Grey's Anatomy - Choices (13/23)
Title: Choices
Chapter 13/23
Authors: Faith & Kye
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: NC-17
Story Summary: Post-6x17 "Push" -- Arizona prefers chickens to children, and Callie isn't okay with that. Heartbroken and lonely, the two women try unsuccessfully to move on with their lives, only to find they really are made for eachother.
Chapter Summary: Callie meets the parents, and she and Arizona come to a final understanding.
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.
Previous Chapters
---
Callie stood in Arizona’s kitchen, looking around the blonde’s place with mild interest. Despiting being together for nearly a year, she’d only been there a handful of times, with Arizona practically living in her and Cristina’s apartment.
“Arizona, you realize there’s no food in your fridge, right? And that you’ve either been robbed, or you’re one of the only people on the planet without a TV.”
Arizona was running back and forth from her bedroom and the bathroom, trying desperately to change and wash up before they headed out to meet her parents. Since she didn’t have anything left at Callie’s, they’d stopped here on the way to the restaurant. “I’m a surgeon, Calliope. I might as well live at Seattle Grace. They have food, and I don’t have time to watch TV.”
She came bustling back out into the living room, fighting to pull a blue sweater over her head and getting it stuck halfway. “Dammit! We are gonna be so late,” she whined, clearly jittery with nerves.
Callie's hands instantly settled on the blonde's as she suddenly appeared in front of her. “Relax, honey,” she chided gently as she eased the sweater down over the other woman's head. She offered the calmest smile she could muster in that moment.
Even though she was a nervous wreck on the inside.
“They're just your parents, right?” Callie went on as she smoothed out the soft blue material. “You've known them all your life, and your dad seems like a super cool, number one father, so...you're good.”
“My mother is nothing like your mother,” Arizona stated. “Your mother is nice, sweet, and kind. Not to [i]me[/i], maybe, but still. My mother is…” She trailed off, not really knowing how to explain her mother to Callie.
“We just…we haven’t gotten along in a while. I’ve seen her once in the last two years, and she spent the whole time talking about how I should have gone into neurosurgery, because neurosurgeons are just so much better than pediatric surgeons. Seriously, Calliope. The fact that I save babies for a living isn’t good enough for the woman.” Her eyes were wide, her nostrils flared, and there was a panicky edge to her voice that Callie rarely heard from the confident, well-put-together Arizona Robbins that she knew.
Right then, another little piece of the puzzle fell into place. No wonder Arizona didn't want children. Not if that was the example of 'motherhood' she'd been given.
Callie felt a little guilty in that moment. She’d been pushing the baby thing so hard lately, without really trying to see where her girlfriend was coming from. She just couldn’t even begin to imagine how horrible it must be to feel that your own mother doesn't support you. Believe in you.
Love you.
Callie sighed as she reached up to brush back a blonde curl from the other woman's eyes. She smiled softly. “You look really amazing today.”
Arizona felt herself begin to relax almost instantly. It was funny how all it took was a few simple words from Callie, followed by a sighting of that unbelievable smile of hers, and the bats in her stomach finally started to settle down.
She found herself smiling back with ease. “You look pretty good yourself.” Arizona grasped the lapels on either side of Callie’s signature black leather jacket, giving them a slight tug. “We could just call and cancel, and…find something else to occupy our morning.”
Judging by the sexy smile she sent Callie’s way, she had more than a few ideas in mind.
Callie groaned and her eyes slipped shut. “So not helping here, Zona.” She managed a smirk as she opened them again to refocus on the soft blue staring right back at her.
Arizona gave another tug on the material held firmly in her grasp. “Then you shouldn't wear this damn jacket,” she whispered huskily as she pushed her body right up against the other woman's.
Seriously. She was surprised the fire alarm wasn't going off right now.
“I offered to let you wear it,” Callie pointed out.
Arizona lifted a brow. “Yeah,” she mused. “But only it.”
Callie's dark eyes glazed over as her smirk suddenly widened. “Yeah...”
That was an image she never wanted out of her head.
Laughing softly, Arizona stood on her toes to easily pull the other woman into a kiss. It lasted for all of five seconds, and they were just getting into it, when the cell phone on the counter started to buzz.
Emitting an annoyed grunt of disatisfaction, Arizona pulled back from the kiss. “It’s them,” she sighed, glancing over at the caller ID. She kept her grip on Callie’s jacket, however, and made no move to reach for the device. “As much as I would rather have a lobotomy, we should probably leave. Otherwise the Colonel will just break down the door and hogtie us both to the back of the car.”
Callie’s shoulders slumped. This was way more fun.
“This is way more fun,” she repeated out loud with a slight pout before reaching up to push back her long hair. It was still slightly damp from her shower.
Her solitary shower.
Not that she didn't try, but Arizona was pretty adamant about separate showers. And she was unmoveable when she was that determined about something.
“Your dad did promised me an all-star breakfast,” she finally relented as she reached up to brush another curl behind the blonde's ear. “I wouldn't want to risk missing out on that. You know how I love my bacon.”
“You do love bacon,” Arizona agreed, finding herself smiling again. She pulled Callie in for one more quick peck before releasing her completely and taking a step back. “We stay just long enough to eat, and then you send me a page under the table that I pretend is life-threatening and very important. Got it?”
Callie laughed. “You know how bad I suck at being sneaky.” She dropped her eyes down to the soft lips she had been kissing just a moment ago.
Those things should come with a warning label.
“Besides,” Callie went on with a quick shake of her head. “Pretty sure your dad would sniff it out a mile away. He seems crazy-freaky good like that.”
“Yeah,” Arizona relented, pouting a little. “Maybe Bailey would do it if I called and asked?”
Callie’s brow skyrocketed. “Bailey? Really?”
Arizona pouted some more and shifted her weight to the other foot. “Shepherd? Sloan? Anyone?”
Chuckling, Callie looped an arm through Arizona’s and tugged her toward the door. “Come on. We’ll survive.”
***
Arizona bounced nervously on the balls of her feet as they stood inside the restaurant entrance, glancing around for any sign of her mother and father.
“Maybe they’re not here yet,” she suggested a little too eagerly.
Callie looked toward the back area. “Don't get your hopes up,” she smirked as she reached up with her right hand to wave back in acknowledgment as Colonel Robbins flagged them over.
Callie kept her smile firmly in place as she reached down to take the blonde by the wrist. “Just keep smiling and don't let them see you’re nervous.” She kept her gaze locked with the Colonel's as they made their way through the narrow aisles between booths. “Parents feed on that like piranhas on fresh meat.”
Arizona grumbled under her breath as they dodged a server and slowly sifted through the crowd. “Funny, I heard an associate of hers refer to her as a shark once. I’m seeing a flesh-eating fish theme emerge here.”
If Callie hadn’t kept tugging her along, Arizona might have turned and fled for her life. But that’s probably the exact reason her dad made sure Callie came with her.
The brunette broke bones for a living. Arizona didn’t stand a chance.
“Shouldn’t I be comforting you over the terrifying notion of having breakfast with my parents? Isn’t that supposed to be normal?”
“Oh please,” Callie snorted. “Since when has our relationship been anything near normal?”
Arizona managed a tiny smirk. “Good point.”
Before either woman realized it, they were standing next to the table currently occupied by Arizona’s parents.
Callie's smile faltered a little when she looked down to meet an unfamiliar set of deep green eyes.
Eyes that were pinning her to the spot.
“H-Hello,” Dr. Torres stuttered as she nodded politely at Arizona's mother.
Daniel immediately stood up when the two ladies arrived at the table. “Hello, sweetheart,” he said to Arizona, before pulling her into a light hug. “I told your mother to be nice,” he whispered in her ear before pulling back, which made his daughter grin a little.
Mrs. Robbins also stood up, her expression unreadable as she approached both women. Callie thought that she looked exactly like a projection of Arizona thirty years in the future.
The younger blonde gulped, realizing that it really had been at least two years since they’d seen each other in person. “Mom, h-hi.” She nodded at Callie. “Mom, this is -”
“Calliope Torres, the orthopedic surgeon you’ve been seeing,” her mother finished for her, returning Callie’s polite smile. “I’ve heard a great deal about you since last night, dear. My husband is quite smitten.” She reached out to shake Callie’s hand.
Arizona shifted her weight to her other foot, eyeing the interaction warily.
Callie smiled nervously as she shifted her gaze from the woman to Daniel, then back again. “It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Robbins.”
Arizona’s mother laughed lightly. “Please, call me Maria.”
Callie swallowed back audibly. “Okay, M-Maria.”
“Ladies, please,” Daniel offered, motioning at the empty side of the booth.
They all sat back down, Arizona across from her mother on the right side of the table, and Callie across from her father on the left. Arizona shifted nervously in her seat, feeling the knot that had formed in her stomach earlier that morning twist uncomfortably.
Daniel glanced to the side at his wife, who had fallen silent, and then across at his daughter, who was just as quiet and awkward looking as her mother.
He sighed softly, then returned his attention to their guest. “So, Calliope, how is that hip holding up? Are you back on the mend or still feeling some discomfort?”
Callie's eyes widened a little.
What? No.
Oh damn.
Don't focus all the attention on her.
She didn't tend to do so well in the spotlight. Not if it was a spotlight with her ex-girlfriend's parents whom she was meeting for the first time. The very first time.
Callie swallowed back nervously. “I...I'm healing,” she finally replied as she reached down to play with her napkin. “It still kinda hurts, and we’ve just found out recently that I can't arch my back too much or-”
The sharp kick to the side of her shin beneath the table instantly shut her up.
Daniel raised a brow in confusion, and Arizona quickly jumped in. “She’s still in pain. Sleeping is hard without her prescription. But she should be a lot better in the next day or two.”
She shot Callie a look, but refrained from kicking her again.
The waiter showed up just then, saving either of them from having to continue on with that subject. They ordered their breakfast and then went back to sitting in awkward silence.
Oh, God. This was just about as bad as Arizona had imagined it. She snuck a glance up at her mother, only to find the woman watching her intently.
“So…w-what exactly brings you two to Seattle?” Arizona hedged, fiddling with her coffee mug. “It’s a little out of your way, and it just seemed kind of…sudden.”
“Not happy to see us?” Maria interjected.
Arizona winced. “No, mom, that’s not…it’s just surprising, is all.”
Daniel cleared his throat as he shifted in his chair. “Arizona,” he started softly, but there was a familiar sternness in his voice. “Your mother and I have come to town to accept an invitation to a special event.” He paused. “In two weeks.”
The blonde's brow furrowed as she searched her brain. “I don't remember seeing anything about a special event.” She turned her attention back to her squirming girlfriend. “Have you?”
“Nope,” Callie answered as she reached out for her apple juice. She smiled as she lifted the glass to her lips. “The last 'special event' we went to involved a wet t-shirt conte-” She stopped abruptly once more as another rough kick slammed into her leg, causing her to slosh a bit of juice over the sides of the glass held frozen against her lips.
Arizona fought the urge to do a faceplant into the table.
Apparently it was too much to hope for that this would go smoothly.
She took in a deep breath and released it slowly. “So, what’s this…special event, exactly?”
Arizona’s mother sat up a little straighter in her chair, fixing her daughter with a look as severe as her husband’s. “Your father has been asked to participate in Seattle’s military memorial service. We’re here for a few days to help with the planning, and we’ll be coming back for the event itself on the fifteenth.”
The chips instantly fell into place. Arizona knew why they were here, and why they hadn’t given her any warning as to their arrival. “You’ve never come out here for it before. You always go back home.” Her words were on-edge and defensive.
“And you’ve never once come with us,” Maria stated. “We expect you to be there, Arizona.”
Arizona grit her teeth and stared hard into her coffee. “I’m working.”
“No, you're not,” Callie pointed out. “Derek will give you the day off if you need to-” Once again, she stopped abruptly when Arizona shot her a deadly look.
Dammit.
Her mouth and brain were just not working together today.
Callie sighed and her brow scrunched. “Why wouldn't you want to be there?” she asked, suddenly very curious.
Arizona immediately shot Callie another dirty look. Great, just what she needed - her unlabeled-girlfriend ganging up on her along with her parents.
They’d probably end up liking Callie more than her by the end of their stay.
The blonde sighed and sat back in her seat. “I have…patients, surgeries that I’ve pushed to help take care of you the last few days,” she shot back. “I need to spend some time catching up.” She wasn’t really angry at Callie or trying to blame her for anything, she was just…feeling a little like she was about to be backed up into a wall.
She didn’t want to go. Part of her wasn’t even sure why, but…she just knew that she didn’t want to.
“Arizona,” Daniel started, his voice a little softer, though it was still clear he wasn’t leaving any room for discussion. “It’s been five years. Your mother and I expect you to attend this service with us as a family. It will take an hour, maybe two out of your Sunday.”
Arizona fidgeted in her seat uncomfortably.
“I'll go with you,” Callie offered sincerely before looking over at the Colonel. “I mean, if that's okay.”
Daniel smiled. “That would be wonderful, Calliope.”
Callie turned her dark eyes back to the familiar set of deep blue that she had so easily fallen in love with. “I'm sure Aaron would want you there.” That was kind of hitting below the belt, but she really didn't understand why Arizona didn't want to go. The way she talked about her brother, rare as that might be, Callie knew that she really, really loved him.
It wasn’t until Callie took her hand under the table that Arizona finally relented. “Okay, I’ll…I’ll try. I’ll see what I can do.”
It was that damn jacket. She’d follow Callie into a pit of dragons if she was wearing that thing.
Arizona squeezed Callie’s hand back tightly beneath the table, risking a glance over at her father. He looked pleased, but worried at the same time.
“You will be there,” her mother cut in sharply. “We didn’t fly out all this way for you to ‘try’.”
Arizona sighed again. “Yes, mother.”
Luckily, the waiter arrived with their food before the moment could become any more awkward than it already was.
Callie groaned at the sight of her steaming plate.
Thank God for bacon.
***
Callie closed her eyes as she took in a lungful of the crisp morning air. She smiled as she felt the bright sun warming her face. She had stepped outside while Arizona and her parents were busy arguing over who was going to pay the bill.
At least now she knew where the blonde got it from.
She spent a few minutes alone before Arizona finally exited the restaurant, pulling her coat on.
Looking tired, the blonde stepped up next to her and sighed heavily. “I need to cut someone open.”
Callie raised a brow and looked over.
“In a surgical way,” Arizona clarified. “Not a homicidal way. Not yet, anyway.” She groaned and stretched her neck to try and work out the kink in it. “I just need to cut.”
“Right there with ya,” Callie mused as she turned her gaze back toward the busy Seattle streets. She tucked her hands into the pockets of her jacket. “You need to talk to Derek for me.”
Arizona lifted a brow. “I do?”
Callie turned to meet curious blue eyes. “I'm dying in that apartment, Zona,” she pleaded. “I need to get back to work before I completely go crazy.”
Arizona scrutinized Callie closely, and it looked for a moment like she might argue, but instead she caved in. “You’re just going to keep escaping Mark and I if I say no, aren’t you?”
“I will climb out the fire escape and propel myself to the ground if I have to,” Callie confirmed.
Sighing, Arizona smiled slightly. “All right. I’ll tell him you want to come back early. But no major surgeries,” she quickly added, pointing a finger at Callie. “Not until you can stand up for long periods of time without pain or pain medication.” Her smile turned into a grin as she chuckled. “We can even make Little Grey push you around in a wheelchair if you need it.”
Callie snorted as she pulled the jacket tightly around herself. “I'd rather kiss Cristina.” She paused a moment. “Square on the ass.”
Arizona’s rich laughter rang out in the morning air as she linked arms with her girlfriend and headed for the car.
***
Callie grimaced in pain as she shifted her weight to remove the jacket from her shoulders.
Dammit. She thought she was over this part, but apparently she wasn't.
“Is it time for some more pills yet?” she questioned tentatively with another wince. She continued to try and remove the jacket even as it became more painful to twist the slightest amount with each passing second.
Arizona shrugged her own coat off and tossed it onto a nearby chair. “Here, let me.” She helped pull the material back off of Callie’s shoulders, then placed it on top of hers. “You sit on the couch, I’ll get you the happy pills.”
She grabbed them from the kitchen counter and filled a glass of water before shuffling over to where Callie had collapsed in a heap.
“You’re really not convincing me you’re ready to go back to work,” Arizona pointed out as she sat next to her and set both objects down on the table. “Crazed or not, you’d be better off staying here until the weekend. You aren’t scheduled again until Monday. Six days of rest will do wonders, as opposed to six days of sneaking around and straining your already sore muscles.”
Callie wanted to argue. She really, really did.
But she couldn't really do much other than whimper at the sight of said 'happy pills'. She grabbed them, popped them into her mouth, and took a greedy helping of cold water.
Callie released a satisfied moan as she handed the glass to her lover before dropping her head back onto the couch. She closed her eyes, whining pitifully. “I hate it when you're right,” she mumbled as she squeezed her eyes shut just a little bit tighter.
“We've been over this,” Arizona said as she turned to set the glass aside. “I'm not always right.” She glanced back at the brunette with a bright, innocent smile. “I'm just never wrong.”
Callie peeked one eye open. “Sometimes I need boots to listen to you, woman.”
Arizona grinned and pulled her feet up onto the couch beneath her. “Deep down in your heart of hearts, you know it’s true.”
She reached over and brushed a strand of dark hair back from the side of Callie’s face. “Thanks for coming with me today. It means a lot.” More than Arizona could ever put into words. “And I’m sorry things were…awkward between my mom and I. It was a train wreck you really didn’t need to see.”
Callie sighed as she reached over to place her hand on the other woman's knee. She didn't even really do it consciously, just out of habit.
“Like you're the first ever daughter that doesn't get along with her mother?” Callie pointed out, watching the look change in those deep blue eyes. “Besides,” she went on as she closed her own and dipped her head back again. “You dealt with my father and his...issues. This makes us even.”
“Sounds good,” Arizona chuckled. She rested her head against the back of the couch as well, though her eyes stayed open as she watched Callie closely.
She’d really never met anyone more beautiful in her entire life.
“By the way,” she started, a small smile dancing over her lips. “When we were waiting by the car, my father pulled me aside and threatened to bash my skull in if I didn’t find a way to work things out with you.” Arizona reached down to place her hand over the one Callie had resting on her knee. “I told him I’m working on it.”
Callie smirked, but kept her eyes closed. “I highly doubt your dad threatened to bash in your anything. You’re his little girl.”
Arizona sighed. “Well, he didn't use those exact words,” she admitted. “But I got the gist of it.”
Callie chuckled. “I'm sure you did.” A few moments passed before she finally felt the pain meds start to kick in. She slowly blinked her eyes open. “I'm glad you're working on it,” she added quietly as her smile grew a bit hazy. “Though I'd rather you be working on me right now.”
Arizona laughed and squeezed Callie’s hand again. “If you would just hurry up and heal, I could have probably already had you naked and upside down by now.” She grinned and brought the back of Callie’s hand up to her lips. “Better get well soon. Two failed attempts at sex is starting to give me a complex.”
“You’re bad,” Callie giggled. “We’re not even supposed to be having sex anymore.”
“I’ve just about given up with that whole crazy idea,” Arizona admitted. Her smile softened a bit. “If we were really over, we’d be in the awkward ‘avoiding eachother like the chicken pox’ phase. Which we clearly aren’t, so…I like to think of it more as if we’re in ‘limbo’, or something.”
“Purgatory?” Callie suggested with a raised brow.
“Kind of,” Arizona mused. “Which is better than avoidy-plague, don’t you think? At least purgatory includes occasional forbidden kisses and supply closet sex.”
Callie smiled hazily. “Both of which I'm kinda fond of,” she admitted with a slow lick of her bottom lip. She was still feeling the pills as she slowly trailed her eyes over the blonde's form. “Did I tell you how...delicious you look today?”
There was no doubt that the pain pills had kicked in. However, the slow, sultry smile that spread across the brunette's lips conveyed her efforts to fight through it.
Arizona’s cheeks flushed with colour. “Don’t look at me like that.”
Callie’s smile widened. “Like what?”
“Like I’m a piece of meat you’re about to devour,” the blonde retorted with a grin of her own. “You need a nap, for your own good. And mine.”
She slid off of the couch and reached down to help pull Callie to her feet. “You just need to hang in there for six more days, then you can get back to cutting people open, fixing bones and…other stuff.” Arizona blushed again, inadvertently conveying what that ‘other stuff’ might be.
Callie groaned and pouted. “Six days?” she repeated, drawing the words out a little. “That's like...” It was really hard to think when her brain was under the influence of those nice, strong 'happy pills'.
“That's alotta days,” she went on as she felt herself being tugged toward the hall. “Do I have to?”
“Yes,” Arizona replied firmly. “I will lock you in this apartment if I have to. Trust me, you’ll thank me by the end. You’ll feel ninety nine percent better and actually enjoy standing on your feet again.”
She lead Callie into the bedroom, had her sit down on the bed, and knelt at her feet to help pull off her shoes and socks. Glancing up, the blonde smiled warmly. “I’m sure there will be a pile of broken bones to fix when you get back. As well as your cartilage-in-a-bottle project. You’ll be plenty busy in no time.”
Callie sighed at the possibility.
It wasn't really so much work that she missed. There were...'other' things. Other things that she'd really much rather being doing again. She loved her work, no doubt.
But she loved 'other' things too. Maybe just a smidge more.
Could be because they usually involved a naked Arizona Robbins writhing beneath her in bed.
“Are you gonna lay here with me?” Callie asked softly as she yawned and reached up to brush a hand down over her face.
Arizona paused as she pulled off Callie’s first sock. “If you want me to.” She had actually been planning on going into work and hitching onto the first surgery she could get her hands on, just so she could operate again.
Her parents had that effect on her.
But how could she resist such a request coming from a cute, exhausted, sexy woman?
“I really should start keeping a change of clothes here again,” Arizona smirked. She helped Callie slide up on the bed and lay back against the pillows before she sat next to her on the edge and began to pull her own boots off. “Somehow I still manage to spend more time here than my actual apartment.” Not that she minded in the least.
“That's ‘cause here is so much cooler,” Callie instantly replied before she let out another yawn. She glanced over with hooded eyes to watch as the blonde worked off her boots. “You could just not wear clothes.”
Arizona stopped mid-motion to very slowly shoot the brunette a glare over her shoulder.
“Yeah,” Callie laughed softly. “Didn't think so.” Her cute smile remained. “Can't blame a girl for tryin'.”
Arizona shook her head with a short laugh. “I might consider it,” she teased. “Except that Mark Sloan has a key, and he’s already seen me partially naked enough times for one lifespan.”
Sighing, Arizona once again crawled over Callie to collapse onto the right side of the bed. She found herself a lot more exhausted than she had thought.
Once again, her parents tended to do that to her.
The blonde snuggled up against Callie’s side, wrapping her left arm across the brunette’s stomach and resting her head on the pillow next to the splay of messy dark hair. “I like it better here, though. Comfier bed, better pillows…not to mention you.”
Callie smiled sleepily. “Good answer.”
***
Deep brown eyes slowly blinked open in the darkness. It took her a moment or two, but Callie was finally able to fight through the pull of returning to sleep. She reached up with a soft groan to rub at her eyes with the back of her hand, and took in a heavy breath as she tried to wake her body from slumber.
Callie was fully expecting to roll over and find that Arizona had gone, but to her delighted surprise, she could still feel the warm weight of another person lying in bed next to her. She smiled softly as she closed her eyes through a sleepy yawn.
Arizona was always so...warm. Comfy.
Warm and comfy.
Laying down face-first, Arizona was dead to the world as she snored softly into the bed sheets, her head half-buried under the pillow.
This bed was definitely better than her own.
It wasn’t until she felt lips pressed softly against the side of her neck that she began to stir.
A slow smile appeared over her own and she gave a tired groan. Her left arm snaked out from beneath her own body to slide around Callie’s waist.
Arizona was vaguely aware that at some point during the last few hours, she’d lost her pants.
Nobody in their right mind liked sleeping in tight jeans.
“You smell good,” Arizona murmured into the sheets, her eyes still closed, the rest of her unmoving.
Callie placed another slow kiss against warm flesh. “You taste good,” she whispered huskily before placing yet another one below the blonde’s ear. She groaned again as she very gently shifted her weight. She just wanted to feel...
More.
More warmth. More skin.
More Arizona.
This was definitely the best possible way to wake up. Arizona groaned softly again and rolled over onto her back. She immediately felt the weight of Callie’s body settle down on top of her, and her arms automatically encircled the brunette’s body.
Bad, bad, bad. Again.
God. They really couldn’t keep their hands off of each other even if they wanted to.
Which, clearly, neither of them did.
Arizona finally peeked both eyes open, taking a second for them to adjust to the darkness as she gazed up into Callie’s soft brown ones.
“Hi,” she whispered in a hoarse, sleepy voice.
“Less talking,” Callie instantly husked as she shifted her right arm against the bed. Her fingers pushed deeply into silky blonde hair. “More kissing,” she whispered again before leaning down to pull Arizona back into a kiss.
Arizona let out a surprised moaned when she felt Callie slowly ease her tongue into her mouth.
That woman could kiss like a Goddess.
She closed her eyes and leaned up into it, allowing herself to get completely lost in Callie’s lips.
It wasn’t hard.
Arizona slipped her right hand just beneath the hem of Callie’s shirt, brushing her fingers very softly against the small of her back, avoiding the sore spots. Her other moved up to grasp the back of the brunette’s neck, burrowing her fingers into the soft, fine hairs at the base.
Another soft moan escaped Arizona’s lips as her tongue brushed against her lover’s. She could feel her heart pounding against the inside of her chest, and she suddenly felt more awake than she had in days.
Callie groaned into the intimate contact as she tried to settle herself on top of the blonde's body. She pulled back from Arizona's lips just far enough to whisper, “Open your legs a little.”
Arizona hesitated for the obvious reasons.
But still...
The sound of Callie's voice when she whispered like that...
The brunette furrowed her brow. “What's wrong?” she asked quietly, her fingers gently playing with the other woman's hair.
Arizona swallowed back, her lips parting ever so slightly as she debated what to say.
The rational part of her brain was telling her that they should definitely not go there again.
But Arizona always listened to the rational part of her brain, for the most part. So it wouldn’t feel too left out if she ignored it.
Just this once.
“Nothing,” she replied after a moment. She shifted and parted her legs for Callie to settle in comfortably. Her right leg hooked up over the brunette’s hip, and her foot brushed sensually down the back of her thigh.
Arizona chuckled when Callie groaned softly, and leaned up to steal another kiss as the brunette settled her weight a little more fully on top of the warm body beneath her.
Wrong or not, neither of them planned on stopping any time soon.
It took a minute for Arizona to realize that she was literally dizzy from the lack of oxygen. She broke lip contact with Callie, and for a second their heavy breathing was the only sound in the room.
Arizona forced her eyes open and shot a breathless grin up at her partner, both arms curving behind the woman’s neck. “God, I’ve missed this…” She shivered beneath the body on top of her.
“I've missed you,” Callie instantly replied with another soft, husky whisper.
And God, had she. There was no other feeling in the world like the one she was experiencing right now.
Arizona was completely and totally the love of her life. She didn't have a single doubt about that. Not anymore.
Not after this. After...everything.
Callie hugged a little tighter against the other woman's body.
Oh, how she'd missed this.
Arizona closed her eyes as Callie burrowed into her neck. She gently stroked the back of her hair, and kissed softly against her ear. “I love you.”
Those three little words were almost enough to make Callie's heart stop beating.
“Love you, too,” the brunette whispered as she turned her lips to press them gently against Arizona’s neck. Her right hand slipped up the smooth skin on the blonde’s side, carefully pulling the edge of her sweater up along with it.
Arizona shivered beneath Callie’s touch, and tangled her fingers back into dark curls. Callie knew how sensitive she was there, and always used that fact to her advantage.
The blonde bit her lower lip as nimble fingers teased against the skin on her upper ribcage, causing goosebumps to rise. “Naughty,” she accused with a breathless grin, clearly not minding the misdemeanor.
Callie lifted an eyebrow slowly, her smile forming into a sultry smirk. “It really has been a long time, huh?” Her fingers moved a little higher on her lover’s side, and then over to the left.
She leaned down to place her lips next to Arizona’s ear. “I'm not even close to naughty.” Her hand found the object it was seeking, and then gave a soft squeeze. “Yet.”
Arizona groaned against Callie’s ear. “You have no idea how long,” she admitted with a husky laugh.
Oh yeah. Long enough for them both to be vibrating with the urge to rip into each other almost every time they made eye contact these days.
It would have been pathetic if it weren’t so unbelievably hot between them.
Another careful squeeze against her breast made Arizona gasp softly once more. “Calliope…”
Callie smirked, her lips still pressed against the blonde's ear. “Forgot how much you like that.” So she did it again, her thumb flicking teasingly across a hard nipple.
She was rewarded with another sharp gasp, the smaller body beneath her arching up into the touch.
Callie groaned as she shifted her weight. She paused when she felt a sharp twinge in the small of her back. Gritting her teeth, she forced it down.
No way was her stupid back going to ruin this.
Not again.
It didn’t go unnoticed by Arizona, however. She gently cupped the side of Callie’s face in her left hand and moved her back enough to make eye contact.
“I’m fine,” Callie stated.
Arizona raised an eyebrow, but she smiled a little. “I’m sure you are.” She leaned up to steal a quick, light kiss. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself, baby.”
Callie smiled. “I love when you say that.”
“That I don't want you to hurt yourself?”
“When you call me 'baby',” Callie instantly replied, her smile softening as she gazed down into blue eyes.
Arizona smiled back, stealing another quick taste of Callie’s delicious lips.
“I’ll make a mental note to use it more often,” she teased lightly. Another groan rumbled up from her chest when Callie’s hand kneaded her breast once more. “Y-you’re changing the subject.”
Callie grinned and nipped lightly at the underside of Arizona’s jawline. “No, I’m feeling you up.”
“Same thing,” Arizona pointed out, though her voice was shaky.
Callie bit her bottom lip as she continued to knead her hand beneath the blonde’s shirt.
Fuck, how she'd missed these. Er...[i]this[/i].
And...seriously?
Why did it take her so long to jump the train to sapphic-land?
Everything was just so much...softer. Warmer. Smoother.
Arizona pulled Callie back into a deep kiss, moaning against her lips as the brunette’s thumb tortured her already sensitive nipple. She snaked her bare right leg around Callie’s hip and tugged her in nice and close.
“What’s a girl gotta do to get you to take off your pants?”
Callie groaned and closed her eyes. The feeling of Arizona's leg around her hip-
-was very, excruciatingly painful.
Brown eyes widened as a sharp pain jolted through her hip to spread out into the rest of her body. She winced, gritting her teeth against the sudden stab.
Oh for the love of...
One break. Just one...fucking break. That’s all she asked for.
“Oh!” Arizona retracted her leg instantly, looking at Callie with wide eyes. “Oh God, I did it again.” She slapped a hand to her forehead.
This time, she literally was going to develop a complex.
Wincing for Callie’s sake, Arizona just kind of…lay there for a moment, not touching with legs nor hands for fear of crippling the poor woman. “You should just chain me to a wall, somewhere far away where I don’t let my sex drive override my common sense. I’m so sorry.”
Callie smirked, despite her discomfort. “I'm down with the chains.”
Arizona smacked her hard in the side.
Callie groaned again, wincing when another sharp pain shot up her spine.
Arizona's eyes widened as her entire body tensed. “I'm never touching you again.”
The brunette fought through her issues just to offer the woman beneath her a tense, but genuine smile. “Well, that's just not gonna work for me.” She gingerly shifted her weight onto her left arm as she reached down to take the blonde's wrist with her right hand. She was instantly met with resistance, but she kept tugging anyway.
A moment of battling, and then Arizona found her hand resting on her partner’s warm side.
“See?” Callie offered softly. “No pain.”
Arizona still looked strained, and she was extra careful to not let her hand so much as twitch. “Careful. I might suddenly decide that clawing at you is a smart idea.”
Callie responded with a wide smirk. “Promise?”
Arizona groaned and dropped her head back down onto the pillow, though she didn’t move her hand from the smooth skin. Her fingertips gently massaged where they touched, and her blue eyes gazed warily upward.
“This is torture. Not being able to…without…this is torture.”
“It's not exactly a sunny picnic in the park for me,” Callie shot back, but there was no anger or even annoyance in her voice.
Just...sadness. Maybe a little disappointment.
Because she loved nothing better than Arizona touching her. Nothing.
Callie moaned in defeat as she slowly and carefully moved off the blonde's prone form to fall over onto the other side of the bed. She closed her eyes with another heavy sigh.
Arizona tapped her fingers against her stomach, staring intently at the ceiling while she did her best to ignore the raging libido Callie had ignited.
This really sucked.
“We can make it six days,” she stated in an even tone. “Really. We’re grown ups. Adults, even. We have self control. We can not do…this for a few days.”
Callie rolled her head to look at Arizona. “Who are you trying to convince here?”
Arizona’s fingers stopped their tapping.
“Besides,” Callie added with a slight smirk. “Thought we were broken-up?” She shifted a little on the bed.
Arizona wasn't the only one that got...'ignited'.
“Doesn't that usually mean no sex?”
“Usually,” Arizona admitted. “Technically.” She turned her head to meet Callie’s smirk with a perplexed stare. “Hey, you jumped me, remember? I was sleeping all innocently until you got all…sexy.”
“As opposed to you crying on my shoulder and giving me that smoldering look you know I can’t resist?” Callie shot back. “That time was so your fault.”
Arizona placed a hand on her chest and scoffed. “Me? Oh please, don’t even. Do I even need to bring up the chicken salad incident?”
They stared at one another for a long moment, and Arizona swallowed back hard as that familiar heat began to fill the space between them once more.
Oh, crap.
Arizona sat up abruptly and stared at the opposite wall. “Okay. I need to go. Otherwise…I-I need to go.”
“Please don't,” Callie protested as she reached over to gently place the very tips of her fingers against the blonde's lower back. “I always sleep so much better with you beside me,” she added after a moment.
A slight smile graced her lips. “I promise not to get all 'sexy' again.”
Yeah. Sure.
Even she didn't believe that one.
Arizona turned to look down at Callie, scrutinizing her closely.
Because she knew that if Callie did get all sexy again…she’d be hard pressed to resist.
Especially with the fresh memory of waking up to a gorgeous woman kissing her neck still burned into her brain.
Crap.
Sighing, she nodded, but slipped off of the bed anyway. “Okay. But I’m borrowing some of your pajamas, and staying fully clothed the rest of the night. So are you.”
Callie smirked. “Anything you say.” She paused to trail her gaze over the blonde's half-naked form. “Sexy.”
Arizona narrowed her eyes at the other woman.
Callie chuckled softly as she moved to stretch out on the bed, tucking her arms behind her head and crossing her ankles. She nodded at the large dresser lining the opposite wall. “You know where I keep 'em.” She slowly trailed her tongue along her bottom lip.
Both women knew Arizona would have to walk around the entire bed to get to the dresser.
Which, in turn, would give Callie the perfect view.
Arizona glanced from Callie, to the dresser, then back again.
Double crap.
She stooped to pick up her jeans from the floor, and tried to hide herself the best she could as she stalked across the room to dig for a spare change of pajamas.
She heard Callie chuckle from her reclined perch on the bed. “Mark was right. You do have a great ass. And wicked legs.”
Arizona blushed furiously and dug more frantically through the first drawer for some form of pants. “You’re pure evil, you know that?”
Callie continued to look like a kid at Disneyland, clearly enjoying giving the blonde a hard time. “Seriously, Zona. The cartoon underwear is adorable.”
Arizona snatched the first pair of pants she found and whirled to face Callie, trying to cover herself with the black material. “Okay. You…you…” After a moment of floundering for words, Arizona gave up with a huffy sigh and hurriedly tried to pull the pants on, stumbling a bit. “Okay. Fine. I’m sleeping on the couch.” Still trying to pull them up her legs, she tripped on her way to the door, hobbling and clearly very worked up.
“Hey,” Callie pouted, sitting up, watching her. “I thought you were going to stay.”
“No,” Arizona shot back, stopping in the doorway as she finally successfully got the pants on. “Because if I stay, I’m probably gonna end up ripping your clothes off. And if I do that, I’ll probably put you in a coma. So no, I’m sleeping on the couch until you’re mobile again. For both our sakes.”
Callie sighed heavily. “For the love of...” She dropped back onto the bed as she reached up to run a hand down her face. “Fine. I don't know about you,” she went on after pausing for another moment, “but I think I can handle a few hours together. In a bed.” She finally turned her head to meet the soft blue gaze. “Without wanting to...” she trailed off as she arched a brow. “...'rip your clothes off'.”
Callie smirked a little at the sudden harsh glare she received in return.
Honestly? Sometimes she did or said things just to get Arizona to look at her like that.
It was kinda...hot.
Arizona was always hot, but moreso when she was angry. Or even at least a little upset.
Really hot.
Planting boths hands on her hips, Arizona fixed Callie with that glare and kept it on her. “You’re baiting me.”
Callie blinked without answering.
Arizona stared for a moment longer, before her shoulders sagged. She still looked annoyed.
Maybe not annoyed. Just…frustrated.
In more ways than one.
“Fine. You win.” Sending a bright and extremely fake smile in Callie’s direction, she shuffled back over to her side of the bed, picked up the covers, and slid underneath them. Her head hit the pillow next to Callie’s, and she stared holes up into the ceiling while keeping her hands folded tightly over her stomach.
Meanwhile, her heart was still pounding away in her chest, and she took in a deep breath to calm it down.
Callie's smile had long ago faded as she watched the blonde's tense movements. She wanted to reach over to offer a hand of comfort, but she wasn't sure if that would be considered 'sexy' or not.
The brunette chewed on her bottom lip in thought for a long, silent moment.
But her strong desire to comfort, to touch, Arizona finally won out. She reached over with a shaking hand to place it gently on the other woman's hip. “I'm not trying to win,” she finally spoke softly. “I just want...” She trailed off, pausing to swallow back.
What did she want?
So many things. All of which seemed to have the central theme of the woman currently laying in her bed.
“I just want you next to me,” Callie finally settled on, her voice quiet and tentative.
Arizona closed her eyes and released a slow, heavy breath. “I know. I’m sorry.” She opened them again and turned onto her side to face Callie. With an apologetic smile, she reached over to tuck a lock of hair behind the brunette’s ear. “Momentary wig-out. My bad.”
It still wasn’t easy being near Callie like this and knowing she shouldn’t be…near Callie.
But…
She moved a bit closer and slinked an arm around the woman’s waist once more, then gently rested her forehead against Callie’s.
This was kinda nice, too.
The brunette closed her eyes as she pulled in a deep breath. “Mmm,” she moaned appreciatively after a second. “You smell good.”
Arizona was the only person she'd slept with that could wake up in the morning and still smell so good, no matter what.
Callie opened her dark brown eyes, sighing softly again. “You're all warm and fuzzy, too,” she teased as she reached up with her right hand to run it along the smooth plane of the other woman's back.
“I work with children,” Arizona replied with a teasing grin of her own. “My natural disposition has to be ‘warm and fuzzy’.” She chuckled and snuggled in closer against Callie. “I’m also still wearing my merino wool sweater.”
The royal blue one that she wore because Callie had told her she liked it. It wasn’t the best sleepwear, but she had worn it out to breakfast earlier.
The brunette hummed softly. “So I noticed,” she whispered, her smile growing just a little. She kinda knew Arizona wore it because she liked it.
Not so much for the material, but the color just made Arizona's eyes...
Irresistable.
“Your eyes look amazing tonight,” Callie whispered softly as she gazed into them, her fingers continuing to stroke along her lover’s side.
Arizona blushed and looked away a little shyly. “Verging on being naughty,” she pointed out weakly.
“You really can’t take a compliment, can you?” Callie pointed out with a smirk.
“Not really,” Arizona admitted. She leaned in to give Callie another soft kiss.
Not in a ‘sexy, gonna rip your clothes off now’ way, just a…soft kiss. Because it felt good, and because she wanted to.
And Callie wanted her to want to. It just so happened that kissing Arizona was right up there on her list of 'favorite things to do repeatedly in the same day'.
Go figure.
Callie sighed when she felt the blonde slowly retract her lips from the kiss. If it were up to her, that's all she'd ever do for the rest of her life. “I miss you so much,” she suddenly admitted as she felt her bottom lip begin to quiver. She blinked back tears as she gazed up the short distance into shining blue eyes.
Arizona felt her heart break in her chest. She couldn’t stand to see a woman cry, and when that woman happened to be Calliope Torres...
“I’m right here,” she whispered back, brushing a stray tear away with her thumb as it escaped down Callie’s cheek. “Not leaving any time soon.”
Anyone on the outside looking in might not see the difference between how they were before and after the supposed ‘break up’. But the two of them, they knew. Knew that their days were limited, that their relationship had an expiration date.
Callie wanted kids, and as hard as Arizona tried to want the same thing…she was still nowhere near sure that she could give that life to her. Sooner or later, they would have to face that fact.
But, it wasn’t ‘sooner’. Because ‘later’ meant that they could deal with it at a time that wasn’t right now.
“I know,” Callie finally sighed, pausing to swallow back. “But,” she started again with a soft whimper. “But it's not the same.” There was a slight crack in her voice. Her fingers dug a little deeper into the material of the blonde's shirt as she held the warm body against her own.
If it was up to her...if it was really up to her, she'd never let go.
Never.
“I want you to change your mind,” she continued in a hoarse whisper. “I want you to want to raise a family with me. But at the same time, I-I don’t want you to change who you are because of me. I don’t want you to ever resent t-this."
Arizona’s lips parted, but she couldn’t find the words to comfort Callie.
Because she knew there were none.
“It...it hurts,” Callie added quietly after a moment, still gazing into those blue eyes she loved so much. “I want you so badly, but w-we just...we’re not...”
Arizona immediately pulled Callie in close. She rested her cheek on top of her lover’s head as she burrowed against Arizona’s chest and cried. She hugged the brunette tightly, never wanting to let go.
But, now she knew that she had to. Let go. Even though it might kill her to do so.
For Callie’s sake…she had to let her go.
The longer this went on, the harder they’d both fall in the end. And Arizona knew she’d already hurt her enough for one lifetime.
So…she was gonna let go for her. For real this time. No matter how painful it was. No more faking it.
Arizona closed her eyes and ran her hand over Callie’s back soothingly. “It’s okay,” she whispered, pressing her lips against the other woman’s temple. “It’ll be okay.”
But for tonight…tonight, she wasn’t going anywhere.
Just for tonight.
***
This time, Callie didn't want to open her eyes.
She didn't want to open them because she knew. She knew Arizona wouldn't be there.
She was still fighting through the haze of sleep the next morning, but her mind had never really gone completely. After such an emotional night, her body was exhausted but her mind, and her heart, were too afraid to let her turn over.
Because she knew.
Callie squeezed her eyes shut tightly, a single tear escaping as she kept herself balled up tightly on her left side.
She didn't dare open her eyes, because she knew.
This time, Arizona wouldn’t be there.
And she wasn’t.
---
A/N: We really-really mean it this time. Really for-real...really.
Chapter 13/23
Authors: Faith & Kye
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: NC-17
Story Summary: Post-6x17 "Push" -- Arizona prefers chickens to children, and Callie isn't okay with that. Heartbroken and lonely, the two women try unsuccessfully to move on with their lives, only to find they really are made for eachother.
Chapter Summary: Callie meets the parents, and she and Arizona come to a final understanding.
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.
Previous Chapters
---
Callie stood in Arizona’s kitchen, looking around the blonde’s place with mild interest. Despiting being together for nearly a year, she’d only been there a handful of times, with Arizona practically living in her and Cristina’s apartment.
“Arizona, you realize there’s no food in your fridge, right? And that you’ve either been robbed, or you’re one of the only people on the planet without a TV.”
Arizona was running back and forth from her bedroom and the bathroom, trying desperately to change and wash up before they headed out to meet her parents. Since she didn’t have anything left at Callie’s, they’d stopped here on the way to the restaurant. “I’m a surgeon, Calliope. I might as well live at Seattle Grace. They have food, and I don’t have time to watch TV.”
She came bustling back out into the living room, fighting to pull a blue sweater over her head and getting it stuck halfway. “Dammit! We are gonna be so late,” she whined, clearly jittery with nerves.
Callie's hands instantly settled on the blonde's as she suddenly appeared in front of her. “Relax, honey,” she chided gently as she eased the sweater down over the other woman's head. She offered the calmest smile she could muster in that moment.
Even though she was a nervous wreck on the inside.
“They're just your parents, right?” Callie went on as she smoothed out the soft blue material. “You've known them all your life, and your dad seems like a super cool, number one father, so...you're good.”
“My mother is nothing like your mother,” Arizona stated. “Your mother is nice, sweet, and kind. Not to [i]me[/i], maybe, but still. My mother is…” She trailed off, not really knowing how to explain her mother to Callie.
“We just…we haven’t gotten along in a while. I’ve seen her once in the last two years, and she spent the whole time talking about how I should have gone into neurosurgery, because neurosurgeons are just so much better than pediatric surgeons. Seriously, Calliope. The fact that I save babies for a living isn’t good enough for the woman.” Her eyes were wide, her nostrils flared, and there was a panicky edge to her voice that Callie rarely heard from the confident, well-put-together Arizona Robbins that she knew.
Right then, another little piece of the puzzle fell into place. No wonder Arizona didn't want children. Not if that was the example of 'motherhood' she'd been given.
Callie felt a little guilty in that moment. She’d been pushing the baby thing so hard lately, without really trying to see where her girlfriend was coming from. She just couldn’t even begin to imagine how horrible it must be to feel that your own mother doesn't support you. Believe in you.
Love you.
Callie sighed as she reached up to brush back a blonde curl from the other woman's eyes. She smiled softly. “You look really amazing today.”
Arizona felt herself begin to relax almost instantly. It was funny how all it took was a few simple words from Callie, followed by a sighting of that unbelievable smile of hers, and the bats in her stomach finally started to settle down.
She found herself smiling back with ease. “You look pretty good yourself.” Arizona grasped the lapels on either side of Callie’s signature black leather jacket, giving them a slight tug. “We could just call and cancel, and…find something else to occupy our morning.”
Judging by the sexy smile she sent Callie’s way, she had more than a few ideas in mind.
Callie groaned and her eyes slipped shut. “So not helping here, Zona.” She managed a smirk as she opened them again to refocus on the soft blue staring right back at her.
Arizona gave another tug on the material held firmly in her grasp. “Then you shouldn't wear this damn jacket,” she whispered huskily as she pushed her body right up against the other woman's.
Seriously. She was surprised the fire alarm wasn't going off right now.
“I offered to let you wear it,” Callie pointed out.
Arizona lifted a brow. “Yeah,” she mused. “But only it.”
Callie's dark eyes glazed over as her smirk suddenly widened. “Yeah...”
That was an image she never wanted out of her head.
Laughing softly, Arizona stood on her toes to easily pull the other woman into a kiss. It lasted for all of five seconds, and they were just getting into it, when the cell phone on the counter started to buzz.
Emitting an annoyed grunt of disatisfaction, Arizona pulled back from the kiss. “It’s them,” she sighed, glancing over at the caller ID. She kept her grip on Callie’s jacket, however, and made no move to reach for the device. “As much as I would rather have a lobotomy, we should probably leave. Otherwise the Colonel will just break down the door and hogtie us both to the back of the car.”
Callie’s shoulders slumped. This was way more fun.
“This is way more fun,” she repeated out loud with a slight pout before reaching up to push back her long hair. It was still slightly damp from her shower.
Her solitary shower.
Not that she didn't try, but Arizona was pretty adamant about separate showers. And she was unmoveable when she was that determined about something.
“Your dad did promised me an all-star breakfast,” she finally relented as she reached up to brush another curl behind the blonde's ear. “I wouldn't want to risk missing out on that. You know how I love my bacon.”
“You do love bacon,” Arizona agreed, finding herself smiling again. She pulled Callie in for one more quick peck before releasing her completely and taking a step back. “We stay just long enough to eat, and then you send me a page under the table that I pretend is life-threatening and very important. Got it?”
Callie laughed. “You know how bad I suck at being sneaky.” She dropped her eyes down to the soft lips she had been kissing just a moment ago.
Those things should come with a warning label.
“Besides,” Callie went on with a quick shake of her head. “Pretty sure your dad would sniff it out a mile away. He seems crazy-freaky good like that.”
“Yeah,” Arizona relented, pouting a little. “Maybe Bailey would do it if I called and asked?”
Callie’s brow skyrocketed. “Bailey? Really?”
Arizona pouted some more and shifted her weight to the other foot. “Shepherd? Sloan? Anyone?”
Chuckling, Callie looped an arm through Arizona’s and tugged her toward the door. “Come on. We’ll survive.”
***
Arizona bounced nervously on the balls of her feet as they stood inside the restaurant entrance, glancing around for any sign of her mother and father.
“Maybe they’re not here yet,” she suggested a little too eagerly.
Callie looked toward the back area. “Don't get your hopes up,” she smirked as she reached up with her right hand to wave back in acknowledgment as Colonel Robbins flagged them over.
Callie kept her smile firmly in place as she reached down to take the blonde by the wrist. “Just keep smiling and don't let them see you’re nervous.” She kept her gaze locked with the Colonel's as they made their way through the narrow aisles between booths. “Parents feed on that like piranhas on fresh meat.”
Arizona grumbled under her breath as they dodged a server and slowly sifted through the crowd. “Funny, I heard an associate of hers refer to her as a shark once. I’m seeing a flesh-eating fish theme emerge here.”
If Callie hadn’t kept tugging her along, Arizona might have turned and fled for her life. But that’s probably the exact reason her dad made sure Callie came with her.
The brunette broke bones for a living. Arizona didn’t stand a chance.
“Shouldn’t I be comforting you over the terrifying notion of having breakfast with my parents? Isn’t that supposed to be normal?”
“Oh please,” Callie snorted. “Since when has our relationship been anything near normal?”
Arizona managed a tiny smirk. “Good point.”
Before either woman realized it, they were standing next to the table currently occupied by Arizona’s parents.
Callie's smile faltered a little when she looked down to meet an unfamiliar set of deep green eyes.
Eyes that were pinning her to the spot.
“H-Hello,” Dr. Torres stuttered as she nodded politely at Arizona's mother.
Daniel immediately stood up when the two ladies arrived at the table. “Hello, sweetheart,” he said to Arizona, before pulling her into a light hug. “I told your mother to be nice,” he whispered in her ear before pulling back, which made his daughter grin a little.
Mrs. Robbins also stood up, her expression unreadable as she approached both women. Callie thought that she looked exactly like a projection of Arizona thirty years in the future.
The younger blonde gulped, realizing that it really had been at least two years since they’d seen each other in person. “Mom, h-hi.” She nodded at Callie. “Mom, this is -”
“Calliope Torres, the orthopedic surgeon you’ve been seeing,” her mother finished for her, returning Callie’s polite smile. “I’ve heard a great deal about you since last night, dear. My husband is quite smitten.” She reached out to shake Callie’s hand.
Arizona shifted her weight to her other foot, eyeing the interaction warily.
Callie smiled nervously as she shifted her gaze from the woman to Daniel, then back again. “It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Robbins.”
Arizona’s mother laughed lightly. “Please, call me Maria.”
Callie swallowed back audibly. “Okay, M-Maria.”
“Ladies, please,” Daniel offered, motioning at the empty side of the booth.
They all sat back down, Arizona across from her mother on the right side of the table, and Callie across from her father on the left. Arizona shifted nervously in her seat, feeling the knot that had formed in her stomach earlier that morning twist uncomfortably.
Daniel glanced to the side at his wife, who had fallen silent, and then across at his daughter, who was just as quiet and awkward looking as her mother.
He sighed softly, then returned his attention to their guest. “So, Calliope, how is that hip holding up? Are you back on the mend or still feeling some discomfort?”
Callie's eyes widened a little.
What? No.
Oh damn.
Don't focus all the attention on her.
She didn't tend to do so well in the spotlight. Not if it was a spotlight with her ex-girlfriend's parents whom she was meeting for the first time. The very first time.
Callie swallowed back nervously. “I...I'm healing,” she finally replied as she reached down to play with her napkin. “It still kinda hurts, and we’ve just found out recently that I can't arch my back too much or-”
The sharp kick to the side of her shin beneath the table instantly shut her up.
Daniel raised a brow in confusion, and Arizona quickly jumped in. “She’s still in pain. Sleeping is hard without her prescription. But she should be a lot better in the next day or two.”
She shot Callie a look, but refrained from kicking her again.
The waiter showed up just then, saving either of them from having to continue on with that subject. They ordered their breakfast and then went back to sitting in awkward silence.
Oh, God. This was just about as bad as Arizona had imagined it. She snuck a glance up at her mother, only to find the woman watching her intently.
“So…w-what exactly brings you two to Seattle?” Arizona hedged, fiddling with her coffee mug. “It’s a little out of your way, and it just seemed kind of…sudden.”
“Not happy to see us?” Maria interjected.
Arizona winced. “No, mom, that’s not…it’s just surprising, is all.”
Daniel cleared his throat as he shifted in his chair. “Arizona,” he started softly, but there was a familiar sternness in his voice. “Your mother and I have come to town to accept an invitation to a special event.” He paused. “In two weeks.”
The blonde's brow furrowed as she searched her brain. “I don't remember seeing anything about a special event.” She turned her attention back to her squirming girlfriend. “Have you?”
“Nope,” Callie answered as she reached out for her apple juice. She smiled as she lifted the glass to her lips. “The last 'special event' we went to involved a wet t-shirt conte-” She stopped abruptly once more as another rough kick slammed into her leg, causing her to slosh a bit of juice over the sides of the glass held frozen against her lips.
Arizona fought the urge to do a faceplant into the table.
Apparently it was too much to hope for that this would go smoothly.
She took in a deep breath and released it slowly. “So, what’s this…special event, exactly?”
Arizona’s mother sat up a little straighter in her chair, fixing her daughter with a look as severe as her husband’s. “Your father has been asked to participate in Seattle’s military memorial service. We’re here for a few days to help with the planning, and we’ll be coming back for the event itself on the fifteenth.”
The chips instantly fell into place. Arizona knew why they were here, and why they hadn’t given her any warning as to their arrival. “You’ve never come out here for it before. You always go back home.” Her words were on-edge and defensive.
“And you’ve never once come with us,” Maria stated. “We expect you to be there, Arizona.”
Arizona grit her teeth and stared hard into her coffee. “I’m working.”
“No, you're not,” Callie pointed out. “Derek will give you the day off if you need to-” Once again, she stopped abruptly when Arizona shot her a deadly look.
Dammit.
Her mouth and brain were just not working together today.
Callie sighed and her brow scrunched. “Why wouldn't you want to be there?” she asked, suddenly very curious.
Arizona immediately shot Callie another dirty look. Great, just what she needed - her unlabeled-girlfriend ganging up on her along with her parents.
They’d probably end up liking Callie more than her by the end of their stay.
The blonde sighed and sat back in her seat. “I have…patients, surgeries that I’ve pushed to help take care of you the last few days,” she shot back. “I need to spend some time catching up.” She wasn’t really angry at Callie or trying to blame her for anything, she was just…feeling a little like she was about to be backed up into a wall.
She didn’t want to go. Part of her wasn’t even sure why, but…she just knew that she didn’t want to.
“Arizona,” Daniel started, his voice a little softer, though it was still clear he wasn’t leaving any room for discussion. “It’s been five years. Your mother and I expect you to attend this service with us as a family. It will take an hour, maybe two out of your Sunday.”
Arizona fidgeted in her seat uncomfortably.
“I'll go with you,” Callie offered sincerely before looking over at the Colonel. “I mean, if that's okay.”
Daniel smiled. “That would be wonderful, Calliope.”
Callie turned her dark eyes back to the familiar set of deep blue that she had so easily fallen in love with. “I'm sure Aaron would want you there.” That was kind of hitting below the belt, but she really didn't understand why Arizona didn't want to go. The way she talked about her brother, rare as that might be, Callie knew that she really, really loved him.
It wasn’t until Callie took her hand under the table that Arizona finally relented. “Okay, I’ll…I’ll try. I’ll see what I can do.”
It was that damn jacket. She’d follow Callie into a pit of dragons if she was wearing that thing.
Arizona squeezed Callie’s hand back tightly beneath the table, risking a glance over at her father. He looked pleased, but worried at the same time.
“You will be there,” her mother cut in sharply. “We didn’t fly out all this way for you to ‘try’.”
Arizona sighed again. “Yes, mother.”
Luckily, the waiter arrived with their food before the moment could become any more awkward than it already was.
Callie groaned at the sight of her steaming plate.
Thank God for bacon.
***
Callie closed her eyes as she took in a lungful of the crisp morning air. She smiled as she felt the bright sun warming her face. She had stepped outside while Arizona and her parents were busy arguing over who was going to pay the bill.
At least now she knew where the blonde got it from.
She spent a few minutes alone before Arizona finally exited the restaurant, pulling her coat on.
Looking tired, the blonde stepped up next to her and sighed heavily. “I need to cut someone open.”
Callie raised a brow and looked over.
“In a surgical way,” Arizona clarified. “Not a homicidal way. Not yet, anyway.” She groaned and stretched her neck to try and work out the kink in it. “I just need to cut.”
“Right there with ya,” Callie mused as she turned her gaze back toward the busy Seattle streets. She tucked her hands into the pockets of her jacket. “You need to talk to Derek for me.”
Arizona lifted a brow. “I do?”
Callie turned to meet curious blue eyes. “I'm dying in that apartment, Zona,” she pleaded. “I need to get back to work before I completely go crazy.”
Arizona scrutinized Callie closely, and it looked for a moment like she might argue, but instead she caved in. “You’re just going to keep escaping Mark and I if I say no, aren’t you?”
“I will climb out the fire escape and propel myself to the ground if I have to,” Callie confirmed.
Sighing, Arizona smiled slightly. “All right. I’ll tell him you want to come back early. But no major surgeries,” she quickly added, pointing a finger at Callie. “Not until you can stand up for long periods of time without pain or pain medication.” Her smile turned into a grin as she chuckled. “We can even make Little Grey push you around in a wheelchair if you need it.”
Callie snorted as she pulled the jacket tightly around herself. “I'd rather kiss Cristina.” She paused a moment. “Square on the ass.”
Arizona’s rich laughter rang out in the morning air as she linked arms with her girlfriend and headed for the car.
***
Callie grimaced in pain as she shifted her weight to remove the jacket from her shoulders.
Dammit. She thought she was over this part, but apparently she wasn't.
“Is it time for some more pills yet?” she questioned tentatively with another wince. She continued to try and remove the jacket even as it became more painful to twist the slightest amount with each passing second.
Arizona shrugged her own coat off and tossed it onto a nearby chair. “Here, let me.” She helped pull the material back off of Callie’s shoulders, then placed it on top of hers. “You sit on the couch, I’ll get you the happy pills.”
She grabbed them from the kitchen counter and filled a glass of water before shuffling over to where Callie had collapsed in a heap.
“You’re really not convincing me you’re ready to go back to work,” Arizona pointed out as she sat next to her and set both objects down on the table. “Crazed or not, you’d be better off staying here until the weekend. You aren’t scheduled again until Monday. Six days of rest will do wonders, as opposed to six days of sneaking around and straining your already sore muscles.”
Callie wanted to argue. She really, really did.
But she couldn't really do much other than whimper at the sight of said 'happy pills'. She grabbed them, popped them into her mouth, and took a greedy helping of cold water.
Callie released a satisfied moan as she handed the glass to her lover before dropping her head back onto the couch. She closed her eyes, whining pitifully. “I hate it when you're right,” she mumbled as she squeezed her eyes shut just a little bit tighter.
“We've been over this,” Arizona said as she turned to set the glass aside. “I'm not always right.” She glanced back at the brunette with a bright, innocent smile. “I'm just never wrong.”
Callie peeked one eye open. “Sometimes I need boots to listen to you, woman.”
Arizona grinned and pulled her feet up onto the couch beneath her. “Deep down in your heart of hearts, you know it’s true.”
She reached over and brushed a strand of dark hair back from the side of Callie’s face. “Thanks for coming with me today. It means a lot.” More than Arizona could ever put into words. “And I’m sorry things were…awkward between my mom and I. It was a train wreck you really didn’t need to see.”
Callie sighed as she reached over to place her hand on the other woman's knee. She didn't even really do it consciously, just out of habit.
“Like you're the first ever daughter that doesn't get along with her mother?” Callie pointed out, watching the look change in those deep blue eyes. “Besides,” she went on as she closed her own and dipped her head back again. “You dealt with my father and his...issues. This makes us even.”
“Sounds good,” Arizona chuckled. She rested her head against the back of the couch as well, though her eyes stayed open as she watched Callie closely.
She’d really never met anyone more beautiful in her entire life.
“By the way,” she started, a small smile dancing over her lips. “When we were waiting by the car, my father pulled me aside and threatened to bash my skull in if I didn’t find a way to work things out with you.” Arizona reached down to place her hand over the one Callie had resting on her knee. “I told him I’m working on it.”
Callie smirked, but kept her eyes closed. “I highly doubt your dad threatened to bash in your anything. You’re his little girl.”
Arizona sighed. “Well, he didn't use those exact words,” she admitted. “But I got the gist of it.”
Callie chuckled. “I'm sure you did.” A few moments passed before she finally felt the pain meds start to kick in. She slowly blinked her eyes open. “I'm glad you're working on it,” she added quietly as her smile grew a bit hazy. “Though I'd rather you be working on me right now.”
Arizona laughed and squeezed Callie’s hand again. “If you would just hurry up and heal, I could have probably already had you naked and upside down by now.” She grinned and brought the back of Callie’s hand up to her lips. “Better get well soon. Two failed attempts at sex is starting to give me a complex.”
“You’re bad,” Callie giggled. “We’re not even supposed to be having sex anymore.”
“I’ve just about given up with that whole crazy idea,” Arizona admitted. Her smile softened a bit. “If we were really over, we’d be in the awkward ‘avoiding eachother like the chicken pox’ phase. Which we clearly aren’t, so…I like to think of it more as if we’re in ‘limbo’, or something.”
“Purgatory?” Callie suggested with a raised brow.
“Kind of,” Arizona mused. “Which is better than avoidy-plague, don’t you think? At least purgatory includes occasional forbidden kisses and supply closet sex.”
Callie smiled hazily. “Both of which I'm kinda fond of,” she admitted with a slow lick of her bottom lip. She was still feeling the pills as she slowly trailed her eyes over the blonde's form. “Did I tell you how...delicious you look today?”
There was no doubt that the pain pills had kicked in. However, the slow, sultry smile that spread across the brunette's lips conveyed her efforts to fight through it.
Arizona’s cheeks flushed with colour. “Don’t look at me like that.”
Callie’s smile widened. “Like what?”
“Like I’m a piece of meat you’re about to devour,” the blonde retorted with a grin of her own. “You need a nap, for your own good. And mine.”
She slid off of the couch and reached down to help pull Callie to her feet. “You just need to hang in there for six more days, then you can get back to cutting people open, fixing bones and…other stuff.” Arizona blushed again, inadvertently conveying what that ‘other stuff’ might be.
Callie groaned and pouted. “Six days?” she repeated, drawing the words out a little. “That's like...” It was really hard to think when her brain was under the influence of those nice, strong 'happy pills'.
“That's alotta days,” she went on as she felt herself being tugged toward the hall. “Do I have to?”
“Yes,” Arizona replied firmly. “I will lock you in this apartment if I have to. Trust me, you’ll thank me by the end. You’ll feel ninety nine percent better and actually enjoy standing on your feet again.”
She lead Callie into the bedroom, had her sit down on the bed, and knelt at her feet to help pull off her shoes and socks. Glancing up, the blonde smiled warmly. “I’m sure there will be a pile of broken bones to fix when you get back. As well as your cartilage-in-a-bottle project. You’ll be plenty busy in no time.”
Callie sighed at the possibility.
It wasn't really so much work that she missed. There were...'other' things. Other things that she'd really much rather being doing again. She loved her work, no doubt.
But she loved 'other' things too. Maybe just a smidge more.
Could be because they usually involved a naked Arizona Robbins writhing beneath her in bed.
“Are you gonna lay here with me?” Callie asked softly as she yawned and reached up to brush a hand down over her face.
Arizona paused as she pulled off Callie’s first sock. “If you want me to.” She had actually been planning on going into work and hitching onto the first surgery she could get her hands on, just so she could operate again.
Her parents had that effect on her.
But how could she resist such a request coming from a cute, exhausted, sexy woman?
“I really should start keeping a change of clothes here again,” Arizona smirked. She helped Callie slide up on the bed and lay back against the pillows before she sat next to her on the edge and began to pull her own boots off. “Somehow I still manage to spend more time here than my actual apartment.” Not that she minded in the least.
“That's ‘cause here is so much cooler,” Callie instantly replied before she let out another yawn. She glanced over with hooded eyes to watch as the blonde worked off her boots. “You could just not wear clothes.”
Arizona stopped mid-motion to very slowly shoot the brunette a glare over her shoulder.
“Yeah,” Callie laughed softly. “Didn't think so.” Her cute smile remained. “Can't blame a girl for tryin'.”
Arizona shook her head with a short laugh. “I might consider it,” she teased. “Except that Mark Sloan has a key, and he’s already seen me partially naked enough times for one lifespan.”
Sighing, Arizona once again crawled over Callie to collapse onto the right side of the bed. She found herself a lot more exhausted than she had thought.
Once again, her parents tended to do that to her.
The blonde snuggled up against Callie’s side, wrapping her left arm across the brunette’s stomach and resting her head on the pillow next to the splay of messy dark hair. “I like it better here, though. Comfier bed, better pillows…not to mention you.”
Callie smiled sleepily. “Good answer.”
***
Deep brown eyes slowly blinked open in the darkness. It took her a moment or two, but Callie was finally able to fight through the pull of returning to sleep. She reached up with a soft groan to rub at her eyes with the back of her hand, and took in a heavy breath as she tried to wake her body from slumber.
Callie was fully expecting to roll over and find that Arizona had gone, but to her delighted surprise, she could still feel the warm weight of another person lying in bed next to her. She smiled softly as she closed her eyes through a sleepy yawn.
Arizona was always so...warm. Comfy.
Warm and comfy.
Laying down face-first, Arizona was dead to the world as she snored softly into the bed sheets, her head half-buried under the pillow.
This bed was definitely better than her own.
It wasn’t until she felt lips pressed softly against the side of her neck that she began to stir.
A slow smile appeared over her own and she gave a tired groan. Her left arm snaked out from beneath her own body to slide around Callie’s waist.
Arizona was vaguely aware that at some point during the last few hours, she’d lost her pants.
Nobody in their right mind liked sleeping in tight jeans.
“You smell good,” Arizona murmured into the sheets, her eyes still closed, the rest of her unmoving.
Callie placed another slow kiss against warm flesh. “You taste good,” she whispered huskily before placing yet another one below the blonde’s ear. She groaned again as she very gently shifted her weight. She just wanted to feel...
More.
More warmth. More skin.
More Arizona.
This was definitely the best possible way to wake up. Arizona groaned softly again and rolled over onto her back. She immediately felt the weight of Callie’s body settle down on top of her, and her arms automatically encircled the brunette’s body.
Bad, bad, bad. Again.
God. They really couldn’t keep their hands off of each other even if they wanted to.
Which, clearly, neither of them did.
Arizona finally peeked both eyes open, taking a second for them to adjust to the darkness as she gazed up into Callie’s soft brown ones.
“Hi,” she whispered in a hoarse, sleepy voice.
“Less talking,” Callie instantly husked as she shifted her right arm against the bed. Her fingers pushed deeply into silky blonde hair. “More kissing,” she whispered again before leaning down to pull Arizona back into a kiss.
Arizona let out a surprised moaned when she felt Callie slowly ease her tongue into her mouth.
That woman could kiss like a Goddess.
She closed her eyes and leaned up into it, allowing herself to get completely lost in Callie’s lips.
It wasn’t hard.
Arizona slipped her right hand just beneath the hem of Callie’s shirt, brushing her fingers very softly against the small of her back, avoiding the sore spots. Her other moved up to grasp the back of the brunette’s neck, burrowing her fingers into the soft, fine hairs at the base.
Another soft moan escaped Arizona’s lips as her tongue brushed against her lover’s. She could feel her heart pounding against the inside of her chest, and she suddenly felt more awake than she had in days.
Callie groaned into the intimate contact as she tried to settle herself on top of the blonde's body. She pulled back from Arizona's lips just far enough to whisper, “Open your legs a little.”
Arizona hesitated for the obvious reasons.
But still...
The sound of Callie's voice when she whispered like that...
The brunette furrowed her brow. “What's wrong?” she asked quietly, her fingers gently playing with the other woman's hair.
Arizona swallowed back, her lips parting ever so slightly as she debated what to say.
The rational part of her brain was telling her that they should definitely not go there again.
But Arizona always listened to the rational part of her brain, for the most part. So it wouldn’t feel too left out if she ignored it.
Just this once.
“Nothing,” she replied after a moment. She shifted and parted her legs for Callie to settle in comfortably. Her right leg hooked up over the brunette’s hip, and her foot brushed sensually down the back of her thigh.
Arizona chuckled when Callie groaned softly, and leaned up to steal another kiss as the brunette settled her weight a little more fully on top of the warm body beneath her.
Wrong or not, neither of them planned on stopping any time soon.
It took a minute for Arizona to realize that she was literally dizzy from the lack of oxygen. She broke lip contact with Callie, and for a second their heavy breathing was the only sound in the room.
Arizona forced her eyes open and shot a breathless grin up at her partner, both arms curving behind the woman’s neck. “God, I’ve missed this…” She shivered beneath the body on top of her.
“I've missed you,” Callie instantly replied with another soft, husky whisper.
And God, had she. There was no other feeling in the world like the one she was experiencing right now.
Arizona was completely and totally the love of her life. She didn't have a single doubt about that. Not anymore.
Not after this. After...everything.
Callie hugged a little tighter against the other woman's body.
Oh, how she'd missed this.
Arizona closed her eyes as Callie burrowed into her neck. She gently stroked the back of her hair, and kissed softly against her ear. “I love you.”
Those three little words were almost enough to make Callie's heart stop beating.
“Love you, too,” the brunette whispered as she turned her lips to press them gently against Arizona’s neck. Her right hand slipped up the smooth skin on the blonde’s side, carefully pulling the edge of her sweater up along with it.
Arizona shivered beneath Callie’s touch, and tangled her fingers back into dark curls. Callie knew how sensitive she was there, and always used that fact to her advantage.
The blonde bit her lower lip as nimble fingers teased against the skin on her upper ribcage, causing goosebumps to rise. “Naughty,” she accused with a breathless grin, clearly not minding the misdemeanor.
Callie lifted an eyebrow slowly, her smile forming into a sultry smirk. “It really has been a long time, huh?” Her fingers moved a little higher on her lover’s side, and then over to the left.
She leaned down to place her lips next to Arizona’s ear. “I'm not even close to naughty.” Her hand found the object it was seeking, and then gave a soft squeeze. “Yet.”
Arizona groaned against Callie’s ear. “You have no idea how long,” she admitted with a husky laugh.
Oh yeah. Long enough for them both to be vibrating with the urge to rip into each other almost every time they made eye contact these days.
It would have been pathetic if it weren’t so unbelievably hot between them.
Another careful squeeze against her breast made Arizona gasp softly once more. “Calliope…”
Callie smirked, her lips still pressed against the blonde's ear. “Forgot how much you like that.” So she did it again, her thumb flicking teasingly across a hard nipple.
She was rewarded with another sharp gasp, the smaller body beneath her arching up into the touch.
Callie groaned as she shifted her weight. She paused when she felt a sharp twinge in the small of her back. Gritting her teeth, she forced it down.
No way was her stupid back going to ruin this.
Not again.
It didn’t go unnoticed by Arizona, however. She gently cupped the side of Callie’s face in her left hand and moved her back enough to make eye contact.
“I’m fine,” Callie stated.
Arizona raised an eyebrow, but she smiled a little. “I’m sure you are.” She leaned up to steal a quick, light kiss. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself, baby.”
Callie smiled. “I love when you say that.”
“That I don't want you to hurt yourself?”
“When you call me 'baby',” Callie instantly replied, her smile softening as she gazed down into blue eyes.
Arizona smiled back, stealing another quick taste of Callie’s delicious lips.
“I’ll make a mental note to use it more often,” she teased lightly. Another groan rumbled up from her chest when Callie’s hand kneaded her breast once more. “Y-you’re changing the subject.”
Callie grinned and nipped lightly at the underside of Arizona’s jawline. “No, I’m feeling you up.”
“Same thing,” Arizona pointed out, though her voice was shaky.
Callie bit her bottom lip as she continued to knead her hand beneath the blonde’s shirt.
Fuck, how she'd missed these. Er...[i]this[/i].
And...seriously?
Why did it take her so long to jump the train to sapphic-land?
Everything was just so much...softer. Warmer. Smoother.
Arizona pulled Callie back into a deep kiss, moaning against her lips as the brunette’s thumb tortured her already sensitive nipple. She snaked her bare right leg around Callie’s hip and tugged her in nice and close.
“What’s a girl gotta do to get you to take off your pants?”
Callie groaned and closed her eyes. The feeling of Arizona's leg around her hip-
-was very, excruciatingly painful.
Brown eyes widened as a sharp pain jolted through her hip to spread out into the rest of her body. She winced, gritting her teeth against the sudden stab.
Oh for the love of...
One break. Just one...fucking break. That’s all she asked for.
“Oh!” Arizona retracted her leg instantly, looking at Callie with wide eyes. “Oh God, I did it again.” She slapped a hand to her forehead.
This time, she literally was going to develop a complex.
Wincing for Callie’s sake, Arizona just kind of…lay there for a moment, not touching with legs nor hands for fear of crippling the poor woman. “You should just chain me to a wall, somewhere far away where I don’t let my sex drive override my common sense. I’m so sorry.”
Callie smirked, despite her discomfort. “I'm down with the chains.”
Arizona smacked her hard in the side.
Callie groaned again, wincing when another sharp pain shot up her spine.
Arizona's eyes widened as her entire body tensed. “I'm never touching you again.”
The brunette fought through her issues just to offer the woman beneath her a tense, but genuine smile. “Well, that's just not gonna work for me.” She gingerly shifted her weight onto her left arm as she reached down to take the blonde's wrist with her right hand. She was instantly met with resistance, but she kept tugging anyway.
A moment of battling, and then Arizona found her hand resting on her partner’s warm side.
“See?” Callie offered softly. “No pain.”
Arizona still looked strained, and she was extra careful to not let her hand so much as twitch. “Careful. I might suddenly decide that clawing at you is a smart idea.”
Callie responded with a wide smirk. “Promise?”
Arizona groaned and dropped her head back down onto the pillow, though she didn’t move her hand from the smooth skin. Her fingertips gently massaged where they touched, and her blue eyes gazed warily upward.
“This is torture. Not being able to…without…this is torture.”
“It's not exactly a sunny picnic in the park for me,” Callie shot back, but there was no anger or even annoyance in her voice.
Just...sadness. Maybe a little disappointment.
Because she loved nothing better than Arizona touching her. Nothing.
Callie moaned in defeat as she slowly and carefully moved off the blonde's prone form to fall over onto the other side of the bed. She closed her eyes with another heavy sigh.
Arizona tapped her fingers against her stomach, staring intently at the ceiling while she did her best to ignore the raging libido Callie had ignited.
This really sucked.
“We can make it six days,” she stated in an even tone. “Really. We’re grown ups. Adults, even. We have self control. We can not do…this for a few days.”
Callie rolled her head to look at Arizona. “Who are you trying to convince here?”
Arizona’s fingers stopped their tapping.
“Besides,” Callie added with a slight smirk. “Thought we were broken-up?” She shifted a little on the bed.
Arizona wasn't the only one that got...'ignited'.
“Doesn't that usually mean no sex?”
“Usually,” Arizona admitted. “Technically.” She turned her head to meet Callie’s smirk with a perplexed stare. “Hey, you jumped me, remember? I was sleeping all innocently until you got all…sexy.”
“As opposed to you crying on my shoulder and giving me that smoldering look you know I can’t resist?” Callie shot back. “That time was so your fault.”
Arizona placed a hand on her chest and scoffed. “Me? Oh please, don’t even. Do I even need to bring up the chicken salad incident?”
They stared at one another for a long moment, and Arizona swallowed back hard as that familiar heat began to fill the space between them once more.
Oh, crap.
Arizona sat up abruptly and stared at the opposite wall. “Okay. I need to go. Otherwise…I-I need to go.”
“Please don't,” Callie protested as she reached over to gently place the very tips of her fingers against the blonde's lower back. “I always sleep so much better with you beside me,” she added after a moment.
A slight smile graced her lips. “I promise not to get all 'sexy' again.”
Yeah. Sure.
Even she didn't believe that one.
Arizona turned to look down at Callie, scrutinizing her closely.
Because she knew that if Callie did get all sexy again…she’d be hard pressed to resist.
Especially with the fresh memory of waking up to a gorgeous woman kissing her neck still burned into her brain.
Crap.
Sighing, she nodded, but slipped off of the bed anyway. “Okay. But I’m borrowing some of your pajamas, and staying fully clothed the rest of the night. So are you.”
Callie smirked. “Anything you say.” She paused to trail her gaze over the blonde's half-naked form. “Sexy.”
Arizona narrowed her eyes at the other woman.
Callie chuckled softly as she moved to stretch out on the bed, tucking her arms behind her head and crossing her ankles. She nodded at the large dresser lining the opposite wall. “You know where I keep 'em.” She slowly trailed her tongue along her bottom lip.
Both women knew Arizona would have to walk around the entire bed to get to the dresser.
Which, in turn, would give Callie the perfect view.
Arizona glanced from Callie, to the dresser, then back again.
Double crap.
She stooped to pick up her jeans from the floor, and tried to hide herself the best she could as she stalked across the room to dig for a spare change of pajamas.
She heard Callie chuckle from her reclined perch on the bed. “Mark was right. You do have a great ass. And wicked legs.”
Arizona blushed furiously and dug more frantically through the first drawer for some form of pants. “You’re pure evil, you know that?”
Callie continued to look like a kid at Disneyland, clearly enjoying giving the blonde a hard time. “Seriously, Zona. The cartoon underwear is adorable.”
Arizona snatched the first pair of pants she found and whirled to face Callie, trying to cover herself with the black material. “Okay. You…you…” After a moment of floundering for words, Arizona gave up with a huffy sigh and hurriedly tried to pull the pants on, stumbling a bit. “Okay. Fine. I’m sleeping on the couch.” Still trying to pull them up her legs, she tripped on her way to the door, hobbling and clearly very worked up.
“Hey,” Callie pouted, sitting up, watching her. “I thought you were going to stay.”
“No,” Arizona shot back, stopping in the doorway as she finally successfully got the pants on. “Because if I stay, I’m probably gonna end up ripping your clothes off. And if I do that, I’ll probably put you in a coma. So no, I’m sleeping on the couch until you’re mobile again. For both our sakes.”
Callie sighed heavily. “For the love of...” She dropped back onto the bed as she reached up to run a hand down her face. “Fine. I don't know about you,” she went on after pausing for another moment, “but I think I can handle a few hours together. In a bed.” She finally turned her head to meet the soft blue gaze. “Without wanting to...” she trailed off as she arched a brow. “...'rip your clothes off'.”
Callie smirked a little at the sudden harsh glare she received in return.
Honestly? Sometimes she did or said things just to get Arizona to look at her like that.
It was kinda...hot.
Arizona was always hot, but moreso when she was angry. Or even at least a little upset.
Really hot.
Planting boths hands on her hips, Arizona fixed Callie with that glare and kept it on her. “You’re baiting me.”
Callie blinked without answering.
Arizona stared for a moment longer, before her shoulders sagged. She still looked annoyed.
Maybe not annoyed. Just…frustrated.
In more ways than one.
“Fine. You win.” Sending a bright and extremely fake smile in Callie’s direction, she shuffled back over to her side of the bed, picked up the covers, and slid underneath them. Her head hit the pillow next to Callie’s, and she stared holes up into the ceiling while keeping her hands folded tightly over her stomach.
Meanwhile, her heart was still pounding away in her chest, and she took in a deep breath to calm it down.
Callie's smile had long ago faded as she watched the blonde's tense movements. She wanted to reach over to offer a hand of comfort, but she wasn't sure if that would be considered 'sexy' or not.
The brunette chewed on her bottom lip in thought for a long, silent moment.
But her strong desire to comfort, to touch, Arizona finally won out. She reached over with a shaking hand to place it gently on the other woman's hip. “I'm not trying to win,” she finally spoke softly. “I just want...” She trailed off, pausing to swallow back.
What did she want?
So many things. All of which seemed to have the central theme of the woman currently laying in her bed.
“I just want you next to me,” Callie finally settled on, her voice quiet and tentative.
Arizona closed her eyes and released a slow, heavy breath. “I know. I’m sorry.” She opened them again and turned onto her side to face Callie. With an apologetic smile, she reached over to tuck a lock of hair behind the brunette’s ear. “Momentary wig-out. My bad.”
It still wasn’t easy being near Callie like this and knowing she shouldn’t be…near Callie.
But…
She moved a bit closer and slinked an arm around the woman’s waist once more, then gently rested her forehead against Callie’s.
This was kinda nice, too.
The brunette closed her eyes as she pulled in a deep breath. “Mmm,” she moaned appreciatively after a second. “You smell good.”
Arizona was the only person she'd slept with that could wake up in the morning and still smell so good, no matter what.
Callie opened her dark brown eyes, sighing softly again. “You're all warm and fuzzy, too,” she teased as she reached up with her right hand to run it along the smooth plane of the other woman's back.
“I work with children,” Arizona replied with a teasing grin of her own. “My natural disposition has to be ‘warm and fuzzy’.” She chuckled and snuggled in closer against Callie. “I’m also still wearing my merino wool sweater.”
The royal blue one that she wore because Callie had told her she liked it. It wasn’t the best sleepwear, but she had worn it out to breakfast earlier.
The brunette hummed softly. “So I noticed,” she whispered, her smile growing just a little. She kinda knew Arizona wore it because she liked it.
Not so much for the material, but the color just made Arizona's eyes...
Irresistable.
“Your eyes look amazing tonight,” Callie whispered softly as she gazed into them, her fingers continuing to stroke along her lover’s side.
Arizona blushed and looked away a little shyly. “Verging on being naughty,” she pointed out weakly.
“You really can’t take a compliment, can you?” Callie pointed out with a smirk.
“Not really,” Arizona admitted. She leaned in to give Callie another soft kiss.
Not in a ‘sexy, gonna rip your clothes off now’ way, just a…soft kiss. Because it felt good, and because she wanted to.
And Callie wanted her to want to. It just so happened that kissing Arizona was right up there on her list of 'favorite things to do repeatedly in the same day'.
Go figure.
Callie sighed when she felt the blonde slowly retract her lips from the kiss. If it were up to her, that's all she'd ever do for the rest of her life. “I miss you so much,” she suddenly admitted as she felt her bottom lip begin to quiver. She blinked back tears as she gazed up the short distance into shining blue eyes.
Arizona felt her heart break in her chest. She couldn’t stand to see a woman cry, and when that woman happened to be Calliope Torres...
“I’m right here,” she whispered back, brushing a stray tear away with her thumb as it escaped down Callie’s cheek. “Not leaving any time soon.”
Anyone on the outside looking in might not see the difference between how they were before and after the supposed ‘break up’. But the two of them, they knew. Knew that their days were limited, that their relationship had an expiration date.
Callie wanted kids, and as hard as Arizona tried to want the same thing…she was still nowhere near sure that she could give that life to her. Sooner or later, they would have to face that fact.
But, it wasn’t ‘sooner’. Because ‘later’ meant that they could deal with it at a time that wasn’t right now.
“I know,” Callie finally sighed, pausing to swallow back. “But,” she started again with a soft whimper. “But it's not the same.” There was a slight crack in her voice. Her fingers dug a little deeper into the material of the blonde's shirt as she held the warm body against her own.
If it was up to her...if it was really up to her, she'd never let go.
Never.
“I want you to change your mind,” she continued in a hoarse whisper. “I want you to want to raise a family with me. But at the same time, I-I don’t want you to change who you are because of me. I don’t want you to ever resent t-this."
Arizona’s lips parted, but she couldn’t find the words to comfort Callie.
Because she knew there were none.
“It...it hurts,” Callie added quietly after a moment, still gazing into those blue eyes she loved so much. “I want you so badly, but w-we just...we’re not...”
Arizona immediately pulled Callie in close. She rested her cheek on top of her lover’s head as she burrowed against Arizona’s chest and cried. She hugged the brunette tightly, never wanting to let go.
But, now she knew that she had to. Let go. Even though it might kill her to do so.
For Callie’s sake…she had to let her go.
The longer this went on, the harder they’d both fall in the end. And Arizona knew she’d already hurt her enough for one lifetime.
So…she was gonna let go for her. For real this time. No matter how painful it was. No more faking it.
Arizona closed her eyes and ran her hand over Callie’s back soothingly. “It’s okay,” she whispered, pressing her lips against the other woman’s temple. “It’ll be okay.”
But for tonight…tonight, she wasn’t going anywhere.
Just for tonight.
***
This time, Callie didn't want to open her eyes.
She didn't want to open them because she knew. She knew Arizona wouldn't be there.
She was still fighting through the haze of sleep the next morning, but her mind had never really gone completely. After such an emotional night, her body was exhausted but her mind, and her heart, were too afraid to let her turn over.
Because she knew.
Callie squeezed her eyes shut tightly, a single tear escaping as she kept herself balled up tightly on her left side.
She didn't dare open her eyes, because she knew.
This time, Arizona wouldn’t be there.
And she wasn’t.
---
A/N: We really-really mean it this time. Really for-real...really.