A/N: Heyyyy guysssss! I'm terribly sorry that it's taken me so long to update! I had a bit of writer's block while writing this chapter, and after spending a lot of hours staring at my laptop screen, I finally put together something! I can't say I'm 100% satisfied with it but I feel like it's getting worse if I keep making more changes so… yeh, I hope it turns out okay… *nervous laughter*

anapfischer, pipitz009, mielsita, GuestMm, Guest, LightningThief394, Anonymous: Aww thanks guys! Big hugs!

nellesalvador, jlk215, becssalva, OnceYouGoBecYouCantGoBack: haha Yesss! I'm super excited to write about their journey ahead as well! ;)

Verbenaice: Hehe aren't we all? I'm glad you liked the song! :)

GermanJenna: LOL, yep that name… xD ps. you have 4 cuties at home?! Awww I'm jealous! :D

cakedinmud, destinedtobefree, heretheygoagain: Oh totally! We'll see more people from Beca's past for sure! I have something very interesting planned! ;)

Chapter 24

After finishing five of her songs, Beca walked back to stand beside the suddenly very exhilarated redhead. She looked at Chloe, amused, "What's got you all happy and excited? Did you like my songs?" She added a little nervously.

Chloe's smile grew even wider, if that was even possible. She turned to gaze at Beca intently for a few seconds, before suddenly taking the brunette's hand and dragging her away from the park.

Beca laughed, "Where are you taking me? And don't you want to stay a little bit longer to listen to other artists sing?"

Chloe looked back at her, grinning, "Nope, I have more important things to do!"

"Like what?" Beca asked while chuckling. The redhead sure did have the spontaneity of a child, but she loved it. She just loved everything about Chloe. Every spontaneous act the redhead did would give Beca a tingly sensation, making her look forward to every second that she got to spend with Chloe. Because she never knew what to expect, or what to prepare, but she didn't really care. She didn't care if those acts would sometimes mess up her own routine or make her step out of her comfort zone. If it was with someone else, those kinds of things would probably bother her or make her uncomfortable. But with Chloe, they were all liberating.

"Chloe! Where are you going?! I thought we were going to the diner?!" Beca turned around in the passenger seat and watched the diner that they usually went for their dates becoming smaller and smaller as the redhead just drove straight past it without even slowing down.

"I don't know actually, I just suddenly don't want to go there anymore." Chloe giggled, seeing Beca's wide eyes.

"So you are telling me you just want our fifth date to be spent in your car, driving?" Beca asked, and she didn't even know if she should be amused or upset.

"Aww, Becs, I didn't know you were counting our dates." Chloe teased the brunette sitting beside her, and felt warmth spread through her whole body. Because Beca Mitchell was not all cold and indifferent like they all warned the redhead that she would be. No, actually, Beca Mitchell was quite the opposite. She was sweet, caring, funny and so talented. She just didn't let many people see this side of her and Chloe was a little giddy that she was one of the few people who got to see the real Beca Mitchell, and she just couldn't help but fall for the brunette, fiercely and recklessly.

"What? I'm not counting, I just guessed." Beca tried to act casual.

"Okay, if you say so." Chloe giggled again, rolling down her car window, "It's a nice night, I just thought we should drive for a bit, and who knows, we may find some fun places on the way!"

The early spring breeze in Atlanta was still a bit chilly, but mostly quite comforting and pleasant. The gentle wind blew into the car through the open window, messing up their hair and Beca was suddenly mesmerized, watching Chloe's lips curl into a content smile, her red locks dancing and flying in the wind. Weirdly, she started to realize that even if they just spend the entire evening driving around, she would still enjoy herself. All she cared about was to spend time with the redhead, it really didn't matter where.

"Oh my god! Becs! Look!"

Beca's thoughts were interrupted by the redhead's excited voice. She looked up, and saw that Chloe was parking her car at somewhat of a viewing deck. Wait… how did they get this high?! And where were they?!

"Chloe?! Where on earth did you drive us to?!" Beca looked around, noticing they were halfway up a small hill. "Okay, how come I didn't even notice you were driving us up the hill?!"

Chloe laughed, "Someone was deep in thought, but it actually worked in my favour, otherwise you would have stopped me."

"You are right I would have, because it's dangerous! What if a bear suddenly comes out of the woods?!"

"Don't be dramatic Beca. Come on, let's get off the car! I promise you won't be disappointed!" Chloe exclaimed excitedly, leaning in to place a quick kiss on Beca's cheek, before unbuckling her seatbelt and jumping out of the car.

Beca sighed slightly, but she followed suit and got off the car as well, walking over to where Chloe was standing near the edge of the hill.

"Okay, why are we standing here—" Beca didn't need to finish this sentence to know the answer, because from this spot, she could see the entire city beneath them, and it was alive with thousands of lights at this hour. She blinked, and let her mouth fall slightly open, completely amazed by the view laid out in front of her.

"Told you, you wouldn't be disappointed."

Beca turned to look at the beaming redhead, feeling her heart skip a beat all of a sudden. The smile on Chloe's face was so bright that even the countless city lights beneath them failed to dim it. She watched Chloe turn her head around to appreciate the breathtaking view contently, and unconsciously, her own lips curled upwards as well.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" Beca asked abruptly, causing the redhead to whip her head back around to look at her.

Beca didn't repeat her question, she knew the redhead heard it. So she just grinned at her, eyes sparkling.

"Yes." Chloe smiled back at Beca, a little shyly.

Beca was secretly over the moon, and she suddenly had a strong urge to kiss the redhead. She bit down on her lip, then an idea occurred to her. Deciding to act on that idea, she smirked, raising a hand to tap her left cheek with her forefinger, "Well then, come here and kiss your girlfriend on the cheek?"

Chloe giggled, and without suspecting a thing, she leaned forward, but just as her lips were about to touch Beca's left cheek, the brunette suddenly turned her head to capture her lips with her own, giving the redhead a gentle peck.

The redhead let out a small yelp in surprise. Her hand shot up to cover her mouth, "Did you just…" She blinked and dropped her hand, trying very hard to calm her pounding heart.

"Oh yes, I did." The brunette grinned widely, "I'm very sneaky—" She didn't even get to finish before she felt Chloe's soft lips on hers again.

Beca settled her hands on her girlfriend's hips and pulled her closer, feeling the redhead's mouth stretch wider against hers, and she also had to fight very hard between grinning and kissing. Secretly, even though she didn't want to admit it, this spot on the hill was already her favourite place in the world, because she got to kiss her girlfriend for the first time here.

"Well, you haven't answered my question yet Beale! More important things like what? And where are we going?" Beca was a bit out of breath from all the running. She seriously needed to exercise more from now on if the redhead continued to drag her around like this.

Chloe glanced back, chuckling lightly at the panting brunette before slowing down a little, "There are so many more important things to do right now. Like holding your hand," She lifted up their intertwined hands a little and stopped in the middle of the road, leaning forward towards Beca, "And kissing you." She whispered, before connecting their lips in a long and slow kiss.

Beca hummed in approval. She brought up a hand to rest on the back of Chloe's head, lightly pulling the redhead closer and deepening the kiss, her fingers tangling in red locks. There was something different about this kiss. Beca felt like there was a new level of intimacy, that was full of trust, passion and love. She could taste so many emotions on the redhead's lips. They intoxicated her and slowly led her into a warm haze of euphoric bliss. And Beca started to wish this kiss could never end. She wished that time could just stop right at this very second, so she would never need to pull back.

Unfortunately, they still had to break apart for some much-needed oxygen eventually. Chloe rested her forehead against the brunette's for a brief moment, whispering with her eyes closed,

"Let's go back to my apartment."

Beca waited at the side with a palpitating heart while Chole was unlocking her apartment door. She didn't know what to expect or what to think. After that kiss on the street earlier, she could feel some subtle changes about the redhead, yet she just couldn't quite place them. She hoped they were all good changes, but she figured she would probably need to talk to Chloe about this later.

Still deep in thought, she followed Chloe into her apartment. However, she was barely in the apartment for two seconds before she felt herself being pushed against the door by Chloe, gentle yet firm, their lips immediately locked in a fervent and eager kiss. Taken by surprise, Beca lost her grip on the guitar case and it fell onto the floor beside their feet with a thud. But she could hardly care about that, not that she had enough brain function to think clearly anyway. Because all she could feel was Chloe's body pressing against hers, their breaths mingling. The redhead cupped her cheeks and slanted her head further, deepening the kiss. And in this moment, even with her eyes closed, Beca could still see light exploding, sparks flying in every direction. She breathed in sharply when she felt Chloe's hand slide off her cheek and begin to slowly stroke up along her side underneath her shirt, and it was driving her crazy because every inch of her skin under Chloe's soft touch was instantly on fire, sending her into a heady trance.

Beca could sense where this was going and she wanted to make sure that this was indeed what the redhead wanted, so she gathered what was left of her brain function and finally regain the ability to speak.

"Wait..." It almost took everything in the brunette to pull back from the kiss. "Are you sure?" She searched Chloe's eyes, panting a little.

"I'm sure. No more waiting. I'm ready, Beca. My heart is ready."

Beca was at a loss for words, hypnotized all of a sudden. She gazed at the redhead in front of her, watching the corners of her mouth lift into a melting yet firm smile, her cheeks a little rosy and her baby blues darker than usual.

"I just need you to promise me one thing." Chloe spoke again softly, looking deep into Beca's stormy blue eyes, "Let me in your heart, don't ever keep me out or push me away, because I don't know if I can handle that ever again. And whatever happens, we don't hide things from each other, we don't assume what's best for each other. We talk everything out, we work things out together, that's us, we take care of each other, okay? Can you promise me that'll always be us?"

Beca smiled, eyes glistening with tears, "I promise. I've lost you once, I won't make the same mistake again." She took Chloe's hand and put it over her heart, "You'll always be in here. You have my heart, you have all of me. And I couldn't keep you out even if I want to. It's too late, because it's already wide open to you. Sure, we'll argue, we'll fight, we'll get upset with each other because no life is perfect, but it's okay, because we'll figure this out together, we are in this together. That'll always be us, I promise."

A few tears escaped from Chloe's eyes. She sniffled lightly but let her smile widen into a brilliant grin.

"I love you." Beca whispered slowly, smiling back at the redhead while reaching out a hand to brush those tears away from Chloe's cheeks.

"I love you too." Chloe teared up again because this time when she said those words, she didn't feel any insecurities or doubts creeping in the back of her mind. They were really all gone, and all she could feel was love, need and passion towards Beca.

"I love you too." So she said again, grinning wildly, "I love you so much." And then, she didn't waste another second to crash their lips together again, pinning the brunette against her apartment door, kissing her with everything she had.

The kiss immediately intensified, hands roaming everywhere. After a few minutes, Chloe reluctantly pulled her lips away from the brunette's, and started to trail light kisses along Beca's jawline, to her ear.

"I want you, right now. Let's go to bed." She whispered into Beca's ear, and before Beca could answer, she lifted the brunette up, quickly connecting their lips again and starting to carry her toward the bedroom without breaking the kiss even for a second.

And maybe because of the urgency, Chloe walked a little too fast, so when she released her grip on Beca and let her fall on the mattress with a soft bounce, the brunette let out an embarrassing high-pitched squeak since she did not expect that they would reach the redhead's bed so soon.

"What was that?" Chloe giggled, locking eyes with the extremely flustered brunette, hovering over her.

"Shut up and kiss me." Beca rolled her eyes slightly, pulling Chloe down and capturing the redhead's lips with her own again.

Chloe fluttered her eyes open, seeing the sunlight was already peeking through the curtains. She stretched a little, and instantly smiled at last night's memory.

She looked over beside her and saw that Beca was lying on her stomach, facing her and still sound asleep. Her hair was splayed all over the pillow and her long eyelashes would tremble in the slightest way as she breathed.

The redhead's smile grew bigger. She brought a hand up to Beca's bare back and traced the tattoo on her shoulder softly. She couldn't believe Beca was lying beside her again, because that was something she wouldn't even let herself think about over the last few years. She noticed there were quite a few red scratch marks on the brunette's back and blushed. Feeling a little bad for the brunette, Chloe propped herself up on her elbow, starting to place light kisses on those marks and soon felt the brunette stirring and humming beneath her. She lay back and met those stormy blue orbs that she could get lost in for hours.

"Good morning." She smiled shyly at Beca.

"Good morning." Beca watched the redhead in amusement. Chloe usually wouldn't get all shy and blushed easily. But when she did, it was fun to watch. So she just continued to stare at the redhead, intently and adoringly.

Chloe buried her head further into the pillow under Beca's intense gaze, "Stop looking at me! You are making me blush!" She pouted but felt a thousand butterflies dashing around madly in her stomach because of the way Beca was looking at her.

"What? I like looking at you. And I don't know it's a crime to look at my girlfriend." Beca teased but suddenly stiffened, realizing what she had just said.

She didn't mean to say the word 'girlfriend'. She knew that they had talked a little about their relationship last night and it was already huge progress, but the word never came up. They would definitely need to talk about this later, but now it just slipped out! She mentally kicked herself and nervously bit down on her lip waiting for the redhead's reaction.

Chloe was clearly taken by surprise. She lifted her head a little at the word and looked at Beca with an unreadable face.

Beca waited for a few seconds, but seeing the redhead didn't seem to be speaking soon, she hurriedly rambled on,

"I... I'm sorry! I didn't mean... I mean I know we'll have to talk about it later, about what we are doing. But it just slipped out! I swear! And I—I'm not assuming anything or trying to pressure you into anything! I'm fine with waiting. I mean it! You have no idea just how grateful I am that you are even considering giving us a second chance. So until you are ready, I won't—"

She was cut off by a hand that the redhead put over her mouth.

"Beca, relax." Chloe giggled, "No need to bring the rambling Beca out, although I missed her terribly." She teased.

After seeing Beca visibly relax a little, she grew serious and looked deep into the brunette's eyes before softly speaking again.

"And I meant what I said last night too. I want you, Beca. I want to be with you, now. I'm done waiting. I'm ready. Because you were right, the future is a mystery so why waste time that I could be using to call you mine and kiss you any time I want?" She smiled, "So I guess that means I'm your girlfriend now, and no it's not a crime to look at your girlfriend. So look all you want, I won't judge."

Beca blinked, speechless. She couldn't believe her luck. She looked at Chloe's soft smile and searched her cerulean eyes for any doubts or hesitation, but found none other than sincerity and love.

Feeling tears start to emerge, Beca closed her eyes and kissed the tips of Chloe's fingers that were still resting over her lips before intertwining their hands.

"I love you." She whispered and leaned forward to kiss her girlfriend. Yes, girlfriend. She definitely loved the sound of that and felt a little giddy that she got to call the redhead hers again after all those lost years.

"I love you too." Chloe smiled into the kiss.