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Chloe’s twin brother is well over six feet tall. He’s towered over her for most of her life. One of her earliest memories is him trying to lift her high enough to get a basketball through the net when they were four. Jason is a really big guy and being hugged by him usually lifts Chloe a foot off the ground. Her entire family is really tall: her mom, her uncles, her aunts, her cousins, her entire family. Seriously, the only Beale shorter than Chloe is Michelle, and she’s only eleven years old.
So she’s pretty used to being the shorter one. And even though she’s not particularly short by normal standards, the pattern has extended beyond her family’s gene pool. Her boyfriends have all been at least four inches taller than her and even Aubrey has a couple inches on Chloe.
Which, among other things, is what makes Beca such an oddity in her life.
/ /
The first time Chloe stepped up behind her to correct her choreography (because, let’s be honest, Beca was definitely half-assing it for at least the first five months), she realized that she’d have to lower her head by about four inches to rest her chin on Beca’s shoulder. And Beca was even wearing the Bella heels.
She was tiny.
Small enough that Chloe could sling an arm around her shoulders and it wouldn’t be uncomfortable for either of them. Short enough that for once Chloe wouldn’t have to strain up on her toes to say, oh, kiss someone. Tiny enough that if they were curled up in bed together, Chloe would totally be the big spoon.
And, okay, that was all new. Thinking about maybe being the taller one had never really occurred to her before, but now that she thought about it, this was all new and nice and yes please.
Beca was little and adorable and – oops, kind of looking like she’ll turn around and punch Chloe in the jaw if Chloe didn’t stop spooning her right away. Which was understandable, since Chloe’s thoughts had been going in a weird and random direction and yes, she should definitely step back before she gave Beca a reason to use that whistle.
She moved back a few inches and just grinned at the glare she received, followed by an exasperated eyeroll as Beca turned toward the mirror again. Chloe watched Beca for another moment before something to her left caught her eye. “Stacie, would you please stop groping your boobs for two seconds?!”
/ /
The thing is, after that one brain tangent into spooning, Chloe couldn’t seem to get her brain back on track. You know, normal thoughts that didn’t involve cuddling Beca against her will.
In the middle of practice one day, she turned to look at Beca, meaning to tell her that she’s stepping in the wrong direction on the offbeat or ask her what note her section is having difficulty with (she suddenly couldn’t remember which one), and instead found herself wondering what it would be like to wrap her arms around Beca’s waist and just curl their bodies together. It’s distracting and probably inappropriate to perv on a freshman, but she couldn’t seem to help it.
Beca caught her looking and gave her that smirk-very-nearly-a-smile-but-not-quite she had perfected and lifted an eyebrow in question. Chloe felt the heat rising in her cheeks, so she shook her head and turned to keep Beca out of her field of vision for a few seconds while she got her mind back in order.
Aubrey nudged her in the side, staring at her like she was expecting an answer and Chloe realized that she had completely missed the question.
Luckily, right at that moment, something caught Chloe’s eye. “Stacie, would you PLEASE stop groping your boobs? It’s not part of the choreography!” It’s almost embarrassing how often those words came out of Chloe’s mouth.
/ /
It happened again at one of the many Bella Movie Nights (Fat Amy insisted that capitals were absolutely necessary, and frankly, Chloe agreed).
They were all crowded in Chloe and Aubrey’s shared apartment watching ‘Moulin Rouge’ and eating popcorn. Well, most of them were watching the movie; Beca was fidgeting and definitely not paying enough attention to the screen. They’re only about ten minutes into the movie and she’s bored already? Does she not appreciate the spectacular costuming and set design or the rather beautiful harmonies between Ewan and Nicole or (and Chloe thought for sure this would be of interest) the repurposing of current pop music to fit the theme and mood of a period film?
Chloe scooted to her right and dropped an arm around Beca’s shoulder and pulling her in tight. She could feel the instant stiffness that travelled up Beca’s spine and the stuttering breath Beca took before trying to relax. It worked, for the most part. Beneath Chloe’s arm, Beca wasn’t as tense as she usually was, especially when physical contact was involved.
“Beca, you’re going to miss all the awesome musical numbers if you keep this up,” Chloe whispered as softly as she possibly could. She knew what happened if you interrupted a ‘Moulin Rouge’ musical number while Aubrey was watching, and it wasn’t pretty.
“Ewan McGregor is going to fall in love with Nicole Kidman and then they’ll sing about it. Then something terrible will happen and they’ll sing about it. Then they’ll get back together again and sing about it some more.” Beca’s voice was dry and sarcastic, but she keeps her tone low enough so only Chloe can hear her. “Am I missing anything?”
“Obviously,” Chloe rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help but smile. Beca’s total disdain for film was kind of adorable, in that Chloe totally knew Beca didn’t actually hate it. “You get to stare at Ewan and Nicole’s pretty faces for two hours. Anyways, there are a bunch of song mashups in this movie, so maybe you should pay a little attention to the redhead on the screen.”
Beca’s lip twitched and she asked, “And what do you think about redheads.”
There was a pause before Chloe snorted and said, “What do you think about redheads?”
“I asked first.” The words were muttered a bit louder than probably intended and caused Aubrey to turn on them with a rather terrifying scowl on her face. Beca just glared right back until Aubrey’s attention was diverted by Amy stuffing popcorn down her bra.
“I was always partial to brunettes, myself.” And with that, Chloe turned back to the television just in time to see Ewan start to sing about hills that are alive with the sound of music. And as the Narcoleptic Argentinean snorted awake, Chloe felt Beca wriggle under her arm… only to settle in, and give full attention to the movie.
Chloe’s arm stayed around Beca’s shoulders the whole time.
/ /
It happened again about ten seconds after it was announced that they had won Nationals.
As soon as Aubrey relaxed her chokehold on Chloe’s neck to hug Cynthia Rose, Chloe turned to see Beca standing right next to her, a grin on her face and confetti in her hair. They smiled at each other for way too long until Stacie bumped her boobs (she seriously needs to get control over them) into Beca from behind to punch her right into Chloe’s arms.
Beca’s eyes were wide and surprised, her hands curled around Chloe’s biceps, her chin tilted up to look Chloe in the eyes. Suddenly, at the contact, Chloe’s brain rerouted, to the same thoughts that overcame her at that first practice. And just as suddenly, she had to know.
Sliding her hands around Beca’s waist to knot together in the small of her back, Chloe sucked in a sharp breath while she tilted her head down just a fraction. Beca licked her lips, and her eyes dipped down to steal a glance at Chloe’s mouth. Chloe moved that final inch and pressed their lips together, soft and over far too soon. She brushed another kiss against Beca’s mouth before pulling back.
“We won,” she murmured, lightly stroking up Beca’s spine with an index finger.
Beca smiled wide, showing straight white teeth (and jeez, why was she noticing teeth at a time like this?), before sliding her hands up Chloe’s arms to bury them in her hair. “I always did like redheads,” she whispered against Chloe’s lips and Chloe couldn’t help the shiver that travelled down her spine. Then Beca yanked her head down for another kiss and Chloe couldn’t help much of anything.
Beca broke away first when an extremely loud whistle coming from Cynthia Rose sounded right beside her ear. Chloe jerked her head up and caught the eye of Aubrey, who just raised her eyebrows while smiling that smile almost no one ever gets to see, calm and happy. Meanwhile, Amy handed a twenty dollar bill to a smirking Stacie, and Chloe began to wonder when exactly that bet had been made.
She smiled when she felt the slight pull on her hair from Beca’s still tangled up hand and smiled before dipping her head to kiss Beca’s smiling mouth one more time.
She definitely hadn’t needed to strain up on her toes to kiss Beca, that’s for sure.
/ /
Chloe startles awake to the insistent ringing of her cell phone on the bedside table. Propping herself up on one elbow, she ignores the grunt of protest as she leans over to snag the phone. She presses the answer button and flops back onto the bed while rubbing her eyes with her free hand.
“Aubrey, you do know that 7 am in New York is still 4 am in L.A., right?” Her voice is low and gravely with just a hint of menace. Well, as menacing as Chloe can ever really get.
“I know, but this is totally important,” Aubrey is talking high and fast, which probably means she’s had at least two cups of coffee already. “Apparently Cynthia Rose heard from Stacie that Denise told Jessica. who told Amy, who told her, that Lilly just…”
Chloe lets the words wash over her, the familiar sound of Aubrey’s voice very nearly lulling her back to sleep.
“Oh shit, I have to go, but I’ll call you later, okay? Bye!” And then Aubrey hangs up before Chloe can formulate a response.
Chloe blinks at her phone, props herself up on her elbow again and places the phone back onto the table.
“Who the fuck is calling at four in the morning?” A groggy, yet pissed off, voice asks from under the covers to Chloe’s side. Beca is not a morning person in any sense of the word. Except for sex, if Chloe plays her cards right. (Red lingerie).
Instead of dropping onto her back, she lets her arm slip around Beca’s waist and pulls her girlfriend’s back tightly against her front. Beca makes a noise of token protest, but then squirms a little to shift more completely into Chloe’s arms and even tangles their fingers together at her hip. Chloe smiles and presses a soft kiss to the nape of Beca’s neck. Then she closes her eyes and drifts off to sleep.
She’s totally the big spoon.
/ /
The first time Jason meets Beca, Chloe can’t stop laughing at the height different between the two of them – Beca barely makes it up past his elbow. It’s hilarious to see. Even little Michelle is taller than Chloe’s girlfriend. Which makes Chloe’s girlfriend slightly cranky.
When all of Chloe’s “freakishly tall” family (Beca’s words) surround her for the traditional inspection and cheek pinching, Beca sends Chloe a glare that just says ‘you owe me, big time’.
Chloe just smiles, because she’s finally found someone who fits with her in a way she’s never experienced before – or even expected. It sounds unbearably cliché, and Beca would roll her eyes all the way back into her head if Chloe ever said it out loud, but it’s like they were made for each other, in every way.
When everyone gathers in the living room to take the annual Beale family photo, everyone laughs as they gently push Beca to stand in the very front. Beca scowls until Chloe steps up beside her, happy that for the first time, she has someone to stand beside her there. Chloe slips her arm around Beca’s shoulders and Beca smiles at the camera, completely relaxed.
Everyone in Chloe’s life is taller than she is, except for Beca.
And that’s just the way Chloe likes it.