EPILOGUE XXXXIII – The Slacks

Chloe let out a heavy sigh as she switched the ignition of her car off. She'd made it. Four long months of planning and re-choreographing and organising and long six-day weeks. Tomorrow was finally going to be the night of the show's first preview on Broadway. Chloe was looking forward to not having to go home late at night in the dark. Perhaps she'd feel less exhausted getting home earlier in the evening than 11pm each night?

The redhead peered out of the front window and grimaced. The rain clattered heavily on the windscreen – odd weather for mid-July but New York was no stranger to unusual weather from time to time. The last thing she wanted was to have to get completely soaked on her quick dash from the car to her house. But if she didn't do so now then she would be running the risk of falling asleep in her car she was that tired. So with a deep breath, the redhead grabbed her handbag, pulled her car keys from the ignition, and chucked herself out of the parked vehicle.

She let out a light squeak while dashing through the puddles, cursing her terrible choice in footwear, and lunged for the dry porch. Chloe let out several sharp exhales, looking down at her drenched clothes to assess the situation. There was no hiding the fact that she'd just ran through the rain – she was soaked.

The woman unlocked the front door and shunted her way inside. Then she paused, her brow slightly furrowed. No lights were on downstairs – which she wasn't surprised about considering it was headed towards midnight on a Wednesday evening. But there was a dim light on upstairs, the sound of music being played loudly along with the sound of…drilling.

Chloe hadn't been aware of any purchase of a drill by herself or her wife. In fact, she couldn't be sure what on Earth required drilling upstairs anyway. So she gently closed the door behind her, calling out a "Hello?" to no answer.

The redhead locked the front door and dropped her handbag down onto the floor. She heard the recognisable sound of scampering paws and blunt claws on wooden flooring as Alba appeared from nowhere, wagging her tail ferociously in greeting. Chloe let out a light chuckle, waggling the Labrador's ear affectionately before looking upstairs.

"What's Mama up to, huh?" She asked the dog rhetorically, and Alba quickly scampered up the large staircase, Chloe following behind, slowly ascending it with a curious smile on her face. She hated the way she currently 'squished' due to how wet her clothes were, but she was a little preoccupied with the noises from upstairs for it to affect her mood too much.

The drilling stopped and the distinct sound of her wife's voice sang out to the song that Chloe now recognised as one of the original songs from her show. She smiled gently. Beca still had the most beautiful singing voice. And though Chloe had tried to get her wife to have her name put in the show's Broadway programme, to boast about the fact that incredible music producer Beca Mitchell had in fact produced the incredible songs that were now available on digital download from the musical – Beca had refused. The brunette had insisted that 'Showstoppers' was Chloe's success not hers. So Beca refused to have her name attached to the show other than as Chloe Beale's wife (whenever news articles chose to write about the show).

Chloe reached the top of the staircase, and noticed the light was coming from the spare bedroom. The one down the end that they'd casually agreed last week would make a wonderful nursery one day. She slowly made her way towards the door, pushing through it to stand in the doorway, and her heart skipped a beat at the sight before her.

Beca was stood with her back to the door, her hands on her hips while she inspected a short, wife bookcase that Chloe hadn't ever seen before. The new piece of furniture stood along a wall. And Chloe noted the drill at her wife's feet. Clearly this had been what Beca had been drilling.

Alba wandered over to Beca and sat beside her, looking up at the new bookshelf, her head cocked to the side slightly. Chloe smiles as her wife looked down at their dog and patted her on the head.

"What do you think?" Beca asked the Labrador over the sound of the music playing, her focus still on the bookshelf, "Big enough for all those kids books Mommy's got stored up in the loft?"

Chloe stepped a little further into the room, making her wife jump when she answered, "Definitely."

Her eyes remained on Beca as the brunette turned to her with a smile. Chloe's gaze drifted down to the white vest, jeans, and black slacks that her wife currently wore. Her stomach swam with desire. She had to admit, Beca looked really hot in her 'DIY' clothes.

"Thought I'd put that drill your Dad lent me to good use." Beca replied with a grin, noting the way her wife was checking her out. "Good rehearsal?"

Chloe approached the brunette, placing a kiss on her lips before nodding with a hum, "Best one yet." she replied in an optimistic tone, and they both let out light chuckles while Chloe placed her hands on Beca's hips.

"Like what you see, Beale?" Beca asked, cocking her eyebrow slightly while her eyes flickered down to her wife's lips and Chloe nodded. The woman's fingers slipped under the slacks, skimming up Beca's front thoughtfully.

"Loving the slacks, Beale." Chloe replied to her wife.

They both hesitated for a moment, enjoying the chance to be stood like this with each other for what felt like the first time in forever. The past few months had been so busy that Chloe had had little energy to do anything more than get home from work and collapse on the couch in front of the TV or straight into bed to sleep. And Beca had happily let her, understanding how her wife could be so exhausted. So this current interaction was refreshing for the couple, whose life here in Connecticut had become so busy that most romance had gone out the window.

Chloe tugged her bottom lip between her teeth, breathing in deeply through her nose and she straightened up. Beca's slacks were let go with a 'snap', and the redhead slowly stepped backwards, "I need a shower."

"You do need a shower." Beca agreed with a grin, bending down to pick the drill up from the floor, ready to put it away, "You're soaked."

"Mmm.." Chloe agreed, hovering in the doorway, a mischievous smile on her face, "..wanna join me?"

She watched in delight as Beca immediately paused, the drill in her hand and her mouth dropped open with a small smile on her face. The brunette choked out a "Seriously?" and Chloe nodded.

"Because if you're too tired then-" But Beca was quickly interrupted by her wife, whose eyebrows had risen seriously:

"-I'm only offering once tonight, babe. You can take it or leave it."

And Chloe grinned as she watched Beca quickly stoop down to drop the drill, the woman mumbling "Definitely taking it…" before dashing towards her with a grin. Chloe let out a giggle as her wife threw her arms around her neck, tugging her into a firm deep kiss.

They may have had a dry spell over the past few months, but that dry spell was soon to end as Beca and Chloe led one another – giggling between kisses – towards their bedroom en-suite, already peeling clothes from each other's body.