25 Days of BeChloe Christmases - 2020
Day 26 - Secret Santa
A/N: I did my first batch of the 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases in 2017. This is one of my favorite stories from that series, so I thought I would use it as Day 25 since I've kind of lost my inspiration to work on Christmas fics. I hope you enjoy it.
Prompt from Electronis Zappa: "The Bellas do a secret Santa. Aubrey and Beca get each other's names. Aubrey uses it to set up Bechloe. You can do whatever you want for Beca's gift to Aubrey."
A/N: This is set the year after the Bellas won the ICCAs. Chloe is a senior again; Aubrey has graduated.
Now, on to the story. I hope you like it.
"Hey, Bellas!" Aubrey called out as she entered the Auditorium.
"Aubrey!" yelled the girls and ran to say hi.
"Yeah, okay," Beca said. "I guess we're taking a break."
"Oh, hush, Beca," Chloe said. "Everyone's just excited to see Brey. And, I asked her to come."
"Of course you did," Beca said dryly.
"Brey!" Chloe squealed and ran to hug her best friend. "I've missed you."
"I miss you, too," Aubrey said. "I've missed all you girls."
"Not that I don't love you crashing our Bellas practice," Beca said sarcastically. "But, what are you doing here, Aubrey?"
"I told you I asked her to come," Chloe told Beca.
"Okay," Beca said. "But, why?"
"Because it's time to draw names for the Secret Santa," Chloe said.
"Yeah!" the Bellas all screamed.
"Yay," Beca said with less enthusiasm.
Chloe brings out a box and shakes it around. She holds it just high enough that everyone can reach in and not see anything.
"Okay, everyone's name is in this box," Chloe said. "We'll all take a name and buy a 'secret' gift for that person. And remember, the gifts have to be between $10 and $25. We'll exchange our gifts at the Bellas Only Christmas party in three weeks. It will be held at the Bellas house. We can assign duties later."
"Hey, Aubrey," Stacie said. "You're the guest. You pick first."
Everyone agreed, and Aubrey reached into the box and drew out a name. She opened the slip of paper to look at the name and then stuck it in her pocket. Chloe went next and drew out a name. She also looked at it and slipped it into her pocket. Beca was next, and she muttered a 'Shit!' when she read the name. She quickly looked around to see if anyone heard her and put the paper in her pocket. Everyone else drew a name and started gathering their stuff.
"Hey!" Beca said. "We still have another 90 minutes for practice."
"Oh, Captain, my Captain," Amy said, putting her arm around Beca's shoulder. "We all know we'll practice for 10 minutes, and then you'll call it quits because none of us are really practicing because Aubrey is here. We're just pulling the trigger early."
"Fine," Beca said with a huff. "Take the weekend off while Aubrey's here. But be ready to work twice as hard on Monday."
The girls all stood around looking at Beca. She never gives them the entire weekend off, even when Aubrey is visiting.
"Leave now, losers," Beca said. "Or start doing some cardio. Your choice."
Everyone started hustling to get out of the Auditorium. Beca hung back and started cleaning up. She was surprised when Chloe and Aubrey started helping.
"I figured you two would be the first ones out the door," Beca said. "Doing some best friend shit or something."
"I guess it's a habit," Aubrey said. "We were always left to clean up after everyone. We just thought it would go faster if we helped."
"Thanks," Beca said sincerely. "I appreciate it."
"Aw, look at the two of you getting along," Chloe said, wiping a pretend tear from her eyes.
"Shut it, Beale," Beca said with a small smile, causing Aubrey to laugh.
The last chair was put away, and all the trash had been thrown out.
"Hey, Becs," Chloe said. "Brey and I are going to get something to eat. Wanna join us?"
"Yeah, Beca," Aubrey said. "Come with us. We're going to that diner I know you like."
"Thanks for the invite," Beca said. "But, I'm supposed to have dinner at my dad's. Since I now have some free time before that, I'm going to work on a playlist for our Christmas party."
"Oh, okay," Chloe said. "Maybe next time."
"Sure," Beca said. "I'll see you back at the house later."
"Bye, Beca," Aubrey said.
Beca gave them a wave and left.
"You've got it bad for her," Aubrey said to Chloe as they walked toward the diner. "And, she's still oblivious."
"Yeah, I do," Chloe said. "What am I going to do, Brey? I can't seem to get her to notice me as anything more than a friend."
"She's a little slow when it comes to some things," Aubrey said. "You just have to ask yourself how long you're willing to wait for her."
~~ Day 25 of the 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases - 2020 ~~
Beca hurried back to the Bellas House. She felt bad lying to Chloe, but she had picked Aubrey for the Secret Santa, and she only had three weeks to find something to give her. She needed to start now if Aubrey was going to have anything to open.
"I could ask Chloe," Beca thought to herself after spending two hours online for ideas. "No. I need to figure this out for myself."
Beca sat at her desk and picked up the Bellas pitch pipe that Aubrey had passed on to her. She twirled it in her fingers and rocked to and fro in her chair. Suddenly, she got an idea and called her dad to let him know she wouldn't be able to make it to dinner. She then grabbed her laptop.
Later that evening, Chloe and Aubrey were hanging out with the other Bellas in the living room. They were trying to decide what movie to watch. Fat Amy and Jessica were making the popcorn and getting the drinks together.
"I'm going to see if Beca's coming down," Chloe said as she got up.
Chloe found Beca sitting at her desk with her laptop open. She was really focused on what she was doing, but she wasn't wearing her headphones. Chloe frowned. Beca usually only looks this focused when she's working on her mixes. She wondered what could have Beca's attention.
"Hey," Chloe said, just loud enough to not scare Beca.
"Oh, hey," Beca said, closing her laptop. "What's up?"
"We're going to watch a movie," Chloe said. "I was hoping you'd join us."
"Okay," Beca said. "Can you give me like five minutes? I just want to finish something."
"Sure," Chloe said. "See you down there."
"Okay," Beca said.
Meanwhile, down in the living room, another conversation is taking place.
"Okay, ladies," Aubrey said. "I need your help."
"You know we're here for you, Brey," Stacie said.
The other girls all agreed, and Aubrey asked someone to listen for Chloe. Ashley stood near the doorway and nodded to Aubrey to continue.
"I got Beca for Secret Santa," Aubrey said. "And, I want to get her and Chloe together. That's my gift to her."
"Yes, Bloe is on!" Amy yelled.
"Amy!" Aubrey said. "I don't want Beca or Chloe to know."
"Oops, sorry," Amy says and closes her mouth. She 'locks' her lips and drops the 'key' down her shirt.
"What's the plan?" CR asked.
"Honestly," Aubrey said. "I don't have one yet. That's where you girls come in. I need some ideas. Nothing too outrageous or outlandish, please. Just something that will make Beca declare her love for Chloe."
"What if we make Beca jealous?" Stacie said. "Set Chloe up with someone and make sure Beca sees them together."
"I don't know," Aubrey said. "I don't want to pull someone else into this. That will only cause problems."
"Hey, Chloe," Ashley said so the other Bellas could hear. "Is Beca coming down? I'm going to the kitchen and can grab her a drink while I'm there."
"Yeah, she'll be down in a few minutes," Chloe said. "She'll probably just want water. Thanks."
"No problem," Ashley said and went into the kitchen.
Chloe entered the living room to find the rest of the Bellas still talking about what movie to watch. Beca came down a few minutes later and sat on the floor. Ashley handed her a bottle of water.
"Thanks," Beca said.
"Hey, Becs," Chloe said. "Come sit here. I saved you a seat."
"That's okay," Beca said. "I know how you and Aubrey get. I'd rather take my chances down here."
"Oh. Okay," Chloe said, looking crestfallen.
Aubrey and the other girls shared a look. They all hated to see Chloe like this. Beca needed a wake-up call.
~~ Day 25 of the 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases - 2020 ~~
The movie was over, and Beca bid everyone a good night and was up the stairs before anyone could say anything. Chloe let out a sigh and said she was going to bed.
"You coming, Brey?" Chloe asked as she stood up.
"I'm going to help clean up first," Aubrey said. "I'll be there in a few."
"Okay," Chloe said. "Good night, girls."
The girls all wished Chloe a good night as well, and she went upstairs. As soon as Aubrey heard Chloe's door close, she turned to the other girls.
"I have an idea on how to get those two together," Aubrey said.
Aubrey quickly told the girls her idea and said she needed to get up to Chloe's room before she came looking for her.
"You all know what to do, right?" Aubrey asked.
All the girls nodded and smiled.
"Good," Aubrey said. "I'll see you all in the morning. Operation get BeChloe together is a go."
"Bloe," Amy said.
"BeChloe," Stacie said.
Aubrey just shook her head and went upstairs. She opened Chloe's door to find Chloe lying on her bed staring at the ceiling.
"This had better work," Aubrey thought to herself as she got ready for bed.
~~ Day 25 of the 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases - 2020 ~~
Two weeks later and the Bellas House was decorated for Christmas. Chloe and Stacie were putting the finishing touches on the tree when Beca came in.
"Looks nice," Beca said when she saw the tree.
"Wait until you see it all lit up," Chloe said with a big smile. "Tree lighting ceremony will be at 8:00 tonight. And I've declared it mandatory for all Bellas to be there."
"Got it," Beca said.
"Hey, Becs," Stacie said. "A package came for you today. I left it on your bed."
"Cool," Beca said and went running upstairs.
Beca ripped open the package and read the letter that came with it. She smiled and checked the box and put everything together, and wrapped it. She then put the wrapped gift in her desk drawer and locked it. She was so going to blow Aubrey away with this gift.
~~ Day 25 of the 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases - 2020 ~~
It was the day of the Bellas Christmas Party, and every girl at some point had snuck their Secret Santa gift under the tree. Aubrey arrived earlier that afternoon and managed to get her gift for Beca under the tree without anyone seeing her. Chloe was overseeing the food preparations in the kitchen with Jessica, Ashley, and Flo. Fat Amy and CR were on a liquor run. Aubrey, Stacie, and Lily were on table-setting duty. The plan was to have a nice Christmas dinner before the actual party. Beca got out of much of the preparation because she had a shift at the radio station. The girls were listening to the campus station while they went about their tasks.
It was getting close to 6:00, and final touches were being done on dinner. Beca came running in at 5:45 and was on her way upstairs when Chloe called out to her.
"Hey, Beca," she heard Chloe call from the kitchen. "Dinner's on in 15 minutes, so don't get lost up there."
"Yes, ma'am," Beca said as she continued upstairs.
Beca dropped all her stuff in her room and hurried back downstairs. She was actually excited about dinner and the party.
"Anything I can do to help?" Beca asked Chloe as she walked into the kitchen.
"You can help take the food to the table," Chloe said, handing Beca a bowl of mashed potatoes.
"On it," Beca said.
Dinner was done, and everyone was sitting around the table chatting. Beca stood up and started gathering plates and silverware. Stacie and Jessica stood up to help.
"Why don't the rest of you go claim your seats in the living room?" Beca suggested. "We'll take care of the dishes and be in to join you."
"That's a great idea," Chloe said. "Let's go, girls."
The rest of the girls got up and headed for the living room.
"Thanks, Becs," Chloe said and kissed her on the cheek.
Beca, Stacie, and Jessica put away the leftovers and loaded the dishwasher. Beca started hand washing the pots and pans and anything that didn't make it to the dishwasher.
"What's gotten into you tonight?" Stacie asked Beca as she took a pot to dry.
"I'm just really excited about the Secret Santa," Beca said.
"Wow," Jessica said. "You won the title of Grinch last year, hands down. What's changed?"
"I don't know," Beca said. "I guess Chloe's rubbing off on me. She's always so positive and bubbly. It was bound to happen. I have such a good feeling that tonight is going to be epic."
Jessica and Stacie share a smile. This was going to be an interesting night.
Beca, Jessica, and Stacie joined the rest of the Bellas. Stacie sat next to Aubrey, Jessica sat next to Ashley, and Beca sat next to Chloe. CR, wearing a Santa hat, was sitting by the tree. She would be handing out the Secret Santa gifts.
"Okay," CR said. "I'm just going to grab the gifts at random. Whoever's gift it is will open it and guess who the giver is. After all the gifts are opened, we'll reveal who gave what to who. The first gift goes to Ashley."
Ashley opens her gift to find an assortment of bath soaps, lotions, and shower accessories.
"I love it," Ashley said. "I'm going to guess Jessica or maybe Chloe."
"Next, we have Fat Amy," CR said.
Fat Amy opens her gift to find a gift card to her favorite candy store with a small supply of her favorite candy as well.
"Aw, yeah," Amy says with a fist pump. "I'm guessing, hmmm, Beca. She always knows my favorite candy."
"Next is Stacie," CR said and handed Stacie her gift.
Stacie opened it to find a personal manicure set with nail polish, remover, nail files, and the like.
"Ooooh," Stacie said. "I love my cuticle care. Um, I'm going to guess, Aubrey."
"Next is me," CR said and started opening her present.
"It's the new Rihanna CD," CR said. "I saw this the other day and swore if I didn't get it for Christmas, I would buy it myself. I'm going to guess it was either Chloe or Flo. They were with me when I saw it."
"Okay, next we have Beca," CR said.
Beca took her gift and opened it. Inside was a ticket to the Barden Christmas Festival.
"Oh, my God," Beca said. "This is so cool. I heard that David Guetta was going to be there. This is awesome."
"Who do you think gave it to you?" Amy asked.
"I'm going to say, Chloe," Beca said. "She knows how much I admire David Guetta."
"Next, we have Jessica," CR said and handed the gift over.
Jessica opened her gift.
"It's a cookie press and a cookie recipe book," Jessica said. "I've been wanting a cookie press and have all these great ideas for cookies I could make using the different designs. I'm going to say Flo or Ashley because they usually bake with me and know how much I love it."
"Lily, this is for you," CR said, handing over the next gift.
Lily opened it and found a book on surviving the apocalypse. Everyone looked around with some fear in their eyes.
"It's signed by the author," Lily said loud enough to be heard. "I'm guessing this came from CR."
"Um, okay," CR said. "Next, we have Flo."
Flo opened her gift to find a bottle of her favorite perfume.
"I love this stuff," Flo said, smelling the bottle. "I'm going to guess CR on this one. She knows I ran out not too long ago."
"Next up is Aubrey," CR said and handed over her gift.
Aubrey took it with a big smile and opened it. Inside she found an envelope with her name on it. She opened the envelope and found a letter. Aubrey started reading it, and tears came to her eyes.
"What is it, Brey?" Chloe asked.
Aubrey couldn't say anything, so she just handed the letter to Chloe.
"Can I read it out loud to everyone?" Chloe asked.
Aubrey nodded her head and wiped at the tear that fell.
"My dearest Aubrey," Chloe read. "As former Captains of the Barden Bellas, we want to tell you how proud your Bellas sisters are of you. You were the first to lead our precious Bellas to a win at the ICCAs. We all stand prouder today for what you have accomplished. You did something that none of us could do; you won it. And, no matter how many other ICCA titles the Bellas win, you will be forever known among your sisters as the first to do so. Please accept this small token as our thank you for bringing glory to the Bellas name. That's it. It's also signed by like ten different Bellas Captains from over the years."
Everyone in the room could see how much this meant to Aubrey. Aubrey kept her head down and wiped away another tear. Chloe rubbed her back.
"What's the token they mentioned?" Chloe asked Aubrey.
"I don't know," Aubrey said. "I haven't looked yet."
"So, look," Amy said.
Aubrey looked in the box and removed the tissue paper. She gasped when she saw what was in there. She took it out, and Chloe gasped as well.
"Oh, my God!" Chloe exclaimed. "Is that the original?"
"Yes," Aubrey choked out.
"The original what?" Stacie asked
"It's the original Bellas pitch pipe," Chloe said in awe. "It's been with the first Captain since the Bellas were put together over 40 years ago."
"Who do you think did this?" CR asked.
"I would say it was Chloe," Aubrey said. "But she seems just as surprised as I am. I honestly don't know who else would know how much this means to me. Maybe Stacie."
"Well, Chloe, your gift is last," CR said, handing her the gift. "The sooner you open it, the sooner we can find out who made Aubrey cry."
The girls all chuckled, and Chloe opened her gift.
"I got the same thing as Beca," Chloe said. "A ticket to the Barden Christmas Festival. I guess someone knows I like David Guetta, too. So, I'm going to guess it was Beca, or maybe Aubrey."
"Let's find out who gave what to who," CR said. "I'm just going to call out each person's name in the same order, and the giver will reveal themselves. Ashley."
"That was me," Stacie said.
"I guessed wrong," Ashley said with a chuckle. "Thank you, Stacie; I love it."
"Amy," CR said.
"That was from me," Jessica said. "Although I did kind of ask Beca for some help."
"Nice," Amy said. "Thank you."
"Stacie," CR said.
"I had Stacie," Flo said.
"Thank you, Flo," Stacie said.
Flo nodded and smiled at Stacie.
"I was next," CR said.
"You guessed right," Chloe said. "I had you."
"Thanks, Red," Chloe said.
"You're welcome," Chloe said with a smile.
"Beca," CR said.
"That was me," Aubrey said.
"Really?" Beca said. "Thanks, Aubrey. It's the best thing you could've given me."
"There's a second part to your gift," Aubrey said. "But, you have to wait a bit for it."
"Um, okay," Beca said and looked at Chloe with a raised brow.
"Don't look at me," Chloe said. "I have no idea what she has planned."
"Jessica," CR said.
"That was me," Lily said. "I really like her oatmeal raisin cookies."
"Thanks, Lily," Jessica said. "Those will be the first batch I make with my new cookie press."
"Lily," CR said.
"That was me," Amy said. "I stood in line for hours to get it signed."
"You met the author?" Lily said. "Thank you! You must tell me all about it."
"See me later," Amy said with a smirk.
"Moving on," CR said. "Flo. That one's easy. It was me."
"Thanks, CR," Flo said.
"Oh, my God," Ashley said. "That just leaves Chloe and Aubrey. And I know I had Chloe, so that means that-"
Every head in the room turned to look at Beca. Beca found the hem of her shirt very interesting and wouldn't look at anyone.
"You did that for Aubrey?" Chloe asked.
"Beca," Aubrey said. "I don't know what to say."
"Thank you is more than sufficient," Beca said, still not looking up.
"No, it's not," Aubrey said, getting up and going to kneel in front of Beca. "No one has ever done anything like this for me before. Not even Chloe, and we've been friends forever. So, no, a simple thank you is not sufficient."
Aubrey took a deep breath and lifted Beca's head by her chin.
"I'm going to give you the second part of your gift now," Aubrey said.
"You're not going to kiss me, are you?" Beca said.
"Don't ruin the moment, Beca," Chloe said and smacked Beca on the arm.
Aubrey looked around at everyone, and they all nodded. Aubrey took a deep breath and let it out.
"Chloe is in love with you," Aubrey blurted out.
"Brey!" Chloe yelled.
"Chloe's what now?" Beca asked, looking at Aubrey and then at Chloe and back to Aubrey again.
"Yes, Chloe is in love with you," Aubrey said. "That's why each of you only got one ticket to the Barden Christmas Festival, so you'd go together. And, you'd finally tell Chloe how you feel about her. We all know you both have feelings for each other. It's just high time you did something about it."
Chloe sat with her head in her hands, cheeks a bright red.
"I can't believe you did that, Brey," Chloe said quietly.
"So, it's true?" Beca said. "You are in love with me?"
Chloe gave Beca a sidewards glance and mumbled, "Yes."
Beca's face split into a wide smile. She grabbed Chloe's hand.
"Excuse us," Beca said and dragged Chloe into the kitchen.
"Becs, I'm sor-"
Chloe was cut off when Beca smashed her lips against Chloe's. Chloe let out a little squeak and began kissing Beca back. Beca pulled back after a few minutes and smiled at Chloe's flushed face.
"I'm in love with you, too," Beca said.
Chloe smiled and leaned in for another kiss. She pulled back and looked at Beca.
"So, do you want to be my date to the Barden Christmas Festival?" Chloe asked.
"Only if I can take you to dinner before we go," Beca said.
"Deal," Chloe said.
"I believe we should seal the deal," Beca said, inching closer. "With a kiss."
"I totally agree," Chloe said as she closed the distance and kissed Beca.
They broke apart and looked over to see all the Bellas in the doorway cheering. Beca and Chloe both smiled, and everyone returned to the living room.
"Beca said this was going to be an epic night," Jessica said. "She was right."
"Whose gift won as best of the night?" Stacie said. "It has to be between Beca and Aubrey. I mean Beca made Aubrey cry, and Aubrey made Beca finally declare her love for Chloe."
"She definitely won," Beca and Aubrey said, pointing at the other.
"You did, Beca," Aubrey said. "You gave me the gift of a lifetime."
"No, you win," Beca said. "The gift you gave me will, hopefully, last a lifetime."
"But, you went out of your way to get me the perfect gift," Aubrey said.
"Think we should stop this?" Stacie asked Chloe.
"I know just how to do it," Chloe said with a wink.
Stacie smiled and followed Chloe over to the two arguing Bellas. Chloe stood in front of Beca, and Stacie stood in front of Aubrey; they took their faces in their hands and lifted their heads. Chloe kissed Beca and Stacie kissed Aubrey, shutting them both up. After thoroughly kissing their respective loves, the two girls pulled back from the kiss, leaving Beca and Aubrey breathing heavy and speechless.
"I think we won that argument," Stacie said.
"We totes did," Chloe said.