A/N: Well, I have a feeling some of you are going to 'hate' me for this chapter…sorry, not sorry…sometimes things are much better in our imagination anyway.
Disclaimer: No offense is made to Kelly Clarkson, I enjoy her singing and loved her on The Voice (although I haven't caught up since the blind auditions) and OMG her performance on Idol had me in tears…I just like to imagine that she'd mother and tease Emily. As per usual, I don't own anything…just saying.
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Luckily the two women were decent, if you count wearing oversized t-shirts as being decent, when there was a knock on the door of Emily's coach. Emily cracked the door open to see who it was to find Kelly standing there with a smirk on her face. Emily just groaned at the look, "Do I even want to know?"
Kelly nodded, "Denise is already working on the marketing for your next album and tour. She says you should call it 'Disparate Love.' She even designed the album cover already." She handed Emily a copy of the picture Denise had taken of her straddling Beca's waist.
Emily took the picture from her and swung it so the paper slapped lightly against her arm, "Is there a reason you're here? If not I'd like to spend time with my girlfriend."
Kelly pushed past Emily and went straight to the freezer, "Actually I came over to make sure that you iced your ankle. I knew you'd probably be distracted and everything."
Beca picked that moment to come out of the bedroom, "Emily, who is…Oh my God Ems, Kelly Clarkson is in your coach."
Emily squeezed past the more seasoned singer to get to her girlfriend, "Becs, meet Kelly. Kelly, my girlfriend Beca Mitchell."
Kelly held out her hand for Beca to shake while pointing at the couch as she turned towards Emily, "You, sit."
Emily pouted, "Yes mother."
Kelly gave an exasperated look to Beca, "Is she always this difficult?"
Beca looked shocked, "Wait. She actually listens to you?"
The two women shared a laugh as Kelly went back to the freezer and found the ice pack Emily was supposed to be using right after her performance. She mock glared at the younger woman, "It's still frozen."
Emily gave a contrite look as she shrugged, "Sorry, I just missed Beca."
Kelly scowled, "Foot, up, now."
She placed the ice pack on Emily's foot before dropping down on the couch next to her. Beca sat on the stool straddling Emily's foot. She absently rubbed the taller girl's foot as they talked for a bit.
After about ten minutes, Kelly sighed while getting up, "These back-to-back's suck. I'll see you two tomorrow before sound check." She looked pointedly at Beca, "Make sure she ices that ankle first thing in the morning." Beca nodded at the instruction. Kelly stopped half way through the door, turning back to Beca, "Waffle House or Denny's?"
Beca looked thoroughly confused but answered, "Denny's?"
Kelly just nodded, "Alright, see you girls tomorrow." Then she let the door close behind her.
Beca moved to the couch next to Emily, "What was that?"
Emily leaned into Beca, dropping her head onto the smaller girl's shoulder, "We usually grab something to eat after the concert. It's tradition to either do Denny's or Waffle House, depending on what's in a city and close to the concert venue. Apparently, there's one of each close tomorrow night."
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Beca thoroughly enjoyed following Emily around the next day. This was a part of the music scene she had always been interested in but never had the opportunity to see first-hand. She watched the roadies setting everything up, she watched both Emily and Kelly do a short run through on some of the choreography that had given each group some problems the night before, and she sat with the sound engineers while they did the sound check, pestering them with questions about what they were doing and why.
The two girls slipped back into Emily's coach a couple of hours before the concert started, wanting just a little time to relax by themselves. Beca made Emily ice her ankle again while they just sat on the couch talking, Emily leaning back against Beca while the smaller girl absently ran her fingers through Emily's hair. About an hour before the concert started, there was a knock on the door. Emily yelled for them to come in, way too comfortable in Beca's arms to get up. One of the staff members poked their head in to let her know she was needed in make-up and wardrobe in five minutes. Emily nodded at them, "I'll be right over."
When the door closed, Emily tipped her head back for a quick kiss. She pulled Beca's arms tighter around her, wiggling back into her. Then she sighed, "I really needed this Becs. Thanks for coming out here."
Beca just squeezed her in a warm hug, "I could tell when you called and I'll always be here for you."
Emily pulled Beca's hand up to her lips, kissing the older girl's knuckles, "I'm going to hold you to that." Then she sighed as she sat up, "I suppose I need to go get ready."
Beca just chuckled at her, "You know you actually performing, so don't try to fool me."
Emily shrugged, "I do love performing, it's everything else that sucks."
Beca gave her a pat on the back of her leg as she walked away, "Just a few more weeks and then you'll be back home in our new apartment with me." Emily's smile didn't leave her all through make-up and wardrobe, thinking of the new home she had waiting for her in Atlanta.
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After the concert Beca found herself sitting around a big table in a Denny's laughing at something the bass player had said. She sat back thinking to herself that never in a million years would she have imagined herself in this scenario, sitting in a Denny's at midnight with Kelly Clarkson, her girlfriend and about half of the band from the concert. Beca was surprised at how considerate most of the patrons were, given Kelly was there. A few people took discrete selfies with the singer in the background and a few others came up and asked for autographs and selfies, but nobody overstayed or became obnoxious.
Things were starting to die down in the conversation when the drummer looked at Emily and asked how her voice was holding up with the rigors of the concert tour. Emily looked a little confused as she answered, "I think it's holding up fine, why?"
He just shrugged, "It just seemed like you were a little pitchy on some of the higher notes tonight."
Emily caught movement out of the corner of her eye as Beca clasped her hands in front of her, looking down at them like they were the most important thing in the world. When her shoulders started shaking, Emily just glared at the smaller girl, pointing at her, "Don't you dare."
Kelly looked between the two women, one trying so hard not to laugh and the other scowling at her. She chuckled, "I sense there is a story here."
Beca started to actually laugh as she held her hands up, feigning innocence, "Don't look at me."
Emily dropped her head into her hands on the table, "Can we just let it drop? Please?"
Kelly looked around the table, "Ok guys, let's leave the poor girl alone." Which everyone did, right after Kelly leaned across the table and gave Beca a high-five.
The group filed out not long after. As everyone else slipped out the doors, Kelly held Beca back with a hand on her arm. When Emily looked back, Kelly just shoo'd her out the door with her hand. When the door had closed behind Emily, Kelly looked at Beca, "Two things Beca. First, thanks for coming out to visit Emily. First tours can be difficult and Emily really needed this. Second thing, I was hoping that we could work on something together. Emily has been showing me some of the things you two have been working on and I think you'd be a good fit for some of the songs I'm working on."
Beca just looked at the singer dumbfounded, her mouth hanging open. Kelly gave a little smirk, "Well?"
Beca shook herself (literally shook her body) before responding, "Yes!" Then she took a deep breath, moving her hands down from her chest to her waist as she exhaled, "Sorry, what I meant to say was… of course. I'd be honored to work with you on something."
Kelly's response was a simple, "Awesome," as she linked her arm through Beca's and escorted her outside to a waiting Emily.
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The next seven weeks flew by for the two girls. Beca flew out one more time, spending a little more time with her girlfriend on the second trip. She even worked a little with the sound crew, learning the basics about managing the sound in different concert venues. By the end of her second trip, she was a part of the tour 'family' and felt slightly embarrassed (the red cheeks gave that away) when Kelly started mothering her before her flight out (although deep down she was touched by it).
When Emily stepped out of the terminal after her flight home from the tour, she couldn't help but laugh at the woman standing there waiting for her in a chauffer's cap and holding a sign with the name 'Emily Junk' on it. She walked slowly over to her girlfriend and just let her two bags drop to the floor as she wrapped her arms around the woman she had missed terribly while she was away. Everything was made right with the world when she felt Beca's arms slide around her body. She was home.
When they got to the apartment, Beca closed the door behind Emily and then guided her back against it. She leaned up and brushed her lips slowly over Emily's before sliding her hand to the back of her neck and pulling her down into a deep kiss. Beca broke the kiss to a whimper from Emily, whose lips tried to follow Beca's. Beca slid her hands down Emily's sides as she knelt in front of the taller girl, she continued trailing her hands down Emily's legs until she reached her feet. Beca tugged slightly on Emily's foot, causing the taller girl to lift it so Beca could slide her shoe off. Beca moved slowly over to the other foot, repeating the process before slowly standing back up, her hands following her progress up the taller woman's body.
When she was standing again, her lips met Emily's is an erotic kiss, her tongue teasing the younger woman's out. As the two women kissed, Beca took Emily's hands, slowly raising them above her head. Beca trailed her fingertips down the taller girl's arms, leaving goose bumps in their wake. Beca broke the kiss as she slowly pulled Emily's shirt up, her eyes locking with Emily's as the fabric inched its way up her body. When Beca finally dropped Emily's shirt to the floor, she stepped back and held out her hand to the younger woman. Emily never dropped Beca's gaze as she reached out and took the offered hand.
Beca brought the hand to her lips, kissing each knuckle before she slowly started backing up across the room, bringing her girlfriend with her. About half way across the room, she stopped and slowly walked around Emily. She wrapped her arms around the girl from behind, trailing kisses over her bare shoulders. As she placed butterfly kisses over the taller girl's back, her fingertips traced nonsense patterns across her stomach, inching painstakingly slowly lower. Beca finally reached the waistband of Emily's pants, undoing the button and inching the zipper down as her lips moved to the taller girl's spine. Beca trailed kisses down Emily's back as she shimmied her pants down her long legs. Beca gave a playful nip at the edge of Emily's panties as she pulled each foot out of the legs of the pants. She stood back up, sucking lightly at the junction of Emily's shoulder and neck as her fingertips grazed lightly over the front of Emily's panties.
As Beca's fingers moved over where she needed them, Emily's moan sounded loud in the silence of their apartment. Beca needed to hear that moan again and she wasn't disappointed as her fingers brushing lightly over the front of Emily's panties brought forth the sinful noise again. Beca moved back in front of the love of her life, taking her hand again she led Emily to their bedroom. As she pulled Emily in, she turned and closed the door behind her, shutting out the rest of the world for the night.
