#( make good choices || bechloe ff )

[incredibeale-archive]

Aubrey is Beca's older step-sister but they're pretty close. Aubrey is overprotective of Beca because of???? (insert secret here). Chloe is Aubrey's BFF but they only met at Barden. When Beca comes to Barden and meets Chloe, Aubrey senses the connection between them. She's torn between wanting Beca and Chloe to be happy, keeping Beca's secret, and not wanting either of them to get hurt.

[Hey, so i’ve had this in my drafts since like almost the beginning of this blog. yikes im terrible  anyway, i don’t remember what the fuck my original plan was, but the new plan is this: I’m gonna post this in parts because it’s already super long? (it seems long anyway) and i have a plan. sort of. i’ll try to post the next part tomorrow night. enjoy???]

( part 1 of ? )

(Part 2)

“Bree?” Aubrey knows that voice. Her heart nearly stops in her chest as she turns in time to see her step-sister, smiling brightly at her.

“Beca!” The blonde moves quickly and wraps her arms around the smaller woman in a bone crushing hug. It’s been a few months since she’s last seen Beca. Not since mid summer, anyway – when Aubrey had gone home to spend time with her father and step-mother and of course, Beca. 

During that time, Beca had surprised her with the news that she’d be attending Barden next year, with Aubrey. However, the brunette had kept her arrival time a secret.

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but…” Aubrey pulls back at that, though she doesn’t release Beca entirely, her arm moving to loop itself with the tiny brunette’s as she offers her best friend a sheepish smile. Chloe just smiles brightly back, blue eyes darting between the two of them curiously.

“Chloe, this is Beca– my sister. Beca, this is Chloe–”

Chloe holds out her hand eagerly. “The best friend.” She interjects excitedly. “I’ve heard a lot about you!”

Beca smiles bemusedly for a moment, staring down at the hand hanging between them before she finally takes it, shaking it hesitantly. “Uh– cool. Nice to meet you, dude.” She raises a brow at Aubrey who looks away with a small grin.

“Oh, don’t worry!” Chloe chirps with a wide grin. “All good things.”

Beca chuckles. “I’m sure.” Her lips curve into a crooked smirk. “I’ve heard about you, too.” Aubrey watches as Chloe raises her brows expectantly. “Oh, don’t worry.” Beca starts, her smirk growing. “All good things.”

“Well, obviously.” Chloe says in a ‘duhhh’ sort of tone. “I’m aca-awesome!”

“And humble, apparently.” Beca quips in amusement. “Also, we’ve got to talk about both of your apparent annihilation of the English language. ‘aca’ is not a real prefix, guys.”

“Aca-scuse me?” Aubrey shoves Beca playfully.

“Oh it totes is!” Chloe says, nodding her head sagely.

Beca just smirks. “Wow. I can feel my IQ dropping just standing here.”

Aubrey scoffs and rolls her eyes in amused affection. “Please, like you had any to spare in the first place.”

The smaller woman feigns a gasp, hand going to her heart. “You wound me with your words, Posen.”

Meanwhile, Chloe watches with a mixture of curiosity and amusement.

“Shut up Mitchell.” Aubrey shakes her head, but her expression soon turns to one of concern. “Now, why didn’t you tell me you were coming? Do you need help finding your dorm or unpacking? How did you even know where to find me?”

Beca’s smile turns soft as she places a reassuring hand on Aubrey’s arm. “No worries, dude. I’m good to go. I’m already unpacked over at Baker Hall. First floor, room 6. As for how I found you– Bree you’ve been talking about this– activities fair thing nonstop, every time we talk on the phone or skype.”

“Speaking of–” Chloe says before Aubrey can reply. “You should totes join. Bree says you’ve got an amazing voice and you’re crazy talented.”

Beca raises a brow at Aubrey who shrugs like, ‘so?’. “Don’t look at me like that. You are crazy talented.”

“See? So, you should totes audition. We could really use you.” Chloe says, taking hold of one of Beca’s arms. Aubrey internally winces as Beca’s body visibly stiffens. Sometimes she forgets how… personable Chloe can be. She prepares for Beca to rip her arm away, but to Aubrey’s surprise, she doesn’t.

Instead, Beca just kind of stares up into Chloe’s eyes, body slowly relaxing, while Chloe stares back, smile bright and completely oblivious to Beca’s unease.

“Please?” Chloe pouts, giving the arm in her hand a gentle squeeze.

Beca blinks after a moment, cheeks tinging pink as she stumbles back a little. “I– uh– I’ll think about it, red.” Aubrey is torn between being concerned and amused. Her step-sister is kind of a useless gay when it comes to pretty girls and Aubrey usually teases her relentlessly for it, but this– this has the potential to be a nightmare waiting to happen. And not because she thinks Chloe would break Beca’s heart– no, Chloe isn’t the type. She loves without reservation, she loves hard. No, it would definitely be Beca who did the breaking– and most likely not on purpose, either.

Plus, she cares deeply for these two people, and the last thing she wants is for either of them to be hurt. She pushes these thoughts aside, though– choosing to hope that something like that doesn’t happen.

“You better!” Chloe finally releases Beca’s arm and turns toward their table to grab a flier before thrusting it into Beca’s hand.

—

Beca ends up auditioning, much to Aubrey’s (delighted) surprise. What Aubrey isn’t too delighted about is that Chloe seems all the more smitten with Beca. It’s why she keeps a close eye on her step-sister during hoodnight. Her protective instincts really rise to the surface when Beca becomes visibly uneasy as one of the new Treble recruits approaches her.

“– It’s inevitable. You’re one of those acapella girls and I’m one of those acapella boys, and we’re going to have aca-children together.” Aubrey hears the Treble-boy say as she walks up beside Beca. 

Beca makes a face. “Yeah, no, dude. I don’t see that happening.”

“How do you know if you don’t give me a chance?” The Treble-maker pouts, wobbling a little, clearly on his way to drunk. 

Aubrey chooses that moment to make herself known, looping her arm through Beca’s and shooting a glare toward the boy in front of them. “She’s not interested.” 

A frown mars the boy’s face. “Who are you? Her keeper?”

Aubrey steps in front of Beca and towers over the Treble-maker. “No, but I am her sister, and not only that, but I’m also the captain of the Barden Bellas and it’s against the rules to… fraternize with a Treble-maker.” She narrows her eyes and inches forward a little more. “And I’m pretty sure I heard her say that she isn’t interested.”

“Bree–” Beca tugs gently on Aubrey’s arm. “It’s okay. I got this.” 

Aubrey glances behind her, taking in Beca’s slight half smile and the way she gives her a soft little nod. After a moment, Aubrey nods back and steps aside, but crosses her arms and glares at the puppy-faced boy from behind Beca. 

“Listen, dude. See, it’s not going to happen, because I’m like– really gay.” 

It seems to take puppy-face a moment to process Beca’s words, but Aubrey sees the exact moment that he realizes. And if Aubrey weren’t trying to be intimidating right now, she’d laugh at how his stupid face drops in embarrassment and what she assumes disappointment. 

Beca on the other hand, seems to be holding her breath, muscles taught with tension; ready to bolt. It breaks Aubrey’s heart and she vows that if this stupid boy says something mean, she’ll punch him. Or at least give him a verbal lashing. 

But then Jesse offers up a sheepish smile. “Oh,” He scratches the back of his neck and glances away. “Shit, I must’ve come off as such an ass. I’m sorry.” Aubrey blinks. Was he–? That… that wasn’t the reaction she was expecting. 

Apparently, neither was Beca. She stands there, looking unsure of how to respond. But before either of them can even think of a good response anyway, Jesse’s smile turns bright. “We could be lesbros!” 

“Oh my god, dude.” Aubrey watches as Beca’s body relaxes slightly, her tone full of cautious amusement. “No way. We are not being that, and if you ever say that again, I’ll smack you.” 

Jesse seems unperturbed as he shakes his head. “Nope, it’s happening. We’re lesbros. I’ll be your wing-man, and you’ll be mine– it’ll be great!”

“You’re drunk.” Beca says, a small smirk creasing her lips. But Aubrey can still see the hesitation in her posture and she frowns. 

“Nah, I’m just tipsy.” He goes to take another sip of his drink and frowns. “Empty,” His frown turns into a full blown pout which Aubrey thinks looks ridiculous on him. “Time for a refill. Do either of you ladies need a drink?” 

This time Aubrey steps up. “Uh, no… but, thanks.” She tries to smile politely because this dumb treble was nice, but she still doesn’t like him. Or his stupid puppy face. Jesse shrugs and turns away, heading down toward the keg. 

Beca sighs audibly and Aubrey watches as her shoulders droop. Concern washes over Aubrey and she takes her step-sister’s elbow. “Hey, you okay?” 

“Uh– yeah, yeah. I just–” She frowns, running a shaky hand through her hair. 

“I know, I was expecting more of a scene.” Aubrey frowns at the way Beca trembles slightly. “Can I walk you back to your dorm?” Beca looks like she wants to refuse, but instead she gives a jerky nod. So Aubrey loops her arm through Beca’s a leads her away from the amphitheater. 

Beca sighs and lets her head drop against Aubrey’s shoulder. “Thanks. I think the build up of it has my anxiety really high.” She admits quietly. 

Aubrey knew that. She was– is afraid it’ll send her into an episode, but she doesn’t point that out. Instead, she wrap an arm around Beca’s waist and presses a chaste kiss to the other’s temple. “You did good.” 

Unbeknownst to the both of them, someone watches with a worried little frown on her face from her perch on one of the higher amphitheater seats. 

[wandaswigglywoes]

I cannot access your bechloe fanfiction mate.

I don’t have much Bechloe on anything other than my archived blog, so here ya go: (I apologize, I’m mobile)

https://incredibeale-archive.tumblr.com/tagged/%28-make-good-choices-%7C%7C-bechloe-ff-%29

[incredibeale-archive]

(part 2 of ?)

Read Part 1

“So...” Chloe says, clearly trying to sound casual as Aubrey wipes off the dry erase board. 

She feels her shoulders tense at that tone, Aubrey knows what’s coming. She knows the question before Chloe even asks. She’d known it was coming the moment she saw Beca tense up when Chloe went to stand behind Beca during rehearsal. Aubrey had met her gaze then, asking a silent question to which Beca gave a subtle nod back. I’m okay. 

Beca’s cheeks had flushed slightly, and she’d tried to force her body to relax. Aubrey had hoped she’d been the only one to notice, but she should have known it wouldn’t have flown over Chloe’s head. Sure, the blushing had probably been the desired effect of Chloe’s close proximity (because Aubrey knew when her best friend was flirting), but the slight panic that had flashed in her gaze through the mirror had not gone unnoticed. 

Aubrey sighs and turns to face Chloe, brow raised. “Just ask me what you’re going to ask me, Chloe. We both know you’ve never been one for tact, anyway.” She inwardly winces at her own tone; suddenly sharp and defensive. 

Chloe doesn’t seem upset by it, though--- clearly used to Aubrey’s nuances. Instead, she smiles a little sheepishly. “What’s the deal with Beca?”

And there it is, the question Aubrey knew had been coming and was somehow still unprepared. “I... Don’t know what you mean.” She says, turning away to finish wiping down the board. 

“C’mon, Bree... Yes you do.” When Aubrey doesn’t say anything, Chloe sighs. “The way she tensed up when I touched her... That-- that flash of... fear? Anxiety? And-- and what about at hood night?” 

Aubrey feels her proverbial hackles rise, fingers tightening around the eraser before she sets it back down. “What about hood night, Chloe?” She asks, voice tight as she finally turns to face her friend. 

Chloe seems to lose some of her courage at the look that Aubrey knows she’s giving her. She swallows and drops her gaze for a moment, seeming to gather more courage. “I uhm-- I saw that interaction between her, you and that Treble. And-- and you left with her... she seemed upset, even though it didn’t seem like there was any sort of conflict in the end.”

 Aubrey doesn’t say anything, just meets her friend’s gaze before she searches her face. There’s a lot of concern in Chloe’s eyes, which-- doesn’t surprise Aubrey; Chloe is one of the most caring and empathetic people she’s ever met. Still... it’s not Chloe’s business. And certainly isn’t Aubrey’s story to tell. 

Finally, Aubrey sighs and her shoulders droop just slightly, suddenly tired. “I can’t tell you.” She crosses her arms, fingers digging into her elbows. “It’s not my place to say anything. All I can say, is that if you’re just flirting with her to get a reaction out of her, please stop.” 

“Aubrey, I--”

“No,” Aubrey cuts Chloe off, lips pulling down in a frown. “Don’t-- don’t keep doing it if you don’t plan to follow through. And... if you do plan to follow through, if you actually really like her, be patient.” She brings her gaze back to Chloe’s wide, confused filled eyes. “Be patient with her, and go... slow.” Chloe doesn’t say anything, just stares at Aubrey and fidgets. “Okay?” Aubrey prompts after a moment, brows raised. 

Chloe blinks, seeming to come back to herself. “I-- yes, of-- of course. I would never-- I mean--”

“Which is it?” Aubrey asks, cutting her off again. 

“W-what?” Chloe stammers, looking even more confused than before. 

“Which is it?” Aubrey asks again. “Are you just flirting for fun, or do you actually like Beca?” 

Chloe visibly swallows. “I don’t-- I don’t know. I mean, I-- she’s very beautiful, and she’s witty and she sings like an angel. But, I’m not sure... We still barely know each other.” 

Aubrey stares at Chloe for a long moment, watching as her friend twists one of the rings on her finger. “Well, figure it out. I love you, Chlo. You’re my best friend, but that’s-- that’s my sister. Okay?”

Chloe takes a shaky breath before she offers Aubrey a soft, tentative smile, nodding gently. “Of course, Bree. I understand.” 

“You don’t, but... maybe you will if Beca wants to tell you.” 

Chloe stares at her for a moment, seeming unsure. “Aubrey, are we-- are we still... okay?” 

Aubrey chuckles softly and opens her arms for a hug, which Chloe doesn’t hesitate to walk into. “Of course we are. We’re okay. I just...” She pauses, considering her words as her arms tighten around Chloe. “...Want everything to turn out okay.” She finally says. 

She feels Chloe nod against her. “Okay,” And then she squeezes Aubrey in a signature Chloe Beale Bear hug. “Good. Me too.” 

--

“So, what’s the deal with you and that redhead?” Jesse asks, waggling his eyebrows at her as she nearly drops the box of CDs she’s carrying at the mention of Chloe. 

“N-nothing. She’s the co-captain.” Beca replies, hoping Jesse misses the way her cheeks seem to heat up as she thinks about her. 

Jesse grins, and Beca knows he hadn’t. “Mhm. Sure, that’s why you resemble a tomato right now. You likkkeeee her.” He sing songs. 

Beca rolls her eyes. “Oh my god, what are you, twelve?” She sets the box of CDs on the table and crosses her arms as she turns to face him. “I don’t like her. I mean-- I do, just-- not in the way you’re implying.”

Jesse raises his brows, clearly unconvinced. “Righttttt,” He picks up one of the stacks of CDs to put them up. “Maybe you don’t like her, but she certainly has a thing for you.”

Beca’s heart feels as though it drops to her feet. “What? No she doesn’t. She’s just... being friendly.” 

Jesse turns to look at her, brow quirked up. “No, She definitely likes you.”

“You-- you really think so?” Jesse grins at her sudden soft tone, and she frowns, trying to clear her throat. “Not that it matters, because I don’t have a thing for her.”

“No, of course not.” Jesse says, looking as though he’s trying very hard not to smirk. “If that’s the case, you should let her down easy. And then... send her my way. She’s gorgeous.”

Hot, white anger suddenly flares through her. “Dude, no!” She yells. 

This time, Jesse can’t seem to hold his smirk back. “Oh? Why? Jealous are we?”

Beca narrows her eyes, realizing he’d tricked her. “That’s not cool, dude.” 

“You gonna admit that you like her?” 

Beca sighs and scuffs the toe of her right Van clad foot. “Maybe-- I might like her.” 

Jesse grins and goes to throw an arm around her, but seems to think better of it, and instead crosses his arms smugly. “Admittance is the first step.”

“Oh my god, dude. You’re an idiot.” 

“But you like me anyway! We’re Lesbros!”

Beca rolls her eyes, but she can’t hide the grin. He wasn’t wrong, she did like him. He’d become a good friend in such a short time, and she was thankful for him. That didn’t mean he needed to know that. “That’s debatable. I tolerate you.”

“Whatever, I know I’m like... your best friend.”

“You keep telling yourself that.”

[incredibeale-archive]

Beca and Chloe are married. You can decide how famous Beca is. Chloe works in a HS (teacher/social worker). She suspects one of her students is being abused because she acts like Beca used to when she first met her. She enlists in her wife's help to get the student to open up. (and maybe they'll foster her?)

[Okay, so this has been in my drafts for ages. Finally sat down and finished it. I hope y’all enjoy it. Also, I made her a elementary school teacher instead of hs (: Trigger warning: Mentions of child abuse]

Chloe really loves her job, loves her kids. All 20 of them. …Okay, so maybe they aren’t technically hers, but for 8 hours of the day, she’s responsible for them. She loves them– her little second graders, each of them unique and wonderful. They never fail to make her smile or laugh, and yes– sometimes frustrated, but she still loves them.

And they love her, too. They draw her pictures and tell her she’s ‘the bestest teacher ever’. It warms her heart. Yeah, Chloe really loves her job – there’s never a dull moment.

A shrill ringing brings Chloe out of her thoughts. “Okay, guys– that was the bell. Remember to read a chapter of your books. Have a great day and I’ll see you tomorrow!” She smiles at each of them as they pass her desk, nodding at the various voices spouting off goodbyes and ‘see you tomorrow Mrs. Beale!’s.

Her smile falters, however as she brings her gaze to one of the desks in the back. Sitting in her desk still, is one of her more quieter students. Her gaze is downcast as she slowly puts away her things, her movements almost reluctant. Just like every day, she is the last to leave and the first to arrive.

Chloe regards the child carefully, watching each movement, taking note of her long sleeves and down turned lips. Her dark brown locks are pulled up into a messy bun and the black glasses on her lightly freckled face keep sliding down her nose. She pushes them up every few seconds, mindful of the tape in the middle of them that seems to be the only thing keeping them together.

The little girl looks up and meets Chloe’s gaze, face an emotionless mask. Chloe thinks a seven year old probably shouldn’t be so good at hiding their emotions like that. “Mrs. Beale,” She says after a moment as she finally stands.

And Chloe waits – waits for the question she knows is going to come. She asks it every day. “Yes, Finley?”

“Do you think I could help clean up?” She asks quietly.

For weeks now, Chloe has had a feeling– something not right. It sits at the pit of her stomach, twisting and knotting into something that makes her feel a little sick. “Of course. I’d definitely appreciate the help.” She smiles softly at the little girl, trying to hide her growing concern.

Finley doesn’t have a lot of friends– or really, any, now that Chloe thinks about it. The little girl tends to keep to herself and she doesn’t speak much. Her grades are good, though– clearly very smart.

They spend the next twenty minutes tidying up the classroom, Chloe quietly instructing her what to do. When everything is done, Finley looks up at Chloe almost desperately. “Is there anything else I can do?” She asks, pushing escaped strands of hair behind her ear.

Chloe frowns down at the small child. “Finley,” She hedges gently, eyes soft and face open. “Do you not want to go home, sweetie?”

Finley looks hesitant, eyes glancing away. “I just– I just really like school.” She says after a moment, studiously avoiding Chloe’s gaze.

Chloe watches as that same strand of hair as before escapes and without much thought, her hand lifts with the intent to push it behind Finley’s ear, but she freezes as Finley visibly flinches, body tensing as if preparing for a blow.

Feelings of anger and concern fill Chloe almost simultaneously, but the anger takes a backseat to the overwhelming concern. Her hand drops back to her side as she bends slightly so she’s not towering over the little girl. “Is there– is there something you want to tell me, Fin?” She watches as intense gray eyes meet hers for a moment before they quickly move somewhere else. “You can tell me anything, you know.” Chloe smiles softly, face open and eyes soft.

Finley is quiet, hesitant and that’s really all Chloe needs to be even more concerned. She’s seen this before– this reluctance, this fear; being withdrawn and quiet. Chloe has seen it in Beca. And her heart breaks at the thought of this precious little girl being mistreated. “No, Mrs. Beale. There’s nothing.” She finally says, features morphing back into that neutral little mask.

Nodding, Chloe forces a smile. “Okay, honey, but– just know that I’m always here if you need anything. Anything at all, okay?” Slowly, a hand reaches out to gently place a comforting hand on Finley’s little shoulder. She doesn’t flinch as terribly this time and after a moment, her body relaxes slightly under the touch.

“Okay, Mrs. Beale.” She says with a soft little nod.

Chloe smiles again. “Okay. I’ll tell you what. You can stay here with me until I have to leave, okay? So long as you know it won’t get you into trouble. Do you not take the bus?”

Finley smiles a little at the mention of being able to stay longer, but it disappears just as quickly as it appeared. “No. I walk to and from school.”

A frown mars Chloe’s features. Who lets their 7 year old walk to and from school? She shakes her head at the thought and stands up straight. “Why don’t you go get a head start on your reading, hm? I’ve got some things to do before I lock up the classroom.”

The little girl nods and moves to sit at her desk, pulling out her book from her bag and opening it to the page they all left off on.

–-

“You’ve been awfully quiet tonight.” Beca says as she picks up the papers that Chloe had been going over and moves them to the coffee table before she settles down beside the redhead and pulls her into her lap.

Chloe doesn’t fight the movement and instead settles in Beca’s lap, legs going out to rest on the couch. She scoots down a little so that she’s able to rest her head in the crook of Beca’s neck. In turn, Beca wraps one arm around Chloe’s side while the other helps hold her up by holding on gently to the redhead’s upper outer thigh. “You wanna talk about it?” Beca asks delicately as she presses a kiss to her wife’s forehead.

“It’s just–” Chloe sighs softly and wraps her arms around Beca’s middle, nose nuzzling into the smaller woman’s neck. “One of my students… I think– I think maybe she’s being abused.”

Chloe feels Beca stiffen beneath her. She can feel the way Beca’s fingers dig slightly into her before she seems to force them to relax. “What– what uh, makes you think that? I mean, that’s a pretty serious accusation.” Beca finally says after a long pause, voice hesitant.

There’s another pregnant pause, where Chloe tries to gather her thoughts. “Well, she– she kind of reminds me of you, you know– before…” She trails off, knowing Beca would know what she meant. “I’m not sure what to do, Becs. I can tell she wants to talk to me, but it’s evident that she’s terrified to.”

“I see.” Beca replies gently, pulling Chloe a little bit closer– both for her own comfort, and her wife’s. “What are you doing to do about it?”

Chloe sighs. “There’s a protocol I have to go follow, but they won’t do anything if Fin doesn’t explicitly say that she’s being abused. There has to be proof.” Chloe’s lips pull down in a frown. “I know she wants to tell me, I can see it in her eyes, but she’s scared. I think if she had someone she could– relate to.”

Beca tenses slightly. “Are you suggesting that I talk to her?”

Chloe sits up, eyes widening slightly. “I wasn’t, but…” She chews on her lower lip. “Maybe you could?”

There’s a pause, where Beca mulls over the idea, even though she already knows she’ll do it. If not for Chloe, than this child– who used to be her. And all Beca ever wanted when she was little, was someone she could count on. “Okay. If you think it’ll help.”

“I do. Can you come after school tomorrow? She always asks to stay later.” Beca frowns at that, remembering her own reasons why she stayed late anywhere.

“I’ll be there.” Beca confirms, leaning up to press a soft kiss to the corner of Chloe’s mouth.

–

Just like every morning, Finley is the first to show up. She seems more demur than usual, and that worries Chloe. “Morning, Finley.” She greets as the child takes her seat.

“Hi, Mrs. Beale.” She replies quietly, as she takes her usual seat.

The rest of the day is uneventful, and by the time the final bell rings, Beca is texting her, saying she’s outside.

Again, just like every day, Finley is the last to leave. Chloe waits. “Mrs. Beale? Can I help clean?”

Chloe smiles sadly, and nods. “Sure, but– my wife is coming in to sit with me until I have to go. Is that okay?”

Finley looks hesitant, but nods before she goes about the room to pick up. Chloe notes that she’s moving a little slower than usual, holding herself a little more stiffly.

There’s a knock on the door, and Chloe looks up to see her wife hovering in the doorway. “Mind if I come in?” Beca asks.

Chloe smiles softly and nods.

“Who’s this?” Beca asks casually, as she leans against Chloe’s desk.

“Beca, this is one of my students, Finley. Finley, this is my wife, Beca.”

Finley does a tiny little wave, before going back to her task. Chloe looks up at Beca in concern, before giving a subtle nod in Finley’s direction.

Chloe watches Beca as she studies Finley for a moment, watches her move about the room. Beca’s face hardens for a moment, before she manages to school her features. After a moment, Beca moves away from Chloe’s desk and sits in one of the student desks, near Finley who is bending to pick up a scrap piece of paper.

“Hey, kiddo.” Beca starts, gently. Chloe’s heart picks up it’s pace, stomach churning with anxiety. Finley looks up at Beca with wide eyes. “Mrs. Beale is worried about you.” The little girl glances over in Chloe’s direction and Chloe quickly looks down, pretending to be engrossed in a piece of paper on her desk.

“Sh–she is?” Finley asks quietly.

Beca nods gently. “Yeah, she thinks– she thinks maybe you’re like I was.”

Finley glances away for a moment, before she brings her gaze back to Beca. “Like–like what?” She asks very quietly.

Beca is quiet for a moment, before she slowly pulls up her right sleeve. Chloe knows what’s there. Burn scars. The thought of someone hurting Beca makes her sick. “See these?” Finley nods hesitantly. “They’re scars. When I was little, I lived with a very mean man. He was my mom’s boyfriend. He used to hurt me a lot and would tell me not to tell anyone, or else he’d do something really bad.”

Finley looks pale, her little hands shaking slightly. “W-what happened to h-him?”

“I finally told someone, and he went to jail, and he never hurt me again.” Beca replies, voice thick with emotion. “Is there– is there something that you want to tell me? Mrs. Beale, maybe? She wants so badly to help you, you know. She cares so much about you.”

“She does?” Finley asks, and Chloe has to fight with herself not to look up or speak, not wanting to spook the little girl.

“So much, dude. And so do I.” Beca replies, her voice soft. Softer than Chloe thinks she’s ever heard it.

Finley is very quiet for a moment and when Chloe looks up, she can see that there are silent little tears falling down her face and Chloe’s heart seizes painfully in her chest. She has to resist the urge to get up and scoop the little girl into her arms.

“Take your time, it’s okay, Finley.” Beca says gently, now facing the little girl in her chair. Finley sniffs, before she slowly lifts up one of her sleeves. Chloe’s blood runs cold as she spots the hand shaped bruises along her arm and wrist. “Oh, kid.” Beca says, sadly. “Who’s hurting you?”

Finley sniffs and wraps her little arms around herself. “M-my daddy.” She replies quietly. “W-what’s g-going to happen?”

Beca glances up at her wife, eyes red rimmed. “Chlo?”

Chloe stands slowly and moves across the room before she squats low in front of Finley. “I’m going to call some people who are going to come and ask you some questions, and then they’re going to go and get your daddy and talk to him, and he’ll most likely go to jail.“

Finley is full on shaking now, tears falling fast. “I–I’m s-scared.”

Chloe thinks her heart breaks right there on the spot. “Oh, honey. I know.” She opens up her arms slowly, offering a hug, but not entirely expecting the little girl to step into the embrace.

So, color her surprised when Finley practically clings to her like a life line, little body shaking. Gently, her arms wrap around the little girl as she buries her face in Chloe’s neck. She looks up at Beca who is watching the scene with a sad expression. “It’s okay, sweet girl. I’ve got you.”

–

Finley doesn’t get much rest after that, with CPS and police asking her questions and documenting her injuries.

“What’s going to happen, now?” Chloe asks the little girl’s new appointed social worker as they watch the little girl fight sleep in the hospital bed.

“She’ll go into foster care. The father admitted to the abuse, and even if he didn’t, the mother said it happened frequently.”

“And she didn’t do anything about it?” Beca asks, incredulous.

The social worker shrugs. “He probably abused her, too. Still, the mother is a druggie, and Finley can’t be placed back in her care. So she’ll go into foster care and–”

“No!” They all look in Finley’s direction. The little girl is trying to climb out of the hospital bed, so Chloe is quick to slip her hands beneath Finley’s arms and set her back on the bed. “No! Mrs. Beale, y-you and B-Beca c-can’t leave me!” She sobs, little body shaking.

“Oh, honey.” Chloe wraps her arms around Finley and allows the little girl to cling to her. “I won’t. We won’t.”

“Chlo?” Beca steps forward, brows furrowed.

Chloe turns and gives Beca a look, to which Beca nods. “Is there anyway that she can be placed with us?” Beca asks.

“As a teacher, I became a certified foster parent when I first started.” Chloe says as she picks Finley up and perches her on her hip.

“And I got certified soon after. We always figured, eventually we’d foster to adopt.” Beca adds.

The social worker smiles and nods. “Sure, I’ll pull your files and put in an order.”

–

Six Months Later

“Beca! Chloe!” Finley comes rushing up to them, cheeks tinged pink from the cold October morning. “Did you see me? I swung so high!”

Chloe grins and cups the little girl’s cheek as she leans into Chloe’s legs. “I saw, baby. You swung so high, I thought maybe you’d take off!”

Finley giggles and steps back. “You’re silly, Chloe.”

Beca watches the two of them in amusement, her heart feeling light and full all at once. “I bet I could totally go higher than you.” She says with a grin.

Finely steps back and places her hands on her hips. “Prove it!” She races off toward the swings again, with Beca hot on her heels.

Chloe grins wide when Beca catches up with Finley and scoops her up to throw her over her shoulder, the little girl giggling like crazy. Chloe goes to follow them, when her cell goes off. Without checking the caller ID, she answers.

The voice on the other end congratulates, because they’ve been approved. Chloe stops breathing for a second, heart racing.

“Th-thank you, so, much.” She says with a watery smile. She hangs up and starts toward the two. “Beca!” When Beca looks toward her, Chloe beams. “We were approved!”

Suddenly Beca is holding Finley above her head and spinning. “You hear that, kiddo!? You’re going to officially be a Mitchell-Beale!” And then Beca brings her back down and hugs her tight.

Finley pulls back, eyes wide and smile bright. “So– so, now you’re my moms?”

Chloe’s heart trips over itself at that, her arms wrapping around them both as she reaches them. “We’re whatever you want us to be, little bug.”

Finley smiles something bashful and glances down. “If it’s okay, I’d like you to be my moms.”

“Then, we’re your moms.” Beca says through a few traitorous tears.

Chloe feels so giddy, that she can’t help but squeeze them both, causing Finley to laugh. “Too tight, Mama, can’t breathe!”

Chloe thinks her heart has grown three times it’s size at Finley’s words. Her eyes fill with tears and she loosens her grip only to lean forward and smack a kiss to Finley’s cheek. “I’m sorry, little bug. I’m just so happy.”

Finley smiles brightly at Chloe and wraps her arms around Beca’s neck. “Me, too, moms.” 

Chloe meets Beca’s watery gaze, taking in her wife’s watery smile and knowing she feels the exact same way. Swallowing her tears, Chloe gently pokes Finley’s nose. “Didn’t you two have some sort of challenge to settle?”

Finley’s eyes widen and she wriggles to get down. “C’mon, mom. I’m gonna prove that I can swing higher!”

“I’ll be there in a sec, kid.” Beca calls after her. She then turns to cup Chloe’s cheeks and kisses her. “I love you, Chlo.”

Chloe smiles something bright and happy. “I love you too, Becs.”

[incredibeale-archive]

Prompt: Chloe asks Beca to go on a road trip with her over a summer. Jesse, who is still Beca’s boyfriend, doesn’t like this, not entirely comfortable with how close Beca and Chloe have become, and gives Beca an ultimatum, him or Chloe. Chloe, who was coming to make sure Beca was packed, overhears this conversation, but doesn’t wait around to hear Beca’s answer, assuming that she was going to choose Jesse because why wouldn’t she. So when Beca shows up at her apartment the next day for the road trip, Chloe is so overwhelmed with emotion, that she can’t help but kiss Beca. // From @krieger-harris1124 & their prompt post found here

[It’s been a while since I wrote strictly Bechloe, so here ya go. this prompt spoke to me, so I spoke back. Hopefully this isn’t complete shit. I hope you enjoy it, regardless!]

--

Chloe is excited, because starting tomorrow, she’ll be on the road with her best friend (and okay, maybe crush, but we’re not going to talk about that right now). When she suggested the idea to Beca, she’d been a little surprised that Beca had agreed, but the other woman immediately started talking about what stops they’d make.

So they mapped out their stops and picked out places they most wanted to visit, and Beca promised to make a road trip playlist for them to drive to, much to Chloe’s delight.

The days following their departure had Chloe filled with anticipation, but the day is almost here. Tomorrow.

So Chloe is excited, so excited in fact, that she finds herself in front of Beca’s apartment, hand poised and ready to knock. Until she hears it. 

Jesse’s angry voice. And suddenly her excitement melts away.

“I’m your boyfriend, Beca! I should take precedence over everybody else!” He says loudly.

“What is the big deal, dude! I’ll only be gone for like a month and there’s this fancy new thing called a cell phone and a laptop and we can facetime or whatever. Why are you so dead set on me not going!?”

There’s a pregnant pause and Chloe briefly thinks she should quickly turn around and leave, but it’s as if her feet are super glued to the floor.

“I see the way she looks at you, Beca.” Jesse finally replies, voice not as loud but just as angry.

And suddenly Chloe feels as if her blood is being replaced with liquid nitrogen.

“I’m not comfortable with you guys spending that long alone together.”

“What? Are you serious right now? You don’t trust me?!” Beca’s anger is palpable, even from behind a door. Chloe knows that infidelity and trust is a touchy subject for her.

There’s a muffled sigh from behind the door and some shuffling. “Of course I do--” Jesse’s voice is full of apology. “I’m just-- I’m just not comfortable with this. Look, I didn’t want to have to do this, Beca-- but it’s me, or her.”

The words are like a punch to the gut and Chloe doesn’t think she can hear much else, doesn’t think she can handle Beca picking Jesse over her. So she runs.

--

Knock, knock, knock. ‘

The offending noise causes Chloe to groan. She sits up from her spot on the couch, rubbing her sore neck, apparently having fallen asleep there after her crying jag.

She gropes around on the coffee table for her phone to check the time, ignoring the text message notifications. 9 am.

There’s a series of more knocks and a muffled voice. “C’mon, Beale! How are you still asleep!?”

Chloe suddenly sits up, heart rate seeming to sky rocket at that voice. She quickly scrambles to her feet and to the door, unlocking it and throwing it open.

Beca stands there, eyes wide with her fist poised to knock. “Well it’s about--” She looks Chloe up and down and frowns slightly. “Are you okay, dude?”

Chloe thinks her knees are going to give out. “Y--you’re here.”

“Uh-- yeah, we were supposed to be on the road like 10 minutes ago, what’s going on, Chlo? Have you been crying?”

Chloe’s chest swells with emotion and she feels as if she’s going to burst with happiness and love and-- suddenly she’s surging forward and pressing her lips to Beca’s, hands moving to cup her cheeks.

Beca’s entire body stiffens and she drops her keys, hands going out to her sides awkwardly, as if she doesn’t know what to do with them. Chloe’s tongue peaks out to run across Beca’s lower lip and it’s then that the brunette’s brain seems to reboot, because her hands quickly take purchase of Chloe’s hips and her lips move languidly against Chloe’s.

And Chloe-- Chloe thinks she’s never felt so much emotion at once. But then reality crashes down on her and she quickly pulls back as if she’s been burned. “Oh, god-- I’m so sorry, Beca I--”

Beca’s eyes blink open lazily and her hands hold onto nothing before they quickly drop. “I-- I’m really confused, right now.”

Chloe’s heart tightens in her chest and she brings a hand up to rub tiredly at her face. “I-- I thought you’d choose Jesse over me, and-- and I was just so happy to see you here, still wanting to go on the trip.”

“...And so you kissed me?” Beca asks, brow quirking slightly. But then she shakes her head. “Wait, hold on-- how’d you know about Jesse?”

“I-- well, I came over yesterday to see if you had packed or if you were procrastinating, still and I heard...” Chloe glances away guiltily.

Beca sighs and runs a hand through her hair. “Maybe if you’d have stuck around longer, you’d have heard how I told him to shove it. I don’t do ultimatums. And I’ve got enough trust issues as it is, I don’t need his on top of it. We’ve only been dating a few months, anyway.” Beca shrugs slightly.

“You broke up with him?” Chloe frowns as Beca nods. “Oh. Becs-- I’m sorry, this is-- this is my fault--”

“Chlo,” Beca steps forward and takes Chloe’s hand. “You have no reason to be sorry.” She smiles softly, navy hues meeting Chloe’s gaze. “This was longtime coming, I just needed that shove. Besides, I’m kind of in love with my best friend.”

Chloe’s stomach does a somersault at Beca’s words. She swallows thickly and stares into Beca’s eyes, questioning. It’s too good to be true, it can’t be... “You-- you’re love me?”

“No, I’m in love with Stacie.” Beca deadpans, brow quirking slightly.

Chloe smacks her arm lightly as her lips curve up into a soft smile. “Don’t be an asshole. Or I’ll tell Aubrey you’re in love with her girlfriend.”

Beca’s eyes widen, genuine fear in them. “Dude, you wouldn’t.”

“Hmm, I might not if you kiss me again.”

Beca grins and pulls Chloe to her. “That can be arranged, but then we really need to get on the road if we still wanna go.”

Chloe nods, her lips brushing against Beca’s. “Yeah, okay, sure.” She mumbles breathlessly before she closes the short distance between them.

They end up getting on the road later than anticipated, but they both decide it’s worth it.

[incredibeale-archive]

Could you write a prompt where beca, chloe, emily and stacie go hiking and beca and chloe get lost and one of them gets hurt?

[Okay, so I feel like this probably isn’t even close to what you had in mind when you came into my askbox, but… I mean, those things above do happen… Trigger warning for blood & horror and just-- be warned?]

Something isn’t right. She can feel it. The woods are eerily silent as the four of them follow the hiking trail. Personally, Beca hates hiking, but Chloe had batted her eyes and gave her that stupid puppy dog look… ‘It’ll be fun!’ She’d said, and while Beca loved both Stacie and Emily, she didn’t love double dates, especially double dates that involved hiking.

They’d been walking for the better part of an hour, talking and laughing and stopping to look at the nature, but Beca had grown quiet. Something– something isn’t right, there’s a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“Becs?” Chloe breaks her from her thoughts, and she stops walking as she realizes that their group has stopped and they’re all looking at her weirdly. “Are you okay?”

Beca frowns. “Can’t you hear that?”

Stacie and Emily share a confused glance while Chloe just furrows her brows. “I don’t hear anything.” Emily says, looking between Stacie and Chloe, seemingly for confirmation that she isn’t missing whatever Beca is trying to point out.

“Exactly,” Beca looks all around them, then. “There’s no birds chirping, no leaves rustling, there isn’t even any fucking wind. It’s too quiet.” Like the calm before the storm, she thinks.

The three girls all look around them and everyone is quiet for a moment, listening. “Something is wrong.” Beca says anxiously.

“Beca, you’re freaking me out. This isn’t funny.” Chloe says with a frown. Emily moves closer to Stacie, her arm slipping through the other woman’s.

“Dude, I’m not kidding. I feel like–” Beca shivers and rubs the back of her neck as the hairs there stand on ends. “I feel like we’re being watched.” She finishes in a hushed tone.

Before anyone can say anything, something whizzes past Beca’s face, grazing her cheek before it lodges itself in the tree. “Ow! What the fuck?!” Her hand flies up to her cheek to find blood there. Everyone’s gaze turns to the tree.

“Is– is that an arrow?” Emily asks, voice shaking.

And suddenly the uneasy feeling that Beca had before turns into dread and fear. “We need to leave.”

“Beca–“

Chloe is cut off as Emily gasps and her eyes widen in utter fear. “G-guys…” She lifts a shaking hand and points behind Beca. They all turn to follow her gaze, finding a large shape moving toward them at an all too casual pace.

Leaves rustle loudly, too loudly to be an animal. It comes from both sides and from the large shape coming from behind Beca. “Oh shit,” Stacie whispers as her eyes find something coming toward them from the right.

“They’re surrounding us!” Chloe’s eyes are wide with fear as she stares off in the left direction.

“Run.” Beca all but commands. She doesn’t like that their paces are so casual, like they’re in no rush. Another arrow whizzes past them from the right, just missing Stacie by a few inches. “Run, now!”

They all start running in the only direction that doesn’t have something coming at them, and it’s completely off the hiking trail…

–

Beca’s chest burns as she races through the woods, her calves absolutely on fire as she pushes herself to keep going. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she thanks Aubrey for all the cardio she made them do.

“Beca!” Chloe wheezes as she tugs on her arm to stop. “We– we l-lost Emily and Stacie.” She bends at the waist to try and catch her breath, but Beca wants to keep moving.

Trying to catch her own breath, Beca wipes the sweat from her brow as she looks around anxiously. “We’ll– we’ll find them, but we have to keep moving. We don’t know what those people– or things are, and I don’t wanna find out.”

There’s movement in the distance, and Beca tugs Chloe’s arm. “Keep moving!”

Beca pulls Chloe along, dodging trees and fallen limbs, until suddenly Chloe is no longer beside her and a loud cry echoes the forest. Beca comes to skidded halt and turns to find Chloe on the ground, her foot caught in what Beca assumes is a bear trap. “Shit!” 

“Get it off!” Chloe’s eyes are wide and full of tears as she grimaces in pain. Beca drops to her knees and quickly examines the trap, trying to find the release, but to no avail.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” She doesn’t want to make things worse, Beca can already see that the teeth of the trap are digging into Chloe’s skin. She’s pretty sure she read somewhere that these types of traps were outlawed years ago. This one appears to be old and rusted, stained with blood.

“Beca, please! It hurts!”

Beca rips off her plaid shirt and uses it to cushion her hands so that she can push it open by the mouth. It takes effort, but she manages to push it open enough for Chloe to quickly pull her foot out. Beca releases the trap and it snaps together with a resounding clap. “Can you walk?” Beca asks, eyes trailing over Chloe’s ankle. Her skin is broken and bleeding where the serrated edges caught her, and her ankle looks a little swollen, but not terribly so.

“I think so.” Chloe says as she tries to stand. Beca helps her, and as Chloe steps forward, she winces, but then nods jerkily. “Hurts, but I think I can manage.” Beca slips her arm around Chloe, anyway and guides her along as quickly as the redhead’s injury will allow them.

“Let’s try to find the others…”

–

“We lost Beca and Chloe.” Stacie says as they come to a stop, both panting.

Emily turns in a slow circle, wide eyes searching, but all she can see are trees. “I’m scared, it’s getting dark. We’ve lost the trail, how are we–“ Her words are cut short as pain suddenly radiates through her right shoulder and arm. An agonizing scream is ripped from her throat as her legs seem to give out on her and she drops to her knees.

“Oh my god!” She hears Stacie cry out, feels her girlfriend dropping down next to her. “Oh shit, oh fuck. Oh my god.”

“What!” Emily croaks, eyes shut tight. “What– what is it!”

“An arrow!” Stacie says in a panicked voice.

Emily’s eyes snap open as she glances down to see the shaft of an arrow sticking out just below her clavicle. Her breathing hitches, and her eyes burn with tears. “G-get it out!”

Stacie’s face is pale as she looks it over. “It almost went straight through– the head is sticking out on the other side– it just barely missed bone, but I– I’m sorry, it’s better to leave it in. I can’t be sure what kind of damage that would do– it could make things worse. The shaft will act as a sort of plug, to keep you from bleeding too much.”

Emily releases a whimper that turns into a sob. “It hurts.”

“I know, baby. I’m sorry.” Stacie’s own eyes are welling up with tears. “Try to keep your arm still, okay? Here–” She removes her light jacket and makes a sort of makeshift sling. “Better?” Emily just nods mutely.

There’s movement behind Stacie, but Emily notices it too late as something large and burly snatches her girlfriend up by her arms and yanks her back. The brunette screams and Emily tries to move to get to her, but then something is pulling her to her feet, jostling her bad arm and causing a searing pain to run through her shoulder. “S-Stacie!” She cries out, her pain taking a backseat to the overwhelming panic at the fact that her girlfriend is being dragged away by– Emily sucks in a sharp breath as she finally lays eyes on him– it.

It’s tall and burly, it’s face deformed and gnarled. Suddenly, she’s being pulled back and then thrown over someone’s shoulder, her own shoulder screaming in agony at the careless movement. The scent of, what Emily can only describe as rotting meat overwhelms her senses and she nearly throws up.

Emily puts up a fight the whole way, but the thing is too big and he carries her like a ragdoll, like she weighs nothing. She can hear Stacie somewhere, grunting and fighting and cursing, and Emily isn’t sure if it brings her a little comfort, or fills her with dread.

She isn’t sure how long they’ve been moving, but suddenly she’s being dropped on something hard. She lands mostly on her ass, managing to catch herself before she could fall back. Her good hand lands in something wet and sticky and as she looks down, all she sees is red. Blood red. Her eyes widen and she jerks her hand away, makes a move to get up, but a large hand holds her down by her good shoulder.

Emily looks up at her captor, noting his deformed face and balding head. She isn’t sure what he’s wearing, but it’s stained with blood and dirt and other things that Emily doesn’t want to think about. Her heart is hammering in her chest as she looks around, taking in her surroundings.

She seems to be in a small house of some sort, from what she can see. Her eyes move back to her captor and as she goes to say something (what, she isn’t sure), the door bangs open.

The other deformed looking man comes in with Stacie struggling over his shoulder. He nods at Emily’s captor before he drops Stacie onto the floor. Her girlfriend’s hands and feet are tied, and she struggles to break free. “Stacie!” Emily whimpers.

Stacie pauses her movements to look up at Emily, her eyes then move to Emily’s captor and then to her own. “W-what are you going to do with us?”

Neither of them say anything, they simply gaze at one another before Emily’s captor starts to pull off the makeshift sling. Emily can do nothing but sit, frozen in fear. “Hey! Don’t you touch her!” She hears Stacie yell.

Her captor studies the arrow in her shoulder, before he breaks off the tail, causing the shaft to jerk inside her. Emily cries out in pain, tears streaming down her face. The deformed man places his large hand on her bad shoulder, before he grabs at something behind Emily, and before she realizes what’s happening, her entire shoulder feels as if it’s on fire. She screams so loud, her voice cracks.

“E-Emily!” Stacie sobs out, still struggling.

But Emily doesn’t hear much else, because everything goes black.

–

They’re leaning against a tree, catching their breaths when they hear it.

An agonizing scream pierces the eerily silent forest and it has both Beca and Chloe standing rigidly. They share a panicked glance as Chloe mumbles, “Emily.”

They quickly move toward the sound, both silently wondering what they could possibly do.

“Wait, stop–” Chloe whispers harshly. “There.” She points off into the distance and Beca follows her gaze. There are Emily and Stacie, and two– things carrying them away.

“Fuck. Mother fucking shit.” Beca clenches her fists together, heart pounding in her ears. “C’mon.”

“But– how are we supposed to help them?” Chloe asks, even as she limps after Beca.

The brunette shrugs. “I don’t know. I’ll figure it out on the way.”

–

Emily comes to very slowly. There’s a throbbing pain in her shoulder, but fingers are carding through her hair, gently. Emily groans as the pain worsens the more she wakes up. A whimper slips past her lips an the fingers in her hair still.

“Hey, shhh. It’s okay. I’ve got you.” Stacie’s voice is soft, but thick with tears.

“S-Stacie? What happened?” Emily’s eyes open sluggishly to see Stacie’s tear and dirt stained face above her.

Stacie swallows thickly and brushes a few strands of Emily’s hair from her face. “You passed out from the pain. And then they brought us to this room and untied me.”

Emily turns her head in, what she now realizes is Stacie’s lap, to look around. It’s a small dilapidated, windowless room with an old, stained cot in the corner. She looks back at Stacie and reaches up with her good hand to gently touch at a cut in the brunette’s brow. “What do you think they want with us?”

Her girlfriend’s face goes ashen. “Em–” She hedges shakily. “I– I think they’re cannibals.“

Emily feels her stomach drop. “What else–” She asks, tears burning the back of her throat. “There’s something else you’re not telling me.”

Stacie’s eyes fill with tears and she looks away. “I don’t– I don’t know! I– I saw a lot of things on the way in here.” She croaks.

“Like what?!” Emily prods, trying and failing to keep calm.

Stacie brings her gaze back to Emily’s, before she visibly swallows. “Body parts. And– and a crib.”

“Oh,” Emily feels sick. More sick than she already does. She struggles to sit up, whimpering in pain as Stacie helps her. Her eyes drift over to the cot and she notes she shackles at the head of it, attached to the wall. “Oh, no.”

Stacie just wraps her arms around Emily’s middle and pulls her gently into her lap, but before Emily can settle in her girlfriend’s embrace, there’s a loud commotion in one of the other rooms. Voices.

Voices she recognizes immediately. “Oh, no.”

–

”Are you sure about this?” Chloe whispers as they watch the house from a few yards away, hidden behind the cover of trees.

Beca works her jaw a few times as she watches what little movement she can see through the broken windows.

Before Beca can say anything, Emily screams something shrill and blood curdling, and it makes Beca’s skin crawl. “No,” She finally answers. “But we can’t leave them. We have to try.”

Beca goes to lead the way, but Chloe stops her. “Wait,” When Beca looks at her questioningly, Chloe leans forward and captures the brunette’s lips in a too short kiss. “I love you.”

A sad smile creases Beca’s lips. “I love you, too.”

And with that, Beca turns and takes the lead. They move slowly, using whatever cover they can find in the forms of trees and bushes, until they reach the porch. Beca makes a mad grab for the hatchet leaning next to the door, while Chloe grabs the wooden baseball bat covered in barbed wire on the stairs.

Taking a few deep, calming breaths, Beca shoves the door open, hatchet raised.

It seems to catch both men off guard, because Beca’s hatchet is slamming down hard into the front of ones’ head, just as he reaches for a bloodied butcher knife sticking out of the table. He never makes it though as his eyes go wide and then the life fades from them, the hatchet sticking out of his forehead.

Behind her, there’s an almost inhumane growl and Chloe’s panic stricken voice. “Beca! Look out!” But Beca reacts too late, and suddenly she’s being thrown across the room, landing on her back with a loud thud. The wind gets knocked out of her and before she can even gasp for a breath, the deformed looking man is standing over her, breathing heavily, a burning rage in his eyes.

He goes to pick her up by the foot when suddenly he’s stumbling to his knees and his arms go up in a defensive motion. Beca’s wide eyes find Chloe with the baseball bat above her head before it comes down on the thing’s back, hard. He grunts and wheezes as he falls to his stomach.

Chloe doesn’t relent, though, as the bat rises high above her head before it comes back down onto his skull. There’s a loud crack and a squelching sound that makes Beca’s stomach turn. Chloe still doesn’t stop, though. It takes Beca getting to her feet and wrapping her arms around the redhead, her hands gripping the neck of the bat and forcing her to let go. “He’s dead.” Beca says gently.

The bat falls to the ground with a loud thud and Chloe turns in Beca’s arms to hug her tightly, a sob falling from her lips. “I–I thought he was going to kill you.”

Beca shushes her gently, rubbing her back. “I’m okay. But we need to find Em and Stacie, before the third thing makes an appearance.” 

–

”D-do you think they’re–” Emily’s voice quakes as they take in the sudden silence.

Just as Stacie goes to reply, the door opens up and to Emily’s (and Stacie’s) relief, there stand Chloe and Beca, looking a little worse for ware, but thankfully– fucking alive.

“Holy shit, dude! What happened?” Beca asks as both she and Chloe move toward Stacie and Emily.

“Arrow.” Stacie supplies as she helps them lift Emily up and to her feet, the younger woman crying out in pain.

“What about you?” Stacie nods to Chloe’s foot and the awkward way she doesn’t put much weight on it.

“Bear trap.” Chloe replies, voice quiet. Emily chews on her lower lip as she takes a moment to steady herself. “Where are–”

”Dead.” Beca says quietly. “We need to get going. The third one is still wandering around out there, and I’d rather not be here when he finds his buddies.”

They all agree on that note and once Beca offers her plaid shirt to help with Emily’s bleeding, they hurry out of the house– everyone silently agreeing not to talk about the jars of body parts in the kitchen, or the blood all over the table. They all hold hands as they make their way through the woods, each of them on high alert.

When they’re a ways away from the house, everything around them quiet, there’s a loud inhumane scream that fills Beca with panic. They redouble their efforts to find their way back.

They make it out of the woods by nightfall, exhausted and grateful. Once in the safety of their car, Stacie grabs her phone from the center console (where they had all left them, because what’s the point in taking them when you don’t have service?) and calls the police.

--

After hours spent at the hospital, having their wounds looked at and recounting the events to the police, the four of them were ready to go home. Emily’s shoulder would be okay, it was cleaned and stitched up, and Chloe’s ankle was thankfully only sprained.

Showers are taken and a quiet dinner is had between them. (Stacie and Emily were staying over at Beca and Chloe’s, none of them really ready to be apart, yet) And then they all go to bed, Beca and Chloe in their room, and Stacie and Emily in the spare.

As Beca lays there, staring up at the ceiling with Chloe curled up into her side, she sighs. “Hey, Chlo?”

“Yeah?” Chloe mumbles, already close to falling asleep, clearly exhausted from the days terrible events.

“Lets never, ever go hiking again.”

“Never.” Chloe agrees.

[incredibeale-archive]

Beca and Chloe has a small fight that explodes in something big when Chloe compares Beca with her father, a lot of angst you decide the ending

She’s not exactly sure how it started, but she certainly regrets the way it ended.

“I can’t I’m done arguing about it! I’m leaving!” Beca yells, throwing her arms up in exasperated anger before turning to leave.

But Chloe isn’t finished. Not even a little bit. “Yeah, that’s right– do what you always do. Shut down and leave. Sweep it under the rug. Maybe you’re more like your dad than you thought.” She regrets it immediately, eyes widening slightly as she watches Beca pause mid-step – watches her body go rigid and freeze for half a second.

“Beca, I–” Chloe can feel the anger draining quickly from her body, only to be replaced with shame and guilt.

“Save it!” Beca all but snarles as she whirls around to glare daggers at the redhead. And Chloe thinks Beca’s look alone is like a stab to the heart.

Beca has never looked at her like this, eyes dark and blazing and… hateful. Exasperated, sure– angry? Sometimes, but never this hardened, seething expression currently etched carefully across her countenance. But what really breaks Chloe is the hurt behind the anger. And that’s Chloe’s doing.

And just as quickly as Chloe had knocked them down, Beca’s walls are being reconstructed and fortified right before her eyes and it’s everything she can do to keep from breaking down.

Not that she has a right, to. She did this.

“Fuck you.” The words are like a punch to the face, and Chloe thinks she’s never felt anything this painful, except when she meets red-rimmed stormy hues just before Beca turns to leave again, shoulders shaking slightly and Chloe knows the tiny brunette is crying.

She’s not sure how it started, but this isn’t how it’s going to end.

[incredibeale-archive]

Imagine Person A of your OTP has been depressed for a very long time, and after a particularly bad day they spend a long time in the bathtub, contemplating suicide/drowning themselves. Then Person B, after noticing Person A hasn’t been out for a really long while, decides to come in the bathroom and sit with person A until they are ready to get out. Person B knows about Person A’s depression and knows that Person A might be suicidal.

[ TRIGGER WARNING: Suicidal thoughts ]

She has her good days, and her bad days. And then she has those days where she doesn’t think she can take much more of it– of anything– of just existing. Those days where her chest is tight and every breath is painful– like her lungs are inflating with glass and not oxygen.

Those are the days when the exit sign in the back of her mind shines the brightest. You don’t have to keep feeling like this, you could just end it. You’d stop being a burden on everyone around you. A voice tells her, the exit sign seeming to glow brighter and brighter. Nobody would miss you. It continues, echoing painfully in her mind.

It’s days like today that Beca has trouble pulling herself out of the darkness. Even as she claws at the edges– fingertips a hair’s breadth away from the light, she can’t– she just can’t. It pulls her back down and wraps around her like a god damn straight jacket and she just can’t break free.

It’s how she ends up in the tub, needing a change of scenery and hoping that the warm water will ease the ache in her bones. The pain is never just mental for Beca, it’s physical, too. Everything hurts. She slinks down further into the tub until the water reaches her chin. If you sunk down a little deeper– if you just didn’t come back up– She shakes her head, hoping to make the voice shut up.

She’s not entirely sure how long she’s been in here, contemplating the brightly lit exit sign in her mind, when she hears a soft knock and then Chloe is poking her head in. “Hey,” She says softly, easing herself in. “You’ve been in here for a long time– I wanted to make sure you were okay.” And Beca knows she means that Chloe wanted to make sure she wasn’t hurting herself or lying dead in the tub. Honestly, she doesn’t hold it against Chloe. If the roles were reversed, she’d want to make sure, too.

When Beca doesn’t answer, Chloe moves to sit beside the tub, resting an arm on the lip before letting her chin fall on top of it as she studies Beca’s face. “Bad day?” She asks softly, fingers dipping into the water.

Beca sighs softly and nods.

Chloe offers a soft, empathetic smile. “Want me to sit with you?”

“Please.” Beca mumbles quietly, throat thick with tears that she won’t allow to fall. And Beca has to admit to herself that she’s gotten better over the years. Past Beca would shut herself away instead of taking or even seeking anyone’s help.

“Okay.” Chloe murmurs, sitting up a little and moving behind Beca. “Sit up.” She commands gently. Though confused, Beca does as she’s told and then Chloe is squirting a dollop of shampoo into her hand before gently massaging it into her scalp. Suddenly all of her tense muscles loosen and she has to work to keep her head upright as Chloe works the shampoo into her hair.

After a moment, Chloe dips her hands into the tub before she stands to grab the shower head and turns the water on. She waits for it to get warm before she begins to rinse Beca’s hair. She works silently and before Beca knows it, she’s more relaxed than she had been before.

Wordlessly, Chloe grabs the loofah hanging from the faucet and squirts a small amount of body wash before she gently nudges Beca forward, pushing her hair aside and gently scrubbing her back and shoulders. Beca’s body sags forward and she sighs contentedly, eyes growing heavy.

Chloe continues her ministrations until she’s washed everything she can reach. She rinses her hands and pushes a strand of wet hair out of Beca’s face, smile soft. “You ready to get out, yet?”

Beca nods and pulls the plug of the tub before they’re both standing and Chloe is wrapping a towel around Beca and helping her out of the tub. She guides the brunette into their bedroom where she proceeds to help her get dressed. Chloe then towel dries her hair and then gently brushes it. They’re both quiet. Beca knows that her girlfriend is giving her time to process her actions. They counteract with the voice telling her that nobody cares, but here is Chloe– taking care of her– reminding her that she is living proof that someone cares and loves her.

Once they’re in bed and Beca is curled up into Chloe’s side, that’s when she cries. Chloe just coos softly, kissing the top of her head and running her fingers up and down her back. “You’re okay, Becs.” She whispers softly. “Just breathe. This will pass.” She reminds Beca gently. “I’m here and I love you so much.”

Chloe continues to whisper words of comfort into Beca’s ear, telling her how important she is– how beautiful and wonderful she is and ever so slowly, the weight lifts from Beca’s chest. Eventually, her tears finally stop and her breathing slows and she relaxes. “I love you, Chlo.”

“I love you too, Beca. More than you could possibly imagine.” And then suddenly there’s a hand reaching out to her in the darkness, pulling her up until she’s standing in the light.

She has her good days, and her bad days, and on days like today, she has Chloe.

[incredibeale-archive]

Well, it’s officially Christmas over where I am. (2:06 AM) So, merry Christmas everyone! And merry Christmas to my Secret Santa giftee, @freaking-isadorkable !! I’ve had a blast with this, and I do hope you like your gift. (:

I know originally, you wanted something from here, one of the last three and at first, I was totally going to do that! But then I read the 8th one down, and suddenly I had images floating in my head.

So, the original prompt is: You’re the mall Santa that made my kid cry, but I can’t be mad at you because I’m being distracted by your face au || but I may have... took some liberties there and changed it up. Anyway, I hope you like this little oneshot. :3 (perhaps in the future there will be more parts to it)

Chloe has been standing in line for almost two hours now. All just for her little girl to meet Santa. Though her feet hurt and she's tired and hungry, the wait hasn't been so bad, what with her best friend, Aubrey there with her to help keep both her and her four year old entertained.

At this moment, though, Aubrey is off somewhere in the mall, having volunteered to get snacks and drinks. Thank god, Chloe thinks, because she's pretty sure her stomach is trying to eat itself.

“Mommy! We’re next!” Chloe is pulled from her thoughts as a tiny hand tugs on her own. She looks down to her daughter and grins brightly.

“I see that, Ella-Bella!” She says, kneeling to fix a pretty green bow in neatly curled red locks.

The last kid slides off of Santa’s lap and hurries to his parents and Ella is ushered in by an ‘elf’. Chloe only has time to give them a glance because her phone goes off at that same moment. She answers it when she realizes it's Aubrey calling.

“Hey, we’re finally next. Are you on your way?”

“Yeah, I was calling to check on the line status. I've got snacks and water. I'm almost there, though so I’ll see you in a few.” Aubrey says through the phone.

Chloe goes to reply when the unmistakable sound of her daughter crying cuts her off. She turns in time to see ‘Santa’ with his beard off and getting ready to stand and a tiny brunette woman -- apparently the ‘elf’ from before -- shoves him back into his seat only to slap him upside the head. “DUDE!” She starts angrily. “You could have waited until the kid wasn't here!” This part is whispered harshly through gritted teeth

“Aubrey, I gotta go.” Chloe hangs up before Aubrey can reply and stands there half in amusement and half in shock. (There's some anger mixed in there, too because they've been here forever and this asshole probably ruined Santa for her kid!)

“Ow! What the fu--” Santa goes to say, but the elf girl slaps him upside the head again. “Hey! Stop that! It's 6 pm, my shift is over!”

“I’ll stop when you stop being an inconsiderate d-bag. What was one more kid? Whatever, just leave.” The girl snaps, shaking her head

When the elf turns to Ella, it's enough to break Chloe out of her frozen stupor and get her moving. Only as she's about to head over and console her probably scarred for life little girl, the elf girl (who is freaking adorable by the way, with her rosy, sparkly cheeks) kneels down in front of Ella. “Hey, kid. It's okay. I'm sorry about him. He's--” she falters, looking a little panicked. “He wasn't the real Santa.”

Ella sniffs, little brow furrowing. “Who was he? Where's Santa?”

Elf girl scratches the back of her neck, clearly stalling. “He's-- uh--” She chews on her lower lip before her eyes light up. “Oh! He's just like a substitute Santa, ‘cause the real one is extra busy getting things ready for Christmas.

“See the substitute Santa is supposed to report back to the real Santa and tell him what everyone asked for and tell him about all the good little boys and girls. But that substitute Santa was a bad dude. I'm gonna let the real Santa know personally what he did to you and he’ll be sure to give him a stern talking to.”

Ella stares at the elf girl for a long moment before she seems to accept this. Her face contorts into a frown though as she comes to some sort of realization. “How will the real Santa know what I want?”

The woman smiles something soft and reassuring and places a gentle hand on Ella’s arm. “No worries, little dude. You can tell me and I’ll tell him myself.”

It's this moment that Chloe decides to finally interrupt. “So, since we've been waiting for almost two hours, maybe Ella can get a picture with one of Santa’s elves?” Chloe’s lips quirk up into a smirk as the elf-girl looks up at her wide-eyed. “And she can tell you what she wants for Christmas?”

“Wha? I--” She scrambles to her pointy little shoed feet, straightening her short, green skirt.

Now that Chloe is close enough, she has to hide her chuckle of amusement, because the girl looks absolutely adorable in her costume. She's got actual little elf ears on, her cheeks rosy and lightly glittered. The small brunette is also wearing green and white striped thigh-high stockings. The bottom of her green skirt is white and fluffy, while she wears a red and white striped blouse with a button up green vest on her top half. Her wavy brown hair is curled lightly, part of it pinned up to the side with a mistletoe topped pin.

“Please?” Ella tugs at the woman’s hand, causing her to look down.

Chloe grins, knowing her daughter’s puppy dog eyes were hard to resist.

“Yeah, please uh--”  Chloe almost loses it as she spots the woman’s name tag. “-Sparkles…” She bites her lip hard on a wide smile.

‘Sparkles’ narrows her eyes as her cheeks seem to get that much more pinker. “Let me just… ask--” She moves to look over Chloe’s shoulder, so the redhead turns around to see a much taller brunette in a similar outfit (it's somehow a little more revealing than ‘Sparkles’’ costume), standing in front of a camera and smirking over at them, though mostly at Sparkles the elf. “Uh-- St--” The taller woman quirks a brow and ‘Sparkles’ rolls her eyes. “I mean Tinsel, think we can make that happen?”

‘Tinsel’ smiles brightly and nods. “Totally. On the house. Especially if you introduce me to blondie over there.” The leggy brunette nods her head toward the gated entrance of ‘Santa’s workshop’ and Chloe follows her gaze to see Aubrey making her way towards it, her arms laden with snacks and her face full of concern.

Grinning, Chloe nods. “Oh, totes! But how did you know--”

“You don't want her to answer that, dude.” ‘Sparkles’ interrupts, eyeing the taller brunette with what Chloe thinks is a mixture of exasperation and amusement.

Chloe chuckles. “Alright… well, I can make that happen.” Aubrey would either kill her or thank her, but as ‘Tinsel’ sends her a saucy wink, Chloe thinks Aubrey will totally thank her.

‘Tinsel’ brings her attention to ‘Sparkles’,  motioning her to the big chair that Santa once occupied. “Alright, B. Go on, then.”

Chloe wonders what ‘B’ is short for, but she doesn't have time to dwell on that as Aubrey comes up beside her. “What's going on?” She asks in confusion.

They both watch as Sparkles leads Ella to the large chair where she sits and Ella climbs into her lap. “It's kind of a long story, but I'm pretty sure I scored you a date with the photographer.”

“Excuse me?” Aubrey brings her attention to Chloe who offers a sheepish little smile in return.

“What? Look at her, she's hot!” Chloe watches as Aubrey finally manages to look over at Tinsel. “Plus, I'm getting these photos for free for introducing you guys, so suck it up.” But Chloe thinks that Aubrey is suddenly not as upset anymore as her eyes seem to drink up the leggy brunette.

Smirking Chloe brings her attention back to her daughter. She's smiling brightly as Sparkles whispers something into her ear.

After a few more snaps, the woman helps Ella down and points to a box full of little toys and tells her to pick something out. After a moment the two are walking back over, Ella holding up a small stuffed puppy. “Look, mommy! Look aunt Bree!”

“That's awesome, baby!” Chloe says, bending to press a kiss to Ella’s forehead.

Aubrey smiles down at the little girl. “Wow! You must have been especially good if they're letting you pick something out early.”

Ella nods, grinning brightly before she brings her attention back to her new toy, talking to it softly.

“Here you go. On the house.” Chloe turns her head to see the leggy brunette standing next to the smaller one, holding out a white folder. “There's something extra in there for you.”

“We’re real sorry about--” Sparkles glances down at Ella then back at Chloe. “Well, you know. We’ll be telling our boss about it.” She reassures.

Chloe opens the folder and smiles softly at the pictures. The something extra is apparently a few shots of Sparkles consoling Ella, her hand resting on the little girl’s arm and her gaze soft while the hint of a smile is visible on Ella’s little face. “It's okay. She seems fine.” Chloe says, closing the folder. “So, I'm not one to break promises-- Aubrey, this is-- I'm assuming your name isn't actually Tinsel.��

The taller woman laughs softly. “No. It's Stacie. Stacie Conrad.” She shoves her friend forward a little. “And Sparkles is actually Beca.”

The smaller woman-- Beca blushes and shoots Stacie a glare before smiling shyly at Chloe.

“I'm Chloe, by the way.” The redhead adds, realizing she has yet to properly introduce herself.

“Pleased to meet you both.” Aubrey says politely, though her gaze is on Stacie.

“Pleasure is all mine.” Stacie all but purrs.

Beca takes a steps away, making a face. “Oh my god, dude. Seriously? There are children present.”

Stacie grins and moves to pull Beca back into her side. “Honey, I know you're short and your attention span is nonexistent, but you're definitely not a child.”

Both Chloe and Aubrey chuckle and Beca flushes, shrugging out of Stacie’s arm, grumbling under her breath.

“So,” Stacie starts, not even phased by Beca’s mumbled, half hearted insults. “How would you ladies like to go to dinner with us, sometime?”

Before anyone can say anything else, Beca jerks away from Stacie. “Dude!”

“Shut up, Beca. Don't act like you don't have the hots for red.”

Chloe and Aubrey share a look of amusement before they bring their attention back to the pair.

Beca huffs, cheeks flushing slightly.

“Well, I'm not sure about Aubrey, but I'd certainly be interested.” Chloe finally says, eyes bright as they meet Beca’s surprised gaze.

Aubrey smiles and nods. “Me too.”

“Great! Our numbers are in that folder.” Stacie winks while Beca just smirks, despite herself.

“Mommy I'm hungry!” Ella breaks everyone from their thoughts.

“Okay, baby. We’re gonna get something to eat.” Chloe says, brushing a few strands of hair from her daughter’s face. “We should probably go. But I hope we’ll see each other soon?” She asks, voice full of hope.

Beca smiles bashfully, nodding. “Yeah, uh-- just-- just text me or whatever.” She says, before she brings her gaze to Ella. “I’ll be sure to tell Santa everything you want. Keep being good.”

“I will!”

Stacie grins at Aubrey, slowly stepping back. “Call me soon, beautiful.”

Aubrey blushes and nods. “I will. Talk to you soon.”

They each wave goodbye before heading back out into the mall, both seemingly lost in thought until Ella breaks them. “Mommy?”

“Yes, baby?”

“Did you say yes?” Ella asks curiously as she looks up at Chloe.

“Say yes to what?” Chloe’s brows knit in confusion as she glances between her daughter and the people milling around them.

“To Beca. She said you were very pretty and wanted to know if I thought you would uhm-- hang out with her. I said I thought you would.” Ella says with a little shrug.

Chloe smiles softly. “She asked that, huh?”

“Uh-huh.” Ella nods matter of factly. “Well, first she said that her real name was ‘Beca’ and that ‘Sparkles’ was just her elf name and that she liked Beca better. And then she asked me ‘bout you.”

Chuckling and sharing an amused glance with Aubrey, Chloe nods. “I said yes.”

Ella smiles. “Good. She’s nice. I like her.”

“Me too, baby. Me too.”

[incredibeale-archive]

You said you want Halloween prompts? Beca as a (real) ghost really trying to scare Chloe but it's just not working because "she's so small and cute!"

{This is only like 3 months late… Happy hallowthanksmas????}

“So, the real estate agent said it was ‘haunted’?”

“Yeah, apparently a girl was murdered in the basement 15 years ago. She was stabbed to death.”

“And we’re still moving in?!”

“Well, yeah. It’s sad, but, I mean… People live in houses that other people have died in all the time.”

“Yeah! Died, as in natural causes or like– a heart attack, I don’t know, but not murdered! Jesus, red.”

”Are you saying you believe in ghosts, Stacie?”

”You bet your sweet ginger ass, I do! The other Bellas aren’t going to like this. Well, Lilly might…”

”Well, that’s too bad. This is a beautiful house, and it has plenty of room for all of us. The ghost is just going to have to share.”

”Oh my god.”

Beca huffs as she tunes out the rest of the conversation. How dare this girl invade her home? How dare she waltz in here like she owns the place! …Okay, so maybe technically she does own the place, because Beca is technically dead– but damn it! She was not about sharing her space, not in her life and certainly not in her afterlife.

She won’t stand for this.

–

As it turns out, the ‘Bellas’ are some sort of lame ass sisterhood kumbuya bullshit. Beca hates it. They’ve slowly started to trickle in and invade more of her space, and it only serves to make Beca even more annoyed.

And Beca has learned that it’s all this redhead’s fault. The ghost-girl watches as said redhead unpacks things in the kitchen, singing softly as she does. She’s not gonna go down without a fight… But it’s been a while since she tried to go corporal.

With a deep breath that she doesn’t actually need to take, Beca closes her eyes and focuses her energy on giving herself a physical form. After a moment, she glances down at her semi-transparent form with a slight shrug. Pretty good for someone out of practice. With a smirk, Beca moves to stand a few inches beside the redhead. “You know it’s really rude to invade someone’s space without asking.”

The redhead yelps and jumps back, eyes wide as a hand goes to her heart. “Who are you and what are you doing in my house?!”

Beca scoffs, arms folding across her chest. “Your house? This is MY house!”

The woman goes to reply, but her eyes drop down to Beca’s stomach. The ghost-girl follows her gaze. “Well that’s creepy.” She says, noting the large blood stain and the rips in her shirt.

“You’re dead.”

“Wow, you’re a real Sherlock Holmes, aren’t you?” Beca rolls her eyes, before stepping closer. “Now, what the fuck are you doing in my house?”

The woman’s mouth moves wordlessly as she gapes at Beca for what seems like forever. “Holy shit.” She blinks, rubs at her eyes. “You’re dead.” She repeats.

Beca rolls her eyes. “Yeah. I thought we covered that already. Let’s move on to the part where you moved into my house without even fucking asking!”

Seeming to finally get over her shock, the redhead shakes her head gently before smiling brightly. “Wow, this is so cool! I mean–” Her brows furrow slightly. “Not–not that you’re dead, but like– that this is happening right now. Because you are dead and–”

“Oh my god.”

“–because I always thought like– ghosts were real, but I never–”

“Dude, stop. stop talking.”  Beca holds up her hand in front of the other’s face.

The redhead stops talking. For all of five seconds. “I’m Chloe, what’s your name?” She holds her hand out, but seems to come to a realization. “Oh, shoot. You probably can’t shake my hand. I’m sorry, how insensitive of me.” She gives Beca an apologetic look before she drops her hand back down.

Beca just stares at her, blinking. “What kind of person are you?”

“What do you mean?” Chloe asks, brows furrowed in confusion.

“I mean like– I’m dead and–”

“Yeah, I thought we covered that already.” Chloe says, voice going down an octave in what Beca assumes is a (poor) imitation of herself a few minutes earlier.

Beca, quirks a brow and waits, an un-amused expression on her face. “Hardy-har. Now shut up and let me finish.” Chloe makes a ‘continue’ gesture. “And you’re just totally chill with it.” Beca finishes.

Chloe just shrugs. “I don’t know. What’s the big deal?”

“I’m de–” Beca pauses mid-sentence when Chloe smirks at her, brow lofting up in amusement. “Never mind. What I mean is, why aren’t you scared of me?”

The redhead blinks, head tilting to the side like a stupid little adorable puppy. Beca hates it. (Not really, though). “Why would I be scared of you? You’re so small and cute!”

Beca gasps, looking utterly offended. “You take that back!” She pokes a finger at Chloe’s chest but it just goes right through her. “I’m terrifying!”

Chloe looks down at the finger partially going through her (how aca-weird!). “Well, that’s a little disconcerting.” She takes a step back so that Beca’s hand is no longer poking into her.

“Shit, dude, I’m sorry–” Beca goes to apologize but then she shakes her head. “Wait a second, no I’m not!” She huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. “You’re invading my space, dude! You and your– whatever the hell they are– your cult, you need to leave.”

The redhead looks unfazed. “Bellas. We’re the Barden Bellas. We’re an all female acapella group.” She grins. “We’re the tits.”

Beca’s brows raise slightly. “Yikes. That’s actually a thing?”

“Oh, totes!”

Chloe looks like she’s going to go into a long winded spiel about whatever the fuck the Bellas are, so Beca holds up her hand. “Whatever, dude. I don’t care. The point is, you’ve gotta go. This is my house.”

“Just because you’re dead doesn’t mean you have to be an asshat.” Chloe says with a pout, arms crossing over her chest.

Beca frowns. “Uh, yeah– I think it gives me every right to be an asshat.” She throws her hands up. “Are you gonna leave, or what?”

Chloe raises an eyebrow. “No. You’re just going to have to share.” She says, chin going up a fraction of an inch in defiance.

Beca bristles. “I will not! This is my house and if you don’t get out I’ll–”

“You’ll what?” Chloe prods, arms going akimbo.

The ghost-girl narrows her eyes in challenge. “I’ll haunt you.”

The edges of Chloe’s lips quirk up in amusement. “Sure, okay. You can try.”

“Challenge accepted.”

–

Chloe is a lot harder to scare than Beca initially thought.

Beca spends the next few weeks trying to scare Chloe, but it never works. No matter what she does.

She phases through walls out of nowhere and gets into Chloe’s personal space, appearing suddenly. But Chloe isn’t bothered.

One time she actually pops up through the center of Chloe’s bed, just her head visible to which Chloe just raises an amused eyebrow at as she sits at the head of the bed with her nose in a book.

Watching Chloe now, she sings softly as she does the dishes, dancing a little in place. Beca narrows her eyes as she floats toward her – now is her chance – of course just as she gets a few inches behind the redhead, she stops singing. “Hi, Beca.” She says without even turning around.

“Damn it!” Beca grumbles. “Wait a minute, I never told you my name.” She moves to phase into the counter tops, just her torso visible as she crosses her arms.

Chloe just grins. “There’s this fancy thing called a library where you can go and check out books and look through old newspapers.” She quips playfully.

The smaller woman rolls her eyes. “Whatever. Why are you never startled?”

“I told you, silly. You’re just too cute!” The redhead says, scrubbing a dish. “Plus, the hairs on the back of my neck always stand on end when you’re near.” She adds with a slight shrug.

“I’ll eventually get you.” Beca grumbles before she phases through the floor.

–

Beca does eventually get her. It’s during a late night when she’s busy studying – cramming, really. Chloe’s so focused on her textbook, she doesn’t notice Beca phasing in through the wall behind her bed. Grinning, Beca moves until her lips are just a hairs breath away from the redhead’s ear. “Boo.”

Chloe jumps, letting out a surprised squeak, hand going to her heart. “Beca!”

“Ha!” Beca fist pumps. “I finally got you. But seriously. You get scared over ‘boo?’“

“You’re the one who went with it!” Chloe says with a little pout. “I was concentrating!”

Beca just chuckles. “I wasn’t expecting it to work.” She shrugs.

Chloe’s pout turns into a grin. “We’re still not leaving, Becs.”

“Damn it!” She huffs, moving in front of Chloe and basically just floating above her bed, sitting indian style with her arms crossed. “Fine, whatever. I guess I’ve maybe— gotten used to you guys or whatever.”

“Awww, you like us!” Chloe squeals.

“I didn’t say that!” Beca protests.

“You implied it.” The redhead says with a nod.

Beca rolls her eyes. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, Chlo.” 

“Deny it all you want, Beca. I know you like us.” The redhead says with another grin.

“Pft, whatever.” Beca grumbles as she phases into the floor. And okay, maybe the stupid nerds and their redheaded captain had grown on her. But she’d never admit it. Nope. Never.

[incredibeale-archive]

High school AU: I noticed that you never buy or eat any lunch so I start packing one for you and giving it to you so no one else notices.

Chloe Beale has always been very observant. She notices things that most people wouldn’t, sees things in a different light, than most.

Her mother says she dances to the beat of her own drum. Her father says to be careful, because sometimes people let you see what they want you to see, and her best friend, Aubrey tells her to leave well enough alone. It’s not her business.

But as does with most of Aubrey’s advice, it goes in one ear and out the other. (Which, it’s not like she doesn’t listen to Aubrey, because she does – it’s just that she’s wrong this time around.)

And Aubrey is smart enough to know that once Chloe has her mind set on something, that it’s just best to buckle up for the ride and help if Chloe needs her to.

Chloe’s sights are set on the new girl. She’s this tiny little thing full of snark and biting remarks and Aubrey doesn’t really care for her attitude, tells her friend that the girl isn’t worth trying to make friends if she’s going to be combative. But Chloe tells Aubrey that there’s more to the tiny girl than that. After all, people let you see what they want you to see. And Chloe suspects that she’s not the bitch that everyone assumes she is. I

Aubrey doesn’t understand how someone so tiny can be filled with so much anger and hate. Chloe doesn’t understand how no one seems to notice how sad the girl is, that all that snark and anger is a front. (mostly anyway, because Chloe suspects that sarcasm is just apart of the girl’s character)

One of the big things she notices about the girl is that, she doesn’t eat at lunch. Ever. And that bothers Chloe. She watches from her own usual spot with Aubrey as the girl picks a corner in the cafeteria and sits with bulky headphones on and writes in a notebook, glaring at anyone who even thinks of sitting at the same table.

So on a Tuesday afternoon, Chloe leaves a concerned looking Aubrey at their usual table to walk confidently over to the table currently occupying the surly girl.

The glare thrown at her does nothing to faze Chloe as she plops down across from her. “Hi! My name’s Chloe. You don’t know me, but, I noticed that you don’t ever buy lunch, which I can totes understand because, it’s really gross, but I noticed you don’t bring one either and I think it’s important to eat and stay energized, so…” She trails off and reaches into her bright pink backpack and pulls out a paper bag, being as subtle as possible as she nudges it toward the girl.

And before the girl can even react, Chloe is standing up and shouldering her bag. “See you later!” She chirps, flouncing back over toward her usual table.

“She could just throw it away, you know.” Aubrey says as Chloe settles down across from her friend. “You’re wasting your time, Chlo.”

“She won’t.” Chloe replies confidently as she takes out her own bagged lunch and makes a move for her turkey sandwich. “Just watch, but do it subtly, because I don’t want her spooked. She needs to eat.”

Aubrey sighs. “Your bleeding heart is going to get you into trouble one day.” The blonde is probably right, but that won’t stop Chloe from caring – from trying, so she doesn’t say anything to the contrary.

Both girls watch the new girl stare at the bag lunch for a solid minute before she hesitantly reaches into the bag and pulls out a sandwich and after another few minutes of uncertainty, she finally takes a bite.

“Yes!” Chloe grins and brings her gaze back to Aubrey’s who looks surprised but the look disappears as quickly as it came. “I put a lot of good stuff in there, she won’t be able to resist!”

“I hope some of it was at least healthy.” Aubrey says as she brings her focus on her own food.

“Oh, totes!”

–

For the next week, Chloe packs two lunches. One for her and one for the new girl – which, Aubrey has informed her that her name is Beca because they apparently share an AP English class together and the teacher happened to call on her.

On Friday, Beca actually speaks to her as Chloe sits across from her. “Why are you doing this?”

“What?” Chloe asks, feigning obliviousness.

Beca rolls her eyes and gestures to the brown bag that Chloe as subtly set in front of the girl. “This, bringing me lunch everyday. You don’t even know me.”

Chloe smiles something soft and manages to catch the brunette’s gaze with her own. “I don’t know you, but I’d like to.” There’s a flash of surprise on Beca’s face as she searches Chloe’s– and the redhead can tell that she’s looking for a reason to distrust Chloe – looking for the lie. “You don’t ever bring a lunch and– that’s not my business why, but eating is important, and I figured it was a good peace offering.” Chloe’s natural instinct is to touch to offer comfort because words aren’t always enough, but she doesn’t think Beca likes to be touched, so she squashes the urge as she waits for the other girl to come to whatever decision she seems to be battling with.

Finally, Beca glances away before looking back at Chloe hesitantly. “I– my name’s Beca. Beca Mitchell.” And for the first time since Chloe first saw her, Beca smiles. It’s small and shy, but Chloe counts it as a victory.

“Hi, Beca. Beca Mitchell. I think we’re gonna be fast friends.” She winks and Beca smirks, lofting a brow.

“Whatever you say, weirdo.” Beca replies, amusement evident in her voice as she digs into the brown bag. “Thanks, by the way… for the lunch. And–” she rips off the sticky note from the sandwich bag that she pulls out and chuckles quietly. “For the uh– notes.” Because yeah, Chloe totally left the girl notes. She watches Beca read today’s and beams when the girl lifts her amused gaze to Chloe’s. “‘You’re totally kicking today’s ass!’? What if I wasn’t kicking today’s ass?”

Chloe quirks a brow. “You don’t seem like the type to take crap from anyone.”

Beca smirks again and Chloe is quickly learning that it must be some sort of signature look. “You’re right. I don’t.” She takes a bite of her sandwich and chews thoughtfully. “So, you gonna invite your friend over here, or what?” At Chloe’s bemused look, Beca shrugs. “She’s like… hardcore staring over here and since you seem intent to eat your lunch here, I’d hate to leave your friend all alone.”

“Oh!” Chloe beams and motions for Aubrey to come over.

This has turned out better than Chloe originally thought it would.

And yeah, she was really certain that she and Beca would be fast friends and eventually, maybe Beca and Aubrey could be just as good friends, too.

Maybe.

No, they totally would.

[incredibeale-archive]

By popular demand --- here is part two of this

Stacie is draining the noodles for her homemade spaghetti when she hears the front door open followed by the soft bickering of her friends.

“Oh my god, don’t you ever knock?” Beca asks, and Stacie can practically hear the eye roll.

“Why?” Chloe’s genuine confusion filters through the foyer and Stacie smirks at the next thing the redhead bellows out. “Hey Pitches, I’m home!”

“Oh, I don’t know, because it’s polite?” Beca finishes as they both enter the kitchen.’

Stacie turns in time to catch her wife’s amused grin as Beca joins Aubrey at the kitchen table and Chloe moves toward the fridge and peers into it.

“Please, make yourselves at home.” Aubrey says as Beca leans back in her chair and Chloe reaches in and grabs a bottle of water.

Beca smirks. “Please, like you two don’t do the exact same shit at our house.”

“Shut up, Mitchell.” Aubrey snaps, but there’s no real malice behind it and if there was, the smile creasing her lips would give the blonde away.

Stacie shakes her head before she continues to finish up dinner, busying her hands by adding the noodles into her homemade sauce.

“So,” Chloe starts as she takes a seat next to Beca. “What was so important that we had to abandon our own dinner to come over here?” At Aubrey’s raised eyebrow, Chloe hastens to add, “Not that I don’t enjoy your company, of course, Bree -- but Stacie sounded kind of... urgent?” All eyes move to Stacie and the lanky brunette just smiles.

Aubrey huffs. “She won’t tell me.”

Rolling her eyes, Stacie stirs the noodles in with her sauce. “Because it’s not for me to tell.” She glances up from her pot to eye the trio at the table. “If you have some patience--”

Beca snorts. “Please. Patience and Aubrey aren’t even in the same vicinity of each other. Asking Aubrey to have patience is like talking to a brick wall and expecting a response.”

“Aca-scuse me!” Aubrey’s arms fold across her chest defiantly. “I can be patient...” Everybody stares at her and it’s enough to make Aubrey deflate a little. “Okay, so I’m not patient! At least I don’t dress like a hoodlum.” She gestures to Beca who glances down at her jeans and t-shirt before rolling her eyes and opening her mouth for, no doubt a sarcastic quip.

“ANYWAY,” Chloe says, effectively moving the conversation forward lest they wanted to spend the next ten minutes listening to Aubrey and Beca take turns sniping at each other (old habits died hard). “What’s this about?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.” Stacie says as she pulls out her garlic bread from the oven.

--

The beginning of dinner is quiet, the only sounds being that of silverware against plates and glasses being set back down onto the table top. The silence is a little awkward in Maddie’s opinion, but then again, it could just be her. She has been known to be insanely awkward or make something that’s totally normal... completely awkward. It was a gift, really.

Beside her, Alex is staring hard into her spaghetti, fork twirling around her noodles but seemingly with no intent to actually lift a forkful to her mouth.

“Okay, so... this is really awkward.” Beca breaks the silence, glancing around the table. “It’s not just me, right? Like it’s super painful.”

Maddie sets her fork down and bites the inside of her cheek. “Not just you.” She mumbles.

“Well, now it feels awkward.” Chloe says, setting her own fork down in favor of the glass of wine in front of her.

“That’s because Beca has the uncanny ability to make anything awkward.” Aubrey adds, taking a small bite of her garlic bread.

Beca rolls her eyes. “It’s a gift.” She quips.

Stacie takes a sip of her wine and sighs. “Okay, I think you two have stalled long enough.” She says, glancing between Maddie and Alex before looking between her wife, Chloe and Beca. “They’ve got something to say.”

All eyes move to Maddie and Alex and not for the first time in her life, Maddie wishes the floor would open up and swallow her whole. She glances over at Alex and notes the way all of the color seems to drain from her face and her hands move under the table and Maddie doesn’t have to look to know that at least one of them is clutching her stomach.

She wants to reach over and offer comfort, but she’s not sure how good an idea that would be. She can feel her own cheeks heating up and if she had to guess, they were probably almost as red as her hair.

“Madison?” Chloe prompts gently when it’s clear that neither of the girls seem to be ready to speak.

Maddie’s eyes snap up to meet her mother’s. The cerulean color almost matches her own. She can’t hold her gaze for long, so she shifts it to study her ma’s eyes. They’re blue, too, but darker -- like the Atlantic ocean, or the beginnings of a storm. Intense but open and kind. Maddie then takes the time to look at Aubrey who’s dark, green eyes show nothing but concern. And then she meets Stacie’s. Sea green. Accepting and encouraging.

She finally looks back to Alex who seems to come to some sort of decision because she’s squaring her shoulders and the timid look on her face morphs into one of determination and Maddie has to hold back a chuckle because at any other time, she would be teasing the blonde at how much she looks exactly like her mother.

Maddie is pulled out of her thoughts as a slightly clammy hand grabs her own and laces their fingers together before resting it on the table top. “Maddie and I have sort of been... dating.” Alex states, voice calm and cool, but Maddie knows that the blonde feels anything but by the way her hand trembles slightly in her own.

Everyone’s reactions are different. It’s almost a little comical.

Stacie is the only one who looks unsurprised, of course. Followed by Beca, who’s face is expertly neutral, if not a little indifferent (but Maddie thinks her Ma maybe already had a feeling something was up, so it’s not that much of a surprise). Chloe is grinning and her eyes are shining a little. “That’s so cute!” She squeals. From beside the redhead, a quiet and exasperated, ‘oh my god, Beale’ can be heard.

Aubrey is the only one that Maddie can’t get a read off of. Her face is expressionless. It’s the same face that Alex pulls when she’s processing something big.

“Mom?” Alex hedges gently -- uncertainly, green eyes searching Aubrey’s for something. Maddie thinks it’s acceptance.

Aubrey blinks after a moment before she sighs softly. And for a moment, Maddie thinks that the reaction Alex is hoping for, isn’t going to come. She watches as Stacie reaches across the table to grip the older blonde’s hand. Beca and Chloe eye Aubrey warily, too. “That’s-- well, it’s something.” Aubrey finally says, voice a little strained.

Maddie turns to look at Alex who deflates a little and she can tell that it’s taking everything in her girlfriend not to break down completely, because though Aubrey’s response isn’t an outright rejection, Alex was an expert at being able to hear what wasn’t being said.

“Bree...” Stacie and Chloe whisper harshly, while Beca grounds out a low, “Dude...” in warning.

Aubrey glances at Stacie before looking back at her daughter and Maddie. “I didn’t mean it like that, honey.” She starts, voice softer as she seems to notice the way Alex is stubbornly holding back tears. “I just-- I’m surprised is all. And... worried.”

“Worried?” Maddie questions.

Aubrey nods. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing, not at all. I’m merely worried because, you two have been best friends since... well, since we set you both in the same playpen together, and I just--” She sighs again. “I don’t want to think like this, but I just worry that if you two-- if it doesn’t work out, that you’ll lose what you’ve had.”

Maddie blinks. “Oh.” It’s like a punch to the gut. She tries to imagine what would happen if they broke up. Would their family still be able to join each other on Thanksgiving and Christmas like they always had? Or would it just be too awkward?

“That won’t happen.” Alex says suddenly, that same determination as before etching itself across her delicate features. “Regardless of whether it doesn’t work out quite like how we wanted it to or not, we won’t ever stop being best friends. I wouldn’t let that happen.”

Everyone at the table smiles, including Aubrey. “Well, alright then. I’m happy if you’re happy, baby.”

“We’re going to be in-laws.” Chloe sing-songs and Beca just grins and rolls her eyes.

“Well,” Beca starts, eyes drifting to Maddie. “I’m glad you’re making good choices, kid.”

Maddie beams.

And then Beca is smirking. “You must have your mother’s patience because we both know Alex is as uptight as Aubrey.”

Mother and daughter scoff in protest, letting out choruses of, “Excuse me?!” and “Aca-scuse me?!” Before Beca ducks to avoid being hit in the face with garlic bread from both sides.

“Dude! Okay! I’m kidding! No more throwing of garlic bread, that’s sacrilege!” Beca squeaks, though she’s still smirking.

The table erupts into a fit of laughter before Aubrey is muttering, “Shut up, Mitchell.”

And Beca is rolling her eyes.

Maddie grins, eyes finding Alex’s before she squeezes the blonde’s hand. “I told you it’d be fine.” She whispers.

“Have I ever told you how annoyingly optimistic you are?”

“Several times, yes.” Maddie’s lips twitch in amusement. “But someone’s gotta balance out your pessimism.”

Alex scoffs. “I’m not pessimistic, I’m just realistic.”

“With you, sometimes the two aren’t mutually exclusive.” Maddie says.

“Shut up, Madison.” Alex rolls her eyes and smirks before going back to her dinner.

Yeah, things would work out. Maddie was sure of it.

[incredibeale-archive]

Having some trouble with just about everything I’m working on, prompts included -- so have this thing that’s been in my head for months. (I should stop jumping around with shit, I know. I’ve got ADD, dudes, I can’t stay on one thing.) Anyway, here’s Wonderwall. ‘The One That Got Away’ <--(hint, you should click it for full effect)

“And up next, one of our regulars here at Just Brew It, Beca Mitchell.”

Taking a slow breath, Beca walks out onto the small stage of the coffee shop, smiling shyly at the crowd as they clapped. She makes her way toward the piano and takes a seat, carefully adjusting the mic that sat atop it.

“Hey, so-- here’s a song that I’m sure most of you have heard and maybe even relate to as much as I do.” Beca takes one more steadying breath and presses her fingers to the keys, letting the sound of the piano transport her as she begins to sing softy into the mic.

‘Summer after high school when we first met We'd make out in your Mustang to Radiohead And on my 18th birthday we got matching tattoos’

“Let me see it, let me see it, Becs!” Beca just chuckled as she held out her arm, revealing the freshly saran-wrapped tattoo of a cricket, still red and a little raw.

“Let me see yours.” Beca said, grinning. Chloe held out her wrist to show off the little ladybug freshly tattooed there. The tattoos didn’t have a specific meaning, except that they were what the two of them picked out -- wanting to stay away from cliches and be different while also the same.

It described their personalities perfectly, anyway. They were opposites and yet, somehow they fit together, they shared a bond that Beca thought-- hoped would never be broken.

‘Used to steal your parents' liquor and climb to the roof Talk about our future like we had a clue Never planned that one day I'd be losing you’

“Where do you want to go, Becs?” Chloe’s voice was soft as she pressed her body closer to Beca’s head nuzzling into the other’s chest.

Beca shrugged below her, arm coming up to wrap around her back until her hand rested on the redhead’s hip bone. “I don’t care, as long as I’m with you.”

Chloe lifted her head slightly to look down at Beca. “I thought you wanted to go to LA. Make music.”

“I can make music anywhere, Chlo.” Beca replied, a lazy grin spreading across her lips. “I’ll follow you where ever you go.”

The redhead stared into Beca’s eyes for a moment before she leaned down to press a kiss to Beca’s lips. It was soft and loving and too fast for Beca’s liking. “You’re drunk.” Chloe said as she pulled back with a smirk.

Beca just chuckled, pulling Chloe’s body back against hers and bringing her gaze to the brightly lit sky. “If I am, then so are you.”

‘In another life I would be your girl We'd keep all our promises Be us against the world In another life I would make you stay So I don't have to say You were the one that got away The one that got away’

“Chlo, please.” Beca begged, vision blurring with tears. “Please, don’t-- don’t do this.”

Chloe cupped Beca’s face in her hands, her own eyes watering. “No, Beca. I have to go, and--and so do you.” She pressed her lips to Beca’s and the brunette’s hands automatically went to tangle in red locks, pulling Chloe closer before she had to pull back as a sob ripped from her chest. “I’m so, sorry, Becs.” Chloe said through tears. “I--I’ve got to go to college and you-- you’ve got to go to LA.”

“I’ll-- I’ll g-go with you!” Beca tried, chest feeling as though it was caving in on itself. She couldn’t do this, not Chloe. She couldn’t lose Chloe. 

Chloe shook her head, sadly. “No, no, you can’t. I’m not going to hold you back, Becs.”

“Chloe...” Beca wiped angrily at her nose with the sleeve of her shirt. “I can’t--”

The redhead smiled sadly, cupping Beca’s face again to brush away tears. “You can. And you will. You know this is for the best.” 

Beca just stared into Chloe’s eyes before studying her face, attempting to commit every freckle, dimple and scar to memory. Chloe leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Beca. “I love you.” She whispered as Beca just stood there rigidly, arms at her sides. “I’ll always love you. Maybe we’ll see each other again. If it’s meant to be.”

“Chloe! We have to go if you want to be on time for your flight!”

The redhead pulled back slightly, tears running down her cheeks. “Becs?”

Beca swallowed thickly, her brain working on overtime. ‘I love you, too’ was at the tip of her tongue and her arms ached to reciprocate the hug, to never let go. But instead, she took a shuddering breath and stepped back. “You don’t want to miss your flight.” She intoned quietly.

Regret immediately took hold of Beca as hurt flashed behind bright blue eyes and just as Chloe opened her mouth to say something, a voice interrupted her. “Chloe! I’m sorry, but we have to go, honey!” Chloe turned to look at her mother before looking back at Beca, a new wave of tears starting.

And without another word, Chloe turned away from Beca, moving briskly to the car. Beca managed to make it until she could no longer see the car before she collapsed right there on the sidewalk, curling in on herself.

‘I was June and you were my Johnny Cash Never one without the other, we made a pact Sometimes when I miss you I put those records on Someone said you had your tattoo removed Saw you downtown singing the blues It's time to face the music, I'm no longer your muse’

“Hey, Stace. How’s college life?” Beca smiled as her best friend’s face appeared on her laptop screen.

Stacie grinned wide. “Hey, B! It’s good, but I miss you, so much!” Her grin turned into a pout and Beca chuckled.

“I miss you too, Stace.”

“How’s LA?” Stacie mused, looking genuinely curious.

Beca shrugged. “It’s LA. Same as usual -- hot and sunny.”

Stacie rolled her eyes and sighed. “Beca, you’ve gotta get out. Explore, have some fun. This isn’t healthy. It’s been almost a year, now.”

The smaller brunette glanced away, throat suddenly tight. “How is she?” Beca was never sure if she found it ironic or not that Stacie was attending the same college as Chloe.

Stacie stared at Beca for a long moment, full lips pulling down into a frown. “She’s-- she’s doing fine. I think-- I think she’s moved on, Beca, and I think you should too. You can’t keep pining after her. I’m pretty sure she got her tattoo removed.”

Beca’s heart sunk to the pit of her stomach. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” Stacie said gently. “I don’t mean to hurt you, Beca. I just-- I hate to see you like this.” Beca just nodded numbly. “Look, I was gonna surprise you, but I’m coming up there during Spring Break and you and I are gonna fuck shit up.”

That got a small chuckle from Beca and Stacie smiled proudly. “Okay, Stace. Sounds good. There’s some pretty dope clubs around here.”

“I can’t wait.” Stacie grinned. “I’ve gotta run, though. I’ve got a Physics exam to study for.”

“Good luck, Stace!” Beca smiled softly.

“See ya, B! Love you!”

“You, too.” Beca mumbled just before she ended the skype call. After a moment of just sitting there on her couch, she got up and moved into her kitchen, grabbing a bottle of Fireball from the top of her fridge and uncapping it to take a large gulp.

Beca’s voice croons softly into the mic as she comes back to the chorus, eyes closed tightly as her mind drifts to Chloe. Three years and she still misses her just as strongly as she did the day Chloe left.

‘All this money can't buy me a time machine, no Can't replace you with a million rings, no I should've told you what you meant to me 'Cause now I pay the price In another life I would be your girl We'd keep all our promises Be us against the world’

As Beca starts the last verse, her eyes open and focus on the way her fingers move effortlessly across the keys, trying to keep her mind from wandering to the memory of bright, cerulean eyes and a beautiful smile.

‘In another life I would make you stay So I don't have to say You were the one that got away The one that got away’

The song comes to an end and as her fingers rest on the last notes, her eyes drift to the crowd as people stand up and start clapping. But Beca doesn’t hear it, doesn’t even think she’s breathing as her eyes lock onto a pair of familiar blue eyes. Chloe is standing at the front of the crowd, silent tears streaming down her cheeks.

Beca blinks, heart thudding in her chest like a jackhammer as she stands. Everything is in slow motion as Beca moves sluggishly away from the bench, distantly aware of the MC asking for another round of applause for her as she steps off the stage.

Chloe meets her halfway until they’re standing a few feet away from each other. Now that Beca is closer, she can see that not much as changed about Chloe -- maybe her face is a little rounder, but she looks almost the same as she did three years ago. “Am I dreaming?” Beca finally rasps, throat thick with emotion.

“No.” Chloe answers quietly, a small, shy smile etching itself across her lips. “You’re not dreaming.” She sniffs and wipes a stray tear away from her cheek. “Who was that song about?”

Despite the tears that are threatening to fall, Beca smirks. “I think you know.” But then her smile falters. “I thought you had moved on.”

Chloe frowns, glancing down at her shoes. “No. I--” She brings her teary gaze back to Beca’s. “I thought if I-- if I pretended I was okay-- if I stayed away from the reminders-- that I’d be okay... eventually. But It never helped. No matter what I did, you were always there in the back of my head.” She visibly swallows and stares into Beca’s eyes. “I’ve missed you so, much, Becs.”

And that’s what breaks Beca’s resolve. She closes the distance between them, one hand cupping the back of Chloe’s neck and pulling her down for a heated kiss, while the other cups the side of her face.

There’s a sharp inhale from Chloe before she’s tangling her fingers in long, brown hair, returning Beca’s kiss with just as much fervor. After a moment, Beca pulls back, panting as her forehead rests against Chloe’s. “I’ve missed you, too, Beale. So fucking much.” Beca’s arms come to rest on Chloe’s shoulders as she stares into the redhead’s eyes, reveling at the chance to just be able to see Chloe again. “And I never stopped loving you.”

Chloe smiles this watery, heartbreaking smile as she bites her lip. “I love you, too.”

“Please, don’t ever leave, again.” Beca rasps, pulling Chloe closer.

The redhead shakes her head. “Never.”

[incredibeale-archive]

Read it on FF.NET instead?

also fixed some stuff (mostly spelling errors) in chp 2.

[incredibeale-archive]

Read it on FF.NET instead?

[incredibeale-archive]

Person A convinces Person B (and kids?) to leave an abusive relationship and move in with her.

{ Slight trigger warning for mentions of domestic abuse }

It’s nearly 2:30 am when Beca hears a knock on the door. She’s fresh out of the shower, having just gotten back from playing at a club not too long ago. Running her fingers through her wet hair, Beca moves to open her door to reveal a disheveled Chloe Beale. There’s a sleepy two year old burrowed into her neck and a seven year old clinging to her leg and looking up at Beca with fear in her eyes.

“Jesus Christ, Chlo.” Beca breathes as her eyes adjust to the low light of her porch and she takes in Chloe’s busted lip and rapidly forming black eye. It seems to break whatever is left of Chloe’s resolve because the tears start falling and Beca immediately holds out her arms both for a hug and for the two year old murmuring tiredly into his mother’s neck, trying her best to hold back the white, hot anger that flares up inside her.

Chloe moves into Beca’s embrace, and wraps her free arm around the smaller woman tight, almost clinging to her. After a moment, Beca gently takes the toddler from Chloe’s arms before ushering them in. “C’mon.” She says gently.

At being moved, the two year old lifts his head and tiredly looks over Beca, a small, sleepy smile creasing his pudgy face. “Aunt Bec!” His little arms wrap around her neck and nuzzles his face into her.

Beca chuckles. “Hey, Oliver. You miss me, little dude?” The little boy nods and Beca’s heart melts. He looks so much like Chloe, both he and Ella do, except Oliver’s hair is more brown than red, but his eyes are blue and bright, like Chloe’s. Beca’s eyes glance down to the seven year old that still stands at the threshold of the door, hesitant and scared and Beca frowns. “Hey, El, you okay?” The little girl looks up at Beca before shaking her head in the negative. Another wave of anger and protectiveness courses through Beca and she has to work to keep her voice soft as she speaks. “C’mon, munchkin. You’re safe here, okay? You know that.” She holds out her hand and Ella takes it tentatively.

The DJ manages to shut the door behind her, locking it before she moves further into her house. She finds Chloe curled up on the couch and stops beside it. “Why don’t you tell your mommy goodnight, Ella and we’ll get you settled into bed, yeah?”

Ella releases Beca’s hand and silently moves toward her mother until she stands in front of her with her arms held open. Chloe leans forward and wraps her arms around her daughter and hugs her tight, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Good night, baby.”

“Night, mommy.” She whispers, before pulling away to retake Beca’s hand.

Beca leads them down the hall to the guest room where she pulls back the covers with her free hand and gently places an already sleeping Oliver on one side of the queen sized bed. She turns to gently lift Ella and sets her onto the bed. “Hey, Ella-bella, what can I do to make you feel better, huh?” Beca pushes a strand of strawberry blonde hair away from the child’s face. “Take care of mommy? She’s hurting and sad.” Ella says quietly, a sad frown on her face. “Aunt Bec always makes it better.”

Beca smiles sadly at the girl, hands running down tiny arms. “What happened, El?”

Ella looks down before looking back up. “Daddy got mad… Really mad. It’s my fault.” Her lip trembles and Beca’s heart sinks into her stomach as her arms wrap around the child and pulls her into her arms.

“It’s not your fault,” Beca says darkly, sitting on the bed and cradling the little girl protectively, like something might come in and take her away at this very second. “It’s your daddy’s fault.”

“No,” Ella starts through tears. “I spilled my juice on the carpet and it stained and he was so mad at me. He wanted to punish me, but mommy said no and–” The little girl sobs and Beca holds her tighter, fingers tracing shapes into the child’s back.

“Hey, it’s okay, Ella-bella. You’re okay. You’re safe here, and so is your mommy and Ollie. I won’t let anything happen to you.” She continues to whisper words of comfort until Ella calms down.

Sniffling, Ella pulls back to look up at Beca with sad, wide cerulean eyes. “Will you put on one of your mixes?” And Beca can’t say no to that face. She smiles sadly and nods, pressing a kiss to Ella’s temple.

Standing, Beca moves to the other side of the bed before gently laying the little girl down and pulling the covers up over her as well as little Oliver. “I’m gonna take care of this, Ella. No more. It’s not going to happen anymore, okay?” Ella nods softly and Beca leans down again to kiss the child’s forehead. “Get some sleep, kid. We’ll have french toast for breakfast, that sound good?” Ella smiles brightly at this and Beca smiles at the fact that she’s managed to get the little girl to do it. “Sweet dreams.”

Beca turns to leave, but not before setting her phone on the nightstand and letting some of her more softer and PG rated mixes play quietly. “Aunt Bec?” Beca stops to turn to look back at the child. “I love you.”

The tiny DJ’s heart swells with affection and adoration and she smiles something soft. “I love you too, little Beale.”

–

Beca returns to find Chloe in much the same position when she left her. She moves into the kitchen, grabbing a few things before returning to sit next to the redhead. “Here,” She says gently, holding out an ice pack wrapped up in a towel as well as a glass of water and an ibuprofen. “Thanks, Becs.” Chloe rasps, first taking the medicine and water before setting the glass on the side table and then taking the ice pack. “Are they okay?” She asks worriedly.

Beca frowns and sighs. “For now.” She runs her hand through her damp locks and brings her gaze to Chloe’s. “This has to stop.” She starts gently, but fiercely, holding up her hand when Chloe goes to protest. “No, Chlo. I can’t sit here and let you do this to yourself anymore, let him do this to you – to those kids!” Beca takes Chloe’s hands in hers, eyes pleading. “He’s going to kill you one day. Please, please just leave him. He’s a piece of shit, Chloe.”

Chloe is crying silently as she stares back at Beca, fingers tightening around the smaller woman’s. “I–I have nowhere to go, Beca. Where am I supposed to go? I don’t have the money, he–”

“Stay with me.” Beca interrupts. “You can stay with me. And before you say anything, I don’t care whether you can help with bills or not, my only concern is that you aren’t in that house anymore, around him and those kids are safe.”

Chloe is quiet, but her surprise is evident as she stares into Beca’s eyes, searching for something, though Beca isn’t sure what. “A-are you sure?” She asks quietly.

“God, of course I’m sure. In fact, I’m not letting you go back.” Beca says vehemently.

They’re both quiet again before Chloe is suddenly wrapping her arms around Beca tightly, a new wave of tears falling down her face. It takes Beca a second to react before she’s wrapping her own arms around the redhead, whispering words of comfort.

After a few minutes, Beca stands, pulling Chloe up with her. “C’mon. Let’s go to bed. We’ll talk more about it tomorrow, but I know you’ve got to be exhausted.” Chloe nods and follows Beca down the hall to the tiny DJ’s room.

As they settle on either side of the bed, Chloe bites her lip and stares at Beca for a moment. “Becs,” She starts hesitantly. “Will you– can we–”

Beca smiles something soft as she opens her arms for the redhead. Chloe immediately moves to lay her head on Beca’s chest, sighing contentedly as Beca holds her close. “Thank you, Beca. I love you.”

“I love you too, nerd.” Beca says, swallowing thickly. She’s pretty sure that Chloe has no idea just how much that Beca loves her, and she’s certain that Chloe never will.

–

Beca wakes up to the sound of screaming and yelling and crying kids. She’s up and grabbing the bat from under her bed and tearing down the hall. The sight that greets her has her seething in anger. Chloe’s husband, Connor is gripping Chloe’s arm tightly, other hand raised to slap her. Ella and Oliver are cowering behind the couch, both crying hysterically.

“Hey!” Beca yells, stomping toward the two. Connor stiffens and drops the hand that had been raised, but he does not release his bruising grip around Chloe’s wrist. “You need to leave.” Beca says evenly, gripping the bat tightly at her side.

Connor frowns angrily at her. “Not without my wife and kids.”

Beca’s jaw clenches so tight, she briefly thinks she might shatter her teeth. Without taking her eyes off of Connor, she talks in a more softer tone. “Ella, take your brother back to the bedroom and shut and lock the door, okay?”

“Ella, don’t you fucking move!” Connor yells.

Beca turns only briefly, still keeping an eye on Connor in her peripheral. “Go on. Do as I say, it’ll be okay.” She says gently. Eventually, Ella pulls Oliver down the hall and turns into a bedroom.

“You stupid, fucking dyke!” He releases Chloe to advance on Beca, but the brunette will not be intimidated. She stands her ground, bat coming up to point at him, a silent warning for him to stop, which he does, glancing down at it and back at Beca.

“Get the fuck outta my house, Connor.” Beca growls through gritted teeth, taking a step toward the towering man.

“Or what?” He snarls, looking as though it’s taking everything in him not to come at Beca.

“Or I swear to god that I’ll beat your worthless skull in.” The bat raises and Connor visibly swallows. She takes another step toward him and he takes a step back. “You are done, dude. You’re fucking done. You’re done pushing Chloe around and you’re done submitting those kids to that shit.”

Connor goes red in the face with anger. “You can’t–”

“DO NOT FUCKING INTERRUPT ME, YOU DICKLESS PIECE OF GARBAGE!” Beca snarls, raising the bat higher as if to swing at him. “You aren’t going to fucking bully me. Now, get out of my house and don’t ever come back and I swear to everything that is holy that if you ever, and I mean EVER touch Chloe or those kids, or even fucking look at them sideways, I will kill you.” Beca threatens, backing him slowly toward the door.

“Y-you can’t threaten me!”Beca’s lips curl up into a snarl. “I just did. And it’s not a threat. That’s a promise, dude.”

Connor looks between Beca and Chloe, eyes wide and surprised. “Chloe, I love you! Don’t let her do this!”

Beca glances over at Chloe to see the redhead’s arms crossed, face creased in anger. “If you loved me, you wouldn’t treat me like shit. Get out, Connor. We’re done. I’m not going to let you do this to me anymore, to my kids. I don’t want to see you ever again.”

A mixture of pride and relief surges through Beca at Chloe’s response. When Connor doesn’t move, Beca shoves him toward the door. “You heard her, get the fuck out!”

–

It’s been a year since Chloe, Ella and Oliver moved in with Beca, and 4 months since she admitted her feelings for the redhead. It had been hard to live in such a close proximity with the redhead and avoid her feelings, so when they came tumbling out one night after the kids had gone to bed, Beca had feared rejection but was surprised when Chloe had cupped her face and kissed her senseless.

And they had been together ever since. It wasn’t much of a transition, since they already acted like a couple, but still, Beca had never been happier – and more importantly (to Beca at least), Chloe seemed happy. Happier than Beca had seen her in a long time.

“Mommy, Becs! The sun is awake, it’s time to get up!” Ella whispers loudly as she clambers onto the bed.

Beca groans before pulling the little girl into her arms and trapping her against her chest. “Noooo, go back to sleep, Ella-bella. ‘S too early.” She whines dramatically. She hears both Ella and her girlfriend giggle.

“Mommy, ma.” Another little voice says. Beca’s body stiffens and her eyes snap open to see Oliver staring at her with his chin resting on the edge of the bed, a bright smile on his pudgy little face. “I’m hungry.” He says, completely oblivious to the loop he’s just thrown Beca through.

When Beca doesn’t say anything and her arms loosen to release Ella, Chloe sits up and presses a hand to the brunette’s arm. “Becs? Are–are you okay?” She hedges gently, concern and fear evident in her voice. Ella is glancing between her mother and Beca in confusion.

Shaking her head, Beca bolts up and nods her head. “Yeah!” Her voice comes out high and squeaky, so she clears it and blinks back the tears hidden behind her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I’m good. So, breakfast – french toast sound good?”

Beca watches as Chloe stares at her with concern evident in her bright eyes, lower lip ensnaring itself between white teeth. “Babies, why don’t you go wait for us in the kitchen, huh?”

The two kids nod and bound off into the kitchen, leaving the two adults alone. “Beca, I’m sorry, I–”

“No, no… It’s–” Beca swallows thickly. “I just– I wasn’t expecting it, I mean– I–I know this is still pretty new, Chlo, but I… I’ve loved you far longer than that and I mean…” She can feel her face burning as she glances away. “I’ve always loved them both like they were mine. I’m more concerned with– with how you feel about it.” She says quietly.

When she finally manages to look up, Chloe is smiling something warm and adoring at her. “I love you, too, Becs. And I’d love for you to be their other mom.”

“R-really?” Beca asks, blinking back tears.

Chloe nods, biting her lip. “If you’ll have us.”

Beca lets out a watery laugh. “God, I love you three so much.” She leans in and kisses Chloe deeply.

Chloe sighs contentedly. “We love you too, Becs.”