Regrets in Vegas (Part 3)

Chloe remembers the salty taste of her tears and the countless paranoid head turns she made towards the door. If the Bella's saw her like this; it would require an explanation. If Beca saw her like this, well, Chloe wasn't sure what she would do.

Getting back to the hotel was a little blurry but she recalls sitting next to Stacie, who remained silent and kept her attention on the window of their cab. The atmosphere between them wasn't so much an awkward atmosphere as it was a worried one – perhaps Stacie had taken Chloe's feelings into account after all.

The Bella's had returned to the hotel and dispersed on the corridor of their floor. Chloe had watched Beca fumble with the key card for too long, before finally intervening without saying a word. The DJ had slurred a quiet thanks and followed her best friend into the room, her hands resting on Chloe's hips in an attempt to remain upright and balanced.

Chloe was feeling conflicting emotions; as much as she wanted to bring her hands to rest on Beca's and take them in her own, the hurt from the evening was still present. Beca hadn't even noticed the redhead's change in behaviour and Chloe was sure that was more upsetting.

Eventually, Beca detached her hands but not before pulling Chloe into a quick hug. The action wasn't all that out of character for a drunk Beca Mitchell, but it still managed to catch Chloe off guard. Before the redhead even had time to melt into the touch, Beca was disappearing into the bathroom with a pair of pyjamas tucked under her arm and a bottle of water from the mini fridge.

Chloe let out a deep breath once the bathroom door was shut and took the as opportunity to get undressed and hopefully fall asleep before Beca was out. She slipped under the sheets, with her back to the bathroom as she listened to Beca's drunken stumbles and occasional cusses with her eyes squeezed close. The redhead knew she should offer to help or supervise like she had done so many times before but she didn't feel like performing her best friend duty right now.

Not after tonight.

The light from the bathroom was illuminating the dark room and Chloe could hear Beca's slow but clumsily footsteps along the carpet until they stopped abruptly behind her. There was a coldness as she felt the corner of the duvet from her side of the bed being pulled back and Beca was situating herself behind her, gently pushing Chloe further to the centre of the bed and letting her arm fall lazily around her waist.

On most drunken nights, this was by far Chloe's favourite moment of them all. After a few too many drinks, it seemed Beca shared the same cuddling habits as she did and it made Chloe's heart soar. Cuddling was their thing and it always had been, but there was something about the way Beca's movements grew both bolder and delicate all at the same time once she was drunk.

The reminiscent of it all caused her to relax into the body behind her.

"You're mad at me" Beca whispered into Chloe's shoulder.

"You're drunk."

Chloe felt the curve of Beca's smile against her skin before her breath was ghosting her shoulder again, "Maybe, but I still know when you're annoyed."

The hand that was once hanging lazily over Chloe's stomach was now lightly pulling at her pyjama top and it was distracting.

"It's like your smile doesn't reach your eyes when your either sad or mad, so which is it?" Beca added, stilling her hand and pulling Chloe's body closer to her own.

"Beca, just go to sleep" she whispered, trying to ignore the newfound soberness in the other woman's voice.

"Chlo."

She could hear the warning in Beca's tone and before she even granted her voice permission, she was speaking.

"Both."

There was a rustling behind her and Chloe could feel Beca move away slightly. Before she had a chance to question the movement, Beca was gently pulling her shoulder and positioning Chloe to lay on her back.

"Why?" Beca's hand was tucked under her cheek as she rested her weight on her elbow. "Can I help?" she asked worriedly, her eyes looking down at the redhead intently.

"Why did you marry Stacie and not me?"

XXX

Beca pressed the button for her floor and leaned against the mirrored wall of the elevator. She let out a deep breath reflecting on how differently she felt now compared to the worried frenzy she had become on the way down the bar.

Beca rubbed at the now empty ring finger on her hand, failing to prevent a small chuckle as she pictured herself completely losing her mind this morning at last night's events.

"We'll laugh about this someday!"

Stacie had called from her bar stool as Beca made her way out of the bar. Beca wasn't sure it would take her this little time to do exactly that.

But then she remembered Chloe's face earlier this morning and the more she thought about it, the more she was convinced Chloe was on the verge of tears before she rushed out of their room.

Beca's smile drooped; Stacie was right, she needed to tell Chloe how she felt.

There had been many wasted hours spent thinking and overanalysing Chloe's words and actions for the last couple of years at college, but to think perhaps the redhead might have been upset about her and Stacie's ridiculous idea from the night before sparked a little hope inside of her.

The noise of the bell dinging her floor pulled Beca out of her thoughts, as she hesitantly made her way down the corridor and to the familiar door of her room. Once she reached it, Beca stood still, key card in hand for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts.

It was about time Chloe knew the truth about Beca's feelings; it was now or never, or else she'd end up regretting it just as much as Stacie had said downstairs. The brunette took a deep breath, as she hovered the card over the lock and waited for the bleeping signal.

She really hoped Fat Amy had gone back to her own room, or else Beca might lose her nerve.

Once walking through the door, Beca made her way further into the room, one baby step at a time. The sound of the running shower caused Beca's body to relax a little, as she face-planted Chloe's side of the bed. The duvet was pulled back and the sheets still unmade, as the familiar scent of her best friend engulfed her, helping to relax Beca even further.

It was then she remembered crawling into this very side of the bed last night and hanging her arm loosely over Chloe whilst cuddling in closer. Beca whipped her head off the bed, as she tried for more details of her memory, but came up empty. She sat up defeated, just as Chloe was making her way out of the bathroom.

"Hey" Beca smiled shyly.

"Hey."

Despite the fact her best friend had just gotten out of the shower, Beca could tell Chloe had been crying. The thought of her favourite person crying always had a lasting effect on her, as she fought the urge of protectiveness that was currently stirring inside of her.

But then Beca was knitting her eyebrows together, slowly coming to realisation that perhaps she was the reason for Chloe's tears. That's when she was standing up and taking the other woman's hand into her own, "Can we talk?"

"Can't it wait?" Chloe replied, letting go of Beca's hand and walking away from the bed in favour of sitting on the sofa Beca had previously woken up on.

"No, it's about last night and-"

"Becs, I'm sure Stacie would be a much better person to talk to about this" she deadpanned.

"No, I already talked to her. What I want to talk about only involves you and me and it has for a while."

Chloe was getting to her feet, throwing her bag over her shoulder and making her way to the door, "It'll have to wait; I'm going to meet Ashley and Jessica in the lobby and grab something to-"

"We spoke about something late last night, didn't we? Something important, something we've wanted to say to each for years?" Beca blurted out, letting her impatience get the best of her.

Chloe sat back down in her seat, letting the strap of her bag slip down her shoulder as she trained her eyes on the carpet.

Beca took Chloe's silence as an opportunity to explain further and finally confess her feelings, "I don't really remember exactly how it went, but I remember holding your hand and I remember feeling… something?"

Above all that happened last night - whether she noticed it straight away or not - but before the ring revelation, Beca couldn't deny she had woken up feeling lighter. A sudden feeling that a weight had been lifted and she finally felt free to be happy with whatever she wanted.

Beca couldn't deny right now, the thing she wanted most in this world was Chloe.

As she searched Chloe's face for a reaction, she bunched her hand in the sheet impatiently, knowing it was best to let the redhead sieve through her thoughts before Beca pushed for more. The fabric of the bed linen itched under her thumb as she anxiously rubbed it over the material.

She paused, her eyes growing wide, suddenly remembering her thumb do that same movement last night, whilst she, god, did she really…

"We kissed last night!" Beca yelled, causing Chloe's eyes to snap up from the ground and onto hers.

"We totally kissed, like actually kissed, lips on lips, for longer than a second last night!" Beca shouted even louder, the shock quickly developing into happiness, as she felt the butterflies swirl in her stomach remembering the way Chloe had taken her hand in hers and then shortly after dragged those very hands up and down her thighs.

The redhead was awkwardly running her shoes along the carpet and the uncharacteristic movement sent Beca into blind panic.

Maybe she was misremembering after all?

Or Chloe was drunk?

Oh, God, please don't say this was another crazy drunk sex dream….

"I didn't think you would remember" Chloe said quietly, simultaneously soothing and raging Beca's panic even more.

"Is this why you were crying earlier?" Beca asked, fidgeting with the draw string on her hoodie.

"I thought it was all a drunken mistake for you and well with the whole Stacie marriage thing…" Chloe trailed off with a sigh, "I just thought you had better things to worry about today" she shrugged.

Beca was walking over to the couch and sitting in the cushion next to Chloe.

"You know it wasn't legally binding, right? "Beca asked, holding up her left hand for a second, "That's partly why we kissed, wasn't it?" she asked, trying to remember more from the night before.

"No, I didn't know that."

"So this means we can totally elope now" Beca announced. The shock on Chloe's face caused the laughter she was attempting to hold in to slip out.

"I'm joking, Chlo" she reassured with a smirk.

The redhead shoved her shoulder, with the roll of her eyes and the trace of a smile in her lips.

"You really meant everything last night?"

"Every single word…" Beca nodded honestly, "…even if I don't remember them all" she added with a small smile.

If Beca was speaking truthfully, she wished she could remember every word, both hers and Chloe's, but at the moment that wasn't looking likely.

"Well, you said you loved me" Chloe beamed, the shyness and nervousness from a moment ago completely vanishing, as the usual playful and upbeat cheeriness was back in her voice.

Beca smiled, "And I'll say it again" Beca counted, leaning closer towards her.

Chloe was moving nearing too, looking as if she fully intended on meeting her in the middle, until Chloe's phone began blaring from the bag still resting on the redhead's arm. Beca dropped her head to the other woman's shoulder with a groan, causing her to giggle at the DJ's frustration.

"What is it with Fat Amy disrupting our little moments?" Chloe asked with a grin, holding the phone up and allowing Beca to see the caller ID.

XXX

Beca sat upright the minute Chloe asked the question. She looked more confused than concerned now and it caused Chloe to turn around quickly in hopes Beca would just forget she mentioned anything. She was bringing her knees up to her chest just as Beca's arm was back around her waist and her face nestled into her shoulder again.

"Is that what's upset you?" Beca whispered, unsure.

Chloe just nodded, feeling the tears beginning to form in her eyes again. Admitting she wanted to marry Beca drunk in Vegas felt childish and silly, but judging by her best friend's reaction, Beca was doing nothing other than taking her seriously.

An hour ago at the most, Chloe was more hurt and annoyed by the fact that Beca hadn't noticed her change of emotions and made no effort to find out what was wrong, but now – Beca spooning into her and asking her exactly that almost made Chloe forgive her immediately.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Beca was so close; so close to communicating the right words and now…

"I wish you would have asked me instead" Beca mumbled into her neck quietly. The vibration of her voice tickled Chloe's skin and instantly made her inch away, before shyly turning over.

"You do?"

"Yeah, I wish I could say Stacie had to do some serious persuading, but really she only had to ask one or twice, I think" Beca finished her sentence in a higher register, clearly trying to get a hold on the memories lost in her drunken haze.

If they were in another situation, Chloe would have laughed.

"But, if you would have asked, Chlo? Well, I'm pretty sure I would yes a million times."

Beca was tilting her head to the side with her signature smirk, but due to the alcohol, it was a little wonky and toothier than usual. Chloe felt the corners of her mouth turn upwards at the sight in front of her, but instead sat up, trying to prevent it from stretching into a smile.

It seemed the thing Chloe had wanted to hear the most from Beca these past few years was finally spilling from her lips. Her insides should be on fire; her whole body should be jumping for joy – but instead there was a sense of doubt looming in the back of her mind.

Beca was drunk.

She was drunk enough to marry Stacie.

Beca would flinch whenever the other Bella reached out to touch her or turn bright red the second Stacie so much as uttered a suggestive comment. The DJ had even admitted sometimes their exchanges made her feel a little uncomfortable and she was unsure of how to deal with it.

So, perhaps the alcohol was clouding her judgement on this too.

"Beca, I don't think right now is the perfect time for this conversation."

The look on Beca's face made it clear she knew Chloe was referring to the alcohol and the party atmosphere they had both divulged in earlier in the night.

"No, actually it's the perfect time. If me marrying Stacie has made you this upset then surely I know you feel the same way about me, right? That we are more than just 'best friends'? That I've been in love with you for so long I can't even tell you when it happened?"

Beca had sat up and moved to sit further down the bed and positioned herself in front of Chloe halfway through her sentence. The redhead hadn't even noticed the way Beca was holding her hand and running the pad of her thumb over the back of her hand.

Chloe was so shocked by the boldness and outright honesty of Beca's confession, she couldn't even speak. A couple of seconds that felt like long antagonising minutes passed as she focused on the way Beca's thumb felt against her skin.

"Unless you don't…" Beca trailed off, leaving her sentence unfinished. She awkwardly pulled her hand away and began moving to the cold side of the bed, but Chloe's hand was reaching for hers again.

"You're not just drunk?" Chloe asked nervously, tightly squeezing the brunette's hand with a worried smile.

"This is the soberest I've felt all night" Beca promised shuffling back closer as Chloe's knee peeking out of the duvet knocked hers.

There was a beat of silence, as both of them just looked at each other. Beca pulled her knees from under herself and straightening them back out on the bed, as she let a smile take over her face.

Beca's smile was the only push Chloe needed to speak the next words on the tip of her tongue. She bit the inside of her cheek, before releasing it and finally let the corners of her lips turn upwards, "I love you more than just a 'best friend' should."

Beca was pulling her fingers out from in between Chloe's as she edged even closer, the hand now resting on her bare knee. She could feel the cool imprint of Beca's new ring on her skin, but Chloe no longer cared as her attention was completely locked on the other woman's lips. Beca was leaning in, slowly but surely, her eyes flickering from the blues staring into hers and the tongue that wet Chloe's lips.

Just short of a millimetre of their lips meeting, Beca stilled, almost daring Chloe to close the distance. The anticipation and need of wanting those very lips on her own seemed to cloud her mind, as Chloe was surging forward and fusing their mouths together.

Chloe's hands were resting on Beca's thighs, as the brunette's right hand settled on her shoulder, her thumb running teasingly up and down her neck; the touch was enough to make Chloe shiver. She was seconds from grabbing Beca's waist and pulling on top of her when there was a pounding on their door and Fat Amy's booming slurs seeped through the door.

"Chloe! Beca! Open up, Legacy is throwing up in our bathroom right now and I can't take it anymore!"

XXX

A/N: This was so long and random and is now actually finished.

Thank you for prompting and sorry for changing it.