When Aubrey woke up that morning, she had been in Savannah, Georgia, wondering why she was being woken up at 5AM when her meeting with a regional team wasn't until ten. And then she realized it was an incoming call, and not her set alarm, that had set off her phone, resulting in her boss informing her of an event in Atlanta and that Aubrey, along with regional representatives and two other Oversight members, were expected to be there.

Aubrey had a tumultuous relationship with Georgia's main airline, which is why she had taken a rental car and driven the nearly four hours to Atlanta; but she would also take any opportunity to not have her schedule dictated by a flight schedule. And controlling her transportation schedule meant she could also control when she could head back to Savannah, since she was only due back in the afternoon of the next day.

Aubrey hadn't known if her boss would prefer her three Oversight subordinates to be available at her every beck and call until the gala dinner, which was why she hadn't informed Stacie of her presence in Atlanta. She had also been fielding calls and messages from different clients and coworkers through most of the day that she hadn't even noticed that the midafternoon social gathering among local companies and college had a scheduled performance from a local singing group.

She missed the Barden Bellas, and now that she wasn't keeping her distance from them, it was always a welcome experience to see them, and to see them perform, and Aubrey almost rejected the call from a subsidiary she knew was having problems that needed to be remedied immediately when it came in in the middle of the Bellas' performance.

And, well, she missed Stacie. And she can't believe she had forgotten how nicely Stacie wore the Barden Bellas' uniform.

And she hadn't been alone in her appreciation for the uniform, as Dave teased Aubrey about the uniform. But he had done it within earshot of her boss, and the connection was immediately made about Aubrey's alma mater and the intern she had started dating the previous summer, and it was very heavily implied that Aubrey should invite Stacie to the dinner that evening.

Aubrey had been reluctant - galas and award dinners tended to be boring beyond the telling of it, and she was loath to subject Stacie to it when she didn't have to – but it was her boss, and Aubrey figured Stacie could keep her entertained, since Dave wasn't invited and without an accomplice, Aubrey knew she would be subjected to a dinner full of discussion of all their pending deadlines and projects in the pipeline.

She had badly misjudged how much her coworkers wanted to talk about work.

In hindsight, Aubrey had to concede that the regional managers were probably just that eager to have more face time with the Vice President of Operations, and they made productive use of their time.

But conversations about work in a public area meant speaking in code, using the aliases for the companies they worked with and what was happening with each one, making it impossible for people around them, eavesdroppers or otherwise, to follow what was being discussed.

And then there was the matter of Aubrey's coworkers making much of the matter regarding Aubrey dating someone still in the undergraduate college level in front of the college student herself, something that Aubrey could only grin and bear, because she was in front of her boss, and they were in public, making it impossible to react in any way other than to force a smile.

Her boss had enjoyed meeting Stacie, especially upon discovering they both had backgrounds in Engineering, though, and Aubrey was relieved to see that Stacie could hold her own in one of her work events.

While she didn't want to examine too closely why that was relevant or important, Aubrey was seriously wondering why, when the dinner ended, Stacie had asked to be brought back to the Barden campus.

Something about the way Stacie had asked had been enough for Aubrey to agree, to not ask why or any other questions, and simply acquiescing to the request.

Which explained how she ended up driving towards the Barden University campus, but not why she had the sinking feeling Stacie wasn't considering the dinner as the success Aubrey did.

Stacie hadn't actually said anything about it – or at all, really – and Aubrey had since stopped trying to fill in the silence with her own voice. When Aubrey had tried to put on some music, Stacie had muttered something about a headache.

When they turned into the street where the house where the Barden Bellas stayed, Aubrey sighed. "Stace, talk to me."

Stacie glanced at her, but didn't say a word.

Thus leaving Aubrey to draw her own conclusions. "You're angry."

With a resigned sigh, Stacie confessed, "I'm not."

Aubrey looked doubtful.

"Does it suck that your southeastern liaison clearly has a crush on you and can make everything that comes out of her mouth sound like she's flirting with you? Yeah, but getting mad about that is a bitch move, and I'm not a hypocrite." Stacie admitted.

"You know you have nothing to worry about, right?" Aubrey asked worriedly, because she knew it was a sore subject, the wounds from their last disagreement about Kathryn still so fresh, but she had no interest in Kathryn, and at most they were just friendly, not even really friends.

"I know." Stacie reluctantly conceded, and smiled weakly at Aubrey. "And being in that room, I think it kinda works out for you, because nobody really paid attention to us when your coworker talks to you the way she does."

Aubrey hadn't really thought of it that way, but in hindsight she had to admit, Kathryn did talk to her and some other coworkers in a manner that bordered on flirtatious, playing up her adoptive Southern charm; a tactic that Aubrey never really could deploy herself, but admittedly worked well for Kathryn.

But it didn't answer the question of why Stacie was being so icy with her. "Then why—"

"So I'm kind of glad I went to that dinner with you?" Stacie interrupted, referring to her discovery that while Kathryn's attraction to Aubrey was real, her charm and slyness wasn't just for Aubrey and Stacie's benefit. "But that was a really sucky way to realize - no, to really come to terms with – the fact that I know almost nothing about your job."

Aubrey glanced at her, frowning. "That's not true."

Stacie gave her a weary look. "There were like eight or ten people at that table, and only four of you knew everything that was being talked about." Stacie pointed out. She let out an uncomfortable laugh. "Four people at the table knew what was being talked about, and you were one of them."

"What does that—"

"I always knew you were kind of a big deal, but I didn't know…" Stacie frowned. "I thought it was weird they kept making fun of you for dating me, but considering what you do, I kind of don't blame them."

"They weren't making fun of you."

"Bree, they kept asking me if you were going to take me to the prom," Stacie reminded.

Aubrey paused, and although she hadn't actually heard any of it, she conceded Stacie's point. Her coworkers could be jerks.

"I didn't even know how many of your coworkers knew who you were dating." Stacie admitted.

"Yeah…" Aubrey drew out slowly, and admitted, "It kind of got hard to play it down when we were tagging each other all over Facebook."

"Oh." Stacie paused, pursing her lips, before she hazarded, "Did I out you?"

Surprisingly, Aubrey laughed softly, and shook her head. "I was tagging and uploading stuff, too. That ship sailed a long time ago. Don't worry about it."

"You know I worry."

Aubrey glanced at her. "I'm fine, Stacie."

"Would you tell me if you weren't?"

Aubrey frowned. "Have I indicated at any point that I wouldn't?"

"Projects Clement and Endeavor would beg to differ." Stacie noted.

Aubrey's brow furrowed, since she was pretty sure she'd never mentioned any of those project names to Stacie.

"And who in Oversight is into Star Trek, because that's super nerdy, even for me." Stacie added. She noticed Aubrey's troubled look. "Those were the two of the names that kept coming up, and you were always involved when they did."

Aubrey smiled wryly, appreciating the fact that the consequences of dating someone smart and who paid attention was that very little slipped past her. "It's stressful, but it's nothing out of the ordinary."

"You're sure?"

Aubrey's smile grew wan. "If anything changes, I'm pretty sure you'll be one of the first to know."

"Because you'll tell me?"

"Or because I'll show up out of nowhere and everything's pretty much fallen apart."

Stacie rolled her eyes. "So dramatic. Let's try not letting things get that far."

"I'll try."

"Don't just try." Stacie smiled patiently at her. "Do, or do not. There is no try."

Once more to her surprise, Aubrey let out an inelegant snort of laughter. "You're such a nerd."

"You don't even know what I'm quoting." Stacie protested.

Aubrey chuckled. "Wes had me watching Star Wars with him a few days ago."

Stacie frowned. "I wanted you to watch Star Wars with me!"

"I lost a bet."

Stacie still only pouted.

Aubrey shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you."

Stacie frowned at her. "You're supposed to say you'll make it up to me!"

"And that can only lead to something worse than having to sit through the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I'm not setting myself up for that." Aubrey retorted. "I love you, but I'm not an idiot."

Stacie gasped in exaggerated horror. "You said you liked them!"

"I also wanted to keep getting laid, and those are two closely-linked concepts." Aubrey reminded.

Stacie huffed in indignation. "Maybe you won't get laid anymore, how about that."

Aubrey arched an eyebrow. "I don't know how that punishes me more than you."

Stacie glared at her.

Aubrey shrugged again, even as a small smile pulled on her lips. "I mean, we might as well break up now, if the options are between Lord of the Rings or sex."

"You suck so badly right now." Stacie told her, and added her own insult. "And it's especially rich, for someone who's watched every season of Grey's Anatomy and its spin-off."

Aubrey turned to her sharply. "You did not just insult the creations of Shonda Rhimes."

"If the shoe fits." This time, it was Stacie's turn to shrug.

Aubrey gaped at her. "What did you just say?"

Channeling her inner Sheriff Woody Pride, Stacie enunciated, "If. The shoe. Fits."

Aubrey narrowed her eyes at Stacie, but didn't say a word.

Stacie smiled smugly at her. "I'm pretty hot right now, aren't I?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes good-naturedly, which was enough of an answer in the affirmative for Stacie. "You're lucky you're so hot."

"I really am." Stacie smiled brightly at her, earning her a reluctant grin from her girlfriend. "So the question is, Aubrey, do you feel lucky?" She smiled coyly, leaning in closer to the blonde. "Do you?"

Aubrey arched an eyebrow, for the moment successfully rebuffing the younger woman's advances. "Considering you made me drive you home, I'm gonna go with 'no'."

Obviously not having expected a negative answer, Stacie paused for a beat, analyzing the response, before she glanced at the house they were parked in front of, brow furrowed in thought. And then she turned to Aubrey with increasing mortification as realization dawned. "You had a room."

Aubrey nodded. "I have a room."

"Sonofabitch." Stacie swore, slumping in her seat in resignation. She sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. "We can't, like, head back, or…?"

Aubrey chuckled. "Remember how we only got out of having drinks with my boss because you're technically still underage?"

Stacie grimaced in understanding. "And we might run into them at the lobby by the time we get back to the hotel."

"You're so smart." Aubrey praised.

And the Bellas were bound to have questions, and Chloe was likely to give Aubrey a hard time about the redheaded liaison she'd been talking to that afternoon. Stacie sighed, and leaned in to kiss Aubrey before she said in resignation, "I guess this is good night."

Aubrey's response was cut off by a loud noise from somewhere nearby, startling her but only merely surprising Stacie, who suddenly looked exponentially more appeased by whatever it was she'd heard. "What—"

Stacie shook her head, cutting Aubrey's question off. "Want to come see my room?"

Aubrey frowned, confused. "I've seen your room."

Stacie rolled her eyes, and shook her head again. "You're lucky you're so hot, because that was someone cannonball-ing into the Trebles' pool—"

"Gross."

"—and the Bellas have automatic invites to their parties." Stacie finished. She knew she was bound to be doing more chores than were her fair share, but she refused to be denied spending time with Aubrey. She quirked an eyebrow in Aubrey's direction when she saw Aubrey still obviously thinking about the Trebles and their pool, if her grimace was anything to go by. "The house is empty. Let's go."

"You know you can't just order me around, right?" Aubrey asked, setting aside her Treble-related disgust to address Stacie with a little humor.

"Yeah, because ordering people around is your specialty." Stacie shrugged. "You must be rubbing off on me." She paused at her words, and smiled deviously. "Or on. Whatever. I just know there's a considerable amount of rub—"

"So the house is empty?" Aubrey cut in loudly, before Stacie went off entirely on her tangent.

"Yes."

They barely make it to the front door, and it's entirely on sense memory that Aubrey remembered to lock the car doors, but the minute the door is closed behind them and they're indoors, Stacie made her intent clear on staking her claim on Aubrey.

Stacie groaned as she pried herself away from Aubrey. "We can't do this here."

Aubrey hesitated, unsure of what Stacie meant.

Without another word, Stacie took hold of Aubrey's hand and led her up to the second floor. Over her shoulder, she explained, "I just bought this really expensive dress, I'm not risking anything happening to it."

Aubrey tilted her head to the side, partly in thought and mostly admiring the view she was afforded as she walked behind Stacie. "You didn't have to buy something new."

Stacie laughed. "Babe, I wasn't sitting at a table with your boss in some random dress I've worn before."

"Point. But at least let me pay for it?"

Stacie glanced over her shoulder briefly. "You like it that much?"

Aubrey smiled. "Sure."

Stacie pouted as they stopped in front of her door. "That's not very convincing."

"I think I'll like it better once I take it off you." Aubrey grinned at her.

Stacie grinned back, and pushed the door open as she maneuvered Aubrey into the room. "I'd like to test that theory."

Aubrey makes short work of getting the dress off Stacie, and if she thought she was prepared to see Stacie in sheer black chemise, she was very, very wrong.

Stacie grinned, pecking Aubrey's lips when the blonde actually took a full moment to enjoy the visual. "I think you like this more than the dress."

Aubrey audibly swallowed, and there was a rasp to her voice when she questioned, "This is new, too?"

Stacie pushed her onto her bed, and stepped out of the discarded black dress. "Yes, but this one, you won't have to pay for."

"Yay me." Aubrey smiled as Stacie joined her in bed and covered her mouth with her own.

"Yay you," Stacie agreed breathlessly, pulling Aubrey up slightly to get rid of the hairpin holding her hair up, admiring the way her blond hair cascaded down and bit her lip as she imagined tangling her fingers through her hair. She leaned back in for a kiss, but before they could resume, were cut off by the loud bang of the Bellas' front door being slammed open, and the too-familiar sounds of the cacophony of her friends' voices in varied states of inebriation floated through the house. Knowing instinctively what the Bellas being back in the house meant, Stacie whimpered, turning back to Aubrey with an expression of complete frustration.

"Baby, I know," Aubrey agreed to Stacie's unvoiced frustration, willing her own libido down, because while they've undoubtedly had sex in the house while the Bellas were around before, they've also mostly done it when the girls had already passed out and/or sleeping.

Stacie, however, chose to be an optimist. "Maybe they won't—"

"Hey, Stace, are you home, cause—" Beca's voice asked loudly, before the door to the room started to open, only to be slammed back shut when Stacie grabbed a thick book from her bedside and threw it at the door. "Ow! The fuck, dude?"

"I'm naked!" Stacie snapped, playfully hitting Aubrey's shoulder when she muttered under her breath, "I wish."

Beca, however, only paused and asked, "And...?"

Stacie rolled her eyes, earning herself some light chuckling from her girlfriend. "Aubrey's naked, too." At Aubrey's perturbed pout, Stacie told her, "If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me."

But Stacie's all-too-plausible lie seemed to give Beca adequate pause, and she ventured, "We have tequila from the Trebles' stash."

"We're fine, thanks." Stacie said in exasperation.

Beca, for her part, had no idea what to do or say next, except to request, "Keep it down, please?"

Stacie turned to Aubrey, who unfortunately was distracted by something near the door. Addressing Beca, she called out, "We'll try."

"Great." Beca answered. "Okay."

After a long enough period in which Stacie was sure Beca had gone, Stacie went to the door to lock it, and returned to the bed, where Aubrey looked confused, in turn making her look at Aubrey curiously. "What's wrong with you?"

Aubrey pointed at the book Stacie had thrown at the door. "Why do you have a copy of New Moon?"

Stacie turned to look at where Aubrey was pointing, and then quickly turned back to Aubrey. "It's not what you think."

"Are you reading the Twilight saga?" Aubrey asked, both in awe and amusement.

"Okay, it is what you think, but baby, I can explain."

"Do tell." Aubrey prodded.

Stacie opened her mouth, considered, and sighed. "I wanted to see why you and Chloe like the series so much."

"But the books suck."

"But this way I don't have to look at vampires that sparkle." Stacie reminded.

Conceding that point, Aubrey also considered the fact that she'd just so recently denounced the Lord of the Rings; meaning this didn't look good for Aubrey, and she knew it. She sighed deeply. "I'm gonna have to sit through The Hobbit, aren't I?"

Stacie grinned, and pushed her back down to the bed. "I promise to make it worth your while."

She didn't really have to, but Aubrey wasn't about to argue.

"Now," Stacie said coyly, her right hand sliding up Aubrey's side, "Where were we?"