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Chloe let out a sigh as she hung up the phone.
“Everything okay?” A voice asked from behind her. Chloe closed her eyes for a moment and drew in a deep breath before turning around to face Beca.
“Yea, of course,” Chloe replied, putting on a bright smile. “Come on, let’s get back to work.” She strode past Beca, back to the area of the Bellas’ rehearsal space where the rest of the girls were gathered. Beca frowned slightly as she followed her.
The rest of the rehearsal continued as usual, but Beca was quite sure that something was off with Chloe. Something about her usually so easygoing cheerfulness seemed, well, forced, after that call. It wasn’t something Beca was accustomed to seeing in Chloe.
It wasn’t long before Beca decided to end the rehearsal, and the rest of the Bellas breathed a sigh of relief. They’d been devoting an nearly all of their free time to practicing for Worlds since the riff-off, and with school picking up for exams, they were all under an incredible amount of stress. Thankfully, this was the last rehearsal until after the Christmas break.
“Hey, Chlo’?” Beca asked as the girls were packing up to leave once rehearsal had ended. Chloe barely gave her a look as she responded.
“Hmm?”
Beca bit her lip. She didn’t really know what to say. She was usually the one being moody and distant and unwilling to let people in, not Chloe.
“I… I was just wondering if you wanted to come hang out with Jesse and me tonight. We’re watching… well, some movie, I don’t remember what he said it was called,” Beca asked. Chloe smiled, but it was lacking in its typical luster.
“Thanks, but I can’t. Sorry,” Chloe replied. And with that, she turned and threw her bag over her shoulder before walking swiftly out of the rehearsal hall. Beca frowned. This was the first time Chloe had ever turned down the chance to hang out with her. She sighed.
Chloe closed her eyes as she let herself fall onto the park bench on the other side of Barden University. It was in a secluded area behind the library, and most people tended to not really bother her here. It was a good alternative to the Bellas’ house when she needed to be alone. She felt a warm sting in her eyes, followed by a wetness sliding down her cheeks. She let a quiet sob slip out, but quickly silenced herself when she heard footsteps nearby. She hastily wiped the tears from her face.
“Chloe?” A voice said. Chloe winced upon hearing it, as she turned to see quite possibly the last person she had any interest in talking to at that moment approaching her. “You all right?”
“I’m fine, Jesse,” Chloe said politely. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, I just was going to meet Beca when I saw you practically sprinting back here, I just wanted to check on you. Have you… have you been crying?” He asked, coming around to the front side of the bench. Chloe closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she collected herself.
To say that Jesse was, quite possibly, the cause of some of the most conflicting and often painful emotions she had ever felt in the past few years was a vast understatement.
It wasn’t by any means that she didn’t like him. No, that was, in fact, the real problem. She knew all too well that Jesse was a wonderful, kind, and caring person. He was funny, sweet, and even kind of cute, Chloe could think. But unfortunately, he was dating Beca. He had the affections of girl that Chloe had so desperately pined after from the moment she had met her all those years ago at the activities fair.
It would’ve been all too easy if he were less likeable, but Chloe knew how happy he made Beca. And though Chloe believed with all her heart she could make her just as happy, if not more so, indeed having proved as much simply by being her friend, she couldn’t begrudge Beca for having found her love in someone else, nor could she bring herself to hate Jesse for being the one that Beca loved.
In fact, Chloe had found over the years that she rather enjoyed the Treble boy’s company, which made it even worse, especially when this often meant she was subject to seeing him and Beca together, which only reminded her of the fact that Beca wasn’t and likely never would have any interest in her and tugged ever so painfully at her heart.
“Yes,” she admitted. She wasn’t really sure why, though. Jesse paused for a moment.
“May I sit?” He asked. Chloe nodded, scooting over slightly as Jesse sat down next to her. “I’m not going to pry, or anything. If you don’t want to talk about it, I’d totally understand. But you’re more than welcome to, if you’d like.” Chloe smiled sadly.
“Thanks. It’s… well, I guess maybe it shouldn’t upset me at this point. I should’ve expected it.”
“It being…?”
“My parents, they…” Chloe began, pausing for a moment to look up at the trees surrounding them as the wind picked up slightly. “They won’t be around for Christmas. Again.”
Jesse looked at her for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly.
“Because they can’t? Or…?”
Chloe scoffed.
“I thought you weren’t going to pry,” she said with a smirk. Jesse chuckled and held his hands up in defense.
“True, true,” he admitted. Chloe smiled.
“Work,” she said. “They have to work through Christmas. I mean, as well off as my family is now, you’d think they could find time to take at least one day off, but…” Chloe sighed again. “I don’t even know why I’m telling you this.”
“Me neither, actually,” Jesse replied teasingly. Chloe grinned and shook her head. It was actually infuriating how disarming he could be. It was something they actually had in common, and probably why they had so much success in getting close to Beca. “Did you tell Beca?” Chloe shook her head again. “Well, that surprises me. I thought you told her everything.”
“Not everything…” Chloe said quietly. Jesse’s brow furrowed slightly at the comment.
“Hey, you wanna come watch Star Wars with Beca and I? She’s never seen it and since they just announced that a new one is being made we thought it would be cool for her to watch it, and…”
Chloe smiled as Jesse rambled on. She was pretty sure the only one who cared about those movies more than Jesse was Benji, and it was always quite endearing to see the two of them geek out over it. She really didn’t want to say yes though, knowing she was essentially going to be a third wheel to Jesse and Beca’s date. But, she really didn’t feel like being alone, as much as she tried to tell herself that she did.
“Sure,” she said. Jesse’s eyes lit up.
“Really? Awesome,” he replied. Chloe chuckled.
“You know, most people wouldn’t be so excited to have a third wheel on their date.” Jesse shrugged.
“Yea, well, even though she tries to act all tough and broody most of the time, it’s pretty obvious how much happier she is when you’re around.” Chloe just stared at Jesse, not entirely sure what to do with that information. Jesse practically bounced out of his seat on the bench, and turned around to face Chloe. “Wanna come with me to meet her?”
“Uh…” Chloe began. “Sure.”
Beca tapped her fingers anxiously against her thighs as she stood in front of the Barden University theater hall. Jesse wasn’t usually late. Well, not this late, anyway. She glanced at her phone, seeing that it was nearing half an hour since he was supposed to meet her. She was about to type out another text asking where he was when she heard footsteps approaching. She looked up to see Jesse, accompanied by, much to Beca’s surprise, none other than Chloe. Any irritation she had at Jesse’s tardiness instantly evaporated at the sight of them, and they didn’t miss the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. However, when they reached her, Beca raised her eyebrows as she glanced at them with a look of mild suspicion on her face.
“Well, this is new. Anything I need to know about?” Jesse laughed and Chloe shook her head, grinning.
“Don’t even try to act like you aren’t overjoyed to see your two favorite people in the world,” Jesse replied. Beca rolled her eyes.
“Why you’re one of them is beyond me,” she said. Jesse covered his heart as he feigned a look of hurt.
“Every time, it’s like a knife to my very heart,” he said in an overly dramatic voice. Chloe had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing out loud as Beca groaned.
“You’re such a weirdo,” she said, before looking to Chloe. “So what’s up? I thought you had other plans or whatever. I mean, you kind of left in a hurry.”
“Oh, um, well,” Chloe began, feeling bad for not telling Beca what was wrong but also not particularly wanting to repeat the conversation she’d had with Jesse.
“I convinced her that her plans could be rescheduled,” Jesse announced proudly. “Star Wars is obviously more important.”
“Obviously,” Beca deadpanned.
“Glad you agree. Now come on, let’s go,” Jesse said without missing a beat before turning around and marching back in the direction of the Treble house. Beca rolled her eyes again. She then felt an arm wrap around hers and begin pulling her in that direction. She would have jumped in surprise were she not already so used to the action from Chloe.
“Come on, you heard the man,” she said with a smile.
“Unfortunately,” Beca muttered.
Chloe wasn’t entirely sure how she came to be in her current position. She sat on the couch in Jesse’s room, opposite him, with Beca draped across both of them. Her head was in Chloe’s lap and her legs were in Jesse’s, and she was sleeping soundly as the credits of the Empire Strikes Back rolled across the screen.
Not that she was complaining, though.
“I’m actually surprised she stayed awake as long as she did,” Jesse commented quietly. Chloe hummed quietly in agreement, knowing full well Beca’s movie viewing habits. She brushed a strand of hair out of Beca’s face and behind her ear. “Can I ask you something?” Chloe turned to face Jesse, who had a curious expression on his face.
“Sure,” Chloe said.
“Why didn’t you tell Beca about your parents?” Chloe bit her lip.
“I don’t really know,” she said. “I guess I didn’t want her to worry. Besides, it’s not like there’s anything she can do about it.”
“Well, I think you maybe underestimate how much Beca cares about you. She might try to act like it’s not the case, but she’d probably do pretty much anything for you,” Jesse said. Chloe tilted her head slightly as she looked at Jesse.
“Why are you telling me this?” Jesse shrugged.
“I don’t know. This might sound weird, but like, sometimes I get the feeling that she’s happier being around you than she is with me.”
“Jesse…” Chloe sighed. She didn’t really know what to say, and it was taking her some time to process the information she was being given, but at the same time, there was something about the forlorn look on Jesse’s face that broke her heart almost as much as the fact that her heart didn’t belong to Beca the way his did. “Now I think you’re the one underestimating how much she cares about you.” Jesse smiled.
“Maybe we should both stop doing that, then,” he said, looking down at Beca. Chloe turned to look at her as well, and smiled softly as she took in her features.
“Maybe,” she said.
“Well, we should probably get you two back to the Bellas’ house. It’s getting pretty late,” Jesse said.
“But then we’d have to wake Beca up, and she’s just too cute like this,” Chloe said, indicating her still sleeping form. When she thought about it though, she wasn’t quite sure how Jesse would react to such a comment from her, and her anxiety grew when Jesse gave no response. A moment passed before he chuckled softly, and Chloe internally breathed a sigh of relief.
“True,” he replied. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, an incredible feat considering the obstruction Beca’s body was currently supplying to his potential movement, and aimed it toward her face and snapped a picture. Chloe furrowed her brow slightly as Jesse continued tapping away on his phone. Once he stopped, she felt her own phone buzzing in her pocket. She carefully adjusted herself so that she could retrieve it, smiling when she saw that Jesse had sent her the picture he had just taken of Beca sleeping in her lap. “Now we can wake her up.” Chloe chuckled.
“Beca will hate this picture,” she said.
“Only because she likes to think she’s too cool for that sort of thing,” Jesse replied. He placed a hand on Beca’s shoulder and gently shook her. She merely mumbled sleepily and turned, nuzzling her face into Chloe’s stomach and curling her body closer to her. Jesse and Chloe both laughed quietly, but Chloe’s heartrate quickened considerably. “All right, guess we have to do this the hard way.”
“And what might that be?” Chloe asked. Jesse leaned over, putting his face right next to Beca’s ear, and took a deep breath.
“BECAW!” He yelped. It wasn’t actually that loud, but it was enough to cause Beca to wake with a start.
“Dude!” She shrieked. Chloe and Jesse both laughed at the reaction. Beca grumbled as she rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes. “You guys are such weirdos.”
Chloe waited on the other side of the door to the Bellas’ house as Beca and Jesse said their goodbyes and goodnights. She tried to ignore the sounds of their ‘I love you’s but to be quite honest, the door wasn’t worth much in the way of soundproofing. Still, it wasn’t long before Beca came in as well.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey,” Chloe responded. They stood in silence for a moment, simply staring at each other, and Chloe noticed the distinct change in Beca’s mood from when Jesse was around. She figured it was normal, most people are happier with their significant other around, but then Jesse’s words rang through her head.
“Sometimes I get the feeling that she’s happier being around you than she is with me.”
“Jesse said there’s something you wanted to tell me,” Beca said, bringing Chloe out of her thoughts. “Or that you should tell me, anyway. His words, not mine. If you don’t want to, that’s cool.”
“Oh, well,” Chloe began with a sigh. “It’s about earlier. I kind of lied to you. There actually was something wrong after that call I got during practice.”
“Well, duh,” Beca said. “Come on, Chlo’, what do you take me for?” Chloe chuckled.
“My bad,” she said.
“You really don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to. Not that I wouldn’t want to know or help or anything, especially if you needed it, but I know what it’s like to want to keep stuff to yourself, you know?”
“Oh, I’m sure I know quite well how you feel about that sort of thing,” Chloe teased. Beca rolled her eyes.
“Come on, dude, I’m trying to be a good friend here,” she replied indignantly.
“Sorry,” Chloe said, still grinning. “It’s really not a big deal. I was more upset then than I am now. My parents had called to let me know they wouldn’t be around for Christmas.”
“Oh. That sucks, dude. I’m sorry,” Beca said. Chloe shook her head.
“It’s fine. I mean, I should’ve seen it coming. They do this every year.”
“I don’t think that makes it better.” Chloe shrugged.
“Well, what can you do?” Beca bit her lip for a moment, thinking.
“Do you want to come stay with us for Christmas?”
“What?” Chloe asked, her eyebrows shooting up her forehead.
“I mean, it’s just I didn’t really think you’d want to be alone for Christmas I guess. You don’t have to, though. It was just a suggestion,” Beca said, her hand coming up to rub the back of her neck anxiously. “I’d understand if you didn’t want to- OOF”
Beca promptly felt her breath violently leave her body as Chloe launched herself towards her, engulfing her in what Beca would later describe as the tightest hug of her life.
“I’d love to,” Chloe whispered. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” Beca managed to get out breathless. Chloe released Beca, who quickly and greedily sucked in a breath of air. Yet, despite the newfound freedom, she found she was sort of missing Chloe’s embrace. It wasn’t an uncommon feeling, but she usually just brushed it off as nothing.
“You’re the best,” Chloe said with a wide grin. Beca shrugged.
“It’s no big deal.”
“It is to me,” Chloe replied. The two stared at each other for a moment, and Chloe found the urge to hug Beca again rather hard to fight off. But she managed.
For about three seconds.
She wrapped her arms around Beca again, this time a bit more gently, for which Beca was thankful.
“Man, you’re all over me tonight, Beale,” she teased. “Something you want to tell me?”
“You have no idea.” Chloe thought. “Goodnight Beca. And seriously, thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me,” she said. Just before Chloe released her, she placed a quick kiss on Beca’s cheek before practically skipping up the stairs to her room. Beca stood in shock for a solid minute, her hand coming up to touch her cheek.
Beca stared at the ceiling of her room as she laid in bed. It was dark, save for the few lights from her mixing equipment and nightlight on Amy’s side of the room. She wasn’t really sure why she was still awake, it was never really hard for her to get to sleep.
But tonight, there were a million (yes, precisely one million, Beca Mitchell doesn’t believe in hyperbole) thoughts racing through her head, most of them involving Jesse and Chloe.
Tonight hadn’t been the first time she noticed it, but it was certainly more prominent now than it had been previously.
She was definitely attracted to Chloe.
And that made Beca feel pretty terrible, to start, because she was with Jesse, and this was more than just an aesthetic appreciation of Chloe’s appearance. But the weirdest thing was, she knew she was just as attracted to Jesse. They had been dating since the end of her freshman year and, as much of a pain in the ass as he could be at times, Beca definitely knew she wanted to be with him.
“Fucking shit…” She muttered.
“It’s not that weird,” Jesse said.
“Yea, I know! And… wait, what?” Beca asked, incredulous. “Jesse, I literally just told you that I am legitimately attracted to someone who is distinctly not you, and you’re not upset? Or at least thinking it’s weird?”
Jesse shrugged as he reached for another handful of popcorn.
“I mean, but you also said you still feel the same way about me and you wouldn’t want to do anything to jeopardize our relationship, so why would I worry or be upset?” He said before stuffing the popcorn into his mouth. Beca’s jaw dropped. This was not how she had expected this conversation to go. There was a lot less yelling, to start with.
Beca wasn’t even sure why she decided to tell Jesse. Maybe a week of these thoughts gnawing at her brain constantly, to the point that it was heavily hindering her exam studying (which, yes, she did in fact do) had something to do with, or maybe it was her guilt over it, or any of a thousand other reasons. But, for one reason or another, she had decided to go against her typical strategy of “bottle up your feelings and ignore it until it goes away” and instead decided to go with the “use your words” one.
It was going better than expected, so far.
“Besides,” Jesse continued. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but you seem, I don’t know, more like yourself when she’s around.”
“I don’t even know what that means.”
“Me neither,” Jesse admitted. “Maybe you should talk to her about this.”
“Ugh, but that could be so awkward.”
“Beca, when is anything you do not awkward?” Beca thought for a moment, then conceded the point.
“Fair enough,” she said.
“Look, Becs,” Jesse said as he set his bowl of popcorn off to the side on his bed. “This isn’t just anyone. This is Chloe. This is the girl who convinced you to join a competitive a capella group by forcing you to sing a duet naked in the shower with her. What is the worst that could possibly happen?” Beca’s cheeks flushed red at the mention of that story.
“I wouldn’t even know what to say to her. Like, how do you start that conversation?”
“Hell, you may as well just kiss her. Chloe does prefer the direct approach it seems…” Beca punched him in the shoulder. “Ow!”
“I’m starting to think you just want to see me make out with her,” Beca muttered.
“The implication that I would be that sexist and shallow hurts far worse than your punch,” he replied. “Seriously, Becs, I just want you to be happy. Do whatever you think is the best thing to do, and I promise I’ll support you.” Beca smiled.
“If you insist,” she said.
“So you’ll talk to her?”
“Yep,” Beca replied.
“All right then, no more excuses, weirdo,” Jesse teased.
“I really hate you sometimes,” Beca said.
“Love you too,” Jesse replied with a smirk.
Exam week came and went, grades were reported, and it seemed that Beca had managed to pass yet again. Not with straight A’s, mind you, but she wasn’t complaining. The rest of the Bellas had left for their respective homes, while Chloe and Beca remained in Barden, because this year, Beca would be spending Christmas with her father and Sheila (which had become a much more bearable experience in recent years).
Also, Jesse’s parents, as it happened, lived in Barden, so he was around as well. It was all rather convenient, Beca noted.
At least, up until she considered the fact that she still hadn’t had the conversation with Chloe she told Jesse that she would, and she was quickly running out of excuses, especially with Jesse coming over in less than half an hour.
She swallowed nervously as Chloe sat in her room, looking up at her expectantly. Beca could feel herself beginning to sweat. Being in such close proximity to Chloe so constantly lately had
“Beca,” she said slowly. “Need I remind you that the phrase ‘We need to talk’ is quite possibly the most terrifying string of words in the English language?”
“Sorry,” Beca replied, rubbing the back of her neck again. “It’s not anything bad. Well, I don’t know, maybe you’ll think it is. I just…” she sighed. “I… kind of…”
“Yes…?” Chloe asked. Beca sighed.
“Ah, screw it,” she said under her breath as she decided to take Jesse’s advice. “The direct approach it is.”
“What do you-” Before Chloe could finish her question, Beca had crossed the short distance from her desk chair to her bed and planted her lips on Chloe’s.
Stunned was a vast understatement of Chloe’s reaction. So much so that she forgot to actually kiss back. Beca noticed this, and immediately backed off, a look of intense worry dragging itself across her face.
“Did you just…?” Chloe asked.
“Uh, I think so?” Chloe responded by immediately pulling Beca back down for a proper kiss. She didn’t know what was going on, or why, but this was, in Chloe’s mind, the only chance she would ever have to feel Beca like this, pressed up against her, her tongue weaving in and out of her mouth, her lips attacking hers with such ferocity that Chloe began to think she may pass out from all of the stimulation.
“Oh, hey, you actually talked to her!” The sound of Jesse’s voice caused the two girls to instantly put as much distance between them as they physically were capable of achieving.
“Jesse, I…” Beca began nervously. “Well, technically, we haven’t actually talked yet…”
“Oh, so you did take my suggestion?” Beca was about to open her mouth to respond when Chloe interrupted them.
“Could one of you explain to me what the hell is going on?” She asked frantically.
“Beca likes you,” Jesse replied nonchalantly as he set two bags down on the floor.
“And that doesn’t… bother you?” Chloe asked.
“Well, she hasn’t broken up with me yet, has she?” Jesse asked.
“Ok, I still have no idea what’s going on.”
“Then maybe Beca should use her words,” Jesse commented, smirking at Beca, who merely rolled her eyes.
“Look, Chloe,” Beca said, taking a seat on her bed next to Chloe. “Jesse’s right. I like you. A lot. And I’m pretty sure you like me too.”
“Well, yea. For a while, but… But you’re with Jesse.” Beca sighed.
“I know, and that’s where this gets complicated. Because I still love him too.”
“So what does this mean?” Chloe asked. Beca shrugged.
“I don’t know,” Beca said.
“A better question,” Jesse cut in. “Would be: why are you making this so complicated? Just date us both.”
“What?” Chloe and Beca replied simultaneously.
“Guys, it’s 2014. Weirder stuff has happened than someone dating two people at once. I mean, Amy showed flashed her vagina to the President on National Television.”
Beca and Chloe didn’t really have an answer for that one.
“And that wouldn’t… bother you?” Beca asked. “I mean, sharing your girlfriend?” Jesse laughed.
“You’re not my property, Beca. You’re a person. Besides, Chloe hangs out with us all the time, and I still swear by the fact that you seem happiest when she’s around,” Jesse said.
“You know,” Chloe added. “Maybe it’s actually that she’s happier with both of us around. Because before I would definitely have said she seemed happier with you than when she was just with me. And… he’s right. Weirder things have happened.”
“Yea, like you jumping Beca in the shower to get her to join a competitive a capella group,” Jesse replied with a chuckle.
“Oh my God, you told him about that?!” Chloe yelped, her face burning red.
“Wait, can it be? Is the Chloe Beale actually embarrassed by something?”
“Only because I was naked with you and this is your boyfriend we’re talking about,” Chloe countered.
“Well, judging by the events of today, you’ll probably be her girlfriend before too long, so no reason to be embarrassed about that,” Jesse commented. Chloe looked back to Beca.
“Is this really okay?” Beca asked Jesse.
“Would I have come this far without saying so if it wasn’t?” Beca stood up and walked over to Jesse, throwing her arms around him.
“I swear I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” she said. “Or Chloe, for that matter.” Chloe smiled at the interaction.
“So… this is actually happening?” She asked. Beca turned and looked at her, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth.
“If you want it to, then yes,” Beca replied. Chloe jumped up and ran to Beca and Jesse, throwing her arms around them both.
Beca had never really been one for hugs before she met Chloe and Jesse, but this was one embrace she wished would never end.
“Wait, what are we going to tell people?” Beca asked suddenly.
“You’ll have plenty of time to worry about that later. Like I said, Becs, weirder things have happened…”
“So true,” Chloe added.
Jesse leaned against the doorway as he looked into the living room of the Mitchell house, where Beca was currently playing with her cousins, who were ages four and six, respectively. It was Christmas evening, and they had just recently finished dinner. Presents had been exchanged, and the rest of the Mitchells were lounging in various parts of the house, mostly in the living room as well. Jesse smiled as he watched Beca, who seemed to be having the time of her life. The days following their agreement with Chloe had been nothing short of a dream, and Jesse had never seen her happier.
“Hey,” he heard Chloe’s voice next to him.
“Hey,” he replied.
“I never figured on Beca being this good with kids,” Chloe said.
“Me neither, honestly,” Jesse said. Chloe smiled.
“It’s probably one of the most adorable things I’ve ever seen.”
“More so than when she was sleeping in your lap?” Jesse asked, referencing that night not so long ago. Chloe giggled at the memory.
“It’s a close second,” she said. “Thank you, Jesse.”
“For what?” He asked.
“I’ve… I’ve been falling so hard for Beca since the day we met, and I never figured on it going anywhere, because I you two were so good together, and I know how much she loved you. But now, I actually get to be with her and… well, I feel pretty selfish for this happening in general.”
“Don’t,” Jesse said. “This was her decision too, and I told her a long time ago that I’d support her no matter what she decided to do.”
“You really are something else, Jesse,” Chloe said. “You know, no matter what, I’ll never let her leave you for me. If it ever comes down to having to be one of us, for whatever reason, I’ll be the one to go.” Jesse smiled.
“Don’t you think that’s her decision, though?” Jesse said. “Besides, I actually like hanging out with you, too, you know. At least you stay awake through movies.” He gave her a wink, and Chloe giggled in response.
“True,” she said. For some reason, she looked up to notice a mistletoe hanging discreetly above them. “Did you notice that before?”
“Notice what?” Jesse asked, turning to look at Chloe. Seeing her head angled upwards, his gaze followed hers, landing on the small plant. “Oh. No, actually.”
“Well, you know the rules,” Chloe said with a smirk.
“I guess I do,” Jesse replied, leaning over.
Just as their lips met, Beca looked up to see them standing in the doorway, unnoticed by the rest of her family, and she felt her heart warm in a way she most certainly would never have anticipated upon seeing such a sight.
“Merry Christmas,” Chloe said as the kiss ended. It had been gentle and chaste, not like her first kiss with Beca, but she felt more from it than she thought she would.
“Merry Christmas,” Jesse replied, before looking back to Beca, who simply gave them both a wide smile before going back to playing with the kids.
It had been a Merry Christmas, indeed.
fin