A/N - Hope everyone is having a fantastic July so far (we're melting in the United Kingdom as the temperature went above 50F and we don't cope well when the yellow ball makes an appearance in the sky! We could very well top 100F over the weekend and it's rumoured that next week it could be the hottest the UK has ever seen. Like, ever.
Oh joy!
We're so not used to hot, sunny weather!
Anyway, enough about that... hope all is well with everyone and, as always, a huge thank you to my wonderful beta for their time and effort. And patience.
.oOo. Chapter Forty Five .oOo.
*One Week Later*
"You ready?" Chloe asked, handing Beca a large, heavy tote bag.
"What the heck is this?" Beca grumbled in response, her arm dropping with the weight of the bag as Chloe hooked it over her arm. It was still very early in the morning, and she'd only popped into the house to pick up one of her lyric books that she'd left in the kitchen the night before. She hadn't expected to see Chloe up and dressed with her usual bright and breezy smile firmly in place.
"I packed you some snacks!" Chloe clapped her hands together gleefully.
Beca peered into the top of the bag, and her eyes widened at the sheer volume of containers and packages in the bag. "For the whole of Universal Music Group?"
"I don't want you to get hungry?"
"No... no, I can see that," Beca hauled the bag up onto her shoulder. "Think I'm all set for the next month now."
Chloe beamed happily, turned and began putting lids back on the plastic containers that littered the kitchen counter. She'd had a couple of days off from filming and was overjoyed that it coincided with Beca's first official day at her new job.
The last week had been interesting and Beca, as she had said she would do, hadn't mentioned the conversation in the kitchen the night where Chloe had announced that she loved Beca. In truth, the brunette had all but forgotten about it as she prepped and prepared to begin her desired career, but an easy going feeling had still managed to settle over the couple, as if Chloe's announcement had finally kicked started something.
They hadn't been able to spend much time together of late. Chloe's filming regime had kicked up a notch with the end of her shooting schedule drawing closer. At the same time Beca was finishing up some of her DJ'ing slots, fulfilling the contracts she had in place. She needed to free up her time so she could focus on Universal Music. She was keeping her regular slot at Avalon for a few more months as they had been so good to her when she was struggling on her own. She was in talks to bring Twenty One Pilots in with her one night for a charity gig and while it wasn't the bands' style of music, they were willing to do an evening for Beca.
For her part, Chloe was grateful Beca hadn't given up on her already. She'd made a few passing comments to Beca about some things she'd like for them to do together with the girls over the next couple of months. She'd had the biggest smile on her face when Beca had agreed to all of them. Beca had even asked Chloe to buy them a big, family style, calendar so she could track all of the fun outings she was happy to let Chloe pick out.
Chloe, twice as excited about Beca's first day than Beca, had been up half the night baking goodies for her to take into the office. In truth, Beca wasn't very nervous about her new role; it wasn't completely new to her. There were a couple of new artists that had expressed an interest in working with her, and Beca was slightly apprehensive about being the lead producer, although she wouldn't admit it.
"Are you excited about today?" Chloe asked, pausing in her task of putting the leftover snacks back in the fridge.
"No, not really. Just keen to get started," Beca nodded, checking the time on the kitchen clock. "I'd best be off. Thanks for... all the food."
"Don't want to be late on your first day!" Chloe closed the fridge door and leaned over to peck Beca's cheek. "Have a great day sweetheart."
Beca felt the heat creeping up her neck and gulped slightly. Chloe acted so naturally when it came to showing affection, she'd already turned around to pick up the cloth to wipe the countertop down while Beca stood, a little dumbly, wondering if she should kiss Chloe back.
She'd gotten used to Chloe being affectionate around her over the last few months and Beca was glad that their shared kiss hadn't changed their easy way of living. Deciding that she'd put a pin in her thoughts for later, she scooped up her messenger bag and swung it onto her shoulder.
"Yeah, thanks. I'll text you. Kiss the girls for me?"
"Will do," Chloe smiled easily. It was too early for the girls to be up, Beca wanting to get to the office way before she was due to start, partly to make a good impression but also because she wanted to catch up with Luke on a few matters.
Lost in thought, Beca paused in the doorway, shook her head slightly and headed towards the front door. She hoped Chloe wouldn't follow her out and wave from the doorstep and was glad when she heard Chloe call out to the Alexa she'd installed in the kitchen a couple of days before, asking her to play Spotify. Beca didn't want Chloe watching her back out of the driveway; it still felt a bit weird that Beca was driving one of Chloe's cars, but Beca wasn't sure what she'd think about Chloe watching her leave.
They had planned to go car shopping and Beca had made some notes on which car dealerships she wanted to visit but their trip hadn't materialised. Beca wasn't worried, she knew they'd get round to it and Chloe seemed completely unfazed with Beca driving around in her car.
Beca hurried across the front driveway, hearing the front gate rolling back with its familiar squeak halfway through. She pulled on the back door of the car and laid her bags on the seat, sniggering slightly again at the weight of the snack bag Chloe had packed.
She quickly started the engine, checked the mirror and began to reverse out onto the street, looking both left and right and checking the bushes for paparazzi as Chloe had taught her to do. Shaking her head slightly at how her life had changed so drastically in the last six months, she began the drive to Universal.
.oOo.
"Miss Rebeca Mitchell... Senior Producer."
Beca grinned as she spun around in her office chair, hearing her best friend lightly rap on her new office door as he leant against the door jamb. Luke, wearing his proudest smile, casually looked around the new space, liking Beca's decorative choice.
"Do I need to wipe my feet before entering?" He laughed, inhaling the new carpet smell.
"Who said you would be allowed in?" Beca raised an eyebrow.
"You're quite right, the corridor is sufficient for a minion like me," Luke bowed slightly.
"About that," Beca started. "I know you gave up a promotion for me to-"
"-Nope," Luke interrupted.
"No?"
"We're done talking about that. This..." Luke waved his arm around the room. "... is all yours, your hard work, dedication and passion is what got you here. Your talent, however, will probably get you on floor four before the year is out."
"Despite you being so gallant here, I know I have you to thank for helping me get this far. I think back to when we met and that night in McDonalds when you bought me a burger and I can't believe this is now my life."
"You deserve it all Beca. I'm so proud of you."
Beca looked down, shyly, as Luke stepped into the office.
"Anyway, enough of the mushy stuff, I'm here to ask a favour," he said, taking a seat on the small two seater sofa that most of the producers had in their offices. He bounced up and down on it a couple of times. "Wow, this is so much nicer than the one in my office."
"What's the favour?"
"I've got a meeting at half nine but I'm supposed to be meeting a new songwriter that we're taking on, to show them around the building."
"You want me to babysit?" Beca rolled her eyes.
"Pretty much," Luke grinned.
Beca turned back to her laptop screen, switching to the calendar on her email. She only had the one meeting that day, at three in the afternoon but other than that, her day was free, designed that way to give her a chance to adjust on her first official day.
"Sure, okay," she nodded, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice. She still wasn't good at meeting new people.
"Thanks mate," Luke held out his fist towards Beca, who bumped him back. "Okay, we'll catch up later, yeah? Aubrey's meeting me for lunch today, if you want to join?"
"I'm good, actually but thanks for the offer. Chloe's packed enough food to keep me going for the week."
"Chloe's packing your lunches now, is she?" Luke grinned, a twinkle in his eye.
"It's not like that, dude."
"Uh huh," Luke laughed, before dropping the merriment. "Seriously, is everything okay with you both?"
"Yeah, it's all good," Beca felt her face begin to flush and turned away quickly before Luke could see.
"Beca?"
'Dammit!'
"Yeah?"
"Spill," Luke folded his arms across his chest.
"Spill what?"
"The beans," Luke mused.
"What beans," Beca tried to act nonchalantly.
"Don't give me that, you're hiding something," Luke questioned.
"No, I'm not," Beca said defiantly. She did want to tell Luke what was going on but also felt as if she wanted to keep it between her and Chloe.
"You so are!"
"And you are such a girl, desperate for gossip all the time," Beca growled under her breath.
"Your daughters dubbed me Lady Lucille for a reason," Luke mirthed in a falsetto voice, thinking back to the first time he met Kate and Alex. He dropped the silliness and asked again, slightly concerned for his friend. "Seriously, is everything okay?"
"Yeah, it's all good," Beca said truthfully.
"Well, okay then," Luke slapped his knees, before standing up. "I'm off to go and get my own coffee as my intern decided to get herself a fancy promotion!"
"I'll take a latte, if you are going," Beca smirked at him and Luke laughed loudly.
"Yes ma'am," he mockingly saluted her, before turning to leave. He was just about to step out of the office when Beca spoke.
"I sang her one of my own songs," she blurted out.
Luke spun around in the doorway and his eyebrows shot up towards his hairline.
"Oh... my... God," Luke said slowly. "You kissed her?"
"What? Dude? I never-"
"-You absolutely did!"
"No, I said, I sang her one of my songs," Beca reminded him, hoping against hope that her face wasn't turning red.
"Yeah, I heard that part," Luke grinned. "And I know Chloe liked your songs and if you are telling me that she didn't kiss you after you sang to her, then all hope is lost for society."
Beca suddenly found the space over Luke's left shoulder incredibly interesting.
"I've said it before, and I'll say it again..." Luke continued. "... you two are good for each other."
"She also told me she loves me."
"Whoa!" Luke raised his hands in front of him, before taking the short walk back to the sofa and sitting down, with an exaggerated thud. "Did you say it back?"
"No!" Beca cried out. "I mean, I think she was a little drunk but she said she'd been in love with me, or the idea of me, or something with nicer words, since we first met."
"Wow," Luke nodded along. "So what does this mean?"
"Nothing really."
"Nothing?" Luke tipped his head to the side.
"Well, no, I mean, it's out there in the open and we'll talk about it when we have some more time. Our schedules aren't exactly lining up properly at the moment and then the girls are always with us and at the age where they are listening to our conversations and picking up on things."
Luke smiled slightly, "I have to say Beca Mitchell, I'm proud of you."
"Huh?"
"Six months ago, heck even three months ago, you'd probably have just given me either a one word answer or told me to fuck off but you're now using full sentances and explaining things," Luke said, winking at her.
"You know, I'm technically your boss now and you work for me, right? And you can't talk to me like that anymore?"
"I do!" Luke bowed in his seat slightly.
"You are such a dork, you know that?"
Luke nodded empathetically, "Seriously Mitchell, I'm pleased for you and hope, whatever the 'nothing' is, works out for you."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Beca dismissed his words with a wave of her hand.
"Anything else you want to share?"
"Not right now..." Beca trailed off, cocking her head to one side and wondering if Luke would be the one person she could talk to about this. It was either him or Amy and Beca knew who she trusted more. "I think Chloe has problems getting intimate because of the scars."
Beca felt her face flush a little and wanted to take back what she'd said as soon as she'd said it.
"Scars?" Luke asked gently.
"Yeah, I think David did a bit of a number on her."
"Fuck that guy!" Luke uncharacteristically sneered.
"Yeah."
"Have you talked about it?"
Beca shook her head, "No. She was getting at something the other night about a week ago but then it got weird and I gave her an out until she was ready. I mean, I've seen some scars on her lower back before but I think there are more."
Luke nodded slowly, "I'm sure she'll talk to you when you are both ready. Clearly, you both have some things you haven't discussed thoroughly yet."
"I guess so."
"It'll work itself out Bec," Luke said sincerely. "Chloe and you have a strange connection, and it wasn't an easy start to your friendship but you are making what could be a simple shower of shite, work and the girls are happy and healthy and at the end of the day, that's all that matters. If you two forge something deeper than just good friends, then fate definitely gave you a helping hand in getting together."
"She said something along those lines too," Beca rolled her eyes.
"And you... both... deserve some happiness after the last year."
"I guess," Beca shrugged, and Luke could see she was getting uncomfortable with the focus being on her.
"Just give her time. Her marriage might have been rougher than she'd told you, and she might not be able to shake the memory of David off just yet."
"Solid advice old man," Beca smirked.
"Less of the old, thank you!" Luke grinned, before slapping his knees and standing up again. "I really must go, but let's meet up later, after you've shown the new song writer around and we'll catch up for round two."
"Round two of what?"
"The 'how uncomfortable can Beca get' game," Luke laughed.
"You're an asshole," Beca growled, but she didn't mind Luke's teasing.
Luke lowered his voice a little, "I'm assuming no one else knows about this?"
"I've not said anything to anyone," Beca shrugged her shoulders in response. "Chloe might have talked to Aubrey."
"She's not said anything to me but my lady wouldn't betray a confidence."
"My lady? Which century are you from Bryant?" Beca said, turning around as she heard her email notification. She immediately clicked on the message, immediately lost in the words, giving Luke the perfect excuse to slip out of her office.
.oOo.
"Beca Mitchell," Beca stated into her desk phone, as its shrill ringing snapped her out of looking at some of Twenty One Pilots back catalogue. She was hoping to find a couple of tunes to mash together, to introduce something new to the band.
"Hi, it's Rick from Reception. I have your nine thirty for you."
Beca looked at her watch, surprised to see the time had already passed so quickly. It was only as she lifted her eyes away from the screen that she noticed that Luke had left her office and she hadn't realised, and shook herself a little, noting she'd spoken to him over two hours ago.
"Yeah, okay, no problem," Beca said, reaching around for the jacket on the back of her chair. "I'll just be a couple of minutes. Thanks."
"Thank you," Rick said politely, before ending the call.
Beca placed the handset back in the cradle and threaded her arm through the sleeve of her jacket, in one easy movement. Standing up, she shrugged the jacket onto her shoulders, collected her phone and headed towards the door, smoothing down her shirt and tucking it into her pants. She realised, as she headed towards the elevators that she didn't know the first thing about the person she was meeting and rolled her eyes at her lack of preparedness as she pressed the call button for the elevator.
Muttering to herself, she stepped into the lift and pushed the button for reception and her mind was already wondering as to where to take the new starter on the guided tour that Luke had volunteered her for. In truth Beca didn't mind doing Luke any kind of favours, she owed him so many. She made a mental note that she should at least stop by and say hello to Aubrey while she was here; she knew Luke would appreciate that.
The elevator soon stopped on the lower floor of the building and Beca adjusted the sleeves of her jacket, making sure her security pass was neatly squared on her lapel. She had felt quite the rush of pride as she'd picked it up from the administration building that morning and had sent a picture of it to Chloe, who responded to the message with a string of emoji's and no less than thirty eight hearts, and to Amy, who had texted back with a sarcastic response, asking her who the badge really belonged to and who she'd stolen it from.
This had Beca approached the reception desk with a small smirk on her lips, feeling happier than she had done in a long time.
"Hi, I'm meeting... a visitor," she said lamely to Rick who looked up from his screen as she stood to the side of the front desk. She quickly realised that she didn't know the name of the person she was meeting.
"She's in the waiting area," Rick confirmed, with a slight head nod towards the general direction where visitors were directed to sit.
"Okay, thanks," Beca paused for a brief moment, wanting to ask the visitor's name but not wanting to look like she didn't have everything under control. Deciding that she'd figure it out when she got to the waiting area, she nodded her thanks again at Rick and hurried over to the left hand side of the foyer.
She liked the main entrance to Universal. The large windows allowed plenty of light to flood the space, and the walls were adorned with photos of past musical legends and actors associated with the music group. It had given Beca a little jolt when she'd seen a picture of Chloe in and amongst the other actors. Several potted plants were dotted around as well as a couple of large pieces of artwork, including a huge treble clef made out of old instruments.
Peeking her head around the glass wall, Beca was glad to see there were only three occupants in the waiting area and it only took her a couple of seconds to recognise one of the people sitting there.
"Emily?" Beca asked, her face brightening.
"Hi Beca!" Emily jumped up to her full height to walk over to greet Beca. She hesitated briefly as she approached the smaller brunette but couldn't resist throwing her arms around Beca anyway.
"What brings you here today?" Beca asked, looking around the room for the person she was supposed to be meeting. There were two men who were sitting in the far corner, and both were subtly watching the interaction.
"I've had a tour with Luke, at nine thirty," Emily explained. "He said he couldn't make it and would be sending his colleague in his place. So, I guess that's you!"
"Wait..." Beca's eyebrows shot into her hairline. "... you're the songwriter that Universal has just signed?"
"I am!" Emily beamed, as she tucked her hair behind her ear, suddenly looking a little shy. "I guess no one told you it was me huh?"
"No, Luke left out that crucial piece of information."
"I hope it's okay that I'm here," Emily blanched.
"Yeah, of course, it's great to have you here," Beca shook herself a little, switching on her professional side. "Let's start at the beginning, shall we?"
Emily nodded, and picked up her purse from the two seater sofa she was just sitting on. "Thanks Beca."
"So, here we have the front entrance to Universal. This way into the building is mainly for visitors or if you forget your security pass," Beca explained as they took a short walk across the main foyer. "There is another entrance, accessible from the parking lot. You'll need to come through the front desk for the first couple of days though as it usually takes a little while until your security pass is ready. Have you had your picture taken yet?"
Emily shook her head as they approached the elevators again.
"So, I'll show you around some of the offices and take you down to the studios, and then we'll go and meet some of the other songwriters, if that sounds okay to you?"
"Sounds great," Emily smiled.
"Let's stop by the coffee shop first, everyone needs caffeine first thing," Beca grinned.
"I really appreciate you doing this with me, Beca."
"It's my pleasure, sorry that I was so surprised when I saw it was you. Luke never said it was you."
"I gathered that from the look on your face!" Emily laughed as they bypassed the elevators and headed towards the back of the building.
"What made you decide to become a songwriter... wait, does this mean you're not working for Aubrey any more?"
"I've loved working for Aubrey but everyone kept telling me that I should do this," Emily gestured with her hands around the general area. "Aubrey was really good to work for, she looked after me and let me take time out for the interviews here and is just so supportive generally. She didn't want to let me go and has said that if this doesn't work out, she'll take me back, so I guess I've got nothing to lose."
Beca nodded along while Emily was talking, knowing that she'd definitely misjudged Aubrey in the beginning. She had a thought as they approached the small coffee shop that she was quite good at judging people before giving them a chance to prove themselves to her. She blinked back her suspicions that she really needed to work on herself in that regard as she placed an order for a couple of coffees.
.oOo.
"How'd it go?" Chloe asked, as Beca laid her laptop bag down on the kitchen counter. The redhead had tried not to look too obvious in her overly casual attempt of looking nonchalant as she waited for Beca to come home.
In truth, she had been starting to get worried as it had gone past nine o'clock by the time she heard the front gate start to roll back and the quick flash of car headlights ghosting over the lounge windows for the briefest of moments.
"Yeah, it was good," Beca replied, noncommittally, looking towards the French door in a way that Chloe was starting to easily recognise. She could sense that Beca always needed to have an escape route, if the situation got too heavy for her to handle.
Chloe nodded, slightly disappointed that Beca wasn't saying any more than 'good'. "Are you hungry?"
"After that epic mountain of snacks you packed for me this morning, I'm really not!" Beca let out a light laugh as she patted her stomach. She looked towards the kitchen door, "I'm just going to go up and see the girls."
She left the kitchen quickly and Chloe tried not to let the lacklustre atmosphere get to her. She'd been on tenterhooks all day - scrap that, for two weeks, if she was being honest - and really wanted to talk to Beca properly about where they were going or if she was reading the signals wrong, and their shared kiss was just one too many glasses of wine.
Turning to finish loading the dishwasher, she was surprised to see Beca back in the kitchen so quickly.
"I didn't realise how late it had gotten," she said, rubbing at the side of her nose. "Sorry I wasn't home to help put the girls to bed."
"No need to apologise," Chloe said in response, as brightly as she could. "You do more than your fair share."
Beca nodded silently.
"You okay?" Chloe asked, after a few moments of silence. She bent to put the last of the plates in the dishwasher, wanting to give Beca a second to answer without her staring at her.
"It's just..." Beca began. "... been a busy day."
"Don't feel you have to stay up if-"
"-Oh, I don't-"
"-I get that you're tired and we can talk another time so-"
"-I'd like to talk now," Beca said simply.
"Oh..." Chloe trailed off, swallowing thickly.
"Give me a few minutes to go and change, yeah?"
"Sure," Chloe nodded, watching Beca's eyes glance at the large cooking pot on the stove. It held what was supposed to have been their dinner but Chloe had lost her appetite when Beca was late home
"Okay, won't be long," Beca said, picking up her bag from the kitchen counter and swinging it onto her shoulder.
"You can always leave your work stuff in the study; you know, if you wanted to?" Chloe offered. "There's so much space in there, and the room is hardly used..."
"Maybe," Beca gave a half-hearted glance towards the study door.
"Want a drink?" Chloe asked, as Beca headed out into the hallway.
"Ummm..." Beca hesitated.
"I'm going to have hot chocolate."
"Yeah? With marshmallows?" Beca's eyes widened comically.
"Of course," Chloe grinned, knowing the childish part of Beca loved that sort of thing, having grown up without the little extras in life.
"Then yes please!"
Chloe nodded, turning to fetch the jar of chocolate powder in the cupboard above where she was standing. In truth, she wanted hard liquor but didn't trust herself to keep her hands off of Beca.
By the time Beca returned, dressed comfortably in sweats and a hoodie that she'd stolen from Luke a couple of years before, Chloe had a plate of cookies, a huge bowl of popcorn and two mugs of steaming hot chocolate on a tray. She noticed Beca clutching a paper bag somewhat nervously.
"Lounge?" Chloe asked, although it was more of a statement than a question and left the kitchen with Beca in tow, setting the tray down on the coffee table in the lounge, She gathered up one of the blankets from the back of the sofa and took a seat, watching Beca hop from foot to foot out of her peripheral vision.
"Um, this is for you," Beca mumbled awkwardly; something Chloe found incredibly endearing.
"What is it?" Chloe asked as Beca pushed the paper bag towards her.
"It's not much..."
Chloe took the bag, opened the top and peered inside, before dipping her hand in and pulling out a dark grey tee shirt, unfolding it quickly.
The shirt was emblazoned with the Universal logo on the front and the words 'Beca's Team' on the black in neat yellow letters. Chloe held the fabric up to her face and stroked the material against her cheek.
"It's so soft! Thank you Beca."
Beca looked so relieved of Chloe's acceptance of her gift that Chloe was a little confused.
"Apparently, I get free merch at Universal. That's something Bryant never told me about," Beca's eyes twinkled. "So..."
"Oh, that's cool."
"Yeah," Beca shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry that they only had them in medium, but I figured you could wear it to bed or something."
"It's too nice for that," Chloe said, turning it over in her hands and reading the writing on the back,
"I thought you could be part of *cough*... my, um, my crew," Beca face reddened as she watched Chloe study the words. "I mean, if you wanted to be. Part of it. My crew, that is. I mean, with me. But not like at work. Jesus H Christ... I dunno what the fuck I'm trying to say."
Chloe looked lovingly at Beca as about a dozen of her latest fears melted away.
"It sounded less lame in my head," Beca admitted.
"What you said was perfect."
"It's just a shirt and I know you are used to more expensive gifts from people... I mean, heck that thing was free," Beca began to wring her hands a little.
"I love it Beca, it's really thoughtful and it would be lovely to wear, knowing that I am part of your crew."
Beca's eyes flittered towards Chloe's but she couldn't look at her for long. She'd been pretty excited when she'd found a couple of boxes of personalised items that she was allowed to distribute at her discretion had been delivered to her office while she was showing Emily around the building earlier in the day. Emily had snatched up a baseball cap and refused to give it back, announcing to Beca that she really wanted to be part of Beca's team.
That had started a conversation about a possible collaboration that rolled on for three hours and Beca had fired off an email to the management and recruitment team to ask if she could have Emily work with her directly for a few weeks instead of going into the songwriters pool.
Taking Beca's silence that she felt her gift wasn't good enough, Chloe pushed the blanket off of her lap and stood quickly, pulling off her shirt in one easy movement. She ignored the look on Beca's face as she slung the new tee shirt over her head, pulling it down and adjusting it around her chest, entirely on purpose.
Beca found the contents of the tray suddenly very interesting to look at.
"What do you think?" Chloe asked.
"Looks good on you," Beca nodded. "It's waaay too big though."
"I think it's perfect!"
"I'll ask them to make some smaller sizes, maybe get some made up for the girls too." Beca trailed off, already thinking ahead.
"That would be great."
"I have to say, I dunno how you'd fit into a small size tee shirt," Beca started mischievously, grinning at Chloe's surprised face when she said the words. "I mean... when all you do is eat snacks."
"Cheeky!" Chloe laughed, smoothing down the cotton fabric, feeling strangely thrilled with the gift that Beca had given her. She retook her seat, pleased to see Beca looking a little more relaxed. "Are you ready to tell me a bit more about your day yet?"
"Yeah, sure," Beca nodded. Chloe leant forward and picked up one of the hot chocolate mugs, handing it to Beca. "Hey, thanks."
"Mmm hmm," Chloe smiled, picking up her own mug and one of the cookies she'd baked with the girls that afternoon. They were oddly misshapen and utterly adorable.
"So, today was amazing!" Beca started to explain, curling her feet up onto the sofa. "I got in early and began setting my office up-"
"-Thanks for the picture of your office door by the way!" Chloe interrupted. After Beca had sent the first picture of her security badge to Chloe , she'd also sent a slightly fuzzy selfie outside her office door, pointing excitedly at the plaque on the outside.
"I was so proud of my name being on there, I had to send it to someone," Beca blushed.
"I get it, I'm the same with my dressing rooms on any set I go to," Chloe winked. She waved her hand around. "Carry on."
"Yeah, so Luke came by to say hi, then I answered a few emails which was nice as a load of people sent some congrats type stuff. Then I met up with Emily and showed her around the building, introduced her to the songwriters pool that we keep on staff; they do mostly commercials or jingle type stuff but have been known to help out with lyrics. Then I managed to talk my way into snaffling Emily full time for six weeks. We went to one of the studios and messed about with the decks and the microphones for a bit... you didn't tell me that she could sing."
"Who could?"
"Emily," Beca confirmed, taking a sip of her drink.
"Emily, your new songwriter? How am I to know-"
"-Emily, your friend!"
"Wait? Em.. Emily Junk is working at Universal?"
Beca blinked a little blindly, "Yeah?"
"Emily is working with you?" Chloe asked again.
"Yes? Wait, didn't you know?"
"No! Why didn't you tell me?" Chloe's tone went up several octaves.
"I didn't know until she turned up at the office. Aubrey didn't say anything to you about it?"
"Clearly not!" Chloe laughed.
"Oh!" Beca was impressed by the level of respect on Aubrey's part. Chloe was just beaming with happiness.
"I'm so happy for you both, you'll love working with Em. She's really great."
"Yeah, she seems cool," Beca nodded in agreement. "Sorry, I thought you knew or I would have told you earlier."
"No, it's fine," Chloe smiled, loving the fact that Beca had shared some photos of her day that morning and hearing Beca say she would have shared more.
"I probably should have texted to say I was going to be late home today too."
"You don't have to, it's not like I'm..." Chloe trailed off.
There was an awkward silence for a couple of minutes with Chloe staring into space and Beca looking at the mug in her hands.
"Shall we talk about the elephant in the room here?"
"We probably should," Beca took a sip of her drink. "This just feels awkward and I'm like the Queen of Awkwardness."
Chloe smiled and looked down at the mug in her hand and pushed one of the marshmallows into the chocolatey drink.
"I guess for me..." Chloe began slowly. "... there's so much at stake here. It's not just us we need to consider. You know how I feel about you. I've told you where my heart is. But..."
Beca's head snapped up at the last word, "But?"
"I know how I feel about you. It's not just a phase or a new quirk I've picked up. You just feel right to me. We feel right together. Aside from my girls, nobody has made more sense to me than you. I loved David but I had my reservations at the very beginning. I guess I just wanted to fit into society easily. I could never have predicted my career taking off the way it did, my reputation rising so quickly and David was by my side for all of it."
"I understand," Beca said simply.
"I don't regret marrying David because I wouldn't have my girls. If I didn't have my girls, I wouldn't have met you. And I'd go through all of it again, just to meet you."
"Even the car accident?"
"Maybe not that part," Chloe half heartedly smiled. "David was good in the beginning, so supportive but life with him wasn't always easy."
"How so?" Beca asked, feeling brave.
Chloe sighed and seemed to fight with herself on how to answer, "After the accident, he changed, got angry easily and jealous of my success I guess. But despite all the crap he put me through, it wasn't all bad."
"But bad enough sometimes?"
"Yeah," Chloe looked uncomfortable. She looked over at Beca. "I know you've seen the scars on my back and my shoulders. They're subtle but they are there."
"It's okay," Beca tried to sound reassuring.
"I've also got some on my inner thighs."
Beca nodded carefully, "What did he do to you?"
"I'll tell you about it one day, but not today."
"That's okay," Beca spoke kindly and softly.
"His jealousy got out of hand and I guess the only way he could express himself was to take it out on me. He knew I couldn't get away from him, he made me believe it was my fault."
"That's not okay Chloe."
"I know," Chloe whispered. "Bruises fade, scars heal but what it does to you here..."
She pointed to her head and her heart.
"... lasts a lifetime. I guess I'll carry that forever. That something good can turn so bad."
"I'm sorry he did that to you."
"It wasn't your fault and you shouldn't apologise for his mistakes. I'm sorry that I have to bring this with me into whatever this could become."
Beca shrugged, "I know that if we went ahead and tried to make this work, I wouldn't treat you like that."
"I know you wouldn't."
"Yeah, I'm weird and awkward," Beca repeated. "And I know I can come across as rude and angry all the time and-"
"-Bec, I see you with the girls. You don't even get mad when they are fighting and hair pulling."
"I was raised in a difficult home environment. My... mother had a lot of boyfriends and some of them weren't nice to me."
"Oh my God-" Chloe started, her hands flying up to cover her mouth.
"-No, nothing ever happened. I wasn't hurt but I wouldn't want any child I know to grow up feeling afraid. So that's why I don't raise my voice with the girls. And I don't want you to ever feel afraid again either."
"Thank you Beca," Chloe looked like she was about to cry.
"I know it doesn't mean much, but I don't care about scars. We've all got things we try to hide. I've got baggage too."
"When you are ready to talk about those things, I'm here," Chloe promised.
"And one day, I'm sure I will want to share those things with you. I want to do a lot more things with you," Beca's tone dropped a little.
"We can organise some days out-"
"-No, I mean things with you," Beca half smirked.
Chloe's eyes widened comically.
"It's just that i'm just getting started with this new job, I'm going to be so busy for a couple of months, probably til Christmas and I don't want to rush into this and miss the fun parts at the beginning."
"I understand," Chloe nodded.
"I know you can handle a hundred things at once, but it was Jessie and I on our own and I barely kept that together."
"You handle more than I do, Bec. I have a whole team of people who put me together," Chloe chuckled.
"I'm scared how the girls will react," Beca admitted.
"Honestly? I don't think they'll care."
"David's reaction?"
"To what?" Chloe flinched.
"To us."
"What's it got to do with him?" Chloe blanched.
"You were married to him, Chloe."
"Didn't stop him from having an affair and getting her pregnant, did it?"
"No," Beca cautiously mumbled. "But he was prepared to go to court over a couple of kids he's barely seen in six months. What will he do if we get into a relationship?"
Chloe looked pensive for a moment. "I'll talk to him."
"And what about the media?"
"Lilly will be able to handle anything negative."
"But they'll still print stuff, it'll still be out there. What if it affects our careers?"
"How about we decide not to let it?" Chloe put her point across.
"I don't want the girls caught up in a frenzy-"
"-You sound like you are finding every reason not to continue, or to try," Chloe breathed out.
Beca shook her head, "No, that's not it, I swear. I've said it before; we barely know each other."
"Not everyone gets into a relationship knowing every last detail about each other, Beca."
There was silence for a couple of minutes as Beca contemplated what Chloe was saying.
"You also have to remember that I've never been in a serious relationship before. You have."
"So?" Chloe questioned.
Beca sighed, frustrated with herself that she wasn't making more sense. She could feel her face flushing. "I don't have a lot of experience."
Chloe screwed her face up.
"I'm hardly the Queen of relationships, am I? I fooled around a bit in High School but David was my only proper relationship."
"But you still fooled around."
"I'm not following," Chloe looked confused.
"I'm not exactly experienced with... you know... sex and stuff. Jesse was my only real..."
"Oh... OH!"
"And I guess I'm worried I'm not going to be good enough or just enough for you."
"Beca..."
"Please don't," Beca held her hand up.
"Is this something that really bothers you?" Chloe asked.
"I've not been good enough my whole life."
"That's not true."
"Hmmm, parents abandoned me, best friend died, no-"
"-You are good enough for three little girls upstairs. You are good enough for Universal. You are good enough for my friends. You are good enough for me."
Beca waved Chloe's compliments away.
"It seems to me," Chloe began, "that we both have some hang ups that perhaps need to be addressed before much longer. So can I make a suggestion?"
"Sure."
"Let's date and just see how we go."
Beca nodded slowly.
"But not yet," Chloe held up her hand. Beca frowned and opened her mouth to say something but Chloe continued. "Let's put a pin in this for now. Shall we just focus on us, as a weird little family unit for now, and try and build on that first. I'd really like for you to start believing in yourself a bit more. Not just with your amazing talent with music, but also in yourself. The girls love you, for you. They are shy around strangers but accepted you so quickly. You are everything to them. Trust me, it's all I hear about.
"And you are all they talk about when I'm with them."
"We are a couple of great Mom's," Chloe raised her chocolate mug, before laughing. "Hardcore too!"
"Okay, I'll agree to that."
"Will you agree not to make any decisions about us until Christmas?" Chloe asked.
"Christmas?"
"Yes," Chloe nodded.
"Why Christmas?"
"Because it would be nice to begin the new year with a fresh start, wouldn't it?"
"Okay, I can work with that," Beca grinned.
"You can get work under control, I can get my next work assignment sorted and we can spend time together, without the stress of jumping into bed and worrying about everything. Okay?"
"Yeah, okay," Beca laughed. "I do have one request though..."
"Of course," Chloe cocked her head to the side.
"That I do get to kiss you every now and then."
"I can work with that request!" Chloe stood up and held her hand out to Beca who took it and uncurled herself from the sofa. She set her mug back onto the coffee table and turned her face towards Chloe.
"Hi," Beca said, suddenly feeling a little shy.
"You really are so beautiful," Chloe lightly trailed her fingers down Beca's cheek, noting that Beca keened into her touch. She understood the need for them both to feel the physical contact, despite coming from different places, they were essentially both starved of adult affection.
"I'm nothing compared to you," Beca blurted out, her cheeks pinking as soon as she'd said the words.
Chloe hooked her finger underneath Beca's chin, in a move that felt familiar. Bending slightly, she leant forward, resting her forehead against Beca's, maintaining eye contact the whole time. The air felt thicker and the tension mounted slightly as Chloe's eyes flickered downwards to gaze at Beca's lips.
Gently and slowly, Beca lifted her chin, until she was close enough to Chloe's mouth to feel breath on her lip. She stretched further, brushing her lips over Chloe's so gently that it was almost unnoticeable. Beca breathed in the noticeable scent of Chloe's perfume, mixed with the hint of toothpaste.
"Have I told you how great you smell?" Beca whispered.
Chloe, unable to wait any longer, crashed her lips against Beca's, parting her lips with her tongue and fighting Beca's to gain dominance. She felt her heart begin to quicken and wanted to taste more the girl in front of her who was now clinging onto the bottom of her tee shirt for all it was worth.
Chloe tilted her head, gaining better access and covering more of Beca's mouth with her own. She wrapped her arms around Beca, pulling her closer, not missing the little 'hmph' noise that escaped from Beca. Chloe felt like she was opening Pandora's Box as she wrestled Beca's tongue with her own; they'd just agreed to wait until Christmas before discussing their relationship but Chloe knew she'd want to kiss Beca again, probably as soon as they finished this kiss.
For the shortest of time, Beca forgot about the world around her, feeling like it was just her and Chloe. She could feel Chloe's heart beating in her chest, the rhythm similar to her own. She couldn't help but add an orchestral arrangement in her own mind as Chloe began to pull away, the need for air great than the need to kiss.
"You taste like chocolate," Beca said lamely, subtly trying to wipe her swollen lip and damp chin with her thumb as she placed both feet back firmly on the lush carpet, trying to steady her legs.
"So do you," Chloe smiled. "Want a watch a movie with me?"
Beca was about to protest and explain that she had some work to do, but instead nodded her agreement. "Nothing too cheesy."
"You can choose," Chloe offered.
"How about one of yours?"
"Really?" Chloe's eyes widened.
"Yeah, I heard you sing in one of them."
"Rainy Days In Manhattan, yes?"
"Yeah, that one. I'm just going to..." Beca pointed awkwardly towards the hall.
Chloe sat back onto the sofa, flicked on the television and scrolled through to Netflix and found the movie she wanted, just as Beca returned from the bathroom with her hands still slightly glistening from their hurried wash.
Beca was about to sit in her usual spot when Chloe patted the seat next to her. Beca hesitated for a brief second as Chloe lifted the blanket in anticipation, and took the middle seat next to Chloe, who laid the blanket over the both of them.
"You ready?"
Beca nodded and got comfortable, leaning back against the sofa cushions. She amazed herself by laying a hand on Chloe's knee, wanting to feel a different level of closeness and was surprised at how her fingers tingled as she did so.
Chloe ignored the interaction and pressed play for the movie to start, chuckling slightly less than five minutes to find Beca leaning heavily into her side. Checking to see if the brunette had fallen asleep, she smiled when she realised Beca had, and gently tucked the blanket around her to keep her warm.
Yawning, Chloe snuggled into the sofa a little more just as she began to sing on the television screen for the first song of the movie. She reached over for the remote to turn down the volume and as she did so, Beca's head slipped down to rest on her right breast.
Chloe couldn't help but notice the small smile on Beca's face.
.oOo.