Two things, about sharing a room with Chloe: Chloe understood the value of needing some "alone time", and only required something draped on the doorknob outside to indicate if they were "busy"; a rule that had been passed on to the rest of the occupants of the house. And Chloe loved to party but was a lightweight when it came to alcohol, which meant it wasn't out of the question for her to stumble home with her fellow Bellas and pass out on one of the sofas in the living room.

The night of the riff-offs, the latter was what Stacie was extremely grateful for, because Chloe never made it back to their room, and nobody had to know that Stacie's early disappearance from the party had been because she'd headed home for some quality "alone" time; and because nobody knew she had been in her room all along, nobody had to know that she hadn't left the party to hook up with anyone from the mixer, although she implied it when they teased her about it.

The night of the riff-offs was not the end of Stacie's phone calls with Aubrey, but the start, including a rapid exchange of text messages that usually ensued in the most private of moments, and Stacie, who had always been open and honest about her sexual experiences, realized just why some people considered illicit relationships so hot, because sneaking around – to have phone sex! (oh how the mighty have fallen) – had its own thrill; but still a turn on all on its own.

"You know, technically, these calls kind of negate the whole point of not being in a relationship." Aubrey noted one night, when Chloe had crashed with Jessica and Ashley watching a marathon of The Bachelor, inadvertently allowing Stacie to get some quality phone time alone in the room.

Stacie, still trying to recover her breath, groaned in response. "You really need to work on your pillow talk."

"What can I say? The rush on endorphins does a number on my thought processes."

Stacie rolled her eyes. "We're not doing it right if you can say endorphins right after."

"I think we're doing it pretty great."

"I know I didn't hear you complaining."

"And I never would."

Stacie remembered Aubrey's earlier comment about their calls. "You want to stop calling?"

"Do you?"

Stacie closed her eyes, because for whatever reason, they both kept asking that question, and refused to answer directly. This time, it was her turn to move the conversation along. "Weren't you the one with the shitty pillow talk?"

"Since we only call for a specific reason, is that even really a breach of the agreement?" Aubrey mused, ignoring the question while still proving Stacie's accusation true. "Or is this technically friends-with-benefits by telephony?"

"We sext, too."

"Point."

"Hey Aubrey?"

"Yes, Stacie?"

"This was fun, but I have an early class tomorrow, so I'm hanging up now."

"Okay. And it was my pleasure."

"Mmm, yeah, the pleasure was all mine." Stacie purred, making them both laugh before they mutually hung up.

Maybe she gets it, in retrospect, why Aubrey had tried to keep their previous phone conversations, almost a year ago, on neutral topics like school and work, because now that they had more ground to cover conversationally, Stacie was quickly discovering that they could turn any topic into a reason to flirt, and the flirtation, even Aubrey's awful ability at it, escalated to the point that phone sex was almost inevitable.

But she also understood Aubrey's point, about missing out on fun. She hadn't realized until she was trying to sneak in time to make or take phone calls, working around the seemingly non-stop series of parties and mixers by the different organizations, that Aubrey was right: the Barden Bellas had a social calendar that didn't allow for a lot of down time. And she also got Aubrey's point, about why she doubted Stacie was ready for a relationship, when she was surrounded by boys and girls all willing to hook up on a casual basis.

But then there was the question of why Aubrey wasn't sure they could survive a long-distance relationship.

Stacie had no idea why Aubrey refused to force the issue, always reiterating that she didn't want to force a relationship if they both had hesitations on making that kind of commitment. After all, they both liked a challenge, and what would be a bigger challenge for both of them than maintaining a relationship when every consideration indicated their inevitable failure? But Aubrey insisted, and Stacie went back and forth on just how much she was willing to be in a committed relationship with someone who wasn't going to be around, so they remained in their current relationship limbo, sort of together, but not quite.

Although she hadn't taken Aubrey's warnings or precautions seriously – she knew her own strengths and weaknesses, thank you very much, and yes, she liked sex, but just because some hot guy or girl looked in her direction didn't mean she was going to make out or hook up with them. After all, she really only enjoyed the conquest because it was there to be had, it wasn't like she needed to, or some other sad sex addict excuse there was. But then there was also a part of her that rebelled against total commitment, and it was that same part of her that refused to force the issue herself and face down Aubrey's obvious reluctance and confront her about it; and that part of her took Aubrey's hesitation and ran with it.

She never stopped to consider the fact that in the past few weeks, particularly when it came to sex, she had spent more time on her phone than actually engaging with anyone physically. While she liked to flirt and make out with people at the various parties she attended, few of her activities escalated past an isolated corner of the room, and on the rare occasion that it did, when she found herself alone in a room with anyone, things tended to stop at second base.

Since Stacie was rarely ever one to stay the night with her conquests, usually making it home to avoid the walk of shame the next morning, none of the other Bellas caught on to the fact that Stacie wasn't having nearly as much sex as she usually did.

But Stacie knew. And Stacie knew exactly where to pin the blame.

"Aubrey Posen's phone."

"I hate you so much right now."

"Okay." Aubrey answered easily. "But for the sake of the imaginary men and women of the jury, what did I do?"

"You know what you did!"

"I—"

"I don't want a relationship, Aubrey!" Stacie whined.

Aubrey was confused. "I know…?"

"I don't like the pressure! Not monogamy, or routine sex, or having to wait for the other person to 'feel like it'."

"I know."

"No, you don't! Because I was fine. I like sex, and that's all I wanted from these randos who look like a good time. I enjoyed that. And then you came along, with your stupid face and your stupid smile and your stupid perfect hair." Stacie complained. "And you suck, because you're there – wherever you are right now - and I'm here, and I'm surrounded by people who want to hook up and I don't want to."

"That isn't so bad…"

"That is exactly that bad, Aubrey. I always want to. That's kind of my thing."

"I don't—"

"So I have a plan." Stacie cut her off.

"A plan?"

"Yeah. You like plans, don't you?"

"Will it solve the reason why you hate me?"

"Maybe."

"And what does it involve?"

"You and me."

"That's it?"

"Beds are optional."

"Tell me your plans, Stacie Conrad."

Stacie glanced around the backyard of one of the fraternity houses, where that night's party was being held, and once she was sure nobody was within earshot, resumed her phone conversation. "Right. So, we know you suck at relationships and I don't even like the word, right?"

"…Sure?" Aubrey's voice was uncertain.

"Yeah, okay, so I'm thinking, what if we weren't in a relationship?"

Constant phone sex did not a relationship make, after all.

"Which would be different from our current standing how?"

"Hear me out." Stacie sat down on one of the recliners near the edge of the yard, away from the crowd. She put up her feet, and took a moment to appreciate her legs, and yeah, they really were pretty nice. "Long-distance relationships require a lot – a lot – from people, so I'm thinking we won't be."

"Again, how-?"

"And really, the only time we'll even be in some kind of a relationship is when there's no distance between us."

"That…" Aubrey was genuinely confused, and her tone expressed that. "We're not all geniuses like you, Stacie, you're gonna have to dumb it down for me."

"I don't know how much dumber 'no distance between us' has to be."

"You mean, like if we plan to be in the same place at the same time?" Aubrey asked blankly, because wasn't that already the standing agreement about New Year's Eve, and President's Day, and next summer?

The confession practically forced its way out of Stacie's lips. "I'm saying I miss you and I want to see you."

"I miss you too." Was Aubrey's lousy attempt at a proper response.

And this girl graduated with honor cords. "I'm saying we should hook up when you're nearby." Stacie finally stated flatly, because geez Aubrey could be dense. "But only near Barden; beyond, I don't know, a few miles, and you're gonna pay for the bus."

There was a pause, Aubrey obviously caught off-guard by both the proposal and the implications of what Stacie was telling her, followed by a dull "Huh." Which was the blunt, blanket statement that was Aubrey's reaction to Stacie's pitch.

Stacie bit her lip nervously, waiting for judgment. It was a huge ask, she knew, since it was still kind of a commitment, but like any good friends-with-benefits agreement, keeping only the fun stuff without the emotional entanglements.

After all, they were emotionally-entangled enough, no need to complicate matters further.

"And this goes both ways?"

"Theoretically. But you're a hard woman to pin down, Aubrey." Stacie paused, reconsidered, and smiled to herself. "Well, location-wise. I know how to pin you down."

Aubrey wisely chose to ignore picking up that thread. "And the expectations?"

"Pretty much just sex."

"And food."

"Never letting me live that down?"

"Not really."

"And food." Stacie confirmed.

"Huh."

"Yeah."

There was a long pause, and even through the line Stacie could hear Aubrey absently tapping her pen, obviously working out the pros and cons of Stacie's proposition and wondering about the long-term consequences of a proposal that made it seem so easy.

"Huh."

Stacie lifted an eyebrow, because other than the occasional utterance, the prolonged silence didn't provide a clear indication on where Aubrey was in the decision-making process, or which side she was inclined to lean towards.

Finally, the tapping stopped and Aubrey cleared her throat.

"What's the distance radius?"

Stacie grinned, and settled in, ignoring the party around her, to discuss the details of her proposal.

All of which was easy enough in theory, but there were complications. Among which was the fact that Stacie lived with nine other girls, most of whom liked to gossip, and among those nine girls were two of the nosiest women Stacie had ever known, and she knew nothing would get past Chloe and Fat Amy, especially if they put Lilly on the job.

So discretion had to be the watch word.

Which was already a problem, because maybe nothing had changed for Stacie, at least not on the surface – she still went to class, attended parties, made out with whomever at said parties – but it was becoming increasingly hard to ignore that there were some changes.

Like the fact that Stacie was constantly on her phone, typing away, even when the Barden Bellas were all together and none of them could figure out who could be demanding so much of Stacie's time or attention. Or the fact that Stacie, who was on the honor roll and could skip out on any of her classes – which she used to do to either catch up on sleep or hook up in the middle of the day – was suddenly a stickler for attendance.

There was also the fact that they could ask all they want, but any questions regarding her internship the past summer was met by vague answers and general statements. When Fat Amy teased her about hooking up with yuppie assholes, Stacie had glared her down in a way that had everyone silently vowing not to ask any more questions about her internship, Fat Amy retreating, Beca frowning in contemplation, and Chloe being reminded of someone whose calls were growing fewer and farther in between.

Stacie didn't know it, but she would have to thank the ICCAs for letting her keep her indiscretions for a little while longer, because one day The Treblemakers received an official letter that they were going to be moved to another bracket to allow more diversity in Regionals results. Because the announcement made the Bellas and the Treblemakers stop being rivals until the ICCA Finals, it was considered enough reason to celebrate.

And they did.

The party itself wasn't enough of a distraction, but the fact that The Treblemakers weren't their competition until the final round of the ICCAs had Jesse convincing Beca that she could help them with their set, which not only answered Stacie's unasked question of whether or not Beca and Jesse were still together, but also had Chloe arguing that it was technically helping the enemy. Watching Beca - whose capacity to handle any emotional turmoil and confrontation was almost non-existent - trying to deal with both her boyfriend and best friend, and trying to keep them at peace, was pretty funny for everyone not named Beca Mitchell. But the Bellas were left with no choice but to mediate between their co-captains, and by the time Aubrey was expected in Birmingham, the Bellas were all but ready to take a break from their two captains, and most of them decided to take the weekend off. Jessica and Ashley head to Louisiana to visit Ashley's family, Denise and Lilly go with Chloe to Florida to visit Chloe's family, while the rest stay in Georgia.

Stacie told them she was visiting a friend out of town and technically, not a lie.

Aubrey had been in Birmingham for two days, and having settled everything that needed to be done in the state, could have headed home over the weekend. A potential new client, however, had requested a meeting for Monday, and since she was authorized to conduct such client interviews, she had to stay. Sure, she could have entertained herself for two days, but why should she if having Stacie as company was an option?

But as relieved as she was to see Stacie step out of the bus terminal – and she already knew Stacie would give her an earful about the five-hour trip – and she knew the hug they shared was more than just friendly, it was still Alabama and Aubrey knew how the charade was played in the South; she ignored the weird look Stacie kept giving her as she talked about the weather, the city, the hotel where she was staying. They stopped at a diner to get something to eat, and still Aubrey insisted on only talking about school and work and wasn't Alabama nice, to which Stacie could only force a confused smile back, because the flow of conversation was oddly reminiscent of their stilted phone calls after Aubrey had graduated.

Except Stacie had learned a few things about Aubrey from their few weeks together that summer, and she had learned to accept that Aubrey was just weird sometimes. She had also learned that Aubrey was someone who liked to put on a front, a carefully-crafted personality or demeanor, for a reason, and if she was playing up the overly-casual, we're-just-friends-catching-up show, then she was doing it with purpose.

Because the girl wouldn't even hold her hand, or helped her carry her bag, and wouldn't shut up the entire elevator trip up from the parking area to her floor, and Stacie was already reconsidering the wisdom of this trip, if Aubrey was going to regress to we're-just-friends territory.

Except the minute the door closed behind them, blocking out the rest of the world, Aubrey turned to Stacie and wrapped her up in a hug. "I'm sorry. I've missed you. That was horrible, I know, and I'm really so sorry."

Stacie let out a relieved chuckle, returning the embrace, although she had to query, "What the hell?"

She didn't even need to look at Aubrey to know the blonde rolled her eyes. "Alabama votes Republican."

Stacie laughed softly. "So you're gonna talk about the Alabama climate every time we leave the room?"

"Yes."

This time, Stacie rolled her eyes. "Good to know from the start we're not leaving this room."

Aubrey gave a soft laugh. "A solid plan."

"I think we're both liking this plan so far."

"You are the smarter person in this room."

The hug lasted a long moment later, and they finally pulled apart to gaze at each other. Their gazes took each other in, flickering over familiar features, observing what had changed and what remained the same, before their eyes finally met and a flicker of a smile quirked the corner of Aubrey's lips.

Before Aubrey could say anything – and knowing Aubrey it could only lead to a long conversation or even an argument – Stacie ducked her head, and pressed her lips to Aubrey's, the blonde immediately parting her lips to deepen their kiss.

Maybe it was the realization that the five-hour trip had been worth it, or that they were here, and they were together, but having Aubrey's lips on hers, their mouths pressed together and their tongues sliding against each other in a promise of things still to come, Stacie felt her body relax, sighing contentedly.

And Aubrey felt it, the way the tension left Stacie's form, the way she softened and melted against Aubrey, the way everything that had been building up in the younger woman took form in that one breath. The way the contented sigh left Stacie's lips and into their kiss.

The way it felt an awful lot like the first real breath Aubrey had taken since she left Philadelphia.