A/N: The part the most of you are waiting for is here! It wasn't looking good for Beca when Chloe shunned her and left her out in the rain. Now Beca is back with a little encouragement from the Bellas, let's see how Chloe reacts this time.
Chloe wound around the corner, slowly jogging back home. She had her sports earphones attached, the song playing was "Supergirl" by Anna Naklab and Alle Farben; a tune she had put on repeat while she took her morning jog every day since her resignation from her job. Jogging kept her mind distracted from thinking too much and Chloe felt the exercise will keep her feeling positive about what's ahead. It was one of the remaining pleasures she had aside from singing and dancing. Only problem was that Beca never really left her mind. The more Chloe tried to block her from her thoughts the more she kept coming back.
Chloe wondered how long she needed to completely get over the DJ. Killing her social life probably had not been the best idea but she knew she can start afresh after moving out from Atlanta. She hoped her voice wouldn't sound too abnormal later on. It won't help her befriending anyone if she spoke with a freakish voice, but again nobody would know she had a different voice if she goes to a new town. The thoughts made her frown but she kept jogging. Beca would call me a weirdo again for wanting people to just like me. She stopped at that thought. Dammit! She cursed at herself for thinking about the Brunette again.
She had been jogging for over 30 minutes by the time she reached home. She stepped onto the porch unaware of her surroundings, paused her music playback, and rummaged for the key she tucked into a tiny pocket in her jogging shorts when she heard a soft-spoken "hi" to her right.
"Oh my gosh!" she dropped the key, startled. She had been so deep in thought she didn't realize someone was standing at the porch. Her dropped key was quickly handed back to her and she realized the greeter to be none other than Beca Mitchell. She'd recognized the DJ's voice anywhere. Her heart skipped a beat but she quickly regained composure.
"Beca, I told you to leave me be and now you're back." She scowled, hoping that would get rid of her visitor, but Beca seemed unshaken.
"Chlo, please, can we talk?" The DJ implored, her eyes looking straight into Chloe's deep blue ones. Chloe faltered for a brief moment, Beca looked like she was grieving, those puppy eyes made her knees weak. Don't fall for this, Chloe, you've made up your mind and nothing will change. Stay strong, you're a supergirl, you're strong enough to resist this. Chloe used whatever resolve she could to stand straight and put on the coldest expression her face can muster.
"Go home, Becs. I mean it." Chloe, flustered, mistakenly called her by the friendly name she solely used for the DJ and Beca took the cue, the ginger was softening, which meant she might get somewhere if she remained steadfast now.
"I am not leaving and I won't ever be leaving."
"Then I'll leave." Chloe stubbornly tucked her key back into her shorts and was about to turn around to go back to jogging when Beca grabbed her hand to stop her.
"No…please, don't! God…I'm so not good with words, but please hear me out! Just this once?" Chloe didn't turn around, she stopped as though to contemplate the request and then said, "Okay, say it and then go." She knew Beca would have insisted anyway even if she said, "no" and she only had that much resolve to keep turning down the DJ.
Beca let go of her hand but a sheer second later, Chloe felt she was pulled back. She didn't expect it but the small Brunette wrapped her arms around her from behind. Beca Mitchell was hugging her, and tightly at that. Chloe gasped and her legs gave way, she started dropping to the ground but Beca held her grip, slowly descending to the floor with the ginger to help cushion her fall, both landed in a kneeling position.
What came next stunned Chloe even more. The tears she had been holding back since her last meeting with Beca started flowing as soon as Beca started singing, with her arms still tightly wound around the taller girl:
Notice me
Take my hand
Why are we
Strangers when
Our love is strong
Why carry on without me
Every time I try to fly I fall
Without my wings
I feel so small
I guess I need you baby
And every time I see
You in my dreams
I see your face
It's haunting me
I guess I need you baby
I make-believe
That you are here
It's the only way
That I see clear
What have I done
You seem to move on easy
I may have made it rain
Please forgive me
My weakness caused you pain
And this song's my sorry
At the word 'sorry', the usually collected DJ rested her left cheek on Chloe's back as tears streamed down her own face. It took every ounce of courage in her to do that, but she knew the lyrics would hit home. Chloe felt the small girl quivering and realized the Brunette was crying too.
"I'm sorry Chlo, I am so sorry, I should have known way back I need you way more than I imagined," Beca tried to steady her voice so as not give away the fact that she was in tears.
"You don't need to apologize, Becs. And you certainly don't need me. You do amazing things on your own." Chloe gently replied, she never felt the DJ so vulnerable or emotional, but she wasn't ready to be swayed.
"Not without you. I was the weirdo for not noticing or considering that."
"We've been apart for nearly two years and you have Jesse."
"He was never right for me, and I didn't feel at ease with him like I was with you, these two years were pretty lackluster and I forced myself to only focus on work!" Beca then proceeded to say the words she had rehearsed in her head over and over, it was nerve-wracking, but she knew she had to say it. "I love you, Chlo.", she whispered. Chloe could hardly believe her ears, did the DJ just confess to her? The ginger's silence caused Beca to waver, she started getting more nervous, Chloe's back was still to her, she cannot see her face or how Chloe's reacting to those three words Beca never had the courage to say.
"I always have, but I was too dumb to admit it." Beca continued, hoping Chloe will say something.
This was too good to be true. Everything Chloe had dreamed of between her and Beca was now culminating to this, she never fathomed it would be under such circumstances and she was fighting it with more self-doubt. This can't be true. The silence was deafening, Beca was desperate for words, not knowing if she should keep talking or just wait for the ginger to respond. Her hesitation loosened her grip on the girl a little, maybe she was suffocating her? But Chloe quickly rested her right hand on Beca's left arm as if to stop her from letting go.
"Please. it's been nearly two years since we last saw each other. I don't want you saying these things or doing this because you sympathize with me, about my condition. That will only break me." Chloe finally answered.
"I'm not, I swear", Beca quickly countered, "I mean, everybody could see that we had something..."
"So you are doing this from peer pressure?" The ginger interrupted, feeling her instinct might have been right after all. It was just too unbelievable the aloof DJ would ever express herself so candidly, least of all her feelings. The fact that they haven't seen each other for so long and now this? Did the Bellas put her up to do this simply to comfort her?
"NO! Ugh, I'm such an idiot with words, but no! I am not doing this or saying anything out of sympathy or what the Bellas think about us. I know for a fact that I couldn't really do music or anything right without you. I felt bad for only pinging when I wanted inspiration or ideas, but when I didn't, it killed me inside, along with my music. I couldn't produce anything. When you're gone, all inspiration was gone, all cheerfulness and happiness in my life disappear. I didn't see that before because I turned myself into a workaholic when I was with Jesse. It was real stupid."
"Jesse…" Chloe thought of the many times the mention of the name pained her, the many times she had to pretend to smile or act nonchalant when he was present with Beca.
"I ended it with Jesse." Beca assured her, "Let's just say that he was the first guy who really came after me, I gave in, and tried my hardest to work out a relationship with him, one that doesn't resemble the failed relationship my parents had; it was all a huge mistake on my part. He was never really right for me. That was apparent after our breakup, I was miserable and felt helpless because you're missing from my life."
"You could go on without me, Em can probably help better than I can! You have talent, you could always create music without me."
"After Flashlight, I hardly produced a hit without your help, Chlo! Even when Em and I collaborated later on, my work had your signature on it. You have a good ear for what makes a great piece, and what just comes off as so-so. You had been so encouraging which kept me striving but you also kept me aiming for perfection in the best way. Nobody else could do that."
Chloe could tell Beca's words carried honesty as well as sincerity; the walls and barriers she built to keep herself from the Brunette were slowly tumbling despite her pragmatic side telling her to not completely give in. Beca kept holding her, being patient with all objections Chloe were raising. She knew they'd be coming, the Bellas had warned her as much.
"How could you be sure about us? We haven't exactly dated and I tried to keep my feelings to myself, except that one time at our retreat when we argued, I don't even know if you remember."
"Babe, it's all my fault for being such a dimwit back then. I was super stressed out about doing that demo for my internship, my mind was not tuning in to anything else and I didn't know we'd be completely unplugged and unwired for the two days we were at camp, I had to keep producing music in my head. And each time you sang….your voice just blew away everything I had created. I didn't make any progress."
"I'm so sorry." Chloe felt ditzy that the DJ just called her 'babe', she didn't know what else to say.
"You shouldn't be, I wasn't forthcoming with the whole internship thing, but deep down I was so worried you'd hate me for not giving 100% dedication to the Bellas, I felt guilty about it and became a little prickly towards you. Besides, you know I love the way you sing, ever since we sang in the shower together. Every time I hear you solo, I couldn't think of anything else. It was…distracting." Beca blushed, so did Chloe but she still had her back turned so the DJ didn't see how the ginger's face reddened. "Most of the time, great ideas come from just you singing back the stuff I sent to you, my demos. You really took the time to go through each, and I couldn't be more grateful and also a bit guilty that you put so much into my work, voluntarily."
"I won't be able to sing the same way again, if ever," Chloe told her, tensing up a bit. "My voice might change permanently, I'll be lucky if I won't sound like a freak afterward." Sadness crept back too quickly as Chloe recollects the fact that she would be under the knife in two weeks, it was why she wanted to push everyone away, especially the person behind her. I could never help Beca again, in that same way.
"What matters is that you're healthy and safe. I will miss your voice, I admit that. But it's not the only thing I love about you, there are so many other things, the way you cheer me up, the way you motivate me, the way you make me feel assured, and just about everything that you are. You're beautiful, Chlo, inside, outside. Besides, I will do what I can to help you find the best specialists, we'll get a second opinion and a third, and a fourth, whatever it takes. I'll go to the ends of the earth to get you the best treatment possible."
At this point, Chloe was moved beyond words, her mind was racing to think of more objections and she grabbed at anything, anything to snap her out of this impossibly good dream she seemed to be having, anything to keep herself from breaking into a sob from the emotions building up inside her.
"But…but what about DSM's Kommissar, you have a thing for her too?"
"Chlo! I had a personal vendetta against DSM just like you! She was menacing and I didn't like her one single bit, I am just not good with words when I feel really nervous or intimidated, and somehow in front of you, I can't bring myself to say anything nasty much as I want to hurl insults at that bitch. Back home, I swear I could say the vilest things about her!"
Chloe giggled. One of the things she loved about Beca was how adorably harmless she was behind her cool exterior. Beca had always acted differently when Chloe was around, the Bellas found that obvious, Fat Amy also mentioned to her once how the DJ seem tamed when she was in the vicinity, but the ginger brushed her off, thinking Beca was just being respectful towards their captain. Yet, Chloe had seen for herself too many times the way Beca relented to her provoking or touches, little-by-little as she continued to push the little Brunette's boundaries.
"You make me feel like I've never felt before, Chloe. It's unsettling at first, but you managed to get under my skin and I've grown increasingly addicted to it, to you…I don't know if you feel the same way, but this is the way I feel and this is what I wanted to tell you and say to you. Actually, now to think of it, I would have said it every time we were together back at Barden, only then I was too clouded by plans after graduation." Beca lowered her voice to a whisper once more, feeling timid again. There was a long silence. She hoped Chloe wouldn't tell her to leave now that she had no more she could say.
Chloe finally turned around to reveal she was crying. Taken aback, Beca started apologizing profusely for making the ginger cry, but the taller girl shook her head and posed one more question, "Do you really mean what you say, Becs? Please tell me if you're just toying with me or if you're not for real about…all this."
Beca didn't know what else to say to convince her, so she reached up, took Chloe's face in her hand, and planted her lips on Chloe's who was duly taken by surprise. Beca had imagined the previous night it might have to come down to this and she was ready for it, but she never thought it would feel so magical. Chloe's lips and skin were so soft, the minute their lips touched, Beca felt electricity course through her body and it nearly took her breath away. The DJ kept the kiss long enough to feel the ginger slowly relaxing and eventually reciprocating. Chloe was on cloud nine by the time they let each other go for breath. She was about to say something but Beca, fully blushing from the first one, grabbed her again for another kiss. The second one was slower, more intimate, as they explored each other's lips and tongue. When that ended, a dreamy Beca looked at Chloe abashedly.
"Er…sorry I got carried away."
"You're such a weirdo, it's like you never kissed someone before." Chloe chuckled shyly, she shifted her knees. They were starting to get sore from kneeling, and they proceeded to cross their legs, holding each other's hand as they move their legs and feet to a more comfortable position.
"Well, never in a way that makes me want more," Beca replied. It was true, for the first time Beca Mitchell felt there was something wonderful about physical intimacy or kissing, for that matter. Chloe was the first to make her feel comfortable being touched. And the two kisses just now were too amazing for words, so different from the one she gave Jesse after her ICCA win in freshman year or any time after that when she forced herself on him. Beca felt the same tingling session she felt long time ago during that shower when she looked at Chloe in the nude from head to toe as butterflies flew in her stomach and a giddy type of warmth washed over her body. It had been a long time but she knew that what she felt just now was arousal, plain and simple, and she wanted more.
"That was aggressive, Mitchell." Chloe teased again, gently wiping the remaining of Beca's tears from her face with her thumb as Beca did the same with the back of her fingers.
"There's plenty more where that came from, Beale." Beca took Chloe's hand from her face and kissed it, all the while keeping eye contact with the woman before her. Chloe's heart melted. The socially awkward DJ was naturally being sexy and romantic all of a sudden, and Chloe is weak from the sensation overload.
Beca couldn't feel more ecstatic the conversation took a 180-degree turn, it meant the world to her now that Chloe was on speaking terms with her and even let the DJ kiss her. "I mean all that I say, please don't make me leave or stop seeing me."
"I won't. Forgive me for pushing you away." Chloe sighed, hugging the Brunette tightly. For the first time in years, Chloe felt truly happy, it didn't matter anymore if she was facing cancer, she knew at that moment even if life was stripped from her, she would have no regrets because she and Beca Mitchell were finally admitting they're in love, she only wished that she could have all the time in the world to relish and live their new-found relationship.
A/N: There you have it folks! Remember that the Bellas are actually witnessing this from afar though they couldn't hear the dialog, we'll see how they all reunite and turn things around in the coming chapters.