A/N: Happy New Year! If you're following me (as an author on this site) because of my other story, The Light That Brings Us Together, worry not—Season Three is still underway. It's just that I got this story stuck in my head and I needed to clear all the 'junk' from my mind trunk, so to speak, or else I'd burst.

This one is loosely based on the movie, Celeste and Jesse Forever, but from the title I'm sure you can infer that this ends differently. It was originally meant to be a one-shot but my over-thinking mind is not so forgiving.

Reading guide 2017 Edit: So rather than confuse you with those weird [x] boxes, I'll simply use solid lines to represent any time lapse within any time period, and I'll refer to the 'present' (which is, in reality, set at a future date) with a title announcing 'Present.' Hopefully this makes it smoother, but let me know if it hasn't. My last option would be to italicize the past, but I don't know how I feel about a large chunk of text in italics, since a lot happens in the past.

Chapter One:

Endings and Beginnings

"Everyone please welcome my guests, the brilliant, talented, and beautiful minds behind the breakout movie of the year, 'Pitch Perfect' — Chloe Beale and Beca Mitchell!"

Behind two sets of cameras, a studio audience stood and cheered on cue as two women emerged from backstage. They strode gracefully toward the stage, a raised platform at the centre of the studio lit by monstrous bulbs nestled in black, umbrella-like softboxes. As they made their way, the woman on the left whispered something to her companion that made the latter smile widely and whisper back. The pair exchanged giggles and knowing looks, and even as they took their seats on lavish lounge chairs, their eyes never disengaged from their shared mirth.

"Welcome!" the television host greeted, looking playfully intrigued by her guests' entrance. "What was that? Chloe, what did Beca whisper in your ear?"

The question was directed at the woman with copper red hair, but it was the brunette who replied in a falsely innocent tone: "Nothing."

Chloe slapped Beca's thigh to stifle her giggling. "Oh, don't mind her. It's so nice to be back here, by the way — thank you for having us!" she said, hoping their earlier rudeness would be ignored.

"Well, I love having you guys here. Now," the host held up their hand to indicate the seriousness of their next words, "I do want to talk about the movie—it's lovely, it's hilarious—but I'd be a terrible daytime talk show host if I didn't poke and prod into your personal lives first."

The audience, which consisted mostly of women, immediately erupted into hoots and cheers. It was clear that this was what they had wished for when they lined up outside the studio, eager to be blessed with seats to this historic moment.

"Particularly," the host continued tantalizingly, "the biggest news of—I'll say, the year maybe… the fact that the two of you were secretly married!"

Amid the audience's wild excitement, Chloe shook her head in defeat and Beca raised her arms in victory. "Woohoo!"

"What's going on?" The host looked curiously between the two, wanting in on the joke.

"I made a bet with Chloe that you would bring up the marriage thing before commercial break," explained Beca. "She thought you'd have the decency to wait until after."

"Ah, so that was what all the whispering was about. Well, you should have known me better, Chloe!" the host chastised playfully. "But now that we're into it — what the hell!"

A quick nod, almost imperceptible by no one else but the two of them, passed between Beca and Chloe. This wasn't their first press junket; they had prepared for this question. "Well, it's actually not a secret," said Beca. "By that I mean, we don't hide the fact that we were married. It's just that nobody knew—or cared, for that matter—until now."

"Yeah, if you look at some of the interviews we did really early in our careers, we might have mentioned it…? Although to be fair we never said we were married to each other," added Chloe, gesturing between herself and Beca. "It was only when we started doing this movie that someone put two and two together and, well, apparently a lot more people care now."

"Of course they care! You each have built stellar, distinguished careers in your respective fields. You two seem like a match made in heaven," the host complimented. "But let me just clarify this, you two aren't together anymore?"

Chloe shook her head, "Nope."

"Divorced for two years," said Beca, jokingly showing off the absence of a ring on her left hand.

The audience chorused their disappointment, and so did the host. "I have to say, I agree with them," she said indignantly. "It's like finding out they stopped making your favourite flavour of ice cream... But—and I think this is why your fans are left confused—it seems like you two are really close nonetheless! What's the story here? Can you really say you've remained friends after the break-up?"

"I believe so. I mean, we were friends before anything else. We met in college," said Chloe, taking the opportunity to get back on topic. "And, actually, a lot of 'Pitch Perfect' was based on our experiences in a cappella at the time."

"That's right, you both were in an actual a cappella group called the Barden Bellas that famously won the International Championship for Collegiate A Cappella for three consecutive years, and the World Championships in 2015," the host read from a note card and applauded along with the audience afterwards. "Very impressive."

"Thank you. And, honestly, our successes then, and the success of this movie, are all really thanks to Beca." Chloe turned to the woman beside her proudly. "I've said this a million times already so she must be getting tired of it," she smiled, "but we really couldn't have gotten this far—the Bellas and this movie—without her musical talent."

Beca rolled her eyes as a gesture of humility. "Yes, I am tired of hearing this, because I really don't deserve that much credit, Chlo. Everyone worked hard—the sets, the choreo, and all that were a collaborative effort." She paused thoughtfully. "Besides, none of this wouldn't even have started if you hadn't — well, you know."

There was another exchange of glances, and the host prodded on strategically, knowing they were interrupting an inside joke. "So you two first got together in college?"

Beca nodded. "We met when she was recruiting for the Bellas, actually. And it was obvious that she wanted me the moment she laid eyes on me," she boasted in a lofty accent.

It was Chloe's turn to roll her eyes. "Yes, obviously. As evidenced by us dating almost a year later," she said sarcastically.

"And by the fact that we eloped only three years later," Beca countered with a satisfied grin. She tried to be wary of how much she revealed, but she sensed no harm in giving the audience what they wanted. "Fun fact: if we had waited a bit, it would have coincided with the Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality but, hell, we really couldn't wait— "

The host made a show of cleaning their ears. "Hang on, wait a second—you two eloped?"

"Well, Chloe likes to call it that—"

"Yeah, sure, we 'eloped,'" Chloe cut in sarcastically, emphasizing the word with vicious air quotes. "I thought it was a pretty bad-ass idea—which, you'd think DJ Beca would love—but then I found out that she called my parents to ask permission before we went to the courthouse." She turned to the audience in disbelief when they reacted with endearment. "Don't 'aww' that! She made it significantly less bad-ass."

"Her idea of bad-ass and mine are totally different," Beca said in defence. "Mine doesn't involve me getting killed by her dad."

The host laughed heartily. "Wow, what a lovely story. Yet this is so strange because I don't usually get to—I mean, when I interview celebrity couples, I can have a go at the usual talking points: 'How's the family? Or, how's the baby?' But now I have the unique opportunity to ask, 'How's it been since the divorce?'" The audience laughed again. "I mean, you've said that you're still close friends and, seeing you two together, I believe that, but if you don't mind indulging our wishful thinking, what was your married life like? Just a small glimpse? Pretty please?"

After more goading from the audience, Beca and Chloe shared one more look. At a time when anyone's history could be drudged up on the Internet, they had both always been very strict when it came to their private lives, expertly curating their social media activity to keep personal details at a bare minimum. They hadn't expected this questioning to get this far, but they knew it was just too good an opportunity for the host to miss, so Beca and Chloe thought of how to best distill five years of marriage into a PG-13 interview segment.

MAY 2015 - COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

"Mmm… Beca," moaned Chloe, raking her hand through Beca's chocolate tresses as the woman sucked on a sensitive spot beneath her earlobe, "we—we should be celebrating with the Bellas... downstairs…"

"Or we could have our own celebration tonight," Beca breathed huskily, leaning back just far enough to unbutton Chloe's vest hurriedly. "Besides, this might be our last chance to do it in a fancy hotel room—"

"What are you talking about?" Chloe frowned as her waist was pushed against the hotel room door. "We had sex this morning."

Beca paused, on her knees, halfway through pulling Chloe's pants down hers. "We did?" Seeing Chloe cross her arms and raise an eyebrow dangerously, Beca quickly added, remembering, "That doesn't count! You didn't c—"

"Come on, you two!" came Fat Amy's thundering voice from the other side of the door. "Quit bonking and start bingeing—the first round's on me!"

Taking a deep breath, Chloe looked down and put her hand on Beca's shoulder. "Come on, Becs," she said calmly. "Our awesome friends flew all the way here to support us. The least we could do is celebrate with them."

"Yeah, you're right," Beca said with a groan. She placed a soft kiss on Chloe's thigh before rising begrudgingly, the treat she was forced to abandon weighing her down with regret. But, ever the thoughtful girlfriend, Chloe shimmied out of her pants before walking over to their luggage for a change of clothes, adding a little sway to her hips that Beca knew was intentional and just for her.

"I need worse friends…" she muttered.

JUNE 2015 - BARDEN UNIVERSITY CAMPUS HOUSING

"Well, guys, this is it," Beca said ceremonially. She closed the door behind her and walked down the short steps and across the small lawn to where Chloe was standing, already teary-eyed and sniffling into her sleeve. Beca wrapped an arm around Chloe's shoulders comfortingly and looked up at the elegant white house that had been their shared home for the past three years.

The Bellas had spent the past week clearing out their belongings and making sure they were leaving their aca-headquarters spotless for the next generation of Bellas under Emily's leadership. It had taken them the full seven days to finish, due to the sheer amount of reminiscing and crying that accompanied every discovery of some lost object or broken fixture.

"And I thought graduation was sad," sniffed Chloe, resting her head on Beca's shoulder. "I can't believe I'm not coming home to this anymore. To all you girls."

"Are you sure you guys don't want to stay over the summer?" asked Emily. "I mean, nobody's going to live in it until Aca-Initiations next semester anyway."

"Thanks for the offer, Legacy, but this is what has to happen," said Beca. "All of us leaving at the same time just feels right, you know?"

Emily nodded understandingly. They heard a commotion from behind them and turned around. Fat Amy and Cynthia Rose had brought out a small cooler of drinks from Fat Amy's van, and Stacie began distributing cups.

"The blood of our sisters," the sexy soprano said with a laugh, pouring a drink into Chloe's signature yellow cup. Chloe made a noise that sounded halfway between a sob and a chuckle and hugged Stacie tightly.

"A toast," Fat Amy began, once they had all gathered in a solemn half circle in the yard, holding full cups, "to leaving the Bellas House." She paused to let the moment sink in. They couldn't have timed it more perfectly; the golden hour had just begun, gracing their farewell in a warm, sentimental light. "In itself, the House was just as much a Bella as we were: gorgeous on the outside and a fucked up mess on the inside." The girls laughed and nodded in general agreement. "Nah… like each of us, it had its quirks that we all learned to love—"

"Like the ghost in the basement," said Beca, throwing Emily a warning look.

The youngest Bella gulped and added with a shudder, "And the suspiciously creaky floorboards in the middle of the night."

"More like Beca and Chloe's bedsprings when they're getting frisky in the boudoir," Stacie revealed in an undertone, winking at a beet-red Beca. "You're welcome for the tips, by the way."

"And how about the fact that it's all white?" added Flo. Cynthia Rose frowned, as though realizing its lack of diversity for the first time.

They all paused while Lilly said something indistinguishable. Beca swore she heard the words "Satan" and "ritual".

"To all the memories," capped Fat Amy. "And when it comes down to it… to the all the love we shared within these walls."

They all looked around at one another. Chloe wasn't the only Bella sniffling anymore; even Beca had to roll her eyes upward to hold the tears back when it hit her that they were never going to see each other every day, hear about each other's problems, or spontaneously harmonize over the most mundane household chores.

"To all the shenanigans we've had in there—you ladies know what I'm talking about," winked Fat Amy, trying to clear the emotional air. "Anyway, I guess all I'm saying is… here's to more of it. We may be going our separate ways, living our separate lives, but let this house and our time here be our reminder to have more memories, more love, and definitely more shenanigans."

"Hear, hear!"

"To more shenanigans!"

The Bellas raised their cups and drank.

Beca looked sideways at Chloe's tear-streaked face; the sunset had set her hair ablaze and her glittering tears brought out the blue in the eyes that Beca loved so much. "To more love," she promised Chloe, before kissing away the tears from her wet cheek.

AN HOUR LATER - SOMEWHERE IN ATLANTA, GA

"Thanks again for the ride, Ames," Chloe said gratefully as Beca unloaded the last of their bags from the back of Fat Amy's van.

"Anything for you two love-monkeys," grinned Fat Amy. "Anyhoo, I better get back to my fiancé. His toes aren't going to make themselves curl."

Beca grimaced in disgust but Chloe chuckled and waved a pleasant good-bye to their wild Australian friend. Once the van had disappeared behind the corner with an obnoxious honk, Chloe wrapped her arms around Beca and kissed her behind the ear.

Beca leaned back into the embrace and grinned. "How much do you think the girls will flip out when they find out we actually got married this morning?"

Chloe pretended to think about it. "Hmm… I'm guessing not as much as they would if we told them we had to do it 'cause you got me pregnant."

"Ha-ha."

They managed to take their bags into the building in only one trip since they had secretly begun moving out of the Bella House little by little over the past week, leaving only their clothes so as not to arouse suspicion among the girls. This allowed them to skip the last-minute scramble that the other Bellas went through earlier that day in favour of going to the courthouse.

They had also put in the first and last months' rent on their new apartment and even purchased some furniture to decorate. An hour passed with Beca and Chloe unpacking the last of their clothes and rearranging furniture to make things cozier here and there, until they were finally standing, tired but satisfied, in the small living room in their modest one-bedroom apartment.

"Not too shabby," Beca said, looking around at her first ever apartment, the lease of which had her and her wife's names signed. She couldn't deny that she was impressed with herself and her fearlessness, heading into the 'real world' so soon and so ready, fresh from graduation. She had no doubt that most of the courage came from her new wife.

"You're okay with this place, right?" Chloe asked her worriedly, observing Beca's reaction to the room. "I know it's a little pricier than we planned but it's close to the studio so you can walk to work—"

"Chlo, this is perfect," assured Beca. "And you're right. It's close to work and the neighbourhood's great. Besides, with my promotion and you starting work in the fall, we can more than afford this place. And soon enough," she wrapped her arms around Chloe's neck, "our careers are going to go off and we can move to a bigger place if you want to."

Chloe smiled and pressed her lips against her wife's. Beca felt the familiar, warm glow that seemed to gush out from Chloe's body whenever they talked about their future together. She knew Chloe loved it and, now that they were married, she undoubtedly loved it even more because now they were more than just sweet-talking; they were actually planning the rest of their lives together.

Beca pulled Chloe closer by the waist and deepened the kiss. She wanted to make a gesture, to show Chloe that this was real, that this was happening. And like clockwork, Chloe moaned at the passionate touch and gripped the front of Beca's shirt tightly in response.

"Let's go christen the bed."

In hindsight, the road to their future success was more straightforward than Beca had expected. After impressing her boss with her work co-producing Emily's 'Flashlight', Beca had been promoted at Residual Heat to Assistant Engineer. The job wasn't glamorous—mostly setting up the recording equipment and assisting the engineer—and the pay was scarcely above minimum, but according to her boss it was the next ring on the ladder leading up to a career in actually producing music, so she wasn't complaining.

Chloe, on the other hand, had managed to get a job as a music teacher at a school in their district. Although her degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (the unsurprising result of her seven-year meandering at Barden) didn't technically qualify her to be an educator, her numerous accolades in the field of a cappella seemed to be enough to teach elementary students. It wasn't a big money maker either but it helped pay the bills with enough to save, and working with kids made her extremely happy.

In fact, Beca and Chloe were very, and genuinely, happy together. Though they frequently missed the company of their Bella sisters, they also discovered the benefits of total privacy—both the sexual and non-sexual aspects of it. And even though Beca would spend the whole day hard at work at the studio and Chloe would keep equally busy doing after-school activities, they still came home with beaming smiles and, sometimes, take-out from Taco Bell.

They were young, in love, and excited for their future.

PRESENT - WARNER BROTHERS STUDIO, BURBANK, CA

"All I can say is… it was the youngest and happiest I can remember ever being in my life," Beca said sincerely. "I cherish those memories and I honestly wouldn't change a thing."

Chloe smiled at her and nodded. "I agree."

For a split second or two, the host looked between the two of them, their brows slightly cocked, either in disbelief or confusion, before catching the producer's eye for commercial break. "All right, fine, I'll let it go… for now," they added with a cheeky grin. "We can talk about your movie, finally, after the break. We'll be right back with Beca Mitchell and Chloe Beale."

While the crew honed in to reapply powder and adjust the lighting, the host leaned forward and said, "I'm sorry, I know you two like to keep private. You know how it is."

"It's fine," assured Chloe. "We've prepared for it. We just don't want to fuel the fire, you know? It was, like Beca said, a really happy time for the both of us, but it's in the past. We've both continued with our lives since then and we don't want to lead people on to make the wrong assumptions, especially on the Internet."

The host nodded understandingly, and so did some of the women in the audience, which had kept silent out of interest. "I totally understand. In fact, Beca," the host turned to the DJ, "you're dating Ada Goebel isn't that right? Her Instagram photos of your trip to Peru were gorgeous!"

Beca grinned appreciatively, pleased at the host for putting as much value in her new relationship as she did with her old one. "Yeah, Ada is a real outdoorsy type—and ridiculously spontaneous. It was her idea to go to Peru last minute; I just hopped into her car one day and off we were to LAX. She's a riot, the complete opposite of a homebody like me."

"And how long have you two been dating?"

"Se... seven months?" Beca looked to Chloe for confirmation. The redhead nodded and added, "Give or take a few days."

If the host was surprised that Chloe knew the answer more confidently than Beca, they didn't show it. "That's wonderful! And how about you, Chloe? You know, the whole world is waiting to see who captures the affection of America's sweetheart next."

"I don't know about the whole world," laughed Chloe. "But unfortunately, I don't have the time to, uh… I've been working back to back projects the past year and a half, and relationships aren't really on my list of priorities—"

"Besides, even if there were someone," Beca cut in, "they'd have an incredibly tough screening process to go through. The Bellas are all still very protective of this one," she jerked a thumb in Chloe's direction, eliciting an exasperated groan from her.

"Unnecessarily so."

"That's really sweet," cooed the host. "But I guess you would be protective, Beca, being the ex-wife and all."

"I'm not even the worst!" protested Beca. "Chloe's best friend, she's the killer. I don't think I could've gotten as far as I did if she hadn't been away the entire time Chloe and I were dating."

"That's true, you did have a lot of flaws," Chloe said teasingly. Beca pinched her playfully on the arm just as the producer announced the return from break.

"Four... three... two...!"

"We're back with the amazing and beautiful ladies of Pitch Perfect, Chloe Beale and Beca Mitchell" The audience once again applauded on cue. "And I know I promised we would talk about the movie after the break, but let me just squeeze this one last thing—"

Beca and Chloe simultaneously gave pointed looks of feigned annoyance.

"So we were chatting over the break and, well, I've interviewed you both separately and you're each wonderful people, but this is the first time I've had you both on my couch since learning about your shared past, and I gotta say... married or not, you two look great together." The host had to raise their voice to be heard above the cheering. "I can see that you truly are good friends still—a great model for ex-couples out there. I want to wish you both so much happiness and even more success in the years to come. And… as a present to you, I will stop talking about your past and just help you promote the hell out of this movie."

Beca joined in on the applause enthusiastically while Chloe laughed.

"Now, first, I want to show everyone a clip from the movie because I'm eager to know what was going on behind-the-scenes here..."

OCTOBER 2015 - NORTH SHORE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, ATLANTA

Walking arm-in-arm with her wife, Chloe walked into the auditorium that she had helped decorate the night before. There were quite a few people already there—faculty, staff, and students—enjoying the games and food. She caught the eye of a woman waving her over and squeezed Beca gently to steer her in that direction.

"Beca, this is our school principal, Dr. Brown," introduced Chloe. "Dr. Brown, this is my wife, Beca Mitchell."

"Mitchell?" the principal asked curiously, shaking Beca's hand. "This might be a long shot but any relation to Dr. Warren Mitchell down at Barden University? You do quite resemble him."

Chloe gasped and Beca's eyes widened in alarm. Dr. Brown looked between the two of them and narrowed her eyes. "I take that as a yes," she said with a hint of a smile.

"He's my dad," Beca said carefully.

"I see. I met him at a conference in Boston on the Asian Response to Colonization. He's very brilliant." Dr. Brown observed their shifty behaviour closely. "I take it he doesn't know you and Miss Beale are married?"

"No, he doesn't," Chloe confessed hurriedly. She could never lie to a telemarketer, let alone her boss. "Not that we want to keep it a secret, but there's a time and place and we're not—"

Dr. Brown put up a gentle hand to stop Chloe's rambling. "Chloe, relax. I don't make it a point to meddle in my faculty's personal lives. Congratulations, you two, and, please, enjoy yourselves."

Chloe sighed in relief. She hadn't been working at the school long enough to have an opinion of her boss, but the woman seemed genuine enough with her words that Chloe trusted their secret was safe.

"Why did you introduce me to that woman?" Beca hissed once they were out of earshot. "That went completely in the face of our 'not telling anyone we're married' plan!"

"I didn't know she knew your dad!" said Chloe defensively. "Jeez, the world of Comparative Literature must be microscopic… Oh, hey, there's Riley!" She gripped Beca's arm again and pointed to one of the tables on the far corner of the auditorium. "Now I know she's someone you'd like to meet, right?"

As a teacher, Chloe made sure not to have any favourites. She remembered her own experiences growing up and being overlooked by her teachers in favour of the more brilliant and more pleasing students; she wouldn't wish that sense of rejection on any child. Yet she couldn't help spot a few remarkable ones and tell Beca all about them and what made them special. Not holding herself to the same principles as her wife's, however, Beca had already chosen a favourite, and that was Riley.

The couple walked over to where a young girl with shoulder-length dirty blonde hair was sitting alone, headphones firmly clamped over her ears and staring so intensely at the laptop in front of her that they could see what was on the screen through the reflection in her eyes.

Chloe bent over and playfully lifted an ear pad off. "Not too close or you'll ruin your eyesight."

Riley perked up at the sound of her teacher's voice and twisted around, pushing the headphones down to rest around her neck. Her sapphire blue eyes shone with enthusiasm as she greeted them. "Hey, Miss Chloe! Happy Teacher's Day!"

"Thanks, Riley! I brought someone who's dying to meet you."

As if on cue, Beca stepped out from behind Chloe, smiling. "Hey, Riley. I'm Beca."

Riley's jaw dropped excitedly. "You're Beca? As in, the Beca? The creator of Miss Beale's epic mixes Beca?" she squeaked. "Dude, your beats are sick!"

Chloe threw her wife an amused look. She never dared tell Beca this, but it was uncanny how Beca chose to favour the one student that reminded her of both herself and her wife. On the outside, Riley seemed to have Chloe's bubbly persona and charming smile, but when it came to expressing her appreciation for music, her diction was all Beca.

"Yup, that's me. Chloe told me you were a fan."

"I love your music! Your mind is just—you have this way of—" Riley stopped abruptly, realizing her over-eagerness, and shrank back in embarrassment. "Sorry, I'm rambling…"

Chloe's pedagogical instincts kicked in and she hastened to intervene but, to her surprise, Beca beat her to it. "Hey, don't sweat it," she said, taking the seat opposite Riley's. "I'm a little nervous, too. I'm a huge fan of yours."

Riley's insecurity was overcome by a look of incredulity. "Wait, what? Fan? Me? Why?"

"Chloe told me you play over seven instruments!" Beca marvelled. "That is beyond impressive."

Riley looked down humbly. "It's not that big of a deal. I mean, once you learn one, it gets easier to start learning the others," she said. Then, gathering courage, she looked up eagerly. "Um, actually, hearing your music from Miss Chloe inspired me to start learning the drums..."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Riley turned her laptop ninety degrees to share the screen with Beca. "I've been watching drum covers all day to visualize beats in a different way. Here…"

Chloe couldn't contain her grin as Riley spun the laptop around the whole way and moved to sit beside Beca so they could listen together side-by-side. She smiled as the two bobbed their heads to the beat, wearing identical expressions of concentration—furrowed brows pursed lips. The part of Chloe that relished in the idea that Riley seemed to be the perfect mix between her and Beca lurched in earnest at the sight.

"Today was fun," Beca mused, intertwining her fingers with Chloe's as they strolled down the park on their way home hours later. "Well worth taking the day off from work."

"Really? I couldn't tell 'cause you spent the entire day with Riley," Chloe said with a pout. "To be honest, I didn't think you'd enjoy a whole day hanging out with a bunch of kids."

Beca laughed. "I do better around kids than most adults actually…"

"Is that 'cause they're closer to your eye level than most adults are?"

"Hey, you married all this," Beca gestured up and down her body, "so you don't get to complain. Besides, Riley's a great kid. It doesn't take that much effort to like her."

"She is great. And she really looks up to you," Chloe said with a sideways grin at her wife.

Beca returned the grin with a glint in her eye. "Huh. So she's smart, too" A pause. "I can... totally see our kid turning out just like her."

Chloe slowed her steps to compensate for her heartbeat accelerating wildly. She wasn't sure if those words meant what she thought—she hoped—they meant, since they were coming out of Beca's mouth and not hers for once. "You… you think about our kid often?" she asked, trying her best to act nonchalant, though she was certain Beca could feel her pulse racing from their clasped hands.

Beca shrugged coyly. "Maybe? Of course, I don't mean now. We're not ready." Chloe quickly nodded in agreement, careful not to scare the idea away. "But… it's definitely something I want to start being ready for."

Chloe bit her lip to keep herself from squealing with joy. She knew it was a big step for Beca—for anyone, even—just to admit that they wanted that, and she didn't want to put pressure on her by letting her know just how happy it made her. So Chloe simply nodded and said, "Good to know."

Meanwhile, her stomach had suddenly become a haven for butterflies.

PRESENT - WARNER BROTHERS STUDIO, BURBANK, CA

"… Chloe? Chloe?"

Chloe felt her shoulder being shaken lightly. Her eyes focused on Beca's half-amused, half-concerned expression. Around her, the studio was unusually silent. Chloe realized that she must have spaced out during the interview and ignored the host's last question.

Chloe cleared her throat, blushing. "I'm so sorry. Oh my gosh. I totally went somewhere else."

The audience laughed good-naturedly but Beca and the host leaned closer to Chloe, noticing how pale and shaken up she looked.

"Are you okay?" Beca asked her quietly, looking even more concerned when Chloe released a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Do you want some water?"

Unsure how to diffuse the tension, Chloe simply nodded. One of the production assistants gets her a glass of water after the producer called for an impromptu break, and the DJ played dance music to fill the silence. Chloe was suddenly thankful that they weren't live on the air. "I'm really sorry," she apologized profusely. "I get nervous in front of crowds…"

Beca knew her long enough to know that she was lying, but Chloe hoped that she wouldn't call her out on it. The host might have caught a whiff of it, too, since Chloe had been on the show before and was by profession a multi-award-winning a cappella champion, but thankfully neither of them challenged her excuse.

As Chloe took a long sip she caught the eye of her publicist behind the stage, who had his arms raised as if to say, "What are you doing?" before tapping the face of his thousand-dollar watch impatiently. She nodded at him and pulled herself together.

The rest of the taping went on without a hitch (at least to its host and audience) with Chloe back to her bubbly self and sharing hilarious experiences on the set of the movie. Beca was right by her side, laughing along and sharing her own musical experiences, but moments later, as Chloe expected, she was knocking on her dressing room door — and having it opened roughly by an angry man with perfectly slicked-back, dirty blonde hair.

The man's sour face brightened instantly at the sight of Beca and he plastered on a fake smile. "Beca Mitchell!" he greeted, almost yelling. "Huge fan. Pleased to finally meet you."

After having her hand crushed and shaken, Beca raised an eyebrow. "I'm here for Chloe?" They had agreed to leave the studio together, after thanking the host and mingling with the audience and crew for a while.

The man's fake smile faltered a bit. "She's in the bathroom." He stepped aside to let Beca in. "By the way, Miss Mitchell, if you're interested in having more joint interviews with my clie—with Chloe, please don't hesitate to have your people contact me."

Beca resisted rolling her eyes and accepted the man's card without even glancing at it. Saving her from a response, Chloe emerged from the bathroom wearing a cozy sweatshirt and acid washed jeans, running a hand through her now loose hair.

"You changed?" the man said instantly the moment Chloe stepped out.

"Yes, Dalton, I changed," Chloe answered in a slightly annoyed tone. She plopped a beanie to the top of her head and checked her reflection in the mirror. "I'm going home, there's no need to be all glammed up."

"You ready to go?" Beca asked before the man apparently named Dalton could interrupt.

"You're going with Beca?" Dalton asked, surprised, and then he snapped his fingers excitedly. "That's great! Okay! I have a couple of meetings to go through before I end the day so I'll leave you two alone—Chloe, stay on your cell, okay? Okay."

Beca waited until the clacking of Dalton's leather shoes disappeared into the hallway before rounding on Chloe. "Please don't tell me he's your new publicist," she begged. When Chloe threw her an apologetic shrug over her shoulder while fixing her bag, Beca groaned. "What happened to Macy? She was great. Her mint chip cookies were to die for."

"She's on her maternity leave," informed Chloe, as they made their way to the studio's parking lot. "They assigned me this new guy. Apparently he was their best intern. He's like a social media expert or something."

Beca snorted. "There is no such thing. Just another way millennials want to make themselves special."

"You're saying that as though you're not a millennial," smirked Chloe.

"Hey!" Beca wagged a finger at her in warning. "I told you I hate being grouped together with them."

"I'm sure a lot of them feel the same way."

Beca frowned thoughtfully, wondering if Chloe meant that as a generation of people not wanting to be stereotyped, or as a generation not wanting to identify with her. She fished for her keys and decided that it could go either way.

Once they were safely buckled in Beca's car, cruising at a decent speed outside the Warner Brothers studio, Beca sensed that Chloe was gearing up to reveal something. Chloe normally wasn't this pensive during car rides, so it didn't surprise her when she finally said, slowly and deliberately, "I need to tell you something."

She turned to face Chloe quickly before turning back to the road. To her relief, Chloe's expression looked more awkward and nervous than scared or afraid. "Does this have something to do with why you spaced out awhile ago?"

"Um, not really… At least, I don't think so? Or maybe it is…"

Beca frowned at the uncertain inflection. Usually Chloe was more forthright with her announcements. "Chloe, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Chloe was quick to reassure. "It's just… I want to have a baby."

A/N 2017 Edit: I realize that 2017 is almost done and that, realistically, it will be 2018 by the time I update with a new chapter, but I just want to thank everyone who follows or has read this story. I'll admit that it's the hardest to write out of all my stories, so please bear with the long delays. Hope you guys had a decent 2017! Here's to a better 2018.