I wasn't going to be in it."

"Come on, Aubrey. Maybe I'll tell you about what I thought of while I was in your bed." Stacie crossed behind Beca and Chloe, who had been looking back and forth between them while trying to unsuccessfully walk in a straight line. Ignoring the deer in the headlights look that she was getting, Stacie tugged Aubrey's hand and started them off toward her own dorms. "Have fun you two. Try to get some sleep."

"Yeah, don't keep Chloe up all night, hobbit." Aubrey called over her shoulder.

Beca and Chloe came to a brief halt, staring after their friends.

"Did she just call...?" Beca sputtered.

"Did they just…" Chloe murmured.

Then, after a pause, "Do you think they're…" they asked at the same time.

Beca turned to Chloe and trailed off as their eyes met and Chloe smiled at her. She couldn't help but return it and the two of them stood there for a while, lost in each other as they wavered back and forth on unsteady legs.

Finally Beca's brow furrowed. "What were we doing again?"

"I wasn't letting you get lost?" Chloe said hesitantly then nodded. "Yup, that sounds right."

"Right." Beca nodded with her then frowned. "Hey, I'm not that drunk!"

"You literally just forget what we were talking about," Chloe pointed out.

"Damnit." Beca pouted until Chloe gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek. "I hate it when you're right."

"I know you do. But it's okay, I've got you and you won't get lost!" Chloe tugged them forward until Beca started walking with her toward the Bellas house. "And I'm always right."

"You wish." Beca snickered.

"Often." The way she said it sounded suddenly like she was talking about something else entirely.

Almost against her will, Beca looked over and the borderline hungry look on Chloe's face made Beca trip over her own feet.

"You okay?" Chloe asked sweetly.

"Yeah. I'm good. I'm just… great." Beca swallowed heavily against the tingling that was spreading out from her spine. "Just… A little drunk."

"Me too. But we're almost home." Chloe said as she turned them down the street leading to the house. She heaved out a sigh. "It'll be good to get out of these clothes." Beca missed another step and only Chloe's grip kept her upright. "Don't worry," Chloe said as if she didn't know exactly what she was doing to Beca. "I've got some pj's you can borrow."

"Great." Beca heard her voice crack and cleared her throat. "I didn't want to have to detour to my room. Kimmy Jin's back to being weird again."

"One of these days we're going to have to follow her, you know." Chloe said as they reached the front door. "Just to see if any of our theories are correct."

"Yeah, I'm not so sure about that. If she's a hit woman she's going to know and I really don't want to get killed before we go to the ICCAs." Beca said as she followed Chloe inside. "Aubrey would figure out how to haunt me while she was still alive."

"Mm, good point." Chloe leaned past her to lock the door, and Beca swallowed at having Chloe suddenly so close to her face. "I'm going to get us a couple of bottles of water."

"Okay." Beca said, leaning helplessly against the door, grateful that the walk and night air had left her with only a light buzz.

While the two of them had been inseparable since the night in the pool, they were usually surrounded by the others and it had kept them mostly PG-13 in their relationship. Apparently realizing that they'd have the house to themselves had turned things up a few notches and Beca felt herself drawn to Chloe like a moth to a flame.

By the time Chloe came back to the stairs, Beca had talked her hormones back down and she was able to walk up the steps without stumbling over any – a not-so-minor feat when she had Chloe walking ahead of her. In a skirt.

Struck by a thought, she paused at the top of the stairs. "Does Aubrey really make her bed to military standards?"

Chloe laughed. "Oh yeah. Her father and brothers are career, so it's really all she's known."

"Can I see?" Beca wasn't sure if this was crossing a line, but she couldn't resist taking a peek.

"Sure, you weirdo." Chloe grinned at her and led the way to Aubrey's door and opened it.

"Holy shit." Beca looked inside. "You could bounce a quarter off that thing!" She pointed at the bed in amused shock. "Who even does that?"

Chloe shrugged where she leaned against the doorframe. "Posens."

"I thought that was just a thing they made up in stories or the movies." Beca shook her head.

"I did too - then I started rooming with Aubrey." Chloe fell silent and Beca looked over at her, caught by the slight darkening of her eyes. "If I tell you something, do you promise to not run away? And you don't have to say anything when I'm done, I don't want there to be any pressure."

"That sounds…" Beca trailed off. 'Kind of scary.' But she nodded. "I promise."

Chloe bit her lip. "I just thought you should know that I really like you."

Beca felt herself blush. "I like you too." That wasn't the word she wanted to use, but she couldn't seem to free the other one from behind her teeth.

"And… whenever you're ready… maybe we can take things a bit further." Chloe's eyes flicked between her own and Beca could only assume that she was waiting for her to bolt.

"What, in Aubrey's bed?" Beca joked, always falling back on humor when she got nervous.

"While it may serve her right, and does seem kind of intriguing…" Chloe smiled gently. "That's not really where I was picturing things."

Beca felt the smile slip from her lips. "Oh… OH! You're serious…" She knew she should probably come up with something a lot smoother than that, but her mind was blank. She knew that they'd been building up to this type of moment, but she hadn't really thought of how it would happen and was completely unprepared for the reality. Having random flashes of The Shower Incident just before bed was not enough to prepare her for Chloe letting her know she was ready for… more.

"Just thought I would let you know." Chloe touched Beca's arm and her fingers felt like a brand even through Beca's coat. "I meant it, Becs, when I said there was no pressure. I don't even mean tonight or anything you're not ready for." She reached to close Aubrey's door and Beca stepped out of the way. "I just… wanted you to know." She didn't wait for Beca's reply, just turned to lead the way to her room.

While Beca was absolutely sure how she felt about Chloe, she'd continued to hold herself back because of that small part of her that always waited to be left behind. She knew it wasn't necessary with Chloe, but old habits died extremely hard and at her core, Beca knew there would be nothing left of her if Chloe ever walked away.

Wrestling with her own fears, Beca followed Chloe into her room and shrugged off her coat as Chloe set the water bottles down on a red wooden table. Beca frowned. "These weren't here the other night, were they?"

"Nope," Chloe said as she shed her jacket and boots. "Aubrey and I have shared it ever since we moved into the house. It's my week."

"Oh," Beca said as she sat down in one of the chairs by the table and pulled off her shoes. "Guess I just was in here the wrong weeks."

Chloe frowned. "What was I supposed to get…?" She tapped her chin before her eyes lit up. "Right. Sleep clothes."

While Chloe rummaged in her closet, Beca leaned on the table. She wasn't really sure when it happened but at some point her head drifted down to rest on the tabletop. The cool wood felt nice on her cheek and she let her eyes close. She felt a hand drift through her hair and opened one eye to see Chloe crouched beside her.

"Becs, you gotta drink some water and then we can sleep." She held out an already opened bottle.

Beca let her eye close again. "M'not sl'py."

Chloe laughed. "Sure. C'mon. Don't make me put my hands on your neck again."

Beca shot upright, eyes wide in panic. "Dude, no!" She reached out for the bottle. "See? Drinking now." But she checked to make sure that Chloe's hands weren't actually blue again and was relieved to find they were not.

Chloe just smiled as she picked up her own bottle, eyes twinkling. "Good girl." She pointed over her shoulder. "Clothes are on the bed. I'll be back in a second."

"Okay." Beca said quietly as she took another drink from her bottle, the ice cold water waking her up as well as helping clear away the lingering alcohol fog.

She slowly pulled off her flannel, wrinkling her nose at the bar smell that lingered. "Maybe I need to shower," she muttered as she reached to pull her shirt off. Except she must have still been a little more tipsy than she realized because somehow she'd gotten her arms tangled and her shirt got stuck halfway over her head. "Are you fucking kidding me?" She growled and tried to pull her arm free but only managed to almost pull a muscle before she stopped.

"Did you say something?" Chloe's voice stopped in the doorway and she giggled. Uncontrollably.

Beca groaned. "Of course you walk in now." She grunted as she tried to free herself, hearing Chloe's giggling get closer. "Dude! It's not funny! I don't know how this happened!"

"Must be natural talent," Chloe said between snickers.

Beca helplessly flailed her hands. "I will have you know, I have been undressing myself for years. This has never happened before."

The giggling came to a slow stop. "Maybe you should start letting someone else undress you then. For safety purposes, of course." Chloe's voice was husky and it sent chills up Beca's spine as she froze in place. Chloe immediately apologized, "I'm sorry, I don't know where that came from."

Beca let out a slow exhale and wiggled her arms. "Could you… maybe…" and her own voice had dropped to a whisper, the only way she could keep it halfway steady as the chills turned to sparks of desire. She could feel Chloe get closer, she was like a sun dropped into the room sometimes. Still, she jumped when she felt gentle hands work the fabric free and off her head. She blinked as her hair fell into her eyes. Before she could move, Chloe's hands came up and threaded through her locks, pushing them backward and out of her face.

"Hey." Chloe grinned down at her.

"Thanks." Beca blinked again as she realized that at some point after leaving the room Chloe had taken off her shirt. 'That is... a lot… of skin extremely close to my face.' She couldn't help wondering what it would be like to press her lips against it, if it was as soft as it looked, if Chloe's muscles would jump at her touch. Beca realized she was staring and snapped her eyes upward, which didn't help because then she was looking directly at Chloe's pink sports bra. Sure she was blushing, she finally forced her eyes up and onto Chloe's face, only to find the redhead smirking at her.

"Oh. Yeah." Chloe looked down at her own chest. "I'd decided I wanted to take a shower, get the bar off me before we crawl into bed."

Beca tried not to show how much the one/two combo of picturing Chloe in the shower and the 'we crawl into bed' had affected her except she could actually feel the goosebumps rising on her skin. "Oh." Her voice cracked again and she cleared her throat. "I'd had the same thought earlier. I'll take mine after yours." Chloe's fingers ran through her hair again and Beca couldn't stop her eyes from closing briefly. When she opened them, Chloe was smiling again.

"Sounds like a great plan." She stepped back toward her closet and pulled two robes from hangers. "I'll set towels out for you." She tossed one of the robes over her shoulder, the other on the bed and turned toward the door. Before she stepped out, she looked over her shoulder, eyes twinkling. "You could always join me, you know." Then she was gone down the hall before Beca's mouth had a chance to drop. Which it had, because the impulse to follow after Chloe was almost overpowering in its urgency.

Beca froze, teetering on a knife's edge she hadn't been aware she'd begun to even step on, but completely sure of several things.

First, Chloe absolutely meant what she had said and Beca was more than welcome to walk down that hall and into the shower with her.

Second, Chloe absolutely didn't expect Beca to actually take her up on it; which was fair, because Beca hadn't moved much past the hand holding stage despite the fact that they'd kissed. It wasn't like she didn't want to kiss Chloe again, it just seemed like the timing was wrong, even if they were together most of their waking hours.

Third, Chloe was never going to push Beca into doing anything she wasn't ready to do. From the beginning, Chloe had let Beca find her own way through whatever was growing between them.

Beca knew that there were dozens of times where she could actually feel Chloe holding herself back and the invasions of Beca's personal space never pushed past her comfort zone. Beca also knew that if she'd shown even the slightest bit of her hackles rising, Chloe would have backed off immediately. So while she would willingly hug Beca and basically plaster herself against Beca's side, she never went further than taking Beca's hand, no matter how many times her eyes would drop to Beca's lips.

Which was a lot.

Beca felt herself calm as she realized that the choice was always going to be hers because Chloe had already made her own. Even the declaration in Aubrey's doorway was another way that Chloe showed Beca she was more than a college fling. That she was ready for more but willing to wait until Beca was comfortable – even though both of them knew the end of the year was hurtling toward them.

In a thousand ways Chloe had been choosing Beca all year.

Briefly Beca wished she'd have realized it sooner. If she'd been more honest about how she felt about Chloe and what their relationship was becoming, it might have made her stop lying to herself about the fact that she was part of the group for more than just humoring her dad. All the things she hadn't hidden from herself until her dad convinced her to examine her feelings: she liked the Bellas, liked having friends, and liked being a Bella. Maybe if she'd accepted all that, things might not have gotten as bad as they had.

'No use crying about that now. Who knows, it might have still blown up for other reasons. Aubrey and Chloe clearly had their own issues to work out that none of us knew about.'

With the last of her alcohol buzz fading away under a different kind of buzz, Beca pushed herself to her feet, her heart starting to beat faster as she came to the decision that she didn't want to wait anymore. She didn't want to make Chloe wait for her anymore. With fingers that had begun to tremor slightly, Beca unbuttoned her jeans and slid them from her hips. Folding them and her shirt and placing them on the chair she'd recently vacated, she turned to the bed and picked up the robe.

She took a single step toward the door before turning back.

'If you're going to do this, Mitchell, go all the way.'

Beca finished stripping, feeling awkward and vulnerable doing so in someone else's room, shoving her bra and underwear between her other clothes before pulling on the robe.

Beca licked suddenly dry lips and walked down the hall toward the bathroom, feeling herself grow almost lightheaded with the rush of nerves and heady desire that swirled through her like a tropical storm. It wouldn't surprise her to pass out in the hallway, lying there until Chloe tripped over her unconscious body.

'Oh my god, calm your pits.' Beca told herself as she put her hand on knob for the bathroom door. 'It's not like you're a virgin. Hell, you even know what Chloe looks like naked.'

Her tongue cleaved to the roof of her mouth as the image of that day formed in her mind, as clear and sharp as if it had happened yesterday. It wasn't like she'd spent a lot of time thinking of it; in fact she usually pushed it away the second it crept into view, not ready to deal with the implications of how it made her feel. Or didn't have the time to… fully… appreciate it, thanks to her ever present, silent yet judgey, roommate. But today…

Desire coiled low in her belly, pulling and demanding until she opened the door and stepped inside, immediately enveloped in a cloud of steam and heat that made her outside as flushed as she felt on the inside.

Closing the door softly behind her, she saw Chloe's robe was hung on a hook and, with one last bracing inhale, slipped off her own robe and hung it up as well. Her skin felt too small as she paced forward and pulled gently on the shower curtain. Beca didn't look over until she had stepped into the tub and closed the curtain behind her.

Facing Beca, her body bent slightly backward under the spray, Chloe's eyes were wide and bright, her expression caught somewhere between delight and disbelief, though her smile was widening. Her hands had frozen in the process of running through her hair, obviously either in the process of, or just finishing, rinsing it out.

Beca tried to keep her eyes focused on Chloe's, but she was only human and Chloe was gorgeous. Her eyes took in every inch of water beaded skin, flush from the surprising heat of the shower – 'I should have known she'd like it hot.' – taking in the firm muscles from head to shoulders before finally landing on two perfect breasts that were half arced in her direction because Chloe still hadn't moved.

Beca jolted, realizing that she'd been staring and looked up, sheepish this time. But Chloe had let her own gaze wander, lingering here and there before finally looking back up into Beca's face. Chloe's bright blue eyes had gone darker, dropping the disbelief and gaining desire and Beca felt the weight of it tugging at her, urging her closer.

In the past, the fear of rejection had always been stronger, holding Beca back and unwilling to take the risk that she was wrong, that she'd made a mistake. Tonight the need to feel Chloe against her skin was greater than any fear and she deliberately stepped past that mental 'do not cross' line in her mind even as she took the single step that separated them.

Slowly, almost as if she were moving underwater, Beca reached out her hand to cup Chloe's left cheek, watching as those darkening blue eyes closed. When they opened again, Beca felt herself react to the heat in them and, unthinking, pushed closer until their bodies were flush and Chloe's lips were under hers. The kiss was soft, borderline hesitant and felt completely inadequate for the need filling Beca's veins. She could feel Chloe trembling underneath her and realized that Chloe was still holding herself back; still worried about scaring Beca away.

She didn't want Chloe to hold back, to worry about how Beca would react. Beca couldn't think of a single thing that Chloe could do in this moment that wouldn't be perfectly okay. Beca had never been good with words. She wasn't even necessarily good at showing how she felt most of the time, though it had been getting easier with Chloe. She'd always been so much better with music, at mixing songs that expressed all the emotions she couldn't bring herself to let out.

But she was naked in a shower, no laptop or soundboard in sight, just the gloriously naked woman in her arms. The woman she… Beca pulled back to meet Chloe's eyes, seeing the question start to form.

"I love you."

The words slipped out as naturally as she was able to mix two seemingly incompatible beats together. No more fear of being rejected, no more wondering if it was returned. Just – finally – the realization that this was who she wanted, this was where she wanted to be, and Chloe wanted her in return. Chloe's eyes widened as everything seemed to still around them and Beca grinned in pure joy at the wonder she saw staring back at her.

Chloe froze in place, her eyes wide and searching as Beca finally felt the first trickle of panic even though she knew she didn't need to. 'Oh God, please don't have let me have made a terrible, horrible mistake. Jesus, did she stop breathing?'

"Chlo?" Beca shifted her weight forward, concerned. "Are you breathing?" Still wide eyed, Chloe shook her head and Beca couldn't help the small grin that formed. "Can you try for me?"

With a sudden gasp, Chloe's paralysis broke. "Did you just say what I think you just said?" She stared at Beca, her eyes still wide in shock.

Beca worried her lip between her teeth. 'It's not like you can take it back now. There's no JUST KIDDING about any of it. And it's the first time in your life you've ever said it, so just own it.'

"Yeah." Beca cleared her throat as she felt it trying to close from the nerves she didn't have two seconds ago.

"Can you say it again?" Chloe must have read the hesitation in Beca's eyes because she quickly added, "I want to make sure I'm not imagining things."

"I love you." Beca let the words fall between them, hanging halfway between terror and hope.

Beca wasn't sure who reached for whom first, but suddenly their bodies were flush and her hands were in Chloe's hair. Her breath hitched as Chloe's hands gripped her hips and pressed even closer. Beca turned slightly until her back was against the wall, bringing Chloe with her to rest against Beca's chest. Her left hand tangling in Chloe's hair, Beca leaned forward, feeling Chloe's hands flexing against her sides as she brought their mouths together.

Just before they touched, Chloe spoke against Beca's lips. "I love you too, Beca."

Even as her heart leapt in her chest, Beca's mind slowly began to short circuit at the feel of Chloe's body sliding against her own. Beca ran her tongue along the seam of Chloe's lips; the second they parted she slipped through, finding Chloe's tongue already reaching for hers. Their hands wandered, stroking and tugging even as the kiss deepened; Beca shifted her legs until her knee parted Chloe's, pulling them even closer together and still it didn't feel like enough.

Beca had, somehow, forgotten what it felt like to kiss Chloe. It wasn't as if she hadn't wanted to, several times, since that morning after regionals. It was more that the timing never seemed right. They were either surrounded by the others at all times or were buried in school work. Then, of course, the semi-finals happened and while they weren't back at square one – and in some ways were a lot closer – they had needed to find their way back to each other.

Kissing Chloe was different from kissing anyone else in her past; it had been enjoyable, sure, but she'd never lost herself like she was doing right now. Kissing Chloe was all consuming and she lost track of almost everything else as they traded kisses that quickly grew more heated than the water still raining down on them.

Nothing in her life had prepared her for how it felt to have Chloe's body pressed against hers or how well their bodies fit together. At the first touch of Chloe's nipples sliding across her skin, Beca moaned into the kiss. Chloe mirrored it and deliberately pressed herself closer, brushing their nipples together and Beca thought she was going to explode from the sheer unselfconscious sensuality of it.

Beca had no idea how much time had passed before she felt Chloe shiver against her in a different way than the trembling they'd both been doing since the first second their bodies touched. Beca tried to pull back, but her head was pressed against the shower wall and she couldn't move very far. Plus Chloe's tongue was still buried in her mouth and the thought of losing that for even a second drove Beca to pull her closer.

Some remote part of herself wondered if she should probably be concerned by just how much she needed to be even closer to Chloe; that maybe it wasn't healthy to be this frantic to want to belong to someone and have them belong to her in return, especially given her history of keeping everyone at arm's length. The all-consuming need to touch and be touched was new, something she had never felt before, but then the dim memory of two weeks that felt like half of her was missing floated to the surface. Clearly being apart from each other didn't work for them and it wasn't just her – she could feel that same desperate need from Chloe beating back at her every time Chloe pressed against her.

Chloe shivered again and Beca forced two brain cells back together enough to pull her mouth away and tilt her chin up and out of reach. "Chlo… w…" Chloe merely dropped her lips to Beca's throat where she began to suck. "Jesus." Beca's eyes rolled back in her head and her body bucked in reaction.

Chloe let out a half chuckle. "I think I'm going to like that response, Becs." Her voice vibrated along Beca's skin and Beca couldn't help the whimper that followed. "That one too." Chloe's teeth nipped at Beca's collarbone. "I can't wait to see what else I can pull from you."

"Me either," Beca heard herself say and Chloe laughed, finally pulling away to look at her.

"You say that like they're new." Chloe ran her right hand down Beca's side, grinning even as Beca's eyes closed.

"Can we pretend I didn't say that?" Beca opened one eye. It wasn't like she'd never had sex before, but apparently everyone else was incredibly lackluster at it because Chloe had already made her feel more in the last however many minutes than anyone had in high school. And all they had done was kiss. Beca was pretty sure she was going to die before this night was over.

"For now." Chloe leaned forward to kiss her again but stopped. "Are you blushing?"

"No!" Beca cleared her throat when it came out all squeaky. "I mean. No. It's… the heat from the shower."

"I don't think so," Chloe said, bringing her index finger up to trace Beca's lower lip.

Beca was suddenly aware that the water had in fact cooled off. It was still warm but it was edging toward cold and – Chloe shivered again. "Dude, you need to get out of this shower."

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "I believe you are the one who climbed into my shower this time, Becs."

Beca grinned. "Yeah I did." Then she shook her head. "But I mean – the water, it's getting cold. You need to finish your shower and get out of it before you turn blue again. Like, all over blue this time." She reached up and adjusted the shower head so it was aimed as low as possible.

"Oh." Chloe blinked. "I hadn't noticed. I was… distracted." She giggled. "But I was actually all done when you stepped in."

"You were only in here like, less than ten minutes." Beca urged Chloe to step back and then turned them, so Beca was between Chloe and the water.

Chloe shrugged. "You learn to shower fast in a house with ten other women."

"I'll keep that in mind. But I still need to shower." Even as she rubbed Chloe's arms, Beca got a strange sense of déjà vu until she realized that was the exact same thing she'd said during The Shower Incident. She almost looked around for a naked guy to suddenly show up and compliment her voice – almost. "And I don't know that I can handle cadaver hands right now."

"I dunno about that, Becs. I can think of all kinds of ways for the two of us to warm them back up again." Chloe winked at her and Beca swore she felt her legs almost give out at the heat in that simple gesture. Or maybe it was the visuals that suddenly ran rampant through her mind.

"Holy crap." Beca sucked in a breath. "That… Yeah… You may have a point there." Beca couldn't help but drop her gaze with a grin. "Or two, as it were." She wondered at her sudden confidence boot but assumed it had a lot to do with her overclocked hormones and everything to do with the woman whose eyes suddenly sparkled with glee.

"Why, Beca Mitchell." Chloe gasped in exaggerated shock. "That was awful forward of you."

Beca laughed and shook her head. "Yeah, I'm not quite sure what's happening with me right now. I.." Chloe put a finger on her lips to quiet her.

"You better not be about to apologize." Chloe's hand slid around to cup the back of Beca's head. "I kinda like forward Beca." Before Beca could even come up with a response, Chloe had kissed her on the nose and pulled back the shower curtain. "I'll see you back in my room." She stepped out and was gone, the curtain closing behind her.

Bemused, Beca stood there for a moment longer before turning back to face water that was decidedly cooler than it had been. Or maybe it was that the shower was emptier without a second body in it. Just as she reached for Chloe's body wash, she heard Chloe yell "Look out" over the sound of the shower. Beca looked up and barely caught the wash cloth that flew through the air and almost landed on her face. "Thanks, Chlo."

Resolutely turning off her mind before it could start second guessing everything that had just happened and pre-second guessing what was likely to follow, Beca quickly began to wash herself in hopes that she wouldn't be rinsing off in pure ice water. The tension and desire may have ebbed slightly with their banter, but as she washed between her legs she knew it wouldn't take much to spark into an inferno. And for the first time in her life, Beca was okay with letting herself get lost and swept away.

She rinsed the conditioner out of her hair as the water finally edged into ice and let out a squawk as she frantically reached for the handle to turn it off.

'Well, if the shock of kissing Chloe Beale while we are BOTH NAKED didn't burn off the alcohol, that sure as hell would have.'

Beca pulled back the curtain and found a large fluffy towel sitting on the counter waiting for her. When she lifted it, she found an unopened blue toothbrush sitting under it. Smiling, Beca dried herself off and slipped into the robe before vigorously towel drying her hair. After making use of the comb Chloe had left her, Beca took extra care brushing her teeth, wishing dimly that she hadn't had the nachos at the bar. When she felt minty fresh and ready, she set her toothbrush into the glass sitting by the sink and opened the door.

When she reached Chloe's room, she found it was softly lit with blue twinkle lights strung around the ceiling. Beca stepped in and closed the door, smiling as Chloe stood up from where she'd been sitting at the end of her bed.

"Thanks for the toothbrush." Beca leaned back against the door. "Were you trying to tell me something?"

"Nope." Chloe said as she took a step forward. "I realized my breath was probably atrocious and over compensated."

Beca shook her head and pushed off the door, meeting Chloe in the center of the room. She tucked a still slightly damp curl of hair behind Chloe's ear. "I didn't notice anything." Beca felt the heat seeping back into her veins as she realized she'd been away from Chloe's touch for far too long. Her hands fell to her own robe and slowly undid the sash, watching Chloe carefully for any sign that the mood had altered. Chloe's eyes had dropped to her hands and Beca saw her lick her lips, causing Beca to lick her own in pure reaction.

'Apparently we're both still on the same page.' Beca thought as she pulled the loose knot free. She felt her nipples tighten as the cool air found its way through the gap in the robe. Or maybe it was the way Chloe's gaze locked where the fabric hung open.

Beca took Chloe's hand and put it on the collar of the robe.

Smiling softly, Chloe brought up her other hand and, with a gentle push, slid the robe from Beca's shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. She let her fingertips run across the newly exposed skin and Beca shivered under their touch, feeling her desire rising behind them. Even as Chloe's fingers trailed down her arms, Beca reached forward and untied her robe with one last flare of nerves.

As the sash fell free, Beca reminded herself one final time to not overthink, to just go with her instincts. All she wanted to do was make Chloe feel how she'd made Beca feel all year, even if she had been too blind, stubborn and stupid to realize it until now: Safe, desired, loved.

Beca slipped the robe from Chloe's shoulders, feeling Chloe's hands slide across the top of her breasts as she let her arms drop so the robe could pool on the floor. Chloe took a step backward toward the bed, then another and Beca followed as if she was tethered, unwilling to let any more space get between them.

Then Chloe was sliding backward onto her bed and up until her head rested on her pillow and Beca found herself sliding against Chloe's left side. Beca's left leg stretched out atop Chloe's own and she felt Chloe's right leg rising until her calf rested against Beca's hip. Chloe's hands tangled in Beca's hair and pulled her down, a whimper only half heard before their lips found each other again.

Beca couldn't keep her body still, overwhelmed at the feeling of Chloe underneath her and the way she would arch into Beca's touch. Even as she licked hungrily into Chloe's mouth until they both needed air, her left hand wandered from shoulder to neck and finally down to breast. Chloe let out a small cry as Beca's fingers gently ran over her nipple and Beca shuddered as the need in it went straight down her spine. Emboldened, Beca let her hand cup briefly before finally palming and kneading, her thumb circling the already straining nipple.

"Beca." Chloe moaned and Beca heard so much more than just lust in it.

Safe.

Beca's hand dropped to Chloe's hip, needing an anchor as she lowered her head and replaced fingers with lips. Her tongue circled pebbled skin as Chloe held her to her chest; she pulled the taut peak into her mouth and sucked lightly, letting her tongue stroke and tease. Chloe cried out again, her body beginning to push back into Beca's a little more insistently.

Beca hadn't wanted to rush, had wanted to take her time, but Chloe's hips were beginning to rock and the leg against Beca's hip pulled at her and, as she had already thought earlier, she was only human. She slid her hand from Chloe's hip and across her stomach, feeling the muscles trembling beneath her, before she finally cupped between Chloe's legs. She let Chloe's nipple slip free and looked up as her fingers slid down into heat, her breath catching as she realized how wet Chloe was.

All for her. Because of her. She'd never felt so wanted by anyone before in her life and it both terrified and exhilarated her.

Chloe's eyes glittered in the soft light, snaring Beca effortlessly until they dropped to Beca's lips, urging her forward without a sound until Beca licked down into her mouth.

Desired.

Beca stroked slowly at first, learning where Chloe was sensitive, what made her back arch, her hips buck or her eyes close as she cried out. Then she shifted lower, sliding inside and Chloe's eyes locked on hers, the need in them pulling Beca ever closer. Chloe's hips began to roll like waves against the shore and Beca matched her rhythm, pushing deeper, twisting sharper, the heel of her hand pressing firmly against her clit.

Beca fought her own climax rising at the feeling of Chloe's ragged breath against her face, the quickness of which Beca was beginning to match, her body undulating against Chloe's below her. Wordless cries, broken moans and quiet pleadings filled Beca's ears, sliding down her veins, pushing against her will to go slowly, to make it last.

But Chloe's hips were beginning to jerk, her body clenching and tightening around her fingers and Beca thrust faster, her lip firmly between her teeth as she held back her own release; she was completely caught off guard and woefully unprepared for how Chloe felt under her fingertips, how she sounded as Beca's name broke across her lips like a prayer.

Then Chloe's body stiffened, her neck and back arching as her eyes closed as she flew over the edge, her leg still trying to pull Beca closer. Beca's breath stopped in her throat at how beautiful Chloe was in that second; knew that no matter where life took them, she would never love anyone else as much. She let her hand still, pressed deeply inside, but she kept up a firm pressure with her palm, trying to keep Chloe as high as possible for as long as she could. Pushed by her newly awakened emotions, she leaned forward and whispered against Chloe's ear, needing to tell her even if Beca knew she could never adequately express everything inside her that sang Chloe's name.

"I love you, Chloe Beale."

Even as Chloe's body shook as a second orgasm rushed through her, her back hit the bed and a sob broke free as Chloe's right hand desperately gripped the back of Beca's head and pulled her into a frantic kiss. Beca, admittedly a bit in shock at the effect her words had, returned it fiercely, ignoring the small pain from where she'd actually drawn blood from her own lip.

Beca couldn't help herself, while she did ease her hand free, she continued to stroke lightly, unwilling to end the small aftershocks she could feel as Chloe slowly relaxed under her. She peppered Chloe's face with kisses, dipping back every half dozen to take her lips gently.

Loved.

---

~C~

When Beca had stepped into her shower, Chloe had been convinced she was far drunker than she'd thought and had gone straight into hallucination. The other, more logical in the moment, explanation was that she had slipped and hit her head, but was still hallucinating. Because there was no way Beca, her shy, sometimes awkward, alt girl was standing naked in her shower and reaching forward to cup her cheek.

Except she was.

Chloe let her eyes close once, afraid that Beca would vanish, but the warm palm kept her grounded, though most of her control was blown when Beca pushed forward and kissed her. Chloe returned it tentatively, almost afraid of her own desire that flared up hotter than the water at her back, but then Beca whispered the one thing that Chloe would have expected even less than Naked Beca in her shower.

"I love you."

Chloe's breath stopped in her throat as her eyes searched Beca's, waiting to wake up or waiting for Beca to say 'just kidding.' Chloe's heart seemed to stall as the words settled between them until finally it thumped back to life, hard and fast as if it were trying to pound its way out of her chest.

"Chlo?" Beca leaned forward, concern growing in her eyes. "Are you breathing?" Chloe could only shake her head, her lungs useless under the weight of her fear, of her hope. "Can you try for me?" Beca's crooked grin was familiar, soothing.

Chloe's lungs filled with a gasp and she said the only thing that was spinning around in her mind. "Did you just say what I think you just said?" Beca bit her lip, her eyes flicking between Chloe's and Chloe felt panic beginning to come back. 'Maybe I pushed too much, maybe I shouldn't have asked.'

"Yeah." But it came out as a squeak and Beca cleared her throat.

The fear slowly began to subside, running down to the drain with the water still cascading over her. "Can you say it again?" Beca's mouth opened slightly and Chloe saw the hesitation in her. She knew it must have been difficult for Beca to open up and say the first time, but… "I want to make sure I'm not imagining things." She had to know.

"I love you."

That was all Chloe had needed as her heart pushed her forward into Beca's arms, both of them suddenly desperate to remove any distance between them. Beca's hands in her hair, Chloe's hands on her hips, and when Beca leaned back against the wall, Chloe knew that Beca had done it to put herself against the coldness of it instead of pressing Chloe against it. She wondered if Beca even realized why she'd done it.

Just before their lips met again, Chloe realized she hadn't said them yet, the words that had been growing in her heart since that day at the activities fair.

"I love you too, Beca."

She had no idea how long they kissed, so lost was she in the feel of Beca's body under her own and the firm strokes of Beca's tongue. The last barrier between them had dropped and Chloe almost felt like laughing from the euphoria she felt at knowing nothing would ever get between them again. Chloe pushed their bodies together, delighting in the sounds pulled from Beca as their breasts slid together, already needing to hear it again and again.

Finally Beca pulled her mouth away and tilted her chin up and Chloe was drawn to the slender column of her throat, fastening her lips and sucking. "Jesus." Beca's body bucked against her and Chloe saw fireworks.

"I think I'm going to like that response, Becs." She spoke against Beca's throat, unwilling to move away from skin that was already darkening from her attentions. Something inside Chloe clicked, or unlocked, seeing her mark on Beca, however innocently in which she'd given it. Even though she knew there was nothing between Beca and Jesse, when Aubrey had lashed out at them both, there was a second where, at the back of her mind, she wondered. Even knowing Aubrey was wrong, there was a shadow that told her that Beca wasn't hers to be jealous over. But now Beca was hers, wanted to be hers and it was everything that Chloe had wanted all year. To know where she stood with Beca. To know that Beca wanted her too.

Beca whimpered and Chloe's thighs flexed. "That one too." She moved over far enough to nip at one shoulder. "I can't see what else I can pull from you." Chloe almost felt like laughing like a kid at Christmas when she realized she would get to spend a lifetime learning everything there was about Beca; how to make her tremble from a look, a touch. Chloe would treasure every single second they spent together and she vowed to make sure that Beca knew how much each of them meant to her. All Chloe wanted, all she needed, was for Beca to let Chloe love her in the only way she knew how: With everything she was.

"Me either." Beca said and Chloe could hear the breathlessness of it and finally pulled away to look at her.

"You say that like they're new." She danced her fingers down Beca's ribs as those dark eyes closed.

"Can we pretend I didn't say that?" Beca opened one eye and Chloe felt her heart melt. Only Beca could make her toes curl with the most passionate of kisses then turn into shy and awkward in a heartbeat.

"For now." Chloe leaned forward then stopped as color spread across Beca's cheeks. "Are you blushing?" She was going to die from adorable overload in this shower, she knew it.

"No!" But it squeaked and Chloe grinned as Beca cleared her throat again. "I mean. No. It's… the heat from the shower."

Chloe traced Beca's lower lip. "I don't think so."

"Dude." Beca looked suddenly more worried than Chloe felt she should. "You need to get out of this shower."

Chloe felt her eyebrow rise. "I believe you are the one who climbed into my shower this time, Becs."

"Yeah I did." Beca's grin verged on wicked and Chloe loved every cocky inch of it. Then she shook her head. "But I mean – the water, it's getting cold. You need to finish up your shower and get out before you turn blue again. Like, all over blue this time." Beca reached up and adjusted the shower head so it was hitting as low as possible on Chloe's legs.

Chloe blinked. "Oh. I hadn't noticed. I was… distracted." She giggled as the urge to get distracted again almost overwhelmed her. But now that Beca had pointed it out, the water was decidedly not as steamy as it had been when Beca first climbed in with her. "But I was actually all done when you stepped in."

"You were only in here like, less than ten minutes," Beca said, urging Chloe backward and placing herself between Chloe and the spray.

"You learn to shower fast in a house with ten other women." Chloe shrugged, though her heart was still melting and spreading warmth throughout her body. Beca was forever considerate of Chloe's physical well-being and Chloe didn't think she realized how much she did it.

All her life, Chloe had taken care of other people; from her family, to her childhood friends, to the Bellas, and Aubrey was forever telling her she needed to remember to take care of herself as well. Aubrey was the first non-family to help Chloe do that, but even she got wrapped up sometimes in her own things and didn't watch Chloe as carefully as she usually did.

Then Beca walked into her life, projecting an aura of not caring about anyone or anything, yet eventually she always managed to take care of Chloe. Making her favorite tea for her throat, bringing snack bars and trying to keep her hands warm, Beca had shown time and again that Chloe was important enough to care about her – care for her. It was one of the final keys that had made her fall in love with her prickly alt girl in the first place. Because, despite everything she had ever said to the contrary, Beca cared. Not just a little, and not just for Chloe or because she felt she had to – but because under the layers of protection she'd surrounded herself with, the real Beca Mitchell cared because that's just who she was. She just hid that part of herself away to keep her heart safe. And Chloe couldn't wait for the day that those walls finally vanished and everyone else could see what she had seen all along.

"I'll keep that in mind." Beca said, her hands rubbing up and down Chloe's arms as if to warm her. "But I still need to shower." She paused for a moment and Chloe wondered what she was thinking as the strangest expression crossed her face. "And I don't know that I can handle cadaver hands right now."

Chloe couldn't help it, Beca had handed her the chance to tease her on a silver platter. "I dunno about that, Becs. I can think of all kinds of ways for the two of us to warm them back up again." Chloe winked, half because she knew the affect it had on Beca and half to keep herself distracted from the images that ran through her mind.

"Holy crap." Beca pulled in a breath. "That… Yeah… You may have a point there." Her gaze dropped to Chloe's chest, the cocky grin back in place. "Or two, as it were."

Chloe gasped in shock, glee overtaking her hormones for once, because Beca had never flirted back with her quite this boldly before. "Why, Beca Mitchell. That was awful forward of you."

"Yeah, I'm not quite sure what's happening with me right now. I…" Just like that, adorable and awkward was back in full force.

Chloe quickly put a finger against Beca's lips. "You better not be about to apologize." She cupped the back of Beca's head. "I kinda like forward Beca." She kissed her on the nose and pulled the curtain aside and stepped out, closing it behind her. It had taken extreme willpower to leave a completely naked Beca Mitchell behind her, but, truthfully, she knew the water was just about to reach the end of her comfort zone. And there were much better places to continue this than a cold shower.

She pulled a washcloth from under the sink, where they always stored a spare or three, and tossed it into the shower. "Look out."

"Thanks, Chlo."

She quickly dried herself and her hair, probably over-brushed her teeth and set out a towel for Beca. After a moment digging through the drawers, she also found an unopened toothbrush that she placed where Beca would find it.

Forcing herself to leave the bathroom, she went back to her room and traded overhead light for the softer lights strung around the room. Finding that she wanted to pace, she forced herself to sit on her bed after moving the sleep clothes she'd set out earlier to her vanity.

She could still feel Beca's soft skin against hers, how right it had felt as their bodies slid together. Chloe's eyes closed and she drew in a breath as a sudden body memory hit her and she was on her feet and moving toward the door before she stopped herself.

'Beca will be out of the shower soon.' She made herself walk back to her bed. 'You can wait fifteen more minutes, Beale.'

She forced herself to think about their new choreography, each individual part, anything and everything to keep herself on her bed and not pushing Beca against a wall and kissing her senseless. Because kissing Beca was as addicting as she had expected and now that they'd crossed the line they'd danced up to months ago, Chloe wasn't sure how she was going to handle having to go to class instead of getting lost in her touch.

She looked up as a shadow crossed her and found Beca closing her door to lean against it. There was banked desire radiating from her and it pulled Chloe to her feet.

"Thanks for the toothbrush. Were you trying to tell me something?"

"Nope." She stepped forward, finding it more difficult to not rush forward than she'd ever imagined. "I realized my breath was probably atrocious and over compensated."

Beca pushed forward and Chloe's pulse sped up as she reached up to tuck a lock of hair behind Chloe's ear. "I didn't notice anything." Slowly, she untied her robe, letting it hang open and Chloe found she was unable to look away from the flash of cleavage suddenly on display. Then Beca put Chloe's hand on the edge of her collar and waited.

'Just like Beca to make sure I know she's ready for this, but still giving me the opportunity to stop us here.'

She smiled and lifted her other hand to push and let it fall to the floor. She couldn't help but run her fingers across Beca's shoulders and down her arms, knowing that the shiver running through Beca was from her touch.

Then Beca was undoing Chloe's robe and sliding it free, forcing Chloe to move her arms, but not before she slid her fingertips across the tops of Beca's breasts, wanting nothing more than to feel their weight in her palms.

Instead, Chloe stepped back, toward the bed, pulse beginning to soar as Beca matched her until the two of them were lying on her bed, Beca's body branding hers wherever they touched. She let herself sink into the bed, felt Beca sink into her and got lost in the unending kisses that pulled the breath from her lungs.

Beca's hand never stilled for long, running up her arm and across her shoulders, briefly stopping to stroke her thumb where Chloe's pulse beat wildly in her neck and Chloe thought she'd go mad before it finally skimmed down to her breast. It felt like Chloe had been waiting for this moment for her whole life and everywhere that Beca was felt like a live wire, electricity racing across her skin with every brush of skin, every stroke of her fingertips.

At the first touch of Beca's fingers against her nipple, Chloe cried out softly, the sound immediately swallowed by another of Beca's devastating kisses. The feel of Beca's palm against Chloe's nipple caused her thighs to clench in reaction but it was the slow circling of her thumb that arched her further off the bed. She didn't want to sound as needy as she felt, afraid that she'd scare away a still sometimes skittish Beca, but she couldn't stop herself. She had wanted this for so long that even the most innocent touch was close to driving her insane with need.

"Beca." Chloe moaned softly, overwhelmed by the tender care she could feel in that simple touch. Not that anything about this moment was simple, for either of them because she could feel Beca trembling against her. Instinctively Chloe knew it wasn't from fear, but from Beca holding herself back much as Chloe had earlier. She could feel that Beca was being careful, learning how to please her as Chloe had started to do in the shower. The knowledge that Beca wanted to make this moment everything Chloe needed it to be, even though Beca herself may want to go faster and take Chloe on her terms… Knowing Beca wanted her as much as she wanted Beca allowed Chloe to shed the last of her fears and worries and just focus on how she felt – how they felt together.

Beca's hand slipped down to her waist but before Chloe could protest the loss, a warm mouth covered her breast and Chloe's body began to spiral. She couldn't have stopped the way her body rolled against Beca if she tried, and she didn't want to. With each firm brush of her tongue, each half felt edge of teeth pushed Chloe further past the line of no return.

Then Beca's hand was moving again, sliding across her stomach and down between her legs and Chloe's body became an inferno.

With every touch, stroke and, eventually, thrust, Beca lifted Chloe higher and higher, toward a release that was approaching both too fast and not fast enough for the need racing through her veins. Beca's name was the only word her mind retained, the rest was a litany of moans and cries that got steadily louder until everything went still as she felt like she shattered into a million pieces.

Chloe was sure the only thing keeping her against the bed was Beca's weight against her as her orgasm crashed through her. She could feel Beca's hand still inside her, feel herself clenching around it, when Beca whispered against her ear.

"I love you, Chloe Beale."

Chloe wouldn't have dreamed it was possible to come from words alone. She didn't even know it was possible to come a second time before you had even finished the first one, but her body apparently wasn't aware that it might not be a thing. She let herself fall back against the bed and pulled Beca to her, frantic with the need to feel Beca's mouth on her own. Needing that second anchor to keep herself from falling apart; struck by the overwhelming love that coursed through her at those five words.

Beca eventually slid out of Chloe, but she kept up a light stroke, each brush against Chloe's clit causing her to twitch, though not unpleasantly. She kissed Chloe's eyebrow, then her closed eyelids before dropping down to kiss her gently, then her cheeks and chin before returning to her lips.

Chloe hummed in contentment under Beca's comfortable weight, her body feeling both light and heavy as she came down from the double high. She couldn't remember a single time in her past that she had felt this connected to anyone. This moved by desire and love, beyond cared for – she mused for a moment before deciding the word she was looking for was 'cherished.' Every single light kiss against her skin dropped immediately into her heart, filling spaces she hadn't even realized were empty. Even though she thought it was the sappiest thing in the world – and she had had many a sappy thought as a teenager – her soul calmed under Beca's touch; recognized that Beca was it for her. Beca was her home.

She knew it was terribly greedy, but she wasn't ready to lose Beca's touch. So, half by chance and half by intent, the next time Beca's hand slipped downward, Chloe's hips arched up and Beca's fingers slid gently into her once more.

She let out a groan, unable to stop the smile from spreading across her lips when Beca echoed it. Chloe's hand slid from the back of Beca's neck to cup her cheek.

"You make me feel so good, Beca." Chloe pulled her into another kiss, then another, getting lost in the rhythm of hand and tongue as Beca answered her without words.

After several minutes, Beca kissed her way down Chloe's body and Chloe whimpered at the loss as that forced her to move her hand. At least until Beca fit herself between Chloe's legs and licked firmly from her entrance to her clit. Chloe arched her back, her right hand going back to clutch her headboard as her left scrabbled for purchase in the sheets under her until suddenly Beca's fingers laced with hers, gripping tightly. Chloe looked down to see Beca looking back up at her, eyes dark and full of heat that Chloe could feel on her skin.

Beca built her up slowly this time, love in every touch, and Chloe slipped over the edge for the third time.

As Beca crawled her way back up Chloe's body, she sat up, needing to finally give back what she'd spent the entire night receiving. Chloe tugged and twisted until Beca was lying underneath her and kissed her hungrily.

Chloe dimly realized that it was probably better that they hadn't done this until now – she had every intention of spending as much time as possible in positions very much like this one. Any sooner and Aubrey would have killed them both for missing so many practices.

She shifted lower, her lips eagerly finding a taut nipple and rolling her tongue around it as Beca arced below her. Beca's hips rolled against her stomach, her hands tangling in Chloe's hair to hold her close, gasping as Chloe bit down lightly. She took her time, moving from one breast to the other, until she felt Beca had waited long enough and she should probably stop torturing her.

Chloe shifted her weight, kissing her way down Beca's stomach and that's when Beca began to plead.

"Chlo, please." Beca began to tremble beneath her. "I need…" She urged Chloe lower. "I need you."

Chloe had to take a breath as Beca begging for her touch made her lightheaded. "I've got you, Becs." Chloe lifted her head and pushed up to give Beca a fierce kiss. "I'll always be here to catch you." It was a vow she'd never made before – except maybe to Aubrey – but she knew Beca didn't mean just the physical nature of their encounter. There was a weight behind it that Chloe felt down to her bones; knew that Beca meant she needed Chloe and she meant it with every wild beat of the heart pounding against her own.

Chloe quickly kissed her way down Beca's body, pausing to suck where her hip met her left thigh, smiling against bruising skin as Beca cried out again. She really liked that reaction, she realized. She'd have to see where else she could coax it from.

Chloe settled between Beca's legs, feeling fingers once more run through her hair, and knew the time for teasing was over. She licked with firm strokes, using the flat of her tongue, worshipping every inch as she learned where Beca was sensitive - what made her gasp and shake, or scream Chloe's name. Her lips found Beca's clit and she alternated with sucking and quick, teasing flicks of her tongue, unable to get enough of each sound that left Beca's mouth because of her.

Carefully she slipped two fingers inside, losing herself briefly in slick heat until she felt one of Beca's hands leave her hair; looking up, she saw it latch onto the headboard as Beca pushed herself downward. Chloe slipped in a third finger, pushing deeply with each thrust and felt Beca clamp down around her, Chloe's name dropping from her lips in a high grunt of pleasure as her hips moved faster, her cries becoming wordless but no less pleading.

Chloe moved faster, her fingers rubbing until she found that ridged spot inside. Beca's passionate cries filled Chloe's ears, sweeter than any music she had ever heard in her life, starting low but growing in volume and strength before finally breaking with a whimper that shook her body.

"Chloe."

Chloe felt herself shudder, feeling the love in those two syllables run down her back like quicksilver. She'd said Beca's name the same way, felt so much love that she thought she'd drown in it.

"I love you, Beca Mitchell." Chloe whispered before turning her head and, driven by instinct, bit gently on Beca's inner thigh but sucked hard.

Beca's body locked and braced against the bed, this second orgasm rendering her silent as it washed through her. Chloe thrust as deep as she could, her fingers pressing against Beca's inner walls, but remained still as Beca's hips pushed at her until, with a half sob, Beca's body collapsed against the bed. She released the headboard and covered her eyes with her forearm, her lungs heaving as she gasped for air.

Chloe released her suction lock on Beca's thigh, but soothed it gently with her tongue, knowing that her mark was going to stick around for a while. She realized that she quite liked the idea, that Beca would have this reminder of what she meant to Chloe whenever they weren't together. She really hoped Beca didn't mind, because she could feel her determination to renew it whenever it began to fade.

Reverently kissing the already dark bruise on Beca's thigh, Chloe – with reluctance – eased her hand free and pushed her way up. She covered Beca's body with her own, her thigh between Beca's, and gently moved Beca's arm, relieved to find she wasn't actually crying. Beca's eyes found hers and she stroked Chloe's cheek with her fingertips before lifting her head to kiss her tenderly.

When they paused for air, Chloe asked gently, "Are you okay?"

Beca grinned, "Yeah, sorry." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I just… There's a lot swirling in my head right now."

Chloe kissed one of Beca's eyebrows simply because she could. "I know the feeling."

"Yeah but…" Beca paused and grinned as Chloe kissed beside her left eye. "It's funny."

"What's that?" Chloe shifted sides and kissed the right side of Beca's chin.

"I've got all these walls and you just keep walking through them like they don't even exist." Beca let out a soft chuckle. "You break all my rules of personal space and I willingly let it happen. I don't even try to fight it. I haven't from the beginning."

"I did notice the distinct lack of cursing and screaming when I showed up in your shower." Chloe said thoughtfully, absently, before trailing her lips down Beca's throat.

"Shock, mostly." Beca stretched underneath her. "Who expects that to happen?"

"You've only yourself to blame – singing like that in those acoustics. You should've known I was helpless to your lure." Chloe said innocently just before her teeth nipped Beca's collarbone.

Beca hissed in a breath, then exhaled slowly, her legs flexing. "Right, that's all my fault." She laughed, then sobered. "While I have a lot of regrets in my life, singing with you in that sketchy ass shower is not one of them." She kissed Chloe again. "That's how I know that I'm completely in love with you."

"August 29th, 2:18 PM." Chloe said, reluctantly lifting her head away from Beca's neck but wanting to see her reaction.

"What?" Beca half laughed. "Did I black out and miss an entire conversation?"

"Nope." Chloe grinned down at her.

Beca rolled her eyes. "Alright, I'll bite – what's so special about August 29th at 2:18 in the afternoon?"

"Activities Fair." Chloe said and saw the way Beca's eyes snapped back to hers and sharpened. "Aubrey and I were handing out fliers and that's when I first laid eyes on you. And fell in love."

Beca blinked at her and Chloe could tell she hadn't expected it and it meant the world.

"You knew even then?" She finally asked, smoothing Chloe's hair back from her face.

"Maybe not on the surface," Chloe said. "But I knew I wanted to follow you, find out your name." She remembered the tug pulling at her all those months ago; telling her to not let this unnamed girl walk away, no matter that she had been snarky about a capella.

Beca sniffed slightly and let out a watery laugh. "Within two minutes of talking to you for the first time, I thought to myself, 'Huh. Love at first sight… is that, is that actually a thing?'" Chloe felt her own breath catch, having never expected something like that from the brooding girl under her. "I immediately told myself that was crazy talk and then retreated into my default 'snarky bitch' mode." She smiled, though it trembled at the edges. "I'd have never bet, in a million years, that I was right the first time."

Chloe found the faint blush that rose on her cheeks adorable and felt herself fall in love all over again. "I love you." Chloe kissed her, loving how natural it felt to say after months of holding herself back.

Beca tugged on Chloe's lower lip with her teeth. "Hearing you say that makes my fingers tingle."

"Ooh." Chloe purred. "I really like the sound of that."

"Insatiable," Beca shook her head sadly. "I knew it. You can't get enough of all this." She lifted her shoulders and waved with one hand down to indicate her body.

"Normally I'd say something to keep your ego from inflating, but yeah, no. I don't think I'll ever stop wanting you." Chloe pressed her thigh upward, loving how Beca arched against her and moaned.

"I'd say I created a monster, but I'm not sure which of us I'd be talking about." Beca licked her lips and gave a slow roll against her.

"Good news is, we have all night to figure that out." Chloe flexed her thigh upward again.

"Think Aubrey would kill us if we skipped practice?" Beca asked lightly, as if her hands weren't sliding down Chloe's back to grip her ass.

"Probably." Chloe rested her forehead against Beca's, her eyes closing as Beca pulled her hips tighter and closer.

"Could be worth it." Beca's breath drifted over her lips and Chloe felt herself drawn down to her mouth.

"Could be." Chloe sank into the kiss, all thoughts of rehearsals, Bellas and her best friend slipping away.

Everything she would ever need was right here in her arms. She knew Aubrey would understand.

Maybe.

---

~B~

Beca woke gradually, confused at first by the weight half sprawled over her back. It didn't take long before the memory of the evening before assembled itself and she smiled sleepily. The weight on her back was a very naked Chloe and where before Beca would never have allowed anyone else the intimacy of such a position – she'd found it stifling, almost claustrophobic, the one time it had happened in high school – having Chloe there was nothing but comfort and security.

There was a knock on the door and Beca realized it was probably what had woken her up in the first place. She licked her lips, getting ready to tell whoever it was to go away when Stacie's voice came from the hallway.

"Breakfast is almost ready. Aubrey sent me up to wake you." There was a pause and what sounded like a muffled snort. "Bree was afraid to come up here." Beca could hear the glee in her voice and pictured the wide smile that had to be on Stacie's face. "She was afraid she'd hear things. I made her draw straws and I lost… But since she didn't want to come up and I got to, I'd say we're both winners."

"Stacie, that doesn't even make sense." Chloe said and Beca jumped, not realizing she was awake.

"I was hoping that I'd maybe hear something to tease Beca about later," was the sly reply.

Beca groaned while Chloe laughed. "I hate you, Conrad."

"You love me." Stacie shot back. "Seriously though, Aubrey's making cinnamon French toast and I know you don't want to miss that."

"She's like a culinary wizard," Beca muttered with grudging reverence. "One who knows my weaknesses."

"We'll be down in a minute, Stace." Chloe said through another laugh as she burrowed down into Beca's hair.

"Alright, but if Bree sends me back up, I'm coming in to drag you guys downstairs, naked if I have to."

"Stop picturing me naked." Beca half yelled through a yawn.

"One day." Stacie said, her voice more muffled as if she was already heading down the hall. "But that day is not today."

Chloe giggled even as she stretched and Beca was distracted before she could decide if she was annoyed, flattered or flustered at Stacie's comments – a naked Chloe rubbing against her back, still warm and soft from sleep, was not making Beca want to get out of bed.

"Morning." Chloe's sleepy voice murmured into her ear.

"Morning." Beca finally opened her eyes and happened to look at Chloe's clock. "More like afternoon." She blinked several times but the numbers didn't change. "It's twelve thirty. Wasn't practice at one?"

"Yes," Chloe said slowly. "Yes it was. Huh. Wonder if it's cancelled or just moved to later." She rolled off Beca who immediately missed her warmth.

"Guess we'll know when we go downstairs." Beca's stomach suddenly rumbled and she turned her head to look over. "Chloe, you know I love you, right?"

"Mmhm." Chloe rolled up on her side, her hand stroking Beca's back.

"So when I leave your bed to go downstairs for food, you won't think less of me?"

"I dunno…" Chloe trailed off, her eyes twinkling.

"But Aubrey's French toast is amaziiiinnnnnnnng." Beca whined.

"I know. But first." Chloe leaned down and kissed her. Beca let herself get lost in it, still a bit in shock that this was something she was able to do without fear or hesitation, no matter that they were both still naked after a long night of very thorough lovemaking. Chloe pulled back slowly. "Much better."

"Agreed." Beca smiled up at her then yelped as Chloe reached down and pinched her ass.

"Now let's get downstairs before it gets cold. Or Stacie comes back up and opens the door while we're changing."

"She'd do it too," Beca muttered. "Aca-perv." The two of them rolled out of bed and Beca couldn't help but stare as Chloe stretched out her body, releasing her breath with a groan very much like the ones she'd been making last night.

"Now who's the aca-perv?" Chloe said with a laugh, getting the pj's she'd set out last night.

"Guilty." Beca raised her hand, glad that she had when Chloe tossed her a pair of shorts that were quickly followed by a shirt. As they got dressed, something occurred to her. "Did Stacie call Aubrey 'Bree'?"

"Yup. Twice." Chloe pulled her shirt over her head. "I noticed that too."

"Is there…" Beca had a memory of asking the same thing the night before. While she knew how Stacie felt, but she didn't know if they'd talked or taken it further. "Something between them?" Chloe hesitated and Beca put her hand up again. "Nevermind, I didn't mean to ask for gossip."

"No, no… It's… While it's not entirely my story to tell, I can say that, as far as I know, nothing has happened between them." Chloe ran her fingers through her hair before picking up her brush.

"Do you think they, you know, last night?" Beca sat on the end of the bed, finger combing her own disarrayed hair.

"You can't say 'sex', Becs?" Chloe looked over her shoulder and grinned. "Even after last night?"

"Whatever," Beca ignored the slight flush she could feel creeping up her neck. Talking about sex always felt awkward, for all that she was fairly certain that she spent most of her time in the gutter. "Do you?"

"You're so cute." Chloe set down her brush and leaned against her vanity. "Guess we'll have to go down and see if we can pick up any clues."

"I bet they did." Beca said as they headed toward the door.

"I dunno," Chloe opened it and let Beca walk out first. "Bree can be pretty stubborn."

Beca snorted. "Tell me something I don't know."

"Would you like to be pot, or kettle?" Chloe asked dryly.

"I believe I shall be pot," Beca decided as they headed down the stairs.

As they made their way kitchen, Beca felt lighter than she had since she was a kid and knew it had everything to do with the woman walking beside her and holding her hand.

"Damnit." Stacie's voice carried to them from the back table. "I bet Aubrey five laps of cardio that I'd have to come back up and get you guys." She was sitting on the bench against the wall, a loaded plate in front of her and one waiting beside her.

"You didn't see Beca inhale two and a half servings the last time I made French toast," Aubrey said as she carried two more plates over and set them down.

"Guilty." Beca inhaled deeply. "That smells great, Aubrey."

"Thanks, Beca." Aubrey smiled at her as they passed each other, Beca going straight for the food and Aubrey to the fridge where she took out a jug of orange juice and brought it over.

Beca settled herself on the bench across from Stacie. "Sorry I disappointed you, Stacie." She picked up the mug of coffee that Chloe set down in front of her. "Thanks," she looked up and smiled when Chloe squeezed her shoulder and took a seat on Beca's right.

"Eh." Stacie shrugged. "As long as you didn't disappoint Chloe last night, too."

Beca choked on the mouthful she'd just taken and just barely kept from spitting it out across the table. "Jesus Christ!" Stacie only grinned at her.

"No complaints here," Chloe said as she poured syrup over her freshly buttered French toast.

"Oh my god." Beca closed her eyes. "Please kill me now."

"Then who would eat all the food I made?" Aubrey asked from right next to her and Beca jumped. Aubrey leaned down to place two plates in the middle of the table, one loaded down with scrambled eggs and the other with bacon, before finally taking a seat next to Stacie.

"Good point." Beca immediately scooped some eggs onto her plate and snagged a few slices of bacon. "Letting any of this go to waste would be a crime."

The conversation tapered off then as they made a serious dent in the mountain of food in front of them. It wasn't until her second cup of coffee, poured by a smiling Aubrey, that Beca realized that all traces of the prior tension between them were gone. Even at Christmas there had been a slight undercurrent, however faint, and there definitely was some lingering that night they'd had their big talk. But now there was nothing.

Beca bit back a grin and wondered if that was because she'd gotten some or because they'd all gotten some. So far neither of the other women had given away any tells that Beca could spot, but maybe Chloe would pick something up from Aubrey.

A warm hand on her thigh caused her to look over at Chloe, but she was talking to Stacie about one of her classes and Beca realized she'd done it subconsciously. It wasn't until that moment that she noticed that her own right hand was already on Chloe's leg and she had no idea how long it had been there.

'Oh yeah,' Beca thought to herself as she took another drink of coffee, squeezing Chloe's leg lightly and feeling the returned grip on her own. 'I'm a gonner and I don't even care.'

She looked up and saw Aubrey was watching her over the rim of her coffee. Beca felt momentary panic and had the impulse to move her hand away, like she'd been caught doing something wrong. Thankfully it never reached her muscles – or they were just ignoring her – and her hand didn't even twitch, except maybe to tighten her fingers to further remind herself of her right to be there.

But Aubrey merely lifted one corner of her mouth in a smile that reached her eyes and Beca felt the acceptance in it. Acceptance of her personally, sure, but also the acceptance of her in Chloe's life and… Beca almost flushed with pleasure when she realized that it was more than that.

Aubrey approved of Beca for Chloe.

Beca knew that the standards the two best friends had for any possible relationships the other had must have been high – it wasn't anything they'd ever talked about, but it was obvious by how much they loved and cared for each other. It also wasn't an approval that Beca had even been seeking – she would have been with Chloe regardless of Aubrey's feelings on the matter. It just might have been more… stressful.

But to realize that she'd met the incredibly high standards of one Aubrey Posen? Not just to help guide the Bellas, but to be one worthy of Chloe's heart?

Beca held back the grin that wanted to break free, not wanting to explain anything if she started laughing like a lunatic. She forced herself to sip her coffee and looked at the women around her.

The world was theirs – all of theirs – as long as they stayed together.

'The Trebles won't have any fucking idea what hit them.'

---

A/N: Sorry for the wait for this one. This was a hugely important chapter in their relationship and I wanted to make sure I got it right - which then caused some writer's block out of paranoia that I wouldn't. Hope you liked it! Wait, that sounds inappropriate...