[fic] the night before life goes on [1/1]
Title: The Night Before Life Goes On
Rating: M
Summary: Arizona Robbins celebrates her new job in the best way possible - hooking up with the woman who will become her wife.
Notes: Happy birthday to my fic baby. I'll always love you the most.
Arizona Robbins was confident that her night couldn’t have gotten any better when she walked into Joe’s. She’d gotten promoted at work, finally finished her fellowship under her asshole of a boss. Now she could be an asshole boss herself if she wanted to be. Because she was an attending surgeon at Seattle Grace Hospital, one of the top five teaching hospitals in the country. And to celebrate that, she was going to drink, and she was going to dance, and she was going to flirt.
And no matter that she thought her night couldn’t have improved, the second she spotted the woman at the corner of the bar that idea was blown completely out of her mind. Because this woman was… breathtaking, stunning, positively the most gorgeous woman she had ever seen… And she had a nice buzz going on, but if she didn’t talk to that woman that good feeling was going to go right away. So she finished her drink and signaled Joe, gesturing to the stranger at the corner. She would absolutely know if she’d seen this woman before.
Her favorite bartender gave her a grin and a wink, pouring another for her and the new woman’s drink of choice, setting it on the bar in front of the dark-haired beauty just as Arizona slid onto the open stool at the corner. Joe helpfully cocked his head in the blonde’s direction when an eyebrow arched in question at the drink.
“Hi,” Arizona greeted her cheerfully.
The other woman glanced around as if she expected something to jump out at her but picked up the glass. “Hey,” she said slowly, smiling at her. “Thanks. You know, for the drink.”
Arizona was a doctor, and no idiot, but that smile sent the English language just tumbling out of her head, leaving her speechless. Her companion didn’t speak though, just sipped on her drink while Arizona mentally kicked herself over and over again. She was charming, damn it! She didn’t go speechless because a pretty girl smiled at her! Of course, that wasn’t strictly what had happened. Because this was no simple ‘pretty girl.’ This was a beautiful woman. The most beautiful woman she’d ever seen in her life. And she was blowing it because of her complete inability to remember words!
“Um…” Well, that was a start, jackass! “Hi…” Oh Christ. Seriously?!
The other woman laughed into her drink but didn’t leave, which Arizona took as a good sign. Maybe she could pull off goofy charming better than she thought she could. “Hi. I’m Callie.”
“Arizona!” the blonde barked too loudly, grimacing as people looked over toward them. Or she could screw up even goofing her way in. But her seemingly unending awkwardness did earn her another of the most incredible laughs she’d ever heard. “I’m Arizona,” she corrected herself, clearing her throat and offering a hand to shake. “Very nice to meet you, Callie.” There - that was better. She could still be charming. “I haven’t seen you around. Is this your first time here at Joe’s?”
“First time in Seattle,” answered Callie, taking another sip of her drink. “I just got here today. But I like it a lot so far,” she said warmly.
Arizona smiled herself. That sounded like flirting if she hadn’t entirely lost her senses. “Oh? Are you visiting someone?”
The dark head shook and black hair curled over her eye, Arizona squeezing a fist in her lap at the immediate impulse to brush it back. That smile was doing things to her. And her intention was to charm the pants off (ideally) this woman, not get herself slapped. That wasn’t the happy ending her promotion day deserved. And it definitely wasn’t the happy ending this gorgeous woman deserved either.
“Nope,” said Callie warmly, still wearing that smile. “I came to town for a job interview, actually.”
Letting a grin go, Arizona knew her secret weapons, her dimples, were in play now. “Well, I’m guessing you wouldn’t be smiling if it hadn’t gone well, so congratulations,” she offered, lifting her glass to clink lightly against the scotch her companion was drinking. “They’d be stupid not to hire you.” There! That was smooth! She hadn’t entirely lost her mojo yet.
“Arizona just got promoted today,” Joe chimed in helpfully as he deposited a pair of shots in front of them. “Congratulations, ladies,” he said, shooting a wink at Arizona. Over the course of her residency, she’d become one of his favorite customers. “Compliments of the house.”
Exchanging smiles, they toasted and drank, gasping simultaneously at the strength of the alcohol. Arizona slapped one hand to the counter and shot a look at the grinning bartender, Joe shrugging and winking at her as he turned to another customer.
Callie coughed on hers, one hand on her chest. “Does he make all the drinks that strong, or just yours?” she asked hoarsely, admirably chasing her shot with a sip of her whiskey.
“Which answer is going to get you to keep drinking with me?” Arizona countered with a smirk, the alcohol seemingly helping her mojo come back even more quickly.
Callie gave her a smile, gaze considering her. “Does your little arrangement here,” she gestured between their position on the corner and Joe behind the bar, “mean that we could get still get such good service if we got a table?”
“Right behind you, ladies,” Joe said as he passed by again, shooting a wink at the blonde.
“Shall we, then?” offered Arizona, picking up her glass and gesturing for the other woman to follow her lead. Her favorite high top near the dart board was open and she smiled as they took their seats. “This alright?”
“Sure,” Callie assented, taking a sip of her drink. “So, Arizona, you got promoted today. From what to what?”
“From Pediatric surgery fellowship student, to Pediatric surgery attending at Seattle Grace,” said Arizona with a proud, eager grin. She was awesome. “Do you, sorry, maybe you don’t know…”
“I understand,” Callie smiled, offering her hand across the table. “Dr. Callie Torres, Ortho.” Her smile went crooked, a definite smirk. “And you’re Dr. Arizona, Peds.”
“Arizona Robbins,” the blonde clarified. “Dr. Arizona Robbins, Peds attending.”
“And Seattle’s a fantastic program,” Callie observed. “Congratulations! You might deserve another drink!” She was signaling Joe already and Arizona liked her more with every second. She appreciated a woman who could hold her liquor, to say nothing of keeping up with her. There was a lot to be said for stamina.
That next round quickly became another. And one more. And just one more. But Arizona couldn’t help herself. Because Calliope (as she’d confessed was her real name after the fourth round) wasn’t just stunningly beautiful. She was smart and funny, opinionated, strong willed - captivating. Arizona couldn’t tear herself away.
She didn’t know which one of them suggested getting out of there (lie - it was her. She remembered because she was never the first one to suggest getting out of there), but Callie was the first off her chair and stumbling less than she should be after so many drinks. Impressive stamina indeed. She could only hope that her stamina for other things was as good as her tolerance for alcohol.
They were only out of the bar a moment before her companion’s abilities for kissing were capably demonstrated. And Calliope was a good kisser. She couldn’t even care that the brick wall of the Emerald City Bar was digging into her back. Because her drinking partner’s warm, soft, smooth curves were pressed against her front. Curves she really, really wanted to feel (see, touch, taste, explore) more of. And at greater leisure than the stairwell just outside her favorite bar would provide.
Gasping for breath as Callie took her own sweet time on her neck, her ear, hitting all of her little spots without even seeming to need to search for them, Arizona just let her head fall back against the brick and tried to breathe. If this was any kind of indicator for what the rest of her night looked like she was in for one hell of an evening. “Fuck,” she ground out between gritted teeth as Callie got more acquainted with her collarbone.
“We’ll get to that,” promised the woman in her cleavage. “This top is great, by the way. Where’d you get it?”
Arizona couldn’t even remember her own middle name at the moment as Callie’s hands gripped her hips, her body pressing into her in all kinds of good ways. “Yeah, I don’t know.” One hand moved up under the top in question. “You can look at the tag later,” she offered. Preferably after it was on her floor somewhere and they were recuperating from what she could already tell was going to be some fantastic sex.
Callie laughed and the sound of it made Arizona’s knees go weak. “Sounds good,” Callie said, her voice low and breath tickling across the blonde’s skin, made slick with her own kisses. “I’ll take a look once I take it off you.” Arizona moaned her agreement, eyes falling closed as warm fingers skated across her stomach, muscles jumping under the contact. “After the important, fun stuff, of course,” she added with a devilish grin.
“Oh, we so need to get out of here,” growled Arizona in response, her next kiss involving teeth on Callie’s lower lip. She just wanted to keep it. And the hand now on her breast, she wanted to keep that right there. Damn, Callie was good. She didn’t really do relationships, or at least she hadn’t in a while, but she couldn’t help wondering how Callie would be when they were sober. Of course, she didn’t actually know how Callie was when they were drunk, but she was dying to find out. A thumb rolled across her bra and her body bucked. If it wasn’t so freaking hot, she would almost be embarrassed with how easily she responded to Callie.
“We do,” agreed the other woman, dragging her lip from between white teeth. “Your place?” Her new place was down the block, but she'd only picked up the keys this afternoon after her meeting with Dr. Webber, the place had no electricity, no furniture, she didn't have a bed yet, had only an air mattress in the trunk of her car to sleep on. This deserved better than that.
Arizona's agreement was a sharp whistle and a gesture to the taxi idling on the curb. He obligingly flipped his light off, having been enjoying the free show the women had given him.
“Where to, ladies?”
Arizona supplied her address, grateful for the dim darkness in the cab that hid her breathless flush. They only had a few hours of drinking and mere minutes of making out and she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. In an attempt to level the playing field Arizona quite deliberately put a hand on Callie's leg, fingertips brushing the fabric covering the warm skin she knew was below the professional looking black slacks, pleased to get a quick, sharp breath from the other woman.
Her hand did not stay at the professional level, skating up and in, her palm covering more of her inner thigh as the car started moving. Sneaking a glance at Callie's face, she was beyond pleased to see that rather than shock or surprise, there was a challenging arch to her brow. She clearly wanted to see how much Arizona would push things in the back of a taxi. But Arizona wasn't one to back down and slid her hand further between her thighs, waiting to see if Callie's legs would close and stop her or give her space to continue.
Callie took a moment, biting her bottom lip in a way that made Arizona grateful that she was sitting down, and her knees fell open just enough. Holy shit. Arizona wasn't shy but the women she picked up could rarely keep up. Callie just kept pushing. She loved it.
Scratchy lace and scorching heat could be read like braille by her fingertips through Callie's pants and they both gasped, Arizona licking her lips. She couldn't help wondering what color they were. She couldn't wait to see for herself. Warm breath teased her ear as Callie leaned into her, lips brushing her skin as she whispered, “Red.”
“What?” asked Arizona, completely caught up in the wetness she could feel just under the fabric.
“They're red,” Callie repeated herself, smiling when Arizona moaned, turning her head and capturing her lips. “I know you were thinking about it.”
As if she could think of anything else now.
Her breath was stuttery and Arizona leaned forward and tapped the partition with the knuckles of her free hand. “Fifty bucks if we're there in fifteen minutes,” she informed him, leaning into Callie as she turned back to her seat and kissing her again, nipping that full bottom lip firmly in an attempt to regain some control. “Fuck, that's hot.”
“It will be,” promised Callie under her breath, taking another kiss. She could kiss this woman all night. But then Arizona's fingers brushed her skin and Callie broke the kiss to gasp, “I'll double her money if you get us there in ten.”
The car pulled up to Arizona's driveway with a jerk and squealing brakes and Callie tossed the cash into the front seat without a second thought. The hand between her legs was employed to pull Arizona out of the car with her. Stumbling across the grass they crashed together, Arizona unable to keep from kissing her for long enough to get her door open, even long enough to get the keys out of her purse. One hand dug for the keys while the other fisted in dark, seemingly endless waves of hair. She just could not get enough of kissing this woman. Callie sucked on her lip as she freed her keys, pulling it between her teeth as Arizona succeeded in getting the door open.
Thankfully the house was empty because Arizona dropped her keys, her purse, and her jacket in quick succession just inside the door in favor of slipping both hands under Callie's top and sliding the fabric up. Buttons popped but it hit the floor before the door was done swinging closed behind them. And apparently her bra matched her underwear because the lace covering Callie's chest was fire engine red. And the breasts behind that red lace were quite possibly the greatest, most spectacular breasts she'd ever seen.
“You're beautiful.” The whisper was surprisingly earnest for what had thus far been a lust based hookup, but she couldn't take it back. Because she really meant it. Calliope was beautiful. Not just hot, not simply sexy as all hell, she was a beautiful woman.
It had been so long since anyone had said so that it took Callie out of the moment for a heartbeat. She could see the sincerity in blue eyes though, and her fingers curled into fair hair, drawing her into a soft kiss. The taste of Callie on her tongue overwhelmed her again and Arizona deepened the contact, her arms slipping around Callie's hips to tug her body in against her while she moaned into the other woman's mouth.
“We're alone here?” Callie checked, breaking the kiss to ask. It was too little, too late, her shirt was already off, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she tried to catch her breath. Arizona gasped an affirmative and it was Callie's signal to tear her top up and over her head, tossing it blindly behind them.
Now both topless they took a moment to each appreciate what they'd uncovered. They were close enough that their chests brushed as they breathed. Arizona's skin was fair and smooth and flawless. And the black bra she was wearing only emphasized the blonde's light tan, a smattering of freckles dotting her cleavage. It was cute. And Callie desperately wanted to trace each one with her tongue.
Arizona was the first to reach out, dragging her fingers over impossibly smooth, soft skin. Callie was warm under her touch. She had to kiss her again, both of them moaning at the press of flesh against flesh. Stumbling, Arizona led them backwards, giggling when she fell over the arm of the couch, Callie following her down.
“Are you okay?” the brunette checked, hips falling between Arizona's legs as they opened. The woman under her just reached up to kiss her, legs pushing herself up the couch, her hands undoing the button and zip of her jeans. “Oh, hey, let me,” Callie objected, her own hands peeling the denim down long, toned, perfect legs and tossing them over the back of the sofa.
Clashing with her black bra were the blonde's bright blue panties, the Wonder Woman crest right in the middle. Callie leaned back on her heels, an amused grin on her lips. The flush that bloomed across Arizona's face made her laugh. “It's cute,” said Callie, chewing on the inside of her lower lip.
“Yeah, because cute is sexy,” Arizona scoffed, knees rising on either side of her companion's hips in an unconscious move to keep her between her legs.
Dark eyes raked her form starting at the top of her head, working their way down a feature at a time. There was nothing in the look on Callie's face that said she was less than enraptured with the woman spread below her. And then her eyes hit the socks.
The mismatched plaid socks - purple and pink on one foot and black and white on the other.
“Okay, what are those about?” she asked, unable to help laughing.
Arizona picked her head up to look at them herself, promptly falling back against the cushion with a groan of dismay. She let her knees fall open to give Callie room to get up and leave, expecting nothing less. She had gotten past her less than stellar, stumbling start with the gorgeous woman between her legs, but she didn't see a way back from plaid socks that didn't even match. “I was running late, got dressed in the dark this morning,” she explained sheepishly. “If you want to...”
Hands slid up her thighs, grip pulling her knees back into position around the brunette's hips. “I'm not going anywhere.” Callie smirked when a calf slipped across her ass to more fully lock her in place. “Unless you've got a bedroom you'd rather us move this to.” Leaning in, she swiped her tongue across a full lower lip, moaning when Arizona's mouth fell open to welcome her tongue. One at a time she peeled the socks off and threw them out of sight, gratified when Arizona leaned up to chase her lips as she pulled back from the kiss. She only moved enough to slip her hand between them and under the elastic of Arizona's panties. “So... Wonder Woman? Any significance there?”
Arizona smirked, nipping Callie's bottom lip. “Are you kidding me? She's hot!”
“Mm-hmm,” Callie hummed, kissing her again as her fingers peeled the fabric down and out of her way. “Hot,” she agreed between kisses that were exactly that. Arizona's wetness was pressed against her stomach for a split second as hips jumped against her and Callie groaned, her need growing suddenly and sharply. The woman below her made no objection when her hand slid down, in fact her legs fell open further to give her more room as fingers slipped toward her core. The slippery heat that greeted her made Callie moan.
“Please,” Arizona requested, her back arching. The press of her skin on Callie's was electric. And the fingers that moved inside her felt unbelievable. Callie was some kind of sex genius because she wasn’t doing anything she hadn’t had done for her before, but it still felt insanely good. She must have had more alcohol at Joe's than she thought she did, because she was never this easy to work up. Every move Callie made felt like fire roaring through her blood. Arizona had her fun, she dated (though not with any kind of exclusivity in a while, she could admit), but this felt like something else entirely. She wouldn't mind doing this again and they'd barely started.
Fortunately they had the rest of the night ahead of them.
Callie shifted to rock against her, her hand pumping deep into Arizona with a steady rhythm. “God, you feel so good.” A knee hooked behind her thigh and Callie shortened her thrusts in response, though she slowed her pace. “You feel really good,” she repeated breathlessly. “And it's crazy hot that I could make you come right now,” she twisted her fingers and Arizona could only buck and gasp, not deny it, “but I want to enjoy this. And I want you to enjoy this,” she twisted her fingers again, her thumb finding Arizona's clit for a heartbeat before she withdrew.
Arizona groaned in protest, her eyes squeezed closed tightly. She could feel Callie dropping kisses down the side of her neck and she forced her eyes open to find tangled waves of black. “I am. Don't stop.”
Her answer was a warm chuckle, moist breath against her collarbone. Soft touch kept her on edge but didn't progress beyond teasing her gently. “Shh,” Callie breathed when Arizona would have pleaded for more. “Trust me.”
Sex like this wasn't her usual Friday night entertainment but Arizona couldn't bring herself to do anything but let Callie continue, drawing pleasure from her with skilled hands. Sighs and moans, twitches and rising tension the fruits of her labor. Until there was nothing left but to let herself fall into the oblivion of bliss.
Callie dropped with her, the two of them slumping into the cushions of the couch. Arizona groaned loudly, though not in pleasure, and Callie tried to shift. “No, it's not you. It's the stupid freaking couch,” explained Arizona without opening her eyes. “You're perfect.”
A laugh warmed her neck, lips dragging kisses across her skin. “I've heard that before at this point,” she said cockily, breathy and close.
Arizona's head fell back as she laughed and Callie took advantage of the additional space to nibble up under her jaw. “We could go upstairs,” Arizona suggested. “I do have a bedroom.”
Callie's hips dropped down against her, rocking forward slowly. “It's anything you want,” she offered.
Arizona promptly tipped her off the couch and onto the rug, grateful that it was fairly plush. “You good?”
“Better when you finally take my pants off,” said Callie breathlessly.
Grinning, Arizona followed directions as quickly as she was able, throwing Callie's pants aside eagerly. The rest of her task she set about more slowly. She wanted to make the woman beneath her feel good. However long it took. Even if it was the rest of the night. Especially if she could make Callie plead and moan for more.
Callie's hands gripped the carpet below them to keep from threading fingers through Arizona's delightfully mussed hair and shoving her down to where she wanted her. This night had been amazing so far and she couldn't bring herself to rush it, no matter how Arizona appeared to want to torment her with teasing touches.
The noises of encouragement she got only made Arizona want to move slower, to make this encounter last as long as she could. After this night she might not see Callie again. It was a big city, after all. The thought made her pause, mouth against Callie's middle. She couldn't say she'd hate running into her again. But then, the medical community wasn't too big. She could surely find the newly arrived Dr. Torres with some effort. If she could remember her name in the morning.
Reassured, Arizona's progress down her lover's body resumed more quickly. Callie was appreciative, a hand gripping blonde hair as she arched into the contact.
Once she had reached her goal the teasing pace resumed. If this was the last time she saw Callie she wanted to make this last. She didn't like leaving ladies with a bad impression of her talents. Callie's chant of her name was all the encouragement she required, heels against her back keeping her where she was needed. At least it seemed like Callie would remember her name come morning.
“Arizona!”
She snapped awake with a gasp, gripping Callie's arm to keep herself from pitching off the edge of their bed. “What? What is it?”
Laughing, Callie leaned toward her. “You sounded like you were having a pretty good dream there.” The kiss she gave her still groggy wife was slow and gentle. “Should I be jealous?”
Arizona felt the blush rise up her neck, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “Whoo,” she sighed happily.
“That good, huh?” asked Callie with an arching eyebrow. “Want to tell me about it?”
Less groggy, Arizona sat up against the headboard. “Where are the kids?”
“They're at Tim's. We're hosting dinner, so they're watching the gang. We definitely have time to talk about this dream.”
That was promising. “You really want to know?” asked Arizona, teasing. Pulling her legs up gave Callie room to join her on the mattress. Crawling forward, Callie leaned in again to kiss her less slowly. Between kisses Arizona breathed out, “You remember the night we met, right?” Callie's affirmative was hummed into her mouth before the next kiss was taking the air from her chest. “That's what I was dreaming about,” gasped Arizona as it ended.
Callie pulled back enough to see her eyes, grinning. Her hand slipped up to hook two fingers in her wife's comfy pants. “Oooh, alright. So I have just one question for you then.” Laughing, Arizona cocked her head, chewing on her lip again. “When I take your pants off exactly which superhero is going to be on your panties this time?”
“It's only been eleven years. You know how to find out,” Arizona answered, already lifting her hips as Callie levered herself over her.