July has flown by.

Chloe realizes this as she lies on her back, staring at the ceiling one Sunday night. After coming back from France, she flew out to Florida to spend two weeks at her folks'. Beca managed to spend a couple days there as well, and Helen Beale was enthusiastic (understatement) to see the new development in their relationship, and said something about mother intuition.

Chloe sighs and turns once more. Tomorrow is her first day of school in LA and she can't seem to find sleep. Folding her hands across her stomach, she goes over all the things she needs, trying to remember if she's packed them in her briefcase.

"I can hear the wheels turning from here," comes the sleepy grumble from the lump next to her.

Chloe bites down on her lip, twisting her head to look at the back of Beca's head. "Sorry. I…" she whispers, rubbing her thumbs together in a back and forth motion. "What if they don't like me?"

She hears Beca heave a sigh and immediately feels guilty about bothering her girlfriend, whose work days seem to stretch on to no end lately. There's a shuffle, the bedside table lamp being switched on, and then Beca is lying on her side, facing her. Chloe's body shifts to lay on its side, too.

She feels Beca's hand rest on her hip as the brunette shuffles closer. "The day people don't like you, Chlo, is also be the day pigs learn to fly, trust me. You're like a pocket full of sunshine."

Chloe giggles; it's true that she's never come across someone who ended up disliking her, except maybe Beca's ex Clara. Her giggles turn to a full belly-laugh when Beca starts to sing Pocket Full of Sunshine into her neck. The brunette can't quite make it to the end of the song as she's laughing hard, too. They lazily make out for half-an-hour, before eventually, sleep overtakes them both.

When Chloe gets down the stairs next morning, all prepped and ready for her first day, she finds Beca sitting at the kitchen table.

"Morning," she greets in surprise, stealing a quick kiss from Beca.

"How ya feeling?"

"Like I'm about to be sick," Chloe says with a sigh, moving to the counter to pour herself a cup of coffee. She returns to the table and eyes the scrambled eggs and hash browns, stomach churning unpleasantly. "Thanks for making breakfast but I can't eat anything right now."

Beca's arms comes up around her waist and tug on Chloe until she's standing in the space between Beca's legs. A kiss is dropped to her shirt-covered shoulder. "You'll be fine."

Chloe manages a small smile in return, "Why are you not at work?"

"I thought I could drop you off?" Beca says, "It's not that much of a detour from the studio and you won't have to take the bus."

"That's sweet of you," Chloe replies softly, bending down to peck Beca's lips. "Thanks."

An hour later, Beca parks her Audi in front of the school Chloe will now teach at for, hopefully, the whole year. She glances up at the building with wary eyes, nerves unraveling in her stomach.

"Hey," Beca's voice has her twist her head to look in her direction, "You've got this."

It's the phrase they have used every time one of them was in a stress-induced situation and it has always worked in their favor so far, so it manages to tame Chloe's nervousness just a bit.

"I'll see you tonight," Chloe says hastily before she can convince herself that this is a bad idea, and leans over the console to kiss Beca quickly. "Love you!"

She opens the door as she hears Beca reciprocate, and waves with a small smile at her girlfriend as the car pulls back from the curb.

Her day turns out going great. Her students are younger than the ones she taught back in New York, so it takes a bit of time getting used to, but overall, she feels that, at the end of the day, she left a good impression on her classes.

She's looking through the school's organization chart to try and memorize her students' names when a knock comes at the door. Her day is just coming to an end and she was just thinking of packing up to go home.

"Come in!" She says briskly. The door is pushed open and she lifts her eyes, finding her girlfriend standing in the doorway, a bouquet of flowers in her hand. She's brought back to that time Beca showed up at her school back in New York eight months ago, and how pleasantly shocked she had been, even though she was too ashamed to admit it back then, even too herself.

Chloe stands up, "Bec! What are you doing here?"

"Well I dropped you off this morning so I figured I might as well pick you up as well."

Chloe's eyes glance to the clock hanging above the door, "But… it's not even five yet. How did you manage to get off work so early?"

Beca shrugs, "I managed to fit in all my appointments to get off early so I could take my girlfriend out to dinner after her first day."

Chloe is not sure how her smile can get any bigger without it leaving permanent wrinkles. Having had a look at Beca's schedule the past few weeks, it's not rocket science to know that Beca planned this a long time ago. "We're going on a date?"

Beca nods as she hands Chloe the bouquet of white lilies, "These are for you."

"Thank you, baby."

Chloe finishes clearing her desk as Beca takes a walk around the classroom. Chloe manages to find a vase in the teacher lounge and places the flowers on the window seal, before she hits the lights and locks up behind them.

"How was your first day, Chloe?" One of Chloe's colleagues, interrupts their walk toward the exit. Chloe remembers the woman being the first one to introduce herself this morning and being very friendly. However, she finds herself drawing a blank when she tries to recall her name.

"Good!" She places a hand to her forehead and grimaces, "I'm so sorry, I can't remember your name."

"Martha," the woman answers kindly, waving her off, "First day, lots of names and faces being thrown at you, I know how it is, don't fret."

"Well, Martha, this is Beca," she says, pointing to the brunette, "My girlfriend."

Chloe didn't plan on outing herself on her first day, but she figured anyone who reads the tabloids knows about their relationship anyway. And well, she's proud to be Beca's. And from the warm smile Martha gives her in return, she's glad she introduced her as such.

"Nice to meet you, Beca," Martha says, extending her hand towards her.

"Likewise," the DJ replies, and there's light tint to her cheeks, probably from Chloe calling her her girlfriend. Honestly, Chloe can't wait to call her wife at some point, further down the road.

The sky is a swirl of orange and purple when they step out of the restaurant and the view of the setting sun over Santa Monica beach is breathtaking. Chloe takes Beca's hand and leads her down towards the ocean. They sit on the sand, Beca nestling in the space between Chloe's legs, resting her back against Chloe's front.

Chloe wraps an arm around Beca's chest and nuzzles her temple, "I'm really happy."

Beca turns her head slightly, and Chloe takes advantage of the angle to press a kiss to Beca's lips. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," she sighs, "I feel like people spend too much time complaining and not enough time enjoying the little things. I like those, and doing them with you makes me insanely happy."

"Well," Beca grasps the fingers curled around her shoulder and drops a kiss to Chloe's knuckles, "Happiness looks good on you."

Chloe feels tears sting behind her eyes but manages to blink them away. She drops her chin to Beca's shoulder as they watch a group of children splashing themselves in shallow water under their parents' cautious gaze.

"Do you ever see yourself with kids?" Chloe finds herself asking. She has, until now, managed to push the question away from her mind, but it keeps getting propelled to the front of her brain. Watching Beca interact with Bella makes her ovaries hurt, and she always ends up imagining Beca act that way with their own kids.

Chloe feels Beca turn more rigid in her embrace, and tries to swallow the bitter taste settling on her tongue. She has always wanted kids; that fact is no surprise to anyone who knows her well enough. She's told herself she wouldn't get her hopes up and that it wouldn't matter if Beca didn't want to have kids. Chloe has wanted to be with her for so long that she wouldn't let go of her even if that meant not becoming a mother.

Her heart starts to hammer in her chest as she waits for an answer. Beca pulls away from her and spins around, sitting crisscrossed legs in front of her.

"I've never pictured myself as a mom," she starts, lacing her fingers with Chloe and staring down at their now joined hands, "Probably because I have shitty parents. However," she pauses, and looks up to meet Chloe's hopeful blue eyes. "Since I've started dating my best friend, I feel like I can pretty much do anything as long as she's by my side. And I have the feeling our kids would be sticking cute."

Chloe's eyes water again at that, and she lets out a strangled laugh. Beca's answer goes beyond what she hoped for.

She must have a dumbfounded look on her face because Beca laughs and leans her to kiss her softly. Chloe grasps her face to hold Beca's lips against hers a moment longer, as if to seal a pact.

"I think you'll be a terrific mom," she whispers as they part, "Your parents won't define the way you'll behave with your own kids. If anything, you know better than making the same mistakes they may have."

"Yeah," Beca nods, hand running up and down Chloe's jean-clad thigh, "And we have a few years down the road until that, right? Or, like, do you want kids right now?"

There's a flash of panic in Beca's eyes as they widen, which makes Chloe giggle and kiss her reassuringly. "Not right now," she says, "I like being just the two of us for now."

"Good," Beca exhales, looking at Chloe through her eyelashes, "'Cause I don't want to share you with anyone for a while, either."

Much like July, Chloe doesn't really see August and September go by. She's in deep with school work and class prepping, while Beca's main focus is on the making of her acoustic album, that she'd like to release sometime before next year's Grammy's. The deadline is near impossible, and Chloe can see Beca getting more exhausted with each passing day.

It's past midnight one night mid-September, when Chloe pads downstairs to fetch herself a glass of water. Beca is still working on one of her songs at the kitchen table, a pot of coffee sitting next to her.

"Come to bed, baby," Chloe says, coming to stand behind her girlfriend. She loops her arms around Beca's neck and rests her chin over her shoulder.

"I just wanted to make some alterations to this."

Chloe's eyes run over the handwritten lyrics to a song called Phoenix, according to the title scribbled on top of the page in Beca's script. "Which track is this?"

"The last one."

Chloe's eyebrows fly upward, "You wrote all the songs already? When did you start this?"

She's helped Beca with some piano arrangements for a couple of songs, but had no idea all of it was already written.

Beca fiddles with her pen and shrugs, "I wrote and produced four of the 10 tracks in the last four years. They are ready but didn't really fit with my last album, and I didn't have enough inspiration to keep writing in the same style. The other six were written between now and last January," she pauses, leaning back against Chloe's front. "I guess it has to do with finding my muse again."

Chloe feels a rush of warmth invade her whole body, mouth gaping wordlessly for several seconds. She eventually gives up on finding words altogether and spins Beca's chair around to deliver a full kiss on her lips.

"So, what's this song about?"

Beca purses her lips and shrugs, "It's about this beautiful woman I know, who survived all the shit life threw at her and came out even stronger."

Chloe playful features turn serious, "Bec…"

"I wouldn't record it without your permission. The song is obviously a subtle reference to what you went through, but I thought it could also be a song dedicated to all the women going through the same type of stuff out there. The night you signed your divorce papers, I remember you telling me that you wanted to help them, and it inspired me to write this one."

"Jesus," Chloe puffs out, eyes casting upward to try and keep her tears at bay, but they seem to be persistent. Part of her still can't believe how lucky she is. She clears her throat, blurry orbs focusing back on Beca. "Did you happen to talk about my hero without a cape in the song as well?"

Beca blushes lightly, hands curling over Chloe's hips, "I don't know who you're referring to."

Chloe rolls her eyes; Beca is obviously set on remaining humble. "Can you sing it for me?"

"You know, the last time you asked me that we were naked in a shower, this is kind of a downgrade…" Beca notes with a smirk, and Chloe pinches her waist. The brunette bats her hand away before she looks over her shoulder to the sheet of paper, "It's, uh, it's not ready yet, and I want it to be perfect."

"I'm sure it already is," Chloe says, looking at Beca through her eyelashes. She's never heard anything from Beca that needed more work to be perfect. "Let me be the judge of that?"

"Fine," Beca mumbles, moving to stand up. Chloe follows her to the living room, where Beca sits at the piano. Chloe settles down on the couch, legs tucked under her body.

Soon Beca's voice fills the room, along with the soft notes of the instrument. Chloe rapidly feels herself floating, as if suspended in mid-air, hanging by each word flawlessly streaming out of Beca's mouth. Her voice is particularly raw, unlike all the other times Chloe's heard Beca sing, and it pulls at her heartstrings. When the song ends, the last note echoes into the room and right into Chloe's chest, reverberating against her ribs.

The redhead stands up, not even bothering to wipe the tears still streaming down her cheeks, and walks the few strides separating her from Beca. She sits on the brunette's lap and pulls her into a bruising kiss, hoping the power of it suffices to translate all the love she has for Beca.

"I love you," she whispers after pulling away, eyes remaining shut for a second longer. "Thank you for this, I…" she finds herself at loss for words, "It's perfect."

Beca blows out a breath, as if relieved to have Chloe's approval about this. She rests her forehead against Chloe's, "I love you, too. So much."

Aubrey and Jesse's wedding comes around the corner faster than Chloe thought it would. The ceremony takes place on a wine property inland, a couple hours from the coast. The October weather is still warm and the colors surrounding the villa are amazing. Aubrey's always wanted an autumn wedding, and Chloe is glad she's getting it.

"I'm looking for the maid of honor!" Chloe hears Beca's voice ring out through the hall, right before the door opens and her girlfriend's head pops into the room. "Your date is here."

Chloe chuckles and adjusts the flower pin in her hair to pull it back. Beca strides in, and Chloe catches her gaze in the mirror. "You look hot."

"Thanks," the brunette says, adjusting the wide, single shoulder strap of her one piece. "So do you. Although, that dress would look better on the floor of our bedroom."

"I'm sitting right here." The appalled comment pulls their attention to the bride sitting in front of her coiffeuse, getting her hair done by a stylist.

"Oh, hey Aubs," Beca greets with a wicked grin, giving the blonde a once over. "You look amazing. Jesse is gonna bawl his eyes out when he sees you."

"Thanks?" Aubrey laughs uncertainly, "How is he doing?"

"Peachin'," Beca says as she walks to Chloe after helping herself to a few grapes from the table and popping them into her mouth, "Only threw up once since this morning."

"Beca!" Chloe chastises, swatting her arm in a weak attempt to scold her. Beca catches her flailing hand and weaves their fingers together.

"I'm kidding," she directs to Aubrey who is glaring at her through the mirror. "He's fine, Aubrey. Geez, chill out."

Aubrey barks out a dry chuckle, "You laugh now, Mitchell. We'll see about those nerves on your wedding day."

Beca lifts her shoulder in a shrug while she smiles at Chloe, "I don't think there's any reason to get nervous if you're marrying the love of your life."

Chloe stares at her, warmth bubbling in the pit of her stomach and both women seem to be lost in their own little world until a disgruntled noise bursts their bubble.

"Will someone hold my hair while I gag?" Aubrey complains with a grimace. Beca rolls her eyes and kisses Chloe deeply enough to have Aubrey shouting something about her messing up Chloe's make-up.

"Later," Beca murmurs cheekily, adding a flirty wink for good measure, before she leaves the room. Chloe's eyes remain fastened on the shut door long after she leaves, until Aubrey clears her throat. Chloe finds herself on the receiving end of a pointed look.

"Sorry," she says sheepishly, snapping out of her gaze, and moves to sit beside Aubrey once her wobbly legs allow her to.

"Don't apologize," Aubrey says with a smile and a shake of the head, hand covering Chloe's. "It's good to see you this happy. Slightly sickening, but otherwise good."

The ceremony is held at dusk, an odd time to have the wedding started, but the warm colors in the sky give the whole thing a sort of magical feeling.

"M'lady," Beca husks out, sticking out the crook of her arm to Chloe as they wait for their cue to start down the aisle. Chloe slips her hand on the inside of Beca's elbow, leaning in to kiss her cheek swiftly before they start walking. They part at the end of the trail and Chloe squeezes Jesse's forearm when she gets past him to stand off to the side.

Everyone's head turns when Aubrey walks down the aisle after the last bridesmaid and groomsman. Chloe sees Jesse's jaw drop and notices his eyes are glazed over when Aubrey comes to a stop in front of him.

At some point during their vows to one another, Chloe notices Beca is staring at her with a small smile and a look that she can't quite place. Their eyes lock, and Chloe almost feels herself blushing under the intensity of Beca's gaze.

"Rings?" The minister asks, and Chloe raises an eyebrow when Beca doesn't move, apparently in her own little bubble. "Rings?"

"Oh, shit!" she comes to, and flushes, handing the rings to the minister while mouthing a 'sorry' to Aubrey as the blonde glares at her. Chloe stifles a laugh and shakes her head.

Beca clears her throat and rises from her chair, knocking her spoon against her glass to get everyone's attention.

"Hi, all," she starts, and Chloe laughs at her bursting enthusiasm. "My name is Beca and I'm the groom's best man… or woman, eh, whatever. When Jesse asked me to be his best woman, he failed to mention that the speech was mandatory, but Aubrey threatened to pull me out of the wedding and never speak to me again if I didn't speak, so, here I am," there's a clear of a throat, this time coming from Aubrey, "Right, this really isn't my forte, so I'll keep it short. I've known Aubrey and Jesse during my freshman year at Barden and the two of them were nothing alike, except maybe for the fact that they were very obsessive; Aubrey with acapella, and Jesse with movies. I guess now they are just obsessed with each other so that gives us all a break."

She pauses to allow everyone to laugh, before smiling softly, and Chloe knows from shift in her features that her speech is about to turn slightly more serious, "I saw these two fall in love with each other and they were -are- the living proof that true love does exist," Her eyes flick to Chloe briefly, shiny blue eyes meeting equally watery cobalt ones, before she sets them back on the couple. "And I feel privileged to stand here and watch that love be celebrated, today. May you have a great life together."

Beca raises her glass, "To Aubrey and Jesse!"

The newlywed couple leaves the table shortly after Beca's speech for their first dance, and Chloe watches them for a while, truly happy to see her best friend happy, too. When the song changes, Chloe stands up and walks to where Beca is sitting, talking to Stacie. She loops her arms around Beca's neck from behind.

"Come dance," she murmurs into her ear.

"A slow?" Beca's nose scrunches up, "I'm terrible at slow dancing, Chlo."

Stacie has turned on her other side to talk to Cynthia-Rose, so Chloe takes the opportunity of having Beca all to herself to sit in her lap. "Come on, this is my favorite song," she says, referring to the version of Can't Help Falling In Love With You playing on the dance floor.

"Is it?" Beca's tone is quizzical as she loops an arm around Chloe's waist, "I thought your favorite song was Titanium?"

"Well, duh," Chloe says, "Titanium is my favorite song to listen to when I do inappropriate things," Beca is starting to blush, so Chloe leans further in to whisper something into her ear, "Which reminds me that we haven't done it to that song, yet."

"Good god, you'll be the death of me," Beca grunts out, tightening her hold on Chloe.

"We should fix that tonight," she husks lowly into Beca's ear. She pulls back, thoroughly enjoying the sight of a flushed Beca, "But first, let's go dance."

"Fine," Beca agrees with an exaggerate sigh, nudging Chloe into getting off her lap. The sound of a whip cracking in the air catches her ear and Chloe isn't sure if it comes from Stacie or Cynthia-Rose, but she laughs as Beca blindly flips them off.

When they step onto the dancefloor, Beca twirls her goofily and brings her flush against her to start their dance. Chloe doesn't know why Beca feels insecure about dancing, because she's nailing this. A laugh catches their attention and they both twist their heads in time to witness Jesse dipping Aubrey while the blonde giggles.

"They look happy," Chloe muses, tearing her eyes away from their friends to land on Beca.

"Yeah. I hope Jesse knows what he got himself into," Beca says while pulling a face, and Chloe swats her arm. "I'm kidding. I like Aubrey now, consider her one of my best friends, actually."

"I know. I have to admit I didn't see those two coming."

"Did you see us coming?" Beca asks with a quirked eyebrow, "The first time."

Chloe's fingers start to play with the hair on the back of Beca's neck, "You mean when you kissed me by the pool?"

Memories of that night flood her mind and send sparks right down to the tip of her toes. It was everything she hoped it would be when she had told Beca about 'experimenting'.

Beca scoffs, "I think that kiss was mutual."

"I know, I'm just teasing," she assures Beca, pecking her lips for good measure. "And no, I didn't really see it coming. I thought I had freaked you out when I told you about experimenting and I didn't want to make the first move and risk having you run for the hills."

"You didn't freak me out. I just… if you hadn't put me on the spot with a tent full of Bellas, I would have…"

"What?" Chloe is suddenly hanging onto Beca's every word. She squeezes her waist to get her to finish her sentence, "You would have what?"

"Kissed you," she says with such certainty that Chloe nearly loses her footing, "Yeah, I would have kissed you."

"Oh my gosh, a Spiderman kiss?" She squeals, eyes growing wide, "That would have been so hot."

"And awkward, given the angle," Beca adds with a chuckle.

Chloe leans in to kiss her again, longer this time. Beca's lips taste like expensive champagne and left over raspberry gloss. "We can always test that theory later."

"I guess we have a lot of theories to test later," Beca says with a flirty wink, "Fine with me, I'm not going to pass up an opportunity to kiss my sexy girlfriend."

Chloe rolls her eyes, "Smart ass."

Beca takes up her duty as DJ an hour later, and Chloe doesn't think she'll ever get tired of watching her girlfriend mix. It just gets her hot and bothered.

She excuses herself from Stacie and walks to the bar to order a beer and a martini, before hiking the steps that lead to Beca's glass booth. She sets the drink on a small platform, far enough from Beca's equipment in case it tips over, but close enough for Beca to reach it.

Then, she comes to stand behind Beca and wraps an arm around her waist. Beca looks over her shoulder and meets her eyes, smiling softly. "Having a good time?"

Chloe doesn't answer with words, instead pressing an open-mouthed kiss in the crook of Beca's neck. She doesn't hear Beca's gasp but feels her body tense and then melt against hers.

"Mmm," she hums in Beca's ear. "But I think we should go home soon."

Beca slides a few knobs up or down and spins in Chloe's arms. Chloe's hands find the front of her blazer and tug her closer. "Why is that?"

"Because I'd like to engage in those activities we talked about earlier," she whispers into Beca's uncovered ear and the brunette's hips shift against hers. "Watching you mix is doing things to me and I'm not sure I can wait much longer before I have my way with you."

Control is something she was never allowed to have whenever Greg was around. The confidence Beca gives her, added to the slight amount of alcohol in her system and the desire seeping like scalding lava through her veins while watching Beca mix are enough to unleash her tongue and her actions. Chloe feels like she's on cloud nine, this carefree feeling giving her wings.

And Beca doesn't seem to be disturbed by Chloe's sudden take of control, if the way her eyes glaze over is any indication.

"Fucking hell, Beale," Beca growls back, hands leaving Chloe's hips to rest low on her back. "You know Aubrey won't ever speak to me again if I leave her stranded without any music."

"Can't you like," Chloe's breathing itches as she feels yet another wave of arousal wash over her body. "Put something in a loop like you're doing now, but longer?"

Beca nips at her bottom lip before she turns back to her board, fiddling with a few knobs. Chloe moves to stand beside her, teeth lightly grazing her ear lobe to drive her crazy.

It seems to take Beca longer than usual to get things right, and it makes Chloe smirk against her skin. Beca double checks her computer, before she spins around, grabs Chloe's hand and leads her toward one of the supply rooms for lack of any other place being unlocked and close enough to the ball room.

As soon as the door clicks shut, Chloe has Beca up against it and their mouths fused together. Chloe feels drunk. Drunk in love, drunk in desire, or drunk in whatever the word is that can describe how much she wants and needs Beca right now.

"Wait, wait, wait," Beca says hastily, cupping Chloe's face with both hands, just when Chloe is about to drag the zipper of her one piece down.

"What is it?" The redhead asks breathlessly, taking a second to really look at her girlfriend; her lips are swollen and her breathing is labored, but there's a look in her eyes that Chloe can't quite place. The same look Beca had on during the ceremony. A look that makes Chloe's stomach flutter in anticipation of something big.

"Marry me," Beca murmurs, midnight blue eyes boring into Chloe's. Chloe takes a pause, eyes widening slightly and breath catching in her throat. The music pounding outside is quickly replaced by the pounding of her heart, suddenly beating madly in her ears as she stares at Beca. She didn't expect to be proposed to tonight, in a supply room of all places. Then again, Beca manages to surprise her nearly every day, so, it's fitting.

"I know it's soon, and we don't have to do it right away I just… god I just want to call you my wife at some point and I don't want you to spend another day not knowing that." Beca smiles softly, one of her hand drifting to the back of Chloe's neck to tug her towards her. Like a magnet, Chloe's body stirs towards Beca's to get as close as physically possible. "Marry me, Chloe Beale?"

As the shock leaves her body to make way for giddiness, Chloe closes the gap between them and kisses her fully, lips gliding flawlessly against Beca's.

"Yes." She whispers across Beca's lips, resting her forehead against hers. Beca's teary eyes meet Chloe's equally watery ones. "As if there were any doubt on my mind."

The grin stretching Beca's lips is nearly blinding and Chloe is pretty sure it matches hers. "God, I love you."

"And I, you."

"Shit," Beca suddenly freezes, demeanor falling. "I don't have a ring."

Chloe laughs and leans in to kiss her again. "That's okay. I don't really need a ring."

"Yes, you do," Beca says with a scolding expression. "I just… I wasn't planning on proposing for another few months but I… I couldn't wait anymore. Aubrey might kill me."

"Why's that?" Chloe asks curiously.

"She helped me plan the whole thing and yeah… It was supposed to be a bit more romantic than this. And she might be mad when we tell her we got kind of engaged at her wedding. Is that cliché? Proposing at a wedding? It totally is, right? Our kids are going to make fun of us for this."

Chloe is overwhelmed by so many feelings, it's getting ridiculous. "She might kill you. But I won't let her, 'cause this was actually kind of perfect. Felt natural."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Beca's new album is released just two weeks before Christmas, as planned, and it's an international hit. It goes Platinium ten days later, and when the nominations for the Grammy's are announced, Beca's name is displayed in many sections.

"Beca," Chloe whispers in the dark room one early morning. "Bec, it's Christmas."

"Mmm," Beca grumbles something belonging to another language, burying her face into the pillow. "Too early."

"Can we open presents now?"

There's no reply coming from her fiancée (swoon), so she taps her on the shoulder. A hand shoots out from Beca's side and gently grasps her fingers to still her movements, "I take back everything I said about wanting kids. If they act the same way as you do each Christmas, which I'm sure they will because they will be your carbon copy, I'm signing out."

Chloe doesn't believe her for a second, and tickles Beca's side with her other hand, "You love it."

With an exaggerated sigh, Beca finally rolls onto her side to face her, "I have no idea why, but yeah, I do. When did we become one of those annoyingly cute couples again?"

Beca eventually emerges from her grumpy early morning ritual, and once she's awake enough (it does take a little bit of blackmail and a lot of kissing), she gives Chloe the go ahead for the presents.

Finding a gift for Beca turned out to be more difficult than Chloe thought. The brunette can nearly have anything she wants, and Chloe's paycheck isn't big compared to Beca's, so Chloe went for another type of present.

She grabs her phone, finds the video, and presses play. Beca frowns as Chloe's classroom comes into view, her oldest group of students gathered in front of the camera. Chloe is sat at the piano and plays the first notes of one of the tracks of Beca's new album, before her students join in and start to sing.

"This is amazing," Beca says when the song ends, eyes flicking from the phone's screen to Chloe. "They are very talented."

"They couldn't stop talking about your album, so I thought we should make a cover of one of the songs. You really inspire them."

"I love it," Beca leans in and kisses Chloe quickly, "Thanks babe."

Chloe hands her another gift, which is a mug featuring the sentence 'I'm allergic to mornings' with a drawing of a grumpy cat. Beca glares at her, but Chloe knows it will end up being her favorite cup. Lastly, she hands her an envelope.

"We're going to the Keys?" Beca asks, a smile splitting on her face as she eyes the plane tickets.

"Yeah, after the Grammys. I have a break and I thought you could use the vacation. I hope you know that means a mandatory stay at the Beale house."

"You know I love your parents. Thank you, this is exactly what I need." Beca kisses her again, "Alright, so my present isn't actually here. We have to drive to it."

Chloe looks at her curiously, eyes narrowing, "What did you do?"

"Nothing drastic. I just wanna show you something."

They get dressed and Beca drives her ten minutes into the city, slowing the car down to a stop in front of a recent building, a FOR SALE board displayed on the windows. They step out of the car, and Chloe grows more and more confused with each step leading to the red-brick building. Beca takes something out of her pocket and drops it into Chloe's palm.

Upon getting Chloe's confused look, Beca nudges her lightly, "Go on, open it."

Chloe slips the key into the lock and heaves the heavy door open.

"What's this, Beca?" she asks, taking in the large entry hall of the building, eyes following along the walls until they reach the high ceiling. "Are you moving studio?"

Beca shakes her head and grabs her hand, tugging her further down the hall, "No, that's not it. This building has twenty apartment complexes, a kitchen, five conference rooms and a bus stop right around the corner. I thought it would be the ideal location for your shelter."

Chloe is at loss for words; her mouth gapes open and shuts, eyes widening slightly as Beca's explanation sinks in. She has talked about opening up a shelter for women in LA over the last few months, but her project has been on hold from lack of resources.

"I put an offer on this, but I wanted to show it to you before because it's your project, not mine. If you want to visit other places we can do that, too."

"I…" Chloe shakes her head, trying to free her mind from the blur it's trapped in. She isn't familiar with realtor prices in the city, but this building must be worth at least a million dollars.

"Nothing drastic?" she finds herself mumbling in disbelief. "I can't accept this, Bec. It's your money, I…"

"Technically, not yet." Beca places her fingers over Chloe's mouth to stop her rant, "The purchase and running of this place will be funded by the album sales. All of them. You are the reason this album made it to the recording stage. You are the one who stayed up late to help me with instrumental arrangements and the one who kept me from pulling my hair out whenever I stalled on something. So the album is as much yours as it is mine. This project is important to you and I think it's necessary and very brave. So I'm just giving it a little push, you are what makes it what it is."

Chloe feels like she's about to faint any second now. 'A little push' is a major understatement.

"I… I don't know what to say…"

Beca smiles, obviously understanding Chloe's shock. "You don't have to say anything. Except if you don't like the building then we c- oof!"

She's cut off mid-sentence by the bone crushing embrace Chloe pulls her in, and Chloe feels her laugh against the crook of her neck, arms wrapping loosely around her lower back.

"I take it you like it?" she asks, pulling away to look at Chloe.

Duh. "I love it," she leans in to peck Beca's lips over and over again, "I love you."

Beca hums, catching her lips in a longer kiss. "I love you, too, baby."

Beca gives her the tour of the building, and Chloe's brain gets assaulted by countless ideas for the future shelter. The premises are ideal for what she wants to do with it and hold a lot of potential. It will take some time to have it ready, but Chloe feels up to the task.

Chloe is the first to realize Beca's name is being called. It takes Beca a second longer, during which Chloe has already taken her hand and whispered how proud she is into her ear.

Beca snaps out of her daze and shakes her head lightly, as if to gather her thoughts. She turns to look at Chloe, and cups her face to give her a quick kiss.

"Go get it," Chloe whispers against her mouth, squeezing Beca's hand before letting go. She watches as Beca climbs the steps and accepts her award, sharing a few words with the host. Chloes feels her chest swell with pride that her heart struggles to fit. A year ago, she was watching Beca from across the country in front of the TV and now, well, she's her date.

"Alright," She takes a deep breath and visibly swallows, "Damn, I thought the second time around would be easier…" the audience laughs, and it seems to give Beca some confidence. "First of all, I'd like to thank my amazing team; a bunch of incredible people who barely have any social life because of me. This Grammy is yours, too. Special shout out to Jesse Swanson for being there every step of the way and resisting the urge to kill me. This album was such hard work because it was different from what I'm used to making and I was surprised and grateful it was so well received." She takes a pause until her eyes find Chloe's in the audience. "It was written for the love of my life, Chloe Beale, who is also the angel voice on track number 8. Thank you for keeping up with my crazy schedule over the last six months and for just being you. I love you, this one is for you."

Chloe is a bawling mess by the end of the speech, though she tries to reign her emotions in as she knows she's being filmed.

It's only when they go back home around 2 am that Chloe can kiss Beca the way she's wanted to since the brunette won her award. And she does so as soon as the front door is shut and locked behind them.

"I'm so fucking proud of you," she says breathlessly when they break apart. Chloe rarely swears, but she feels like the adjective alone isn't enough to translate the way she feels right now. Beca whimpers and moves to cup her jaw. "You're a rock star, baby."

Beca laughs against her, forehead dropping to Chloe's cheek. "Right now, the rock star just wants to sleep for forty-eight hours straight."

"You don't even want to make out just a little bit?" Chloe asks, smirking lightly when Beca groans.

"Alright," Beca is already pushing at Chloe's jacket, "Five minutes."

They both know it will last more than five minutes.

"You ready, Chlo?" She hears Beca call from downstairs and looks at her reflection one last time in the mirror, smoothing a hand down her blouse. She runs down the steps until she hits the bottom step and kisses Beca quickly before bending down to put her shoes on.

They walk down to the car, and settle in, windows rolled down because of the particularly high temperature for a June Saturday morning.

"How you feeling?" Beca asks, slipping her hand into Chloe's and bringing it up to her lips to press a kiss on the inside of her wrist.

"Excited, nervous, happy?" Chloe voices, shrugging. "All of those."

"Yeah, I get what you mean," Beca says softly, eyes leaving the road briefly to glance at Chloe. "I feel the same way each time I release something."

The rest of the ride is spent in silence as Chloe goes over what she might have forgotten. They park in front of the building, now called the Los Angeles Women's Shelter. Some of their friends are already standing in front of the building, having come over to help with the last preparations, as promised. Chloe hugs each one of them, grateful for their presence on such an important day.

Tom is the last in line and he engulfs her into a tight hug.

"Thanks for being here," she tells him, taking a deep breath.

"Glad to be," his line of sight flicks to over Chloe's shoulder, "Beca."

"Tom." Beca greets with a curt nod, and Chloe rolls her eyes good-naturedly at them pretending not to like each other.

"Cut it out," she says with a laugh. "Both of you."

By twelve pm, everything is set up and they are ready to welcome the city representatives as well as the whole team that will from now on be working at the shelter: a therapist, a cook, two teachers, as well as all the volunteers that will come in the mornings and evenings to help run the place.

Once everyone has had a drink poured, thanks to Aubrey and Stacie's assistance, Chloe climbs onto the makeshift stage and clears her throat to get her guests' attention.

"Hi all, and thank you for being here on this very special day. This project has been very dear to me for the past year and I can't believe this is the opening day. I want to thank all my friends for their support. I would like to thank the whole team and volunteers for accepting to go on this journey with me and admire your drive and selflessness. Thank you to the representative of this city for allowing me to open this place and pulling the resources for it to run properly." She pauses and finds Beca's warm gaze in the crowd, locking eyes with her. "I want to thank my beautiful, talented and amazing fiancée for making this project possible and for being my hero in the past year and a half. This facility will hopefully become a lifeline to many abused women out there. May they find here advice, peace, support and most importantly a safe place to sleep. Thank you."

Chloe takes a sip of her drink and reaches for the pair of scissors set on the table. She gets off the stage, and walks over to the red ribbon, cutting it in one flawless motion. An applause breaks out from behind her and she lets out a watery laugh.

It's only when they come home that it really dawns on her how far she's come. She left her troubled life and managed to build a new one on the other side of the country. She's come farther than she thought she ever would, and risen higher than she ever thought possible.

"Hey," Beca pulls her out of her thoughts, leaned against the doorway of their bedroom. "I'm really proud of you, you know that?"

Chloe smiles; it's as if Beca has superpowers that enable her to know exactly what she's thinking. She sits on the bed and lies down, reflecting the last year in her head as she stares at the ceiling. "Thanks. I guess I'm proud of me, too."

"You should be," Beca says with a smirk, pushing off the doorway to come lie next to her. Chloe rolls on her side and snuggles into Beca's side. The excitement of the day eventually dies down and she suddenly feels exhausted.

"Can we stay like this forever?" Chloe breaks the comfortable silence, causing Beca to chuckle. She's cuddled against Beca's body, hand splayed out over Beca's toned stomach underneath her shirt, leg hooked over the brunette's.

"Well, what about work? Or our friends?" Beca asks.

Chloe gives her a mischievous smile, "They're not as good in bed as you are."

"You would know something about that?" Beca teases, eyebrow raised challengingly.

"No, I just figure." She wants to add a 'you're just the best sex I've ever had', but clamps her teeth down on her bottom lip not to say it; Beca would never let her live it down.

"Good, you had me worried for just a sec," Beca lets out a relieved sigh, which makes Chloe giggle.

"Beca?" Chloe asks after a while, fingers tracing various patterns over Beca's stomach. Beca hums in reply, hand running up and down her spine. "This year was the best I've ever had."

Beca's movements still, her heart beating right in Chloe's ear, and Chloe feels her lips against her forehead, "Good. You deserve it."

And Chloe thinks next year will be just as great, and the year after that, and the one after that.

Because honestly? As long as Beca is by her side, Chloe can't come up with anything or anyone that could take away that happiness.

That's it folks! I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited or followed this journey, it means a lot. I hope you enjoyed the conclusion to this story.

I fell into the Bechloe trap and I just can't stop writing. Coming up soon, a second part to Unspoken, updates to Cosmic Love and a sort of sequel to this, a few years down the road. I'm also working on another multi-chapter fic featuring single mom Chloe.

I am also looking for a Beta reader. PM me if you are interested or if you know someone that might be.