Chapter Text
Beca can't sleep.
The clock on her bedside table reads 3:54 a.m. And she hasn't caught a blink of sleep since she's gone to bed two hours ago.
Maybe it's because she might still be a little drunk. Or maybe it's because her brain is on overdrive.
Here's the deal:
Chloe kissed her. Chloe Beale, the girl she's had a crush on since her first year at Barden, kissed her; Beca Mitchell, the most awkward girl to grace this earth.
And Beca can't sleep because the kiss is still doing strange things to her body. Her lips are tingling and there's this flutter in her chest every time her mind drifts to it.
(if she's being honest, her mind doesn't have to drift to it. It's been stuck on it for the last three hours and fifty-four minutes.)
Yes, because you see, Chloe kissed her at midnight on New Year's Eve. And that's probably all it was. Two friends sharing a kiss to celebrate the New Year.
The fluttering sensation around her heart is quickly overcome and forgotten by the acid taster settling on her tongue.
It was just a friendly kiss.
Realization of that came crashing down on Beca's shoulders when she opened her eyes, still dazed by the acknowledgement that Chloe Beale fucking kissed her, only to catch Chloe winking at her in drunken sheepishness, and grabbing Jessica by the waist mere seconds later to lay a kiss on their fellow Bella's lips.
Beca laughed it off at the time, especially when she caught Stacie's concerned gaze from across the room. It was no big deal. Chloe was drunk, Beca was drunk and hopefully neither one will make anything out of it in the morning.
Tough luck.
Her brain keeps jumping back and forth between Chloe's pearly white smile, dazzling blue eyes and full and smooth lips that tasted like cheap champagne.
So yeah, Beca can't sleep.
And when Beca can't sleep, she needs to cuddle.
(repeat that to anyone and you'll be dead on the spot.)
Not any cuddles. Chloe's cuddles.
Yeah, yeah she knows, she's fighting evil with evil. Give her a break.
Beca gets up, careful not to wake Fat Amy as she stumbles out of their room, down the stairs and left towards the end of the hallway.
Chloe's bedroom door is slightly ajar and Beca falters, nerves eating at her stomach. She pushes the door further open and steps inside.
"Chlo?" she whispers in the dark room, eyes squinting to catch any movement that might indicate Chloe's awake. "You awake?"
There's a shuffle, and Beca can see the form on the mattress twist. The room is basked in the moonlight that filters through the window and allows her to make out Chloe's face as she lifts her head.
"Yeah." Her hair is disheveled and she's blinking slowly, an adorable frown creasing her forehead. Ugh, focus! "What's up?"
Beca walks further into the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. When she turns around, Chloe has propped herself on her elbows.
"I, uh, I couldn't sleep," Beca explains, awkwardly balancing her weight from one foot to the other and wringing her hands. "Can we, like, cuddle?"
A tiny laugh bounces against the walls and reverbates in Beca's chest. Chloe's laugh might be one of her favorite things in the world because it makes everything and everyone better.
God, get a fucking grip.
"You come to my room and wake me up at," she pauses to look at her radio-clock. "four a.m. to cuddle?" Beca can't really see it, but she knows Chloe's eyes are lit with amusement. "Who are you and what have you done to Beca Mitchell?"
"Shut up," Beca growls, kneeling at the end of Chloe's queen-sized bed. "Besides, you weren't sleeping."
"Right," The sigh that escapes her lips is the one dedicated to whenever she's getting impatient or antsy, or when Beca is being Beca; her awkward, shy-self when there's no reason for her to be. "Come here, then."
Chloe pushes the covers back with one hand and Beca hesitantly slips under the covers, muscles tense as she lies back, staring at the ceiling because she can't bring herself to look at Chloe's beautiful moonlit features.
"Bec," Chloe murmurs and Beca realizes she has shuffled closer to the point where there's now only little distance separating their bodies. Chloe's has stirred on its side, and Beca's follows a second later, much like a magnet. Chloe keeps her hands to herself though, tucked under her cheek as she stares at Beca with slight concern. "I can hear the gears turning."
Beca clears her throat, finally meeting Chloe's eyes. "Sorry, I'm kinda wired."
"Wanna talk about it?"
No. Beca doesn't want to talk about it, for fear of Chloe confirming her assumptions. It was just two best friends sharing a drunken kiss. Nothing else, and she should put it somewhere her brain can't reach.
Yet, the words tumble out of her mouth without her having much of a say (ironically).
"What did it mean?" Beca asks quietly, mirroring Chloe's position by cradling her jaw with her hand. She realizes she's being dense and adds before she can backtrack and run out of the room, "That-that kiss."
She hears Chloe's breathing itch, and thinks that maybe, possibly, Chloe has been mulling over it for the last four hours and three minutes, too.
When she remains silent, Beca prods further. "Was it just a celebratory kiss? Or-or maybe something more? Because I can't stop thinking about it.
"Do you want it to be something more?" Chloe replies with a furrowed brow and Beca sighs in frustration.
"You can't answer a question with a question, Chlo."
"I'm sorry." Chloe's tone is also screaming slight frustration. "I… I can't stop thinking about it either. I've been wanting to do it for quite some time, y'know; kissing you."
No, Beca didn't know. She's pretty sure her heart might leap out of her throat as it picks up in speed over Chloe's words.
"I just… couldn't find the right moment or-or maybe it was because I thought you would never speak to me again if I did, kiss you. You're my best friend first and foremost Bec, and I would hate for my feelings to ruin that."
Beca swallows, ears buzzing with the truckload of information Chloe has just dumped on her. "F-feelings?"
"I like you, Beca."
Oh goodness gracious. So this is what a heart attack feels like.
"I've liked you for a while and I thought that kissing you at New Years might be the perfect way to see if you felt the same way. Y'know, if it wasn't the case, it could always pass off as two best friends kissing each other to celebrate and I could face the day in the morning without dying of embarrassment."
"But…" Beca frowns, words faltering on her tongue. "Why did you kiss Jessica right after, then?"
Chloe groans, angling her face into her pillow. "Nerves, I guess. I chickened out when you didn't kiss back and thought it was the best thing to do not to die of embarrassement on the spot."
"I wanted to kiss back, I just… I froze. But I liked it," Beca admits, feeling the tip of her ears redden over how adolescent her words sound. She is thankful that's it's dark enough for Chloe not to be able to tell. "The kiss, I mean. I liked it."
"Beca," Chloe's raspy voice over her name sends a bolt of lighting down the entire length of Beca's body, tiny electricity shocks rippling in the tip of her fingers and toes. One of Chloe's hand moves to her waist, featherlight against her hip. "Do you want to kiss as bad as I do right now?"
Beca doesn't give any verbal answer, instead choosing to show Chloe just how much she does. Through a shaky intake of breath, she leans in, eyes leaving Chloe's to flit down to her lips. Chloe's hand squeezing her hip gives her the wordless encouragement she needs to make the final leap.
Her lips are soft and warm as they brush against Beca's in a timid kiss. They are both tentative, as if neither of them wants to scare the other away by moving too fast. Or maybe it's because they want to slow down time enough to be able to remember this moment years from now.
Either way, Beca feels like the sky opens up above her, basking her in soothing, bright sunshine; providing her with a warmth she has been seeking for a long time without knowing it.
The next kiss is a little more daring, and Beca feels it echo within her, lighting her whole body on fire. It's the kind of kiss that makes her realize all the previous ones she's shared with anyone else but Chloe were wrong.
"We should get some sleep," Chloe eventually breathes across her lips, nudging her nose against Beca's before she pulls away. Beca blinks and nods, not resisting to chase Chloe's mouth for another one, just because she can.
Beca is glad Chloe has put a stop to it because she isn't sure she would be capable, and she doesn't want to rush things.
"Turn around," Chloe says with another squeeze to her waist.
"What?" Comes Beca's confused reply.
Chloe giggles, lips pecking Beca's cheek. "You did come in here to cuddle, right?"
"Right, yeah." She smirks, her wit finally emerging past the fog that is her brain. "I did get a better bargain in the end."
Chloe pinches her waist and Beca squeals, batting the offending hand away. They both laugh, trading a couple more kisses that make Beca feel carefree and lighthearted.
"Right, okay," Beca repeats, taking a deep breath as she wills herself to stop kissing Chloe before it gets out of hand. "Cuddle me?"
Beca thinks she sees Chloe's eyes twinkle. Chloe grins, teeth sinking on her bottom lip.
"And stop biting that fucking lip before I burst to flames. I swear. You know I can't resist when you do that."
Chloe snickers. "No I didn't know that. But useful piece of information, Becs. I shall make good use of it."
Beca rolls her eyes. "You're a dork," she kisses Chloe again. God, that stuff is amazing. "So. Cuddles?"
"Yes ma'am," Chloe agrees with a mock-salute. "So demanding."
Beca lets that one slide as she turns around. She feels Chloe's body shuffle flush against her and her arm coming to wrap around her middle, tugging Beca into her safe embrace.
Beca's hand runs down her forearm, linking their fingers over her abdomen. Her eyelids are already dropping when she hears Chloe whisper,
"Happy New Year, Bec."
A kiss is brushed across her shoulder and Beca smiles.
Yeah, this year is bound to be a happy one.