#pitch perfect fanfic

[massivedrickhead]

merry christmas, merry christmas (but i think i’ll miss this one this year)

Words: 1907

Summary: Chloe isn’t going home for Christmas, and her aim is to make it to the 25th without the Bellas finding out.

Notes: Merry Pitchmas @psychoteacher90, I’m your secret santa! So, confession time - I misread the initial message and thought you’d said you like a little angst sprinkled in with your fluff, but after I re-read it last night I realised it said you could tolerate it… I hope you like this anyway, and next year I’m definitely going to read the message more than once 🙈

Read on AO3

@merry-pitchmas

-

“Hey, when are you going home for Christmas?”

The question caught Chloe off guard. Not because she wasn’t expecting it, she just wasn’t expecting it so early into December. 

She thought she’d have more time to come up with an answer. A lie that wouldn’t result in further questions. 

But she didn’t get that time. Beca asked her on the first weekend of December while eating toast with one hand and scrolling through her phone with the other. 

“Oh, I dunno yet,” Chloe replied, trying to sound casual. “Why?”

Beca shrugged. “Just wondering.” 

Chloe thought about maybe telling her the truth. The Bellas’ house was quiet for once, with the rest of the girls either still in bed, or out, or home for the weekend. 

Now would be as good a time as any. 

She opened her mouth to speak but shut it just as quickly. 

No, not now. 

Besides, she didn’t usually go home until a few days before Christmas Eve. Anything could happen between now and then. 

-

Beca asked again a few weeks later, a scowl on her face as she squinted at her phone.

“Do you know when you’re leaving for Christmas yet?” She asked. “I’m trying to organise the Bella’s Christmas party, and no one is free on the same night. Since when were a capella nerds so popular?”

Chloe couldn’t help but smile and roll her eyes as she pulled Beca’s phone out of her hand. 

“You’ll give yourself a headache,” she said, looking down at their shared calendar. Chloe had completely forgotten all about their Christmas party, which was especially surprising since she was the one who had organised it for the past few years.

It was true, there was no night that was free. Each square ticking down to December 25th contained a coloured dot representing at least one of the Bellas and their plan for that day.

Chloe noticed her own baby blue dot was the only one absent. There were no Christmas market trips, or festive nights out with classmates, or neighbourhood carolling. 

She hadn’t been feeling particularly Christmassy this year.

“I guess we just skip it this year,” Chloe said, handing Beca back her phone.

Beca raised her eyebrows. “Skip it?”

Chloe shrugged. “I don’t see any other option, everyone is busy.”

Beca shook her head and looked back at her phone. “You love the Christmas party. I’ll figure it out. Even if we have it at 2 pm on a Tuesday.”

“I wouldn’t stress about it,” Chloe said, standing up from the sofa and grabbing their dishes from the coffee table. “It isn’t important.”

“You didn’t answer my question by the way,” Beca asked, looking up from her phone as Chloe stood. “When are you going to your parents?”

I’m not. 

“I don’t know yet.”

-

Their Christmas party never happened, but Chloe didn’t notice. Or, at least, she pretended not to.

She had been trying to spend the majority of her December trying to pretend that the holiday didn’t exist.

When the Bellas had decorated the tree, Chloe had been hiding in the library.

When they made gingerbread houses, she went to the gym.

When they got drunk on Amy’s mulled wine, she’d been studying in her room, ignoring Beca’s repeated attempts to get her to join them.

For the amount of time Chloe had spent trying to avoid Christmas, Beca had spent double trying to get her involved.

Chloe couldn’t blame her, she knew she wasn’t herself, but she still couldn’t bring herself to tell Beca the truth. 

It would start a much bigger conversation that Chloe wasn’t ready for. One she’d never intended on having in the first place.

She kept it buried and tried to avoid Beca as much as she could for the next couple of days.

-

“Are you sure you don’t need a ride to the airport?” Beca asked on the 23rd. 

“I’m sure,” Chloe said. “You were supposed to leave for your Dad’s like 20 minutes ago, you’ll be late.”

Beca looked at her watch but still dithered. “You’ll text me when you land?”

“Yes,” Chloe said. “Get out of here already.”

“Jeez, Merry Christmas to you too,” Beca said, giving Chloe a hug. 

“Merry Christmas,” Chloe replied, trying not to hold on too tightly. 

She needed Beca to leave, because if she didn’t she might cry.

“See you next year, I guess,” Beca said, ending their hug and grabbing her keys from the counter. 

“Drive safe,” Chloe said.

Beca raised a hand in farewell before closing their door behind her. 

Chloe’s tears fell quickly after.

She picked up her suitcase and carried it back to her room before dumping out the contents on her floor. 

Her plan had worked. 

She would make it through Christmas without anyone finding out she’d spent it alone. Without anyone finding out why she’d spent it alone. 

-

Later that night there was a knock at the door which Chloe assumed was the pizza she’d ordered. 

She had assumed wrong.

Beca was standing on their doorstep, hands shoved into her pockets because she’d forgotten her gloves.

Chloe could only stare back, mouth slightly agape. She swallowed. She could still get out of this. 

“Forget your keys or something?”

“You aren’t going to Florida.” It wasn’t a question, and Chloe couldn’t argue. She was standing there in her pyjamas after all. Her hair up in a towel, face scrubbed of makeup. It was hours after her supposed flight was supposed to have taken off.

“What are you doing here?” Chloe asked, her shoulders dropping. 

“I could ask you the same question.”

Chloe sighed and stood aside so Beca could come in. “Fine,” she said. “I’m not going to Florida. Your turn to answer.”

Beca tilted her head as if confused. “I came here for you,” she said. “You aren’t spending Christmas on your own.” Again, it wasn’t a question.

“Beca-”

“Look, you’ve been distant and sad since Thanksgiving, and I’m guessing it has something to do with you not going home for Christmas,” Beca said. “And you don’t have to tell me about it if you don’t want to - and I’m assuming you don’t otherwise you’d have said something before now - but just because you aren’t going home, doesn’t mean you have to spend Christmas alone.”

Chloe opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off by another knock on the door, and this time it was the pizza guy.

“I’m fine,” Chloe said, returning from the door with her pizza. “I have pizza, and trashy movies, and wine. I’ve spent plenty of days by myself before, and this one won’t be any different. It’s just a day, it doesn’t mean anything.”

“I don’t think you believe that,” Beca said. “But, whatever, if you don’t want to spend it with me that’s fine.” Beca pulled out her phone. “But you also have an invite from Jessica to spend it with her family, as well as Ashley, Flo, Legacy, Cynthia Rose, Amy, and Stacie also told me to tell you you could crash her and Aubrey’s Christmas plans. Also Lily offered too, but she also mentioned something about needing a sacrificial lamb, so maybe don’t go to her place.”

Chloe laughed and shook her head, tears burning her eyes.

“Even if you can’t go back to Florida, you can still spend Christmas with your family. Maybe not the one you were born into, but a one that loves you.”

“I don’t want to impose-”

“Chloe I had barely finished typing out my message to them, and all the Bellas were falling over themselves to invite you to their homes. You’re not an imposition.”

“And you?”

“I said I had first dibs,” Beca said. “Plus, this way I’ll get to give you your present. I pulled your name in Secret Santa this year.”

“I didn’t do Secret Santa,” Chloe responded, confused.

“Fine, I pulled Legacy but I have a gift for you anyway.” Beca took hold of Chloe’s hands. “Come on,” she said. “Sheila bought a turkey that’s way too big, my dad needs someone to talk about books with, and I… I want to spend Christmas with you.”

Chloe pulled her teeth across her bottom lip before she eventually nodded her head. 

They ate the pizza while Chloe changed and packed, and then they piled into the car for the short drive to Beca’s dad’s house.

“How did you know that I wasn’t going home?”

“Your flight didn’t exist,” Beca replied. “And I just had a feeling that there was something you weren’t telling me. You haven’t been yourself.”

“I know,” Chloe said. “I’m sorry I’ve been so… Well, you know. I just didn’t want to get into it.”

“You still don’t have to if you don’t want to. But I’m here to listen if you do.”

Chloe didn’t respond right away. She rested her head against the passenger window and watched the flurry of snow begin to fall. 

“I had a fight with my parents at Thanksgiving,” Chloe said.

Beca turned down the music, but didn’t interrupt.

“Things have been tense with them for a while,” Chloe said. “It all sort of boiled over. They overheard me on the phone to Aubrey… Heard me talk about stuff they didn’t know about me and… Yeah. A lot of yelling later and I was, I mean disowned sounds so serious but I guess… I guess that’s what it was.” 

Chloe tried to swallow the lump in her throat but it wouldn’t budge. 

She recognised where they were, and knew they’d be entering Beca’s neighbourhood soon. She wanted to pull herself together before then.

“Jesus,” Beca said, her voice just above a whisper. “I mean unless you were confessing to multiple murders on the phone to Aubrey, I don’t-”

“I was telling her about someone I like. About… About a girl I like.”

“Oh,” Beca said, glancing across the car. “They didn’t know?”

“No,” Chloe said. 

“I’m really sorry, Chloe. You… You don’t deserve that. And they don’t deserve you.”

Chloe sniffed. “I know.” They pulled into Beca’s drive but neither made a move to get out of the car. Chloe could see the glow of Christmas lights through the window, and she felt a pang of homesickness mixed with a rush of gratitude for Beca. “Thank you for coming back for me.”

“I always will,” Beca said. “I hope you know how loved you are, Chloe.”

They sat in silence for a little while longer before Beca spoke again. “So, there’s a girl you like, huh? Anyone I know?”

Chloe laughed. “You know, considering you were able to figure out I lied about going to Florida, you can be a little oblivious sometimes.”

“It’s that obvious? It can’t be Stacie or Aubrey, or Jessica or Ashley. Is it Emily? Or Cynth-”

Beca’s voice died in her throat as Chloe pressed their lips together.

“Oh.”

“I get it if you don-”

It was Chloe’s turn to be cut off as Beca pulled her back into a kiss. 

They didn’t break apart until they heard the front door of the house being pulled open. 

Light from the hall spilled out into the driveway.

Beca’s Dad sighed. “Sheila, I owe you 20 bucks!” He shouted before shutting the door again.

Chloe giggled, and Beca felt it in her chest.

“I guess we should go inside,” Chloe said.

“I guess we should. Merry Christmas, Chloe.”

“Merry Christmas, Beca.”

They kissed again.

[pulledpurplecurtains]

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Additional Tags: Fluff, Christmas Eve, Merry Pitchmas Gift Exchange 2024, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence

Summary:

“Miss me already?” she chuckled into the line. Chloe’s return chuckle made something click into place inside her.

“You know I always do miss you, you dork”, was the smiling reply from hundreds of miles away, leaving her momentarily speechless; not because it was unfamiliar or out of character, but simply because she wished more than anything, at that singular moment, that all those miles just weren’t there. @massivedrickhead i hope you enjoy your pitchmas gift and that it’s worth the wait!! happy holidays <3

[ridiculously-over-obsessed]

TRUST ME WITH YOUR HEART (I CAN FIX IT TOO)

Rating: T Chapter 30/? - I'm Gonna Love You Knowing There's Tomorrow Pairings: Bechloe Chapter Summary: Tough times at Barden Med continue as the gang violence in the city escalates, but that doesn't stop the team from bonding together even in the face of so much chaos

HELLO I'M BACK!! My brain's been kinda messy lately and creativity has not come easily but I am hopefully now back for good and ready to get this first fic of the series done and completed, I think there's only two more chapters left, but I can't see there being anymore than four tbh, and then I'll be back onto updating my other stuff that's been left on the sidelines.

Big thank you to all of you lovely people for being so patient and lovely in my comments even when I take months to update this, I really do appreciate each and every one of you 🥰🩵

[fanficbutnow]

Summary:

Five times Chloe tried to spend time with Beca.

And one time she didn't have to try.

Tags, Warnings, and Rating are under the 'Keep Reading'.

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Pitch Perfect (Movies) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell Characters: Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale Additional Tags: 5+1 Things, Post-Canon, Post-Pitch Perfect 3, Angst with a Happy Ending, out of time, Music Star!Beca, Love Confessions, One Shot

[mitchellbealess]

new fic posted! this one is very close to my heart

Summary:

“You’re so much more than a Bella, Chlo. I wish you could see that.” The mere thought of Chloe doubting herself pained Beca, because how could a sun not see how brightly they shone?

A retelling of the campfire scene except all the other Bellas are asleep, and it’s just Beca and Chloe by the fire.

[callme-l-d]

Chicken Scratch | Ch1/ Stupid this, stupid that

Rating: T

Fandom: Pitch Perfect

Relationships: Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks

***

Beca Mitchell has never understood the hype around the soulmate finding thing.

The whole thing is plainly too stupid for her liking. As stupid as she looked ten minutes ago mistaking DJ as, undoubtedly, disc jockey.

...read on AO3

***

anyone still shipping Beca and Chloe in 2024??

[cycwrites]

A (Few) Day(s) in the Life - Lingerie

A very overdue second chapter of random glimpses into the lives of my favorite girls.

This was meant to be a short, fade to black ficlet while I tried to remember how to do this words thing. Close enough.

Thank you to everyone who has ever left me a comment on AO3 (I owe so many responses over the last 3 years) or sent me a message on Tumblr, encouraging me to continue after all this time. I’m really hoping to finish a few things next year as I still owe everyone a Staubrey origin and cliffhanger reveal.

For @tiny-maus-boots and @kimmania. I honestly don’t know if I’d be here without your unending support and encouragement in life as well as writing.

And for Rylee, who somehow convinced-slash-hoodwinked me into thinking about the Mitchsen chapter, which in turn reminded me I needed to get this one done first.

Words: 3600ish (aka the 2nd shortest thing I've ever written.)

Rating: Mature/Explicit

Chapter 1 (and the whole Nowish Universe) on AO3

Master Post for Tumblr

And just because, the Spotify playlist that helped me write pretty much every Pitch story.

A Pitch Perfect Lifetime

----------------------

~S~

Wednesday, October 11th, 2017

“Is it dumb that I’m nervous?”

Stacie turned to look at Aubrey who very clearly was avoiding looking at her. Which meant she missed the loving smile that Stacie aimed her way.

“Bree.” Aubrey didn’t turn, merely slid another hanger to the side and intently looked at the clothing behind it, which was exactly the same style and color. “There is a list of things you are not, and dumb is definitely on it.” Stacie resumed going through the rack in front of her, deciding this was one of those times that Aubrey needed to pretend they weren’t having a discussion about whatever was bothering her. She knew they’d eventually get to the heart of it. “Were you nervous with Chloe?”

A pause. “No.” Another few seconds filled with the sounds of hangers sliding along metal racks. “Chloe is home.”

“Are you saying Beca’s less?” Stacie grinned even though they still weren’t looking at each other.

“I’m not even going to dignify that with an answer.” Very snooty, very amused but then a longer pause. “But my history with Beca is more…”

“Spicy?” Stacie looked over her shoulder and saw Aubrey’s beautiful smile in profile.

“I suppose that’s one way to put it,” Aubrey agreed wryly. “But that’s not quite what I meant.”

Stacie looked around them and lowered her voice even though there was no one else near them in the shop. “You guys have been alone before.”

“Not like this, no. Not since…” Aubrey’s voice was even quieter and Stacie had to strain a little to hear it. “You and or Chloe have always been in the house or within minutes of getting home.”

“Really?” Stacie turned and rested one elbow on the rack. “I’d have sworn…” She thought for a minute, watching Aubrey’s hands as they ran down lacy fabric. Their movements were graceful but precise. Controlled.

Chloe had a convention she wanted to attend the following week and it was Stacie’s turn to go with her, leaving Aubrey and Beca at home to hold down the fort. It was something they had done many times before, but it was the first time since beginning their new shared life together.

The nerves were making a kind of sense now, Stacie mused, reaching out to run her hand down Aubrey’s back before moving past her to another rack of lingerie. She didn’t know yet what exactly was going on in her beautiful wife’s head, but since Aubrey was at least dancing around the subject, it hopefully wouldn’t be too long before she could help work through it.

Briefly she wondered if Beca was nervous before deciding that of course she was. The two women were far more alike than either of them usually admitted to. In fact, she’d almost be willing to place a large sum of money that whatever was setting off Aubrey’s nerves was at least partially in Beca’s mind as well.

“Bree?” Stacie waited until Aubrey turned and held up a random negligee. “What about this one?”

“Hmm?” She turned, eyed it narrowly from top to bottom and pursed her lips before giving a single dismissive shake of her head “No.”

As she turned away, Stacie sighed and hung it back up before moving to stand next to Aubrey and flip through the same rack, though she wasn’t paying any attention to the clothing in front of them. “Are you turning your nose up at everything in every store we’ve stopped at today because you can’t find anything you think will make a good impression on the woman who already loves you?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” Another precise sliding of hangers from right to left.

“You’re using your high voice, Bree.” Stacie nudged her gently with her elbow. “The denial tone doesn’t work on me anymore.” She’d used to think it was just haughty and dismissive – and okay, sometimes it was – but now she knew that it usually hid uncertainty and a need to look in control when Aubrey felt anything but. “You could wear the Bella uniform and she’d still think you’re one of the three hottest women she’s ever seen. She’d be dying to rip it off you.”

Aubrey snorted. “That last is true – mostly because of the PTSD it would cause.”

“Ooh, yeah. That’s probably true.” She waited a moment, trying to figure out the best way to help. “It’s true though. She loves you and when I asked if you wanted to pick up matching lingerie, I didn’t mean to make you think you needed to dress up.”

“No, I know.” Aubrey glanced at her from the corner of her eye. “And I know I don’t, but…” She bit her lip in a very Chloe manner that made Stacie smile. “I want to make it special.”

“The fact that you exist makes every day special, love.” She leaned over and kissed Aubrey’s cheek. “For all of us. What’s really going on?”

With a sigh, Aubrey finally turned to face her, sheepishly meeting her eyes. “I have a lot to make up for.”

“What do you mean?” Stacie’s brow furrowed.  

She wondered if there was something else she was missing, having obviously not realized that the two women had never been fully alone together before. Sure, she and Chloe hadn’t yet either – a circumstance they were happily changing next weekend as well – but that was more random luck than anything. She knew how they all felt, knew them better than herself some days, and it had never occurred to her that any of them would be hesitant. Not with how much they loved and trusted each other.

Then again, she reminded herself, they were only three months into their new phase of life. A fact that she found hard to accept since it felt like they had been together for years this way. Plus, Aubrey and Beca were built a little different. More prone to listen to their darker fears even knowing they shouldn’t. Not anymore. And now that Stacie was thinking about it that way, things started falling into place.

“I wasn’t nervous with Chloe because she’s been my home for years. But with Beca…” Aubrey continued, looking down and then back up through lowered brows. “I worry she… It’s just that, the first year I was so terrible.”

“Aubrey.” Stacie very much wanted to reach out and hold her but didn’t think it was the place even if it was the damn time. “You’re both so far past that –”

“Rationally I know that!” Aubrey raised her hands in frustration but kept her voice low. “Or tell myself I do.” She signed softly, shoulders slumping. “But does she know?”

It was said so plaintively that Stacie pulled her into a hug, potential audiences be damned. “Know what, love?”

“That she’s as necessary to my continued existence as you and Chloe.” Aubrey pressed her face into Stacie’s shoulder, the words muffled but the worry coming through loud and clear.

Stacie thought about the way Beca would sometimes watch Aubrey in their quiet moments – while one or the other was working quietly on a laptop on the couch; when Aubrey was taking pictures of her garden, trying out her artistic angles while sober – her eyes so filled with peace and love… Chloe had confided to Stacie that on at least one occasion she’d had to make up some excuse and leave the room because it had moved her to tears.

“Oh… I’m very certain she knows.” Stacie kissed the side of her head. “But I’m definitely behind Project Woo Her if that’s what you want. I will never say no to looking at all these sexy outfits and picturing you in them.” She leaned down and whispered in Aubrey’s ear. “And to imagine Beca slowly removing them from you.” There was nothing more beautiful in Stacie’s mind than the image of any of them being together.

With a laugh, Aubrey stepped back, her smile genuine and more than a touch wicked. “Don’t think you’re going wind me up and lure me into the dressing room, lover.”

Relieved at the teasing, Stacie lifted her chin at the challenge. “Don’t think I’m ever going to give up trying.” She turned Aubrey around and patted her on the ass. “Now, let’s find you something that’ll make Beca’s legs weak before you even lay one silken fingertip on her skin.” Aubrey flashed a wink over her shoulder and Stacie felt some of the tension drain from her. It was likely only temporary, but she’d just do her best to draw the rest of it out or, at the least, keep Aubrey distracted for the next week.

In part she supposed that’s why she had made the suggestion that they go shopping for the non-boring sleepwear that Beca said they should bring over. Both because she wanted to reaffirm, once again, that this was all okay and she was one million percent behind this amazing new life they were making as a foursome. But also, that she expected Aubrey and Beca to enjoy any and all of their moments alone just as Aubrey was encouraging Stacie to do with Chloe. Sure, it might be a little strange to just be two bodies instead of three or four, but they all knew each other inside and out – puns absolutely intended – and she couldn’t imagine it feeling awkward for any of them.

It certainly hadn’t phased Aubrey just a few weeks earlier when she and Chloe had finally realized what had been growing between them for years.

Then again, the rest of them didn’t have the contentious history that Beca and Aubrey did, and the last thing she wanted to do was dismiss Aubrey’s worries and make her feel worse about them. Maybe she’d just have to have a talk with Chloe to see if there was matching nerves and anxiety at the Beale-Mitchell household and see what they could do to help their partners relax. She smirked to herself as she continued that thought and realized that even if she and Chlo failed, once the other two were past the first few minutes they would help each other relax just fine. Repeatedly.

After a couple more minutes of perusing, holding up various outfits up to each other and dismissing them, Stacie pulled a white bustier and panty set and held them up. It was satin and lace, zipped down the center and it was solid with none of the peek-a-boo cutouts that she normally bought. Simple and yet it called to her to try it on.

“Hey Bree? I’m going to go try this one.”

“Oh?” Aubrey turned and Stacie held it behind her back. “Seriously?” She pouted and Stacie laughed.

“You’ll see soon enough.” The pout deepened and she relented. “I won’t make you wait until we’re home – you’ll get to decide if we buy it or not.”

“Oooh, I’m in charge today?” Aubrey’s eyebrows rose in delight.

“For now.” As Aubrey laughed behind her, Stacie made her way to the fitting rooms and found most of them unoccupied. Taking the one against the left wall, she locked the door behind her and quickly stripped, knowing that Aubrey would be drifting closer as she looked for the perfect outfit.

The straps over the shoulder were adjustable and fit comfortably and when she zipped the top closed, it wasn’t constrictive. The front of the bustier came down to points that would pair perfectly with nylons and garter straps if one were so inclined.

Each room had tri-fold mirror on one wall so shoppers could get a better idea of how everything looked from all angles and after a couple minutes of turning this way and that, Stacie decided she approved. She’d also decided that Aubrey would look utterly fucking delicious in this same outfit in black and definitely with nylons. Satisfied with how it fit her, she opened the door and found Aubrey only a little way away, holding up another bustier and panty set that was all silk, lace and almost matched the color of Chloe’s eyes.

“We’re definitely going to have to get that one for her,” Stacie said softly, leaning against the doorframe.

“Yeah?” Aubrey tilted her head as she eyed the outfit. “I think so too.” She finally turned her head and toward the dressing rooms. “I thi –” She stopped mid word, her eyes widening and her hands going slack, suddenly nerveless fingers losing their grip on the hanger and letting it fall to the ground, utterly forgotten.

It immediately brought to mind the night she’d proposed; Aubrey had reflexively dropped the rib that she’d been eating when Stacie had brought out the ring. It almost shamed her to admit it, but her ego purred under the immediate desire that lit Aubrey’s face, even as she marveled that this beautiful and complex woman was hers to love forever.

Then Aubrey was moving, a not-quite-casual swift power walk that bordered on a charge. Stacie was unprepared as her wife pushed her back into the fitting room, closing the door behind them. Stacie started laughing as Aubrey’s hands began to run over her hips and thighs; the amusement at the best reaction she had ever gotten in public from Aubrey filtering the slow building sizzle as the touches burned with serious intent.

“Bree?” The chuckles still bubbled up but they were followed quickly by the urge to moan as Aubrey’s fingertips dipped just under the edge of the panties and slid back and forth.

“Can you be quiet?” Aubrey’s lips were busy pressing kisses to her exposed upper chest and Stacie took an involuntary deep breath, lifting herself closer and it was Aubrey’s turn to chuckle against her skin.

“Me?” Stacie found herself in the unfamiliar position of having her mind short circuit and having to sprint to catch up with her normally restrained in public spouse. “You’re the loud one.”

Aubrey’s head snapped up, indignant. “I am not!” To her credit, it was whispered and not shouted like it usually was at home. The corner of her mouth twitched. “That’s Beca.” She slowly backed Stacie up until she was against the wall.

“Oh, right.” Stacie licked her lips as Aubrey’s hands resumed their wandering over her body. She flicked a look at the door and was grateful to see that even in her rush to get them in the room, Aubrey had locked it behind them. “You’re going to get us kicked out of here before we can buy these, aren’t you?”

“Not if we’re quiet.” She paused, just the slightest bit, giving Stacie the opportunity to stop things before they got too far.

As if.

“Well, I did say you’re in charge…”

With a familiar wicked glint in her eyes, Aubrey’s fingertips once again dipped under the edge of the panties but this time she pushed, her palms skimming down and taking the fabric with them until they fell to the floor. Her nails ran back up the outside of Stacie’s thighs and up her sides to trace the edge of the bustier, tickling as they barely grazed her skin. “God, you look amazing, Stacie.” She flattened her hands and ran them over Stacie’s breasts to her stomach, curving them around her ribs before retracing her steps. “You feel so good.”

It was unspoken that they would need to be quick as well as quiet. There had only been a handful of times that Stacie had been able to coax Aubrey into anything even half as risky and all of them had been at night and most with alcohol. She knew without being told that if she hadn’t come before Aubrey reached whatever timer she had going on in her head, Stacie would have to wait until they got home.

Aubrey’s fingers were on the zipper of the bustier and Stacie could tell she wanted to do it slow, teasingly, but they just didn’t have that sort of time. She pulled normally, as if this were any normal trying on of outfits, but the second Stacie’s breasts were free, her lips covered one nipple and sucked lightly.

Stacie’s head rebounded lightly off the wall as she jerked in pure reaction and she winced at the small thump, hoping it didn’t carry. She tried to say something, anything, to keep anyone from asking if she was okay, but even a simple “Oops” wouldn’t pass her lips when Aubrey’s hand slid down and cupped her center.

“I think that one looks great, Stace.” Aubrey’s voice was shockingly even for someone who’s lips brushed Stacie’s nipple as she spoke for the benefit of an audience that might not even exist. “Try the other one.” As if her middle finger wasn’t slightly stroking Stacie’s clit in all the right ways to make her whimper even though that was definitely not in today’s rules.

‘Let’s hear it for Posen control,’ she thought giddily, her legs parting to give Aubrey a little more room. But even as she really hoped Aubrey didn’t expect her to answer, she looked down and saw Aubrey’s eyebrow lift in challenge.

Goddamnit.

She licked lips suddenly gone dry and took a deep breath. “Sure, Bree.” She was rewarded by Aubrey’s mouth on her breast once more, tongue swirling to match the motions of her middle finger.

Stacie could already tell it wasn’t going to take long, the sheer fact of Aubrey – her unbelievably sexy but usually-proper-in-public wife – taking her in broad goddamned daylight, even if they were in a locked room, was enough to throw her halfway to orgasm; she could hear people talking in other rooms for fucks sake and Aubrey was still touching her and showing no signs of stopping.

With an ease brought about only by familiarity and deep trust, it didn’t take long for Aubrey to have Stacie wet and writhing against her. She swallowed the gasp as those long, skillful fingers filled her in a way guaranteed to reduce her to a trembling mess in their bed. Except she was plastered to a wall and had to lock her knees to keep herself upright as Aubrey took her in complete silence, their eyes locked together.

She would have thought it was the images of them in the mirrors that surrounded them that would have done it, but it was Aubrey’s gaze softening from wicked determination to sensual devotion – a distinction and emotion Stacie had never known before Aubrey – that pushed Stacie to the peak. She reached down with her hand and gripped Aubrey’s wrist, pulling up until Aubrey understood what she was after and thrust deep within, her palm tight to the curve of Stacie’s body; letting her set the pace and take what she needed. Her eyes closing involuntarily, Stacie rolled her hips, rising and falling, chasing her release until Aubrey leaned forward and raised ever so slightly on her tiptoes to whisper in Stacie’s ear.

“Come for me, mon Soleil.”

Her body surrendered instantaneously. She pulled harder on Aubrey’s wrist, her hips driving downward in rocking spasms as she rode Aubrey’s touch. Eventually her body slowed and she realized she had no idea how much time had gone by, though she was very aware she didn’t have enough time to sink into the blissful lassitude spreading through her muscles in the aftermath. They had to pull themselves together – or apart as the case may be – and clean up. There was also no way they were leaving without buying the garments that had been so gleefully stripped from her.

In several variations.

Leaning against the wall, she kept her eyes closed for another few moments, enjoying the languor before she had to hustle back into her clothes. Except she heard another zipper and looked around to find Aubrey digging into her purse one handed. She couldn’t help it; she started laughing as Aubrey pulled out a pack of wet wipes.

“Always prepared, aren’t you, love?” Just one of the legion of reasons she had fallen in love.

Despite the hint of rose in her cheeks, Aubrey handed over several. “Never know when they might come in handy.” In a lower aside, she half muttered, “Besides, it’s not like I’m going to go walking through the shop with you all over my hand.” A pause. “You’re definitely going to go pay and I’ll meet you in the car.”

Stacie merely smiled. “’Kay.”

It didn’t take long to clean themselves up and for Stacie to get dressed. When Aubrey left the room, power walking like a champ, Stacie took another moment to rearrange the outfit on the hanger and hopefully make it less obvious the room had been very occupied.

When she went back to the rack, she kept an unobtrusive eye on other shoppers but no one seemed to be paying any special attention to her. Deciding to stop worrying about it, she picked up the same outfit in black in Aubrey’s size, as well as a red outfit of similar design that caught her eye. It took only another moment to find the blue lingerie Aubrey had been holding and bring all four outfits up to the counter.

Finishing the transaction without the cashier giving her any sort of knowing look, she pushed her way through the door and out into the bright sun, wishing she’d brought her sunglasses with her. Lengthening her stride, she headed down the block to where they’d parked the car, anticipation singing through her veins like champagne. She couldn’t wait to get Aubrey home and in bed to return the gift she’d just been given…

And maybe later they’d invite Beca and Chloe over and see who was louder once and for all.

[lgbtkendricks]

who else decodes you? (mitchsen fic)

Beca Mitchell was the editor-in-chief of the Barden Music Journal, and she loved it. She got to interview bands, write up reviews, and work with her best friends. She was pretty good at student journalism. Her readers loved her. The problem was, her readers were also Aubrey Posen's readers. Aubrey Posen, editor-in-chief of The Barden Gazette, and ex...person...in Beca's life. High school was a long time ago, but unresolved feelings had a funny way of coming to light through damning articles and meddling friends.

read chapter one on ao3 here, or below.

BARDEN MUSIC JOURNAL

You ever stop and think for a moment – what the hell am I doing?

When you’re lounging in the library in the middle of the night, the god-awful coffee from the vending machine on the third floor already cold by the time you reach your desk, a couple equally unlucky souls hanging around the desks nearby, all dutifully typing up their assignments whilst you’re struggling to focus. What the hell are we doing?

What is it about the world that forces us into these situations? Capitalism, obviously, but beyond that. Why do we need to work on assignments about some fucked up centuries old King of England when what we really want to do with our lives doesn’t concern royalty at all? At least, not the generational kind.

It’s really no secret that I – being this journal’s editor in chief – want to work in the music industry. I want to work with music royalty. I want to earn music royalties. It’s all rad being a college student and getting a degree until that degree drives you further and further from your dream. It’s no longer rad then, it becomes trite. Exhaustive, a waste of time and energy and brain power.

That’s when music brings you back to life.

That’s what music is for, really.

The assignment is long forgotten, buried in a sea of tabs and documents that I have no desire to revisit. Spotify opens (for the tenth time today), and all liked songs are shuffled. In the dead of the clinically lit night, music is the only thing that can bring me back to life. It doesn’t matter how many times we try to convince ourselves that what we’re working on is worthwhile, it can’t be, not if it isn’t electrifying. The first song that plays will determine my mood for the next several hours. Will it be some sappy love song, forcing me into a well of yearning and heartache, allowing me to consider King Henry’s tragic love life in a new (still clinical) light? Or will it be heavy metal, screamed lyrics bouncing around my brain so fervently that I scrap my assignment on the King altogether and instead focus on the extreme anger half of his ex-wives must’ve been in by the end of his reign?

The Way – Ariana Grande feat. Mac Miller.

Okay. I guess it’s time to write about the only good relationship he had? Jane Seymour it is.

Music governs my life. It would be impossible to do anything without it. I don’t know how they coped in the 1500s. Heads being chopped off left, right, and centre, and no Spotify to numb the pain. Sounds like hell.

By Beca Mitchell

THE BARDEN GAZETTE

Some students at this college feel as though life is an endless, meaningless array of pointless assignments and lacklustre library trips for degrees that don’t matter in the grand scheme of life.

How wrong those students are.

They are even more wrong to write about it.

Attempting to convince college students that they’re wasting their time and money on a degree as if it won’t increase their job prospects, credibility and comprehension of the world is ridiculous. A degree cannot make you famous overnight, it’s true (unless you have an exceptionally high GPA, and a near-perfect essay paper worthy of publishing). But what BARDEN MUSIC JOURNAL fails to reconcile with is that hard work is what leads people to working with royalty, however that royalty may come.

One does not simply snap their fingers and find their way into their dream profession. If I were to do that, I would be the worst lawyer on the planet.

Barden does not prepare you for dreams, it prepares you for reality.

Statistics state that 61% of employees with degrees advance to higher ranking positions within 12 months of beginning their careers outside of the academic sector. It is statistically proven that those long nights in the library pay off in ways that governing your assignments on whichever song blares into your headphones cannot. If I were to argue a case based upon the plot of the last fiction book I read, I would fear for my client. It is highly unlikely that my book would relate to the international, criminal, property, or even environmental law I may be practising.

We as journalists have a duty to tell the truth. First person pieces are great, but no reason to pass by objectivity. Objectively, every assignment set at Barden is set for a reason. Every hour you put into your studies will pay off in the end, no matter what you decide to do with your degree, your time will not have been wasted at this university. I for one am sick of people pretending otherwise. Through all the complaints, we’re all still here. Thousands of students graduate Barden every year.

As my father always says: A school of fish is no school at all if they all drown.

Study hard. Don’t be distracted by the fool’s paradise of flimsy dreams. Don’t leave your assignments to the point of all-nighters with undesirables, like those who allow algorithmic playlist shuffles to control their GPA. Take it from the editor in chief of the award-winning Barden Gazette. Take control of your own life.

By Aubrey Posen

“What a fucking bitch!”

“Beca. Not cool.” Cynthia Rose frowned at her from the desk across the small office. She swore all the time, but she didn’t tend to appreciate when people called women bitches for malignant reasons.

“This calls for some fucking profanity, dude. Look at this.” Beca stood up, snatching up the paper she had just angrily tossed onto her desk and stalked over to her friend, throwing it down in front of her. The small brunette waited with a deep scowl etched onto her face, tapping her fingers against her thigh as she watched Cynthia Rose skim the article on the front page.

“Shit,” Cynthia Rose’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “This feels…uncalled for.”

“I can’t believe she’s starting this again. We had a truce. Where the fuck does she get off?”

“Probably at her typewriter,” Amy sang from the corner of the room, where she was busy scouting the internet for some fresh talent. Or so she said, but her friends knew that was simply code for online shopping.

“This is low. Even for her.” Beca fumed, grabbing the paper again and skimming until she found the right quote. “I mean, she basically called me a ridiculous liar who can’t write an assignment on my own. What the fuck?”

“It’s a lot,” Cynthia Rose said.

“It’s fucked up. I’m not standing for this. She thinks just because she controls that fuckass gazette that she should control the minds of everyone at Barden.”

“They get more readership than we do.” Amy mumbled.

Everyone turned to her incredulously, as if she was poking the bear. Beca glared daggers at her across the room.

“We’re a specialist journal!” Beca snapped. “Of course the gazette which publishes boring ass shit about the new paint in the Chemistry lab gets more readership than a journal aimed at one group of the student demographic!”

“Didn’t you write that everyone listens to music, so everyone should care to read about it…”

“Shut up, Jesse.” Beca shifted her glare to the boy reading a sappy fiction novel in the bay window.

“Why don’t we just…go over to the Gazette and talk this out with Aubrey?” Benji asked gently. He was seated next to his boyfriend, being the only other person in the room actually working on the layout of their next issue.

“If I see that fucker’s face I will punch it in.” Beca growled, scrunching the paper up in her hands and throwing it aside. She needed to get out of there, right now. It didn’t help that her friends weren’t as angry as she was. It made her feel like she was overreacting. She tore her jacket from her desk chair and stalked out. “Be back later.”

The journalists were silent for some moments after Beca left.

“Yeesh,” Amy said, trying to diffuse the tension. “Hasn’t it been like, a whole semester of their truce? I thought she’d be kinda over it by now,”

Cynthia Rose shook her head immediately. “It’s too deep for that. You know they went to the same high school.”

“I actually cannot imagine what Beca and Aubrey would’ve been like in school.” Benji looked uncomfortable. “They’re at each other’s throats now without all the high school stuff to deal with.”

“I bet they were homoerotic.” Jesse said, making Amy bark out a laugh and Benji stare at him in surprise. “What? You think two gay girls on the same newspaper was wholly platonic? Why do you think they hate each other so much??”

“Nah, you’re right,” Cynthia Rose nodded, leaning back in her swivel chair. “I’ve been thinking that. I mean, no one else gets B so riled up. And she claims to hate half the people here.”

“There’s a fine line between love and hate,” Amy grinned. “Are you all thinking what I’m thinking?”

“We are never thinking what you’re thinking.” Jesse gave her a pointed, but amused, look.

“Duh! Get them together!”

“Hell no.”

“I don’t know about that…”

Jesse spluttered, “you want us to get in the middle of the crossfire? Are you out of your mind??”

“Awh, come on, it’ll be just like that movie! With the ginger twins!”

“The Parent Trap? That’s a pretty good movie,” Benji perked up.

Jesse turned to his boyfriend with a disapproving glare. “Pretty good? Benj, that film is a masterpiece. It’s right up there with Ferris Bueller.”

“Debate your movie preferences at the movie journal.” Cynthia Rose said, not wanting to have to hear yet another spat between the boys about the colour grading of one scene out of an entire film. “Ames. Meddling is fun but this shit is too deep to meddle with.”

“The parents in the parent trap had literal twins across the ocean. That was deeper than a potential high school breakup,” Jesse pointed out. “I’m in. Beca needs to get laid, anyway.”

“She never wants to date any of the girls who hit on her. Maybe she’s saving herself for a special blonde someone,” Amy waggled her eyebrows.

“How do you propose we do this, Amy?” Cynthia Rose sighed. “I’m not agreeing. Just curious.”

Amy stood up and paced for a moment, biding her time as she made an exaggerated thinking face. The other three watched her in anticipation. Eventually, she clapped her hands together and grinned. “We need to infiltrate the gazette.”

“The gazette would never let us inside their office.” Cynthia Rose shot back immediately.

“I don’t mean literally. We need to talk to someone on the paper. Boytoys. Which one of you has a class with that fashion editor? Stella?”

“You mean Stacie? She’s in my labs,” Benji said cautiously. “But I’m not really that close with her…she also does astrophysics. And I look at 3d models, so it’s not really compatible-“

“Apples I don’t need to know your life story.” Amy rolled her eyes. “Okay. Try and get the downlow from Stacie on what Aubrey’s like. If she ever talks about Beca. You know…”

“Why would she tell me? She knows I’m from our journal.”

“Bribe.” Cynthia Rose shrugged. “Obviously. Offer her something.”

 Benji’s eyes lit up. “Oh, I could show her-“

“Not magic.” Three voices chorused, making the curly haired boy blush lightly.

“Sorry,” Jesse chuckled, nudging him.

“We need a backup plan.” Amy continued. “Because no offence, Apples, but I don’t trust you to complete this mission.”

“That’s fair.” Benji said quietly.

“Cynthia Rose. You’re in charge of online stalking.”

“I never said I was in.” Cynthia Rose huffed.

“Don’t give me that bullcrap, like you don’t want to get people off your back about how you and chief should be an item.”

“Why do people think all lesbians are in love with each other!?” Cynthia Rose slammed a hand down against her desk. She and Beca were best friends, but that was all. She hated the insinuation that they were more, especially when she was in a perfectly loving long distance relationship with a girl from her hometown. “Fine. I’m in.”

“In for what?”

The four of them nearly jumped out of their skin at the sound of Beca’s voice wafting in from the hallway. Seconds later, Beca appeared with an iced coffee, looking decidedly calmer than before, but still frowning. She shrugged her jacket off and threw it to the side, revealing a vintage Lauryn Hill hoodie which she hadn’t been wearing earlier. She pushed her headphones off and walked back over to her desk, before eyeing her unusually quiet friends. “In for what?” she repeated herself.

“Sushi.” Benji panicked. “And-and fries.”

“Sushi and fries?” Beca asked, her mouth forming a disgusted line. “What?”

“We’re hungry.” Amy nodded. “I want fries. Benj wants sushi. Jesse suggested both. CR’s in. You in?”

“We haven’t done any of the lay in. I know you dopes haven’t been working whilst I was gone. And you’re talking about food?” She narrowed her eyes at them. Beca loved to slack off when she felt it appropriate. But she wasn’t in the mood today. Especially not after the barrage of insults the pristinely perfect Posen threw at her in the paper today. Posen with her big team of journalists and editors, ultra-organised.

“It’s not due to publish for another three days.” Amy whined. “Come on, Bec,”

“No!” Beca snapped. She tugged her laptop out of her backpack and grabbed her headphones again. “Don’t disturb me unless you’re dying.”

Once they were sure Beca was lost in her computer and listening to music loud enough to blare them all out (they could hear it bleeding from her headphones), Jesse turned to Amy dully.

“Great. Now she’s mad at us too.”

“Don’t blame me, blame your boyfriend!"

[tiny-maus-boots]

Down South pt 2

Chloe

"Quick get him on the table."

Chloe tossed a sheet over the wooden trestle table they usually shared meals together at. Guillome was pale and listless from pain and blood loss and she wasn't entirely sure she could help him. Beca and Stacie wrangled the tall man onto the table and backed away so she could work.

"Guillome? Can you hear me?"

His eyes were closed but she could tell he was on the cusp of awareness. Chloe gave him a few sharp slaps until he roused enough to blink blearily at her.

"Hey there fella. You've been beat to hell it looks like."

He gave a weak nod of understanding and she gave him a tight lipped smile. Chloe turned to ask that one of the girls bring in water but Aubrey was already at her side with a full bucket and a basin.

"Thanks, love."

While the blonde filled the basin for her she took the time to take a pair of shears to Mr. Beauchamp's best pressed shirt. He must have been visiting Kat. Another thought that weighed heavily on her mind.

If he was here in this state, what must the people of the town be suffering? Kat wouldn’t leave her cantina no matter who blew into town. She had run once but since coming to Mexico, Kat had dug her heels in firmly with no intent to ever leave or be run off again. Chloe shook her head and focused on the task before her. The cool well water felt good on her hands as she rinsed them off.

"I'm going to need help. Beca, Stacie, hold him steady. This is gonna hurt something awful."

There was a lot of work to be done and she didn't like the way the bones of his forearm had broken through the skin. Chloe took a deep steadying breath and set herself to the business of fixing their friend and Kat's sometimes paramour.

"Think he'll be able to tell us something?"

Chloe shook her head at Stacie’s question as she carefully pulled and rotated the bones back in place with a grinding crunch. He'd be damn lucky if it healed at all let alone good as it was. Guillome screamed in pain and writhed against their strong grip until he slumped back against the table, out cold. She shook her head again unsure if he would be able to tell them much of anything. It would be better if he rested.

"I think we already know enough, Stace. If they aren't on our land already they soon will be."

They all stopped to look at Beca who shrugged and looked down at the barely conscious man on their table. Her words caused a stone to plummet to Chloe’s guts.

"They beat him bad. Real bad. But someone put him on that horse. A horse with a brand I don’t recognize. Looks like two crooked letters in a star, except one of them is backward. It looks fresh too”

Silver Star Ranch. Chloe felt the world shift uncomfortably. That was impossible. She raised shadow filled eyes to the blonde and swallowed hard. It couldn’t be. Beca was mistaken.

Aubrey set the basin down on the edge of the table and silently walked to the corner to pick up her rifle. She alone understood Chloe’s sudden fear. Stacie started to follow her up the stairs to the bedrooms but Aubrey stopped her with a hand gently cupped to the taller woman's face.

"I'm just going up to have a look. If they're coming I want to know from what direction."

"You gonna be okay up there alone?"

Aubrey smiled sweetly and leaned forward to kiss Stacie with as much softness as she held her face. Chloe tore her eyes from the pair to give them some privacy while she worked. She couldn't blame Stacie's trepidation. It was hard for any of them to let the blonde out of their sights. Those long days of worrying if Aubrey would heal whole or not had scarred and haunted them all.

"It's trespassers that gotta worry, Stace. I'll put a hole in them long before they see me."

Beca didn't even try to hide the darkly amused smile at the thought. Chloe was absolutely sure the tiny woman was itching for a fight. None of them wanted to give up the peace they had found here in the home they were building together. But neither had they been so foolish as to believe they would never need to ride into danger again.

"Hey Cowgirl, how about you go grab those blankets of ours and dunk them in the trough outside in case they get the smart idea to try and burn us out?"

"Beautiful and brilliant."

She gave Beca a wink as the shorter woman sped off and waved Stacie over to help. Chloe was just as eager to strap on her rig to help defend their home but she wouldn’t do it until their friend was as stable as they could get him. Stacie worked quickly to clean up the blood still oozing from several open wounds while Chloe worked to clear and close as many as she could. She never imagined all those years of having to stitch up her brothers before their mother saw them all banged up after one brawl or another would be so handy now.

“Who do you think did this, Chlo?”

That was hard to say. It wouldn’t be the Army, not this far south. Might be banditos, they had a couple of nomadic gangs in the area. Mostly horse rustlers with a healthy respect for the town. Or at least respect enough not to cause too much grief for anyone but Kat when they got a little too drunk at her cantina. No, this felt a little bit heavier than that. Guillome was hurt in a way that was meant to make a statement. Not a dust up over a spilled drink and a pretty girl.

“If I have to guess? Bounty hunters."

Or worse. Pinkertons. She didn't have to say it. Just the thought of them brought a tingle of fear to the room. Pinkerton men were brutal and vicious. They weren't just law men, they were worse. They were true believers.

Not in God of course. But in the power of man. The power a man had granted them to do unspeakable things to ensure order in the chaos of a wild and growing country. They would do anything in any way they could to achieve what they believed was for the greater good.

Including rousting a family of emigrant Irish farmers from their beds in the middle of the night and burning their ranch to the ground to make way for the train and progress of the people. She would never forget the fear and despair of that night. That was the night she had decided the law no longer applied to her. And she had been spitting in its eye ever since.

For just a moment she heard the roar of fire consuming the walls around her and felt the heat of flames licking at her skin as her eldest brother, Cole, pitched her right through the bedroom window into mama's garden below. It wasn’t the softest landing but it had saved her life.

Chloe shook off the thought and snipped the end of her thread savagely with her shears. If Pinks were here they were in big trouble. It meant they weren't bringing the girls back for trial.

"Riders. Half broke off from the pack to go around back. A dozen in total."

Beca burst through the front door dragging wet blankets and all the linens they had. She frowned and dropped them in a pile by the door at hearing Aubrey's news from the top of the stairs.

"That hardly seems fair. Only twelve of them for all four of us.” Beca made a stink face and kicked at the pile with a leather moccasin clad foot. “I thought we were actually gonna have a scuffle. Aubrey’s gonna have them so full of holes before they get here I won’t even get to play.”

“I’ll save you a few, Bec.”

Chloe chuckled as Beca’s expression went from cloudy to bright as she ran to the foot of the stairs and shouted back up.

“I could kiss you for that, Aubrey Posen.”

There was only a quietly amused grunt from above. Stacie shook her head with a smile and dumped the bloodied water out the back door. She gave the basin a rinse and refilled it so Chloe could clean her hands before touching anything else. Beca bumped her shoulder lightly with her own and surveyed Chloe’s work.

“We’re gonna have to stash him somewhere.”

“We’re not gonna have time to get him upstairs before they get here and if there’s a fire…”

They’d never get him back down before they all burned to death. Beca nodded off the rest of Stacie’s comment and scuffed her foot lightly at the floor. The edge of a rough woven rug flipped up to reveal the dry timber floor they had laid down together.

“Help me pry out these boards, willa ya?”

“Beca Mitchell you’ll NOT be prying up my kitchen floors!”

Beca blinked once at her before looking around startled. When she didn’t see the apparition she was looking for she heaved a sigh of relief.

“Thought your Ma was here for a second.”

Chloe’s eyes widened and Stacie knew better than to even let out a hiss of a laugh from behind clenched teeth. Bright blue eyes bored into Beca who shivered and shrank in on herself.

“I mean I’ll leave them if you want him to get shot to hell when they get up here…” She paused to consider then sweetened the deal. “I promise to dig you that root cellar in there for all your herbs and stores and whatnot.”

“Aye, and this one will help you!”

Chloe sighed and jerked her head in tight agreement. She couldn’t bear to watch Stacie and Beca rip up the floor. Maybe she really was turning into her mother now that she had settled some in her life. Chloe certainly sounded an awful lot like Cerridwen when she was good and fired up. She shrugged and crept up the stairs to find Aubrey, she should be so lucky to be as strong as passionate a person as her mama.

The blonde was crouched near the window in her bedroom watching patiently for someone to get close enough. Aubrey pulled back her hair into a neat bun and lowered her head to gaze back down the length of her barrel without glancing toward Chloe.

“They here yet?”

“Just about. Can you see them yet out your bedroom window?”

Chloe trotted the few steps down the short hall and looked out at the south facing window. A handful of them had just dismounted and were cautiously scanning the area, creeping forward with rifles drawn. Still too far to shoot at but not quite far enough to make her comfortable. The redhead knelt by the foot of the bed she shared with Beca and raised the lid on the cedar chest her father had hand carved for her mother in Ireland. She took her well oiled rig and strapped it low on her hips. The weight of the heavy leather and steel felt comforting, familiar.

It had been awhile but her body remembered each movement without thought as she drew both pistols and gave them a smooth and practiced twirl before sliding neatly in their holsters. She raised the rifle from its spot resting on a pair of long horns mounted on the wall and set herself to the task of loading it with ammo.

Chloe was more of a brawler than a shooter but she’d taken every lesson Cole, Conner, Caleb, Christian, and Corwin taught her to heart and knew she could plug a man dead between the eyes if she needed to. Two rapid fire shots rang out from the next room over followed by a soft cackle.

A part of her winced at breaking out a small pane of glass to shoot out of but she rested the barrel of the rifle on the window sill and sighted down its length. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she found her mark. She inhaled slowly and tightened her finger around the trigger, squeezing smoothly on the exhale. The man’s body dropped an entire breath later, dirt rising in a cloud where he hit the ground. The men around him spread out, but didn’t creep any closer. They didn’t have to. If they were in range, so was she.

She tucked herself down low behind the cover of the wall and the heavy dresser propped against it as their shots rang out and shattered the rest of the window. Footsteps rushed up the stairs and Beca burst into the room to throw herself over Chloe’s body protectively. They could barely hear each other over the ringing aftermath of the shooting but Chloe was fixated on the soft curve of Beca’s lips as they moved with the words she was shouting.

“Yeah…yeah I’m okay, Bec. Put one of them down and they took exception. Where's Stacie?"

Chloe could hear the sounds of reloading and tossed the rifle to her partner. She drew both guns and started firing at the men below. They scattered under their duel onslaught, scrambling for what cover they could find.

"Oh she's gonna greet our gentleman callers."

Beca shot a man just raising his rifle and snickered. Chloe raised her brows at that. Well that sounded damned suspicious and if she knew Stacie at all whatever she had planned would be wild.

"Of course she is. I hope she shows them our Southern hospitality."

[massivedrickhead]

Bechloe Week Day 1: Drunken Dare

Words: 1977

Notes: Bechloe week 2024 let’s go!!!! Who knows how many prompts I’ll be doing this year, but I can promise at least 2 😅

Read on AO3

-

The house was in complete chaos when Beca returned from her internship that night. 

It was packed to bursting with Bellas, Trebles, and any other campus a capella group that had managed to snag an invite.

The music was deafening, but Beca was pleased to hear they were at least playing one of her mixes.

“Beca, you made it!” Stacie called out when she saw her leaning against the front door, surveying the carnage in front of her.

“Made it? Dude, I live here too,” Beca replied. 

“I meant, like, made it to the party,” Stacie said, rolling her eyes. “Here.” She pushed a shot into Beca’s hand. “You’ve got some catching up to do.”

“I don’t really feel like it, Stace,” Beca said, trying to give it back to her. “I’m just gonna go hide out in my room, I’ve got a bunch of stuff to do.”

“Boo!” Stacie said, hands in the air as she refused to take the shot glass back. “I know you’re bummed about Jesse-”

“-I’m really not,” Beca interrupted.

“But you can’t just sulk in your room all night,” Stacie carried on as if there’d been no interruption. “Get yourself out there, you’re young, free, and single!”

Beca sighed and downed the shot, her face twisting at the taste. “I’m good,” she said. “Thanks.”

She put the shot glass on the first clear surface she found and climbed the stairs up to her and Amy’s attic bedroom. 

She signed again when she saw the Bellas scarf tied to the doorknob.

She didn’t want to stick around long enough to hear what was going on behind that door, so she quickly turned and made her way back down to the second-floor landing. 

Chloe’s door was part-way open, and Beca gave a cautious knock before she pushed it open further and went inside, pulling out her phone as she did.

Beca: Amy and Bumper are in my room again so I’m hiding out in yours, hope that’s okay. Let me know if you need it back and I’ll make myself scarce x

Chloe was no stranger to hooking up with people at parties, and Beca didn’t want to cock-block her best friend just because she was trying to avoid socialising.

She sat at Chloe’s desk, took her laptop out of her bag, pulled on her headphones, and started working on their set list for the Worlds.

“There you are!” Chloe said happily, pulling open her bedroom door. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“I sent a text,” Beca said, taking off her headphones and grinning as Chloe pulled out her phone and closed one eye to see it. 

“So you did,” she said. “Why are you hiding?”

Beca shrugged. “Too many people,” she said.

“Yeah, it is getting a little out of hand out there,” Chloe said.

“So do you need the room back?” Beca asked. “I can go to the library or-”

“No,” Chloe said. “You’re good.”

Beca nodded. “Don’t let me keep you from all that,” she said, gesturing to the party that continued to rage outside Chloe’s door.

“You aren’t keeping me,” Chloe said. “I came here looking for you.”

“Oh. How come?”

Chloe’s grin widened, and she withdrew the hand that had been held behind her back. In it, she held a bottle of tequila. “I seem to recall the last time you flaked on a party you promised me you’d make it up to me.”

“Seriously?” Beca asked. “You want to cash that in now?”

“Now’s as good a time as any,” Chloe replied. “Come on, you’ve been all mopey since Jesse left-

“-I haven’t been mopey-”

“-and you need to let loose a little and have some fun,” Chloe said. She took a seat cross-legged on the floor and gestured for Beca to join her. 

If it had been anyone else asking, Beca would have said no, but she’d never been very good at turning down Chloe, so she saved the mix she was working on and joined Chloe on the floor.

“If I’m hungover tomorrow I’m going to blame you,” Beca said, accepting the bottle from Chloe and taking a drink. She grimaced and handed it back. “You couldn’t have swiped something a little better tasting?”

“You don’t drink it because it tastes good,” Chloe said, taking a drink herself. 

Truth be told, Beca did need this. She’d been so stressed out from prepping for the Worlds, working at her internship and, yes, breaking up with Jesse, that she needed a night out of her head. She needed a little fun.

“We should play truth or dare,” Chloe announced. She opened up Spotify on her phone and hit play on one of the many playlists Beca had compiled for her over the years. Music began playing through Chloe’s Bluetooth speaker, and it all but drowned out the party taking place outside the door. 

“Truth or dare?” Beca asked. “Is that a good idea? Anytime we play that someone usually ends up in the ER.”

“Lily isn’t playing, I think we should be safe,” Chloe said. 

“Lily wasn’t the one who dared Amy to slide down the stairs on the drinks tray,” Beca pointed out.

“No, but Lily was the one who dared Jessica and Ashley to play five-finger fillet,” Chloe said, shuddering at the memory. “And, in my defence, I also slid down the stairs on the tray and I didn’t get hurt. I think her technique was all wrong.”

“Fine,” Beca said, “as long as there are no knife games, no Evel Knievel stunts, and no running through the party naked, we can play truth or dare.”

“Spoil sport,” Chloe said with a pout. “You can go first, truth or dare?”

“Why do I have to go first?”

“Because you’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” Chloe said, gesturing for Beca to take a drink. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Beca said.

“How come you and Jesse broke up?”

“Jesus, we’re jumping right into that one, huh?” Beca asked. Chloe shrugged and waited for a response. Beca took a drink, not because she was backing out of the question, but because she felt like she needed a little more liquid courage. “Long distance never works,” she said, remembering the conversation she and Jesse had had when he told her about the job offer he’d gotten in L.A.

“I don’t think that’s true,” Chloe said. 

It was Beca’s turn to shrug, and she tried to hand the bottle back to Chloe.

“That’s all I get?”

“That’s all there is to it,” Beca said. “He moved, I didn’t, so we broke up.”

“You guys didn’t even want to try it out? It’s not like it would have been forever, you’re moving out to L.A. once you graduate, right?”

Chloe still hadn’t taken the bottle back, so Beca took another drink. “I don’t know what I’m doing after I graduate,” she said. “If things go well with the internship then I might stick around in Barden.” She brushed her thumb along the edge of the bottle’s label. The corner was just starting to peel up. “To be honest I was kind of relieved when Jesse told me he was leaving. We got together so young and… I dunno, I kinda knew it wasn’t going to be forever with him, and I think he felt the same. We’d been drifting apart, arguing a bunch, this just felt like a chance for a clean break.”

Chloe nodded and took the bottle back for another drink. “I didn’t know you guys were having problems.”

“It was all just stupid shit,” Beca said. “Like we were just filling time so we didn’t have to talk about the fact that we weren’t right together.” Beca shook her head. “But that doesn’t matter. It’s done, we’re done, and I honestly feel pretty okay about it.”

“Well, good,” Chloe said, brightening up. “I’m glad.”

“Anyway, it’s your turn,” Beca said. “Truth or dare?”

They played until the bottle was almost empty, and they ended up lying and giggling on Chloe’s bedroom floor.

Their heads were close to each other as they stared up at the ceiling. Arms touching, elbows pressing into ribs. If they turned their heads, their noses would have brushed against each other. 

“Have I ever told you how adorable it is that you’ve got glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to your ceiling?” Beca asked, squinting up. She was considerably drunker than she had been an hour ago, and the stars above her seemed to be multiplying. 

“I don’t think you have,” Chloe replied. “But thank you, they are pretty adorable.”

One song faded into the next as they both continued to stare up at the ceiling.

“Beca?”

“Hmm?”

“Truth or dare?”

Beca laughed. “Dare,” she said. 

There was a pause while Chloe thought.

“I dare you to kiss me,” she said. There was a vulnerability in her voice that Beca hadn’t heard before, and it was that, more than the question, that caused Beca to turn her head and look at her.

“What?” Beca asked.

“I dare you to kiss me,” Chloe said again. There was a look in her eyes that Beca couldn’t quite place, but she knew Chloe was serious. She also knew that this wasn’t going to be one of those kisses that drunk girls do with their friends sometimes. She’d seen Chloe play spin the bottle - had seen her kiss almost all of the Bellas - but there was something different in her voice and expression. Something sobering. Something that told Beca that this was a big deal. That her asking was a big deal.

“Are you sure?” Beca asked.

Chloe nodded. “If you want to,” she said. “Do you want to?”

“Yes,” Beca answered, honestly.

“So kiss me.”

Beca did.

It started as a soft press against the lips that quickly deepened and got heated.

They made out on the floor for what felt like hours, long after the playlist had ended and the party had wrapped up.

Every time they broke apart for air one would pull the other back in. Neither wanted to stop.

It was only when the soft light of the morning began creeping in through the gap in Chloe’s blinds that they finally gave in. Lips numb, cheeks and chests flushed, they lay together on Chloe’s bedroom floor.

“I should go,” Beca mumbled, eyes closing at the feeling of Chloe’s hand trailing through her hair.

“You don’t have to,” Chloe replied. “You could stay.”

“Do you want me to?”

“Of course,” Chloe said. “Stay.”

“Can we at least get off the floor?” Beca asked, and she smiled when she felt Chloe’s chest vibrate with her laugh beneath her head.

“Yeah,” Chloe said.

Exhausted and already beginning to feel the effects of their hangovers, they climbed off the floor and into Chloe’s bed. 

“What happens now?” Beca asked, finding her eyes drawn to Chloe’s lips again. 

“With us?” Chloe asked. Beca nodded.

“I don’t want to lose you,” she said. “I don’t want this to be something we regret in the morning.”

“I won’t regret it,” Chloe said.

“Me neither. But I, um, I can’t do the casual relationship thing,” Beca said. “I can’t do the friends-with-benefits thing. If that’s all this is then we should call it now.”

“That isn’t what I want either,” Chloe said. “Bec I… I like you. I have for a long time. And I know it’s soon - you and Jesse just broke up a few weeks ago - but, well, I guess this is me shooting my shot. I like you. I’d like to take you out on a date and see where this thing goes.”

Beca couldn’t stop the grin that spread across her face. “I’d like that,” she said.

Chloe smiled back and leaned in to kiss her again, all thoughts of going to sleep pushed aside.

[daylightmitchells]

a piece of my thanksgiving au even if thanksgiving has been and gone

Chloe hugs with her entire body, Beca realizes, wrapping whoever she’s hugging in her arms tightly — sometimes she sways, almost all of the time she’s standing on her tiptoes just like now, yellow socked toes digging into the floorboards. Chloe hugs like she could take your breath away in a single second, Beca doesn’t need to hug her to know what that feels like.

[ridiculously-over-obsessed]

BECHLOE WEEK 2024 - MASTERPOST

It's here bitches!!!! 😍😍 Ngl I'm so pumped for this year, I know that I have five fics/updates planned for sure, maybe six, I'm hoping to get them all out in time but as always no gurantees, my muse is a fickle bitch 😅 (also if you're waiting for TMWYH please don't worry I plan to update it right after Bechloe Week I swear)

Day One - To Kiss In Cars And Downtown Bars Day Two - I Could Stay Awake Just To Hear You Breathing Day Four - Run Don't Walk Away ch. 3 Day Five - Does Your Daddy Know That You're Out?

[fanficbutnow]

Summary:

With Amy now a millionaire with a mansion, Beca and Chloe finally have the space in their shared apartment to bring some old clothes back in. But when a trip down memory lane has Chloe in some lingerie and Beca in her old Bella uniform, certain feelings may be tested.

Tags, Warnings, Rating, and Bingo Card are under the 'Keep Reading'.

Prompt: Post-Canon

Chapters: 1/1

Fandom: Pitch Perfect (Movies) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell Characters: Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Post-Pitch Perfect 3, Chloe likes a girl in a uniform, Clothed Sex, Brief mentions of the terrible Chicago/Chloe relationship, Movie Hater Beca, Love Confessions

[mitchellbealess]

new chapter posted!

Summary: When Emily and Beca are home alone at the Bellas House, some things are said that leave Beca thinking about her relationship with Chloe.

[lgbtkendricks]

people throw rocks at things that shine (mitchsen one-shot)

inspired by ours (taylor's version) by taylor swift. Beca and Aubrey finally go public with their relationship. Neither anticipate the reactions they receive.

read on ao3 here, or below

Aubrey Posen had not fiddled with her cardigan sleeve since she was a schoolgirl.

On the first day of school every year, without fail, she would come home and get told off by her mother for ruining the cardigan they had just bought. She would spend the entire day pulling at the threads, forcing them loose and making the sleeve unravel into an unruly, anxious mess. Sometimes she would bite at it once it was loose, eating away at the cardigan throughout class until it was damp, until she was forced to tug harder at the threads when the uncomfortableness of a damp sleeve became too much. It was the feeling of everybody giving her unwanted attention that caused it – asking too many questions, expecting her to be one way and being put off when she was another. It was the embarrassment of being able to tell when she wasn’t suiting the other kids’ standards of friendship, the anxiety that came with being the girl who tried too hard to be something she wasn’t and knowing that sooner or later, the new kids who took interest in her would fade away with the understanding that she was boring. It was the knowledge that they spoke about her behind her back, questioning why she was so prim and proper, assuming she felt she was above them all because she couldn’t understand them the way they understood each other. It wasn’t until she started college that she stopped fiddling with her cardigans. That first day was the day she met Chloe. They swapped dorms to share together by the weekend, and the rest was history.

Today, however…today was the Monday morning after Aubrey and Beca finally went public with their relationship. Beca had posted a photo of them on Instagram from their 2-year anniversary a couple months back. It was raw and personal and attracted a lot of attention on Twitter and Instagram because Beca was usually anything but. It was a selfie Beca had taken, holding up Aubrey’s anniversary card in an envelope that read ‘happy 2 years, alt girl.’ Beca’s mouth was covered with the card, but her eyes were bright and happy and a little teary as she posed for the camera. Aubrey was hugging her from behind and grinning, resting her chin on Beca’s head. It was an adorable photo, one that was now standing in a frame in their living room. Beca had simply posted it without a caption before switching her phone off, taking a deep breath, and sitting back down on the sofa to continue their Love Island marathon.  

So that happened, and it was all over the internet, and it was Monday at the office, a morning already gruelling enough what with the backlog of emails and excruciating small talk about what everyone got up to over the weekend. Her girlfriend was quite famous now. Since Beca began her solo career, she had skyrocketed into the charts, into winning her first Grammy, into being the subject of fan mail and fan accounts. Aubrey could not have been prouder of her. They had been careful to conceal their relationship from the public. Aubrey didn’t want to jeopardise Beca’s rising popularity, and Beca didn’t want Aubrey to have to deal with paparazzi or stalkers whilst she found her footing in the entertainment industry. But, in the two years they had been together and of Beca’s career – somehow managing to dissuade any relationship rumours – Aubrey herself had become quite successful as a lawyer. She was well respected at the firm, and whilst the blonde wasn’t sure she would call them all her close friends, she did get along with them and often felt guilty about lying through her teeth whenever they would bring up how amazing Beca’s music was and how Aubrey used to be in the Bellas with her. Rather than gushing about her incredibly talented girlfriend, it would turn into gushing about their acapella days and pretending to wonder who the mystery person was that Beca dedicated her Grammy to and if that person was a friend or a lover.

It was pretty difficult.

Now, though, all that was behind her. Aubrey was sat in her parked car strangely excited for the day ahead. She would finally be able to speak freely about the love of her life, about how proud she was of Beca, how in awe she was of her always, and most importantly just how important the woman was to her.

It was only once she stood waiting for the elevator that her excitement began to fade and become overwhelmed with an unsettled feeling in her chest. She was stood next to Brandy, one of her co-workers who often mentioned Beca’s music and snuck her songs into playlists at office drinks. Brandy was someone who Aubrey assumed would have been most excited to see her this morning.

Brandy side-eyed her with a passive smile. “Good morning, Aubrey.”

“M-Morning,” Aubrey stuttered back in confusion. Brandy had never been so curt with her before.

She reached for her cardigan sleeve.

The elevator dinged. Brandy sniffed and waltzed right in, pressing the button a little too forcefully. Aubrey gulped and followed the woman in, smiling as warmly as she could at the rest of the people in the elevator. None of them looked particularly pleased to see her, either. She turned around to face the front as the elevator doors closed, entrapping them into the tiny space. Aubrey had never worried so extensively about what would happen if the elevator stopped before. The metal cuboid (death trap, more like) was silent. You could cut the tension with a knife.

Aubrey was going to the thirteenth floor. She would’ve taken the stairs over this silence any day.

Her mind’s whirring substituted for the lack of conversation, unfortunately. She couldn’t help but wonder whether they were unhappy with her lying, with her relationship, with her sexuality, with Beca’s, or all of the above. And Aubrey being Aubrey, she couldn’t help but think the worst. It was like the first day of school all over again. She hadn’t so much as addressed her sexuality in the workplace before. And now, she could be ostracised from the community she had managed to be accepted into, everyone else realising how she was untrustworthy or a liar or unfair. Should she have told them sooner and offered concert tickets? Should she have offered concert tickets when they all thought they were just teammates and good friends?? Why did she feel the need to buy these people’s acceptance? Her chest felt tight as she glanced quickly at the mirror, watching everyone stare vacantly at the back of her head, or her bag, or her shoes. If Beca had been there she would have whispered a joke about them in her ear and calmed her down with ease. But she wasn’t, and they all looked as uncomfortable as Aubrey felt. Brandy especially was not only uncomfortable but clearly miffed. Aubrey didn’t feel well all of a sudden.

The elevator dinged, making Aubrey jump and rip a little more of the thread out of her cardigan than she was supposed to. Brandy all but pushed past to stalk out of the elevator immediately, and Aubrey willed herself to follow, not knowing what would be awaiting her. She had to walk through the entire corridor to get to her office, passing the breakroom and several other people’s rooms. She kept her head straight and her face passive. If she showed a crumble in her resolve now, it would be obvious and it would define her post-public era for months to come. She could hear people whispering in the breakroom. This was worse than the first day of school. This time, she didn’t just think that people were judging her, she knew they were. She needed to text Beca.

The whispering stopped as she walked past. She didn’t look directly, but in her peripheral vision it seemed they were all gathered around someone’s phone. Aubrey’s face felt hot. She had been so concerned about how their relationship being public would affect Beca and her career that she never even stopped to consider how it might affect her own. She passed another coworker in the hallway who didn’t so much as bat an eyelash in her direction, purposefully staring straight ahead and avoiding her. Their firm regularly dealt with homophobia and gay rights in their legal cases. Aubrey wasn’t sure what specifically was causing this icy atmosphere but it was really stressing her out and it wasn’t even 9am yet. Her sleeve was unravelling faster than she cared to admit.

“Good morning, Aubrey,” Her assistant said cheerfully from their desk stationed outside her office.

Having half expected to walk past them with no obvious acknowledgement, Aubrey paused and smiled in relief. “Good morning, Sage. Any messages?”

They smiled supportively. “No…none about work.”

Aubrey reeled herself. “And about Beca?”

“There were a couple of fan gifts and whatnot.” Sage cringed. “Nothing major. Congratulations, by the way, boss.”

“Thank you.” She let out a sigh of relief. Fan mail from the overzealous ones who had found out what firm she worked at was to be expected. She would probably be receiving things like that all week. “I think you’re the only person here who isn’t annoyed at me right now.”

“Would you like me to talk to the office?”

“No, no, I could never put that on you,” Aubrey said immediately.  

She didn’t notice that she had started to fiddle again with the cardigan until Sage cocked their head and looked pointedly at her wrist. “Are you��alright?”

“I-“ the question hit her a little harder than she expected it to. For the first time in her professional career, she was uncertain of where she stood and how to fix this. She knew there shouldn’t even be anything to fix, but there was, and if this hostile work environment was going to continue, she wasn’t sure what her next steps should be. The panic rose in waves. “Um…”

“I’ll cancel your meetings for the morning. Say something came up.” Sage said, already typing something out on their laptop.

The lawyer smiled gratefully at them. “Thank you.” She took her ponytail out of its hair tie before moving to lock herself into her office.

“And boss?”

Aubrey turned round to look at Sage questionably.

“There will always be people with nothing else better to do with their lives who disapprove. For whatever reason. You and I both know that. Doesn’t change anything.”

Feeling tears prickle at her eyes, Aubrey nodded at them. She didn’t know what to say, so she hoped her actions later in the week would make up for the lack of communication. She didn’t know Sage as well as Sage knew her, but they would probably love some time off at least. A gift, too. Right now, though, she needed to text her girlfriend. Once she got into her office she shut the door and locked it immediately, dropping her bag, kicking off her heels and falling into the sofa. Aubrey was fast to pull out her phone and head to the messages app.

Aubrey: Busy?

Beca: it’s 9am

Beca: no

Beca: whats up?

Aubrey: Sage cancelled my morning meetings because I’m two seconds away from a breakdown so no.

Beca: what? what happened??

Aubrey: I don’t know.

Beca: just anxious?

Aubrey: No, it’s just very hostile here. Everyone’s being cold with me. I don’t know why.

Beca: because of me?

Aubrey: I don’t know for sure.

Beca: jesus fucking christ

Aubrey: Don’t worry about it for now. Are you needed at the studio this morning?

Beca: yeah i have a meeting gonna make my way over there in a sec

Beca: its gonna be a long one baby im sorry

Aubrey: Done by lunch?

Beca: definitely

Aubrey: I’ll pick you up

Beca: okay cool

Beca: im really sorry im not free when you need me to be

Beca: i love you

Aubrey: I love you too, it’s fine.

Beca: dont type like that you sound mad

Aubrey: imnotmadbecs. Better?

Beca: i guess

Beca: dork

Beca: see you at lunch. watch glee in the meantime <3

The blonde smiled sweetly. She hadn’t thought of distractions yet, but Beca knew she’d need one this morning. She wasn’t sure how Beca always knew. It wasn’t the same for her whenever Beca wasn’t herself. Partly because the brunette generally just put on a specific playlist that pretty much showed her girlfriend exactly how she was feeling and Aubrey simply waited until she was ready to talk, knowing not to push her too hard. They were opposites in that sense. Well, in many senses, but specifically that one. Aubrey always wanted to talk before anything else so she didn’t end up bottling up and triggering nausea. Aubrey knew that was why Beca felt so bad about not being available. It sucked when their relationship suffered for less important necessities.

---

“Shit.” Aubrey mumbled as she pulled up to Beca’s studio and noticed the paparazzi were stationed around the entrance. Beca would usually bring her in through the third secret entrance but if she even tried to meet the brunette there now it would show the paps where it was. Reaching for her big sunglasses in her glove compartment, Aubrey gulped before switching off the engine and getting out.

There were flashes going off immediately. It was almost amusing for Aubrey considering they hadn’t known who she was in relation to Beca until two days ago. But she wasn’t in the mood to be amused, or to be photographed, so she kept her head down and ignored the questions about their relationship and if it were true that they had eloped and all this crap she couldn’t believe Beca would have to put up with every day from now on.

Aubrey made her way quickly to the front desk and took off her sunglasses, but she didn’t even have to say a word before the receptionist buzzed her in with a smile.

“Go right ahead, Miss Posen,”

“Oh, thank you,” she said quickly. Beca must have arranged for her to have full access on demand now that the news was out. It warmed her heart, the lengths her girlfriend went to.

It didn’t take long to find Beca. She was in the studio’s common area, looking bored out of her mind as she listened to a conversation that was going on between a couple of her editor coworkers. When she saw Aubrey coming through, she jumped up and excused herself, striding over with a familiar, comforting grin. For the first time in hours, Aubrey felt the awful feeling in her chest begin to fade as her girlfriend opened her arms out and she rushed into them with a heavy sigh of relief.

“Hi,” Beca said gently, loud enough only for Aubrey to hear, rubbing her back as Aubrey draped her arms round her waist and squeezed.

Beca’s heart dropped as she heard Aubrey’s deep, shaky breaths. The panic and upset was radiating off of her and the musician hated to see her like this, barely keeping herself together. Aubrey seemed overwhelmed more than anything else. Overwhelmed and scared. It hurt Beca even more knowing how put together Aubrey usually was. Not in an unhealthy way anymore, not like back in college, but she kept herself and her emotions in check with a careful schedule and routine, she allowed for spontaneity on the weekends - she rarely ever got to this stage about anything these days. Beca knew it must have been a bad start to the morning if Sage cancelled her meetings, but she hadn’t anticipated it getting to this stage.

“I’m here, Bree,” she whispered. “Are you feeling okay?”

They both knew she meant physically rather than mentally. Aubrey took a moment to check in with herself, but eventually nodded.

“I’m fine,” she said softly.

Beca wasn’t so sure. “Do you think you’ll still be fine after food?”

“Mhm.”

“Okay.” The shorter girl pulled back and tucked some strands of hair behind Aubrey’s ear, tiptoeing to give her a quick kiss before grabbing her hand, choosing not to comment on the state of Aubrey’s sleeve that she had clearly been pulling at all morning. It looked ruined beyond repair.

Aubrey put her sunglasses back on. “The paps are outside. We have to go through the front, my car’s there,”

“No,” Beca shook her head. The last thing she wanted to do was have Aubrey photographed now. “Mine’s at the back. We’ll give your keys to security and ask him to park it there for now. We’ll get it later,”

---

Having successfully evaded the paps, they wound up eating sandwiches in their favourite secluded spot. A little hideaway in the middle of the park nearby that was completely concealed by foliage and trees. They often came there to watch the sunset, to have picnics or just to get away from life for a while. It was their secret spot.

After watching Aubrey silently eat her sandwich for a while, Beca nudged her slightly with her leg, putting her own sandwich bag down onto the blanket Beca had found in the boot of her car and laid out for them to sit on.

“Wanna talk?”

Aubrey looked up at her kind, concerned eyes and nodded, putting her sandwich down too. She took a deep breath.

“I walked into work and- it’s so ridiculous, nothing even technically happened,” Beca sent her a disapproving look, which Aubrey ignored. “And I saw Brandy by the elevator. She was really cold. And judgemental. And the ride was so tense. It was oppressive. Everybody was hyperaware of me. I don’t enjoy that kind of attention without intention.”

Beca noticed she was fiddling with her sleeve again.

“And everyone was in the breakroom whispering about us. I guess- I just…it was really nerve-wracking. I didn’t expect anyone to disapprove of us. I knew they would care, but they’re all fans of you anyway. I didn’t think it would be…like that. It was just too much without warning.”

Beca bit her lip, rubbing circles over the back of Aubrey’s hand. She felt terrible. “What’s on your mind?”

“I just told you.”

“No, I mean, after all of that happened, what were you thinking all morning?”

“Worrying about what they thought of you, of me, of our relationship. Worrying that they hated me now because of it, or because I’m a lesbian. Worrying that my work environment has been permanently altered and not knowing where to go from there. Worrying that this could develop into something worse. And if they’ll ever trust me again for lying to them.”

Beca moved so her legs were spread out and tugged Aubrey until she was lying down with her head in her lap and Beca could run her hands through her hair. “I’m so sorry. Fuck. I am so, so sorry baby.”

“It’s not your fault.” Aubrey shook her head.

“It is. I should have prepared you.”

“Beca, what are you talking about? Of course I was prepared to go public.”

“You weren’t.” Beca frowned. “Not like I was. Not professionally. My publicist should have sat you down. I…I was prepped for every possible scenario. Stalkers, haters, whatever. None of them involved your work. I-I assumed people might be shocked. That was it. And your work is more important than mine.” She watched Aubrey open her mouth to interject and brought a finger to her girlfriend’s lips. “Your work is more important than mine, Bree. That’s a fact.”

Aubrey was quiet whilst Beca ruminated on how she could possible fix this. Her phone dinged and Aubrey reached for it. It was a Facebook messenger notification. Aubrey looked up at her questionably, but Beca merely shrugged so Aubrey unlocked her phone and clicked on it.

Alicia sent you a photo.

Alicia: so you can go public to the whole world with Audrey but you couldn’t tell your mom about us? I’m pretty pissed that I would be living life as the beca mitchell’s famous girlfriend right now if you’d had the balls. And to leave me for her?? Let me know when you realise you want a second chance.

“Well now I feel sick.” Aubrey said as they both stared at the message and a topless selfie where the blonde girl had applied too much lip gloss to grin impiously at the camera.

“What the fuck?” Beca scoffed as she took the phone and reread the message in disbelief.

Aubrey sounded even more dejected. “Is that your high school girlfriend?”

“Yes.” Beca said with an exhausted sigh. “Sort of. I don’t really count barely getting along as girlfriends. Didn’t even know she was on my Facebook.”

Her girlfriend was already feeling weak and embarrassed and hated enough without that message to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. To be crying over something so far deep in Beca’s past felt juvenile, and the last thing she wanted to do was appear like a jealous girlfriend when they both knew the brunette only had eyes for her. But damn it, she was strong all the time. And if she couldn’t have off days in front of Beca then she couldn’t have off days in front of herself. The sniffle and gasping breaths that Aubrey couldn’t hold in alerted the singer from where she was in the process of blocking Alicia, and she dropped her phone immediately as she noticed the tears falling slowly down the side of Aubrey’s face.

“My love.” Beca said sadly, cupping her cheeks and pressing an upside-down kiss to her lips. “I-I’m not about to tell you not to cry but…but look around. Look at where we are. This is our place. All ours. It’s you and me and our place and our love. Nobody else is welcome here. Bree please…don’t you worry your pretty little mind, okay? I-I know that’s easier said than done but- shit, Aubrey.” There were tears threatening to fall from her own eyes now. Beca would never get used to seeing Aubrey cry. It always broke her heart. “People throw rocks at things that shine.”

Aubrey nodded, and her mouth upturned into a near-smile at the riddle. She loved it when Beca spoke in riddles and metaphors. It was a habit she picked up from her dad, and she did it without realising whenever she really, really meant something. It was a comfort to Aubrey because it always meant Beca was being her most honest and loving self.

Beca gently wiped the remaining tears off her girlfriend’s face as she continued speaking. “And…life makes love look hard. But…but our love isn’t. Our life is gonna be rocky for a little while, I know that, you have no idea how sorry I am. Just a little while, while we navigate the publicity. But our love won’t be. Right? This place is ours, this love is ours, nobody’s taking that away from us.”

Aubrey sat up and looked deeply into Beca’s eyes. What was usually an ocean blue had turned into a dark, misty midnight. Aubrey cupped Beca’s cheek and brought their heads together.

“How do you do that?” Aubrey asked her.

“Do what?”

Aubrey pressed a kiss to her lips and pulled back. “Make everything okay. Speak like that unrehearsed.”

Beca rolled her eyes. “You do it too.”

“I do?”

“Aubrey, you’re a lawyer. Come on.”

“It’s not the same.” Aubrey smiled gently.

“It is totally the same.”

“You were not like this in Barden. At all. It’s not the same. What changed?”

Beca looked down a little shyly and shrugged. “Started songwriting when we got together.”

Aubrey simply chuckled at Beca’s sudden bashfulness as if she hadn’t heard and given notes of a dozen of Beca’s songs that she was still perfecting for her next, more personal album. “I love you, Becs.”

“Love you too,”

[godzillachloe]

list 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who reblogged something from you. learn to know your mutuals and followers.♡

Have a wonderful day 💜💙

1: My dog:

2: The Bellas Whether it is in PP or another movie or just posting on Insta:

3: My fics: (Remind me I'm Alive )

4:Godzilla

5: Asks from my bestie (even if I take a million years to answer)