AN: A little one-shot inspired by Adele's song When We Were Young. If you haven't heard the song, you should check it out because it's amazing. Anyways, hope you enjoy!
Arizona closes her eyes and sighs as she sits back in her seat. Her day has been filled with nothing but losses and hard decisions. After an extra-long shift she is finally able to relax, and finds herself hidden away in a corner at Joe's nursing her second glass of wine. It's Friday night and the bar is quickly filling up with thirsty patrons. All she wants to do is sit alone and drink – no talking, and definitely no thinking. But that seems impossible now, because even from her spot across the room, it takes her but a second to know that Callie is there. After all this time she can still feel when she is near.
Everyone in the bar notices her tonight. She is dressed to kill in skintight jeans, black knee high boots, and a purple shirt with a plunging neckline that leaves little to the imagination. Her smile is radiant and she looks like heaven as she dances freely on the makeshift dance floor. It's no surprise everyone is looking at her.
Everybody loves the things you do
From the way you talk
To the way you move…
Everybody here is watching you
`Cause you feel like home
You're like a dream come true
She has always admired how Callie can let herself go like that – never caring who is watching, and dancing to her own beat if she has to. Watching Callie dance is mesmerizing. It's the only way she knows how to describe it. The way she moves is beautiful and sexy and peaceful all at once, and it's impossible for Arizona to look away.
Callie bounces and moves her arms to the music. She is so happy she is laughing, and Arizona can't help but think about the first time they danced together.
You look like a movie
You sound like a song
My God, this reminds me
Of when we were young
It was their second date, and Callie invited her over for dinner. She remembers standing outside that apartment door feeling incredibly nervous – which was entirely new for her. Arizona didn't get nervous. She was good at dating. So good there were people lining up for her. But she knew from the first time she saw her that Callie was different. Deep down she knew something big was happening, that the stakes were higher this time.
All her nerves evaporated when Callie opened the door with a blinding smile on her face. She grabbed her hand and pulled her into the apartment. She can still feel Callie's hot breath on her neck as she whispered "Dance with me…"
And they danced. All around the room, laughing and smiling so hard their cheeks hurt. And when Callie stopped to kiss her, she was warm and sweet and felt like magic. It was the best date Arizona ever had.
I was so scared to face my fears
`Cause nobody told me that you'd be here
She knows she should look away, or at least try and pretend she isn't staring, but Arizona doesn't care. It has been so long since she has seen Callie like this, she knows she could sit and watch her all night. The only thing better than watching Callie dance is dancing with her. Callie's body pressed to hers with her hands moving along her hips is enough to make her feel invincible.
And it did.
Every time.
They faced gunman, car crashes, and planes falling from the sky, and when Callie held her like that, Arizona felt like she could do anything.
The music changes now. The song is slow, the melody sweet. Callie's eyes are closed as she sways back and forth mouthing the words, and Arizona is taken back again.
It was the night they first brought Sofia home. After many exhausting weeks of running back and forth between hospital beds, Arizona finally had both her girls in the same place. After locking up the apartment and turning out the lights, she made her way to the bedroom. Before making her presence known, she stood silently in the doorway in awe of the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. There next to the window was Callie, dancing slowly with their daughter in her arms as she sang her a quiet lullaby.
Arizona remembers it vividly, even years later, because it was in that moment she knew she had everything she ever wanted. She had Callie and she had Sofia – she had a family – and she couldn't ask for anything else.
Let me photograph you in this light
In case it is the last time
That we might be exactly like we were
Before we realized
We were sad of getting old
It made us restless
The bar has filled up considerably, but Arizona has yet to lose sight of Callie. Her third glass of wine sits untouched on the table as she tries to clear her head. She promised herself she wouldn't do this tonight, but no matter what she does, no matter who she is with, her thoughts always lead back to Callie. Tonight she doesn't need to dream of the past to see her smile and hear her laugh. Tonight she has a front row seat to everything her life is missing.
She watches Callie run a hand through her dark curls as the song ends and another immediately begins. She tenses suddenly as the first few notes ring out across the bar before falling back into her enchanting dance. It is over in an instant, unnoticeable to anyone else, but Arizona sees it. Because she knows that Callie knows this song. They both do. How could they ever forget?
Everything just takes me back
To when you were there
To when you were there
Two big, white dresses made it impossible to do much else but sway back and forth, but to Arizona it was perfect. Callie Torres was her wife, and she was holding her in her arms as they danced their first dance at their wedding. The room was full of their family and friends drinking and having fun, but all she saw was Callie. And the brown eyes that stared back at her made her feel more loved and more cherished than she ever had in her entire life. There was no better feeling than being loved by Callie Torres, of this she was sure. And there was no greater privilege than being able to love her back. And that was what Arizona told her as she leaned in to kiss her wife in front of everyone to see.
And part of me keeps holding on
Just in case it hasn't gone
I guess I still care
Do you still care?
It's getting late now, and the bar is full of endless chatter and laughter as everyone begins to feel relaxed and free. Arizona's shoulders are looser now, and the thoughts of today have left her mind completely. She knows that tonight is exactly what she needed. Callie's presence has always made her feel calm and safe and anchored, and tonight is no different.
It may be the wine or the nostalgia getting the best of her, but she swears she has never missed Callie more than she misses her right now. When Penny left she was scared that another loss would break Callie completely, that it would be the one to close her off to the world entirely, but as she watches her now she can clearly see that Callie isn't broken, not in the slightest. Out on the dance floor she is glowing - strong and alive.
Callie really has come so far, they both have. Tonight is the first time in a long time that Arizona truly knows who she is again. Tonight she knows exactly what she wants.
Slowly, but resolutely, she stands. Taking a deep breath she squares her shoulders and steps out of her spot in the corner. Callie's back is to her, arms stretched above her head as she moves her hips to the music. Arizona crosses the room in a handful of steps, and is close enough she can smell Callie's perfume. With one last step she is there. Her hands find soft, strong hips as she presses her front into Callie's back, and just like that she is home.
Callie doesn't turn around. She knows those hands – knows that warmth. She could feel Arizona's eyes on her all night. Without a word she closes her eyes and gets lost in the feel of Arizona. Together they dance, slow and steady and sure. And when the silence is almost too much to bear, Callie feels Arizona's warm breath against her ear as she whispers, "I love you, Calliope."
Arizona's voice is soft and sweet and full of love, and Callie is taken back to the first time she heard those words. She felt them then, and she feels them now and maybe this time that is enough.
It was just like a movie
It was just like a song
When we were young