"That is so cute!" Beca laughed, as their kids grumpily shuffled into the living room (Courtney skipping slightly, relishing in the moment). "Jesse, get the camera. Get the camera!"
"You say that like we're actually not having a photographer", Jesse informed her, snapping numerous photos of their tuxedo-clad boys and dress-clad girls.
"Bec-ca", Dean pronounced, "How come we can't see your dress?"
"Oh, you guys can see my dress; it's your daddy that can't".
"Its tradition", Rosie informed him.
"Thanks Ro".
"Question!" Ben waved his hand around. "What's going on tomorrow night?"
That was the big question. After being deemed the most untraditional couple in the world, Chloe had patted Beca's shoulder cheerily and told her to leave the planning all to them.
So they did.
The girls and the guys had organised what Fat Amy called 'the best joint hen's night and buck's party of the century!', and they had failed to mention any details to Beca and Jesse. All they knew was that Aubrey and Michael had organised Will and Sheila to have the kids overnight, and they were fighting over who would be designated driver ("my sexy fat arse is getting her alcohol on!" Fat Amy, designated driver since college, had announced, to squawks of protest).
"You're going to spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa", Beca informed them (because Tom informed them that they were going to pass out in their entryway, they'd be that drunk). "And Daddy and I are going out, with your aunts and your uncles".
"Aunt Chloe says you're doin' karaoke", Courtney informed her.
"No we're not, Courty, Aunt Chloe is telling you stories", Bec said smoothly.
When Chloe found out that Beca and Jesse had met at the karaoke bar, she had squealed. And she'd almost had an aneurism on the spot when she found out that Jesse had convinced Beca, who he'd met only moments earlier, to sing with him.
It had taken her a week of protesting and jumping in Beca's shower, completely naked herself, to get the brunette to agree to even audition for their aca pella group. She was pretty sure Beca was still holding a grudge about that.
(Beca was still holding a grudge about that. there was no doubt about it.)
"If you do sing, can we see?" Brody said cheerfully.
Beca and Jesse exchanged glances, and Ben folded his arms crossly.
"It's not fair when you talk with your eyes!" Rosie complained, and they laughed.
"We need a sober designated driver and it is so not me!" Fat Amy called, as she pulled the bus into their driveway the next afternoon (having sent their kids off in their own van with Beca's father and stepmother only ten minutes before).
"Well it's not me!" Beca protested quickly. "I'm the bride, I'm the one meant to get rolling drunk".
"And rolling drunk you will be", Chloe giggled, almost manically. "You're going to love it tonight, Becs".
"If Mikki was here this weekend she could be the sober designated driver", Jesse chuckled to his fiancé, and Beca stared.
"I'm sure Mikaela would love that".
"She is not twenty one, she cannot legally be drinking", Jesse said firmly. "And believe me I will be drilling that into our children! Underage drinking my ass".
"Have you completely blocked out our college days?" Benji questioned, and Donald stared incredulously.
"I think he has, man".
There was almost a ten year age gap between Jesse and his little sister, and she was the only Swanson that Beca hadn't met (in person). She'd met his grandparents and his parents on multiple occasions, but the elusive Mikaela Swanson was at school across the country- and when she wasn't at school she was travelling and being a twenty one year old.
"You know what I can't believe? That you're getting married in like a month and a half and you haven't even met his sister. Like seriously". Aubrey shook her head.
"Yeah, she'd met you!" Tom chuckled, and Aubrey crinkled her nose at him.
"Who introduced them?" Lily reminded her.
"That was not my fault", Beca protested loudly, "Neither was it intentional".
Aubrey and Chloe had the tendency to show up unannounced at their old college, visiting Beca and the girls. As did Michael, who showed up at the most inconvenient of times. They had been friends for a while (as Aubrey was in a relationship at the time), but then Aubrey broke up with her boyfriend and Beca got ready to graduate.
And it wasn't optional in having Michael at her graduation. Her father and Sheila had thrown words such as 'supportive older brother' and 'family occasion' at her and she had no choice but to suffer through the whole event (like she wasn't suffering enough, having her mother and father and his wife in the same room, nope, they had to invite the boy who tortured her and criticised her dates). Aubrey and Chloe were there to be supportive and watch her and their friends graduate, but Aubrey had gone ahead and fallen in love with her brother. And the rest, Chloe had cooed, was history.
The whole situation was less than ideal, but had turned out not so bad. But she stood by the fact that it was in no way her fault.
"You know what we should have done?" Stacie said enthusiastically. "We should have gone to Vegas for the weekend! That would have been so much fun!"
"What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!" Chloe agreed.
"Will and Sheila would have been down for that!" Jesse chuckled to Beca, and she laughed.
"They'd probably jump on the plane too, they'd be too worried we'd elope or something".
"Beca Mitchell that is something you would do", Cynthia Rose commented. "who remembers when she went on her first date with Luke and didn't want to tell anyone because she thought that we wouldn't approve or something- and we totally didn't, on that note- but Aubrey found out and-"
"Jesse you will never believe this", Beca interrupted. "You know how I say that I have the worst friends ever? Prime example".
"Chloe and Fat Amy rocked up at the same restaurant to pick up takeaway!"
"The worst friends ever", Beca said emphatically, shaking her head. "Oh my God, I need a drink just thinking about it".
"Oh, you'll have plenty of drinks", Chloe promised. "We need a picture!"
Beca handed her phone towards the redhead and the group crammed together in the van, grinning cheesily for the camera.
"This is the beginning of the end", Jesse predicted.
"Hell yeah it is!" Fat Amy laughed.
Beca Mitchell took a photo with Instagram: fresh faced and innocent. Little did we know… #TheseFuckinGuys #BucksAndHensNight
"Michael is the designated driver", Beca declared, as they entered the bar.
"Tom", Michael corrected.
(He wasn't going to drink himself into a stupor like Beca and Jesse planned on doing- he was her big brother and had to have some control over the situation- but he was going to enjoy himself. And he wasn't going to drive them all home.)
"Do you really want him sober?" Cynthia Rose checked, and she frowned slightly, before plucking the keys from Fat Amy's hand and presenting them to Chloe's husband.
"Thomas, the honour sits all with you". She bowed slightly in front of him and Tom accepted them with the same amount of grace.
"This is gonna be the best night ever", Jesse said, pulling Beca close to him.
She grinned up at him with a look of total adoration, and Chloe beamed.
"This is gonna be the best night ever", she agreed.
It was obvious that Beca had a few drinks in her. Because she was agreeing a lot easier to everything that the girls suggested. Everything except karaoke, apparently.
"Shots shots shots!" Fat Amy bellowed, wobbling slightly as she brought a tray of shots towards the table. Beca grabbed one, raising it slightly in the air.
"To Beca and Jesse!" Donald cheered.
'To Beca and Jesse!" she repeated, downing the shot and reaching for another. Jesse just laughed, copying her actions.
Karaoke had been the number one activity when they were in college. and although Beca claimed to hate it, once she had a few drinks in her, she was just as enthusiastic as Fat Amy (who was belting out Carrie Underwood's 'Before He Cheats' for the third time, convinced she was getting an encore).
"Beca's a fun drunk", Chloe giggled to Jesse, with only half the alcohol consumption as they had, and he nodded enthusiastically.
"Beca! Karaoke!"
"No!" she protested. But, under the influence of alcohol, she allowed him to pull her towards the karaoke machine. "Beca! Oh my God! It's our song!"
When the opening notes came through the speakers, she frowned. "Jesse that is not our song".
"What is their song?" Aubrey questioned, and Michael shrugged. "I didn't know they had a song!"
"This can be our new song!"
"I like our old song!" Beca protested.
But Jesse ignored her, breaking into the lyrics. "You were workin' as a waitress in a cocktail bar, when I met you. I picked you out, I shook you up and turned you around, turned you into someone new".
"Oh he totally did", Lily chuckled.
"Now five years later on you've got the world at your feet, success has been so easy for you! But don't forget, it's me who put you where you are now, and I can put you back down too".
Beca beamed at him, as he danced in front of her like the nerd she had fallen in love with at that karaoke bar.
"Don't, don't you want me? You know I can't believe it when I hear that you won't see me! Don't, don't you want me? You know I don't believe it when you say that you don't need me! It's much too late to find, you think you've changed your mind. You'd better change it back or we will both be sorry!"
"Don't you want me, baby? Don't you want me, ooh? Don't you want me, baby? Don't you want me, ooh?" Beca joined in.
"Oh my God!" Cynthia Rose laughed, pulling out her phone to record the two of them. Their plan to get them rolling drunk was definitely working- their friends were definitely going to be feeling it in the morning.
"This is the best night ever!" Jesse declared, punching his fist into the air like Judd Nelson and Beca laughed, leaning into his embrace. They were on their way back to the van and the two of them were holding onto each other so they didn't fall.
And their friends were loving it.
"They're not going to remember any of this", Benji chuckled.
"We're here!" Tom announced, as he turned the van into the driveway.
"Tom, you're the best". Chloe smacked a noisy kiss to his cheek, as they piled out of the van into the driveway. Beca stumbled slightly and Jesse reached out to grab her, bracing himself against the van.
Beca wrapped her arms around Jesse's neck, pressing her lips against his. Jesse responded enthusiastically, lifting her off the ground, his hands on her thighs.
"Oi!" Michael squawked. "Hands off! I will get the hose out, no question!"
"Michael be nice!" Lily scolded.
Donald pushed open the door to the house, swaying just a little.
"Bumper!" Beca pulled away from Jesse's mouth just long enough to greet the dog.
"Best night ever", Fat Amy said for the umpteenth time, grinning cheerily.
The moment Beca opened her eyes she regretted it. She groaned, clutching her head, rolling over and burying her head in her pillow.
"Jesse", she murmured. "Jesse, turn off the sun".
"Shhh!" Jesse shushed. "Stop yelling at me".
"The sun. Turn it off".
"Sure", Jesse said sarcastically (he was spending too much time with her). "Mother Nature and I need to have a chat anyway".
"Good. Thank you".
They lay there for another half an hour, before plucking up the courage to head downstairs.
They had all drank a substantial amount. But Beca and Jesse were definitely the winners of the night. So when the couple emerged down the stairs, taking slow steps and holding their heads, they didn't expect anything else.
"Beca wearing sunglasses inside does nothing to deter the fact that we can see you", Aubrey said from the couch, yawning and stretching out.
"Oh I'm not hiding", Beca said simply to her sister in law. "I'm hungover".
"Best night ever", Benji declared, and Jesse pointed to the door.
"Stop yelling or get out of my house".
"How are you still standing?" Beca almost croaked at Fat Amy. "You drank the same amount as me! And you're fine!"
"We Aussies can hold our alcohol", Fat Amy said cheerily. "I'm going to cook a proper hangover feast".
Beca groaned. "No, no".
"Have you chucked yet?" Fat Amy almost giggled. "Have a bagel or something, that'll soak up the alcohol".
"What were you saying about Vegas last night Stace?"
"What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas", Cynthia Rose filled in. "what happens in Barden stays in Barden?"
Beca chuckled weakly, falling to the to the couch between Chloe and Aubrey, the redhead putting an arm around her shoulder.