Written for the amazing aca-esthetic on tumblr as part of the 2017 Merry Pitchmas Secret Santa gift exchange.

Enjoy!

Okay so, admittedly, bringing a stray puppy home seemed like a better idea in the restaurant's parking lot.

Beca had been about to head home, at a decent time for once and with dinner in hand, when she caught sight of the pup, huddled in a corner and soaking wet. The poor thing looked like it might shiver itself to death.

And okay she may have considered walking away — she's not proud of it — but if she's being honest with herself, the sight was too heartbreaking to walk away from.

Beca had approached the small animal slowly, cautiously, so as to not startle it and potentially send it scampering to hide under a car or worse onto the busy street just steps away.

As it turned out, all her fears had been unfounded.

The dog had done nothing more than timidly sniff Beca's outstretched hand and immediately nuzzle into her palm. Warm, brown eyes peered up at her then almost pleadingly. She never stood a chance.

Predictably, he'd curled up on her lap on the drive home and no matter how many times Beca tried repositioning him in the passenger seat he'd just crawl over the center console and burrow into her lap.

Now, as she tried to unlock the kitchen door without dropping their dinner or the dog, the little runt wouldn't stop squirming around and yapping.

"Come on, you fuzzball. I just need to open the door. Do you want me to drop you?"

A high pitched bark was her only answer as she finally managed to get the door unlocked while precariously balancing their dinner and the dog in one arm.

Stupid paper bags with no handles.

"Chlo, I'm home," she calls once inside. Surprisingly there's no Christmas music playing but she can hear the chatter from the TV in the other room.

Beca smiles at the picture of pure bliss that greets her once she rounds the corner into the living room. For as many times as she's come home to this, to Chloe sprawled every which way on the couch, in an oversized hoodie and too-big-sweatpants it never fails to fill her with warmth.

The ridiculous Christmas sweater and the Santa hat Chloe's been wearing every chance she gets since November 1st does its part as well.

"Hey, babe. How was — woah!" Chloe immediately spots the puppy in Beca's arms and her eyes widen in surprise. It only takes her a few seconds before she's clambering over the back of the couch to meet Beca halfway. "Where'd this little cutie come from?" She coos at the bundle in Beca's arms.

"Found him outside of Tony's. I didn't have the heart to leave him there," Beca answers.

"Aren't you the most handsome little thing ever?" Chloe scratches behind the puppy's ear and giggles at the way the dog leans into the touch.

"Oh, yeah. I got dinner. It's in the kitchen."

"Thanks, baby. Hi, by the way." She leans in for a not-so-chaste hello kiss.

"Hi," Beca breathes against Chloe's lips. A second later the dog's being plucked from her grasp as Chloe turns and heads towards the guest bathroom without another word.

"We're gonna get you all nice and clean and warm. Yes, we are."

Less than five minutes and she's already getting replaced with a puppy.

Rude.

A moment later the sound of running water and the pitter patter of paws scratching against ceramic reaches Beca.

She observes silently, leaning against the bathroom's door frame, as Chloe goes about bathing the pup.

She can tell Chloe's already enamored with the furball and the tiniest hint of dread pools low in her belly. She hadn't exactly been planning on keeping it.

But Beca can recognize that the dog is pretty adorable. From the big, floppy ears to the trio of white little spots on its back against its light tan colored coat. She knows already she won't have the heart to tear them apart.

Sometimes she really hates how whipped she is for Chloe.

It's not long before her girlfriend's wrapping the puppy in a towel, cuddling him close to her chest and murmuring something in his ear Beca can't quite make out.

It melts Beca just a little more and the sudden, inexplicable swell of emotion that grips her at the sight leaves her a little breathless.

She knows then this is definitely the right 'next step' for them.

"Becs?"

"Huh — what?" Beca blinked out of the daze she was in, and notices for the first time that Chloe's now standing in front of her, where she's very much blocking the doorway.

"You okay? Where'd you go?"

"No, nowhere. I just… you look really cute playing with a puppy and it's kind of really unfair."

"Sorry, not sorry." Chloe giggles.

Beca takes advantage of their close proximity to pull Chloe close, her arms around Chloe's waist to keep her from escaping her hold still mindful of the dog now sandwiched between them. "You're the worst."

"You love me," Chloe says glancing down at the puppy between them. When she meets Beca's eye again there's a distinct 'puppy dog eyes' look to her. "Does that mean we get to keep him?" She asks.

Beca doesn't miss the hopeful tone of her words. She groans, letting her eyes slip closed in mock annoyance. "You're not being fair right now."

"Whatever do you mean?" Chloe asks breaking out the pout for good measure.

"Stop it, you pulled out the puppy dog eyes and everything."

"Please, Becs?" She asks, bringing the puppy up close to Beca's face. "Look how cute he is."

"I've looked at him plenty," she tries her best to sound stern but its completely ruined by the chuckle that slips free when the puppy licks Beca's nose.

"Aw, see? He likes you."

"You really want to adopt this dog? It doesn't look like he's gonna be a small dog at all."

His paws, too big for the rest of its body, are a dead giveaway.

Chloe just pulled the dog tighter against her chest in response.

"Fine," Beca sighs, "but you're taking him to the vet tomorrow first thing in the morning."

"Did you hear that, baby? We get to keep you forever!" Chloe squeals, peppering Beca's face with wet, sloppy kisses.

A few days later, they have yet to agree on what to name him. They've been bickering about it for days now and even as Beca calls a truce on their (mostly) playful banter so they can decorate their Christmas tree.

It's far too early to be putting a Christmas tree up in Beca's opinion, only two weeks into November, but she's long accepted the fact that from the first week of November until well into January their house gets transformed into a Winter Wonderland.

She huffs and puffs and grumbles about it but Chloe knows by now it's all for show.

"I just think it's too long."

"Is not," Chloe argues again, as she gets to work on untangling the lights. "Besides it's the perfect name for him, isn't it Cuddle Bear?"

The dog's ears perk up and he barks from his perch on the couch.

"See? He agrees."

"You wanna name a behemoth of a dog, Cuddle Bear? You heard what the vet said, he's gonna be at least 100 pounds. He's gonna be walking us in a few months and you wanna name him Cuddle Bear?" Beca asks as she sets another box ornaments down in front of the tree.

"Yes."

Beca groans and plops down in front of the box and sets to unpack all the ornaments. Soon enough she's surrounded by a few dozen trinkets collected through the years.

While she unpacks, Chloe starts putting them on the tree; they work quickly like a well-oiled machine after almost ten Christmases together, sitting in comfortable near silence. Their newest addition however, sees it fit to interrupt, wading through the mess of papers and boxes to start playing with some of the sillier, plushier ornaments they've yet to put up.

"Bad puppy. No." Beca calls, suppressing a smile as she unwittingly starts a tug-of-war to wrestle the small, stuffed candy cane from his mouth. "How are we supposed to discipline him with a name like Cuddle Bear?"

Chloe rolls her eyes and shrugs as she keeps looking for a spot for the ornament in her hand. "I don't know, Becs. I'm sure we'll figure it out."

"That's enough, Bear."

The puppy barks, his tail wagging so hard his entire little body moves with it. The ornament in his mouth drops, forgotten.

"Did we just find your name?" Chloe asks as she settles next to them on the carpet. "Come here, Bear," she calls.

The dog curls into the warm cradle between Chloe's legs.

"Guess we did," Beca smiles reaching for her phone to capture the moment. She's pretty sure the resulting picture's going to be her phone's lock screen for the next few weeks.