A/N: This chapter clocks in at just under 10,000 words so I hope you're settled!
Also, this chapter creeps dangerously close to an 'M' rating (I think?) aaand there are several swear words towards the end.

Epilogue XXI - Beca's Day

Beca picked up her satchel and slung it over her head onto her shoulder, wincing slightly at the weight of it, having filled it with important paperwork yesterday. The paperwork. All the plans and documents that confirmed tonight's main event. She was going to propose to Chloe tonight.

Beca checked her phone to see the time. 7am. The car was picking her up from The Rubix at 8am to take her over to work. Time enough to meet Jason, the bar manager, and put the final touches to tonight's arrangements. "Chlo I'm now leaving," Beca said as she strode through to the bedroom at the back of their little apartment, nudging through the door and smiling softly as she saw her girlfriend sat up in their bed, filtering through Pinterest on her iPad. Alba lay sprawled on Chloe's lap, snoozing while the redhead traced her slender fingertips across the fur of the puppy's head.

Beca suddenly felt nervous as her girlfriend turned to look at her with a bright smile. That smile that made her melt whenever it was sent her way. That smile that had always made her melt, even if Beca had been annoyed with Chloe during their college years. She noticed the top of the hot water bottle poking from the top of the bedcovers that Chloe had covering the lower part of her body. For some reason Beca always felt guilty whenever her girlfriend came on her period. Chloe always laughed and called her ridiculous each time Beca apologised, but the brunette always felt she needed to, because for as long as Beca had been 'of that age' she had never had a regular cycle. She could go two, three, even four months without a period and feel like she had cheated at life in some way.

She admitted to herself that that was probably one of the reasons why she'd never envisioned herself having children. Back when she'd been straight and the societal expectation was that she'd meet a guy at college, settle down with him immediately after graduation, and she'd have several of his babies. Not so easy to fall pregnant if you don't know when your 'fertile window' is. She hated that she even knew the term 'fertile window' but she had Jesse to thank for that. He'd been pretty obsessed at one point, in their third year together, about what would happen one day when they'd start trying for children. But she needn't worry about that any more. Beca and Chloe had spoken about the reality of Beca's weird unpredictable cycle and Chloe had simply said that she would happily carry their children when they were ready to take that step.

"I'll see you tonight yeah?" Beca asked as she approached the bed, leaning over to place a chaste kiss on Chloe's lips while her girlfriend let out an "Mmhmm!" Alba shot up, tail wagging, scrambling to lick Beca's chin. Beca chuckled as she scratched the puppy's back, "And I'll see you tonight when Mommy and I get back from dinner!"

Beca wasn't due to start work until 10am today, but she wanted to give Chloe the impression that she had a super long and busy day ahead, which was why they were meeting at 9pm for dinner and why she was going into work on a Saturday. Not because The Rubix had agreed to only do an early dinner service this Saturday night for customers so they could close and set up the bar for Beca's planned proposal.

Beca turned to grab a long bag that hung on the curtain rail and had some clothes in it. Unbeknownst to Chloe these were the clothes Beca planned on wearing tonight, but she had told her girlfriend they were for an important client meeting that she needed to attend this afternoon. "Are you nervous?" She heard Chloe ask kindly and Beca paused as she pulled down the hanger that the clothes bag hung from.

"Um…" Yeah she was nervous. Really nervous. But not for the reason Chloe thought she was. "Yeah I am actually. This is a really big deal." Beca watched her girlfriend scoop their puppy off her lap and plop her down on Beca's side of the bed before crawling out from under the bedcovers and stepping up to her. Alba jumped down from the bed with a loud tumble and scampered up to her owners.

"I'm sure…" Chloe began as she brought her hands to Beca's hips, "you'll get the outcome you're looking for." And Beca found her heart racing far faster than necessary as Chloe also placed a chaste kiss on her lips, smiling brightly again as she brought her face back, "Anyone who says no to you is crazy, because you're aca-awesome!" And Beca grinned slightly as she watched her girlfriend step away from her, waving her hands as she spoke animatedly, "But then again, I'm pretty biased" the redhead said with a giggle and a wink, before letting a gentle squeak out as she almost tripped over their puppy.

"Are you doing much with your day today?" Beca asked casually as she grabbed a few hair grips from the dresser in the corner of the room and shoved them into her jacket pocket.

"Welllll Alba and I will probably pop down to the little theatre to see how rehearsals are going." The redhead said as she slid back into bed, returning the hot water bottle to her lower abdomen, and pulling the bedcovers back over her lower body. Alba let out a whine and a little yap as she looked up at Chloe, trying to assess if she could jump up onto the bed or not. Chloe let out a little giggle, reaching down to scoop their puppy back up onto the bed as she spoke, "then I think we'll just be pottering about doing some housework. I have to call Mom at three…"

Beca quickly looked from Alba to Chloe with a furrowed brow, her stomach knotting, "Wha- um…why do you need to call your Mom?" She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. Sue Beale wouldn't call Chloe about their engagement would she? Beca hadn't told any of their friends or family that she was proposing to Chloe tonight.

"Because I haven't spoken to her in a week? She was away on that paper-cutting course in Atlanta remember?" Chloe said with a giggle. Beca remembered alright. Because as fate would have it Beca's stepmother, Sheila, had also been on that paper-cutting course. And not only that, the two women had been sat next to each other! It wasn't until the third day apparently that Sheila had plucked up the courage to ask Sue Beale if she was related to Chloe Beale and the rest was history. The two women had got on like a house on fire. Chloe had been delighted. Beca still didn't know how to feel about it.

"Right, yeah. Well say hi to her for me." Beca said as she began making her way out of the bedroom.

"Will do!" Chloe replied cheerfully, reaching for her cup of coffee that stood on the bedside table, pushing Alba gently away from her chest as the puppy tried to get to the liquid to sniff it, before glancing back at the bedroom door with raised eyebrows, "Um…aren't you forgetting something?"

Beca grinned as she paused outside the door she had just left the room through, and dashed back in. She placed a longer kiss on Chloe's lips, noting the taste of fresh coffee, and finishing it with another quick peck before leaning back slightly. "Much better" the redhead cooed with a warm smile and Beca felt her heart skip a beat. The next time she kissed Chloe she would hopefully be her fiancée.

The romantic moment was short-lived however, because the silence was cut by Alba who had managed to use this opportunity to investigate the cup of coffee that her Mommy held on her lap, and the puppy proceeded to lap noisily at the warm liquid within the ceramic vessel. The two women equally cried "Nooooo!" and laughed as they pushed the puppy away from Chloe and her cup of coffee.

"You'd better go to work or you'll be late." Chloe giggled as she placed the cup on the bedside table, "I'll see you tonight at 9?"

"Yeah good luck with the rest of your day now our puppy is hocked up on caffeine!" Beca chuckled and she wandered out of the bedroom towards the front door, hearing Chloe sweetly telling their puppy off.

"Love you!" she heard her girlfriend yelling out to her, as was Chloe's usual farewell whenever Beca went out to work. Her reason behind it was pretty morbid. She always stated that if something were to happen to her or Beca she would always want the last thing said to be "I love you".

"Love you too, weirdo!" Beca yelled back, grabbing her keys that lay by the door, and she left the apartment.

"How are you feeling?" Jason, the manager of The Rubix Bar, asked Beca as he pulled her into a brief hug as a form of greeting, before stepping apart.

"Yeah, alright. Nervous. But alright." Beca replied. They stood in the middle of the cavernous room, looking at their surroundings. There was clattering from the kitchen at the back of the building as the chefs unloaded an early morning delivery, and some of the bar staff were stocking up the fridges behind the bar. Beca knew all of them, her and Chloe being regulars at the establishment for three years now. Beca had no idea how they were possibly going to make this romantic in the hour the staff had between closing the doors to the public and Chloe turning up. But she trusted the team here at The Rubix, and she trusted Jason to coordinate it well.

"So we'll be clearing all the tables and chairs, except for your table." Jason explained as he motioned to Beca and Chloe's table in the corner, "and the band's piano is being delivered to us this afternoon. I've arranged for my brothers to help get it up onto the stage." Jason continued, motioning to the small stage that stood in the opposite corner of the room. Beca nodded but bit her bottom lip thoughtfully. She had no idea how they were possibly going to get a piano up there, but if Jason was in charge he'd find a way. The middle-aged man turned to her, hands on his hips, "Now, how do you want the room to be lit?"

"Uh…" Beca stuttered, looking around the room. She was rubbish at visuals. This was why Chloe had always been in charge of choreography back in their days at Barden. Why she had always been in charge of decorating the Bella house during holiday seasons. Why she had always been the instigator when it came to decorating their Brooklyn apartment. Beca gave her the money and Chloe bought what she thought was required. Beca trusted her judgement. Now Beca had to be the one making the decisions, and it kinda terrified her.

"Can I make a suggestion?" The man offered and Beca let out a sigh of relief.

"Yes please."

"Fairy lights. But not indoor ones, they won't show up well in here. Outdoor fairy lights. And maybe a few lampshades? It'll give this area a really nice homely feel. Romantic lighting. Nothing like these gaudy lamps we have over the tables here." Beca looked around as Jason motioned to the current lights and was a bit surprised by his comment. She'd always liked the lighting in here. But perhaps he was right, it wasn't exactly romantic. This was why she'd needed his help. Arranging the band had been tough, but not impossible. This, however, was out of her skill set. "I've no idea how many sets of fairy lights you'll need but it won't be just a couple. It'll cost quite a bit."

"I don't care how much it'll cost. So long as it looks romantic." Beca said, turning to the man beside her, "Would you mind getting them? I just have so much to do today."

"Of course! I wasn't expecting you to provide them Beca. Once breakfast service is in full swing I'm planning on popping out and sourcing the lights and picking up that wine you requested." Beca had asked Jason a few weeks ago when she had decided she would propose to Chloe here, if it was possible to get the rosé that she and Chloe had drank on their first date in London last year. Jason had come back to her several days later and announced her had found a wine dealer that had a box of six bottles that could be sent over to Brooklyn. Beca felt as though she was forever indebted to him.

"Thank you. Just email me an invoice or something and I'll pay you for them" Beca said and Jason nodded with a smile before returning his focus on the room.

"Marco is already downtown at the Flower District picking the gerberas up" he said and Beca couldn't help the "Wow. Early." that slipped out of her mouth. Marco, Jason's partner, was more excited about this proposal than anybody else. He had been feverishly emailing Beca with different ideas on how to dress The Rubix over the past week since finding out the proposal was happening, so much so that Beca had had to mute any emails that came through from him. "Got to get in there early, especially on a Saturday, or all the good flowers go." Jason informed her brightly.

"Right. Yeah, I guess so." And the two fell silent as they looked around the room. The reality of what this evening was going to entail was slowly dawning on Beca. She had the support of the team here at The Rubix Bar (and Jason's partner) with regards to the actual proposal and meal following. And she had the support of Kodaline, the band she had been coordinating with for a few weeks now. All she needed now was Chloe.

"Okay so, if you guys just hang here for a bit. She'll come down the steps over there," Beca said to the three men stood before her, one holding a guitar, and she motioned to her apartment block down the street behind them, "and walk this way. Then you just do everything exactly like we rehearsed it." And the men nodded.

It was a big risk they were taking. The band had been rehearsing in Ireland over the past few weeks. They'd arrived in NY a few days ago and Beca had hired the local community theatre near to her apartment to help them rehearse the timings of the music. Chloe had fortunately been at work yesterday so they had been able to do a walk-through of the entire route from their position here, round to The Rubix Bar. The only thing Beca had been worried about was the weather. If it rained, they wouldn't be able to use the two piano's she had hired to be played in the street. Fortunately it was a beautiful September evening, and the sun was beginning to set.

"Got your mics?" Beca asked and the men checked the small battery packs they hand clipped onto the front of their jeans. It had been decided in the week that the best way the other musicians knew when to join in at the correct time was to have three members of the band wear mics, "Great. Please don't forget to turn them on!" And the men chuckled, telling her they wouldn't and trying to reassure her with an "everything's going to be okay Beca".

Beca gave them a thumbs up and began walking down the street away from them, checking her phone as she did so. 8.30pm. If she knew her girlfriend well enough the redhead would be leaving in the next ten minutes, never liking to be late for anything. She paused at the violinist who sat at the bottom of the steps of another apartment block, checking that she had her earpiece in and switched on and the violinist checked before giving her a thumbs up.

Beca continued to make her way round to The Rubix Bar, checking with each musician as she passed them if they were okay and had their earpieces in and switched on. She finally arrived at the bar and stepped through the door. It wasn't the first time she'd seen the room since the team had set it up for the proposal, but it still took her breath away. The outdoor fairy lights were a good call, lighting up the cavernous room beautifully. The room looked so much bigger now that there only stood one table in it. Hers and Chloe's table. Beca fished in her pants pocket and pulled out the small black box, opening it up and checking the ring was still there. Her heart was racing. Chloe was going to love it. She hoped. It wasn't a diamond, it was a sapphire. Blue, the colour that suited the redhead so much. She hoped Chloe liked it. For what it was worth it was sat amongst small diamonds? So technically there were diamonds on this engagement ring.

She'd been faced by so many engagement rings when she went to pick one out for Chloe a couple of weeks ago. But after several failed days searching for the right one her eyes had fallen on this. And she'd immediately fallen in love with it. Never mind the cost (and it was the most expensive thing Beca had ever bought) because Chloe deserved the best. She snapped the box closed and took a deep nervous breath as Jason and Marco breezed up to her with broad smiles on their faces.

"Are you ready?" Marco asked eagerly, reaching out and taking hold of Beca's upper arms, holding her at arms length and inspecting her facial expression, as though expecting the brunette to burst into tears. But Beca just looked startled at the man's action so cleared her throat.

"Um, yeah…I guess?" Beca managed, as Jason nudged his partner and gave him a look as if to say "put the poor woman down" and Marco dropped his hands to his sides and smiled brightly.

"She's going to love it Beca." Jason said reassuringly, and took one last glance around the room before giving her a nod.

A chime rang around the room and Marco pulled his phone out of his pocket, gasping as he read the message that had been sent to him, "Oh my God this is it! She's just left the apartment!" Marco said excitably.

Marco had put his sister on 'Chloe watch' from about 5pm, a time and action that Beca had insisted was highly unnecessary, but the man had equally insisted that they should make the most of his sister living in the apartment next door to the hers and Chloe's. Jason took a deep intake of breath, gave Beca a wink and wished her luck before dragging his partner to the kitchen where the rest of The Rubix Bar team were situated. All that was left in the room was Beca and the pianist required to play the final part of the song on the piano in the corner of the room.

"You all good Beca?" the man asked politely with a smile.

"Yeah… You?" she replied with a deep breath and the man gave her a thumbs up. The room was so quiet that suddenly the noticeable sound of Kodaline's frontman Steve's voice could be heard through the pianist's ear-piece as he began to sing and Beca's heart began to ram hard against her chest. This was it. Four weeks of hard work, late nights, hard rehearsals, secrecy and coordination culminated in the next five minutes. All she needed now was for Chloe to say yes.

"That's how I know you are the one." Beca heard the front door of the bar open, and she knew in an instant it was Chloe.

"That's how I know you are the one."

Beca's heart jumped into her throat as she saw Chloe slowly walk into the building, the piano playing delicately from the corner as the song finally came to a close. Beca was frozen to the spot, not that she'd ever intended on moving, and she bit her bottom lip with a grin as she saw Chloe approach her curiously. The sight of her girlfriend was made all the more intense and wonderful thanks to the low lighting from the fairy lights and lamps that lit the room. She could still see the redhead's bright blue eyes shining out at her from beyond the tears that were falling down her face. Chloe knew what this was about, she could tell, but it didn't surprise her when the woman asked quietly, "What's all this?"

Beca pulled herself together and released a small smile, shrugging slightly, "You wanted it to be memorable." She brought her hand to her pants pocket, wrapped her fingertips around the small black box, and pulled it out. Beca noticed the way Chloe's eyes widened as they latched onto the box and she wondered if she held her breath she might be able to hear her girlfriend's heart thudding against her chest, such was the rate that the redhead was breathing at. But Beca's own heart rate was speeding along and the petite woman had to take a deep breath to give herself the courage to say everything that she had rehearsed in her head, day after day, week after week, month after month, since deciding that she was going to propose.

"Chloe it's exactly seven years today – in fact probably seven years to the minute - that you barged into my shower at Barden and forced me to audition for the Bella's. And…well... if you'd told me seven years ago that that crazy, smiley, eager, beautiful red head would one day be the woman that I would fall in love with. Build a life with. Get a dog with."

Beca heard Chloe let a happy giggle slip from her mouth that was damp from the tears that had been falling down her cheeks and she thought that would've got a small laugh out of her girlfriend. Because it had always amused Chloe that at one point Beca had been adamant they were never getting a dog. Yet now Beca could imagine their life without Alba.

"Well I would've never believed you... But here we are. And…its crazy because I know how different I've become over the years that I've known you…different for the better." Beca had been desperate to tell Chloe this for years now, but she had never found the right opportunity without it sounding insincere. She was different. And not in an 'oh it's just growing up!' kind of way. She was more accepting of people, she was kinder, she asked questions to further a conversation with someone instead of just one-word answers, she actually sent birthday cards to people now (well…she signed the bottom of the birthday cards that Chloe sent out to people from them, but that still counted!) and it was all thanks to the woman stood before her. Chloe, whether she was aware of it or not, had made her a better person. And Beca felt she had to tell her that. Even if it was just this once.

"You've made me a better person, but at the same time you've never expected me to change. And that's something I've always loved about you. You've always accepted me for who I am, and have opened me up into a nicer person." Beca's heart was now racing so much that she was beginning to lose track of her words. Not even the eye contact that she clung to with the redhead could keep her nerves at bay. So she stumbled over her final few words, "And…um…you just make me really happy. Happier than anything. So I guess what I'm trying to ask is…"

This was it. Now or never. The one thing Beca of old had never expected to ask anyone. And yet it was, truly, the only thing she wanted to ask the woman stood before her now. Her girlfriend. Her Chloe. "…will you marry me?"

And Beca didn't even have time to hold her breath before Chloe blubbed out a loud "yes" whilst throwing her arms around her neck. It was as though it happened in slow motion and Beca's heart went from racing fast to practically stopping in a matter of moments. Because her fiancée's enthusiasm and excitement had caused her to knock the small box out of Beca's hand and onto the floor. Beca had no idea where to look first and found herself cursing under her breath over and over as she scrambled on the floor to try to find it. Trust Chloe to knock something out of her hands. It was one of the redhead's most common actions, to knock something off something else, to drop something onto the floor, to nudge something out of Beca's hands.

Beca let out an exasperated exhale of breath as she clasped her hands over the little box that hadn't actually travelled too far. She stood up straight and turned back to Chloe who apologised with an embarrassed giggle but Beca shook her head gently, a bemused grin on her face. "I should know you well enough by now to know that you'd end up nudging this out of my hands.

"You wouldn't have me any other way" she heard Chloe say to her with a wink and Beca felt her heart melt. The look on Chloe's face was unlike any look she'd seen before and she adored it. Chloe honestly looked the happiest Beca had ever seen her.

"True. Weirdo." Beca replied with a smile as she opened the small box, took Chloe's left hand so it was held out between them, and placed the engagement ring on the redhead's finger. A perfect fit. And God did it look good on Chloe's finger! The thing was, it was easy for Beca to say that. She'd picked it out. She'd specifically gone ring shopping with the intention of finding something that Chloe would like, and it just so happened that Beca had found this one which she liked. She hoped that Chloe liked it. Please please please let Chloe like it!

"Um…do you like it?" Beca asked nervously, not sure in the dim lighting whether Chloe was pleased with the ring or whether she was just being polite. But her concern was short-lived as her fiancée turned to her and with a broad smile.

"Beca I love it! It's perfect! And so, so beautiful!" The redhead gushed.

And Beca couldn't help the next words that slipped out of her mouth, "Just like you then." If it had been even as soon as a year ago, Beca would have never had the courage to say something like that to anyone. But as she'd already said to Chloe, she was now different in some ways. Mushy things like this made her cringe both internally and externally unless it was for the benefit of her girlfriend – wait - her fiancée. And right now Chloe had done that thing when she's embarrassed where she brings her hands to her face to cover her eyes briefly before flapping her hands down and either crosses her arms or keeps them down at her sides.

Beca took Chloe's left hand, admiring how beautiful it looked on the redhead's finger. She loved those fingers. They were so smooth and graceful and the ring sure did compliment Chloe's hand, "I thought it looked good in the store but it looks a million times better on your finger!"

"It must have cost you so much!"

It had. It had cost her a lot. But it was moments like this that Beca had saved hard for over the years. Not money specifically for an engagement ring, but money for the big things in life. So far those things equated to a puppy, and an engagement ring. But the next thing would be the wedding. And a house. Then probably children. Those things didn't come cheap and she was lucky that she had saved so hard over the past few years that those things also didn't seem too impossible. As always, she didn't tell Chloe how much she had in savings. It would all go towards their future anyway. And the rest of the money she earned went towards the payment of their bills, their apartment, and food. She insisted that Chloe simply used the small amount of money she earned at the coffee shop in the city to pay for her clothes, presents (because she knew how much Chloe loved buying people presents) and anything she wanted to do socially.

Beca shrugged, smiling softly as she glossed her finger over the surface of the ring, "It cost what it cost. As soon as I saw it I knew it was the one for you."

Beca looked up from the ring into her fiancée's beautiful blue eyes and her breath caught in her throat as the woman stepped closer to her, dipped her face towards her, and whispered "Its perfect!". Then the breath was taken out of Beca's lungs as Chloe brought her lips to hers and kissed her, hard.

A round of applause was heard from the kitchen and the women parted, Chloe letting out a giggle while Beca couldn't help the smile that grew on her face. The Rubix Bar staff all filtered out of the kitchen and began congratulating them one by one.

Beca waited for Chloe to draw her seat in at their table in the bar before taking a seat opposite her. The smile she had on her face hadn't disappeared from the moment she'd placed the engagement ring on Chloe's finger and Beca enjoyed hearing her fiancée gasp in admiration and excitement at the cluster of yellow gerberas that stood in the small vase on the old oak surface. Marco had done a great job picking out several bouquets that littered the room, but she was relieved he'd obeyed her order of keeping the flowers on this table exclusively gerberas – Chloe's favourite.

Beca watched as Chloe's bright blue eyes tracked their way down to a piece of light blue coloured card, 4 inches x 8 inches in size, laid delicately on the placemat. A soft smile was now present on Chloe's face as she reached down and gently took the card by its edges, holding it up to her face to inspect the detail.

This was another part of Beca's surprise. She'd had someone at work who did illustration in their spare time to design a small illustration that represented both Beca and Chloe, specifically to be printed onto this card. The illustration was of a yellow cup and a pair of headphones. Chloe's yellow cup. And Beca's headphones. Beca's only instruction had been to include those two things. Because a few weeks ago, when she and Chloe had been out walking Alba, Beca had asked the redhead what item she best associated with Beca and what item she best associated with herself. And the headphones and the plastic yellow cup had been Chloe's answer.

"Oh my God Beca…that's amazing!"

"You like it?"

"Of course I do! How-?"

"Sophie, one of the women from another floor does illustration in her spare time. I asked her to do something with our two items on them."

Chloe looked like she was going to cry again, but Beca didn't worry. Sometimes it was good to cry. This evening was one of them. It was such a happy occasion. Beca's eyes were drawn to the engagement ring she had bought for Chloe, and couldn't get over how well it suited her fiancée's hand as it flipped the card over to reveal a carefully thought out menu for this evening's meal, written in calligraphy by one of the waiting staff here at The Rubix. Like, seriously how were people so talented? It was a menu that Beca had sat down a couple of weeks ago and planned with the chefs and Jason. It was all the things Chloe loved.

"Ooh we're having crab cakes to start?!"

"Yup"

"I didn't even know The Rubix did crab cakes!"

"They don't, but they've made some especially for tonight."

"And toasted pumpkin salad? Ugh I love pumpkin!"

"I know…"

"And lemon meringue pie for dessert?! Beca we're going to explode!"

Beca laughed a big hearty laugh at her fiancée's final thoughts on the menu. But she could tell from the way Chloe's eyes shone at her that she was impressed. And they wouldn't be stuffed. She'd specifically said to the chefs that whatever they classed as a 'normal portion' they needed to halve. Because both Chloe and Beca had relatively small appetites when it came to eating a full meal. They were more like grazers, eating little and often, than full-on gorgers.

One of the members of waiting staff, Georgie, approached them with a chilled bottle of rosé. The chilled bottle of rosé. She'd be impressed if Chloe identified this as the same rosé they'd drank on their first date last summer in London. Georgie showed them the label then poured some of the contents of the bottle into their glasses, placing the bottle in a wine cooler beside the table before scampering back to the kitchen.

Beca raised her glass to signify a toast which Chloe gladly mimicked, "Here's to the Beale-Mitchell wedding" Beca said with a grin.

"Or Mitchell-Beale." Chloe pointed out, always wanting things to be fair between them. "Or even just Mitchell."

"Or just Beale." Beca lightly clinked her glass against Chloe's with a wink and the two women took sips of their rosé. She didn't mind the idea of becoming a Beale. She loved that family so damn much that in all honesty it'd be an honour to take Chloe's name when they got married.

"Do you like the wine?" Beca asked after a moments silence and she saw Chloe nod with a gentle "mmm" of agreement. Beca lent forward and pulled the bottle out of the cooler beside them, "it's the same kind we had on our first date" she said, trying to hide how proud she was at managing to secure this tiny detail.

But it was tricky when Chloe's face opened up into the broad beaming smile of recognition as her eyes clasped onto the label, "Beca! You've thought of everything!" And Beca felt a warm glow of happiness as her fiancée stood up from the table, stepped around the table, and planted a big kiss on her lips.

"Was Cynthia-Rose right when she said that you'd probably planned your perfect wedding in your head already?" Beca asked curiously as she and Chloe walked hand-in-hand down the alleyway away from The Rubix Bar and back to their apartment. As much as they would've loved to have stayed at the bar all night and drank with Kodaline, who had returned to the bar just before midnight to congratulate the newly engaged couple, the reality of leaving their puppy alone for more than three hours pulled the women out of the romantic moment and back to the main responsibility in their life.

"Um I guess so, yeah." Chloe said as she walked with a spring in her step, "In my head I envisioned wearing a massive princess-style white meringue dress, I'd arrive in a carriage drawn by six white horses, I'd have ten bridesmaids, a simple church wedding with 100 guests, the photographer would be an ex or current vogue photographer, Alba would be ring-bearer, the reception would be at a giant castle by the ocean, and the first dance would be '2 Become 1' by the Spice Girls."

Beca swallowed loudly. That all sounded awful. And expensive. She hadn't thought money would've been too much of a problem but six horses? Was that really necessary?! She knew she'd told herself over and over that whatever Chloe wanted for this wedding Chloe could have, but she may have to draw the line at a horse-drawn carriage. And where the hell were they going to find a castle by the ocean?! "Wow, Cynthia-Rose wasn't lying then." Beca managed to choke out quietly.

"Cynthia-Rose's statement was that I'd probably planned it all out in my head already," Chloe said with a giggle, "and I had. When I was six." And Beca turned to her fiancée, processing what the redhead was saying, "But of course back then I was obsessed with fairytales. I had no awareness of money. And the person I was going to marry was going to be my Prince Charming, the man of my dreams."

"Ah…" Beca said with a smirk, turning her attention to the street ahead of them that they'd just turned left onto.

"But dreams change." Chloe continued happily.

"And sometimes so does the gender of the person you'd envisioned marrying." Beca chimed in, causing Chloe to giggle again.

"True. You're a million times better!" The redhead said sweetly, leaning in to smack a kiss on Beca's cheek. They were both fairly tipsy. They'd shared a couple of bottles of wine and had been given a shot of Sambuca each on the house to have with the rest of the Rubix team, and the musicians in celebration of what had been a successful evening for all.

The two women continued down the street, hand-in-hand, grinning happily. "So how would you like to get married?" Beca asked curiously. She couldn't help it, she already had her finance-head on and desperately wanted to gauge how much money she was going to have to put aside for this big event. Maybe if she got this next promotion she was vying for they might be able to get married sooner rather than later?

"Um…I hadn't actually really thought about it." Chloe said simply and Beca raised her eyebrows as she looked over at her fiancée as if calling bullshit, which caused Chloe to let out another giggle, "Whaaat? I haven't!" and Beca was unconvinced, so she said nothing until the silence ate away at Chloe so much that the redhead had to answer honestly, "Okay fine I...may have looked up where we could have our ceremony if we ever got engaged."

"Which now we are…" Beca said with a grin, loving how well she knew the redhead. She knew Chloe wouldn't have been able to resist thinking about their future, particularly since they'd spoken about who would propose to who. "…So what did you find?" She chuckled as she saw Chloe's smile open up into a huge grin, clearly excited about their conversation.

"Okay so there's this beautiful hotel in Hawaii-"

"Hawaii?!" Beca couldn't help exclaiming. She didn't mind where it was because she wasn't sure any of her family would want to attend anyway – such was their apparent lack in support of Beca choosing a woman as her life-partner instead of a man. But she'd expected Chloe to say The Beale Family Lakehouse, or Chloe's Mother's Family's old Holiday home in the Hamptons, or a location in New York, heck even her grandmother's beautiful looking house in Connecticut! But Hawaii?!

"I know what you're thinking, it's miles away and probably expensive, but if you just saw a few pictures of it you'd see why it springs to my mind. It's beautiful Beca!"

Beca wasn't sure why her fiancée felt the need to try to explain herself and her reason behind choosing it. She was just surprised that was all. It didn't mean she was going to say no. Who knew, by the time the wedding came around she might have a few more contacts under her belt and be able to arrange some more surprises for the redhead. "Okay, well that sounds great Chlo."

"Really?" Chloe said nervously, almost as though she was apologising.

"Really! You can show me when we get home." The brunette said as they rounded the final corner and walked along the street they lived on. They wandered up the stairwell to their apartment.

"I was thinking we could do something else instead of looking at wedding venues when we get home..." Chloe said quietly, slightly breathlessly as they climbed the steps. Beca furrowed her brow. She recognised that tone of voice.

"Really?"

"Oh…unless you don't want to?" Chloe said quietly with a hint of surprise in her voice as they reached the top of the stairwell and made their way across to their apartment.

"No, it's just…I thought…aren't you on?" Beca was pretty sure Chloe was. The tampon and maxi-pad wrappers piled in the bathroom bin were a dead giveaway. Chloe let out a soft giggle as she pulled her door key out of her back pocket.

"I thought you knew my cycle by now."

"Yeah I do. Three days on and one further day just to be sure." Beca said quietly with a nod as her fiancée unlocked the door.

"So what day do you make this?" Chloe asked in an amused tone as she shunted the door open and stepped inside the dark apartment. Beca followed and pushed the door closed behind them with her back, pausing against it as she thought.

"Um…daaay…four? Yeah, day four. Day four just to be sure." She said like a rhyme, something The Bella's had penned years ago when all of their cycles bar Beca's had synced, such was living in the same house during college. Despite the lack of light in the apartment Beca could still make out Chloe's silhouette as the redhead hung her jacket up on the coat peg, and she swallowed loudly when she watched the redhead slowly approach her.

"Uh-uh. Technically it's after midnight. Technically we're on day five." Chloe said in a low teasing voice and Beca jumped as she felt Chloe slip her arms around her waist, letting her hands trail down and squeeze Beca's ass affectionately. And Beca swallowed loudly. Her breathing began to increase, as did her heart rate. Day five meant they were in the clear. Suddenly she reached up and brought her arms around Chloe's neck, pulling the redhead's face to hers and kissed her hard.

The sound of heavy breathing and loud smacking of lips echoed around the apartment as the women became entranced with the smell, taste and touch of one another. Desperate for more. Beca felt Chloe slide her hands down below her ass and the petite brunette knew what that meant, so was unsurprised when the redhead gripped tightly beneath her and pulled her up off her feet.

Beca instinctively wrapped her legs around Chloe's waist like a koala, letting out a short grunt as Chloe crashed her against the door. She heard what she thought was a mumbled apology from her fiancée between their mouths but Beca shook her head as if to dismiss the woman's words, pulling her back into a kiss. This was hot. She didn't care how bruised she got right now.

Beca traced her tongue across Chloe's bottom lip and, as though it were a secret password only she knew, her tongue was granted access into Chloe's mouth. Before Chloe, she'd always hated the idea of kissing with tongues. Probably because the only time she had made out with Jesse using tongues, all those years ago, the kiss had been so full of saliva Beca had almost choked. So they'd kept their kissing for the remainder of their relationship strictly tongue-free.

But Chloe had shown her the light. It had taken her by surprise that night in London when they had spent the few hours after their first date, laying side by side on their hotel bed, kissing lightly, then deeply, then lightly again, then broke for a chat about nothing in particular, then resumed kissing, then making out a little heavier. Over and over. Until they'd eventually fallen asleep in each other's arms. Using tongues while making out was now a regular occurrence with Chloe Beale. Part of the furniture. And still part of the spark that drove Beca crazy for the redhead.

She felt Chloe pull her face from hers and trail her tongue along her jawline and down to her neck. She smirked as she felt Chloe's teeth graze her skin, knowing just how desperately the redhead wanted to mark her, but was evidently holding back, just in case Beca had to go to work tomorrow. Even though tomorrow – well, today - was Sunday.

"We're not at work tomorrow" Beca aired huskily under her breath and she met Chloe's eyes, having adjusted to the darkness as the woman returned to face hers with a questioning expression, "I booked the day off for you at the coffee store weeks ago. I'm off too" she breathed impatiently and in one swift motion Chloe smiled mischievously, hiked Beca back up her waist a little, and brought her mouth to the base of Beca's neck. The brunette gasped as pain rippled from the patch of skin that Chloe sucked at, but she didn't stop her. She loved it.

Her mouth was almost immediately covered by her fiancée's once again and Beca tangled her fingers in her red hair as she pulled Chloe's face as hard against hers as possible, trying to deepen their already deep kiss. Beca pulled her left hand from Chloe's hair, gripping tighter with her right to try to maintain her position straddled around the woman, and hastily grabbed at Chloe's vest-top. With the fingers of her left hand Beca tugged the strap of the top and the strap of her bra down, her frustration increasing when the fabric didn't pull down as easily as she would've liked.

Beca let out a frustrated growl at the back of her throat which only appeared to fuel Chloe's passion, and she felt the redhead bring one hand up and cup Beca's cheek to firm their bruising kiss. Chloe hadn't been lying to Beca when she told her she'd been working out in the lounge during the evenings that the brunette 'worked late' (planning the proposal), and appeared to easily keep lifting the smaller woman with one arm, using the door as an aide in keeping them both upright.

Suddenly, amidst the heavy breathing, loud kissing, gentle thuds against the door and the ruffling of clothing, a loud piercing yap echoed around the apartment. The two women sighed out of their kiss as their puppy began whining and yapping from the kitchen.

"Remind me why I got us a dog again?" Beca grumbled, her forehead against Chloe's as they both stared at each other's swollen lips.

Chloe giggled at her fiancée's tone of voice, "Because you love me that's why" she said sweetly.

"Oh yeah…that." The brunette brought her lips back to Chloe's trying to ignore the responsibility they had to the little ball of fluff they'd got several weeks ago. But Alba kept yapping and Chloe broke their kiss, her maternal instinct far stronger than Beca's.

"We should really take her out for her final wee." The redhead whispered, disappointment evident in her voice and Beca shook her head slightly.

"The little rascal can wait, right?" She whispered, kissing Chloe again, then groaned slightly when the kiss was broken by the redhead who pulled away with a chuckle.

"Probably not. But you can." Chloe said with a bemused smile.

"Fine!" Beca conceded, exhaling heavily to try to calm the hormones that were racing around her body, while Chloe gently placed her back down on the floor. Beca moodily stepped past her fiancée, and shuffled through to the door of the kitchen, "What are you looking at?" she grumbled at the puppy who had begun wagging her tail feverishly the moment she saw Beca approach the locked baby-gate, clearly over the moon to see her. The thing Beca hated the most was how quickly she could forgive the little labrador with one look of those big eyes.

Beca heard Chloe walk past her with a light giggle and the brunette let out a sharp squeak as she felt her fiancée squeeze her ass before making her way to the lounge saying something about getting the poo-bags. Okay now Beca was really annoyed that the puppy had interrupted their 'moment'.

"Don't look at me like that," Beca grumbled at Alba who was still looking up at her, wagging her tail happily, "I'm still pissed at you."

"Come ooooon!" Beca hissed impatiently at the puppy who insisted on trotting around the same patch of green grass that lay a block from their apartment. Not for the first time that night she heard Chloe giggle. Beca glared at her. If the redhead wasn't careful Beca would be kissing that smirk right off her face right here right now. Anything to resume the heated situation that they had got themselves into the moment they had arrived home. Beca could still feel the sting of the mark that Chloe had left on her neck. She would need to repay the action…

"Calm down, I'm not going anywhere tonight" Chloe said, amusement evident in her quiet tone as she watched the brunette. But Beca merely exhaled, practically hopping from foot to foot as Alba finally looked as though she'd found a spot to do her business.

"That doesn't make me any less desperate to rip your clothes off." Beca mumbled before whispering a "yesssss" under her breath as Alba bobbed down to do a wee.

"Hey…" Beca paused at the sound of Chloe's voice just before stepping into their apartment and looked over her shoulder at her. She saw a flash of red and gasped as Chloe lunged towards her, kissing her firmly on the lips. Beca heard Chloe inhale loudly through her nose, a sound that always turned Beca on, and she suddenly wanted to just drop everything. But still she clung to the pink dog lead while Alba scrambled to get into the apartment and Beca felt like scrambling herself.

"I'll meet you in the bedroom?" Chloe asked rhetorically in a low voice, before stepping past Beca and Alba. She let out a flirty squeal as Beca managed to reach out and slap her ass before she got too far into their apartment. The brunette could barely breathe her heart was racing so fast and she fumbled to lock the front door before dashing over to the kitchen, unhooking the lead from Alba's collar and bidding the puppy a hasty "good night".

"Shhhhit!" Beca hissed under her breath as she tried to shut the baby-gate. Why wasn't this working? Why couldn't she close this fucking gate? "Come on you piece of…aghhhhh!" She grumbled loudly, slamming the gate in frustration, hoping that action would speed the process up. But it hadn't. "Piece of fucking…shitty…crap!" she continued angrily, her heart now racing in frustration.

"Hey, woah…" Beca heard her fiancée dashing down the apartment to investigate what was going on, "…Beca hold on…wait…woah STOP!" Beca paused as Chloe threw her hands on top of hers.

"The stupid baby-gate won't shut properly!" the brunette huffed, stepping back as Chloe let out a giggle.

"You just...need to be patient with it…" Chloe said, amused at how sexually frustrated her fiancée was acting, and she gently closed the gate, locking it securely, "…there!" she said finally, turning to Beca with a grin that had matched her amused tone.

Beca didn't wait for anything more to be said. She didn't wait for Chloe to suggest they clean their teeth. She didn't wait for Chloe to lead her to their bedroom at the back of their apartment. No, instead the petite woman threw herself against the redhead's body, reaching up to hold her face as she planted her lips on Chloe's mouth. The force with which she had collided with the woman had shoved Chloe back several paces until she crashed against the wall of their apartment but neither woman noticed, too hocked up on their passionate embrace.

Beca ran her hands from Chloe's face, down her shoulders, to the side of her body and down to her hips, resting them there and tugging forcefully so the redhead was pulled against her. The action caused Chloe to let out a short gasp which Beca soon muffled with her tongue and suddenly their kiss deepened. Chloe meanwhile had managed to undo the top four buttons of Beca's shirt and was attempting to undo the fifth when the brunette took her by the hands and tugged her away from the wall.

Lips still connected Beca began directing Chloe towards the back of their apartment, the redhead walking backwards as Beca encouraged with her hands on her hips. The brunette was grappling at the hem of Chloe's shirt as they moved and in one swift movement she had managed to pull the piece of clothing from her fiancée's body, discarding it on the floor as she resumed kissing her hungrily. The only thought in the back of Beca's mind at this moment wasn't a thought at all. It was song lyrics. The same song lyrics that repeated over and over at the end of the very song that reminded her so much of Chloe during these intimate moments:

I want every other freckle. I want every other freckle. I want every other freckle. I want every other freckle. I want every other freckle. I want every other freckle. I want every other freckle. I want every other freckle…

Holy-Moly this right here is the effect having an insane ten reviews within about 12 hours of posting. So thank you thank you guys - you totally fuelled this chapter making it the longest one by far!

As you may be able to tell I'm also underway in writing the 'M' rated chapters of past moments in this fic so the final third of this chapter kinda just flowed naturally sooooooo...

justbechloe - Thank you so much :) yes, yay Beca!

bechloeorbhloe - So pleased you loved the proposal! I didn't want it to be too tacky but wanted it to be the way Beca would feel Chloe deserved.

Guest 1 - Hahaaa yes there will be an aca-wedding and...maaaaybe an aca-baby has been written in the chapter plan too ;)

Yvette23 - Thank you so muuuch! So glad you loved the build up and delivery of the proposal. Thought it was only fair to get Beca's POV of it in this chapter so I hope you enjoyed it!

laco0417 - *hands tissues over* wowee, thanks dude. Such a compliment!

Guest 2 - Hope it was worth the wait :)

Skyeze.10 - Ahh almost! I must try harder next time :P

FranciumJoker - Eeeeeeeee! So pleased you loved it dude! Hope you liked this chapter too!

LauratheChef - Ooh 'Flash band', cool name, me likiee!

Guest 3 - Haha telllll me about it :D

This may be the last chapter I post for few days. Only because I have a crazy busy rest of the week/weekend coming up. But I may be able to manage a little update in a couple of days...?

Until then, reviews are always welcome! Thank you so much guys :)

xx