Chapter 7

Over the course of the week, Beca finds herself spending more time at Chloe's apartment after work. Pretty much every day in fact. Most of the time, the redhead ends up begging her to stay over because it's too late for her to go home. She resists.

Sometimes.

Thursday - May 19th

An email was received after lunch. It requested that Beca Mitchell and Chloe Beale of the advertising department report to the Human Resources office to meet with their Employee Relations Manager, Harriet Everston.

The room was located near the center of the floor, next to the elevators.

The email didn't include a reason for the meeting. The two of them talked about what it could be on the way. Beca had initially thought it was because of her grouchy attitude but that didn't make sense with Chloe there as well. The brunette pretended to be hurt when the other girl had asked if she had killed someone. Apparently murder wasn't considered far-fetched for Beca.

Stepping into the office, the pair of them were greeted to the sight of Harriet Everston, sitting behind her desk. She was a stout lady, probably in her early forties. She was smiling and there was friendly demeanour to her.

"Beca, Chloe, please take a seat," she said, pointing at the two chairs in front of her.

They sat down. "What's this about?" Beca asked.

Harriet began shuffling papers on her desk until she pulled out two forms, one white and one yellow. She then turned to look at them.

"It had come to my attention that the two of you are spending a lot of time together outside of work. Is this correct?"

"Yes," They answered in unison. The brunette was still confused and from the look on Chloe's face, so was she.

"Furthermore, other employees have observed the two of you holding hands, hugging and kissing. Is this also true?"

Only Chloe answered this time, a smile directed towards Beca. "Yes."

Harriet turned to the redhead. "Now Miss Beale, I was told that you and Miss Mitchell adopted a pet together. I'm not sure of the animal but apparently it's called Bad Trombonist. How long ago was this?"

Chloe giggled. "It's not a pet, it's a teddy bear and that was about a month ago."

The brunette groaned. So her co-worker had told other people about the bear. Not only that, she had told them they adopted it together. Adopted!

"I see." Harriet quickly wrote something on one of the forms.

Beca turned to look at the redhead. She was clearly enjoying this.

"Were the two of you in a relationship prior to working at Pitch Perfect?" Harriet asked.

The question even seemed to surprise Chloe. "What?"

"Were you two romantically involved before working for this company?" The second phrasing of the question didn't exactly help matters.

"Miss Everston, Chloe and I are not in a relationship of that kind, we're just friends," Beca corrected.

Harriet's smile grew. "You don't have to hide it from us, you guys aren't in trouble. We just need it registered. It's company policy."

"We're not hiding it from you, we're really just friends."

"Our company is incredibly welcoming of homosexual couples so you-"

"Miss Everston! We're not in a relationship," Beca interjected firmly. She took a quick glance at Chloe who appeared to be holding back her laughter.

Harriet looked at the both of the confused. "Really?"

"Yes!"

"Oh, my mistake then. I thought for sure that you girls were together. You too make an adorable couple. I guess the rumors were just rumors."

Harriet questioned the pair regarding the rumors just to clarify the situation. Beca could tell that Chloe hadn't taken offense at the accusations. She didn't try to distance herself from the brunette during the questioning and talked of their relationship positively. She would occasionally glance at her and smile when she was recounting a tale about the two of them, like naming the bear or their sleepover.

"Could I have the names of all the people who told you about us?" Beca asked.

"I'm afraid that's confidential. I wouldn't be able to operate if I didn't make this space feel safe."

"Then at least tell those people to mind their own business."

"With things like this, it's usually a small rumor that grows as it gets passed around. I'm sure it wasn't done maliciously but we need to investigate anything that comes our way."

With that, she walked out, followed by a very happy redhead.

As they sat down at their desks again, Chloe was about to speak.

"Not a word out of you," Beca said, cutting her off.

"What happened?" Chloe was smirking.

"I hate you, that's what happened."

"Aww, does Badass Beca not like that people know she's really a big softy?"

The best thing to do in this situation was to ignore the teasing. She wouldn't be taken in by it. She turned to her work and continued where she left off.

"Does this mean no more hand holding or hugs?" Chloe asked. Her question sounded serious.

"Why would we have to stop?"

"Don't you have a persona to maintain?"

Beca had been thinking about the way the two of them had been perceived by the other people in the office ever since the meeting. She was surprised to find that she really didn't care that other people thought they were romantically involved. It only reaffirmed how close she felt to the other girl. It wasn't just her imagining it, other people saw it too. Even Chloe didn't seem all that bothered by the accusation.

"I'm not going to stop doing things with you because of what other people might think," Beca said, her eyes focused on the screen in front of her.

"That might be the most badass thing you've ever said," Chloe beamed, launching herself at the other girl for a hug.

The idea of reducing the amount of time with this amazing women was unfathomable. As she felt the redhead pressed against her, holding her firmly, she knew that Chloe wouldn't have even let her try.

"Have you been telling other people that we adopted Bad Trombonist?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Chloe replied, breaking the embrace and returning to work.

"I'm sure you don't." If Chloe was going to lie about that, Beca was going to lie about being mad.

Friday - May 27th

According to Chloe, spending every day cooped up in your own home isn't a good way to live your life. Apparently, sometimes you need to go outside and experience the world. This had been the rationale for going to a local club. Beca had allowed the redhead to beg for most of the day. She had planned on saying yes almost straight away but watching Chloe try to negotiate with her was much more fun.

It would be good to do something a little different. Chloe's influence on her was becoming increasingly apparent.

Now here she was, walking to the club in a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a white top and a black moto jacket. Chloe wore a sleeveless pink dress that finished just above her knees.

The bouncer gave Beca the stink eye at the door but she figured that had more to do with the sour look she was giving him than anything else. Luckily, Chloe was there to smile and be super cheery, allowing them entry inside.

The inside was dimly lit with alternating brightly colored lights that spread across the room in beams. It was densely packed, a sea of people stretching across the room and at the end of it, a raised stage with a DJ.

The pair navigated through the crowd to the bar. It was in the corner. The countertop was glass with a bright light underneath it.

Chloe got the attention of one of the bartenders and ordered drinks. She then turned to Beca.

"You wanna dance?" she asked.

Beca hesitated. "Umm sure. I'm not the best at it though."

"That's fine, no one else will be paying attention to you apart from me and I already know you're an awkward mess so it'll be fine."

"What do you mean no one will be paying attention to me?"

Chloe just smiled and dragged her to the dance floor. Beca was told to focus on the redhead and not worry about what other people were thinking. Eventually, with a pinch of alcohol, she relaxed into the activity. She wouldn't say she enjoyed the dancing particularly but it was nice to be outside with Chloe and doing something active for a change. That DJ could do with some instruction though, he was all over the place.

During a break to catch their breath, Chloe noticed someone.

"Hey look," she said, pointing towards two girls further down the bar.

It was Aubrey and Stacie. The blonde seemed to be resisting the other girl who was tugging at her arm.

Beca found herself being dragged in their direction. Stacie noticed them approaching and redirected her attention towards them.

"Hey, you two. Wasn't expecting to see you here," she said, the second part being directed at Beca. "How much of a fight did she put up?" she asked Chloe.

"The whole day actually. Then as we were about to leave, she said it would be a good idea to go to the club like I hadn't been suggesting it all damn day," The redhead replied. Stacie laughed.

Beca looked at Aubrey who seemed annoyed at something. "Hey, Aubrey."

"Hi." The blonde replied curtly.

"Oh, don't bother talking to her, she's moody from work. She doesn't even want to dance with me," Stacie said.

Chloe grabbed Beca's hand. "Come on Stace, Beca's tired and I want to dance with someone good."

"Excuse me?!"

Chloe giggled before pulling Stacie away with her. Now it was just Beca and the unhappy blonde.

She had grown to like Aubrey. At first, she seemed to not really care about anyone but herself and was far too uptight. Having creepily stared at her, with Chloe to make it less so, she determined that Aubrey was much nicer than she let on. Furthermore, Chloe had become good friends with the girl and would speak to her on most days in the office. Apparently she was very friendly once you got to know her.

Currently, Aubrey was staring at her drink, still unhappy. Beca decided to cheer her up once she got over how strange that sounded in her head.

"What exactly happened at work?" she inquired.

"Nothing actually, that's sort of the problem." Aubrey took a sip of her drink.

"How so?"

"I've been asking for tougher clients at work, just to challenge us, you know? Luke keeps shooting me down. I wouldn't be so mad if he didn't give the opportunities to other people in our department."

"I could ask Chloe to talk to him, I think he's scared of her."

Aubrey actually giggled. "She told me about that, it was incredibly stupid of her. She could have gotten fired." She then turned to look at Beca. "Although, it's not as bad as what you did."

"She told you?"

"I asked why you hadn't shown up and she told me. She seemed mad," Aubrey said.

"She was. And rightly so."

She leaned closer, an unnecessary action in a loud club. "Chloe described it as though it was the craziest thing she had seen anyone do but I kinda get why you did it," she whispered, smiling.

Beca knew that even Chloe understood why she did it. The redhead's anger at the situation was to ensure that no part of Beca thought her actions were approved by the other girl. Still it was nice to know that Aubrey was on her side, in a roundabout way.

"You should go dance with Stacie," Beca suggested. The blonde shook her head. "She keeps looking your way, I think she came to dance with you."

Beca had been looking at the other two during the conversation. They were having a good time but she noticed that Stacie would keep glancing at Aubrey with a hopeful look.

Chloe returned and collapsed on the stool next to Beca, now a little sweatier. She leaned against the brunette before stealing her drink.

"You okay?" Beca asked.

"I think I'm done for the night," Chloe said.

"We've been here for like an hour."

"In retrospect, doing this on a Monday night wasn't the best idea." With that, she downed the rest of the drink before ordering another.

Beca turned her attention back to Aubrey. "Don't leave her to dance by herself."

Aubrey seemed reluctant, she bit her bottom lip and glanced towards Stacie's direction. Beca thought she might have to rope in Chloe to help but she got up soon afterward and made her towards her companion.

Beca watched as Stacie became very excited by the arrival of her friend and wrapped her arms around her neck. The current song was a little slower and even she had to admit that it sounded pretty good. The two on the dancefloor moved in time with the beat. Stacie seemed uninterested in moving away from the blonde. Not that Aubrey looked uncomfortable. She actually looked rather calm, just staring in Stacie's eyes.

"Good job, by the way," Chloe said. Beca looked at her in confusion so she pointed towards the other pair. "I didn't put you down as the matchmaking type."

Stacie was leaning against her. Aubrey liked the position they were in. She could feel the other girl breathing against her neck. It was heavier than usual thanks to the dancing. Green eyes were staring at her. They were a little less focused due to the alcohol but they were looking directly at her. She could tell that Stacie was happy just from the eyes alone. The smile plastered lower down only confirmed it.

"Sorry about today, it can't have been much fun to be with me," Aubrey said.

Stacie shook her head. "Nonsense, you're always a little grumpy. It's never bothered me."

"This is what you want too right?"

The brunette looked at her strangely. "What does it have to do with me?"

"Well, we're going to be working on the client together."

"I thought you'd be working with Mark. He's the one who usually handles them."

"Why would you think I wanted to work with Mark?"

"Because..." Stacie looked down at her feet. "I..." she whispered. "He's more experienced..."

Aubrey frowned. "Stace, you have to stop selling yourself short. The only reason I can even demand better clients is because of the work we've done. Together!" She lifted the other girl's chin to look at her eyes. "There's no one else I'd work with on this."

Stacie made eye contact again, now looking bashful. "Thanks, Bree."

"Now, if I hear about how you think you're inadequate, I'm going to kill Mark."

"How would that help?" Stacie questioned.

The blonde smirked. "If he's dead, then you won't have anyone to compare to so you'll feel better." The other girl bit her bottom lip. "Who else? You know what, it doesn't matter. I'll keep killing people in the office until you're happy."

It elicited a laugh from the Stacie.

They danced for a while longer. Aubrey began to notice the increased weight against her as the other girl became more exhausted. Stacie had been drinking more than she had tonight and it looked like it was getting to her. She was usually far more tired at the end of the day than Aubrey.

"What are the other two doing?" Stacie asked.

Aubrey glanced their way. Chloe was leaning against Beca, her head pressed against the brunette's shoulder. She was holding a drink with a smile on her face. Beca seemed to be telling some sort of story that was making the redhead laugh. Apart from the alcohol, they were behaving the exact same way they did in the office. It was a wonder how they got any work done.

"They've got that look again," Stacie said.

"What look?"

"Like they've figured out something that makes the rest of the world trivial and the only thing that matters is each other."

Aubrey smiled. "That's actually pretty accurate."

"I see that look every time I visit my parents."

Shortly afterwards, a yawn announced that it was finally time to leave. They still had to go to work tomorrow. Aubrey attempted to make her way to the door when Stacie pulled her in the direction of their co-workers.

"We're heading out, see you guys at work," Stacie said once they reached the bar.

"Actually, we're leaving too, Chloe's tired," Beca said.

The group made their way through the crowd of now very sweaty people. It was nearing midnight at this point and the outside of the club consisted of people who had either been thrown out or had purposely stepped out to empty the contents of their stomachs.

Stacie held the blonde's hand as they progressed to the less alcohol infused part of town. She insisted on it whenever they went somewhere. Aubrey had been told that it forced her to walk at the same speed thus slowing her down. According to the other girl, it helped to relax her. She had a feeling that her more relaxed appearance had little to do with how slowly they were walking and more to do with the person she was walking with. Stacie didn't need to know that though.

Suddenly Aubrey found her arm being pulled.

"Bree, I'm hungry," Stacie whined. "Can we go to that diner?"

"Sure."

What sounded like suppressed laughter came from the pair behind them.

The diner across the street was brightly lit with a large window stretching across its perimeter. It was almost completely empty. There was a male police officer talking to a woman behind the computer and a man on a laptop near the back corner.

They shuffled into one of the booths near the window, Aubrey and Stacie on one side and Chloe and Beca on the other.

A woman, around their age, showed up shortly to take their order. A tag with the name 'Lucy' was pinned to her top. She pulled out a notepad and pen from her pocket.

"What would you guys like?" she asked.

"A chicken sandwich," Stacie replied

"I'll just have some vanilla ice cream," Chloe said.

"Nothing," Beca said.

Lucy then looked at Aubrey. "A coffee please, black," the blonde said.

As their waiter went to fetch their order, Aubrey turned to find Stacie looking at her.

"Did you eat the sandwich I made for you today?" the brunette asked.

"Yes."

"What was in it?" This was always the follow up question.

"Turkey," Aubrey replied.

"Good."

She groaned. "You know you don't have to keep doing that."

"If I don't then you don't eat."

Aubrey noticed that the two sitting across them were looking at them, puzzled by the conversation.

"You bring her sandwiches?" Chloe asked.

"Amongst other things," Stacie said.

"Why?" Beca questioned.

"She thinks I don't eat enough," the blonde replied.

"Because you don't," Stacie shot back. "The first week I worked with you, you skipped lunch every single day."

"We managed to get our work done, didn't we?"

"That's not the point."

Beca and Chloe were smiling at them.

"Thanks for looking out for me, Stace." In truth, Aubrey really did appreciate the gesture. She had been used to missing lunch due to work and it wasn't a big deal. She knew it wasn't healthy but it didn't really affect her job performance. The first week with Stacie, the blonde had somehow managed to miss lunch every single day, entirely by accident. The following Monday, she received a tap on the shoulder around midday. Stacie had brought pasta, enough for the both of them and insisted that they eat.

Aubrey had been speechless despite the simple gesture. She remembered nodding before eating in silence. She couldn't help the smile on her face.

The food arrived shortly afterwards. Aubrey watched Stacie attack her sandwich while her coffee cooled.

Stacie had become Aubrey's constant. The brunette would be there to pull her back when she put too much into work or became overly stressed. It's gotten to the point where she is unsure if she is even able to unwind on her own, without Stacie's aid. The idea of that didn't sound so bad.

"Mmm." The satisfied sound came from Chloe. "Becs, you have to try some of this," she said scooping another bit of ice cream onto the spoon. Beca leaned closer and took the spoon in her mouth. A nod came from her moments later. Chloe moved closer to the other girl before having another spoon of the ice cream herself.

Stacie took attention away from her food to give the blonde a knowing look. They didn't really need to speak to be able to know what the other was thinking. Back at the office, the two of them discussed Beca and Chloe from time to time. Even Aubrey could admit that she enjoyed watching the relationship grow. She talked with Chloe on most days and the redhead always had something to tell her about Beca, usually positive.

The ice cream was shared until the bowl was empty. Once everyone was finished, the bill was split and everyone put in a tip thus avoiding any 'Reservoir Dogs' scenarios.

The group decided to cut across the park. The moon was especially prevalent tonight allowing for natural illumination of the pathways. The path led them near one of the large ponds in the park. This one was a little out of the way so fewer people visited. Thus, little to no ducks frequented the area. The moonlight reflected off the clean water beautifully.

As they were passing the pond, Stacie began pulling on Aubrey again, this time towards the pond edge. Chloe was happy to follow. She and Beca had enjoyed their time watching 'Staubrey' interact.

Stacie sat down, dragging the blonde down with her. Once Aubrey was seated, the brunette moved onto her lap and pressed herself against her. The other girl wrapped her arms around Stacie.

Beca sat down next to them and Chloe joined her, resting her head on the other girl's shoulder. The redhead took a moment to look at her companion rather than the other two girls. Beca was looking back at her and she found herself being distracted again by the deep blue of those eyes.

"You okay, Chlo?" Beca asked.

Coming out of her trance, Chloe shook her head and replied. "Yeah." She took Beca's hand and planted a kiss on her cheek. "I'm fine."

It felt good to just sit and do nothing for a while. Just enjoying the way the light on the water rippled as an inconsistent breeze blew by.

After a few minutes on the bank, it became clear that Stacie had fallen asleep.

"Should we get going?" Chloe suggested

"In a bit, I don't mind sitting here for a little longer," said Aubrey.

The sound of their voices must have stirred the sleeping brunette who made a cute whining noise. "Closer, like normal," she said, her words muffled by Aubrey's clothing. Said girl held Stacie more firmly.

"What does she mean when she said 'like normal'?" Beca asked.

The blonde blushed. "She likes being held when she sleeps."

"How do you know this?" Chloe asked, smirking.

"She stays over at my place sometimes."

"How often?"

"Just sometimes."

"How many times last week?" Beca asked. It was fun watching Aubrey become more and more embarrassed.

"Three times." These weren't questions the blonde needed to answer but the embarrassment must have gotten to her.

Stacie stirred again. "It was actually five I think," she corrected.

Chloe looked at Beca and grinned.

"What?" Aubrey asked.

"Oh, nothing." The pair said in unison.

"It's just, she looks really happy like that," Beca commented.

Aubrey looked down at the sleeping face. Stacie's eyes were barely open. "That's cos I am," she whispered.

They allowed the brunette to rest a while longer before finally deciding to head home. Once they reached the park exit, the two pairs went their separate ways.

Overall, Chloe had enjoyed the night. The first surprise was Beca's willingness to dance. Then 'Staubrey' had shown up. Her exhaustion seemed like it was going to ruin the night but the quieter activities after the club had more than made up for it.

Beca was there so the chances of her not enjoying it were minimal anyway.

Stacie and Aubrey had been delightful as well. Chloe was already good friends with the latter and Stacie had been just as amazing as Aubrey had described. She didn't talk about Stacie outside of a work discussion but today's display proved that there was some genuine affection between the two.

There was something she needed to discuss with Beca about them.

"Beca, that thing you told Aubrey was pretty unlike you."

"What thing?"

"About Stacie being happy."

"I thought she could use a push."

Chloe smiled at her. "I think it worked."

Thanks for reading!

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Thanks to wolveswithoutteeth, Joshifer4Everlark, Guest, Gleek0382, CherryFlavouredPoison, until its gone, fiestlykleinemaus, danigirlslc, rokpest and katitty-bitch for their reviews.

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P.s. Drama coming next chapter.