Seven years ago, Beca Mitchell would have balked at the mere idea of having to live anywhere remotely close to Aubrey Posen.

And by remotely close she meant a radius of at least a hundred miles, if not further.

The first time the two girls had met, it'd been clear that they would not be getting along.

(I mean, Aubrey had called Beca 'bitch' at their first meeting at the Bellas' stand).

During Bellas' practice, Beca and Aubrey had both tried their best to make it hell for each other, to the eternal amusement and frustration of all the other Bellas. If there was anything problematic in the set, Beca immediately pointed it out. Aubrey herself picked on Beca whenever possible, whether it was the details in the freshman's choreography or her attitude or even her makeup. It became increasingly obvious that they would probably try to murder the other one if they were ever left alone in a room together.

However, after being accepted back into the ICCAs finals, things had changed as the two girls had made it up – Aubrey going so far as to give Beca the pitch pipe and make her co-captain after stepping down herself. Ever since then, their relationship had improved significantly. Of course, Beca – badass DJ that she was, or at least, claimed to be – would have died first rather than admit that she had actually begun to like Aubrey and they actually cared for each other. Neither girls had ever said it out loud, but it was clear that they had become close friends, despite all that initial friction.

Right after their graduation from Barden University, Beca and Chloe had married, with Aubrey and Stacie tying the knot just half a year later. The Bellas, broken up after graduation, had of course made it to both the weddings as eager bridesmaids.

Moving to L.A. to pursue her childhood dream of becoming a DJ, Beca had made it big, but two and a half years later, she and Chloe had made the decision to move back to Atlanta, Georgia, close to where many of the Bellas had also chosen to stay after their graduations. Of course, if Beca had been single, she would have preferred to stay in L.A., she'd dreamed of staying in that city ever since she had discovered her gift in music. But she had to agree with Chloe that the busy, cramped city was nowhere good a place to raise children as out in Georgia, where she had bought a large house in a nice neighborhood. She could still work at producing music, while Chloe had gotten a job teaching piano from her home.

And now, Beca found herself unpacking boxes in the driveway – right next to Aubrey and Stacie's house. "I swear to God, Chloe, I don't know how the hell I let you talk me into this. I mean, living next to Aubrey Posen, of all the people on earth!" Beca exclaimed as she lifted another heavy box of Chloe's books.

"I heard that, Beca Mitchell!" the all-too-familiar voice of the former acapella captain came across the fence.

"Dammit, here we go again," muttered the brunette, with a shake of her head.

Chloe had to stifle her laughter and Beca restrained the urge to roll her eyes as Aubrey appeared on the other side of the fence, her sweaty blonde hair tied up into a sleek ponytail and a dark green watering can in her right hand. The brunette did a double take as she realized that Aubrey had been busy tending to plants.

"Damn… I never thought I'd ever see the uptight, tradition-loving aca-Nazi tending to a vegetable patch, of all things," Beca teased. Even though they'd been friends for years now, neither Beca nor Aubrey ever missed an opportunity to rile each other up.

"You have to thank Stacie for that, she planted this damn thing and never even bothers to water it." Aubrey commented dryly, rolling her eyes.

"You never cease to amaze me, Bree," Chloe smiled, leaning over the fence to (awkwardly) give her best friend a hug.

"How is that thing even alive under your care?" Beca remarked, incredulous.

"Mama! Mummy! Can we open my toys?" From the open front door, out came a little girl running, brown curls streaming behind her in the gentle breeze.

"Why don't you say hello to Aunt Aubrey first?" Chloe suggested, picking up her daughter.

Natalie Beale-Mitchell was just three weeks shy of her fourth birthday; Beca and Chloe had adopted her just under two years ago. The three had lived in an apartment in L.A. before they moved out to Georgia to raise her nearer to the Bellas, which they considered their second family. While Natalie's size and appearance resembled Beca (she was small for her age with dark brown hair), but her personality was more similar to Chloe, with a cheerful smile and friendly attitude.

Aubrey and Stacie themselves had adopted twins just after their wedding, and had two energetic five-year-olds – Sam and Emma – splashing in the backyard swimming pool under Stacie's watchful eyes.

"Hello, Aunt Aubrey," Natalie grinned, nuzzling her face into her mother's fiery red mane.

"Aww… she's so precious," Aubrey cooed.

Beca dragged another box containing her mixing equipment down from their car. "Hey, I'm going into the house to unpack. I'm sure we'll have lots of opportunities to catch up with each other – maybe too many, if you ask me," she smirked at Aubrey as she took her daughter from her wife's arms.

"Yeah, right, I'll make sure to come over every afternoon and evening to annoy the hell out of you, hobbit!" Aubrey yelled back good-humoredly.

The brunette scoffed. "Hah, how old are you? Five? Seriously, Posen, think of something better than that!"

"Mama, why did Aunt Aubrey call you a hobbit? Is it like the movie?" Natalie asked, eyes wide in curiosity. (Apparently Jesse's influence was showing; he worked just down the street from Beca in L.A. and often came over to the apartment to watch movies with Chloe or Natalie, much to Beca's disgust).

Beca grinned. "Oh, that's because Aunt Aubrey is just a crazy ol' woman who likes calling names," she drawled sarcastically, giving her daughter a little playful tweak on her nose.

"Beca Mitchell, you know I heard that!"