They say that over time the death of a loved one gets easier to acknowledge. It becomes ,somehow, easier to accept. They say that the pain fades; it becomes a dull ache instead of an open wound. It heals. The pain might flare up,every know and then, but mostly on those special occasions like holidays and birthdays. They've even mapped out the five stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance. They've practically set out a timeline, given everyone a perfectly ordered path to follow. Because that's just what you do,you keep talking about rainbows and relationships and crap and you move on. They say it gets better. They say it gets easier. That's what they say…what the hell do they really know?
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"Ari…" Calliope said somewhat nervously, "Ari… I uh…kinda…just asked you a pretty important question…"
Arizona blinked slowly, looking down at Callie who kneeled before her a diamond engagement ring mocking her from the small black box Callie held in her hand.
"Calliope…" Arizona began her voice soft – broken.
"I know." Callie said quickly, a nervous smile on her face as she reached out to take one of Arizona's hands "I know it's a big step and I know that we've only been together for three years but I love you, I really do. I think that we could spend forever together, I know we could, and…I want..I want to spend forever with you. Because..."
"My brother died today." Arizona interrupted, gently pulling her hand from Callie's, taking a step back.
"Oh god...Ari..I-I..."
"You're proposing to me…on the day my brother died."
They say it gets easier. They lied.
AN: This is my first Callie/Arizona story, please let me know what you think.