So I wasn't going to do a follow up but then it happened, so…

The Date (or Part 2 of "A Date")

Beca had been watching the clock all afternoon and she couldn't even bring herself to stop. Her shift had been an uneventful one - well as much as one can be in a hospital – some paperwork, her usual rounds and a few new patients here and there.

But she never got too far through the day without her mind wandering back to the morning in the canteen or pressing forward to her and Chloe's 'date' this evening. There was a mixture of excitement and nerves making themselves at home in her stomach and no matter what she did in order to distract herself, she couldn't shake them away.

There were thoughts of Chloe – what would she wear, what would she cook, was this morning a huge figment of her imagination? In all honesty, Beca had wanted to ask the redhead on a date a couple of weeks into their friendship but she had shrugged it off and locked it away in the back of her mind.

The text with Chloe's address was the only realisation Beca needed.

Tonight was definitely a real thing that was going to happen.

…And there was that excitement again.

The kind that made her body shudder with a smile and a childlike laugh tumble from her lips.

Beca was sat in her car, her eyes focussing on the time reflecting back at her on the stereo. It seemed each time she had checked the clock today, the hour and the minutes had never been the ones she really wanted to see.

6:37PM

OK, so maybe Beca was early but so what? It was better sitting in her car outside Chloe's apartment complex in anticipation instead of in her own living room. She had decided to keep it casual; just wearing jeans, a plain white t-shirt and an oversized hoody that was probably too casual for a 'date' but after changing four times already, the brunette just stared at her reflection in her bedroom mirror and uttered a quick "fuck it" before walking out of the door.

Her hand rested on the door handle as her brain fought with itself once again.

Making her way up to the second floor and knocking on door 2B (So what if she knew it by heart; Beca had read and reread Chloe's text more times then she'd care to admit) right this second would be too soon; too eager; too much?

She didn't really know anymore.

Truth be told, Beca hadn't dated for a while. The stress with her last relationship was enough to swear her off dating in general, never mind just at the hospital.

"She's been through the mill one too many times, Becs."

Aubrey had announced over her gin and tonic with a shrug.

"Never judge a book by its cover" Beca had mumbled out with a shrug of her own.

As much as she hates to admit it, Aubrey was right. It took her a long time to finally see it (four months to be exact) but to her Beca was just another flavour of the month.

Olivia worked trauma; she was a few years older than Beca and had this way of wearing down the brunette's resolve. It started out as fun; a night after a messy session at the bar or a distraction during her lunch break but eventually things got serious and Beca found herself wanting more.

She thought Olivia wanted that too but eventually they both realised it wasn't what they needed. They fought and made up constantly, to then have it brought back up again and argue some more. It wasn't a healthy relationship by any means and in the end it kind of ended the way it began.

A drunken night together or sneaking off to the overnight room during their break; any feelings that was once there soon evaporated and Beca wasn't even that bothered when Olivia announced she wanted to "see other people."

The entirety of their time together interfered with Beca's work and had her thinking if it was even all worth it.

It wasn't.

And Aubrey had been right all along, again.

God, she hated it when that happened.

So when Beca met Chloe, despite the lingering touches, the flirtatious comments and the feelings that stirred inside her whenever the redhead was around, Beca willed herself not to get attached. Chloe couldn't be another Olivia; she was sure the nurse was worth so, so much more than that.

Beca pulled herself out of her thoughts as her eyes met with the car stereo, yet again.

6:47PM

"Fuck it."

Beca pulled on the handle and grabbed the bottle of wine off the passenger seat before making her way to the building.

XXX

Chloe had basically worried her way through the day regarding their date. Perhaps it wasn't the smartest idea to suggest cooking for Beca when she in fact cannot cook, like at all. Due to working long hours and laziness, Chloe tended to 'cook' things already prepared for her and in a packet.

In the end, she had decided on spaghetti bolognaise; it seemed simple and straight forward enough, until Chloe actually got to it and ended up forcing Stacie to talk her through it on the phone.

All the worry and concern regarding her cooking quickly faded away the minute Beca knocked on her door, thrusting her a bottle of wine. Beca was wearing that typical wonky smile she always sported when she felt awkward as she gestured to bottle now in her hands.

"It's cheap and I would prefer if we didn't drink it but Aubrey told me I couldn't have dinner in your home without bringing a gift."

She put the last word in air quotes and shook her head with a smirk. Chloe let out a chuckle, before stepping aside and gesturing for her to come in.

"Not that it wasn't a nice thought or anything but I kind of don't drink wine" the redhead breathed out with a guilty smile and an apologetic look.

"Thank god, I thought I was going to have to pretend" Beca replied honestly, flopping down on the couch and making herself at home.

It was in that moment, Chloe realised she had literally nothing to worry about.

Until she was settling a plate in front of Beca and intently gorging the other woman's reaction when she brought the fork to her mouth. Beca's face seemed to stay the same, causing her to panic and before Chloe could stop herself she was dropping her cutlery and rushing out a loud "I can't cook!"

At first it seemed the outburst surprised her, until she was falling back into her chair with laughter. Chloe simply sat at the table, unsure of what to do, until Beca was sobering.

"Chlo, seriously chill out! It's fine; I eat pretty much anything" she assured, reaching to give Chloe's hand a comforting squeeze.

With that action alone, Chloe could almost feel the worry leave her body, for a second time that evening.

"Oh, you'll eat anything?" she asked boldly with a wink.

It was like the worry had suddenly found Beca's body as it's host, as she nervously shuffled in her seat.

"Nope, I'm not even going there, we are not-" Beca was stuttering and Chloe couldn't help but find it adorable, "Just eat your burnt spaghetti" the brunette added hurriedly, pointing to the plate in front of her.

"It is not burnt!" Chloe defended, inspecting the food with her knife, "Is it?" she asked nervously, causing Beca to laugh again.

XXX

Beca was sat on Chloe's sofa, painfully aware of her hand on the knee resting on her thigh. There was some music playing quietly in the background but she was too engrossed in conversation to notice. She was beginning to realise, despite their regular lunch breaks together, they didn't really know that much about each other; well, not in the social sense anyway.

Beca knew the look that would flicker in Chloe's eyes before she joked and made a particularly daring sexual comment. Beca was more than aware of the hand that would run through her hair when Chloe was tired after a long shift. She had all of Chloe's different smiles saved in her mind, like a back catalogue of which one suited which situation.

But since this evening, it had occurred to Beca she didn't know where Chloe grew up, If she had any siblings or her parent's names. She didn't know what made Chloe become a nurse and she hadn't known what her favourite band was.

But tonight, Beca was finding out whilst Chloe sat with one leg dangling off the couch and the other folded underneath her, the knee still resting against Beca's leg and under her palm. It was nice; it felt calm and relaxing to just hear Chloe talk about things that held more depth and didn't evolve around the hospital.

It was all so nice that Beca had paid no mind to the time on her phone or the clock on the wall once – which must have been a first all day. Sat on the couch with Chloe felt warm and safe; a place where Beca could speak freely about her own childhood and her parents and her love for music without worrying about any judgment.

"Do you want another beer?" Chloe asked, pushing herself onto her feet with a hand on Beca's knee and a smile.

"Yeah, please."

Her eyes followed the redhead around the couch and then out of sight into the kitchen. She let out a content sigh as she was alone with her thoughts. She couldn't help but feel the cold down her side now that Chloe wasn't pressed against it and it made her shiver involuntary at the loss of contact.

Then her mind was wandering further into new territory; she kind of wanted Chloe pressed up against her and not just on her side, but everyone else. There was a smile pulling at her lips when the woman in question was returning back to her seat with two beers in hand and a wide grin.

Beca let her eyes shamefully hoover over the top buttons of Chloe's blouse as she readjusted her positon on the couch, slightly leaning forward. She was seriously letting them linger too long and quickly dragged them away when Chloe was focussing her eyes back on her.

The brunette cleared her throat automatically, taking a swig of her drink and letting her eyes rest on the TV in front of the room.

"So have you lived here long?" Beca asked, twirling her finger in mid-air at the area of the room.

After that, they were easily falling back into conversation.

XXX

When Chloe had sat down beside Beca earlier that morning, she hadn't planned on asking her out, it just sort of happened.

Now, Beca was sitting in her living room with Chloe's legs in her lap. Their position was comfortable and intimate; considering Beca would occasionally run her fingers along the arch of her foot. Chloe had lost count of how many beers they had drank and how many hours had passed since her shambles of a dinner, but it was safe to say she had barely scratched the surface these last few months and getting to know more about the woman beside her was causing her crush to soar higher with each passing topic of conversation.

They had come to a natural pause and resting in a comfortable silence when she was finding herself asking the question before even giving it a second thought.

"Has tonight been weird?"

Beca was harshly pulling the bottle from her lips and swallowing fast, "No. No, of course not. Wait, is it for you?"

The brunette's tone had gone from sounding reassuring to worried in just one breath and that made Chloe smile. It also made her think perhaps her feelings for the other woman were mutual. Without even replying, the redhead was shuffling closer, her legs now draped over the arm of the couch and no longer on Beca's knee.

Without any hesitation she was gently wrapping her hand around Beca's neck and pulling her lips on her own. They wasted no time in deepening the kiss and Chloe was being pulled the final centimetre and straddling Beca's knee. When they parted, Beca was flashing her faint look of bewilderment that suddenly changed into a wide smirk.

"That was totally not weird" Chloe mumbled truthfully, her nose lightly brushing against Beca's.

"I don't want to bossy or anything but I feel like we should do that again?"

The redhead was letting out a chuckle, almost closing the distance between them with a teasing grin, "Mh-hm?" she dragged out.

"And then again for good measure" Beca added, surging forward.

XXX