Work Text
When Aubrey finally had a decent job offer outside of the state she took it and moved as far away from her father as she could. It wasn’t that she hated her father, she loved him, but there was only so much, “Are you sure about ‘insert her life choice’?”, she could take. Maybe when he saw that she wasn’t homeless/ drug dealer/ prostitute in five years he would let up. ( Yes, she knew her father loved her, wanted the best for her, but there was a limit, and she didn’t see him talking to his sons that way. ) She moved to the sunny city of San Diego accepting a job offer with one of the tech giants in the area. Coming from South Carolina, her father’s last duty station, it was a bit of a culture shock, but she adapted well. Except for the Beale-Mitchells. They were a class on their own. Beca, the Mitchell part of Beale-Mitchell, was a DJ, which was fine until Aubrey realized she needed to soundproof all of the walls in her house. Beca’s music taste was probably fantastic if Aubrey listened to it, but at three in the morning when she had work at seven it was hellish trash. (It was part of the reason why home values were lower here.) And the gaggle of girls that hung around the DJ and her wife were, interesting. One girl, who had long bangs and a strange fashion sense, held up a knife in the middle of the street. Since she also had a sharpening stone Aubrey couldn’t really complain without looking like a paranoid freak. (Another part why her house had been on the market for a year.) A, partially, redeeming feature about her neighbors was the Beale part of Beale-Mitchell. Chloe was a ray of sunshine, in the strangest of ways. She lived with her heart open no holding back, so when Aubrey decorated her lawn for Christmas Chloe made sure the Beale-Mitchell lawn was brighter. (The last reason why Aubrey probably couldn’t ever sell her house.) If she had her away she would have avoided them like the plague, but the universe had different intentions. The start of her misery, and honestly the best relationships she ever made, was on a Wednesday, a month after she moved in. Chloe was a baker and she always set her creations on the window still every morning around eleven. One day, the Wednesday, there were no baked goods cooling. Aubrey was home, off from work, reading White Fang when the doorbell rang. Behind the door stood Beca, with a measuring cup in hand and a sour disposition on display. “Can I borrow a cup of sugar?” Beca asked weakly, as if she were Atlas and the weight of the world rested on her tiny shoulders. (Thank goodness she wasn’t, because the world would slip and they would all die.) Aubrey would have said no, Beca had been the main part of her torment since she moved in, but her mother always told her to be nice to her neighbors and make sure they had enough. (She left though, so Aubrey didn’t know if that was a cover up for something. And maybe she was lonely and tired from behind an outsider stealing glimpses of the inside.) “Sure. Do you need an exact cup or that entire cup?” Aubrey asked, reaching out to grab the utensil from Beca. She might have also just been lonely, but she would never admit that to anyone, not even herself. Aubrey was used to lonely, it was comfortable, and controllable. But, Beca and her cup of sugar at the very least was an opening to a less lonely world. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Partially from how nice Beca was, and partially because Aubrey was raised to keep up appearances, everytime Beca came over and asked for sugar Aubrey always gave her some. It had become so routine that Aubrey bought twice the amount of sugar she was going to use that week, she baked too but nowhere near as much as Chloe, and gave the rest to Beca when she inevitably walked over to ask for a cup. Beca made for a good talking partner, she had her own opinions about how the world worked but allowed Aubrey to talk before stating her piece. That was something new to the blonde, who was always steamrolled by her family. It’s how she developed her will of steel, after all iron sharpens iron. (When she mentioned she wanted to go through law school the first thing her father said was, “JAG is a good branch.” When she said she was going to not join the Army, her father said, “Well, the Marine Corps is a fine option, so is the Navy and Air Force, but I swear if you join the Coast Guard we will have words Aubrey Posen.”) Beca, Aubrey come to realize, was hard to offend. She liked yelling back and soon Aubrey found herself a new verbal sparring partner that wouldn’t run away crying. It was new, she never had that before, and thrilling. The only line they never crossed was personal information. Aubrey never asked about Chloe or the strange people Beca surrounded herself with and Beca never asked Aubrey about her past. Today though, Beca looked… mad… and Aubrey was of course slightly curious. “Beca,” Aubrey said while pouring the sugar into a bag. “Not that I’m upset or anything, but you do you keep asking me for sugar?” Beca’s eyes flared and Aubrey was worried she had unleashed a beast upon her house. (Which would have been a bitch since she had just cleaned up the entire house for spring and even bought herself some new expensive furniture.) “I’m sorry…” The words died in her throat as Beca shook her head. “No, I’m not mad at you.” She clarified, looking at the bag. “It’s Chloe. She refuses to buy a bag because she thinks I would eat the entire thing to give myself diabetes on purpose. Which is stupid, because she bakes so much I might as well have.” “Why?” Aubrey was at a loss for words, she couldn’t wrap her head around it. Beca shrugged. “That was my reaction too.” She looked up, thoughtful. “Honestly, if I wanted to leave her without a divorce I would just run away instead of trying to kill myself slowly. Quicker and easier.” “Beca!” By now Aubrey was used to Beca’s offensive humor, but it still was a shock. Beca grinned and shrugged, licking the spoon Aubrey was using to make liquid sugar with. Chloe also needed that, but the redhead couldn’t be trusted with making it. Aubrey’s insurance rates were still scarred from the incident. “It’s true!” Chloe yelled, both women whipped their heads toward the enraged wife. In her haste, Beca forgot to close the door. “I knew you were doing this on purpose!” “Babe it’s not what it looks like!” Beca yelped as Chloe tackled her, trying to get the offending spoon away from her wife. When Chloe finally wrestled the demonic utensil away from her wife she looked up and locked eyes with Aubrey. It was the first time they met each other in person, and Aubrey didn’t get the hype. Then again, Chloe was currently fighting her wife over a spoon so that probably wasn’t the best way to judge character. “Hi, sorry, I’m Chloe!” The ginger said with a massive smile. Aubrey returned a polite smile and took the hand offered, which was a mistake because Chloe used it to pull her closer. “I am Aubrey Posen.” She said, adjusting her stance so she wouldn’t fall into Beca’s wife. “So you’re the reason why there’s always sugar in the house!” Chloe chirped. Then, suddenly realizing something, Chloe blushed. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! We keep stealing your sugar!” “It’s fine. I don’t use that much sugar anyway.” “Have dinner with us tomorrow?” Chloe asked, her blue eyes almost blinding. “I have to make it up to you since we keep bothering you. And the entire block is coming so it’s going to be a party!” On instinct she almost declined the kind offer, but she barely caught herself as the words formed in her throat. General Posen’s assignments didn’t dictate her life anymore. She could stay her for more than a few years! “Okay, what time?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When she was a little girl she always wondered what family dinners were like. While the Posens were old money, they were soldiers first and by the time she was old enough to remember dinners she was eating them alone. Her older brothers were deployed, her father was at his command and she couldn’t ask the helpers to eat with her. She was lonely, not weird. It was fun, though she bet that dinner at the Beale - Mitchell household wasn’t really what you’d call a standard dinner. For one thing, Chloe couldn’t keep her hands off Beca, or anyone for that matter, and second they invited the entire block. It was loud, messy, and Aubrey couldn’t help but feel like that thirteen year old girl who just started at a small town middle school. Pressing herself as close to a corner as she could, she watched the other Bellas interact with each other. It was like high school all over again, they were all in the same club before they graduated, and kept touch. High school acapella was a thing, apparently. “YOU PUT YOUR ARMS AROUND ME AND I’M HOOOOOOOOOOMMMMEEEE!” Fat Amy, half of the party, belted out. She was an Australian who moved to San Diego for reasons unknown and with her boisterous personality went on tours entertaining people on the road. According to Chloe she was back in town for a month, trying to refresh her material before heading back out to her adoring fans. “Hey!” Aubrey didn’t notice her ginger host walk toward her until Chloe gracelessly threw herself down into the couch. “How do you like it so far?”“It’s, interesting?” Was all she could spit out before Chloe had to go stop Lily, the strange quiet girl, from setting the place on fire. She was a HVAC technician, unsurprisingly enough. Aubrey sighed, and took a massive swig of the wine she had been nursing all night long. It felt like it was impossible to stay sober around these girls, which worried her since she needed to stay in control. She noticed Beca, who, beer in hand, walked over and sat on the couch arm. “How are you?” “Good.” She answered automatically, sitting up in the sagging couch. Beca raised an eyebrow and took a sip from her now lukewarm beer. The condensation got all over Beca’s hand and it made Aubrey flinch when Beca switched the beer to her other hand and placed the wet one all over the couch. She wanted to say something about mold, mildew, and how dirty the act was in general but she was too afraid of Beca’s reaction. This was her home, Aubrey was just a guest trespassing. “So where are you from Aubrey?” It was a valid question, and she had most of Beca’s life told to her through stories by the Bellas already so it was only fair, but the question still haunted her. People only really asked that when they found out how strange she was. Using the old rage she once had when Beca used to blast music through the night, Aubrey snapped, “From this planet.” “Are you sure Aubrey? Because I thought you were from Uranus because of how anal you are.” Beca said, so fast Aubrey didn’t have time to react. Once the shorter woman’s words sunk in, Aubrey scoffed hiding her slowly forming smile at the wisecrack. “I apologize, I’m…” Beca held up a hand to stop her. “I’m sorry dude, I know we never ask about personal stuff when we talked. I just had nothing better to ask you.” Beca shook her head. “What’s your opinion about Leslie Knope?” Aubrey looked deep into Beca’s eyes, trying to find any hidden malice or rage. It was a foreign idea, that someone would apologize to her, Aubrey Posen, and she didn’t know how to feel about the entire thing. When she saw nothing familiar, Aubrey’s head quickly processed what Beca had just asked and she frowned. (Though she liked the apology, it was an unheard of concept and the unfamiliar was making her uncomfortable.) “Are you asking me my opinion about another blonde woman?” Aubrey asked, eyebrow raised, this smile seeping through her careful guard. “The answer is, yes I love the woman but not her politics.” Hearing the challenge in the blonde’s voice Beca took a sip of her beer and smiled back. It was going to be an interesting night. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ While Chloe knew Beca loved the Bellas, she knew her wife never really bonded that well with all of them. Well, maybe her and Fat Amy, but for the rest Beca seemed to bond with them in passing. Not that it was bad, but it was stunning to see Beca so wrapped up in a conversation with a blonde she had just barely met as if they were best friends in the entire world. They were arguing about the merits of two different political ideologies, Beca took the side of the Welfare State while Aubrey fought for Small Government. At first Chloe couldn’t help but be jealous, the fire in Beca’s eyes was something she had only ever seen when Beca mixed, seduced her, or schemed to keep the Bellas in line (safe too). But, Aubrey seemed to be a decent person, and she hadn’t stolen Beca away yet even when her wife was over there nearly every other day. (Chloe knew that Beca was going to Aubrey’s house metaphorically, she knew Beca was getting sugar/ sugar products from somewhere, but she never had a face to the name “Posen”. Her first reaction was jealous, but when Beca came back quickly , too quick for a quickie, Chloe realized there probably was nothing going on yet. And Beca had been nothing but faithful to her for the past decade, so Chloe wasn’t terribly worried but the ancient part of her brain still wondered.) When Beca growled and huffed, tells that she had just lost an argument but was too proud to admit it yet, Chloe realized she really wanted to meet this woman. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next morning Chloe walked over with a baked pie, she had some sugar left over from the last time Beca stole some from Aubrey, and she wanted to return at least a piece of it. Something to make Aubrey happy in return for all the times she had brought Chloe, and others by extension, joy. She knew, because Beca wrote down Aubrey’s work schedule only so she knew when to hit the blonde up for sugar, that Aubrey was home when she knocked. But, with how dark and abandoned the house looked she was worried she missed the blonde. “Yes?” Aubrey said opening her door. She raised her eyebrows at Chloe and reminded her of a deer she almost hit once during one of her late night drives with Beca. “Oh, Chloe good morning.” “Good morning Aubrey how are you?” Chloe smiled. “Good, would you like to come in?” Aubrey left her no choice, ushering her inside as if the sun was evil. “So I never got to properly thank you for the sugar.” Chloe began, placing the pie in the middle of Aubrey’s pristine white countertop. “So I made you an apple pie as a gift. With your sugar… er, well I hope you like it!” The blonde gave her a quiet smile. “Thank you for the pie.” Aubrey said, opening her fridge and pulling out some ice cream Chloe didn’t recognize. “Eat a slice with me?” Since then Aubrey and Chloe had become fast friends. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Beca, I worry about Aubrey.” Chloe said as Beca prepared their near daily exchange. Aubrey gave them sugar and sugar products, no one’s insurance had recovered yet from the tiny fire Chloe may or may not have started trying to make simple syrup, while Chloe made Beca bring a batch of her latest creation. “What do you mean?” Beca paused packing the cinnamon bread. That was another sign that Beca really liked Aubrey, she gave her undivided attention to the blonde, rather than her normal 70/30 split. Ever since their last exchange Chloe had the sneaking suspicion that Aubrey was… struggling, for lack of better words. Okay, they were all struggling but Aubrey seemed to never each much beyond the pastries Beca brought her and her car was a cheap looking beater. Even they could afford something better than that! “Well…” “Chloe, just because she drives a cheap hatchback doesn’t mean she’s poor.” Beca said rolling her eyes while finishing packing the fresh bread. “Besides, she never opens her garage door, and she could be filthy rich for all we know.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Aubrey found out that Sunday dinners at the Beale - Mitchell’s was a bi-monthly occurrence. She found herself constantly over after the first dinner, at first attending the other dinners but then soon helping with the planning and preparation. Before she got involved it was a free for all, food was scavenged off the table and the weakest were left to die. (Eat from the pre-made cookies Chloe bought as back up.) Once Aubrey got involved she organized everything neatly and efficiently, fruits and appetizers near the beginning, entrees in the middle and desserts at the end of a line of tables. Both sides could be accessed, so two people could serve themselves from one dish, and she had Chloe put out two to three smaller dishes rather than lump them all together in one big bowl to keep the line flowing. She even brought her own contributions, maids quitting often taught Aubrey how to cook quickly, which took more of the strain off of Chloe. The ginger gave her funny looks though, with an emotion Aubrey didn’t understand. The first time Chloe tried to stop her but Aubrey had none of it and she organized the entire line herself. By the time she trained Beca and Chloe in the art of hosting a dinner party, Aubrey starting bringing food over. “Oh Bree,” Chloe said once she saw the trays in the blonde’s hands. “You don’t need too. Beca and I got this.” Aubrey looked at her and blinked. “It is only polite.” She mustered out falling on old familiar words, unsure of what to say. Instead of initiating conversation that night with Beca or Chloe, Aubrey busied herself in folding napkins and keeping the tablecloth taut over the wooden surface. By then she was a familiar face, even having her own designated guest room since planning and preparation took nearly three days. She found out that all the Bellas chipped in a few dollars every party, which gave her a budget and she planned accordingly. For some reason, Chloe and Beca didn’t have a Costco card so Aubrey bought the food from there in bulk, bringing down the cost of the party. Now that she was comfortable she bonded a bit more with the other girls, though nowhere near as close as she had with Beca or Chloe. Stacie was a Biology teacher along with Chloe, who taught music, at the local high school about four miles away. Flo, Florencia Flores, was a dancer and small time local business owner who sold juice and smoothies. Jessica and Ashley, who were either best friends or married Aubrey couldn’t tell, where both salespeople at Flo’s shop, being the only employees. Cynthia Rose was a medically retired Air Force NCO who repaired aircraft and now lived with her own wife. Emily, the youngest of the bunch, had just graduated high school and was attending the local community college with dreams of transferring to San Diego State in two years. It was a strange new world to Aubrey, who had been surrounded by people who had graduate degrees and corporate jobs. Even Cynthia Rose was a shock, she never really interacted with the Enlisted side of the military, her father’s rank made sure of it. (Not specifically because her father was a snob, but because most Enlisted people couldn’t really afford to send their kids to a 45k a year private high school. Also, because her father was a snob and made sure they lived off base with her step-mother sealing the deal by only rubbing shoulders with her rich actor friends.) Stacie, who held a Biology degree from San Diego State University, was the closest it got to her old world. Chloe got by on her associates, and the rest of them didn’t go to college. Aubrey almost wanted to scream, “How?”, but realized it was her own inflexible view on life that was the “How?”. They were surviving, and surprisingly her father was wrong about those without an education. (Well, okay. In the case of Cynthia Rose / Lily she understood her father’s message. When did she want to be 50? At 35 or 50?) “So what about you Aubrey?” Stacie asked after saying her piece. They decided to make a circle to say things about themselves, mostly for Aubrey’s benefit since she was the newcomer, but also as a way of revealing all the juicy drama in their worlds. Beca had a new DJ gig in Los Angeles that she gushed about for a solid ten minutes. Chloe’s orchestra class was coming along nicely. Stacie hated the new sex ed modules. She didn’t know what to say. Suddenly she felt unrelatable, and even more out of touch with these girls without even saying a single thing. “I went to Barden University.” She started, deciding to disclose the simplest thing about her life that wouldn’t tell too much. A lot of people went to college. “Oh em aca-gee!” Emily squealed. “That’s my dream college! What’s it like?”Aubrey’s sigh of relief was unnoticed by most everyone as she began her story, except by Chloe and Beca who gave each other quiet looks. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I really need 1500, no, yes, NO!” Aubrey groaned, yelling through her flip phone. (Surprisingly enough they still sold those buggers.) It was an awful time for the callback, she was in the middle of hosting Chloe and Beca. They were hanging out on a Tuesday, Beca had returned from Los Angeles the day before, but all the other Bellas were too busy to celebrate in the middle of the day. “Really Minerva?” Aubrey growled. “Yes. Fine. Of course, I will be there tomorrow.” Still frustrated Aubrey waited for Minerva to hang up before returning wordlessly to the two women who were lost in their own conversation. They didn’t ask about the call, even though Aubrey could see the yearning in their eyes, and instead focused on distracting her with their stories about high school and the other Bellas. For that, Aubrey was ever grateful. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Stacie was the first Bella, other than Chloe and Beca, to open up to Aubrey. The taller brunette asked her to come with her to her daughter’s softball game since Chloe was supposed too but fell sick with the flu. Aubrey said yes, partially because it would have been awkward if she said no, partially because Stacie was fun to hang around, and partially because she was bored and had nothing better to do. Minerva was frustratingly meticulous even for Aubrey, and the other woman seemed to enjoy letting the blonde suffer. While Aubrey was through, she was run on a motor that could never stop going. It was a welcome distraction, that quickly turned confusing when Aubrey realized she had no clue how the game went and who she was supposed to be cheering for. But watching Stacie passionately scream and dance for her baby girl was definitely worth it. They got ice cream afterward, with Stacie grabbing the bill since she “was the special guest”. It was good, for the price, and Aubrey desperately wanted to take the science teacher and her daughter to one of the ice cream places she visited in the richer parts of San Diego so they could taste better ice cream. The sudden rush, the sudden compassion and desire for better for another person caught the blonde off guard and she was silent for the rest of the evening trying to understand what had just occurred. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Minerva! The money is due in three days!” Aubrey hissed. She was not whining, she was simply explaining in a very high pitched voice. “I finished my paperwork fuck you.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The change in Aubrey was noticeable, four days after the strange phone call Aubrey turned from a dedicated machine to a focused near rabid beast stalking its prey. She became withdrawn, avoiding everyone on the block in favor of working. Everyday at seven exactly Aubrey drove her car out and returned at seven in the evening. She lost weight, and sleep too by the looks of her exhausted dead eyes. Beca and Chloe had wanted to help the blonde, but it felt like there was nothing they could do. Money was tight that month, Beca had to skip a few gigs to take care of Chloe, and it summer so they didn’t have Chloe’s teacher salary to rely on. The other Bellas tried to help, but they could only do so much. Luckily there was still food left and their bills were a bit lower since they couldn’t host one of their parties. That was when Fat Amy gave them a great suggestion. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ They went over to Aubrey’s house, just Chloe and Beca since everyone else was busy. To be fair, it was better that way since Aubrey didn’t seem to bond with the other Bellas that much. She yelled “The door is open!” when they knocked, and didn’t even look up from the legal pad she was scribbling on. Off to the side of Aubrey’s dining table is a half eaten PB&J and a cup of water. “Aubrey, you need to take a break.” Beca said first, holding out the lasagna Chloe made. Aubrey shook her head, eyes never leaving her paper. “No, sorry I am busy right now.” “Posen, you will take a break. I will finish the rest.” Someone said, blaring through Aubrey’s phone. Aubrey sighed, put down her pen, and nodded. “Yes Ma’am.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lasagna was far more eventful than expected. Aubrey had never seen lasagna before. Chloe had to show her how to serve it, which lead to them also eating the gift that they brought over. When questioned, Aubrey simply smiled and shrugged. “It’s only polite to feed your company.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Instead of exchanging pastries near daily they begin to exchange food and drives. A few days after giving Aubrey the lasagna Beca’s car breaks, so Aubrey had begun driving the DJ around and picking up their groceries for them. All Aubrey insists on getting in return is their company at dinner. They still host the bi-monthly Bella parties, but with most of the Bellas out to enjoy the last few days of summer it is a smaller affair. On accident Beca finds out how much gas Aubrey burns through. She knew the blonde had to foot a massive bill since many of her DJ gigs were several miles away, and Aubrey still had to work and go shopping with Chloe. Aubrey’s ledger is visible on the countertop, not meaning to pry but Beca notes the massive thousand written right next to gas. She doesn’t read the rest, shame flooding through her entire body both from the fact Aubrey had to spend so much to help them and the fact that she looked through Aubrey’s personal things. Even though they were friends now, or at least as much as possible with a person like Aubrey, Beca and Chloe knew to stay away from personal information about the blonde. This was like a breach of trust. A soft cough breaks her train of thought, Aubrey was standing there looking at her and the ledger. If Beca could explode she would have. “Beca,” She said softly. “Please hand me my ledger.” This time Beca didn’t look. “Bree, that’s a lot in gas.” Beca said. “You don’t need to drive us around that much.” Saying it made Beca wince, they were only able to afford this month because Aubrey kept driving them around. She could try to take the bus, Uber/Lyft were out of the question, but she would be late to many of her gigs. The blonde raised her eyebrows. “Is your car fixed yet?” “N… no, but” Beca spluttered out. “Then I will drive you until your car is fixed Beca. That’s what friends do, they help each other out.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Things were getting better a year later, Aubrey relaxed and Beca’s car fund was almost full. They decided on a new hatchback so there could be room for Beca’s equipment. The bi-monthly dinner parties were back into full swing since it was Fall and all the other Bellas were back in town to work. Aubrey was finally bonding with them, in her own way. They knew by now the place of her birth, an Army base in Germany, and her childhood was defined by her father’s job. She had a stepmother, her biological mom left when she was young, and she had a brother who was also in the Army. “He kept up the family heritage.” Aubrey said over a glass of wine. “I did something else, which I found out later was still a Posen job, but not because of my father but because I liked it.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Beca had been looking for work as a music producer the moment she found out Chloe was pregnant. They were trying for a child, but Beca knew that she couldn’t just DJ anymore. She needed to get a stable job with stable hours so she could actually be involved with her kid’s life. (Perhaps a little of it was also because she refused to be her father.) She spent a lot of time at Aubrey’s house, her WiFi signal was incredibly strong and fast, which made Skype interviews far less stressful. They fell back into their old exchange, everytime Beca was over she brought some pastry from Chloe. She had several job offers, but they were all low paying and in Los Angeles. On the bright side, she wasn’t Flo who was being threatened with deportation by hateful people. And they even brought in some guy who was trying to steal her business because it was booming and he was being a racist bigot. Ironically, he was a Democrat. (Shitty people exist everywhere, Beca just got used to them being in places she least expected.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Flo was close to losing, the Bellas tried to help her out by fixing her store and keeping her costs down, but the pressure by the big bullies in town weren’t helping. Beca never told Aubrey, mostly because she didn’t think the blonde needed to know. Chloe, surprisingly, was the one to tell her during one of their dinners. “Bree, it’s so sad!” She said first thing when they stepped through Aubrey’s door. “This asshole is trying to put Flo out of business because she’s a immigrant woman!” “What’s his name?” Aubrey asked, a fire igniting in her eyes. “Buster Woolbright.” Chloe sighed. “Rich people are such jerks! They take from hard working people and bully them with their money!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When Aubrey fell sick, Chloe the was first one to come to her aid. She brought damn near everything, medicine, soup, blankets, even towels to wipe Aubrey’s neck and head down with cool water. Aubrey returned to good health nearly three days later, thanks to Chloe. During that time they spent the entire day talking about most everything. Aubrey wasn’t sick enough to be bed ridden but Chloe forced her into the bed. To pass time they talked, Chloe had dreams of being an exotic dancer that she quickly threw away for Beca. The honest love, and lust, when she talked about the love of her life was a strange feeling for Aubrey who was always taught that marriages were alliances used to gain / give power. “I hope Beca gets a job soon.” Chloe admitted, on the last day. “Because she’s been antsy and I want her to be happy.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Aubrey saw Buster, from the outskirts of her eye, as he walked toward Flo’s juice shop. When he saw her, he turned around quickly and went away. It was only a farce, he would be back. She knew him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next day Aubrey bought herself a smoothie, Jessica/Ashley, made it for her, When the other blonde first saw her she smiled and waved Aubrey inside. “What can I get you?” She asked happily. “Surprise me?” Aubrey said, smiling. As she was sipping on the fruity concoction Buster entered the shop with a massive grin that died on his face as he saw her. “Posen.” He spat out before leaving. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When the shop burned down, she wasn’t surprised. The first thing she did was call Minerva. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Through a massive loan at such a low interest rate Minerva was practically throwing her money away, Flo was not only able to rebuild, but she was also able to franchise another location, hiring a few more locals. Aubrey stayed silent as Flo gushed about meeting Minerva Casmir, the world’s richest industrial giant who took interest in her case when she heard about the news. “Who knew she was a immigrant too! She was so nice, she bought me lunch and then told me about the loan details!” Aubrey simply sipped her wine, missing the look Beca gave her. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The tranquility was broken three years after she moved in. Her old hatchback broke, and she bought a new one the next day. The only problem was, she hadn’t figured out how to program the garage door buttons, so she accidentally left the garage door open, showing off her expensive collection to Beca and Chloe who were walking over for dinner. (A Rolls-Royce Wraith for when she had to take other rich clients around, and an S63 AMG Mercedes as a guilty pleasure. She managed to keep the cars hidden because when she moved in she made sure there was a way to the street through the back of her garage.) When the couple walked in they saw Aubrey, dressed as a rich young professional in a button up white shirt and blue jeans arguing with Minerva Casmir. The two tycoons stopped their spat when they noticed guests at the door, deciding to end the “chat” for now while Minerva took her leave to Skype her mother. The dinner afterward was awkward, Chloe couldn’t look her in the eyes while Beca seemed to be slighted by something Aubrey didn’t know about. “I met Minerva Casmir in the Army, her father and my father were both four star generals. We went to high school together, split up for undergrad, and then created our business in law school.” Aubrey said, unable to hold back the tidal wave of her history. She was a woman of action, and the only action she could take right now was telling them everything. “Minerva was good at design, I specialized in law and production.” “I knew you were something else, Aubrey, but becoming a multi-billionaire in a few years. Wow.” Beca said. She smiled at the blonde and took a sip of the soda Aubrey put out only for her. “So then why did you move here?” Chloe asked she was far more guarded than Beca, who seemed to return to normal. “Because, I wasn’t known here, and I thought I could make a new life here without my father watching me.” Aubrey closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.” Chloe sighed. “I’m sorry too Bree, I didn’t mean to be rude. I just, I’m just shocked that you’re filthy rich.” Chloe blushed. “Oh my god, all the rich people comments I’ve made! I’m so sorry Bree I didn’t know.”She was cut off by a laughing blonde, and soon joined her while Beca stared at both and shook her head. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Aubrey became an honorary Bella when Fat Amy made her sing karaoke one night and she sang “Shut up and Dance”, the first song in a mash-up. That dinner was special because it was Bella’s fifth birthday so the party was massive. Everyone brought cake and some party gift for the young girl. Aubrey bought new softball equipment, which wasn’t unnoticed by Stacie who pulled her aside. “Aubrey, that stuffs expensive.” She whispered while Bella put it on. “Are you sure?” “Yes,” Aubrey smiled. “Don’t worry.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Life returned to normal, Beca and Chloe kept her secret safe and they kept their dinners and the Bella dinners going. Eventually, Beca and Chloe moved into Aubrey’s home, with the third person clearly on the way they needed more room. The other house became a Bella hangout and a place of refuge if anyone needed it. Aubrey turned one of her guest bedrooms into a living space for the baby and a bedroom for the young parents. From there Chloe noted all of the different tells that Aubrey was far richer than she let off. In her house she owned a library bigger than the one the high school had, the cars were obvious, and all of Aubrey’s food was organic and local. The ice cream she didn’t recognize was from a startup that specialized in small “healthy” batches, which made their ice cream nearly ten dollars a pint. Beca had asked at one point if she could try out the Rolls Royce, Aubrey smiled and nodded. Chloe slipped into the back seat and Beca drove while Aubrey guided her. It was an amazing experience, cruising along the Pacific going down to Coronado so they could enjoy the day at the private Navy beach there. “Commander Posen.” A friendly Marine said. “What brings you here today? I know the Reserve doesn’t drill this weekend.” “I’m here with friends to enjoy the beach.” She smiled. “How about that, Commander Posen is relaxing!” He laughed. “Well, don’t let me stand in the way, have a good day!” “Commander Posen?” Beca asked with a grin. “Yes, Commander Posen of the United States Coast Guard reserve,” Aubrey said with pride. “Father wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or appalled.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The baby was adorable, though extremely early. Aubrey watched as Beca and Chloe indulge in the presence of the life they created together. Chloe looked up, and even in her drug-induced state, she beckoned over the blonde. “You’re the godmother.” Chloe announced, without asking Aubrey first. “Say hello to Abigail Beale - Mitchell.”