Hello again, so this is a next door neighbors AU that I co-wrote with Valnixyrie. Which, thank Val, because how drunk!Aren acts in this, and almost all of her lines were inspired by Skype call we had while Val was drunk. Inspirations gotta come from somewhere, right? This should be a two shot and the second part should be up soon-ish so enjoy guys.

Beca jolted up in bed and looked out at the empty room. Something had just crashed to the floor. Again. For the third night in a fucking row. But she had actually made sure that everything was in a secure place this time before going to bed. Because of course there had been a rational explanation to things falling off if they were near the edge. And that's what she had convinced herself it was, because she was an adult and didn't believe in ghosts. Except now there was literally no other explanation.

She swallowed hard. Did she go check it out or did she stay right here under the covers where it was safe? But if she got up it might eat her. If she stayed in bed, it would definitely come for her. There was really no winning in this situat- CRASH.

Beca was up and out of the bed within the second. She shuffled through the apartment in her sock feet and pj shorts, leaping over the coffee table as she went. She managed to reach the front door in record time. Beca scampered out the door and slammed it behind her, yelping at the offending noise it made as it shut. Well, that was one way to make friends with new neighbors. Or not, either way, it was loud as fuck.

She looked around. Shit. Now it was the middle of the night. She'd succeeded in locking herself out. But then again, hopefully that meant the damn ghost was locked in. But she was still in her fucking pjs with no way to get to her stuff until morning when the super would actually let her in and not be a bitch about it. Great.

Beca turned around and kicked the door. Stupid fucking ghost. Stupid fucking Beca for getting scared of a ghost. It was a ghost. What the fuck was it going to do to her? It wasn't even corporeal. Then again, it might want to possess her or something. And if could throw things around. Maybe she just shouldn't poke the bull on that one. Or maybe she should call an exorcist. Yeah, that was a good idea.

But that would have to wait until fucking morning because she was still locked the fuck out. She glanced around at the doors of her neighbors. There was do the left. She was sweet, but she was also like a hundred years old and her apartment smelled like prunes and socks. There was that really cute lesbian couple to the right. She had met the taller of the two, they had actually gone out for drinks a couple of times. Her name was Stacie. Beca remembered her saying something about her partner being a musician, Aren or Erin or something like that, she thought the name was. But every time Beca saw them they were basically stuck together at the mouth so she probably didn't want to interrupt that bedroom. There was also the slightly scary but hella hot woman across the hall.

Beca didn't know much about her except that she worked long hours and sometimes yelled at her phone in some European language. It definitely wasn't French that was too soft and whatever she was speaking was harsher. German, maybe? Or maybe Russian? Sometimes she had a couple of people over, Beca passed them a few times on her way out of the building. It always seemed to be the same people: a freakishly tall, dark haired guy with a super distracting jawline, a slender faced man with sandy blonde hair, and, oddly enough, her other neighbor, Stacie's girlfriend. They always looked so intimidating in their dark clothes and strict scowls, Beca never really had the want (or the balls, for that matter) to speak with them. Or look them in the eye.

So those were her options, smelly old lady, lesbian couple she'd probably interrupt having sex, or scary hot lady who might just chew her face off in a foreign language if she woke her up in the middle of the night. Not exactly a good choice among the bunch, but if she had to choose…

Beca walked up to the hot lady's door and raised her hand to knock. Oh she hoped that this wasn't going to backfire and get her ever more killed than staying in her apartment would have. Well, at least she wouldn't be possessed. Unless the hot woman was a witch or something. Did people like that even exist anymore? If they did she would totally be the one to find them.

Ugh, fuck this. She knocked hard and loud and stepped back, waiting. She held her breath just a little bit, and contemplated bolting, but that would probably be a bad idea. The woman would probably storm into the stairwells and come after anyone who did the whole ring and run thing. Or knock and run in this case. Whatever.

"Du hast besser einen guten Grund mich um drei Uhr morgens aufzuwecken," a tired voice said through the door.

Beca swallowed. Whatever had just been said didn't sound happy. Oh god. She should have just went with Mrs. Garvison and dealt with the smell of prunes.

The door opened to reveal the woman, looking a lot less intimidating than normal, dressed in an over long t-shirt and boxers with her hair falling like a golden halo around her face. Beca stared for half a second too long. Holy shit. Too hot, the woman was melting her brain looking like that.

"Was ist es?"

Beca could piece together enough to understand the woman was asking her what she was doing there. "Um, I uh, I live across the hall, and I think my apartment is haunted because stuff keeps crashing to the floor in the middle of the night, so when it happened tonight I sort of rushed out of my apartment because I was scared and now I'm locked out and the super won't be around until morning and could I maybe crash on your couch until then?" She said it all at once in a rush and took a deep breath at the end. Well, there, it was all out. Now it was just up to the woman if she was going to have mercy on her. The worst she could do was say no. At least that's what Beca told herself over and over.

The woman blinked slowly, looking at Beca with a mix of anger, amusement, and disbelief. "You think your apartment is haunted?" She asked, voice still rough with sleep.

"Uh, yeah?" Beca felt herself shrinking down even smaller than normal.

"What, tiny little mouse girl, are you afraid of everything that goes bump in the night? Afraid of a building settling?"

"It's not just a building settling! Stuff in my apartment really is crashing to the ground. And I told myself it was just things falling off because they were too close to the edge, but last night before I went to sleep I pushed everything back so it wouldn't fall down but just now there were two crashes in a row and what else could it be but a ghost?" Beca looked away, cheeks coloring. Stupid woman. She should have just slept in the hall.

"And it couldn't have been vibrations at all?" The woman cocked an eyebrow.

"Unless you've felt some tremors lately, I don't think anything would have been that strong."

"Whatever you say, tiny mouse."

Beca rolled her eyes. "Look, can I crash on your couch or not?"

The woman sighed heavily and yawned. "I suppose. Come on." She turned haphazardly and walked back into the apartment, Beca hot on her heels. Not that she was afraid to be left alone in the totally-not-haunted hallway or anything. No, not it at all.

Beca looked around the darkened space, dodging out of the way of furniture at the last second that the woman was avoiding without having to think about it. From what she would tell in the dark the space was clean, almost severely so, it didn't really look entirely lived in. It sort of clashed with what she expected since the woman had friends over all the time, but then again, since she was working all the time, maybe not? The woman was just sort of a mystery.

"Stay here, I will get you a blanket and a pillow."

"You don't have to go to all this trouble, I- I'll be okay just with the couch, you letting me stay here is more than enough and wow, your entire house smells like cinnamon, is that normal?" Beca clamped her mouth shut. What the fuck?

The woman laughed tiredly as she continued to walk away. She returned a moment later with an oversized fluffy green blanket and a black pillow. Her eyes were tired as she handed them to Beca who took them nervously.

"Thanks…" Beca muttered. Why had she suddenly been crowned Queen of Awkward?

"No problem. Sleep well, little mouse. Hopefully you left your ghost in your own apartment. Get some sleep." The woman scratched the back of her neck gently and turned back down the hall.

Beca turned quickly and called after her, "Wait!" The woman stopped. "What's your name?" she asked quieter, this time.

The blonde half turned back to face her temporary house guest. "Mina," she said softly.

"Mina," Beca repeated. "Almost as pretty as you." She clapped a hand over her mouth. Had she actually just said that!? Holy fucking shit.

The woman laughed lightly. "Thank you, liebling. What's yours?"

"Ah- er, Beca. My names Beca," the brunette mumbled, still half in shock at what she'd said to this virtual stranger.

"Beca," Mina said back. "It suits you. Good night, Beca. I'll be down the hall if you need anything. Please try not to need anything, I am quite honestly exhausted."

"Uh, right. I'm sorry for waking you up."

Mina waved it off. "It is done now and I will live." Beca thought she heard another mumbled comment along the lines of "I always do," but she couldn't really be sure.

Beca watched her walk away and frowned. She sort of wanted to do something to help, but what the fuck could she do? She was the fucking genius that locked herself out because she thought there was a ghost. Which there still probably was. But whatever, that wasn't the point right now.

She sighed and settled down on the couch. It was literally the most comfortable couch she'd ever fucking been on. Beca moaned quietly and settled down into the cushions some more. It felt like it was made out of angel feathers. Hell, her bed wasn't this comfortable. She wondered how much this thing fucking cost.

But then her eyes were closed and the apartment was blessedly silent around her with no crashing noises to be heard. She fell asleep quickly even in the strange space.

Mina blinked her eyes open for the second time that night and groaned. "Was ist das?"

There were sounds coming from the living room. Not loud sounds, but they were consistent, enough to wake her obviously. She groaned and sat up, looking at the clock. Five in the morning. She's only been asleep for another two hours. And here she promised herself the night before that she was going to catch up on sleep tonight. So much for that.

She sat up. Well, whatever was making that noise, or probably whoever was making that noise, she was going to have to go out there and put an end to it before she could get anymore sleep. She scrubbed her hands over her face. What in the world was that little mouse even doing out there?

She stood up and made her way in the dark towards the living room. Mina looked around, trying to see what the woman was doing, but she wasn't up shuffling around or anything. In fact there was still a rather large lump on the couch, moving around fitfully, that was making all the sound.

"N-no, don't," Mina heard Beca say. The rest of the sentence was lost to incoherent mumbles that she couldn't make out for the life of her.

Mina scowled. Was the tiny mouse having a bad dream? Was that what all this noise was? She walked closer and the girl did have her eyes shut.

A sob ripped itself from the girl. Mina was on her knees in front of Beca in a second.

"Beca, Beca, it's just a dream. You can wake up now and all will be fine," Mina said, voice loud and firm.

But Beca didn't stir. She kept squirming around, still in the death grip of the dream. How in the world she hadn't fallen off the couch with all the moving Mina wasn't exactly sure. Mina wondered what in the world she could be dreaming about that held onto her that hard. She reached forward and placed her hands on Beca's shoulders gently.

"Beca, wake up." She shook her gently. And yet still nothing. Beca seemed to have calmed just a little at her touch, but nothing more. She was still mumbling, still squirming around, if less pronounced.

Mina shook her harder, raising her voice. "Beca! It's a dream!"

"Not that! Just don't take the…" Beca trailed off, obviously to Mina's attempts to wake her.

Mina bit her lip. She had shaken, she had yelled. Ok. Next step was to turn on the lights and try everything again. She walked to the living room wall and flipped on the lights, squinted at the sudden shock to her eyes. They adjusted quickly and Mina walked over to Beca again.

"Tiny mouse, tiny mouse, can you hear me? It's a dream. You are fine. You're on my couch in my apartment, not wherever you are in that dream. You are safe." Mina shook Beca the entire time she was speaking, still in a loud tone that bordered on shouting but didn't quite make it.

"Leave her alone!" Beca said, thrashing harder.

Mina latched onto the woman to keep her from injuring herself. And finally at the increased bodily contact did the other woman still. Mina pulled back just a little bit to see if it was just a fluke, but Beca started right back up again, dreaming, mumbling, moving around.

She had one last recourse. Mina pulled the blanket off of Beca. The chilled air coming in contact with Beca's sleep warm skin made her shiver, but still, she wasn't waking up. Mina had to wonder if this was some sort of night terror, because it couldn't be just a regular nightmare at this point. Maybe a form of sleepwalking without the actual moving around? She didn't know. But in the movies cold water always seemed to wake anyone up. Nothing else seemed to be working, she would have to try it.

Mina slipped into the kitchen, grabbed a glass and waited for the water from the faucet to run as cold as it could before filling it. She walked back into the living room. She was going to feel awful about this when Beca woke up, but at least she would have a good reason. Asking for a silent apology, she upended the glass over Beca's chest and held her breath.

"NO! Not the water. I-I'll be good."

Mina sighed heavily. All she had succeeded in doing was making the dream worse and leaving Beca soaking wet to sleep.

She sat down on the floor in front of Beca, avoiding the water. She really should go get something to clean that up, but she was tired. Mina knew she wasn't going to get any sleep with Beca carrying on like this. And she was just so very tired. Tears pricked at her eyes. All she wanted was to sleep. But then again, that's all Beca wanted too, probably, uninterrupted, quality sleep.

An idea came to her. Beca had stilled when Mina had been pressed up against her. Maybe if she just cuddled the woman she would stop dreaming and go back to sleep. Mina sucked on her bottom lip for a second. The couch was big enough for the two of them, but now it was wet from the water, and Mina really liked her bed more.

She sighed and got up, going back to the kitchen and grabbing some paper towels. Mina cleaned up the water on the couch and floor and only hesitated for a second before she dabbed at Beca's sleep shirt. She would be more comfortable if she was drier. It was fine. She only blushed the tiniest bit.

The real blushing came next. Mina set the paper towels aside and leaned down. She scooped up the tiny woman and hefted her so she was securely in her grip. Mina walked down the hall on careful feet, making sure none of Beca's body parts hit anything. She turned off the lights carefully and then they were back in her bedroom.

She laid Beca on the unused side of the bed, moving the covers out from under the light woman before laying them over her. Mina walked around to her own side and slid in. She hoped that in the morning Beca would not completely hate her for this, but she needed sleep more than anything right now. Her hand hovered over the woman for just a second before Mina lowered it and drew Beca back against her.

The effect was immediate again. Beca stopped talking, stopped moving, her breathing evened out again, she actually seemed to be asleep now. Mina sighed and closed her eyes. Now she could get some sleep. At least two more blessed hours. Oh, it sounded so nice.

"Goodnight, tiny mouse," she mumbled before she drifted off.

Beca woke up the next morning to an alarm going off. She moaned. It wasn't time to get up yet, was it? She groaned and rolled over to slap at the alarm, but instead of coming in contact with hard plastic her hand hit something that was soft and felt kinda like skin. What the literal fuck?

She sat up quickly and looked to the side. Beca had to blink a few times to actually get a handle on things. Her German neighbor was in bed beside her. She squinted. Right, her name was Mina. She'd found that out last night when she'd fucking locked herself out of her apartment like a fucking dumbass. But she had totally fallen asleep on the couch last night. The really comfortable couch. Why in the world was she in what had to be Mina's bed? Mina's really comfortable bed.

Mina beside her, wasn't actually waking up even though the alarm was still screaming. Beca hesitated. What exactly was she supposed to do in this instance? It wasn't like she woke up in an almost stranger's bed every day or anything. Or really ever. Especially if she started out on the couch.

She groaned. Oh god what if she had sleep walked in here and just crawled right the fuck in bed? How in the world was she going to explain that? She probably would die of embarassment first. In fact if she could get on that right now it would probably be a good idea.

But of course no one reached out with a hand to smite her or anything so she was pretty much stuck in an awkward situation with the alarm blaring in a person who was basically a stranger's bed. Figures the gods wouldn't smite her on command or anything. Selfish assholes.

Beca reached out and touched Mina's shoulder. "Um, Mina, you're alarm has been going off for a while. You should probably get up," she said, but not very loud.

Mina just shrugged off Beca's hand and rolled over. Okay then. "Mina!" she yelled.

That had Mina bolting upright, looking around the room like she expected something to be on fire. Her eyes landed on Beca and Beca could swear Mina was blushing just a bit.

"Oh, uh, good morning tiny mouse," she said after a few seconds pause. "Glad to see you can actually wake up."

Beca tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

Mina suddenly looked guilty. "You were having a nightmare last night, but when I went to try to wake you up, you stayed asleep no matter what I did. I tried yelling and shaking, taking your blankets, turning on the lights." Her blush deepened. "I may have even tried to pour water over you, but you stayed asleep."

"Um, yeah, sorry that happens sometimes. I sleepwalk and the only thing that will pull me out of it is really intense pain or if I just wake up on my own. Sometimes it's sort of sleepwalking without the walking part, but that's like the closest thing that defines it since I won't wake up." Beca rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry, I would have told you, but I figured it wouldn't be an issue. It doesn't happen often now that I'm older."

"It's okay. I was just worried. The only way you would quiet down was when I was touching you."

Beca scrunched her face. "Huh, weird, usually that makes it worse, not better."

Mina shrugged. "I don't know, but it was the only thing that helped and the couch was a bit small for the two of us, so I brought you in here. I hope you don't mind."

Beca looked away and it was her turn to blush. "Yeah, no, it's fine. I honestly thought I slept walked in here and was mortified. Glad to know that I wasn't like a super creep or anything." Because her ending up in a beautiful woman's bed in the middle of the night, well that totally wasn't out of the realm of possibility. Her subconscious had done weirder things while she was still asleep.

"No, you weren't at fault." Mina finally reached over and turned off her alarm, suddenly looking more tired than she had the night before. "The Super will probably be in now if you want to go ask to be let in to your apartment and assess the damage left by your ghost."

A disturbingly large part of Beca wanted to stay in bed with this woman. But how could she justify that? 'Oh, I locked myself out of my legs. Guess I have to stay here in your super comfy bed with your hella gorgeous ass all day.' Yeah, she didn't see that going over well.

"Right." She started to push herself up and out of bed. "Thanks for letting me stay over last night. I don't know what I would have done if you'd have said no."

"Oh, I'm sure Aren would have taken you in if you would have knocked on her door. She is a tough one, but she does have a soft heart."

Beca stood awkwardly off to the side of the bed, not really wanting to go just yet. "You guys are friends, right? I see people coming and going out of your apartment sometimes, the scary dude with the jawline that could cut glass and the other blonde dude, and Aren you said?"

"Yes, we are all friends from college and now work. We founded a record label together off of the success of one of our college exploits."

Beca lit up. "A record company, really? I'm actually a music producer."

Mina looked at her with much more interest. "Really? I would have never pegged you for the type. Not once have you complained about lack of inspiration the entire time you've been here nor have you missed a deadline."

"Heh, I mean I have missed a deadline before, but only by a day or two." She looked a little sheepish. "Got too caught up in wanting to get it just right. My boss liked it a lot so it wasn't all bad. What record label do you run?"

Mina got out of bed and shuffled over to a briefcase. She popped it open and withdrew a small card. She walked over and handed it to Beca.

"Mina Stauss, CEO of Das Sound Machine Records," the card read with a phone number listed at the bottom. Holy shit, CEO, no wonder she worked crazy fucking hours. And she'd heard of DSM records. They were up and coming still, but they'd managed to land some crazy good people and she didn't think they'd be up and coming for much longer. They were going to make themselves an industry standard.

Beca glanced up at Mina. And it was because of the woman in front of her. Well, mostly anyway.

"Wow, I've heard of you guys. Wait, were you guys also DSM the a capella group?"

"You heard of us?" Mina cocked a curious eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah, I was sort of a member of an a capella group too back in college. My group thought about competing in the World competition but we didn't end up following through." She shrugged. "We looked up all of the competition. You guys were good. Better than good actually."

Mina smiled. Oh, that smile. "Danke. We took the success of winning worlds consecutively and we turned it into this." She gestured at the card. "It was an interesting road, but we're doing well." She looked back at the clock. "And speaking of work, I must get ready. I didn't have to be in early today, thank god, but I'll still be pushing it."

Beca jumped just a bit. Right, work, real world things that weren't gorgeous women standing right in front of her. Right.

"Yeah, sorry, I'll get out of your hair. Thanks again."

"Bitte, little mouse. I'll show you out."

Mina walked her to the door. "I'll see you around," she said. "Try not to get locked out by a ghost anymore, ja?"

"Heh, I'll try? See you."

Mina smiled one last time before shutting the door. Beca looked at it for a long time, wondering what in the hell had just happened to her before she managed to shift her ass and make her way down to the super's office.

A week later Beca unlocked her apartment door and stepped through. She tossed the keys in the bowl, plopped most of her stuff by the door and wedged something in the doorway. She was going to kill whoever thought it was a good idea to send her home with so much mixing equipment to test out for the company. It was a bitch to carry and she really had no idea how any of this was better than what they already had. She'd looked up the specs and they would be better to wait a generation or two more before investing more money in equipment. Fucking grunt work.

She brought the second to last load in and went out for the last load when she heard a decisive click behind her. No way. Not twice in like a week. No fucking way. Even she didn't have that bad of luck. But then she turned around and there her door was, locked tight. Son of a bitch she could kill something.

Beca stared at the mixing equipment like she was going to kill it. In fact, that seemed like a great idea, really. She slumped down and sat on the hallway floor. It was after hours. The Super wouldn't be in. Hell, it was almost eight at night. Most sane people were home already.

"Tiny mouse?" A familiar voice asked.

Beca's head shot up. Great, of course Mina would find her in the hall of all people. Then again, she was probably the only other human who actually worked this late.

"Uh, hi," she said, waving lamely. "How are you?"

A look of pure exhaustion crossed her face but it passed in an instant. "I'm good. We signed another artist today, a well known one in the alternative world. He fits in well with the line up we have now, but he broadens our scope just a bit. Everyone is happy." She smiled and it was genuine, but Beca couldn't get the tired look she had just seen out of her mind.

"That's great." She gestured to the mixing equipment beside her. "I got elected to be the lucky one to try all this out." She rolled her eyes. "Give it to the small woman to carry, makes total sense right?"

Mina bent down to look at it. "Oh, the 380PLZ, I looked at the specs and wasn't impressed. Their last two generations are almost the same and for a much lower price."

"Right?" She scrubbed her hands through her hair. "I tried to tell them that but no I had to try it out just to make sure."

"Your instincts are right." She stood up again. "But why are you sitting out in the hall with it?"

Beca thumped her head against the wall behind her. "Uh, this was the second load I had to leave out in the hallway. I had something wedged in the door to keep it open, but when I came out the second time it slipped out and now I'm sort of locked out again. The sitting part was me just accepting defeat."

"This happens to you an awful lot, mouse."

Beca laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, it didn't used to, but then I moved out here and I seemed to lose all sense of actually knowing how to be a functioning human being."

"I understand that feeling entirely." She walked to her own door. "Come on, you can stay on my couch again tonight since the super is gone for the night."

She shot up and grabbed the rest of the mixing stuff from the floor. "You're a literal goddess, you know that right?"

Mina laughed. "Well, that is a new one, I will admit. Most things I am called are rather...unflattering."

Beca walked into the apartment and the door closed behind her. "What do you mean? I can't imagine anyone calling you anything other than stunningly gorgeous." She felt the blood rush to her face. Right two compliments in less than a minute. She really needed to tone the fuck down.

"If it tells you anything, one of my childhood nicknames was Kommissar, it means commander, and I got it for a reason. Actually, in DSM it was my stage name because it suited the persona I was going for. I am… not exactly a warm and fluffy person. I am driven and I know what I want and will do anything to get it. Most people do not like that, at least not from a woman, and so the less than complimentary things aimed my way."

"Well that's just dumb." Smart, Beca, smart, rousing commentary, she thought to herself. "You should be applauded that you're willing to work so hard for what you and your label need." That was a little better at least.

"So you would think." She walked into the kitchen. "Set your stuff down on the coffee table if you wish," she said over her shoulder.

Beca did exactly that and followed Mina into the kitchen. Mina turned to her, fridge open, a scowl on her face.

"Are you hungry? I don't really have much, but I'm sure I could figure out something."

"Uh, I mean, I was just going to order pizza. I'm sort of in the same situation food-wise." She pulled out her wallet. "At least this time I got locked out with money. My treat since you're lending me your couch again for the night."

Mina looked relieved. "That sounds like a wonderful idea."

"Great, you have any place in particular you like? I'm not super picky as long as they've got sausage and pineapple."

Mina's face shifted into a completely horrified expression. "Pineapple? On pizza?"

"Why does everyone I tell that to think that's weird. Yes, pineapple. On pizza. Sometimes I even dip it in ranch if I'm feeling super adventurous." Beca fought the urge to roll her eyes and cross her arms in front of her chest.

She turned away from Beca and rustled around in a drawer that looked like it contained mostly junk. She was glad to know that even perfect goddesses had junk drawers in their kitchen. It made her seem just the slightest bit more accessible.

"You're on your own as far as seeing if they have pineapple. I want green pepper and mushrooms, please."

"No meat?"

She shook her head. "Vegetarian."

"Oh, okay cool. You okay with the whole me getting sausage thing?"

Mina waved it off. "I can pick it off if it somehow winds up on my piece. I will live."

"Sweet." She looked over the menu and sure enough pineapple was on there. She smiled and dialed the number. Beca hated, hated calling in orders on the phone, but whatever. She would do it for pizza.

When she got off the phone she looked over at Mina. "Thirty minutes, give or take."

Mina nodded and walked over to the kitchen table and sank down. "Good, good." She slumped forward until her arms were folded on the table top and her chin was resting on top of them. "Make yourself at home since for the night it is your home."

Beca shuffled her feet and looked away from the other woman. "Yeah, sorry about that. Again. I really need to hide a spare key somewhere in the hallway or something. Under the ficus in the corner of the hall, maybe behind one of the vents, whatever as long as I actually had a way to get back in."

"There's already at least one key under that ficus. Stacie often forgets her keys and Aren put it there for her. It's a horrible idea, really. A person can break in so easily, but I suppose whatever is best for you."

Beca thought as long as Mina kept taking her in when she got locked out, she would be fine with not doing anything at all to stop herself from being shut out. But she shouldn't like just foist herself on the other woman. That would be rude and she already looked so stressed and tired. She didn't want to add to that.

"Just an idea. I'll figure it out. I would say keep another set in my car, but my car keys are on the same ring as the apartment key so I'd be locked out of both anyway. It's not like I'm tall enough to put it on top of the door frame or anything. You on the other hand, totally would be."

Mina laughed at that. "Yes, I suppose I would be. But I haven't had a problem with locking myself out yet, and I've lived here for a year and a half now."

"Yeah, well." Beca stuck out her tongue. "You only wish you had this much talent."

"If the talent is locking myself out, then no, I do not want it."

Beca feigned offense and Mina laughed. Goodness, how could one laugh make her melt that much?

"Fine, I'll just keep all of it then. All this great skill." Beca shook her head and made her way over to the table and sat down opposite of Mina. "Because you're right, it's sort of a terrible talent to have. But at least you're awesome and let me crash here, so it isn't all bad."

"Well I'm glad to be your cloud's silver lining." She yawned widely and pushed herself up. "I hope you don't mind, mouse, but I have some things left to do tonight. Feel free to watch TV in the living room. I will hopefully be done before the pizza gets here, but who knows." She made an almost shrug like gesture with her hands. "Like I said, make yourself at home."

"Thanks, I will."

Mina walked out of the room and back further into the apartment, judging by the sound of her footsteps. Beca sat at the kitchen table for another minute longer before venturing out to the living room again. At least she would be closer to the door when the pizza got there. She wasn't really in the mood for TV. Mostly she was in the mood to dick around on her computer, but since that was sitting in her hallway, she was a little bit out of luck. Instead, she settled for actually looking around Mina's apartment in the light.

It was still sparse, but now it looked a little more lived in. Everything was modern feeling, black and white mostly, with a splash of deep blue here and there to liven the place up. There were a few knickknacks here and there that went well with the rest of the decor and a couple of books scattered around. Beca picked one of them up, but it was in German so all she really got out of it was part of the title read 'the girl.' Maybe she should brush up on her German if she was going to be around Mina more. And she definitely hoped she was going to be around Mina more.

She wandered back into the kitchen and snooped around quietly. The appliances were all stainless steel and the countertops granite, echoing the sleek modern look of the living room. There was bit of dust on the stove top. So Mina didn't cook often, but then again with the hours she pulled, Beca wouldn't want to cook either. The microwave was free of any dust, though. She wondered what the odds were that if she pulled open the freezer that there would be a mound of frozen meals. And for some reason that thought made her want to start coming over and making Mina an actual dinner once in a while. Hell, if she kept getting locked out she would.

The buzzer rang just as Beca was walking back into the living room. Pizza, yes, oh god she was starving. She buzzed the pizza guy up and paid for everything before walking back into the kitchen. She put the pizza down on the table before turning back and shuffling around for a minute. Did she go get Mina or did she let her come out on her own time?

Well, the worst Mina could do would be to tell her to eat without her so she might as well just go. She walked along the back hallway of the apartment. She knocked on the door that was the guest bedroom in her own apartment, figuring that that was probably where Mina would make an office. A second later Mina's voice came through the door, telling her that her guess was right.

"Mouse?"

Beca opened the door and peeked her head in. "Hey, pizza's here if you want it while it's hot."

Mina looked down at the computer on her desk, little apple glowing on the back of the screen, lighting up the rest of the desk that the desk lamp didn't manage to hit. "Give me five minutes and I'll be there. I have to finish up this email and then I believe I really am done for the night. There should be beer in the fridge if you want, otherwise I think there's just water."

"Beer and pizza are a match made in heaven. I'll see you in a couple minutes then." Beca slipped the door shut and then walked back to the kitchen. She grabbed plates from the cabinet she'd found them in while snooping and grabbed herself out two pieces of pizza. It felt a little rude to eat while her host wasn't there, but she was starving. She munched on the first slice as she dug around in the fridge pulling out two beers and uncapping them with ease. College had taught her something after all.

She sat down again and took a pull on the beer, and holy fuck balls Batman, it was good. She looked at the label and it was in German. Figures.

Mina appeared a few minutes later, smiling at the uncapped beer on her side of the table. She grabbed it up and took a long drink from it. She set it down again and took a deep breath.

"Long day?"

Mina nodded. "Yes. I enjoy what we do, greatly, you understand, but sometimes I wish there was… more. I get so caught up in everything, though, that I often forget. We're doing well enough now that I don't need to pull these kinds of hours, but I am a perfectionist. And even as I realize it, I haven't been able to do much about it." She looked away, cheeks coloring. "But that wasn't what you asked. I apologize."

"No, dude, it's completely fine." In fact being confided in by Mina was just fucking great honestly. "I was like that before college, kept to myself a lot but wanted more while being a bitter little shit about it. I had a group of friends that pulled me completely out of that, kicking and screaming almost, but I love those nerds more than anything for it. They still tell me when I'm being too much work, in the shell whatever." She shrugged.

Mina hummed, taking a bite of her pizza. She chewed and swallowed before she answered. "All of my friends work at our record company. We go out and have fun and all, but I am the CEO, they expect me to get things done and I don't think they quite realize how much that takes." She tilted her head. "They are still wonderful friends and if I told them that I would like more time they would take on a few other things so I could, but…"

"You don't want to ask."

She nodded. "Perhaps it's the Kommissar in me, but yes, I don't want to ask, at least not without a solid reason."

"I get that. Maybe you'll find a reason soon." If that reason was her, well, she wouldn't complain. But why the hell would it be her? She was just the dumbass neighbor who locked herself out every fucking week. Why would anyone take time off of work for her?

"I hope."

They ate the rest of their pizza in silence, but it wasn't awkward. It was the comfortable silence that only seemed to blossom between close friends, but they weren't close friends. Though if they became close friends that wasn't going to be a reality that Beca was against either.

"Would you like to shower tonight?" Mina asked her as they were putting the leftovers in the fridge and the dishes in the dishwasher. Beca's head snapped up as thoughts of showering with the German goddess filled her consciousness. Wait, no, Beca, calm down. She didn't mean it like that. The Bella forced herself to reign in her thirteen year old boy imagination and answer the question.

"Uh, yeah, if I could. Do you have an pjs I could borrow? Last time I came fully equipped, but this time I'm sort of not. Though anything you give me is going to be huge because you're tall and have gorgeous legs for days." Oh and the accidental compliments are back.

Mina laughed. "Yes, I do have somethings you can borrow, though, yes, I believe that they will be a bit big on your, especially the shirt. And thank you, my mother was very tall, I guess I got that from her. Would you like to shower now or later?"

Beca frowned. It was like ten almost and by the time she got out of the shower and got everything done it would be like at least ten thirty if not going towards eleven and she had to up at a god awful time again to get the super before she went into work.

"Now would be cool. I'll try to make it super duper quick, though like, I make no explicit promises." She pulled at the ends of her hair. "This takes literally forever to deal with."

"Well your efforts show. Your hair looks wonderful."

Holy shit, Mina had just complimented her. Was she sure that it was actually real?

"Come along, I'll show you where everything is."

Mina led Beca back into her room again and into the nicest bathroom that Beca had ever been in. How the fuck was this the mirror image of her apartment again?

"Jesus, this is really nice." She looked around again in awe. "This has to be bigger than mine. How in the world is that possible?"

"The building moves outward just a little bit from your apartment and they used all the extra space for the bathroom. It turned out rather nice, don't you think?"

"Uh, yeah, definitely." She could probably fit like fifteen people into the walk in shower if she wanted to and the people were comfortable getting up close and personal with each other. And then there was a tub over in the corner too. Wow.

Mina pulled open a drawer. "There are extra toothbrushes in here, towels are under the sink, everything else you need should be in the shower and if you'll wait one second I'll have those pjs for you."

Beca nodded and a second later Mina walked from the room only to return holding a worn black t-shirt with the beginnings of a white logo peeking out and a pair of plaid boxers. She took the pile of clothes with a smile. "Thanks."

"You are welcome. Just yell if you need anything else."

Oh there were a whole hell of a lot of things she needed from this woman, but most of them were totally inappropriate so she just kept her mouth shut.

"I will."

Beca watched at Mina walked back out of the bathroom once more, shutting the door behind her. Oh god, how was she supposed to stand this exactly, being naked in the same space that Mina regularly was regularly naked in. Her brain was going to go straight to the gutter and would refuse to come out. She swallowed hard and started to unbutton her top. It was going to be a long night.

Mina blinked awake sometime in the middle of the night. Something wasn't right. She rubbed her hands over her eyes, attempting to wake up a little more before she sat up. The tiny mouse was in her living room again. They both had showered and then talked for a few minutes before saying their goodnights. Had hearing Beca having another bad dream woken her again?

She listened hard but she didn't hear enough sound for that to be the case. There was noise though, quiet, but still noise. She sat up just as her door opened. Mina focused, squinting a bit since she didn't have her contacts in anymore. But it was just the tiny mouse, no one to worry about and so she relaxed once more.

"Beca? Did you need something?" Mina asked.

Beca didn't respond, she just walked in slowly, eyes only half open, looking rather stoned, really. Something wasn't right with her.

"Are you sleepwalking, mouse?" Mina asked. She knew she wouldn't get an actual answer if the woman was but it was still worth a shot.

Beca mumbled quietly, something that Mina wasn't sure was actual words. She kept walking until she hit the edge of Mina's bed. Then, she peeled back the covers on the opposite side and crawled in easily, laying down and tugging the covers back up around her before promptly going straight to sleep once more.

Mina just sat there in her own bed stunned. The other woman had just sleepwalked her way into Mina's bed. How many people in the world could ever say that a beautiful woman had done that? Not many, if anyone at all.

Except now she had no idea what to do. She had had no real choice when Beca had been having those nightmares but to calm her the only way she could, but now she could probably wake Beca up and tell her she had sleepwalked in and that would be that. Except… she didn't want to do that, really. That was probably the better thing to do, and perhaps the more noble thing, but, no. It wasn't what she was going to do this time.

Mina laid back down and sighed. She was tired, and if worse came to worse in the morning she could just pretend that she hadn't woken up at all during the night when Beca had come in and Beca wouldn't know any better that she had willingly let her stay here.

Her eyes slipped closed and she relaxed easily. It had been a great while since she had trusted another person to sleep in her bed, the last incident with Beca notwithstanding. It felt… nice to do so again. There was something about Beca that she couldn't put her finger on, but it was good.

And so when Beca turned over and cuddled her way into Mina's side, she didn't fight against it. She just slipped quietly back to sleep until morning.

Beca woke up the next morning warm, so very warm, and surrounded by the scent of… cinnamon? She opened her eyes to find herself face to, well, boob with Mina's chest. She froze for a long second. Um, this was definitely not where she had fallen asleep. What the literal fuck. Had she had another nightmare?

Mina shifted under her and Beca became very, very aware that her legs were wrapped up with Mina's and one of her thighs was pressing against dangerous territory. The other woman made a sleepy noise that sounded too like a moan for Beca's comfort. Oh god, how was she going to get out of this?

And then the alarm made sure she wasn't going to get out of anything in one piece. Shit.

Mina stirred and shifted, turning off the alarm, but not yet opening her eyes. Beca was frozen, unsure of what the fuck to do because if she moved then Mina would notice her and the awkward situation they were in. But if she didn't move, Mina would eventually notice her and the awkward situation they were in. It was a catch fucking 22. What exactly was one supposed to do in these situations again?

"Little mouse?" Mina asked, her voice thick. Oh, it was equal parts adorable and sexy and Beca wasn't sure she could handle it. "Are you awake?"

"Um? Can I plead the fifth to that?"

"The fifth what?" Mina opened her eyes, a sleep clouded blue this early in the morning, and looked at Beca.

"Uh, the fifth amendment to the constitution. It basically says that you don't have to incriminate yourself, but if you're pleading the fifth then you're kind of admitting to it anyway." Just another catch-22 like the one she was in.

"Oh, I see. And how is being awake incriminating in this case?"

"Can I get back to you on that?"

"I suppose." Mina patted Beca's arm, indicating she wanted up. Beca pulled herself out of their tangled embrace as quickly as was polite. How was Mina being so calm about this? Was waking up to strange-ish women in her bed a casual thing for her? Probably, looking as good as she did, it wouldn't be a surprise.

"Uh, sorry," she said, blushing as red as Chloe's hair in college. "Did I have another bad dream and wake you up?"

Mina shook her head, yawning and stretching, and Beca's mouth went fucking bone dry. "Nein, I think you sleepwalked in here because when I went to sleep you obviously were not here but when I woke up in the middle of the night you were."

"Oh, um, I'm sorry about that." Beca began to fidget with the hem of her borrowed t-shirt. She read the letters again for the millionth time, still upside down, still faded white. DSM. Mina had given her one of her old DSM shirts. Of course she had.

"Don't be, I honestly don't mind the company. And you're so small, you barely take up any space." Mina smiled.

"I'm not that small!"

"Most women would take that as a compliment." Mina laughed.

"Obviously you've never been short a day in your life or you would know differently. Short people are very, very bitter about their height."

"And you're one of those bitter people, mouse?"

"A little bit, yeah. I can't reach tall shelves and I have to climb on counters like a five year old to get to anything."

"Well, if I am around, I will reach the high shelves for you." She reached out and tapped Beca on the nose before getting out of bed. Why that innocent little action gave the Bella butterflies, she would never understand. "I simultaneously want to go to work and do not want to go to work this morning. Lazing in bed sounds excellent."

Lazing around in bed with Mina sounded like a fucking wonderful day, too bad that wasn't actually going to be a thing. "Yeah, it does," Beca said and was a tiny bit mortified that she sounded wistful. Hopefully Mina didn't read anything into that other than her wanting some more sleep.

"Ah, but work." Mina walked into her closet with an exasperated sigh. "You can use the bathroom to change into your clothes again. The hamper is right there for your pjs."

"Okay, thanks." Beca smiled at her as she disappeared behind clothing. She got out of bed, hating that she had to leave the smell of cinnamon and warmth, but knowing she had to. She walked into the bathroom and changed quickly, looking herself over in the mirror. Not bad for having locked herself out for the second time in a week and wearing yesterday's clothes.

She stepped out of the room again and placed the pjs in the hamper. She turned around and looked into the closet. Oh shit, she had totally just seen a flash of skin, upper body skin. She blushed and turned away. She wasn't some sort of creep that watched people change. Mina was nice to her, she couldn't fucking ruin it by being a fourteen year old boy with impulse control issues.

Mina padded out of the closet a minute later, wearing her normal professional getup. God, today was a tight grey pencil skirt and matching blazer that both looked like a hot librarian would be wearing it, and like Mina was about to take over the damn world and make everyone her bitch. She totally wanted to be one of those bitches.

She shook herself. "Uh, yeah, thanks again for letting me stay. It really is nice of you to take pity on my dumb self."

"No problem." Mina walked towards her until she was just a few inches from Beca. She reached out and squeezed Beca's shoulder. "Thank you for the pizza, even if you do put pineapple on it."

"Still say you have to try it before you knock it." She stuck out her tongue.

"Maybe, but probably not."

Beca smiled and shuffled her feet a bit. "Well, I'll get out of your hair. Hopefully I manage to make it more than a week without locking myself out."

A sad look crossed Mina's face for just fleeting second. "Yes, well, hopefully, but with your luck who knows."

"You have a point there." She laughed and knew she should leave, but she just didn't want to yet. She stood there for a few awkward seconds. "I'll see you in the hallway then, yeah?"

"Ja, you will."

"Awesome. Have a good day at work."

"And you as well."

Beca smiled once more before walking down the hall of Mina's apartment, grabbing the last of her stuff, and then making her way once more to the super's office. Maybe her luck not holding out wouldn't be a bad thing.

Beca tapped her fingers on her leg. It was one in the morning. She couldn't sleep. All she could think of was Mina. It had been a week and a half. Only a week and a half, and yet she felt like she was a junkie going through withdrawal. What the hell was she even going to do? It wasn't like she could just knock on Mina's door at one AM and ask to fucking come in.

Or could she?

She shook herself. No, she couldn't do that. That was just weird and stupid and honestly quite inconsiderate.

And she was totally considering it. What the fuck was wrong with her?

She got up from her bed and walked towards her bedroom door. She wasn't doing this. She wasn't doing this.

She walked out in the hallway. And then into the living room. And finally she was staring at the apartment door, socked feet shuffling on the carpet. She couldn't do it. What would her excuse be? It wasn't like she could run out again and claim there was a ghost. Ever since she'd like truly bolted everything down she hadn't had a problem. Mina had been right. It had been vibrations, but from what she still wasn't sure and it really didn't matter as long as she could get some sleep.

But Mina didn't know that she'd gotten rid of the ghost. Or not really gotten rid of it, but that was the point. She could go out and claim ghost. She would look like an idiot. A total idiot.

Her hand reached out for the door knob without her permission. She turned it slowly, willing herself to back out, trying to convince herself that this was a horrible idea, that Mina was already tired enough without Beca interrupting her sleep, that she had important things to do, that it would be better for the both of them if she could just get ahold of herself.

Then she was stepping out into the hallway and the door was closing behind her and it latched before her reflexes kicked in to make it stop. Wow, that was a loud slam. And she was truly locked out again, no matter what she thought. Fuck man, she was an idiot, a stupid, stupid, idiot. She shrieked a little internally. Well, now that she was here.

She tried to make herself look scared. Not that she really knew how to do that, but she had to try because she wasn't exactly going to tell Mina 'hey I walked out of my apartment like a jackass and locked myself out because I just wanted to see you.' Yeah, no that would not go over well. She'd seem like some sort of fucking stalker. Which she wasn't. It wasn't like her walls were covered in pictures of Mina or anything. Yet, probably.

Mina was probably going to hate her. Beca wouldn't blame her for it either. Ugh, she was so dumb she could just slap herself, maybe hit her head off the wall a few times for good measure. Because honestly Mina hating her was a terrifying thought. Before she had time to accomplish any of the above, Mina's door was opening in front of her.

"Mouse? What are you doing? It's one in the morning." Mina looked as awake as Beca felt. Which was a far cry from the way the blonde usually looked, to tell the truth. No matter how perfect she always appeared, there was still always that underlying look of tiredness in her eyes.

"Uh, yeah, I mean I could ask you the same thing. What are you doing up? Isn't it past time for pretty people to be asleep?" She flinched internally. Great, compliment the woman that was going to kill her in the next five minutes.

"I was working on something and lost track of time. Are you locked out again?" Mina looked hopeful? Was that what Beca was reading on her face? No, it couldn't be right. "You look spooked. Was it your ghost again?"

Thank the lord above, she had provided Beca with an out. "Uh, yeah it was and yeah, I sort of am?" She looked away bashfully.

"Come in then," Mina said without missing a beat. She smiled brightly, opening the door wider so Beca could pass by.

"I think I should just leave a key with you as much as I get locked out and you always seem to be the one taking me in."

"I truly do not mind." She looked Beca over again as they both made their way into Mina's apartment. "Would you like some hot chocolate to soothe your nerves? I don't want you to have a nightmare again."

"Oh, uh, sure, thanks." Why in the world was she being so nice to her? She kept like crashing her party so to speak and Mina just went with it. More than went with it, she ran with it. Maybe she was just one of those super nice people.

They walked into the kitchen and Mina poured milk into a sauce pan. Beca was totally expecting just the Swiss Miss stuff you dumped in hot water, but Mina was going all out.

"Do you like whipped cream on your hot chocolate?" Mina turned around and smiled at Beca.

"Uh, yeah, that would be great." She'd like whipped cream on Mina, but that was still not appropriate. Why exactly were all her thoughts around this woman not safe for work? Right, because she was basically a stalker pervert.

"Could you grab it out of the fridge for me?" She mixed in some chocolate shavings into the milk and stirred everything evenly.

"Sure." Beca walked over and grabbed the can of Ready Whip and walked back to Mina.

"And mugs are in that cabinet over there." Mina gestured with her chin towards the cabinet in the corner.

Beca was glad she had done that first because she still remembered where the mugs were from her impromptu snoop session last time she was here and she didn't want to seem like a creep. Not that she wasn't a creep at this point, but being one and actually being known as one were two different things.

She grabbed down two mugs and a second later Mina poured the hot chocolate into them. Beca uncapped the whipped cream and sprayed two healthy doses on top of each mug and Mina smiled again.

"Thank you very much. You really know how to put whipped cream on a drink."

Beca laughed. "Yeah, lots of practice. I sort of live off of whipped cream sometimes." She shrugged.

"Come, let's sit. You have to be tired."

No she was wide fucking awake, but that wasn't something that Mina needed to know. They both sat down and sipped at their cocoa for a bit.

"So what were you working on?" Beca asked.

"Oh, I was just going over a contract for another new artist. They took the one we gave them and butchered it to something that doesn't even approach something we could sign. I was seeing if there was anything salvageable, but when there wasn't I sent an email to their manager and let them know what could work if it was rewritten and what was right out." She shrugged. "Nothing so exciting as being chased out of my apartment by a ghost yet again," Mina teased.

"Oh, hush, you would get scared too if you were in your apartment and things just suddenly dropped to the floor."

"A pretty girl like you shouldn't be scared."

Beca felt herself blushing. "Stop, I am not." God, she was nice and complimentary. How in the world would a woman like this ever be interested in her? Mina was too good for her.

"You are, like a… sunset, or something like that." The German smiled a little awkwardly, hiding it quickly behind her hot chocolate.

Beca thought she was so cute that she had to take a sip of her drink in order to stop herself from 'aw-ing' out loud. "If anyone around here is a sunset, it's you. Everyone in the world just wants to look at you every day and enjoy the beauty." She should just give up even trying to reign that in, jeez.

Mina blushed bright pink. She laughed and looked away. "Danke, little mouse. Your compliments always make me so happy. And you are clearly much better at them than I am."

"Yeah, well, it's easy when the person I'm complimenting looks the way you do." Beca chuckled nervously. If Mina's blush had been bright pink before, it was beet red now. Oh, the cuteness scale was breaking. And that blush was definitely something she could see herself getting used to.

Mina cleared her throat. "Thank you…" She looked away, clearly not knowing what to say next. "But you are the most beautiful person I've ever seen."

And now it was Beca's turn to blush redder than a tomato. "I don't think so. I mean, I'm not bad looking, don't get me wrong, but most beautiful you've ever seen, I doubt it. I mean, you're German, there have to be better looking tall, god like people there."

"Agree to disagree?" Mina bit her lip and looked up at Beca.

"Fair enough."

There was a sound of a key in the door. Beca's head shot up and she looked over at Mina questioningly. "Someone else have a key to your place?"

"Pieter and Aren do." Her eyes had narrowed and her posture had stiffened. The smiley, soft Mina from a minute ago was go and she was all business now. "Though unless they are dying I cannot imagine what they would need to use it for at this time of night."

"Uh, well, I hope they aren't dying."

Mina got up from the table, leaving her half finished mug of cocoa on the table. Beca followed, bringing hers with her, because damn, Mina might not cook a lot, but it was wonderful chocolatey goodness and she wasn't about to let it get cold.

The other woman stopped in the doorway and let out a slow breath. It reminded Beca of a bull letting out a snort before charging. Mina crossed her arms and looked out at the gloom of the living room.

One of the lesbians from down the hall, Aren, Beca guessed was loudly 'tip toeing' through the living room, obviously completely drunk, with a huge smile on her face, muffling giggles behind her hand. Mina reached out and flipped the light.

"Hello, Aren, what brings you here?"

Aren jumped about three feet in the air and fell right on her ass. "Oh, hey, Mina," she said once she had recovered from her drunken tumble, obviously too far gone to feel much pain. "Um, what are you doing up?" She spotted Beca. "Hey! You're our neighbor. You're hot, do you know that?"

Mina stepped forward slowly. "You haven't answered my question, Aren. What are you doing here in this… state?"

Beca felt like there was a snake about to strike. Mina's movements had become silky, dangerous, and hell if she wasn't turned on as fuck right now.

"I might have run out of alcohol and came to steal the rest of yours? But I was going to be quiet so I didn't wake you up and I was totally going to pay you back with more booze later, you know. And did you know that you're so pretty? I didn't even know they made people as pretty as you."

Beca felt a little spike of jealousy go through her. Oh no, Mina was hers.

Except she wasn't, but like. She was. It didn't have to make sense.

"Aren, how many times do I have to tell you that hitting on me will not gain you anything?" She bent down and took Aren's chin in her fingers. "And I do not believe that Stacie would appreciate you hitting on me."

"Oh no, she's fine with it. You're a nice piece of ass. We actually talk about you a lot. How hot you are and stuff. I think you might be on the list of people we'd consider a threesome with, but I'd have to check to make sure. I can't remember right now."

"Hmm, I wonder why?" She bent closer to Aren. "Ararinda, I'm giving you to the count of ten to get out of my apartment before you meet the Kommissar of old, do you understand? I gave you that key for emergencies and you used it for booze and interrupted me and my guest. I do not appreciate this." She stepped back and let go of Aren's face. "But I will forgive this transgression, if you leave. Right. Now."

Aren swallowed hard and the next second she was scrambling out the door, babbling out apologies in the mix of English and German and what sounded like maybe Korean. A second later the door was closing behind her and Mina was walking over to it and locking it. After the deadbolt slid into place she relaxed visibly.

"Well, that was intense." Beca brought the cup of cocoa up to her mouth and took a large swallow, but that didn't really help soothe any of the roiling feelings inside of her.

Mina turned to her. "I'm so sorry about that. Sometimes Aren has trouble with boundaries. Especially when drunk. Also the giggles."

Beca snorted and then suddenly she was laughing, deep body shaking laughs. "Oh my god," she gasped out. "I can't even tell you why that was funny, it just was."

Mina smiled and then a laugh escaped her mouth, and she was laughing right along with Beca until they were both holding their sides and groaning about sore muscles. They made their way back into the kitchen with their now lukewarm drinks and finished the rest of them. Beca helped Mina wash out the mugs and sauce pan and then they both padded back into the living room.

"That was one of my more exciting nights," Beca said flopping down on the couch. She yawned. Now that she was in Mina's apartment with a warm drink in her stomach she was tired as fuck.

"I wish I could say the same." Mina shook her head and yawned as well. "But now it is very late. We should sleep."

Beca nodded. "Just give me a pillow and blanket and I will be out, dude." She sprawled out on the couch and sighed.

Mina looked at her for a long moment. "Perhaps we could save time and just have you sleep in my bed instead of you walking around like a cat burglar in the middle of the night."

Beca blinked, suddenly a little more awake. Um, starting out the night in Mina's bed. Consciously? Uh, she probably would die of a heart attack or something.

"I mean, I probably won't sleepwalk. I'm more used to your apartment now and everything. Maybe it was just the new environment that set me off." Except if that was true she'd be sleep walking around her rather new apartment every second of the night, but that was beside the point right now.

"And if you do? You'll just end up in my bed, or worse, you will end up hurt because you tripped over something. I do not want that to happen." She bent down and cupped Beca's face and it was a completely different kind of caress from the one she'd used on Aren a few minutes earlier, tender instead of dangerous, cautious instead of demanding. "Your face is too pretty for something to injure it."

Beca should say no and she knew it. Because it was like her biggest dirty fantasy to end up in bed with Mina. Well, under completely different circumstances, but like, it was halfway there and that would be enough to get her going.

But instead of saying no again, her mouth had its own idea. "Okay, fine, but only because it will make you rest easier." She stood up from the couch. Traitorous body. Traitorous mouth. Stupid Beca.

They both walked into Mina's room. Beca hesitantly went over to the side she'd been waking up on, figuring it had to be the one Mina didn't want. She pulled back the covers and slipped in.

She almost lost it when she looked up and Mina had her back turned to Beca, but she definitely had no fucking shirt on and holy god her back looked like it was carved from marble. Beca wanted to reach out and touch the other woman just to see if her skin was as smooth on her body as it was on her hands. It probably was. Mina probably had some crazy expensive moisturizer stashed somewhere.

She imagined herself raising up on her knees and reaching out and touching Mina. She breathed a sigh at the feel of skin under her fingers and her brain slipped off into what would happen afterwards. Mina would turn around with a raised eyebrow, but she wouldn't move Beca's hand off her body. She would step closer, instead with that dangerous smirk on her face and kiss Beca.

Beca snapped out of it just as her hand was actually about to touch Mina's back. She jerked it back just as Mina was turning around, shirt sliding down her body. Shit, shit, shit, Mina was going to see her.

"Mouse?" Mina asked. "Is something wrong?"

Beca thought the fastest she'd ever thought in her life. There was a tag sticking out of Mina's collar and she thanked the fucking gods for the easy out. "Um, just your tag, I was going to fix it for you."

"Oh, okay, then fix it." Mina turned her back towards Beca once more and Beca swallowed hard. Lord give her strength.

She reached out and took the tag gently in her fingers and tucked it softly away, her fingers brushing up against feather soft skin. Mina sighed out a breath and relaxed into the light touch. She paused for a second, breathing in slowly and deeply before turning around again.

"Danke, kleine maus." Mina smiled at Beca.

"Um, bitte." She quickly tucked her hands by her side so Mina didn't see that they were shaking.

"German, you are a multitalented individual."

She shrugged. "High school, had to take a language of some sort. I don't remember much, though." She sat back down on her side.

Mina climbed into bed a second later. "The American education system," she scoffed. "What a joke."

"Yeah, you have no idea." She settled back against her pillows.

Mina settled down again, suddenly very, very close to Beca. When had queen sized beds become so small?

"I am glad I don't." She yawned and Beca thought it was too cute for words. "Goodnight, mouse."

"Goodnight, Mina."

Beca wasn't sure that she was going to be able to sleep. Her body was too keyed up from Mina being near. But then again it was two something in the morning and her body was feeling that too. She started to drift to sleep, but something wasn't quite right for her to fall all the way to sleep.

Then Mina was scooting carefully, slowly across the bed. Beca wondered in her almost asleep mind what in the world she was doing, but another second passed and Mina's arm was draped over Beca's waist and Beca sighed, scooting just a little bit more into Mina's touch. Ah, that's what had been missing all along.

"Night," she mumbled.

Mina froze for a second before relaxing. Beca smiled, haha she'd been caught.

"Night." Mina sighed and a moment later everything was quiet and right with the world and Beca fell asleep easily.

Translations:

Du hast besser einen guten Grund mich um drei Uhr morgens aufzuwecken-You better have a good reason to wake me at 3 in themorning
Was ist es?-What is it?
Was ist das?-What is that?