Switching Gears

A/N: This may have been intended to be part of Staubrey week as Friends to Enemies, but I'm a lazy writer.

Thanks as always to Maus for the constant encouragement and beta.

Special thanks to aliciameade for giving me the nudge I needed for the title.

~A~

"Hey, that was my spot!"

Aubrey frowned at the brunette who was swinging one incredibly long leg over her bike.

"Pardon?" Taking out one earbud, the other woman looked over the top of her sunglass at Aubrey. "Did you say something?"

"I said, that's my spot." Aubrey gestured to the rack. "I was waiting for the other person to leave." Truthfully she'd lost track of time while checking her phone and hadn't noticed when the bike she'd been waiting for had left but that still didn't excuse taking her spot.

"Oh." The brunette shrugged. "There's one right there that's opened up." She pointed two racks down and pulled out a chain from her backpack.

"Then you use that one, I was here first." Aubrey couldn't believe that people still didn't observe common courtesy. It was just as annoying as when someone pulled into the parking spot she'd been patiently waiting for.

"It's just a bike rack; we're all in front of the same building." Ignoring Aubrey's scoff she knelt and wrapped the chain around her front tire and the rack. "Nothing worth losing your cool over."

"I am not losing my cool!" Aubrey insisted, though maybe it was louder than she intended as several other people looked at them as they passed by them on the way into or out of Stretch It Out, the dance/yoga/fitness studio that Aubrey visited almost daily.

Staring Aubrey deadass in the eye, the other woman pulled out a lock and fastened it in place. "You should try yoga, might help you unclench a little."

"Unclench?!" Aubrey couldn't believe the audacity of this woman.

"Yeah," the brunette stood easily, one long finger circling in front of her own face. "You'd be cuter if you didn't have that pinched expression." She plucked her sunglasses off and settled them on top of her head. "Though," her head tilted and her eyes flicked up and down Aubrey's body. "I kind of like that nose flare you've got going on right now."

Aubrey saw red and by the time she'd blinked it away all she saw was a brunette braid entering the building in front of her.

"Did she just walk away from me?" Aubrey stared for another couple seconds until she realized she was making even more of a scene by sitting on her bike and talking to herself. With efficient movements she slipped off the bike and walked it over to the next rack. As if nothing had happened, she locked it up and made her way into the building.

Aubrey spent the entirety of her spin class thinking of what she'd say if she ever saw that smug brunette again. So what if she liked that particular spot, it wasn't anything unusual for someone to have preferences on things. Sure, it wasn't like 'Cheers' and she wasn't Norm to be greeted by shouts of her name when she pulled up, but she'd been chaining her bike there more often than not, at least four days a week, since she moved to town three years ago.

"Great job, Aubrey!" A cheerful voice called over the music and Aubrey's eyes snapped to the front of the room where the instructor, Flo, was beaming at her. "That's the kind of energy I like to see, yes!"

Aubrey looked down and realized she had a death grip on the handles and was powering through whatever the current exercise was. Forcing herself to relax she eased back on the tension, not wanting to wear herself out before the end of class. When it was over, she moved to the next room and stretched out muscles that were definitely more sore than normal.

'I am so going to feel this tomorrow,' Aubrey thought as she took a shower. 'Might have to skip the Friday class.'

Feeling calmer she changed into a fresh set of bicycle shorts and tank top before heading back out into the late afternoon sunshine. She certainly wasn't looking around for a certain annoying woman to give her another piece of her mind. Except maybe she wasn't thinking of where she was going and, moving on autopilot, went to her bike rack and was confused by the fact that hers wasn't there. In fact, for one brief moment she thought her bike had been stolen before it all came flooding back to her. Moving to her bike, she knelt to remove the chain, starting to wrap it around her seat post before a thought struck her.

It was beyond petty, she definitely recognized that, but still found herself walking back to the… the... interlopers bike. Casually, she wrapped the chain she still held around the frame and the rack. Then, before she could think twice, she snapped her lock around it and stood up, moving quickly back to her own bike and sliding it free of the rack. Pushing it to the road, she took her place on the seat and secured her helmet. Just before she put her earbuds in she heard a loud "What the fuck?" behind her. Unable to resist, she looked over her shoulder.

The brunette was crouched by her bike, tugging at Aubrey's chain. "What kind of asshole would…" She broke off and looked up, her eyes searching before locking on Aubrey with a furious intensity. Aubrey gave her a smug grin and finished putting in her earbuds as the other woman took a step forward. "Why the fu-"

The rest of it cut off by her music, Aubrey turned her back and gave the bell mounted on her handlebars a jaunty ring before she took off down the street. Her good mood completely restored she headed to her favorite bike shop to replace the chain and lock that had been lost in a very good cause.

When she'd first moved to town a few years ago, it was because she was tired of LA and its constant bustle and rush. She wanted to live somewhere she could slow down and not always feel like she was falling behind just because she wanted to take a breath once in a while. As she'd packed up her tiny apartment that almost cost more than the rental house she was using until she got her own, she decided that she was going to get a bicycle and use it to explore her new home.

In her research she found several shops but had originally dismissed One for the Road because the name made her think of drinking and driving and anywhere that would even vaguely promote that was obviously not a place to be taken seriously. So, once she arrived, she'd started down her meticulously researched list with high hopes. By the time she'd gotten to the bottom of it all of them had been checked off for one of two reasons: They had talked down to her or tried to get her number from the second she'd opened the door. Or both.

One day she had been taking a walk through an as yet unseen part of town when she happened to look up as she was passing a small, unassuming storefront tacked onto the end of the strip mall she'd been perusing. It had lacked all the flash of the shops she'd visited over the past three weeks but the name was definitely familiar: One for the Road. Since it couldn't be any worse than the other dozen places she'd checked out, Aubrey made her way inside.

Beca Mitchell may have been a small package of sarcasm wrapped in flannel but she was extremely knowledgeable about bicycles and delivered her information without any of the condescension or thinly disguised leers that Aubrey had found elsewhere. She'd asked Aubrey her reasons for wanting a bike, where she'd wanted to go with it – merely city streets or if she wanted to also take it into the mountains that weren't very far away – and began to show her different models based on her answers.

When she'd left she had a new bike and her first friend in her new home. Over several return visits to adjust things here and there or pick up a few accessories – like a package rack on the back so she could ride her bike to the store and get more than would fit in her backpack – the two of them had become closer than Aubrey had ever been to anyone in LA. In addition to a platonic 'date night' every Friday, they had lunch or dinner at least twice a week – though they usually managed more than that – and that was where Aubrey headed after leaving the fitness studio.

By the time she got to Beca's shop her mood had continued to improve and she was singing softly under her breath with her music as she pushed her bike through the door. Pausing just inside she turned off her phone and looked around. To the right was a slender Asian woman working over a bike mounted to one of several repair stands along one side of the main room. Two eyes peered around the front tire and blinked at her.

"Hey Est…" Aubrey hesitated, studying her closely. "…Lil…" She trailed off again, clearing her throat awkwardly. "How are you?" It was lame and she knew it, but talking to Beca's assistant sometimes proved… difficult. She waited for a response but the other woman only stared at her for a moment more before going back to whatever she had been doing before Aubrey walked in.

'Must be Lilly today.' Aubrey thought to herself as she walked her bike to the back of the store and tucked it behind the counter.

She never quite knew how to react to the mechanic as apparently on any given day she either went by Lilly or Esther and you wouldn't know which until she talked. Or, rather, if she didn't. Beca had tried to explain it once but Aubrey refused to believe that any story that had someone declaring "Satan left my body!" could have any truth to it. It was far more likely that the woman had a split personality, one more outgoing than the other. 'Still,' she thought as she made her way back to Beca's office. 'Might as well stay on her good side. Just in case.'

"Anyone home?" Aubrey knocked on the doorframe and leaned against it.

"Hey, Aubrey." Beca said as she looked up from her computer. "I'm almost ready for lunch, just need a few."

"No problem." Aubrey shrugged off her pack and dropped down into the visitor chair tucked into the corner. "I'm also going to need a new chain and lock."

Beca's brow lifted. "Really? How did you manage to lose that?"

Aubrey bit her lip. "I wouldn't say I lost it, exactly. I know where it is."

"Okay, hold that thought." Beca held up her hand. "There's obviously a story but if I don't get this done Lilly doesn't get paid on Friday." Beca looked back down at her laptop. "The last time I was a day late she quit for two weeks and I'm not losing my best repairwoman just before the summer starts."

Aubrey settled into the chair and crossed her legs. She knew she had about five minutes to come up with anything other than the truth or she was going to be teased mercilessly for the next two years. Except her normally sharp mind wasn't being cooperative and she still hadn't come up with any other plausible explanation by the time Beca closed the lid to her laptop and focused back in on Aubrey.

"Alright, spill."

"There's nothing to spill." Aubrey deflected even though she knew it was a lost cause.

"Then why are you touching your throat?" Beca tilted her head. "You only do that when you're nervous."

Aubrey yanked her betraying hand down into her lap. "There is nothing to be nervous about." Which was true, except maybe she knew she'd reacted badly to something minor and stupid and now that she had to explain it, felt even pettier than she knew she'd been earlier.

"Uh huh." Beca leaned back in her chair. "You know you're going to tell me and might as well just get it over with."

Aubrey sighed. "Fine. I locked it around someone else's bike at the studio."

"What?" Beca frowned. "Why… would you…?"

"Someone took my spot." Aubrey muttered and looked away.

"Aubrey Posen you never mumble and whatever you just said was quieter than Lilly on her silent days." Beca leaned forward again, her tone confidential. "Was she hot?"

"What?!" Aubrey blinked. "Why would you jump to the conclusion that it was a woman?" She realized she was touching her throat again and forced herself to relax.

"Because the only time I've seen you anything less than confident was when you were interested in the owner of your studio." Beca turned around and dug into the mini fridge in her office. When she turned back she had two bottles of beer. "Don't give me the drinking and riding speech. We're walking to lunch."

Aubrey shrugged and took the bottle after Beca had taken off the cap. "I save that for special occasions now. So what? I thought the owner was pretty, sue me." She took a drink to shut herself up.

Chloe Beale was not only a gorgeous redhead, but also was one of the nicest women Aubrey had ever met and she'd made Aubrey feel welcome the second she'd walked into Stretch It Out. She was also beautiful and Aubrey had felt an instant attraction that had, over time, faded as she'd never found the right moment to see if her interest was returned. Either Chloe was greeting people at the front desk, which was never empty, or somewhere else in the studio. She knew Chloe well enough that she felt comfortable greeting her by name if they passed, but it wasn't like they'd had time to sit down and chat. And Aubrey never quite worked up the nerve to ask her to lunch before she'd decided the moment had passed.

"I'll believe that when I see it." Beca took a sip of her own. "She's also the only woman I've heard you call pretty." She tilted her head. "I was starting to think I was going to have to start getting the names of women who come into the shop for you but… Maybe I don't have to."

"Shut up," Aubrey laughed despite her annoyance. "I can find my own dates, thank you very much."

"Did you have your number etched on the chain or something?" Beca grinned behind her bottle before she took another drink of her beer. "Hoping she'll call you to chew you out… or to do something else with her mou-"

"No!" Aubrey interrupted quickly and shook her head. "It's… it was just stupid, Beca."

"Now that you've confirmed there is a woman, I have to hear the whole story. You never admit stupid things without a lot more teasing." She sat back in her chair and waved her hand. "Continue."

Sighing, Aubrey relented. "I'd gotten to the studio and someone was in my spot."

"They assign you spots when you join?" Beca frowned. "That's… weird."

"They don't. I just… I just like that particular spot. It's right up front and usually available when I go." Aubrey took another drink as a stalling tactic.

"You do sometimes get set in your patterns and ideas about things." But Beca said it without malice and Aubrey took no offense. "I remember you telling me about how you avoided my shop based on the name and never even looked at the glowing reviews all my customers had left me."

"Gee you're so humble," Aubrey teased.

"I'm the best and that's why my Dad gave me controlling interest before he went gallivanting off to Europe with his new wife." Beca lifted one shoulder. "Plus I've been working here since I was sixteen, so I know the bikes and make sure to keep up on the new innovations."

"If you're the best, why are you in this strip mall instead of in a big building with a big flashy showroom?" It was something Aubrey had wondered before but never got around to asking.

"Because I hate people." Beca shrugged. "Maybe one day I'll expand, but until then I'm good with the customers I have right now." She narrowed her eyes. "Don't think I'm going to let you distract me with talking about the business, Aubrey."

"Fine." Aubrey pursed her lips before continuing. "The person who was in my spot – yes my spot," she said pointedly when Beca smirked at her, "was getting ready to leave. She was unchaining her bike, so I pulled out my phone to check my email. I was answering my brother's latest nag to come visit him on his next leave at home and didn't see them leave. By the time I looked back up a new person was pushing their bike into the rack."

"How dare." Beca murmured.

"And I wasn't expecting it, because obviously I was standing there and waiting – like any polite person with a parking spot – and may have told her to get out of my spot."

"Woman, confirmed." Beca said sagely.

"You want the story or you want to make fun of me?" Aubrey snapped.

"Both?" Beca lifted her brows. "Both are good for me."

"Sorry," Aubrey shook her head. "I didn't mean to rip your head off."

"It's fine, I've got a thick skin. But please, continue." Beca made a show of drawing an invisible zipper across her lips.

"But she didn't move and just locked her bike up while staring at me the whole time." Aubrey frowned when Beca snickered. "It's rude, Beca." Aubrey took a drink of her beer, feeling annoyed all over again. "Then she told me to try yoga because it might help me unclench." Aubrey gritted her teeth when Beca almost snorted out the mouthful of beer she'd just taken.

"Is she still alive?" Beca gasped as she finally managed to swallow the liquid instead of spraying it all over her desk.

"Yes, Beca." Aubrey said tartly before taking a breath and then pausing. Maybe she shouldn't tell Beca the rest of it; it would only give her more ammunition.

"Surprising. And for that you sacrificed your chain and lock?" When Aubrey remained silent, still considering her options, Beca searched her face. "Oh, that's not the end of it, is it." It was a statement, not a question.

"I'm starting to regret how well you know me." Aubrey picked at the label on her bottle. "You're not going to believe me if I say it was, are you?"

"Nope," Beca said cheerfully. "So you might as well tell me now in the safety of my office instead of at lunch. In public."

Aubrey sighed again. "She said… She told me I'd be cuter if my face wasn't so pinched, but apparently my nose flares when I'm angry and she kind of liked it." Aubrey snapped her mouth shut; she hadn't meant to say that last part. It had no bearing on anything else and now she'd never hear the end of it.

"You know what I got out of that?" Beca said after a moment of silence. "That she thinks you're cute."

Aubrey huffed out a breath. "Of course that's all you heard."

Beca shrugged. "So, was she cute?"

"I literally saw red, Beca."

"That… is not an answer, Aubrey. So my assumption here is – yes." Beca took another drink. "Office or public, Bree."

"She was taller than me, legs like a giraffe, brunette hair in a braid." Aubrey said as casually as possible.

"Giraffe, huh?" Beca mused. "What color eyes?"

Aubrey drained the last of her bottle. "No idea, sun was in mine. Are we done? Can we go to lunch now?"

"Sure, Bree." Beca finished her own beer. "Just as soon as you tell me why you did the thing."

"I don't even know," Aubrey admitted. "I'd blocked it out during the after class stretch and my shower and when I came out I saw her bike in my spot and thought my own had been stolen. Then when I remembered the whole thing – which apparently did wonders for my energy while in class, I might actually hurt tomorrow – I got angry all over again. I had unchained my bike and the stupid thought popped into my head that it'd serve her right if I locked her bike to the rack." She couldn't help blushing with her next admission. "So I did."

"I think that's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard you admit and I'm so proud right now." Beca wiped a fake tear from her eye.

"Shut up." Aubrey felt her embarrassment begin to fade. "It was dumb, I know it was. But… she just was so…"

"Hot?" Beca offered.

"Infuriating." Aubrey sneered. "Smug."

"Hot," Beca said again, grinning.

"Whatever," Aubrey rolled her eyes.

"What kind of bike did she have?" Beca asked suddenly.

"What?" Aubrey blinked and frowned. "I don't know; why do you want to know?"

Beca shrugged. "Professional interest."

"Well, I don't remember." Aubrey said but Beca just stared at her. "Ugh, fine. One of the Canyons. I don't know which because they all look alike."

"She's serious about bikes though, those German bikes can cost a pretty penny depending on what model." Beca mused then made a sour face. "Probably goes to that German Amazon's shop."

Sensing the tables were about to be turned in the teasing department, Aubrey kept her face blank. "What was the name of it again? I can never remember."

"Das Speed Machine." Beca said in her most deadpan voice then rolled her eyes. "Stupid name for a shop. I think she did it just so she could shorten it to DSM and slap their name on every product they sell just to jack up the price."

"That's right." Aubrey nodded. "Does that guy still follow her around and do half her talking for her, like she's too good to do it herself?"

"Yup," Beca nodded slowly. "I've always wondered about their relationship."

Aubrey shuddered. "I don't and don't you dare put that thought in my head." She half laughed but smothered it quickly "You know what I think?"

Beca looked at her warily. "Do I want to know?

"I think you have a thing for her."

Beca shot upright in her chair. "What?! I do not!"

"You stutter and flail whenever she's around." Aubrey waited for half a heartbeat. "And stand on your tiptoes."

Beca gaped at her. "That… that means nothing!"

"You also thought her sweat smelled like cinnamon." Aubrey pointed out. She'd been waiting for the right moment to use that line and the glee she felt at finally being able to was probably sadistic.

Beca's eyes widened. "How was I supposed to know there was an elephant ear vendor behind us!"

Aubrey crossed her legs primly. "Because your race ended at an outdoor fair and you had just pointed at it and said you wanted to get one."

Beca's mouth worked but nothing came out for several long seconds. Finally she slumped in her chair. "Maybe I just need a taller pair of shoes." She looked up at Aubrey, one eye closed. "But I do not have a thing for her. She's not my type."

"Oh?" Aubrey prompted when Beca didn't continue. "Tall and smells like cinnamon isn't your type?"

"Ha. Ha. Ha." Beca shook her head. "No – condescending and rude as hell. One day, though, one day I'm going to beat her and it will be glorious." She sighed and her eyes went distant.

"And I'll be there cheering you on," Aubrey agreed as she stood up. "Lunch?"

"Yup." Beca stood up and pushed her chair in, grabbing both bottles of beer. Detouring behind the counter to recycle them, Beca called out, "Lilly, you're in charge. Please try not to scare anyone off again?" Without waiting for an answer, knowing one wouldn't be heard even if it was forthcoming, Beca led the way out of the building.

When they reached the sidewalk, Aubrey pulled her sunglasses back out. "You know, you're one to talk." She put her sunglasses on and turned to Beca. "Why do you still call it One for the Road when all it does is make you sound like you advocate drunk driving?"

"Because my dad thought it was funny. Besides, you vetoed my alternate name idea." Beca accused as they walked toward the restaurant.

"You can't name your business The Cycle-Path just because you think it's a funny play on psychopath. Which you are not." She paused for dramatic effect. "Probably."

"Buzzkill." Beca muttered. "Just for that, you get to buy lunch."

"It was my turn anyway, so nice try." Aubrey tilted her head back and let the sun warm her face. It was a nice afternoon, the walk was short and she was about to have a great lunch with her best friend.

She definitely was not thinking of a certain, long legged brunette and what she'd say if they crossed paths again in the future.