Prompt: Courage

Summary: There are different kinds of courage. For Beca though, there's nothing better than the kind that comes in liquid form and she's definitely going to need it when she spends the weekend with Chloe's family.

Part Three: Cheers Darlin'

There are different kinds of courage. There's the kind of courage it takes for a person to lift a car off of their child or to run into a burning building to retrieve a loved one or a precious keepsake. There's also the kind of courage that it takes to stand up to a person that you love or to tell your family a secret, even if you know that it's going to hurt them. That's all well and good to Beca and she appreciates the kind of people that can do those things, but her favorite kind of courage is the liquid kind. The kind that she's been sucking down since they arrived at the party two hours ago. The kind that it making her head spin and her legs wobble as she stumbles through the banquet hall, searching for Chloe. Yep, liquid courage is the best kind of courage to her.

She never wanted to come to this stupid party to begin with, but Chloe had insisted and practically yanked the fancy dress down over her head and forced her out of their motel room and to the rental car. They had been dating for two years and for the first time, their spring breaks were occurring at the same time. Chloe's big brother was getting married in South Carolina and Beca hated attending these kind of events, especially ones where she knew absolutely no one there, but Chloe had insisted and she didn't have a choice if she wanted to see her girlfriend at all over the week.

So, that was how she found herself sitting at the small bar in the banquet hall, knocking back shots of Jack Daniels and vodka as she bonded with the only member of Chloe's family that wasn't clingy.

One shot for the huge hug that Chloe's mom had given her when they walked into the party, pressing Beca's face into her heaving bosom and causing Beca to gag as Chanel No. 5 invaded her nose and threatened to choke her.

A second shot for the speech that Chloe's father had given her when she went outside to get some air. She had been tired of all of the questions about her relationship and major and what she did for fun and she just needed...to catch her breath before she screamed. Imagine her surprise then when she leaned over the pier, taking deep breaths of salt water with her eyes closed, and spending a few quiet moments alone when a man cleared his throat behind her and announced "So, you're the girl dating my daughter? I've been waiting to talk to you!"

It didn't go well.

A third shot for when Chloe finished her speech at the rehearsal dinner and sat down next to Beca, beaming when she saw that her girlfriend had been laughing at her perfect speech and kissing her on the lips in front of everyone. Including her little cousin Maddy, who preceded to ask everyone at their table if they were going to have a baby. Her face had turned as red as Chloe's hair and she covered her eyes with her hands as Chloe calmly explained that people can kiss without being married or having children.

Her night was a nightmare.

By the time she was onto shots number four, five, six, and seven (all courtesy of the hugs and invasive questions she had received courtesy of a visit to the table full of Chloe's grandmothers and aunts), Chloe's cousin Jack had joined her at the bar and told her horror stories as they chugged beer and dared each other to do shots and took mutual comfort in finding the only other normal person at the party.

By the time the bartender cut her off, she was wasted and she knew that Chloe would be pissed when she found her, but who cares? She needed this kind of stuff to deal with a hall full of Beales and it gave her the courage to remove herself from the stool and trudge through the people, searching for the person that had dragged her here to begin with.

Chloe found her an hour later, passed out on a pile of coats in the cloak room, and scoffed as she lifted the smaller girl up and guided her to the bathroom to get some water. She should have known that this was definitely not the place to leave Beca alone, especially since her relatives had sprung for an open bar and Beca had just turned 21.

Beca awoke to water being splashed on her face and groaned as she shoved Chloe's hands away and stumbled to her feet. She looked around the small washroom in confusion as her head spun and her knees wobbled, but managed to stay upright and shot Chloe a drunken grin.

"I've been looking for you all night", Beca slurred as she stepped forward and slung an arm around Chloe's shoulders. "I thought you were going to leave me here with your family and I couldn't stand the thought of all of the hugs and questions...and..."

Chloe rolled her eyes as Beca forgot what she had been saying and groaned as she wrapped an arm around Beca's waist and moved her towards the door.

"Come on, Alcoholic Spice. I knew that I should have pulled you away as soon as I spotted you with Jack. He's the family drunk."

"I like him!" Beca exclaimed as they stepped outside into the cool spring air. "He didn't hug me. He's my favorite member of your family."

Chloe just smiled and said "Yeah, I know. I should have warned you that we're all super clingy. You survived night one though and at this time tomorrow, we'll be back in Boston and away from all of this."

"We'll be back with Aubrey though. My nightmare continues!"

"You're a very mouthy drunk, Beca. Don't move, I'm getting you some water." Chloe ordered as she leaned Beca up against the building and went inside to fetch some cold water and something light for the girl to eat so she wouldn't be sick tomorrow at the wedding.

Taking care of Beca was a messy job, but one that Chloe was glad to undertake if it meant that they could spend the week together.

Beca sobered up quickly. For someone so tiny, she was miraculously able to handle her alcohol and had gone from slurring her speech to flirting with Chloe at the drop of a hat.

They rode back to the motel with Chloe's parents, since both of them had drank that night and neither trusted themselves to drive the rental car, and huddled together in the backseat as Chloe's parents made small talk in the front of the car. Beca took this as a sign to spice things up and as her hands slid up Chloe's legs and made their way under the poofy fabric of her dress, she knew that her night was definitely going to end on a high note.

Chloe moaned as Beca copped a gratuitous feel with her wandering hands and quickly pushed Beca against the door as her mother turned around with concern written all over her face.

"Are you two okay back here? Do we need to pull over?"

Chloe just shook her head as her face turned bright red and mumbled "I'm just a little sick. You know that I can't handle my alcohol that well."

Her mother nodded and turned around, satisfied with the answer and murmuring to her husband to hurry up before she ruined the interior of their new Cadillac. Once they were paying attention to the road again, Chloe punched Beca in the arm gently while the girl laughed and whispered "Play nice."

They ran into the motel once Chloe's father parked the car and dashed past the confused concierge at the desk, taking the steps two at a time as they bolted to their room on the third floor. Beca was attacking Chloe's lips as she dug through her purse for their room key and as she younger girl nipped at her pulse point, Chloe finally unlocked the door and pushed them both inside.

They hadn't shared a bedroom in months and the passion between them was electric as Beca flipped the lights on and Chloe spun the lock on the door while tugging her dress over her head. They needed this and Chloe ignored the light knocking at the door as she shoved Beca onto the bed and tore her dress off, practically ripping the fabric as she thrust it to the floor and attacked her neck, nipping and sucking at the skin as Beca moaned underneath her.

"Stop, you're going to give me a hickey!" Beca protested, trying to push Chloe and her insatiable mouth away from her body.

"No way", Chloe murmured into her ear, the warm breath sending shivers down her spine. "This is revenge for touching my boobs in the car. Now, shut up and kiss me."

That she did. They kissed and held each other and made love all night, ignoring the fact that they were surrounded by strangers and possible family members as things got loud. Very loud.

Beca pulled the collar of her dress shirt up and over her neck as they walked into the dining room of the motel for breakfast. She blushed when all of the eyes in the room focused on them, but just squeezed Chloe's hand as they made a beeline towards their table with Chloe's parents.

When they sat down, Beca noticed that Chloe's father looked uncomfortable and was trying desperately to avoid eye contact with his daughter and her girlfriend. Something was up.

As Chloe passed her a menu and started to flip through her own, Chloe's mother spoke up and asked "Beca, dear, what happened to your neck? It looks like you're covered in hives."

Beca was about to reply when Jack sunk down next to his aunt and replied "Those aren't hives, Aunt Claire. Those are sucker bites. Thanks for keeping the whole floor up last night, guys. It was like trying to sleep through a porno."

Beca's mouth dropped open and Chloe looked like she was going to puke as she dropped her menu to the table with a clank as it landed on her silverware.

"E-excuse me?", Chloe fumbled as she looked at her cousin and then back at her blushing mother. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"We had the room next door, Chlo", her father replied as he took a sip from his champagne flute. "Next time you should consider your surroundings before you scream each others' names until three in the morning."

Beca wanted to sink through the floor and Chloe's eyes were wide as she lifted her menu back up and hid her face behind it while her father laughed and joked about it with her cousin.

A moment later the waitress arrived and asked "Can I get you ladies something to drink?"

"Rum and coke", Beca answered without missing a beat. "But um, easy on the Coke."

Chloe smirked as she ordered an orange juice for herself and once the waitress was gone, she leaned into Beca's ear and mumbled "Seriously? It's nine o'clock in the morning!"

"And your parents heard me screaming your name last night when you tried that new thing with your mouth, so I think alcohol is okay right now. You owe me, big time."

Chloe just grinned and as Beca looked up and saw Jack making suggestive hand motions with his fingers, she blushed and glared back at him. This was going to be a long day.

Moments later the waitress came back with their drinks and as Beca gulped hers down, she grinned up at her and said "I'll have another, but next time make it a double. I'm definitely going to need it."

Liquid courage? Definitely the only thing getting her through this weekend in hell.