The Three Time Arizona Robbins Almost Met Callie Torres (And the Time She Finally Did)

Summary: A/U. Pre-Calzona to beginning Calzona. Callie and Arizona navigate their lives separately in the world of fashion. One shot.

A/N: Hello! This is my first Callie/Arizona fic, so I'd love to know what you guys think. I'd like to give a shout out to my friend superhero0008, who beta-ed this for me, even though this is not her fandom. Super thanks yo!


TAKE ONE.

Arizona Robbins just finished high school the first time she almost met Callie Torres.

It was the summer right before college. She was planning to travel that summer, to see the world. Yes, she had been to a lot of places before, since they used to move a lot when she was younger - being a military brat and all - but she never got to travel like a tourist. Plus, she wanted to see some old friends. She spent her senior year saving up for it.

Then, her brother died in Iraq. She couldn't leave anymore, not because she was not allowed to, but because she felt the need to keep her parents company through that time. In truth, if she were to be honest with herself, she stayed for her own self, to keep herself sane.

A couple of days after receiving the news of her brother's death, her best friend, Teddy, came to her house with a box of doughnuts. Teddy convinced her to get up, put some clothes on, and go out. She told her that her brother, Tim, wouldn't have wanted to see her mope and turn her back on life.

So she let herself be persuaded by Teddy to enroll in a summer course. She had money saved up anyway, so why not use it for some personal growth. Of course, it was Teddy who chose the program, so she was not surprised when she found out that they were signing up for a fashion course, because, as tomboy as her best friend may be, she was hopelessly passionate about fashion.

The summer course was about fashion styling. It was a collaboration between a relatively new fashion school and the House of Torres. The House of Torres was a well known brand established by fashion powerhouse couple, Carlos and Lucia Torres. Their only daughter, Calliope, a recent graduate from London College of Fashion, was the guest speaker for the first day of the course. She talked about the life of a fashion student, with the aim of inspiring the students to pursue a further studies in fashion.

Arizona didn't attend that first day. It was day of Tim's funeral.


TAKE TWO.

Arizona Robbins was in senior year of college the second time she almost met Callie Torres.

She was one semester away from getting her undergraduate degree. She needed some legitimate work experience to put in her resume. Her major was Journalism, but since she took a course in styling before and spent a couple of summers working as clerk in a big boutique, she decided to try her luck interning for a stylist.

She saw the ad online. Callie Torres, celebrity stylist, was looking for interns to help out at fashion week. Of course, she had heard about Callie Torres. She remembered Teddy mentioning before that Callie was the only daughter of the founders of The House of Torres. She refused to follow her parents' footsteps and go into fashion design, so she became a stylist.

She sent her application to the email indicated in the ad. She wasn't expecting to get accepted; she had no experience in styling, and the name Callie Torres is bound to get a lot of responses from more qualified applicants. So, she was a little surprised when she received a response that same day. They exchanged a few emails. She was asked about her education, her background in fashion, and her schedule. The person seemed interested in hiring her, but she didn't expect to be offered to assist in a shoot scheduled the following day. She knew that turning the gig down would also mean turning down the whole offer, but she already had plans with her girlfriend, Joanne for that day, and she was not one to break promises. Plus, they just got back together after their second major fight. She didn't want to ruin their second chance.

So, she turned down the offer. She didn't know that it was Callie Torres herself, and not some assistant, whom she was speaking with. That night, she and Joanne broke up for the third and last time.


TAKE THREE.

Arizona Robbins just got hired as features assistant of Teen Vogue the third time she almost met Callie Torres.

She spent the last five years building her career as a fashion journalist. She worked hard. There were times that she felt alone, but she wasn't complaining. She was young; she had plenty of time in the future for dating. And, she was hot; women, and even some naive men, were lining up for her. It also didn't bother her that she hadn't had a serious relationship since Joanne.

Of course, her best friend Teddy had to burst her pretty pink bubble and force her to go out. Teddy worked as a freelance stylist with fashion magazines. Her photographer friend, Mark Sloan, mentioned that he was looking for a date for his best friend. So Teddy had the brilliant idea to set them up.

Arizona wanted to go. She really did, if only to shut Teddy up. Deep inside, she wanted to go because she knew that she had to have a life outside the four corners of their office. She hated blind dates though, partly because she thought it an unnatural way of meeting people, and partly because she had met Joanne through a blind date.

Arizona didn't know that her blind date was Callie Torres. If she did, she wouldn't have stood her up, because no one in their right mind would stand Callie Torres up.


TAKE FOUR.

Arizona Robbins just became the features editor of Teen Vogue when she finally met Callie Torres.

After years of working nonstop and not having a life, she was finally living her dream career. Her boss left the magazine to move overseas, and she was recommended to fill the position. She was a little young for it, but it didn't really matter. She worked hard for it, and she was awesome at what she did.

Her mentor from the styling course she took years ago, fashion stylist Miranda Bailey, was hosting a party in celebration of her 30 years in the industry of fashion. She invited former collaborators, interns, and students. Most were big names in fashion, editors, designers, stylists, photographers, and models. Arizona and Teddy were invited, having been Miranda's former students.

There were already a lot of people already when they arrived. As much as she was a people-person, Arizona hated parties. She preferred more intimate gatherings. But then she owed Miranda practically her whole career, so she decided to go and stay for at least an hour. Miranda was playing hostess, going around and chatting with every one. Teddy left to talk with some colleagues. Arizona decided to stay at the bar, sipping her drink, quietly observing people.

She didn't miss it when a good looking couple walked into the room. She knew the guy, Mark Sloan; she had worked with him once. She looked at the woman, and her breath caught in her chest. Working in fashion, Arizona thought she had seen the most beautiful faces in the country, but that didn't prepare her for the sight of this woman. By then, Arizona knew that the woman was the Callie Torres, well-known celebrity stylist and editor-at-large of Vanity Fair. She had heard a lot about this woman - that she recently broke up with her girlfriend, journalist, Erica Hahn, that she was disowned by her family for dating women, and that she was a rock star with a styling kit! - Arizona realized that she seemed like a stalker, knowing quite a bit about Callie. But then who could blame her? Callie's life wasn't exactly a secret in the fashion world.

Arizona watched as Callie Torres went straight Bailey to greet her, then politely excused herself, and made a beeline for the bar. She was thankful that from where she was sitting, Arizona could discreetly observe Callie Torres. She knew she was staring, so she averted her eyes. Not that it mattered though, the other woman had not been looking her way anyway. Then she realized that the woman had stood up and way making her way to the bathroom.

Against her rational thoughts, Arizona Robbins followed Callie Torres into the bar bathroom. Conflicting feelings aside, she never did and never would regret that move.

"Hey!"


End. Thanks for reading.