The Life of Beca Mitchell

by callmeRy

This is a story of Beca's life after Barden. The ups and downs, and everything in between. Ten years after Barden, Beca thought that she had had everything she needed in her life. Her perfect life. A dream job, a loving girlfriend, a lot of money, and a group of friends. But what if the past she left behind comes back to bite her in the ass? Yep. We'll roll with that what if.

21. Bella's 10th Reunion

Hey :D

First of all, thank you for the enthusiasm over this story. Thank you for the readers, people who favor, followers, and reviewers :)

As usual, I'd like to respond the reviewers. First, for Prettygleekbitch. You are free to wonder dude :P You'll find out about Chloe's condition soon.

For my dude, RJRMovieFan, thank you so much dude! :D And btw, you're right about Aubrey :)

For a Guest that hate of how Chloe is so miserable while Beca is happy. It's the right feeling, dude. This story is made that way :)

For shakeyshay69, thank you for the compliment. About Chloe's secret, she herself hasn't told Beca in person yet, while Beca has already told the redhead in person about her condition. And you are right about Jesse :)

For a Guest that wants to know when I will reveal Chloe's condition. It's soon. One more chapter dude. And maybe you're right, Chloe is better off without Beca. Maybe :P

For another Guest who's torn between feeling happy for Beca but also sad for Chloe. It's okay dude, it's normal. Kristen is back, and it's necessary. And oh, it will get worse. So sit tight :)

Alright, now back to the story. In the last chapter, we've seen how Beca and Ashley finally told everybody about their engagement. Like always, I've left bread crumbs here and there. You are allowed to connect the dots.

For this chapter, it will be about the reunion. It will be quite fine and fun. I suppose. Hopefully it's not disappointing. Not all of the Bellas can be dominantly included. There is a short riff-off. And the songs list will be at the end note.

I don't own Pitch Perfect, the characters, and the songs. Hope you enjoy. Let's dig in :)

WARNING! I start this chapter with a short smut. So if you're not comfortable with reading it, you can skip it to the end line of smut. I've put the sign under.

---

Ashley and Beca's Mansion: Friday Morning, October 17th 2025

There are days where surprisingly, Beca wakes up before Ashley, and today is one of those days. Usually, she'd wake up earlier because of nightmares or urges to pee. But this time, she wakes up contently while hugging Ashley from behind. She pulls Ashley closer, trailing kisses along the blonde's shoulder gently until Ashley stirs in her sleep.

"Hmmm..." Ashley smiles with her eyes closed. "To what do I owe an early arisen Beca Mitchell?"

Beca chuckles but keep on trailing kisses from Ashley's shoulder up to her neck, and then ears, earning a soft moan from the blonde.

Instead of turning around, Ashley tilts her head to give Beca more access, enjoying the spark under her skin from Beca's lips, and let the heat built up. Her hand reaches back to grasp Beca's hair, pulling the brunette closer.

---

Start of smut.

"Babe..."

"Hm?" Beca keep on nipping, licking, pulling the skin gently with her teeth while her hands roam on Ashley's breasts.

Beca doesn't do things like grouping or kneading; she loves to tease Ashley with gentle touches from the tip of her fingers, ghosting, circling, pinching softly, trailing her fingernails on her fiancé's soft skin, making the blonde shuddering under her touch and craving for more.

Then Ashley grabs Beca's hand and pushes it downward, but Beca shrugs it off gently, whispering to the blonde's ear, "Not so fast, Hon."

And that, certainly earns a frustrated moan from the blonde. Meanwhile, Beca moves her hand down slowly to Ashley's core, trailing her fingernails horizontally across Ashley's hip line.

Ashley's breath hitches when Beca's middle finger rests on top of her core over the underwear for a second before rubbing it gently up and down on the splitting line.

"Babe, please..." Ashley throws her head back, moaning with raspy voice, scratching her fingernails on Beca's arm.

"Not yet." Beca smirks, still rubbing over Ashley's underwear, and giving more pressure as her finger move, slowly opening the labia.

It drives Ashley over the edge, arching her back hopelessly. And when Beca presses her thumb on the clit, still over the underwear, Ashley plants her fingernails deeply on Beca's arm, and snaps out her frustration, "Beca!"

Then Beca flips Ashley to lay on her back and kisses her fiercely on the lips while her hand keep on rubbing and pressing, slowly pushing down the blonde's underwear.

Ashley kisses her fiancé back fiercely, biting Beca's bottom lip in frustration, wrapping her arms on Beca's back, pulling the brunette closer because she needs to feel the brunette's skin on hers.

Then Beca drags her lips, hovering over Ashley's cheek to her ear and spends her time licking and biting the earlobe gently.

"Babe..." Ashley bites her own bottom lips in unbearable pleasure while her hands push Beca's shoulders downward.

Upon seeing Ashley's helpless expression, Beca growls through her teeth and makes her way down between Ashley's legs. Her tongue start to work wonder on Ashley's core, pressing, brushing, licking, pushing in and out, making the blonde moaning her name over and over again, pressing her fingernails on Beca's shoulder until the waves wash her down, leaving the blonde breathless.

After smearing Ashley's essence from her mouth on Ashley's thigh, Beca pulls up and looks at Ashley's exhausted rosy sweaty face closely.

End of smut.

---

She pushes a strain of hair to the back of Ashley's ear, kisses her forehead gently, and then kisses her lips before she says, "You are breath-taking-ly beautiful, Hon."

"And you're... gonna be the death of me." Ashley replies between her ragged breaths.

Beca chuckles lightly and says, "You're very welcome."

With a content smile, Ashley kisses Beca on the tip of her nose. Then Beca gets up from the bed, but Ashley pulls the brunette back and asks with devilish smirk, "Who told you that we're done?"

Without saying a word, Beca smirks, pulls herself away, and heads to the shower, knowing that her fiancé would follow her. They continue their next round in the shower and then start to rinse each other.

Beca is humming lightly with her hands on Ashley's hips, swaying them lightly to the song while Ashley is rubbing a sponge on the brunette's back gently. Then Ashley asks, "What's your plan for today, Babe?"

"I have a meeting with a film producer." Beca replies softly.

"For a movie?"

"For a musical movie."

"Hm." Ashley leans forward and presses her lips on the crook of Beca's neck.

Beca stirs her neck, whimpering softly before saying, "I... will be producing the music for the whole movie in the next six months. It will be the only main project I'll be doing, and maybe a couple of songs. So I'll have a lot of spare time to prepare our wedding with you."

With a fond smile, Ashley says, "You're the best."

"Tell me about it." Beca replies smugly.

Then Beca resumes humming a song lightly and pulls Ashley closer, swaying lightly under the shower before asking, "Would you, my fiancé, fancy a dinner with me tonight?"

"I'd be honored." Ashley replies with a light bow, playing along with Beca's gallant way to ask her out.

Beca kisses her lips chastely and says, "I'll ask Donna to make a reservation on 7 at your favorite restaurant. Pascal will take you to the set, and then I'll pick you up for dinner."

"Sounds great."

After finishing shower and quickly changing into casual clothes, they have pancakes and scrambled eggs for breakfast together.

"Hon," Beca says while chewing her pancake. "I'll be at Stacie's tomorrow to help preparing the place for reunion. But I'll come back home to shower and pick you up around 4 PM."

"Babe, talk after you swallow." Ashley wipes the grease and pieces of eggs off Beca's lips.

Beca nods and keep eating, and then Ashley says, "You, Babe, need to work out tomorrow morning."

When Beca is going to argue, Ashley adds, "Nu uh. Not up for discussion. I know you haven't been doing any proper cardio in more than a month."

Beca wants to argue again, but Ashley cuts her off instantly, "And sex doesn't count as a proper cardio, Babe."

Then Beca sighs, pushes another piece of pancake into her mouth, and nods in defeat.

"Good." Ashley chirps. "I have to work tomorrow, but I'll make sure to be home before you to get ready."

Beca nods again, doesn't want to talk with her mouth full of food, earning a giggle from Ashley.

"You're so adorable Babe. I love you."

Quickly, Beca chews and swallows her food, grinning from ear to ear as she says, "Not adorable. But I love you too Hon."

When they're already done with breakfast, Ashley hands Beca her meds, and Beca takes it immediately. After a lot of kisses goodbye and wishing each other a good day at work, they part their ways to work.

Beca spent her day at work without distraction. Ashley only called her once, reminding her to have lunch and take her meds. It's one of the things that shows how completely secure they are in their relationship. They don't have a certain urge to text or call each other all the time.

On the daytime, they could work without distractions from one another, and then they would pick each other up from work. After that, they would hang out with friends, went home, and then asked a very simple question before going to sleep. "How's your day?"

The same rule is applied when they are alone; they focus on doing things together. Beca could be mixing while Ashley contentedly reading by her side. Ashley could be taking a picture of constellations with her camera, and Beca could be stargazing on the balcony.

In the morning, they usually spent their time talking about their plans and schedules. They don't always have morning sex; they could just lay on the bed in complete silent yet still content in each other's arms.

Life doesn't seem to be boring for them after years, even when they've had their routine already. Every day still become another adventure to live and another story to tell. It's perfectly clear that they've reached the stage of a relationship where they are completely open and honest with each other.

When their life is always under the microscope of the media, it's important to be able to trust and communicate with each other.

The paparazzi are always around the corner to catch a glimpse of their relationship, and the media has always found their way to cook up any kind of stories about them. Thankfully, they have passed the phase where it makes them angry or affects their relationship, though having a great team of publicist and bodyguards do help a lot too.

It's no different when they go out for their date tonight. Paparazzi found out about it, and surrounded the restaurant like vultures even before they arrived. The couple don't mind when the paparazzi throw a lot of questions because they could just ignore it. However, Beca didn't take it well if the paparazzi crossed the line by doing stuff like touching or insulting Ashley.

Ashley holds Beca's arm tightly while Pascal and Rico opening up a way for them to get into the restaurant. They eat in a secure corner of the restaurant, spending a comfort time together before fighting their way through the waiting predators back to Beca's car after dinner.

Before they reach the car, one of the paparazzi dares to pull Ashley by her elbow, causing the blonde to almost trip and fall. If not for Beca's protective grip on Ashley's hand, Ashley would've fallen down and hit the cement.

Pascal and Rico immediately take a stand next to Ashley and protect her from being hassled by other paparazzi.

After making sure her fiancé is fine, Beca steps closer to the culprit, facing him closely with fierce eyes and glare of anger without any word. She doesn't pull away even after the person mumbling out apologizes embarrassedly while the other paparazzi are busy taking pictures of the incident.

"Babe, come on." Ashley pulls Beca by her elbow. "He's not worth it."

After taking a deep breath, Beca turns away and walks to her car with Ashley holding her arm tightly.

"Fucking dyke." The culprit mutters under her breath.

It doesn't even take another second for Beca to whip her head back in flash, and almost lunches forward to rip the man's throat.

"Babe!" Ashley holds Beca's arm tightly.

Beca wants to pull her arm away, but Ashley grabs her shoulder and rests her left hand on Beca's cheek. Upon seeing Ashley's concerned look, Beca takes another deep breath to calm down.

"Let's go home." Ashley softly says, earning a light nod from the brunette.

With Pascal and Rico engulfing them from each side, they walk to the car and then get into the back seat hurriedly. Knowing that the paparazzi had taken a picture of Ashley's ring when she put her hand on Beca's cheek, Beca calls Donna immediately from the car.

"Donna, I need your help." Beca says as soon as Donna pick up the call.

"What did you do?"

"Ashley and I just walked out of restaurant, and there was an incident with paparazzi, but it wasn't serious. The thing is, they've got a picture of Ashley's ring."

"Already on it."

With that being said, Beca ends the call, and Ashley immediately takes her hand and squeezes it gently. After minutes spent in silent, Beca finally says in upset, "I'm sorry I got angry."

Ashley smiles lightly and kisses Beca's hand before saying, "It's okay, Babe. You didn't act on it."

"I should have." Beca says with clenched jaw.

Instead of scolding her girlfriend, Ashley chuckles and kisses her cheek, earning a confused look from Beca. Then Ashley says, "Thank you for defending my honor, Babe."

Beca scoffs and says, "I would have if you'd let me punch that son of a bitch."

"And you would've ended up in jail for assaults." Ashley says matter-of-factly. "I was defending your honor too."

Beca simply sighs in defeat and rolls her eyes. Then Ashley adds, "See? We're a good team, Babe."

A smile finally appears slowly on Beca's face when she realizes how easy it is for Ashley to flip her perspective. Beca rolls her eyes and says, "Then, thank you for defending my honor too, Hon."

"You're welcome, fiancé." Ashley says before pulling Beca in a kiss that turns into a steamy make out session in a matter of seconds. Thankfully, there is a separator between the front seat and the back seat in their Rolls Royce Dawn.

After they pull away, Beca looks at Ashley with her dilated eyes and huskily says, "I don't know why, but hearing you call me fiancé kind of turn me on."

"Well," Ashley smirks devilishly. "What are you waiting for then?"

"Nu uh." Beca shakes her head. "You, are loud. The separator might cover us, but not your voice."

Ashley looks at Beca seductively and slowly pulls her dress up to her waist while saying, "I'm feeling adventurous tonight." She climbs up onto Beca's laps and huskily teases, "If you keep it brief, I'll keep it down." Then she trails her index finger from Beca's throat down to her cleavage as she whispers, "Well, if I can help it."

Swallowing hard, Beca tries not to give in. But Ashley hovers her lips on Beca's and cuts the last string of Beca's self-control by saying in raspy voice, "Up for the challenge, fi, an, cé?"

"Fuck it." Beca curses under her breath before pulling Ashley in a searing kiss. There is no way she could keep her hands off Ashley while the heat is already pooling underneath.

After they've arrived, Pascal politely knocks on the window. When he doesn't get any respond, he gets back behind the wheel, drives the car to the edge of the cliff of the land, and then leaves the car there.

Ashley and Beca end up staying there until the morning comes, making love, and sleeping under the stars with the car roof down.

---

Ashley and Beca's Mansion: Saturday Afternoon, November 1st 2025

After helping Stacie, Aubrey, and Chloe preparing the reunion, Beca goes back home to get ready around 4 PM. She is very tired, sweaty, and sticky; all she wants is to get into the shower, and wash all of the sweat and dust away.

When she reached the bedroom, she heard a faint sound of Ashley singing from her walk-in closet. Trying not to make a sound, Beca peeks into the closet and sees Ashley in her blue bathrobe, singing onto her hairbrush.

A huge goofy grin appears on Beca's face, looking at Ashley singing with her eyes closed and earbuds in her ears, swaying to the rhythm that only she could hear.

I'm gonna marry a rockstar
I'm gonna move downtown
Lofted bed above her practice space, guitars hanging all around
She'll wake up while I'm whispering "Babe, it's almost noon"
But we could kiss all day in this tiny room
We like walking wearing black matching Converse shoes
Instead of diamond rings, we get new tattoos
Instead of walking down the aisle, it's a backyard gig
Just an ice cream cake and the people we dig
Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

Beca can't help it when her mind trails its way back to the beginning of their relationship. To the time when Ashley hadn't found out about her real income; when they had dinner at a low profile diner, or Taco Bell in the parking lot, or a burger take out by the beach.

Back when Beca was still in her hiding phase, they were rarely seen at the public together, and when they went out together, Beca would be in her plaid shirt, huge sunglasses, beanie, and dirty chucks, yet Ashley didn't mind holding her hand wherever they were.

I'm gonna marry a rockstar
Go to every last show
Nod my head to the bass drum from the very front row
I help my baby move her gear to the stage from the van
I take pictures on her phone for her Instagram
She's gonna make it big, she's gonna sell so many tracks
And through the ups and downs I'll be the lover that lasts
Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
I don't mind picking up the bill
It won't be long until a studio in the hills
A souped-up mixing board, sometimes she'll let me record
The little poems I write, then we go out at night to the Satellite

Beca remembers the first time she told Ashley about this piece of land that she bought for them. Ashley's reaction was priceless. Standing slacked-jaw in front of the huge mansion, Ashley could only manage a gasp and stuttered a bunch of incoherent words, this... you... how... what. And when Beca told her that the rest of the properties and land are theirs, Ashley almost passed out.

She plays her guitar for so many bands
She's got those talented, rough, rock 'n' roll type hands
And I feel 'em on my back, on my neck, on my face
Every chord progression makes my heart just race
When she sees me in the crowd points and blows me a kiss
Don't really know how life can get much better than this
Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

Whenever Beca had a gig, Ashley always came every time she could, and she would be the loudest cheerer among the crowds. She was careful not to slip out Beca's identity as DJ M, but it didn't stop her from sneaking into the closed booth and lured Beca to have some sexy times in it.

After Beca came out to the public, the sneaking up became their habit. When it was an open booth, then Ashley would just wait, dancing with her friends, and bringing Beca water to keep her from dehydration from time to time.

I'm gonna marry a rockstar, and when she's touring 'round the world
I'll send her unreleased Walking Dead episodes, so on the plane she's not bored
She sends a picture of the buildings in each new city
She texts me every afternoon just to say "you're pretty"
And before I go to bed "miss you, baby, goodnight"
Kissy heart emoji
"Do you need sexy Facetime?"
Never worry 'bout a local groupie trying to take a ride
My lover only likes ladies twitter verified, like me
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

Even though she doesn't really do tours anymore now, but there was a time when they did spend a lot of times away from each other. That was the time when even a simple text reminding them to have lunch became the most waited thing of the day.

Beca wasn't the clingy type, but with Ashley, she couldn't help the urges to send goodnight Hon, I miss you every night before Ashley went to sleep, and good morning sunshine, have a good day by the time she knew Ashley was already woken up. They started the habit of asking how's your day? before going to sleep from then.

Moreover, judging from Ashley's adventurous side, there is no question of how many types of sex they've done in long distance. Name it; sexting, sex from phone call, or sexy face timing, yep, they've done the deed already.

I'm gonna marry a rockstar
We got a love you can't doubt
Wrinkle right up next to each other
We'll get old but stay loud
Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

By the time she's done singing, Ashley opens her eyes, turns around, and startled to see that Beca is standing on her side, leaning on the door, crossing her hand on her chest with a dorky goofy grin on her face.

Upon seeing her fiancé's dumbfounded face, Beca smirks and says, "Well, although I'm more of a Pretty Little Liars kind of girl, but I think The Walking Dead will do. And I'm not really a rock star, but I'm glad you think so. So, whatever that floats your boats, Hon."

Finally out of her daze, Ashley chuckles, skipping her feet toward Beca and hugs the tiny brunette before she cheerfully says, "Babe, you're home."

"I am." Beca replies with a goofy grin.

"Me too." Ashley softly says before kissing Beca passionately. However, when she wants to deepen the kiss, Beca pulls away, kisses her cheek, and says, "Hon, I'm sweaty and sticky. I need a shower."

Ashley let out her prankster grin, turns Beca around, and hops on her back. "Let's shower together to save the water then."

"Argh! Hon!" Beca groans over-dramatically. "Are you trying to kill me?"

Although she's groaning, Beca always enjoyed carrying Ashley on her back, since there is no way she could carry Ashley in bride style.

"Nope. Just trying to kiss you." Ashley replies cheerfully before kissing Beca's cheek over her shoulder.

Beca laughs, and then rushes her way to the bathroom to have a sexy shower time with her fiancé. And do they take their time in there.

However, all of the fun disappear after they're ready. Suddenly, Beca feels so nervous, terrified even to meet all of the Bellas again in the same place. Knowing Beca inside out, Ashley takes the brunette's hand in hers and says, "Let's go Babe."

Without saying anything, Beca nods and let Ashley pull her to their car.

---

The Posen-Conrad's House: Saturday Evening, November 1st 2025 – The 10th Reunion

Ashley and Beca have arrived at Posen-Conrad's residence for a while, yet they are still sitting in Beca's Audi R8.

"I'm gonna check on Pascal and ask about the security perimeter again." Beca says anxiously.

Understood that her fiancé is beyond anxious to meet her college best friends, Ashley smiles softly, takes Beca's hand in hers, and squeezes it gently as she patiently says, "Babe, you've already checked on them twice. Besides, this is not the first time they guard us. It'll be okay."

Knowing that there is no use to delay the inevitable, Beca huffs out a long breath, and undo her seat-belt. Then Ashley cups Beca's cheeks and looks into her steely blue eyes as she says, "You'll be fine."

After giving Ashley a light nod, Beca gets out of the car, circling around to open the passenger door for Ashley, and offers her hand. Ashley takes her hand, gets out of the car, and kisses her cheek before saying, "Thank you, my Casanova."

Hand in hand, they head to the front door, bringing a couple of shopping bags with them. Judging by the amount of cars in front of the house, it's safe to say that everybody else must have arrived already. The front door is unlocked, so they get in and go directly to the living room where everybody have gathered.

The first person to notice their arrival is Emily, and she exclaims, "Pop! Benzo!"

Everybody become quiet in an instant and simply look at the long lost tiny brunette.

On the contrary, after hearing her youngest aunt calling out for Beca, Bella rushes from the kitchen, hops on Ashley's arm, and shrieks, "Aunt Asheey! You're here!"

"Baby Belle!" Ashley exclaims as she picks up the little blonde.

"Hey smurfette." Beca ruffles the little blonde's hair. "I can see that I'm the less favorite now that your Aunt Ashley is here."

Bella simply gives the tiny brunette a toothy grin, and then Ashley puts her down before nudging Beca, glancing her eyes toward the shopping bag.

"Oh, right." Beca hands the bag to Bella. "Here smurfette. We got some stuff that you can share with your brothers and sisters."

Bella squeals joyfully and says, "Thank you Bec-Bec. Thank you Aunt Asheey."

"Your welcome, sweetie." Ashley softly replies. "Why don't you take it inside?"

Since there are too many bags for her to carry alone, Bella yells out to call the other aca-children, "Guys! Come on here! Bec-Bec and Aunt Asheey have something for us!"

The rest of the aca-children immediately surround the couple. Fat Amy and Bumper's sons, Augusto and Julius, cling themselves on Beca's and Ashley's legs because they've met several times before.

On the other hand, the other adults are still stunned and haven't done anything yet until Aubrey finally says, "Kids, why don't you bring the stuff to the yard?"

After all of the kids take the bags and run off to the backyard, Cynthia-Rose stands up and walks toward the couple with crossed arms on chest and an eyebrow raised, looking intensely at the very nervous Beca, and then asks flatly, "Yo Beca. You think you can bribe our forgiveness by giving our kids some stuff?"

Feeling that her fiancé is getting more anxious, Ashley takes her hand and squeezes it gently to support her. Then Beca swallows hard and stutters, "I didn't uh... I mean uh... It was uh..."

Upon seeing the smirk growing on Cynthia-Rose's face, Beca let out a relieved sigh, smirks back, and says, "Did it work?"

"It works!" CR exclaims, pulling Beca in a bear hug. "It's so good to see you, Capt!"

"Hey Shortstuff! Prepare yourself for the super beaming hug special from Fat Amy!" Fat Amy rushes her way to them, and engulfs them in her arms, almost picks them up from the floor.

Except Emily, Stacie, Aubrey, and Chloe who have been seeing Beca in a while, the other Bellas follow suit and they end up having group hug, cheering, and greeting their former captain.

Relieved by The Bellas' reaction, Ashley steps back a little to let Beca enjoy her coming back moment.

Moved by her friends' warm welcoming, Beca's eyes become teary, but she plays it off by clearing her throat and says, "Alright. Alright. I know you all miss me so much, but don't push it."

"There she is." Jessica starts cheerfully, and then Bella's Ashley finishes, "Our snarky Captain's back."

Then the room is filled with laughter, while Lily whispers something that people couldn't really decipher, but Beca caught a couple of words; knew, hide, all along. And as usual, it's being ignored by the other Bellas. One by one, they start to get off the tiny brunette and head back to their seat.

Beca takes her time to look at her friends, her family, her sisters, one by one with teary eyes yet joyful smile on her face. She simply stands behind the couch with Ashley standing close to her. How she has missed this group of weirdos more that she's ever thought.

"Don't just stand there with your dumb face, shorty." CR says teasingly, and then she points her chin toward Ashley. "Introduce us to that blonde next to you."

Beca rolls her eyes playfully, and takes Ashley's hand in hers before gesturing her hand to the group and says, "Ashley, this group of weirdos are my family from college. The Bellas."

Then Beca looks at Ashley, smiling fondly before turning her head back to the group, and then shyly says, "Everyone, this is Ashley. My fiancé."

Ashley waves lightly, smiling toward the group, while The Bellas greet her with whistles and cheering.

"Dang!" CR teases. "Didn't think you'd be engaged to this beauty. What's wrong with her?"

While Beca is rolling her eyes again, Ashley simply chuckles, and then Flo says, "Girl like this can be burned to death in my hometown. I was almost being burned to death too."

Then everybody stare at Flo with unreadable expression between sympathetic, amused, confused, or disbelief.

"A girl name Ashley is always a keeper and the lucky one." Bella's Ashley chips in while staring at Jessica fondly.

"I second that." Ashley says cheerfully, holding Beca's arm even tighter, and Beca adds, "She is a keeper. But I'm the lucky one."

"Aw..." The Bellas coo toward the couple.

"Hey, blondie." Fat Amy says, mocking a threatening look toward Beca's fiancé. "I've wrestled crocodiles and dingos before. So, don't even think about hurting our Shortstuff there."

Turning her head toward her fiancé, Ashley replies with a devilish smirk, "If only they knew how much you enjoyed pain, Babe."

Knowing what Ashley meant, Beca is flushing red, earning a whole-heartily laughter from the group, except from Chloe, who started to be so quiet after Beca arrived.

Then Beca notices that Kristen is there too, sitting next to Chloe, holding the redhead's hand tightly. And the tiny brunette becomes not only confused, but also upset because Emily has told her about the frame smashing incident. But she brushes it off and pulls Ashley to take a seat and join the conversation.

"Shorty, Ash, drink is in the kitchen. Help yourself." Stacie said softly toward Beca and Ashley.

When Beca is standing up, Ashley pulls her back down and says, "I'll go. You enjoy your time with your sisters."

Beca smiles and nods to Ashley. Emily immediately walks with Ashley to the kitchen, being hysteric to see the ring.

After that, Beca instantly looks at Chloe and asks, "How are you doing, Chlo?"

"Fine." Chloe replies with a tight smile.

Beca can sense that something is off with the redhead, so she glances sharply toward Kristen and their joined hands. But before she can say anything about it, CR asks, "How's life Capt?"

"Same old." Beca says with a shrug. "I'm more interested in all of your life. I've been missing out."

While Lily is whispering something about a time machine, Jessica says, "You've been missing a lot. But we want to know about your life after Barden."

Beca clears her throat and says, "I know I owe all of you some explanations. But uh... let's not bring something heavy to our reunion. We can talk about me tomorrow."

The Bellas seem to understand, and then one by one, they start to tell the story of their life in the last ten years. Before long, Ashley comes back and hands Beca a glass of ice tea. "Here you go, Babe."

"Thanks, Hon." Beca replies, and then all of the Bellas look at the tiny brunette in confusion.

"No Fat Amy's special tonight, Capt?" CR asks curiously.

"Yeah." Fat Amy chips in. "I made it extra special with the source of my confidence. You know how bombastic the effect is, Shawshank. You've tasted it yourself."

Upon seeing the questioning look from Ashley, Beca says, "You don't want to know." Then she turns to her friends and says, "Nope. I'm driving tonight. So no drinking."

The Bellas simply take her word, and after that, everybody start to spread and talk in smaller groups. Emily immediately pulls Ashley to talk with Jessica and Bella's Ashley while Beca sits on the couch with CR, Stacie, and Fat Amy, letting the other three Bellas bragging about their children.

Although she is talking with her friends, Beca can't help herself to steal glances toward Ashley who's talking animatedly, laughing lightly with the other Bellas. The blonde seems to blend well with The Bellas. When Ashley notices her glance, she shots Beca a wink and then turns back to the conversation, leaving Beca smiling goofily.

"Damn." CR teases the tiny brunette after seeing the glances. "Never thought you'd be smitten over a girl, Capt."

"Shut up." Beca shyly mutters, rubbing her neck with her face flushing red, earning a bark of laughter from her friends.

Apparently, meeting her friends after years isn't as hard as Beca has imagined. They seem to welcome her back as if she was only away for a couple of months, and she couldn't be more thankful for that.

Suddenly, Jesse comes into the living room, heading toward Beca with a huge grin, and then sits in front of the tiny brunette.

"Long time no see, Beca." Jesse says casually. "I have to say. You're a very hard person to meet."

Beca rolls her eyes in annoyance and says, "And you're a very hard person to get rid of."

Noticing that Ashley is glancing worriedly at her, Beca shakes her head subtly and gives her fiancé a reassuring smile.

Jesse turns to look over his shoulder at Ashley, and then turns back to Beca before he says, "No wonder you didn't take me up on my offer for a date back then. I didn't know you were playing for the other team.

Familiar with his cocky personality, Beca scoffs harshly and says, "I didn't take up your offer for dates because you were a jerk. And I can see that you still are."

Stacie, CR, and Fat Amy are aware of the tension, and although they wanted to stay, Beca gestures them with her eyes to leave Jesse and her alone, to which they comply. Then Beca simply stares at the brunette man in upset.

"Whoa, easy there." Jesse says with his goofy grin. "Didn't mean to upset you, Beca."

"Okay. Cut the crap." Beca says bluntly. "I know what you want. But I can't help you."

Jesse chuckles and says, "A bit presumptuous, aren't we? Besides, judging from your car out there, I'd like to think that you could help. What is it today? Audi, or BMW, or Rolls Royce, or Aston Martin? You have more car than you could ever drive in your whole life. So, yeah. I'd really like to think that you could help. Especially when we both can benefit from it."

Raising an eyebrow, Beca coldly says, "Think all the way you want. I stand by my words."

Sighing deeply, Jesse looks at Beca with pleading eyes and says, "Beca, I'm in a lot of troubles. Help me, please. For old time's sake."

Already knew his track record from the information Harvey gathered, Beca looks at him skeptically and says, "It's kind of hard to believe when you've already done that for so many times, Swanson. I've heard some stuff about you. And I've got to say, I'm surprised you still think that people will fall for that."

Forcing puppy dog eyes, Jesse continues his facade and says, "I don't know what you're talking about, Beca. I've changed. And I want to be better. All I need is a chance. We can talk about this some other times. Maybe over coffee, or lunch, or dinner."

"Really?" Beca laughs skeptically at him. "So if I ask you about that mob from Russia that you're in debt with are now chasing down your brother to pay your debt, you'd say that it's not true?"

Taken aback by Beca's knowledge about his life, Jesse remains silent. Beca uses that chance to open another card, "And if I tell you that I know you paid people to fire Benji and not give him any job so you have a friend to share your misery with, you'd say that it's a lie then?"

Upon seeing Jesse's dumbfounded face, Beca scoffs and says, "Thought so. I know you don't come to me only for money, Swanson. You want your mob friends to think that we're friends so you'll have leverage. So they'll come to me instead."

Finally, Jesse drops all of his act and smirks as he says, "Someone has already done her homework."

Sipping her ice tea nonchalantly, Beca says, "You bet. I'm not as easy as the other Bellas, Jesse. They might fall for your puppy eyes and goofy grin, but they don't know what I know. And trust me, I know enough."

Smiling devilishly, without hiding the hint of threat in his voice, Jesse mutters almost in a whisper, "You see, Beca. Not so many people know what happened to you back in college like I do. I visited your old man a couple of years back. I'm sure you know what he's been up to since he got fired five years ago. It will be too bad if someone slip their tongue to the media, and whoosh... I think you know what I mean. So... let's just say that we're trying to help each other."

Even though she is stunned, Beca keeps her bored-looking face. After staring at the brunette man with unreadable face for a couple of seconds, she says, "You know what? I was wrong when I said that I can't help you."

"See?" Jesse smirks smugly. "We have the same interest. We just want to help the people around us."

"Yeah." Beca nods her head with pursed smiling lips. "The truth is, I do can help you. I just do not want to."

Jesse smiles slyly and says, "Careful of your decision, Beca."

"I am." Beca replies calmly. "Have always been. And this is me being careful. I know who you are, Swanson."

"You don't know what I'm capable of." Jesse says fiercely.

"Oh I know." Beca says casually. "But you, clearly don't know what I'm capable of."

A hint of anger flaring up in Jesse's eyes, but he tries to remain nonchalant when he says, "I guess there is no way I could convince you to help an old friend then."

Beca scoffs, mocking a thinking face, and replies, "Oh, let me think. Hmmm... Oh, I would."

When Jesse's eyes widen in surprise, Beca adds, "But I'm completely sure that we were never friends."

Then Jesse stands up, but before he walks away, Beca says, "One more thing, Swanson."

As Jesse looks over his shoulder, Beca calmly says, "If you ever put my friends in danger, or as much as laying your dirty fingers on them, one phone call, and the things you'll get? Let's just say that you will beg me to put you in the worst jail this country has."

As calm as she was, the warning in Beca's tone is obvious. There is a reason Donna calls her Harvey's best pupil.

Jesse simply shrugs and walks away. Upon seeing Jesse walking away, Emily and Ashley immediately come to the brunette.

"Did you set him straight?" Ashley asks with a light smirk.

"Yep." Beca pops the P.

"You didn't give him what he wanted, right?" Ashley asks again.

"Of course not, Hon." Beca replies before sipping her ice tea.

Emily looks at the couple in confusion and asks, "What happened?"

Beca turns to Emily and says, "I've done some background checking on him, Em. Don't trust anything he said. I'll explain everything, but not tonight. Let's not ruin our reunion for a scumbag."

After that, Jesse doesn't dare to talk to Beca for the rest of the night. Then, when The Bellas have already put their own kids to sleep in the guestrooms, the adults could finally start their dinner at the backyard.

Earlier that day, Stacie and Beca had joined a couple of tables at the backyard to fit 20 people on it.

Beca takes a seat on the middle area with Ashley and Emily sitting next to each of her sides.

On the other hand, even though Chloe has been avoiding Beca and Ashley the whole night, the red head takes a seat across the table from Beca, couldn't resist the urge to see Beca from up close. And naturally, Kristen takes a seat next to the redhead.

Everything is going fine, people are chatting with each other, throwing jokes around, but then they stop upon seeing Ashley preparing a plate for Beca.

"Damn, shorty. You two ain't even married yet. But you sure already act like old couple in the 80's." CR says from the end of the table, earning a bark of laughter from everybody.

While Ashley is smiling shyly, Beca raises an eyebrow and replies, "What? You didn't say the same thing for Stacie and Aubrey."

"That's the point, shortstuff." Fat Amy adds. "They're already married. For six years."

"Seems like Beca needs a baby sitter instead of a fiancé." Aubrey chips in, subtly despising the tiny brunette and her fiancé with a joke.

Knowing her wife's intention, Stacie tries to ease the insult by clearing her throat and teasing, "Shorty loves being spoiled."

"Hey!" Emily says, pretending to be upset. "Don't tease Beca that way. She's my Pop."

"See?" Beca lifts up her chin smugly. "Don't mess with the captain. Thanks, Em."

Then Emily smirks and adds, "She might be grumpy, whiny, and look feisty and all. But beneath those dark eyeliner and snarky remarks, she's just as old as Baby Bella. As adults, we do not tease a child."

While everybody are laughing, Beca groans and whines, "Why would I come to this reunion? What day is it? Making fun of the Captain's day?"

"Oh, don't be such a baby, Becs." Chloe chips in cheerfully. "We all know that you're a softy inside. And you love being spoiled."

Beca rolls her eyes and says, "Remind me again why I agreed to come?"

From her seat at the table head, Stacie exclaims, "You love us, shorty!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Beca says in mock annoyance. "Believe anything you want."

Taking advantage of the situation, Bumper demands toward Fat Amy, "See, sweetie? Look how Ashley treated Beca. You should've done the same thing for me."

"Bumper," Fat Amy says with upset tone. "You knew I don't do stuff like that. You should be thankful that this free-range pony who couldn't be tamed, wanted to be tied down with you."

"You're sad, Bumper." Donald jokes, earning a deathly glare from his former captain.

Everybody laugh loudly, and then they all start to eat. The conversations flow naturally around the table.

Bella's Ashley turns to Chloe and asks, "Chloe, you and Kristen have been engaged for a while. When do you plan to have your wedding?"

"Yeah ginger." Fat Amy chips in. "You don't want to be engaged for too long. It's bad enough being a ginger. You don't want to be a single ginger for too long."

"You're right to ask the bride." Kristen replies joyfully. "I'm simply waiting for the instruction."

"Aw..." Flo chips in. "You're so sweet. Willing to wait for so long."

Kristen seems to be happy, hiding her grin with tight lips, but Chloe mutters, "We're uh... we don't want to rush into anything."

All the while, Beca is staring at Stacie with puzzled look, to which she is ignored, and then she looks at Aubrey, who seems to be ignoring her too, has been the whole night actually. But her attention is pulled away when Jessica excitedly asks, "What about you Beca? Have you planned your wedding?"

"We uh..." Beca is trying to gather her thought. "We're planning to have the party by June."

Jessica and Bella's Ashley look at each other, sharing a grin before Bella's Ashley says toward Beca and Ashley, "Well, you know that we're running a wedding organizer. What do you say if we help you to make your dream wedding come true?"

"Hmmm..." Beca is chewing her food. "I don't know. What do you think Hon?"

"Well," Ashley automatically wipes away the sauce on Beca's cheek with a napkin while explaining, "We're having a small wedding. But sure, we'll be glad if you want to help."

"Thanks Hon." Beca says casually while resuming eating, failing to notice how everybody are staring at them.

"There it is again! The old coupley stuff!" Fat Amy exclaims in comic surprise. "You two need to stop doing it. We don't want our spouses start demanding the same thing."

Then Beca swallows her food and smirks as she says, "Suck it up Fat Amy."

And everybody laugh again. Well, everybody but Chloe and Aubrey. After the laughter unwind, Jessica asks the tiny brunette again, "So, about the wedding. How do you want it? Small but elegant I suppose."

Beca waves her fork and says, "Honestly, I prefer to have all of you as my guests at the party instead of being busy organizing stuff at the party."

Before anybody could give another respond, Ashley grabs Beca's hand gently and softly warns, "Babe, if you call our wedding a party once again, you might not be invited."

Beca chokes on her food while everybody else burst in laughter. Then Beca takes the glass of water Ashley handed to her, and drinks it before she says, "Yes, Dear."

"Holy mother!" CR says through her laughter. "You're so whipped, Captain!"

Upon hearing CR's words, Beca turns to stare lovingly at a laughing Ashley. Without taking her eyes away from her fiancé, Beca softly says, "Yeah. She's very bossy, isn't she? I like it. It keeps me in line."

"Careful there Capt." Flo chips in. "You don't want to blow her up with that lovey dovey stare from your eyes."

But Beca keep on staring at her blushing fiancé with a goofy grin, and then leans in closer to whisper, "I love you."

Ashley blushes awfully red from her neck to the tip of her ears, smiling back fondly at Beca, and shyly says, "Dork."

"Your dork forever now." Beca says matter-of-factly. "You agreed to marry me. And I have a full intention to get married only one time for the rest of my life. With you."

It's something new for The Bellas to see how Beca is undeniably open to show her feeling, and it makes them smiling fondly toward their own spouses automatically.

After a while, Jessica, who is in the working mode, asks again, "So, who would you ask to be your bridesmaids?"

Since she has already asked Harvey and Patrick, Beca didn't think that she'd need bridesmaids at all. She smiles weakly and says, "I'd love to ask you all to be my bridesmaids. But it's a small par- uh... wedding. If you're all gonna be my bridesmaids, I'm afraid my guest seats are gonna be empty. Besides, I already asked Harvey and Patrick to be my best men."

"You don't have to pick all of us, shortstuff. Just you know, the one or two that are the closest to you." Fat Amy says with obvious wink, failing to act nonchalant when she mouths not so subtly, Me.

Beca chuckles lightly and says, "I'm really honored you want to be my bridesmaids. But since I don't really have people on my side, I need you all to sit on my guest seats." Then she turns to look at Ashley before she continues, "Don't want my lovely bride to steal all of the seats for her guests."

While Ashley is shrugging smugly, Emily sheepishly says, "Pop, I'm afraid I can't be your guest."

"What do you mean?" Beca asks in confusion. "Are you not coming to the wedding?"

"Nah..." CR chips in. "No way Legacy ain't coming to her Pop's wedding. She is the precious aca-child."

Emily and Ashley change teasing look before the tall brunette cheerfully says, "I will come to your wedding, Pop. But I won't be sitting on your side."

Upon seeing an eyebrow raised on Beca's confused look, Emily smirks and says, "Ashley already asked me to be her bridesmaid. And I said yes."

"What?" Beca gasps over-dramatically before turning to Ashley and asks in mock upset, "You take my aca-child to your side? How dare you?"

"Sorry Babe. But finders keepers." Ashley replies cheerfully.

"Yeah, Pop." Emily says playfully. "Besides, I need to start getting on my stepmother's good side."

Although everybody laugh, again, minus Chloe and Aubrey, Stacie clears her throat, hinting for Beca and Emily to stop the joke about stepmother or the talk about the wedding. Seem to understand the hint, Beca and Emily stir the conversation to other topics.

After dinner, Jesse and Benji excuse themselves, but the others stay to have their usual routine in reunion, and that is a riff-off.

"Alright!" CR starts excitedly. "Let's have the riff off! Team up, pitches! We have..." She counts the people around. "16 people including me."

"Shawshank and Aca-Nazi can be captains." Fat Amy continues. "Start picking your team mates, captains! Starting from Shawshank!"

"Chloe!" Beca exclaims instantly, and Chloe is taken aback. Well, everybody are.

Everybody seem to be stunned, thinking that Beca would've picked her fiancé, but the blonde herself simply gasps over-dramatically and retorts, "How dare you?"

"No offense, Hon." Beca smirks. "You might be my fiancé. But Chloe is my co-captain. And she is the brain to my pinky, my other half in The Bella. I need her by my side. Can't jinx our winning strike over favoritism. I have to pick her first before Aubrey got her chance."

While Ashley is chuckling, Aubrey sees how Chloe is beaming in happiness, unbearable happiness that she hasn't seen in a long time. So Aubrey takes that chance to separate Beca from Ashley completely by saying, "Then I take your fiancé, hobbit. You dare to take my other half, so it's only fair that I take yours."

"Hey!" Stacie exclaims toward her wife in mock upset.

"Go with it." Beca says nonchalantly, earning a playful slap from her fiancé on her arm. Then Beca kisses Ashley's cheek and says, "Next. Chloe and I will never be complete without our aca-child. Em, come to my side."

"Donald!" Aubrey needs the alto.

"Stacie!"

"What?" Aubrey is dumbfounded.

"You're getting slower, Bree." Beca smirks.

"Jessica and our Ashley!"

"What?" This time, Beca is dumbfounded.

"It's odd number anyway." Aubrey shrugs smugly.

"Fine." Beca bites. "CR!"

"Lily!"

"Fat Amy!"

"Flo!"

"Denise!"

"Bumper!" There's no way Beca takes Kristen under her wing even though Bumper isn't any better.

"Kristen!"

"Alright!" CR exclaims. "No rules other than follow the lead. It can be any genre from any century. Let's flip a coin!"

"Head!" Aubrey exclaims immediately.

"Go nuts." Beca says nonchalantly.

"Aaannnd..." CR flips the coin. "We'll start with... Aca-Nazi!"

Aubrey jumps forward and sings, "It's the way you make me feel." And the others start to back her. "Spinning my world around... Tell me how-"

"How do I live without you..." Chloe jumps in, and her team jump right in to back her. "I want to know. How do I breathe without you, if you ever go... How do I ever... ever survive-"

"Survive, I will survive..." Bella's Ashley jumps in. "It took all the strength I had not to fall apart. Kept trying hard to mend the pieces of my broken heart-"

"Heart takes time," This time, Bumper cuts her off. "Half of my heart's got a right mind to tell you that I can't keep loving you (can't keep loving you). Oh, with half of my heart. I was made to believe i'd never love somebody-"

"Somebody to love..." Jessica takes her chance. "I don't need too much, just somebody to love, Somebody to love. I don't need nothing else, I promise girl I swear-"

"Swear to you with all of my heart..." CR sings softly while looking at Denise. "I'm gonna marry your princess and make her my queen. She'll be the most beautiful bride that I've ever seen. I can't wait to smile-"

"Smile like the sun, fall outta bed, sing like a bird," Flo cuts her off. "Dizzy in my head, spin like a record, crazy on a
Sunday night. You make me dance like a fool, forget how to breathe. Shine like gold, buzz like a bee. Just the thought of you can drive me wild. Oh, you make me smile. Even when you're gone-"

"Gone, gone tonight." Fat Amy jumps in. "The fire beneath my feet is burning bright. The way that I've been holding on so tight. With nothing in between. The story of my life. I take her home. I drive all night, to keep her warm, and time is frozen (the story of, the story of). The story of my life. I give her hope. I spend her love-"

"Love you long after you're gone, gone, gone." This time, Kristen takes her chance with her slightly off tune voice, staring at Chloe lovingly. "When you fall like a statue, I'm gon' be there to catch you. Put you on your feet, you on your feet. And if your well is empty, not a thing will prevent me. Tell me what you need, what do you need-"

Chloe doesn't have time to put any attention on Kristen because Beca has jumped right in, rapping, "Need somebody I can build with. I need somebody I can hold tight. With the time and no full limits, no right. Anytime we together would feel so right. You the girl I been lookin for my whole life. God bless me, I'm glad I got the insight. It's-"

Upon seeing the goofy grin the tiny brunette reserves only for her, Beca's fiancé jumps in with another rapping, "It's the little things that you do, that mean so much. It's the care that you put into every touch. It's the way I trust you, and you trust me. I guess some of us are so lucky. I was known for having the upper hand. I was known as a stone cold ladies man. If it wasn't for you, I'd be that way still. But-"

While Beca is chuckling in shaking her head in disbelief at her fiancé, Chloe has jumps in with another rap, "But the smile that she shows makes me a go-getter. I haven't gone as far as asking if I could get with her. I just play it by ear and hope she gets the picture. I'm shootin for her heart, got my finger on the trigger. She could be my broad, and I could be her (nigga). But, all I can do is stare..."

Everybody are too stunned to interrupt for having the redhead rapping before them for the very first time. So Chloe continues until the end, "Back as kids we used to kiss when we played truth or dare. Now she's more sophisticated, highly edu-ma-cated not at all over-rated, I think I need a prayer to get in her boots and it looks rather dry. I guess a twinkle in her eye is just a twinkle in her eye. Although she's crazy steppin, I'll try to stop her stride. Cause I won't have no more of this passin me by."

Just like that, Beca's team win without the captain knowing. The tiny brunette is too busy changing fond look with her fiancé, but then the loud cheering wakes her up.

"We win!" Emily exclaims.

Upon hearing the words, Beca and Chloe automatically find and hug each other, jumping and squealing in each other's arms.

"We win!" Beca exclaims to the redhead with a huge grin.

"We win!" Chloe squeals excitedly.

Then Ashley's smile falters a bit upon seeing the scene, and she isn't the only one who stay silent among the loud crowd. The next second happen so fast but also slow.

While everybody else are cheering, Ashley diverts her eyes away from her fiancé who is hugging her first love. On the other hand, Beca is trying to find her fiancé among the crowd with her eyes. Meanwhile, maybe because of the high of winning, Chloe is leaning closer to kiss the tiny brunette.

Just a split second before Chloe's lips touch Beca's, the tiny brunette's eyes find her fiancé, and she pulls away instantly, didn't even notice how Chloe was so close from kissing her.

Beca rushes her way to Ashley and pulls her in a tight hug as she exclaims, "I didn't know that you can rap!"

With a force cheerful voice, Ashley says, "Well, I still have some stuff up my sleeve, Mitchell."

Barking out a loud laughter, Beca pulls away, resting her hands on Ashley's waist, looking fondly into the blonde's blue eyes and says, "I'd love to know all of the stuff up your sleeve, Miss Benson soon to be Mitchell. Because I love you. And I'll spend the rest of my life finding them out."

Looking at Beca's sincere eyes, Ashley smiles fondly right before Beca leans in and closes the gap between them. Just like that, all of the jealousy in Ashley's chest vanishes into thin air, and she tangles her hands behind Beca's neck, kissing the tiny brunette back passionately.

Meanwhile, Chloe watches the scene before her eyes while her heart shatters into pieces all over again because of loving the very same person. She doesn't stay long to feel her world crumbling down all over again, and walks to the backyard hurriedly.

Nobody else seems to notice that for a split second, there could be a hurricane hitting them right on the face. Everybody are still cheerfully talking about the short riff-off, failing to notice that two person have disappeared.

CR and Fat Amy approach their former captain, who's still kissing her fiancé, and CR teases, "Get a room, Capt."

"Nu uh." Fat Amy pulls Ashley aside. "Drilling time."

Ashley chuckles upon seeing the upset look on Beca, but Fat Amy firmly says toward the tiny brunette, "Go to other place. We, all of the Bellas, need a private time with your fiancé, Shawshank."

When Beca keep on staring at the hilarious blonde firmly, Ashley softly says, "Go Babe. I'll be fine."

Beca sighs in half-annoyance and kisses Ashley's cheek before turning to CR and Fat Amy. "I will hold you both guilty if my fiancé gives back my ring by the end of the night."

"Not gonna happen Babe." Ashley tries to hold her laughter. "Go do something else."

Then Beca decides to go to the front porch, thinking that she needs a space to gain back her introverted self some energy. Surprisingly, she found Kristen there, sitting alone by the stairs on the front porch.

Beca takes a seat at the other end of porch, still on the same level of stairs with Kristen. They stay silent for a while until at some point, Beca firmly says, "I know what you did to Chloe."

Without looking at the tiny DJ, Kristen says, "So?"

"If you ever pull some shit like that again to Chloe," Beca says fiercely with low tone. "If you ever, ever hurt her again, just be sure that I will hurt you ten times worse."

This time, Kristen looks back at Beca angrily, leaning closer as she dangerously says, "You, have no right to tell me anything about Chloe. If you haven't realized, you, are the one who hurt her over and over again. Who left her, time and time again. Who didn't realize just how worthy she is by choosing someone else."

Beca is taken aback slightly, so Kristen continues with anger written all over her face and voice, "So don't you ever, ever, ever, talk to me about how to love Chloe. Because you know nothing about it. Nothing."

With that being said, Kristen stands up and walks back into the house, leaving a very stunned Beca on the front porch, absorbing Kristen's words into her mind. She takes her time to think before eventually making her way back into the house around an hour later.

---

Meanwhile, Chloe is at the backyard by herself. She just sits on the bench, staring at the sky while her mind trails its way back to the whole reunion from the beginning. From the second Beca walked into the living room, Chloe couldn't stop her heart from fluttering, racing, somehow in joy, but also anxiously.

She was torn to see the happiness Beca showed while introducing Ashley. She wanted to be happy for the tiny brunette, but she couldn't shake off the feeling of betrayal; the hurt of being left, of not being not chosen, again.

There was a moment when Beca stared at Kristen with despise, and Chloe's heart jumped, thinking that the tiny brunette was most likely feeling jealous. Her logical thinking did give her a reminder.

Why would Beca feel jealous of Kristen? She loves Ashley.

However, Chloe managed to put that thought aside, spending almost all night joined on the hips with Kristen just for a split second of satisfaction of seeing Beca in jealousy.

Through dinner, Chloe had to endure all the pain of her decision to sit in front of Beca and Ashley, looking at how they moved and interacted so naturally as a couple.

Thankfully, Kristen saw through her and kept on squeezing her hand under the table, or kissed her temple to distract her attention from the tiny brunette.

Chloe tried though, to be her cheerful self by joining the conversation when the Bellas were teasing the tiny brunette. But that was the only time.

After the talk about the wedding emerged, she felt like ripping someone's throat, and when Emily said something about stepmother, she almost jumped forward to tear the youngest Bella apart if not for Kristen's hand in hers, holding her tightly.

She admitted it now, the decision to keep the other Bellas in the dark is the wrong one. Beca was supposed to deal with consequences of leaving them; leaving her. The tiny brunette needed to suffer the pain from her own act, like Chloe has suffered all this time.

Her decision to keep her situation with Beca and Kristen gave no room for The Bellas to stand on her side, to be angry with the two people that hurt her the most; Kristen who loves her selfishly, and Beca who loves herself selfishly.

However, her anger vanished the second Beca chose her first for the riff-off. It was so easy for her at that moment to forget about all of her pain when Beca openly chose her, not Ashley, in front of their sisters.

A smile appears on Chloe's face as the speech Beca gave, stating that she is the tiny brunette's other half came into her mind. It's sweet and heart moving, especially for Chloe's heart that is really a goner when it comes to Beca.

Chloe could still feel the warmth of Beca's joyful hug after they won the riff-off. They almost kissed if not for Ashley's presence that distracted the tiny brunette.

The redhead is so absorbed in her thought that she doesn't realize Ashley has come out too to get some air. She is startled to hear Ashley's voice from behind, playfully saying, "I knew someone was missing in my drilling session. Turns out you're out here."

As Ashley takes a seat next to the redhead, Chloe gives her a weak smile and says, "I believe my sisters have already done a very good job without me. Have they scared you off?"

"Yeah, they were kind of scary." Ashley jokes. "But it will take more than a village of sisters to scare me off." Then she sighs in contently. "Besides, I've never seen Beca so comfortable in a large group of people. So, even though I got drilled, I'm glad that we came."

Chloe looks at Ashley in confusion and curiously asks, "Doesn't she has some friends in the last couple of years?"

"Well, you know Beca." Ashley says softly. "She could be surrounded by many people, yet still manage to keep her tight personal bubble. After years being together, my friends has become hers, but she's only close to Troian and Patrick. Before us, she was alone for a long time. The people from her life that I've got to meet were Donna, Harvey, Stephan, and her mom's grave. So, yeah. I'm more than happy to see her interacting freely around the people she considers a family. It's something that I knew I'd always cherish."

"Hmmm..." Chloe hums in approval and then turns to look back at the sky. One of the great things about Chloe, and that is also her weakness, is the ability to feel differently about something so easily.

After a while, Chloe softly mutters, "I'm sorry."

Knowing that Chloe is apologizing for the kiss, Ashley says, "I'm sorry too."

Confused, Chloe turns to look at the blonde with furrowed eyebrows and asks, "What for?"

After taking a deep breath, Ashley softly says, "I don't know. But I think it must've been hard for you since, you know, you're in love with her too."

Chloe chuckles lightly and says, "I kind of understand why she loves you."

"What do you mean?" Ashley asks in confusion.

"I kissed your fiancé." Chloe says matter-of-factly. "Well, girlfriend back then, on your 5th anniversary. And here you are, apologizing to me."

With a light shrug, Ashley says, "It's complicated. I guess. Especially since I knew her story with you in college. In fact, I should be thanking you."

"For?"

"She told me everything, Chloe." Ashley says with a light smile. "I should be thanking you for not making it harder for her. So, thank you."

Upon hearing Ashley's words, Chloe remembers that Aubrey said the same thing to Kristen when they broke up. She chuckles lightly at the irony, and then, using the same thing Kristen told Aubrey, Chloe says, "Well, for what it's worth, someone did say that if you love someone, you don't hold them back from the love they deserve, the life they want."

Smiling softly, Ashley pats Chloe's hand and says, "Thank you. I will love her the best way I can."

"You better." Chloe says with her eyes boring into Ashley's. "Because I'm gonna need you to take care of her, love her, and stay with her no matter what."

Although she isn't sure of Chloe's reaction, Ashley nods nevertheless.

Then Chloe grabs Ashley's hand and firmly says, "I need your word, Ash. I need you to promise me that you'll never leave her again, no matter what happen between you two. She needs you."

Becoming unsettled of Chloe's words, Ashley couldn't help but worry. However, when Chloe's grip on her hand become tighter, Ashley answers, "Don't worry, Chloe. I will stay with her."

After sighing in relief, Chloe smiles and says, "Thank you."

Suddenly they heard someone calls out from behind, a familiar voice that they both love the most.

"Everything okay here?" Beca asks cautiously, walking toward Ashley and Chloe.

The two women turns their head around instantly and look at the tiny brunette. The same loving gaze from Ashley and Chloe stun Beca and stop her on her track.

"Okay." Beca mutters under her breath with her eyebrows raised. "This is weird."

Hearing a faint voice that she couldn't hear clearly, Ashley asks, "What did you say Babe?"

"Uh... Nothing Hon." Beca replies nervously. "I'm here to ask if you're ready to go home."

"Sure." Ashley stands up, and then hugs Chloe before saying, "It's good to see you again, Chloe. Thank you for everything. And uh... I'm sorry. For... everything."

Chloe being Chloe, she hugs the blonde back and says, "It's good to see you too, Ash. Please remember what I said."

Ashley nods lightly, smiling unsurely toward the red head, but Beca is already by her side, seeming so nervous with her hands in her pockets as she says, "Uhm... See you around, Chlo."

Then Chloe hugs Beca tightly, lingering longer than usual before she says, "Take care Becs."

"You too." Beca says as she hugs Chloe back and pats the redhead's back gently.

Then Beca and Ashley say goodbye to The Bellas and go home.

---

Ashley and Beca's Mansion: After Reunion

Once they are already on bed and snuggling up to each other, Beca kisses Ashley's crown and says, "Thanks for doing it with me Hon."

Resting her chin on Beca's shoulder, Ashley smiles and says, "I'm happy I went with you. You were beaming tonight, Babe. You still are."

Beca smiles fondly and says, "It feels so good being around them again. I didn't even realize that I'd missed them so much until I met them again."

"I'm happy for you."

Out of curiosity upon seeing Ashley and Chloe together, Beca asks, "What did you talk about with Chloe?"

"Hmmm..." Ashley teases her fiancé that seems to be nervous. "Just the same thing we both love the most."

"And what is it?"

Ashley taps Beca's nose and says, "You."

Beca looks at Ashley with her eyebrows furrowed as she asks, "And you're okay with that?"

"With what?"

"With the fact that she loves me too?"

Smiling softly toward Beca, Ashley patiently explains, "Babe, I can't stop anybody from loving you. Anyone can love you in any way they want. What matters is how you feel. And now, I'm more than sure and glad that it's me is you choose to love; to be with."

A familiar warm feeling begin to fill into Beca's chest, forming a fond smile on her face as she says, "Have I told you that I'm the luckiest person alive because you love me?"

"Hmmm..." Ashley mocks a thinking face and replies playfully, "Several times. But I don't mind to hear it more often."

Beca laughs lightly and then says, "You are the best, Ashley Benson. I'm the luckiest person alive because you love me."

"Tell me more about it." Ashley replies with a smirk on her face.

"Huh." As the words Ashley just said sink into her mind, Beca teasingly says, "So you don't mind if other people flirt with me then."

"I said love, Babe." Ashley rolls her eyes in half-annoyance. "Not flirt. Don't push it."

Beca chuckles and says, "Okay. You're weird. But I love you."

When Beca said weird, the unsettled feeling comes back to Ashley. She purses her lips, thinking if she should tell Beca about her thought, and in the end, she decides to go with it. "Do you think Chloe took it well? Seeing us together again after uh... you know, the kiss and us getting back together?"

"Uhm... I don't know." Beca says casually. "You're the one who talked to her. She seemed... pretty fine. I think. Why?"

Sighing deeply, Ashley sucks her teeth and then says, "I don't know. But uh... there is this feeling I just can't shake off."

Knowing that Ashley has always had a great instinct, Beca couldn't help but a little bit worried as she asks, "What feeling?"

"I'm not sure, Babe. It's just..." Ashley says hesitantly. "Is it just me, or she seemed uh... too calm over this? I mean, I'm glad that she did, but still... mmm... maybe it's just me."

Although she could feel the same thing, Beca sighs and says reassuringly, "I'm sure she's just taking her time to deal with it in her own way, Hon. Chloe... she has always been selfless and kind. Besides, she's got Aubrey and Stacie. So, I won't be too worried about her."

"Hmmm." Ashley sighs. "Okay."

Then they lay on bed in silent. Beca is humming lightly, while Ashley is rubbing Beca's upper left chest absentmindedly. Suddenly, Ashley asks, "Oh, by the way Babe, when will you tell The Bellas about Jesse?"

"Hmmm..." Beca purses her lips. "Tomorrow I suppose. We're going to the beach, and the boys aren't coming with us."

"Okay then."

After a moment of silent, Beca gently pulls away and lays on her stomach half on top of Ashley. She doesn't do anything else but staring into Ashley's eyes so tenderly. Then she tucks a strain of hair to the back of the blonde's ear, and then caresses her cheek gently.

A rush of warmth fills Ashley's chest upon seeing the love in Beca's eye. There is nothing to say because their eyes show it all.

"How's your day Hon?" Beca asks softly.

"It was great." Ashley says contently. "Work was fine. Other than Shay's constant staring, it all went well. And the reunion... it was fun. You have the best friends Babe. They love you so much."

Beca chuckles and says, "Told you. I'm the luckiest person alive. How was the drilling session?"

"It was eye opening." Ashley says teasingly. "So... about the confidence from Fat Amy..."

With a loud bark of laughter, Beca exclaims, "She told you!"

Ashley laughs lightly and says, "I asked. And Lily is... interesting. Has someone ever heard of the word she said?"

"Nope."

"And Jessica and Ashley..." The blonde says with wide eyes. "They are... awesome. They finished each other's sentence, they said the same thing, the just... synced?"

"Yep." Beca pops the P. "Have always been. Back in college, I wasn't even know which one is who."

"I don't blame you." Ashley giggles lightly. "And CR? She's cool."

"She is." Beca says smugly. "Every each of them is cool."

"But Aubrey is a little..." Ashley cringes her face.

"She could be intense." Beca smiles softly. "But she is a good person."

Ashley nods absentmindedly, and then, with a fond smile, she says, "And their kids... They have great children."

Upon seeing the fond eyes, Beca clears her throat and says, "We can have some. You know, if you uh... want to."

Ashley eyes widen in surprise as she exclaims, "Really?"

"Really." Beca smiles fondly.

Then Ashley kisses Beca passionately and says, "You are the very best. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Hon." Beca replies as soft, her heart blown up upon seeing the beam of happiness pouring out from Ashley.

"And how was your day?"

"Hmmm..." Beca purses her lips. "It was a great day. Awesome even."

Sensing that there's more to that, Ashley says, "But...?"

Beca sighs deeply and says, "It's Kristen."

"What about her?" Ashley asks cautiously.

Then Beca tells the blonde about her short encounter with Chloe's fiancé; about her confusion of their status; about her thought after Kristen left her at the front porch.

Ashley listens to her closely, and after Beca finished, she says, "Well, I think it's normal for you to be protective over Chloe. I mean, you've always been more protective to Junk. And judging by how close you two were back in college... you did the thing as her best friend."

"But what she said about me hurting Chloe..." Beca sighs. "I hurt her over and over again, Hon. And I don't know how to make it right to her."

With a sympathetic smile, Ashley says, "You'll find the way Babe."

"I hope so." Beca replies sadly. Then she kisses Ashley gently on her forehead, her eyelids, the tip of her nose, her cheeks, her chin, and then the last one, her lips, before she pulls back and softly says, "Goodnight Hon. I love you. Always."

"Goodnight Babe. I love you too. Always." Ashley replies before snuggling up onto Beca's chest. Not long after, they fall asleep around 3 AM.

---

Ashley and Beca's Mansion: Sunday Morning, November 2nd 2025.

The ringing from Beca's phone pulls Ashley out from her slumber. At first, she chose to ignore it, but when it keep on ringing, she groans and whines, "Babe, your phone."

The steady breaths from the brunette chest is prove enough that they could be having an apocalypse, yet Beca would stay in her slumber. So Ashley takes Beca's phone and sees Stacie's face on the screen.

Not the type of person who pick up her fiancé's phone without permission, Ashley tries to wake the brunette up. She sleepily shakes Beca's shoulder, pinches her nose, bites her cheek, and tickles her ear, but she fail miserably. Finally admitting defeat, she knew that there is only one way to wake Beca up, and that is by kissing her lips.

It doesn't take long until Beca kisses her back and the kiss becomes more heated. But then Beca's phone rings again for the umpteenth times.

"Babe... Your phone." Ashley breathes out while Beca is exploring her breast with her lips.

"Let it be." Beca mumbles without stopping.

"But-" Ashley starts, but when Beca pulls her nipple with her lips, Ashley moans and complies. However, Beca's phone rings again in a matter of seconds.

While Ashley is chuckling upon seeing the annoyance in Beca's face, Beca groans loudly, pulls herself up from Ashley, grabs her phone, and answers, "This better be... wait. Stace, slow down!... ... ... She what?!... ... I'm on my way."

Upon seeing the mixture of panic, shock, and fear in Beca's face, Ashley immediately put her own hand on Beca's left chest and says, "Babe, breathe. Your heart is pounding heavily. I need you to breathe."

Beca takes long deep breath several times to calm her heartbeat before she says, "Chloe..."

---

And that would be chapter 21. It's long. The longest one so far. I know. You can expect that the next one is longer. Jesse's rendezvous won't end here. And... Chloe. I hang it over the cliff until the next chapter. The next chapter will be... a mess. The hell will break loose. And I have to apologize in advance. Since it's Chinese new year, and I'm celebrating, I'll be able to update again next week maybe on Wednesday or Thursday.

Until then, sit tight and make good choices. Thank you for reading :)

P.S. For the songs in this chapter, they are Rockstar by Emily Kinney; It's The Way You Make Me Feel by Steps; How Do I Live Without You by LeAnn Rhimes; I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor; Half Of My Heart by John Mayer; Somebody To Love by Justin Bieber; Marry Your Daughter by Brian McKnight; Smile by Uncle Kracker; Story of My Life by OneD; Gone, Gone, Gone by Phillip Phillips; I Need a Girl by P. Diddy feat. Usher and Loon; One Love by Whodini; and Passing Me By from The Pharcyde.