Crossing Borderlines - 1/?
Title: Crossing Borderlines
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: M for language, sex
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context, and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
Summary: AU. Callie meets study abroad student Arizona when they are seniors in college. They hit it off immediately, but what happens when the year ends and Arizona has to go back to England?
Crossing Borderlines
A/N: Hi, everyone! I’m back (again)! Told myself I’d take a break, but nope, here I am with another long AU multi-chapter story. Before we dive in, I’m trying something new, so please let me know if you find it confusing. The two timelines will both move chronologically before we get to the present day, but there might be some time jumps. As we go through the story, things will become much clearer. I just ask that you pay attention to the dates I post at the beginning of every scene.
Chapter 1
August, 2012
Callie would recognize that head of luminescent blonde hair any day. It didn't matter that she was currently standing 50 feet from said hair in a crowded room or that the hair was tied up in a disheveled ponytail; she was positive she knew its owner. Her breath caught in her throat as wave after wave of disparate emotions washed over her. She had to lean forward against the counter, bracing herself on the ledge.
"Ms. Torres? Are you okay?"
Callie's head snapped up. "What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, here's my passport," Callie answered, distractedly handing the woman her documents. She glanced over her shoulder once more and was both disappointed and relieved when she could no longer spot the familiar blonde hair in the crowd. Callie shook her head in an attempt to clear it of its crazy thoughts. She must have been imagining things. What were the chances of running into her former girlfriend in the world's busiest airport? Slim to none, she chided herself. She returned her attention to the woman who was typing away on her computer.
"Right, here are your boarding passes. Your flight, Delta 158, will be boarding in an hour from Gate C11."
Callie muttered her thanks before grabbing her carry on and following the signs to security. Sighing when she noticed the long lines, she made a mental note (one she had made many times before) never to fly through Heathrow again. She thumbed through the e-mails on her blackberry just for something to do, not because she had received any new ones. When the line moved, Callie glanced up from her phone and her breath hitched once more. Because there at the front of the line was her former girlfriend, Arizona Robbins, in the flesh, standing just 20 feet in front of her. Her head was thrown back in laughter, and for the first time, Callie noticed that Arizona was not alone. Instead, she was accompanied by an apparently hilarious brunette. Callie smiled sadly to herself. No one was ever happy when in an airport security line. But her ex seemed happy, deliriously so. And despite her overwhelming sadness, Callie was happy for her. She deserved happiness. That didn't stop the painful squeeze on her heart and the barrage of conflicting thoughts flowing through her anxious mind. Should she try to catch up to her and talk to her? What would she even say? Should she introduce herself to the new girlfriend, or would that just be painfully awkward for all three parties? Should she ignore Arizona all together, but send her an awkward e-mail afterwards saying that she was glad she looked happy? Or would that come across as an entirely passive-aggressive move? Callie closed her eyes, trying to sort out the internal conflict.
She opened her eyes again when the security scanner beeped loudly. Callie's decision had been made for her. Rolling her eyes and laughing at her girlfriend's teasing, Arizona stepped back through the scanner to take off her metal jewelry. As she passed through, her eyes caught the penetrating gaze of her ex, and the smile immediately dropped off her face. Realizing she'd been caught staring, Callie raised her right hand and gave Arizona a small wave and a perfunctory smile. Arizona returned the gesture, her dimples appearing momentarily, before she turned and walked back through the metal detector.
Callie released a low groan. She could no longer tell herself she'd just been imagining things. Arizona had been there, had seen her, had smiled and waved at her. And she'd been happy. All of a sudden, Callie felt the pangs of intense jealousy. She was jealous of Arizona's new girlfriend. That was not something that surprised her; she would always be jealous of any woman who got to spend time with Arizona. What surprised her was that she was jealous of Arizona, jealous that she'd been able to move on, jealous that she was happy. Callie enjoyed her life, she really did. She had a lot to be happy about and be thankful for, but she was lonely. She'd dated since their break-up, of course, and she'd had sex, lots of it, but she yearned for the familiar companionship, for the security of knowing who you'd be going home to at night and who you would wake up with in the morning.
Lost in her thoughts, Callie didn't even realize when she'd reached the front of the line. She unconsciously took off her shoes and placed them with her carry on bag and purse onto the conveyor belt, no stranger to airport security. She walked through the detector and gave a tight smile to the TSA officials, before slipping her shoes back on and grabbing her bags. Staring at her phone, she ambled towards her gate, completely oblivious to her surroundings.
"Calliope," a voice called from her right.
Blinking, Callie looked for the source of the voice, even though she knew exactly who had called her name.
"Arizona," Callie answered with a small nod, when she spied the blonde.
"I just...I saw you in the line. Thought I'd say a quick hello," Arizona said awkwardly, as if they were work acquaintances who had run into each other in the grocery store rather than ex-girlfriends who hadn't seen or spoken to each other in years.
"Hello," Callie said with a smile. "I'm glad you waited."
They stood, staring at each other, each taking in the other's presence, a familiar sense of calmness washing over both of them. People bustled around them, but neither noticed. They were too busy gently scrutinizing each other, noticing the signs of slight aging since the last time they had seen each other, but both deciding that the other was just as beautiful as when they had said their tearful goodbyes. The irony that the last time they had been together was in an airport, BWI to be specific, and the first time they were seeing each other again years later was in another airport was not lost on either of them.
The sound of someone clearing her throat near them brought them out of their thoughts and they both turned to the brunette next to Arizona.
"Oh! Calliope, this is Rachel," Arizona supplied, unhelpfully refusing to say who Rachel was to her.
"Callie Torres," Callie replied with an outstretched hand.
"Ah, the famous Callie Torres," Rachel said as she grasped Callie's hand firmly in hers.
"Are you sure you don't mean infamous?"
"Quite sure," Rachel responded without missing a beat. She was smiling pleasantly, seemingly unfazed by the chance encounter with her girlfriend's ex. Sensing their need to be alone, Rachel continued, "I could just eat a soft pretzel right now. Would you like one, darling?"
Smiling at her girlfriend gratefully, Arizona shook her head. "I'm fine. I'll meet you at the gate?"
Rachel nodded and leaned in to place a gentle kiss on Arizona's lips. The kiss was clearly not meant to mark her territory - it was a kiss of familiarity - but it served to renew Callie's jealousy regardless.
Once Rachel was out of sight, the two ex-lovers returned to their staring contest, unsure what to say.
"She's nice," Callie said when she could no longer bear the awkwardness.
"Very," Arizona agreed.
"And British," Callie noted.
"Yes, I suppose that's a step in the right direction," Arizona said with a rueful chuckle.
Callie released a breathy laugh. She didn't find the particular situation all that funny, but what else was there to do but laugh? "I've, uh, I've missed you."
"Callie..." Arizona warned.
"You're right, I'm sorry. Wrong road to go down. It's just that...you look good. You seem happy."
"I am happy," Arizona said sincerely. "What about you? Are you happy?" she asked hesitantly.
"I am," Callie replied, because when it came down to it, she shouldn't complain about her life. She was unfulfilled, maybe, but she was content.
Arizona smiled at the response, wanting nothing but the best for Callie. "Where are you headed?"
"Back home. You?"
"Majorca, for a much needed vacation."
"We never got to go there," Callie mused without thinking about what she was saying.
"No, we didn't."
They fell into another silence, before Callie decided that it was all just too much to bear. "Well, I should head to my gate, I guess."
"Yeah, me too. It was good to see you, Callie. Take care of yourself," Arizona said, repeating the words she had said years ago when they parted.
"You, too," Callie said sadly. She picked up her carry on and turned to head to the correct terminal. She had only managed to walk a few steps, before she heard her name being called. Turning around, she saw Arizona rifling through her purse. She brandished a pen and a scrap of paper and scribbled something on it.
"This is my number. If you're ever in the London area again for business or whatever, give me a call. I'd love to catch up properly."
Callie took the piece of paper and smiled widely at the gesture. "I just might do that," she replied, though neither was sure whether she actually would. Callie pocketed the scrap of paper and nodded once more at her ex-girlfriend before swiveling on her heels and walking to her terminal without a backwards glance.
When she arrived at her gate, her flight was already boarding, so she quickly walked up to the attendant and handed him her boarding pass. Her mind was all over the place as she made her way down the gangplank towards the aircraft. She couldn't help but be impressed that she held it together so well. Boarding the plane, she found her business class seat easily. She fumbled with her luggage to stow it in the overhead compartment. As she did this, the piece of paper Arizona had given her fell out of her pocket. She leaned down to reach it, before taking her seat. As she went to put the paper back in her pocket, she noticed her ex's handwriting on both sides. On the back of the piece of paper, Arizona had written simply: I've missed you, too.
And with those four words, Callie's composure crumbled entirely. All of the emotions she had been ignoring, suppressing, willing to the recesses of her mind came tumbling forward. And she cried, heart-stopping gut-wrenching sobs wracking her body, until the plane touched down across the ocean at BWI airport.
o0o0o
August, 2002
"So, let me get this straight. You're telling me that your name is Arizona...and you're British?"
The young blonde woman nodded her head, a dimpled grin creeping across her face. Before she could explain, the man who'd posed the question saw his friend crossing the quad and waved her over. "Callie, come here!"
Smiling at her friend and his new acquaintance, Callie replied, "I'm here! What's up?"
"Blondie here..." Arizona rolled her eyes "...is named Arizona."
"Ooookay," Callie repsonded. Sure, the name was weird, but she didn't quite understand Mark's utter amazement.
"No, get this. She's British."
Callie quirked her head to the side, now inspecting the blonde woman next to her. "Yeah, that’s weird," she agreed.
"I'm not an exhibit in a museum," Arizona muttered indignantly. And then more loudly, “As I was going to explain to Mark here, my grandfather was one of the very few Brits at Pearl Harbor when the attack happened. He died aboard the USS Arizona.”
“Oh, well that’s less weird,” Callie said with a wink. “So, how do you know Mark?”
“He hit on me.” “She rejected me.” Arizona and Mark spoke at the same time.
Callie chuckled and turned to Arizona. “I like you already.”
Before Arizona could reply, she heard her name being called. She stepped away to speak to her friend briefly, and Mark immediately jumped on the opportunity to grab Callie’s elbow and pull her out of earshot.
“I think Blondie bats for your team,” he whispered harshly.
“Just because Arizona rejected you, you think she’s gay?”
“C’mon, Torres, look at me.” Callie raised her eyebrow incredulously. “I’m going to ask her.”
“No, Mark Sloan, no. You will do no such thing.”
“I’ll be subtle.”
Callie scoffed. “Oh, okay, you do subtle so well.”
“Just trust me,” he whispered, as Arizona walked back over to them.
“No, Mark, don’t you dare ask Arizona if - ”
“Ask me what?” Arizona asked, a sickly sweet smile plastered on her face.
“Nothing.” “Are you gay?”
“MARK! That was not subtle.”
Arizona cocked her head to the side, watching the two friends. After her outburst, Callie found the ground particularly fascinating. Mark just looked at Arizona expectantly.
“Well, Mark, to answer your entirely unsubtle and quite intrusive question, I think we may have certain interests in common.”
Callie risked a glance at the two and smiled awkwardly at Arizona in an effort not to show her true emotions.
“Meaning we both like the ladies?” Mark grinned lecherously. “Or should I say all three of us do?”
Arizona rolled her eyes as Callie punched him in the arm. “I’m sorry about him,” Callie said.
“I’m not,” Arizona replied with a wink.