#we got AUBREY ON THE DRUMS !!!

[twelverriver]

Aubrey Plaza as Rio in Agatha All Along

[like-a-omen]

Best friend! Folio

@darling-millicent-aubrey @alloraiona @english-fucker @pathion @foliosgirl @livingdeceasedgirl

18+ below the cut minors DNI

Best friend folio would definitely drag you along on fishing trips to keep him company. When it's quiet between bites he's pulled you close under the blanket rubbing slow circles on your clit, you know later when he calls it a night he's going to fuck you in the tent as his way of saying thank you for coming with him. Without warning he picks up the pace catching you off guard as a loud moan escaped you causing him to smirk at your reaction, now pulling you in for a sloppy kiss as his fingers entered you to muffle your moans you feel that familiar knot building. Your close and he knows it the way your grinding your hips into his hand tells him all he needs to know, a sudden beeping of the bite alarm pulls you back to earth and folio away from you to start reeling in the fish "sorry babe got a bite!" In that moment all you could think was fuck that fish.

Best friend folio setting up a nice little smoke session for just the two of you after hearing how rough your day at work had been, ever seen your text he's been snack shopping and pre rolling preparing for your evening. You finally arrive at his and are greeted with a big bear hug before leading you to the sofa the coffee table laid out with everything you guys will need, as you both lay there cuddled up joint passing between you both you slowly felt the stress from today melt away. Folio laid there stroking your hair and you couldn't help but smile thinking how did you get so lucky to have such a caring best friend, it was always that boys mission to make you smile and he was pretty damn good at it.

Best friend folio would 100% take any opportunity to make you laugh watching you light up like that always brightens his day, plus he thinks your laugh is just adorable he'd make it your personal ringtone if you let him. Even in the bedroom he will try to make you laugh the way it makes you clench around him puts that boy on cloud nine, thrusting into you while he's making you laugh just gives your boobs that exta bounce that he just loves.

Best friend folio would love it when you ask to go out on his bike with him, you was cruising along with no real destination but that's what made it even better you'd always find the most stunning locations. You watched the world go by arms wrapped round him tight just getting lost in the scenery it was a great way to clear your head, folio had offered plenty of times to help you learn so you could ride together and as much as you loved that idea you'd miss admiring the views. Typically you'd stop by some lake he finds before heading back, but you didn't mind you loved watching him get all excited scoping out a new potential fishing spot.

Best friend folio noticed your gaze fixated on his arms as he was practicing a new drum solo, he just knew your mind was going to some very dirty places. "Hey Y/N can you chuck the towel?" No answer "Earth to Y/N?" He snapped his fingers a few times dragging you out of your fantasy, you felt a blush creep across your face realising you'd been caught but also not having a clue what he just asked you. "Umm I thought it was great.. looked really technical" he laughed before heading over to grab the towel himself wiping away the sweat, you couldn't help but bite your lip as you watched. "Bit distracted are we? Wanna tell me what we was up to or do you wanna act it out? " That's how you ended up bent over his drum stool, the grip he had on your hips was definitely going to leave bruises but you didn't care.

Best friend folio wouldn't admit it but he'd definitely get jealous if other guys were chatting you up at a party, he could tell that they only intended to use you for the night and you just didn't deserve that. He watched this guy like a hawk and just didn't like the vibes he was giving off, so once he left he decides to save you from a night of disappointment. "Hey Y/N this party is a bit lame wanna come back to mine and have a smoke?" Shortly after you both was in a uber on the way to folios the guy that was flirting with you wasn't that interesting anyway, besides he probably couldn't fuck you better than your best friend. Folio definitely made sure it wasn't a disappointing night you started to wonder if come round for a smoke was just code for sex, because here you are getting absolutely railed into next week by your best friend.

Hope you like it! I really enjoyed writing this one so expect some more best friend folio in the future 😉

[your-pixels-are-showing]

concert dump (late bc I slept for two days and had to go back to the real world today):

I dragged my best friend along because I knew I would be a mess otherwise. (I convinced her with Eden’s beauty and the fact Aubrey is Chappell Roan’s bassist tho)

We met so many cool people there!! Shoutout if we met you (I was in a sparkly silver cowboy hat)

Two of the girls we met were also in school and one of them kept making Eden laugh with her jokes in between songs. She would say “that was actually kind of good!” or re-enact Mario’s “waaaah” amongst other things that really tickled Eden apparently. They ended getting Dash(?)’s set list. (rip we never got their names tho)

We were right up against the stage which was bonkers. (the stage is only a foot maybe off the ground btw) we were right in front of Eden so our view of Lewis was terrible 💔 I eventually switched with my best friend because apparently Lewis kept scaring her with how intense he looked while drumming LMAO

I made eye contact with Lewis a couple times whenever he wasn’t looking at Eden, Freddy, or his drums since I was right in front of him.

The dynamic between the five of them is adorable!! they clearly love each other so much and they would constantly look between each other for confirmation/support. I love how they got into each song with someone (usually Freddy) counting down.

Eden said we were the best crowd!! We sang a bit of one of the songs (I can’t remember which one) with her and she got a little emotional during one of them. All around the best vibes I’ve ever seen at a concert.

Once they left the stage I went to the bathroom and when I came back I literally passed right by Lewis without even realizing it until I turned around 💔

We ended up meeting The Wonderfool (the opener) and they were super cool!! (sorry to Matt, he kept talking to me but I was so nervous I probably seemed so uninterested 😭)

We had to swap lines a couple times because I don’t think Lewis realized how many people were actually waiting for him so he kept going to pack up but eventually we met Aubrey who is super cool!! We then met Freddy and Dash a couple times every time we bought merch (we went each separately before the show then twice after it ended).

AND EDEN!! Eden is literally my queen, she is so so sweet. We asked her how the tour was going and she mentioned again how Atlanta has been the best so far. I jokingly said she was just saying that but she insisted and was very charming. We took a couple selfies and then Dash offered to take a picture (he accidentally took a selfie first before turning the camera around 😭)

Oh! everyone complimented my cowboy hat which made me very happy.

I was literally about to give up seeing Lewis but my best friend would literally not let me leave until we saw him (very grateful for that lol) We asked Aubrey if she could grab him for a second. I felt so so bad because he kept trying to pack up and I think he was just tired or nervous with the show and everyone meeting him. I didn’t want to overwhelm him more so I just asked for his autograph and a picture. (He thought I meant a drawing which was funny so I asked if he drew and he said he drew all the album artwork and I felt so silly.) He was still very sweet and kind!! Pro tip: don’t wait until the very very end to meet him, I was stupid 😭

We left once we got the picture and when I looked at it I was initially confused because he originally went to side hug me but then let go of me and rested his fist on my shoulder… I panicked and thought I had done something wrong. But I realized that he adjusted because I did an awkward side hug too where I wasn’t hugging him all the way. so he was actually just being very respectful which makes me admire him so much more 😭

but yeah! anyways, here are some stuff from the concert, a picture of my best friend’s wallet they all signed (and laughed at), dash’s accidental selfie and a picture with me and eden/lewis!!

[thebaffledcaptain]

Music of the Revolutionary Century: the Rogue's March

"We have a short way with mutineers, sir. We hanged all we could lay our hands on; ran ‘em up the yardarm directly, with the Rogue‘s March playing..." – Captain Jack Aubrey, in HMS Surprise by Patrick O'Brian

A fun tune this is, only because of its ironic air. I found this 1781 print, labelled "A Visit to Camp or the Rogues March" and subtitled "To T. Lamb Esq. Mayor of Rye, on being, what they call, Drumm'd out of Camp by the Sixth Regiment of Foot." We're not quite sure what this T. Lamb did to warrant his drumming-out, but upon seeing it I thought it was due time that I covered this tune, if only because of its popularity and its reflection of the borderline humorous traditions of the 18th century (though not entirely unreasonable ones).

The Rogue's March had a specific usage throughout the 18th century British (and Continental, seeing as they tended to adopt most of the same tunes) military as the tune to which offenders were drummed out of camp. The process of this was intended essentially to humiliate said offender as deeply as possible in that classic, over-the-top 18th-century style, and this period print illustrates several of the traditions: the person in question would be paraded along the regimental formation and out of the camp, all the while marching on to the Rogue's March, played by as many drummers and fifers as were available in order to make the spectacle all the more memorable. As if that wasn't enough, generally the offender's coat would be turned and worn inside out as a sign of disgrace, and some regiments were not above "the final disgrace of a farewell ritual kick from the regiment's youngest drummer," seen here in the front of the formation at half the size of his compatriots, presumably preparing to make his move...

There were, too, unofficial lyrics to this tune, probably for a drinking song, which would duly reflect the mood of the offender's resentment:

Fifty [lashes] I got for selling me coat, Fifty for selling me blanket. If ever I 'lists for a sodger again, The Divil shall be me sergeant. Poor old sodger, poor old sodger...

This is undoubtedly one of the more well-known military tunes of the period, referenced in many pieces of media set during the long 18th century, including (as seen above) in the Aubrey-Maturin series and evidently in the TV show Sharpe. You can find many versions of this tune but I've chosen this specific fife-and-drum version because I think it was intended to convey the scene we see in the print above: it is slow, deliberate, almost stately, in a deeply ironic way. You can imagine the feeling of shame it might bring to have your march from camp extended by the musicians' excruciatingly unhurried tempo.

As for the musical side of things, I have to say this is probably the only 18th century field tune I've personally seen that relies so heavily on this syncopated triplet rhythm. There are versions that substitute them for plain old eighths, but I find them so much less fun. If anything I feel like that amusing little rhythmic swing upward just makes the cheerful tone of this one all the more ironic.

[bechloeislegit]

12 Days of BeChloe Christmases 2021 - Day 08

Beca Nightingale

Prompt from Fanfiction User FearTheLilly: I know you usually do a soldier coming home story for Christmas but how about a Florence Nightingale effect where person A is an injured soldier and person B is their nurse. Bonus if you make Chloe the soldier and Beca the nurse since that plays against their characters.

Beca Mitchell sighed as she stood on the balcony of the V.A. Rehab Hospital. She had never entertained the idea of being a nurse, let alone a nurse working with injured vets, but here she was.

The job was tough and Beca had to be tougher than the job. She had seen far too many American soldiers come through the doors of the hospital.

Beca had just received word that a young soldier she had worked with that had been released the week before, had committed suicide. She wiped the tears from her face and stared out over the grounds of the facility.

Beca hated crying, especially over something this senseless. She didn't think the young soldier was mentally ready to go home but was overruled by the psychiatrist that was supposed to be helping him.

Beca wiped more tears and made her way back inside.

"We have incoming," Stacie told her as soon as she saw Beca. "All hands on deck."

Beca sighed and rushed behind Stacie to the entrance to help receive the injured soldiers.

~~ 12 Days of BeChloe Christmases 2021 - Day 08 ~~

Two weeks later, Beca was pushing a wheelchair as she entered the room of her two 'newest' patients.

"Hey, Beca," Emily Junk said as she entered.

"Hey, Junk," Beca said. "Ready for your PT?"

"No," Emily said. "But I am ready to go home."

"Sorry, but it takes more than you saying you're ready to go home for it to actually happen," Beca said as she stopped and locked the wheelchair next to Emily's bed. "I think the doctors like having you around. At least for a little while longer."

Emily looked over at her roommate. "How's Chloe doing?"

"Captain Beale is still in a medically induced coma," Beca said. "But you know that. Good news though. They may try and bring her out of it today or tomorrow."

"That is good news," Emily said. "If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be alive right now."

"Let's get you into the chair," Beca said. "You know how Dr. Posen hates when we get there late."

"I know," Emily said. "She's one tough broad."

"That's one way to describe her," Beca said as she helped Emily into the wheelchair. "All set?"

At Emily's nod, Beca started pushing the wheelchair out of the room. Beca rolled Emily into the PT exercise room and Dr. Posen immediately came over.

"How's my favorite patient this morning?"

Emily blushed and looked down as she said, "If you mean me, I'm doing well, thank you."

"She's all yours, Aubs," Beca said.

"Thanks, Beca," Aubrey said as Beca left the room.

~~ 12 Days of BeChloe Christmases 2021 - Day 08 ~~

Beca stopped at the Nurse's Station and stood in front of the desk.

"Hey, Ashley," Beca said. "Junk is in PT and I need Beale's meds."

Ashley made a notation on a clipboard and stood.

"I'll get those meds for you," Ashley said. "I think Dr. Swanson changed one of them since he's planning on trying to wake her up today."

"He's going to do it today?" Beca asked.

"Yes," Ashley said. "I think around two or so. I'll go get those meds now."

Ashley left and Beca drummed her fingers on the desktop.

"Hey, Beca," Stacie said as she came up to the desk. "We're thinking of ordering pizza for lunch. You want in?"

"Sure," Beca said. "Just cheese for me, please."

"Here you go, Beca," Ashley said, handing Beca a clipboard.

Beca signed for the meds and handed the clipboard back to Ashley.

"Did I hear you say something about pizza for lunch, Stacie?" Ashley asked. At Stacie's nod, Ashley asked, "Can I get in on a pepperoni?"

"You got it," Stacie said. "I'll let you two know when it gets here."

"Thanks," Beca and Ashley both said as Stacie walked away.

"Here you go, Beca," Ashley said, handing Beca a tray with the medicines for Captain Beale.

Beca checked over the tray and nodded her head. "Thanks, Ash."

Beca made her way to Captain Beale's room. And as she always did when she entered, she called out, "Good morning, sunshine."

Beca walked over to the bed and put the meds tray on the table next to the bed.

"I got your breakfast," Beca said. "Bon appétit!"

Beca then methodically picked up each syringe and inserted them into the IV hanging above Beale's bed.

"We'll get to meet each other properly if you decide to wake up for Dr. Swanson today," Beca said. "Emily tells me you have amazing blue eyes, and I am quite interested in seeing them."

Beca finished administering the meds and again looked down into the face of Captain Beale.

"I gotta say," Beca said as she looked down at her patient. "I've become quite enamored with you. I don't usually let myself become attracted to my patients, but there is something about you that has me thinking about you all the time." Beca sighed. "I must say, I've enjoyed and am going to miss our little talks. It's not often I can vent about some of the doctors around here without being chastised for it. You are quite the listener and I appreciate that."

Beca checked everything and made notations on the patient's chart. She placed the chart back in the slot at the end of the bed, picked up the meds tray, and left the room.

~~ 12 Days of BeChloe Christmases 2021 - Day 08 ~~

Beca had just finished her lunch when she heard the distinctive "ding" signifying a patient needing assistance. She looked down the hall and saw the light on outside the Junk/Beale room. She hurried down and entered the room.

"What's wrong, Emily?"

"Um, I think Chloe, I mean, Captain Beale, is in pain," Emily said, pointing to the other bed.

Beca looked over to see Chloe thrashing about; she hurried over to the bed. She looked down at Chloe and pressed the button for the nurse's station.

"How can I help you?" Ashley's voice came through the speaker.

"Ashley, it's Beca. Would you please page Dr. Swanson to Captain Beale's room? I think she's waking up."

"On it," Ashley's voice came back through the speaker.

A few seconds later, over the hospital's speaker system she heard, "Dr. Swanson please report to room 309. Dr. Swanson to room 309 please."

"Captain Beale?" Beca said, looking down at Chloe. "Can you open your eyes for me?"

Chloe moved again, letting out a small groan as she did.

"Is she okay?" Emily asked.

"She's fine," Beca said, looking over at Emily. "I think she's waking up."

"Thank God," Emily mumbled.

Just then Dr. Swanson came rushing in, with Jessica close behind. Jessica threw out a "sorry" to Emily as she pulled the privacy curtain across to block Emily's view and provide some privacy while Dr. Swanson examined Chloe.

"She's definitely waking up," Beca said as Dr. Swanson rushed over to the side of the bed.

Chloe started thrashing about again and reached toward the arm with the IV in it; Beca grabbed her arm to keep her from pulling out the IV. She held Chloe's hand down with one hand while rubbing her shoulder with the other.

"It's okay, Captain," Beca said. "You're safe. We've got you."

Chloe seemed to calm down as Beca kept up a steady murmuring.

"Captain Beale," Dr. Swanson said loudly. "If you can hear me, open your eyes."

Chloe move about a bit. Beca continued to rub her shoulder and hold her hand.

"Captain Beale," Dr. Swanson called again. "Can you open your eyes for me?"

Suddenly, Chloe's eyes shot open. She looked about wildly.

Beca gently squeezed her hand, causing Chloe to look up at her. Beca smiled as she looked into Chloe's eyes.

"Emily was right," Beca mumbled, staring into Chloe's eyes. "Your eyes really are an amazing shade of blue."

"Told you!" came from behind the privacy curtain.

"You're the sunshine girl," Chloe said, her voice raspy from not speaking.

Dr. Swanson cleared his throat, causing Chloe to turn her gaze to him.

"Welcome back, Captain," Dr. Swanson said with a smile. "I need to do a few quick tests. Are you up for it?"

"Yes, sir," Chloe rasped. "May I have some water first?"

"Sure," Dr. Swanson said, nodding to Beca.

Beca poured a small amount of water into a cup and put a bendy straw into it. She held the straw to Chloe's mouth. Chloe closed her eyes as she sipped the water. Chloe put her hand up as if to push the cup away.

"Better?" Beca asked as she moved the cup.

"Yes," Chloe said, sounding much better. "Thanks."

"Captain Beale," Dr. Swanson said, regaining her attention. "I'm going to need you to pay attention to me, okay?"

"Okay," Chloe said, nodding her head.

Dr. Swanson moved to the end to the end of the bed; Chloe moved her head and followed him with her eyes. Dr. Swanson raised his hand with his index finger up.

"Follow my finger with only your eyes please." He moved his finger left then right, then up and down.

Chloe did as instructed and followed the finger without any issues.

"Good, good."

Dr. Swanson moved to the side of the bed and held out both hands, all but one finger closed in toward his palm.

"Pull my fingers toward you."

Chloe grabbed his fingers and did as instructed as Dr. Swanson pulled against Chloe's grip.

"Excellent. Now, push my hands away from you."

Dr. Swanson pushed against Chloe's hands as she did the same to his.

"Excellent," Dr. Swanson said. "How do you feel? Any pain or headaches?"

"No sir," Chloe responded.

"That's good," Dr. Swanson said. "I know you're probably wondering what's going on. What's the last thing you remember?"

"We were ambushed and got pinned down," Chloe said, sitting up suddenly. "Emily! Do you know what happened to Private Junk? And the rest of the squad."

Beca reached over to pull the privacy curtain open.

"Emily's right here and she's okay," Beca said as a waving Emily appeared.

"Oh, thank God," Chloe murmured. "What about the rest of the squad?"

"They're all here, too," Emily said. "Lots of injuries, but we didn't lose anyone. I swear."

Chloe nodded and laid back on the bed and looked at Dr. Swanson.

"You were saying, doctor."

"Right, um, you suffered a traumatic brain injury so we put you in a medically induced coma until the swelling went down. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"You've been in the coma for about a month. All the tests show that your brain seems to be functioning properly, but you will need some physical therapy to help your body recover. Do you understand?"

"I need physical therapy," Chloe said. "Got it."

"Good," Dr. Swanson said. "We'll get you started on that within the next day or so. Nurse Mitchell will set it up for you, okay?"

Beca nodded as did Chloe.

"Do you have any questions?" Dr. Swanson asked as he finished explaining everything to Chloe.

"How much longer will I need to be here?"

"That all depends on how well you do with your physical therapy," Dr. Swanson responded. "I would suspect at least a few more weeks, possibly a month."

"Um, can I have something to eat?" Chloe said.

"We'll start you off with a liquid diet," Dr. Swanson said. "Clear broth and liquids for a day or two. We don't want to upset your stomach too much. Beca will call down and have a tray sent up for you."

"Thank you," Chloe said.

"You're welcome, Captain," Dr. Swanson said. "I've got other patients to see, but I'll check back later."

"Okay," Chloe said as Dr. Swanson left the room.

"Do you need anything else?" Beca asked.

"Just something to eat, please," Chloe responded.

"I'll order that straight away," Beca said. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Will you come back and talk to me?" Chloe asked. "I know this is going to sound weird, but I swear I could hear your voice talking to me while I was in the coma. You have a very comforting voice."

"Sure," Beca said, blushing slightly. "I can come back later."

"Thanks," Chloe said.

"Emily, do you need anything?" Beca asked, turning to look at her other patient.

"No, thanks," Emily said. "I'm good."

"Okay then," Beca said. "I'll be back shortly. Just press the call button if you need anything else, Captain-."

"Call me Chloe."

"Okay then," Beca said, stopping at the door to look back at Chloe. "I'll be back shortly with some food…Chloe."

Chloe watched Beca leave; Emily giggled.

"I think someone is smitten," Emily said, looking at Chloe.

Chloe blushed slightly but didn't say anything.

~~ 12 Days of BeChloe Christmases 2021 - Day 08 ~~

Two weeks after Chloe woke up, Emily was ready to go home. Chloe was in PT when Emily's parents came in; they both gushed over their daughter's remarkable recovery.

"I'm only here because of Captain Beale," Emily told her parents. "She dragged me away from the caravan before another bomb exploded. I'm the reason she got injured. She had gotten away from the trucks safely. If she hadn't come back for me, she would never have been close enough to the caravan to get knocked out. She had to be put in a coma to heal."

"We'll have to make sure to thank her when we see her," Mrs. Junk said.

"She's in PT and won't be back for several hours," Emily said. "I'll check on her later and pass on your thanks. But, now I really just want to go home."

"Okay, sweetie," Mr. Junk said. "We'll leave as soon as the nurse comes back with your paperwork."

"Okay, Emily," Beca said, entering the room right on cue. "I just need your signature and you're good to go."

"Thank you, Beca," Emily said.

"Yes, thank you," Mrs. Junk said. "Emily's been telling how us how great you've been to her."

"Just doing my job," Beca said, shrugging off the comments.

"That may be," Mr. Junk said. "But sometimes a thank you for a job done well, goes a long way."

Beca blushed slightly and looked at Emily as she placed some papers in front of her.

"Just sign here," Beca said, pointing to the line for Emily to sign. "And you can be on your way."

Emily signed where Beca indicated and Beca took the papers back.

"Don't take this the wrong way," Beca said, smiling at Emily. "But I hope never to see you again."

The Junks all chuckled as Beca left the room.

Two and half hours later, Beca wheeled an exhausted Chloe into the room.

"Did Emily leave already?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah," Beca responded. "Her folks took her out of here about two hours or so ago."

"I'm glad I got a chance to say goodbye this morning," Chloe said. "It must have been nice for her to have someone come to take her home."

Beca sensed sadness in Chloe's comment. Thinking Chloe was sad because she wasn't able to go home yet, Beca tried to sound optimistic as she said, "Dr. Posen said you were doing great in PT. Maybe you should call your family and let them know you might be ready to go home in just a couple more weeks."

"There's no one to call," Chloe said softly. "They don't know I'm here. Honestly, the army has been my life for seven years, so I don't have anywhere else to go."

"There's no family you can call?" Beca asked.

"Nope," Chloe said. "My folks disowned me when I joined the Army. They're pacifists and couldn't understand why I thought joining the army was a good idea. I haven't seen or spoken to either of my parents since I left for boot camp."

"What about a friend?"

"All my friends are fellow soldiers," Chloe said.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry," Beca said, chewing on her bottom lip.

"It is what it is," Chloe said. "Could you help me to bed? I'd like to get some rest."

"Oh, um, sure," Beca said.

Once Chloe was settled, Beca left her to rest. She walked to the break room and spotted Stacie sitting with a cup of coffee in front of her.

"What's wrong, Beca?" Stacie asked.

"Can I ask you something personal?" Beca said, sitting across from Stacie.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Do you think it would be weird if I asked Chloe, um, Captain Beale to come live with me when she gets out of here?"

"Um, wow, I was not expecting that."

"I know," Beca said. "I wasn't expecting to ask it, but she just told me she has no place to go. Christmas is just three weeks away and I can't stand the thought of her spending it here with no one coming to see her."

"You've got it bad, Mitchell," Stacie said chuckling. "I knew you were infatuated with her, but I didn't know your feelings were so strong for her."

"What?" Beca screeched. "I do not have strong feelings for her."

"I'd say that was true," Stacie said. "But then we'd both be liars."

Beca scoffed and opened her mouth to say something, but closed it just as quickly as several thoughts went through her head.

Did she have strong feelings for Chloe? Of a romantic nature?

Would Chloe find it weird if she told her she did?

"Come on, Stacie," Beca whined. "I really want your opinion on this. Is it a bad idea or a really bad idea?"

"Personally," Stacie said. "I think it's a good idea. I can tell you really do like her and from what I've seen of the two of you interacting, she has some feelings for you, too. Plus, you have the space and she has nowhere to go. You're a nurse and she's going to need one for a little while. And, you know as soon as Dr. Anderson 'evaluates' her, he'll tell her she can go home whether she's mentally ready to or not. The only thing that's saving her from being sent home right now is Dr. Posen. So, I think you should let Chloe know she has options other than being thrown out in the streets. Which is exactly what will happen once Dr. Anderson is involved."

Beca sighed because she knew Stacie was right.

~~ 12 Days of BeChloe Christmases 2021 - Day 08 ~~

Chloe's thoughts were running along the same vein as Beca's. She laid on her back and had one arm over her eyes.

"Is Beca gay?"

"If she is, I wonder if she'd want to go out with me."

"Is it just a crush because she's my nurse and has been taking such good care of me? Or is it something more? Could it become something more?"

"Ugh," Chloe huffed. "Why do I do this to myself? She's probably got a girlfriend or a boyfriend at home."

"Hey, are you okay?" Beca asked.

Chloe moved her arm from over her eyes and looked to see Beca standing in the doorway.

"Um, yeah," Chloe said. "I'm good."

Beca stood in the doorway for a moment. She sighed and finally walked over to the side of Chloe's bed; her brows furrowed as she looked down at Chloe.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked.

"I was just thinking about what you said earlier," Beca said. "And I have an option for you to consider."

"An option for what?"

"For where you can go once you get out of here."

"Oh."

"I have plenty of room," Beca started rambling. "More room than one person needs, actually. My parents are loaded and bought my house for me as a gift when I got my nursing degree. I think they were hoping I'd be married by now and have a couple of kids running around."

Chloe didn't say anything but felt a fluttering in her stomach. She didn't know where Beca was going with this but was hopeful it was going to be something good.

"I need to be honest with you," Beca continued. "I'm gay. So, if that's a problem for you, we can just forget it."

"God, she is so cute," Chloe thought, chuckling before saying out loud, "You haven't said what it is, so there's nothing to forget."

"Oh, right, sorry," Beca stammered. She took a deep breath and said, "I like you. A lot. And I was wondering if you would want to come and stay with me when you get out of here?"

Beca got all that out in one breath. So she inhaled deeply and waited for Chloe's response.

"Yes, but only if you want to explore a relationship with me," Chloe said with a megawatt smile on her face. "And I don't mean just as friends."

Beca smiled back as she stared into Chloe's eyes. "That's the whole idea of asking you to come live with me."

"Good," Chloe said. "I'm glad we're on the same page."

Dr. Swanson walked in at that moment.

"We'll talk more later," Beca whispered to Chloe before stepping out of the way for Dr. Swanson.

~~ 12 Days of BeChloe Christmases 2021 - Day 08 ~

"You're progressing much better than before," Dr. Posen told Chloe after an exhaustive PT session.

"I have something to look forward to," Chloe said. "Namely getting out of here."

"That could happen very soon," Dr. Posen said. "You're walking well with only a cane for assistance. We just need your psych eval done and I think you'll be out of here in time to celebrate Christmas at home."

"That's the goal," Chloe said. "Thanks, doc."

"Just doing my job," Dr. Posen said with a smile.

"Now you sound like Beca," Chloe said with a chuckle.

"She's a great nurse," Dr. Posen said. "And an even better friend. She told me about asking you to stay with her once you leave here. I think that will be good for both of you."

"I agree," Chloe said. "Can I go back to my room using my own two feet?"

"Sure," Dr. Posen said. "It will be good practice. But just to be safe, I'll follow behind you with the wheelchair in case you get tired."

"Okay," Chloe said as she grabbed her cane and stood.

Dr. Posen grabbed the handle of the wheelchair and motioned for Chloe to proceed. Chloe walked out and Dr. Posen followed close behind her.

They walked in silence for the most part until they reached Chloe's room. Dr. Posen parked the chair in the corner as Chloe climbed into bed on her own.

"Excellent," Dr. Posen said. "I'll let Beca know that you'll be getting out of here sooner than we thought."

"Thank you, Dr. Posen," Chloe said.

"You're welcome," Dr. Posen. "Oh, and Beca's a good friend. Don't hurt her and things will remain good between us. Understood, Captain?"

"You have nothing to worry about in that regard, ma'am," Chloe said without hesitation.

~~ 12 Days of BeChloe Christmases 2021 - Day 08 ~~

Christmas Eve found Chloe sitting on the sofa in the living room, wrapping a gift she had bought for Beca. She had managed to talk to Stacie about it before she left the hospital and Stacie had picked it up for Chloe and dropped it off while Beca was working at the hospital.

Chloe taped the bow on top and smiled down at her handiwork. She put the gift under the tree and made her way to the kitchen. She had something special planned for dinner and needed to get started.

"Chloe?" Beca's voice called out as she entered the house.

"Kitchen," Chloe called back.

Beca made her way into the kitchen and went straight to Chloe. She dropped the bag she was carrying and threw her arms around Chloe's neck, pulling her into a kiss.

"Mmm," Chloe hummed. "I wish you would always greet me like that."

"Play your cards right, Captain," Beca said. "And your wish might just come true."

Beca reached for the bag she had set down. Chloe looked down and saw several brightly wrapped packages.

"What's all that?" Chloe asked, pointing to the bag.

"Gifts from work," Beca said.

"They all must really like you," Chloe said with a small laugh.

"They're not all mine," Beca said. "There's a couple in there for you."

"Really?" Chloe asked, her surprise quite evident in her words and the look on her face.

"Yep," Beca said. "I'm going to put them under the tree and come back to help with dinner."

"Okay," Chloe said.

After dinner, Beca and Chloe were snuggled together on the sofa. Chloe was leaning against the arm of the sofa and Beca was sitting between her legs, leaning back against her. Beca picked up Chloe's hand and started playing with her fingers.

"Growing up, it was a tradition in our house that everyone got to open one gift on Christmas Eve," Beca said. "So, I think we should start our own tradition and do the same."

"I'm okay with that," Chloe said. "Want to do it now?"

"Yes," Beca said. "I know just the gift I want you to open."

"Me, too," Chloe said.

They both got up and went to the tree, grabbing their gifts and taking them back to the sofa. They both sat, facing each other.

"Here," Beca said, handing Chloe the gift. "This is from me."

"This one is from me," Chloe said, handing Beca the gift she had chosen.

"You open yours first," Beca said, smiling at Chloe.

Chloe tore off the paper and opened the box. Inside she found a new pair of jeans and a sweater.

"This is perfect," Chloe said. "I was hoping to do some shopping after Christmas so I had something to wear besides my army greens."

"The color of the sweater matches your eyes," Beca said.

"Thank you," Chloe said, giving Beca a quick kiss. "Now open yours."

Beca shook the small box and Chloe laughed. Beca was smiling as she tore the paper off and opened the box. She gasped and looked at Chloe.

"Chloe?" Beca said softly as Chloe took the box and pulled out the ring that was inside.

"It's just a promise ring for now," Chloe said. "I know it's High Schoolish but I wanted you to know that I'm in this for the long haul. This ring is a promise that sometime in the not too distant future I'll be replacing it with a real engagement ring. If you are so inclined to accept."

"Yes," Beca said as a tear ran down her cheek. "I'm in this for the long haul, too."

Chloe took Beca's left hand and slid the ring onto her ring finger. "I kind of love you, you know."

"Guess it's a good thing that I kind of love you, too," Beca said, pulling Chloe into a heated kiss.

[thiswasinevitableid]

Pleasant Surprise (Indruck Superhero AU)

A little fic I’ve had bouncing around my head for awhile, set in the universe of “The Thrilling Adventures of the Green Knight.”  It takes place after that story, and after the events of the small fics “Aww, Rats” and “Back in Time”. You can read it as a standalone, but it does contain some spoilers for main fic.

“You know how you always say communication is important in a relationship?” Indrid drums his fingers on the arm of the couch. 

Dr. Mwangi nods, the chain on her glasses glinting in the soothing lights of her office.

“I...there is something I am not sure how to communicate to Duck. I, it’s something I’ve been dishonest about. I” Indrid takes a deep breath, “I lied about the date of my birthday.”

Dr. Mwangi doesn’t so much as cock an eyebrow, much like she managed not to gasp in horror when he told her what his training regime involved when he was learning to be a villain. Indrid’s going theory is that this self-control is his therapist's super power. 

“Do you want to spend part of our session today figuring out how you’d like to talk with him about this?”

Indrid fidgets with his glasses, “Yes, please.”

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

Duck comes home to one of his favorite scenes; Indrid sitting with his easel in front of the rat run. His boyfriend decided he needed to cultivate his artistic streak, so that one part of his life would not involve superheroing or villainy in any capacity. From the look of it, he’s still on the theme of inserting the rats into still-lifes of different styles. 

Duck loves watching him paint, in a way at once connected to and completely different from the attraction he feels observing the other man train in the hideout or dig himself into engineering a new invention. There’s the same cleverness in his hands, the same concentration lining his face. But there’s an innocence that’s absent other places, a kind of happiness that only exists in activities untouched by his past.

“Hello, chivalrous one.” Indrid murmurs as Duck comes to drape his arms over his sweater clad shoulders.

“Hey sugar. I like the new paintin’--is that Dr. Harris Bonkers?”

“Indeed.” Indrid turns his head, his grin as bright as the streetlights flickering to life outside, “The fuzzy medical practitioner in the style of Seurat. I foresee Aubrey liking it as a Christmas gift, and I wanted to do it while the inspiration was still fresh.”

“Bet she’ll get a kick outta it.” Duck kisses the top of his head, then starts removing his work clothes, “you had dinner? Thought I might reheat some pizza.”

“I ordered us dinner, it should arrive within ten to fifteen minutes, depending on whether this is the broken stoplight timeline.” Indrid sets his brushes aside, stands so he can follow Duck down the hall to the bedroom.

“Thanks for doin’ that.”

“There is, ah, something I wish to discuss before it arrives.”

Duck turns and his heart twinges. Back when Indrid was his nemesis, Duck learned to read his emotions, a skill that eluded everyone else. He can tell when Indrid is nervous and, most often, when Indrid is nervous and doing everything he can to hide it.

“What’s on your mind?” He takes a soft step towards the other man, who goes very still as he summons his next words. 

“Do you remember what I told you about my birthday?”

“That it was in the spring and you’d let me know when we were gettin close to it. Wait, fuck, you never did, not this year or last year. Then again, last year was when the White Star boys kept tryin to fuck everythin up, think a lot of stuff got missed. Do you, uh, wanna do a birthday observed or somethin? Could even get a little goofy and do a half-birthday.”

Indrid shakes his head vehemently, “No. That is not it. I, I ah, I lied. My birthday is not in spring. And before you ask ‘when is it,’ the answer is I have no idea. We never celebrated birthdays. I only know my age because my father unleashed my brother and myself upon the world some time after I, or rather we, turned eighteen.” Indrid tucks his hands into the pockets of his sweater, “that is all I wish to say.”

It would be easy to giggle at his serious tone. 

Duck pulls Indrid into a hug, “Thanks for tellin me. Do you want help tryin to work out when it really is?”

“I...I do not know. I was simply tired of such a small lie weighing me down.”

“Okay. You wanna cuddle until dinner?”

“Of cour--oh damn it all.” Indrid steps back, pulling off his sweater, “Baron Thorne is going to try and hold an entire dormitory of students hostage in forty-five minutes.”

“More than a two hero job?”

Indrid tips his head back, then replies, “it’ll go best with for. I shall alert Barclay and Aubrey.”

“Roger. I’ll get the car.”

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

Duck’s researching potential plants for Dani to modify into non-lethal weapons when the secure elevator dings open and Agent Stern hurries out, looking a kind of excited he hasn’t seen since Barclay’s parents landed their ship to meet their son’s new boyfriend. 

“Gettin the feelin you got good news for me.”

“I do.” Joe pulls out his datapad, “I went through the files we confiscated from Abbadon to find the one on Indrid. It did indeed have his birth date, and you are not going to believe what it is.”

Duck looks at the little boxes of letters and numbers beneath the photo of a much younger Indrid with a much crueler smile. 

“No fuckin way.”

“I know right?” Joe grins, “ I think he’ll get a kick out of that.”

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

“My birthday is on Halloween?”

“Yeah!” Duck looks so happy that for a moment the emotion carries Indrid as well. 

“That is rather fitting. It’s always been my favorite holiday.” He can see it now; little orange lights, a black tablecloth, some cake.

“And it’s three weeks away, so we still got time to plan somethin to mark the day. I was thinkin we could have it Friday, since Halloween is a Saturday and I know at least Barclay and Dani got things they do every Halloween. How’s that sound?”

He isn’t sure. Something circles up from the deep, animal part of his mind, but he can’t name it and so does his best to ignore it. 

“It sounds wonderful.”

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

Indrid cannot escape. Everywhere he turns there are birthdays; on the T.V, in the restaurants he and Duck go to, on cards and balloons when he’s getting groceries 

It’s your big day!

“You don’t turn thirteen everyday”

To my son, on his eighteenth birthday

“To my brother, my favorite partner in crime”

“This week on ‘My Neighbor’s a Werewolf,’ Jamie throws Max a surprise party, and gets a big surprise of his own.” 

When that one flickers across the screen, Indrid clicks the T.V off with a little hiss. He’s tense, feels like the embodiment of the moment a knife-tip meets skin; resistance and resignation in the instant before it all comes pouring out. 

“You got a cake preference?” Duck rests his hand on the couch near Indrid’s shoulder, tone light as he continues, “know you like really sweet stuff, I could get mom’s hummingbird cake recipe from Jane-”

“Whatever you think best.” Indrid flexes and coils his fingers.

“‘Drid, it’s your party, you get to mark the occasion however you want.

“And what if I do not wish to mark it at all?”

“Uh…” Duck clears his throat, “uh, that’s fine too.”

Indrid turns his head to see the expression he knew would be there. 

“That upsets you.”

“N-uh, fuck, I uh, it don’t uh-”

“Duck, please do me the courtesy of not drawing out the lie.”

Ducks shoulders sag, “Guess I’m a little disappointed. I, uh, I was havin fun plannin it with you. Thought I could make up for all the times you didn’t have one.”

“Well, you can’t.” Indrid snaps, stands more dramatically than he means to. He just wants this to be over, wants to stop seeing the memories he thought he’d properly laid to rest, “you cannot make up for what I saw, what was done to me, what I did.”

“I-”

Indrid holds up his hand, “I know you see it as your job to remove all traces of my tragic past that you can.”

“Hold the fuck on.” Duck shakes his head, “Is that what you think I’m doin? ‘Drid, it’s just a party. If you don’t want it you don’t want it, but don’t fuckin pretend this is some indicator of us as a pair.”

“Oh but it is.” Indrid feels his lips curl into an old smile, “you get to play the nice, normal hero making everything better, while all I am is someone to pity, broken long before you ever met me!”

Duck goes still, and in his visions he sees the rats finishing skittering to the far side of Ratopia. It’s at this moment he realizes he’s been yelling. 

“I…I am going to bed. Goodnight.” He hurries down the hall, only bothering to change his pants before crawling under the covers. In most futures, Duck follows him and demands they finish their argument, leading to a far larger fight. But the hero doesn’t come. This gives Indrid time to get his breathing and heart rate back to normal, to try and work out why the thought of his loved ones gathering to celebrate his birth makes him want to disappear into the night. 

He’s not quite asleep when Duck comes in. He’s not quite ready to apologize. As he’s contemplating his options, his boyfriend slips under the sheet and lays in such a way that his right hand is inches from Indrid’s own. 

Without opening his eyes, Indrid slides his fingers across Duck’s palm. Duck shifts to interlink their fingers, and closes his hand. 

Indrid wakes up five hours later in two discrete stages. The first is coming out of the nightmare, of his body registering the need to move, to hide, before his brain is fully back to the present. The second is waking up enough to wonder why he always hides in the closet after these dreams; he didn’t have a closet growing up. 

He creeps into the living room, hoping he hasn’t woken Duck. He has woken Chicken, who decides it’s close enough to her breakfast time to yowl at him until he feeds her. While she crunches her cat food, he opens one of the doors to Ratopia. The mischief is mostly asleep, but at  the sound Void rouses from his spot atop Mallard and scurries over to Indrid’s hands. 

“You forgive so easily.” Indrid murmurs, cupping him in one hand and closing the cage with the other, “or perhaps you just forget with much greater skill than I.”

He knows when Duck is behind him. Without turning, he sets Void on his shoulder and says, “I think I know why I have been so unpleasant tonight. I...I have only ever marked two changes in age; being old enough to face the trials of my order and being sent out to cut down those who dared oppose us. My ‘birthday’ is a harbinger of suffering and death. And I, I know that is not the real truth, but it is the one my body believes, the one my mind has been bracing for without me fully understanding that’s what it is doing. I did not mean to take that fear out on you.”

“‘Drid” Duck’s voice is scratchy with sleep, but when Indrid turns his eyes are alert, “I’m so fuckin sorry. It, uh, it didn’t occur to me that your birthday would be wrapped up so tightly with the shit you went through as a kid. I never meant to push you into somethin you didn’t want.”

“But I do want it!” Indrid shoves his hands into his hair, “I want to have dinner with our friends, to get gifts, to enjoy a thing that millions of people partake in every day. And I am so, so very angry that I cannot, that instead I am dealing with all of this.” He gestures vaguely to himself, then looks at Duck, his body registering safe as the hero joins him by the rat run. When Duck opens his arms, Indrid nestles into them without hesitation. 

“Whatever you decide on, that’s what we’ll do.” 

Indrid hums, snickers when Void clambers onto Duck to tickle his cheek with his whiskers. After the shadows of the past recede in the warmth of Duck’s embrace, Indrid whispers, “I would like to have the party. I would like to help you plan it. But I...I would like a few of the details to still be surprises for me. It might be nice for my birthday to bring me a pleasant one for once.”

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

“Oooh, this looks so cool!” Aubrey sets a gift on the table as she admires the mothman string lights, banners, and balloons, “dang, Duck, didn’t know you had a decorator streak.”

“Don’t get a chance to flex it much. And it’s kinda easy when the theme is so specific.”

“I’m trying to compliment you, doofus.” Aubrey playfully whacks his arm, then squeals, “honey, look, rats in hats!”

“Awww” Dani joins her to regard the mischief in their tiny party hats (only Mallard is still wearing his, the others in various states of tossing them about), “Indrid, did you make these?”

“Indeed, though Barclay made these.” He slides the enclosure open and sets five rat-sized cupcakes on the floor, “which is wonderful, because I did not want them to feel left out. They’re getting them earlier than the rest of us because Barclay is looking for ways to keep me out of the kitchen.”

“It’s your birthday, that means letting someone else cook!” Barclay calls from the kitchen.

“But I modified the blender and the mixer to be self-operating!”

“Wait, what?” Is all they hear before Barclay is drowned out by whirring. 

“Should we help him?” Dani says through their laughter.

“He’s a professional, he’ll be fine.” Joseph steps from the kitchen, his casual wear of jeans and a Loch Ness Monster dress shirt still somewhat jarring to the former villain who only ever saw him in suits, “Aubrey, Dani, can I get you anything to drink?”

“Yes please. Okay doctor, time to play.” Aubrey opens the special hatch in Ratopia and deposits the rabbit, who settles in to be groomed by his smaller friends. 

Dinner is fancy macaroni and cheese and fruit salad, Indrid’s favorites. As Ned regales the table with his latest misadventures in fixing up his new van (“I was unaware an owl could nest in a seat cushion”) Indrid glances at the entryway. 

“Everythin okay?” Duck whispers.

“Yes. I, ah, I simply did not expect so many gifts. I know it’s customary to receive them but I thought you got one or two. Not that everyone brought them.”

“You wanna open them?”

Indrid nods, grinning, “very much so.”

He takes care not to peek at the futures when unwrapping them, wanting to preserve the excitement as long as possible. Aubrey gives him a six pound bag of Lucky Charm marshmallows, Dani sneaks out to the car and returns with a potted plant (“I modified it so that the blossoms will be extra attractive to moths”). Ned gifts him a signed, limited run poster from Red Dust on His Soul, Joseph and Barclay a stack of new romance novels (“I think you’ll like Agent X, it’s a mystery series but he romances quite a few characters in them”). Mama sent a package from West Virginia that contains a small, wooden duck she carved herself and made especially smooth so it would be soothing to rub). And Lydia Little, AKA Sylvia Cold, presents him with a mug declaring him “Favorite Brother.” 

Duck’s present is the last one he opens. Waiting for him in the rectangular box is a white shirt with “World’s Greatest Rat Dad” on the front. The back is covered in squiggle-scratches of five different colors, which Duck explains are signatures from the mischief made in rat-safe fabric paint. 

“It’s perfect.”  Indrid sighs, kisses his boyfriend and then beams at his friends, “it is time for cake.”

They dim the lights, sing to him as Barclay emerges from the kitchen with a massive, mothman shaped cake with lots of candles. To his delight and surprise, the inside is layers of pink and yellow, flavored with strawberry and vanilla. He eats far more than is perhaps wise, but it is his birthday and it is his understanding that such things are allowed.

His guests linger for a few hours more, Aubrey and Dani the last to leave with a reminder to put the plant on the balcony. Indrid waves goodbye, closes the door and arms the security to full. He turns back into the house, sees the cards and gifts his friends put so much thought into locating for him, the stray dishes and half-empty glasses that signify they were here. For him. Because they wanted to be, because they care about him.

“‘Drid? You want any more cake before I put it aw--oh fuck, sugar, what’s wrong.”

“Nothing” he sniffles, grins, “these are tears of happiness. I, ah, I hurried us into cake because I felt them upon me when I opened the gifts. It will take some time yet for me to be willing to show such feelings around our friends.” He wipes his eyes, “thank you, my love, for arranging this.”

“Any time, darlin.”

He smiles, “Have I mentioned lately that you are my hero?”

“Pretty sure you called me that this mornin. But I sure as hell don’t mind hearin it again.”

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

“What is this?” His brother scowls up from the paper plate Indrid passed to him through the complex delivery system keeping his cell from the world around it.

“Cake. Today is our birthday. Did you know that?”

“Who cares for such frivolous things, little brother?”

“Those of us who do not spend our lives steeped in the misery of others, twin brother. If you do not want it, give it back and I shall share it with one of the guards.”

Apollo looks at the cake. Then he kneels on the floor, tearing into it with his hands. He doesn’t eat it what he destroys, and after a moment Indrid grasps why.

“Did you really think I hid some device to help you escape in there?”

“Yes.” His brother is now trying to light stab the cake with his gaze. 

Indrid rubs his forehead, “Perhaps some day you will learn to see things for how they are, not how you believe them to be.” He starts for the door, looks over his shoulder and says softly, “happy birthday, Apollo.”

A slam as his brother strikes the see-through front of his cell, “Get back here this instant you worthless, traitorous, coward!”

The door slides open and Indrid steps into the hall. Joseph is waiting for him, drops his eyes from the security feed to the man in front of him, “what a waste of Barclay’s cooking.”

“Agreed.”

A gentle pat on his shoulder, “You tried, that counts for a lot. Now go enjoy your night.”

“And my knight?”

“Him too.” Joseph waves goodbye, then adds, “and happy birthday!”

Indrid gets home before the city trick or treating hours begin; he’s feeling rather good, all things considered, and Halloween is so beloved by villains that the odds of his evening being interrupted by work are almost none. 

Duck is on the porch lighting their Jack ‘O Lanterns, grinning brighter than all the candles and lights on the block combined when Indrid walks up the steps to join him. He sees in the futures that he’s made him a special, Halloween themed birthday dinner. 

He pulls Duck into a hug, kissing the top of his head with happy sighs, thanking whatever twist of fate pushed him into the arms of the man who was, in many ways, his first-ever pleasant surprise.

[massivedrickhead]

Loving your series of one shots bud!! I, myself, am a massive fan of fluff and happiness (tooth rotting), how about a prompt where Beca is in LA with Khaled (post PP3) and she is finding it really tough, physically and mentally, especially knowing Chloe isn't there, she hasn't spoken to her in a while, and she believes her to be happy with Chicago elsewhere... and when she returns home... She finds Chloe there. Waiting. (Or the equivalent, where Chloe is engaged, Beca hasn't spoken to her in a while, and she comes home to see her there) xxxxx

Hi, thank you so much! 

I might have gotten away from the prompt a little, but I hope you like it anyway.

I’m kind of tired and emotionally tonight so I don’t know if this is any good, and it’s kinda long so I hope that’s okay haha

Read on AO3

------

“Beca, are you listening?”

Chloe Beale is single.

“Mhm,” Beca said, pulling her eyes away from Facebook on her phone and looking back at Theo. “Sorry.”

“Everything alright?” He asked, knowing it wasn’t like Beca to zone out in a meeting like this. 

“Yep,” Beca said, turning her phone face down. He raised his eyebrows. “It’s Chloe.”

He closed his eyes with a sigh. “Is it an emergency?”

“No,” Beca said, putting her hands in her lap to resit the urge to pick her phone up again. “I am super focused and professional.”

“Can we talk about your album for, like, ten more minutes?” Theo said, trying to keep up his face stern.

“Absolutely,” Beca said, her eyes dropping again, briefly, to her phone.

The meeting felt like it lasted a lifetime, but eventually Beca hurried out and back to her own office, puling Facebook up on her phone.

Chloe Beale is single.

Chloe’s profile picture had changed from the sickeningly sweet picture of her and Chicago showing off her engagement ring, to just a simple selfie.

Beca clicked into her contacts list and her thumb hovered above Chloe’s name.

She should call her, right? 

She scrolled down further, and hit call on Aubrey’s name.

“Aubrey Posen,” Aubrey said, using the same tone of voice she would use to greet a stranger, and not one of her closest friends.

“Aubrey what’s going on with Chloe?”

“I’m doing great Beca, thanks for asking,” Aubrey replied.

“Aubrey.”

“I don’t know,” Aubrey said, her tone softer. “She’s been unhappy with him for a while.”

“She has?”

“Yes,” Aubrey said. “When did you last speak to her?”

“It’s… It’s been a while,” Beca said, sounding guilty. “Work has been a bit much.”

“I know,” Aubrey replied. “You should call her.”

“Yeah,” Beca said. “Thanks.”

“Speak to you later, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Beca said. “I’ll call you.”

She ended the call with Aubrey but once again hesitated before calling Chloe. Apart from the occasional surface level text or exchange of snapchats and memes, she really hadn’t spoke to Chloe for a while. Not properly. Not the way they used to. 

She was scared that if she called her now, Chloe would be mad at her. 

She drummed her fingers against her desk, her stomach twisting slightly, as she tried to decide what to do. She never handled confrontation very well, it’s why she’d spent so much of her life just walking away from situations.

Beca picked up her phone again, and typed out a text.

Beca: Hey Chlo’. I’ve just seen Facebook, are you okay? xx

She hit send and closed her phone before she could overthink it, and tried to focus on her work again. 

She had a bunch of album art she needed to look through and pick her favourites. (Yes, her job was pretty awesome.)

She also had twenty unread emails that had popped up in the ten minutes she had spent on the phone to Aubrey/deciding what to do about Chloe. (Yes, her job was also pretty demanding.)

As her phone buzzed on her desk with Chloe’s reply, Theo poked his head through her office door.

“What’s up?” She asked, resisting the urge to pick up her cell to read the message.

“Have you got plans tonight? Because you need to cancel them if you do,” he said, looking stressed.

“Why?” Beca asked with a sigh.

“The head of the label is coming in for a meeting tomorrow morning and he wants to hear your new album and it is nowhere near ready for that,” he said.

“Isn’t he in Europe?” Beca said with a groan.

“He is literally flying in for this meeting. There is a lot riding on this album, Beca,” he said. “He took a big risk when he signed you as a solo artist after the Khaled collab.”

“I know that,” Beca said, running a hand through her hair. “I know. But it isn’t getting released for another two months, why does he need to hear it now?”

“I don’t know how his mind works, I just know we need to impress him tomorrow,” Theo said.

“Okay,” Beca said. 

“No distractions tonight, okay? Take an hour now and we can get started at,” he glanced down at his watch, “5:30.” He closed the office door behind him, and Beca immediately picked up her phone, pushing away the sudden wave of nerves.

Chloe: I’ve been better xx

Beca: Are you free right now? xx

Chloe: Yeah, I just finished work. xx

Beca called Chloe, this time without hesitation, and the redhead answered on the second ring.

“Hey,” Chloe said, her voice sounding heavy.

“Hi,” Beca replied, sinking back into her chair at the sound of Chloe’s voice. She hadn’t realised how much she’d missed hearing it. “What happened?”

“Can we not talk about it?” Chloe asked. Beca could hear the sound of New York traffic over the phone and she felt suddenly homesick.

Not for New York specifically, but for that tiny apartment she and Chloe had shared in Brooklyn. For that level of closeness and intimacy. 

She liked L.A. fine, and her new home was, on paper, a thousand percent better than the Brooklyn apartment, but it still didn’t feel like home. She would trade her state-of-the-art kitchen, king-sized bed, hot-tub - all of it - for one more night in that apartment. One more night sleeping beside Chloe. One more night where Chloe’s arms would snake around her waist and pull her close, mumbling that she was cold. One more morning eating breakfast together before they parted for work. One more evening making dinner and watching trashy TV.

What made it hurt more was that she knew there was no going back to that apartment. Chloe had moved in with Chicago, Beca had moved out to L.A., and Fat Amy was somewhere in the Bahamas. Someone else was living in their apartment now. Sleeping in their cramped bed, making food in their kitchen.

“How’s work?” Chloe asked, breaking Beca out of her thoughts.

“Busy,” Beca said. “It’s… It’s a lot right now.”

“Are you taking care of yourself?” Chloe asked. And Beca thought just how like Chloe that was. While she was going through a heartbreak, she’d rather make sure Beca was okay.

“I thought that was your job,” Beca said, smiling at the soft laugh Chloe gave. She could hear the sounds of keys jingling and a door opening.

“That’s kinda hard to do when I’m all the way in New York,” Chloe said. “God it’s so cold outside. I need a vacation.”

Beca glanced at the sun streaming through her office window. “Maybe you should come to L.A.,” she said, without really thinking. As soon as the sentence left her mouth, she realised this was something she wanted more than anything right now. 

“That would be nice,” Chloe said with a laugh.

“I’m serious,” Beca said, feeling a mixture of nerves and excitement. 

“Come on, Becs. I can’t do that,” Chloe said. “I have work.”

“Take some time off?”

“The flights are expensive-”

“-I’ll pay for the flights,” Beca said, cutting her off. “I think… Chlo’ I think I need this. I need some time off. And I think you need it too?”

“Yeah, I need it,” Chloe said. “Are they even gonna let you have time off?” 

“I can ask,” Beca said. She looked down at her watch and saw she only had ten minutes before she had to get back to work. “Look, if you want to come, I can make it happen. I’m working for the rest of the night, but give me a call tomorrow afternoon.”

“Okay,” Chloe said. “I’ll call my boss.”

“So you want to come?”

“Yeah. Yeah I want to.”

——

Beca glanced around her nervously as she stood at the arrivals gate of L.A.X. airport a week later. She was wearing a baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses but she was still afraid someone would recognise her.

Then she caught sight of ginger hair and suddenly Chloe was walking towards her and Beca felt her nervousness drain away.

Chloe grinned when she spotted her, and started walking more quickly, practically running by the time she got close enough to hug her. She dropped her case and flung her arms around Beca, squeezing her into the tightest hug she could manage.

Beca was going to make some sarcastic joke, but the feeling of Chloe’s arms around her caused her voice to die in her throat and her eyes to fill with tears. 

“I’ve really missed you,” Chloe said, squeezing tighter and planting a kiss on her cheek and releasing her.

“Missed you too,” Beca said, grabbing the handle of Chloe’s case. “How was your flight?”

“It was fine,” Chloe said, grinning. “Why are you dressed like a spy?”

“Um, because I am?” Beca said, laughing. “I just don’t wanna get spotted.”

“Right,” Chloe said. “You’re a big deal now.”

Beca laughed and shook her head. “It’s a lot,” her voice was a little quieter. 

Chloe frowned slightly, and then her eyes widened as she saw a few men with cameras hovering outside the entrance to the airport.

Beca sighed. “Just ignore them and stick close to me.”

They walked out of the airport quickly, and as soon as the men spotted her, they started yelling. 

“Beca! Beca! How’s the album going, Beca?!”

“Beca! What do you say about the rumours that you’re dating your producer?!”

“Holy shit,” Chloe muttered under her breath as they made their way to Beca’s car, the paparazzi following them, continuing their barrage of questions.

“Beca! Introduce us to your friend!”

“Beca is it true you’re dating-”

Whatever name he was planning to say was lost in the sound of Beca slamming her door shut, and starting her car. She honked the horn a few times to get them to move out the way.

“Beca, what the fuck was that?” Chloe asked, pulling on her seatbelt as Beca pulled out of the parking lot. 

“Fun, right?” Beca asked, glancing in her rearview mirror, making sure they weren’t going to follow her home. 

“Does that happen every time you go out?”

“Not always,” Beca said. “To be honest they were probably there just hanging about to see if anyone would turn up. I don’t think they knew I was there before they saw me.”

“Jesus,” Chloe said. “I forget you’re like a legit celebrity now.”

Beca pulled a face. “I’m not. Not really.”

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Beca said, glancing over at Chloe. “Yeah, just… Just really looking forward to this time off. I had to work a lot of late nights to get Theo to agree with this.” Chloe frowned. “You know that guy was full of shit, right? There’s nothing going on between me and Theo. I haven’t been dating him. I haven’t been dating anyone.”

“Why not?” Chloe asked.

“Why not, what?”

“Why haven’t you been dating anyone?”

Beca shrugged. “I haven’t met anyone I liked.” They were quiet for a little while longer as they continued to sit in L.A. traffic. “So, can we only talk about my love life or are you going to tell me about you and Chicago?”

“There’s nothing really to tell,” Chloe said, turning to look out of the window now they had gotten off the highway. “I just… It wasn’t working. We were fighting a bunch. I wanted him to be different and he wanted me to be different.”

“I’m sorry, Chlo’,” Beca said. 

“It’s okay,” Chloe said. “It’s better in the long run. At least we weren’t married with kids before we figured it out.”

They sat in a comfortable silence as Beca drove them the rest of the way to her house, the radio playing quietly. 

When Beca pulled up to to her house, Chloe let out a low whistle.

“Right, you live in a fucking mansion now,” she said.

“It’s hardly a mansion,” Beca said, feeling embarrassed. She took Chloe’s bag from the trunk and they made their way into the house. “You want the tour?”

“Please.” 

Beca showed her around, dropping her bag into the guest room. The tour ended on the deck, and Beca grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses from the kitchen on the way. They sat in comfortable loungers and looked out as the sun set over L.A.. 

“I’m really glad you’re here,” Beca said, pouring them some wine.

“Me too,” Chloe replied, cheers-ing her glass against Beca’s. “Thank you for inviting me.”

“Anytime, Chlo’.”

As they sat in silence watching the sunset, Beca felt a warmth spreading through her chest. For the first time since moving to L.A., she felt like she was home. And then she realised something.

Something she’d known all along, really.

She glanced across at Chloe, who was smiling with her eyes closed, letting the sun soak into her.

Chloe.

Chloe was her home.

She placed her hand on top of Chloe’s and squeezed, softly.

Chloe opened her eyes and looked over at Beca, still smiling. She adjusted her hand so her fingers were threaded with Beca’s. 

Beca looked away, blinking against the sun and feeling tears stinging her eyes.

If Chloe noticed, she didn’t mention it. She just carried on smiling, and turned back to face the sunset, their hands still linked. 

“It’s beautiful out here,” she said. 

“Yeah,” Beca said. “I feel like I never actually get to relax out here. I spend so much time just sleeping at my office these days.”

“I knew you weren’t taking care of yourself,” Chloe said.

“There’s just been a lot of pressure at work. This is my first solo album, and if it fails… If it doesn’t do well everyone will know that my last one was only a success because of Khaled,” Beca said. “I can’t fail at this.”

“You won’t fail,” Chloe said, softly. “You’re so talented, Beca. You’ve got this, I know you do.”

Beca smiled. “I wish I didn’t have to do it without you.”

“You don’t,” Chloe said. “I’m only on the other end of the phone. You can call me anytime.”

“It’s not the same,” Beca said. “Sorry, I just miss how things used to be.”

“I know. I miss it too,” Chloe said. 

“If I’d known things wouldn’t stay that way forever, I might have done things differently,” Beca said.

“What do you mean?”

Beca shrugged, feeling like she should stop talking before she said something she’d regret. She didn’t want to cause an awkward situation that they both had to live with for the two weeks of their vacation.

“Don’t go quiet on me now,” Chloe said.

“I just wish I’d been more honest. Braver,” Beca said, avoiding looking at Chloe.

“It’s not too late,” Chloe said.

But Beca shook her head. “Sorry. I’m… I’m rambling. I’ve probably drank too much.”

“I guess it’s getting late,” Chloe said, letting Beca’s hand drop. “We’ve got a long day of relaxing ahead of us, right?”

“Yeah,” Beca said. She stood and stretched and helped Chloe to her feet. “If you get hungry or anything during the night just help yourself.”

“Thanks,” Chloe said, kissing Beca on the cheek. “We’ll finish this conversation tomorrow, okay?”

Beca laughed, and felt her cheeks burn. “I dunno what you’re talking about.”

“Night Becs,” Chloe said.

“Night.”

Chloe woke a few hours later, her head hurting from too much wine and sun and not enough water.

She made her way to the kitchen and drank what felt like her body weight in water. As she was about to head back, she heard noises coming from Beca’s office. 

The door was open and a dim light was creeping onto the landing.

Chloe peaked inside to see Beca sitting cross-legged on her chair, her hair tied up messily, the light from the computer screen the only light in the room.

She was talking to someone on the phone, her voice a little hoarse.

“No, I get that Theo,” she said, her hand resting on the back of her neck. “But when I spoke to you yesterday, the track was fine.” She watched as Beca tucked the phone in between her ear and shoulder and the began typing into her computer. “Uh huh. So like, more bass? Less bass?” She stopped typing. “I don’t know what you mean by the same bass but different.”

Chloe had heard enough and stepped into the room. 

She placed a hand on Beca’s shoulder and tried not to laugh when she jumped. She held out her other hand for Beca’s phone. 

Beca sighed and handed it over.

“Hi Theo,” Chloe said, smiling. “It’s Chloe. You remember me from the USSO tour, right? It’s 2 am, and Beca’s on vacation. I know. I’ll pass your apologies on. Goodnight Theo.”

She clicked end on the call and passed the phone back. 

“Theo said sorry.”

Beca laughed and put the phone down. “Thank you.”

“Does this happen often?”

“Oh yeah,” Beca said. “Theo and I are both kinda nocturnal so sometimes he’ll call me with ideas.”

“No wonder you look so tired,” Chloe said.

“Gee thanks.”

“Come on, it’s bed time.” Chloe took her hand and pulled her up. “This room is off limits while you’re on vacation, okay?”

“Yes ma’am,” Beca said, smiling. “How are you finding the guest room?”

“It’s nice,” Chloe said, as they hovered outside Beca’s room. “Why?”

“No reason,” Beca said.

“Becs, you can just say it you know?”

Beca laughed, and looked down. “I can’t. I’m not good at this.”

“Okay,” Chloe said. She pushed Beca’s bedroom door open and gave her hand a tug. “Come on.”

“Chloe,” Beca said softly, closing her eyes when Chloe cupped her cheek with her hand. “Wait.”

“Hey,” Chloe replied, her voice just as gentle. “Look at me. Tell me what you need.”

Beca swallowed hard, tears burning her eyes. “I’ve… I’ve been waiting. That’s what I wanted to say before. Why I haven’t dated anyone since Jesse. I’ve been waiting for you. I… I waited to tell you and I waited too long.”

“It isn’t too late,” Chloe said, pulling Beca into a hug. “You can tell me now, it isn’t too late.” She felt Beca take a deep breath, and when she spoke her voice was muffled by Chloe’s shirt.

“I’m in love with you. I’ve always been in love with you. And I know you and Chicago just broke up. I don’t need to hear it back.”

Chloe ended their hug and cupped Beca’s face in her hands again, her thumbs brushing away the tears. 

“I wanted Chicago to be different than he was. That’s why we didn’t work out. I wanted him to know what I needed without me having to ask. I wanted him to know when I needed a tea instead of a coffee. I wanted him to bring me an aspirin when I was two hours into a study session because he knew I’d have a headache by then. I wanted him to know when I wanted to talk, and when I just needed to sit and listen to music. I wanted him to know me. I wanted him to know me the way you know me. I wanted him to be you, Becs. And… And when I realised that… When I realised it was you that I wanted… You that I was in love with… That’s when we broke up.”

“You love me?” 

“Yeah,” Chloe said, swallowing the lump in her throat. “Yeah I love you.”

Beca let out a teary laugh. 

“Can I kiss you?”

Beca nodded, and Chloe’s mouth was on hers, and Beca knew she was home.

[beca-mitchell]

if you wanted to, girl, we could cross that line (1/1)

Summary: Aren't you supposed to book the wedding venue after proposing? Word count: 3,316 words Author’s Notes: I’ve been thinking about recent discussion re: Chloe and Beca's relationship. Specifically how Chloe hates it when people think Beca is some uncaring/apathetic person. Or that Beca is aloof and distant in their romantic relationship. I had some ideas about that, but then it kind of spiralled into this which I don't even know if it addresses any of that discourse at all. But. Anyway. I've been binging Friends, so yes, this is totally inspired by Season 6, episode 22 (and a little of episode 23) of Friends. Fic title from Lauv's "Feelings".

Read below or on AO3.

* * * * *

“Aubrey this place is beautiful,” Chloe gasps, looking around the high ceilings and well-decorated walls of the country club lounge. “You’re really thinking about moving The Lodge to California?”

Aubrey flips through the brochure, nodding along to Chloe’s words. “It seems like a natural choice. Would be nice to expand out here. Lots of companies need their morale boosted.”

Chloe nudges Aubrey. “I’m happy for you, you know? You’ve done so much in the past few years.”

“Chloe,” Aubrey sighs. “Thank you.”

“And I’m so glad you didn’t move to Mykonos and become a doula.”

Aubrey frowns. “I don’t remember saying that.” She flips to the next page of her brochure. “Oh! Chloe, look! They host weddings here!”

Chloe shifts to lean over Aubrey’s shoulder to examine the glossy pages. “Oh wow, I’m sure they must be beautiful here. Expensive too. Oh!” Chloe points to the next page. “They can even host guests overnight.”

“Perfect for corporate retreats,” Aubrey muses.

“Or weddings,” Chloe says, tugging Aubrey’s arm along. “Just think about it. A beautiful day...a little bit of a breeze." Chloe sighs, somewhat wistfully, lost in her own world for a moment. "You’d look beautiful in the dress I have picked out for you.”

“Oh is this your wedding we’re talking about?”

To Aubrey’s immense surprise, Chloe glances away, clearly embarrassed. “I mean. It could be anybody’s wedding. I was just. Throwing it out there. You know.”

“Were you picturing yourself in the wedding dress?”

Again, hesitation from Chloe. “...Maybe.”

Aubrey moves so she’s standing in front of Chloe. “Hey, what’s this all about?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You,” Aubrey gestures with a stern tone. “Getting all weird and shy about weddings of all things.”

It wasn’t that Chloe was fanatic about weddings, it was more that Aubrey knew Chloe was a complete romantic. And passionate about literally everything, on top of that. Plus, Aubrey, in her capacity as Chloe’s de facto best friend, knew just how much Chloe wanted a fairytale wedding. It was something that some people grew out of—Aubrey would know, being all about practicality—but it was also something that followed people and nestled within their hopes and dreams like a permanent reminder of what optimism and sunshine could bring.

Chloe is the embodiment of both of those things and Aubrey is fortunate enough to have experienced such a person in her lifetime.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Chloe begins, going for nonchalance which Aubrey disregards completely. “I just. I—I’ve been dating Beca for a year and a half. And then soon it’s going to be two years. And then...more.”

“That’s how time works, usually.”

Chloe glares at her. “It’s just. Beca isn’t...I don’t think she wants to get married.”

“Has she said that to you?” Aubrey demands, surprised that even Beca of all people would have so little tact to say that to Chloe specifically. Chloe who has had her wedding planned since she was in second grade. Chloe, who would go to the ends of the earth for Beca Mitchell’s smug, talented ass.

“No! No, God, Beca is amazing. And she—” Chloe sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I know what you’re thinking and it’s what everybody thinks. Beca isn’t like that, okay? She loves me and she’s in love with me. There’s no doubt about it.” Aubrey shoots her a skeptical look. “You’re so unfair,” Chloe complains, upon seeing Aubrey’s expression. “She’s an amazing girlfriend. Honestly. Everybody thinks that she’s this distant, emotionless little...” Chloe makes a noise of frustration. “Well, she’s not. She’s passionate and beautiful and so so good at that thing she—”

“Chloe!”

Chloe blushes. “Sorry. But it’s not that. I promise.”

“Then where did...all this come from?”

“Well, I just don’t want to...freak her out.”

“Freak her out,” Aubrey echoes, contemplating the word choice and wondering whether she really does need to talk to Beca about her lack of decorum. “Has she said that to you?” she demands again.

“No!”

“Then—?”

“I just. I know I can be a lot, okay? I know that I want things too much sometimes. And that I can get loud and crazy about things. But I want to…” Chloe glances around. “I want to spend the rest of my life with Beca and I don’t want anything to mess that up.”

“Why would you two getting married mess that up?”

“Um? Hello? Has she not complained about her parents before?”

Aubrey can concede to that. “Once or twice. But I mean...we’re not all defined by our parents’ mistakes.” Chloe shoots her a look. “Okay, you know what? This isn’t about me.”

Chloe giggles, relenting. She kicks her toe against the ground, following the movement with her eyes. “I just know that Beca isn’t thinking about getting married. We just moved in together.”

“Like two months ago,” Aubrey mutters.

“More like four months ago!”

“Oh, but who’s counting?”

Chloe flashes a quick smile. “Yeah, it’s been four months hasn’t it?” She softens. “I love living with Beca. And I love L.A.! Oh—and of course I love that you’re going to be moving here.” She pulls Aubrey in for a quick hug, right in the middle of the hall. “It’s just...everything is coming together. I love my life just the way it is.”

“Chloe—”

It is that moment that a couple decides to make their way through the hall, led by a man holding a clipboard. He appears to be listing off amenities and accommodations.

“—host many weddings a year, especially during June. You are very lucky to get on the waiting list.”

Chloe, never one to really acknowledge social customs, somehow manages to insert herself into the conversation midway. “Is there a long list?” she asks conversationally, a hint of amusement in her tone. She tugs Aubrey along despite Aubrey’s attempts to mind her own business.

The wedding planner scrutinizes their intertwined hands. “Are you two ladies looking to have a wedding?”

Chloe tilts her head before turning to look at Aubrey with a glint in her eyes. “And if we are?”

“Chloe!” Aubrey hisses.

“Well, the wait list is about two years long, so you’ll have to get in line.”

* * * * *

“What was that about loving your life the way it was?”

“It wasn’t serious. I just won’t ever contact them again.”

“Yes, putting yours and Beca’s names down for a wedding venue wasn’t serious.”

“Think of it as a way to drum up some press for when you host corporate retreats there.”

“How does this help me? This absolutely in no way helps me at all.”

* * * * *

Chloe forgets about her little relapse until two weeks later. She and Beca decide to go for a nice dinner at the country club—a place where Beca can maintain some anonymity while they engage in things that Beca would prefer prying eyes to keep away from.

Namely kissing.

“You haven’t touched your dinner,” Chloe murmurs. She smiles as she catches Beca’s next kiss head-on, tilting her head ever so slightly to elicit the quietest of whimpers from Beca’s throat.

“You haven’t touched yours.”

Chloe tenses her fingers, splayed on Beca’s thigh. “Maybe I’m more interested in my dessert.”

Beca blushes immediately and clears her throat, drawing back to take in Chloe’s swollen lips and playful smile. “I’m so happy that you’re mine,” Beca drawls, reaching up to cup Chloe’s cheeks. “But you have to stop saying shit like that in public.”

“Why do I have to stop saying shit like that in public?” Chloe asks innocently, letting her lips and tongue emphasize the word shit while her hand glides further up Beca’s thigh.

Beca’s eyes darken further. She hums, leaning in to capture Chloe’s lips in another kiss. “You don’t play fair,” she complains when Chloe finally draws back and refocuses on her plate of untouched food.

“But you just get so cute and flustered,” Chloe points out. “How can I resist?”

Later, as they are leaving, Chloe barely has time to recall just why she recognizes the man walking towards them before he is greeting them both.

“Hi, Chloe, right? I just left a message on your phone earlier this evening. I didn’t expect to run into you here.”

Chloe opens her mouth, recognition dawning. “Oh it’s—”

“Hi,” Beca cuts in. “What message?” she asks curiously.

“It’s nothing,” Chloe says quickly, an unpleasant heat spreading quickly through her body. “I’ll check later,” she says politely.

“Of course! It wasn’t anything serious. Just letting you know that your position on the wedding venue waitlist got bumped up because we had a few cancellations in the past two weeks. We’re looking at much sooner than two years. Probably within the next year if you want to remain on the list.”

“The what?” Beca demands. “Chloe, the—” Beca looks like her eyes might pop right out of her head. “Chloe,” she hisses, following as Chloe quickly mutters a thank-you and tugs Beca’s wrist along until they reach Chloe’s car. “What the fu—”

“Don’t curse,” Chloe whispers.

Beca presses her lips into a thin line. “Well, what do you want me to do?”

“I don’t know. Are you mad?”

“I’m just confused,” Beca murmurs, sliding into the passenger seat. “Are we getting married?”

“No!” Chloe exclaims quickly. “No, of course not—”

“Of course not?” Beca echoes. “What—”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I just—it was just a dumb thing. Can we…” Chloe rests her hand on the steering wheel. “Can we talk about it when we get home?”

Beca stares out the window for a few long moments while Chloe pulls out on the main road. “Okay,” she finally agrees. “Okay, we’ll talk when we get home.”

The drive home itself is the longest and shortest of Chloe’s life. She shifts uncomfortably more than once, resisting the urge to look over at her girlfriend every two minutes. Scratch that. Every two seconds. She can’t believe that she forgot. That she wasn’t more careful. That a brief, silly moment with her best friend resulted in this. Whatever this is between herself and Beca right now.

It’s the last thing she wants, to have potentially messed something up in their life together.

When Chloe pulls into the private parking lot for their apartment complex, Chloe finds that she doesn’t want to leave the quiet of the car.

“Chlo,” Beca urges softly. “Let’s go inside.”

“I just wanted to see what it was like,” Chloe blurts, too stricken to restrain herself any longer. “I’m sorry.”

Beca reaches out to hold her hand across the console like Chloe wishes she had done during the drive home. The comforting feeling of Beca’s hand in her own makes Chloe look up, finally meeting Beca’s eyes for the first time since leaving the country club.

“Let’s just go inside,” Beca repeats, squeezing her hand.

Chloe hates that she feels too frazzled to correctly read Beca’s expression. She can’t figure out just what Beca is feeling or thinking and she hates that. She hates not knowing the one person she feels like she knows better than any other person on Earth.

“So...like.” Beca exhales, taking the keys from Chloe’s hands and placing them in their little shared bowl. “What did you mean? You just wanted to see what it was like? How do you just see what it’s like to reserve a wedding venue?”

Chloe bites her lip, still afraid to meet Beca’s eyes. She focuses instead on the flowery B&C engraving on their key bowl. It warms her. Comforts her. “I mean...it’s not really a wedding venue. It’s just a country club,” she points out evasively.

Beca snorts. “Where weddings are sometimes hosted.”

“Well. Yeah.”

“And you specifically put your name down—our names down—for a wedding. Sometime in the future.”

Chloe groans at that, covering her face with her hands. “Aubrey pressured me into it,” she lies, wondering if Beca will believe that.

Beca stifles a smile, instead choosing to step closer to Chloe in order to pry her hands from her face. “I bet she did.”

“You’re freaking out,” Chloe mumbles from behind her hands, though she does part two fingers in order to peer at Beca. “You’re freaking out, aren’t you?”

“I mean...I was,” Beca admits. “That was kind of…” Beca ponders her word choice. “Sudden,” she finally says with a delicate tone.

Chloe sighs. “I know it freaks you out when I do...stuff like that.”

At that, Beca frowns. “Do stuff like what?”

“I don’t know. Think about the future. Talk about this kind of stuff.”

Beca’s heart seizes for the briefest of moments. “I don’t want you to think that I’m not…” she swallows. “That I’m not, like, into that. Because I am.” She reaches for Chloe’s hands, pulling gently. “With you.” She bites her lower lip. “I hadn’t thought about it much before you, but it—” Beca laughs, a little breathlessly. “It drives me crazy that we haven’t talked about it, you know?”

“I just thought you weren’t…” Chloe shrugs, though her heart pounds at all of the words Beca has just thrown at her. “That it wasn’t something you wanted.”

“That was before you,” Beca reiterates.

Chloe feels a flush rising up her neck and spreading into her cheeks rapidly. “Beca…”

Beca, to her credit, does not flinch nor shy away. Chloe has been privileged enough to get to know this side of Beca over the past year and a half and especially over the past four months of living together. She is smitten and completely head-over-heels for Beca Mitchell and she doesn’t care if anybody knows that. That being said, she completely understands that Beca might not necessarily be the same, at least in terms of expressing herself outwardly (“Love languages are a thing, Beca!”) but she has never doubted that Beca cares for her. Loves her, even.

Beca is in love with her.

The thought only makes her blush again and offer a shy, demure smile at Beca who merely looks perplexed at the sudden change in mood. “What?” Beca asks quickly. “What is it? What did I say?”

“Nothing,” Chloe chimes in, shifting so that she can wrap an arm around Beca’s shoulders. “Well, not nothing. For you, that was basically a public and cheesy romantic gesture. Like declaration-on-a-billboard level.”

Beca scrunches her nose. “What was?”

Chloe pecks her quickly, enjoying how squirmy Beca is becoming in her arms. “You saying that you think about the future with me.”

“I don’t know if I said it exactly like that.”

“A little like that,” Chloe pushes. She leans in to kiss Beca slowly, letting her breath linger against Beca’s mouth. “A little bit,” she murmurs when she feels Beca take a breath, likely to protest again.

“Okay, maybe I did.”

Chloe relaxes completely, wondering how she got so lucky to fall in love with her perfect match; how she got so lucky to find her soulmate in a world full of people who refused to believe in love like she did. That was a relatively painless conversation, resulting in some unexpected results. Namely that Chloe had been the only one standing in the way of this much-needed conversation, but also that Beca Mitchell wanted to marry her.

The thought only makes Chloe deepen her kiss, eliciting a noise of surprise from Beca. They kiss for a few more moments, hands beginning to wander more boldly and surely as their kisses deepen with each passing second. Beca groans when Chloe’s hands slip under the front of her shirt, fingers scraping up her stomach with purpose.

“Are we still talking about this?” Beca asks, snagging Chloe’s lower lip between her teeth.

Chloe hums, tilting her head to capture Beca’s lips in another kiss. “That can wait.”

“I mean,” Beca begins breathlessly, allowing Chloe to steer her towards the bedroom. “You are next on the waitlist.”

Chloe is already unbuttoning her jeans. “You talk way too much. Shut up, now. I want you.”

* * * * *

Another two weeks later and Chloe has all but forgotten about that wedding venue mishap, too caught up in the motions of her own hectic life and just how good her relationship with Beca has become. She hadn’t thought it possible, but she falls more for Beca every day.

“I can’t believe my girlfriend is ditching me to hang out with my best friend,” Chloe pouts. “This is so unfair. My two favorite people.”

“You could come,” Beca laughs.

“No, you know I have a long shift today.” Chloe sighs. “I’ll miss you. Say hi to Aubrey for me. I know she’s been busy setting up work stuff. Ask her if she needs our help.”

“I will ask her if she needs your help,” Beca says obediently.

“Our help,” Chloe corrects, leaning down to kiss Beca on the lips. “See you!”

Chloe heads out the door, without much thought as to the rest of her day.

Beca waits until she hears complete silence, then she waits for another few minutes estimating how long it would take Chloe to get into her car and drive.

Beca she’s gone, hurry up and get over here

Aubrey Rude. On my way.

Beca rushes to get ready in preparation for her day with Aubrey.

“What did you think of the place?” Aubrey asks when Beca climbs into the car. “Did you like the photos?”

“Yeah, but I kind of want to see it for myself. In person.”

Aubrey scoffs. “Chloe has amazing taste and so do I. We would never lead you astray.”

Beca rolls her eyes. “Forgive me for wanting to see the place where I want to get married myself.”

“Beca, you don’t exactly strike me as the kind of person—”

Beca resists the urge to completely snap at Aubrey or say something snarky to cut off the other woman. She fiddles with the small box inside her jacket pocket before she pulls it out, running her fingers along the velvet surface. She smiles at the thought of Chloe’s expression—what her imagination provides at least—and suddenly she can’t quite wait another moment. She wants to marry Chloe immediately. She wants everything that she always thought she’d hate because of her parents’ own failed marriage. She wants that life and that future with Chloe and she wants it because she knows it’ll work.

It will work because they love each other.

Aubrey gasps loudly, pulling the car off to the side of the road and throwing her hazard lights on. “Beca! You didn’t!” She all but snatches the box from Beca’s grasp, both of them tussling over it for a brief moment before Aubrey finally shoves her shoulder and displaces Beca back into her seat. “Oh my God, you actually bought a ring. Without talking to me. Beca! How could you!”

“I didn’t know I needed your permission to buy a ring.”

Aubrey ignores her, opening the box. Her eyes widen comically and if Beca’s heart weren’t completely in her throat because it is now dawning on Beca that she absolutely craves Aubrey’s approval, Beca would laugh. But she doesn’t. She waits with bated breath as Aubrey lifts the ring closer to her face, eyes practically glittering.

“Are you...okay?” Beca asks. Is it okay? she wants to ask, but refrains.

“This is...beautiful, Beca. This is so beautiful.”

Beca exhales, feeling an entire year’s worth of tension leave her body. “For real? Like you’re not just...saying that, right?”

“No, Beca, I’m not just saying that. This is beautiful. And...and I’m so happy for you.” Aubrey presses the ring back into Beca’s hands before moving to grip the steering wheel with determination.

Beca waits, watching Aubrey for a long moment before she speaks up again. “Are we gonna go, or—?”

“I just need a moment to collect myself.”

“Oh, okay.” Beca flips the box open again, smiling at the ring. “Take all the time you need.”

She has never been more ready.

fin.

[ms-rampage]

Eden’s Gate: The Mother Chapter 1 - Hope County

Warnings: Some swearing

Word count: 1.8k

Where it all began. 

Summary: Mandy Winchester, a single mother who lost custody of her 2 teenage daughters 4 months earlier passes through Hope County, Montana that has been liberated by a doomsday Cult. Upon arrival in Hope County she catches the attention of a certain Leader.

Guest OCs: None

Guest Characters: Archangel Raphael (Supernatural), Chuck/God [mentioned]

Note: This takes place in 2012. Supernatural & Far Cry 5 crossover. 

*********

*Ace of Spades by Motorhead plays over the radio*

If you like to gamble, I tell you I’m you man

You win some, you lose some, all the same to me

41 year old Mandy Winchester drives down the road entering Hope County, Montana.

Passing through to get some gas, food, maybe some beer and rest.

Drumming her fingers along with the song on the wheel, singing along with the song.

The pleasure is to play, makes no difference what you say

I don’t share your greed, the only card I need is the Ace of Spades

The Ace of Spades .

Playing for the high one, dancing with the devil.

Going with the flow, it’s all a game to me.

Driving down the countryside road.

Seven or eleven, snake eyes watching you

Double up, or quit, double stake, or split- 

Not even halfway through the song, the radio cuts out with static. Changing it to some depressing Christian music.

“What the hell?!?” she says, trying to fix the radio.

When none of that helps, she shuts it off. Driving in silence. 

She was told she had to go to Hope County by Archangel Raphael. He didn’t say much on why she had to go. 

All that she had to protect a certain man.

Because “God was gonna speak with him, or that God spoke with him about the end”. Something like that. 

She doesn’t even know this man’s name, or what he looks like. But he did say that she’ll know when she sees him. Her gut will tell her, that still didn’t help. She thought she was wasting her time, she could’ve been looking for her husband’s killer, but Raphael said that this will “help her with what she needed” whatever that meant.

She drives down the road in the Henbane River. 

Nothing unusual, seems like a normal country town. She pulls into the Misty River Gas station. Getting out, putting gas into her truck. 

A quiet town. She knows her daughters would’ve loved it here. As gas is being pumped into her truck, she looks around.

“Passing through?!” a man’s voice asks from behind her.

She turns around to face him, “Yeah, I’m here on business”.

He nods, “Well be careful. There’s a lot of crazies here”.

She chuckles, “Don’t worry”, she pulls out her .45 pistol, “I got that covered”.

He nods his head, smiling, “Well that’s a good start”.

She takes the pump of her truck putting back in the gauge.

“Where can I find a place to eat?!” she asks him. 

“Well you can go to the Spread Eagle bar that's over in Holland Valley, 8 Bit Pizza, Aubrey’s Diner or Whistling Beaver Brewery they’re here in Henbane, or you can go to the Grill Steak that’s over in the Whitetail Mountains”.

Mandy nods her head, “Which one do you prefer?!?”.

He takes a moment, “I would say Spread Eagle”.

She nods her head again, “Alright I’ll check it out. Thanks”.

“No problem. Have a nice day ma’am” he says, going back inside the gas station. 

Mandy takes off down the road. Crossing over a bridge leading to Holland Valley.

“Okay where is this place?!” she asks herself.

Driving through Falls End, she spots the bar. Parking her truck outside. She walks in to it with the smell of chicken wings, and whiskey. Looking around the bar, its not too busy, not too slow, she takes a seat at the bar.

A blonde young woman behind the bar approaches her.

“What can I get you hon?”

Mandy looks down at the menu attached to the bar counter.

“Uhh, I’ll have Guinness, and some chicken wings. Buffalo sauce on the side please. Thank you”.

She gives her order to the cook, and gives her a bottle of Guinness.

“You’re not from around here are you?!” she asks.

Shaking her head, “No, I’m just here on business” she answers.

“What kind of business? If you don’t mind me asking” she asks.

“FBI” she replies. 

She raises her eyebrows, “Really?”.

 She laughs, “No, I’m joking. I’m just passing through”.

“I see you got a sense of humor. We need that around here” she says, cleaning glasses. 

“What’s it like around here?!’ Mandy asks, before taking a sip of her beer.

“It’s quiet. But beware there’s a Cult growing here” she says.

“A Cult?!” she questions.

“Yep, they’ve been growing, kidnapping people to join, stealing property.”

“What about the police?! What are they doing about it?!?” she asks.

Mary May scoffs, “They ain’t doing fucking shit. We have to fend for ourselves”.

“I’m Mary May by the way"

“Mandy” she says. 

“Nice to meet you Mandy” she greets.

She gives Mandy her food, and she eats them, while chatting with Mary.

“So what’s this Cult?!” she asks.

“They’re called the Project at Eden’s Gate”

“A religious cult. They’re the worst” she jokes.

“This Cult ain’t no joke. They’ve kidnapped people, forcing them out of their homes, taking over businesses, killing innocent people if they refuse to join them” Mary tells her, while cleaning the counter, “They’ve tried taking my bar. My father’s bar. I did everything I could to protect this place”.

They talk for another hour, and a few beers later, Mandy leaves for a motel in the Henbane River that Mary May had recommended, King’s Hot Springs Hotel, to get some shut eye. 

She planned on leaving the next day, but unfortunately due to the Cult, she’s trapped in Hope County. Now she has a reason to “protect” this man who is living in Hope County. Doesn’t know his name, what he looks like, none of that shit.

While driving back to the Henbane, on her way to the hotel, she slams on the brakes to her truck. When three bald people run in front of her truck. Looking like they escaped a mental asylum.

“Oh shit!!!” she yells, slamming on the brake pedal. That scared the living shit out of her.

“What the fuck?!?” she says under her breath.

She continues her drive to the hotel. Arriving at the hotel, she walks in, goes up to the front desk

She’s able to get a room, despite all the Cultists running around and stealing properties.

Mandy’s showers, and goes to sleep.

Figuring out who this person Raphael told her about in the morning. In the middle of the night around 1:30am, a loud crash sound of glass breaking from downstairs in the lobby wakes her up. 

Gun shots, and the sound of bodies dropping. Making her room windows vibrate. Heavy footsteps, moving up the stairs. She reaches over to her nightstand, and grabs her pistol.

Waiting for whoever that broke in, to break into her room. 

After a few minutes, her bedroom door bursts open, and before they could even take a step in, and see her.

She fires two bullets at them, one in each of their skulls. Killing them both.

“What the fuck?!?” she mutters.

She checks them both, and one of them as an usual symbol on their forehead. 

“What the fuck is that?!?” she asks herself, examining the symbol. She has never seen anything like it before.

She moves the bodies out of her room, and into the hallway away from her door.

She tries to go back to sleep, but fails to do so. Staying up, listening to every little sound. The sun finally comes up, Mandy gets dressed, and goes downstairs.

The clerk that checked her in is dead, the bellhop is dead.

A few people that were staying there are dead.

She quickly leaves the hotel, and drives towards Aubrey’s Diner for something to eat. On the drive there she sees that same exact symbol on a billboard.

“What the hell is that damn symbol?!?” she asks out loud to herself.

She pulls up to the diner, and it’s been taken over by Cultists.

“Are you fucking serious?!?” she says.

She drives away, and pulls over to the side of the road, near a huge field with cattle.  She sighs, closes her eyes and prays to Archangel Raphael.

“Hey Raphael, it's me Mandy Winchester. You told me to come to Hope County, Montana to protect some man. You didn’t even tell me his name, or tell me what he looks like. So get your feather ass down here, and give me that information!!”.

After a few minutes of silence, she’s about to start her truck and drive away when the fluttering of feathers, and the Archangel appears in her passenger seat.

“Well it’s about time!” she says.

“You prayed for me?!” he asks.

She nods, “Yeah, you told me to come here to protect some man. I don’t know from who, or from what. But you told me I needed to protect him because of Chuck”.

Raphael sighs, “His name is Joseph Seed. You can’t miss him, he wears yellow sunglasses, and is often shirtless. A very distinguished character”.

Mandy shrugs, “Okay where would I find Joseph Seed?!”.

“His compound. The middle island between the Whitetails, and Henbane. The one that's all fenced up” he says.

“Okay, so what do I do?!” she asks.

“You’ll have to wait” he says.

“For what?!”.

“For him to approach, or ask for you. God has mentioned you to him” he tells her.

“Why would Chuck say that to him?!” she asks, concerned. 

“He didn’t say. All he said to Joseph was that “A woman will make herself clear to you, and will be your guide”. That’s all he said to me, but I’m sure he said more to Joseph”.

Mandy sighs in frustration, “Great, so what do I do?!. Just sit around, and wait for him to notice me?!”.

“God will tell him of your arrival” he tells her.

“So when I do meet him, what do I say to him?!?. “I’m here to protect you?!”, or “God sent me?!”, what do I tell him?!”.

“Whatever Joseph says to you. Go with it. It is important that you protect him. From death, being arrested, anything that’ll cause him to be gone, or in danger”.

***********************************************

Joseph’s compound

The Church of Eden’s Gate just finished having their sermon, spoken by The Father Joseph Seed.

God has been speaking to him, about the arrival of a particular woman that will guide the Project to the gates of Eden.  After the sermon, Joseph gets lost in a trance, lost in his visions, he closes his eyes, the voice speaking to him.

Telling him, “She has arrived, she is here. She will show herself. The Mother will guide you, and your flock to the New World”.

Mandy’s face shows in Joseph’s mind. Her smile, driving in her truck, filling it up, eating at the Spread Eagle, checking into the King’s Hot Springs Hotel, and killing one of his followers. 

“Father?, Father Joseph? Are you okay?” one of his followers asks.

He opens his eyes. “Yes my child. It was just a vision" he responds.

“A vision?” they ask.

“Yes, she has arrived. The Mother has arrived” he answers, turning to face them.

[something-tofightfor]

On Tap

Pairing: Logan Delos x Reader

Word Count: 9342

Rating: M (language, talk of drug use, multiple partners, Logan being Logan)

Author’s Note: This is the result of a request from @malionnes​ ... started writing and I just couldn’t stop. 

Summary: Delos is hosting a charity bartending event - and Logan’s behind the bar making drinks and being charming along with some of his friends. 

As always, feel free to ask to be added or removed to this tag list. No hard feelings.

General:

@the-blind-assassin-12 @its-my-little-dumpster-fire @obscurilicious @sweetybuzz25 @suchatinyinfinity @lexxierave @gollyderek @poindexted @ificouldhelpyouforget @elanor-of-imladris @thesandbeneathmytoes @luminex3 @geeksareunique @weallhaveadestiny @mfackenthal @thesumofmychoices @yannii04 @beautiful-thinking @drinix @agentlingerie  @blah-blah-fuckit-shit  @dreams-with-thoughts  @wangmangagavroche @traeumerinwitzhelden @jigsawlover10 @malionnes​

Logan Delos:

@nananananananananananabatman @damalseer @chibiyanai @life-is-a-melody @songtoyou​

Uncategorized: 

@banditthewriter @padfootagain @madamrogers @ethereal-heavcns @editboutique @marauderskeeper @ilkaeliseb @delicatelilyflower @king4thesirens @ymariejp @mr-robot-x @rageshots @introvertedlibrary @writing-for-a-chance @yesixoxo @ilikebeachessushiandsmallanimals @likeorions @swiftyhowlz @dylanobrusso @malik-payne @lynne1993 @ladyblablabla @dreamwritesimagines​ @audreychaz​ @tc-elliot @kind-wolf​ @honeyydippaa​ @binbonsadoration​ @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes @ms-delos​ @jeanettexkillian​ @avengerswhore @elioelioeli0​ @projectcampbell​ @giggleberts​

He was looking at you, watching out of the corner of his eye even as he poured a drink. You watched him, halfway listening to the woman next to you - a coworker named Marlie - as she talked about making her way outside to catch the comedy set that started a little after 9. If you want. You raised your drink to your lips, taking a long swallow and finally looking away, just as he tilted his head to the side, handing the drink over the bar to the waiting patron. “Are you even listening to me, or are you just going to stare at Logan all night?” You looked down, setting your glass on top of the square napkin before turning your head to meet her eyes. “I know you’re new to LA, but you should know that he -”

 “He’s hot.” You shrugged. “What can I say?” She laughed and shook her head. “Besides, he hasn’t even been down to this end of the bar in yet, so it’s not like…”

 “He’ll be over here. They’re rotating.” She used the hand that held her drink to gesture. “Aubrey’s been down at this end, and Charlie and Olivia are outside for now, but they’ll all switch.” She took a sip of her drink, licking her lips as she set it back down. “That’s how it is every year, and every year, Logan works his magic on someone and ends up taking them home.” You fought back a wince at that, trying to keep your expression even. “A couple years ago, he’d take home more than one person, but he’s…” You tuned her out again as you turned your attention back to Logan - watching as the muscles in his back flexed beneath the shirt he wore while he leaned over to take a picture with someone. That’s your MO, Logan? That what Marlie’s hoping is going to happen tonight? 

 “Can I get you another drink?” Your attention was pulled by the petite brunette in front of you, her eyes bright. “What were you drinking?” You looked down at your glass, thinking, and then decided to order another one. They’re free, what the hell. 

 “Yeah, can I get one of the watermelon ones?” You pointed at the menu featuring the special event cocktails. “It sounds -”

 “Oh, come on.” You heard his voice from your right, eyes leaving the woman’s face and finding his, a smirk on his lips. “We just use the nozzle for that one, let her make you a drink.” He raised an eyebrow, and in the low light, you saw his eyes darken slightly. “Better yet…” He paused, thinking. “Why don’t I make you a drink?” He glanced away from you and at the woman behind the bar with him, throwing an arm around her shoulders. “We should switch sides, Aubrey.” He looked back up at you, the smirk returning. “Haven’t spent much time over here yet.” You shook your head at him but it was impossible to hide your smile.  

 “Whatever you say, Delos.” Aubrey stepped away from him, grinning. “This is your show.” Under other circumstances, you would have watched as she made her way to the opposite end of the bar, but your attention went back to Logan, who was drumming his fingertips on the bartop, the tanned skin of his arms standing out against the white marble surface. 

 “So.” Logan leaned in, his smile growing wider. “What can I get you?” He narrowed one eye at you, looking you up and down. “Rum runner? Yellow bird? Sex on the beach?” Your eyes widened, but you played it off, and you didn’t think that Marlie caught the fact that you sucked in your breath before you answered. You wanna play that game, Logan?

 “What about a hurricane, Logan?” You raised an eyebrow back at him, lifting your first drink to your lips and finishing it, sliding the empty glass back across the bar at him. “Can you make me one of those?” Logan threw his head back and laughed, reaching up with one hand to run his fingers through his hair, pushing it back and away from his face. 

 “Yeah.” He licked his lips, eyes locking on yours again. “I’ll check and see if there’s any Bahamian rum back here.”  His eyes slid to Marlie. “You need another one too?” She gave him her order and Logan nodded before stepping away, stepping over to one of the actual Everson Royce bartenders, speaking to her and pointing at the liquor shelves. 

 “You got your wish.” Marlie said your name, and you looked away from Logan, trying not to grin. Did I? What’s that mean for you? “Maybe I won’t go out to see Charlie’s set now.” You watched as she eyed Logan, tongue involuntarily coming out to wet her lips. “Maybe when Logan goes outside I’ll follow him and see if…” You sighed, feeling yourself stiffen slightly. You were just talking about how… “Oh, look, he’s coming back.” She straightened up as Logan stepped back in front of you, a bottle of liquor in his hands. 

 “It’s not Bahamian, but it’s close.” He winked at you, setting the bottle down and scooping ice into a shaker. “I’ve never done this before,” he continued, beginning to add ingredients in with the ice - a generous pour of the rum, lime and orange juices, simple syrup, passion fruit puree and a splash of grenadine. “So forgive me if it’s strong.” He capped the shaker and picked it up in one hand, his long fingers closing around it as he began to shake the drink, eyes moving back and forth between you and Marlie. “But that’s the point, right?” Satisfied with the combination of the ingredients, Logan popped the cap off and poured it between two ice-filled hurricane glasses the actual bartender had put in front of him before reaching into the plastic container for orange slices as garnish and finishing by inserting straws. “Ladies.” He slid the drinks to you, ducking his head. “Be honest, how are -”

 “Where’s my cherry, Logan?” Eyeing the drink, you questioned him, leaning forward on your stool. “This is supposed to -” Marlie gasped at your words but Logan only laughed again, using two fingers to pluck a tiny, plastic sword from the container in front of him and skewering three cherries on it before he reached out, handing it to you. “Thank you.” You felt his fingers brush yours as you took the cherries from him, but without lingering, Logan stepped back, clearing the bar and waiting. You dropped the fruit into your drink before taking a long sip, Logan watching expectantly. “It’s good.” He looked relieved, but you reached into your purse, pulling out a $10 and slipping it into the tip jar. “Really good.” He grinned, and you could tell that he wanted to say something else but refrained - somehow.

 Logan looked away from you and Marlie after that, talking to the other bar patrons and for a few minutes you just watched as he served them, taking orders and filling them with ease, laughing and joking as he worked. He’s happy. This is good for him. 

 The event was a fundraiser for two of the charities that Delos supported, held at a bar on the south end of Downtown Los Angeles’ arts district called Everson Royce - and it was a lot more fun than you’d thought it would be. Not only was Logan acting as a guest ‘celebrity’ bartender, there were three others there, too, picked as a way to ensure that the event sold out - and that people would get the chance to interact with well-known names while they drank for a good cause. Though you’d been to other events like it in the past in your hometown, the atmosphere was much different that night, the people around you enjoying themselves without going overboard on cheap liquor and beer. You’d arrived with Marlie at 7, taking seats at the end of the bar closest to the doors that led to the back patio, and by 8:30, you’d had two drinks - plus Logan’s third, and a bunch of appetizers. Everything was included with the cost of the ticket, and while you hadn’t had to pay for yours, you still wanted to take advantage of what was offered, because even though no one else knew it, you were actually Logan’s guest.

--- 

 “You should come to the bar event.” The two of you were in Logan’s living room, curled together on his couch as the TV played on low volume in the background. “I know you came to the Christmas party with me, but…” He leaned over, taking your earlobe between his teeth. “Come out with me again.” 

 “Mmm, Logan, I won’t be with you, though.” You turned your body toward his, feeling as his hands moved up your sides. “You’ll be behind the bar and…” You sighed as he kissed your cheek, moving closer to your mouth with every second that passed. “And I’ll be…” His lips met yours and silenced you, Logan pulling you onto his lap without pause and without pulling away from you. “Lo-gan.” You pushed him away with both hands, groaning. “You can’t just kiss me and -”

 “I’ll give you an extra ticket, bring someone from work.” He kissed you again, leaning forward and extending his neck to reach you. “You can watch me make drinks and flirt with everyone for donations all night knowin’ you’ll be the one going home with me.” I… that’s… “Come on, it’s for a good cause.” You laughed at that, relaxing back into his arms. “I’m serious, though, you should be there, it’ll be different than the Christmas party, this is so much more fun.” He paused. “Charlie Day will be there.” You sat straight up, mouth dropping open and your eyes going wide. 

 “Well why didn’t you tell me that before, Logan?” You kept a straight face for approximately three seconds and then burst out laughing, Logan pushing you off of his lap and rolling his eyes. “There are gonna be actual celebrities at this event?” He grumbled, muttering under his breath about you being a typical woman, but instead of letting him pout about it, you reached over, turning his face toward yours. “Lo, I’d go with you even if Charlie wasn’t going to be there.” He smiled at you, wrapping an arm back around you and pulling you close to him again. Once you were both settled, you bit your lip, deciding to have a little more fun at his expense. “So… who else is going to be -” He sighed, raising one of his hands and covering your mouth with it, cutting off your words. 

 “Stop talking, or you’re not invited anymore.” 

--- 

 So you’d taken the tickets and asked Marlie to go with you, figuring that you and the woman would have a good time together. And you had - for the first hour and a half, you’d enjoyed yourselves a lot. People watching had been fun - plenty of familiar faces were scattered amongst the ‘regular’ people, and at $250 a ticket, you weren’t shocked. Marlie had been to the event before - paying her way in, but she’d practically jumped at the chance to go with you for free. She hadn’t questioned you when you told her that you’d been given the tickets from a client; it was common for you and your coworkers to get perks like that, even with as new as you were to the company. It was barely the middle of January, you’d been in Los Angeles for just under two months, and you were starting to settle. 

 You were happy with your job, happy with your new home, happy with the friends you were starting to make - and happy with Logan, even though you were still little more than friends. No, that’s not true. You spent the night at each other’s places, and even though you still had yet to sleep with him again, despite the two of you sleeping in the same bed often, you had nothing to complain about. He’d introduced you to people at the Delos Christmas party, which had been held the weekend after New Year’s, you’d met Juliet and Emily - which had shocked you, and you’d even met a few of his actual friends … but he’d never introduced you as anything more than a friend and “the woman I spent the hurricane with”. At that, you’d gotten a knowing smile from Juliet, whose eyes had flicked between you and her brother quickly, but she hadn’t said anything. We’ll see what happens. 

 You sipped Logan’s drink, talking with Marlie and the people around you and listened as the women - and men - that were ordering drinks flirted with Logan, the man not missing a beat as he responded back in the same way. He’s good. You smiled as you eyed him, watching the way he moved as he quickly filled orders - pulling down on the beer taps and tilting the glasses just the right way, lifting bottles of liquor to pour shots and mixed drinks before handing them over the bar, his wide smile never disappearing for too long. He glanced at you every so often, trying to keep it from being obvious, but you could feel his eyes on you, sense that he wanted to speak to you again. Give him a reason to. “Hey, Logan.” You waited until he was filling beer glasses to your left, taking a pause as he looked down and watched the liquid rise. “Call Aubrey down here, let’s do a shot.” 

 “A shot?” He replied to you without looking up, but you saw him smirking. “I donno, it’s not responsible for a bartender to drink back here.” He finally looked up, meeting your eyes briefly. “Do I feel like bein’ responsible tonight?” 

 “No, that’s no fun.” Marlie spoke up from next to you, and you glanced over, lips pressed together. Maybe bringing her was the wrong choice. “Since when is Logan Delos responsible?” You saw him flinch - but knew that she hadn’t, and swore under your breath. “Come on, do a shot with us, Logan.” He laughed it off, pushing the taps back upright, and then handed the beers over the bar, smiling at the people he gave them to before looking back at the two of you. 

 “Since a couple years ago.” You widened your eyes at the words, but she didn’t catch the meaning behind them. “But.” He held up a finger. “A single shot isn’t going to hurt anything.” He looked down, where Aubrey was busy talking with the people at the other end of the bar, hands moving rapidly as she told a story. “Aubrey!” He got her attention, beckoning her over, and the dark haired woman finished her story and walked back down toward you, cheeks flushed. “They want us to do shots.” 

 “Shots? What is this, spring break?” You laughed, but could tell she was teasing. “Alright, Delos. Make it a good one.” She slapped his arm gently before reaching beneath the bar for shot glasses to line them up on the counter. “How many?” She did a quick head count - offering them to the people seated and standing around you, and turned back to Logan. “Ten. Make ten of something simple, and -”

 “Lemon drops.” You leaned in. “It’s easy and you can make a lot of ‘em at once, Lo.” You used his nickname without thinking, but no one aside from him seemed to catch it, and he nodded, scooping ice into two separate shakers with a smile on his face. 

 “Sounds good. Aub, why don’t you get the lemons ready and -” She was already moving, swiftly dipping the slices of fruit into sugar and attaching them to the rims of the shot glasses as Logan reached for a bottle of vodka. By the time both shakers were ready to go, Marlie had her phone out, recording video of the process, and as Logan and Aubrey turned to each other grinning and moving their arms to mix the liquor with lemon juice and the simple syrup, you were laughing too. This is fun. They poured the drinks, emptying the shakers entirely, and then started to pass them out, Logan handing you the second to last shot glass, fingertips meeting yours again. “To all of you.” He raised his glass, looking out over the crowd, nodding. “For making this event possible year after year.” 

 He was met with applause and a few cheers, but Logan met your eyes again as he clinked the edge of his shot glass against yours - and a few others - before lifting the glass to his lips, the lemon slice held in his opposite hand. To you, Logan. You closed your eyes and swallowed the shot before sucking on the sugared lemon slice, the tang of the chilled fruit jice delicious as it slid down your throat. Setting the glass down, you turned to Marlie, who was laughing hard with the man and woman next to her, one hand pushing her empty glass toward Logan’s side of the bar. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom, alright?” She nodded, glancing at you. “Save my seat.” You pulled your half finished drink to the edge of the bar and she moved her jacket to the empty space with yours as you stood, eyes scanning the back hallway for the restrooms. 

 Pushing your way through a few people, you made your way into the small room. After using the toilet, you stood in front of the mirror, fixing your hair and reapplying your lipstick in the low light. There were women around you taking selfies in the mirror, arms draped around each other as they laughed, and you smiled too as you left the room, turning back toward the main area of the bar. Before you could take more than a few steps, you felt a hand close around your elbow, pulling you backward. “C’mere.” 

 Logan pulled you into the office across from the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind you. “Logan, what are you -” But he cut you off quickly, lips moving against yours. 

 “Shut up and let me kiss you.” You nodded, hands going into his hair as he pressed you backwards and against the wall. He hadn’t been this close since Nassau, the way he’d pressed you against the glass door in the dark hotel room filling your mind. I can’t be this close to him without…You groaned, pulling on his hair and not caring that you were likely going to mess it up, his hands at your waist and pushing the shirt you wore up to expose the skin of your stomach. You tasted the shot he’d just taken as his tongue entered your mouth, meeting yours as you kissed him without restraint for the first time in weeks. Logan had been good with keeping things from getting too intense, keeping your bodies mostly separated when you kissed in order to reduce the temptation, but you could feel in his grip that he was unable to keep doing so. Good. “We don’t have long, I’ve gotta go outside and take Charlie’s place while he performs, but I couldn’t…”

 He sighed out your name as his lips moved down your throat, your hands falling to his shoulders. “Logan, don’t start something…Oh!” You gasped as he bit down on your collarbone, teeth latching on. “Logan, stop.” He lifted his head immediately, mouth open slightly as his breath came out hard. “Hey, come on.” You touched the side of his face, leaning in to press your lips to his. “As much as I’d like to let you continue this, I don’t think we should get caught in the office of a bar at a charity event before…”

 “Before what?” He wasn’t mad - you could see it on his face and hear it in his voice, but he was curious. “Hmm?” 

 “Before… we figure out what this is and where it’s going, Lo.” You used both hands to fix his hair, combing the strands back into place. “I don’t want people to think of me as just another…” He nodded, eyes going wide. 

 “I’m sorry, I didn’t even consider…” He stepped away from you and you immediately missed the closeness, your hands dropping to your sides. “I’ve never had to…” You nodded, catching your breath. He’s never worried before. “I’m glad you came.” Logan stepped closer to you again, reaching up to rub a thumb gently over your lips. “Been watchin’ you.” 

 “I know.” You puckered your lips, kissing his thumb. “I’ve been watching you watch me.” He grinned at that. “I’ve also been listening to Marlie talk about how much she -” 

 “The only one I’m leavin’ this place with tonight is you.” He leaned in again, lips hovering over your ear. “She’s got no chance. Never did. I’ve seen her before, and…” Logan groaned, his hands roaming over your back, the heat from them noticeable even though the material of your shirt. “Don’t want her.” You turned your head toward his, feeling the rasp of his beard over your cheek and then you were kissing Logan again, mouths open as he pushed you back against the door, the weight of his body solid against yours. “Want you.” You moaned his name out and into his mouth, hands at his hips, and knew that unless you pushed him away again, you’d be knocking the items off of the manager’s desk and Logan would be having his way with you. No. Not like this. 

 With great difficulty, you separated from Logan, again using your hands to fix his hair. “Lo, you gotta stop.” You took a deep breath, closing your eyes. “Not here, not like this, Logan.” He took a half step back, his eyes flashing. “We’ve waited weeks, we can wait a few more hours.” You touched his cheek, nodding. “You already know how I feel. I’m not turning you away, I’m just telling you to wait.” Heart pounding, you watched as he thought about what you’d said. He’s different now, he’s not going to take this as… 

 “I know.” He closed his eyes and wrinkled his nose, pulling his hands away from your frame and dropping them to his sides, fingers flexing. “I don’t want this for you either, but I’m tired of waitin’, tired of remembering what it felt like to have you... “ He met your eyes, and you could see that he’d calmed down, if only slightly. “Soon as I get you into bed again? I’m never gonna let you leave.” You shivered at his words but nodded, stepping away from the door to allow Logan to pass, but he paused with one hand on the knob. “Wait a minute after I leave an’ then come out to the back patio. That’s where I’ll be for the rest of the night, I gotta… Charlie starts in less than fifteen, so…” He shrugged, looking over his shoulder at you. “Plus, the crowd outside is usually younger, more fun.” What does that mean? “Hey.” He spoke again, voice serious. “Eat somethin’ else. Don’t get drunk.” 

 “I will, Logan.” You swallowed and he exited the room, door shutting behind him. Oh, holy fuck. You’d been overwhelmed by Logan since you’d met him in the airport, but at that moment, you were entirely unsure of what your next move would be. At least I know he still wants me. The thought steadied you, and you took a deep breath, pulling the door open. Back to the bar. 

 --- 

 Someone had taken your seat at the bar, but Marlie’d saved your drink, and so the two of you made your way out to the back patio, working your way through the crowd and toward the far end of the space. There was a microphone set up on the astroturf, and you figured that it was where Charlie would be performing, as it was the only area where people weren’t gathered. He was right, everyone is younger out here. Your eyes scanned the crowd, which was much thicker surrounding the outdoor bar. Damn, she’s gorgeous. You found Logan, laughing behind the bar with the second woman, this one blonde, and tried not to focus on the way she was working with him, the smaller size of the bar leading to them being in much closer proximity. She’s engaged, and she’s happy, it’s fine. “He’s starting, look!” Marlie tugged on your arm, pointing toward the grassy area, where Charlie had walked out, one hand grasping the microphone. 

 For the next twenty minutes, you watched the man and didn’t stop laughing. By the time his set ended, you were wiping tears away, glad you’d chosen waterproof mascara, but you were ready for another drink. “I’ll go get us drinks, Marlie, there’s still a ton of people at the bar, and it’ll be easier if one of us goes - why don’t you get a table and see if -”

 “Tacos?” You nodded, and the other woman laughed, holding her hand out for your jacket. “On it. I don’t care what you get me to drink, just no gin.” I can handle that. You turned away from her and walked to the bar, setting your empty glass down on one of the carts that was waiting against the wall. Push through. There were more women outside, and you watched as they leaned over the bar, calling out Logan’s name and asking him for drinks, phones in hand. Though it was the middle of January and there was a definite chill in the air, you noticed that a lot of them were still dressed like it was summer - thin shirts that showed a lot of skin, short, tight dresses, tall heels that left their long legs on display as they waited. Guess I didn’t get the memo. While you’d dressed up for the event in a new pair of dark jeans, ankle boots and a comfortable, fitted top, you knew - even only seeing them briefly - that you didn’t compare to them when it came to your style, nor did you compare to them when it came to showing off your body. That’s what used to get his attention, it’s what… You frowned as you realized that of the 300 people at the event, chances were that at least a few of them had caught Logan’s eye at one point or another, but quickly chased the thought away. He said I’m going home with him. The last two months haven’t been for nothing. 

 “And what can I get you?” His voice reached your ears as Logan leaned over the bar toward you, ignoring the others around you - and a few camera flashes - as he rested his elbows atop it. “Thirsty?” Oh, Logan. You have no idea.

 “I am.” You paused. “Just give me two of the lemonade things and a water, please.” one corner of his mouth lifted briefly, but he nodded, standing up straight and reaching beneath the bar, filling up a plastic cup with ice and then using the nozzle to fill it with water. “Thank you.” You took it from him, bringing the straw to your lips and taking a long drink, eyes closing. Needed that. By the time he’d finished pouring the lemonades for you, you were done with your water, reaching both hands out to pick them up, but before you could turn away to find Marlie’s table, Olivia’s voice - loud and commanding - stopped you. 

 “You know what we need?” She paused, stepping next to Logan and reaching up to put a hand on his shoulder. “A way to make some more money for these charities.” The crowd cheered, and you raised an eyebrow as you watched, Logan’s expression growing confused. “Who wants a picture with Logan?” There was a loud cheer, but Logan shook his head, opening his mouth to speak. “Five bucks, you can take one over the bar… ten and he’ll come out over there.” She glanced up at him, grinning. “You know they’ll pay, Delos, and if you start wandering the crowd, I’ll be able to handle the bar by myself.” He considered it and then raised a hand to his face, scrubbing over his beard. “C’mon, Logan, think of this as…”

 “Who’s gonna take the money?” He turned to face Olivia, crossing his arms. “Can’t just have people shovin’ money down my shirt, that’s not... “ The woman laughed out loud, her head tossed back and then she straightened up, glancing around. You watched, both drinks still in hand as she pulled one of the beer buckets from beneath the bar, holding it up. “Olivia, what -” 

 “Logan needs someone to keep track of all the money he’s about to make.” Olivia held the metal bucket above her head, turning to face the crowd in front of the bar, eyes moving over everyone gathered. “Any volunteers?” She raised an eyebrow, even as you felt people around you push, trying to make their way closer as they nominated themselves. Jesus. 

 “Her.” Logan pointed, one long finger aimed at you. “Go give that drink to your friend and then come back here. You’ve got a very important job.” Opening your mouth to turn him down, you stopped yourself. Why? Why would I? You nodded at him, fighting back a smile, and pushed away through the crowd, hearing Olivia ask who the first person would be to get a picture. Making your apologies to Marlie, you told her what had happened, and though she looked disappointed, you saw that she’d taken a seat at a table next to another large group, two of the chairs at that table already turned toward her and a tray of tacos being shared. 

 “Looks like he’s made his choice for the night.” She sounded slightly bitter, but you only rolled your eyes, drinking half of your drink in one swallow. “Lucky bitch.” 

 “I’ll probably only… it won’t be long, people already paid a shit ton to come in here, why would they pay more to -” 

 “Because it’s Logan Delos.” She gestured toward the bar. “And he -” She shook her head. “God, what are you still doing over here with me?” Marlie waved her hand. “Go.” She raised an eyebrow. “Make sure you get a good picture out of it… call it your fee.” You finished the drink, leaving the empty on the table, and headed back to the bar, carrying your coat. Instead of trying to push through the crowd, you went to the open end of the bar, stepping back and catching Olivia’s attention. 

 “My friend’s here, but I don’t know how long it…” You held your coat up. “Can I keep…” She took it from your hands, laying it on a shelf behind her. 

 “Delos!” She called out, and you watched as Logan smiled into a camera, hands flat against the bar as he leaned over it. “Your help’s back.” Logan turned from the front of the bar and toward you, walking the few feet until he reached where you stood, bucket held in one hand. You saw that there were already a bunch of bills in it, and when Logan handed it to you, you took it wordlessly. “I expect you to make a ton of money, Delos.” Olivia leaned in. “Don’t make me call Jason back here to help me show you up.” Logan laughed but nodded, and then stepped next to you, putting a hand on your lower back as you moved out into the crowd. 

 “Least we get to spend some time together.” Before you could answer, a few women walked up to Logan, phones and money at the ready Alright, Logan, let’s do this. 

--- 

 Forty five minutes later, you and Logan were back outside on the patio, and you’d made two separate trips to replace your buckets. It wasn’t that they were completely full, but you hadn’t wanted to walk around with so much money hanging from your fingers in a large crowd. He’d taken more pictures than you could count, men and women more than happy to donate to the charities if it meant they got to snap a photo with him, most of them throwing larger bills than the ones Olivia had suggested into your bucket. This is insane. The crowd inside had thinned, but it was still busy, and Logan had even taken a few pictures with Charlie and Aburey, laughing as he did so. 

 It wasn’t all pictures; Logan stopped to talk to people every now and then, greeting them by name, shaking their hands and introducing you to them too, again calling you his friend, hand resting on your back as a show of support. It felt good, even if you two didn’t have privacy, to be next to him again in public, to feel the occasional, casual brush of his fingers against your arm, hear him laughing next to your ear. “How much do you think I made?” Logan had paused next to the bar again, reaching over for a large cup of water, handing you one too. “Couple hundred maybe?” 

 “More, Lo.” You looked down into the bucket you carried, mentally counting what was in it. “Over five, probably… maybe… maybe more?” He took the container from your fingers and handed it to the bartender that was still with Olivia, his eyes on the woman as she moved to dump it in with the rest. “You gonna get back behind there? There’s still time, you -”

 “Nah. She’s got it covered.” Logan gestured to Olivia, who was serving drinks quickly. “And they’re fine inside, Charlie and Aubrey will keep those people happy.” He looked down, checking his watch. “And there’s only about a half hour left til the event’s over, so…” He shrugged. “I’m done for the night.” He pressed his lips together. “You gonna leave with your friend?” Frowning, you turned to look at the table where Marlie had been sitting, finding that she was no longer there. Where’d you go? Eyes scanning the crowd, you pulled your phone out to call her, but saw a message on the screen. Left with some friends, hope you’re having a good night.

 “She’s…” You typed a response back, telling her to be careful before sliding the device back into your pocket. “She found someone she knew, left to go to a different bar.” She must be really mad at me, she didn’t even try to get a picture with Logan. 

 “Huh.” Logan leaned in, his voice quiet. “Guess you’re stuck with me for the rest of the night then.” Before you could react, he’d kissed your cheek and straightened back up, eyes warm under the strings of lights that hung above you. “On second thought, maybe I will go back behind the bar… make you a real drink.” 

 --- 

He’d done just that, beckoning you to an empty barstool while he looked over the alcohol selection. He got sidetracked twice - other people asking him for drinks, and because technically the event still wasn’t over, Logan poured them, the same brilliant smile on his face that had been there before still present. “Where’d you learn to bartend, Lo?” You watched as he poured your drinks from the shaker and into rocks glasses, garnishing both of them with orange slices and dropping a cherry into the one right in front of him, a smirk on his lips. “I’d think you would always be in places where people would be more than happy to -”

 “Had to learn to be sure I was gettin’ what I wanted.” Logan met your eyes for a second, and you watched as they caught the lights, making them look warmer than usual and showing off the deep brown of his irises. “You’d be surprised at how different a drink tastes dependin’ on who makes it.” Logan wet his lips, pushing one of the glasses toward you, his other hand hovering over the bar. “Open your mouth.” Shocked, you parted your lips without thinking, and before you could react otherwise, he’d plucked a single cherry from the dish, lifting it to your mouth and pushing it gently in. “I didn’t forget.” He winked at you, pulling his hand away and using the other one to raise his own drink. 

 You sucked the cherry all the way into your mouth and reached for your glass, the people around you forgotten. Lifting it, you inhaled the scent of the drink before you took a sip, the cold liquid washing over your tongue and mingling with the cherry juice. He’s right. “It’s good, Logan.” After you swallowed, you cleared your throat and stared at him, smiling. Whatever this is between us, I’m lucky. “Never would have tho -”

 “Hey, Delos.” You swung your head to look at the other end of the bar, seeing that Aubrey and Charlie had joined Olivia, the three of them standing in the open area. “We’ve gotta get a couple of pictures with the Everson staff and the…” She gestured to herself. “Talent.” You snorted but Logan only laughed, glancing back at you. 

 “Don’t go anywhere, please. I’ll be right back.” He reached out, one finger glancing over the back of the hand you were holding your drink with. Once you’d nodded, he took a breath, leaning back and finishing his drink in one long swallow, the ice clinking against his teeth before he set the glass down again in front of you. You watched him out of the corner of your eye as he joined his co-hosts, the flashbulb going off over and over at the end of the bar. Sipping your drink, you heard as they moved throughout the open space, taking more pictures, Logan’s laugh reaching your ears - but you didn’t turn around, didn’t want to appear like you were monitoring him, and it was only when it got quiet that you turned your head, watching as they walked back inside. Probably need pictures of the inside bar, too. “He made those charities a lot of money tonight.” The woman in front of you brought your attention back, and you tilted your head to the side, staring at her. “Crowd’s gone, and I just finished counting.” She picked up a money pouch, showing you. “Almost a grand, in tips from taking pictures in under an hour.” You widened your eyes, mouth dropping open. “I’ve been here for this event the last couple of years, and this is the first…” She shook her head. “The first time he’s looked happy the whole time.” 

 “Why are you telling me this?” You leaned in, taking a drink. “I’m just -”

 “It’s pretty clear that you’re here with him, or that…” She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, he’s… he’s paying attention to you, and it’s not just…” She waved her hand in the air, licking her lips. “It’s not superficial, like…” She jutted her chin out, gesturing to a group of people that were waiting by the back door of the bar. “Like he’d give to any of them.”  It was women that you’d noticed earlier - tight, low cut shirts, minidresses, heavy makeup. Logan’s type. You frowned, the thought crossing your mind before you could stop it. “I gotta watch people, right? That’s my job. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like watching Logan just a little more than…” She laughed and you did, too, turning back to face her. “You’re lucky, you know that, right?” Lucky? “He’s giving you the attention they can only dream about, picked you to hang out with him while he took pictures instead of anyone else.” The bartender shook her head. “He made it known that you -” She cut herself off as you felt a pair of arms wind around you from behind, a chin settling on your shoulder. 

 “I’m back.” You closed your eyes at the sound of his voice, feeling the warmth of his breath as it hit your skin. “What’d I miss?” 

 “Nothing much, Logan.” Heart pounding, you turned to look at him as he slid onto the empty seat next to you, the bartender stepping away. “She was just telling me that she finished counting -”

 “You made almost $1000, Mr. Delos.” The woman grinned at him, seriousness of your conversation evaporating. “Have you thought about a career as a -”

 “No shit, really?” His tone surprised, Logan leaned in, too, resting his elbows on the bartop. “That much? I didn’t realize -”

 “Lots of people wanted to take pictures with you, I’m not surprised.” She busied herself, filling beer glasses and shaking her head back and forth. “But.” She stopped working after she handed off the tray of drinks to one of the servers, fixing both you and Logan with a long stare. “I didn’t see the two of you get a picture together.” She nodded at the pouch. “Made her carry your money around, and didn’t even offer her -” Logan laughed again, and you turned your head toward him, watching. 

 “No, you’re right, I didn’t.” He licked his lips. “It’s funny, we don’t have…” He looked at you, eyes moving over your face. “How have we not?” He’s right, we never... You hadn’t taken any pictures with Logan in the Bahamas, even though you’d taken them of each other, sitting in the ballroom with the other people, walking around on the hotel’s grounds after the storm had stopped. There’d been a picture taken of you by the Delos photographer at the Christmas party, as well as a few pictures of you captured throughout the night, but there weren’t casual pictures of the two of you, even though you’d spent a lot of time together in the weeks since you’d moved to LA. “We should change that.” 

 He was pulling his phone out of his pocket before you spoke, opening up the photo app. You thought he was going to hand the device over to the woman, who was still watching the two of you, but instead he flipped the camera around to face you, lifting his arm to put it around your shoulders and pull you toward him. “Logan, this is -” He snapped a picture as you were speaking, and after seeing it, you whined out loud. “Stop, I wasn’t re-” He took another one, the grin on his face perfect, as usual, and finally, you turned away from the camera, looking over at him. “Logan, come on, give me a second to -” He turned his head toward yours, and in the brief seconds between your eyes meeting and your lips following suit, you saw resolve in his gaze. Logan what are you doing? He kissed you, and before you closed your eyes, you watched as his phone lowered, falling to rest on the bartop. He brought his hand up to the side of your face as he deepened the kiss, fingers spreading out and disappearing into your hair. Stop, we’re in public, we…

 But you didn’t pull away, you couldn’t, and even though you hated public displays of affection, it felt good, knowing that anyone that looked could see that it was you he’d chosen, that he wanted to be with. To them, I’m no better than… It was enough to freeze you in place, and as Logan pulled away, you watched as he frowned for a moment, thumb sweeping over your temple. “You OK?” You managed to nod, but your heart was pounding in your chest for more reasons than Logan’s kiss, and you winced as recognition filled his eyes, the happiness in them dimming slightly. “Stop.” He whispered the word, leaning back in. “Don’t overthink this.” 

 “Lo,how can I n-” You cut yourself off, sitting straight up and shaking your head while gesturing to the people that were still out on the patio, the crowd of women having dispersed from the door to find seats at the bar or surrounding tables. “Come on, be honest with me. There are people here that you’ve -”

 “There are.” He was staring at you, turned in his seat to face you, one elbow on the bar and the other arm stretched out, between you. He was holding your hand; you hadn’t even realized that he’d taken it, his fingers linked with those on your left hand. “You know … you know what I was like. You have since the beginning.” He took a deep breath, wrinkling his nose. “But I’m here now, with you.” Logan closed his eyes. “I’m not proud of what I used to do, but it was my life. It’s how I coped, and it’s how… how I got through every day.” 

 “Logan, we’re in public, you don’t -”

 “Apparently I do.” Logan leaned back in, still holding your hand. “Couplea years ago, I wouldn’t have been here, out in public like this with someone holding their hand.” You glanced down and so did Logan. “I wouldn’t have spent hours workin’ on you, just to take you home for a night. It wouldn’t have been worth it.” He laughed, sitting  up and reached over, gesturing for the bartender, and asking for a vodka soda. “You want another one?” Glancing down, you saw that your drink was gone. 

 “Yeah, and  a water, please.” You swallowed and there was a long pause before you finally looked back at Logan, only to find that he was watching you intently as the bartender set the drinks down in front of you before she moved away.

 “It wouldn’t have been worth it, because even though I like the idea of knowing someone a little bit before I take ‘em to bed, I don’t need to. Never did.” He shook his head, the fingers of the hand on the bar tapping against the surface as you took a long drink from the water cup. “Fuck, I could walk up to just about anyone out here right now and ask them to come home with me, and because I am who I am…” He laughed, raising his new drink to his lips. “They’d do it.” They would. They…Your eyes left Logan, moving around the bar and landing on a blonde woman in a tight gray dress, her attention focused on you and Logan.

 “They would.” He sipped his drink, waiting for you to continue. “So I guess… what I’m wondering is what’s the end game here? What - no, why draw this out with me? We were together in the Bahamas, but that was only one night, and now that I’m out here, it’s like you’ll do everything you can to -” 

 “We should leave.” He interrupted you, pulling his hand from yours. “I don’t want to have this conversation with you here. It’s not right.” I agree with that. “Do you want me to call you a car, or do you want to come home with me?” The question - coming from Logan’s lips - should have shocked you, but it didn’t. The understanding at the beginning of the night had been that you’d go home with Logan, spending the night at his place like you had plenty of times before, but he was giving you the chance to back out, to make other plans based on the way that the night had turned. It turned because of me, because I can’t… 

 “I want to be with… to go back to your place, Logan, I thought that’s what -” 

 “It is.” He picked his phone up from the bar, tapping a few times on the screen. “Car will be here in a few, let me pay, and we can go.” Wordlessly, you finished your drink, sucking one of the ice cubes into your mouth. “Wait.” He put a hand on your leg, thumb pressing down. “You good?” Confused, you stared at him. “Sober, I mean, I don’t want to -”

 “No, I’m good, Lo.” You smiled at him, swallowing the last of the ice. “Someone told me to drink some water, and I haven’t had that much, so…” You shrugged. “I know what I’m saying, and I know where I want to be.” He turned away from you and flagged the bartender down, asking how much he owed for the drinks, but when she waved him off, he rolled his eyes. 

 “Alright, let’s go.” He pulled his wallet out as he stood, fingers closing around a bill before he tucked it on the opposite side of the bar, away from the rest of the crowd. That definitely covers it. “What?” He grinned at you, tentatively putting an arm around your shoulders and pulling you next to him. “It’s just money.” Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to say that? 

 By the time you got back to Logan’s place, it was after midnight. After the crowd at the bar, the quiet of his darkened home was a nice change of pace - and one that you welcomed. Shit, I don’t have clothes here. As the door closed behind you and you walked through his living room and toward the back of the house, you realized that though you’d spent the night there before, it had never been on accident. That meant that you’d always had something comfortable to change into, or had arrived wearing something you could sleep in. “Logan, I don’t have anything to sleep in.” You turned toward him, surprised to find that he was only a few steps away from you, hands in his pockets. 

 “I know.” His voice was quiet, but it was different than it had been at the bar. “I thought about that on the way back here, and…” He stepped closer to you, the low light from the kitchen illuminating half of his features. “I’ve got a shirt you can wear, maybe some…” He pulled a hand out of his pocket and slid his fingers up your arm, stopping near your elbow. “I didn’t want you to feel like this.” 

 “What?” You stared up at him, waiting. “Feel like…”

 “Like I was stringing you along.” He moved even closer, and you took a step back, though you weren’t trying to get away from him. “Because I’m not.” I… “That night, in Nassau? Everything happened fast. And I spent that whole next few days thinkin’ about how I told you that I was trying to be different, and yet I… I let myself get caught up, and I treated you like…” He shook his head, hair falling over one eye. “I’m glad it happened, but I’m also glad that we had those days after because…” 

 “Because what, Lo?” Your hand moved to his hip fingers sliding into one of his belt loops. “I’m glad too, but…”

 “Because I got to know you, outside of…” He stopped speaking and your mind wandered back to the hotel room - sitting on the chair and talking to him as your hair dripped down your back, sitting cross-legged on the bed and asking him questions, the way he’d stepped behind you in front of the sliding door without pause, how turning and kissing him had been so easy, making you forget about the memories of the resort that you’d thought you’d never let go of. I knew what he was like and I didn’t care… so why do I care now? Why is it such … You frowned, Logan’s eyes still on you. “These last few months have been… hard, to tell you the truth. I just wanted to… fuck, all I’ve wanted to do was be with you again, but I needed you to know, needed you to understand that it wasn’t just about the sex with you, it wasn’t just that I wanted to get you in bed again.” He took a breath. “Do you know how hard it is for me to sleep next to you and not touch you? To kiss you and then pull away before you can feel how…” He swore, shaking his head. “The Bahamas was one thing. That feels like it was supposed to happen, but it also felt too close to what I’d gotten used to for me to be completely fine with it.” 

 “I get that, Logan. But I knew what I was -” 

 “It doesn’t matter. You spent hours tellin’ me about your past and opening up to me, and then we slept together and couldn’t do anything about it for the next few days, and then we just go? Not see each other for weeks? I wasn’t going to do the same thing twice.” He leaned down, putting his other arm around you, palm flat against your back. “Wasn’t just gonna walk into your place that first night and drag you back into bed even though that’s all I wanted to do.” That’s all I wanted, too. “I wanted to show you that it was about more than that with you, that I wanted to know you before…” He sounded unsure, but continued speaking, words coming out faster and faster. “It’s easy to get caught up in someone because of sex, and believe me, I know that too well, but that’s not real, there has to be somethin’ else, or that’s all it’s ever gonna be.” You tilted your face up, feeling Logan’s lips moving against yours. “I don’t want it to be ‘just’ anything with you.” 

 He fell silent after that, and the two of you stood in front of Logan’s patio door, arms around each other. It was a lot to consider - but you didn’t want to lie to yourself. He’d addressed many of the fears you’d been afraid to talk about with him, hitting on the points that you’d gone over in your head. “Logan, we’re adults.” You took a deep breath, knowing that his silence was his way of giving you a chance to speak. “We both know what we want, we both… understand that it feels like…” What exactly does it feel like? “I feel like you pushed me away, Logan, once I got here. Yeah, we’re friends, but it feels like you’ve been trying to… I don’t know, keep me from getting closer than that.” 

 “What did I tell you in that office?” He pressed his lips to yours gently, head shaking back and forth. “I want you, but I know that once I have you again, it’s not gonna be enough.” He stepped forward, this time pushing you backwards, your feet moving with his without pause. You’d been closer to the closed patio door than you realized, and too soon, you felt it against your back, Logan’s body pressed against your front, but not to trap you. You brought a hand up, fingers unconsciously moving back to his hair and that spot behind his ear that you’d found without even trying in the hotel. He groaned and turned his head away from you, dropping it forward and kissing your neck, breathing your name out as his lips moved over your skin. “I want you to be sure.” He lifted his lips away from your neck, pausing for a moment before he kissed you quickly, chest pressed against yours, the hand that had been on your back moving to rest against the glass next to you. “It’s up to you now, what happ-”

 “You call that a kiss, Delos?” You leaned forward, lips landing on his, teeth closing around his lower lip before you pulled away. “You can do better.” He laughed quietly, but then kissed you again, fingers returning to your hips on both sides, your arms going around his neck. He was pressed against you; the entire length of his torso a welcome weight after weeks without it, and when, after a few seconds, you parted your lips against his, Logan didn’t waste time, using the opening to his advantage and kissing you deeply - nothing held back. It was different than it had been in the office; you didn’t sense urgency in his kiss, it didn’t feel like he was letting himself act on instinct. He meant it. He pulled back first, taking a second to compose himself, and you untangled your fingers from his hair, deciding in an instant what you wanted. “Bed, Lo. Now.” 

 ---

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: Lithics

Lithics, out of Portland, has been making minimalist post-punk for half a decade and three albums. Their latest, Tower of Age, fits into a well-established tradition of deadpan, off-kilter punk, borrowing the irregular rhythms of Kleenex/Liliput, the rough mechanical dance-i-ness of Fire Engines and the apocalyptic Android funk of Pere Ubu. In her review, Jennifer Kelly concluded, “Tower of Age isn’t radically different from Mating Surfaces, but it feels at once sharper and looser, as if the musicians in Lithics had gotten so precise and skilled at their razory art form that they could afford to take some risks. There’s a lot of post-punk out there, but very little as good as this.”

Kleenex/LiLiPUT – The Complete Recordings

I got the Kleenex/LiLiPUT 2xCD compilation from Kill Rock Stars when I was 16 and that album was one that truly impacted my life. I was really into the first disk of the more raucous and repetitive punk tunes for a long time and then as I got older, I got a lot more into the second disk of their more mature sounds. It’s something I’ve come back to again and again throughout my life. (Aubrey)

Grace Slick & The Great Society – Live at the Matrix

In the summer of 2018 I got extremely into this Grace Slick & The Great Society live at the Matrix album. I’ve been pretty obsessed with it ever since. It consists of two live performances from the mid-sixties. They were such a good band, it’s a shame she moved on to the much more boring Jefferson Airplane, taking along a couple of the Great Society’s good songs, but there are so many more! Darby Slick’s guitar solo on "Grimly Forming" is my favorite guitar solo of all time and Grace’s vocals are so incredibly strong throughout. (Aubrey)

Swell Maps – “Midget Submarines”

I’m picking just this song and not the album, it’s on Trip to Marineville, only because it was my introduction to the band. Everything about this song and recording is perfect. It encapsulates so many ideas, somehow successfully tying together a range of disparate musical threads: punk, psychedelic, dub, sound collage, motoric, noise... Pure joy for the ears. I still get goosebumps when I hear the opening drum beat. (Bob)

Half Japanese – “Live In Hell”

I don’t know much about the context of why or where this footage was shot, but it is 1985 Sing No Evil era Half Japanese (their peak lineup in my opinion) delivering a completely feral performance in front of a backdrop of flame while identical twins (?) in skeleton costumes jump all over them. Jad smirks while strumming an unplugged guitar, and David goes apeshit, dancing himself into a frenzy. The mix heavily favors John Dreyfuss’ Funhouse-esque sax, a unique perspective that I wish was represented more on their studio albums of the period. This is rock ‘n’ roll in its highest, wildest form. (Bob)

The Luv’d Ones – Truth Gotta Stand

The Luv’d Ones were an amazing band that I will take any opportunity to spread the word about. Char Vinnedge is one of my favorite guitarists, laying down hypnotic minor key riffs and piercing squalls of fuzz, often both in the same song. They were extremely ahead of their time, and it’s maddening to think they never got a chance to record a full album. I especially love the demo songs later in the album that manage to be wilder and more internal than the singles. (Mason)

Devo – The Mongoloid Years

As a 15 year old browsing the Devo section of my local CD shop, I found a new $17.99 copy of Freedom Of Choice, and a heavily used $8.99 copy of The Mongoloid Years. Luckily, I decided to save some money that day and bought the best recordings Devo ever released. I love how tight and blown out they sound, and the studio albums always sounded a little muted and mellow by comparison. The album ends with an early “hardcore” era performance, baiting the audience with comically inept nightmare music and getting kicked off stage. An inspiration. (Mason)

L.O.X. – L.O.X. Time

Who are they? I have no idea, but these strangers used to practice across the hall from us and it wasn’t long before they became one of my favorite bands. They reference bugs often, in lyrics and cover art, but it seems like a deeper theme within the album. “Ants” feels like it was written by ants. Like you’re in an ant hill, and somewhere down one of the tunnels, there’s an ant clawing at a piece of sheet metal in time. Nobody really knows who they are, but if you’ve heard this record you know that they rule. (Wiley)

Velvet Underground – White Light/White Heat

Few records make me want to burn all of my possessions, knock myself out with a frying pan and float down a river into the night, but this is one of them. Every once in while I’ll check back in with it and be astonished by its creation. While I love the majority of this bands catalog, I particularly like the recklessness of some of the recording performances in this era. The deluxe edition has some great alternate takes of VU classics, as well as some overlooked live gems such as “Guess I’m falling in love.” (Wiley)

Honey Bucket – Furniture Days

Furniture Days by Honey Bucket

Portland’s now sadly defunct Honey Bucket are a collective favorite of all of us in Lithics, and a band that I will always fondly identify with a particular time in this city. Their music was energetic, highbrow, and fun; perfectly reflecting the personalities of the three talented humans behind its creation. Not a day goes by that we don’t miss this band, Honey Bucket forever! (Bob)

Mope Grooves – Desire

Mope Grooves are, by this point, something of an institution in Portland. Primarily the brainchild of singer/lyricist/ multi-instrumentalist Stevie Pohlman, it still has the feel of a community effort. The sound has gradually evolved along with a shifting lineup of local musicians culminating in their latest LP Desire, their most fully realized work to date.

[unholyhelbig]

Bechloe Prompt: Chloe is a street racer where she lost her car in a pink slip race (where the winner keeps the loser car), no big deal except the car belongs to her best friend, Aubrey is out of town, and is now in the possession of her nemesis. In need to get it back before Aubrey gets back, she's forced to ask for help from Beca, a mechanic and former street racer that gave it up for unknown reasons, who also happens to be her crush.

Read my stuff on AO3 | SEND ME PROMPTS

A/N: Listen, I know this isn’t the greatest, but I’m trying to get back in the game. I’ve been kind of scarce on here lately when it comes to fanfiction. My life is kind of getting together. But yeah… I miss it! But I’m rusty.

The scorching heat didn’t’ help. It never did. It clung to Chloe like a wet cloth, baking off the asphalt in nearly visible rays. She was drumming her thumbs against the steering wheel, letting the sweat collect in an even brine against her brow. She had turned the engine off an hour ago and still couldn’t bring herself to get out of her car.  

Chloe’s life had been ruined in one single race.

When she was in high school and had first gotten her license, she would shut the headlights for her car off. It plunged her into a cooling darkness. She would sit, listening to her engine purr and staring at the line of trees to make sure she was completely alone. The North Carolina nights damning and isolating.

Chloe revved her engine before pushing down hard on the gas. The wind would flood the cab and the scent of gas clouded her lungs. She would drive as fast as she could: The meter suddenly climbing from 60. Her fingers would tighten around the wheel. 75. The road would bend like a warped spine. 80.

For a while, it was the only high that mattered. The only way she could feel alive in her desolate town, with her overbearing parents and suffocating life responsibilities.  Just hit the gas. Keep riding until she would suddenly have to smash the brakes for an oncoming car that had no chance of seeing her in the first place.

That’s why she started racing when she moved out to the West Coast. They had full societies dedicated to lining up on empty tracks. Three lights and then hit the gas. It wasn’t the same as the woods, but it still pushed blood through her veins.

It’s how she lost her car- well, Aubrey’s car. Aubrey who had told her to take care of her place while she was on an important business trip in the city. Aubrey who had a nice Lexus and kept it pristine enough to be a makeshift Uber. Aubrey who would very much gut her like a fish the second she found out about the pink-slip race.

Someone knocked on the window of her beat up truck. Chloe jumped, anxiety pushing close to her throat as she let out a yelp of surprise and shifted her focus. A stranger, a young girl with a baseball cap on and a toothpick hanging out of her lips, gestured for her to roll down her window. Chloe did.  

“You’ve been sittin’ out here for a long while.” The girl said, pulling her baseball cap off. She had a lot of hair, the brown locks falling around a perfectly innocent face. Her forehead was coated in sweat, her shirt branded with an embroidered name. Emily. “Must be hot.”

“It is-I” Chloe quickly pulled her keys from the ignition and pushed out of the car. The girl took a wide step back and shifted the toothpick from one side of her mouth to the other. “This is… Beca Mitchell works here, doesn’t she?”

She slammed her door and stare the woman down. She wore something that was a mix between a smile and a grimace. Emily plucked the toothpick from her mouth and flicked it on the ground next to a few cigarette butts.

“She does, but it’s by appointment only. Your truck acting up on you? One of our other guys can take a look at it.”

“No, no it’s not that. It’s a personal matter.”

Emily looked like she wished she had kept the toothpick in her mouth. Like she was just as bothered by the heat as Chloe was. There was the sound of drilling coming from the open garages a few feet away. A few distant voices and the scent of motor oil. Chloe had half the mind to get back in her truck. To drive away and to figure out some other option for her predicament.

“Right, well. She’s in her office. Better than boiling like a lobster out here in your truck.”

Emily had a bit of charm to her that Chloe couldn’t’ quite figure out. She mocked a salute and walked back into the much cooler garage, she imagined, to find something else to chew on. Chloe still stood evenly by the side of her car for a few moments before she pulled her shoulders back and walked towards the front office of the little tire place.

She was instantly cooled off the moment the door opened, and a little bell sounded in response. There was a fan oscillating in the corner with a light buzz- a receptionist looking up from the little spot that she was perched at. Her dull green eyes flashing in annoyance for a split second before clearing up.

“Hi, do you have an appointment?”  

“No, I don’t.” She walked up to the counter, feeling the sweat on her forehead harden against the fans blast. She saw the girl grimace.

“We can set one up for you. Oil change? Tire replacement? How is Monday at eight?”

“I don’t need my car worked on,” Chloe cleared her throat and shifted on the balls of her feet. “I just need to talk to Beca- If that’s possible. It’s important. Really important.”

Chloe hadn’t realized how hard she was pressing against the counter, but her fingertips burned. She kept her eyes trained on the receptionist, the woman typing away a few things on her computer with a puzzled look on her face.

“I’m sorry, but you have to make an-“

“I don’t have time for an appointment!” Chloe said.

The girl with dull eyes leaned back evenly in her chair. It creaked up her weight as she rose a drawn-on eyebrow at Chloe. The answer would still be the same regardless of if she raised her voice or not. Chloe needed to make an appointment, and Beca would quickly dismiss it the second she saw the name on her schedule.

“There a problem, here, Tammy?”

Beca was leaning against the doorframe to what had to be her office. Triggered by the loud voices, or one voice, in particular, Chloe would never know. Her attention was sharp, her hair pulled into a loose ponytail, jumpsuit hanging tied and low around her waist. Her white shirt was stained and hugging her body close. Her stare didn’t soften at the sight of Chloe. In fact, it solidified. She dragged that midnight stare across her frame and Chloe swallowed back chills. The fan was directly on her. Tied string waving in the current.

“Not at all, Miss Mitchell. She was just leaving. Weren’t you?”

Chloe swallowed roughly and stared between the two women. Tammy, she could take. Her eyeliner was drawn on too thick and her lips were outlined in a shade that didn’t compliment her skin tone. Beca, on the other hand, was stretching the sleeves of her shirt, her arms crossed over her chest and a dark look shading her features.

“No. No, I wasn’t. Beca, I need to talk to you.”

“And I have no interest in speaking to you.”

“Please, it’s important.”

“That’s what everyone says, Red. Begging isn’t flattering.”

Beca turned to walk into her office, and Chloe followed close behind. The receptionist drew in a sharp and angry breath, close to reaching for the phone but she didn’t do anything. Instead, she watched as Beca slumped into her office chair and Chloe straddled the line of trespassing.

The mechanic struggled to ignore her. Picking up her ink pen and scribbling against the paperwork she was struggling to file. Chloe saw this as her chance, she figured Beca could multi-task just as well as she could.

“Last night Max got ahold of my car- well, not my car, but a car.” She started “I was so close, so fucking close, but my wheels stalled. They always stall. You know how he works, Beca. He won’t let me race for it again.”

There was a round of thick silence, but Beca’s pen stopped moving. She didn’t’ look up. “I didn’t’ think I would see the day when Chloe Mother Fucking Beale would turn up in my shop asking for help.”

“Is that a no?”

Beca stood and trained her full attention on Chloe, her fingers pressing into the top of the desk as she frowned at the girl. “You’re fucking stupid for racing against Max in a Pink Slip. You know that?”

“I know.”

“I’m out of the game, have been for years now. I don’t even think I could win against something like that anymore.”

“I know that too.” Chloe said daringly “But you’re my only hope.”

[kyxxlascc]

August 2019 CC Haul

Haul Edition 2!

Every month I make a haul post with all of the CC that I downloaded and added to my game.

The purpose of this text post is so that I can keep track of things I actually downloaded during the month because everything I reblog is queued and also so that everything is in one place.

Mods

Random Mods by littlemssam

https://littlemssam.tumblr.com/post/175412396783/random-small-mods-sometimes-mods-are-sooo-small

Smarter Robot Vacuum by BraveSim

https://modthesims.info/d/631102/smarter-robot-vacuum.html

Classic Icons by kixg

https://thekixgofficial.tumblr.com/post/186357474044/do-you-like-the-new-ui-but-cannot-get-used-to-the

Makeup & Face Details

3D Eyelashes by plumbobjuice

https://plumbobjuice.tumblr.com/post/164239237300/3d-eyelashes-recolorretexture-of

Nail Polish by lehgaming

https://lehgaming.tumblr.com/post/157584381531

Pointy, Long and Multicolour Nail Polish by lehgaming

https://lehgaming.tumblr.com/post/163460259338

Shoes

Hazel Boots by alexarr

https://alexaarr.tumblr.com/post/183098359036/hazel-boots

Basic Sneakers by pleyita

https://pleyita.tumblr.com/post/184432141250/the-basic-sneaker-these-are-two-perfectly-good

Birkenstocks by blarffy

https://blarffy.tumblr.com/post/186448709155/ive-converted-the-baby-birkies-for-all-of-the

Cross-front Heels by grimcookies

https://grimcookies.com/post/183643752728/cross-front-heel-i-havent-made-shoes-in-like

Madlen Narkissa Sandals by mj95

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-shoes-female-teenadultelder/title/madlen-narkissa-sandals/id/1297755/

Thrifty Wedges by ghardenia

https://love4sims4.tumblr.com/post/161896643303/ghardenia-the-brick-house-a-set-of-four

Clothes

Sulani Set (Top&Bottoms) by ilkup

https://ilkup.tumblr.com/post/186820215372/sulani-set-a-puffy-sleeved-crop-and-some-wide-leg

Farah Dress by ilkup

https://ilkup.tumblr.com/post/186634031942/farah-dress-i-stress-ate-3-kitkat-chunkys-making

Denim Jacket and Long Cardigan by simplesimmer

https://blogsimplesimmer.tumblr.com/post/153238657790/hello-everyone-i-have-finally-finished-this-small

Two-Piece Swimsuit by moontrait

https://moontrait.tumblr.com/post/185848002538/moontrait-two-piece-swimsuit-we-need-more

Sparkle V Neck Maxi Dress by grimcookies

https://grimcookies.com/post/185599484551/sparkle-v-neck-maxi-wow-what-a-look-i-made-this

Oceane Swimsuit by simlaughlove

https://snagglefuster.tumblr.com/post/185819698620/sll-oceane

Vintage Tees by nuagelle

https://nuagelle.tumblr.com/post/172380394108/vintage-tees-sooo-i-totally-fell-in-love-with

Delia Bralette by blushcat

https://blushchat.tumblr.com/post/171134503364/delia-bralette-basegame-compatible-cas

Picnic Date Dress by ilkup

https://ilkup.tumblr.com/post/183293534292/picnic-date-a-dress-and-a-crop-top-in-a-gingham

Rifle Paper Co Bathrobes by simplistic-sims4

https://simplistic-sims4.tumblr.com/post/185291050160/rpc-bathrobes-i-got-a-request-from-kenziesprecher

Aubelle Lingerie by renorasims

https://renorasims.tumblr.com/post/173541886778/hi-everyone-heres-a-cute-little-lingerie-set-i

Hair

Paise by wild-pixel

https://wild-pixel.tumblr.com/post/186824389346/paise-hair-you-guys-seemed-to-really-like-my-paige

Rizal Hair by marsosims

https://marsosims.tumblr.com/post/186749816981/rizal-hair-this-hair-is-named-after-the-filipino

Aubrey by grimcookies

https://grimcookies.com/post/167010061675/aubrey-a-remake-of-my-kimberly-bun-with

Wispy Hairline by bluemoonsim

https://bluemoonsim.tumblr.com/post/173922260048/22-800-followers-gift-wispy-hairline-a

Organic Hairline by qwertsims

https://qwertysims.tumblr.com/post/175734908719/pixelore-organic-hairline-recolor-fix-by

Rachel by aharris00britney

https://www.patreon.com/posts/24964922

Accessories

Stellar Earrings by anessasims

https://anessasims.tumblr.com/post/180942163814/hello-i-was-inspired-to-create-some-simple

La Luna Earrings by nords

https://nords-sims.tumblr.com/post/186528048341/la-luna-earrings-hello-lovelies-virtual-aglet

Traveler’s Necklace by ridgeports

https://ridgeports.com/post/186347881787/travelers-necklace-ive-always-wanted-to-try

Droplet Hoop Earrings by grimcookies

https://grimcookies.com/post/186412428060/droplet-hoop-earrings-i-just-wanted-more-simple

Grandma’s RIng by joliebean

https://joliebean.tumblr.com/post/184501926661/grandmas-ring-a-ring-in-7-swatches

Tattoos

Harry Potter by lilsimsie

https://lilsimsiecc.tumblr.com/post/158710926659/lilsimsie-harry-potter-upper-back-tattoo-set-by

Wrist Tattoos by hazelios

https://hazelios.com/post/157988234109/3-simlish-words-3-symbols-custom-thumb-and

Astrology Tattoos by noodlescc

https://noodlescc.tumblr.com/post/182769157104/astrology-tattoos-and-pupils-includes/amp

Build&Buy Mode

Breakfast Clutter by aroundthesims

https://aroundthesims.tumblr.com/post/144308587643/around-the-sims-4-breakfast-clutter-because-i

Quilted Dreams by harrie-cc

https://harrie-cc.tumblr.com/post/186823771798/quilteddreams

Girl Power Paintings by abundanceofpixels

https://abundanceofpixels.tumblr.com/post/186456330663/girl-power-a-wall-art-set-by

Display Wardrobe by adonispluto

http://www.modthesims.info/d/583747

Simple Furniture Set by iamsimmerb

https://iamsimmerb.tumblr.com/post/186969977574/im-proudly-present-drum-roll-pleaaase-simple

Drinks Clutter by aroundthesims

https://sims4.aroundthesims3.com/objects/appliance_drink_04.shtml

Handbag Clutter-Umbrella by aroundthesims

https://sims4.aroundthesims3.com/objects/decorative_clutter_16.shtml

Perfect Single Closet by sg5150

https://sg5150.tumblr.com/post/177889550994/sg5150-perfect-size-single-closet-maxis-design

Vakkert Sims by sanoysims

https://sanoysims.tumblr.com/post/163037175266/vakkert-set-ts4-heavily-copied-of-this-photo

Painting-Ununpentium Living Room by wondymoon

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-sets-objects-livingroom/title/ununpentium-living-room--i/id/1407581/

Rifle Paper Co Travel Prints by SimPlistic

https://simplistic-sims4.tumblr.com/post/174405024272/rifle-paper-travel-prints-in-simlish-theyre

Random Conversions 1 by lindseyxsims

https://lindseyxsims.tumblr.com/post/131591516148/random-conversions-1

Squarely There Modular Sofa by illogicalsims

https://illogicalsims.tumblr.com/post/178974893144/squarely-there-modular-sofa-base-game-tried

Seamless Wall Mirror by illogicalsims

https://illogicalsims.tumblr.com/post/178345249649/seamless-wall-mirror-complete-wall-coverage-it

Various Coffee Table Meshes by illogicalsims

https://illogicalsims.tumblr.com/post/178724433089/various-coffee-table-mesh-edits-edited-a-bunch-of

Banana Leaf Motif Wallpaper by amoebae

https://pictureamoebae.tumblr.com/post/184233487774/bananaleafrelease

Functional Moleskin Journal by pleyita

https://pleyita.tumblr.com/post/182756908745/moleskine-journals-this-is-a-re-release-of-the

Marvel Portrait and Prints by blumpob

https://blumpob.tumblr.com/post/144055854422/mike-mitchell-marvel-portrait-prints-posters

Moon Mirror by toskasims

https://toskasims-cc.tumblr.com/post/186208756833/moon-mirror-3-swatches-300-polys-download

Terrazzo Tables by suzy-sims

https://suzy-sims.tumblr.com/post/187152544281/terrazzo-tables-im-an-avid-fan-of

Closet Add-On Perfect Door by mutske

https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-objects-buildmode-doors/title/closet-add-on-perfect-size-door-1x1/id/1452260/

“Simlished” American Travel Prints by abundanceofpixels

https://abundanceofpixels.tumblr.com/post/158034858053/simlished-american-travel-prints-16-posters

Kallax Set by pqsim

https://pqsim4.blogspot.com/2019/08/ikea-kallax-sims-4-custom-content.html?spref=pi

Sets/Packs

AxA 2019 by aharris00britney and ayoshi

https://www.patreon.com/posts/28750048

AxA 2018 by aharris00britney and ayoshi

https://aharris00britney.tumblr.com/post/181398692221/ayoshi-download-austins-patreon-donate-to

[wannabe-bella]

What's a Raincloud without Sunshine?

She watches them. Watches him throw his arm over her shoulder while she beams in delight. Watches as he pulls her closely, almost as if he owns her. But then Jesse's voice brings her out of her stare and she's back to reality.

"Alright guys, let's get to recording!" He calls out to them, them being Luke, Beca, and Chloe. His gaze then falls to the brunette, "Beca?"

Snapping her head up, or more importantly from the redhead opposite her, Beca gives him a nod before standing from the chair she's slouched in. "Yeah, yeah... Let's do this." She claps her hand, grabbing the guitar beside her.

"You alright there, Becky?" Luke asks as they plug their guitars up to the amplifiers. He has a look on his face as if he knows. And then his eyes flicker over to the redheaded girl who places a kiss on her boyfriend's lips and he gets it, only tipping his head in understanding before adjusting the sound of his guitar.

Noticing that Chloe and her boy toy of the month have yet to un-lock lips, she ungracefully slams down on the guitar letting out an unmerciful screech causing the pair to jump back. The boyfriend,Chad, sending her a glare as he almost trips over the amp.

She sends him a cheeky smirk and a lazy shrug, "My bad."

Giggling, Chloe skips her way towards her. "Why?" Is all she asks, her voice low.

"You know I don't like him," Beca replies, now tuning up the guitar.

"I know... But he's my boyfriend, Bec." Chloe reminds her, her eyes watching as Beca's fingers fiddle with the tuning pegs.

"That doesn't mean I have to like him."

…

To: Beca Mitchell

From: JonathanHolland jukeboxbar

Hello, this is Jonathan Holland, owner of Jukebox Bar. I recently saw a video of you and your band performing through Facebook and would like to give you the opportunity of performing at my bar next weekend. I spend my time researching newer bands in hopes of giving them a push in this business and luckily for you and your bandmates, I found your Facebook page.

If you're interested in this offer, please email me back ASAP so we can talk about the details.

Jonathan Holland – Jukebox Bar

...

Rolling the van up outside the bar, Jukebox Bar to be exact, Beca and her friend stare up at the neon sign lit up above the building.

"You sure this isn't rigged?" Luke asks from the passenger seat beside her. Shrugging, Beca opens the door, "Guess we'll find out."

The pair load up their equipment onto the stage set up within the bar, having volunteered to be the two to do it before the rest of the band arrive later that night. As they set the gear up, an older man, around his mid 30's makes an appearance. The sound of his footsteps making them glance over.

"You must be The Trebles?" He guesses. His eyes glancing between them, "I thought there were more of you?"

"We are. And there is," Luke answers for them, looking over to Beca, "They'll be here soon."

"And you must be Beca Mitchell?" The older man says, his eyes falling onto the brunette. He holds his hand out to her.

"That would be me," She says, shaking the hand. She tips her head towards Luke, "And this is Luke."

"Pleasure to meet you," The blonde says, his British accent shining through as he shakes his hand after.

"I'm Jonathan Holland, owner of this place," Jonathan explains, gesturing to the bar around them, "I'll let you guys get set up and check in on you later." He says, backing away, "If you need anything, just let me know." As he then goes to leave, he pauses, turning round to face them with a smile, "Oh... And drinks are on the house for you guys tonight."

An hour later and the two have the stage set up with their gear. Beca sits on the stool situated on the stage, playing a riff on her guitar as she patiently waits for the rest of the band to arrive.

At first, she messes around with the notes, freestyling sounds before she finds it turning into a familiar riff. And she can't help but smile as she gets lost in the sound of electric.

Chloe and Jesse shuffle their way through the bar doors, the sound of a guitar taking over their ears. Before they even see who's playing it, they look to each other and mouth the word, "Beca."

Jesse ventures over towards Luke, who watches from the side as he sips from a drink whereas Chloe's eyes never stray from the brunette on stage. She closes the gap between herself and the stage, taking a seat at the edge of it as she stares up at the girl.

It's only then does Beca's eyes open from the trance she was in, them falling onto the redhead below her somewhat startled. But she eases back into the song, adding more volume to it.

"Sunshine of your Love, huh?" Chloe grins, sending her wink. Beca only chuckles before her gaze lands on Jesse hopping onto the stage and towards the drums. He adds a beat to the riff, and then before she knows it Luke's on bass. Which leads to-

"Get up here, red!" Beca calls down to her friend, tipping her head towards the mic.

Chloe stalls a second and looks like she's about to leave, but twists back around, jumping up onto stage and bursts out the chorus of the song. She beams wide as Beca walks over to sing along with her.

After a quick rehearsal and overview of the setlist, the bar suddenly becomes flooded with people; with some regulars, and some new folk around.

The band are off to side, Jonathan standing beside them.

"Okay Trebles," He says catching their attention from the 'audience' they have, "It's Friday night, which means the people are going to want good music. Now I know you guys are capable of delivering that, so go out there and put on one hell of a show!" He says, giving them a small pep-talk, hyping them as he does so. Beca and Jesse glance to one another before nodding.

"Let's do this guys!"

"Oh my god, that was insane!" Jesse gushes later that night after their set is over. There's a new band on the stag as the group of friends line up in a booth, drinks in each of their hands.

"You're telling me," Luke agrees in all his British charm, nursing his beer. He sits next to the brunette boy, with Chloe to his right and Beca beside her.

Tipping her beer bottle towards him, Beca nods, "Agreed." She chuckle's, their bottles clashing together before taking a sip. To her left, she notices Chloe on her phone.

"Watcha' up to red?" She asks.

"Oh, just texting Aubrey." She replies, setting the phone down before angling herself more towards Beca now that the boys seem to be in conversation.

"Posen?" Beca furrows her brow.

Chloe nods, "The one and only. She couldn't make it tonight and told me to text her how we got on." She explains. "We did aca-awesome." She then adds with a smirk.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you sign up for that acapella group." Beca says, her eyes downcast as she plays along, looking defeated.

She feels Chloe bump her shoulder, "Hey, I got you to sign up for that as well!"

"My biggest mistake was saying yes to that." She admits, taking another sip before setting the bottle down.

"As if you'd say no to me." Chloe teases, leaning in with a giggle. Beca brings her hand up to wiggle a finger in the girl's face, "You see those?" She gestures to Chloe's eyes, "Those are your killer weapons. No one could say no to those big blues."

"Awe, how sweet." Comes a new voice out of nowhere making everyone's head snap up. Stood at the end of the booth was-

"Chad!?" Chloe calls out, sounding confused. She slides her way out of the booth, purposely landing on Beca making her groan, before standing before her boyfriend. "What are you doing here? I thought you had work?"

She leans in to hug him and Beca can't help but notice that he seems to be sending her some kind of death glare.

She shakes it off by taking a nice large gulp of her beer.

"I was able to leave early." He says, bringing his gaze back to the redhead, "Besides... I couldn't miss my girls first gig, now could I?" He catches Beca's eye once again, but only for a split second. His grin looks way to proud as he brings his hand to Chloe's waist pulling her in close. "Hey, my friends are at this club nearby, I was thinking we could go down there?"

"What?" Chloe's brows furrow. "You... you want me to just ditch my friends for yours?"

"Well..." He trails off, rubbing at his neck, "Yeah."

And oh god, Beca wants to punch this douche so much right now, it's not even funny.

But she chooses to scoff, instead standing from the booth before making her way towards the bar, her shoulder shoving past Chad's rather roughly. She fails to notice Chloe's eyes following her as she takes a seat at the stool.

"So, what do you say?" Chad asks, his eyes hopeful, bringing her out of her daze.

"Chad..." Chloe sighs, taking a step back. She catches sight of Beca again, now conversing with the bartender and shakes her head no. "I can't... just abandon my friends for you."

"But I'm your boyfriend, Chloe!" He exclaims, his voice rising in tone.

"Yeah, but Bec-" Chloe stops herself, taking a deep breath. She then gestures to the booth, "But these are my best friends. I've known them all my life. They're my family and this was our firstgig."

Beca now chooses to slowly begin walking back to their booth, keeping her distance but enough to hear the conversation.

"So...?" Chad raises his eyebrows, "My friends have got VIP access and-"

"You just don't get it, do you?" Chloe snaps, not caring that her voice is raised. "You know what?" She says side-stepping him, "If you're going to be like this, then maybe we shouldn't be together."

"Are you serious?!" Chad exclaims. "You're breaking up with me just because I want to hang out with my own friends and not with your mediocre band, not to mention that dyke of a best friend of yours?"

"You've stepped over the line there, mate," Luke voices from his seat, catching his attention.

"Fuck off, mate. This isn't any of your business."

Luke slams his drink down on the table, almost smashing it in the process causing Chad to flinch back.

"Okay, easy there boys," Jesse tries to diffuse, standing from the booth. He notices that a few people are staring at them, "We don't want to bring attention to ourselves."

Chloe shakes her head at Chad, "We're done." She says, moving past him towards the exit. Before she can make it, she feels a grip on her wrist pull her back. "Chad, let go of me!"

She glares at him and as he goes to mutter a word, a fist is flying in his direction, hitting him square on the nose. His hand automatically flies to the wound as he stares up at his attacker.

"You son of a bitch!" He angrily screams at Beca, who only smirks at him. "You broke my nose!" He whines out.

"You know..." Beca starts, "I've been wanting to do that for a while now."

Suddenly Jonathan makes an appearance from behind the bar, "What the hell is going on over here?"

"That bitch attacked me!" Chad cries out, point towards Beca as his nose continues to gush blood.

Jonathan turns towards the girl, "Is this true?"

"He was harassing Chloe." Beca explains.

The older man only nods, "Well, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you all to leave." He says to her, before turning to Jesse and Luke, "You two, go get your gear packed up." As he goes to leave, he twists over to them once again, "Oh and your set tonight was really great. The guys and gals in here loved it. So, I'll see you all again next week?"

"For sure," Jesse says, with a smile.

"Hey, do me a favour," Jonathan looks down to Chad, "Get the fuck out of my bar."

…

It's around midnight when the four of them stumble back to Luke and Beca's shared apartment. They'd stopped on their way at a 24-hour store to stock up on liquor and gas before deciding that it was best if they crashed together that night.

Beca and Luke had moved in together not long after high school, they both were the 'originators' of their band and had first started out as a DJ duo. Beca more-so than Luke. Then Chloe and Jesse sang in for vocals one day on a track that the brunette had produced and suddenly came to realize that they clicked well as a band.

Which leads them to now, 3 years later with only one gig under their belt as a band and crammed into a small apartment on the outskirts on New York.

Sitting around the small living area, they pass around a whiskey bottle, each taking a sip. They joke about their childhood and share inside jokes. Chloe leans her head on Beca's shoulder as Beca lays her feet across the coffee table in front. Luke's sat on the floor below Beca, his own head lazily bumping against her calf whereas Jesse's sat on the armchair beside them, the whiskey bottle in his hand.

"I think it's time we call it a night." He announces, his voice slurring slightly.

"I second that." Luke says. Ungracefully, he lifts himself off the floor, holding his hand out to the brunette boy who takes it. They lean on each other for support as they stumble their way to the Brit's room, leaving Beca and Chloe the couch to themselves.

A few moments of silence go by, the faint sound of the clock ticking in the background before either of them speak.

Chloe's the first as she raises her head to glance up at the girl, "Hey, Bec?"

"Hmm?" Beca responds, lazily drawing circles on Chloe's hand, which is splattered across her wait.

"You didn't have to punch Chad you know."

"Yeah, I know..." Beca nods, "But I wanted to."

"Why?"

"Cos' he's a douche and doesn't treat you right." Beca replies, not even needing time to think about it. "You're honestly incredible, you know?" She continues, her voice low, making this moment seem almost intimate, "You're Chloe Beale for crying out loud. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen and probably will ever see. You're the sunshine to my raincloud, you're-" With a sigh, Beca pauses, her movements stilling.

"What?" Chloe eases, bringing her hand to Beca's.

"You just deserve so much more than him, that's all." Beca shakes her head, leaning it back on the edge of the couch as she shuts her eyes.

Chloe toys with her fingers as she replay's the girl's words in her head. Her eyes flicker over Beca's face, over the curve of her cheeks, her lips, her nose, her eyes and decides to make a conscious decision that could change the relationship she has with Beca.

For either worse or for good.

Raising her head from the brunette's shoulder, she leans ever so slightly up, so that she's almost level with her. Taking a shaky breath, she tips her head forward so that her lips gently fall onto Beca's.

She feels Beca tense up and her eyes snap open. Leaning back, she stares into Beca's confused wide eyes, they flicker between each one before gazing back down towards her lips.

Beca finds herself doing the same and without thinking leans in to capture Chloe's lips with her own. The kiss itself is fast and needy, nothing like either of them would expect their kiss together to go, but neither complaining.

Beca's hands hold onto the side of Chloe's face as Chloe's grip onto the collar of Beca's shirt. Her hands slip between the gap at the top, sliding over her collarbone's before creeping up to her neck to pull her in closer.

Sighing into the kiss, Beca's hands fall to Chloe's waist as she angles her head to deepen the intense lip-lock. Pulling back for air, she's left breathing heavy into Chloe's face, their breath mingling between them.

"What are we doing?" She asks, her eyes focused on Chloe's lips.

"Let's not think about that," Is what Chloe replies with before crashing their lips together again.

…

From that night on, neither said a word to each other about the kiss, yet they'd find themselves back in the same situation. Whether it was because they were drunk, or it was after a gig, or even when sober just hanging out in Beca's room, Beca and Chloe would always find themselves lip-locked again.

Which brings them back to the present. They just completed, once again, another successful gig at Jukebox Bar and are now inside the lady's bathroom.

Stumbling their way through the door in a fit of giggles, Chloe leans in to capture Beca's lips. "You were so good tonight!" She says into the kiss.

"Speak for yourself, red." Beca replies as she's backed into the door.

"I love it when you call me that," Chloe husks into her ear before kissing her way down Beca's jawline and neck.

"Is that so?" Beca smirks, "I'll keep that in mind." She says. Then suddenly uses her strength to back Chloe up against the counter, her hands flying to the girl's thighs to hoist her up onto the countertop.

"God, that was hot." Chloe can't help but say, her lips finding Beca's again. Her hands fly to the brunette's shirt, undoing the first couple at the top. She leans in to kiss the newly found skin, while continuing to undo the rest. When she reaches the bottom, she feels her hand hit the metal of Beca's belt and halts.

Pulling back, she stares into Beca's eyes.

"It's okay." Beca says, nodding her head.

Just as Chloe's about to undo the girl's belt, the door to the restroom flies open making the pair spring back from each other.

In comes a group of drunk girls, too drunk to take notice on what they just walked in on.

…

To: Beca Mitchell

From: dax residualheat

Yo, Beca! This is Dax from Residual Heat Records, based in Atlanta. I couldn't help but find your YouTube channel. Safe to say, I think your mixes are awesome. Not to mention your original tracks are pretty dope. I showed them to our head producer here, Sammy, and he believes you have some real potential to be a hit producer. He spoke to the head of department here and has managed to set you up for a Skype interview if you'd be interested in joining our label. If you wish to, let us know ASAP so we can begin.

Hope to have you with us soon!

Dax – Residual Heat Records.

…

Beca sits at the small kitchen counter in her apartment as she stares down at the screen in front of her.

She almost thinks this is a fake, but then she does research on the label and finds that it's real.

She's nearly 22 years old, her dream career is right in front of her but there's one thing that's stopping her.

Gentle arms wrap around from behind her as a head leans on her shoulder. And Chloe sighs into her neck before placing a soft kiss there.

"Good morning..." She mumbles, with a smile. Leaning back up, she reaches over to take hold of Beca's cup of coffee but halts as her eyes read over the email on the screen. Reading over it, once, twice, three times before letting out a shaky breath.

"Beca?"

Shaking her head, Beca turns in the chair to face, her. "I know, I know..." She says, running a hand through her hair. "I can't do this. I can't say yes-"

"Beca."

"I mean, how can I go work on music, solo, when I have a band-"

"Beca..."

"No, I won't do it-"

"BECA!"

Pausing, Beca brings her eyes to Chloe to find her beaming down at her.

"Beca, this is amazing!" She glee's pulling Beca out of the chair to bring her into a bone crushing hug.

"Wait, what?" Beca asks confused. "What about you guys?"

"What about us?" Chloe asks, once they've pulled back.

"You guys are my band members, my family... I can't go do music without you."

"Beca..." Chloe sighs, taking hold of her hands. "Ever since we were kids, this has been your dream. Not mine or Luke's or Jesse's."

"But-"

"No but's... you deserve this Beca. The reason the band ever got to the stage it's at now is because you produced our songs, you wrote the lyrics. You were the one who got us gigs and advertised us. You are who deserves this opportunity."

"So, you think I should go for the interview?"

"YES!"

"But... if I get this, I'll most likely be living in Atlanta." Beca reminds, her eyes downcast. "I..." Shaking her head, looks back to the laptop.

"What is it?" Chloe asks.

"I don't think I can leave you." Beca confesses, her gaze coming back to Chloe. "You're my everything..." She admits, her voice low almost distant.

It's been a wild ride, Beca thinks. Ever since that first night they kissed, her and Chloe haven't been able to keep their hands off each other. It's almost to the point where they'd consider themselves girlfriends but... unofficial. Chloe hasn't seen anyone else since kissing Beca and vice versa. Growing up, Beca always had had a crush on the redhead, the feeling only growing stronger as time went on. For Chloe, she'd always admired Beca. Her talents, her charisma, her charm, her love. And she'd later find in her late teen years that this was because she had fallen for the brunette but was convinced they'd never be together.

Now though, she knows that there is a chance that they finally could. But Beca's dream is more important than anything else. Or so she thinks.

"Becs..." She takes a step forward, "Please don't put me in front of your dream." She pleads, tipping Beca's face up towards hers.

"But-" Beca's interrupted by Chloe's index finger going to her lips. Chloe takes her finger away and replaces it with her lips, giving Beca a kiss fuelled with passion.

This kiss feels different from all their others. Those kisses were driven by hunger and lust, this is instead filled with love. This is what they thought their first kiss would feel like.

"I'm so proud of you, Beca." Chloe mumbles into the kiss.

...

The Skype interview went better than expected.

Beca got the job.

She flies out to Atlanta in 3 weeks.

…

Beca settles down into her new apartment in Atlanta one Friday evening. It's been just over a month since she left New York for her new job. Said job has been going really good for her, her boss, Sammy has shown keen interest in her after he heard a song she produced with a young girl named Emily.

Emily was a year or so younger than her, she was one hell of a lyric writer and singer. That combined with Beca's producing skills left for a great opportunity which they thankfully did not screw up.

Switching on the TV, Beca lets it run as background noise before searching for her phone. When she grabs hold of it, she taps the home screen and is met with a picture of her and Chloe.

The picture was taken a few months ago, just after a gig of theirs. They were sat in 'their' booth, Chloe's arm draped over her shoulder as she grinned into the kiss she had planted on Beca's cheek.

Beca smiles at the memory, but it quickly fades as she remembers that Chloe's currently in New York, probably with some new dude, having completely forgotten about her and is probably engaged and ready to have kids-

Knock, knock, knock...

Furrowing her brow, Beca glances to the door.

Knock, knock, knock...

Getting up, she makes her way towards the door with cautious steps. Reaching the handle, she twists it open only to find-

"Chloe?!"

"Becs!" Chloe squeals launching herself at the brunette. Beca catches her just in time, almost tripping over backwards.

"What the hell are you doing here!" Beca asks, holding Chloe tight to her.

"I wanted to come see you." Chloe says, pulling back from the embrace, "I have some exciting news for you."

"Yeah?" Beca eye's her warily. She then remembers that Chloe's bags are still out in the hallway- wait, bags? "Why... do you have these with you?" Beca questions, bringing the luggage into the room before closing the door behind her.

"That's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about." Chloe says, looking sheepish. "After you left, I felt empty. Like there was a part of me missing and I came to realize that I made the wrong decision." She takes a step forward, "I shouldn't have just let you leave like that, I should've come with you." She says. Biting her lip, she then goes on to explain, "I did research and found that there's a teaching programme around here, so I applied..."

"And?" Beca dares to ask, too scared of what she might hear.

"...I got accepted!" Chloe beams.

"You did?" Beca exclaims, a smile on her face.

"Yep!" Chloe nods.

"So... does that mean..." Beca gestures between them.

"We can finally be together?" Chloe finishes. "Yeah, we can."

…

Author's Note: FYI... Jesse and Luke were totally fine with Chloe moving to Atlanta. They may have even insisted she did.

[tazglow]

My bad. 8A and jake cool ice

Ay sorry this one took so long I got…stuck and had to scrap the original one I had. Anywho! You picked - Riddle!

The Waiting Game [AO3]

Jake’s frown deepened as he stared at the checker board resting on a pile of dirty clothes in front of him. Dani’s eyes were distant, staring above him as her fingers glided over Dr. Harris Bonkers’s fur. He glanced up a couple times, just to make sure she hadn’t fallen asleep like the bunny had in Dani’s lap about an hour ago. The lamp on Dani’s nightstand flickered. Jake forced himself to focus on the red and black board. His fingers drummed the floor as he weighed his options. Okay, she was definitely getting a double decker in the next couple turns. He had to salvage this. Maybe if he-

“Do you…” Dani’s voice broke through his thoughts. He looked up and saw tears welding up in her eyes, ready to spill over like a glass left under the faucet for too long. She gulped in air and steadied her hand on Dr. Bonkers’ back. “Do you think they’re alright?” She asked, her voice wavering too much for his liking.

“I mean,” he looked down at his checkers, black, and moved a piece forward. It sat directly between two of her reds. He was safe…for now. “yeah? They’ve come back before. Heck, I don’t think Ned can die? Dude hit the Pizza Hut sign and walked out of the hospital like nothin’ happen’.” He grinned.

“Yeah, but-”

Before she could protest, he reached over, careful to not spill the board, and placed a warm hand on hers. “Dani, she’ll be okay.” He squeezed. His knees lightly tapped the board and he could hear every single piece sliding onto the wood floors. He sighed, pushed the board and dirty plaids underneath aside, and crawled over to her. “I mean like, she’s got that cool magic thing going for her.” He leaned his back against Dani’s bed.

Dani continued to rub Dr. Bonkers’ fur as though he was a lamp and could make her wish be true. Jake squeezed her arm and tried to smile, but- No. One of them needed to stay strong. Jake forced his lips back until his teeth bared. Dani’s eyes were elsewhere. Jake nudged her with his shoulder. “Hey.”

Her eyes refocused on one of the blacken knots in the wood panels of her wall. She hummed in response.

“Why don’t we play a game?”

Dani snorted and leaned into him. “We literally were until you deliberately threw the checkers on the floor.”

Jake scoffed. “Me? Throw a game? Pisha, you’re the one who cheated in double stacking.”

Dani laughed. “Oh my god, I did not cheat.” She shoved her weight against him. “You ass, that’s literally how you play.”

He shoved back. “Who heard of double stacking chips?”

“You just didn’t want to lose!”

Jake took the time to roll his eyes. “Yeah, to a cheater!”

Dani held Dr. Bonkers against her chest. “How dare you insinuate such a thing in front of my son like that!”

He held up his hands in defeat. “Don’t tell Aubrey.” Dani’s face crumbled to a sad smile. Jake shoved again, “fiiiiiine we can do a new game.”

Dr. Bonkers settled back on Dani’s lap and fell asleep instantly. Her eyebrows knitted together as she tapped her chin. “No no, I’m not goin’ to be called a cheater in my own room again.” She squinted at the wall. “What about….a riddle game?”

Jake smacked his lips together. “Riddle game huh?”

She grinned. “First one to five wins.”

“You’re on!”

“Alright…hmmm let me thiiiiink….oh!” Dani leaned over and hugged Dr. Bonkers, “Dr. Harris Bonkers’ father has three sons. Dr. Steven Bonkers, Dr. Garryl Bonkers and-”

Jake blinked. “Who’s the third son?”

Dani shrugged. “You gotta tell me.”

It took Jake a solid minute before he shoved Dani. “It’s Dr. Harris Bonkers! You little-”

She laughed. “Ding ding ding. Alright, your turn.”

“…So before Mt. Everest,” Dani snorted, but Jake ignored her, “was discovered, what was the highest mountain on Earth?”

She stared at him. The glint of humor had been replaced with something very, very, tired. “Mt. Everest. You know…not even surprised you started off with that one.”

“Listen-”

She shoved her hand against his cheek. “Nope! My turn.” She tapped the floor for a moment, “Ah, okay, so, Ned goes to buy a used car-”

“Wait, what happened to his old car?”

“I-did you forget about the whole funicular-”

“Oh. Fuck…right…”

“SO, Ned went to get a used car and finds one for like….$8,700 and he buys it without paying a dime. How is that possible?”

Jake frowned. “I mean, it’s not polite to call people out on stealin’ Dani.”

Dani threw her hands in the air. “He didn’t-” she rubbed her temples, “okay you know what that’s fair. Should’ve kept the man anonymous. That’s on me.”

“But, the answer is he stole it?”

She stared at him flabbergasted. “N-no Jake. He paid $8700!”

“Oooooh,” he nodded, “good for Ned.” Dani thumped her head against her mattress as her hands rubbed her face. Muffled strings of cuss words followed. Jake took the moment to move Dr. Harris Bonkers to his lap. “Ey, watch your fuckin’ language. In front of my son no less!”

Her arms flopped to her sides as she stared at the ceiling. “I hate you so much right now.”

“Haha, nah you don’t.” He gave a good scratch behind Dr. Bonkers’ ears, “I’m a delight.”

[purplesurveys]

507

Name everyone you know who... is Jewish: I don’t think I know anyone who is. Do people I don’t know personally count? ‘Cause the first Jewish person I thought about was Colt Cabana lmfao. is Christian: 92% of this entire country. is Atheist: Me. JM is also atheist I think. is of another religion: I had a classmate in high school who I heard quietly converted to Buddhism, but I was never close with her so I don’t know if that is true, and if she still is. I haven’t seen her since we graduated. has brown eyes: My sister probably has the brownest eyes out of all of us, but it’s still quite a dark shade.

has blue eyes: I doubt there’s anyone in my circle with this eye color. has green eyes: CM Punk? LMAO has another colored eyes: Almost everyone I know has black eyes. is between the ages of zero and five: My youngest cousin is turning 6 in December, but until then, he is 5. is between the ages of six and ten: My cousin Sam is definitely in that age range, I’m just not so sure what the exact age is. is between the ages of eleven and fifteen: Gabie’s sister is 14, turning 15 this November. is between the ages of sixteen and twenty: My sister (18, turning 19), Gabie’s other sister (16), my old busmates Yanna (18) and Lex (17). is between the ages of twenty-one and thirty: Me and almost all of my friends. A bunch of us were born in 1998, making us 21 years old; a handful are 1-3 years older, like JM (22), Jum and Aya (23). is older than thirty: Other than my parents, my internship supervisor. Not sure how old she is but she’s definitely between 30-40. is a morning person: My mom. It drives me crazy when she wants to get soooo much stuff done within the day since I’m more of a night owl and like it’s just not my schedule lol. is a night person: Me, and just about everyone in UP. is employed: One of the more senior members in my org, Toby, has a job. is unemployed: Everyone else I go to college with. works at the same place as you: I don’t work yet. is single: Laurice. Although we’re counting on her to get a boyfriend before she graduates, so she still has around two years to go. :)) is in a relationship: Jo, who is seeing Aya. is engaged: I have a high school classmate who posted a status about her boyfriend proposing to her many months ago. She hasn’t said anything about it since then so I dunno if they broke it off or nah.

is married: Uh...my parents. is widowed/divorced: The mom of one of my childhood friends is widowed. Her husband died from cancer a few years ago when their daughter and I were in high school, if I remember right. is pregnant: My class adviser from senior year in high school. I know she’s in her 40s, so it was a really pleasant surprise when she announced her pregnancy. has kids: My dog, hahaha. has no kids: My friends in college. has brown hair: Agatha dyed her hair brown a while back.  has blonde hair: Gabie had blonde tips until just recently. She had them cut off last week, so now she’s back to having black hair. has natural red hair: No one I know. has black hair: Aya. has their hair dyed an unnatural color: Everyone I know who has unnaturally-colored hair had it dyed, because Filipinos only have black hair unless they’re half-something. is good at singing: Hannah is a born superstar tbh. I know Ed and Laurice sing too. is good at dancing: Dianne. She’s a high school batchmate who was always the best dancer from our class. She’s a member of the Streetdance Club in my uni now. is good at drawing: Aya! She’s our go-to editorial cartoonist in the org. Angela too, and my sister. is good at painting: Gabie and her youngest sister. My sister’s really good too. She also has a classmate I follow on Twitter, and she’ll post her paintings from time to time, all of which are amazing. is good at acting: Gabie. She was president of the theatre club in high school. is good at writing: Me? Hahahaha gotta flex my own talent too :(( is good at guitar: Gabie’s younger sister. I swear those siblings have the most amazing set of talents. is good at piano: My cousin Luke has been playing the piano for as long as I can remember. His grandma (my great-aunt) also knows how to play and they have a grand piano in their house, so he must have picked it up from her. is good at drums: Denise, a classmate from high school. She was the drummer for my batch’s band. is good in another instrument: JM plays the violin. He’s still a rusty here and there, but can play a tune nonetheless. is athletic/sporty: Hans, Angela’s boyfriend. He plays basketball with his friends all the time. is into fitness and going to the gym: Gabie has a gym membership, but she’s not super obsessed with fitness. smokes cigarettes: Mik, an orgmate of mine. He has always extremely smelled like cigarettes the few times I’ve seen him and I honestly have to step away from him every time :/ smokes weed: I know Danika has had weed brownies. does shrooms: Not anyone I know in real life...I think. does other drugs: Can’t name anyone I know, buddy. drinks often: JM will have moods where he will buy a whole bottle of gin or whatever alcohol he’s feeling at the moment for himself and drink it all in his room, but he’s not an alcoholic hahahaha. doesn't drink: My eldest cousin from my mom’s side. His dad is a horrible alcoholic, so it’s understandable why he avoids it at all costs. doesn't do drugs [not even weed]: Me. is emo/goth/scene/alternative: I uhh...don’t know anyone who identifies as this since probably 2011 at the latest... is preppy/popular: KATE without a shadow of a damn doubt. doesn't fall in either of those stereotypes: Aya. has cats: My tita has multiple cats. It’s her business, but she also loves those cats to death and pampers them. has dogs: Gabie’s family has four dogs, but I only get to see Harley since the other three aren’t behaved all that well. JM has two dogs, Mika and Alley. has other animals: Michelle has a bird named Moonmoon, but I don’t know what kind of bird it is. A girl I used to be friends with in high school (she was from a different school) had a pet snake. has no pets: Jo. is vegan: @badsurveyshit​! is vegetarian: Not sure if I know someone. Filipinos are obsessed with their meat. is on some other diet: The same tita with a bunch of cats is on a keto diet. has no diet/dietary restrictions: ME is lactose intolerant: Also me. But I still have milk and other dairy stuff because yum haha. has/had cancer: My great-aunt died from cancer. My old Filipino teacher had thyroid cancer, but she beat it. is bipolar: Edi, a friend of mine. is depressed: Me, I guess. plays videogames: My sister, my dad, my kuya, Gabie. loves to read: LAURICE. It’d be such a shame if I went with someone other than Laurice. got a GED: We don’t use that here. never graduated highschool: One of my friends’ mom. graduated college/got a degree: Both my parents, and all of my friends who graduated before me, e.g. Kate, Aya, Luisa, Jane. is or has been enrolled in beauty school: I don’t know anyone. makes YouTube videos: Ricel, my sister’s classmate from high school. She seems like such a sweet and nice person so when she started her channel a few weeks ago, I was more than happy to support her. is white: My uncle from New Zealand (unrelated; he married my mom’s cousin / my aunt). is black: I have a mutual friend from high school who’s half-black, half-brown. His dad, if I remember correctly, is from Nigeria. is Asian: Literally everyone I know!!!!!!!!!! is Hispanic: I don’t know anyone in real life but one of my favorite wrestlers, AJ, is Puerto Rican. is of another race: Everyone I follow on this Tumblr :)) is into photography: Reiven. likes rock: Rick, I think? The few times his earphones were blaring his music too loud it was always hard rock. likes metal: I dunno if I still know any metal fans nowadays. likes pop: Hannah. likes hiphop/rap/R&B: Hans. And all the other kids in uni who think they’re white. likes KPop: JM and Jum. likes country music: No one I know. likes jazz: Gabie and me. likes classical music: Sofie. When I was driving us to Batangas a few weeks ago for a beach getaway, she was in control of the car music and she briefly played stuff from her classical music playlist :(((( I was shookt at first but I liked the music anyway, so I didn’t tell her to change it. is a male: My dad. is a female: Me. is non-binary: Gabie’s editor from this website she’s a part of. is trans: Mac, from high school. He was formerly Maica, but he started going by Mac once he graduated. is straight: Laurice. is gay: Gabie. is bi: Patrice. lives on the eastern half of the USA: My Tito Rocky, who lives in New York. My Tito Raffy is also from New York.  lives on the western half of the USA: Aubrey, Rielle, Norielle, Margeauxe. All originally from elementary/high school, but eventually migrated. lives in a different country: My Tita Pia and her husband, who is the one I listed under the “is white” portion of this survey. They live in Vietnam, but they used to live in New Zealand. is blind/visually impaired: I had a classmate from my History of Southeast Asia class who is legally blind. He has this device he puts on his eye to be able to read our professor’s slides. is deaf/hearing impaired: I don’t know anyone IRL. is in a wheelchair or disabled: One of my orgmates’ mom is in a wheelchair. is austitic/retarded/has learning disbilities: My Tita Bianca. is very thin: Aya. is overweight: Gabie is a few pounds overweight.