~B~
After Christmas, it was painfully obvious that Chloe's nodes were getting worse.
A month before Regionals they couldn't pretend anymore that she was going to be able to hit the note needed for 'Turn the Beat Around.' As the song came to an end Beca watched as Chloe rubbed her throat. She knew that meant Chloe had pushed herself too far, again.
Before Beca could move over, Aubrey had stepped up next to her and touched her shoulder.
"Chloe, you gotta be able to hit that last note."
"I can't. It's impossible. And it's because of my, my nodes." The unhappiness in her voice was evident and it made Beca's heart ache just a little.
Beca watched them as she tried to catch her breath. She hated seeing Chloe's frustration at not being able to sing almost as much as she hated Aubrey constantly badgering her about it. Beca walked over and stood next to Chloe in silent support.
"Well, if you can't do it, then someone else needs to solo." Aubrey chugged some of her water. Beca didn't think Aubrey was trying to be cruel about it, just stating facts, but she thought Aubrey sure as hell could have been gentler about it.
Before Christmas Beca had started to wonder if there were two Aubreys and the night of the Bella party - and definitely since - she realized just how true that was. One was the drill sergeant from Hell during practice and the other was someone Beca was coming to actually enjoy spending time with.
Out of rehearsals, Aubrey was more relaxed and prone to joking around with the rest of them. Beca was often caught off guard by her dry humor, surprised more than not by the fact that she was really starting to like what she felt might be the real Aubrey.
But practices were still strained between them and Aubrey's intensity was growing the closer they got to Regionals. Beca felt they were always at odds even when she didn't go out of her way to find some new way to provoke Aubrey. There was just something about her that Beca wanted to prod at, even after their Christmas miracle. Maybe one day she'd figure out why and stop coming up with new ways to be annoying because they were starting to get creative. During one particularly heated exchange of barbs a week ago, Beca had even found herself wondering idly about kissing Aubrey just to see if it would make her foam-at-the-mouth angry or shock her into silence.
"I think Beca should take my solo." Chloe said suddenly.
Beca was so surprised that she could only look over at Chloe. She was touched, though she knew Aubrey would never go for it. Beca looked over and could practically hear Aubrey's teeth grinding.
Beca sighed inwardly. Some days she really hated the duality of Aubrey Posen.
Fat Amy spoke up. "Yeah, Beca would be excellent. But, also… Someone else might be equally as excellent." Beca looked over and couldn't help the grin at the earnest look in Amy's eyes.
"That's true." Beca jerked her thumb toward Amy. While she was touched that Chloe put her name out there, this set was tough enough to get through as a support singer. She didn't know if she could sell a song that old with any sort of passion.
Fat Amy continued her pitch. "And they might be shy and not wanna come forward and say they wanted a solo." Aubrey was nodding at her.
"Well, Beca doesn't want a solo, sooo…" Aubrey took another drink of her water, a mocking challenge in her eyes.
Which, okay, Beca had expected Aubrey to say something like that, but the overly polite dismissiveness in her tone drove Beca crazy and it still managed to piss her off. "I would be happy to do it." 'It's been at least a week since I've complained about the set.' "If I got to pick a new song and do an arrangement."
"Well, that's not how we run things here." Aubrey gave her patented fake smile and shrugged.
But what surprised Beca most was how Chloe didn't give up. "Aubrey, maybe Beca has a point. Maybe we could try something new."
"Aca-scuse me?" Aubrey's tone was incredulous as she looked over, betrayal on her face. Beca could almost hear a silent 'Et tu, Brute?' "You can sing 'Turn the Beat Around' and that's the last I wanna hear of this."
Beca looked between Aubrey, who nodded and turned away, and Chloe, who looked a bit hurt, and found herself stepping forward. She blamed Chloe for making her feel things and wanting to try. For thinking that maybe this time, Aubrey would actually listen to her because they could laugh together anywhere but this stupid auditorium.
"That song is tired. We're not gonna win with it. If we pull samples from different genres and layer them together, we could make some-"
Aubrey rounded on her and cut her off. "Okay, let me explain something to you because you still don't seem to get it."
Beca looked over at the floor and smiled to herself. 'I knew this wouldn't fucking work. Should have just kept my mouth shut.' She was aware of the girls milling around, trying to feel Chloe's calming presence behind her as she looked back into Aubrey's angry face and tried not to let it bother her.
"Our goal is to get back to the finals and these songs will get us there." Aubrey's voice changed from sincere to indignant and Beca could only stand there and try not to scream in her face. "So, excuse me if I don't take advice from some alt girl with her mad lib beats because she's never even been in a competition. Have I made myself clear?" Aubrey's laser stare swept over the room before targeting Beca again.
Suddenly it reminded her of the Activities Fair when Aubrey called her a bitch and Beca felt the same thrill go through her at seeing Aubrey's fire. Fire meant passion and despite everything, Beca understood how Aubrey felt about the Bellas because it reminded her of her own love of music. If Chloe hadn't been in her life, Beca probably would have enjoyed pushing Aubrey's buttons just to see how deep her passions ran. But, then again, without Chloe there would be no Bellas. No Aubrey who laughed at Beca's jokes… Or the one who cut Beca off at the slightest hint of going against whatever master plan Aubrey had envisioned.
It stung deeper than Beca expected, even after all these months of the same type of treatment. So she closed her mouth to keep from saying what she really thought, which likely would have gotten her kicked out of the group for good. She plastered on a smile as she nodded. "Crystal. I won't solo." She turned around and walked toward her water bottle, feeling Fat Amy pat her shoulder as she passed.
Aubrey said, "Fine. Fat Amy?"
"Yes, Sir?"
"You'll solo." Aubrey's tone was final.
"Yesss." Amy clapped once and said it louder. "Yes!"
Beca walked up behind her, unable to help smiling at how happy Fat Amy was at being able to take lead for the finale.
'Remember, you're just here to get to LA. So a solo doesn't matter.'
Her eyes drifted back to Chloe as that small voice spoke up again. 'But maybe she does.'
~C~
Chloe loved watching Beca open up and let her behind those walls. She took every opportunity Beca allowed her (which was admittedly a lot) to hold hands, give her a hug, or just sit near her during practice or when they all hung out. She found her hands would actually twitch when Beca walked into the room, immediately wanting to pull her closer. Chloe had never fallen for someone this hard, this fast and while she thought it should worry her just a little bit, she never thought there was any chance her feelings wouldn't be fully returned. Eventually.
Beca continued to show, in small ways, that maybe Chloe was a bit more than just a new friend. She'd bring Chloe a new bottle of water if Chloe had finished hers, or bring her a towel at the end of rehearsals. Beca had even figured out that Chloe usually had a protein bar with her for longer rehearsals and started bringing a few in case Chloe forgot them. She always opened the door if they arrived somewhere together and insisted that Chloe go first with a gentle hand on her lower back. Chloe had lost count of the number of times she would look over and find Beca's eyes already on her. At first, Beca's eyes would dart away immediately when she got caught, but lately she'd just give a small half grin before returning her attention to whatever she should be focused on instead of Chloe.
Everything was perfect. Except for her nodes.
During one of their practices it all came to a head while she was finishing the set. As pain flared and she had to drop to a lower octave, Chloe rolled her eyes in frustrated embarrassment as the song came to an end. She was glad everyone was behind her as she let her disappointment cross her face for a minute.
"I should've taken that cardio tip more seriously." Fat Amy huffed beside them.
"How much have you done?" Aubrey asked as she retrieved her water.
Chloe rubbed her throat, trying to ease some of the pain
"You just saw it." Amy dropped her arms, her tone indicating that should've been obvious.
Chloe braced herself as Aubrey touched her shoulder.
"Chloe, you gotta be able to hit that last note."
"I can't. It's impossible. And it's because of my, my nodes." It killed her to say it, and it was made even worse by the rest of them chiming in with "her nodes." It made her feel like she was complaining about it too much. Which, okay, she might, but they hurt like a bitch when she pushed herself.
"Well, if you can't do it, then someone else needs to solo." Aubrey said as she took a drink from her bottle. As if it was that cut and dried and Chloe wasn't terrified of what it meant for her future.
"I think Beca should take my solo." Chloe knew that there was no way she would go for it, Aubrey's strange prejudice against Beca was too strong, but Chloe had to try. She knew Beca would do an amazing job if only Aubrey would let her.
She tried to ignore the look on Aubrey's face as she set down her bottle to look through her notes. And, okay, maybe she was playing favorites, but Beca's voice was incredible. She watched as Beca smiled at Fat Amy's asking-but-not-asking for a shot at the solo.
"Well, Beca doesn't want a solo, so…" Chloe could tell Aubrey was baiting Beca with her tone again. Aubrey had figured out the perfect pitch to push all of Beca's buttons. Honestly, the two of them were so alike in the way they poked at each other that it drove Chloe up the wall that they couldn't see it.
"I would be happy to do it, if I got to pick a new song and do an arrangement." Chloe kind of loved the rebellious spark that lit in Beca's eyes even though they both knew Aubrey would never go for it.
"Well, that's not how we run things here." Aubrey dismissed it with a perfunctory smile and turned away. Chloe was beginning to hate that smile, which must have been why she found herself stepping forward.
"Aubrey, maybe Beca has a point. Maybe we could try something new." Chloe may have promised to support Aubrey, but she knew they could be better.
"A-ca-scuse me?"
Aubrey's hurt expression hit a sympathetic nerve in Chloe. Maybe she should have taken Aubrey aside for this talk, not forced it in front of everyone. Maybe she'd backed Aubrey into a corner. A corner that Beca then tried to fence in as she attempted, in all the wrong ways, to make Aubrey see her point.
She couldn't see Beca's face when Aubrey dropped the "Alt Girl with her mad lib beats" line, but she half expected Beca to walk out after it. Crossing her arms protectively over her chest, Chloe felt horrible for starting them down this path and twisted her lips in a grimace. She was relieved when Beca just retrieved her water and came back to congratulate Amy .
Maybe she needed to try and talk to Aubrey about this once they were home. Maybe the pressure of being Captain was too much and it was changing Aubrey from the sweet, if intense, woman Chloe knew her to be. Changing her into more what Alice had been like, who also would have probably hated Beca on sight.
Chloe sighed as she went to get her own bottle of water. She'd hoped that Beca and Aubrey would have gotten closer after Christmas, but they still circled each other during rehearsals, poking and prodding to find each other's weak spots. It frustrated her because they could be great friends if they just stopped. Chloe could see that both of them were trying to make the Bellas better. The goal was the same; they just had two very different ways they were trying to go about it. Chloe was afraid there would come a day where she would be forced to choose between them in some way.
How could she decide between her best friend and someone she was falling in love with?
~B~
When Beca stepped onto the stage at Regionals, she was a bit overwhelmed. There were more people than she thought there'd be for a college singing competition. Yet here she was, in this horrible outfit, about to perform in public for the first time since that stupid frat party.
But she took her place and tried to focus. At the first catcall from the audience, instead of making her more nervous, she felt a grin spread across her face and she relaxed. When Aubrey blew the pitch pipe and counted them down, Beca's hard fought muscle memory kicked in. She allowed herself one look at Chloe for courage and threw herself into it.
When she felt more comfortable, she scanned the crowd for reactions, annoyed but unsurprised as 'Eternal Flame' brought a few yawns. 'Fucking stuck-in-the-past Aubrey. Chloe's voice deserves so much better than this.'
Then Fat Amy hit the stage.
"Aw yeah!"
Beca knew it was not going to be even close to how they'd done it in practice. That had some kick, but didn't have the passion that Amy was throwing at it right now. She gave off an excited energy the rest of the Bellas picked up easily. Beca was grateful when the audience finally started clapping and cheering them on for the first time.
As Amy strutted around the stage, owning the hell out of it, all the girls started smiling more naturally and put a little more 'oomph' into their steps. Except Aubrey, who kept looking at Amy in almost adorable bewilderment throughout the song.
As they faced off for part of the routine, Beca and Stacie just grinned at each other as Amy bounced her way between them and back to center stage. Beca found that she was having difficulty singing through her laughter. She just kept chanting to herself, 'Don't look at Aubrey. Don't look at Aubrey.' A task that was made exponentially more difficult because Aubrey was standing beside Stacie and from the corner of her eye Beca could see Aubrey's confused death glares in Amy's direction, who just kept singing, oblivious to anything other than her solo.
Then Amy threw off her jacket, ripped open her top and it was all Beca could do to not just completely lose it and fall to the floor in hysterics. She refused to look at Aubrey, knowing that would break her tenuous control.
When they got second place and made it through to the semi-finals, Beca knew it had to have been Amy's solo that got them through. She just hoped Aubrey could see that.
~C~
Chloe stood frozen next to Aubrey and watched as chaos filled the lobby in front of her. Despite Chloe trying to keep anyone from getting involved in the hot mess below, Beca had gone down to check on Jesse. She knew they were friends, but maybe getting between him and the other guy wasn't the smartest move. Amy wasn't far behind – "The kraken has been unleashed!" The next thing she knew, Beca had punched the guy who was harassing Jesse and Amy had kicked him in the balls.
A soft 'ooh' to her right caused Chloe to look at Aubrey, who actually looked amused; as if she might start yelling out advice any second like she was a coach at a boxing match. Chloe assumed it was the same twisted sense of humor that made Aubrey laugh at horror movies getting the better of her. But before she could comment on it, there was the horrifying sound of one of the giant glass windows shattering.
As Amy ran away, leaving Beca behind, Chloe could see a cop approaching from the outside. Aubrey immediately went into captain mode and ordered every Bella onto the bus immediately, making Chloe go find Fat Amy instead of going to Beca like she wanted. By the time Chloe returned, Beca was in the back of a cop car and Jesse was already calling Beca's dad.
Without much choice, and since Jesse had already done what she knew was the worst thing possible, Chloe followed Aubrey onto the bus. It was a quiet trip back to Barden as all the girls were worried about Beca. As they pulled onto school grounds, Chloe turned to the rest.
"I think we should wait for Beca in her dorm. Jesse already called her dad, and this is all a stupid misunderstanding." She glared at Amy who was still in the driver's seat. "She won't be stuck there all night."
She knew it would be Aubrey she had to convince, but to her surprise her co-captain just nodded. Once they parked, they agreed to meet at Baker Hall in thirty minutes so they could change out of their outfits.
Once they were all there, Chloe led the way, remembering which room it was even though she'd only been there once. As they walked down the hall, Jessica asked, "What if her roommate isn't home? Do we just wait outside?"
"I can pick the lock," Stacie said confidently as they reached the door. "No problem."
Chloe looked at Stacie quizzically as she knocked, tucking away that tidbit to ask about later. She was unprepared for the grim and unwelcoming expression that greeted her when the door opened.
"Hi. We're the Bellas." Chloe felt Amy wave awkwardly beside her when Beca's roommate just stared at them. "Can we come in?"
"The white girl isn't here." Kimmy Jin started to shut the door.
Amy put her hand out. "Uh, yeah. She asked us to wait here for her, she wouldn't be long." Then she just sort of, pushed her way into the room like an unstoppable force of nature. Which, Chloe supposed, actually fit Amy to a T.
They all gave Kimmy Jin awkward smiles as they filed past and slowly took places on Beca's side of the room, looking around casually.
After staring at them for several minutes, Beca's roommate sat at her desk and ignored them; Chloe could feel the annoyance radiating across the room and fidgeted in her seat on Beca's bed.
Aubrey stopped all attempts to talk about their performance, wanting to wait until Beca arrived, which Chloe supposed made sense. So they made small talk and Chloe tried not to worry as the night went on. While she knew that the rest of the girls would eventually give up and go back to bed, Chloe had already made the decision to stay until Beca got home. She'd just ignore the roommate from hell and sleep on top of Beca's covers.
As the hour grew late, she'd never been so happy to see a door open in her life.
~B~
When Beca walked out of the Police Station, it didn't surprise her that the Bellas weren't there though she'd really hoped otherwise. She'd heard Aubrey send Chloe off after Amy, and as the cop was putting Beca in handcuffs, Aubrey efficiently herded the rest of the group together like a flock of baby chicks and out the side door.
But while she wasn't surprised, she was a bit sad. Though her time in holding had been brief - a whole forty-five minutes once processed - she was freaking out and, for once, actively wanting someone's arms around her in a comforting hug. Chloe's arms, to be specific. Her brain kept teasing her with the memory of past full body hugs and it was causing a phantom ache that was driving her crazy. It was made worse by not knowing when she'd see Chloe next, or if Aubrey would even let her stay a Bella. While, technically, yes, this was ENTIRELY Amy's fault, Beca was the one who'd been arrested.
But she was pleased that someone was there, and Jesse had been a pretty good friend lately. "Hey, Hilary Swank from 'Million Dollar Baby.'" Even if he was a giant movie nerd.
She pulled up a confidence she wasn't fully feeling, but figured it was good enough for tonight. "Heeey." Jesse held up his hands like he was going to box and she punched at them lightly. "You know, you just have to say 'Hey, Million Dollar Baby.' You don't have to reference the specific actress."
As they walked toward the parking lot, he was half a step behind. "Damn. Prison changed you." His voice was soft and full of faux concern.
"Thanks for bailing me out." She'd not only have to pay him back but allow him to force her to watch at least two movies of his choice for his movie-cation plans.
"Well, I didn't." He stopped awkwardly.
That's when she looked over and saw her dad get out of his car. She spun around and faced Jesse again. "You called my dad?"
"I know, I know, but they were putting you in handcuffs, Bec. It looked pretty serious." He pleaded.
"That doesn't mean you call my dad." And while later she would remember his scared tone, right now she only saw fire. She could feel her dad behind her, his anger and disappointment washing over her back.
Jesse answered quickly, panicked confusion in his voice. "Who else was I gonna call? Okay, why are you yelling at me? I'm the only one here."
"I didn't ask you to be." Beca's emotions were too high, too chaotic and having to deal with her father was making it worse. She had nothing left over to try and remember that he was trying to be a friend.
He blinked a couple times, as if trying to get past the sting of that. "I was just trying to help."
"I don't need your help, you're not my boyfriend." She walked away from him, though she felt dealing with Jesse was the lesser of two evils at this point. She heard him say "Got it" as she approached her dad. "Dad, it's not a big deal."
"Yeah, it's a big deal." Her father was in full on disappointment mode and all she could do was stare at him. "I get a call in the middle of the night, saying my daughter's been arrested for the destruction of property."
"It was a misunderstanding and I was protecting my friends." She could feel her lips drawn over her teeth as she tried not to scream. "I was, putting myself out there. Making memories." She knew the second the words left her lips that they were the wrong ones and he wasn't going to go for it. But she didn't expect him to smash her hopes in that instant.
"If you think that I'm paying for you to go to LA after a stunt like this, I'm not." He brought his hand up and waved a finger as if he was crossing it out in the air and then pointed as he backed up. "Get in the car."
"You're not even gonna hear what I have to say about this?" She couldn't believe he wasn't even giving her a chance to tell her side.
"No, not tonight." He opened the car door. "Just get in."
As she stalked over to the passenger side she heard Jesse walk away behind her.
~B~
Beca walked through the halls of her dorm and did her best not to think about the fact that she had possibly – probably – ruined her chances of getting to LA with her dad's help. Sure, she had originally planned on doing it on her own, and she still could, but knowing that she would have help had taken a lot of pressure off in the last few months.
The drive home was exhausting; her dad's silence hadn't been loud enough to drown out her thoughts. She was angry at Jesse, herself, and while she was pissed at Amy, she wasn't actually surprised that she'd left Beca alone.
The roller coaster of emotions, starting with the nerves before the performance and ending with a mess she hadn't even figured out yet – feeling like a failure, a bad daughter, worrying if Chloe would be disappointed in her for punching that guy - had wiped her out and all she wanted to do was go to bed. Or, rather, go find Chloe but it was already late and Beca didn't want to wake her. She also wasn't quite ready to know if Chloe felt Beca had let the Bellas down. She was even worried about Aubrey's reaction and if she was even still a Bella.
So when she opened her door to a chorus of "Heeeey!" it had caught her by surprise. Beca fell back on her faux confidence snark as it was always at the ready and easy to slip into. She held her hands up and bobbed her head like she was some badass before she smiled and closed the door behind her. She was touched that they had risked Kimmy Jin to make sure she made it home okay.
From Aubrey's faintly relieved expression that she covered with an awkward smile, to Fat Amy's new nickname – "What up, Shawshank?" – Cynthia Rose's interest in prison life – "Did you get yourself a bitch?" – back to Amy's probing questions – "Did they spray you with a hose?" – and finally Lilly, with her loudest voice to date – "I did a turn at county." – it all added up to a feeling of 'belonging' that swept over her. It was a new emotion for her and she was a bit surprised to find she liked it more than she thought she would. To know that even Aubrey was glad to see her, even if she felt she had to hide it, soothed some of the ragged edges Beca had created in her thoughts as she worried on the silent drive home.
"You guys waited up for me?" She dropped her bag and looked around, but her eyes darted back to Chloe as she slid forward on Beca's bed. It was the look in Chloe's eyes that calmed the rest of the emotions that were still rolling through her; she still felt the phantom memory of Chloe's hug and wanted nothing more than to burrow in until morning.
"Of course we waited up for you." As if there was never any other plan in Chloe's mind. Beca noticed Aubrey's somewhat pained expression as she looked over at Chloe and braced for the lecture she was sure was coming.
Then Kimmy Jin was in her face. "They've been here for hours. It's a real inconvenience, Beca." She stalked out of the room. Beca couldn't even wait until she was gone before she rolled her lips together and tried not to grin.
'I'm going to pay for this later. I bet she shanks me one night.'
"Beca," Aubrey drew their attention to her and Beca pulled her eyes from Chloe with an effort. Aubrey placed her hand on her chest. "I'm glad you're here." She stood and stepped away from Beca's desk. "I'm calling an emergency Bella meeting."
"Noooo." Amy tried to mutter quietly.
"First up…" Aubrey paced to the center of the room.
"Yeees." Amy muttered again.
"Our score sheet revealed that the Sockapellas almost beat us. And Fat Amy, you need to do it exactly how we rehearsed it, okay? No surprises."
And there it was. The fact that Aubrey was too caught up in what she thought was key that she missed what had made them beat the Sockapellas in the first place. It made Beca mad all over again and she forgot to be happy that Aubrey wasn't going to yell at them for fighting.
"We should be taking risks. It's not enough to be good; we need to put ourselves out there. Be different." She darted her eyes from the group to Aubrey, trying to read her expression.
"Beca's right." Cynthia Rose spoke up. "The Trebles never sing the same song twice."
"The audience loves the Trebles. They tolerate us." Beca felt a boost of confidence with their eyes on her. She wouldn't let Aubrey's crossed arms and faux tolerate face stop her this time. Now that she'd been to a performance, seen the audiences reactions, she felt even more that her ideas would work. She decided to appeal to Aubrey and drop all of her usual snark. "We could change the face of a cappella if we…" Beca stopped and rolled her eyes, muttering. "Oh, my god. That sounded so queerballs. What's happening to me?" Alright, so maybe she couldn't drop all her snark.
She walked up to her desk to show them her ideas, Aubrey backing slowly out of the way. "Um, let me show you this arrangement I've been working on."
Beca felt Chloe step up behind her. "I didn't know you were into this stuff." She leaned forward as Beca woke up her computer.
She answered distractedly, as she settled down in front of her keyboard. "Yeah." But before she could do more than lay her hands on the keys, Aubrey interrupted.
"Okay, I have the pitch pipe and I say that we focus on the set list as planned." Until that moment, Beca hadn't noticed that Aubrey was clenching the pitch pipe in her hands like a talisman; like it gave her strength. She realized that Aubrey was strictly in Captain-mode despite the fact that they weren't in the auditorium. Beca thought she should be grateful that the yelling hadn't started – yet – even if she was disappointed that Aubrey still wasn't listening to her. She'd half hoped that her earnest belief that they could be better would get through, but obviously she was wrong.
Beca adjusted her seat on the chair and faced Aubrey, Chloe settling into place beside her.
"From now on, there will be no more wasting time with work or school or boyfriends or partners." She brought both hands to her chest as she paused and looked at the bed. "I'm sorry, Cynthia Rose."
Chloe interjected. "But Aubrey, this stuff is pretty cool." Beca looked up and found her eyes held for an instant, hoping the appreciation she felt showed. "Maybe we…"
"Okay. Rehearsal tomorrow, 8 AM sharp." Aubrey spoke over Chloe yet again. She turned and headed for the door.
Meeting obviously adjourned.
~B~
The other girls stayed for a bit, mostly to get the gritty details of her life behind bars, but since that had lasted less than an hour, Beca didn't have much to say. When they asked who bailed her out, she just said it was her dad and left it at that. It was still too fresh and she didn't want to unpack all the past drama with her dad that a full explanation would require. They eventually made their goodbyes and she was left alone with Chloe who had resumed her seat on Beca's bed.
Beca still wasn't fully sure what her feelings were for Chloe or what was building between them, not that she was against it. Chloe had so far been incredibly adept at slipping past Beca's long standing walls. Beca only recently admitted to herself that she enjoyed all the personal bubble invasions the cheerful woman imposed on her whenever they were together. Whether it was showing her dance moves that Beca would never admit to occasionally messing up on purpose, or sitting close enough to touch while they were hanging out, Beca never moved away or told her to stop. Beca may have been slow to accept that her feelings for Chloe were more than just as a friend, but she was letting it settle into her one day at a time.
Chloe scooted to the end of her bed again and started asking all kinds of questions about how Beca mixed songs. Because Chloe listened so intently, Beca found it easy to talk to her about music - easier than with Jesse who just wanted to get her to watch the end of his movie.
'Seriously, who makes someone watch just the end of a movie because they say they never make it to the end. There's no attachment, it's just a guy piercing his own ear, an admittedly catchy song and a raised fist at the end.' She'd been a bit grateful when Kimmy Jin showed up with her judgey friends.
Beca could talk for hours about something she was so passionate about, especially when she had such an attentive audience, who asked all the right questions.
She queued up a few songs that she'd mixed after listening to Chloe hum them under her breath over the last few months. It warmed her to watch the obvious delight that lit Chloe's eyes as the music filled her ears.
"I didn't realize that when you gave me that mix tape for Christmas, that you'd actually mixed them yourself." Chloe said, pulling one headphone off her ear. "These are so good, Becs. Has Luke heard these?"
Beca looked down at her keyboard and scrolled through her library. "I've given them to him." She lifted her shoulder in a half shrug. "I think they're all sitting in the submission tray."
"That's… that's just stupid." Chloe said firmly. "I'm friends with him, I could go talk to-"
Beca turned and put a hand on her arm. "No!" She took a breath and met Chloe's eyes. "I mean. Thank you for thinking they're good. But, if he's going to listen and think the same, I want it to be on his own. Not because anyone else asked him to."
Chloe's frown eased into a rueful nod. "That makes sense. Alright, I won't send fifty anonymous emails to the station demanding that they play your music all the time."
Beca grinned at her. "That may be overkill."
"Not for something I believe in." Chloe shrugged, her eyes drifting over to Beca's screen again. "Hey, wait." She leaned close enough that her hair brushed Beca's cheek. "You've been holding out on me!"
Beca, momentarily distracted by the scent of Chloe's shampoo, blinked rapidly. "What?"
"Your music. I need all of it. Immediately." Chloe turned to her. "I can't believe you've never shared this part of you with me before, Becs."
Beca busied herself with grabbing one of her larger external flash drives. "I've never really shared this with anyone before." She plugged the drive in and made sure nothing important was on it before deleting everything to make room for her music.
"I'm the first?" Chloe's voice was soft in her ear and Beca momentarily lost focus.
"Actually, Jesse was first, a few weeks ago." Beca copied all her meticulously categorized and labelled folders and added them to the external drive. She sat back and turned around again, finding Chloe had taken a seat on Beca's bed. "That'll take time – hey, what?" Chloe's face was still, as if she were trying to hide what she was feeling. "Chloe?" Beca turned the chair all the way around to face her and took Chloe's hand. "Chlo?"
"It's stupid," she muttered, not meeting Beca's eyes.
"You know I won't think that." Beca squeezed her hand. "I've never thought that about you. You can tell me anything."
Chloe bit her lip. "I…" She trailed off. Beca squeezed her fingers again and Chloe met her gaze. "I'm jealous that Jesse heard them first."
Beca hastily swallowed the bubble of laughter that wanted to come out. She'd never in her life had anyone say they were jealous of someone else over her, for anything. She felt it probably wasn't a thing that should make her happy, but it did.
"Chloe." She smiled when Chloe grinned sheepishly at her. "It wasn't…" She took a deep breath, suddenly realizing the admission she was about to make. "It didn't mean anything, showing him. His opinion wasn't… isn't… the one that matters." She looked down at their joined hands and watched her own thumb run over the back of Chloe's hand. "It was sort of a practice run for one day… showing you."
"Oh." Chloe's voice was soft. "Thank you," she said after another moment of silence.
Beca looked up again. "For what?" She found herself caught by the understanding in those blue eyes so close to hers.
"Trusting me with this part of you." Chloe said simply. "I hope Jesse appreciates your trust in him."
Beca rubbed her hand across the back of her neck. "Actually, he didn't really ask any questions and only listened for a few minutes." She frowned. "He said it was really good, but… I think he had other things on his mind."
Chloe blinked at her. "Oh." She looked away and picked at Beca's comforter. "I see."
Beca frowned, trying to figure out why the mood had changed yet again. Then she played back her last sentence. "OH! No!" She shook her head, her sudden laugh breaking in the middle as she squeaked. "No, we're just friends! We're not… Just no. We're not those kinds of friends." She shook her head again, this time trying to clear the image that was beginning to form. "Gross."
"Oh." Chloe repeated. "That's…" She took a deep breath as if she were forcing herself to relax. "None of my business even if you were." Bu the relief in her tone was obvious and Beca grinned.
"Chlo." Beca jokingly chided. "I think you know me better than that by now."
"I like to think I do." Chloe's eyes dropped briefly to her lips and Beca felt her heart skip a beat. "Sorry. Must be the day finally catching up with me."
Beca nodded slowly. "I get that." She thought about dropping it, but wanted to make sure there were no misunderstandings. "Besides, he just wanted to make me watch the end of 'The Breakfast Club.'"
"I love that movie!" Chloe's eyes lit up then she frowned. "Just the end?"
"Because 'the endings are the best part.'" Beca quoted.
"And you never make it to the end, unless you're trapped at the Bellas house." Chloe finished, having already had the same discussion with her. "But, did it mean anything to watch the end when you haven't formed emotional attachments from the rest of it?"
"No! Thank you!" Beca threw up her hands. "I've been wondering that myself! I'm glad it's not just me."
"Not this time." Chloe said. "He seems like a nice guy, too nice for the Trebles, but a little weird."
Beca's lips twitched in a grin. "Takes one to know one, Beale." She swatted away the finger that Chloe tried to poke in her side, feeling the last bit of stress fade away. She still had to deal with her dad and that whole jail thing, but that was a problem for next week.
"That's why I noticed you at the Activities Fair, I'm sure." Chloe said slyly.
"I walked right into that, didn't I?" Beca asked with an exaggerated sigh.
"Both eyes. Wide open." Chloe said with a wink. She pulled the headphones back over her ears. "Play me more?"
Beca hesitated only a moment before pulling up some of the tracks that she'd done the vocals on. Chloe pressed Beca's headphones over her ears and closed her eyes and Beca loved how Chloe looked sitting on her bed. Listening to her music. She loved Chloe's face; her wide gorgeous blue eyes currently hidden behind closed lids; the slope of her nose and the way her lips curved in a smile. She especially loved the faint scar on Chloe's forehead, thinking it somehow made her that much cuter, even if Chloe refused to tell her how it had happened. Beca let herself drift, trying to push away the nerves at letting this personal piece of her soul into the open.
"You're amazing." Chloe's eyes were suddenly open and looking into her own. Beca flushed at being caught staring and looked away, but Chloe reached out and pulled her chin gently back around. "Beca, these are amazing. You're so talented and I'm honored you trusted me with this."
Beca's slow smile was interrupted by a yawn. "Oh my god, I'm sorry."
Chloe just beamed. "Guess that's my cue to head home." She rose and stretched, groaning softly. "That morning rehearsal is going to be torture as it is."
The ghost of needed comfort flowed back and Beca's mouth opened without her expressly giving it permission. "You can just sleep here, I'm sure I can find you something to wear." She turned around and started rummaging through her closet.
"Okay." Chloe's voice was soft and while Beca didn't quite recognize the tone but she thought it was… pleased? Chloe cleared her throat. "But what about your roommate? She seems like she'd be extremely happy to see me still here."
Beca turned around with two pairs of shirts and shorts. Chloe was sitting on her bed and taking off her boots. She set them by Beca's desk and stood when Beca stepped forward.
"Thanks." Chloe took the offered clothes and there was a second of pause as they both looked at each other.
Beca finally remembered Chloe had actually asked a question. "Oh, she'll be gone for a while, if not all night. I'm really not sure where she goes or if I should be worried about it."
"You worried she's become a mafia hit woman?" Chloe snickered.
"Yikes. I hope not." She trailed off for a second then shook her head. "I'll… uh..." Beca pointed over her shoulder and twirled her finger. "Uh… yeah." She turned around to change. She hesitated until she heard Chloe's chuckle behind her and risked a quick glance to see that Chloe had also turned around, her hands already pulling at the bottom of her sweater.
Beca froze for a minute, her eyes following as Chloe pulled her shirt over her head, leaving her standing in a bra. Beca found she was unable to look away from smoothly moving muscles as Chloe folded her sweater. It wasn't like she hadn't seen it before, even outside the Shower Incident. Sometimes Aubrey made them run cardio for most of the day and they almost all ended up stripped down to a sports bra. But this was different. This was in Beca's room. Next to Beca's bed. Where they were going to sleep. Together.
'Stop being a fucking creeper before she catches you.' Beca shot her gaze forward and quickly started to change out of her horribly uncomfortable Bella uniform.
A few minutes later, Chloe asked, "All clear?"
"Yep." Beca popped the 'p' at the end as she turned around, smiling, and went to set an alarm for them.
The two met at the side of Beca's bed and looked down at it. Chloe's head tilted. "I don't think I realized how small this was when I was sitting on it." Her lips twisted slightly. "Okay, do you want to be the big spoon or the little spoon?"
Beca scoffed. "I'm obviously the big spoon." She really wasn't sure where that boldness came from, though the mix of performing, getting into a fight and then put in handcuffs probably had something to do with her current chaotic state of mind. She shook her head and started turning off the lights. And maybe a bit of nerves that she was about to share a bed with Chloe.
Chloe gave a half curtsey and gestured with her hand. "After you then." She smiled as Beca hesitated for a brief moment before climbing into the bed.
Beca stiffly moved to the far edge, her back to the pillows against the bookshelf that she decided to leave there for padding. She lay on her right side, her right arm bent under the pillow beneath her. Sharing a bed wasn't something that she usually did, even when she was dating someone. She preferred her own space to sprawl. She felt awkward and a touch annoyed with herself for blurting the idea out. Mostly. A bit. Maybe.
Chloe just smiled at her and crawled onto the bed, lying on her back and looking up at Beca. "I am so glad that I met you. I think that we're gonna be really fast friends."
"Yeah?" Beca smiled, remembering Hood Night.
"Yeah." Chloe nodded seriously, eyes twinkling.
"Well, you're in my bed, so…" Beca clicked her tongue and winked. 'Seriously? What is my problem tonight?'
Chloe hummed in agreement, her smile widening, and turned her back to Beca and wiggled backward a bit, away from the edge. Beca swallowed heavily as she realized how close this brought them together and tried to figure out what to do with her left arm. Originally she'd let it fall between them, but that felt… too close. So she brought it up to lay down her side, but that felt awkward as hell. She shuffled a bit and sighed unconsciously.
"What's the problem?" Chloe looked over her shoulder, her hands tucked in front of her chest.
"Nothing…" Beca inwardly rolled her eyes at exactly how unconvincing that was. "This is just… new." She half shrugged. "No big deal." She closed her eyes, determined to sleep. Though, to be fair, the warmth from the body sharing her covers felt… nice. She felt herself relaxing just a tiny bit.
"Becs." Chloe waited until Beca looked at her. "I don't bite."
She smiled brightly as Beca muttered "You sure about that?"
It was Chloe's turn to shrug. "I'm not going to mind some cuddling." She turned her back and wiggled backward again into Beca's space. "You know it's inevitable," she said lightly.
Beca fought a brief battle with herself before she gave in, placing her arm gingerly over Chloe's waist. "Whatever. Just… go to sleep." She felt the other woman chuckle and her hand was pulled up between both of Chloe's, who cuddled it against her chest.
Beca really didn't hate how this felt and part of her was already wondering when it might happen again.
~C~
Chloe was mesmerized by the way Beca spoke about music. It was so full of passion that Chloe felt she could listen for hours as Beca explained how she matched different beats together.
She quickly got over the sting of jealousy at Jesse being let into this secret first. He obviously was unaware of what Beca had shown him, what it meant, and Chloe was glad that it hadn't kept Beca from sharing it with her. Chloe just wished she had known about it sooner because all of it sounded amazing.
Beca let Chloe listen to a handful of mixes, including the arrangement that she'd wanted to play for Aubrey. Privately Chloe thought Beca was right, this was an option worth at least exploring. But Chloe also could understand Aubrey's intense need to recreate the moment where she felt she failed and do it right this time. Only then would she feel redeemed – something only Aubrey felt she needed to do, because Chloe certainly wasn't holding anything against her.
But then Beca had let her listen to several that Beca had laid down the vocals for and Chloe had immediately closed her eyes and let the music wash over her. Once the first song finished, she opened her eyes to meet Beca's nervous ones and she spoke without thinking. "You're amazing."
Beca flushed and looked away, but Chloe reached out and pulled her chin gently back around. "Beca, these are amazing. You're talented and I'm so honored you trusted me with this."
Beca's smile was shy and Chloe felt her heart swell and push a wave of affection through her. Then Beca yawned widely.
Chloe smiled. "Guess that's my cue to head home." She rose and stretched, groaning softly. "That morning rehearsal is going to be torture as it is." She wasn't looking forward to any of it, honestly, and not for the first time this year, she wished she could skip it but she didn't want to face Aubrey's wrath.
She'd turned to the door when Beca's voice stopped her. "You can just sleep here, I'm sure I can find you something to wear."
Chloe gave her a curious look that went unseen, but answered with a soft "Okay." Chloe would never tell her, but she'd been thinking of what it would be like to sleep next to Beca for a few months now. And now that it was happening, Chloe was both thrilled and a little shy.
She sat on the bed to remove her boots, setting them aside. "But what about your roommate? She seems like she'd be extremely happy to see me still here." She smiled when Beca turned around with two pairs of mismatched shirts and shorts. "Thanks." She stood up and took the offered clothes. She got lost for a second in midnight eyes before Beca answered about the question about her roommate and turned to change.
Chloe reluctantly turned her back and pulled off her sweater, catching movement out of the corner of her eye as she folded it. Beca's closet door was open and had a mirror hanging on the inside, and while the angle was awkward, Chloe swore she saw Beca spinning around to face her desk. Instead of making a joke that Beca could watch if she wanted – a joke she would have made to almost anyone else – Chloe tucked that thought away and finished changing. She asked "All clear?" as she put her folded clothes on the bench along the far wall. She muffled her third yawn in as many seconds. Today had been extremely long and she was ready for it to be done. Mostly. Her time with Beca could last forever, as far as she was concerned.
"Yep." Beca said as she set an alarm.
Chloe stared down at the bed. "I don't think I realized how small this was when I was sitting on it." She hoped it didn't spook Beca into changing her mind. Now that they were here, sleeping next to Beca was all she could think of. "Okay, do you want to be the big spoon or the little spoon?"
"I'm obviously the big spoon." Beca declared, as if there were ever any doubt.
Chloe gestured and bent her legs in a mini-curtsey. "After you then." She grinned as Beca hesitated, the full weight of what she had committed to obviously hitting her. But Beca slid to the back of the bed, arranging herself on her side and looked up when Chloe slid onto the bed. She thought Beca looked a little too much like a deer in the headlights and tried to figure out how to put her at ease.
She lay on her back and looked up at Beca, close enough to kiss. It reminded her of the party. "I am so glad that I met you. I think we're gonna be really fast friends."
"Yeah?" Beca smiled, obviously remembering the same thing.
"Yeah." Chloe nodded.
"Well, you're in my bed, so…" Beca clicked her tongue and winked at her.
Chloe smiled even as she hummed her agreement. She was afraid if she said anything it would come out as 'it's about time' so she turned onto her side which brought her dangerously close to the edge of the bed. She wiggled backward, feeling Beca stiffen a little. The next several minutes were spent in silence, as Beca kept moving her arm, trying to get comfortable.
"What's the problem?" Chloe asked, looking over her shoulder. Beca looked adorably confused as she rested her arm along her side.
"Nothing." Chloe stifled a grin. That was the most unconvincing thing Beca had ever said to her and by the grimace on her face, Beca knew it. "This is just… new." She half shrugged. "No big deal."
Chloe felt herself melt a little at the admission. She didn't like to think that Beca had always been so alone, but she didn't think Beca would appreciate her saying that. So she went with Beca's preferred method to deal with emotions: humor. "Becs. I don't bite."
"You sure about that?" Beca muttered.
Chloe grinned widely at her, not sure if that was supposed to have been said out loud. "I'm not going to mind some cuddling." She faced forward and wiggled backward again, definitely into Beca's space this time. "You know it's inevitable."
Beca hesitated, her body stiffening slightly before she put her arm over Chloe's waist. "Whatever. Just… go to sleep."
She grabbed Beca's hand and pulled it up to cuddle against her chest, hoping Beca couldn't feel the hammering of her heart. With each passing minute, Beca relaxed into Chloe and she wasn't even remotely ashamed at how much she enjoyed the feeling of Beca resting against her.
After months of patiently working her way through the barriers Beca put in place, to finally be in this space where Beca trusted her enough for a shared bed sleepover… Chloe felt it was a moment of personal victory at achieving a goal she hadn't realized she had.
As Beca's breathing evened out into sleep, Chloe drifted with her, more relaxed than she'd been in months.
~B~
Beca felt like she'd only closed her eyes for a few minutes, but by the shift in light outside, she knew at least several hours had gone by, though it still felt extremely early. They had time before they had to get up. She settled in the warm bed, sighing in contentment.
After a while, she realized that they had shifted in their sleep. While she was still lying on her right side, the arm under the pillows had extended, her hand lightly curled around Chloe's shoulder. Her left hand was curled around Chloe's body and rested at the base of her neck. She opened her eyes again and looked down.
Chloe had turned around and was now facing Beca, her head on Beca's pillow, face bowed toward Beca's chest. Chloe's left hand was between them, Beca could feel it pressing lightly into her stomach, while her right was curled around Beca's body. Beca's eyebrow quirked. Chloe's hand had slipped under her shirt, high enough that it had slid mostly under Beca's bra strap, pressed lightly into the middle of her back. Their legs had tangled together as well, and it was the most comfortable Beca had ever felt. Normally something like this would have had her slipping out of bed and possibly out the door to sleep on a couch somewhere.
Or, and Beca lifted her head and looked over. Kimmy Jin's bed was still empty – but no; Beca would still rather sleep on the concrete wall outside in a hurricane than risk sleeping in Kimmy Jin's bed.
Though, if she were being honest, her desire to stay shouldn't surprise her because Chloe normally made her feel comfortable. Relaxed. The Shower Incident notwithstanding as that evoked different feelings entirely. Which she also did not think about – much – and especially was not going to think about while sharing a bed with Chloe.
Beca got lost for a moment, absorbing all the places Chloe's skin was touching hers. Thinking of how soft it was, warm with sleep. Wondering, without really focusing on the fact that she was wondering, what it would feel like in places currently covered by clothing. She let her fingers lightly stroke the back of Chloe's neck before she stopped, not wanting to wake her.
She became aware of the soft warm breath against her skin and through her tank, the slow rhythm lulling her back to sleep. She wasn't going to worry about their positioning; there was still time to figure out how to extricate herself later. If necessary. Maybe.
She let herself drift back under.
The next time she woke it was because Chloe had stretched and then burrowed into her. Beca kept her eyes closed and just let herself feel. While their positions hadn't changed too much, there were some noticeable differences. Her own left hand had now crept up and was lightly curled in red tangles, gently cupping the back of Chloe's head. And, most significantly, Chloe had nestled further into Beca's cleavage, her nose brushing against Beca's skin. Beca also realized that her own head was slightly bowed, her face almost buried in Chloe's hair. She breathed deeply, pulling in the clean scent that was uniquely Chloe.
Beca paused for a moment, waking up further as she realized just how close Chloe's mouth was to her nipples. She was suddenly thankful that she had chosen to sleep in her bra and it had some padding as her nipples became happily aware of their current neighbor. The warm breath slipping under her top was not helping matters and in fact may have been making it worse as her body began to tingle.
Unconsciously she flexed her legs as a different kind of warmth spread through her body, only to freeze as she remembered Chloe's legs were tangled with hers. Chloe let out a small hum, her own legs tensing against Beca's, sliding along them and dangerously upward before they relaxed again.
Chloe's head nuzzled in for a second time, and Beca swore she felt a pair of lips lightly brush against her upper chest. She bit her lip for a second, completely unaware that her hand had begun to gently scratch at Chloe's scalp until the taller woman let out another hum of appreciation. Beca froze, her body tensing even as she stilled, but Chloe let out a whine and nudged her head backward into Beca's hand.
Chuckling, Beca relaxed bit by bit and let her hand free to lightly stroke through sleep tangled curls, scratching and massaging gently. She felt Chloe's hand slide from under her bra strap, but stayed under her shirt, drawing lazy circles across the length and breadth of her back. Chloe raised her head and opened her eyes, smiling when she found Beca already watching her. "Morning."
Chloe smiled back at her. "Hey." She looked so adorably sleepy and that seemed only natural for Beca to bring herself just that little bit closer until their lips brushed together.
Even as her eyes closed, she felt Chloe's small gasp of surprise and without even thinking, Beca slipped her tongue between Chloe's parted lips. The first touch of their tongues sent another frission of desire down her spine, making her bolder than she might have been otherwise.
She spent her time learning the shape of Chloe's mouth, how their tongues moved and fit together. This first kiss was everything she had wanted when thinking of it at Christmas; warm and soft, full of passion. It passed through Beca's mind that they could have been doing this much sooner if she wasn't so stubborn. Almost immediately, however, she realized that the past months of getting to know Chloe, to trust her, made this a thousand times better than if she'd given into her hormones on Hood Night.
Chloe's hand cupped her cheek and Beca realized that Chloe was still looking after Beca, letting her dictate what they did and how far they carried it. Beca knew what it was to kiss Chloe, now she wanted to know what it was like to have Chloe kiss her.
She tangled their tongues together and pulled gently, slowly, until Chloe realized what she was doing. Beca heard the soft whimper as Chloe pressed forward, felt the need in it.
Chloe was everything Beca never knew she needed. She deepened the kiss, licking slowly into Beca's mouth; with each sweep of her tongue, Beca found herself pressing closer, needing to feel Chloe against her. She tangled their legs further together, feeling her heart begin to pound as Chloe's leg slid against her center. Instinctively she arched against it, unable to stop the small grind of her hips as they flew closer to a line Beca wasn't sure they should cross yet.
With the last shreds of her control, Beca gently broke the kiss and rested her forehead against Chloe's, trying desperately to control her breathing.
~C~
Chloe was content to lay there with her eyes closed; basking in the warmth and feel of Beca in her arms. She wasn't surprised they'd ended up this way, she was a natural cuddler. Though, really, the hand under the bra strap was new. What she was surprised about was that Beca hadn't jumped out of bed, awkward and adorable.
She could get dangerously used to this, waking up this way.
She raised her head slightly and let her lips drift over Beca's skin and smiled as she felt Beca jump. She couldn't help it, Beca's skin felt so good against her lips. She briefly wondered if that was too much too soon; if that was going to be the nudge Beca needed to separate them. But Beca continued to stay in bed with her, hand still lightly playing with Chloe's hair. Chloe wasn't sure the last time she'd been this happy. Not that happiness was foreign to her. But this level of happy was new. Nearly addicting in its intensity. She was delighting in the tension pooling in her body, but felt no need to act on it. Things would happen, or not, at their own pace.
She focused on the hand drawing designs on Beca's back, alternating her soft caresses with light scratches of her nails. Felt the way their legs were tangled; how Beca's breath hitched when Chloe accidentally moved her thigh higher. She smiled again, tilting her head back and opening her eyes.
Navy eyes met her own, the affection in them obvious. "Morning." Beca's sleep heavy voice was a bit raspy from the performance the day before. Her hand moved down to gently massage the back of Chloe's neck.
Chloe smiled back, sure her own eyes were twinkling. "Hey."
Then Beca was kissing her and Chloe thought she was still dreaming. She'd long dreamt of this moment; how it would be, how she'd react, how it would make her feel. The last was the easiest to identify: it made her feel drunk, heady with all the emotions she'd been carefully keeping in check finally being allowed some freedom. It was soft and tender, never tentative or unsure, and Chloe felt herself sink into it, getting lost with every touch of Beca's tongue against hers.
Chloe was no stranger to kissing, but each second tugged at her heart, telling her that this was something more, something deeper than anything purely physical. Surprised by the depth of her feelings, Chloe tried to hold herself back, not wanting to scare Beca off, not now that they'd reached this point. But Beca had other ideas and gently urged Chloe to take the lead.
Unable to stop herself, Chloe whimpered and pressed deeper, chasing Beca's tongue back into her mouth as she took control of their kiss. She took her time, learning Beca the way she had Chloe, trying to say without words all the things that were in her heart.
Then Beca's legs tightened around hers and Chloe found her thigh pressing up between Beca's legs and felt Beca roll against her. Chloe was about to press upward, lost in everything she was feeling, when Beca broke the kiss, bringing her back to herself. Chloe licked her lips, pulling the last taste of Beca from them, as she tried to keep her own hips still. Despite knowing Beca was probably right in stopping before things went any further – seriously, Kimmy Jin could be behind them for all she knew – Chloe's body desperately wanted to continue what they'd started.
Chloe's eyes focused on Beca's lips as she spoke.
"Breakfast before torture?" Beca's lips twitched.
Chloe loved that half smirk. "Sure." She worked to push down the intensity of the past few minutes, finding it easier than she would have thought under Beca's adoring gaze.
But neither of them moved, staring into each other's eyes a bit longer, silently acknowledging this new step in their friendship. They started smiling at the same time and snuggled back down as if they hadn't almost ripped each other's clothes off minutes before.
They had time.