A/N - 502... I hear what you are saying... so I thought I would post this chapter just for you, hope it's enough 'romance' for you... we aren't quite there yet my friend, have some patience! I have up to chapter 30 written and the romantic fluff is on the way, I promise!
To everyone else, that you so much for your reviews and your pm's, I'm really enjoying your reactions to my fic, so please keep them up. they make my day! Enjoy the next chapter, things are about to get a little more serious... I did warn you all of the slow burn! :)
AL xxx
Arizona couldn't hide the bubble of laughter that erupted from deep within her as Callie exited Coney Towers in navy blue protective work pants, a long sleeved pink high viz shirt, a pink hard hat and dirty 'white' protective oversized ear muffs. As she removed the oversized safety glasses that were perched on her dusty nose an obvious sheen of dust covered sweat emerged to surround the untouched patch of skin on Calles face, the rest was covered in dust, grime, sweat and dirt... Callie looked a mess... yet somehow still beautiful as she rolled up her sleeves and gave Arizona a wide smile before swiping the back of her hand over her forehead and smudging something dark across her forehead. Arizona adjusted her phone subtly and took a photo of the moment to treasure forever.
"You know... when you suggested this, I really did have my doubts and reservations but this was a good idea Arizona, I actually had a really fun day... and the guys on the worksite.. HILARIOUS... I learnt the important skill of wolf whistling really, REALLY loud... you know so the whistle can be heard off the work site over the sound of the power tools, that's a real life skill I get to use for the rest of my life, oh and big Kev taught me how to project my voice so it can be heard across big distances..." Callie smirked as she grabbed the coffee that Arizona was holding out to her with a wide smile.
"Yeah... I heard you!... I think im mistaken but I could have sworn I heard you yell out that I have a nice rack?" Arizona squinted pointedly as she tried to rein in her amusement and not encourage Callie's flirty antics, regardless of how amusing they were at times.
"Ahhh hah! that was actually Enrique!" Callie smirked proudly at coming up with a viable excuse so quickly.
"Oh really... well ENRIQUE has a very effeminate voice doesn't he Calliope?" Arizona shook her head as Callie guffawed loudly in amusement, the laugh that was her true laugh as Arizona had come to learn, not the honed and reserved laugh she gave everyone else, but the laugh she truly offered when she had all her guards and walls down and was just being Calliope Torres, and it was loud, and attention grabbing, and miraculous in every way.
"He does Arizona! And he is very shy about it" Callie smirked eventually "You should feel honored, he has really good taste" Callie winked teasingly.
"Hmmm I'm sure he does!" Arizona scoffed. "Anyways, I'm just going to head and see my folks over there for a moment, and then we can head off" Arizona pointed towards her parents who were waving at her from the opposite side of the safety fence a few meters away.
"Oh... your parents? I have to meet them" Callie grinned and skipped eagerly towards the elderly couple leaving a shocked blonde in her wake.
"Uh Cal, wait!" Arizona yelled trying her hardest to stop the brunette before she was blindsided by the wrath of her parents, especially her father.
"Hello Mr and Mrs Robbins, it's a pleasure to finally meet you" Callie beamed as she held her hand out between both parents, not wanting to offend either parent by offering the hand to the other first. Frowning when both parents just stared at her, Mrs Robbins with a forced polite smile and Mr Robbins with a literal death glare.
"Hi Mom, Hi Daddy" Arizona smiled sweetly trying to break the overbearing and obvious tension.
"Hi Honey" Barbara smiled as she pulled her daughter into a loving embrace. "You look very pretty today, doesn't she Daniel, doesn't she look pretty?"
"Very dear, those shoes are a little impractical though aren't they?" Daniel eyed his daughters shoes, the same shoes Callie had forced her to wear this morning as a joke because she was being forced to wear steel toe capped boots, the same shoes that she had purchased for operation 'get fired' that belonged only in a porno and not on a work site.
"Well you know Arizona, she loves to parade around worksites in stilettos" Callie grinned until she saw the death glare continuing from Arizona's father and her smile faltered and quickly formed into her trademark Callie Torres smile, the one reserved for the entire world apart from just a handful of people, she was actually surprised herself that she had instinctually offered her real smile to the blondes parents to begin with.
"Daddy... you met Callie didn't you?... Callie Torres, my boss" Arizona glared at her father pointedly for being so rude.
"Pleasure to meet you Ms Torres" Daniel sighed as his eyes gazed at the brunette who was dressed like a tradesman.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you too Mr Robbins... I can see where Arizona gets her... smile from" Callie offered nervously, ignoring Arizona as she cleared her throat to disguise the snort of amusement that escaped her lips.
"And this is my mom, Barbara" Arizona motioned to her mother who smiled a little more warmly after seeing Arizona's pleading look and being completely unable to refuse her daughter.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Ms Torres, thank you for finally letting Arizona finally resign, it made our week" Barbara smiled sweetly.
"I wish I could say that it was my pleasure Mrs Robbins, she will be irreplaceable to both T.I. and myself and will be very much missed" Callie smiled kindly.
"That's very sweet of you to say Ms Torres" Barbara nodded in return.
"Ok you two, enough chit chat, it's time we got back to the office" Arizona scoffed, her mother could play nice with even her biggest enemy. Something that always amused her, she had a bigger facade than Callie did sometimes.
"Oh nonsense, while you and Ms Torres are here you should come back to the apartment for some tea" Barbara smiled kindly, deliberately ignoring her husbands scoff and incredulous look.
"We can't Mom, we have very important things to get back to" Arizona smiled apologetically hoping that her mother wouldn't detect her lie, unable to ignore her father's death glares and pout.
"None of that, I'm certain that Ms Torres here won't mind coming back for some tea" Barbara glanced hopefully at the brunette.
"Well she shouldn't! after all she IS the reason we haven't seen our daughter for more than five minutes at a time for the last SIX months" Daniel scoffed and ignored the glares being directed at him from both his wife and daughter.
Daddy!" Arizona whined.
"It's fine Arizona, we aren't in any rush to get anywhere, we can take some time out to hang out with your parents, tea sounds lovely Mrs Robbins" Callie smiled softly at the blonde before turning her attention towards the blondes mother who was still smiling her with a sweet, yet completely false smile "We can take the car..."
"Oh nonsense dear, we only live three blocks away... the walk will do us oldies the world of good, we have to watch our health these days" Barbara smiled playfully.
"Wait, you live around here?" Callie asked in shock as she glanced questioningly at Arizona as to why she hadn't told her that her parents lived so close, sure she had said they lived in the area but three blocks is practically next door neighbors to the build site.
"Oh yes! so we will personally be affected by this monstrosity that you're erecting right in our apartments eye line of the shore" Daniel glared furiously as he watched Callie glance at the blonde begging for help.
"Come on... let's get walking then" Arizona sighed in frustration, giving her father a pointed look to behave and be polite. Sometimes she questioned how a man with such a brilliant mind, someone who had achieved as much as he had throughout his life, someone who fought for everyone to have a voice... could act so obnoxious and rude, and disrespectful... and frankly childish.
The first few moments of the walk was in complete silence, and not a comfortable silence either... it was an awkward and tense silence as Callie studied her surroundings, surprised and endeared by the charm of the old styled buildings that were quickly being eradicated and replaced with modern new builds. Barbara and Daniel kept glancing at each other nervously, wondering how to start a conversation with the brunette who went against everything they stood against and Arizona glancing between her parents and boss, two separate and very different parts of her life that she never wanted to find mixing.
"Mr and Mrs Robbins, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your support on this project" Callie offered in an attempt to quell the silence.
"Well at least you are keeping the community center, that's something I suppose... unless you think we could convince you to reconsider the entire project and just keep the community center" Daniel smiled tightly, knowing he was pushing his look from the glare his wife and daughter threw at him.
"Sorry Mr Robbins but I doubt very much my father would allow that to happen when we are looking at a projected estimation of slightly over seventy million in profits" Callie offered a sheepish smile when Daniel's head snapped to attention, an equal mixture of horror at the information he had just been provided and shock at the amount of dollars that were involved, far more than he expected.
"Well Ms Torres... I think it's completely immoral for any person to gain so much money from just one transaction, I really don't know how someone like you can sleep at night" Daniel snapped, eyeing his daughter to show his distaste.
"Oh... Well I have a machine that simulates the sounds of the ocean and a false ceiling with backlighting which hosts an exact replica of the northern hemisphere winter night sky, which teamed with the extremely comfortable bed your daughter helped me choose, I really don't struggle too much" Callie offered with a slight smirk before realizing she was not in front of the right crowd for her idiotic and sarcastic jokes, but when Arizona giggled beside her she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face at the beautiful sound.
-oOo-
"I used to come up here all the time when I was a kid, it was my special place" Arizona smiled softly as she looked out over the view from the rooftop terrace of her parents apartment block.
"I had a one bedder over looking Central Park, myself" Callie grinned, winking at Arizona who was watching the brunette as if trying to work out if she was just teasing again or if she was actually being serious.
"Ok... you got me, I'm lying it was a two bedder! I didn't want you to think I was showing off" Callie scoffed.
"You're an idiot Calliope" Arizona shook her head as she laughed.
"But you're laughing" Callie grinned, content to just be in the moment with the other woman and enjoy the moment while she could.
"Because you're a goof!" Arizona scoffed.
"It really is something else up here" Callie smiled as she returned her attention back to the view.
"Yeah... it's great isn't it! I used to bring a box of donuts up here and the latest 80's mix and just watch the neighborhood, it's amazing the things that you see when you just sit back and watch" Arizona sighed almost dreamily before motioning towards the street and waiting until the brunette was looking towards the street below. "It has always been a little community, every day around four when work was out and people started getting home, they would start congregating alongside the street. The dads would stand on that side and have a beer or two together while they watched the kids play and despite disagreeing and acting like they didn't want to play with the kids, a street game would always erupt, usually soccer" Arizona smiled as she watched the kids starting to beg their fathers to play.
"And the mothers, they would start off by discussing what they were going to make for dinner... each trying to out do the other by professing to be cooking some over elaborate dish that they wouldn't have a clue how to even start cooking. And then when the games would start their attention would turn to cheering on their husbands and kids, arguing amongst themselves over which side would win" Arizona grinned as she heard an Italian woman begin to yell at her husband for going too slow as one of the older kids tackled the football from him and sped off in the opposite direction to the cheers of his teammates.
"Then when it get's too dark to see properly, the mother's would call their children in, yelling at them to get their asses inside and do their homework and get cleaned up and like that the game's over with no winners. Once the kids have disappeared, the women would then stand around gossiping about the women in the other buildings who weren't a part of their group before bidding each other goodnight and heading inside. The fathers would hang out for another half an hour or so, sculling down one last beer for the road before their wives would start hanging out their apartment windows and yelling to them that dinner was ready. And then like that, the street would go silent and the cheering and catcalling stops, and then the apartment lights flicker on and the sounds are transformed into this beautiful cacophony from the families going about and doing their family things. Sometimes TV shows... but mostly the sound of people yelling out the answers to a quiz show or yelling at a character on the TV who was about to kiss someone they shouldn't or some other such drama. Then you would hear the sounds of the kids who did music lessons practicing their instruments and even though they were all playing and singing different songs and different instruments at different times, the sounds was just so beautiful... and then the sounds would start to quieten down as the kids went to bed, then the parents went to bed, and the lights would start flickering out and this peacefulness would descend... this beautiful quiet that held promises that even though the day was over... tomorrow would bring a fresh start, a new day, and come four tomorrow, the families would all meet on the street again and it would start all over again"
Callie stared intently at the blonde who was watching the fun down in the street below longingly, a delicate combination of contentedness and sadness etched all over her face and she couldn't help but feel her heart start beating that little bit harder and faster as she studied her. The soft colorful glow of the slowly descending sun highlighting her features and exposing just how beautiful she really was. Callie cringed as the thought flitted through her mind before pulling her attention back to the scene on the street and away from the woman beside her.
"And then there is you... up here on your own?" Callie stated, hoping for a further insight into her companions childhood but Arizona just sighed and offered a dejected 'yeah'.
"Why weren't you on the street playing with all the other kids Arizona?" Callie asked eventually, the curiosity getting too much for her.
"I used to... before..." Arizona trailed off and Callie glanced out the corner of her eye to see the blonde watching the kids cheering as they scored a goal, a pensive look on her face and moisture tugging at her beautiful expressive cerulean eyes. The blonde glanced at the warm caramel hand resting on her alabaster forearm that broke her from her internal trip down memory lane by rubbing her forearm gently before squeezing it in a silent token of support. She glanced up to Callies expressive chocolate eyes and sighing before turning away sadly and back to the street view.
"I used to play on the streets with my big brother... Tim... we were the only two kids down there without our parents... they were always too busy working, not that I begrudge them for that, but it's a fact. When Timmy got ill we stopped playing out and instead would sit in his room and watch the other kids... laughing at when they messed up and making fun of them... it was mean and the few times our parents caught us doing it we received hell for it, but it made Timmy laugh and that made him feel better about not being allowed to go out to play and be a normal kid, and about how I was sat inside keeping him company instead of being out there having fun with all the other kids... and then he got sicker and couldn't even make it to the window... I set up all these mirrors that were aligned just right so that he could lay in bed and still see out the window, but then he got worse and didn't even have the strength to keep his eyes open and watch so I would sit beside him and describe what was happening like I was reading him a story, and I would make up silly conversations that could have been happening to make him laugh and smile and take his mind off his pain and his endless thoughts about what was coming... he was terrified that he would end up in hell because of all the pranks we used to play on people" Arizona wiped at the tears now streaking down her face numbly.
"He was fourteen when the cancer finally took him... he lasted twenty one months after the initial diagnosis... it was in his blood and he showed no symptoms so by the time we saw the signs and got him some medical help, it had already spread to his bones and his lungs. It was too late save him, so all we could do was keep him comfortable and make his days as worthwhile and comfortable as we could" Arizona couldn't face Callie, she didn't want to see the pity flooding in those brown eyes. Her body tensed when she felt the brunettes arms wrap around her waist from behind and pull her back against her body before she relaxed slightly and felt the flood gates break apart and she began to sob uncontrollably.
Callie just held her, she knew there was nothing she could say or do that would lessen the pain the blonde was feeling right now, so instead of offering meaningless words she just held her tightly, trying to absorb all of her pain and instead inject some of her own strength into the usually stoic woman. She nuzzled her face into the side of blondes hair, accidentally inhaling a deep breath of the other woman's scent and feeling her own muscles relax slightly at the feeling of home which spread throughout her.
"Come on sweetie, take some deep breaths for me and let it all go, I've got you... I've got you so just let it all out" Callie whispered in a low soothing breath against the shell of the blondes ear in an act that was completely innocent and provided Arizona with more comfort than she thought she had ever felt before. The two women stood there for what felt like an eternity but in all reality was around half an hour, Arizona safely wrapped in Callie's strong arms as she sobbed and hiccupped through the pain and loss of her brother, her best friend and her partner in crime.
"I'm sorry... I'm so embarrassed" Arizona scoffed as she lowered her face and nestled back into Callies embrace, not quite ready to break away from it yet and lose the sense of safety that her boss was providing her. "Thank you Calliope" Arizona whispered as she began to pull away from the embrace only to have Callie tug her back into an even tighter one that the blonde couldn't help but melt into.
"You're welcome Arizona... thank you for trusting me enough to share the memory of your brother with me, it really means a lot to me" Callie smiled sadly before placing a single innocent and calming kiss on Arizona's cloth covered shoulder.
"I want you to know that whenever you need to just get away from it all... or to just let go, or even to talk about it... I'm here for you Arizona, you can trust me. I know we come from two very different worlds and I know I do nothing but give you shit and drive you insane, but I care about you Arizona, we're friends... I have trusted you with things I would never share with anyone and you have been nothing but respectful and valiant in protecting that trust, and you have trusted me and shared with me tonight... I just... it's important to me that you know that I'm here for you and not just because I'm your boss but because I'm your friend... I'm here whenever you need me, all you need to do is '911 SOS'… even if it's six years down the track and you work for a normal boss who treats you in the way you deserve... just always remember that ok? Promise me you won't forget that" Callie whispered softly, for the first time in her life she had a woman in her arms, she was holding her close and whispering into her ear as she nuzzled against her face and it had nothing to do with sexual attraction.
Well, of course there was a sexual attraction, she was only human and not a blind one... of course she found Arizona attractive, the woman was gorgeous in a completely understated way... in a way that the blonde didn't even seem to realize how stunningly beautiful she was... and it wasn't just in a physical way, Arizona was smart and funny... and principled... and when she wasn't being such a stick in the mud and allowed herself to relax a little, she was really good company, but even when she was being a stick in the mud Callie seemed to take so much pleasure in teasing her and getting a reaction from her, and when Arizona played back... hell the woman was a spitfire... small, sweet and innocent until vexed, and then she didn't pull her punches for anyone or anything. But the thing Callie liked most about the blonde... she didn't take Callie's shit like everyone else did, even her father took more shit than Arizona would and her father was notorious for being a killjoy to Callie's antics, Arizona just had this way of handling her and dealing with her, of letting Callie feel like she had won a discussion or gotten away with something when she infact hadnt, and Callie knew that was the case! She KNEW Arizona was just 'letting' her feel that way so that she didn't feel smothered and controlled, and the thing that really shocked her... was that despite knowing this, despite being fully aware that Arizona was handling her, she didn't really care, she actually enjoyed it... she enjoyed the feeling of Arizona letting her get away with her mischief and sharing that connection and bond with her, enjoying the verbal sparring with her and despite not being able to put her finger on what it all meant, she had embraced it fully without any intention, she didn't feel the need to fight it, or try to break free from it, instead she wanted more of it, she craved it, she longed for it.
"I like you when you aren't being a complete pig" Arizona giggled, pulling Callie from her thoughts.
"Admit it... you like me anyways, even when I am being a pig" Callie smirked as she pulled away from the embrace respectfully, not wanting the blonde to mistake her comment as an attempt to make a move on her, but the absence of the petite frame in her arms left her feeling... feeling what exactly? She didn't even know what this feeling was because she had never experienced it before, and that fact alone scared the shit out of her. She was thankful for Arizona beginning to speak and ending her thought train.
"So... after Timmy... passed away... I didn't ever feel like playing without him, it just didn't feel right, so I would come up here to just watch... sometimes I would talk to him... just imagine that he was laid behind me in the bed still and I would describe what was happening and close my eyes and just... for a moment just pretend that he was still here and my whole world hadn't completely imploded the second his heart stopped beating as he was laid in my arms" Arizona sighed sadly but jumped when she felt Callie take her hand in her own, the warmth of the long caramel fingers soothing the pain in her soul slightly.
"What are you up to now Calliope?" Arizona smirked teasingly, laughing when Callie rolled her eyes playfully.
"Just shut up and go with it will you!" Callie scoffed. "Close your eyes..." Callie ordered softly as she closed her own eyes and waited, knowing despite not being able to see the blonde that she was watching her instead of doing as she was told.
"Arizona, please! for me... just close them" Callie begged, she felt Arizona move slightly but suspected her eyes were still open, she couldn't explain how she knew it but she just felt like Arizona's blue eyes were trained on her, she tugged at her hand playfully and raised her eyebrows, all the while keeping her own eyes shut.
"How did you know?" Arizona laughed softly.
"I could feel you undressing me with your eyes again... it's very distracting so stop it" Callie smirked, laughing when she felt the blonde nudge her playfully.
"Ok they are closed" Arizona confessed.
"Now I want you to imagine that Tim is stood right here, he isn't in that bed sick, he isn't fading away and you don't need to be the strong little sister and keep his spirits up. Just imagine that he is stood beside us... strong and healthy and all grown up... and he's enjoying the view and smiling and laughing, and he is telling you how much he loves this time with you, how happy he is to have you as his baby sister, and how proud he is of you, of all the things you have achieved. How proud he is of the person you have become and of how strong you are to have overcome everything and carried on fighting... he would probably be saying something like... Oh I dunno... 'I'm proud of you bug and no matter how hard things feel at times, your super and awesome so don't forget it!' And then he would probably give you a wet willie or a Chinese burn or perhaps even a wedgie" Callie smirked when she felt Arizona giggle before resting the side of her head against the taller woman's shoulder.
"You really can be something else sometimes you know... this whole... no heart, no prisoners, no emotions, no feelings, nothing but humor... persona that you have going on, as amusing and charming as it is..." Arizona rolled her eyes sarcastically and giggled when Callie nudged her and pouted dramatically "I much prefer this side of you, It's far more charming and much more attractive... although I will confess, it's not as amusing"
"Yeah well... This me is a side I don't let many people see so feel honored... and if you tell anyone about this I will not hesitate to call the Torres family hitman" Callie nudged the blonde playfully.
"Hah... you wouldn't do that... you couldn't live in a world without me, you would probably accidentally kill yourself within the first five minutes" Arizona scoffed.
"You know... I really don't know how exactly I am going to function without you... I feel sorry for the person who replaces you" Callie admitted shyly.
"Me too... although not sorry enough to pre-warn them about what they are letting themselves in for" Arizona teased as she turned her head, still resting on Callie's shoulder, so that the brunette could see that she wasn't serious... well wasn't totally serious, as their eyes met Arizona suddenly realized just how close their faces were, all it would take is for her to lean in just a few centimeters and those plump, deep red lips would be pressed against hers. She wondered briefly how those lips would taste, how soft they would be, how warm Callie's tongue would feel as it tangled and danced with her own, and a light shudder ran through her body and she swore she felt Callie gasp slightly, she tore her eyes away from the brunettes lips to meet her eyes and gasped herself when she saw just how dark those usually chocolate eyes had grown.
"We should probably head back in before it gets any darker and your father murders me for having you outside too late" Callie smiled softly before pulling away from the blonde, not trusting herself to continue being so close and not taking those pale lips against her own.
"Oh come on Calliope! he is harmless" Arizona scoffed.
"harmless? He is terrifying Arizona! I wasn't sure if he was going to kill me and feed me to the poor or bury me on the build site in a pit of concrete to stop the build from carrying on" Callie winked as she held the metal door open and motioned for the blonde to go ahead of her.
"Oh Callie! do not let him here that suggestion, he may actually take you up on it... he can be a bit terrifying sometimes... but you know, no matter what... he has always been the voice in my head pushing me to do better, work harder, run faster, think smarter... always telling me to fight for my beliefs and not compromise myself... never settle for a B instead of an A on a test..."
"Wait, are you telling me that you actually got a B once?" Callie interrupted in shock.
"Of course not! I was being hypothetical Calliope" Arizona raised an eyebrow teasingly and laughed. "Surely you know me well enough by now to know that even IF I had gotten a 'B' I would have argued my point until the idiot who gave it to me saw the error of their judgment and it was upgraded" Callie couldn't help but shake her head as she guffawed in amusement as Arizona winked mischievously.
