Beca huffed as she tossed her heavy loaded suitcase into the trunk of their car. She looked through the back window and saw Chloe sitting in the passenger seat, arms crossed. Driving from Atlanta to Virginia was going to be roughly eight hours and Chloe and Beca hadn't spent more than an hour in the same room together in the last few months. Beca really didn't want to think of the percussions that would be coming her way, but she knew to prepare herself for the worst.
She got into the car and started it. She looked over at Chloe and sighed. "Are you ready?"
"Yes," Chloe answered shortly as she continued to stare ahead. Beca frowned as she reversed out of their driveway.
Beca's eyes remained on the road ahead but her mind remained on Chloe. Last time they were driving to see their families they were still happy, Chloe had still loved her. The difference between now and six years ago were drastic and truly, it had hurt Beca to think about. Though as much as she tried, her mind always found its way back to the past, to their old ways, to the days they were happy and in love. Not to say Beca wasn't still in love with Chloe, because she was. It was Chloe who had fallen out of love with her, which hit her ten times harder than she could ever imagine.
"So," Chloe eventually broke the silence an hour later. Beca tensed as she waited for the redhead to continue on with what she was going to say. "I need to stop for a pee break if you don't mind," she finished.
Beca rolled her eyes. "We just left," she sighed.
"So? Is there a written rule saying you can't pee an hour after leaving the house?" Chloe glared at her.
"I'll stop the next exit," she muttered. Beca didn't want to start a fight so she immediately shut her mouth.
Chloe continued to stare ahead as thoughts travelled through her mind. She looked next her and stared at the two men in the car beside them. Her mind instantly recalled a fond memory of hers and Beca's past.
"Remember the game we invented when we first got married, to make the drive go by faster?" Chloe looked over at Beca.
Beca nearly swerved off the road, the shock that Chloe had something to say to her aside from yelling was unexpected. She looked over at Chloe and slowly nodded her head in confusion.
"I do. We called it "Guess their backstory." You invented it to help keep me awake at the wheel." She looked away as couldn't help but smirk when she thought of the game and the first time they had played it.
-Christmas 2014-
Beca could feel her eyes drooping as she stared blankly at the road ahead of her. They had been driving for four hours and she found herself growing tired and bored.
"Are you okay babe? Do you want to pull over?" Chloe looked over at her wife and noticed she looked tired and out of it.
Beca shook her head in an attempt to wake herself up. "I'm fine, it just gets boring staring ahead of you for this long," Beca looked over at Chloe and smiled.
Chloe frowned in concern. "Well why don't we play a game to keep you entertained?" She suggested.
Beca shook her head. "There are no fun car games to play. None that I find fun anyway," she finished.
"Well why don't we invent one then?" Chloe asked cheerfully.
"We're just going to pull a game out of our asses, just like that?" Beca smirked.
Chloe scrunched her face as she tried hard to come up with an idea for a new game. She looked around at license plates, the color of cars and the passengers. A huge smile moulded her face when she looked into the car beside her and saw that there were four young passengers, three guys and one girl. The guy driving was banging his head as though he was at a rock concert.
"I have an idea," Chloe perked up. She looked back at Beca and bit her lip. "Guess their back stories." She pointed to the car beside them, filled with the four passengers. Beca raised an eyebrow as she saw the guy driving, rocking out.
"He's a douchebag?" She suggested. Chloe barked out laughter and softly hit her wife.
"No for real Beca, where do you think they're going and how do you think they know each other?" Chloe pointed back to them. She wanted to do anything to keep Beca entertained and really, this game actually seemed quite fun.
Beca pursed her lips as she kept glancing over at them, even going as far to drive the same speed as them so that she could find out more.
"Okay, I got one." She looked over at Chloe and smiled. "They're all in a band and they're driving to a show they have out of town that the girl in the car found for them," she finished.
Chloe nodded. "Seem legit. Okay, how about…Who, why, what, where and when?" Chloe asked. "We already have what and where, so who, why and when is left." Chloe was actually finding the game entertaining the more she added to it.
Beca continued to drive and glance over at them. She saw the girl in the front grab the drivers hand and hold it. "Okay, they're definitely a couple." She used her thumb to point at them. "The other two are just friends and I'm pretty sure the guy with the hat either likes the girl or the guy, because I think I saw him roll his eyes when the girl grabbed the driver's hand." Beca smirked.
"Okay, if you're paying attention to that small of detail that worries me because you sort of need to focus on the road." Chloe giggled and shook her head. "Okay so why and when, go."
"Hmm, okay." Beca continued to think as she continued to take glimpses at them. "Why is obviously because they're all hoping to make it big in the music industry." Beca bit her lip and she thought of the last question. She suddenly jolted up and smiled. "I got it! The where is…the three guys have been best friend's since…college and then they put out a wanted ad for a lead singer and that's how they found the girl. Then the driver and the girl had a one night drunken stand that turned into way more." Beca smiled proudly at herself.
"Nice one," Chloe nodded. She then looked around for another car. Just as if on cue, the car filled with the four people beside them passed and another was now driving beside them, two females inside. "Okay, go. Who, what, where, when and why," she looked over at Beca.
Beca looked over at both girl's and immediately came up with an answer. "They're best friends on a road trip. That's the who and what." Beca continued to think hard, scrunching her brows as she concentrated. "Where is they're going to Florida. Why is because one of them just got out of a very serious relationship and the other thought it would be a good idea to get away for a while. The when is they've been best friends since they were young." Beca nodded as she looked over at Chloe smiling once again.
She raised an eyebrow when she saw Chloe thinking to herself. "What?" She asked.
"I think you're wrong." Chloe shrugged.
"Okay, what do you think?" Beca smirked as she waited for the girl to give her answer.
"Who is they're a couple. What is they're on their way to go visit one of their parents for the holiday's. Why is because one of the mothers of them adores the daughter's girlfriend. Where is they're going to Chicago. The when is they met three years ago, and slowly fell in love with one another though the one used to be a total commitment phobe. The why is because they're madly in love with one another, and the one driving to go see the other's parent is extremely amazing? Then the one sitting in the passenger seat is head over heels in love with the one driving and will do anything for her until the day either of them dies?" Chloe breathed out and looked over at Beca, giving her a small smile.
"Hmm, sounds oddly familiar…Did you get that from a book or something?" She smirked.
"Shut up," Chloe giggled. "Seriously though Beca, I love you so much for doing this for me. I know my mom is incredibly thankful and can't wait to see us both." Chloe reached over and grabbed her wife's hand. "You're amazing and as long as we're both living, I will do everything in my power to remind you of it." She leaned into Beca and gently brushed her lips against her cheek.
Beca blushed and cleared her throat. "I love you too, Chloe. I promise to make these road trips every Christmas with you as long as we're both able to drive. Then when we can't, our kids will be the ones driving us." She smirked.
"Sounds good babe," Chloe nodded and squeezed the other woman's hand. "I can't wait." Chloe smiled lovingly at her wife.
-Present Christmas 2019-
Beca could feel knots form in her stomach as she pulled into her mother's driveway. She had no idea how both she and Chloe were going to act around her, last time they had seen her was about six months ago when they were still happy. Now they would be forced to act happy, and nothing hurt worse than the thought of acting happy with the woman she loved.
"So," Chloe turned to face Beca. "We go in there and act how we acted last Christmas. No questions asked, and if there are any, deny them and smile." She stared at Beca intently.
Beca sighed. "I got it," she frowned.
"What?" Chloe arched an eyebrow when she saw the girl frowning.
Beca quickly shook her head. "Nothing, I agreed."
"Yeah but you're frowning, do you not think this is something you can do?" Chloe curiously asked.
"No," Beca started. "That's not it."
"Then what is it?" Chloe asked impatiently.
Beca stared at her wife, wanting to speak up. She wanted to tell her that they shouldn't have to pretend to be happy and they should just be happy, how they used to be. But she knew better, she knew it would only cause arguments and that wasn't a good idea to do right before they were supposed to see her mother.
"Nothing, let's go." Beca replied softly.
She smiled at Chloe before exiting the car and making her way to the trunk. She grabbed hers and Chloe's bag and started to walk with them both. Chloe quickly followed her. "I can take my own bag." She went to grab it but Beca quickly moved backwards.
"It's okay babe, I'll take your bag in for you." She smiled. Chloe raised a questioning eyebrow and was about to reply when she heard a voice from behind her.
"Well if it isn't my favorite lesbian couple," A short woman with dark hair that was nearly black stood by the front door, arms on her hips. "Come give me a hug before I drop dead from old age." She impatiently replied, smiling.
Beca rolled her eyes as she walked up the steps and stood in front of her mother. "Do you always have to be so dramatic, mom?" Beca dropped the bags and fulfilled her mother's wishes, and hugged her.
"Chloe, get your ass over here and join in." She waved the other woman down. Chloe took a deep breath before jogging her way up the stairs.
"Hey Barb," she replied sweetly. She approached the other woman and was immediately grabbed into a hug, being tightly pressed against Beca.
"Oh how I missed you both," Barb tightened her hold on them. She released them both, smiling. "Do me a favor Beca, take yours and Chloe's bags up to the spare bedroom. We have a lot of catching up to do," she winked.
Beca stood still. "Aren't we sleeping on the mattress in the basement?" Beca asked nervously. She and Chloe hadn't shared a bed in months, and she was expecting to sleep on the couch while Chloe slept on the mattress. If they were in the basement, there was a lesser chance of anyone catching them sleeping apart.
"No, your sister is going to take the basement this year with Garry. We discussed it and decided it would be best to start switching every year so you two aren't always stuck in the cold dark basement," she smiled.
"But we like the basement, we really don't mind mom." Beca started to panic.
"Beca, it's not fair to have to sleep in the basement every year. You two will take the bedroom upstairs and that's that." She glared at her daughter.
"But mom…" Beca started.
"Why are you making a big deal out of this? Is there something I'm missing?" Barb raised an eyebrow.
Chloe quickly cut in. "Not at all, you know your daughter, always hates change." She lied.
Barb intensely stared both girls down. She sighed and nodded. "Good point sweetie. Well go bring your bags upstairs so we can start getting caught up. We only have four days together and I want to make the most out of them."
Beca rolled her eyes and she grabbed both bags once again and just as she was about to walk away, she was stopped by her mother again. "Beca, aren't you forgetting something?" She smiled.
"Um…no?" Beca scrunched her face and look around the floor, thinking she dropped something. She looked back at her mom who was pointing up to the ceiling. Beca's eyes grew wide when she saw she was standing under mistletoe.
"Mom…" Beca started.
"Don't mom me, rules are rules." She looked over at Chloe and gestured back towards Beca. Chloe stood still as she stared at the other woman, then at Beca. "Well what? Have you two forgotten how to kiss?" She crossed her arms impatiently.
"Mom, please stop." Beca groaned.
"Stop acting like children. It's tradition." Barb replied, growing increasingly annoyed.
"Since when?" Beca raised an eyebrow.
"Mistletoe has been around for years and years, oh lovely daughter of mine."
"I meant since when do you even hang this shit up?" Beca scoffed.
"Seriously, what is going on with you two?" She looked back and forth between both women. Without thinking twice Chloe quickly dove for Beca and kissed her hard on the lips, throwing Beca backwards in shock. Beca could feel her heart speed up as she felt Chloe's lips on hers. Kissing her again felt new, it felt natural and it felt right. As quickly as it happened though, it had ended.
Chloe pulled back and cleared her throat. "Nothing, Beca is just grumpy. Isn't that right babe?" She asked the other woman, smiling.
Beca sighed and slowly nodded. "I'm just tired from the long drive," she muttered.
"Well then, both of you take your bags in and you can take a quick nap. Dinner is in an hour and a half. I'll come get you when it's ready," Barb smiled.
"Fine," Beca nodded, replying through gritted teeth. She slowly walked inside, making her way upstairs. Chloe followed quickly behind her, feeling nervous about sharing a room with her wife. There was no getting out of it though, especially with Beca's mom being so adamant on it. One thing was for sure. These twelve days were going to be a lot harder than either of them expected and they really weren't half as prepared as they thought they were.
A large smile formed on Barb's face as she watched both women disappear up the stairs. She grabbed her phone from her pocket and quickly dialed a number, waiting for someone to pick up.
"Hello," a woman answered.
"Hey, it's Barb." She replied cheerfully. "Just thought I should let you know that operation "Get Beca and Chloe back together" is a go," she smirked. "They have no idea what's in store for them."
"Okay, perfect. Keep me posted." The woman replied.
"I will don't worry. I should go though, I'll call you tomorrow."
"Okay, talk to you then." The woman replied.
Barb hung up and smiled proudly at herself as she shoved her phone back into her pocket. She walked inside and gently shut the door behind her. She looked upstairs and sighed in content, knowing very well what she was doing to both women, and not caring one bit. One thing was for sure, she wasn't going to let her daughter lose the best thing to ever happen to her. Not now, and not ever.