#ppfic

“Do you hear yourself Beca? Emily has been in love with you for how many years now? I mean personally, I don’t know what she sees in you-“

“-wow, thanks for that.”

“What I’m saying is, she is going to say yes no matter how you do it because she loves you and you love her.”

Aubrey was right. Emily has been in love with Beca since the time they recorded ‘Flashlight’ together and vise versa. 5 years later, those feelings haven’t changed. She still looked at the older girl like she held the world in her hands.

“You’re right, I guess. I’m just nervous, that’s all.” Although Beca never gets nervous, Emily brings it out in her. Just seeing the girl smiles gives Beca butterflies in her stomach, and hearing her laugh, man. That does it for the older girl.

“Don’t be. You’ll be fine. Oh, and I want to be the first person you tell when she says yes,” Aubrey said, before hanging up.

“Yes ma’am,” Beca said to herself, quietly.

//

As Emily walked into her kitchen, she heard a soft knock at the door. Confused as to who would be at her door at 10 p.m. on a Thursday, she walked over and looked through her peephole.

A smile appeared on her face as she saw her girlfriend standing at her door, looking mighty fine in her favorite black skinny jeans and purple plaid shirt. Emily quickly opened the door, excited to see Beca.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Emily stepped aside as Beca walked into her apartment.

“Well, um, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Beca said, softly. Emily closed the door and followed Beca into the living room. The room was dark, with only a small lamp in the corner of the room illuminating the room.

“What is it?” Emily’s heart was beating out of her chest. It’s never a good thing when someone says they have to ask you something, and right now, she was thinking of the worst-case-scenario.

She could see how nervous Beca was. The older girl was fidgeting with her hands, so Emily gently took Beca’s into her own.

“I-uh…wow this is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be,” Beca whispered, not daring to look at Emily, in fear of crying. The young girl’s eyes filled with concern.

“It’s okay, whatever it is, it’ll be okay,” Emily said, knowing what was coming. This was it. Beca was breaking up with her.

She kind of figured this day would come. People like Beca don’t date people like Emily. It was all too good to be true, and Emily promised herself she wouldn’t get too comfortable with Beca because she knew it would all come crashing down eventually. She just didn’t expect it to be 5 years later when she was so deep in love with Beca that she couldn’t imagine life without the girl.

“Emily, I…I love you, like a lot. You are actually the best person I know and-geez, this is getting cheesy,” Beca scoffed, not wanting to come across as cliche. “Sorry, I just don’t want to mess this up.”

The young girl was still so confused as to what was happening, so she led Beca to the couch and the two sat down, facing each other.

“I know I’m actually the worst at this kind of stuff, and this is not turning out how I planned, but… I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Em. I want to love you and cherish you and make you feel the way that you make me feel for the rest of our lives an-“

“-oh my stars,” Emily gasped. She was not expecting this at all.

“Let me finish, please,” Beca said, as she got off the couch and slowly got on one knee. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the tiny box with the ring that she had picked out, just for Emily.

Wide-eyed, Emily stood up, bringing her hands to her mouth. “Beca? Beca, what are you doing?” This is so not what Emily expected. She was practically jumping out of her skin. Tears started in her eyes, as she looked at her girlfriend, proposing to her.

“Emily, will you please marry me?”

“Oh my, I can’t believe this is happening,” exclaimed Emily, as she looked around the room. She had to pinch herself to see if this a dream, but to her dismay, it wasn’t. This was real life and everything she’d dreamed of and more.

Beca was kneeling, with the ring in her hands, waiting for Emily’s answer, which she kind of figured was going to be a no, judging by the way the girl was currently freaking out.

“So, I-is that a no then?” Beca slowly got up and looked at the frazzled girl. Emily glanced up at Beca, seeing the disappointment on her face.

“What? No- I mean, yes! It’s a yes! I want to marry you,” Emily said, taking Beca’s hand. Tears were running down Emily’s face now.

Beca smiled and took her thumb and wiped away the tears off Emily’s face. She glanced at the girl’s lips and gently closed the space between them. Emily’s felt her breath catch in her throat, taken back a little by the kiss. She still got butterflies every time Beca kissed her.

The two sat there for a moment, fully engrossed with each other. Then, Beca took the ring and slid it onto Emily’s finger, and intertwined their fingers. Emily gave Beca a gentle smile and kissed her once more.

“I can’t wait to be your wife,” Emily whispered against Beca’s lips. Beca smiled and placed a kiss on Emily’s forehead.

Emily gave Beca’s hand another reassuring squeeze and began to walk forward. “We don’t have to stay long. Let’s just check it out, say hello!”

As the pair entered the house and waded through the mass of people inside, Beca tried to recall how exactly she got talked into going to this impromptu midyear party. She thought back to the previous week when Amy was asking the other Bellas for bucket list suggestions. Emily had immediately started reciting the different things she wanted to do in her life, including going to a frat party.

Beca didn’t think it would actually happen, but she did know that there was no way in hell that she was going to sit back and let Emily Junk go to a frat house by herself ever. So when news of this particular party got around, Beca decided go with Emily and call it a date, mostly to convince herself to power through it. Emily responded with her usual enthusiasm, hugs and kisses included, and the rest was history.

So there she stood, groaning internally as Emily led her further into the building, stepping past dancing couples and boisterous girls and frat boys attempting to play various drinking games. Beca felt a bit relieved as she noticed the expression of carefree excitement on her girlfriend’s face. If Emily was happy, maybe she could find a way to lighten up too. Of course, it didn’t help that some of the partygoers they’d passed by had bumped into her repeatedly or otherwise crammed themselves into her personal space. This night would be a true test of her dedication.

After struggling through the mass of people, Emily and Beca managed to find something to drink. Their next task would be settling in and soaking up the atmosphere of the party. For Emily, that was always a breeze. She was already dancing, expertly balancing her drink in one hand as she moved to the music. Beca on the other hand stood mostly still, concentrating on drinking as fast as she could in the hopes of loosening up a bit. She wanted to enjoy her time with Emily, but public gatherings of this magnitude made her uneasy.

As Beca stood in one corner of the room, a few of the Bellas passed by and chatted with her for a few minutes before taking to the dance floor with Emily and later dispersing. Beca continued to drink and watch as they all danced, praying that no frat boys--or boys, period--would attempt to chat her up.

After a few songs, Emily returned to Beca’s side, smiling as she studied her girlfriend’s serious expression.

“Want another drink, Bec?” She asked, glancing at Beca’s empty cup.

“No, thanks I’m—”

Before Beca could decline, Emily sped away, returning a moment later with a cup of something in her hands. With a lopsided smile, Beca received the cup and took a careful sip of the liquid inside, almost doing a spit take as the taste of at least three different kinds of alcohol mixed together touched her tongue.

“Oh my God, what is this?” She asked, staring into the cup.

“…I don’t really know. The guy making drinks just threw a bunch of alcohol in there and handed it to me,” Emily confessed, downing some of her own drink. “C’mon, it’ll help you loosen up! I think...”

Beca tapped the rim of the cup against her lip, a pensive expression on her face. “Wait a sec… aren’t you… not old enough to be drinking? Legally, that is.”

Emily looked down at her drink and then smiled, shaking her head. “Oh, don’t worry about that. This is just water.”

Beca raised an eyebrow in disbelief and Emily took a step closer, offering up her drink. “Try it for yourself if you don’t believe me.”

Taking a sip, Beca nodded when the plain taste of water hit her tongue. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I didn’t--”

“Hey, it’s okay!” Emily said, spontaneously kissing Beca on her cheek. Beca’s face turned bright red at the contact. “I think it’s sweet that you’re worried about me. It’s nice to know that my girlfriend cares about me so much.”

Beca held her free hand up to cover her face in embarrassment. “Worried? Me? Psh, no, I was never worried. You do you and… um… I mean, I’m not your mom... or whatever...”

“Hehe, I know, I know.” Emily smiled and linked Beca’s arm with hers. “C’mon, dance with me while this song’s still on!”

Beca looked at her with a pained expression and Emily cocked her head, trying on a sad expression of her own.

“Please?”

It took Beca .01 seconds to fall for Emily’s sad puppy dog eyes.

“Dammit, fine.” Beca quickly finished her drink and joined Emily among the other partiers.

As they danced to a mix of Top 40, electronica, and various other upbeat genres, Beca could feel the alcohol kicking in. The room started to spin a bit and the people around her became blurred, but Emily remained in focus. Beca smiled up at her girlfriend who smiled back so effortlessly.

Emily, Emily... how did she get so lucky? Emily was a ray of sunshine on a cold, dreary day and Beca was that dreary day that needed a bit of sun, no matter how hard she might have protested.

Beca took a few steps closer to Emily, feeling so much in that moment. Her lips parted and she took a deep breath, prepared to tell Emily how she felt. Before she could, however, the music shifted from electronica to a slower tempo 80s tune. Beca rolled her eyes at the timing of it all and tried to hide the smile creeping up on her lips as Emily bowed comically and held out her hand.

“May I have this dance?”

Beca giggled at Emily’s exaggerated display. Giggled? What was Emily doing to her?

“Of course,” Beca replied sheepishly. She placed her hand in Emily’s and effortlessly the taller girl whisked her towards the center of the makeshift dance floor. Placing her other hand on Beca’s hip, Emily led them back and forth amongst a few other couples who looked confused about the music playing.

As they danced, the only thing on Beca’s mind was Emily. She followed her girlfriend’s lead, narrowly missing stepping on her toes a couple of times. It didn’t help that the floor appeared to be spinning beneath her.

“You’re a... really good dancer,” Beca mumbled lamely. Really? That was the best she could do? She would have to work on her compliments at some point, Beca thought. Nevertheless, Emily’s features brightened at the compliment.

“Aww, you mean it? Thanks, babe!”

Emily wrapped her arms around Beca’s waist and pulled her into a hug. Letting her excitement get the better of her, Emily lifted Beca up for a second before gently placing her back on solid ground. She kept Beca in her embrace, sighing contentedly as Beca gently hugged her back. Emily could have stayed that way forever, but then she remembered what she’d said a moment earlier.

“It’s okay that I called you ‘babe’, right?”

Beca looked up, confused at first, then offered Emily a lopsided smile. It was more than okay, but even tipsy Beca wanted to maintain her cool exterior.

“Yeah, sure, whatevs,” Beca replied.

Emily smiled knowingly and continued to sway back and forth with Beca in her arms. She looked down at her girlfriend, intrigued and a little bit puzzled by the fact that Beca was now hugging her tightly, as if letting go would mean losing each other.

“You okay, Beca?” Emily asked.

Beca looked up into her girlfriend’s eyes and felt her breath catch in her throat. The way the room’s dim lighting happened to shine down made Emily look ethereally beautiful. It must have been the booze, Beca thought, that was magnifying her feelings and leaving her speechless. Wordlessly she pressed her forehead against Emily’s shoulder to try and hide her reddening face.

“Aww, are you shy now? How cute!” Emily giggled. “I never thought I’d get to see Beca Mitchell so flustered.”

“Shut up, ‘m not cute,” Beca slurred. “And ‘m not flustered, I...”

Beca looked up at Emily again and stared deeply into her girlfriend’s eyes. The room continued to spin around her, but she and Emily remained in place. Emily gazed at Beca lovingly, smiling as she watched her girlfriend’s face turn different shades of red.

“You’re what?”

The sound of the other partygoers and the music continued on around them but was ignored, almost like the two of them were in a dome separated from the rest of the world. Beca’s gaze fixed on Emily’s lips, but the sudden shyness that struck her made it impossible for her to do more than stammer.

“I... um...”

The song came to an end and Beca exhaled deeply, feeling her heart beating wildly against her ribcage. Before she could attempt to calm herself down, however, another slow dance tune began. It was then that Beca became fully convinced that the DJ--or whatever moron was in charge of the night’s music--was fucking with her.

Emily noticed the scowl on Beca’s face, unsure of the exact cause. She began to fret, however, thinking it was her fault that Beca looked so upset. After all, she’d talked Beca into going and then made her stay way longer than she should have. It was her fault and Beca was upset with her. At least, that’s what Emily convinced herself of. She had to make it up to Beca somehow... she wanted to kiss that scowl off of Beca’s face.

So that’s exactly what she did.

Emily leaned down just a bit and quickly kissed Beca. It was a short, affectionate peck on the lips, but it was enough to get Beca’s attention. She looked up, wide eyed, and Emily panicked harder.

“Um, I just... you looked upset so I wanted to... I know you’re not really into PDA... I’m sorry...”

“Em, hey... it’s okay, it’s okay.”

Beca hugged Emily close once more, rubbing Emily’s back in the hopes of reassuring her. Despite the gesture, Emily bit her lip, still worried.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Beca?”

The music changed back to something more upbeat, something the other partiers had no problem dancing and grinding to. Beca ignored all of that and lowered her arms, releasing Emily from her embrace.

“I’m okay, more than okay.”

Beca took Emily’s hands in hers and looked into her eyes, aware that she would have to put into words what she’d been feeling that night, what she’d known since they had decided to become girlfriends. A frat house wasn’t the most romantic place to confess her true feelings, she knew, but Beca was overcome with them and they refused to stay bottled up.

“Em... I love you.”

“Beca...” Emily smiled, awestruck at her girlfriend’s admission. Her heart fluttered and now she was the one blushing in alternating shades of red. She had dreamed of this day, when Beca would let down her walls completely, but seeing it happen in real life and hearing those three words from Beca herself was indescribable. All Emily knew was that she had never been happier than in this moment.

“I love you too!”

Beca stood unsteadily on her tiptoes, wobbling for a second before leaning in to kiss Emily. After their lips parted and Beca stood firmly on the ground, the two of them looked around the room, surprised by the very active partying and drinking still going on and relieved that no one seemed to notice them. Scrunching up her nose, Emily laughed and offered her arm for Beca to take.

“I think I’ve had enough partying for one night. Want to get out of here?” she asked.

Beca exhaled loudly in relief. Without a moment’s hesitation, she linked her arm with Emily’s and they made their way off of the dance floor and back the way they came.