Chapter Text
Beca woke suddenly, covered in a thin sheen of sweat and with a heady pool of arousal in her belly. She’d been dreaming... fleeting images of blue eyes and red hair remained behind...scorched into her brain, and she groaned as she rolled onto her side and took deep breaths.
Chloe.
She'd been dreaming about making love with her and the memory just reignited her passion and made her chest grow heavy with need. She was out of bed and padding along the hallway before she was even fully awake. And she knew it was probably a bad idea but...
Luckily… maybe… the redhead wasn’t in her room. Neither was Dude. So Beca headed downstairs to investigate further. She found her friend there, sitting on the couch with her legs tucked up and a golden retriever lounging on her lap. She was focused on a movie playing low on the TV and startled when she realized someone else had joined her.
“Sorry...” Beca chuckled. “Didn't mean to scare you.”
Chloe smiled and shook her head. “There goes another one of my nine lives,” she teased, pale eyes dancing with color reflected from the TV screen. “But it’s ok, I have six more left.” She patted the couch beside her. “Come sit with me? I’m watching a cheesy holiday movie.”
The brunette crossed the room and dropped onto the sofa next to her. “Couldn’t sleep?”
“Mmmm... weird dreams,” the redhead nodded. “I couldn’t quite settle down. I haven’t really slept that well here, which is weird. I normally sleep like a baby.”
“Maybe because you’re sleeping alone here for the first time?” Beca suggested as she pulled the sleeves of her pajama shirt down over her hands.
A lightbulb seemed to go off over the vet’s head. “Wow,” she murmured. “I hadn’t actually thought of it like that.” She grinned a little mischievously then. “How about you help me rectify the issue?”
Beca blinked. “How?” she asked, a little nervously.
“Don’t freak out,” the redhead said softly. Then she was on the move, shifting to lie lengthways on the couch on her side with her head in Beca’s lap. She curled her hand around the brunette’s knee and let out a sigh. “There, that’s a lot better.”
While their new position didn’t do much... or anything frankly... to alleviate Beca’s lingering arousal, she felt calm as she let her hand move to Chloe’s hair to stroke it lightly, running her fingers through the soft strands and chuckling as the redhead let out a little pleased sound. “This ok?”
“You can stop doing that... anytime tomorrow,” Chloe replied with another happy little hum. Then she gasped softly as the brunette’s fingertips lightly scratched her scalp, hand tightening on her knee in reflex.
“Sorry, did I hurt you?” Beca asked.
“No, I...” The vet swallowed and slowly rolled onto her back, gazing up at her smiling friend, her hair like a halo around her face. Beca thought she was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. “I like that.” She closed her eyes as the brunette continued her ministrations but then Beca’s fingertips strayed a little, stroking feather-lightly along her eyebrows, down the bridge of her nose to her lips and down her chin. Chloe smiled reflexively, then giggled softly and squirmed a little as Beca tickled the hollow of her throat. “Ok, I’m never going to get to sleep if you keep doing that,” she murmured happily.
Then Beca’s fingertips were on her collarbones, caressing gently and Chloe’s face sobered as she took a deep shuddering breath. “Maybe I don’t want you to sleep,” the brunette whispered.
Blue eyes appeared again and Beca almost gasped as she realized that her friend’s pupils were blown. Chloe was hopelessly turned on by her gentle touches and she didn’t want Beca to stop, so she boldly took the brunette’s hand and moved it to her stomach under her shirt. Beca didn’t hesitate to trace her fingertips over the soft ridges and valleys of her abs.
Chloe moaned quietly and arched her back just a little as she was struck by the beginnings of a familiar ache between her thighs. “Bec... that... that feels good.”
The brunette closed her eyes and her head thumped against the back of the couch as she slowly pulled her hand back and sighed. “I’m sorry...” she began but Chloe sat up suddenly and shook her head.
“No,” she said firmly.
Beca gaped at her. “No... what?”
“I’m not letting you get away this time.” The redhead shook her head again. “This is killing me, Becs, so I’m just going to say it. I want you. I want you so fucking badly it’s driving me crazy. And I know you want me too.”
“Chlo...” Beca groaned, eyes closed. “Of course I want you but...” She trailed off as her brain pretty much refused to supply any reasons whatsoever as to why she shouldn’t just ravish Chloe right there on the couch.
Then, to add insult to injury, the vet shifted again, this time straddling Beca’s lap and taking her face between her hands. “Look at me... please?” Frightened, dark blue eyes gazed back at her. “I know you’ve been hurt, Beca, and I know you’re scared. I know there are reasons why we shouldn’t do this... but I also know that there’s a very good reason why I want to.”
Beca blinked. “What... um... what is it?”
Chloe smiled so beautifully that it made the brunette’s heart ache. “Because I’m falling in love with you, and I don’t think I can stop. I don’t WANT to stop.” Beca whimpered softly and wrapped her arms around the vet’s waist, pressing her face into her neck as tears threatened to overwhelm her. “Please, Baby,” Chloe whispered into her hair, holding her tightly in return. “Let me love you.”
They stayed there for a long time, just holding each other as Beca warred with herself. She wanted Chloe so much, loved her so much, needed her so much, it was terrifying. But she knew the redhead was nothing like Marli and she felt her fear begin to settle as she thought back to the time they’d spent together and how happy she’d been the past few days. She looked up then.
“You’ve been hurt too,” she said. “How is this so easy for you?”
“Honestly, it’s NOT easy,” the vet sighed. “But I want to trust you with my heart, Becs. Do you think you can trust me too?”
“I want to,” the brunette whispered. “God, I want to.”
“How about we go to bed and get some sleep?” Chloe murmured then, recognizing that the last few minutes had been a lot for her friend. “We can talk more in the morning.”
Beca felt emotionally exhausted, so she readily agreed and, hand in hand, they climbed the stairs to sleep, cuddled together, in the center of the redhead’s bed.
Xx
When Chloe woke the next morning, her hand slid across the sheet to find it cool and empty. Beca was gone and she rolled onto her back, sighing as she wondered just how badly her friend was freaking out. But then there was that thud at her window again and she grinned as she quickly got up and went to look out. Beca was standing under it this time and she held up two pairs of ice skates and a flask as the redhead pushed it open.
“Coffee and skating?” she asked, eyebrows raised.
“My three favorite things!” Chloe smiled.
“But that’s only two...” the brunette said, slightly confused.
The redhead leaned on the windowsill on her forearms, eyes infinitely soft. “You’re here too.”
“Oh...” The blush that tinted the music producer’s cheeks was adorable and she looked down, shuffling her feet a little. Then she looked back up with a little smile. “Are you coming or what?”
Chloe felt a sudden sense of déjà vu. “Give me five minutes!”
Once again, she dressed, brushed her teeth, got into her heavy jacket and snow boots, and bounded down the stairs. “Morning!” she called as she darted past Kate in the hallway. “Going skating!”
The older woman chuckled. “Be careful!”
“Yes, Ma’am!”
Xx
Beca drove them out to the nearest pond and tested the water to make sure it was fully frozen and safe as her friend got into her skates.
“I have to warn you,” Chloe said as she straightened and wobbled a little before catching her balance. “It’s been a while since I’ve done this so no laughing if I fall on my ass.”
“I wouldn’t dare,” Beca solemnly replied. “I’ve seen how you are with knives.”
The redhead sent her a mock glare, then took some tentative steps toward the ice. Muscle memory seemed to take over then and she stepped out onto the frigid surface, pleased when her body responded to compensate for the change in balance. “Ok,” she murmured. “I think I’ve got this.”
Then a warm hand closed around hers and Beca came close to her. “I do trust you,” she said simply, then skated away and pirouetted in a circle.
Chloe smiled and nodded a little, then followed her friend in a playful game of Chase. They were both good skaters and Chloe managed to get a hand on the back of Beca’s jacket, yanking her to a stop and then pulling to spin her into her chest. Her arms closed around the younger woman, and she just held her close, looking into her eyes. “What if I moved to Los Angeles?” she asked softly, breath fogging the air around them. “I know you need to be there but there’s nothing really keeping me in New York anymore.”
Beca sucked in a deep breath, eyes widening. “Wh-what? I mean... what about your job? What if things didn’t work out between us?”
The redhead shrugged. “I can practice anywhere. I’d just need to apply for a license in California. I’ve been doing this for a long time, Becs. I’m pretty sure I could pass the exam with my eyes closed. And as for the other thing... one day at a time, ok?”
Chloe let her go then and skated away, giving her friend space to think about her suggestion as she spun in a circle and then coasted sedately across the ice. But, to her surprise, Beca immediately followed her and pulled her close again. “You’d really do that for us?” she asked, eyes full of such hope, it almost made the vet cry.
“I told you last night,” Chloe replied. “I want you.” She knew she was already in love with Beca, so she was metaphorically holding her breath as she waited for a decision.
“I thought you meant...” the brunette chuckled softly and blushed again.
“Oh, I want that too, believe me!” Chloe laughed, reading her friend’s mind perfectly. “But I want YOU, Becs. I want all of you.”
“Yeah... ok,” Beca breathed softly. “Because I want you too, Chloe. So much.”
They were lost in each other again, souls connecting deeply as they looked into each other’s eyes. “I REALLY need to kiss you,” the redhead murmured.
Beca’s leather-gloved hand came up to cup the vet’s jaw, stroking along it with her thumb as she smiled softly. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, Chloe Beale,” she murmured in reply. “Please kiss me.”
And when their lips finally met, neither of them was prepared for the surge of passion it immediately evoked. They each moaned softly as their tongues met for the first time and Chloe’s teeth nipped at Beca’s bottom lip, causing her to clutch harder at the redhead’s waist as her knees weakened. “Fuck,” the brunette breathed, then deepened the kiss, groaning needily at a particularly strong stroke of the vet’s tongue as she chased back into her mouth.
Kissing Beca felt like heaven and Chloe couldn’t stop her hands from lacing into the brunette’s hair, easing her even closer, kissing her as deeply as she could reach, kissing her like she deserved to be kissed. The brunette whimpered, tugging Chloe impossibly closer as she matched her pace, stroke for stroke, making her moan just as needily.
Long, breathless moments later, they eased apart, barely a hair’s breadth between their lips with their foreheads pressed together. “I...” Beca swallowed hard as they swayed slowly to music only the two of them could hear. “I love you,” she whispered. “And I want you to love me.”
A small sob burst from Chloe’s chest, and she nodded, grinning joyfully as tears welled in her eyes. “I do,” she replied. “I do love you, Beca.”
Their second kiss was as heavenly as their first, then Chloe’s lips were trailing up the brunette’s jaw to suckle her earlobe and send her to an even more pleasurable place. She was trembling... almost scared of how much she needed to touch Beca, of how much she craved her skin. “Hey,” the younger woman said softly. “I don’t know about yours, but I’m not sure my knees are going to last much longer.”
“Yeah,” the vet breathed. “I’m with you there.”
“Plus... it’s really fucking cold.”
Chloe laughed and, as the intensity between them eased, she was able to regain some of her composure and step back, taking Beca’s unbruised hand instead and tugging it lightly. “Want to head into town and get some spiked hot chocolate? I don’t think the flask of coffee is going to cut it.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” the brunette agreed, eyes twinkling. “That sounds like a plan.”
Xx
Hot chocolate turned into a long lunch of talking and making plans. They agreed that, after Beca had kicked Marli out and separated their lives, Chloe would move in with her to her beach house in Malibu, so the vet perused the website she found, to figure out how to get licensed to practice veterinary medicine in California. She found some practice exams and chuckled softly as she skimmed them. “Yeah, this won’t be a problem,” she grinned.
Beca was feeling apprehensive about dealing with Marli, but she knew it was a necessary evil so, as she was waiting for Chloe to finish a quick call, she pulled out her own phone and turned it on.
It immediately blew up and the redhead even paused mid-sentence to raise her eyebrows at her. Beca rolled her eyes as she began to go through her messages. There were, of course, several from Marli and Beca just typed out a to-the-point reply, detailing that they were finished and the date by which she wanted the other woman out of her house. She ignored the return messages.
Then she emailed her lawyer with the details and asked him to have someone oversee the process and to serve a restraining order to keep Marli away from her. She included pictures of the damage the other woman had done to her that she’d luckily kept on her phone. Beca knew the media outlets would get ahold of the details, but she was beyond caring at this point. She was ready to be free and to start living her life again, hopefully with Chloe by her side.
“There,” the redhead said then. “I applied for an exam date. It’s in an office in L.A. so I can fly out for it if I’m not already there.”
Beca reached across the table and took her hand, lacing their fingers together. “We’re really doing this?”
“We’re really doing this,” Chloe confirmed with the brightest of smiles. “And I can’t wait.”
Xx
Kate’s mouth was agape. It had been agape since she’d caught Beca and Chloe kissing passionately under the mistletoe in the kitchen. “Well, then,” she finally said. “I guess Chloe is going to officially be part of this family after all.”
The brunette chuckled softly as the vet slipped her hand into her back pocket and leaned against her. “I really hope so.”
“I’m moving to L.A. to be with Beca,” Chloe added.
“WHAT!” Tom exclaimed as he entered the kitchen, catching the very tail end of the conversation. “But you said you weren’t together!”
“When I said that, we weren’t,” the redhead shrugged. “Things changed.”
“You whore,” the man growled. “I should have known you were just coming here to bang my cousin.”
“Tom,” Kate said then as Beca bristled. “I think it’s time for you to leave. You have no right to act like this. You stupidly gave Chloe up. You can’t blame her for falling in love with someone else. Now go upstairs, pack your stuff and leave.”
“Love,” Tom spat, his face twisted into a scowl. “What do either of these two bitches know about love?”
But Chloe just smiled and leaned in to kiss Beca gently on the lips. “More than you’ll ever know,” she said softly.
Her ex-boyfriend scoffed and then stomped away upstairs to pack his bags.
Kate shook her head unhappily. “How on Earth did he turn out like this?” she muttered.
The vet sighed and shook her head. “It’s partly because I enabled him. Hopefully, his next partner will take him down a few pegs. He could do with a healthy dose of reality.”
“Mmmm…” Beca agreed. “That’s for sure.”
Xx
Beca was trembling and Chloe smiled reassuringly, taking her hands, and bringing them to her lips to kiss them before stepping back and drawing the younger woman into the bedroom with her. They had been making out heavily on the couch in front of the fire and then, with a look in her eyes that had driven Chloe a little wild, Beca had gotten up and silently taken the older woman’s hand to lead her upstairs.
The redhead sat on the bed, looking up at Beca with eyes full of adoration as the brunette’s fingers threaded through her hair. She wasn’t presuming that they’d have sex. She knew that Beca was still healing, both emotionally and physically, and she didn’t want to push, so she just wrapped her arms around her waist and hugged her gently, pressing her cheek to the younger woman’s chest and closing her eyes.
But then, Beca’s fingertips were lifting her chin and she looked up again in question. The brunette leaned down and captured her lips in a sweet, lingering kiss and then pushed her shoulders gently. Chloe lay back on the mattress and she swallowed hard as Beca followed her to climb onto the bed and straddle her thighs.
“Is this ok?” the brunette asked softly as her hands went to the lowest button of the vet’s pajama shirt.
“Yeah,” Chloe breathed, chest tight with emotion. “Very ok.”
Beca popped the bottom button open, then the next and slowly worked her way up. Chloe’s breathing was already becoming ragged, her body responding to the heavy tension between them. When the top button was open, Beca leaned down and captured her lips, dipping her tongue deeply into her mouth as her hands parted the material and cupped Chloe’s breasts.
The redhead gasped, breaking the kiss, and moaned softly as gentle thumbs stroked over her nipples. “Oh my G… God,” she stammered breathlessly. She suddenly understood exactly where they were headed.
“Let me take care of you, Chlo,” the music producer whispered.
“O-ok,” the vet replied, eyes wide and pupils blown as she bit softly on her bottom lip.
Beca smiled and leaned down again, dropping open-mouthed kisses down the older woman’s neck to her collar bone, then scraping her teeth along the tender skin there. Chloe’s eyes slammed shut and her hips lifted of their own accord as she moaned needily.
The brunette smiled as she pinched Chloe’s nipples between her thumbs and forefingers and then rolled them gently. “Fuck…” the redhead gasped. She reached up and pulled her lover into a messy kiss and Beca shifted to press her full length onto the older woman, rocking down into her with a slow, hard roll of her hips.
Chloe felt like she couldn’t breathe as arousal grabbed her and sent bolts of lightning skittering between her thighs. She groaned as Beca slowly rolled her hips again and then established a steady rhythm. But Chloe suddenly needed skin on skin contact, so she tugged at the back of Beca’s shirt.
“Off… please.”
Beca smiled and sat up to lift her shirt off over her head. Then she blushed a little as Chloe’s eyes widened and darkened even more. “You’re gorgeous,” the redhead whispered.
Beca smiled and kissed her lover again, exploring her mouth with her tongue as her hands kneaded and played with Chloe’s breasts. Then she shifted ever so slightly to push her thigh down between the redhead’s and Chloe moaned louder as everything just felt heightened.
“Bec,” she keened breathlessly. “Please…”
Beca got the message and her left hand snaked slowly down between their bodies to the waistband of the redhead’s pajama pants. She circled Chloe’s navel with her fingertips and then scratched very gently at her abs. “Is this ok?” she asked again, hand pausing.
“Yes… oh my God, yes,” Chloe groaned, hips lifting again, and the brunette slipped her hand down between her thighs, fingertips skimming through tight curls and then between hot, soaking folds. “Fuck,” Chloe growled as Beca’s fingers slipped over her clit and she gasped, grasping the younger woman’s shoulders, and bucking up into her.
Beca stroked her slowly, pressing her forehead to Chloe’s as she looked into her eyes. “I love you,” she whispered. “So fucking much.”
“Bec,” the redhead whimpered. “I…” A powerful bolt of pleasure robbed her of speech and made her clench tightly.
Beca chuckled softly. “Let me take care of that for you…” Then she sighed with pleasure as Chloe shuddered and accepted her fingers inside with a strangled groan. Her arms were around Beca’s neck now, holding her close as her hips sped up and the brunette kissed her neck, leaving little bites on her skin as she matched the pace with every pump and curl of her fingers.
“Beca…” Chloe groaned again. “I’m so close… fuck…”
“I know,” Beca smiled. “It’s ok, Baby. Just let go.” She moved her hand just the tiniest bit, letting its heel press to the brunette’s clit, then she closed her eyes and moaned softly as the redhead shattered apart beneath her with a desperate cry of pleasure.
Chloe was trembling as she tried to catch her breath and she shuddered again as a powerful aftershock rumbled through her. It was the best orgasm she’d had in longer than she could remember, and she just lay there, enjoying the tingles as they ran through her body. Beca kissed her lips very gently and smiled as blue eyes appeared. “Holy shit,” the redhead said, then blew out a long breath.
“You ok?” the brunette chuckled as she slowly and gently drew her hand back.
Chloe pulled her down to kiss her senseless and then grinned widely as they eased apart. “Yeah, I’m great.” She rolled them over then, covering Beca’s body with her own and kissing her again. “My turn.”
Beca chuckled softly as she ran her fingertips down the vet’s bare back and gave herself up to her willing hands.
Xx
“Hey, Baby?!” Chloe called as she hung her purse up on the rack next to the door and dropped her car keys into the bowl on the table next to it. “I got takeout from that new Italian place you wanted to try. I hope you’re hungry!” Dude suddenly appeared, frolicking in front of the vet and she crouched to kiss his nose and give him his favorite ear scratches. “Hello, my gorgeous boy,” she cooed, giving him one last hug before getting up and heading deeper into the house. “Bec? You here?” She dropped the takeout bags on the kitchen island and then stepped out onto the pool patio. “Beca?” But Chloe quietened and a huge smile spread across her face as she found her wife, fast asleep and snoring lightly, in a sun lounger with huge sunglasses covering her eyes. She quietly made her way around the pool and sat down on the edge of the lounger, leaning down to place a soft kiss on the brunette’s very round belly. “Hi, Baby Boy,” she whispered, caressing the bump, and then kissing it again.
She grinned then as gentle fingers laced into her hair. “Are you home early?” Beca asked sleepily.
“No,” the vet smiled easily. “I think you slept longer than you’d intended. It’s almost six.”
“Shit,” Beca sighed. “I meant to call Aunt Kate earlier to wish her a merry Christmas. It would be just my luck that I’d go into labor tomorrow and completely forget.”
Chloe laughed softly. “I think, if you went into labor, she’d forgive you for forgetting.” She kissed the brunette and then snuggled with her in the chair. “How are you feeling?”
“Pregnant,” Beca replied flatly. “And like a beach ball.”
“I know, Becs,” the redhead chuckled. “But Baby Boy will be here any day now and you’re having ALL the drugs so there’s THAT to look forward to.”
Beca sniggered and hugged her wife close. “I love your optimism and how you find the silver lining in every situation.
Chloe grinned at that. Then she glanced back toward the kitchen. “I got meatballs from that place you were talking about yesterday. Hungry?”
“Hell yeah!” the music producer exclaimed. “Starving. I’m growing a baby, you know.”
“I do know,” Chloe agreed. Then her face turned joyful again as two newcomers stepped out onto the patio.
A little girl with red hair and the bluest eyes ran and dove onto the lounger. “Mommy! Mama!” she exclaimed as Chloe caught her and pulled her into her arms so she wouldn’t squish her impending baby brother.
“Hi, Honey,” Beca smiled. “Did you have a good day with Grandma?” Her mom ambled across the patio and sat in a chair beside them.
“We had a great day, didn’t we, Katie?”
“Yeah!” the five-year-old replied. “Grandma brought me to see Santa at the mall.”
“She did?” Chloe said excitedly. “That’s so great. Did you tell him what a good girl you’ve been, this year?”
Katie nodded enthusiastically. “He gave me this as an early gift.” She held up a small teddy bear for inspection. “Hi name is ElfBoy. Mama, can you make sure he’s not sick?”
“Sure,” Chloe replied seriously, then spent a few moments thoroughly examining the stuffed animal. “ElfBoy, looks good. No bald spots.”
“Good!” Katie grinned, looking just like her mother.
Dude panted happily and lay down to rest his head on his paws. He was used to the new friends his tiny human often brought home. Beca was watching her family with adoring eyes but she suddenly gasped and her hand went to her bump as her wife froze next to her.
“Bec? What is it?”
“Um…” The brunette said softly. “Chlo?”
“Yeah?”
“Remember that joke I made a few minutes ago about going into labor on Christmas?”
“Yeah?” Chloe said again.
Beca just looked at her and smirked. Chloe was immediately up off the chair, face a mixture of delight and panic.
“Oh… oh shit!”
The End.