AN: This was just a thought that sparked in my mind while scrolling through my dash on tumblr. There was a gifset that inspired this story and it's just sort of spilling out, so I decided to start posting it.
All characters are not mine, but from the brilliant mind of Shonda Rhimes.
Chapter 1 – Friends
Callie sat at the table in the cafeteria, picking at the salad on her plate. Rain fell against the giant windows lining the wall across from her, completing the dismal mood shadowed over her day. She breathed a deep sigh and closed her eyes, trying to stop the thoughts racing through her mind. Her hands started to shake just as a perky blonde set her tray down next to hers. She peeked through her fingers then buried her face again.
"Hey Calliope!" Arizona took her seat, brows creased in concern. "Is something wrong?"
Callie groaned in response and dropped her head to the surface of the table.
"That bad, huh?" The blonde chuckled silently to herself. Even during a temper tantrum, the Latina was absolutely adorable. She stopped herself from reaching out to her, reminding herself again that the woman sitting next to her was not interested in being more than just the friends that they were.
Callie lifted her head from the table and continued picking at her salad. "I'm just having a really rough day."
"I heard about the patient you lost this morning," Arizona reached out to take Callie's hand, but instead stole the carrot from the edge of her plate at the last minute.
"I wish that was all." She narrowed her eyes, playfully glaring at the blonde for stealing her food. She reached her fork across and stole a french fry off of Arizona's plate who pretended to ignore the move. "Today just sucks."
Arizona took a sip of her drink as her eyes narrowed, trying to figure out why today especially would be a hard day. Then it dawned on her; this was the third anniversary of George's death. "Oh," she sighed as the realization hit her.
Callie's eyes darted to Arizona's baby blues then fell to the surface of the table. "Yeah."
Arizona reached out and took hold of Callie's hand, putting her own rules and boundaries aside. They were warmer and softer than she had ever imagined they'd be. Her heart raced as Callie squeezed her hand, accepting the small gesture.
Callie smiled softly as Arizona pulled her hand away. "Thanks," she mumbled. "What about you?" She needed a distraction from everything today meant, and her best friend had always been able to provide that for her.
Her famous dimples formed on her cheeks as a wide smile spread across her mouth. "Weeellll," Arizona began, "I finally discharged Emily this morning!"
"No way!" Callie perked up at the news. Emily had stolen the hearts of every nurse and doctor in Seattle Grace in the several months that she had been Arizona's patient.
Arizona nodded enthusiastically before relaying the latest news in her recovery from her final surgery earlier that week. "She'll be back in a few weeks for a checkup, but she went home about an hour ago."
"That's so awesome! You're amazing, Arizona." Callie beamed. She was always blown away at how the blonde was able to turn her mood around completely without even trying. Arizona smiled back as Mark fell into the chair across from her. Callie went to ask her another question about Emily when Mark interrupted her.
"Ladies," Mark said, a sly charm lacing his greeting.
"Hey Mark," they said in unison. Their eyes met and they burst into a fit of laughter at their simultaneous greeting.
He rolled his eyes, used to their 'eye conversations' as he called it. "How are my two beauties doing this morning?"
Arizona paused and looked to Callie with a raised eyebrow. The Latina brushed off the comment and answered, "we're good…" she looked to Arizona and smiled, "…great actually."
Mark looked between the two women, but shrugged off the comment. "You want to get drinks at Joe's tonight?"
Again, Arizona looked to Callie, an excited sparkle in her eye. "I'm up for it, Calliope?" She paused, but after thinking about relaxing with her two best friends and drinking, maybe even telling a few stories remembering George, she nodded enthusiastically. It would be exactly what she needed.
Arizona's pager went off, signaling her exit. She stood up then reached down to touch Callie's hand again. "I gotta go, but text me if you need me, okay?" Callie nodded and smiled up at her friend. "See you guys tonight!" Arizona rolled towards the trash can to dump her tray then was out the door.
"What was that?" Mark took a bite of his apple as he motioned towards the door the blonde had just left swinging.
"Hm?" Callie dropped her fork onto her plate, giving up on her salad. "What do you mean?"
"You and blondie… You seemed rather touchy today." His eyebrow arched suggestively.
Callie creased her brow as a blush rushed to her cheeks. He was right, they had been a little more touchy than normal, which she for some reason really didn't mind; she liked the feel of Arizona's soft hand on her skin. She stood up walking towards the trash can with her tray. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Mark followed her, leaning against the wall as Callie wiped her tray clean. "Oh come on, Cal."
"Shut up, Mark." She glared up at him, daring him to say something more.
He threw his hands up in surrender. "Fine, whatever. You want to assist on my nose reconstruction this afternoon?"
She cocked her hip, considering his offer. "Yeah, actually, that'd be great." A surgery with her best friend was just the distraction she needed.
Arizona sat at the bar at Joe's, fidgeting with her phone and waiting for Callie and Mark to walk through the door. She sipped her fruity drink, something new that Joe had come up with and wanted her to try. It was good; a mixture of strawberry and lime, something she wouldn't have tried but it worked oddly enough. She had been worried for Callie all day, and the fact that they were nearly half an hour late wasn't helping. She'd been texting her all afternoon of course, distracting her with funny stories, but she'd stopped answering nearly three hours ago. Her knee bounced as she scanned the crowd, her eyes falling on a particular redhead in the middle of the dance floor. No. Her heart stopped beating and fell into the pit of her stomach. It can't be her.
Just as she thought things couldn't get worse, the redhead spun around, headed for the bar and locked eyes with her. She froze momentarily, but then a smile spread across her face and she ran towards her. The bell at the door rang, signaling the entrance of Callie and Mark into the bar just as freckled arms were thrown around Arizona's neck and lips pressed against her own.
Callie froze and grabbed Mark's arm, who looked over to her confused. "Cal, what is it?"
"SHH – shut up!" Callie smacked Mark's arm, her eyes wide as she watched Arizona push a woman off of her. "Some chick just kissed Arizona!"
Mark's eyes went wide and his head spun, looking for their friend. "WHAT?! WHERE!?"
Callie just stood staring at the scene unfolding in front of them.
"Kim! What the?" Arizona wiped her mouth and stood up. "What are you doing here?"
The redhead staggered backwards and looked up into Arizona's eyes, confused. "I'm here visiting my friend from med school! She's doing her residency at this place called Seattle Grace. It's spring break so I flew out here! I didn't think I'd see you, though!"
Callie and Mark walked up beside Arizona, a tan hand reaching out to brush Arizona's arm. Arizona looked over suddenly, jumping at the brush of contact that sent sparks flying across her skin in the way only Callie's touches had ever done. She met Callie's eyes which were searching to ask if she needed help. She gave a confident nod and turned back to Kim.
"You can't just kiss me whenever you see me, Kim. What the hell was that?"
Kim's fingers reached to touch her lips, realization hitting her that she had actually kissed her. "I uhm, sorry about that… I just… I'm really excited to see you again." Her tone dropped to a sultry swing.
Arizona took a step back towards Callie and Mark as Kim took a step towards her. She lifted her hands to stop her. "Kim, you need to stop."
Kim took another step forward, and Mark stepped in front of Arizona. "She said you need to stop."
Kim's green eyes dragged across Mark's body before flitting back to Arizona's eyes. "Who's this? I know it's not your boyfriend," she taunted with a smirk.
The blonde lurched forward, but Callie grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She looked over Arizona's shoulder. "Look, I don't know who the hell you are, but you need to leave." She glared at her, her Spanish temper rising. "Now," she spat viciously.
Kim looked to Arizona's eyes first, then into the stony stare of both Mark and Callie before huffing and turning to grab her purse and storm out of the bar.
The tension left the group as the door swung shut. Arizona turned to walk back to the bar and downed the rest of her drink. She hadn't seen Kim in nearly three years; she was finally starting to put that portion of her life behind her and now it was staring her in the face and kissing her. Callie and Mark sat down on either side of Arizona, their respective usual drinks sliding in front of them. Mark nodded to Joe in thanks as Callie turned to Arizona.
"So, you gonna tell us what the hell just happened?"
Another fruity drink landed itself in front of Arizona, who was turning varying shades of red as she stared into her drink. She worked her fingers around the stem then picked it up and drained it. She didn't answer Callie, just kept staring. She hadn't come out to anyone at Seattle Grace yet, and she hated that Kim was probably going to force that out of her now. "No," she mumbled. She was not ready to do this. Especially not to Callie.
Mark drained his beer and stood up. "Well, ladies, I'm gonna go dance. Care to join me?" He reached his hand out in invitation. Arizona didn't look away from her empty glass, her fine finger still spinning the glass by its stem. Callie looked to Arizona and sighed before taking Mark's hand, letting him lead her out onto the dance floor.
Arizona chanced a glance over her shoulder and immediately regretted it. She watched as Callie's hips met Mark's perfectly, making very, very sexy art out of the dance they were creating. She sighed as a shadow fell across her. She looked up to see Joe wiping a glass in front of her. He leaned down slightly, lowering his voice. "Want something stronger?"
A tear slipped out from her eye as she slowly nodded. He tapped the bar and walked away to get her another drink. The woman she had worked so hard to forget had just come barreling back into her life, the woman she ached for was dancing with the man that she had always swore to never be jealous of, so yeah, she needed a stronger drink.
Callie's rich laughter broke her of her thoughts as she and Mark came stumbling back to their seats. Mark leaned over to whisper in Callie's ear. She giggled and looked into Mark's eyes. She looked to Arizona instinctually wanting her opinion. When she saw that Arizona was now staring into a glass of scotch, her heart sank. She knew she was gone for the evening. She looked back up to Mark and bit her lip then nodded. Mark smiled and hooked his arm around her waist. She leaned in to hug Arizona quickly from behind.
Her heart skipped a beat as tan arms wrapped around her. She loved hugs from behind, they always made her giddy, but a hug from behind from Callie was sending her into a spiral.
Callie tucked a lock of gold hair behind her ear then leaned in close, her breath brushing Arizona's neck. "Text me if you need me," she whispered.
Arizona shuddered as Callie unwrapped herself, leaving the bar with Mark, laughter ringing between the two of them. She drained her glass as a whimper swept across her lips and her shoulders crumbled. I always need you.
AN 2: So? Should I keep posting? What do you think? Be sure to follow, there should be quick updates if I decide to keep posting this… I have the next few chapters already finished.