Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I approach a bench near the water, walking away from a nearby pub that’s playing live jazz. I look back for a moment before I sit down with a heavy sigh. It’s nearing summer, so people are starting to get even more excited than normal, playing jazz until later in the evening and wearing brighter clothing.

I look down at the photograph in my hand. It’s a little crumbled and there’s a missing piece in the top right corner but the woman’s face in it is intact. I stare and let only one tear fall on her face before I shut my eyes tight, clutching the picture to my chets.

“I’m so sorry, Jo,” I whisper to myself and to the picture, “I’m so sorry, please forgive me.”

I know she won’t answer me and will not remember the next time she is born but I can’t help but let the words out. Maybe a part of her is listening out there, maybe she’ll remember.

As I stare out in the water, I think about all that’s happened and everything I’ve been through. All I wish was this curse, this punishment was over with because I have no idea how to end this and it kills me a little bit every time. Not literally, of course.

Well, let me start over.

I was born in 1770 in Philadelphia. My name is, at least originally, was Katherine Smith. I know 1770 was a long time ago and I have no way of explaining this myself, but I’ve been alive ever since. What I know for sure is my “mission” is finding my soulmate. I first met her in 1788, her name was Cleda Baker then. She was beautiful, had luscious red hair and the most amazing blue eyes I’d ever seen. Of course, I had no idea what I was feeling was love, I had only heard of women marrying men, so I thought I just thought I liked Cleda as a friend. A friend I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

Back then, when we were first together, I worked hard to provide for us, I thought that was the most important thing at the moment. I thought Cleda needed someone to provide for her, a ‘safe’ environment where she could grow as a person, I thought that’s what she needed most. I didn’t think back then that she needed me to be with her, not working all the time, not fighting against prejudice and bigotry.

Cleda died in 1810 from scarlet fever. We’d moved to Boston to live together, so I stayed.

Back then, I thought I’d end up dying, too. Away from the person I loved most in the world, but at least I thought I would. Knowing Cleda died unhappy, thinking I didn’t care about her.

I was wrong. I lived on.

Years bassed by. My appearance didn’t change. I found I was unable to get sick, get hurt or die.

I was immortal.

And, as I was working as a laundress, firmly holding the laundry basket to take to my client’s home, I saw her again. I knew it was her because I can never forget those eyes.

She looked the same. Except this time she was younger. She opened the door to me and I instantly recognized her.

I nearly dropped the basket, ruining the laundry.

“Mother! The laundry!” she turns and yells inside.

I have no time to introduce myself or say anything else to her, because I’m still standing shocked at her doorstep.

Her mother, I assume, comes over. They look similar, her mother isn’t the same, I can tell, but Cleda is. Cleda smiles at me before going inside.

“Oh dear, are my clothes made ready?”

I snap out of it, promptly responding, “Aye, milady.” I hand over the basket, which she inspects before smiling and paying me.

She thanks me before closing the door, leaving me stunned. I don’t know if they noticed, if they thought it was weird how I was staring and basically gawking. I didn’t mean to, of course. I felt tears filling up my eyes when I realized my Cleda is back. She’s alive.

That’s the time I realized why I was made immortal. I thought I was blessed, blessed with a second chance.

But, as I would soon discover, this wasn’t a blessing. It was a curse.

I was cursed to live, searching for my soulmate, trying to get her to remember me each time.

Cursed to watch the person I love, the friends I make die, but I live on. They figure out my secret sometimes, especially when we had plagues, such as the yellow fever, scarlet fever, cholera and so many others that took the lives of hundreds of people, but I never got sick. Not even a running nose.

Now, as I stare at the photo in my hands, happy I get to stare into her eyes as the pain overtakes me, I hold it close to my chest. I wish we could grow old together, but I find out I don’t age even when we’re happy together.

At this point – the year is 1885 – I’ve been alive for over a century, and I have yet to have my first gray hair. I know women don’t usually look forward to it but for me, it would be a sign that this stupid curse is coming to an end. That I’m going to meet my end with my soulmate.

I just want to be able to have a live with her. Why has this happened to me? I have no signs, no explanation whatsoever, only the things I learn through experience.

I thought maybe my fate is to do something different than trying to find a woman, but no. Fate always brings me to her. Each and every time. So, I took that as a sign, and I keep going for her, trying to get better each time.

I hear someone walk by me, two women, laced arms, laughing. I watch them go by, not caring about me, but that’s fine. I always enjoy listening to music, so the jazz coming from a few streets over is making me feel at least a little peaceful.

Knowing Josephine will come back, will be born again eases my mind a little but never makes me feel better. Because I know I’ll lose her again. It just adds to my pain of knowing I’m forever meant to lose her in a variety of different ways.

Suddenly, as the jazz stops, the street gets suddenly quiet and I take a deep breath, wiping my tears. I look up at the darkening city, taking it all in, waiting for whatever fate has in store for me.

Chapter Text

As time goes by, centuries enter, I find it harder and harder to keep up with the latest trends and fashion. Although, the one thing I loved was finally being able to wear pants. Those skirts were so uncomfortable, and the undergarments were itchy and just scandalous. When women started rebelling and wanting to wear pants, you bet I was at the front of the line. I couldn’t die, what can people do to me? Burn me as a witch? Shoot me?

I think the worst part for me is the language. I mean, it changes so much, I feel so slow catching up to people! Of course, when Cleda is reborn and dies, I get recluse, I rarely make friends anymore because I know they’ll die before I do, so what is the difference? I feel ancient though when I start talking to Cleda again and she’s using a different vernacular. She always finds my antics cute, though, so that’s a plus.

One of the hardest things I’ve found, though, is changing my name every time Cleda dies again. But, at the same time, I find a new one that will hopefully stick, that will hopefully be the name I die with.

I try to keep up with the changing world and I appreciate the fact that I’ve been frozen as a 19-year-old, so I feel I learn things quicker and easier.

I remember when Cleda, whose name was Cadence at the time, got our first television set back in 1965. I was absolutely mesmerized. We could have this metal box in our house, and it showed other people? That sounded insane, but it was fun, I loved that thing. I mean, I was already familiar with telephones, having been there when the technology took over the American homes, but television was something else.

And the more time passed, the better the television became. It became thinner and wider and in colors! God, it was amazing.

And then came computers, which seemed like witchcraft to me. Cadence convinced me to get our own computer in 1980, which I did a bit reluctantly. To be completely honest, I didn’t get very interested in it until, like with the television, it became colorful.

Cadence passed away in 1985, in Portland, Oregon, where we lived. She lived to be 40 years old but died of cancer. That was the longest time we spent together, I thought we were going to outlive this ridiculous immortal thing, but I was wrong. Cadence didn’t remember her past lives, and I didn’t age a day.

I watch as we get into a new millennium, the year 2000! Something that back when I watched as the United States became a country, was so far away! And the world didn’t end, like so many people then had thought.

Like I always do, I stay in Portland, hoping to see Cadence. I have my savings in a bank account, something I’ve been forced to do as the years passed. Turns out, other than the occasional odd looks, being immortal can be quite easy – losing loved ones aside, of course.

I try to look through college options, knowing this time around, more than any other time, Cadence will most likely go to college. I have no idea if she’s been born yet, but it’s the year 2011 and I haven’t seen her. It’s starting to get frustrating.

Until one day when I’m at the grocery store and I see her. I first get a glimpse of red hair, which gets my heart going, and then I notice her blue eyes. I freeze in while reaching for the half gallon of milk. I see her walking alongside a woman who looks a lot like her, but it’s not old enough to be her mom. It’s probably her sister. She’s laughing about something as they reach for a gallon of milk and add that to a cart that’s already half full. I see she’s wearing a Barden University shirt and, given it’s summer, I imagine she must be enjoying summer vacation.

I try not to stare but to listen for something that gives me the confirmation that she in fact goes to Barden University.

I glance up and the woman with her grabs a quart of almond milk, “Are you nervous for your last year at Barden?”

There it is! The confirmation I needed; Cadence is in fact in college. Now I just need to go on my computer – which is something that fits my lap thing now, I can carry it with me everywhere, this is insane – and go on something called the internet, something that gave me quite the headache as I was learning about it, and search about Barden University to find out how I can enroll. If Cadence, or whatever her name is now, is there, then that’s where I’ll be.

-Third person’s POV-

Chloe’s Senior Year at Barden had a rocky start, given the whole vomit thing at the ICCA final before their schoolyear ended. It’s no surprise all the a cappella groups are laughing at the Barden Bellas and they have no interested candidates approaching their table.

Aubrey is furious but mostly frustrated with herself, especially when Chloe reminds her that she’s the reason they’re in this predicament. Chloe doesn’t know why her best friend is so keen on get hot looking girls for their group when they really need good singers, no matter what they look like.

Chloe looks up at the crowd and she spots a short brunette with heavy eye makeup and some tattoos on her arms. She can’t explain it but she immediately feels a pull towards her. She finds herself suggesting her to Aubrey and doesn’t respond when Aubrey tries to gently turn her down. The girl looks lost and looks confused when Chloe greets her with a warm smile and puts a flier in her hands.

When the girl looks up at Chloe, their eyes meet for the first time, it makes the redhead feel a shiver run through her body. Her mouth is doing the speaking automatically – recruiting Bellas for the fourth year in a row can do that to you – and she feels her heartbeat increase even the tiniest bit. She can’t tell but it looks like the girl is taken aback too.

The brunette, whose name Chloe all but forgets to ask, disappears into the crowd, making the redhead feel disappointed and defeated. She looks down at the flier the girl gave back to her, feeling her heart sinking to her stomach.

Beca has absolutely no idea how to navigate this university stuff, starting with the fact that she has to stay in a dorm with someone else. Over the years, she’s grown used to having indoor plumbing, for instance, but if Beca’s being honest with herself, the idea of communal showers is a lot more daunting than she would care to admit. What do you mean you shower with other women around? And change in front of them?

So, Beca knows she has to go out and look for Cadence, find her again, but this whole idea of college is so overwhelming for her, she has no idea what to do. She knows she can now choose her classes, find herself an internship along with her classes, so Beca finds herself being tucked away in her room for the first month, if she’s being honest, fighting off having to shower for as long as she can. She only tries to shower during the night when there’s no one else around or in the middle of the day, when other students are usually in class.

Beca feels she has a constant headache, it takes her about a month to actually feel a bit better in this environment, with the technology, the clothes people wear, the parties and the weird but pleasant music.

She grabs a change of clothes, her shower caddy, her robe and heads for the communal showers during class, humming a very interesting tune she’s been hearing constantly. She’s been getting so good at using her computer, listening to this new century music, she feels she belongs here already. College is still a bit far away, but she likes this century so far.

As she’s singing the song, going through the stalls in the bathroom, she fails to notice there’s a couple in one of the stalls. She shuts the curtain, hanging her robe and shower caddy, turning on the water and waiting for it to get warm, still singing.

“You can sing!”

Beca instantly recognizes the voice, turning around to find a grinning Cadence, naked as the day she was born. Well, one of the days she was born. Reflexes make Beca instantly pull the curtain closed to ease her racing heart. She’s seen all this before, Cadence has seen all this before, but not in this life, not this Cadence. And not in a communal shower.

“How high does your belt go?” the redhead continues, reaching forward and turning the water off.

“My what?” Beca all but yelps and goes to the corner when Cadence gets closer, “Oh my God!”

This is all so weird for her, the openness, the fact that Cadence was so okay with being naked in front of someone she doesn’t know.

When Beca thinks about it, it reminds her of when Cadence all but begged her to take her to the Woodstock Festival in Bethel. Beca had been reluctant at first, but she ended up taking Cadence, and they had a great time, they went on August 16 and 17. Beca remembers how she saw all those amazing artists and had a great time! How Cadence was so free and so happy among all those people.

Beca is snapped back to reality when Candece is talking about the song she’s been singing. She’s now facing the corner but she looks back at Cadence as she hears the name of the song.

“You know David Guetta?” she asks. So, Cadence knows this artist? This is great, we have something in common, that’s great!

“Have I been living under a rock? Yeah,” Cadence responds. Beca doesn’t really know what this means, but Cadence doesn’t seem to notice that. “That song is my jam!” Cadence leans a bit closer to Beca, getting her heartbeat to increase again, “My lady jam.”

“That’s nice,” Beca says. Once again, she doesn’t know what that means.

“The song really builds…” Cadence bites her lip and Beca realizes that must have a sexual meaning, which makes her blush.

“Gross,” she says under her breath. Why would Cadence just say something obscene out loud? In a public space? Though, knowing Cadence the way she does, it doesn't really surprise her when she thinks about it.

“Will you sing it for me?” she bites her lip again. It’s so cute.

But Beca is feeling quite literally cornered, under the spotlight and exposed.

“Dude, no! Get out!” she wants to high five herself for using the new lingo, though she doesn't want Cadence to get out, it's probably the feeling of being cornered naked.

“Not for that reason,” Cadence clarifies.

Beca’s heart is beating wildly against her ears, she can’t hear the next thing she says. She then realizes, when Cadence sighs comfortably behind her, that the other girl isn’t moving until Beca sings for her. She wants to get her to join the Bellas, that new age singing group.

Beca slowly turns around, covering herself as best as she can. She feels weird, Cadence is so open with her body, and her eye contact is so intense, it’s weird. Beca knows this is her roommate but it’s always different, whenever she’s reborn, Cleda is always a different person.

“I’m bulletproof, nothing to loose
Fire away, fire away”

Beca is amazed when Cadence joins her, harmonizing with her, singing perfectly. She slowly drops the shampoo and conditioner she’d been using to cover her chest, staring deeply at Cadence’s baby blue eyes as they sing together.

When the song is over, Cadence gives what Beca’s known for years as her predatory look, making the brunette blush. It makes her weak in the knees every time.

Unfortunately for her, a young man shows up, complimenting Beca’s voice, and Cadence leaves with him. Beca’s so confused, she thought Cadence was going to introduce herself, ask her if she’d like to meet her sometime around campus and talk. But no, she disappeared with another person.

Well, if Beca wants to see her again – and she does – she’s going to have to find out where this so-called audition is.

Given it’s the first time she’s going out further and exploring the campus, Beca feels overwhelmed by the amount of colors she sees everywhere. She has a map with her, which helps her navigate, but she stops to ask someone for help and the girl gives her a weird look before pointing at a direction. Beca thanks her before following her instructions.

As the brunette reaches the place, she enters to hear voices singing an unfamiliar song. She makes her way through the auditorium to the backstage, where she sees a blond woman finishing her audition before walking off the stage. As Beca walks further onstage, she sees Cadance sitting next to the blonde girl from the Activities Fair. She grins widely when she spots Beca, making the brunette’s heart start beating faster. It doesn’t matter how many times she’s seen that smile before, it’ll always make her weak in the knees.

“Hello,” she says with a small wave, coming forward. She keeps in mind the voice in her head telling her to keep her language modern, “I didn’t know we had to prepare that song.”

“That’s okay, sing anything you want,” Cadence says, making Beca swoon internally. She doesn’t know what to do, she likes singing, she plays piano but if this is a cappella, she’s not allowed to use a piano during her audition.

She spots a yellow cup on the desk Cadence and her blonde friend are sitting at and she gets an idea. In the 70s, Cadence taught her to do this cup thing to the song You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone, which comes to her mind immediately. She kneels near the edge of the stage and reaches forward.

“May I?” she asks, and Cadence gives her a ‘go ahead’ signal. She gently dumps the pens and pencils on the desk before sitting cross legged on the stage.

Beca awkwardly looks up at Cadence, remembering how the cup thing begins before she starts singing and doing it at the same time. It’s at times like these she wishes she had a hidden bodycam to capture Cadence’s face. She looks mesmerized, hypnotized by her singing.

When Beca finishes singing, Cadence’s smile looks even wider and she looks at her friend, who doesn’t look like she liked it all that much. But they thank her and tell her the results will be announced soon enough, and she’ll know if she’s been selected.

Beca doesn’t know what that means, so she simply tries to find her way back to her dorm. During her month of being an introvert, Beca found out you can rent your own apartment near or on campus and live by herself, which is definitely something she wants to do, so she doesn’t have to deal with her weird, rude roommate. Besides, having a place for herself gives her more space for her own stuff – such as memorabilia she has of her entire life that had to put in boxes. She doesn’t carry all her stuff with her, but she makes a point of taking her pictures with her and her photo albums that include Cadence’s pictures through the years. It makes her feel closer to her when she has to wait for Cadence to be reborn again.

When she talks to people at the Student Life Office about housing options that are not dorms and, after a few minutes, she learns she can go in the University website to search available apartments. Beca almost wants to ask for a newspaper instead, but she decides to just go with it and try to get better acquainted with technology.

What proves to Beca that she is not aging at all, even in mind, is the fact that she learns things quickly. So, although going online, going on her computer feels so weird at first, she finds she has no difficulty navigating technology and she learns a lot faster than she would usually think, especially for someone born in the 1700s.

Beca’s alone in her dorm, sitting on her bed, on her computer when she hears someone knocking on her door. She frowns, thinking there’s no one out there that knows her yet, so the only thing she thinks of is someone must be knocking to ask about Kimmy Jin. So she sighs, putting her laptop aside and getting up, going over to the door, opening it.

Beca doesn’t even get a glimpse of the person standing outside the door when she feels someone being thrown over her head and she panics, trying to hit the stranger.

“Help! Help! I’m being taken!” Beca says, but she quickly feels hands at her waist, and, like magic, she calms down. She knows that touch, she knows those hands.

“Calm down, it’s me!” Cadence’s soft voice says against her ear, giggling when Beca instantly breathes out in relief.

“Oh, I thought you were KKK,” Beca says.

There’s a moment of silence.

“But… you’re not black,” Cadence says.

“Well, although black people were their main target, in their Second Era, in the 1920s, the KKK also targeted what they believed to be ‘immoral people’, the gays, lesbians, gamblers and such,” Beca says.

“Huh,” Cadence says, “Are you a historian or something?”

“I happen to like history,” Beca says. It’s easier to explain to people rather than saying she was there, and she lived it.

“Cool,” Cadence says, “by the way, I’m sorry, I don’t think I ever introduced myself, I’m Chloe Beale.”

Chloe. Her name is Chloe. Beca breathes out in relief upon hearing that and chuckles.

“I’m…” Beca hates herself for momentarily forgetting the name she changed into after Cadence died, “Beca Mitchell.”

Chloe chuckles, “You sounded unsure for a moment.”

“Well,” Beca says with a shrug.

“Okay, I’m kidnapping you for your initiation. You’ve been accepted into the Bellas!” Chloe says. “I remove the hood so you can put on some shoes, though.”

The hood over her head is removed and Beca squints for a while as her dark blue eyes adjust to light again and she is met with Chloe smiling back at her. She first met Chloe back in 1789, almost 223 years ago, but her heart never fails to skip a beat. Seeing Chloe smile never fails to make her weak in the knees and almost forget to breathe.

“Umm, shoes?” Chloe says.

“Oh!” Beca says, turning around. She sits on her bed and immediately puts on her combat boots. She gets up and goes back to where Chloe is standing, but the redhead frowns.

“Aren’t you going to grab your phone?” she asks, pointing at the phone on Beca’s desk.

“Ah, I don’t need it,” Beca says, “It has no charge in it, anyway.”

Chloe’s frown deepens and she tilts her head, “It’s dead?”

What’s dead?, Beca asks herself.

“Yeah…?” Beca says, hoping that’s the right answer.

“You should charge it, what if someone needs to reach you?” Chloe asks. “We’re gonna add you to the Bellas group chat and you need to read the messages we send. Details about rehearsals, competitions and stuff are going to be on there.”

“Oh,” Beca says, turning around, “I’ll charge it then.”

Chloe nods with a smile. Beca plugs her phone in before turning around. Chloe lifts the hood back up with a sorry look, “I gotta put this on you until we get to the auditorium, it’s the rules.”

“Okay,” Beca says, allowing Chloe to put the hood over her head.

“You have your keys, right?” Chloe asks.

“Yeah,” Beca says, tapping her pocket just to make sure. She hears Chloe pull the door closed before grabbing her wrist and guiding her out of the building.

Beca hasn’t gotten out of her dorm much ever since joining university. She’s trying to figure out which classes to take, one of them she decides being History or Politics, since it’s something she’s interested in.

Beca can’t see exactly where Chloe is taking her, but she can hear things, and she can see the floor. She sees a rather dark environment and hears some whispering. She looks down and sees the black linoleum, a dim light and she sees a pair of feet next to her.

Chloe’s hands leave her shoulders and Beca suddenly feels anxious, not sure what to expect. She knows looking at her sides is useless because she can’t see anything, so she simply stays put, trusting Chloe is somewhere nearby.

“Okay, is that the last one?” there is a whisper from a voice Beca can recognize but she can’t place it. “Okay, let’s begin.”

The same voice starts introducing girls, so Beca stays put. She’s confused but she waits until her own hood is removed, and the own name is introduced at last. Beca looks around, there are candles everywhere, making her step closer to the girl next to her. Chloe and a blonde girl are standing in front of everyone.

The blonde girl and Chloe distribute beautiful blue and yellow scarves to everyone before they make them take a very weird oath, even to Beca’s standards, but she repeats the words anyway. If this is the way to get closer to Chloe, this is the way she’ll go.

“You are all Bellas now,” the blonde girl says with a wide grin before Chloe turns the lights back on, and there’s screaming.

Beca can’t help but look around herself, asking herself what her soulmate will get her into, which she always seems to do. Beca can’t really complain, she’ll go with the flow. She’ll follow whichever way Chloe goes in all her lives.

Chapter Text

-Beca’s POV-

I walk inside the home I share with Cadence and our friends, Frank and Daniel. It’s not technically ours, we own homes right next to each other so we can come and go and spend time together.

Frank and Daniel are couple friends; we bonded over our forbidden sexualities. They’re also gay and Daniel and Frank are in the movie industry, so they cannot be out. It was Cadence’s suggestion we marry them. At first, I’d been severely against it, but when she explained it would just be on paper and that we wouldn’t need to act like couples other than to the outside world, given Daniel’s growing career as a director, Cadence convinced me.

I walk past the foyer and go inside to the living room to see Cadence dancing to a song on the radio. She’s nodding along to it and swinging her hips. I stop for a minute, a lazy smile on my lips, feeling the exhaustion from the day wash over me as I watch the love of my life dancing without a care in the world. She’s wearing a red bandana on her red hair, shorts and a tank top. She finally spots me and runs over to the radio to lower the volume.

“Hey Babs, I didn’t you were home!” she says, taking a puff of the cigarette on her lips before blowing it out.

“Hey babe,” I say, wrapping my arms around her and pecking her lips, “you sure those cigarettes are good for you?”

“Of course! Everybody smokes, babe,” Cadence shrugs, her arms still around my shoulders.

“If you say so,” I shrug, “How was work?”

“Good,” she says, “I like helping people, but I really wish I could help animals.”

“I know,” I offer her a sympathetic smile, “why don’t you go to a university and get a degree in veterinary medicine?”

“You’re out of your gourd, Babs,” she says, “I don’t think women can even enter that field.”

“You can try,” I suggest, “either way, one day, I hope your dream comes true.”

“Thanks,” she smiles before stepping away from me, taking yet another puff of her cigarette. “Dinner’s in the oven. Oh! You know this song?”

Cadence walks over to the radio and turns the volume up. I nod along and instantly recognize the song.

“One sweet thought my soul shall cherish
When this fleeting life has flown
This sweet thought will cheer when dying
Will you miss me when I’m gone?”

“Oh yeah!” I say.

“I was watching this program and there was this group doing this… this thing with a cup!” Cadence says. She goes over to the kitchen and grabs a yellow plastic cup from the cupboard before going to the living room, calling me with her.

“What were they doing?” I ask, placing my bag on the sofa, watching Cadence sit on the floor.

“This! I spent about 2 hours learning this since I saw it,” Cadence says, putting the cup facing down on the floor. I take a seat on the sofa next to her, one eyebrow raised as I wait for her to show me what she’s so excited to show me.

 Cadence starts tapping the cup rhythmically while singing the song, making it even more fun. Her voice is amazing and the way she can keep a rhythm doing that cup thing, probably the years of piano lessons.

“Oh wow!” I say.

“Isn’t this dynamite?” she asks.

“So groovy,” I agree. “So you were watching television after work, saw people doing this and spent 2 hours teaching yourself?”

“Yeah,” Cadence nods. “And I’m gonna teach you after dinner.”

I roll my eyes but it’s halfhearted. I know how excited Cadence gets over some small stuff, most of them include music, and I love it when she passes down her knowledge to me.

“What’s for dinner, Mrs. Carter?” I ask with a teasing smile.

“My memaw’s chicken and rice casserole!” Cadence says, standing up, ditching the butt of her cigarette on a glass ashtray.

“Oh, delicious!” I say, “I should wash my hands!”

I walk down the hallway and wash my hands on our ensuite yellow and orange bathroom. Cadence loves it, she picked the tiles, and I couldn’t say no, of course. It’s so psychedelic and fun! Cadence wants to add a purple or pink neon sign on one of the orange walls.

Cadence serves us her casserole, which I absolutely love, and we eat listening to music from the radio. She lights up another cigarette after dinner, which is when she says my cup lessons will start.

I chuckle, telling her I have to prepare for tomorrow’s class, but Cadence argues I’m great at what I do, and the students are only 5^th graders. I don’t think I can ever win with this woman, she always has a trick up her sleeve. I give in to it and let her teach me to do the cup thing.

By the time our friends Frank and Dan come over, we’re both doing the cup thing totally in sync and singing the song, too. Cadence even insists on showing the two guys our new ability before her and Frank start working on dinner. I go inside to finish preparing the class for tomorrow, all with a smile on my face.

Cadence is so spirited and fun, there’s almost no telling what her next step will be, but I love her for it. She’s always been like this, in all her lives, and she never fails to amaze me.

-Third person’s POV-

The first message Beca receives when she charges her phone is about Bellas rehearsal schedule. She doesn’t respond but makes a point of jotting down the details on her calendar, needing to organize herself.

Beca manages to find a townhouse or herself on campus, the walk to her classes is only 10 minutes longer than before. The townhouse is a two-story, two bedroom house. The furniture included are one bed in each bedroom, fridge, stove and dining table and chairs. Beca buys herself a dresser to accommodate some of her clothes, putting the rest on the shelves in the small walk in closet.

Since the townhouse is specially for students, there’s no one else living there and Beca isn’t required to find another roommate if she doesn’t have to, so she chooses not to. She prefers living by herself, it’s easier.

Beca takes the opportunity that she has the weekend off and brings her boxes of memorabilia from her personal storage. She brings out Chloe’s pictures from her previous lives and puts them in the empty bedroom. She doesn’t hang them but takes most of them out of the boxes. Her favorite goes in her bedroom. It’s of Chloe as Cadence in Woodstock. She was so free and happy then, she didn’t know yet that cancer had taken most of her lungs was spreading to her other organs.

When Beca shows up for her first Bellas rehearsal, she is confused but excited. She loves looking at Chloe, learning from her. She sees how much Chloe loves this, being involved with music and singing, it’s something she’s loved in all her previous lives.

They train walking in heels because their choreography requires them to wear them. Beca doesn’t mind – she doesn’t particularly like heels, spending most of her live wearing them up until her life with Cadence.

Beca feels her heartbeat faster when Chloe gets closer to her to teach the choreography, grabbing her wrists and insisting Beca needs help with that part. Beca argues she can do it herself, but she likes that the redhead finds any excuse to touch her and be close to her.

She wants to get the redhead alone to ask about the guy she was with in the shower and on Hood Night. She knows Chloe is her soulmate and will find her way back to her eventually, as she has in all her lives, but she can’t help but be anxious about it. At the same time, she knows it’s rude to ask such things if Chloe doesn’t even consider them friends yet. She might, Beca thinks, when she remembers Hood Night and how close she’d gotten to Beca, making the brunette think she was going to kiss her.

“Um Chloe?” Beca asks one day after rehearsals is over. She shoots Aubrey a quick smile, knowing the blonde isn’t a big fan of hers yet, but she most likely will be, if she’s Chloe’s best friend.

“Hey Beca,” Chloe says with a kind smile as they both leave the gym.

“I don’t know if I should let you or Aubrey know this, but I moved,” Beca says.

“Okay…” Chloe looks confused.

“I just… you showed up at my dorm that day, I didn’t know if that was going to happen again,” Beca says, feeling herself blushing.

“Is this a way for you to ask me to come over to your new place?” Chloe asks with a small smirk.

“It wasn’t exactly, but you’re more than welcome to,” Beca says.

Chloe smiles at her.

“Absolutely,” Chloe says, “I have to go, I have class.”

“Okay!” Beca waves as Chloe hurries to get inside one of the buildings surrounding them.

Beca sighs as she watches the ginger disappear inside the building before turning around and going her own way. She’s decided she’ll be a History major, while she figures out how to use the computer to make mixes and “mashups”, as she’s learned on the internet one day.

Beca also has always loved music, she’s always found a way to be connected to music somehow, and when she purchased her new laptop, she figured out she could use it to actually make music with it! It made her feel so accomplished, keeping up with the latest technology.

“Cadence would be so proud of me,” Beca says to herself one day while she sits on the quad, headphones on and making yet another mashup.

Chloe gets in the apartment she shares with Aubrey one day after her classes. She all but throws her bag on a vacant armchair before sighing exasperatedly, making sure to sound dramatic.

“Jesus, what’s wrong?” Aubrey asks.

“I’m tired,” Chloe says simply, “and I have a dilemma.”

“What’s your dilemma?” Aubrey asks from her seat on the dining table, which is where she’s sitting with her textbooks and laptop.

“You know I’ve been hooking up with Tom,” Chloe says.

“The braindead guy? Yeah,”

“Stop calling him that,” Chloe says, “but anyway, yeah, it’s nothing serious and it feels… good.”

“So what’s your dilemma?” Aubrey asks again, raising an eyebrow.

“This Beca girl is really cute,” Chloe says.

“The short one with the ear spikes?” Aubrey asks, showing some slight disgust.

“Yeah,”

“Yeah, I could see your toner for her, it grew so big it almost knocked over our booth at the Activities Fair,” Aubrey says.

“Come on,” Chloe says but blushes. She goes over to the table where Aubrey’s sitting, taking a seat in front of her. “Should I dump Tom and… ask her out?”

“Hmm brain rot Tom vs ear monstrosity Beca,” Aubrey says, tapping her chin while pretending to think.

“Okay, I don’t like you when you do that,” Chloe says.

“Sorry,” Aubrey sighs, “I might not like Beca’s attitude, but I don’t know her enough as your possible partner.”

“Yeah?” Chloe says, chewing on her bottom lip as she waits for her blonde best friend to go on.

“But I hate Tom for you, so dump him,” Aubrey says. “Something you should’ve done after you guys first hooked up.”

Chloe sighs, taking in what Aubrey just said – most of it anyway, “Alright, I’ll do it.”

“Yay!” Aubrey says, not taking her eyes off the textbook she’s currently highlighting.

“I’ll dump Tom as soon as possible,” Chloe says. “Though I have to figure out if Beca likes girls…”

“She does,” Aubrey lifts her head to give Chloe a look, “anyone with a minimally functioning sight can see that.”

Chloe laughs, “You really are a piece. You should ask Stacie out, she also likes girls.”

“What are you talking about? How can you tell?” Aubrey asks, a bright pink coloring her cheeks.

“Because anyone with a minimally functioning sight can see that,” Chloe mimics her, earning herself a pen to the face. “Come on, I saw the way you looked at Stacie, you should ask her out.”

“Stacie looks like the player type,” Aubrey shakes her head, “I don’t wanna get involved with that.”

“Your loss, maybe she likes you and wants to be your girlfriend,” Chloe shrugs before sighing again, “I’m gonna take a shower and get dinner started.”

“Okay,” Aubrey says, picking up the highlighter again.

Beca finishes decorating her space, including putting a desk to the empty room currently occupied with boxes. She doesn’t mind the boxes there, they don’t stop her from doing her schoolwork. Besides, the boxes contain pictures that are hard to place, Beca just wants to know they’re there.

Sometimes, Beca stares out the window or when she’s listening to the music she’s mixed and thinks about her parents. They’ve been dead for such a long time, the last time she spoke to them was days before she ran off to Boston with Cleda. They spoke again, Beca never wrote them anymore, she doesn’t even know how they died, if they still thought about her. Sometimes it hurts her, it tightens her chest, and she cries for a while, she remembers her siblings, both of them were younger, a boy named Joseph who was 10 when Beca left, and a girl named Martha, who was 8 when she left. Now, she would most likely have great nieces or nephews, and she would like to track them down if she can, she just doesn’t know how to. She knows Chloe will most likely know, she always knows more about new technology than Beca does.

The Bellas rehearsal is interesting to say the least. Beca tries to keep her reactions and thoughts to herself when Aubrey is teaching her techniques to simulate instruments and really project her voice. For Beca, it just sounds like she’s making animal noises.

Whenever they leave, Beca gets confused, because she wants to hang back and talk to Chloe, get to know her – at least get to know this version of Chloe – and just spend time overall. She misses having Chloe in her arms, kissing her and just being able to fall asleep feeling her warmth.

But Beca doesn’t want to be pushy or needy, so she tries to go on with her life, going after a job for starters, and she finds an internship at a radio station, where she meets this over friendly guy named Jesse, who insists on talking to her when Beca isn’t interested in making friends. It’s too painful to know they’ll die before her, most likely. She knows there’s a slim chance she’ll start ageing, but she doesn’t wanna risk it.

The boy finds her when she’s sitting on the quad, working on her mixes. During the internship, she finds out he’s a member of the Treblemakers, so he’s on an a cappella group as well.

She catches a juice pouch he throws at her, and she takes a long time to work out how to drink from it. Beca slowly decides she might as well let Jesse befriend her, she doesn’t wanna be alone for the rest of her life, and he seems nice enough. If only he’ll realize she’s not into guys.

“You need a moviecation, and I’m gonna give it to you,” Jesse decides.

“Oh no, please,” Beca says, “I don’t need to watch any of those 21^st century movies, thanks.”

“What?” Jesse asks.

Beca rolls her eyes. “Everyone knows the best movies are The Godfather, 12 Angry Men, Schindler’s List andThe Good, The Bad and The Ugly, and you can’t change my mind.”

Jesse looks at her like a fish, opening and closing his mouth. “But all the movies I have here are also from the last century!”

“I know, I’ve seen those,” Beca says, “I like movies about stuff that could actually happen, or that have happened, like Schindler’s List. Not some enormous, unrealistic shark or an extraterrestrial being landing on Earth and nobody finding out about it.”

Jesse looks at her weirdly again, “You don’t like ET?!”

“Meh,” Beca shrugs and he gasps, “Come on! It’s just my opinion!”

“Okay, okay, fine,” Jesse says with a sigh.

“And I don’t want this ‘movie education’ either, thank you very much,” Beca says, “I’m much too busy with Bellas rehearsals anyway.”

“Are you guys getting ready for the riff off?” Jesse asks.

“Okay, what the hell is a riff off?” Beca asks, annoyed.

The riff off, as it turns out, is an incredible experience with the other a cappella groups, it makes Beca fall in love a bit more with this a cappella world, and she starts to see why Chloe loves it too. It makes her feel that much closer to her.

Beca sees the Bellas aren’t really in the mood for the afterparty, and she isn’t either if she’s being honest, so she starts to leave but that’s when she spots Chloe approaching her.

“You rocked singing No Diggity!” she says.

“Thanks,” Beca blushes, “I should’ve paid more attention to the rules, though.”

“Ah, forget about that, those guys worship the Trebles, they would find a way to assure they won,” Chloe says, waving her hand dismissively.

“That’s unfair,” Beca frowns, “but that doesn’t really surprise me. An all-male group being favored over the others? Yep, sounds legit.”

“Wow,” Chloe says, “are you a feminist?”

“Shouldn’t every woman be?” Beca questions. She’s learned this lesson from Cadence; the consequences of the patriarchy and the reason women should be fighting for their own rights.

“Yeah, you’re right, we should all be,” Chloe says, “and it is unfair, the Trebles always win.”

“Then let’s try our best to beat them at their game,” Beca says.

“Right,” Chloe says with a chuckle, “I like you, Beca.”

Beca finds herself blushing. She knows she’ll never get used to Chloe’s charm, not in this life or any of the others, she always knows how to make Beca weak in the knees.

“Thanks,” Beca finally says.

“You feel like staying for the afterparty?” Chloe asks, pointing over her shoulder with her thumb at the current party going on at the empty pool.

“Nah, actually. I was looking forward to going home and mixing,” Beca says, suddenly feeling like she should have chosen other words, because she doesn’t want Chloe to leave. “If you wanna come with, I could show you my mixes.”

Chloe’s eyes light up almost immediately, “You mix?”

“Oh yeah,” Beca says, “I have a few ideas the Bellas could sing, I think it would be awesome.”

“Cool! I’d love to hear your mixes!” Chloe says.

Beca smiles, “Awesome, let’s go then.”

Beca feels suddenly nervous. It’s the first time Chloe will be going to her home. If this goes well, she knows this will happen more often.

“Um do you have something going on with that Jesse guy from the Trebles?” Chloe asks. Beca thinks she might have some reason behind this question, but she doesn’t know if she should get her hopes up.

“Oh, no,” Beca says, “we’re friends. I’m not into… guys.”

Beca blushes, not sure if she can say this out loud, but if there’s one thing she’s learned the last few decades is people have become more open about their sexualities. She looks up at Chloe to see her reaction, and she sees a hint of hope in her eyes.

“Really?” she asks, nodding.

“Yeah,” Beca says, taking a turn around a corner, making the way to her townhouse. “Is that a problem?”

“No, not at all,” Chloe is way too quick to say, “it’s great, actually.”

Beca can’t help but smirk a bit and raise an eyebrow, “Great?”

“Oh yeah, because, you know, the oath,” Chloe says, blushing brightly. “Aubrey will probably be relieved.”

“Aubrey, yeah,” Beca says, playing her game. She eyes Chloe up and down and chuckles, stepping up to the small porch and fishing out her keys.

“I’m serious,” Chloe says with a chuckle.

“Sure, I’ll pretend I believe you,” Beca opens the door and suddenly gets hit with the fear that Chloe will see any pictures of herself in her past lives. But she remembers she never hung any of the pictures up for this very reason.

“Well, it’s the truth,” Chloe says, coming in after Beca, who closes the door after her.

“Of course, Aubrey probably had you ask about my sexuality, didn’t she?” Beca says, raising her eyebrows as she goes to the kitchen, “Do you want anything to drink? I have iced tea.”

“Sure, thanks,” Chloe says, “And for your information, Aubrey did have me ask this.”

“Of course, I’ll confirm with her tomorrow,” Beca says, opening the fridge and grabbing the jar of iced tea, putting it on the counter and grabbing two gasses. She grabs a lemon from the fruit bowl and cuts two slices, adding one to one glass before looking up at Chloe, “Do you want lemon with yours?”

“Sure,” Chloe says, placing her elbow on the counter and resting her chin on her hand, watching Beca pour two glasses of iced tea.

“There you go,” Beca hands Chloe her glass before putting the jar back in the fridge.

“Thank you,” Chloe says, taking a sip before humming, “Whoa, this is delicious! Which brand is that?”

“My own,” Beca says, taking generous sips of hers, “I make it at home.”

“Really?” Chloe asks.

“Yeah,” Beca says, “Much healthier than store bought. I make my own jam, too.”

“Wow,” Chloe says, “Are you from the colonial times or something?”

Beca forces out a laugh, trying not to blush.

“What else can you make?” Chloe asks. The way her eyes are bright as she looks back at Beca reminds the brunette of a kid on Christmas, she looks absolutely fascinated.

“Well, I make a mean gingerbread cake,” Beca says, “And I can also make butter and cheese from scratch.”

“Holy aca-moly!” Chloe says.

“Yeah, but I don’t. Not now that you can buy those in the market, anyway,” Beca says.

“Sure, Colonial Beca,” Chloe says, “It’s much easier nowadays, isn’t it?”

Beca gives her a look, trying to hide her blush. She can’t help it, she feels so comfortable with Chloe she forgets to hide her traces of ‘colonial Beca’.

Beca clears her throat, going to the staircase, “I’ll go get my computer.”

“Okay, I’ll wait for you here,” Chloe says, going to the open living room and sitting on the couch.

Beca goes upstairs and quickly comes back with her laptop and its charger. She plops down on the couch, Chloe instantly getting closer to her as the brunette types in her password.

“Do you think Aubrey would be okay about changing the set?” Beca asks, looking up at Chloe, who’s busy looking at her. She quickly looks away with a blush when she realizes Beca caught her staring.

“Um, I don’t know,” Chloe says, pulling one lock of her red hair behind her ear before clearing her throat, “I could ask her.”

“Great,” Beca says, “after you confirm with her that I’m not straight.”

Chloe gives her a look before biting her bottom lip, looking at Beca, who turns her head to look at her, “I have a confession to make.”

“Yeah?” Beca’s lived this moment so many times before, but it never fails to bring butterflies to her stomach.

“Aubrey never told me to ask anything,” Chloe says. Beca sees she’s leaning in and, despite knowing what’s happening, getting déjà vu, she still blushes and feels her heartbeat increase.

“Really?”

Chloe nods, her eyes dropping to Beca’s lips, the distance between the two decreases.

“Yeah,”

Beca looks down at Chloe’s lips, allowing the redhead to make the final move and lock their lips. The brunette closes her eyes, feeling the sparks and fireworks she’s felt so many times before, and it’s always just as good, as if it’s the first time she’s kissing Chloe.

Chloe can’t explain this but kissing Beca brings a weird feeling to her, like she’s kissed her before. The way her lips feel against hers, so smooth, like Beca knows how to kiss her to drive her insane. It makes Chloe feel like her lips should have been kissing Beca’s this whole time. The pull she feels towards Beca is intensified.

Beca places her hand gently on Chloe’s jawline, deepening the kiss. She doesn’t see it, but Chloe raises her eyebrows in surprise as she allows Beca to explore her mouth. Their lips fit so perfectly, it’s new and exciting yet so familiar at the same time.

When they finally break apart, Beca opens her eyes to see Chloe’s are still closed and she has a look of surprise in her.

“Whoa,” she breathes out, finally opening her eyes and looking at Beca, smiling.

“Yeah,” the brunette also breathes out.

Chapter Text

Chloe walks in the apartment she shares with Aubrey with a dreamy sigh. She closes the door and leans back against it, savoring the last kiss she shared with Beca.

“Okay, are you going to start doing drugs now?” Aubrey asks from the living room where she’s reading a book. She’s showered and her hair is up in a messy bun.

“No, I’m not,” Chloe rolls her eyes, “I went home with Beca.”

“Oh already?” Aubrey asks.

“No, we didn’t do anything, we just made out,” Chloe says, sitting on an armchair with another dreamy sigh, “I could kiss her for hours, it feels like I’ve known her all my life.”

“Weird but cute,” Aubrey says, “so it’s a Saturday night, you went over there, you could’ve definitely hooked up but you didn’t…”

“Yeah, I didn’t wanna press, Beca didn’t either,” Chloe says.

“Weird,” Aubrey frowns, “so she didn’t try to initiate anything with you?”

“No,”

Aubrey hums, putting her book aside with a thinking face.

“What? I don’t like that face,” Chloe says.

“I can’t say anything now, but I wanna get to know Beca better,” Aubrey says, “give her the best friend speech.”

“Oh God, Aubrey, no,” Chloe says, “please, not even my dad gave that speech to any of my exes!”

“Chloe, I’m not going to threaten her or anything,” Aubrey promises, “I just wanna get to know her.”

“Okay,” Chloe sighs, “I’m gonna take a shower and go to bed, then.”

“Alright,” Aubrey says.

“By the way, Beca has some aca-awesome mixes we could totes turn into our set…”

“No,”

“Aubrey, come on,”

“Chlo, you come on, you know we don’t stray from tradition,” Aubrey says.

“Just listen to Beca’s mixes! We could make a cappella history!” Chloe says.

“No,” Aubrey says, grabbing her book again, “now I feel I need to have a serious conversation with Beca for a completely different reason this time.”

Chloe rolls her eyes but disappears inside to get her sleeping attire and take a shower before bed.

-Beca’s POV-

I place my hand on Cadence’s jawline as I lean into the passionate kiss we’re sharing. It’s a cold winter day, but it’s warm and cozy inside. I got the fireplace lit, we’re sitting on my living couch, away from her judgy parents and prying eyes. It’s just the two of us here.

“Babs,” Cadence says, pulling away gently.

I stay close, grabbing and intertwining our fingers as I watch her regain her breath.

“I want you, Babs,” she says, opening her baby blue eyes and staring right at me. Her eyes show love, desire, lust, which makes me whimper pathetically.

“I want you too, Cay, but I want us to be official first,” I tell her.

Cadence rolls her eyes but I know it’s half heartedly, because she looks at me with a teasing smile.

“You want us to be official? You mean you want us to get married?” she asks.

“I want us to do this right, Cay,” I say with the sweetest voice possible.

“Why do you have to be so square, Barbra?” Cadence asks, and I can tell this time she’s getting annoyed, “We’re already two women in love, what can be more ‘wrong’ than that?”

I sigh, thinking of a way to phrase this.

“Cay,”

“It’s 1962, stop being a drag!” Cadence continues, “I think it’s cute that you’re trying to be a gentleman but please!”

I sigh, offering her a smile, “I know we can’t legally be married, Cay, but I want you to have this.”

I grab a small drawstring bag I had placed on the coffee table earlier – before Cadence attacked me with her mouth – and bring out a small ring. It’s simple, there’s no diamond or anything, but it’s silver.

“I want you to be my girlfriend, Cay. Officially,” I say to her, showing her the ring.

Cadence looks ready to cry. She covers her mouth to quiet the sob before she nods, giggling, “I wanna be your girlfriend more than anything, Babs.”

I smile at her and place the ring on her finger before I admire her hand with an even bigger smile. I then look up at her face, and she’s shedding a few tears. She wipes them before kissing me again.

“Will you please make love to me now?” she asks.

I laugh before I connect our lips again.

-Third Person’s POV-

Despite knowing it’s the 21^st century, there are some old habits Beca can’t help but keep. One of them, for instance, is always being a gentleman, if she can say that. She grins widely when she spots Chloe on rehearsals the next Monday. And, if the matching grin on Chloe’s face is anything to go by, she’s just as happy to see Beca. She rushes over to the brunette, her grin becoming even wider and her eyes start glowing.

“Hey,” she says, her cheeks turning a light pink color.

“Hey,” Beca says, placing her bag on one of the chairs and smiling at the redhead.

It doesn’t matter how many times Beca’s done this – and she’s gone out with Chloe in other lives before – she still feels giddy, excited, like a teenager with a first crush. She can feel her heart fluttering in her chest, the butterflies growing bigger in her stomach.

“I hope we have some time before Aubrey starts her drills because I wanted to ask you out,” Beca says.

Chloe nods enthusiastically, “Of course! I’d love to go out with you!”

Beca grins back, “Awesome. Aca-awesome, I should say.”

Chloe chuckles and nods, “I know you work at the radio station, right?” Beca nods, “How about Thursday or Friday then? Are you free?”

“Absolutely,” Beca nods with a smile. “You can pick the place.”

“Alright, I’ll let you know,” Chloe says.

“Great,” Beca says. She sees Chloe lean in a few inches and she leans back, putting a hand up gently, “Sorry, I’m kind of old fashioned, you’ll get a second kiss after our first date.”

Beca adds a wink for good measure, not wanting Chloe to think she doesn’t want to kiss her. It makes the redhead blush once more.

“May I ask why?” Chloe asks.

Beca shrugs, “I just think it preserves some of the mystery, you know? Nowadays people are always about kissin’ and… doin’ it, where’s the mystery?”

“Doing it?” Chloe holds herself back from laughing too hard.

“I mean, back in my day, it would take weeks before you were even allowed to hold the girl’s hand, much less kiss her!” Beca turns around, grabbing her water bottle from her bag when she sees Aubrey walk in and clear her throat.

“Back in your day?” Chloe asks before raising an eyebrow, “You’re talking like an 80-year-old.”

Beca stops suddenly in her tracks, remembering what she just said. She chuckles as she uncaps her water bottle and turns to Chloe, “I mean, that’s what my gr-grandma would say…”

Chloe doesn’t look convinced, but she laughs anyway, “Sure, Colonial Beca.”

“Alright Bellas! Let’s begin!” Aubrey calls everyone’s attention by clapping her hands twice.

Beca gets into formation, trying to avoid Chloe’s further questions. She doesn’t want to let anything else slip, but being close to Chloe just brings it out of her, she can’t help it. She tries hiding the blush in her cheeks while Chloe goes to Aubrey’s side.

Aubrey goes to Chloe’s bedroom and knocks on the doorframe, despite the door being wide open and her roommate not having much of a problem with personal space. Her personal space, that is.

“Chlo, do you have an orange highlighter?” Aubrey asks.

“Sure, check my pencil case on the desk,” Chloe answers while she applies her mascara.

“Thanks,” Aubrey says, going over to the desk, “You going out?”

“Yeah, it’s my first date with Beca,” Chloe answers, looking from the mirror to her best friend.

“Oh first date! Cool,” Aubrey says, taking a seat on the redhead’s desk, “Where are you two going?”

“Red Lobster,” Chloe says.

“Hmmm nice!”

“I know!” Chloe says, “I’m curious, she said I’d only get another kiss after our first date.”

“She did?” Aubrey frowns. “That’s odd.”

“A bit, I mean…” Chloe shrugs, “Sometimes she talks like she’s an 80-year-old trapped in a young adult’s body, but then she’s, like, also a feminist, so I don’t know.”

“Wait, how so?” Aubrey asks, crossing her arms.

“Like, she says she’s a feminist and stuff and that basically all women should be, right?” Chloe says, working on putting mascara on her other eye, “But then Monday at rehearsals she was like ‘back in my day,’ and all that stuff. Weird.”

“That is weird,” Aubrey says with a frown.

“Yeah,” Chloe chuckles, “And she makes her own butter and cheese and jam. She says she doesn’t, now that you can buy those in the market, her words.”

“That’s… super weird,” Aubrey says, “You think she has some sort of personality disorder or something?”

“No, I will not start analyzing Beca like a therapist and neither will you,” Chloe says, “I can just ask her.”

“You can,” Aubrey says with a hum, “I just hope she’ll tell you the truth.”

“Aubrey, just because she says those things doesn’t make her a serial killer,” Chloe says, turning to look at Aubrey once again.

“I’m not saying she is, but that’s definitely suspicious,” Aubrey says, “I just want you to be careful. Keep your eyes open, not your legs.”

Chloe rolls her eyes, “You make me sound like a slut,”

“Sorry,” Aubrey says, “But I see how infatuated you are.”

“Okay, now you’re the one who’s the 80-year-old.”

Aubrey rolls her eyes but chuckles.

Chloe finishes her mascara and checks her overall reflection, checking that her dress is not wrinkled or has any unseen stains. She smiles at herself, fluffing her hair a little before grabbing her purse. She’s about to step out of the room when the doorbell rings. She grabs her phone and heads out to the living room/kitchen. She opens the door, being met with Beca holding a small bouquet of flowers wrapped in a beautiful paper.

“Wow,” Chloe says as Beca hands it to her, “they’re beautiful! Thanks, Beca.”

Beca smiles as she watches Chloe admire the flowers in her hand, “No problem.”

Aubrey shows up from inside and is also surprised by the flowers.

“Look Bree!” Chloe says. She goes inside the kitchen, grabbing a temporary jar of water, filling it up with water, placing the flowers inside.

“Those are beautiful,” Aubrey says.

“Thanks,” Beca blushes.

Chloe places the flowers on the kitchen counter, admiring them for a moment before turning back to Beca, “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, are you?” Beca asks.

“Yep, let’s go,” Chloe smiles.

Beca glances over at Aubrey, waving at her before she and Chloe get out the door. Beca leads them outside, where they get on a cab and head to the restaurant, which is about 15 minutes away from the campus.

Chloe is not so surprised by Beca’s antics; pushing the chair in for her, making sure to ask if the table is to her liking and confirming dinner will be on her that evening. Chloe can’t help but feel smitten by everything but it doesn’t stop her from wondering.

“Beca, can I ask you something?” Chloe asks once the waiter brings them their water.

“Of course,” Beca says with a smile.

“I think your manners are so cute, I mean, bringing me flowers, wanting to ‘preserve some of the mystery’,” Chloe says, chuckling with Beca in the end, “but then you say you’re a feminist and criticize the way the Trebles are always being treated like kings and such… I mean, it’s kind of contradictory.”

Beca looks confused, tilting her head to the side. She opens and closes her mouth like a fish, not realizing the way her behavior is contradictory. She never thought about it before, she just went with it.

“I mean… I don’t know, I guess you can say my dad and my… my grandma rubbed off on me,” Beca shrugs.

“You’re close with them?” Chloe asks.

Beca gets a bit more nervous and she hopes Chloe can’t tell. She rubs the back of her neck, clearing her throat, “Yeah, I was. And they raised me to treat a woman right, with respect.”

“Yeah, of course, that’s amazing,” Chloe says.

“I’m sorry if I’m saying one thing but doing the opposite, I never realized that,” Beca blushes.

“Don’t take me wrong, I think your old school ways are cute,” Chloe says, making Beca blush further, “I was just curious.”

Beca smiles. She feels a bit better but she still thinks about Chloe’s question. She knows she’s in the 21^stcentury but she was born in the 18^th century, some habits are hard to give up, even though she knows Chloe’s right, and the weirdest thing is, almost 50 years ago, Cadence pointed out the exact same thing right before they made love for the first time.

Despite having said she’d pay for dinner, Chloe makes a point of them splitting the meal, which Beca agrees to. She grabs her wallet out of her purse and takes out her credit card – which Cadence taught her how to use years earlier, claiming she’d be the only woman left handing out cash everywhere.

Beca hands out her card to the waiter and Chloe does the same before the waiter leaves. Chloe looks at Beca and sees a small picture has fallen out of the brunette’s wallet when she took out her credit card. She grabs it to give it back, seeing an old looking photo of a toddler, who has hair that’s not dark, but Chloe can’t tell for sure because the picture is in sepia tones. She hands the picture back to Beca, noticing the brunette looks at the picture lovingly but with a sad look before putting the picture back with a sigh.

“Who’s that?” Chloe asks quietly.

“That’s my um… my grandfather,” Beca says quickly.

“Oh wow,” Chloe says, “you two must’ve been really close for you to have his picture in your wallet.”

“Yeah,” Beca says with a sigh, clearly trying to hold back tears.

Chloe doesn’t say anything else, she instead just watches the brunette quietly. When Beca lets out a heavy sigh before looking up at her with a smile, the redhead returns the smile, “Feeling better?”

“Yeah,” Beca chuckles, “sorry, this might seem silly, but I miss him.”

“I understand, don’t be sorry,” Chloe says, reaching out and grabbing Beca’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Beca smiles in appreciation, looking at their hands before looking back up at Chloe, “Thanks.”

“Do you wanna go somewhere for ice cream? I know a place on campus,” Chloe asks.

“Oh yeah, I’ll love to see that,” Beca says.

Chloe smiles, happy to see the brunette’s clearly feeling better. After the waiter comes back with their credit cards, the two sign their bills before leaving the restaurant. Chloe’s ice cream shop is in a quieter place on campus, near a lake where there are many students sitting around, some having a picnic and others running, jogging, exercising. The two find a bench under a tree to sit and Beca stares around.

“This is nice,” she says.

“I love being here,” Chloe says before pointing out a gray-ish house a few miles away, “see that house?”

“Yeah,”

“That’s the Trebles’ house,” Chloe says, “since they’ve been champions since forever, they’ve earned their ‘fraternity’ house. If the Bellas won the ICCA’s, Barden would have enough funds to get us our own sorority-like house! It’d be right next to the Trebles.”

“Oh that would be cool,” Beca says.

“It’d be amazing,” Chloe says, staring back at the lake, “none of the other Bellas before got their own housing.”

“Then we’re gonna get it,” Beca says, making Chloe look at her with a look of awe, making the brunette confused, “what?”

Chloe chuckles, “I gotta confess something to you, Beca.”

“Yeah?” Beca says, grabbing another spoonful of her powdered jelly donut ice cream.

“I don’t know why but I feel so comfortable with you, like I’ve always known you,” Chloe says and she’s surprised by the look Beca gives her, almost like she’s honored to hear that. She smiles widely, making Chloe smile back.

Chloe is about to lean in but stops herself, making Beca frown slightly in confusion, “Can I kiss you, or do you still want to preserve some of the mystery and stuff?”

Beca rolls her eyes while Chloe laughs and she leans in, planting a soft and sweet kiss on the redhead’s lips. She likes the way her ice cream flavor mixes with Chloe’s lemon and blueberry parfait ice cream, creating a unique flavor.

The kiss is slow and it gives both women goosebumps, but that doesn’t stop them from kissing. At one point, Beca moves so she’s fully facing Chloe, placing her hand on the redhead’s neck, gently moving her fingers until they grab some of her hair at the back of her neck, making the redhead hum against her lips before pulling apart.

“Okay, that’s so not far,” Chloe says, her eyes still closed.

Beca frowns and tilts her head in confusion, her lips still a bit swollen from the kiss.

“How do you know my weakness?” Chloe asks, biting the corner of her bottom lip, looking at Beca, who smiles and chuckles.

“Lucky guess,” she says, leaning to capture Chloe’s lips in another kiss, one a bit more heated and longer this time.

Despite deeply enjoying their impromptu make out session, the two eventually pull away and decide to start heading back. Chloe finishes her ice cream, throwing it away before stopping in front of her building, grabbing Beca’s hand, “you know you don’t have to walk me to my door, right?”

“I know, I know,” Beca nods, blushing with a chuckle, “are you really okay with it?”

“Of course,” Chloe says, “I’m sorry I can’t invite you in, Aubrey’s-,”

“-It’s okay, you don’t have to explain,” Beca says, “I’m in no rush, either.”

Chloe smiles, “You’re a character, Beca Mitchell.”

Beca blushes again, “If you say so.”

“I had the best evening,” Chloe says.

“I’m glad you did,” Beca says, “does that mean we can repeat?”

“It definitely does,” Chloe nods. She places a soft peck on the brunette’s lips before giving her a final smile, “Good night, Beca.”

“Good night,” Beca says before the redhead lets go of her hand and enters the building. Beca sighs, turning around and heading back home.

Once inside, Beca gets ready for bed, grabbing her purse and wallet, taking the picture out and staring at the little boy in it, feeling tears filling up her eyes. She clutches the picture to her chest, remembering how it once felt to hold William, the boy, her and Chloe’s – then Josephine – son.