Title: Of Handcuffs and Midnight Kisses
Pairing: Callie/Arizona
Rating: PG-13 – some bad words and a bit of innuendo
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. I'm just messing with them!
Summary: Arizona, new to Seattle Grace, meets Callie at Cristina and Meredith's New Year's Eve party. Because of Cristina's antics, they find themselves in quite a predicament.
A/N: So, I was supposed to play this game at an NYE party, but my plans changed (for the better, because I can guarantee I would not have had close to this experience with the game). Nevertheless, it sparked an idea for a fic. This is an AU version of how Grey's Callie and Arizona met, and yes, I've played with the timeline. Also, apologies for the crappy title. I think this took me about two hours to write and another hour sitting there, unable to think of a title. Happy New Year, everyone!
A/N2: For those of you reading The Prep, a new chapter is in the works!
Of Handcuffs and Midnight Kisses
Arizona Robbins rocked on her feet in anxious excitement when the front door opened and revealed two more guests: Mark Sloan, whom she'd met for a consult the day before, and a gorgeous, gorgeous brunette, whom she had yet to meet, but whom she really, really wanted to meet.
"Good, you two are here," Cristina Yang, one of the New Year's Eve party's hosts, greeted the new guests. "Mark, you have to wait for the next person to arrive."
"Wait for what?" Mark asked, not unused to Yang's strange ways, but confused nonetheless.
A sly smile on her face, Cristina ignored Mark and shepherded the brunette over to Arizona. "Callie, this is Arizona Robbins. Arizona, Calliope Torres."
"Yang!" Callie seethed. "It's Callie," she corrected, turning to Arizona.
"Hi, Calliope," Arizona replied, ignoring Callie's correction. Her blue eyes shone with mischief. Callie rolled her eyes.
"You two are together," Cristina said, grabbing Arizona's right wrist and Callie's left.
"Together for what?" Callie asked, her brow furrowed. Cristina just shrugged, saying "Cuffs and Coors. Ask Blondie," before walking off.
Callie immediately turned to the blonde. "Ask you what?"
Arizona smiled impishly before raising their now joined wrists. "Oh my god!" Callie exclaimed. "What the fuck, Yang?" she called after the retreating resident. Turning back to Arizona, she asked, "Why the hell are we handcuffed together?"
Arizona gestured to all of the other guests, who were similarly paired off and handcuffed. "From what I've gathered, we won't be freed until we've drunk our allotted amount."
Callie groaned. "Do I dare ask how much that is?"
Once again, Arizona pointed to something in the distance, this time to the counter, where several shots and beers were laid out in sections according to pairs. Callie may have been biased, but she could have sworn that Arizona and Callie's section was the biggest.
"Let's go, then," Callie said, while marching off to the counter, pulling Arizona with her.
"Not much for pleasantries, are you?" Arizona asked, having to skip to keep up with Callie.
"Here's the game plan. We're going to take two shots each now. Then we'll drink the beer and come back for the rest of the shots in about…" Callie glanced at her watch. "…an hour. Okay?"
"Damn, that's fast."
"I'm just trying to get us freed from each other, so that I can socialize with my friends…unattached. I assumed you wanted the same?"
"Oh, I don't know. It's not every day I'm handcuffed to a pretty lady. I'm thinking I'm going to enjoy it." Arizona winked.
Trying to cover up her deep blush, Callie coughed, before saying, "Well, that makes one of us."
She slid a shot of tequila over to Arizona and picked up one for herself. Before Callie managed to throw back the fiery liquid, she felt pressure against her glass and turned to see Arizona clinking her shot glass against her own.
"Cheers!" the blonde said with a giggle.
Callie looked at her like she had three heads. "I am going to kill Yang."
o0o0o
"Hey, how come you two get to be joined together? Why couldn't I have been partnered with Mark?" Callie asked, when she spied Cristina and Meredith dancing clumsily together.
"Because we're the hosts," Meredith replied cheekily.
"And because you and Mark are already bonded enough, don't you think?" Cristina added, causing Arizona to scrunch up her face.
By now, all of the guests had arrived and been paired up, and it turned out that Yang had a very sick sense of humor. As twisted as Meredith may have been, it was clear she was not the mastermind behind this. George and Alex were sulking in a corner, pulling each other in two different directions, and both chugging drinks as quickly as possibly. Addison had returned for the holidays, though, now attached to her ex-husband Derek, she was probably regretting that decision immensely. Bailey was shackled to Owen and the two were sitting on a couch, staring silently ahead. Mark was attached to Lexie and given the constant blush on the younger Grey's face, he was probably letting her know exactly what he wanted to do with those handcuffs.
"Gross, Yang," Callie replied.
"What, are you a lesbian now?" Cristina countered. As Callie's roommate, Cristina had wondered if there was more to her friendship with Erica Hahn, especially given how crushed Callie was when the cardio surgeon disappeared into the parking lot never to return again. Before now, she hadn't felt the need to ask Callie about it, and hadn't cared either way. Now, however, two shots and a beer in, she was all too curious.
"Cristina! You can't just ask someone if they're a lesbian now," Meredith chided. "Sorry," she added in Callie's direction, before dragging her strange best friend over to Mark and her sister.
To say that Arizona was now amused would have been a gross understatement. In her first week at Seattle Grace, she'd heard the hospital gossip, an alarming amount of it revolving around her manacled partner. She'd known that Callie wasn't exactly the straightest of arrows and had secretly been wishing she'd meet the exotically beautiful brunette at the party. She hadn't imagined she would literally be stuck to her all night, but wouldn't have it any other way. As she nursed her beer painfully slowly, she grew increasingly excited for what the New Year would hold.
o0o0o
"I have to pee," Arizona announced suddenly. She and Callie were still attached and sitting on a couch together, chatting with Mark and Lexie. Since Arizona was new and didn't know anyone, she let Callie choose whom they would talk to without putting up much of a fight.
Callie shrugged. "Um, okay," she replied, unsure why Arizona felt the need to make this particular announcement.
Arizona raised their joined hands in explanation.
"Oh, for the love of God," Callie groaned. "You can't hold it?"
The blonde shook her head. "Nope," she replied unapologetically. "Come on."
Once they finally reached the bathroom – Callie had stopped to grab her second beer on the way – Arizona shut and locked the door, before just standing in the middle of the small room.
"Well?" Callie asked.
Arizona raised her eyebrows.
"What?"
"Turn around and close your eyes."
"Seriously?" Callie asked with a cocked eyebrow. "Nothing I haven't seen before."
"So I hear."
Callie blushed and immediately turned around. "No, I just meant…on me…I'm a girl…and so are you."
Arizona threw her head back in laughter as she attempted to pull down her pants, jerking Callie's hand every once in a while. "I'm just kidding, Calliope."
Callie remained silently turned towards the door until she heard the sound of jeans being zipped up. Arizona pulled Callie over to the sink, where they attempted to wash their hands.
"Okay," Callie began when they walked out of the bathroom. "We need to get you another drink. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were purposely drinking slowly." At these words, a sly smile crossed Arizona's face. "Oh my god, you are purposely drinking slowly."
"Can you blame me?"
Up until that point, Arizona's flirting had been mostly subtle and teasing, but one look into her blue eyes told Callie that she was completely genuine. Callie swallowed the thick lump in the back of her throat and attempted to speak, but had literally no idea what to say.
Arizona saw her partner's current predicament and jumped in. "Come on, let me grab a beer and then let's sit over there. I want to get to know the mysterious Calliope Torres."
By now, Alex and George and Addison and Derek had managed to separate themselves. Owen and Bailey were still working on their drinks, as were Mark and Lexie. Everyone was pretty sure that Cristina and Meredith had drunk their share, but just chose to stay attached to each other.
"We're playing 20 Questions," Arizona decided once the pair had found a spot on the couch. Callie rolled her eyes.
"What, like animal, mineral, or vegetable?"
"No, like I ask you ten questions and you have to answer them and vice versa."
"That is not how you play 20 Questions," Callie argued.
"Well, it's how we're going to play."
Considering Callie couldn't really move away from Arizona and she also didn't want to sit in silence, she replied, "Fine." She took a big swig from her beer.
"Where are you from?"
"Miami. Where are you from?"
"Boston. Family?"
"Dad's a business tycoon, Mom's a lawyer, sister's a flake," Callie answered with a smirk, making her inquisitor laugh.
"So you're rich?"
"Filthy," Callie remarked with a sarcastic eye-roll. Usually she kept her wealth well-hidden, but her alcohol-induced lack of inhibitions meant that she did not have much of a filter. "Now I get two questions."
"That last one didn't count!"
"It was a question, wasn't it?"
"So was that! Now you only have one!" Arizona was positively gleeful.
And so their game of 20 Questions continued, each surprised to find they enjoyed learning even the most mundane things about the other. For instance, Callie was interested to learn that Arizona was, in fact, a lesbian, and that her date the night before with Julie definitely did not go well. And Arizona threw her head back in laughter as Callie related her most embarrassing moment, being caught by the Chief of Surgery dancing in her underwear in the basement of the hospital. The game soon took a downward and more serious turn, however.
"So, Mark Sloan?"
"Best friend, and ex-sex buddy," Callie answered succinctly, knowing exactly what Arizona was asking. When Arizona quirked her eyebrow up, silently asking for more information so as not to waste a question, Callie sighed and continued. "I only recently discovered that I was interested in women, and it was hard for me to come to terms with that at first. I turned to Mark to help me figure it out, and as I'm sure you've guessed, he was only too willing to comply. It wasn't a good idea and it certainly didn't help matters with Erica."
"And Erica?" Arizona asked her last question softly, realizing already that it was a touchy subject.
"You want your last question to be about my ex-girlfriend?"
"Yep," Arizona nodded. Being handcuffed to a relative stranger could really make you skip over pleasantries.
"Erica Hahn was the head of Cardio at Seattle Grace. She and I were close, really close until she kissed me to prove that Mark couldn't handle seeing the two of us together. After that, we were both just trying to figure out our sexuality. We were so awkward about it. In some ways, I felt like a teenaged virgin all over again. But we tried, and finally, we clicked, and it was just…right. It felt natural, and so I broke it off with Mark, and tried to make it work with Erica. And then…" Callie's eyes flitted around the room as she tried to find the right words. "…and then we got into a fight, a stupid fucking fight, and she just…she just walked off. Into the parking lot. I thought I'd see her at work the next day and we'd apologize and make up, but I haven't seen or spoke to her since. She just up and left without a word to anyone."
"I'm so sorry, Calliope," Arizona breathed. She could tell that although Callie was on her way to healing, the wounds were still open.
"That's okay. Being handcuffed to a beautiful woman does help," Callie flirted blatantly for the first time that night. Chuckling at Arizona's blush, she continued, "I believe I still have one last question, and I haven't learned anything about your family yet…so?"
Arizona sucked in a large breath. She always felt both prepared and unprepared for that question. "Well, my dad is a retired Marine Corps Colonel and he doesn't let anyone forget that…ever. My mom is a very happy housewife. And my brother…well, he followed in my father's footsteps and served bravely and honorably, but unfortunately didn't make it back."
"Oh God, Arizona. I'm so sorry, I didn't know. Obviously." Callie struggled to find the right words to placate the woman she'd only met a few hours ago, so in the end, she opted for a lopsided, awkward hug, which Arizona reciprocated and seemed to appreciate.
"Come on!" Arizona began brightly once she pulled away from Callie. "Let's get a drink. It's getting late and I'm sure you don't want to still be attached to me when the ball drops." Arizona winked and tugged her partner off the couch and over to the counter, where the two downed a shot each.
o0o0o
Over the next hour, Callie found herself watching her handcuffed companion, and not just in a 'she's attached to me and so I can't avoid her' kind of way, but really watching her. She watched the way the blonde's eyes sparkled and her dimples appeared when she was really interested in someone's story. She watched the way her hair swished gracefully when she threw her head back in laughter. Callie also watched the way Arizona watched her, how attentively she listened when Callie told a story and how her eyes would often dip lower than Callie's for just a few seconds, but always come back up to meet Callie's chocolate ones.
"I suppose I should apologize," Callie said when they found themselves alone once again.
"Oh, Callie, it's okay. You didn't know," Arizona replied, believing that Callie was referring to the end of their 20 Questions game.
"No, not that. I haven't been particularly…pleasant this evening, and I just wanted to say that it's not you. I just haven't really been feeling myself lately. I swear I'm actually very nice and very fun to be around."
"Well, I happen to be having fun tonight, and considering I'm literally attached to you, I'd have to agree that you're fun to be around!"
Callie laughed, before turning to face the blonde and taking Arizona's free hand in one of hers. "I just wanted to say that I obviously wasn't fond of the handcuffs idea, but you've made it quite enjoyable, and I just wanted to ask if you'd – "
Arizona suddenly looked down at her watch. "Crap, it's 11:50. Let's go get our last shot before midnight."
Callie reluctantly agreed, if only because her wrist was starting to get a bit sore from all the purposeful and inadvertent yanking. Arizona, of course, had known where Callie's rambled speech was going and couldn't stop herself from cutting the brunette off. She just didn't date newborns. And fun-to-be-around and easy-on-the-eyes Callie Torres was definitely a newborn. As they walked over to the counter to get their drinks, however, Arizona began to wish she hadn't let her fears stand in the way of her heart. She shook her head to clear her mind of those regrets and cheerfully reached for their last shots.
"Yuck," Arizona said with a grimace after taking her last tequila shot. "I don't know how you do that. You make it look like water."
"I'm from Miami, baby; tequila is a way of life!" Callie said with a wink. "Yang!" she called moments later, while pointing to their area of the counter, which was now filled with entirely empty shot glasses and beer bottles. Cristina dutifully traipsed over, attached Meredith in tow. She took a key from her pocket and wordlessly unlocked their cuffs, before wandering back over to the living room.
Massaging their wrists, the two looked at one another, both hoping the other would say something to ease the awkward tension.
"So…" Callie started.
"Well, this was…Oooh, hey! Karev, right?" Arizona called as the younger surgeon walked by. "We haven't been introduced, and I hear you have an interest in Peds!"
Alex nodded and grunted in affirmation. Taking this as her cue to leave, Callie nodded and smiled politely before wandering away to find Addison.
"Arizona Robbins," the blonde started by way of introduction. "So, Peds?"
"Yeah, I like the kids and stuff," Alex said around a mouthful of chips.
"Good, good!" Arizona replied with a dimpled smile. "Well, Peds is hardcore. Think you're up for the challenge?" Her eyes twinkled with the prospect.
"Look, no offense. You're hot and all, but I don't want to kiss you at midnight." He glanced to the clock on the microwave, which was inching closer and closer to the fated hour.
"Ooh, yeah, no, I'm not interested," Arizona replied, a smile still firmly affixed on her face. "At all."
"You're interested in Torres, right?"
"Um…I mean…" Arizona started, her blush giving herself away.
"You should go for it. She's hot, you're hot. She's good in the sack," Alex reasoned.
Arizona raised her eyebrows, wondering just how incestuous her new hospital was.
"It was just once. Meaningless. After a really successful surgery," he backtracked.
"Ooookaaayyy," Arizona said slowly. She had been quite inundated with information about the now-much-less-mysterious brunette.
"So, yeah, you should bang her," Alex said in conclusion.
Arizona guffawed at Alex's crassness but certainly did not disagree.
o0o0o
"You like her," Addison stated.
"She's hot," Mark added, staring in the direction of the kitchen, where Arizona stood talking to Alex. His tone indicated that if Callie didn't get a move on, he was ready to swoop in for the kill.
"What about Lexie? And besides, she's a lesbian, Mark."
"Exactly!" Addison jumped in. "And since you're now speaking the vagina monologues…" Callie rolled her eyes. "…I think you should give it a shot. Plus, as Mark noted, she's hot."
Callie sighed, before turning herself. She watched as Arizona cocked her head in amused inquisition while Alex likely said something crass and untactful.
"Come on, Torres. You deserve this," Mark said, breaking her out of her reverie.
"I guess." Callie shrugged.
"Good. Now, you better act fast, because 1) she just looked over here, and 2) you have very little time before midnight. It's now or never."
After narrowing her eyes in Addison's direction, noting her friend's flair for the dramatic, she glanced at her watch and realized the redhead was right. As if on cue, several people in the room began to chant the countdown.
"Ten! Nine! Eight!"
Fueled by liquid courage and a touch of desperation, Callie walked swiftly towards the kitchen, where Arizona now stood alone, having been abandoned by Alex. The resident was slumped against a wall, no doubt texting Izzie, who wasn't able to make the party. Having turned off the pesky side of her brain that produced her fear, Arizona also began to walk towards Callie. After all, it was New Year's Eve, and everyone deserves a kiss at midnight.
"Seven! Six!"
They stopped about a foot apart from each other, both questioning their decision for one last time. Arizona met Callie's gaze, before letting her eyes drop to the brunette's plump lips and bringing her eyes back up once more.
"Five! Four! Three!"
"Two," Arizona said, stepping forward so that she was completely flush against Callie.
"One," Callie whispered before leaning in to lightly brush her lips against the blonde's.
Choruses of "Happy New Year!" sounded throughout the apartment as Arizona flicked her tongue over Callie's bottom lip. Each woman brought a hand up to cup the other woman's face, bringing their lips impossibly closer. Grasping Arizona's hair between her fingers, Callie sucked the blonde's tongue into her mouth, relishing the sound and feel of Arizona's soft moan.
"Happy New Year, Calliope," Arizona whispered breathlessly when they pulled apart.
"I think it will be very happy, yes." Callie grinned down at the shorter woman, before pulling her back in for another kiss. "You know, I didn't even want to come tonight, but Mark convinced me, and I'm so glad he did."
"Remind me to thank him later."
In the opposite corner of the room, the "twisted sisters", still handcuffed to each other, pulled away from their own kisses with Derek and Owen to see Callie and Arizona go back for a third (or maybe fourth?) kiss.
"Look at them," Meredith said. "I think you may have a career in matchmaking."
Cristina shook her head. "Nah, they did all the work. I just had to give them a little push. Besides, I'd much rather cut open hearts than put them together."