Work Text:
The Bella house is louder than usual.
Some of them are in the living room. Beca sits cross legged on the couch with her laptop in her lap. Chloe is hovering nearby asking useless questions about the set Beca is working on, just to keep the conversation going. Suddenly they hear Amy storming down the stairs.
“Pitches! Everyone in the living room! Now!” She shouts as if her life depends on it.
Everyone, even Aubrey who visits Barden during her vacation, gathers around the coffee table.
Amy jumps on the table with a big smile. “BELLA BEACH DAY!!!!!!” She screams at top of her lungs.
The bellas blink for a second, confused why Amy made such a big thing out of that, but all answer in various forms of ‘I’m in’ ‘yeah let’s do that’ and cheering.
Chloe is also very excited about a Bella day and agrees. Everyone looks at Beca who hasn’t even looked up from her laptop.
“Can’t” she murmurs.
“What? Beca, why?” Chloe asks, her expression shifts from excitement to just a small smile.
“The set for the Worlds isn’t ready yet, and we needed it like 3 days ago” she answers, her voice tight with frustration.
“Okay… I’m gonna stay here too then” Chloe says without hesitation, her smile widening again.
That’s what it takes for Beca to look up “ You don’t have to Chlo, seriously. Go have fun with the others” Although she kind of already hoped she could spent the day with Chloe.
“ I know, but I want to stay… and it’s not even a good beach day weather”
It absolutely is. 30 degrees Celsius, early July and a blazing sun.
“Thanks Chlo, really appreciate it” Becas face light up like you just handed a toddler an ice cream cone.
Amy and the others already smirk. “Okay, your loss! Beach day it is!!” Amy yells and practically runs up the stairs.
The other follow her with a bit less enthusiasm, but still pack their beach clothes as fast as they can.
—————
A few minutes later, Stacie, Amy and Emily are already standing at the front door while the others gather the last things.
They look at Chloe and Beca sitting on the couch, Chloe is asking questions about the mixing software that Beca probably answered 100 times before and listens with sparkling eyes when Beca explains it.
“They should just make out already” Stacie whispers.
“Yeah, how can they be so blind, they both clearly love each other” Emily says back.
With a smirk Amy says “ I give them today, trust me”.
Emily and Stacie exchange confused looks before they just shrug and put their things in the van. A few moments later the other Bellas do the same thing. Amy is the last one to leave.
“Hey, Bhloe! Don’t you dare touch the cookies I left”
“Why not?” Amy is already leaving p, she says quietly “they’re special ones”.
Beca and Chloe look at each other confused. “ I think she just doesn’t want to share her snacks again” Chloe laughs. “Yeah, probably”.
—————
Half an hour passes by where Chloe just listens to Becas mixing of the set, she even rests her head on Becas shoulder. Then her stomach growls softly. Then louder.
“Is someone hungry?” The smaller brunette asks teasingly.
“A bit yeah, but the fridge is empty, the girls wanted to go shopping after the beach” Chloe voice is tight with frustration and annoyance. Beca gives a nod and refocuses on her laptop.
Then her stomach also growls. “Okay, I don’t care anymore about what Amy said. We need something to eat and the only thing left are the cookies, what could possibly happen?”
Beca quickly gets up and takes the cookies with her to the couch. She grabs one out of the bowl and takes a big bite of it.
“You really gonna eat those?” Chloe asks with a raised eyebrow.
“I’m not gonna starve here! And Amy already owns me 20 dollars per month for like a year. This is payback!”
Chloe picks one and observes it carefully.
“Come on Chlo, They taste really good”
Reluctantly she takes a bite. Her eyes light up, because they really taste good.
—————
20 minutes and 10 cookies later something in the air shifts. It’s subtle at first. Beca doesn’t notice immediately, but Chloe does. Or rather…she acts like she does.
“Okay, hear me out: all numbers have colors. And every day of the week has a number and a color.”
“Chlo, what the fuck are you talking about?” Beca mutters, still trying to focus on the set in front of her.
“You’ll get it, I promise,” Chloe insists, nodding like this is the most logical thing she’s ever said.
“Okay, so like Thursday. What number and color is that?”
Beca lets out a quiet laugh.
“No, seriously. Answer, Becs.”
“Okay, okay… Thursday?”
Chloe nods eagerly, a bright, almost giddy smile on her face.
Beca squints slightly at the screen, like the answer might be hidden there.
“…I don’t know.”
“No, you have to feel it. Like, intuition.”
“…okay,” Beca hums, giving in. “Maybe… two? And… red?”
Chloe’s hands fly up to her face as she groans dramatically.
“What, No! Thursday is obviously blue and the number seven!”
Beca snorts. “You’re so weird, Beale.” She pauses. “But now that you mentioned it, Thursday really is a seven.”
—————
Beca really does try to keep working on the set, but somehow she just can’t focus.
Chloe is still talking like someone opened the gates of Hoover Dam. Topics switch from some recipes she found on the internet, to laughing about a random word like ‘strawberry cheesecake’, to just resting her head back on Becas shoulder.
“Okay I don’t think the set will get any better today, I’ll finish it tomorrow.” Beca says and sits herself more tilted towards Chloe.
Thats when she notices. Her eye movements feel kind of slower and Chloe’s eyes seem a bit glassy. She also seems far more relaxed and still talk about the recipes she found online. She laughs more than usual, a giddy smile paints her face. Beca looks back at the table and at the empty bowl of cookies. Is it really- No it can’t be-
“And then there was this super adorable picture of her dog in her profile, a Bernese mountain dog to be specific, and I just couldn’t write this bad review of the disgusting Triple-Layer Caramel Apple Crumble Cake” Chloe says rushed.
Beca stares at Chloe for a long moment.
“…okay.”
That definitely didn’t make any sense. Her eyes drift to the empty bowl on the table again. A pause.
“…wait.”
She frowns slightly, sitting up a little straighter.
“…Chlo.”
Another pause.
“…I think those were edibles.”
Chloe blinks at her, then just laughs.
“…what the fuck is that?”
Beca lets out a quiet huff of laughter, rubbing a hand over her face.
“It’s-“ she pauses, trying to gather her thoughts. “…weed. In food.”
Chloe’s eyes widen slightly. “…oh.”
Another pause. “…wait, what?”
“Yeah,” Beca mutters, leaning back again. “I had them once. With my cousins. In Amsterdam.”
A small shrug. “…it was actually kinda great.”
Chloe looks at her for a long moment. “…so basically you’re saying we’re high?”
“Yeah, probably”
“…oh okay” Chloe shrugs, her giddy face returning immediately.
“But then I saw the worst recipe of a strawberry cheesecake also on her profile and I just couldn’t res-“
“You seriously just okay with that Chlo?” Beca interrupts her.
“Well we can’t undo it right now, and there’s a first time for everything right?”
Beca bursts into laughter and gives a small nudge to Chloes shoulder “Didn’t know you were that chill, Beale”
—————
They sit on the couch for another 15 Minutes. Just talking about random stuff. Mostly Chloe talks and Beca just listens, admiring her crystal blue eyes.
“Oh! Oh! Did you also see that TikTok that said ‘sometimes a girl just needs her floor time’?”
Beca lets out a laugh, totally thrown off by that question. “No, i haven’t Chlo, and seriously I don’t even know what that’s supposed to mean”.
“What?! Come on, lay on the floor with me!” She already jumps off the couch and onto the floor.
Just laying there, like a chalk outline of a crime scene. She takes a few deep breaths, in through her nose, out through her mouth and closes her eyes.
Beca eyes widen with amusement and she just can’t stop laughing of the sight infront of her.
“I’m waiting Becky” Chloe singsongs.
After a loud sigh, Beca gets up and lays herself next to her, copying her motions. She thinks this is ridiculous.
“What are we supposed to do no-“
“Shhh,” Chloe clumsily puts her fingers on Becas lips without opening her eyes “just…feel, let your body relax”
She laughs at first, but she lets her body fully relax into the hard wooden floor, that somehow now feels as comfortable as a cloud.
They just lay there for a few minutes. Beca breaks the silence.
“Sometimes I have a feeling everybody is a playlist” Beca almost whispers. It seems like that was one of the deepest thoughts she has.
“You know, like a mixed playlist… somewhere there’s ‘I will survive’ by Gloria Gaynor or ‘Uptown funk’ by Bruno Mars… somewhere else there’s ‘Another Love’ by Tom Odell or ‘Six feet under’ by Billie Eilish.”
A pause. She takes a deep breath and props herself up on one elbow and looks at Chloe.
“But in between these emotions, is your favorite song of all time…”
“god this is gonna sound so cheesy, but…”
She pauses again and Chloe also opens her eyes to look at her.
“You are my favourite song” Beca closes her eyes again. “I…I really like you Chlo…”
“I like you too Becs” her voice is soft, Beca never heard her voice that soft.
“No, Chlo… I love you” Beca already braces the impact of rejection. It couldn’t be possible that Chloe, her best friend of 3 years, would love her back. That would be ridiculous. Who is she kidding?
Chloe blinks once, twice. Trying to process what Beca just said.
“It’s totally okay if you don’t feel the same about me…”
“Becs…”
“It’s okay if you’re weirded out or if you don’t want anything to do with me anymore…”
“Beca…”
“The edibles probably made me say all these things” She lets out an awkward and humorless laugh.
“Beca!” Chloe repeats louder now.
Then Beca looks at her. There is no disgust in her features. No fear in her eyes. Practically there is no distance between them. Pure love sparkles her eyes and a wide smile paints her face. Beca furrows her eyes in confusion.
“Beca, I love you too”
Neither of them says anything. Chloes hand slowly lands on Becas cheek. Her thumb circling a soft pattern. Then she leans in. Beca meets her halfway. Their lips are just a breath from each other away.
But somehow, they miss each other. Becas lips hit the corner of Chloes mouth. The edibles have slightly control of their coordination.
For a moment there’s an awkward silence between them. Neither of them says anything, both still processing what just happened. Then they burst out in laughter.
They lean in again, slower this time but still uncoordinated. Their noses brush awkwardly and Chloe lets out a small giggle. She then leans Becas head slightly to the side and just kisses her. It’s soft and full of electricity, although it’s still a bit clumsy. They stay like that for a while. Softly exploring each other, and they let the moment linger for a bit, not wanting it to end just yet.
They break apart to get some air.
“We’re really bad at that” Chloe says giggling.
“Hey! Only because we’re really high!”
They stay on the floor, Chloe cuddling closer and laying her head above Becas Chest.
They talk about everything and nothing for a long time. Laughing, but also talking about all aspects of life.
—————
The van pulls up infront of the car. Inside are the rest of the Bellas in all variations of exhausted and still wet. They drag themselves and the shopping bags to the door, as Aubrey pulls out the keys.
“It’s oddly quiet in there” She says concerned.
“There is not a lot noise two people can make” Emily says.
Stacie snorts “Oh trust me legacy, there is a lot noise two people can make”
They step into the living room, and freeze.
Beca and Chloe are laying tangled together on the floor. Beca is propped up on one elbow, her hand loosely draped over Chloe’s waist. Chloe is laying on her side, her hand playing with Becas hair. They don’t even say anything, they just observe each others eyes while giggling. They definitely do not look platonic anymore.
“… what?” Aubrey whispers in disbelief.
“Heyyy” Chloe sing-songs without even thinking about moving away.
“You guys are back” Beca adds more relaxed.
Amy already smirks, when her eyes land on the empty bowl, where her special cookies were once. The other Bellas exchange confused and amused looks.
Aubrey doesn’t even know what she sees in front of her “Okay what the heck is going on here?” Beca and Chloe just giggle in response.
Amy tries to contain her laughter “Ah, I see, did you enjoy the cookies?”
“Maybe” they both answer, their voices high-pitched and giddy.
“What cookies?!” Aubrey asks, setting the grocery bags on the table. “Amy, explain!”
“Ahh, mhhh…” Amy looks away from her.
“Amy!” Aubrey points her finger directly at her.
“Maybeee there were special ones…”
“Oh my god” Aubrey runs her hand through her hair. “What exactly do you mean by special?”
“Um, maybe these were edibles?”
“YOU DRUGGED THEM?!” Aubrey practically yells.
“I did NOT drug them!” Amy shoots back instantly. “I warned them. That’s on them.”
On the floor, Chloe gasps softly. “…we’re drugged?” Beca turns her head slowly to look at her. “…technically.”
They both dissolve into laughter again.
“This is not funny!” Aubrey groans, dragging a hand over her face.
“I think it’s a little funny,” Stacie mutters.
Suddenly Chloe jumps up, and sways the slightest. “OMG! You guys brought food!!”
They both sprint their ways towards the grocery bags and start to eat anything and everything.
“I can’t believe it…” Aubrey says running a hand over her face. “I was gone for 3 hours, and now two Bellas are on cloud nine and deeply in love… what should we do?”
“Maybe not let them eat everything?” Emily adds in unsure.
“HEY! First we get drugged and now you want to steal our food?!” Chloe practically clings to the grocery bags.
“Okay,okay… we need to get them to drink water,” Aubrey says, trying to regain control of the situation.
—————
A few minutes later, they somehow managed to get them to lay on the couch. Although a movie is playing on the tv, neither Chloe nor Beca really notice it. They lay practically on each other, just admiring each other.
“You’re so beautiful Becs”
“ Aca-scuse me? You are so beautiful!” Beca says burying her cheek in Chloe’s neck.
“I love you”
“No, I love you”
Aubrey watches them for a moment then sighs. “We are never letting Amy bake again”
“Nope” “Never”
“Guys, do you not see it? Im literally Amor!” Amy wiggles her finger in Beca and Chloe’s direction.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night Amy” Aubrey sighs again.
Stacie snorts “Well, it needed to happen, or they would have never realised it”
“Worth it” Amy yells, before they concentrate on the movie again, letting Beca and Chloe be in their little bubble of love.
And maybe it was the edibles, but somehow they both know it isn’t.