A little one-shot for you while I try and come up with a new multi-chapter fic :)
I got the idea for this from a picture I saw on tumblr. TRIGGER WARNING: Suicide/self-harm
I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters
"Time to get up, Chlo." Beca said sleepily, her hand hitting the beeping alarm clock. Chloe groaned and rolled out of bed. As she showered, Beca made breakfast and coffee, her eyes itching with tiredness. By the time everything was cooked, Chloe made her way into the kitchen of their apartment. "Sleeves." Beca said as Chloe sat down. The redhead rolled her eyes, something she'd picked up from her tiny girlfriend, before hitching up the sleeves of her sweatshirt. Beca took Chloe's arms in her hands and inspected both sides, her thumbs brushing across the old scars that were littered across them. She planted a kiss on the most recent and biggest. It was thick and ran vertically from the crook of her elbow to the base of her hand. Despite her annoyance at having Beca inspect her every morning she couldn't stop herself smiling at the small gesture. "I love you." The brunette said, satisfied there were no new injuries on her girlfriend's arms.
"I love you too." Chloe said, pulling her breakfast towards her. "You don't have to do this every morning, you know." She said, a mouthful of bacon.
"I know." Beca replied, digging into her own food. Beca reached across the table and linked her hand with Chloe's, not letting go the whole time they ate. "You take your meds yet?" She asked when they had finished eating. She drained the last of her coffee, finally breaking the contact from across the table.
"Yep." Chloe said, dropping her eyes. Beca raised her eyebrows at her before walking into the bedroom and finding Chloe's plastic pill box. The compartment saying 'Friday' was still closed, the little green and white pill still inside. Beca sighed, running a hand through her hair. She returned to the kitchen and dropped the box onto the table in front of the redhead.
"I know you hate them Chlo, but you need them." Beca said, trying to take Chloe's hand again. Chloe pulled her hand away. "Please."
"You aren't my Mom, Beca. You aren't my doctor. You're supposed to be my girlfriend." Chloe said, before she took the pill out of the box and swallowed it with a gulp of coffee. "Happy?" Chloe picked her bag up from the floor and headed towards the door.
"No." Beca said, her voice small. It stopped Chloe in her tracks. "I'm not happy. How can I be happy when you're hurting so much?" Chloe turned and saw that the brunette had started crying. Something the brunette hadn't openly done since Chloe had tried to kill herself three weeks ago. Although, Chloe heard her crying at night sometimes, when Beca thought she was asleep. "I want to help you. I'm trying to help you, Chloe."
"I know you are." Chloe said, her anger melting away. "I'm sorry." She walked towards Beca and the smaller girl wrapped her arms around the redhead's waist, burying her head into her chest. She gripped the fabric of Chloe's sweater and closed her eyes as she breathed her in. This was how it was for Beca now. Every hug a little tighter, lasting a little longer. Holding hands even when it was impractical. Waking up in the middle of the night and watching the rise and fall of Chloe's chest. Checking she was still breathing. That her heart was still beating.
"Just tell me I'm helping." Beca said.
"You are, baby." Chloe said softly, pressing her lips to Beca's head. "I'm not saying you aren't a pain in the ass, mind." Chloe added with a chuckle. Beca laughed and finally let her go.
"I'm going to make you late for work." Beca said, wiping her eyes.
"It's fine. If Aubrey says anything I'll just tell her I had another break down." Chloe said, laughing at Beca's unamused expression. "Kidding Becs." She said kissing the tiny brunette.
"Not funny." Beca replied. "Love you."
"Love you too." Chloe said, heading out of the door.
"Chloe, I'm home!" Beca called as she walked through the front door. The TV was on in the living room but Chloe wasn't there. "Chlo?" She said, walking into their bedroom and then the kitchen. When she got to the bathroom she tried the door and found it was locked. "Chloe?" She knocked on the door. When she got no response her stomach started twisting. Something was wrong. She banged on the door again. "Babe, open the door." She tried to keep her voice steady. She heard what sounded like a groan coming from behind the door. She took a few steps back before slamming her shoulder into the door. It took her several more attempts before the lock finally broke free and the door swung open. "Oh god." She whispered. Chloe was curled on the floor, her face paler than Beca had ever seen it and a pool of blood spreading from an enormous gash in her arm. Beca fought the urge to vomit and grabbed the closest towel, wrapping it around Chloe's arm as tight as she could. With her other shaking hand she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, dialing 911.
"What service do you require?" A voice said, almost immediately.
"A-ambulance please." Beca said, her voice trembling. "Chloe, baby, look at me. Please just open your eyes and look at me." She whispered, tears falling at a rapid pace. Beca explained the situation over the phone and then hung up. Her hand brushed the hair from Chloe's face and she pressed her lips to her girlfriend's cold, clammy forehead. "Please Chloe." She whispered. Her other hand still clinging onto the now blood soaked towel.
"Beca." Chloe murmured, her eyebrows furrowing. "I'm sorry." Beca cried with relief as Chloe's uninjured hand grabbed Beca's arm and squeezed it.
"It's okay." She kissed her forehead again. "You're okay, baby." Chloe's grasp slackened on her arm and it slipped onto the floor. "Chloe?" Her face relaxed again. "No, no, no, Chloe. Please don't do this."
Beca jolted awake. She had went straight from doing the dishes after breakfast to her computer and must have fallen asleep. Titanium was still ringing out through her headphones so she couldn't have been sleeping that long. She ran her hands through her hair and let out a shaky breath. She had had the same dream every night for the past three weeks but it still shook her up. She walked into the bathroom and tried to rid herself of the image of Chloe on the bathroom floor. She splashed cold water on her face and looked into the mirror. On the corner of the mirror was a yellow post-it note. Beca peeled it off and read it.
"Thanking you in advanced for an aca-awesome breakfast. Don't work too hard today and remember to have lunch. Love ya!
Chloe xxxx"
Beca smiled and folded the note into her pocket. When they first started dating, Chloe would leave Beca notes all over her dorm room. Then when they moved in together Chloe would leave them all around the apartment. When Chloe got sick the notes gradually stopped and Beca missed them like crazy. The one in her pocket was the first one she'd gotten for a really long time and it was the first sign she'd gotten that maybe Chloe would be okay. That maybe Chloe was coming back to her. She wandered back into the bedroom and her eyes fell on a picture of the couple, a smile creeping across her mouth as she remembered it.
"Becs, you're just going to waste my Skittles." Chloe said, huffily as Beca took the packet from her.
"I'm an excellent shot!" Beca said, indignant. "Open up." Chloe folded her arms across her chest. "Fine. For every wasted Skittle I will buy you a new pack. Okay?" Beca said and Chloe grinned.
"Okay." She scooted back from Beca and opened her mouth.
"Aubrey, get ready with the camera. You are about to see the greatest shot ever made." Beca said, closing one eye and lining up her shot. She aimed, she threw, and she missed. The first Skittle sailing over Chloe's head. "Damn." This went on for several minutes. Skittles littering Chloe's bed and floor.
"Is that the last one?" Chloe said, eyebrows raised.
"Maybe." Beca replied, biting her bottom lip. Chloe sighed before opening her mouth again. This time it was a direct shot. Beca's hands were raised above her head triumphantly as Chloe giggled at her. The flash of the camera did nothing to distract Beca from her celebrations.
"You're such a dork." Aubrey laughed before leaving the two girls. "Goodnight."
"Night 'Bree." Chloe said. "Beca, you're a terrible shot." Chloe scooped the candy from the bed and popped them one at a time into her mouth, counting them off on her fingers. Then she stood up from the bed and picked up the ones that had fallen on the floor.
"Babe, please don't eat those." Beca said before Chloe rolled her eyes and dropped them into the bin. "Thank god."
"You realise you owe me about twenty bags of Skittles, right?" Chloe said, coming to sit on Beca's lap, her arms wrapping around the brunette's neck.
"Ah. About that, I thought maybe I could pay you back another way." Beca said, smirking.
"Oh really?" The redhead replied, her eyebrows raised. "So you think you can offer me something better than Skittles?" Beca's hands came to rest on Chloe's waist. She closed the gap between them and pressed her lips just beside Chloe's ear.
"I think so." She whispered.
The next evening, Beca turned up at Chloe and Aubrey's apartment with a plastic bag full to the brim with bags of Skittles.
Beca's thumbs brushed across the photograph. Suddenly, an idea popped into Beca's head and she rushed to the shops, excitedly.
That night Beca was lying on the settee, her head in Chloe's lap. One of Chloe's hands was gently playing with her hair, the other hand resting on her stomach, linked with Beca's own hand.
"I got your note today." Beca said, her thumb brushing the back of Chloe's hand. "It was really sweet. I've missed them."
"Yeah. It had been too long since I reminded you how much I love you." Chloe said, smiling at the grin that spread across Beca's face.
"Thank you." The brunette's voice was quiet but Chloe still heard her.
"So did you remember to have lunch?" She said after a small, comfortable silence.
"I did. All thanks to you." Beca said laughing. Chloe giggled and brought Beca's hand up to her mouth so she could kiss the back of it.
"Right. Bed time. I've got to sort my meds out for next week." Chloe said, pushing Beca up from her lap.
"Oh I did that for you." Beca said, a grin on her face.
"You didn't have to do that." Chloe said, a confused smile on her face. Beca handed her the plastic box from the kitchen and Chloe saw that inside each little compartment was a Skittle next to her antidepressant. "Babe…" She said, her eyes filling with tears. "What made you do this?"
"Your little note really made me happy today and I was thinking of a way to return it. I thought maybe this would do the job." Beca said, brushing a tear from Chloe's cheek with her thumb.
"You're amazing." Chloe brought their lips together before planting a quick kiss on Beca's forehead. "Bed time."
"I'm not tired." Beca said, desperate to kiss her again.
"Who said we were sleeping?" Chloe said with a mischievous grin.
"Oh." Beca grabbed Chloe's hand and pulled the giggling redhead into their bedroom.