#my obsession with avatrice resulted in a bechloe fic somehow

[sunshine-and-raincloud]

she's the weaving road (that'll lead me home)

pairing: bechloe

word count: 1291

AO3 link here

***

Winter has come quietly to Barden, the snow having fallen over the first December night. The white, shimmery stamp of approval marked the beginning of the holiday season in the Bella household. With wide eyes and happy squeals, its occupants eagerly got to work, decorating the house with garlands, wreaths, paper ornaments, and whatever else could be found in the boxes that had been bravely recovered from the basement.

It was now evening and the whole house was bathed in the warm glow of the Christmas lights. The Bellas were sprawled all over the living room, cozy in their fluffy pajamas, about to start their first Christmas movies marathon of the season.

Chloe was sitting at the kitchen table, half-listening to the constant chatter of her fellow sisters coming from the living room as she watched Beca prepare hot cocoa for the both of them. It's been happening more and more lately–Chloe catching herself looking at Beca, a soft smile always present on her lips whenever her best friend was around. She couldn’t help it; Beca was so nice to look at, and Chloe was so in love with her, how could she not look? Especially now that Beca has been single for the past couple of months. Also, Chloe caught Beca looking at her enough times to not feel guilty about her own staring.

Recently, there’s been a subtle shift between them. On the surface, not much has changed, but nowadays, their every interaction seemed to have an undercurrent of something else, something deeper than a close friendship. Gazes and touches lingered, smiles were wider, voices softer. They communicated without words, anticipating each other's needs with an ease born of hours spent at each other’s side. Even the rest of the Bellas seemed to sense the change, as they eased down on their teasing, seemingly waiting with bated breaths for something to finally happen.

As if sensing Chloe’s eyes on her, Beca turned away from the counter, her gaze instantly finding Chloe’s. She sent her an easy smile as she put a mug of steaming cocoa to her lips, taking a careful sip and swallowing with a small, satisfied sigh that sent a shiver down Chloe’s spine. Once Beca lowered the mug, Chloe noticed a brown smudge that the drink left around Beca’s lips.

Her body moved without a conscious command, covering the small distance between them in a few strides, and Chloe blinked in surprise as she found herself standing right in front of Beca, who looked at her with one brow raised in question, amusement shining in her eyes.

“Can I help you?”

“You, um-” Chloe cleared her throat. “You have a little something…” she said, gesturing at her own mouth.

“Oh!” Beca blindly swiped a hand over her face, only smudging the cocoa remnants more.

Chloe giggled softly, raising her hand towards Beca’s face. “Here, let me…”

Gently, Chloe moved her thumb over Beca’s cheek toward her lips. She shivered again as Beca opened her mouth slightly in a quiet exhale. Without thinking, Chloe slowly brought her thumb to her mouth, licking it clean under Beca's intent gaze.

“Did you get it?” Beca’s voice was a bit rough as she whispered the question.

“Almost.”

There it was again, the tension that’s been present in all of their interactions lately, growing more insistent the longer they stayed in each other’s orbits. Beca’s tongue peeking out to absentmindedly lick her own lips proved to be the tipping point. All coherent thoughts have long since left Chloe and she could only act on pure instinct and adrenaline. With her heart pounding wildly in her chest, she slowly, very slowly, leaned in, eyes trained on Beca’s face, looking for any indication that she should back away. Not seeing any, she closed the remaining distance, dragging her tongue over the same spot her thumb has just traced, catching the corner of Beca’s lips and lingering there for a heartbeat or two.

Beca’s soft gasp so close to her ear made Chloe pull away, but she only made it an inch or two before Beca’s hands appeared on both sides of her face, pulling her in for a kiss.

The gentle pressure of Beca's lips on hers was enough to stun Chloe for what was probably only a few seconds but felt so monumental to Chloe that she might as well have lived a lifetime in this tiny pocket of time. She’s wanted this for so long that she could barely believe it was actually finally happening.

Getting over the initial shock, Chloe placed her slightly shaking hand on Beca’s cheek, angling her face to kiss her more fully. She was rewarded with a tiny whimper from Beca, and Chloe might have made some kind of sound in response but she couldn’t be sure, as all of her attention was focused on the girl in her arms, on the softness of her lips, on hands holding onto her desperately, on the divine scent that Chloe couldn’t get enough of. The world might have been ending and Chloe would not care, everything that existed to her in that moment was Beca, Beca, Beca…

Once they eventually managed to separate, Chloe was met with her favorite sight–Beca smiling at her with this wide, radiant smile that seemed to be reserved specifically for Chloe. Beca was looking at her with an expression so tender, so full of what could only be described as love, that it made Chloe’s knees weak.

Needing a moment to ground herself, she lowered her head and focused on regulating her breathing. Beca took this opportunity to press a lingering kiss on her forehead. Chloe closed her eyes, reveling in the sensation of warm lips on her skin and the tenderness of the gesture.

It was then that her senses slowly started to pick up the signals from her surroundings and Chloe furrowed her brows in confusion as she heard some peculiar noise that sounded like someone trying to smother a boiling kettle with a pillow, without much success.

Beca must have heard it, too, as they both turned their heads at the same time, looking for the source of the noise.

There, in the kitchen entrance, a mere few feet away from them, stood Emily. She was visibly vibrating with excitement as she tried to muffle the constant stream of high-pitched squeals with one hand, the other flailing about wildly. Noticing that she’s been spotted, she made a few steps back before turning around and all but running to the living room. Chloe could bet that the youngest Bella would be telling the rest of the girls what she’s witnessed as soon as she’s able to form words.

Shaking her head, Chloe turned back to Beca and they shared a bemused look.

“Was she standing there the whole time?” Beca asked.

Chloe hummed thoughtfully. “I’m not sure… Maybe?”

There was a very real possibility that Emily had been hanging around the kitchen since before Chloe even stood up from the table, she thought. Chloe did have somewhat of a tunnel vision whenever Beca was around. And apparently, Beca had a similar problem.

Beca let out an amused huff, at which Chloe started giggling, and before they knew it, they were both laughing so hard that their eyes teared up. Beca took the half step that had been separating them, wrapping her arms around her and pressing her face in Chloe’s neck. Chloe hugged her closely, burying her nose in Beca’s hair and sighing happily.

These last few years, Choe felt like she’d been living on borrowed time, dreading the moment she would inevitably run out of it. Now, she felt like she had all the time in the world.