Get Your Cardio - A Pitchmas Fic
A Pitchmas gift for @fandom-heaux from your secret Santa.
Beca curses the day she met Chloe Beale under her breath as the sweat trickles down her face.
"Good job, Becs! Just two more miles!"
Scandalized, Beca falters in her rhythm on the elliptical. "You said I only had to do three miles total!"
Chloe smiles widely from her own machine, "Uh, yeah and you've only done one."
Beca stops so abruptly she almost falls over. "There is no way in hell I have only done one mile." Chloe looks amused as she leans over to point at Beca's odometer, never breaking her stride.
1.1 miles.
"I give up," Beca declares, loudly and dramatically channeling her Bellas sisters.
"No you don't." Chloe gestures for her to keep going, looking gorgeous with her movie star sweat and her buff arms and her face.
"I hate cardio."
Chloe raises an impish eyebrow at Beca, "Not all cardio is like this, Becs, but I don't think as fitness czar of the Bellas I can ethically assign you the fun kind."
It takes Beca a few more seconds than she'd like to connect the dots, but when she realizes that of course Chloe Beale is talking about recreational sex, Chloe's already enjoying a nice laugh about it.
"I hate you." Beca says, but there's no heat to it, just defeat and grumpiness.
"That's fine, I love you enough for both of us."
"It's not my fault you need two people for that kind of cardio," Beca mumbles as she gets her feet back into place to continue.
Chloe actually snorts.
At once, Beca turns to look at her, "What?"
Chloe shakes her head, like she's indulging a toddler. "You are just so oblivious."
"I am not," Beca defends immediately.
"Yes, you are," Chloe insists. "You have no idea how incredible and sexy you are. If it was publically appropriate for people to queue up for a chance with you, your line would be down the block and around the corner, at least."
Blushing, Beca decides that the only possible response is one in kind. "Well, if that was reality, my line would have nothing on yours. It would ring around the whole campus and then some. Especially because, I reiterate, no one would be in my line."
Chloe's shaking her head in disagreement before Beca even finishes. "There would be tons of people in your line."
"I don't even know tons of people!"
"You don't have to know them," Chloe explains. "They just have to know you."
"Nobody knows me," Beca argues. "Except maybe you, but you wouldn't be in my line, so my line is still empty."
Chloe goes quiet, save for the noises coming from her elliptical. Just as Beca decides to ask her what's wrong, she pipes up, "Your line wouldn't be empty, Becs. Not even if I was the only one lining up somewhere."
The moment feels far too heavy for what started out as a lighthearted conversation at the gym. Beca sputters out a "You-" but then doesn't seem to know where to go from there.
"It's okay," Chloe says, in what Beca knows is her fakely cheerful positive voice. "You don't have to say anything, we can just finish our cardio and head back."
And maybe the conversation primed Beca, but as soon as Chloe mentions cardio again, she's thinking about that other kind of cardio and whether or not Chloe might be interested in that... with her.
And it is during this break in their conversation that not one, but two people come over to them, or more accurately, to Chloe.
The guy is alright, as far as guys go, Beca decides. He's not unpleasant looking and seems fairly toned. The woman is not very muscular, but defined, and if Beca's being honest, she's pretty cute. After all that just happened, Beca's mind is still trying to compute, but she knows she doesn't really want to witness this. She's witnessed it too often and she knows she doesn't like it.
It's the guy who tries his luck first, and Beca can tell from Chloe's face that she'll let him down gently. She feels a little more relaxed as he introduces himself and tells Chloe she has great form and asks if she comes here a lot.
Chloe politely engages in the conversation and Beca stops listening, turns her attention to the fairly slight brunette girl looking nervous beside him. All of a sudden, Beca's hit with a wave of worry because what if Chloe likes this woman. She looks between her reflection in the mirror and the woman literally waiting in line to ask Chloe out and she can't ignore some of the similarities.
Beca stops moving on the elliptical as the guy takes his rejection fairly well and backs away. Her face warms and her pulse quickens as Chloe turns to the woman, who starts by apologizing for bothering her. Chloe loves a sincere apology.
She gives Chloe her name and in a very cutely awkward fashion asks if Chloe would like to get coffee later.
The words escape Beca's mouth before her brain catches up, surprising all three of them. "Sorry, she's got plans later."
And in the confused silence, Beca adds, "With me."
The woman apologizes again, this time to both of them, and then rejoins her friend. They pat each other on the back and head over to the free weights.
Beca tries very pointedly to not look at Chloe and blatantly ignores how peaceful she feels inside now that they're gone. She starts her exercise again.
"Beca," Chloe starts, and Beca can't quite discern what the tone of voice means. "I can answer for myself."
"I know, sorry," Beca scrambles for any excuse for her response. "But I figured putting her out of her misery faster would really be a mercy."
"What do you mean 'putting her out of her misery'?"
Beca's gait falters slightly. "Like your rejection? You're very polite about them but sometimes they take a long time."
"Why would you assume I was going to reject her?"
Fear coils itself where Beca thinks her liver might be. "Um, I mean, you rejected him so I just thought it was game over for her too."
Beca can hear the fire light in Chloe's head before it's released, "And if I wanted to go to coffee with her, but you just rejected her apparently on my behalf, what am I supposed to do, hmm?"
"You wanted to go?" Saying it aloud herself is worse than hearing it from Chloe.
"So why did you do that, Beca?"
Beca dismounts from the elliptical and tries to outrun whatever is happening in her head. "I don't know," she offers weakly and then full on sprints to the changing area. She grabs her stuff as quickly as she can before barreling into an empty shower stall, pulling the curtain fully shut behind her. She puts the water on and strips to shower as someone enters the shower area.
"Beca?" Of course it's Chloe. Beca focuses on washing her hair as Chloe calls her name a couple more times. She rinses the shampoo out and listens intently for a moment before deciding that Chloe has moved her search along. She soaps herself up, fighting her natural instinct to sing in the shower just in case Chloe's still lurking out there.
It's as she's rinsing the suds off that she clearly hears the curtain slide open behind her. She keeps her back to the doorway.
"Beca, what the actual fuck?"
Beca winces. Chloe Beale does not usually swear.
"Hi this is a shower for one, please use any of the other empty stalls for your own cleaning purposes."
"Beca, what's going on?" She can feel Chloe step closer towards her.
"You're invading my shower for the second time."
"Seriously Beca, spill, or I will hug you."
Beca actually chortles at the threat. And then she feels cool skin against her back, including two particularly firm spots near her shoulder blades. She short circuits.
Two arms wrap around her stomach, clearly actively avoiding her boobs, for which she's thankful.
"Talk to me," Chloe says, this time more gently than her previous inquiries.
"I am naked." Is all Beca can formulate, not unlike the first time this happened.
"Me too. What's your point?"
"Dude!"
"Talk to me, Becs."
"I just didn't think you'd want to go with her."
"Why wouldn't I?"
Beca shrugs.
"Come on, you know that's not an answer."
Beca feels Chloe's boobs press harder against her back.
"Jesus! Okay! You basically just said you were into me and then this lady pulls up who looks generally like me and I just wanted to make sure you didn't go with her, okay?"
It's not enough for Chloe. "But why didn't you want that?"
Beca closes her eyes and leans farther against the shower wall. "Please don't make me say it."
"Say what?"
"Beale…"
"Yes, Mitchell?"
Beca lowers her head and leans enough to gently thump her forehead against the wall. "They interrupted a moment," she says finally.
"Oh did they?"
And Beca's had enough of this teasing from Chloe. She no longer cares that not only is she naked but so is the terror behind her. She turns in Chloe's arms to look her in the eye.
"Yes they did." She states. "They barged in before I had a chance."
Chloe doesn't hesitate to take the opening. "Chance for what?"
Adrenaline comes to Beca's defense and maybe a touch of impulsivity learned from Amy. Beca presses her forehead against Chloe's and then juts her chin forward so that she kisses her.
If Chloe's surprised, she doesn't show it. But she kisses back like she was born to do it. When Beca pulls away she feels strangely calm.
"I understand if you want to get coffee with her," she says and then quickly corrects herself. "Well, no, I don't understand but I'd love to get coffee or dinner or anything with you instead."
Chloe smiles and Beca can't hold hers in anymore. "Are you asking me on a date, Beca Mitchell?"
"Only if you're gonna say yes."
"I think your future's looking pretty good."
