Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Johns Hopkins University.

Ph.D. program.

Year three.

The apartment of the soon-to-be Dr. Ivy Mitchell.

8:00 am

Ivy chews her bottom lip. Green residue from the dry-erase marker rubs off on the bottom of her fist, not that she can bring herself to care too much. It’s not erasing a vital number or sign in the equation.

“You chose this over masturbating,” she mumbles under her breath sarcastically, still biting her bottom lip. She’ll slate it. She always does. The mathematics is part of the challenge, the puzzle that fuels her lifeblood. Planets are her passion, duh, her Ph.D. is in Planetary Sciences with a focus on geology. Were this Tombaugh Regio, the heart-shaped glacier on Pluto she could write another thesis on it.

Aphelion is another story. 

Dr. Bianca Klugh (pronounced like clue) believes there’s potential in the young woman. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have hired Ivy as a research assistant. She mentally pats herself on the back for having enough foresight to get her Masters. It’s opened up quite a few doors for her, which would’ve never been possible had she jumped straight from Bachelor’s to her Doctorate. 

Ivy steps back from her dry-erase board. Holding the tip of the marker to her chin, the redhead scans the equation. Boy, she can’t wait to map out the orbit of this rather peculiar dwarf planet. The notoriety she’ll get from having her name attached to this discovery along with Dr. Klugh and Carly Truitt is fucking exhilarating. 

Looking across the room to her model of the New Horizons probe on her bookshelf, the young researcher can’t help but put the cart before the horse. She stands among the halls of greatness, this campus, her campus, built New Horizons to fly by Pluto, MESSENGER to orbit Mercury, Dragonfly to study Titan, which was the main reason Ivy set her sights on the prestigious college in her teenage years. 

God, Titan, Ivy’s favorite celestial body; she’ll get it someday. A precious coveted role as Principal Investigator on a mission to the famous moon of Saturn. 

Ivy can feel it in her heart of hearts. 

For now, she’ll look at her New Horizons model, imagining herself on the team to design a probe to go study this potential dwarf planet. Oh god, even if it means the technical payload is only enough to snap one quick photo - a single photo to be immortalized throughout history. 

She hopes the clout will get her Titan.

A knock on the door pulls Ivy Mitchell from her fantasy. It's a little too early for company; Ivy hopes it’s not a student. She doesn’t like it when they come to her apartment, which happens on occasion. The twenty-six-year-old tosses the marker onto her desk. It’s too goddamn early in the morning for this shit, and all Ivy wants to do is scrawl out her equations, and imagine walking on her favorite moons in peace, whoever this is better have a good goddamn reason...

“Mama!”

Chloe Mitchell wrenches off her aviators. “Surprise!” 

Ivy wastes no time wrangling her mother into a bear hug, forcing her mom to drop the duffel bag on the tile floor. “Did you make a wrong turn, cause you’re here in Baltimore?” Ivy says, softly resting her head into the crook of her mother’s neck. God the smell of strawberry shampoo reminds the young woman of home so much. It’s a chore not to cry right then and there. “I can’t believe you’re here Mama,” Ivy kisses her on the cheek.

Chloe rubs her daughter's back before breaking the hug. “AMVA convention. Plus, I can’t not drop by and check on my baby,” she quickly kisses her daughter on the cheek before she forgets. “You gonna let your mama stand in this sweaty hallway or are you gonna finally let me see your office, babe?” Chloe smiles.

“It’s not an office, Mama, I live here,” Ivy says. 

“So, home office?” Chloe chuckles, “I’ve missed you so much hon”

“I miss you and Mom like you wouldn’t believe,” Ivy smiles, like a good daughter she carries her mother’s bag and sets it on the other end of the sectional. “So, this is the whole shebang,” Ivy gestures with her hand, “Take a seat.”

“Smartass,” Chloe shakes her head, lovingly. The older woman loves her children dearly, Chloe’s proud Ivy has her own personality, proud that she takes after another delightful wise ass she knows. “Where’s your roomie?” Chloe eyes the two white dry erase boards on opposite ends of the living area, she’s delighted her daughter’s board is covered, while the other has a few papers taped to it and some drawings.

“Khari’s visiting her boyfriend in NYC,” Ivy says.

Khari Scott is her roommate, a med student fresh out of U Michigan. Two doctors living together sounds like a recipe for disaster or a lame sitcom, but in all honesty, the girls love each other. Ivy considers Khari one of her closest friends.

Chloe doesn’t sit down, though. She walks around the small apartment, taking in everything. The last time Chloe Mitchell was here, the place was empty, Ivy just having moved in. On the wall she spotted one of her favorite sights in the entire world, well top ten favorite, anyway. The records of her daughter’s achievements are proudly displayed. Ivy’s BS in Physics from the University of Arizona, Ivy’s Master of Science in Astrophysics/Astronomy from Arizona State University (Ivy will deny until her dying day that she’s a Sundevil, Wildcats for life!). Chloe thinks of the late Bob Ross and what he would say, “Ivy’s two degrees are a little lonely, they need a friend. Maybe a happy little Ph.D. in a happy little frame.”

Chloe feels a swell of pride. She's so proud of her daughter, her son too. Logan is a successful photographer in New York City. Beca and she lucked out, they hit the jackpot. Their children are the greatest.

“I’m so proud of you honey. Your mom and I both are,” Chloe has to wipe her misty eyes.

Ivy rolls her eyes, “I know, Mama.”  

Chloe gives her daughter a soft punch on the shoulder, “Take the compliment, babe,” Chloe smiled.

“How’s Mom?” Ivy asks earnestly.

Chloe smiles dreamily, “Just as beautiful and fine as the day I met her. She’s actually in Jacksonville scouting out this promising new band the label might wanna sign.”

“And she just leaves you all alone?” Ivy jokes, knowing full well her mom knows she’s kidding. Unlike most couples, distance only makes their longing for each other grow fonder. When her wife comes back home, Chloe has a feeling Beca and she will cuddle and snuggle up outside in front of their fire pit with a couple of glasses of wine, stealing kisses and touches while they watch the flames dance. Throw in a warm flannel blanket, and the couple will be in for a near-perfect evening.

Chloe redirects her attention to the dry erase board across the living room.

“So, is this the Theory of Relativity?” Chloe asks, referring to the equations scrawled on her daughter’s board, in concise and beautiful penmanship she might add, take that Khari!

Ivy chuckles. “Not exactly, although Relativity plays a part in it. Do you remember what I told you and Mom at Thanksgiving a few years ago, about Relativity?” Ivy asks.

“Relativity is just a fancy term for gravity,” Chloe recalls, proudly.

“Pretty much, the more mass an object has, the greater it warps space. And the stronger its gravitational pull.”

“Like dropping a bowling ball in the middle of a blanket,” Chloe smiles.

“So, this,” she points at the equation on the board, “is the aphelion of what we think is a Dwarf Planet.”

Chloe cocks an eyebrow, “Aphelion?” she questions, genuinely curious, and her daughter is all too happy to explain. Seriously, Ivy has the best moms in the world. Chloe and Beca, and even her brother Logan have always been wonderfully supportive of her passion for planets and space.

“So, Perihelion is an object’s closest distance to the sun,” Ivy brings her hands together as if she’s holding an invisible ball in her hands, “Aphelion is an object’s furthest distance from the sun. That’s what I’m figuring out. I’ve almost got it too, Mama!”

“Keep at it, sweetheart. Remember if you will it-”

“It is no dream,” Ivy finishes Herzl’s famous quote. Ivy knows she’ll crack it. Perihelion and aphelion are not the white whales of scientists, give it another couple of days, they’ll be moving onto spectroscopy. Chloe stands in front of her daughter in awkward silence, wondering where they go from here.

“So...you staying in a cushy, kickass hotel, or...” Ivy trails off, not wanting her mom to leave, but also she doesn’t want to bore her or keep her here after her flight. Chloe’s probably tired, and with Ivy’s other mom being out of town, the young Ph.D. student assumes Chloe will want to video call with Beca and let her know she got in safely and visited their daughter. 

“Of course, Babe,” Chloe pecks her daughter’s cheek, “technically I don’t need to check in until tomorrow so I can stay a little while longer if you’ll have me?” Chloe smiles, she sits on the end of Ivy’s sectional.

“Stay with me!” Ivy blurts out, “tonight if you want.”

Chloe beams, her smile extends across her entire face. “Yeah! We can hang out, just us girls!”

“I have a class to teach in thirty minutes then a web interview later, after that I’m all free,” Ivy says.

Chloe rummages through her duffel bag, which she plopped on her daughter’s sectional which was doubling as her bed for the time being, until Ivy buys a new one. “Ooooh, what class are you teaching?”

With curious eyes, Ivy watches her mom pull a thin white blanket out of her bag, “I teach Planetary Atmospheres today and Thursdays, and Intro to Stellar Physics on Mondays and Wednesdays,” she says, once again patting herself on the back mentally because the master’s degree in astrophysics opened up the door for her to teach stellar physics.

Chloe unfolds the sheet, “I bet all the kids think you’re the cool teacher, rolling into class with your KISS shirt.” Chloe gestured to her daughter’s shirt with the visage of the legendary rock band decked out in full garb like they own the world - for a time they did.

“I guess,” Ivy shrugs, “I don’t like teaching, I wanna be a researcher, Mama.”

Chloe tosses the sheet over the cushion of the side of the sectional she’ll be sleeping on, “I know you don’t like teaching sweetheart, even though you’re great at it,” Chloe marches over to kiss her daughter on the cheek, “You’re almost there, hon, you just have to keep inching towards the finish line. A research job will come, in time.”

Ivy sighs, “I guess. What’s the blanket for?”

Chloe smirks then bites her bottom lip, “Have you had sex on this couch?” Chloe asks, earnestly.

“Oh boy,” Ivy says, lolling her head back.

“Hey,” Chloe reaches out to her daughter, once she has Ivy’s attention, Chloe shifts over into serious mother mode, “Sweetheart, what did your mom and I always tell you?” 

“That sour patch kids are gummy bears who turned to drugs,” Ivy deadpans with a cheeky grin.

Chloe chuckles, “I still stand by that, but seriously sweetie your mom and I raised you and your brother in a very open and sex-positive household. Don’t you ever be ashamed of exploring your body or your curiosities. Fuck what society says, be proud of who you are and what you enjoy, and don’t ever let anyone, especially any man, ever tell you any different or make you feel guilty, honey. When I was your age and in my thirties I was having some of the best orgasms of my life!” Chloe admits, shamelessly.

Ivy can’t help but turn red-faced, she loves her moms, but good lord they tend to overshare sometimes. 

Chloe continues, “You’re young, sweetheart, get as much as you can! Express yourself sexually, and don’t let age slow you down” Chloe’s eyes trail off, as if she’s recalling a very recent fond memory, a dreamy smile is transfixed on her face. “Like, despite our age your mom and I still have a very healthy, very active sex lif-”

“Okay, yikes. Too much information!” Ivy cuts her mom off. Chloe stops abruptly.  “I don’t really feel comfortable having this conversation with you, Mama,” Ivy groans.

Chloe quirks an eyebrow in curiosity, she’s genuinely bewildered. “You don’t?”

Ivy sighs, “Yes, Mama. We had the sex talk when I was fifteen.”

“Oh,” Chloe says.

“Then again right before I left for undergrad school.”

“Oh,” Chloe throws a hand over her head, “Senior moment, I guess.” she laughs it off.

“Yeahhhhh.” Ivy doesn’t like hearing those words coming from her mom. Chloe is sixty-one, and while Ivy is confident her moms still have quite a few years left in them, she still doesn’t like thinking about them getting older. The young student knows that she’ll be heartbroken when their time comes, and she won’t be that old. Chloe had her when she was thirty-five. 

Ivy will still have Logan, who despite being her brother, is her best friend in the whole world, and she doesn’t tell him that as much as she should, and losing one of her moms means losing a lifelong friend. Ivy feels her eyes beginning to mist; she pulls her mama into another tight hug. 

“The blanket is just a precaution, babe, in case you haven’t washed the cushions,” Chloe smiles while hugging her daughter back, god they’re such a close family. Ivy makes a mental note to hurry up and find a new mattress for her bed so her moms can sleep in her bed and avoid conversations about their weird sex life. Until then the sectional is fulfilling its duty as runner up.

Ivy lets out an airy chuckle at her mom’s comment. “Gotta jet, I’ll be back soon. Make yourself at home, I love you, Mama!” Ivy gives her mom a peck on the cheek. 

“Your roomie won’t mind me staying here, will she?” Chloe asks.

“Nuh-uh,” Ivy says, only half paying attention. The student is busy stuffing notebooks and her planner into her satchel. 

“Love you too, baby!” Chloe calls out. Ivy ruffles her hair one final time before she’s out the door. Within minutes Chloe watches her daughter trek through the grounds of the massive university. The sixty-one-year-old can't help but smile, she and Beca are so proud of their children. Settling on the sectional, determined not to succumb to boredom, Chloe decides to call Beca, to let her know she got in, and she’ll be staying with their daughter tonight. 

Once Beca is clued in, Chloe leans back to make herself comfortable. The older woman scrolls through her phone until the cursor lands on her son’s name. A chat with Logan will be refreshing; they can catch up on how his photography career is going, and Chloe can remind her son for the thousandth time that even if it doesn’t work out, he can come back home where he always has a place to stay.

Chloe doesn’t even hear the keys rattle before she’s startled by the sudden reappearance of her daughter. “Hey hon, how was class?” Chloe flips the slices of bacon, then stirs the eggs. The intoxicating scent of a hearty breakfast lightens Ivy’s sour mood, only a little though.

“I love it when dudes mansplain shit to me as if I don’t have two degrees in Physics,” she groans in defeat. 

Chloe pouts, “That bad, huh?” She offers a cooked strip of bacon to her daughter along with a brief hug and a peck on the cheek. “Men are threatened by you because they know you are smarter, and it makes them feel powerless.”

“Bacon makes everything better,” Ivy says, munching on the bacon, “You didn’t need to do all this, Mama,” she gestures over the stove.

“I know, but I want to,” Chloe pouts playfully. The older woman spoons scrambled eggs on a plate for both her and her daughter then uses the tongs to divvy up an equal amount of bacon. “So, a few douchebags aside, how was the rest of your class, baby?” Chloe smiles. They sit across from each other at the chintzy fold-out table. Chloe hopes Ivy will go into details; Chloe loves details, she and Beca always made a concentrated effort to involve themselves by lending a supportive ear or set of eyes whenever their daughter wanted to discuss her passion, or maybe watch a movie or documentary. Chloe and Beca never wanted their children to grow up feeling isolated or met with incredulity or ostracism for their interests like she and her wife were when they were younger.

“‘S’good,” Ivy says with food in her mouth, “I’m teaching them about aurora.”

Chloe nibbles her eggs, “Other planets have aurora borealis?” she asks.

Chloe notices her daughter vibrating in her seat, hardly able to contain herself, her glee is so strong. “Uh-huh,” Ivy shotguns her glass of milk, “See when the solar wind from the sun comes into contact with charged ions from the magnetic fields in a planet’s polar regions, it creates aurora. It’s really cool Mama because on Jupiter and Saturn they look like sick fuckin’ plasma storms!” 

Chloe nods her head approvingly, “That’s so interesting, sweetheart. You know-” Chloe fixes a mischievous smile on her face, “Your mom and I once made out under the aurora borealis in Alaska!”

Ivy rolls her eyes, “Why are you like this?” she asks. Chloe pats her daughter’s knee and chuckles. 

“So, what’s this interview about?” Chloe asks.

Ivy takes another bite of her eggs, “It’s part of this outreach program Hopkins has where the STEMies are partnered up with a podcaster with a growing audience.”

“Ooh, that-” Chloe pauses to take another bite of bacon then wash it down with milk, “is a really good idea.”

There’s something so endearing about watching her mom eat because Ivy herself eats like a bird too. Just picking and nibbling away at a meal little by little. Mother and daughter finish their breakfast in comfortable silence, no distance to them, no awkward dead air, despite knowing each other for twenty-six years they never run out of things to talk about, or learn, or discover about each other. The Mitchell family dynamic is one many families envy. No stubborn destructive ego, no pretension; just passion, compassion, and empathy channeled in all the right avenues. 

The two redheads who used to be, and sometimes still are mistaken for sisters because of their looks, finish their hearty breakfast with smiles and full bellies ten minutes later. 

“I talked to your brother while you were out,” Chloe said.

Ivy pulls out her phone, “Shit. I need to text him back.”

“You two still meet up monthly for dinner and a movie?”

Ivy looks at her mom, proud that she and her brother have such a close relationship. Part of her wants to impress Chloe with that information, even though Ivy knows it’s pointless. Their moms are insanely proud their children are each other’s best friends. Ivy chalks it up to the competitive drive she inherited from Chloe. “Yup. As often as we can when his hands aren’t full with Abby.”

Chloe runs her fingers through her daughter’s hair, “Well if it’s alright with you, I’m going to take a shower. You text your brother and get ready for your podcast interview, Ivy Hope.”

“Of course it’s alright,” Ivy says, she collects both hers and Chloe’s plates then makes a beeline into the kitchen area, “Have a good shower, Mama,” Ivy calls out over the running sink water.

Ivy makes herself comfortable at her desk, mumbling under her breath about the shitty 480p quality of the video resolution, briefly wondering if she should’ve made computer sciences her major? It’s 2050, there’s no excuse for this shit anymore. Ivy plans on mentioning it to her friends in engineering.

A man in his twenties pops onto Ivy’s screen. He’s cute, she notes, well-coifed black hair and faint stubble.

“Ivy?” he asks

“Ken?” she asks, cautiously.

“Yeah. So, you hanging in there this morning?” Ken asks.

“I guess,” Ivy shrugs, “Are you going to do the whole intro thing?” she asks.

Ken chuckles. “Already took care of it, they know who you are, Ivy.”

Ivy visibly relaxes. “That’s a relief.”

“Yeah. We like to keep it super casual on the Ken Marshall show. So, tell us, Ivy, what’re you studying at Johns Hopkins?”

Ivy smiles, “So my doctorate is in Earth and Planetary Sciences with a focus in lunar and planetary geology.”

“Awesome. So, like do Jupiter and Saturn have geology or are they just gas?” he asked.

“Not really, and yes. My chosen planets of study are dwarf planets.”

“Dwarf planets? I bet that’s hard to get data off of?”

Ivy nods her head in agreement, “It can be, luckily we have two that have been visited,” she says. “Pluto and Ceres.”

“What’s Ceres?” Ken asks.

“Okay,” Ivy lets out a giddy smile, “So Ceres is a dwarf planet, that’s actually in the asteroid belt. The only dwarf planet inside the orbit of Neptune. The rest are Trans-Neptunian.” 

“I remember when New Horizons released the photos of Pluto and it had that little heart on it, does Ceres have any active features or geology?” he asks.

“Ceres is a lot like Mercury. Its geological engine ran out of fuel a long time ago. Now it’s mostly craters and the occasional cryovolcano.”

“And those are ice volcanoes, right?”

Ivy tilts her hand back and forth, making the kinda-sorta gesture, “In a way, yes. They spew water which then crystallizes into ice and either plummets out into space or build up sediment around the volcano.”

“Awesome, so Ivy for all the young women in our audience what made you want to be a scientist and study space?” Ken asks.

“When I was fourteen, I took a trip to a planetarium with my freshman class and it blew my fucking mind!” she recalls as if it were yesterday, the moment she discovered her destiny, her true calling. 

Settled up all cozy on the sectional, covered in a warm blanket and listening to her audiobook with only one headphone, Chloe watches her daughter carry on like the pro she is. The seasoned veterinarian even smiled and waved to the camera when the host and...other inquiring minds wanted to know who the woman in the background was. Chloe smiled as Ivy proudly gave her a shout out, introducing her as Dr. Chloe Mitchell. 

When the interview winds down, Chloe mutes her audiobook so she can listen to her daughter explain the final question.

“So, Ivy, I have one more question before I go: do you think aliens are out there, and will they ever come visit us?” Ken asks.

“The Fermi paradox,” Ivy sighs with a lazy smile. “Yes I think intelligent life exists on other planets. But special relativity tells us the speed of light is the universal speed limit, and nothing with mass can achieve it. Which means no spaceships, no warp speed, nothing. Even if a race of little green people achieved fifty percent the speed of light, the universe is huge! It might take them a million years to reach a habitable solar system. It kinda sucks, any sentient race is pretty much limited to exploring their back yard,” Ivy confesses, it’s a depressing answer to an optimistic question. The young scientist doesn’t want to discourage young people from perusing space sciences, but to lie to them or feed them false promises would be an incredible disservice. 

“So if we want any kind of future like Star Trek we’re gonna have to send robots out there to do our bidding?” Ken jokes.

Ivy laughs, “That’s one way to do it.”

Chloe frowns at her daughter’s answer, only for a couple of seconds before a smile crept back up at just how wonderful and smart her little girl is, yes Ivy and Logan will always be her babies, no matter how old. The veterinarian listens to her daughter conclude the interview and offer to come back on anytime they want, Ivy jokingly offered to be their “space correspondent.”

“Final-fucking-ly, now I have some free time, not that it wasn’t fun, wanna go out to lunch and then dinner later?” Ivy turns to ask her mom.

“I’d love to, babe,” Chloe smiles. “You know...he was kinda cute,” Chloe teases.

“Mom!” Ivy groans exasperatingly.

A few hours later, mother and daughter were stretching their legs vegging out, Chloe on the couch, Ivy in her comfy computer chair organizing files and lesson plans after an afternoon of shopping, lunch, and annoying eye rolls and groans from Ivy when Chloe would point out cute guys and a few girls she thought Ivy should get to know. Chloe teasingly gave in, respecting that her daughter was focused on her career for the time being.

Chloe’s tablet suddenly produces a few jingles and pings, excitedly Chloe closes her current tab to answer the video call.

“Hey babe!” Chloe greets her wife.

“Hey cutie!” Beca grins. Aging had been fair to the younger woman, old is an attitude Beca refuses to succumb to, so when the gray hairs became more and more frequent, Beca said fuck it, and dyed her hair a gorgeous metallic silver, which is what it has been for years, it makes the crow’s feet less noticeable and allows Beca to look the part of a wise and jovial old grandmother.

“Lemme see our daughter, Chlo!” Beca says excitedly

Chloe smiles as she turns the tablet around to face Ivy. “Say hi to Mom, sweetheart,”

“Hi Mom. I miss you so much,” Ivy blows Beca a kiss.

Beca playfully rolls her eyes, “Excuses excuses, you better let me come up there and see you, young lady.”

Ivy chuckles. “It’s an open-door policy. You, Mama, Logan, and Abby are always welcome, and I always try to fly home for the holidays so none of this guilt trip shit, old lady!” 

Chloe giggles, at her wife and their daughter trading barbs.

Beca snickers too, “Alright, I suppose I can let you off the hook since you’re a famous scientist,” Beca pauses for dramatic effect, “And my daughter too. Love you honey!”

“Love you too!” Ivy shouts. 

Chloe turns the tablet around so she can chat with her beautiful wife. “So did the band live up to all the hype, Babe?” Chloe asks.

Beca huffs out in amused disappointment, “God no. They were like a group of singing Plutonium Bombs.

“That bad, huh?” 

Beca nods, “Well not all bad some good came out of this trip.”

“Yeah, what would that be?” Chloe asks.

Beca smiles adoringly, “I get to come home to you a day earlier!”

Chloe tries and fails to push down the giggle. “Are you saying you miss me?”

“Duh,” Beca says, “Your love is my drug, Chlo!” she admits shamelessly.

“Am I your heroin?” the redhead asked.

“You’re my white tar heroin!” Beca professes like she’s possessed.

Chloe clasps her chest in an exaggerated manner while blushing, a devilish smirk creeps up her face as her next comment pops into her mind. “Does that mean you need me inside your body?” she asks.

“Oh my god,” Ivy mumbles in the background while squinting trying to pretend she hates what she’s hearing.

“Hmmm,” Beca scrunches her nose as if pondering it, a wicked smile emerges, one rivaling even her wife’s, “Maybe when I get back you can show me just how much you missed me, then I can show you!”

Chloe gasps. “Mrs. Mitchell are you trying to seduce me?”

“Guilty!” Beca raises her right hand.

“But my wife might get jealous!” Chloe says.

“So, don’t tell her,” Beca winks seductively.

“Why are you two like this?” Ivy grumbles. Chloe looks over to see her daughter with her head dropped in her hands, shaking it. Her mothers are so sappy it’s pretty gross, Okay it is kinda cute, Chloe is sixty-one and Beca’s pushing sixty, they’re still madly in love with each other. As long as Ivy can remember, it’s been that way. Romantic lines, heart eyes, lingering glances, and sometimes her moms would excuse themselves from the dinner table or whatever family activity to abruptly sneak upstairs, only to re-emerge an hour or so later. It used to confuse the young girl until Logan had to awkwardly spell out what their moms were doing. 

Ivy’s moms are one of those rare couples who truly mean it when they tell strangers they are happily married.

Beca cackles, almost snorting at her daughter’s comment. 

“Sweetheart,” Chloe smiles adoringly at hers and Beca’s daughter, “Your mom and I hope that when you find your special someone that you both never leave the honeymoon phase.” 

“Honeymoon phase? God you guys are so cliched.” Ivy says.

Chloe turns back to her tablet screen. “I’ll call you tonight when I go to bed, and tomorrow when I check into the hotel.”

“Definitely call me when you check in and get to your room. Maybe I’ll give you a little pregame show, let you know what to expect in a few days” Beca winks again.

The sound of a drawer sliding open is loud enough for both women to hear, Chloe watches her daughter yank out a pair of noise deafening headphones. Both women laugh.

“Love you, Baby!” Beca blows a kiss to the camera.

“Love ya, Babe!” Chloe blows a kiss back. 

The call ends and Chloe Mitchell slumps back on the sectional. She contemplates how lucky she is, perfect son, perfect daughter, smoking hot wife who still has the hots for her, a family that keeps in constant weekly contact with each other. Chloe lets herself fall onto cloud nine.

“I’m not laying with your stinky feet in my face,” Chloe teases as she fluffs her pillow. Both women are about to go to sleep, but trying to figure out how Ivy would lay on the sectional had turned into a debate. Chloe will be sleeping on the short part of the L shaped couch while Ivy sleeps across the long part.

“Fine, Mama,” Ivy smiles. “Head-to-head it is.”

Both women who are nearly the spitting image of each other rest on their knees in their pajamas, Chloe and Ivy lean over to share a tight warm hug which reminds them of home, their past and the future. They peck each other on the cheek before settling in and shutting off the lamp. Ivy’s head lay perpendicular to her mom’s with less than a foot separating them.

“I love you honey.” Chloe whispers.

“I love you too Mama!” Ivy yawns.

“You know you’re totes gonna migrate over to my side to snuggle with me in the morning.” Chloe whispers knowing her daughter.

“I’m too old to snuggle.”

“You’re never too old to cuddle with your Mama.”

“Yeah, yeah. You better not snore in my ear.” Ivy relents knowing full well her mom is right. Ivy loves her parents, every moment she can spend with them is a moment to be cherished. Chloe gives the best hugs when she snuggles and at twenty-six the soon to be Dr. Ivy Mitchell has no shame in admitting she loves them as much if not slightly more than planets, moons, and all the stars that span the cosmos.

“Goodnight,” both women whisper to each other.

The end.

Chapter Text

Tucson, Arizona.

The apartment of Dr. Ivy Mitchell.

Murphy’s Law had been tormenting the grad student this week. First, it was a nasty fall she took on the flight of steps two nights ago which bruised and cut up her knees something awful. Ivy hoped it would be the only calamity that befell her, but a quick scan through her emails as the redhead rolled out of bed this morning let the young woman know that her adjunct contract was still in limbo. 

Right now things were looking like the university wouldn’t renew it.

Ivy wanted to treat it like a bummer, then she remembered how much she detested teaching and her give-a-fuck meter barely spiked. The students weren’t terrible, most of them, every crowd has a few assholes. She got along with them and they seemed to respect her, it’s just, preparing lectures and PowerPoint slides was not how Ivy planned to take on the world. 

The job was there for her when she needed it. It served as a quick fix when her post-doc applications weren’t turning up any promising leads, or any leads. The money was fair, so Ivy moved out to Arizona…again. Not much had changed in the Copper State in the five years since she’d been away. 

Johns Hopkins had been Ivy’s dream college since she was a teenager, and she cherished her time in Baltimore, but her undergrad years in Tucson ended up being the best years of her life. Much like her moms with Georgia, Arizona seemed to be Ivy’s spiritual home.

Ivy shirked off her nightshirt then shuffled into her bathroom, her knees and legs were still a little sore from her fall the other night. A soothing shower combined with some stress relief should clear her mind. Ivy smiled, the hot water felt like heaven when the stream hit her. Taking a second to stretch and yawn the young woman reached for the removable shower head. Her eyes fluttered closed as the scientist brought it down between her legs. 

Ivy rested her mug of Chai tea on her coffee table, on a coaster mind you, she doesn’t live like a derelict. Well, not outwardly anyway, the mound of clothes resting on the floor of her bedroom right next to her hamper told a different story. She smiled when she spotted her two magazines, Scientific American and the academic journal, peer-reviewed of course, aptly named Science, waiting for her in all their shiny glossy glory.

Flopping on her couch with her back resting against the head so she can lay with her legs stretched across, Ivy rested her bowl of Chex Mix against her side so it was trapped between her body and the cushions like a nest. She reached for her issue of Scientific American. 

An hour into her ideal morning, Ivy set her mug back on her table, eager to get back to a particularly gripping article on Carbon Emissions, when her phone pinged. Ivy ignored the ping in favor of finishing the paragraph she was reading. Her fist uncurled and the folded up pages tucked behind the newer, un-read pages unfolded and the young woman set the parted magazine on her chest, careful not to lose her spot.

Ivy’s eyes lit up when she saw the source of the email.

The Southwest Research Institute was a century-old company frequently contracted by NASA for R&D(Research and Development). Alan Stern and David Grinspoon, two dudes responsible for missions to Pluto, whose work Ivy greatly admired, came out of that prestigious institution, and their space sciences division wanted to meet with Ivy about a possible post-doc position. But what made the redhead’s heart race was when she saw just what exactly the research entailed.

Ivy pinched herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

Fuck teaching, her Ph.D. had a focus in Lunar and Planetary Geology, and if all went well she would get to make the most of it.

Her fingers couldn’t type out a reply fast enough before she raced off to her bedroom to pack a suitcase.

Once she booked her flight, hotel, and rental car Ivy decided tonight she would go all out and dine at the most expensive, highest rated restaurant in her area.

The rolling of Ivy’s suitcase echoed through the terminal of the Tucson International Airport. Once the scientist went through TSA she reflected on her decision to not tell her moms or Logan the wonderful news. There was not one shred of doubt in Ivy’s mind that her mothers and her brother wouldn’t be proud of her, but she didn’t want to get their hopes up if she returned empty-handed or with the sad feeling she didn’t get the position. At least she got to eat one of the best meals of her life at Tucson’s Michelin star restaurant, Feast. 

Ivy experienced a foodgasm that nearly transcended space and time when she bit into the beef tenderloin and sunchoke hash.

At her gate Ivy picked a seat by the windows, she fished her book out of her carry-on. Michelle Obama’s autobiography, Ivy’s second-time re-reading. If in the unlikely event she got bored she had The Power Broker: Robert Moses and The Fall of New York by Robert Caro in her bag as a backup. After a few blissful minutes of reading, Ivy glanced out the massive window. Delighted as she watched the small United Airlines regional jet pull into the gate. 

But she took even more delight in knowing that she would be able to spend the entire two-hour flight to Denver reading her book in peace. Ivy bought the seat next to her because, yeah she’ll admit it, she has a little disposable income, but mostly because she’s sick and fucking tired of dudes pestering her, prattling on and on about how they’re an expert in whatever subject she’s reading about, believing in their heart of hearts she can’t see through their transparent attempts to get her to come home with them. If it’s not dudes then the other culprits were middle-aged church women who meant well, but not well enough to leave the young woman to her own devices. Ivy Mitchell was convinced the act of reading a book means “Talk to me, it’s not like I’m in the middle of something” in another language.

When the gate agent called for coach to board, Ivy stuffed the bookmark in the spine of her book, adjusted her beige sweater, tucked her book under her armpit as she walked down the jet bridge wheeling her suitcase in the other hand. Once Ivy chose her seat, a window seat, they were always her favorite, she whipped out her phone to fire off a quick text to Logan telling him she loves him, and that she couldn’t wait to see him and Abby in a couple of weeks. 

Ivy says a quick prayer to the universe that she’ll meet her destiny in Boulder, Colorado.

“Wow. You went for the Master’s, nice,” the blonde man said. 

“Thanks. I wanted a degree in astrophysics,” Ivy said to the man interviewing her. Vlad was his name, he was a little over a decade older than the graduate student. She couldn’t help but notice his doctorate from Caltech, the long-standing rival of Johns Hopkins and their famous Applied Physics Laboratory. Oh well, keep your enemies closer they say. Besides Vlad was a student Konstantin Batygin, the famed astrophysicist who discovered along with Mike Brown, Juno, or as it’s still begrudgingly referred to as Planet Nine, the ice giant on the fringes of the solar system, ejected by the gravitational forces of Saturn and Jupiter eons ago. Batygin had always been one of Ivy’s inspirations in the field of astrophysics. Her favorite Christmas present was still, to this day, the autographed photo of a blurry blob, planet nine, which her brother Logan managed to get signed by Mike Brown.

“That’s admirable,” Vlad said absentmindedly, still blown away by Ivy’s qualifications. His fingers tapped his desk rhythmically while he scanned the final line of her qualifications for what felt like the fifth time. “Why don’t I show you around the facility?” Vlad smiled at Ivy. He noticed the redhead was caught off guard, only for a second before she smiled back, happily taking Vlad up on his offer.

“The raging storms on Neptune are nothing compared to how excited I am right now,” Ivy let out a slight squeal.

Through reinforced panes of solid glass windows, Dr. Ivy Mitchell watched engineers work like precious artisans as they retrofitted the solar panels for an orbiter. In another wing of the facility, she watched as postdocs and technicians bombarded moon rocks with lasers and electrons, and she couldn’t help but think to herself she’s made it. 

This was where she was meant to be.

Two Weeks Later.

Beca Mitchell hummed a little melody while folding laundry. She was folding Chloe’s jeans and reaching for a pair of socks when a ringing sound came in through the speakers.

Phone call from Ivy Mitchell the automated voice called out.

“Clexa...answer” Beca shouted out. Beca heard the hum signaling that her call connected.

“Hey Babe,” Beca greeted her daughter warmly, she finished folding the colored socks, then reached for a pair of underwear.

“Mom! Is Mama with you? I have exciting news.” Ivy practically squealed.

“She’s outside in her garden, hang tight babe. I’ll go get her,” Beca waited for Ivy’s hum of acknowledgment before she set the unfolded garment in the laundry basket. Beca walked across the house, hers and Chloe’s home for over twenty-five years. The walls were still eggshell white and spotless. The floor still clean enough to eat off of even after two decades; Beca approached the sliding glass door. The silver-haired woman spotted her sexy wife bent over in her garden pulling up beans. Chloe’s tank top and floofy gardening hat were doing it for her wife, but Beca pushed the sexy thoughts to the side, remembering their daughter was on hold.

Seconds after sliding open the door, Beca yelled, “Hey, Chlo!”

Chloe looked up at her wife who was standing on their deck motioning for her to come up to the house. The sixty-two-year-old, happily set down her water pail and sheers. The older woman then made her way across the spacious yard; past their pool, before finally meeting up with her smiling wife. “What’s up, Babe,” Chloe planted an affectionate kiss on her wife’s lips, then she noticed the phone in Beca’s hands.

“It’s Ivy. She has something she wants to tell us. Sounds like good news.”

Chloe practically bounced with delight. The woman quickly slipped out of her gardening gloves to hold the phone with her wife, “Hi sweetheart,” Chloe greeted their daughter.

“Are you both listening?” Ivy asked.

“Yes.” Beca and Chloe answered in unison. They hoped their daughter would understand their impatience wasn’t coming from a place of frustration, but curiosity.

“I did it, Moms!” Ivy shouted over the speaker.

Chloe gasped.

“You mean-” Beca started but her daughter cut her off

Dr. Ivy Mitchell barely got the words “I got a researcher job,” out before she was met with delighted squeals from her mothers.

“You did it. That’s one of your dream jobs!” Beca said.

“Give us all the details!” Chloe blurted out while distracted from wiping her misty eyes.

Ivy was happy to oblige, “It’s a two-year contract with the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder. I’ll be studying impact craters on some of the moons of Saturn.”

“Oh my god. You’re using your degree - wait that came out wrong, of course, you are. I mean this is specifically what you wanted to study. Wait does that still sound wrong?” Beca fumbled over her words.

Chloe giggled.

“It’s cool, Mom,” Ivy assured her mother.

“So does this mean you’ll finally get to study Titan?” Chloe asked, knowing the famous moon was her daughter’s favorite thing in the solar system, and Ivy’s dream to be a lead researcher for it someday.

Ivy let out a wistful sigh, “Afraid not Mama. But I will be studying Enceladus, Mimas, Iapetus; you know...medium-sized moons.” Ivy’s second favorite celestial body, ever since she fell in love with astronomy as a teenager, was Enceladus. In her youth, she would wake up every morning, and stare at her poster of the smooth icy moon and imagine ice skating on the powdery sheets or taking a swim in the subsurface ocean.

“Oh,” said Chloe. And Beca rubbed her wife’s shoulder.

“Meh. Fuck it, I’m getting to do postdoc work studying moons. Titan will come, I just know it.” Ivy said. “Not to mention the pay is fucking lit!”

“Oh my god,” Beca said again. “Yes, what’s the pay like, babe?” 

“$68,000 per year plus insane benefits.”

Chloe chuckled, “Look at you high rollin’.” 

“Gonna get me a fine ass apartment. I might even splurge and choose a three-bedroom just cause I can.”

All three women laughed and talked a little longer before Chloe and Beca suddenly urged their daughter off the phone upon learning she hadn’t told Logan yet. The mothers insisted Ivy tell her brother immediately. They noted the behavior was unusual because Logan was Ivy’s best friend in the whole world. According to their daughter the thought slipped her mind, Ivy kicked herself mentally. The young woman told her mothers they were right, then politely ended the call to phone her big brother.

One month later

“Alright Ives, pretty sure that’s the last of it,” Logan said. He set Ivy’s suitcase in the bed of his sister’s satin steel Chevy Silverado. The fact Ivy drove a pickup truck surprised people, mainly people stuck in a sexist mindset that a woman of her stature shouldn’t drive a new truck unless it belonged to her husband.

Ivy gave her brother an affectionate peck on the cheek, “Thanks for helping me move, big brother,” Ivy smiled. 

The siblings settled into the massive cab of Ivy’s truck. Ivy hoisted the cooler so it was positioned in between them. It was packed with sandwiches, sodas, water, and a beer for each of them. Logan volunteered to drive the first leg of the fourteen-hour trip, after which him and his sister planned on rotating driving duty. 

Ivy Mitchell paid movers to haul her stuff to Colorado, save for a few cherished belongings in plastic tubs and suitcases. The redhead found herself buzzing with elation because while they kept in frequent contact it had been a long time since the siblings had this much quality bonding time.

Ivy pulled out her Nintendo Zenith and powered up her Pokémon MasterQuest game. 

“You came prepared,” Logan chuckled.

Ivy laughed, only half paying attention to her brother, “Be envious of me!”

“I hope you can find it in your heart to share when it’s your turn to drive,” Logan said.

“Nah. I would maroon you on one of the moons of Saturn before that happens.”

“You are so mean to me,” Logan joked.

“Hey, I’m letting you drive my baby,” she deadpanned. Ivy could count on one hand and still have a couple of fingers left over, for the number of people she would ever let get behind the wheel of her pride and joy.

Ivy smirked while her brother backed out of the driveway of her apartment complex. Ivy paused her game to take one final look at the place which had been her home since she’d left Baltimore after receiving her Ph.D. The ginger knew her heart belonged to Arizona, knew she’d return to the state one day.

For now, the scientist was happy to take the first step towards a dream come true. Boulder, Colorado was just one step on that path.

Ivy wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Chapter Text

Chloe heard the unmistakable sound of the sliding door open and then close before being greeted by her wife with a soft smile. 

Beca set the bottle of wine inside of the icebox. The silver-haired woman, still as feisty and sarcastic as she was in her younger days, her brunette years as she jokingly called them, settled into her wife’s side. Beca rested her head on Chloe’s shoulder as she shifted her weight to curl up under the warm flannel blanket.

“Jupiter is out tonight,” Chloe said. The mothers knew how to identify most of the planets since it was drilled into their heads years ago by their astrophysicist daughter.

Beca lifted her head off of her wife’s shoulder to look at the bright point of light in the sky, too close to be a star and looming over their yard like the boss she was.

Jupiter you fabulous bitch. Beca thought. “Mmmhmm,” she murmured before leaning up to give her wife an affectionate peck on the lips. 

Snuggling under a blanket with her wife on autumn nights while watching flames dance in the firepit was the couple’s favorite past-time. Sometimes they never even say a word, just sit there sipping on wine and stealing kisses and touches while they curl up into each other. 

“What’re you thinking about?” Beca murmured.

Chloe let out a content sigh, “Us, our babies, a little bit of everything.”

Beca smiled. “Yeah?”

Chloe nodded. “I’m just so happy. We’ve made such a great life for ourselves, Bec. Our babies are all grown up and the greatest kids anyone could ever ask for. And our little girl is about to start her dream job. We’re sixty and still happily in love-”

“We still can’t keep our hands off of each other,” Beca interrupted her wife, who welcomed it by sealing the interruption with a soft kiss. She didn’t bother correcting her wife. Beca just turned sixty, Chloe was technically sixty-two, or as she liked to tell everyone “sixty and holding.”

“Mhmm,” Chloe agreed, pulling back from the kiss. A second later they were interrupted by the sound of the sliding glass door.

“Grandmas,” a weak little voice called out to them.

Chloe and Beca turned around to look at their six-year-old granddaughter.

“Aww, what’s wrong, love?” Beca asked, having immediately honed in on the little girl's tears.

“I th-I threw up in my-my bed!” the little girl wailed.

“Oh Abby girl, it’s okay. C’mere baby,” the redhead slung the blanket off then went over to crouch down to comfort their granddaughter. The little girl cried into Chloe’s shoulder for a close to a minute, before she felt composed enough to talk to her Grandmothers.

“Am I in-in trouble, Grandma Chloe?” the child asked with a sniffle.

“Absolutely not hon,” Chloe said, softly.

“I got her,” Beca said. Chloe nodded and Beca reached down to pick up their grandchild. The silver-haired music producer aka “coolest grandma in the universe” held Abby in her arms while Chloe held the door open for them.

Beca kissed her on the side of the head. “What happened? Do you think you might be sick, baby?” 

Abby shook her head.

“Maybe she ate too much, or dinner was too rich for her tummy?” Chloe leaned over to give the child a comforting kiss.

Beca shrugged, then looked at Abby, “C’mon kid. Let’s get you cleaned up,” she smiled. Beca carried the little girl inside the house, down the hall until they reached the bathroom. Chloe hummed a little song while gathering fresh sheets and a new blanket from a closet.

Beca placed her granddaughter on the bathroom counter. Abigail watched as her grandma rummaged through the medicine cabinet before pulling out a big pink bottle with a name she couldn’t quite pronounce yet. 

“Now this stuff is gonna taste icky but you have to drink it, okay?” Beca turned to her granddaughter after pouring the Pepto Bismol, and offering her the little plastic cup.

Abby shook her head.

Beca sighed, “I know sweetheart. But Grandma would never give you anything that was bad for you. You know that right?”

The little girl nodded and Beca watched the look on the child’s face un-sour then the tenseness of her body ease. Abby reached out with a soft hand and reluctantly accepted the pink concoction from her grandma, which she finished after two tries.

“All better sweetheart?” the redhead asked once her wife and granddaughter re-entered the guest room and were greeted to fresh linens on the bed

Abby nodded. “Yes, Grandma Chloe.”

“Good,” she leaned down and kissed her grandbaby.

“Grandma Beca?” the child asked her other grandmother.

“Yes, sweetie?”

“When’s Daddy and Aunt Vee coming back?” she wondered. When Abby was learning how to talk she couldn’t quite pronounce her Aunt Ivy’s name, so ever since then she’s called her “Aunt Vee.”

The ladies sat down on the foot of the bed. They stared at their granddaughter with the most loving eyes, hell, she truly was the love of their lives. “Daddy and your Aunt will be back in a couple more days,” Chloe smiled.

Abby reached for the locket on her nightstand, her grandmothers’ noticed, and scooted it closer to their granddaughter. It wasn’t an über expensive locket nor was it a cheap plastic trinket; but Logan Mitchell wanted his daughter to have something that would not break easily. Something of her mother’s that the child could always carry close to her heart.

Smiling, the little girl pried the locket open to see the small photo of her mom and dad. Her mommy she never got to meet but somehow she knew loved her more than life itself. The little girl took in the photo of her father hugging her mother, the two were smiling as Logan kissed Abby’s mother on the side of her head. Snow-covered the ground in the background so the grownups were snug in their cozy winter coats. Winter seemed to bring out the glow in her mother as evidenced by just how much her blonde locks popped.

Abby moved the locket close to her heart, “Mommy in heaven, please keep Daddy and Aunt Vee safe,” the child looked up imagining the ceiling was gone and that she was sending the prayer off into the night sky.

Chloe and Beca felt their eyes begin to mist and tears prickle in the corners of their eyes at how sweet and pure-hearted their grandchild was. Lindsey was a wonderful girl, they were delighted their son found such an incredible person to share his life with. It didn’t seem like that long ago when they all received the horrible news that she didn’t survive the delivery. 

“Grandmas?” Abby whispered.

Beca smiled, “Yes love?”

“Will you sing to me?”

Beca and Chloe smiled at each other as if their minds were synced, they knew just the song. It was an oldie, but a goodie.

“Sweetheart, this is a song from when Grandma Beca and I were children.”

Abigail Mitchell nodded excitedly. The child watched her grandmothers suck in air then quickly harmonize,

“Christopher Robin and I walked along

Under branches lit up by the moon

Posing our questions to Owl and Eeyore

As our days disappeared all too soon

But I've wandered much further today than I should

And I can't seem to find my way back to the wood, so

Help me if you can, I've got to get

Back to the house at Pooh Corner by one

You'd be surprised there's so much to be done

Count all the bees in the hive

Chase all the clouds from the sky 

(chase the clouds away) Chloe belted out.

Back to the daaaayyys of Christopher Robin and Pooh”

Chloe and Beca smiled as they watched their granddaughter’s chest rise and fall, signaling that she was sound asleep. Careful not to make a sound the two women slipped off of the bed then gave the little girl one last look before grazing the light switch and closing the bedroom door.