Chapter 9: Symbiotic
"Wow." Beca took a sip of her coffee across the table from Chloe. "That's...intense. For a first mission and everything."
"Yeah." Chloe nodded slowly. "But Agent Price was so nice about it. I mean, I fucked up big time. And he still had my back."
"Sounds like he was a good partner."
"The best." Chloe smiled to herself. "But you're not too awful I guess."
"Oh, wow, thanks for the ego boost." Beca grinned sarcastically.
"But in seriousness...You're a great partner, Beca." Chloe looked down before bashfully glancing back at Beca who appreciated the compliment and didn't want to ruin it with some lame sarcastic comment.
"You're not so bad yourself, Beale." Beca glanced down before putting an end to their serious moment. "So, I'm going to go pay and we can head to work, yeah?"
"I'm paying." Chloe stood up quickly. "I never returned the favor for the drinks a while back." She shooed Beca away as she hurried to the counter.
When they walked back into HQ, Chloe announced she was going for a run. Beca was disappointed she couldn't join since she was still in her sling. She fiddled around on her computer with her left hand for a while before Jesse walked in and slouched down atop her desk.
"How's the shoulder, Mitchell?"
"Doesn't hurt too much as long as I don't move it around. Its more irritating than anything. Just ready to get back in the field." Beca bit her lip in concentration as she tried to type up some of the paperwork that had backed up for her and Chloe.
"But I'm sure the TLC your partner is giving you doesn't hurt?" Jesse winked. Beca immediately focused her attention on the guy sitting on her desk.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean...I'm sure you don't mind your hot redhead partner taking care of you." Jesse grinned.
"Please." Beca rolled her eyes. "She's just being nice. And she isn't doing that much anyway."
"Come on, I see the way you two look at each other." Jesse's tone turned serious. "How long are you going to wait to make a move. Now's the perfect timing. You saved her life; she's being your little personal nurse."
"Stop." Beca felt her cheeks blushing.
"You flirt with her constantly, what's stopping you? She seems to be well over whatever hatred she had at the beginning."
"She...She wouldn't. I'm not her type. She still gets irritated with me for everything. That would blow up in my face." Beca fidgeted in her seat.
"Oh come one. Sack up, dude, and just ask her on a date. Like a real date. I see how she looks at you. I don't think she'd say no." Jesse grinned as he stood up.
"Don't you have work to do or something?" Beca grunted as she returned her attention to the computer.
"Fine. Fine." Jesse raised his hands in surrender. "But you're both idiots if you ask me."
Beca just shook her head as Jesse walked away. She glanced up when he was gone and let out a breath. Would she say yes?
Chloe returned from her jog and walked into her and Beca's shared office. Beca had fallen asleep with her feet up on the desk and her head tilted to her left shoulder. She looked so peaceful. Chloe couldn't help but take a moment to smile at the calm Beca Mitchell. A version of Beca that wasn't armed and ready with a sarcastic or sexual comment. She liked this version.
"Take a picture." Beca mumbled groggily. "I've heard they last longer."
"Ugh." Chloe was irritated with herself for getting caught staring so she playfully slapped Beca's feet, knocking them off the desk. Beca jolted up and then let out a short yelp of pain, holding her right shoulder.
"Shit, I'm sorry!" Chloe paused, feeling guilty about her playful outburst.
"Its fine." Beca slowly sat up in the chair. "You might've set me months back in my recovery, but I'll be fine." She shot Chloe a joking glare as she brought her computer back to life. Chloe was relieved the brunette didn't seem to be in more pain but tried not to let it show. She sat down at her own computer and glanced up, feeling like she was being watched. As soon as her eyes moved to look up at Beca, Beca refocused her attention on her own screen. Chloe squinted and started typing away. Beca swallowed. She slouched forward and then glanced back at the redhead, her eyes peeking over her computer screen.
"What?" Chloe smirked as she quickly shot her eyes up to make eye contact again.
"Nothing." Beca shrugged and looked away. Chloe pursed her lips, trying to stifle a laugh. She was having a hard time focusing on her computer and decided she might as well call it a day.
"Do you...need a ride home?" Chloe slowly stood up, grabbing her jacket from her chair.
"Yeah." Beca hopped up a little too eagerly. "Still can't ride Stella for the time being."
"Stella?" Chloe cocked an eyebrow.
"My bike. Her name's Stella. Like Steeelllaaaaa." She did the Marlon Brando impression to a deadpanned Chloe. "Nevermind...yeah a ride sounds good. Thanks."
They pulled up to the apartment and Beca sat still. Trying to get the nerve to ask Chloe to come inside. Jesse's words reverberated in her head 'sack up, dude.'
"Umm…" She ran her hand along the back of her neck. "Do you want to come in?"
"Sure. Do you need help?" Chloe quickly turned the car off.
"Well, maybe. I mean, some things are tricky." Beca slid out of the car. Of course she'd only come up because she thinks I need help with my stupid shoulder. She thought to herself.
As they stepped inside, Chloe studied the apartment again. Even though she'd been here once there was a part of her she couldn't understand that just wanted to know everything about her partner. She looked upstairs and then back to Beca.
"I guess that's your bedroom?" Chloe nodded upwards. Is that your bedroom? Really, Chloe? Chloe kicked herself in her mind for asking.
"Yeah. Slash…" Beca hesitated.
"Slash?" Chloe's interest was piqued.
"Slash...mini music studio?" Beca was nervous about divulging that information for some reason.
"Really?" Chloe's eyes widened with excitement.
"Wanna see it?"
"Yes!" Chloe responded far too quickly. Calm your tits, Beale. She took a deep, calming breath.
Beca led her up the stairs to proudly display her music station. She had set up two desks side by side to fit everything. Chloe glanced around the rest of the room quickly too. It was surprisingly bare. There was a dresser, with nothing sitting on top, a nightstand with a small lamp, and a bed obviously. No pictures, no decorations. Just the music stuff. Chloe couldn't help but find it a little strange.
"Show me how it works?" Chloe nodded at the computer and switchboard. Beca eagerly complied and sat down.
"So I just find songs that have similar beats and bass lines. I combine them either with overlapping certain sounds or switching songs back and forth. Sometimes it comes out really bad, but sometimes it sounds pretty cool."
"Can I hear a good one?" Chloe leaned against one of the desks, nodding at the headphones.
"Uh…" Beca hesitated. She never shared this sort of thing with anyone. "Sure. Yeah." She searched the computer and pulled up a file, then handing her headphones to Chloe. Chloe stood stool and stared at the ground, focusing on the music.
After about a minute Chloe looked back at Beca and shouted, "This is so good!" Beca flinched at the volume. Chloe sheepishly pulled the headphones off. "Sorry, was I loud."
"A little." Beca grinned, holding her thumb and index finger close together. Chloe giggled quietly, setting the headphones back down while Beca stood up. They were standing face to face, searching each other's eyes. Beca gulped. Kiss her. No! Don't kiss her. Don't ruin a good moment and make it weird. Oh my God pull it together, Beca! Beca shook the thoughts from her mind and stepped back.
"Do you want a drink?" She turned away to shut off her music program.
"Uh, sure." Chloe nodded. That was your moment, Beale. Dammit!
Beca tried not to be shaky as she made the drinks. As she handed Chloe hers, she sat down at her small table, and Chloe followed.
"So I was thinking about what you had told me this morning." Beca took a cautious sip, avoiding eye contact. Chloe just nodded in response. "And I figured…" Beca continued. "I could tell you something from my past. Not everything, but you know something big like you did."
"You don't have to-"
"I want to. We're partners. We have a symbiotic…" She gestured awkwardly between the two of them. "Relationship. We should know stuff about each other. I think it'd help us in the field."
Chloe bit back a smile and just nodded, "Okay."
"Okay, so you told me about your first kill. I wanted to tell you about...well not my first kill. But the first kill that I wasn't okay with…"
Chloe swallowed hard, preparing for a difficult story.