Perfectly Pitched

A/N: My first Pitch Perfect fic! Go easy on me. LOL!


Beca Mitchell, recording artist and music producer, smiled brightly at the line of people waiting to get her autograph. She was bone tired and ravenously hungry, but she persisted and soon got through the line before she was swept away into her car by her security and her harried looking assistant.

"Beca, are you sure you want to do this? It's going to be pandemonium at the airport and..."

Beca held up her hand. "We're making a quick stop at my apartment so I can eat a sandwich and change into something less conspicuous. I really want to do this, Zoe. It's important to me."

"Ok," the assistant replied, going back to her email.

"Dude," Beca said with a smile. "How about you take a break and relax for a few minutes? The email will still be there."

Zoe glanced up, snorting a laugh. "Spoken truly like a woman who has someone to manage her email for her."

"Do I really get that much mail?" Beca asked, frowning.

"Over five hundred a day," the assistant replied, eyebrows raised.

"Fuck me," Beca muttered. "I don't even have five hundred friends." She blinked. "I don't even have twenty friends."

"Maybe, Bec, but you have a lot of requests from people who want to work with you. Make-a-Wish has sent eighteen emails in the last two weeks alone."

Beca perked up at that. "Make-a-Wish? Really?"

Zoe nodded distractedly, fingers flying over her iPad's keyboard. "Mmm..."

"Zoe." Beca's voice was gentle. "I want to do something for them. Give that priority, ok?"

"But..."

"Please? I want to do something meaningful."

Zoe smiled slightly and nodded. "I'll give the representative a call later on today."

The car was pulling up outside Beca's apartment building now and she jumped out, shielding her eyes from the flashing cameras that suddenly invaded her space. In the years since she'd signed with DJ Khaled's label, she'd been catapulted into stardom and while she was still loving making music, the intrusiveness of it all sometimes got to her.

"BECA! Is it true that you're dating Ryan Mackey?"

The singer rolled her eyes. "No, it's not true."

"BECA! When's your next song dropping?"

"That information will be released over social media," Zoe said. Beca looked at her gratefully. She honestly didn't know what the date was yet. "You might want to follow Beca, if you don't already."

The petite singer lifted a hand in acknowledgement and stopped to sign an autograph for a little girl before pushing through the crowd and into the lobby, where the security staff stopped the paparazzi from following her. She stepped into the elevator with her assistant behind her and just leaned against the wall.

"Doing ok?" Zoe asked as she dropped her phone into the large purse hanging from her forearm.

Beca shoved her hands into her jeans pockets and shrugged. "Just eager to get to the airport."

"You really miss them," the assistant smiled, pushing her blonde hair back from her face.

"I miss Aubrey and Chloe in particular." Beca found herself smiling as she thought about her Bellas but deep down inside a little thrill moved through her. In a couple of hours, she was going to see Chloe. And she couldn't wait.

Xx

"Sweats? Really?" Zoe said with an eye-roll as Beca wandered out of her bedroom, sandwich clasped between her teeth as she settled her t-shirt around her slender waist.

"Mafts mong miff smeats?" the singer asked. She took a bite of her sandwich and chewed. "They're comfy and people won't recognize me."

"But if they DO recognize you..." Zoe went on slowly. "Do you really want to be seen in... sweats?"

Beca paused, sandwich halfway to her mouth, then sighed and headed back into her bedroom to change into jeans. Ten minutes later, she was back in the car with her assistant, her driver speeding them toward the airport. J.F.K. was busy with traffic and finally, Beca just sighed.

"Just pull up and drop us off please, Tom," she said, and the driver nodded to her. "We'll text you to pick us up."

"Yes, Ma'am."

The petite singer hopped out of the car, baseball cap and dark sunglasses firmly in place, and she led her assistant toward arrivals and the meeting place where she was going to be seeing the girls for the first time in over a year. Longer actually for Aubrey.

"Coffee?" Zoe asked, spotting a Starbucks and Beca looked at her, pathetically grateful.

"Please, large, two extra shots."

"Be right back," the assistant grinned as she trotted toward the small kiosk.

The petite singer shoved her hands into her jeans pockets and rocked a little on her heels as she watched for her friends. The screen above her said that their flights had landed in the previous twenty minutes, within ten minutes of each other, and she peered from face to face, pulling off her sunglasses when she realized they were too dark for indoors.

And then a huge smile blossomed across her face. Aubrey and Chloe were running toward her, arms held out and ready for hugs. Aubrey slammed into her first, almost taking her off her feet and squealing as she squeezed her tightly. Then Chloe's arms were around them both and Beca seriously thought for a moment that the two taller women might crush her to death.

Not that she minded. At all. It felt so good to be in those hugs again.

Then Aubrey was stepping back, and Chloe was stepping closer to her. "Hi, Becs," she said softly. "I've missed you."

"Hi, Chlo," Beca replied, just as softly. She was aware that Aubrey was watching them, smiling, but everything else faded as blue eyes gazed back at her. "I missed you too." She reached out to tuck a strand of red hair behind her friend's ear. "You look... beautiful."

Chloe's feet moved her closer and she pulled her friend into another hug, pressing her lips gently to Beca's temple as she let out of a sigh of pleasure. "You do too."

Just then Zoe returned with the coffee, and she cleared her throat, looking from woman to woman. "Hi."

The singer pulled back and patted Chloe's side gently as she accepted her cup. "Guys, this is Zoe Marsden, my assistant. Zoe, this is Aubrey Posen and Chloe Beale, my best friends and former Barden Bellas."

"It's an honor to meet you," Zoe said politely, offering her hand. "Beca talks about you both all the time." Her eyes moved to Chloe. "She wasn't lying about how amazing your hair is. She said the color was stunning and..."

"What?!" Beca said, cheeks heating. "I'm pretty sure I didn't mention anything about that..."

But Aubrey just snorted and perched her hand on her hip. "Right."

"Thanks!" Chloe grinned and linked her arm through her friend's. "How about we go back to your place? We don't have a lot of time so we should get the party started."

Zoe was already texting Tom to come pick them up and Beca just nodded as she let Chloe guide her toward the exit.

"What's up with those two?" Zoe asked with a frown as she and Aubrey followed.

The older blonde chuckled softly. "They're both idiots," she said with a shrug, but didn't go on so Zoe just shrugged too.

Xx

When Tom had dropped Beca, Chloe and Aubrey off, and had left to take Zoe home, the Bellas got into the elevator, chatting happily as it sped them up thirty floors. "Wow, Beca," Aubrey said as they stepped through the front door into the large apartment. "Now that you're rich, I'm surprised that you want to be seen with the likes of us." Her tone was teasing, and the singer blushed a little.

"Shut up," she mumbled, sticking her hands into her pockets. Chloe was beaming at her, and it was a little difficult to concentrate with those blue eyes on her again. "Um... you guys have a room each. They're all ready for you." She led them to two doors. "Go ahead and choose. They're pretty much both the same."

Aubrey grinned and headed to the left, but Chloe lingered behind to have a moment alone with her friend. "I really missed you, Beca. It's been..." She took a breath and looked down, but her smile returned after a moment. "I could really go for a drink right now."

"Chloe..." Beca began, tone concerned but the red head lifted a hand and smiled.

"I'm ok, Becs."

But the normally sunny red head seemed more subdued than Beca had ever seen her before and, as she turned to enter the other guest room, the singer frowned a little in concern.

Lost in thought, and a little worried, she headed for the large kitchen to open the wine she'd had her housekeeper get earlier in the week. She grabbed three glasses and carried everything to the living room coffee table, where she slipped off her baseball cap and tossed it onto a chair.

"Your place is incredible," Aubrey said as she emerged from the bedroom and crossed the large open-plan space to take a seat in an armchair. She accepted a glass of wine from her friend and sipped it, smiling approvingly.

"Thanks," Beca replied with a little grin. "I sometimes still can't believe I actually live here. How was the flight up?"

"Long," Aubrey admitted. She glanced toward the second guest bedroom and sighed.

"What is it?" Beca asked quietly. "Something's wrong with Chloe. I can tell."

"Chicago broke up with her last month. Said he didn't want to marry someone who didn't know what she really wanted."

Beca's mouth dropped open and she was about to say something when her other friend appeared.

"He was right," Chloe said as she moved across the room and took a seat next to Beca on the couch. She picked up the last glass of wine and took a big swallow. "I didn't know what I wanted." She sighed and tucked her legs up underneath her, tossing her red curls back over her shoulder. "I voiced a concern to him that I'd be alone here while he was deployed and... it kinda went downhill from there. He accused me of not wanting to wait for him and it... it hurt inside." She paused and a rueful smile lifted her lips. "I guess the truth hurts sometimes. I... I don't love him."

"It's progress though, Chlo," Aubrey said. "Three months ago, you had no clue how you even felt about him for sure."

"I've had time to think through things objectively over the last couple of months," Chloe agreed. "To take a step back, so to speak. Hours of surgery gives you time to do that," she added with a chuckle.

Beca's eyes widened. "Dude, shouldn't you be concentrating on the surgery?"

Chloe laughed softly. "Bec, I've done over nine hundred neuter surgeries over my career so far. I could do it in my sleep."

For some strange reason, Beca found herself grimacing and crossing her legs. "Right, I guess."

The red head leaned back and shrugged. "So anyway, single Chloe is having fun being a vet, spending nights monitoring emergency cases and trying to get over someone she never really loved in the first place."

Beca reached out and took her friend's hand, rubbing her thumb gently against its palm. "Are you ok?"

Blue eyes grew misty, and Chloe swallowed hard, eyes moving to Aubrey and then back to Beca. "I'm better, now that we're all together," she replied. Then she cleared her throat and smiled widely. "I've gotta tell you this story..."

Beca and Aubrey let the change of subject go but Chloe didn't let go of Beca's hand and snuggled closer to her on the couch. The blonde just rolled her eyes internally and wondered if they'd ever get their shit together and admit how they felt about each other. Then she wondered if maybe they needed a little push.

Xx

It was very weird.

A rainstorm had blown through Manhattan unexpectedly and Beca found herself lying awake, listening to the rain pelt against her window as the sky flashed with lightning and thunder boomed, making the panes rattle a tad. It was almost four and she'd only been in bed an hour after staying up drinking and laughing with her Bellas. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep but a noise caught her attention and she opened them again as she heard her bedroom door creak open.

Quiet sounds of bare feet scuffing on the hardwood floor invaded her senses and she held her breath as the feet paused by the bed for a long moment. Then the bedcovers moved, and the mattress tilted slightly as someone got into bed with her.

Someone. Right.

"Are you ok?" she murmured as red hair draped across her chest and Chloe snuggled against her.

"Sorry... is this ok?" the older woman asked softly. "I just hate thunderstorms."

"It's ok. I know," Beca replied gently, wrapping her arms around her friend and kissing her forehead. Memories flooded her... memories of an amazing night in the back of a pickup truck with Chloe in a little town in Georgia, laughing with her... singing with her... arms around her... Then kissing her... hands all over her... fingers inside her... She shivered a little. It had ended with a thunderstorm and Chloe had clung to Becca as their naked bodies quickly got soaked, eyes squeezed tightly shut against the flashes of lightning. It had been the last night of the last time she and Chloe had been alone together, over a year previously.

"Aubrey doesn't know," Chloe said softly. "About what happened between us, I mean."

"Oh..." Beca murmured, running her fingers through her friend's hair. "I thought... the way she smirks sometimes..."

"I think she suspects, but I haven't confirmed anything for her. I worry that she'd be disappointed I cheated on Chicago with you," Chloe whispered.

"I think maybe she'd understand," Beca whispered back. "But I like that it's just something for you and me."

"The second I saw you at the airport, it all came flooding back," The red head chuckled. "Like I was there all over again by that lake. I remember how clear the stars were that night."

"I remember your eyes in the moonlight," Beca said, her own eyes filling with tears. She rubbed at them impatiently. "Ugh. Dude, don't make me cry."

"I've REALLY missed you," Chloe whispered, lacing their fingers together and dropping a kiss on the singer's chest on her bare skin in the v of her pajama collar.

"Chloe... we probably shouldn't... um... Aubrey is right over..." Beca lost her train of thought and closed her eyes as the red head's fingers flipped her top button open and her lips found another spot of soft skin to kiss.

"I know we shouldn't," Chloe murmured. "But... I miss your hands on me... I miss your fingers inside me. I haven't been with anyone since you, Beca."

"Not even Chicago?" the singer said, blinking in surprise.

"That's one of the things that started the argument between us. He accused me of not wanting him and he was right. You've ruined me for anyone else, Beca."

And then Chloe's fingers were undoing the rest of her buttons and Chloe's mouth was hot on her breast, tonguing her nipple. Beca groaned softly and...

"GET UP, ACA-BITCH!" Beca jerked awake as Chloe pounded on her bedroom door. "IT'S SHOPPING DAY!"

The singer groaned and threw a pillow at the door. "It's my day off. Dude, leave me alone!" Her body was still tingling from the dream, and she squeezed her thighs together as she curled into a ball. A tiny part of her regretted that night with Chloe because she hadn't been able to move on from it. She was STILL dreaming about it.

"Beeeecccaaaaa," Chloe sing-songed this time. "You have ten second before I come in there. And I'm only wearing a tiny towel!"

"Dude, no!" the petite brunette yelled back. "Get away! I don't want to see your junk!" And that was a complete lie. She heard Chloe cackle and realized she knew the same thing. "Fuck you! I'm up!"

Beca dragged herself out of bed and ambled out into the kitchen to find Aubrey there, still in her pajamas and sipping from a large cup of coffee. "Morning. Pot's fresh."

"Thanks," Beca scowled, and the blonde's face eased into a happy grin.

"I see your morning grump hasn't retired," she teased.

Beca just scowled harder. "I was supposed to sleep in today," she grumbled. "I just finished my tour like two nights ago."

"I know," Aubrey replied. "I saw a couple of your shows."

Beca's head turned quickly. "What?"

"I saw you in Atlanta and Los Angeles. You were amazing. Chloe was with me in Atlanta. She couldn't keep her eyes off you."

Beca almost choked on her coffee. "What? Dude, what are you talking about?!"

Hazel eyes rolled and Aubrey shook her head, keeping her voice low. "Beca Miss Oblivious Mitchell, Chloe has feelings for you, and you need to either man up and tell her you have feelings for her too or give her closure so she can move on."

The singer swallowed. "I don't have feelings for her," she said weakly.

This time, Aubrey's face was the picture of annoyance. "Bullshit. I know what happened between you. Chloe was upset and I got it out of her as to why."

"She was upset because we slept together?" the brunette said, voice small.

Hazel eyes rolled again. "No, Aca-Idiot, she was upset because you both had to leave the day after. She's been hung up on what happened between you for a year!"

Beca sat up at the island, feet dangling as she groaned into her hands. "Fuck."

"Right," the blonde agreed. "You both fucked up. Now go get showered and dressed and start fixing it."

The singer just nodded and did what she was told.

Xx

"Hey, you ok?" Chloe asked as she took Beca's hand and squeezed gently. They were sitting together on the couch, waiting for Aubrey to finish getting ready. "You seem a bit down."

"I guess we're both different," the singer replied. "You've seemed quieter too."

Chloe thought about that for a moment. "Maybe we've just both grown up. We're not kids anymore and we've both been through some stuff."

"Mmm..." Beca agreed. "Although life has been unsurprisingly less dangerous without all the Bellas around."

The red head grinned and caressed her friend's fingers but then her face sobered again. "Hey, Bec, um... I... can we talk?"

"About... Georgia?" At Chloe's slight surprise, the singer smiled. "I've been thinking about that too, Chlo, and I need to apologize." Those were the last words that Chloe had expected, and she blinked as she waited for her friend to go on. "I don't regret anything that happened between us," Beca said softly, turning to look Chloe straight in the eyes. "It was the best night of my life and honestly, walking away from you was a huge mistake."

The red head's fingers came up to caress Beca's cheek. "I feel that way too."

Beca swallowed, deciding to be her bravest self. "And I still feel... dizzy and breathless when you touch me like this."

Chloe inched closer. Beca could feel the warmth of her body. "Me too."

Neither of them saw Aubrey come out of her room, pause and then move to the kitchen to give them some privacy.

"But what do we do, Chlo? We live in different cities, and we don't know if a relationship could even work between us."

The older woman's face fell, and she eased back, nodding. "You're right."

But Beca shook her head and pulled on Chloe's hips to make her look at her again. "Please don't close down," she said. "You never close down with me."

"I don't know what you want me to say," Chloe groaned, blue eyes pained. "You've made valid points for why we shouldn't try to be together."

Beca smiled a little. "But, Dude, you're the optimistic one. You haven't given me the reasons why we should yet."

"Oh..." the little sound of surprise that came from Chloe's throat was adorable. "I thought..."

"You think I don't want to try?" Beca whispered against her ear. "Do you not realize that I've been hung up on what happened between us for a year too, Chloe?"

"Wow," Chloe teased, sliding her lips along her friend's jaw to her ear. "You really have changed. I remember a time when you would have just disappeared into your room and eaten cereal for three days rather than saying this stuff."

"We're grownups now, remember?" the singer grinned. "So whaddya say, Beale? Want to give you and me a try? I'm finished my tour and it's time to get back in the studio. I can do that in Atlanta... if it's ok that I stay with you there?"

"Beca," Chloe whispered, heart joyful. "Do you really have to ask that?" She grinned in reply. "And I need you to kiss me right now because I really do know what I want."

Aubrey smiled as she watched Beca ease her arms around Chloe's neck and press into her to kiss her gently, a promise, she knew, of more to come later. And all she could really think was... It was about damn time!