Epilogue VIII - The Beale Brothers

"Becaaa!" Came the groan from the walk-in closet, and the petite brunette furrowed her brow slightly at the tone. She pulled her jeans up over her hips and made her way towards Chloe's voice, stopping in her tracks as Chloe came out of the closet, hands on her hips, a disapproving look on her face, and Beca could see exactly why. Her jaw dropped open as her eyes weren't drawn to how hot her girlfriend looked in the pair of small denim shorts. No, her attention immediately flew to Chloe's white bikini top that was successfully covering her perfect breasts, specifically between those breasts was a noticeably dark purple and red mark that could be obviously seen protruding above and below the strap of the bikini that ran across the redhead's breastbone. Beca hadn't even realised she could open her mouth that wide, let alone leave a hickey so large in its wake that not even Chloe's favourite bikini top could cover it.

Beca bit her lip guiltily, wincing slightly as she looked up at her girlfriend's face, "Oops?" she said in a tone that sounded as though she was hopeful the woman would forgive her, but Chloe was not impressed. The redhead huffed and strode back into the closet, presumably to try on a different bikini in the hope that it may cover a little more of the mark. But it hadn't. None of Chloe's bikinis had. And Beca had had to endure the next thirty minutes, sat on the edge of Chloe's bed, giving her the best advice possible about which bikini was the lesser evil when it came to hiding the huge hickey that appeared to get darker as time went on.

They eventually came to the conclusion that the first bikini, Chloe's favourite bikini, was actually the only one that covered the most of the mark. "Right, so that's it then, I won't be able to go swimming this week." Chloe said dramatically, tears in her eyes, and Beca could sense the disappointed tone in the woman's voice.

"Hey, come on now Chlo, it's not that bad," she said as she stood up from the bed, "maybe nobody will notice?"

"Maybe nobody will notice?!" Chloe echoed in a shrill tone. She paused, quickly glancing at her closed bedroom door as she heard her father walking along the upstairs landing, clearing his throat and whistling loudly as he made his way downstairs, and so Chloe lowered her voice "you haven't met my brothers before. The second they see this they'll immediately interrogate me about it. They won't stop Becs. They won't stop until they find out who gave it to me, and I'll end up having to tell them it was you!"

"Is that such a bad thing?" Beca could tell by Chloe's expression that she hadn't expected Beca to be okay with the prospect of them telling her family that they were in a relationship, the redhead clearly speechless, and so the brunette continued as she slowly walked up to her girlfriend, "Look they're gonna find out eventually Chlo," Beca reached her hands out and placed them on Chloe's hips, gently tugging so that the tops of their thighs met, "and I really don't think I could stand spending the week lying to your family about how much I love you."

It was an uncharacteristic thing for Beca to confess out loud. If she were Chloe she'd be making that retching sound again to show just how mushy the words were. But Chloe was someone who adored mushy romantic stuff. And so a shy smile peeped out of the left-side of the redhead's mouth as she snaked her arms around Beca's waist.

"My brothers are going to tease us you know..."

"Let them tease."

"It'll get awkward…"

"Let it get awkward."

"They'll probably threaten you…"

"Let them threaten!" Beca said with a laugh, "there's nothing anyone could do to stop me Chlo. I'm sorry but you're stuck with me." And Beca's heart soared as Chloe let out a giggle, placing a quick kiss on her lips before moving back into the closet.

"I'm going to have to wear a top over my bikini to hide this hickey then…" the redhead said with a slight tinge of inconvenience in the tone of her voice.

"It's really not that bad, Beale."

"Easy for you to say, you don't have any hickeys to hide up."

Beca let out a sigh, making her way back to the bed, "Would it make you feel better if I let you give me a hickey now to make up for the hideous hickey I've given you?" She landed on the edge of the bed, waiting patiently as she heard Chloe fumbling about with presumably a top to put over her bikini.

"So you do agree it's a hideous hickey?"

Beca rolled her eyes, leaning back on her right hand as she brought her left up to stroke the back of her neck, "Do you want to give me a pay-back hickey or not, Beale? Because this offer is expiring in twenty seconds…" and Beca grinned as she saw Chloe spring out of the closet with a broad smile on her face.

"Can I pick where it goes?"

"Um…" Beca wasn't quite sure why she was hesitating. Having a huge hickey wouldn't be as embarrassing for her as it would be for Chloe because her family would know that the youngest Beale would've administered it. So she knew Chloe would put some consideration into where the hickey might go.

"You picked where mine went…" Beca heard Chloe say seductively, and the redhead slowly walked over to the bed, "…so I think it's only fair…" Chloe reached a hand out, pushing gently on Beca's shoulder to encourage her to lay back on the bed. Which Beca happily obliged, her heart racing. "…that I get to choose…" Beca let out a longing sigh as she felt Chloe begin to slowly trail her tongue up her skin, from her navel to where her black bikini top rested over her small breasts "…where to put yours."

Beca almost expected Chloe to bite down and suck on the patch of skin at her breast bone. But the redhead merely kissed it. She noticed Chloe grinning at her. That grin she only ever wore when she was about to get up to mischief. And she watched as her girlfriend stood up and motioned for her to roll onto her front, which Beca did obediently, wondering what Chloe was planning.

Suddenly Beca jumped as she felt Chloe's mouth land on the small of her back, right where one of her tattoos lay, and her girlfriend managed to capture the skin between her teeth and suck hard. Beca could feel the blood vessels rising to the surface of the small of her back as the bruise began to take form and Beca tried to remain quiet, appreciating that while this painful action was payback, it was also turning her on as Chloe traced her fingertips across her upper back. A moan slipped out of Beca's mouth and the moment it had Chloe released her grip, placing a soft kiss over the patch she'd just sucked.

The brunette turned her head to look over her shoulder and her girlfriend was now stood, admiring her handiwork. Or rather mouthiwork. "There," Chloe said taking a deep satisfied breath, "now we're even."

…

Beca trundled into the kitchen behind Chloe, disappointed to see that the components of an infamous Beale breakfast had been packed away. Instead Sue seemed to be in the zone, cooking a spaghetti bolognese over the stove while Jerry was putting together a large salad. Beca looked over at the kitchen clock and couldn't quite believe it was almost midday already. She was sure she and Chloe had woken up about 10...

She watched as Chloe greeted her parents cheerily, and Beca gave a nod of hello to Mr & Mrs Beale when Jerry said in a teasing tone "Good afternoon you two…" Both women were now wearing tops that would hide their respective hickeys from the Beale's, and Beca realised just how relieved she was that they had been. She suddenly didn't think she could quite handle telling Sue and Jerry that she and Chloe were now in a relationship. If they saw the hickey on Chloe's body they would hate her. Hate her for marking their little girl. Especially as it'd been done under their roof. And she really liked Chloe's parents, so it mattered to her what they thought.

"Did you get much sleep?" Beca froze at the question that Jerry had directed at both herself and Chloe, and she suddenly felt heat rising into her cheeks. They'd tried to be quiet when fumbling around last night, Chloe reassuring her with each room she dragged her into that her parents were heavy sleepers and wouldn't be able to hear them.

"Um…" she began nervously, but Sue had stepped away from the stove to subtly jab her husband in the side with a warning look as Jerry chuckled.

"We always find the first night in a new bed the most uncomfortable. We barely sleep." Sue offered with a kind smile before she resumed her position over the stove, turning the hob off, and Beca exhaled in relief.

"Right, yeah…no it's a really comfy bed so, I slept really well, thank you" Beca said politely. It was true, the bed that Chloe had here was far comfier than the bed either of them had back in their apartment in New York. So for the few hours sleep that she had got from about 3am onwards, Beca had slept really well.

The sound of cars pulling up to the front of the house could be heard through the open window of the kitchen and Beca glanced over to look out of it. Her heart began to race, her palms getting a little sweaty as she saw several people getting out of three large cars. She recognised most of them from photos that Chloe had shown her over the years. But knowing who they were wasn't quite enough to rid Beca of her nerves.

There was a loud knock on the door and Sue Beale immediately dropped the large cooking spoon into the pot of bolognese with an excitable squeal. All of a sudden Beca understood where Chloe got her energy from as she watched Mrs Beale dash past them and out of the kitchen with a cheery "They're heeere!" Beca was took busy watching her reaction to notice Jerry wander up to Chloe and give her a reassuring pat on the back, before walking out of the kitchen to join his wife.

Then it happened. As the front door opened there was an explosion of noise and laughter and greetings and children squealing excitably as they were wrapped tightly in their grandparents arms and Beca felt a lump form in her throat. She wasn't nervous. She was terrified! Because this wasn't just her best friend's family she was meeting, it was her girlfriend's family. And even though they didn't know the significance nor the formal title of her and Chloe's relationship, it was a big deal to the women. Beca felt her girlfriend take her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze, and the brunette turned as Chloe gave her a small wink and a soft smile. And in an odd way, Beca felt better.

Before she knew it though Chloe had dropped her hand and was now skipping out of the kitchen to greet her brothers. Beca heard little voices, presumably belonging to Chloe's nephews and niece, as they squealed out "Auntie Chloeee!" and the brunette smiled as she heard her girlfriend call out "my babieees!" followed quickly by a quiet "oof" and plenty of giggles from the littlest Beale's as they lumbered on top of their favourite Aunt. Beca slowly made her way to the door of the kitchen to peer out into the entrance hall. She could see Chloe, a pile of her nephews and one of her nieces in a bundle on the floor.

On one side of the little pile stood Sue and Jerry who were busy hugging and greeting two blonde women who Beca presumed by their ages were Claudia and Julie, Chloe's sisters-in-law. Another sister-in-law was stood with them balancing a one year old on her hip and Beca assumed this was Laura and the youngest of Sue and Jerry's grandchildren, Ellie. One the other side of the women, laughing at their children who had piled on their little sister, were the Beale brothers. All tall, slim and handsome with dark brown hair, rough stubble, and bright blue eyes. Their smiles were the same as Chloe's, broad and dazzling like their mother's. There was no mistaking that the Beale siblings were related.

"Alright you little monkeys let Auntie Chloe go for a minute so she can actually breathe!" Beca saw one of the Beale brothers call out to the children who were currently in a heap on the floor with Chloe somewhere beneath them. It was Michael, the eldest Beale brother. She remembered Chloe showing her a photo of him once. Michael reached out to help his sister up off the floor as the kids all dispersed outside, and she hugged him tight squeaking "Its so good to see you Mikey!"

"You too Chlo-Bo!" Beca loved that despite the eight year age difference Chloe was still close to her eldest brother. And 'Chlo-Bo'? Now that was a nickname she was going to have to remember to ask the family about later. The Beale's were such an affectionate family that even seeing the men hug as a greeting didn't seem surprising. What did seem surprising however, was what happened next. Because Beca, who was stood quietly and innocently enough in the doorway, felt her heart jump with an almighty crash against her rib cage as she saw the eldest brother let go of Chloe and ask the redhead, "Now where's this girlfriend of yours huh?"

And Beca became so overwhelmed with shock that she didn't have time to gauge Chloe's reaction, which was far more shocked than hers. She didn't have time to fully appreciate Sue Beale's warning tone as she told Michael to stop. And she froze as everyone turned to look at her, another Beale brother, Ryan, grinning at her as he warmly exclaimed, "Beca!"

Beca clammed up, swallowing loudly as Ryan, Michael, and the other Beale brother Johnny all pushed their way past their little sister to greet the petite brunette. They shook her hand with great enthusiasm, grinning like idiots as they introduced themselves one by one before introducing their respective wives, each of whom waved politely with big smiles. Beca was sure they would've introduced their respective children too but the kids had all disappeared, something about a treehouse out the back...

"We've heard nothing but great things about you from Mom and Dad" Michael said and Beca peered past them at Sue and Jerry who suddenly looked a little embarrassed and Beca was stunned. How had Chloe's parents found out?!

Fortunately Chloe appeared to be on the same wavelength as Beca and all of a sudden the redhead raised her voice to draw the attention of her big brothers, her sisters-in-law, her parents, and her girlfriend, "Er excuse me? Can somebody please tell me how me and Beca dating has become public knowledge?"

"Er excuse me but next time try not to declare your love for the woman live on Instagram if you don't want it to become public knowledge yeah?" Ryan mocked his little sister with a grin, and evidently Chloe's facial expression was far too funny for the brothers who all laughed loudly, dashing over to their sister to put their arms around her in a group hug, the redhead initially struggling in their embrace then giving up with a huffy sigh.

"Aww poor little Chlo-Bo…" Michael mocked in a patronising voice.

"You're such an idiot, Bo," Johnny said to his sister with a chuckle, reaching for his phone and looking for something on it, "you said on Instagram last week that you and her were dating. You said you loved her!" And Beca couldn't help the small smile that was beginning to creep across her face. She hadn't been on Instagram since before they'd gone on the European Tour with The Bella's. So she had no idea Chloe had done that.

"Come on Beca, you'd better see this too" the youngest brother piped up, and Beca found herself wandering towards Chloe, the brothers making a gap for her so she could stand beside the redhead. And the next two minutes and fifteen seconds became the longest two minutes and fifteen seconds of her life. It was the video Fat Amy had taken of the two women during the last night of their tour in Prague, in the kitchen of the apartment they'd rented. She cringed inwardly, sympathising with her girlfriend as every one of the Beale's had a good chuckle at Chloe's drunken expense

When the video ended Beca glanced at the redhead and noticed the colour had drained from her face, her jaw open in shock, and Beca completely understood why. This had not been the way they'd expected people to find out. "Delete that video." Chloe said sharply to Johnny, but the man simply brought the phone to his chest with a grin, stepping back from his little sister.

"No way."

"Johnny delete it now!" Beca could sense an irritation in Chloe's voice that she'd never heard before and she wondered if it was one she reserved exclusively for her brothers whenever they teased her. Something Beca was sure had happened on and off for Chloe's entire life.

"I'm not deleting this video, Bo." Johnny said defiantly, waving his phone in front of her nose. Chloe reached out to try and swipe it from his hand but the man was too quick, letting out a chuckle as his sister's anger bubbled away, her voice rising with each word she spat out.

"Johnny I swear to God if you don't delete that video now I'm going to tear every last bit of hair from your stupid head!"

The brother's grin dropped as he held his hands up in surrender, "Okay okay, calm down…" he said quietly and Chloe took a deep breath to try to calm herself, but the silence didn't last long as the man grinned once again, "…I just thought it would be a nice video to play at your wedding."

"Right that's it!" Chloe screeched and she lunged for her brother, grabbing him by the waist and wrestling him to the ground. The three Beale brothers laughed loudly as their wives tutted, despite the bemused smiles on their faces. Beca found herself also grinning as she watched Chloe try to beat her big brother up.

It wasn't long before Sue Beale's voice rang out above the grunts and yelps of frustration from her two youngest children who were tussling on the ground before her, "Enough!" and Beca jumped. She never imagined Chloe's mother being someone who was ever capable of having the sharp tone of voice that was necessary to tell someone off, let alone actually going through with it, but Beca remembered that this was the woman who had brought up three sons and a fiery red haired daughter,

"Chloe get off your brother! Johnny stop teasing your sister!" Chloe rolled off her brother with a frown, getting to her feet as Johnny jumped up to stand beside her, brushing himself down with a slight smirk, "Honestly, you're nearly 28 and 32. Grown adults. And you're acting like children!" Her tone of voice gave Beca the impression that seeing these two Beale's squabble wasn't an uncommon occurrence, "Chloe, stop embarrassing yourself in front of your girlfriend…" Beca saw Sue turn to her for a moment to apologise for her children's behaviour, before resuming her focus on her sons who were now stood in a row all grinning at Chloe, "And boys, wipe those smirks off your faces! You've disobeyed your father and myself after we explicitly told you not to say anything to your sister until she was ready to tell us herself. And what do you do? You immediately bombard Beca with handshakes and introductions."

Beca found it somewhat amusing to see the three grown men stood before her looking sheepishly at one another, then over at their parents. "Now, what do you have to say to Chloe?" Sue asked her sons, her hands on her hips, and the Beale brothers turned to their sister, quietly apologising, "And to Beca?" Beca swallowed loudly, not really knowing why Chloe's brothers were being forced to apologise to her, but they turned to her all the same,

"Sorry Beca"

"Yeah sorry Beca"

"Sorry"

"Well now, that was all painfully unnecessary." Sue Beale said with a roll of her eyes and a heavy sigh, "Boys take your things up to your bedrooms, lunch will be ready soon. Your father will help."

"Will I?" Jerry asked in surprise, turning to his wife, but she merely looked at him and the man knew that look. It meant he was to have a quiet word with their sons in private. "Right, yeah, come on boys. Let's leave the women to sort the lunch out eh?" It was a risky comment given his wife's current mood that had been caused by their adult children's immaturity, but he was lucky that Sue was already making her way back into the kitchen with a slight shake of her head.

Beca was still frozen to the spot, not entirely sure what to do. She noticed Chloe furrow her brow slightly as her eyes followed her mother and before Beca knew what was happening, her girlfriend had begun to walk into the kitchen, taking hold of Beca's hand as she moved past her, dragging her along with her. The two women stopped by the island that stood in the centre of the kitchen. Sue Beale had begun pulling plates out of the kitchen cupboard to prepare for lunch, while Claudia, Julia, and Laura joined her. They each began gathering cutlery and glasses to set the table out the back of the property. But Chloe and Beca remained where they were, hand in hand.

"Mom, if you already knew about me and Beca, why didn't you say anything?"

The older women paused, looking over at the young redhead and her girlfriend and Beca felt her mouth go dry. It was a valid question. One that she wanted to know herself. So she waited with baited breath as Sue set the plates down on the island beside her, "Because sweetheart," the mother said softly as she walked slowly around to her daughter, "you and Beca. Your relationship and whatever you do in your relationship. That's your life. Your business." And the older woman stopped beside Chloe, reaching out and tucking some of her red hair behind her ear before affectionately cupping her cheek, "Besides, I can see how happy you make each other. How happy Beca has always made you." and Sue Beale gave Beca a warm smile before returning to the stove with a giggle, "After all, it would be no good if your mother started meddling in your happiness now would it."

"You're not a meddler" Beca found herself quickly saying, and the rest of the women in the kitchen turned to look at her with soft smiles, "I mean…we were going to tell you today…Chloe and I, we decided…well we didn't want to lie to you so…" And Beca's mind went blank as she struggled to put into words how much she valued Sue and Jerry Beale's love and kindness, how much she respected them. So she stopped talking. She felt Chloe squeeze her hand affectionately, and the brunette turned to look at her girlfriend whose bright blue eyes shone out at her. A sight that made Beca immediately relax and she smiled softly at Chloe, who had now dropped her hand and instead placed her hand in the back pocket of the brunette's jeans, cupping her ass affectionately before turning back to her mother.

"So you two are official?" Julia asked, noticeable excitement in her voice.

Beca didn't know why Chloe turned to her, as though double checking that they were actually official. Of course they were. She wouldn't be here, stood with her, like this, if they weren't. And so Beca just winked at the redhead, snaking her arm slowly around her waist.

"Yep" Chloe replied proudly, grinning broadly at the women of her family.

"We're so thrilled for you Chlo!" Laura said with an encouraging wink.

"Yeah we were only just saying in the car ride over here that it's nice to see you looking so happy Chloe" Claudia said brightly, having known Chloe for almost eighteen years, since around the time of Chloe's tenth birthday.

Beca felt her cheeks flushing slightly in embarrassment and as she heard Jerry Beale's whistle come down the stairs she brought her hand from around Chloe's waist awkwardly. She didn't know if it was something to do with the intimidation of the father-figure, but Beca always felt a need to tone-down the scrap of affection she gave Chloe in public when Jerry was near. She could only imagine how protective the man was of his only daughter, and as such she wanted to prove to him just how much she respected him and the role he played in Chloe's life. A role that was ten times the role her own father played in hers.

Her father. Beca's mind drifted slightly as she wondered if her father had also seen the video on Instagram. She knew he was on there from time to time, often posting similar photos of the Barden University Campus and how 'beautiful' it looked in the sun. She knew he followed The Barden Bella's Instagram page. But had he seen the live video? No, he can't have. He would've contacted her by now if he had. But what if he'd been like The Beale's and was just waiting for her to tell him? Beca felt her palms get sweaty again. Never mind her being nervous about The Beale's. The real challenge would be telling her father.

"Sorry about my sons, Beca," Jerry said as he sauntered into the kitchen, reaching out and plucking a tomato from the salad he had made earlier, "the years can go on and they can all age but at their core they're still Chloe's brothers. And for some reason they still feel a need to make their little sister's life a misery."

"They're alright really…" Chloe said brightly with a shrug, not noticing the way her father glanced suspiciously at where his daughter's hand might have disappeared to. But Chloe's hand in Beca's back pocket was the least of his worries and Beca hated to think what his reaction would be if he found out about their hickeys.

Guys seriously, I can't thank you enough for the comments and reviews. It's really spurred me on to write and release this epilogue asap :) and it was so much fun to write.

It'll be another couple of days before the next epilogue will be posted.

hope you enjoyed :)

xx