A/N: Special thanks to overthemoo for the moral support on this chapter. I rewrote it way too many times to count because I wasn't happy, but I think I finally found something that works the way I wanted it to.
As soon as Beca exits Jesse's building, she realizes that she has no idea what she's actually going to say to Chloe. She hasn't texted to say she's on her way over, so she slows from her run and starts the long way around campus to give herself time to think. Jesse had suggested standing outside Chloe's dorm with a boom box and wearing a trench coat, and okay, it was kind of a romantic gesture in the movie, but this is real life. It's not like she would even do something that crazy anyway, because if she's going to lay it all on the line like that with the chance of getting rejected, she's not going to risk public humiliation as well.
(If she did, though, she's sure she'd look a hell of a lot more badass than John Cusack. Not that she entertained the idea or anything. Not at all.)
On the way back to Chloe's dorm, Beca ducks into their favorite diner to grab a tea, hoping it will calm her nerves.
"She lives!" The old man behind the counter exclaims as she walks in.
"Hey Bud," she says, smiling warmly. Bud and his wife, Imogene, were actually the first people Beca got to know on campus. After a week of stopping in every morning for coffee and breakfast to go, he had her order memorized and they'd chat while he made her coffee and Imogene would cook. Their playful bickering reminded her a lot of her grandparents in Portland, and she couldn't help but sort of adore the older couple despite herself.
"I haven't seen you in awhile. Red tells me you've got some new fancy job that's been keeping you busy," Bud says, bringing her a glass of water. The first time she'd come in with Chloe, Bud and Imogene had fallen in love with her and vice versa, and Beca couldn't really blame any of them. When they left, Chloe gushed about the couple, proclaimed the diner as their spot and they continued to patronize the diner multiple times a week.
Beca laughs and tells him about the DJing gig, explaining how Chloe had been the one to get her the job and she has been so busy with that, the radio station, and The Bellas that she hasn't had any spare time to stop by.
"That's alright, sweetie," he says. "I'm glad you're keeping yourself busy! Where's that girl of yours tonight, anyway?"
"I'm actually on my way to see her now. But I keep telling you, Bud, she's not my girl," Beca says, blushing at the nickname he'd chosen for Chloe.
"And I keep telling you, she should be. My pops told me I should marry a girl that would bring me breakfast in bed; that's how I ended up with Imogene. 59 years strong, now," he brags.
Beca smiles and says, "Well I'll let you know if anything changes."
"Good, you better," Bud says with a wink. "The usual to go?"
"Let's switch it up," she says. "Do you have any more of that tea Chloe's been raving about? I know she said it's just for the holidays, but I never get to try it because she drinks it before she gets back with the food."
"Sure thing, kid," he says before disappearing into the kitchen.
She turns her phone on and it vibrates with several new texts. The first is from her dad, asking where she is because he stopped by the dorm and Kimmy Jin told him she hasn't been around. She'll deal with that later, so she skips to the next text, which is from Chloe, asking if Beca will be coming by after the movie marathon. Beca smiles at the text, staring at it a few moments longer than necessary before moving to the last one. The last one is from Jesse and she literally laughs out loud when she reads it.
Benji says "May the force be with you."
She's not even sure what she's finds more hilarious - Benji's phrasing of his well wishes or the fact that Benji knows what she's about to do - because she can only imagine Jesse and Benji sitting around and gossiping like Fat Amy and Stacie do all the time.
Thanks Benji she types back and pockets her phone just as Bud comes back from the kitchen.
"Two holiday special teas and Imogene said to give you some of her sugar cookies. Fresh out of the oven," he says with a smile.
"You guys are the best," Beca says, handing him a few bills. "Wish me luck!"
"What do you need luck for?" He calls as she moves for the exit.
"You'll know soon enough!"
-xxx-
Beca is standing outside Chloe's door, drinks and cookies in hand, and still has no idea what to say to Chloe when she gets inside. She kind of sucks at the whole emotional speech thing (Or just the whole "emotional" thing, really. At least in front of people.) so she's fairly certain she's going to make a complete ass of herself. She shifts the drinks around to fish her keys out of the pocket of her coat, but when she has the key halfway in the lock, she jerks it back out and knocks instead. She can't really explain it, but she feels like this is the type of conversation she should be invited in for, even if this has been a makeshift home for her for several weeks now.
"Coming," Chloe calls and Beca hears her stumbling about the room before throwing the door open. "Beca!" She squeaks in surprise, the smile breaking out on her face so bright that Beca can't help but smile right back. "I guess that answers my text."
"Sorry; I was just leaving the diner when I got it."
"It's okay," Chloe says. "I just wasn't sure."
"I brought that tea you like," Beca says as she places the carrier on the desk. "And Imogene sent some fresh baked sugar cookies."
"They're the best!" Chloe exclaims, moving to grab her cup and a cookie.
"Oh wow, this is good."
"Told you," Chloe smiles, sticking out her tongue.
"Well if someone didn't always drink it before she got home, I'd know," Beca teases.
"So what did you think of the movies?"
"High Fidelity was okay, but the dude was so damn whiny. Great soundtrack, though; gave me some mix ideas."
"And Say Anything?"
"We didn't exactly finish that one?" Beca says, her words coming out more like a question than she intends.
Chloe gasps. "What?! Why not?"
"I, um," Beca pauses, fidgeting with the lid on her cup before she takes a sip and places it on the desk. "I had something more important to do."
"And what was that?" Chloe asks, leaning against the doorframe.
Beca isn't sure how to answer that question. Be here she thinks, but it's a lot more than that. She runs over it in her head, but nothing seems right, and the dry throat and sweaty palms aren't helping. Chloe's staring at her expectantly, though, so she has to say or do something. They're alone, locked away in Chloe's room, so against better judgment, she decides to take a cue from the movie, just like Jesse suggested. Chloe quirks an eyebrow when Beca pulls out her phone, but she brings up YouTube and searches the song anyway, hoping that maybe Chloe will understand.
The song starts and she stands, holding the phone up, smiling awkwardly and blushing (Okay maybe she doesn't look more badass than John Cusack, but, whatever, she's not doing this in public so no one will ever have proof.) Chloe tilts her head, questioning, and Beca shrugs. "I don't have a boombox," she says.
Chloe pushes herself away from the doorframe and takes a step closer to Beca. "What are you doing?" she asks, a slight chuckle coloring her words.
Beca's smile drops and she switches off the phone, dropping it to the bed. "Nothing," she mutters, mentally kicking herself. I am such an idiot, she thinks. She never should have listened to Jesse.
"You didn't have to stop," Chloe says, crossing the room. Her hand reaches out, finding Beca's, and she grasps it softly, thumb brushing over the tattoo on her wrist. "It was just a question."
Beca blushes and looks down at their joined hands. "You like romantic gestures," she mutters.
"What?"
Beca looks up, but won't meet Chloe's eyes. "I said you like romantic gestures."
Chloe stops moving her thumb, and Beca's worried that she's really overstepped her boundaries as a friend, but she hasn't actually let go of her hand, so she pushes on before she loses the nerve.
"You like romantic gestures," she starts again. "I think they're cheesy, but you don't, so I went with it."
"What are you saying?" Chloe asks, and Beca finally chances a look at her, despite the thudding in her chest. There's something there Beca has never seen before, a spark in her eyes that's different from what she's seen before. Beca wants to call it hope, but her cynical self won't quite allow it.
"I'm saying that I like having my personal space, but you like to be in my personal space. I like keeping most of my mixes to myself, but you want to hear them. I don't like hugs or handholding, but you do. And I... don't mind any of it. I thought I did, at first, but I'm realizing I don't, and I think there's a reason for that."
"Beca..."
For whatever reason, Beca goes for it. She leans up on her toes, tugging Chloe closer, and closes the gap between them. The kiss is hesitant at first, chaste and completely unlike their New Year's kiss, and when Chloe drops her hand, Beca pulls back, certain she's done something wrong. She's half expecting Chloe to ask her to leave, but then Chloe's arms are wrapping around her wasting and pulling her back in. She smiles against Chloe's mouth and kisses her back, draping her arms over her shoulders as she presses impossibly closer. Chloe's teeth drag over her bottom lip in a way that makes her knees actually go weak and she has to swallow the moan building in the back of her throat.
They kiss for long minutes, tongues and lips sliding together gently, Chloe's hands exploring over Beca's flannel shirt as her own fingers tangle in Chloe's long red hair. They break for air occasionally, and when Beca realizes they're moving toward the bed - and she's the one leading - they finally stop.
"Wow," Beca breathes out, resting her against Chloe's collarbone. "I... honestly wasn't anticipating tonight going this way."
Chloe laughs and leans down to kiss Beca's forehead. "Trust me," she says. "I didn't either."
