To the surprise of absolutely no one, Stacie woke up the following morning wrapped in nothing but a softly snoring redhead and a sheet. She lay still a few moments, smiling stupidly and kind of wondering why she was awake, until her phone chimed from the bedside table. She reached for it carefully so as not to disturb Chloe's slumber and swiped at the screen, noting with some alarm that multiple texts from Beca were to blame for waking her. Before 8 AM.

Beca 7:14: Dude are you up yet?

Beca 7:17: I'm sorry but I need you to answer me

Beca 7:19: I have a low level emergency over here

Beca 7:20: Like no one died or anything but I really need help

Beca 7:34: Goddamn it Conrad get off of Chloe and text me back you bastard

She tried to roll Chloe over gently so she could sit up, but her efforts were in vain; Chloe just hugged her more tightly and whimpered quietly. Stacie chuckled a bit and gave up. She really only needed one free hand, anyway, so she used the one she already had to call Beca.

"Dude," Beca hissed. "I said text me."

"Are you OK?" Stacie asked. "How fast do you need me to get dressed? And why are you whispering?"

"I am not OK," Beca answered. "Aubrey came over here last night and she was totalled the fuck out. Like, so drunk I had to put her to bed."

"What?" Stacie said. She jostled Chloe awake as she sat up and thumbed the speakerphone button. "Aubrey's there?"

"Mph?" Chloe asked. She blinked repeatedly in a manner Stacie was sure she'd find adorable forever. "Where's Aubrey?"

"Dude, don't put me on speaker," Beca said.

"Too late," Stacie replied. She heard Beca open and close a door. "So let me just get this straight: Aubrey Posen is in your bed?"

Chloe's eyes widened and she turned her face to squeal into her pillow.

"Yes, she is in my bed, where she slept alone," Beca confirmed, finally raising her voice to a nearly normal level. "And like, her hair is still perfect and she's pretty even when she's drooling and I fucking hate it and I am in the hallway because I'm afraid to wake her up."

"This is the best day of my life," Chloe said.

"Take me off speaker," Beca said.

"No," Stacie said. "I don't get what you need help with, Becs. Do you not know what to do with a pretty girl in your bed?"

"You are the worst," Beca said, "and I hate you, but I also really need your help because I want to get her a coffee and maybe, like, one of those croissants she likes but if she wakes up while I'm gone I'll be coming back to an empty room so I need you to go get them for me."

"Can I get a recap?" Chloe asked. "'Cause I'm excited about this but I'm not sure what's happening."

Beca sighed. "Neither am I. Aubrey got wasted and came over here last night spouting all kinds of shit at me. Like I thought she was gonna fight me, but some of it wasn't even mean, and then she tried to kiss me-"

Chloe squealed again. "Babe, chill," Stacie said.

"I can't believe you two are my only backup. I need more friends," Beca said, and Stacie could just see her rolling her eyes and maybe pulling her own hair.

"We're exactly what you need," Chloe said. "We got this. Just hold down the fort and we'll be there in a jiffy." She climbed out of the bed and stepped over to her closet, and Stacie watched her with a lack of shame and a lot of ideas about better things to do than rescue Beca. She loved Beca, she really did, but she wasn't sure she loved her more than Chloe's perfect ass.

"Coffees and croissants," Beca said. She sounded resigned.

"I know," Chloe said, already half dressed and leaning across the bed to take the phone from Stacie. "Bye." She ended the call and tossed the phone back at Stacie. "Get dressed, they need us."

"My best friend is the worst cockblock in history," Stacie griped as she moved to obey. "Can I borrow some clothes?"

"First of all, you don't have a cock," Chloe said as she tossed Stacie a shirt. "I definitely would have noticed. And second of all, who says there was going to be morning sex?"

"I do," Stacie said, "but now instead we're running errands for my socially inept best friend."

"For both of our socially inept best friends," Chloe corrected her, "who are idiots, yeah. But idiots who have gotten themselves into this weird little pickle because you and I meddled."

Stacie sighed. "True. Let's go fix this."

Chloe grinned and kissed her quickly before taking her hand and all but dragging her to the door.

"Don't knock," Choe whispered.

"What do you want me to do, scratch at the door like a dog?" Stacie asked.

Chloe shrugged and scratched at the door with her fingernails. Stacie sighed and rubbed her free hand over her face. They both snapped their heads around when they heard a low chuckle accompanied by the jingling of keys, which turned out to be coming from a handsome guy at the next door.

"Sorry," he said quietly. "You're just not waking Beca up like that, is all."

"She's awake," Stacie said. "We're trying to get her attention without waking up Aubrey. I'll just text her."

"Who's Aubrey?"

"Who are you?" Chloe asked.

"Oh, that's Malcolm," Stacie said. "Mal, this is Chloe."

"Her girlfriend," Chloe added. She was smiling sweetly, but she slipped an arm around Stacie's waist and tugged her close.

"Right," Malcolm said, smiling back.

"That's fucking adorable," Stacie said, kissing Choe's temple. "Also, he's gay."

"Oh," Chloe said. She smiled again, more widely this time, and extricated herself from Stacie to step forward and shake Malcolm's hand. "So nice to meet you."

"Likewise," he said. "So who's Aubrey?"

"She's into Beca, Beca's into her, they're both stupid. Aubrey came here drunk last night and passed out in Beca's bed after they argued and once again failed to admit they've ever had a feeling, like, ever," Stacie explained.

"And we, as their respective best friends, are bringing coffee and croissants in an effort to keep Aubrey from running away the moment she wakes up because we ship them," Chloe added.

Malcolm laughed as he turned to unlock his door.

"You guys are not as quiet as you think you are," Beca whispered as she opened the door just wide enough to poke her head through.

"Fuck off," Stacie said affectionately as she passed her the bag of croissants. Beca scowled but didn't comment further. She just deposited the bag on her desk and reached for the cup carrier Chloe offered.

"Thanks," Beca whispered. Chloe and Stacie flashed her two wide smiles and four thumbs up that Beca completely ignored as she closed the door.

Aubrey lay very still and watched through barely open eyes as Beca removed one of the cups from the carrier and took a sip before comically struggling to open the paper bag without making any noise. It was adorable. Aubrey hated it.

"I'm awake," she said as she slowly raised her body into a seated position. Her head felt fuzzy and painful and her mouth felt fuzzy and dry and she really wanted to leave. She'd have to stand up for that, though, and deal with Chloe and Stacie who she had no doubt were lingering outside the door. She didn't feel up to all that just yet, so she remained seated.

"Oh, ah, good," Beca said. "Great, I uh, I have coffee." She handed Aubrey the second cup before turning back to deal with the bag, which she ultimately just tore all the way down the side. "And croissants," she said, offering Aubrey a flaky pastry on a napkin. Aubrey took it without speaking and spent a good few seconds staring at it dumbly.

"Are you OK?" Beca asked. "Like, you're not gonna hurl, right?"

"Of course not," Aubrey said. "Look, I - I behaved badly last night, and-"

"Yeah, no, I don't want to hear it," Beca said, waving a hand as she sank into her desk chair.

"I understand that you're angry, but you could at least let me apologize-"

"I'm not interested in your apology," Beca said. She tore off a piece of her croissant. "Also, I'm not actually mad."

Aubrey took bite of her croissant and a sip of her coffee to keep herself from making a comment concerning whether or not one ought to speak with food in one's mouth. Once she'd swallowed, she asked, "Are they still out there?"

Beca shrugged. She was clinging desperately to a nonchalance she absolutely did not feel, and she was afraid that once she started saying the things that needed saying she'd lose her shit.

"Well," Aubrey said, setting her breakfast aside while she put her shoes on, "I suppose I should be going." She picked up her cup and croissant in one hand, stood, and smoothed her clothes out as best she could. If there was a shred of dignity left to her, she was damn well going to salvage it.

"You should - you should stay," Beca said. 'We should talk."

"We should pretend last night never happened," Aubrey replied coolly. She stepped to the door, politely thanked Beca for the breakfast, and grabbed the doorknob. She twisted and pulled, but the door barely budged. "What the hell?"

"Sorry, Bree, but we can't let you out," Chloe called from the hallway. "It's for your own good!"

"How is Chloe strong enough to hold the door shut?" Beca asked.

"It's Mal," Stacie answered.

"Sorry, Beca, but I love love," Mal said. "I am duty bound to help."

"This is not help," Beca protested. "This is unlawful detainment."

"Unbelievable," Aubrey muttered. She yanked on the doorknob a few more times before she stalked the three steps back to the bed and dropped onto it in a huff, and then she took a large bite of croissant and chewed it forcefully.

What she did not do was look Beca in the eye.

"So, look, Aubrey," Beca began. Then she stalled.

Aubrey kept on chewing a little longer. She swallowed and took a sip of coffee before announcing, "This sucks."

"Yeah, of course, being trapped with me sucks," Beca said. "I mean it must be such a hassle to be subjected to my intolerable snark and stupid smirk."

"I was drunk," Aubrey protested."You can't just throw whatever nonsense I said back at me."

"So it was nonsense."

"Of course."

"You know, they say drunk words are sober thoughts," Beca said.

"They're idiots," Aubrey snapped. "And just because I can't get out of here doesn't make it OK for you to try to humiliate me-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Beca interrupted, holding her hands up with her palms out. "I'm not trying to make fun of you, dude."

Aubrey glared at her.

"Look, it's just that - well - you're right handed, and I'm left handed, OK?"

"What the living hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Just that - look, you and I butt heads, but - oh, fuck it," Beca said. "Just, like, give me a sec."

"It's not as if I have a choice."

Beca rolled her eyes and turned to her laptop, flipping it open and typing in her password. "So, I do remixes and mashups," she said.

"I am aware."

Beca clenched her jaw briefly and reminded herself that the feral animal currently sitting on her bed was only acting like such a bitch because she was embarrassed and hungover and that, under better circumstances, she was actually charming and funny and kind. "So I made this one yesterday," Beca went on after a deep breath. "It's a Bruno Mars song and a Nelly song."

"What?"

"Yeah, I know, right? I mean I'm not that into either one of them on their own," Beca said. "And at first glance, they don't seem like they'd fit together at all, right? But they do, and together they make a song that's - it's better than either of them was by itself. So just - just listen, OK, and then if you want to leave I'll make Mal let you out."

"If you can make him-"

"Please," Beca said. "Just hear it out." She pressed play before Aubrey could say anything else.

In the hallway, Stacie rolled her eyes and wondered aloud if her best friend was smooth or lame or maybe a little of both. Chloe smacked her arm lightly and shushed her. Malcolm let go of the door knob and dabbed at his eyes.

"No one here has any chill," Stacie said.

"It's so beautiful," Malcolm whispered.

"It really is," Chloe said. She leaned head her on his shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her.

Stacie just shook her head.

When the song ended, Aubrey sat very, very still with her cup cradled in both hands on her knees. She took a breath to steady herself and asked, quietly, "You made that? For - for me?"

"Yeah," Beca said. She watched Aubrey stare at the cup in her lap and grew more certain with each passing second that she'd miscalculated horribly. "Thoughts?" she eventually asked.

Aubrey just pursed her lips and took a deep breath through her nose.

Beca sighed softly. "Take all the time you need," she said. "I'll just be over here." She waved vaguely at her laptop, realized Aubrey couldn't see that, and turned in her chair to press random buttons in her mixing program while she mentally prepared herself for the inevitable sounds of Aubrey walking out without a word.

Aubrey looked up at the back of Beca's head and waited for the whirling pieces of her thoughts to finish banging into each other and settle into something more orderly. When they finally did, the first coherent sentence her brain formed slipped right out of her mouth before she could stop it.

"It's too late," she said.

Beca froze because she honestly hadn't had enough time to prepare herself for the horror show she felt unfolding around her. She thought it would be best if she shouted whatever words would make Mal let go of the door, but she was finding it hard to remember any words and she had a feeling that her voice would be shaky if she spoke anyway. She settled for a heavy sigh.

"I mean," Aubrey continued. "I've already shown up drunk and spouted all sorts of nonsense, and - I've already humiliated myself."

Beca planted her elbows on her desk and smashed her face into her hands.

"So, I can't possibly make this worse, right?" Aubrey asked.

"Honestly," Beca said, making zero effort to lift her head, "I feel like this is getting worse by the second." She was surprised when her chair turned without her help, and she was just on the quiet side of scared when she found Aubrey looming over her. "Don't kill me," she squeaked.

"Don't be so dramatic," Aubrey said. "I am going to try to kiss you again, and this time you are going to let me."

Beca blinked a few times in shock, but recovered quickly and decided to just roll with it. "Oh, OK great, should I - I should stand up, right?"

"You should shut up," Aubrey said. Then she bent at the waist, took Beca's face in her hands, and leaned in.

This time, Beca leaned forward and was pleasantly not that surprised to find that Aubrey was anything but hesitant. Where most people might start out with a light, gentle sort of a kiss to test the waters, so to speak, Aubrey Posen dove right in because once Aubrey Posen made up her mind to do something there would be no half measures. Half measures, in Aubrey's opinion, were for the weak.

Aubrey, Beca discovered, kissed like she did everything else: intensely, expertly, and thoroughly. Beca was a fan of it. A big fan. So much so that when she was left a bit dazed when Aubrey finally stood up straight again.

"Did you hear anything I just said?" Aubrey asked.

"Not a word," Beca said, just managing to get the words out before her face split into a grin she didn't bother trying to control. She tapped herself on the temple a few times and added, "Still waiting for my brain to start back up."

"I was saying I need to go back to my apartment and shower before we go to breakfast," Aubrey said.

"We're going to breakfast?"

"Yes, we are."

"But what if I-"

"We both know that a croissant and a coffee will satisfy that bottomless pit you call a stomach for less than an hour," Aubrey said.

Beca laughed. "OK then, how long do you need? Want to meet in like-"

"Oh no, you're coming with me," Aubrey said. "Grab some clothes. I am not running that gauntlet of weirdos in the hallway on my own."

"Fair enough," Beca said.

The weirdos in the hallway cheered and applauded when Beca and Aubrey emerged from the room, but they at least refrained from wolf whistling and no one tried to hug them, so it wasn't as bad as they'd expected. Mal did put a fist up, though, and Beca rolled her eyes but still knocked her own fist against it. Chloe had tears in her eyes, but a round of promises to meet up at Ice Queen later that day made her clap her hands and grin like a maniac.

She did start to follow them as they walked out, but Stacie made a not so subtle suggestion concerning the proximity of her own dorm room and the two of them headed that way instead.

"They just had their first date," Aubrey said. "And they're already-"

"Yeah, don't say it. I'm going to have to hear all about it at some point from Stacie and that'll be bad enough," Beca said.

"I'm sure Chloe will give me a similar report," Aubrey said.

"I hate to break it to you, but you're going to hear all about it through your wall on a regular basis."

Aubrey huffed and hooked her left arm in Beca's right. "I suppose we'll have to fight fire with fire, then."

A brief, sharp laugh burst from Beca's mouth before she said, "Seriously?"

"What?" Aubrey asked. "You're my girlfriend now. There will be sex."

"Right, I mean - yeah, OK," Beca said. "I was just caught off guard, because that was like, super forward."

"You've met me, right?"

Beca laughed again, stopped walking, and tugged on Aubrey's arm. When Aubrey turned, Beca kissed her until things grew a little too heated for a public sidewalk and Aubrey decided it was best they move along.

Fifty yards later they reached the big tree where the sidewalk split. Aubrey pushed Beca up against it for a little more slightly inappropriate making out. They stopped twice more before Aubrey's building came into view, and as they walked inside Aubrey said, "We're going to have to leave early any time we go anywhere together."

"Can't keep your hands off me, huh?" Beca asked.

"I could," Aubrey replied, "if that's what you want."

"That is not even a little bit what I want," Beca replied. "I'm actually thinking about suggesting we cancel breakfast. I feel like it can wait."

"We do have the place all to ourselves for a while," Aubrey said. She unlocked the door and headed straight back the hall. "Shower?"

"Yes, please," Beca answered. He quickly locked the door behind her and trotted after Aubrey. "Then how about brunch? Because I'm definitely going to be hungry."

Aubrey's laughter bouncing off the bathroom walls was possibly the best sound Beca had ever heard.

A/N: Shout out my typos and shit because I half-assed editing this one.

I've set this as complete because this, I think, is as far as I meant for it to go. I kind of really like this little world, though, and I dig the Chacie a lot more than I expected to. So if you like this and want to see more, hit me up here or on my tumblr (writeme-justtheonce) with prompts or whatever, and I'll see about adding to this or dropping some one-shots in this universe.

As always, thanks for hanging in there and sending our precious time reading this.