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Aubrey isn’t quite sure how this happened. One moment she was getting a job offer at one of her camp’s new location and the next moment, Stacie’s offering for Aubrey to move in with her.
It’s been a year since the acapella group was reunited but their group chat is still alive as ever, so when Aubrey texts them about her promotion, it wasn’t long until her phone is chiming with multiple text notifications.
One particular text stands out, though—because it wasn’t sent through the group chat.
Stacie (11:35): call me!! now!
Aubrey, who’s on her lunch break, decides ‘why not?’ as she taps on the call button. The phone rings twice before it’s picked up. There’s a shuffle and Aubrey hears the whimper of a baby— Bella —which immediately makes her smile.
“Stace?” she calls out.
“Hey, Aubrey! Hold on, let me just—“ there’s some more movement and Aubrey pulls the phone away from her ear, cringing at the loudness Despite the cringing, she still has the adoring smile on her face as she hears Stacie cooing to her child.
“Okay,” Stacie says after a minute, “sorry, I needed to get her all situated with her bottle.”
“It’s no problem at all,” Aubrey replies before humming, “Why did you want me to call you?”
“First of all, congratulations!” Aubrey can tell that Stacie is smiling from ear-to-ear just by the way she’s talking, “and secondly, you said your job was located near Boston?”
“Thank you, Stacie,” Aubrey replies, tapping at her coffee cup, “yes, I did, it’s about thirty minutes away.”
“I was wondering if you’d like to move in with me and Bella, then,” Stacie proposes, causing Aubrey’s jaw to fall in surprise at the suddenness.
It’s not like she and Stacie were total strangers to each other—of course not, the former Bellas have grown so close to each other recently—but Aubrey and Stacie barely talked to each other one-on-one. They’d only ever talked if it involved the Bellas/if the other Bellas were around so for the girl to offer her house up like that…
“Bree?” Stacie’s voice snaps Aubrey out of her ranting mind, “I just thought since Bella and I live in a town near Boston, it would make more sense—“
“Oh, it does ,” Aubrey cuts her off, placing a hand to her forehead as she tried to gather her thoughts. There’s a beep from her watch that tells her her lunch is over and Aubrey frowns, “hey, I would love to accept your offer, and I really want to talk about this more, but my lunch break just ended, so…”
Stacie picks up as soon as Aubrey trails off with a laugh, “Sure thing, Aubrey. Call me tonight?”
“For sure,” Aubrey winces at how awkward she sounds.
“Bye, Bree,”
“Bye, Stace,”
//
Aubrey is looking around at all the cars parked in front of the airport, looking for a specific tall beauty when she hears:
“Aubrey!”
A smile grows on Aubrey’s face as she spots the familiar face running up to her. The blonde barely has time to let go of her suitcase before Stacie launches herself at her. Aubrey laughs and immediately returns the hug, arms circling around Stacie’s waist tightly.
“Hey, Stace,” she grins, resting her chin on the girl’s shoulder before they pull back. Stacie holds her at arms length, studying her with a beaming grin.
“You look beautiful as ever, Aubrey Posen!”
Aubrey, despite knowing this is how Stacie acts to everyone —the compliments and the flirting—feels her cheeks warm up. She rolls her eyes good naturedly and reaches back to grab the handle of her suitcase.
“As do you, Stacie,” she replies steadily. And she means it.
Stacie’s hair is still a light brown and she doesn’t look any less stunning than she did when she first walked up on stage to audition for the Bellas.
(Aubrey was entranced then and Aubrey’s entranced now.)
Stacie’s arm fits around Aubrey’s shoulders perfectly, leading the two of them to her car.
Aubrey’s heart warms up when she notices the baby girl seated in a car seat. Stacie is still organizing her trunk in order to fit Aubrey’s suitcase in it and she insisted for Aubrey to just go sit because it’s ‘going to take a while’.
“Hey, baby,” Aubrey cooes gently as curious eyes gazed at the blonde girl’s face. Bella kicks out excitedly, a gargle coming from her mouth. Aubrey laughs and reaches back to use the bib around the baby’s neck to wipe at the saliva dribbling down her chin.
There’s another series of kicks that makes Aubrey giggle even more, gently taking hold of Bella’s foot with her thumb and forefinger.
Aubrey barely registers the opening and closing of the driver side door until the scent of Stacie wafts into her nostrils. She looks up at Stacie, still holding onto Bella’s foot, and smiles. The smile that Stacie gives back to her sends Aubrey for a wild ride.
“You hungry?” Stacie asks as she clicks in her seatbelt. Aubrey gets situated in her seat as she does the same.
“Terribly so,”
“Wanna get some pancakes?” Stacie offers.
Aubrey nods and Stacie peels away from the airport pick-up area with her lips still curved up.
Aubrey sits across from Stacie and Bella (who’s in a baby carrier next to her mother), plates of food laid out along the table.
“Here, honey,” Stacie gives the bottle of warm milk to Bella, who takes it into her tiny hands with comfort.
Aubrey really can’t help but smile adoringly at the scene. If anyone had told Aubrey at the beginning of Stacie’s first year with the Bellas that Stacie would be the first of them to become a mother (and a good one , at that), Aubrey would’ve laughed in the person’s face. And yet, being here right now? With Stacie and Bella?
Aubrey couldn’t understand why on earth she didn’t think Stacie would be a good mother.
Sure, the girl made some questionable actions/decisions in the past, but she was still one of the smartest people (if not, the smartest person) Aubrey knew. And it seemed like after Bella was born, Stacie’s main focus was on her daughter.
(And here Aubrey was, thinking her stupid little crush couldn’t get any worse.)
“Okay, so the plan is I’m helping you unpack and then we are both going to sleep,” Stacie starts the car up after getting Bella back into her carseat, “and then tomorrow we are going to Ikea to get stuff for your room.”
“You mean my room is empty right now?” Aubrey quirks an eyebrow.
Stacie shoots her a guilty but at the same time not so guilty grin, “I haven’t had time to go shopping between work and taking care of Bella. But tomorrow is Saturday and we can take Bella with us.”
Aubrey nods with a hum, “Sounds like a plan.”
“This is your room,” Stacie gestures. She’s leaning down a little to hold Bella’s hand, helping the little baby stand up right. Stacie wasn’t kidding when she said Aubrey’s room was empty.
Aside from a desk in the corner of the room that’s stacked with various textbooks, the room is clean and creates an echo of noise when they talk. The walls are a mint green, the lightness matching with the fact that the sun shone directly into the room’s windows.
Aubrey wheels her suitcase into the room with a nod, “it’s cute.”
Bella mumbles, “Mama,” and Aubrey turns to see Stacie bend down and pick her baby up with a naturalness to it, Aubrey smiles.
“The little princess is tired, isn’t she?” Stacie asks with a pout as Bella rubs at her eyes. She looks at Aubrey, grinning, “I’m just going to put her to bed. Feel free to take a shower, there’s a bathroom down the hall and also one downstairs. Extra towels should be in the closets in there.”
“Thanks, Stace,” Aubrey says before the duo turn to make their way out of the room. Aubrey huffs and looks around.
She’s really moving in with Stacie Conrad, the girl she’s been infatuated with for years .
What on earth was she thinking?
“Hey,” Stacie calls out as she descends the stairs, finding Aubrey sitting at the living room table with a book in her lap, “Bella’s knocked out.”
Aubrey grins at her, laughing as Stacie jumps over the back of the couch, plopping down next to her. The baby monitor in her hand is set on the coffee table before Stacie leans back against the couch, humming a random tune. She closes her book and raises an eyebrow at Stacie expectantly.
“What?” Stacie questions.
Aubrey makes a motion in no general direction, “Your house is a pretty decent size, Stace,” she states.
Stacie shrugs, “Yeah, it’s a lot for only two girls, but it’s better to have more than to have less, right?”
And with the way Stacie’s eyes were twinkling, Aubrey knew she was completely and utterly screwed .
Stacie makes comments about whatever trashy reality show she’s watching as Aubrey continues reading her book. (She decided to keep her things in her suitcase for now .) Stacie’s feet are perched in Aubrey’s lap, keeping them connected despite the two of them being on separate ends of the couch.
There’s a lull in Stacie’s comments in which Aubrey’s brain runs haywire, her eyes unable to focus on the words in front of her.
“Hey,” Aubrey says without thinking. Stacie’s attention is on her instantly, and Aubrey’s glad that it’s dark in the room, “thanks a lot, you know, for all of this.”
A toe pokes Aubrey’s stomach.
“It’s no problem, Aubrey,” Stacie grins, “besides, I’m just surprised you agreed.”
“What? Why?”
Stacie rolls her eyes, “ Please —as if anyone would willingly move into a place with someone who has a one year old child—and it’s not like you can’t avoid your own place.”
“I…” Aubrey trails off, and Stacie’s grin widens. The blonde knows the younger girl has a good point.
“I should be thanking you, honestly,” Stacie hums, pulling her legs back. Aubrey would be disappointed in the loss of contact if Stacie hadn’t slid closer to her, her knees touching the side of Aubrey’s thigh.
Aubrey moves forward to place her book on the coffee table, turning to look at Stacie with a look of confusion on her face, “Why is that?”
Stacie leans an arm on the back of the couch, placing her head in her hand and staring at Aubrey with soft eyes. “It’s just nice to have someone else around.”
She rolls her eyes dramatically, “You know, someone who can actually talk to me.”
Aubrey grins and wraps her fingers around Stacie’s wrist, “I make good company, what can I say?”
Stacie laughs with both her eyebrows raised, “Oh, is that right?”
“Yep,” Aubrey responds, feeling light and airy in a way she hasn’t been able to feel in a long while.
Stacie shakes her head with another laugh, “Well, I suppose you aren’t wrong, Bree.”
“I guess we both have each other to thank for, huh?” Aubrey’s voice is quieter, the look of amusement dimming as something else replaces it.
There’s just a beat of silence and stillness before Stacie leans in to give Aubrey a hug.
“Yeah,” Stacie mumbles, arms holding Aubrey in an anchoring embrace.
They stay there for a few seconds longer before a sharp cry rings out through the baby monitor. They both laugh and pull apart.
“Duty calls,” Stacie goes to stand up, “Stay here, I’ll bring down a couple pillows and a blanket for you to sleep with.”
“Stacie Conrad, am I dreaming? Are you purposefully missing a chance to share a bed with someone?” Aubrey calls out teasingly as the girl walks up the stairs.
Stacie shoots her a pointed look and Aubrey laughs, going to follow Stacie to the bedroom where Bella is currently crying. She stands at the doorway just as Stacie picks up her daughter from the crib. The cries don’t ease immediately, but after a few rocks and calming words, Bella’s reduced from wails to sniffles.
Aubrey walks in, takes some tissues from the bedside table, and stands next to Stacie. She gently wipes away Bella’s tears and the snot at her nostrils, careful not to rub the tissue too harshly against her sensitive skin. Aubrey can feel Stacie’s eyes on her as she does this and doesn’t dare to look up until she’s finished with Bella.
Stacie smiles thankfully at her and Aubrey returns the smile shyly.
“I would’ve offered you my bed, but Bella wakes up during the middle of the night and I didn’t want to bother you,” Stacie’s whispering, aware that her daughter’s eyes were drooping once more, her head leaning on her mother’s shoulder. She gives Aubrey a playful grin, “I would never pass the opportunity to share a bed with you.”
Aubrey’s heart does a couple flips at the wink Stacie sends her and she smiles.
“I don’t mind,” Aubrey whispers back, gently caressing the hairs on Bella’s head with the pad of her thumb, “besides, the couch isn’t really that comfortable.”
It should feel weird; being so comfortable and close to Stacie—the girl Aubrey has admired and crushed on for so long—but it’s not. There’s something so relaxing about being next to Stacie in bed, something that’s reassuring—and it doesn’t make her want to run away ( or puke).
And, to Aubrey’s own surprise, she doesn’t get grumpy when Bella wakes the pair up at three in the morning. In fact, she gets up with Stacie, helping her friend ease her daughter back into slumber.
“Thanks,” Stacie whispers after she places Bella back into her crib. She takes hold of Aubrey’s hand sleepily, pulling them back towards the bed.
Stacie doesn’t let go of Aubrey’s hand when they’re both settled under the blanket, their backs towards each others. Aubrey gives a small tug to Stacie’s hand and it’s enough of a tug to cause Stacie to turn around, letting go of Aubrey’s hand to hug the blonde girl’s waist.
Aubrey probably shouldn’t be enjoying this as much as she is, but she curls her body and molds it against Stacie’s warmth, a smile slowly growing upon her lips as Stacie hums comfortably, pulling her closer.
//
Aubrey usually wakes up a few minutes before her alarm goes off, but with the time difference and Bella waking her up multiple times during the night, she doesn’t pay any mind to the blaring noise next to her head. Stacie isn’t next to her until the alarm is ringing for a full minute.
The bedroom door opens and Aubrey groans, stuffing her face into the pillow.
“Look, baby, Aunty Bree is being lazy ,” Stacie sits at the edge of the bed, turning off Aubrey’s increasingly noisy alarm. Bella gargles something that sounds like ‘Mama’ but not quite. “Bree, I made breakfast.”
Aubrey huffs as she feels a small body placed on her back. Bella’s small fists pound lightly against Aubrey’s back and Aubrey turns her head, smiling when Bella reacts immediately with a squeal.
Bella crawls off of Aubrey and the blonde girl sits up against the headboard, running a hand through her messy bed hair.
“Sleep well?” Stacie asks amusedly as Bella hurries back to the safety of her mother.
“Mhm,” Aubrey hums, nodding drowsily, “When are we gonna go to Ikea?”
Stacie shrugs playing with Bella’s hands, “It’s a Saturday, we have all day.”
They bask in the morning silence for a few more minutes, allowing Bella’s giggles and squeals to ring out whenever one of them would do something to her. Aubrey’s in the middle of playing peek-a-boo with Bella when she finds Stacie staring at her.
“What?” Aubrey asks shyly.
Stacie grins and shakes her head, “You’re just—you’re really good with kids, Bree.”
The blonde girl looks at her lap with her cheeks heating up, “Oh, it’s nothing. At camp, a lot of our residents had kids and so we had a daycare. When I wasn’t yelling at the adults, I was playing with the kids.”
Stacie pulls Bella closer, kissing her head before humming, “When I first had Bella, I had no idea what I was doing, to be honest.”
Aubrey nods, showing attentiveness to the brunette, who continues talking.
“It was one of the reasons I was so hesitant on accepting a job offer out here on the east coast. My mom wanted me to stay close in case I needed her help…” Bella yells out suddenly and Stacie makes a face to her. The baby’s starting to get grumpy at the lack of attention she’s now receiving. Aubrey reaches forward and lets Bella grab onto her finger. “But I realized I needed to be able to take care of my daughter myself, without depending on my mom or anyone else.”
Aubrey looks up from one Conrad to another, smiling softly, “And you’re doing it.”
“I am,” Stacie nods once, “it wasn’t easy, but I’m doing it.”
“I’m proud of you, Stace.”
Using her free hand, Aubrey places it on top of Stacie’s, smiling when Stacie easily interlaces their fingers together.
“Thank you,” Stacie says quietly, “I couldn’t have done it without my awesome support system.”
Aubrey grins and squeezes Stacie’s hand, staring into the girl’s eyes for one second more before she feels her finger being licked by Bella.
“Oh, no, sweetie,” Aubrey gently pulls away her finger from the baby’s mouth, making Stacie laugh. Aubrey is barely able to register the movement of her hand to Stacie’s lips until the girl is already out of the room, repeating the fact that she made breakfast.
Stacie just kissed Aubrey’s hand.
//
“Oh, Chloe’s calling,” Aubrey perks up from the couch, quickly accepting the call as Stacie continues to feed Bella at the dining table, “Hey, Chlo.”
“Bree!” the redhead’s voice rings out excitedly. Aubrey clicks on speakerphone before the redhead starts speaking again, “How are you? How is it over there?! Is Bella as cute as she is over FaceTime?!”
Aubrey laughs, standing from the couch and making her way towards the mother and daughter, “I’m doing great, it’s nice over here, and yes .”
“Hey, Chloe!” Stacie calls out from over her shoulder, wiping yogurt off of Bella’s hands.
“Stacie! Hey, how are you?” Chloe’s voice is as energetic as ever, and both Stacie and Aubrey can’t help but smile.
“I’m doing just fine, hun,” Stacie replies, “How about you? How’s L.A. with Beca and the little one?”
Chloe laughs over the phone, “If by ‘little one’ you mean Legacy—who, by the way, is not little—it’s going great! I just got an interview to this really prestigious school for performance and art and I’m really excited.”
“That’s amazing, Chlo,” Aubrey grins widely, excited for her best friend, “how’s the broody one?”
There’s a moment of shuffling before the two girls hear Chloe ask, away from the phone, “Babe! Aubrey asked me how the broody one was doing!”
There’s a muffled replied that’s not loud enough to be heard through the phone but it makes Chloe laugh.
“She said ‘fuck you’,”
“There’s a baby !” Stacie chides.
Aubrey chuckles, “She’s not my type.”
“Okay, ew ,” Chloe responds in a dry tone, “I didn’t need that image in my head.”
Stacie lets out a breath of amusement, picking up Bella and turning around to join Aubrey who’s leaning against the kitchen counter.
“Tell Beca she’s my type,” Stacie leans close to Aubrey to make sure her voice is heard and it makes the blonde’s pulse pick up because Stacie looks right at her, twinkling amusement in her eyes, as she says this.
Aubrey rolls her eyes and Chloe scoffs.
“No,” she says sternly, “besides, everyone is your type, Stace.”
“Not true!” Stacie gasps dramatically, walking into the living room. Aubrey follows her as Stacie sets down Bella on the carpet, pulling out some toys for her to play with. “I have standards .”
The topic eventually moves on and Chloe catches Stacie and Aubrey up on all the shenanigans the music producer, elementary school teacher, and upcoming artist have been through.
“Hey, Stacie,” Aubrey hums as the three of them sit on the ground, playing with a variety of toys. Stacie looks up from her daughter with a hum. “You said you have standards for your ideal type. What are they?”
Aubrey is not expecting Stacie to wink at her and say, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
The blonde girl’s brain freezes and her breath literally gets caught in her throat. Upon seeing the reaction, Stacie’s lips pull up into a shit-eating grin.
“What? I was just asking,” Aubrey struggles to keep her voice steady, yelping when Bella throws a bright red triangle on her lap. Stacie leans her head back as she laughs.
“You’re so cute, Bree,” she grin, “if you must know, I like genuine people. People who aren’t afraid to be who they are.”
Aubrey blinks, “That’s it?”
Stacie laughs again and it makes Aubrey’s neck heat up.
“Yeah,” she brings her laugh down to a small smile, “it doesn’t matter though, I have Bella now. I’m not really… putting myself out there anymore.”
Aubrey tilts her head, eyebrows furrowing, “Just because you have a daughter doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to date.”
“No, I know,” Stacie replies, “it’s just… I’d rather focus on my daughter and my career than a boyfriend… or girlfriend—than a partner.”
“Besides, I don’t know many people in their twenties who want to be tied down to someone with a kid,” Stacie says with a shrug, handing Bella a blue cube, “having a kid takes away a lot of free time.”
Aubrey frowns, “Anyone would be lucky to have you and Bella in their life.”
Stacie’s eyes snap up to Aubrey’s, “Do you really mean that?”
“Wh—Yes, of course I do,” Aubrey stammers, feeling the embarrassment settling in. Aubrey only ever feels like this in front of Stacie and it’s horrible because she’s usually so confident and stable and Stacie turns her into an entire mess .
The corners of Stacie’s lips tug until she’s beaming at Aubrey, a glossy look in her eyes, “Thank you.”
“You have nothing to thank me for, Stace,” Aubrey murmurs, touching Bella’s soft hair with her thumb, smiling at the baby who looks up at her.
“No, I do,” Stacie says with a firm tone. It makes Aubrey feel obligated to look at her, so she does. Stacie’s gaze is overwhelming for Aubrey to look into.
The blonde can only nod, knowing that words were not going to be able to come out of her mouth properly.
It’s ridiculous how much Aubrey laughed when she was at Ikea with Stacie, really. Stacie makes everything seem so much better than it is and the way she hurried around the massive store with Bella in the stroller, excitedly playing with various tools such as pots and pans made Aubrey smile the entire time.
It made Aubrey fall deeper and deeper.
—————————-
To Stacie, Aubrey has always been a mystery just out of reach. Even though she often saw the captain at Bella practices, it was never really Aubrey—it was the Captain Aubrey, not the Aubrey that Stacie would catch glimpses of whenever Chloe would talk to her off to the side.
To keep it simple, Aubrey was a very closed off person and Chloe seemed to be the only one who really knew her for who she was.
Of course, that changed after a couple years as each and every Bella had been quite involved in at least one late night conversation in which topics were very personal. It was one night in which Stacie was studying when she decided to check her phone.
Since it was on Do Not Disturb mode, Stacie had about a hundred unread messages. As she went through them, she was disappointed to see she had missed when Aubrey apologized to the girls for being so uptight. The blonde girl had sent a very long paragraph full of sincere words that made Stacie’s heart ache as she read through it.
The girls in the group chat responded accordingly, with long messages full of emojis and all-caps and exclamation points. Stacie would’ve replied likewise, but the topic had changed a while ago and it would seem weird for her to bring it up again.
Needless to say, when Aubrey accepted Stacie’s proposal to move in with her, Stacie was elated .
It’s been a couple months since Aubrey moved in with Stacie, and Stacie can positively say that the blonde girl has made her days much brighter.
Stacie hadn’t expected Aubrey to be bad with Bella, per say—but she also hadn’t expected Aubrey to be so good with Bella. It’s a good thing, of course—an amazing thing—because Aubrey lives with her and Bella and also because Aubrey’s a friend and Aubrey’s…. Aubrey .
She’s the girl Stacie has always felt attracted to, and not just physically—Stacie has always felt inclined to get closer to the girl, to know every little about her.
And now, Stacie’s living with her.
//
“You know, one day, we’re going to get that bed set up in my room,” Aubrey says with a quirked eyebrow, sliding into the bed next to Stacie.
Stacie hums, pulling Aubrey into her open arms, “One day.”
Aubrey laughs and shakes her head, looking at Stacie with an amused glint in her eyes, “You just want to keep cuddling with me, don’t you?”
“Is that a problem?” Stacie challenges.
“No, not at all,” Aubrey smiles.
“I didn’t think so,” Stacie huffs, “Now, let’s sleep. I’m exhausted from all the labs I’ve had to do.”
Aubrey rolls her eyes, “We’re in bed , Stace, obviously we’re gonna sleep.”
Stacie smirks, “I mean, we could do other things in a bed.”
The blonde’s quick to get flustered, her jaw locking and her eyes looking elsewhere. It makes Stacie’s skin tingle.
“You’re so easy, Bree,” Stacie pokes Aubrey’s waist.
Aubrey jumps, swatting Stacie’s hand away, frowning, “If I was so easy, you’d already have slept with me.”
Stacie’s eyebrows shoot up, her hand resting on Aubrey’s hip, “You… make a good point.”
Aubrey laughs and turns around to get into their usual sleeping position, sighing silently as Stacie’s arm around her tightens, pulling their bodies flush together.
“You know…” Stacie whispers, her lips pressed against Aubrey’s shoulder, “I wouldn’t entirely be against sleeping with—“
“ Go to sleep ,” Aubrey orders sternly, making Stacie laugh.
//
Everything about them is domestic—Stacie feels like she’s married without actually being married.
(And it’s not a bad feeling, either.)
“Oh, hey! Can you watch Bella for a sec?” Stacie hears Aubrey walk into the kitchen, rushing up to the blonde girl who still looks half asleep. Her messy bun missed some of her strands of hair, but Stacie still thinks she looks stunning. She hands Aubrey the bowl in her hand, “I left something in my car and I need to get it real quick.”
Aubrey just nods, obviously taking a moment to register what Stacie just said, and Stacie grins. She makes a split second decision before leaning forward and pressing a kiss against soft skin, “Thanks! I made coffee.”
Stacie grabs her bag from her car with a feeling of accomplishment (and warmth).
“Hey, I have to stay late tomorrow for some meeting,” Stacie says one afternoon as the two of them are sprawled lazily on the couch, with Bella asleep in her crib, “but the babysitter is busy.”
“I get home the usual time,” Aubrey hums, flipping through the paperwork on her lap, “I can watch her.”
“You’re the best,” Stacie relaxes even more, closing her eyes.
Aubrey grins, not looking up from the packet, “I know.”
//
“Aubrey, did you get the mail?” Stacie calls out from the kitchen as she hears the front door opening.
“Yeah,” Aubrey walks into the kitchen and puts the stack of envelopes onto the table.
“Thank yo— woah , what happened to you?” Stacie turns around and widens her eyes. Aubrey’s clothes are stained with mud and Stacie thinks she sees a couple sticks lodged into her shirt, topped off by leaves stuck in her hair. Stacie laughs and steps closer, picking at the leaves and sticks, “You look worse than when the Bellas came—and we all looked horrible.”
Aubrey makes a face, “Yeah, yeah .”
Stacie lets out another chuckle, pressing a quick kiss to Aubrey’s cheek (it’s become a habit), “Go shower.”
She doesn’t miss the way Aubrey’s ears go red. Even though Stacie has made it a regular thing to kiss Aubrey, the older girl still gets flustered every time. It makes Stacie’s heart warm up because she’s always seen Aubrey so put together (more-or-less), so to know that she had the ability to turn the girl into a blushing, stuttering mess? It made Stacie adore the girl even more.
Stacie’s in the middle of making spaghetti as Bella starts crying. She’s about to turn off the stove when she hears a familiar voice come through the audio.
“Oh, baby ,” Aubrey cooes, voice crackling through the receiver.
Stacie smiles and feels her stomach flip as she goes to shut off the stove, making her way to the bedroom. She walks quietly, as to not make her presence noticeable. The scene she sees practically takes Stacie’s breath away.
Sure, Stacie has seen Aubrey hold Bella before, but never like this —without Aubrey knowing of Stacie’s presence. It floors Stacie just how much Aubrey seems to love her daughter, and makes Stacie love— appreciate —Aubrey even more.
Bella calms down within a couple minutes, but she’s awake at this point, not going back to sleep. Aubrey turns and widens her eyes when she sees Stacie leaning on the doorway with a relaxed smile on her lips.
“Were you there the whole time?”
“Yeah,” Stacie grins as Aubrey walks closer. Aubrey is about to hand Bella over to her mother when Stacie stops her, “I still have to make dinner. You hold her.”
“I—Okay,” Aubrey stammers.
And it takes Stacie aback just how much she wants to kiss Aubrey—and it makes Stacie’s heart race at the fact that she wants to kiss her lips .
She hurries back to the kitchen.
//
“Ma’am, your wife told me to tell you she left something in the car,” a worker tells Stacie as she comes out of the bathroom with Bella. Stacie widens her eyes at the ‘wife’ part, but quickly composes herself.
“Oh, okay, thank you,” Stacie responds, trying hard to ignore the fluttering in her stomach.
//
“Please come with me to this party on Saturday,” Stacie plops onto Aubrey’s lap, pushing the book in the blonde’s hands aside. Stacie tosses her car keys onto the coffee table, “one of my bosses is hosting it and invited me and I don’t want to go, but I know that I should .”
“Oh,” Aubrey blinks, still trying to process the fact that Stacie is very much straddling her, “I would love to—“
“Oh, no , there’s a ‘but’ incoming,” Stacie groans, throwing her body to the side, off and away from Aubrey.
“I’m sorry, Stace,” Aubrey nudges the girl’s knee.
“No, it’s fine, I’ll survive alone,” Stacie huffs, “What’s going on on Saturday, though? Work stuff?”
“Uh, no,” Aubrey replies. Stacie furrows her eyebrows at Aubrey’s hesitance, sitting up and looking at the blonde who’s fidgeting with the corner of her book, “I’m just going out with a coworker.”
“ Oh , like—a date ?”
“Yes,” Aubrey responds, and Stacie holds her breath.
Stacie has to tell herself not to frown, has to tell herself to smile and pretend she’s excited for Aubrey. The blonde is looking at her carefully, and she probably noticed how tense Stacie got. She opens her mouth to say something, but Stacie is quicker.
“Well, I gotta call the babysitter if we’re both gonna be out all night!” Stacie pats the couch twice before standing up, hurrying away from Aubrey.
She pretends her heart doesn’t ache as she enters her bedroom, closing the door behind her as carefully as she can so she won’t wake Bella.
Stacie stands next to the crib, watching her baby girl sleep, trying to ease the heaviness on her heart. It works— somewhat. Her daughter kicks softly in her sleep and it makes the squeezing pressure on Stacie’s heart lighten up.
“You’re mad at me,” Aubrey comments into the darkness, quiet enough not to disturb Bella.
“What?” Stacie responds quickly, “No, I’m not.”
Aubrey shuffles, turning her body to face Stacie, “You’re acting weird.”
“I am not ,” Stacie grumbles, moving back just a tad bit, “I just don’t really want to go to some fancy party just to talk about more work.”
“Are you sure?” Aubrey whispers quietly, like she’s afraid if she’s any louder, Stacie would run. Even in the darkness, Stacie thinks she’s beautiful, “You’re not mad because…”
“Because you’re going on a date?” Stacie finishes for her. The two of them are fully aware that they’re going into dangerous territory. Aubrey nods.
Stacie feels like it’s harder to breathe all of a sudden, and she has no idea what to say. She wants to tell Aubrey that she adores her in ways she’s never adored anyone else before, that Aubrey is the most important person in her life (aside from Bella), wants to tell her how much she means to Stacie—but nothing comes out of her mouth.
A shaky hand comes up to rest against Stacie’s cheek, the pad of a thumb soothing the soft skin there. Stacie closes her eyes, taking in a deep breath. When she opens her eyes, Aubrey’s closer than she had been two seconds ago.
Unconsciously, Stacie’s hand on Aubrey’s waist tightens, and it’s that small action that makes Aubrey push forward, molding their lips together. Stacie feels Aubrey’s body push forward, and she follows the blonde girl’s lead, quick to respond, and then suddenly she’s pressed beneath Stacie, lips still locked.
All of Stacie’s sense are overloaded on everything that is Aubrey—from the girl’s soft lips to her smooth skin to the smell of her shampoo, the sound of her sighs and heavy breaths.
Aubrey’s lips leave Stacie’s and the girl barely has the ability to keep a whimper from leaving her mouth, gasping when Aubrey plants soft kisses along her neck.
“I’ll cancel the date,” Aubrey whispers breathlessly as Stacie’s fingers tug at her hair.
Aubrey licks at the mark she made just as a sharp cry rings out.
It pulls the two of them out of their moment before swinging them into another moment; one in which they’re both laughing, Aubrey’s face hidden in Stacie’s neck.
Aubrey moves to get off of Stacie and the two of them make their way to Bella with a newfound energy between them.