Like, I think this is a prompt: "Aubrey's reaction to their relationship pls! It's gonna be interesting hahaha"
Quack
Ever since Chloe had grazed her lips against Beca's palm a month ago, the restraint they had both exercised in the past suddenly became a distant memory. Due to the late hour and harsh winter the campus was empty of people and Beca was thankful of that when she lost her footing and tumbled onto the cold blanket of snow with a thud.
Chloe had quickly dropped by her side, immediately pulling her to her feet with a concerned look on her face, "Oh my god. Beca, are you OK?"
"I think the only thing bruised is my ego" she mumbled out, bringing her hand out of Chloe's and brushing off the snow on her jeans with a wonky smile; the action causing Chloe to shake her head with a smile of her own. Beca couldn't help but quickly lift her left hand up with a wince as she inspected the graze on her palm.
"Let me see."
Before Beca could protest, her hand was being pulled by Chloe's as she studied the slight cut with deep concentration.
"Chloe, it's fine – just a graze" Beca assured with a smile, flexing her hand out in order to prove her statement.
"Shall I kiss it better?"
There was a playfulness to Chloe's tone and a glimmer of mischief in her eyes. Beca knew it was a joke but she couldn't seem to rid the nervousness currently accumulating in her stomach. Her throat was feeling dry and despite the cold, her face and neck felt like they were on fire.
The look in the redhead's eyes was gone as quickly as it appeared and without any warning, Chloe was pulling at her fingers and gently placing a soft kiss onto the reddened area of Beca's hand. If there was ever a moment that defined the beginning of their relationship, it was most definitely that one.
"The duck flies at midnight."
Code words were never Beca's strong suit and it seemed they weren't Chloe's either, but that sentence made every hair on Beca's body stand on end. Sometimes it was whispered just after Bella practise or written in a text message as Beca closed her bedroom door for the night but no matter how or when it was phrased, without any hesitation the DJ would find herself mentally counting down from five and making her way to Chloe's bedroom.
But it seemed today - mid-afternoon in an empty Bella house - that sentence was mistimed. Beca had never seen Aubrey Posen speechless before; her facial expression was twisted, her high pitched screech seemed to echo off the walls and her jaw appeared to rest on the hardwood flooring of Chloe's bedroom in shock, disgust, or both.
Chloe had reached for the sheet crumpled in a pile on the floor in a quick and unsophisticated manner as she threw it over them both intertwined on the bed. Beca was pulling the fabric up to her chin, wearing a look almost as horrified as Aubrey's, who was still standing frozen in the doorway. She buried her head into Chloe's bare shoulder, wishing the world would just quickly swallow her up.
"Bree, why the hell didn't you knock?!" Chloe yelled out, the trace of a smile on her face.
Before the blonde replied, she slammed the door shut in a hurried fashion and sunk down the wall with the shake of her head.
"I didn't know you were…" Aubrey's voice muffled through the door and trailed off.
Beca let out a loud groan, lifting her head and hugging the pillow to her chest.
"Fuck."
Chloe turned to the very naked Beca by her side with a guilty smile on her face.
"Now is no longer the time, Becs" she teased, the guilt suddenly replaced with amusement.
"You're not even funny" the brunette deadpanned, her words falling into the pillow she was now pressing down on her face.
"I'll wait downstairs."
Aubrey's words caused Beca to physically jump which only made Chloe laugh louder.
"The duck is out of the bag?" Chloe offered with a grin and the shrug of her shoulders.
Beca just groaned out louder, the embarrassment more than evident on her cheeks. Chloe was getting to her feet and throwing Beca's oversized tee over her head before giving the woman in her bed a pointed stare.
"We can't exactly stay in bed now, can we?"
Beca sat up looking sheepish, "Why don't you go and explain whilst I stay here and die of embarrassment?"
Chloe's hands rested on her hips, "Oh no."
Before the brunette could respond, Chloe was speaking again, her index finger now wagging in her direction, "No way!"
"Sorry if I'm not jumping at the opportunity to sit down with your best friend after she's just seen my junk, Chlo!'
The redhead let out a sigh before crawling onto the bed, "Beca, isn't it about time we stop sneaking around?"
If Beca hadn't already caught on to the vulnerability in Chloe's voice, the way she made herself seem smaller on the mattress - legs up to her chest and a worrisome look on her face – was more than a dead giveaway. The action was so unChloe like, that the DJ felt a pang of guilt in her chest.
It was never supposed to be a secret. A secret would imply their relationship was shameful and Beca was one hundred percent sure she couldn't be any prouder announcing Chloe Beale was her girlfriend. At first they both decided to "feel things out" before informing the Bella's and the rest of their friends of the new developments between them, but keeping it a secret made things interesting.
It felt almost like an unforbidden love - which was clichéd and obscene – but the secrecy of it made their kisses even more passionate and their touches more daring. Whether it was a stolen kiss during movie night or a less than innocent touch under the dinner table; it all seemed to add a different aspect of excitement to their new beginning.
Beca cleared her throat, "You know you're not one of those so called dirty secrets, right?"
When she didn't get an answer, Beca's released the tight grip she had around the pillow and reached to settle her hands on the back of Chloe's legs before pulling her closer with a smile.
"Sneaking around was fun, but you were never a secret."
Her words were spoken matter-of-factly and she hoped every syllable rang out the strong conviction and belief she had in them. Chloe was shuffling even closer now, letting her legs rest on the outside of Beca's hips. Their noses were almost touching and the brunette couldn't help but move a stray curl of hair from the other woman's face.
"I know" Chloe whispered out with a soft smile on her face, her eyes never leaving Beca's.
Beca pecked her lips, before focussing on the hem of Chloe's t-shirt, her fingers moving to softly tug at it.
"I love you, Chloe."
It was the first time the word love had ever been uttered between them in a non-platonic way.
It was always there in the form of a look or a long sigh but neither of them had actually given it a voice. Beca was feeling nervous and anxious all at once; admitting her love was a big step and based on past experiences was always the very moment her self-sabotage made an appearance.
Beca didn't want to ruin what she had with Chloe.
No, she couldn't allow that to happen; Chloe meant too much to her.
She hesitantly let her eyes move back to the bright blue ones she loved so much and all the previous fear quickly faded away as she saw the painted smile on Chloe's face.
"I love you too."
As if to punctuate her words, Chloe was closing the small fraction of distance between them and capturing Beca's lips in a kiss. It tasted like a promise and Beca never wanted to stop, but she had to for, like, oxygen.
When they parted, Chloe flashed her a dazed smile and pulled Beca up from the bed.
"So, I'll put some clothes on and then I can shout how you're my girlfriend from the rooftops – I'm sure Aubrey will hear" she smirked.
"Wait, you are my girlfriend, right?" she added quietly, suddenly needing confirmation.
Hands were resting on her shoulders and Chloe's smile was back to the playful and amused one the minute Aubrey had shut the bedroom door.
"Beca, considering what Bree just saw us doing, I'm pretty sure I'm your girlfriend."
Chloe's lower voice and the seductive wink made her wish Aubrey wasn't waiting on their explanation downstairs but then she was remembering just that; the familiar waves of embarrassment reoccurring.
"Right, Aubrey saw us naked, I almost forget…" she deadpanned, making her way to Chloe's closet and stepping into a pair of pyjama shorts, grimacing at the thought.
XXX
"What the hell?"
Any awkwardness or chagrin from before was completely drained from Aubrey's tone and demeanour as Chloe and Beca rounded the corner of the hallway hand in hand and into the kitchen.
"How about I make some tea?" Chloe offered with an overly upbeat tone.
"I'm sure Aubrey would love some tea" Beca teased with a forced smile, as she slid into the kitchen bench across from the bemused blonde. She shamefully let her eyes roam Chloe's bare thighs as the redhead made her way to one of the kitchen cupboards.
Perhaps she should have actually put some shorts on?
Beca's thought was quickly interrupted by the loud scoff across from her.
"Tea is not what we need right now."
Aubrey was turning away from Chloe and back to Beca, rolling her eyes as she caught on to Beca's line of sight.
"So are you going to tell me what's going on?" she irked out with an exasperated sigh.
"Chloe is my girlfriend" Beca beamed, her gaze landing on said girlfriend currently grinning like a cat that got the cream.
"No, no she's not."
The blonde's words were completely shattering the moment and Beca was scrunching her face up as she dragged her eyes back to Aubrey's. It was evident from the moment they met, Beca and Aubrey were never going to get along.
Where Aubrey was organised, Beca was random and unmindful. Aubrey's persistent need for control was the complete opposite of Beca's nonchalance and mellowness. No matter how hard the DJ tried (alright, maybe it wasn't that hard…) she couldn't seem to get the uptight blonde to like her, never mind even tolerate her.
Helping the Bella's win Nationals in Aubrey's last year of Barden caused her to soften a little, but that didn't mean they had grown to like each other. Becoming Chloe's best friend over the years had bettered her chances but Beca is more than sure Aubrey still had it out for her.
And maybe finding out Beca was dating said best friend wasn't the greatest news to grace Aubrey's ears.
"Chloe, this is a joke, right?"
The redhead made her way over to the table, settling two mugs down in front of its occupants before returning to kitchen island and fetching her own.
"I think you have all the proof you need to know this isn't a joke" she winked, nudging Beca further down the bench, taking a seat and letting her hand rest on her thigh. Aubrey gagged at both Chloe's comment and the ridiculously clichéd movement.
"This is a faze or a friends with benefits kind of deal, isn't it?" Aubrey dragged out, her hands waving frantically above her shoulders, "Or just innocent college experimenting, you know like that girl who was in your psych class in first year?" she added desperately.
Beca was quirking an eyebrow, her hand resting on top of Chloe's as she turned to face her, "Wait, who's the girl in psych-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Aubrey was interrupting.
"Chloe, what the hell?!"
The blonde let her hands fall to the table with a thud as she looked at her best friend expectantly and impatiently awaited a reply.
"Beca and I are dating" Chloe announced proudly, bringing the mug of tea to her lips with a grin and a shrug.
The same wide and stupid grin was painted on Beca's lips too, as she squeezed Chloe's fingers with one hand and brought the other down on the table, "Damn right we are!" Beca added looking smitten.
The look on Aubrey's face seemed equally puzzled and annoyed.
"You?" she pointed at the DJ who was now self-consciously pulling at her sleeve and fixing her eyes on the mug in front of her, "The alt hobbit with ear monstrosities? The pretentious DJ who doesn't care about anyone but herself? Beca-I-don't-give-a-Fuck-About-Anyone-Mitchell?"
"I care about Chloe" Beca retorted quickly as she straightened up in her seat. "I love her, a lot, actually" she added, holding Aubrey's gaze. Chloe's hand gently squeezed Beca's knee and a quick kiss was pressed to her cheek, causing the brunette to relax.
Aubrey's confusion was replaced by a smile and then followed by hysterical laughter.
"Aubrey, don't do that."
Chloe's voice wasn't yelled or raised but instead stern and laced with warning, silencing the laugh currently spilling from her best friend's lips.
"I don't mind if you're angry or upset that I didn't tell you sooner, but don't laugh at Beca or our relationship, ever."
As if now aware of the seriousness in Chloe's voice, Aubrey was sitting up straighter and running a hand through her hair before taking a sip of her tea. There was a silence around the table and Beca was feeling an anger stirring up inside of her.
She was well aware she wasn't the previous Bella captain's favourite person, but what gave her the right to laugh at her and Chloe's relationship. Almost like reading her thoughts, Chloe was lacing their fingers together on top of the table and flashing Beca a reassuring smile.
"So this isn't a joke?" Aubrey asked hesitantly, pointing at their newly joined hands.
"Nope, no joke" they both spoke in unison.
"But why Beca?" the older woman was turning in her seat and putting her back to the person in question in an attempt to talk to Chloe more privately.
"Because why not? She's sweet and caring and thoughtful. She listens to me and makes me feel special. She's cute, no adorable in fact…" the redhead shot a side glance at Beca's eye roll with a smile before continuing, "…And I love her."
Aubrey was nodding her head thoughtfully for a second before speaking, "OK."
"OK?" Beca questioned cautiously.
"OK."
"OK" Chloe repeated with a smile, before moving her and Aubrey's empty cups to the kitchen sink.
"Break her heart and I'll hunt you down and kill you" Aubrey said through gritted teeth hunched over the table with a pointed stare and a sickly sweet smile on her face.
"I would never" Beca replied honestly, offering her hand over the table in order to shake on it.
It was quickly batted away with a horrified expression, "Beca, I saw where that hand was twenty minutes ago."
"Dude!" Beca was dropping her head to the table in both embarrassment and horror.
XXX
A/N – So, yeah, maybe this wasn't very funny, even if I did really stick with the duck theme (It doesn't even make sense, does it?!) … Um, Sorry :/