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Beca had to get out of bed now. She groaned long and loud, hoping Chloe could hear it from the kitchen. Sure enough, light laughter floated in through the open door after a moment. Beca rubbed her eyes and glared at her phone, her sixth alarm of the morning blaring at its loudest level, a harsh it’s-the-end-of-the-world type of alarm, and of course it was on the dresser on the other side of her and Chloe’s bedroom.
Chloe got into the habit of moving Beca’s phone to the dresser when she got up to shower to force Beca out of bed to turn it off. It was her compromise after Beca was late to work one too many mornings and had to meet with her supervisor, a famous producer that could make or break Beca’s whole career. So, the phone started getting moved as far away as possible.
Right as Beca started hyping herself up to turn the alarm off, Chloe walked back into their bedroom and stood next to the bed, crossing her arms. “C’mon, Becs, just get up already, we’re gonna get a noise complaint from the neighbors,” she said.
“Oh like we haven’t already gotten dozens of them,” Beca mumbled with a smirk.
“Beca Mitchell!” Chloe gasped and hit her shoulder, “it is eight in the morning, put that dirty mind away. And besides, it isn’t even our fault, Teri literally warned them before they moved in that lesbians live here.”
“Pretty sure that was just homophobia, babe,” Beca said, cracking an eye open to squint up at Chloe. She winced against the morning sun and held up a hand to better block it. She caught Chloe rolling her eyes before muttering something under her breath and walking out of the room. “What’d you say?” Beca called out and pushed herself up on her elbow.
“I said you’re lucky I love you,” Chloe called over her shoulder and Beca smiled again and flopped back onto the bed with a sigh. “And for God’s sake, Beca, turn off your stupid alarm,” Chloe yelled from the kitchen.
Beca blinked her eyes open, actually open, and glared at the ceiling. She yawned and stretched, feeling her joints pop. She cracked her knuckles and back and sat up, swinging her legs out from under the covers so she was sitting on the edge of the bed. She slouched down and let her eyes fall closed before giving up and flopping back down onto the bed.
“I will Freaky Friday you,” Chloe said from somewhere near the doorway. She was likely referencing when Jaime Lee Curtis tried to yank Lindsay Lohan out of bed by the ankles, but Beca smiled and turned her head to look at her girlfriend.
“If you want to be in my body, all you have to do is ask,” she said with a smirk.
“You’re such a horndog,” Chloe scolded and rolled her eyes. Beca smiled at the term.
They’d been dating almost six months, living together for one, and in that time, their vocabularies were pretty much the exact same. Of course, ‘horndog’ came from Beca originally, and it never failed to make her smile whenever Chloe used it.
“Can’t help it when my girlfriend looks like that,” Beca said and propped herself up on her elbows and let her eyes trail over Chloe’s form fitting tank top and loose boxers. Beca couldn’t help but smile at the boxers, it was the pair she thought she’d lost forever, but here they were on Chloe’s body.
Chloe shifted and smiled suggestively, asking, “you like what you see?”
Beca nodded and responded, “you know I do.”
Chloe’s smile turned into a shit-eating grin and she said, “then turn off the alarm and maybe you get to fuck me if you’re nice,” before blowing Beca a kiss and turning back towards the kitchen. Beca laughed incredulously and turned back to the ceiling. She sighed and stood up, stretching her back again and sliding her feet into her slippers. She slowly made her way to her phone and turned off the alarm.
“Thank you!” Chloe called out from the kitchen and Beca followed the voice tiredly. She smiled when she saw Chloe sitting at their tiny dining table with a cup of coffee in front of her and moved behind her. She leaned down, resting her chin on Chloe’s shoulder and wrapped her arms around the redhead, relaxing into her almost completely. Chloe hummed and shifted, reaching around to tug on the front of Beca’s shirt and pull her into her lap. Beca complied instantly and settled in on Chloe’s lap, feet dangling just above the floor, arms wrapped around Chloe’s shoulders and neck, her head buried in the crook between her arms and Chloe’s neck, Chloe’s arms wrapped around her waist and under her shirt, nails scratching her back softly.
“Morning, baby,” Chloe said quietly. Beca mumbled something back, she was too tired to know exactly what it was but Chloe laughed softly, so it must’ve been good.
Chloe started humming the tune of some song Beca couldn’t place and everything was perfect. The smell of coffee filling their apartment, Chloe holding her, Chloe’s shampoo and still damp hair, Chloe’s humming in her ear, that early morning sun filtering in delicately through those sheer curtains Chloe had insisted on getting. Beca could stay there forever. Fuck work, fuck being a producer, fuck everything in the world. The only thing that mattered was this, being completely wrapped up in Chloe.
Naturally, the moment was ruined by Beca’s seventh alarm of the morning. She groaned into Chloe, but all the redhead did was laugh at her misery.
***
To say Beca took advantage of the weekend was an understatement. Thanks to not having work, she got to wake up whenever she wanted, which usually ended up being around one or two in the afternoon.
In the past, Beca had been with people who hated how late she slept, but Chloe never minded. She said it gave her time to just relax on her own. So Beca slept in however late she wanted and joined Chloe for whatever else was going on for the day.
While Chloe had very loose expectations for sleeping and time spent in bed, Beca was very particular when it came to getting out of bed. In hindsight, that was probably the main issue with the whole late sleeper thing in her other relationships, but that’s not the point. Essentially, Beca hated getting out of bed. Once she was in bed for the night, she absolutely wouldn’t be getting up again if she could help it.
Which is why Beca was so upset this morning. It was a Saturday morning and she was dead tired, but desperately had to pee. Legitimately in pain type of having to pee. She’d been putting it off for who knows how long, trying to ignore it and keep sleeping, but now there was no more avoiding it. She rolled to her side to reach out blindly for her phone and winced at the brightness. She squinted and turned the brightness down before blinking sleep from her eyes, just enough to read the time. 11:00 am. She groaned and sat up, sliding her feet into her slippers and made her way to the bathroom, stretching a hand out to the wall and following it to the door.
She was heading back to her bed, wanting to lay down and fall right back to sleep, but Chloe’s voice from somewhere in the main area of the apartment found its way through the sleep fogging Beca’s brain. She was singing softly, some new song that was recently getting a lot of radio play. Beca couldn’t help but smile, drifting to the door and opening it just wide enough to look out as she leaned against the frame and finally rubbed her eyes awake.
Chloe was leaning over the coffee table, working on a puzzle with her earbuds in. She was wearing that soft t-shirt Beca sometimes stole, the one with Chloe’s college’s name written across the chest in huge block letters, and a pair of loose pajama pants, the flannel ones that Beca stole from Jesse and never gave back.
Chloe looked up, eyes landing on Beca. She smiled warmly and said, “morning, baby,” and went back to her puzzle, humming softly. Beca smiled and mumbled a response, leaning to rest her head against the door frame. She watched Chloe singing and doing her puzzle quietly for a moment until she yawned, sagging more of her body weight against the door frame. She hesitated, torn between watching Chloe and going back to sleep. In the end, sleep won out.
The next morning started with Beca groaning, as per usual. She blindly stretched for her phone and read the time through bleary eyes, as per usual. 10:30 am, a lot less usual.
Beca yawned and rolled onto her back, letting her eyes close. Sleep had almost reclaimed her when once again, Chloe’s voice snuck into her brain. Beca felt herself perk up, straining to hear Chloe better. She was singing again, this time it was Titanium, the song they’d sung together when they first met almost a year ago. Beca could see it in her mind, Chloe probably doing her puzzle, coffee cup on the table. The need for her to actually see it was overwhelming, and it encouraged Beca to get up and head to the door. She rubbed her eyes and stretched before opening it, leaning against the frame like she had the day before, and smiling at Chloe.
She was wearing one of Beca’s flannels with just one button done in the middle and her legs bare, as far as Beca could see. She looked up, smiled, said, “morning, baby,” and went back to her puzzle. Beca mumbled a response and watched her for a moment before heading back to bed, leaving the door open so she could hear Chloe singing.
***
Beca was going to destroy that stupid fucking alarm.
She groaned and lifted her head for a moment to slam the pillow over her face, muffling the noise. She laid like that for a moment before removing the pillow and pushing herself up. The shower was still running, meaning Chloe was either taking longer or she’d snoozed her own alarm more than usual.
Half asleep, Beca crawled to the foot of the bed and stretched her hand out towards the dresser, straining to reach her phone and shut it off. She gave up after a moment and let out a painful whine that she was immediately ashamed of, fully knowing if Chloe had heard it, she would’ve been made fun of all week. Out of spite for that hypothetical interaction, Beca stood up and turned the alarm off before falling back into bed and pulling the covers to her chin.
She was so close to falling back asleep when she heard Chloe singing faintly. The shower was still running, almost drowning her out, but not quite. Beca listened until the water was turned off, and then the bathroom door was opening and the singing was much louder, but still soft, like Chloe was trying to keep it down so Beca could sleep. The closet door slid open and Beca heard Chloe rustling around, her singing pausing here and there as drawers closed and opened. Then the bedroom door was opening and the smell of coffee wafted in from the kitchen.
Her alarm started again and Beca opened her eyes, annoyed that she could no longer hear Chloe. She slipped out of bed and turned it off, pausing to hear Chloe. It was silent.
Beca left the bedroom and found Chloe in the kitchen, holding a mug of coffee and staring incredulously at Beca.
“Are you okay? This is the fastest I’ve ever seen you get out of bed,” Chloe said. Beca rolled her eyes, feeling her cheeks heating up. She took a few steps forward into Chloe’s space and tucked her head into the crook between her shoulder and neck, nosing the soft skin. She heard Chloe put her mug down and she wrapped her arms around Beca’s shoulders, hugging her tightly. Beca slid her own arms around Chloe’s middle, her fingertips just barely grazing the skin under the hem of her tank top. Beca heard Chloe sigh and felt her voice through her neck as she murmured, “morning, baby.” Beca couldn’t help but smile and nuzzle her face closer to Chloe.
***
Chloe was singing again. It was the first thing Beca was aware of, she was hearing it and trying to place the song before she’d even realized she was awake.
She rolled onto her back and breathed in the coffee smell. She blinked her eyes open and smiled at the ceiling. Chloe’s singing, coffee, the sun streaming into the room, the warm and cozy sheets surrounding Beca. She rolled to her side, facing Chloe’s side of the bed and reached out to touch the empty space.
“Oh my god,” Chloe said from the living room, “where do you go?” She was frustrated. Beca could see it in her mind, Chloe holding up some piece, angry with it for not fitting wherever she thought it should’ve gone. A few moments later, Chloe let out a gentle “aha!” and returned to singing softly.
Beca didn’t know how long she laid there, wide awake and listening to Chloe, her singing, her frustrated grumbles, her pleased laughs. Honestly, she didn’t really care how long she laid there, she probably could’ve done it the whole day and would love every second of it.
The next day, the same thing. Beca woke to Chloe singing and laid there thinking about her and listening to her and smiling like an idiot the whole time.
Beca didn’t really know why she hadn’t fallen asleep again. That entire weekend, she’d woken up before 11:00am and had stayed awake for hours, just listening to Chloe. She’d wanted to. It had been nice to just lay there and listen to Chloe and scroll on her phone, answering emails and texts and playing games. She’d only gotten out of bed at 2:00pm because her head started pounding thanks to her desperate need for caffeine. And honestly, Beca only noticed how much time she spent laying around once she had to get up and realized she would’ve preferred to waste the whole day away in bed.
For whatever reason, it felt like popping a bubble, like once she left the room, it would ruin this warmth, this coziness. To her surprise, seeing Chloe smile like that at her and that first sip of coffee while looking at Chloe and hearing her put some gooey mess of feelings in her stomach. None of it was necessarily unwelcome, but it was a kind of domesticity that Beca wasn’t used to. She’d never had this moment of quietness with someone and actually enjoyed it.
When she’d dated Jesse, when she lived with Jesse, mornings like this were awkward. Neither of them had been morning people, so weekends were largely spent in bed, either chatting or scrolling on their phones. It wasn’t horrible, but Beca spent the last few months of that relationship aching for her own bed, her own space, her own time.
For a while after their breakup, she thought she just wasn’t hardwired to live with someone else, that she was destined to always need to be alone. It would make sense, that was how she spent almost all of her life, and clearly trying to force herself into sharing her life with someone else wasn’t working.
It really wasn’t until Beca met Chloe that she’d realized sharing her life was actually possible. They’d started off as friends and as they got closer and closer, Beca realized somewhere along the way that Chloe had just found her way into her life, to the point that her parents knew her, Emily knew her, even Jesse knew her. It should’ve been horrifying, but Beca surprisingly didn’t mind it. She actually liked it, having Chloe so intertwined with everything. Plus it helped that Chloe was like an excited puppy about it all. She was desperate to get to know everyone important to Beca and was so thrilled about having Beca meeting all of her college friends and family. Really, the only thing that changed when they started dating was that they were suddenly kissing and sleeping together.
So this discovery that Beca didn’t actually mind getting out of bed in the morning was almost impossible to comprehend, the biggest reason being that it was because of Chloe. She wanted to wake up and have this moment in front of her, Chloe doing her puzzle, coffee in the air, the morning sun lighting up their apartment, filled with the things her and Chloe had gone out and argued over and compromised for and agreed to have.
***
She wanted to smash her phone to bits. Who cares about her photos, music, and text conversations. Smashing it would end that alarm.
Beca groaned and sat up. She rubbed her eyes and crawled to the foot of the bed before standing up and turning the alarm off. She crawled back to where she was before and settled in, listening. Nothing.
She frowned and sat up again. Chloe wasn’t singing. Beca slipped out of bed and put on her slippers before leaving the bedroom, yawning. She stopped in the middle of the apartment, glancing between the kitchen and the living room. She stretched her back, humming in satisfaction at the pops and cracks.
The front door opened and Chloe was stepping into the apartment, holding a few envelopes and magazines and singing softly. Beca felt her shoulders relax and walked towards her. She glanced up at Beca in surprise that quickly turned into a happy smile.
“Morning, baby,” Chloe said and dropped the mail onto the counter, opening her arms for a hug. She resumed her singing as she scratched Beca’s back softly. Her hair was wet, and smelled strongly like her shampoo. Beca inhaled deeply and tightened her hold on Chloe.
***
The sun was lighting up the bedroom, Chloe was singing, and it smelled like coffee.
Beca smiled and stretched in bed, yawning. She laid there and listened to Chloe. She thought about doing what she had last weekend, laying in bed listening to Chloe for hours and hours. She almost gave in, but the idea of being with Chloe, not just imagining it, but actually being there with her, sipping the coffee that she made, seeing exactly what was making her grumble. Beca gave into it and slipped out of bed and padded to the door. It was already open, the perfect amount of openness for Beca to lean against the frame and watch Chloe.
Chloe was wearing a pair of Jesse’s sweatpants and a tank top, the one covered in signatures from the people in Chloe’s college acappella group, the Bellas. She looked up, smiled at her, and said, “morning, baby.”
Beca melted against the frame and responded, “morning, Chlo.”
Beca watched from her spot in the doorway until her tiredness made it difficult. She was, once again, torn between going back to bed and listening to Chloe from there, or staying in the doorway. Beca chose neither and stepped into the main area. She headed to the kitchen first and poured herself a cup of coffee, then headed to the living room and laid down on the couch behind Chloe with her coffee. She tucked her knees to her chest and curled up in the corner, resting her head on the cushion behind her and cradling the mug close to her body. She watched Chloe silently, listening to her singing with a soft smile on her face.
Beca woke to Chloe’s singing once again. She stretched and slipped out of bed. She paused at the doorway, watching for a moment. Chloe was wearing Beca’s boxers with a sports bra and one of Beca’s flannels over it.
Chloe looked up, smiled, and said, “morning, baby,” and Beca smiled back before walking to the kitchen, pouring herself a cup of coffee, and heading to the couch. She curled up in the same spot and watched Chloe again, listening to her soft singing.
It was peaceful, probably the most peaceful thing Beca had ever experienced. Chloe looked effortlessly beautiful, her soft red hair tied into a knot on top of her head, tendrils falling out, curling just slightly around her face, her chipped nail polish that she’d done sometime in the last week flitting over the puzzle pieces. Beca never wanted it to end, she never wanted to look away from Chloe, never wanted to leave her spot on the couch, never wanted to stop hearing Chloe sing, never wanted to stop breathing in the smell of coffee and morning.
An hour passed and Chloe’s puzzle was significantly further along. Chloe pulled out her phone, still singing softly. She sighed and looked at Beca.
“Gotta start getting dressed, babe, we need to head out soon,” she said. Beca groaned and stretched her legs out on the couch, reaching out to the coffee table to set her mug down. She grabbed the waistband of Chloe’s boxers and tugged her closer. Chloe settled down half next to her, half on top of her thanks to the size of the couch.
“I don’t want to go,” Beca murmured, rubbing Chloe’s back.
Chloe laughed softly into her neck and asked, “want me to cancel the reservation?”
“And do what?” Beca asked. They’d made the dinner reservations because Chloe had said they didn’t get out enough. She wanted to do something that Chloe wanted more than she wanted to stay in.
Chloe sighed and murmured, “we could just stay here forever.”
“Forever, huh.” Beca hummed thoughtfully. She couldn't help but smile. Chloe wanted to lay in her arms forever. “That’s a long time,” she said quietly.
“I don’t care,” Chloe said, “just keep holding me.”
“Sounds good to me.” Beca smiled and turned to press a kiss into whatever part of Chloe’s head she could reach.
***
Beca’s alarm wasn’t ringing. There was definitely an alarm, but it was softer, piano keys tinkling quietly instead of Beca’s blaring emergency siren. She felt Chloe next to her shifting, and then a dip in the mattress slightly and suddenly Chloe was pressing a kiss into her temple and just barely breathing out, “morning, baby.” Beca mumbled something, she wasn’t sure what it was, but she wanted Chloe to stay next to her. She was warm and comforting. Plus her being close meant she could kiss her.
Chloe’s presence disappeared and the piano keys were silenced. Beca frowned at her absence and felt herself waking up more to seek Chloe out. She reached out blindly, blinking her eyes, frown deepening. Chloe was standing up and stretching, then walking around the bed. Beca was so sure she was going to finally kiss her, but instead Chloe picked her phone up and moved it to the dresser. Disappointment settled in her bones and Beca whined.
“Sorry for waking you,” Chloe said quietly, “you can go back to sleep, you still have time.”
“Just kiss me already,” Beca said, and pushed herself up on one hand, still frowning at Chloe through the sleep. Chloe laughed and moved back towards the bed.
“Only cause you look so cute right now,” Chloe joked.
“I’m not cute,” Beca whined. She’d be embarrassed if she wasn’t so tired. Damn it, why wasn’t Chloe kissing her.
She felt Chloe moving closer and heard her mumble, “sure you aren’t,” and then their lips were finally meeting. Beca sighed in relief and pressed closer to Chloe, deepening the kiss. It was a slow, sloppy kiss, but she was tired and couldn’t be bothered to try, just tasting Chloe was enough for her.
Her arm was getting tired, but Beca wasn’t ready to let Chloe go just yet. She twisted her hand into the collar of Chloe’s shirt and laid down, dragging Chloe along with her. Chloe chuckled against her lips and murmured, “if I’m late to work because of you, no sex tonight.”
“That’s a future Beca problem,” she mumbled and tugged on Chloe’s shirt again. She huffed and rolled her eyes, but gave in and shifted her body to straddle Beca’s hips and settled on top of her. The new angle helped deepen the kiss even more and Beca felt the tiredness steadily seeping away as she slid her hands under Cloe’s shirt to scratch at the soft, warm skin.
Chloe moved to kiss and nip at Beca’s neck and collarbones when Beca’s alarm went off. Beca groaned in frustration, her arousal pooling low in her stomach going unsatisfied. Chloe pulled away and glanced at the phone, clearly debating getting up to turn it off.
“How much does that bother you cause I really don’t want to get up right now,” she said and ducked back down to kiss the side of Beca’s neck. Beca hummed and ran her hand up Chloe’s side to scratch her scalp softly. Chloe gave a hum of pleasure and leaned into the touch.
“I think between us and the alarm, we’d definitely get a noise complaint,” Beca said.
Chloe pouted into her neck and looked disdainfully back at the alarm. She heaved a sigh and slid off Beca and the bed, making her way to turn the alarm off. She blew Beca a kiss and headed into the bathroom.
The shower turned on and Chloe’s singing drifted into the room a few moments later. She was singing her favorite song, the one she’d played for Beca that time in her car, and she’d watched Beca listening to it with a nervous look in her eyes, and she’d looked overjoyed when Beca said she loved it. She’d started rambling about the song and the artist and why it was her favorite, and she was waving her hands around and she had such a brightness to her that Beca couldn’t look away. That was the moment Beca realized she wanted to be more than friends with Chloe, that she wanted to kiss her and hold her and listen to her talk about anything and everything under the sun.
Beca yawned and stretched on the bed, lost in thoughts about Chloe. She got up slowly and entered the kitchen. She started making a pot of coffee, listening to Chloe singing all the while. She started her favorite song over again and Beca pulled down two empty mugs from the cabinet. The shower turned off and Chloe’s voice got clearer. The song started over again and she came out of the room, toweling off her damp hair. She smiled at Beca with that warm, happy look in her eyes and she said, “there you are,” before tossing the towel back into their room and stepping into the kitchen.
The coffee machine beeped and Chloe picked up her mug. She held it out and Beca filled it before filling her own. Chloe walked to the coffee table and took a sip from her mug while staring down at the half-finished puzzle. She made a hissing noise and Beca smiled to herself. Chloe always did that. She always knew the coffee was going to be too hot, but she always tried to take a sip anyways. Chloe pulled out her phone lazily and gasped sharply.
“Shit!” She yelled and put her coffee down before rushing into the room. Beca frowned and pulled out her own phone and felt her stomach drop to her feet. It was 8:45, meaning she and Chloe were supposed to leave fifteen minutes ago to be at their respective jobs by 9:00.
“Fuck!”
***
Beca felt herself smile before she was truly awake. Chloe, coffee, and the morning sun. Her three most favorite things in the world. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, stretching and yawning. Her back cracked and she let out a pleased hum.
Chloe was singing that song she’d done for karaoke the first time she introduced Beca to the Bellas. Beca smiled at the memory. It was one of the best nights of her life. She still had a picture from that night taped to the fridge, a slightly blurry, slightly off-center selfie Stacie had taken, her grinning drunk face in the bottom right corner with the booth behind her stuffed full of the Bellas. Beca looked mortified in the picture, probably because she had Amy on one side, reaching over Lily, holding onto some man’s wrist and speaking to him very passionately about something no one could remember, and Chloe on her other side, pressing a hard kiss into her cheek with an arm strewn around her shoulder and a hand on Beca’s other cheek.
The song ended and Beca slid out of bed. She paused at the doorway, watching Chloe for a moment. She was wearing a Mad Records shirt that was about four sizes too big and hung loose around her bare thighs. Chloe looked up from her puzzle, smiled, and said, “morning, baby.”
“Morning, Chlo,” Beca responded quietly and headed to the kitchen to pour herself some coffee. She made her way to the couch behind Chloe and curled up in the corner, resting her head on the cushio behind her so she could watch Chloe. The redhead continued her singing and kept working on her puzzle, grumbling occasionally when a piece wasn’t fitting. She had that look of concentration that Beca loved, that tiny little frown between her brows, and the way she pursed her lips and huffed in frustration, how she drummed her fingers on the edge of the table as she stared at the pieces strewn about. Beca especially loved how Chloe constantly found ways to touch her, so innocently and briefly that Beca questioned if it was just accidental. Chloe would move to the other side and let her hand brush Beca’s knee, she’d sit down momentarily, leaning on her knees, elbow just barely brushing Beca’s shin.
Before she knew it, Chloe’s phone was ringing. She answered it a cheery, “hello,” and kept working on her puzzle for a moment, nodding to no one and making noises of agreement and gasping every now and again until she was saying, “oh my god he did not!” Then she was gasping again and saying, “stop, oh my god, Bree!” Chloe turned to glance at Beca with wide eyes and mouthed “oh my god,” once again.
Beca smiled at her and pulled out her phone to scroll mindlessly while Chloe gossiped and chatted with Aubrey.
There were birds chirping, the coffee maker was beeping, and Chloe was singing. Beca sighed. She was smiling. She couldn’t help it. The sun was warm, streaming in through the window and onto the bed. Beca blinked her eyes open, squinting for a moment to let her eyes adjust, and watched the birds for a moment. There was a huge tree outside their building, with one branch stretching out towards their window, not quite close enough to touch. There was a bird on it now, building a nest in that one nook. It kept flying away and returning with twigs, leaves, and pine needles from somewhere.
Chloe was singing out in the sitting area. It was that song that Beca worked on a few months ago. It was the first song Beca played for Chloe when she’d begged to listen to something she’d made. Chloe loved it, and even though Beca hadn’t written any of the lyrics, Chloe liked to say Beca wrote the song for her anyways. The first few times Chloe told that to people, Beca corrected her but after a while, she just rolled her eyes and elbowed Chloe.
Beca yawned and stretched, rolling onto her back and then her other side. She pulled out her phone and responded to a few texts before getting up. She paused at the doorway like usual and watched Chloe. She was wearing a simple grey tank top and pajama pants, the pink and black ones that Beca liked to steal. Chloe glanced up and said, “morning, baby,” with a soft smile before resuming her puzzle. Beca murmured a greeting of her own and entered the kitchen to pour herself some coffee.
“Which one are you working on,” Beca asked, motioning towards the table with her mug.
“The new Thomas Kinkade,” Chloe answered. She glanced up at Beca and added, “you know, the one I got at the farmers market like three weeks ago.” Beca nodded, remembering that afternoon. Chloe had just run off without saying anything to Beca and returned five minutes later holding the box with a huge grin on her face and spent the rest of their outing telling her all about the design and the artist. By the time they got home, Beca was willing to bet she’d be able to recite Kinkade’s entire work by memory.
“Cool, babe,” Beca said, curling up in her spot on the couch, looking over the puzzle. The border was done and there were a few other pieces in place, as well as a good chunk of flowers floating somewhere in the bottom left corner.
Chloe continued her singing, but after maybe two songs she said, “I think this might be my favorite.”
“Why’s that?” Beca asked, looking up from her phone.
Chloe hummed before answering, “it’s just comforting. Reminds me a lot of the Sweetheart Retreat piece, but something about this one is just different, I don’t really know. Maybe it’s the plants and flowers?”
“Hm, maybe,” Beca considered. She didn’t really know what Chloe was talking about. She knew Sweetheart Retreat was another puzzle Chloe had done recently, but couldn’t remember exactly what it looked like. She glanced at the puzzle Chloe was currently working on and said, “this one is really pretty, though.”
“Yeah, it is, isn’t it,” Chloe said, smiling warmly at Beca before resuming.
Beca settled back into the couch and sighed. God, everything was so perfect it actually hurt. Beca considered herself so extremely lucky to have this. The coffee smell filling the apartment, the birds chirping faintly, Chloe’s singing, the morning sun streaming in through the windows, casting a perfect glow over Chloe. Chloe, perfect, kind Chloe, who loved Beca, who loved loving Beca.
Once upon a time, back when she was young and hurting, this would’ve scared her. She would’ve been terrified of having someone know her so completely, to the point that when they start singing her favorite song, they glance up and smile at her and give her a little look because they know it’s her favorite. And they know why it’s her favorite and they know it has kind of a rough history for her, so they sing it a little softer than usual, maybe they hum the parts that hurt a little more than the rest, and when the song ends they smile at her again and they tell her they love her so, so much because they know her better than anyone in the world and she doesn’t know how she got so lucky.
But it’s Chloe, and maybe that’s just how Chloe is. Maybe she just knows people and maybe Beca isn’t lucky or special at all, maybe this is just Chloe being Chloe. But even if that were true, even if Chloe didn’t give two shits about any of it, she still chose Beca. She chose Beca to be in this room with her. She chose to sing Beca’s favorite song, and even though Beca never told her which parts hurt more than the rest, she still knows because she’s Chloe and that’s just who she is, and she chose Beca.
***
Piano?
Chloe’s alarm, that’s right. Beca woke up ridiculously early again, and she was actually, seriously smiling. Chloe shifted next to her and yawned. The alarm was turned off and Beca could tell Chloe was about to get up, so she reached out and grabbed a fistful of her shirt, pulling her closer. Beca tried her best to lay on top of Chloe to prevent her from getting up. It kind of worked, but Chloe was laughing and trying to push her off, so it wasn’t entirely successful.
“Don’t go, I wanna kiss you,” Beca asked, her voice thick and raspy with sleep.
“So desperate,” Chloe teased with a laugh in her voice. Beca pouted, too tired to care to come up with a good comeback. She blinked her eyes open enough to see Chloe roll her eyes, and then Chloe was pulling her in and they were kissing. Beca sighed against her mouth, kissing her nice and slow. The kiss deepened and Beca woke up more, shifting to straddle Chloe, holding herself up on an elbow while her other hand worked its way under her shirt, scratching Chloe’s abs softly and tracing its way to brush the swell of her breast. Chloe’s back arched into her touch and Beca covered her breast with her hand, squeezing softly before rolling her nipple between her fingers. Chloe gasped and arched her back again, her own hands finding Beca’s hips. Beca ducked her head to kiss and nip at Chloe’s neck and then her alarm was ringing.
“I hate your alarm, Beca,” Chloe said, covering her face with her hands.
“Sorry, babe,” Beca said with a wince and got up to turn it off. Chloe groaned in response and checked her phone.
“Oh my god, I’m going to be late to work,” Chloe whined. “Jesus Christ, why does this always happen?”
“Because you have a smoking hot girlfriend?” Beca grinned at her.
Chloe rolled her eyes and said, “smoking hot insatiable girlfriend, maybe.”
“You love me,” Beca said happily, climbing back into bed and settling over Chloe.
“Babe, I have to get dressed,” Chloe laughed, smiling at Beca.
“You love me,” Beca smiled in a sing-song voice.
“Animals need me, Becs,” Chloe said in a sing-song voice of her own.
“I need you,” Beca supplied with a quick peck. “And you love me,” she added.
“Oh my god,” Chloe laughed, “fine, yes, I love you, now can I get dressed?”
Beca kissed her again and said, “only if I get to watch.”
“See? Insatiable,” Chloe clicked her tongue disapprovingly and shook her head before climbing out of bed and heading to the bathroom. Beca made a face in mock hurt as she left to make coffee.
Beca sat there scrolling on her phone as the coffee machine whirred happily. She could just barely hear Chloe’s singing over the shower. Beca knew the song, it was something Chloe played a lot. Beca didn’t particularly care for it, but she wasn’t ever going to actually tell that to Chloe, lest she start the argument of the century.
The shower stopped running and Chloe entered the room a minute later wearing a tank top and the bottom half of her scrubs. She finished wringing her hair and tossed the towel somewhere behind her. Beca poured her some coffee as Chloe pulled out the creamer and added it to her cup. Beca winced at the sheer amount of creamer. Chloe caught it and rolled her eyes.
“I don’t understand. It’s just milk at that point,” Beca said, just barely hiding the disgust in her voice.
“You say that but yours is even worse, babe. You’re literally drinking black coffee,” Chloe said, waving her hand to emphasize her point.
“Just as God intended,” Beca responded with a wink, lifting her mug towards Chloe.
“Not according to the Mormons,” Chloe quipped. Beca opened her mouth to say something in response, but her alarm went off once again.
“I promise I have something witty to say to that,” she called out as she went to silence it.
“Sure, babe,” Chloe called back.
Beca re-entered a moment later and Chloe grinned at her, leaning forwards to rest her elbows on her counter.
“So, what was that super witty thing you were gonna say?” She asked.
“I’d tell you, but I think it’s time to get dressed for work, we’re kinda running out of time here, Chlo,” Beca said, pretending to be concerned and checking her wrist like she had a watch.
“Oh gee, are we?” Chloe said, going along with it, “well in that case, guess you can’t kiss me, cause you know, not enough time.”
“Actually, I take it back, we have like another five minutes to spare,” Beca backpedaled and approached Chloe, setting her cup down to slide her hands around Chloe’s hips and turn her around. Chloe smirked at her and shook her head.
“Insatiable. Just insatiable,” she laughed, putting her mug down and wrapping her arms around Beca’s neck.
“Shut up and kiss me,” Beca murmured and leaned in, pressing her lips against Chloe’s.
***
There was a breeze flowing into the room. Beca cracked an eye open and found the window wide open, the curtains fluttering in the wind. Chloe was singing and she could just barely hear the coffee machine bubbling and whirring.
Beca yawned and stretched before getting out of bed. She paused at the doorway and smiled at Chloe. She was wearing one of Beca’s tank tops and the red flannel pajama pants.
“Morning, baby,” Chloe said, looking up to smile at her.
“Morning, Chlo,” Beca responded and paused for just another moment longer before heading to the kitchen to pour herself some coffee.
With a steaming mug, Beca climbed into her spot on the couch, curled up in the corner with a perfect view of Chloe. She sighed and settled in, pulling out her phone to answer the litany of texts and emails while listening to Chloe’s soft voice. Before long, Chloe let out a sigh and stretched, the tank top riding up, revealing Chloe’s toned abs. Beca smiled, admiring her body, her eyes working their way up to Chloe’s face and finding her smirking smugly. Beca felt heat flood her cheeks and she turned back to her phone, pretending nothing happened.
After that, the day slipped by slowly. It was a perfect day, if you ask Beca. She did nothing but sit on the couch, respond to people, read a little bit of her book, and listen to Chloe’s singing. Absolutely perfect.
Beca yawned and stretched before rolling to check her phone. 9:30am. Her eyebrows raised in surprise. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d naturally woken up before 10.
Well, now that she thought about it, it wasn’t an insane concept. She’d been waking up earlier and easier the last few weeks, thanks to this unspoken pattern she and Chloe had fallen into. Unspoken because as far as Beca was concerned, Chloe was yet to mention how Beca sat on the couch and watched her every weekend, or how Beca started waking up at the same time as her on weekdays to kiss her and make coffee. Beca was sure Chloe’d noticed it. Chloe was the type of hyper-observant that never actually said anything about anything. She just mentally noted it and moved on.
But either way, Beca was waking up earlier and spending more time with Chloe. It was nice, especially on the weekends. Beca had even started looking forward to mornings, which was absolutely wild, considering Beca had never in her life been a morning person. And yet, here she was, waking up at 9:30am with a smile on her face because she could hear Chloe singing some Cigarettes After Sex song and the entire apartment smelled like coffee.
Beca sighed happily and got out of bed. She paused at the doorway and gazed at Chloe for a moment, like she did every weekend. Chloe was wearing a loose long sleeve shirt, the really old one with the hole in the armpit that ended around her upper thigh. She looked up from her puzzle and gave Beca a warm smile.
“Morning, baby,” she said quietly and resumed her puzzle, picking up a section and sliding it a few inches higher, connecting it to a few pieces stretched out from the border. Beca greeted her in return and headed into the kitchen to pour herself some coffee.
“Need a top off?” She asked.
“Yes, please,” Chloe answered. Beca walked over to her with the coffee pot and the creamer, filling her cup with both and hating the smug smile Chloe flashed her way when she poured in the creamer. Chloe murmured her thanks and took a sip, hissing quietly at the burn. Beca smiled to herself and took the pot back to the machine and found her way to her spot on the couch.
The sheer curtains were pulled back, allowing the sun to stream into the room, casting a soft glow over Chloe. She looked gorgeous, her red hair shining in the morning sun, her voice singing deliciously smooth and soft. For a while now, Beca knew she could spend hours staring at Chloe. In fact, she’d done it before on some other morning just like this. It was more than just Chloe’s beauty, though. Beca loved seeing that peacefulness on her features, the little crinkle between her eyebrows when a piece wasn’t fitting properly, the way she walked to the kitchen to refill her cup yet again, almost dancing to the music in her earbuds.
Chloe in public was extroverted and loud and flirty, and Beca loved that about her, but morning Chloe was by far her favorite. She loved knowing she was privy to these quiet moments, this soft and light version of Chloe, this open and happy Chloe.
Beca sighed quietly, resting her head on the cushion behind her.
“What are you thinking about?” Chloe asked.
“You,” Beca said simply. Chloe raised an eyebrow.
“Good things, I hope,” she said.
“The best,” Beca said with a smile.
Chloe smiled warmly, her eyes brightening just a bit and a hint of a blush creeping into her cheeks. She shifted and the sun hit her perfectly, almost giving her a golden halo. And with that soft, in-love look on her face, Beca’s breath caught in her throat. God, Chloe was beautiful. Inside and out. She knew Beca completely and loved her for everything, the good and the bad. Chloe’s attention turned back to her puzzle and she sang softly, that song she said reminded her of Beca. As she got to the chorus, she glanced back up at her and she still had that smile on her face and Beca wanted to do this for the rest of her life.
It was surreal, loving someone so much you could spend your life doing nothing but be in their presence. Beca never thought love like that existed, and she assumed that if it did, it wasn’t meant for her. And yet, here she was, loving Chloe more than life itself.
She watched Chloe place another piece and give a quiet squeal of joy, and Beca felt an overwhelming need to just love Chloe as loudly as she could.
“Hey, babe,” Beca said. Chloe looked up at her with a soft smile.
“Yeah, Becs?” Chloe asked with a curious look.
“I want to do this for the rest of my life,” Beca said quietly. Surprisingly, she felt calm. She’d expected to feel her heart hammering in her chest or something, but instead all she felt was this weird sense that everything was just how it should be.
Chloe’s curiosity turned into a happy little grin and she said, “I want that too.” Still smiling widely, she continued her puzzle before adding, “by the way, I’m a size six.” Beca stared at her blankly for a moment. Chloe glanced up and explained, “for a ring. In case you were wondering.”
“Oh!” Beca exclaimed, “yeah, cool, thanks.” She smiled and Chloe rolled her eyes teasingly and turned back to her puzzle.
With a happy little grin of her own, Beca started looking up engagement rings in size six, already planning the perfect morning for her proposal.