Title: Kiss the Girl
Author: A. Windsor
Pairing/Characters: Callie/Arizona
Rating: PG-13
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. My one semester of law school could allow me to legalese this a little more, but it also tells me it's pretty useless. So please don't sue; it's not mine, I'm just playing!
Series: AU!verse
Summary: Lena's girl-kissing causes drama in the Robbins-Torres household. [March 2032]
Author's Note: Chapter 1 of 5. Expanding on a reference in Christmas Waltz. Beta'd by the absolutely wonderful, terribly snarky roughian.
Lena's phone chirps and she pulls it from her jacket pocket, noting the text from her older brother.
Where are you?
"Everything okay?" her companion asks, giving her a warm smile.
Lena nods.
"Asa's just checking in," she says as she quickly messages back: Cálmate. Just giving Chloe a tour.
The response is immediate.
Of the hospital? Keep it in your pants, Len. We leave in 30.
The sixteen-year-old grins a little at her brother's antics.
"We've still got half an hour, then our ride's leaving."
"Oh," the pretty brunette says, a little disappointed, tucking a strand of light brown hair behind her ear. "Should we head back?"
"No, we're good," Lena assures her, opening one of the big swinging doors for Chloe and ushering her through. "In thirty minutes, he'll say it's time to go, but it'll take awhile to round up our brother and sister and get ready. We have plenty of time."
Lena doesn't mean to always end up in this situation, but, well, she's certainly not going to object. Besides, it's just a few minutes in a closet...
She steps into the kiss, feeling the butterflies flutter in her stomach as her hands search for purchase on Chloe's hips. The older girl's lips part and Lena happily takes the invitation as Chloe's arms loop around her neck. Lena's hands inch upward, enjoying the way she can feel the heat from the skin of the other girl's stomach through the thin cotton of her uniform oxford.
The junior has been flirting with her for the past few weeks. Lena's one of only a handful of openly gay students at their small, prestigious private school, but there's never been a shortage of girls wanting to, for example, corner her in hospital supply closets. And she's just fine with that, because she likes kissing girls, all soft skin and warm lips, even if her momma thinks she does it too much. Or that she gets caught doing it too much? Or something like that.
Lena moves her lips to Chloe's neck, encouraged when the older girl threads her fingers through her blonde curls, tugging them loose from their ponytail. As she gets to the base of her neck, Chloe encourages her even further, taking one hand to undo the buttons of her shirt.
Which, yeah, Lena's not going to object to either, taking a moment to enjoy the downward view. She lets one hand drift lower, getting a good grip of her ass through the plaid skirt, as the other continues upward, brushing at the underside of Chloe's bra. She pulls back to meet clear green eyes in the low light, making sure this is okay. Asa has taken it upon himself to make sure she knows how to be a gentleman, at least, if she insists on kissing a bunch of girls in parked cars (and storage closets).
Chloe just nods and presses forward, so Lena kisses her again, her hand reaching upward as—
"What the hell? Why can't people in this damn hospital just- Lena?"
The girls jump apart, and Lena steps in front of Chloe with a meek:
"Hi, Aunt Miranda."
"Oh, don't you dare 'Aunt Miranda' me right now, Lena Rose. That's Chief Bailey to you, and you're going to get yourself together and march right down to Chief Bailey's office this instant."
Lena turns to say something to the absolutely mortified older girl, but Bailey cuts her off.
"Now, Lena! I'll deal with your friend."
Straightening out her shirt and skirt, Lena gives Chloe the most supportive look she can before ducking out.
"Please, please, you can't tell my parents," Chloe begs, holding her shirt together, flushed beet red. "I mean, the boys they know about, but..."
"Look, I don't really care what you personally are doing; you're not even close to my responsibility. But that girl is, so run along before I decide I'm annoyed enough to make you my responsibility, too. Just fix yourself up and get out of here. I suggest you call someone else for a ride, though. Things could be tense in the Robbins-Torres house tonight."
Miranda Bailey shakes her head as she leaves the poor, embarrassed girl behind in the closet and goes to page Lena's mothers.
"She what?"
"Oh, c'mon, Arizona, it's kinda funny! It's not like we didn't do it; probably in that same closet."
Callie gets glares of doom from both her wife and her boss, so she wisely backs off, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Well, where's the girl?" Arizona asks, working her jaw. In her mind, this is just the final straw. Forget the string of partners, Lena needs to learn where it is and isn't appropriate to be making out.
Supply closet at your mothers' work? Definitely isn't.
"I sent her home. I think the embarrassment was enough of a lesson for her. But I know you said this has been a chronic problem with Miss Lena so I thought you'd like to know."
"Oh, I very much wanted to know," Arizona says grimly. She pushes open the door to Bailey's office and beckons the waiting teenager. "Our car. Now."
"Momma," Lena starts, calculatedly repentant look in place as she steps forward.
"Car, Lena. I'm not making more of a scene here."
"Pero, Mami," she turns to her madre in search of amnesty. "No hice nada terrible. Sólo nos besamos y no importa tanto que-" [I didn't do anything awful. We were only kissing and it's not such a big deal-]
"Don't make it worse, Lena. Do as your mother says."
Lena sulks past the office with an "I'm really sorry, Chief Bailey," and downcast blue eyes. That, at least, does the littlest bit to alleviate her mother's ire.
"Don't let it happen again, Lena, and we'll be fine."
"Yes, ma'am," Lena says and disappears, hurrying towards the parking lot.
Callie wonders what they did right that so far this is the worst they have had to deal with and that she has absolute faith that Lena will walk straight to the car and await her fate.
"You should take the others out to dinner or something. I need to—"
"Yell?"
"That, too."
"Chloe Martin? Really? Who hasn't gone there?"
"Thanks, Katie," Asa rolls his eyes. "That's clearly the point."
Gossip travels fast in Seattle Grace-Mercy West, and the attendings' kids are usually the first to know anything. Today, three Robbins-Torres', a Shepherd, and an Altman-Tate are buzzing with the latest news on their compatriot; news Asa probably should have seen coming a mile away.
"Look alive, troops," Asa orders his brother and sister under his breath as he spots their madre coming towards them with a pinched look on her face.
"Hola m'ijos."
"Hey, Mami," Teo greets.
"Get your stuff, chicos," Callie instructs, kissing the almost-ten-year-old's head. "I'm taking Lena's place in the car. We're headed out to dinner."
Teo looks up with wide eyes.
"Momma didn't kill her, did she?"
Callie looks quickly to Asa.
"You told him?"
Asa winces. "He heard."
"Your mother didn't kill her, Teo. They're just... having a talk. And we're going to grab some food. Do you wanna come Katie? Nicky?"
"No, thanks," seventeen-year-old Katie declines politely, slinging an arm over her ten-year-old companion's shoulder. "Nick and I have a date with the cafeteria lasagna; his dad should be here in about twenty minutes, and I promised I'd keep an eye on him."
"Okay, if you're sure."
"We're sure. We'll see you tomorrow."
"Well?"
"Ma'am?"
Arizona grips the steering wheel tightly as her daughter plays coy.
"What do you have to say for yourself?"
"I'm very sorry for getting caught with a girl- "
"A mostly shirtless girl," Arizona interjects.
"In a closet at your place of work. It was very inappropriate." Lena says all the right things, but completely misses the true essence of Arizona's frustration. "It will never happen again."
"You better believe it will never happen again," Arizona bites back angrily.
Lena huffs out a little sigh, her eyes rolling towards the darkening skyline out the window.
"'Snot like people don't do it all the time at that place," she grumbles under her breath.
"Lena Rose!"
The teen slumps lower in her seat.
"I just don't see why you always freak about this stuff. It's just kissing!"
"It's not just the kissing, Lena, and you know it."
"No, I don't."
"Why this girl? Do you like her, besides being her science partner?"
"I guess," Lena shrugs. "She's really pretty."
Arizona groans. Teenagers.
"Is she nice?"
"Sure."
A ringing endorsement.
"Then why don't you take her on a few dates? You're old enough to do that. A movie, maybe? I just don't understand why it's a long line of girls I've never even met that you get caught with in inappropriate places. You know your madre and I aren't opposed to you dating."
Lena shrugs. Arizona sighs.
"You really don't see why this is upsetting?"
"No, ma'am."
"Okay then. You're grounded."
"What? That's not fair. Asa and Katie make out at the hospital all the time!" Lena throws her brother under the bus.
"And if they ever get caught like that, he'll be grounded, too."
"Well, for how long?"
"I'll have to discuss it with Mami, but you can assume this weekend is gone."
"But-"
"I don't want to hear it until you're ready to really listen to me about this."
"Fine. Whatever. You're ridiculous."
"Excuse me?" Arizona demands with full mommy-voice, and though Lena's nostrils flair indignantly, she wisely keeps her mouth shut. "That's what I thought. Dinner and bed when we get home."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Momma, we're home!"
"Hey there, Tiny Dancer," Arizona greets their youngest wearily as Teo pokes his head into his moms' bedroom.
"Mami took us for tacos. Los chicos at Carlito's wanted to know where nuestras rubias were."
She smiles at his exuberance as he comes in and throws himself onto the bed beside her.
"Where is Lena?" Teo asks, resting his face on his small fists and tilting his head. "Did you kill her?"
"Mateo Robbins-Torres, for the last time, your mother did not and would never kill your older sister," Callie reproaches from the doorway. "Ándate a divertir. Tienes una hora y media antes de bedtime. Asa will look at your homework." [Go play. You have an hour and a half before bedtime.]
"Yes, ma'am," Teo says swiftly, scrambling up to give his momma a hug first.
Arizona captures him in a headlock when he's in close and whispers in his ear: "You better check her bedroom; make sure she's still alive."
Teo beams at her continuation of their joke out of the earshot of his madre, and she releases him with a kiss to his temple. He scampers out the door.
"Hey, Momma, Mami," Caroline also sneaks into their bedroom. "Can Susie and I please go to the mall after school tomorrow? Katie said she'd take us."
Arizona sets her book aside and looks to Callie. Her wife shrugs and nods.
"Yeah, okay," Callie speaks for them. "I'll need to talk to Katie when you get out of class."
"Yes, ma'am," Caroline grins gratefully, hurrying upstairs to tell her best friend.
Asa ducks into the room behind her.
"Hey, I know Lena-nena is grounded, but I'm really going to need her to take Teo to dance tomorrow."
"Yes, that's fine," Arizona sighs. "She's not grounded from family stuff."
"'Kay. Gracias."
"Lena-nena is grounded?" Callie questions, turning to Arizona as Asa beats a hasty retreat, recognizing the tone of voice. "For how long?"
"I told her I had to talk to you."
"Oh well, thanks for that, at least."
"Callie..."
"No, no. You can unilaterally decide she's grounded, that's fine."
"She clearly needs to be disciplined for this. She can't run around taking girls' shirts off in hospital closets."
"Oh, they're just being kids, Arizona. Your girl's a charmer; she can't help it. She's a teenager. She's horny and confused, and occasionally she makes a poor choice. I'm sure the embarrassment of getting caught by Bailey is going to put a damper on it. Besides, it's adorable, and frankly, pretty hilarious."
"No. No! Because if it were Asa who was caught kissing a parade of girls in cars and closets, we wouldn't find it half as 'adorable' and 'hilarious'. She can't... It's disturbing. And I get it, she's young, but it's not cute that she could be starting to detach physical gratification from emotional connection."
"Don't you think you're kinda overreacting?"
"Overreacting?" Arizona demands, eyebrow arched.
Callie grimaces at her word choice and sighs. It might be a guest room kind of night if she doesn't tread carefully.
"Are we really fighting about this?"
"We don't usually disagree on stuff about the kids, so yes, I think we should take the time to fight about this."
A very tentative knock on the door interrupts Callie before she can respond.
"Come in."
Lena enters, already in her pajamas.
"It's quarter to eight," she says, not actually looking either of her mothers in the eye. "Teo—"
"Wants to watch, yeah, okay. We'll be right there," Callie agrees, referencing their Thursday night sitcom watching tradition. "Is he in his pjs? Teeth brushed?"
"We're working on it. Can I watch?"
Callie looks pointedly to Arizona, who rolls her eyes.
"Yes, fine. We'll discuss the terms of your grounding tomorrow."
Lena, who's always been wonderful at playing duly chastised, nods once and sneaks out of their room.
"Don't let those puppy dog eyes fool you," Arizona warns, rising from the bed. "She was a total brat in the car."
"Can't imagine where she gets that from," Callie mumbles.
tbc
