"I want to be your girlfriend."

Beca is thrown back to two and a half years ago, panic-stricken, as she sits across from Emily on the floor of the taller girl's apartment.

Be my girlfriend, Bec.

Emily, no. Please.

Past-Beca is hyperventilating, thinking of all the times she gave too much of herself to one person just to be left burning in the end. She feels herself falling into the ground beneath her, the voice in her head screaming at her as Emily looks heartbroken four feet from where Beca sits.

"Beca?"

Current-Beca feels like she had just crashed through the water's surface, only to be thrown back into it when she makes eye contact with Chloe in the moonlight seeping through the blinds on her bedroom window.

"Yeah?" Beca's voice is hoarse, completely unlike how it did just moments before when she and Chloe were joking about what Aubrey had said in one of the many wedding planning meetings. Concern makes its way onto Chloe's face instantly, the corners of her mouth pulling into a frown so hard that Beca feels it pulling on her heart.

"Are you okay? Did you hear what I said?" Chloe pulls herself up onto one elbow so that she's looking down on Beca but doesn't make any move to inch closer to the other girl.

She is still thrown for a loop because of the memory she was just forced into, but the look Chloe is giving her instantly grounds Beca enough to clear her throat. "Yeah," she swallows, "yeah, sorry, I'm okay."

Chloe's still frowning, and her eyebrows crease together as she opens up her mouth to say something.

"I did hear you," Beca blurts out before the redhead can ask again. "I just, um—I'm sorry, I'm not good with this stuff." It isn't as honest as she'd like to be, and it isn't even close to the full story, but it's a start.

"I really like you, Beca." Chloe whispers it so softly Beca can barely hear her. Chloe's features soften as she says it, too, and she slowly lowers herself down back into the bed so her face is in line with Beca's on her pillow. "And I've just been thinking," she continues, "about what we've been doing for the past month. We go on dates, we spend the majority of our free time together when we're not helping with the wedding, we have deep talks in my car." Chloe laughs a bit at that part.

Beca laughs nervously, too, and tries not to tell Chloe that this is the closest she's let herself get to someone other than Stacie and Emily in over three years. She tries not to tell Chloe that she's scared out of her mind about how fast this is moving. She tries to ignore the feeling inside of her that's saying she shouldn't be trying not to tell Chloe anything.

"I really like you, too," she whispers instead, just as softly as Chloe had.

"Then what are we doing?"

Beca pushes every part of her screaming her to stop down and tries to focus on Chloe. Because this is a good thing, she tells herself, she just needs Chloe. "Ask me again."

There's a hint of a smile seeping on to Chloe's face. "Beca Mitchell," she breathes, "will you be my girlfriend?"

Her mind is still spinning, and she's still terrified beyond belief, but everything vanishes as she sees Chloe smile the second she says yes.

Chloe smiles so brightly her teeth almost light up the darkened room, which isn't anything new. Although there's something different about this smile, Beca notes, something deeper inside of it, something more meaningful.

Beca lets herself be tackled into the sheets by the redhead, and as she kisses her, deeply (with more meaning behind that, too, she notes again), the parts of Beca screaming at her to run as fast as she can are drowned out by her own voice saying this is a really good thing.

They didn't plan on keeping their relationship a secret, really, they just weren't exactly telling anyone everything that was going on.

Chloe suggested that they don't tell Aubrey right away after she came back to Beca's apartment after a particularly stressed wedding planning meeting. I love her, Beca, I really do, but she can't decide on a damn centerpiece because she keeps switching between two. The redhead had slumped to the sofa after Beca opened the door for her, groaning as her head hits the pillows Beca had purchased at IKEA a few days beforehand.

"Speaking of Aubrey," Beca calls from the kitchen where she stirs some sauce in a pot on the stove, "I haven't gotten any threatening messages yet. So I'm guessing the part of your meeting where you tell her about us didn't really happen."

Chloe sits up straight, head peeking over the back of the sofa to look over at Beca, her hair a bit messy because of the pillow. "That's not necessarily my fault."

Beca cocks an eyebrow up in question as she makes eye contact with the other girl across the room.

"It's not!" Chloe says indignantly. "Bree's just kind of stressed right now planning everything and I figured it would be better to just not bring up anything that could add to that stress. Like the fact that her best friend from high school is dating her best friend from, like, life."

Chloe situates herself to cross her legs up on the cushion as Beca walks over with two plates of freshly made pasta, giving the shorter girl a kiss on the cheek as a thank you as she plops down next to her.

"So we're keeping this a secret from her?" Beca asks. "Because when she finds out down the line she's going to find some way to blame this on me and I just want to make sure this was one hundred percent your idea." She recoils slightly as Chloe reaches out to slap her lightly on the arm that was holding up her plate. "Woah watch it, I've got hot pasta here."

Chloe takes a second to glare at Beca as she swallows the bite just took. "I'm not saying that, Bec. I'm saying we just don't explicitly tell her at the current moment."

"That sounds like keeping it a secret."

"No, Bec," Chloe lets her head rest against the back of the sofa in silent frustration. "I absolutely do not want to keep us a secret."

"I know," Beca gives her a small smile before reaching out and brushing back a piece of hair that fell down in front of Chloe's face. "I'm sorry. I just want you to be happy and I know keeping this from Aubrey isn't going to be great for you."

"I don't like not telling Aubrey things. Especially big things, like this with you. But I have a feeling that if she finds out about us she's going to think about this as well as the wedding it's going to make things crazy." Chloe sighs heavily before bringing her fork up to her mouth to take a bite of the pasta while pouting.

"Hey," Beca says softly while setting her plate on the coffee table in front of her before turning her body to fully face Chloe, "we'll tell her soon, okay? Together."

Chloe looks at her skeptically before mimicking Beca's actions. "You really want to be there? Completely vulnerable to anything she might say or do?"

"When you say it like that my confidence just flies out the window," Beca mumbles, immediately breaking eye contact to awkwardly look at her plate on the table.

"Oh shush," Chloe giggles. She grabs Beca's hand that's resting in her lap and squeezes softly before bringing her other hand to gently grab Beca's chin to steer her face back to look at hers. "You already said you would, no take backs."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Beale."

So, no. They didn't really plan on keeping things a secret.

They didn't actually try to hide anything, either. The two always sat next to one another when they went out with Jesse and Aubrey. They practically spent every moment outside of work together, save for the couple of times Beca had to fly back to New York for meetings. Surely, Beca thought, anyone with eyes could figure it out that something was going between them.

Beca also thought that it was kind of ridiculous that Aubrey didn't figure things out until two weeks before her wedding, six months after Beca and Chloe got together.

That didn't mean it wasn't amusing to her, though.

They were at a cake testing meeting that Aubrey had planned specifically for making sure her wedding cake was liked by everyone that she believed had an opinion worth listening to. So, in short, Jesse, Beca, Chloe, and Aubrey's parents. When the phrase "cake testing meeting" had been said to Beca three weeks previously she had choked on her water from laughing so hard that she had to physically leave the restaurant in order to calm down, a moment that Aubrey did not particularly appreciate.

They were late to said cake testing meeting by a good ten minutes because the good morning kiss Beca gave Chloe ended up being a good morning mmake-outsession that left Chloe far too flustered to properly get ready in a timely matter. That was not the excuse that Chloe gave Aubrey as soon as she burst through the doors to the small bakery's backroom while dragging Beca behind her by the hand.

Again, Beca thought, how the hell did no one notice?

"I'm so sorry we're late, Bree, traffic was absolutely terrible," Chloe pants, falling into her seat next to the bride with a sheepish smile on her face.

Aubrey raises an eyebrow at her before saying, "that's okay you're here now. Just, you know, don't be late to my actual wedding," she adds while she glares at Beca, like Aubrey just knows it was her fault that they were both late.

Beca rolls her eyes as a plate with a small bite of cake is placed in front of her. "You know, Aubrey, for someone so spectacular at planning I didn't expect you to have a cake testing time scheduled for ten in the morning."

"Just eat the damn cake, Beca."

She's about to retort when she feels Chloe's hand slide to her thigh, a silent message to stop talking before Aubrey gets more upset.

Beca catches Jesse's eye across the table and he shrugs at her in a way that he did when they were in high school when she and Aubrey would bicker and he wouldn't know how to choose between his best friend and his girlfriend. It's sickening, how harshly Beca becomes nostalgic sometimes. She thinks it's partly Chloe's fault how sentimental she's been lately.

They sit in the small room huddled around a table for the better part of the next hour before they all settle on a cake that meets all of Aubrey's standards. Aubrey's parents file out of the room first, followed by Jesse who's talking details with the baker while Aubrey listens closely to make sure her fiancé doesn't miss anything.

Beca's still eating the cake they left at the table as Chloe stands up to put on her coat.

"You know," Chloe ponders, "for someone who was complaining about eating dessert so early in the morning you're sure making a feast out of it."

"Don't judge, Chlo," Beca states, mouth stuffed full of buttercream frosting. "It's damn good cake and they're letting it go to waste without me."

Chloe laughs before she says, "you're going to get more of it in two weeks, Becs, don't ruin it for yourself now."

"Yeah, I don't see that happening at all."

"Alright," Chloe snorts. "Just don't whine in an hour when you get a stomach ache from all the sweetness." She tosses Beca's jacket at her as the brunette gets up from the table to move toward the door."

Beca catches it with one hand and puts it on as she tells Chloe, "I haven't gotten a stomach ache from being around your sweetness all the time so I doubt some cake will do me any harm."

"Beca Mitchell, are you flirting with me in the backroom of a bakery?"

"You say that like this is the most scandalous place where I could flirt with you," Beca laughs as she wraps her arms around Chloe's waist.

"Maybe it is," the redhead defends. She brings her hands up to wind around Beca's neck, completely contradicting her next statement, "especially because Aubrey is right on the other side of that door."

"She's in wedding mode she won't be bothered to notice we're gone," Beca says, her face inching closer to Chloe's. "You smell like that buttercream we just had."

"Yeah, I'm going to pretend like that was a compliment."

"Of course it was," Beca says, right before Chloe covers her mouth with hers, the other girl seeming to completely forget where they were.

The two don't hear Aubrey until it's too late.

"Hang on, mom, I left my sweater—what the hell?"

Beca breaks away from Chloe so quickly that she stumbles over a chair behind her, only to be saved from falling to the floor by Chloe grabbing the lapels of her jacket and tugging her upright. When she turns around Aubrey is staring at both of them with wide eyes, mouth hung open, and hand still reaching out like she's still pushing the door open.

Chloe's the one who recovers first, voice stuttering as she tries to play it off as if she wasn't being kissed by Beca ten seconds ago. "Hey, Bree, uh—"

"What the hell?" Aubrey interrupts with the only thing that she seems to be able to say at the moment.

"Aubrey, look," Beca starts, "it's not really a big deal—"

"Not a big deal!" She interrupts again, and Beca can't help herself from rolling her eyes. She immediately stops when Aubrey continues with, "I'd say you fucking my best friend behind my back is a pretty big deal, Mitchell!"

"Woah, okay—"

"Aubrey!"

"—I'm not fucking Chloe, Posen, I'm dating her."

Aubrey just gapes at her again, eyes flitting back and forth between Beca and Chloe, like she's not too sure what to even think.

Chloe steps forward to grab the blonde's upper arms as if to steady her. "Bree, why don't you sit down." She guides Aubrey into the seat that Beca nearly fell over moments ago and she looks back towards Beca with worry displayed prominently on her face.

Beca bites her tongue to stop herself from saying that this could have been avoided if they had come out months ago. She figures now is not the most ideal time for that commentary.

The sound of Aubrey speaking again makes Beca tear her eyes away from Chloe's to look at the blonde slumped in the chair in front of her. "You're...dating?"

Beca nods as she hears Chloe answer with a soft "Yes."

"Okay," Aubrey's nodding her head slowly like she's trying to wrap her mind around things, "And for how long as this thing," she waves her finger between Beca and Chloe, "been going on?"

"Um five?" Beca questions as she turns her head to look at Chloe for reassurance. She finds the redhead staring back at her with a slight furrow to her brow.

"Six."

"Yeah, six," Beca says with more confidence as she directs her attention back to Aubrey. "Six months."

Aubrey springs to her feet so fast it actually startles Beca. "Six MONTHS?" she shouts. "You've been dating for six months and you didn't tell us?"

Chloe's hands are back to the blonde's shoulders to try to calm her down. "Bree, your wedding is in two weeks. We didn't want to get in your way of anything."

"But it's been six months," Aubrey says, much softer this time. "There wasn't any time in the last six months?" She's back to focusing her attention to Beca with a light glare in her eyes, like she's blaming Beca once again.

Beca sighs before she answers. "I don't know. We kind of just did our own thing, you know?"

"Are you okay with this?" Chloe asks her best friend. She reaches her hand out to wrap it around Beca's and the brunette watches Aubrey's eyes follow the movement carefully.

Aubrey raises her hand to rest on her forehead like she's trying to ease a headache that's suddenly formed from this news. "I mean, this is super out of the blue."

"But?" Chloe fishes.

"Yeah, I think I'm okay with it," Aubrey groans, her hand falling away to give Chloe a small smile.

Chloe squeals and drops Beca's hand in favor of tackling her best friend in a hug. "Oh, I'm so happy! This is so great, Bree, I have so much to tell you."

Aubrey makes eye contact with Beca over the redhead's shoulder and Beca tries to make her smile seem not at all uncomfortable.

"Okay," Chloe says when she releases Aubrey. "Well now that that's all out in the open, we should go, they're probably wondering where we're at."

"Go ahead, Chlo, I just want to talk to Beca for a moment."

Chloe looks at Beca questioningly and it takes all of Beca's willpower not to beg for Chloe to stay as she forces out a comforting smile and a nod in reassurance.

"Alright…" Chloe says slowly, eyes narrowing as she turns to leave out the door that was still open from when Aubrey came in a few minutes ago.

When she seemed to be out of earshot, Aubrey spins around towards Beca and doesn't waste any time getting to the questions. "Are you serious about her?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Beca's immediately confused. "Of course I'm serious."

Aubrey sighs as she sits down in the chair that she has a habit of bouncing out of. "I'm sorry if this is blunt, Beca, but you've been against relationships since—"

"That was over three years ago, Aubrey, are we still bringing that shit up?" She feels herself getting annoyed with this conversation far quicker than she imagined.

"Yes, Beca," Aubrey scolds with a harsher tone. "We are still bringing it up because Chloe is my best friend."

"I know," Beca says.

"I care about her."

"I know, Aubrey. I do, too. No, wait." she cautions when she sees the blonde open her mouth to say something else. "I love her. Three years ago I had no intention of ever falling in love with anyone ever again, but I fell in love with Chloe. And this is the happiest I've felt in years, Bree. You should know that all I want is to make sure she feels the exact same way I do."

Aubrey watches her as Beca slumps into another chair near her. She doesn't say anything for a few moments but before Beca starts to think that she said the wrong thing she sees the other girl slowly start to nod her head as if she's thinking things through in her head.

"Okay," she says eventually,

"Okay?" Beca questions.

"You've grown up a lot, you know."

It's not at all the answer Beca was expecting from her question. "Um, thanks?"

Aubrey keeps nodding as she mulls over her next thoughts and it's starting to freak Beca out a little. She looks out the small window in the wall of the backroom as she tells Beca, "I'm happy for you."

Not the sentence Beca was expecting to come out of Aubrey's mouth. "Wait, seriously?"

"Yes, seriously," Aubrey says as she turns back to look at Beca fully. "I'm just thinking about how long I've known you, and how long I've known Chloe. I never once thought I'd see you two together." Beca's not too sure where Aubrey's planning to take this. "But I guess I see you two now, and for the last six months, and it seems so right to see you two together. And I didn't even know you were dating, I was just so glad you were getting along for the sake of my wedding."

Beca chuckles softly and when she meets Aubrey's eyes the blonde starts to laugh as well.

"You do seem happier, Beca. She's really good for you."

Beca just smiles as she looks at her hands fumbling in her lap. Yeah, she thinks, it's really, really good.

"You okay?" Chloe asks her as soon as she and Aubrey come out to the parking lot.

Beca doesn't say anything at first and instead stops to look at Chloe. The redhead tilts her head to the side when she doesn't get an answer, a frown forming on her face in concern.

She still doesn't answer, just walks up to Chloe to grasps the girl's cheeks to pull her into a kiss. Beca tries to pour everything into it; her conversation with Aubrey, the love she feels when Chloe looks at her a certain way, the overwhelming happiness that's taken over her entire life since she met Chloe in that ballroom seven months ago.

When she pulls back Chloe's eyes are hooded, and she smiles at the way the redhead's lips chase hers a bit before she steps all the way away. "Yeah, Chlo," she says, "I'm really, really, fantastic."

AN: So I jump time a lot in this story, if you haven't noticed. The current time is the farthest point in the future that I tell the story, so right now we're currently two weeks before Jesse and Aubrey's wedding and Beca and Chloe have been dating for sixth months. I'll do flashbacks every other chapter to show more of their relationship or to show more of Beca's past, if that makes any sense. Anyway, thanks for reading as always. Make sure to leave reviews!