Heeeey! This oneshot was prompted by Katherine llieva, and I had a good time writing this one. The characters might be a bit OOC though.

They had a perfectly acceptable reason as to why they kept their relationship a secret. To the untrained eye, the two women as if they were being forced to associate and would rather be anywhere else than together. It was just easier to pretend they hated each other than to go through the undoubtedly long process of explaining their feelings for each other to their friends.

It was difficult keeping their relationship a secret, but they managed to do it for seven long months.

"How long do we have until we have to leave for dinner with the Bellas?"

The tall blonde and shorter brunette were smushed together on the couch in Aubrey's apartment. Some cartoon was playing on the TV, but neither of them were paying attention to it. They were simply enjoying the other's company and this was expressed by their entangled fingers and thighs pressed tightly together. No words were needed to express how contented they felt.

"Becs, it's eight in the morning and the dinner isn't until seven. And since when do you worry about being on time?"

"Well, I was think that we could -" Aubrey cut Beca off was a noise of discontentment. Beca's blue eyes lifted to meet the narrowed emerald eyes of her girlfriend. Even after knowing Aubrey for nearly three years, Beca would never grow tired of seeing the blonde's swirling green orbs. But it was times like these that Aubrey hated Beca looking into her eyes as they seemingly laid all her emotions out on display.

"I'm not ready to tell them yet," Aubrey stated, her eyes flickering away from Beca's.

"But. Bree, it's nearly been seven months since we officially started dating and no one knows about us yet. Literally no one."

Aubrey frowned at Beca's attempted guilt trip. "You're the one who suggested we keep it a secret in the first place."

"That was seven months ago, Bree." Beca gently pulled her hand free from Aubrey's and turned to fully face the blonde. "I've had seven months to really see you. Seven months that were filled with ice cream, bad movies, and experiencing your kisses, and I can't stand not holding your hand or hugging you in front of our friends."

The blonde scratched at her nose to hide the sad smile tugging at her lips. Beca was right, and Aubrey yearned to hold her girlfriend in the presence of their friends. But she was held back by her fear of what they would think. Would they accept their relationship? Or would they think it was some sort of sick joke to mess with them?

Aubrey didn't express these fears. She simply stated "I'm not ready yet" before planting a soft kiss to Beca's lips and then leaving to shower.

"Beca, are you ready?" Aubrey called into the bedroom. "We have to leave here soon or the Bellas will just show up here."

A grumbling brunette shuffled out of the small en suite bathroom. "Remind me again why we're going to restaurant with a goddamn dress code."

Aubrey's eyes appreciatively wandered over Beca's choice of clothes. A black button-up with the top three buttons undone, khaki pants with a belt cinched around her thin waist, and black shoes with a bit of a shine to them instead of her usual choice of boots or converse. Her black ear spike was also mysteriously missing and a pair of Aubrey's diamond earrings decorated her ears instead. She was dressed up just enough to get into the restaurant.

"I'm almost certain that were dressed far fancier for our first date. And that was to a picnic in the park," Aubrey teased.

Beca smirked. "I had to impress you and I'd say I did a damn good job of it too."

"And I remember feeling terribly under dressed."

"Please. That dress you wore was anything but."

A thin smile graced Aubrey's features as she stepped forward with a sway to her hips and linked her fingers behind Beca's neck. Beca's hands came to rest on the blonde's hips as their lips met briefly.

Beca then took the time to fully examine Aubrey's modest green dress with lace straps from up close. The black heels lying beside the doorway that the blonde was planning to wear would surely make Aubrey a good four inches taller than the brunette.

"Are you ready to go, Miss Posen? The Bellas are sure to be knocking the door down soon."

When Aubrey gave the affirmative, Beca led the way out of the apartment to the car. It was only a five minute drive to the restaurant, which was spent signing along to the songs on the radio. Once Beca pulled the car into an empty parking space and killed the engine, Aubrey hesitated before leaving the car.

Aubrey leaned across the center console and kissed Beca one last tine before they had to wait hours to do so again. "Hang in there, soldier." Beca's lips twitched upward. "We'll tell then eventually. Just... Just not today."

And with that being said, she left. Beca sat outside for a few more minutes before entering the restaurant as well. They had developed this system so as to not raise suspicion. Neither of them enjoyed this system, but they deemed it necessary to keep the secret.

Beca was led to the long table by a stumpy waitress with a seemingly permanent scowl and also bore a strange resemblance to a toad. The only open seat along the table was between Aubrey and Fat Amy. At least one good thing had come out already.

"Hey! Shortstack finally arrives!" Fat Amy announced. This was followed with cheers that earned them several glares from other patrons in the restaurant.

"Hey, nerds. You guys miss me?" Beca teased, her trademark smirk in place.

"We all saw you just last week so don't get full of yourself," Stacie stated, earning several laughs from all around.

The teasing and joking continued until the toad-like waitress appeared to take the orders and then small talk filled the following silence.

"So, Amy," Chloe started from the other side of Aubrey, "do you have a special someone to come home to?"

Giggles rang out from around the table. "Hell yeah. Shortstack knows who he is." Beca glanced suspiciously at the Australian. "It's one of the dudes from the Barden DJ booth we both went to freshman year at the Activities Fair.

"The deaf Jew?"

"Yeah, Quinn, the bigger one. He's quite the animal once you get him all riled up."

"I didn't need to know that..."

Amy's reply was cut short when everyone's food arrived. Beca nearly snorted at the absurd size of Aubrey's steak. The hunk of meat was just as big - if not bigger - as the blonde's face. Beca grabbed her spoon with a shake of her head and turned her attention to her seafood soup. It was frothy and a dull orange color, almost like tomato soup. The brunette shrugged before starting to eat.

From the very beginning, something seemed off about the soup, but Beca continued to eat considering the fact that it cost nearly seventeen dollars. But she knew immediately what was happening when she felt her chest begin to tighten painfully.

"Aubrey," Beca gasped as she clutched at the collar of her own shirt.

It was suddenly extremely difficult to breathe and a bolt of panic made Beca's chest tighten even more. Her breath now came in wheezes, drawing everyone's attention to her.

"Shit!" Aubrey hissed once she realized what was happening to her girlfriend.

Ignoring the confused shouts of several Bellas, Aubrey dug through her purse until she found what she needed. After handing Beca the inhaler she fished from her purse, she then uncapped the epipen, removed the gray safety cap on the other end, and firmly pressed the correct end to Beca's thigh. Slowly but surely, Beca's breathing returned to normal as the pressure in her chest dissipated and her throat opened once more.

"I probably should've checked to see if there was shellfish in that," Beca commented, smiling sheepishly.

Aubrey shook her head. "God, you're such a idiot." And then she kissed Beca. In front of all the Bellas.

"Woah there! Are you and Shortstack shacking up behind our backs?"

Aubrey froze and Beca, after taking another puff from her inhaler, calmly stated, "If that's another way of asking if we're dating, then yes. We are."

"What?" Chloe demanded. "How long has this been going on?"

"Seven months," Aubrey answered, figuring she should pitch in with answering.

"You've kept this from us for seven months?!"

Aubrey cringed. "It sounds like some sort of crime when you say it like that."

It was silent for a moment before Lilly broke the silence by stating "I knew it."

A few other questions were asked, but once they were answered to their satisfaction, conversation returned to normal. Aubrey and Beca wanted to stay longer to continue catching up with everyone, but Beca needed rest from her allergic reaction and Aubrey was bound to worry over her for the rest of the night.

But for the first time ever, they left their friends hand in hand with pleased smiles curving their lips.

And that's it! Again, thanks to Katherine llieva for the prompt!