AN: And here's the third update. While I'll be babysitting my precious nephews tonight and I will hopefully get some writing for TIAM2 done. I feel motivated, but I am lacking ideas at the moment...
Arizona was walking up and down in their living room, impatiently waiting for her girlfriend to come home from a study group meeting that came out of nowhere. Although the Latina had been acting more like herself again the past two days, there were still some things that just didn't fit into the puzzle and she was scared that Callie had only made them up to get away. And now she was supposed to get ready for their reservations at the restaurant, to hell with that. If Callie was breaking up with her on their anniversary, she wanted to at least be in her most comfortable pair of sweats. When she thought about this day last year, it was perfection. They had decided to spend the weekend at the beach house in Miami with the adjoined private beach. They hadn't left the private area aside from leaving by the end of Sunday. But other than that, they had spent the time solely worshiping each other – with little breaks to eat and to restore their energy. And while she was fuming with anger now and at the same time beyond scared, she wished herself back to that weekend. Everything was perfect. They had been perfect. They were always perfect but she couldn't get rid of the nagging feelings she had.
She walked into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. She looked like hell. Her hair was tied back into a messy bun, a few strands falling loose in her face. Her eyes looked tired and as much as she tried, she couldn't get herself to smile. What if Callie was really breaking up with her?
Emerging the bathroom when she heard the front door, she was immediately met with the brunette. "Hi" she said shortly and started to chew on her bottom lip.
"Hey", Callie replied, the smile and happiness evident in her voice. She couldn't wait. Today was the day. And if she would not mess it up – and she made sure that she wouldn't mess this up – it would be one of the best days in her life. Taking in her girlfriend's appearance though made her smile falter. Sweats and a tank was not what she thought she would come home to today. "Why are you not getting ready?"
"Why should I?"
"'Why should I'?", the Latina parroted. "Because we have reservations in less than an hour, Arizona. I told you before I left that I will probably barely have the time to take a quick shower and that you should start without me." She wasn't mad. She was confused. Arizona had said that she was looking forward to dinner. Or did she just dream it?
"Well, I am not going", the blonde answered and crossed her arms over her chest.
"What do you mean, you are not going? Today's-" but she was cut of by her girlfriend.
"What are you hiding from me? Tell me now", Arizona demanded, her blue eyes staring at the brunette.
"I'm not-", she wanted to protest but was cut off by her girlfriend.
"Don't you dare lie to me, Calliope. We've been friends since we were little and we're together for seven years now, I know you. I know you even better than I know myself sometimes. And as your girlfriend, I have every right to know the truth. Is there someone else?" Because if there was, she sure as hell wasn't going out for dinner with Callie tonight. No, she'd be on the first plane home-bound.
Brown eyes went wide in shock. "What?!"
"Yesterday, you told me you were going out with Teddy, but guess what? Teddy called last night, asking me if Iwould know where you were, because she needed you and you were simply not answering your freaking phone. And last week, you told me you were at the library but your library ID was on the kitchen counter, so excuse me for not believing you anymore!" She willed the tears back, but it was useless. If Callie was cheating on her after all this time, she wouldn't know how to survive that. She was actually sure, she couldn't survive that. How was she supposed to bounce back from this? She prepared herself for the worst, for her world to fall apart as soon as Callie would open her mouth.
"Arizona", the brunette started, fighting an inner battle to ruin her surprise or to let her girlfriend off the hook.
"Just tell me the truth, Calliope. You owe me at least that much", she whispered as she wiped her tears away.
The Latina couldn't stand to see her like this. Yes, she had lied to her – sometimes, even sneaked out earlier a couple of times to rehearse. She wanted the moment to be perfect. Yeah, so much for that. "Okay", she breathed out. It was now or probably never. "Arizona, when we started to kiss each other, I had no clue that it – that you – would become the air I need to breathe. And I was so nervous that you weren't feeling the same. But then you asked me if you were my girlfriend and you made me so damn happy that day. You make me happy ever since."
"Can't you just get to the point? I'm sure it won't hurt that much when you do it like, I don't know, ripping off a band aid or something." If she had been listening, she would have heard the love in the Latina's words. Apparently though, she didn't listen.
The glare Arizona was giving her was filled with anger and sadness. God, what had she done? "You- you make me so damn happy, Arizona. I felt like flying or floating, I don't know what it was, what it still is. You were there for me whenever I needed you, no matter what. Because that's what you said to me. No matter what."
"Callie, damn it. If you don't tell me already, I swear, I'm-" Stunned by the Latina's next move, one hand shot up to cover her gasping mouth. Her breathing stopped. Her heart missed a beat or two.
Down on one knee, with her hands shaking and her mind reeling, Callie searched for the words she had practiced every free moment. "You are the beat of my heart, Arizona. You are the pulse in my veins and the energy of my soul. I love you for all that you are, all that you have been and for all that you've yet to be." Stopping to get her choking voice back to normal, she took a deep breath before she continued. "And I know that we are still young, but for me, there has never been – and there will never be – somebody else. My world revolves around you. I want you to be my past, my present and my future. Will you make me the happiest woman on earth and marry me, Arizona Robbins?", she finally asked, opening her palm to reveal the ring she'd originally planned to present her girlfriend in the little blue jewelery box.
Frozen in shock, the blonde didn't move. She didn't even flinch. She just stood there, staring down at her girlfriend's hand that held the ring. She didn't even recognize that a part of it was shaped like a butterfly.
"Can... can you, uhm, say something?", the Latina asked nervously. She'd rather hear Arizona's beautiful voice say the word 'yes', but she would even go with a 'no' if that meant that the blonde would actually talk. "Arizona?"
"You- you want to marry me?" She was still shocked. She had feared for her world to be ripped apart when it apparently was the opposite.
"Yes", the brunette smiled. "Yes, I want to marry you. I want to be there for everything that will happen in your life. And I have been practicing this speech, so it would be the perfect moment. Tonight. I wanted to ask you tonight, after dinner."
"And you've been planning this the whole time?" She wanted to be angry. But she couldn't stop herself from being happy. Because all the signs Callie had given her had been so frustratingly confusing.
"You know I am not good with speeches... I didn't want a memory of a stammered proposal", Callie answered, trying to explain herself. "I know you probably drove yourself crazy with the worst case scenarios, but I am still waiting for an answer, honey."
"I thought you were breaking up with me!" Collapsing onto her knees, Arizona fell into her girlfriend's arms and kissed her fiercely. There was so much going on inside her right now. Relief, happiness, joy, excitement, love and it all overshadowed the worries and the fear. She thought she was going to explode with all these emotions.
"Is that a yes?", the brunette asked once she was able to pull back.
"That's turtely a yes, a million times yes, Calliope." She crashed herself into the Latina's body again and they toppled over, with Callie's back hitting the floor and the blonde ungracefully landing atop of her. Their lips collided in a passionate kiss, tongues met and caressed each other, dancing the well practiced choreography. Forgotten were all the thoughts about Callie having an affair. The fear of Callie loving somebody else. The nagging worries about Callie leaving her. They all had turned to dust the second her girlfriend had dropped onto her knee, leaving her stunned.
"Thank God", the brunette exhaled in relief. "And I am sorry for keeping it a secret. I just- every time you asked me, I wanted to tell you. But I couldn't. It would have ruined all the work I put into it. So-"
"So you thought, you'd distract me with as much sex as I could handle until I passed out?"
"Uhm... kind of, yeah", Callie answered with a blush creeping up into her cheeks. "I didn't hear you complaining, though."
Blushing as well, Arizona sent her girlfriend a one-sided dimpled smile. "That's 'cause sex with you is amazing." Capturing the brunette's lips in yet another heated kiss to emphasize her statement, both were soon moaning into the other's mouth and grinding against each other. Pale fingers lazed themselves with tan fingers and when she pressed Callie's left hand against the floor, she felt the ring between their palms. It didn't bother her though. Right now she wanted to kiss the most amazing woman and show her how much she loved her.
They only pulled away when breathing became an issue, but instantly, shining pools of blue were locked on her brown. "Do you want you ring?", Callie asked coyly.
Getting up onto her knees, eagerly nodding as she did so, she looked at her hands. "Which one do you need?"
"This one", the Latina replied with a smile and took her girlfriend's – oh no, scratch that – her fiancée's delicate left hand in her own when she was up on her knees as well, mirroring the blonde's pose. Her hands were shaking again and Arizona's breathtaking smile did nothing to soothe her nerves. "I love you, Arizona Robbins", she whispered and slipped the ring onto the blonde's finger.
"It... it fits", the blonde grinned and looked down at the ring. "Is that... is that a butterfly?"
"Mhmm", she hummed with her bottom lip trapped between her teeth. "'Cause you are my beautiful butterfly."
"Where did you find it?", she wanted to know. Maybe it was the reason for Callie being absent so often. Well, it definitely explained the locked drawer of her nightstand.
"I uhm... I looked everywhere for the perfect ring. And I had to do it alone, because nobody knew. I couldn't tell Teddy, 'cause she would have told Addison and Addie can't keep a secret from you and clearly, you were not supposed to know. Do you know how hard it was to keep all of this to myself? I was so close to ask after we... that night. And believe me, I wanted to tell you. So much. But I needed the ring first... so yeah, I went to every single jeweler but nothing seemed to be good enough and then-"
"Love, breathe", Arizona reminded her and placed her right hand on Callie's cheek. It was just too adorable that Callie always started to ramble when she got nervous around her. .
"I designed it myself", she finally confessed. When she had accidentally found this little store a good thirty minutes drive away, she'd known instantly that there probably wasn't a better ring than the one she had in mind all the time. So she'd sat down and put the image in her head on paper, gave the draft the jeweler and he had made an exact copy of her draft.
"You designed it yourself?", Arizona asked. She knew her fiancée's talent, she just never thought that she'd design her a ring. But it suited the Latina. She always tried to make her surprises or presents the most personal – aside from DVDs, that is. Lifting her hand, she studied the ring up close. The butterfly was miraculous. It was- "Calliope, are those..?"
"Diamonds? Yeah..."
"HOLY! Calliope, that's-" She didn't even know what to say.
Callie never really showed off her money. Just because she could afford it, didn't mean she was buying everything she wanted to have. Some nice little extras, yeah, who wouldn't? But she had been very reasonable with her money from the start. "I thought I could put my money to very good use and make my awesome girl very happy", she shrugged. She wanted everybody to know that Arizona was hers.
"Oh my God, we're-"
"Engaged, yeah", she grinned. She looked over to the wall and her eyes widened. "Shit! Our reservations! Arizona, we need to get ready!"
"No", the blonde stated simply and shook her head.
"No? But I though we're good now. And that means that we can go out for dinner and that you can come with me because you're not scared or angry anymore, right? Or are you still mad at me? Arizona, I am sorry, I just wanted it to be-"
"Perfect", she cut her off, "I know. And I am not mad anymore. I just don't want to eat where others are eating... and I don't need to go to a restaurant to get what I want to eat."
"You- huh? You're confusing me."
Lust flashed in the blonde's eyes as she pulled Callie closer to her. "I'm going to eat you, in our bedroom", she breathed into the brunette's ear and immediately attached her lips to the tan neck, eliciting a groan from the Latina.
Her head fell to one side, giving her fiancée more access to her skin. She felt herself being pushed backwards and in the direction of their bedroom. If Arizona wanted to stay in and do that, she wasn't going to say no.
xxx
When Arizona woke up the next morning, rays of sunlight were already dancing brightly across their bedroom floor. She needed a moment to come to terms with her surroundings, simply due to the fact that she was not lying on her side of the bed, but on Callie's, with the Latina's very naked front pressed against her also very naked back. Wondering for a moment why they had fallen asleep this way, her eyes caught a glimpse of the light that refracted in the shapes of the diamonds of her engagement ring. She couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face. She was engaged. Engaged to the love of her life and, good Lord, did they celebrate last night. They had been love-making oh so passionately and slow. But there had also been teasing, worshiping and licking the other beyond everything they could handle. And in the end, Callie had fallen onto the mattress after her fifth or sixth intense orgasm of the night and simply passed out. With a sheepish grin, Arizona remembered how she had just made herself comfortable on Callie's side of the bed and pulled the brunette closer to her to cover them up with a thin blanket.
Tightening her hold on the brunette's arm that was draped over her side and stomach, Arizona pushed herself further into her fiancée's embrace. Fiancée. That sounded so… so… there was no word to explain how she felt. Possibly not even a sentence. She could write an essay about it and it still wouldn't be enough. There would never be enough words in the English language – or any other for that matter – that would fully describe how happy Callie made her every day.
Carefully turning around in the Latina's arm so she would not wake her, blue eyes immediately fell on full, red lips. Callie's lips were so soft. So delicious. So kissable. Leaning in, she lightly brushed her own set of lips against the slightly parted ones of her fiancée, but Callie didn't even stir. She was still dead to the world which didn't surprise the blonde at all since she could feel the tiredness and soreness in every muscle, in every fiber of her being. But she felt sore in all the right places. It was in fact the best kind of soreness.
Watching the even rising of the brunette's torso with every breath she took and with tracing the curve of her naked body with her fingertips, Arizona thought about the one thing that had been on her mind a few times already since she discovered for herself that Callie was the one for her. Getting married - even if it wasn't in the near future – meant tying and mingling two lives together as one. It meant one home. Building one future together, maybe even a family. And to her, it also meant sharing one last name, but since they were both female, which name should they choose? She always felt Robbins was just perfect for her. It suited her. She was the perfect mixture of her parents, and she was really proud to be a Robbins – to be her father's daughter and her grandfather's granddaughter. Would that change if her last name was different? Arizona Torres. Calliope Robbins. "Arizona Torres", she said to herself in a whisper. It did have a nice ring to it, but so did Calliope Robbins. Then again, Callie was the only member left of her family. Could she really take her name away from her? What if Callie wanted them to keep their respective names? "Calliope Robbins", she tried.
"Both sound awesome", the Latina mumbled in a raspy and sleepy voice with her eyes still closed, startling her fiancée with her sudden words.
"You're awake already?", Arizona asked before she tucked dark brown hair behind Callie's ear. "I thought you'd sleep at least till noon."
"Mhmm, what time is it?" she asked, but captured the blonde's lips in a loving kiss before Arizona could answer her question. Pulling her as close as possible with her left hand firmly pressed against her lover's lower back, she inevitably pushed their hips together. A groan left her throat when the blonde tore her lips away. "You feel good."
"You too", she replied and relished in the feeling of their bodies pressed together while she propped herself up on one elbow to look past the head with dark hair, trying to find her alarm clock on the nightstand. "It's close to nine."
"Ugh. Sleeeeep", Callie whined. The last time she unintentionally checked the time last night it was already past three. And that was before Arizona had started yet another round. She wasn't complaining about their celebrating. Not in the slightest. But she needed more sleep. When a relatively loud growl filled the otherwise silent room, her cheeks turned beet red. Apparently, she needed something else.
The blonde's hearty love bounced off the walls of their bedroom. "Hungry?" She pushed Callie onto her back and leaned halfway down onto the brunette's upper body, her face mere inches away from a tan neck as she inhaled deeply. They smelled like sex. The whole room smelled like sex.
"Like you wouldn't believe. After all, we skipped dinner last night."
"Well, I beg to differ, 'cause I had you for dinner", Arizona disagreed in a low and sultry voice, her breath tickling the Latina's neck with every word. Smirking up at her fiancée, she subconsciously licked her lips. Callie was glowing in the sunlight that streamed through the gaps between the blinds, her hair disheveled and spread out all over the pillow. She was just about to start anew and blow the brunette's mind once again as another grumbling filled the room. This time though, it was her stomach.
"Apparently, I was not enough", Callie grinned. "Pancakes?"
"Can't we just stay in bed? I am sure breakfast can wait for another... let's say... thirty minutes?" Her fingers were already ghosting over the soft tan skin of Callie's shoulder and along her collarbone and she had every intention to continue what she started. "Please?"
Her breath caught in her throat as the blonde's lips sucked on her pulse point. "You- ugh- you can't possib- possibly want to- JESUS!", she exclaimed when delicate fingers pinched a pebbled nipple, "go again."
"I can't help it", Arizona breathed out. "You're too hot", she stated and crashed their lips in a searing kiss, but pulled away all too soon for Callie to get any control back. "I can't keep my fingers off of you. I will never get enough of you." Pushing down the blanket, she kissed her way down the soft skin, leaving wet trails with her tongue on every inch of exposed flesh she could reach. Her mouth found the valley between two full breasts and she kissed a path to a taut nipple, sucking it in and eliciting a sharp intake of breath from above. Cupping the other breast with her hand, she started to knead it softly in her palm, feeling Callie's body begin to squirm beneath her. "Plus", she said before she circled the mocha-colored bud with her tongue, "I don't think I thanked you enough for asking me to marry you." Her teeth grazed the silk skin of the brunette's stomach and open mouth kisses were planted wherever Arizona lowered her face.
Panting heavily already, Callie pushed her head back into the pillow and her eyes snapped shut as her fingers clenched in the bed sheets below her. She was beyond worked up again and very sure it wouldn't take long for Arizona to push her over the edge into a very welcomed bliss. Pushing her hips against the blonde's hand that was between her legs, she begged, "Please..."
"Please what?" Slipping her fingertips inside her lover's wet and hot core, a gasp toppled over pink lips. "Oh my-" That feeling was never going to get old. Callie felt so good around her fingers. Softly withdrawing before she pushed deeper inside the brunette, Arizona glanced up and saw a set of perfectly white teeth biting hard into a full bottom lip. She crawled back up the Latina's body, captured her lips in a hot and sensual kiss and rolled her hips against the body underneath her, successfully making her fingers go in all the way.
The moan that left her mouth at the sudden feeling of being filled was carnal and yet muffled by the Arizona's lips. Her heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest and every time she tried to breathe, the air didn't seem to reach her lungs.
Needing at least a little bit of control back, Callie's left hand let go of the sheets and traveled down the pale skin of the blonde's back and over her hip bones to find a toned stomach. Muscles twitched beneath the fingertips and when she moved her hand lower, she was immediately met by scorching heat. She cupped Arizona's mound and played with her engorged clit that seemed to plead for attention.
Pulling away when she felt the brunette's fingers flicking her bundle of nerves, blue eyes fluttered close and her head fell down to rest on Callie's shoulder. "In-"
"Hmm?", Callie partly asked, partly moaned. She was completely captivated by her fiancée's fingers, her brain not working fast enough to get what the blonde needed.
"In- fuck- need- inside! Callie, need you inside", she rushed out and her fingers picked up the pace between the Latina's legs because she knew, she was so close already and she wanted, needed Callie to come with her.
Complying, Callie's fingers danced deeper between Arizona's folds and she teased her entrance for just a few seconds before she thrust inside.
"OH FUCK!", she screamed in shock, her teeth biting down on a tan shoulder as she moaned against the sweaty skin. "Calliope, I'm-"
"Me too", the Latina panted. See could already feel the tingling sensation building in her lower abdomen. Her toes curled against the mattress and with every buck of her hip, the blonde's fingers seemed to reach deeper. "Close", she warned.
"Come with me", Arizona urged, her thumb pressing against the brunette's clit with every thrust of her hand. She pushed her own body down again and again, feeling Callie's fingers curl against the sweet spot inside her, her climax rushing towards her at lightning speed. And knowing that the Latina was just as close did nothing to stop it.
When the first waves of her own orgasm crashed through her body, Callie flicked the blonde's clit with her thumb, the speed of her thrusts increased and within mere seconds, both were screaming out the release. Her inner walls clenched around the digits still inside her while her heartbeat started to slow down.
With her face still hidden in the crook of the brunette's neck, Arizona slowly came down from her high. But with just the slightest movements of Callie's fingers inside her core, she began to tremble again. She knew her face was flushed and that her breathing was everything but normal, yet she tried to move and slipped out of her fiancée and flopped down beside her. "Nothing beats morning sex."
"Ugh", Callie groaned, suddenly feeling empty and instantly, she was bursting with love. Turning her head to look at the girl to her right, she noticed the rising chest. "Nothing beats morning celebratory engagement sex with you", she agreed and licked her fingers clean.
Without thinking about it, Arizona's eyes fell onto her ring. "There is no way our friends are not going to notice", she smiled and then laughed, "And if they don't, I just shove it into their faces."
"You may want to call your parents first and tell them", Callie suggested. "But please, after breakfast. You wore me out again and I think if I don't get any nutrition into my system, I'm going to starve."
Blue eyes widened and she immediately grinned at the brunette. "Calliope Torres, are you telling me that you did not inform my dad – the Colonel – before you asked me to become your wife?"
"Uhm..."
"I can't believe you! You! You always ask. You asked him if he was okay with us moving in together. You always make sure he's okay with everything and you did not ask him?"
"There was no need to", she shrugged. "He practically gave me his approval and his blessing when we moved here. Told me, that if I ever decided to become his daughter, he'd call himself lucky." It had made her tear up a little, knowing that he supported their relationship completely. After all, he was still a marine.
"Oh... and you waited that long to ask me?", Arizona asked, playfully swatting the brunette's upper arm. She got it, though. Callie had just turned eighteen when they'd moved over to start college and she had been seventeen. Living together had been challenging enough in the beginning, there was no need to add pressure by being engaged at such a young age. And Callie had also been right last night, they were still young. But they matured and their relationship had only gotten stronger with every passing day.
"What are you thinking about so hard? I can practically hear the wheels turning in your head.
"Nothing serious", Arizona smiled. "I'm just happy and I can't wait to tell my mom and dad. Did your parents know?"
"Nope", she shook her head. "Nobody knew." She was sure though that Liam and Susan were going to be as thrilled as Barbara and Daniel. Addison would pull them into one of her bone-crushing hugs and start planning the bachelorette parties the second she heard the news. That is, if she could get her head out of her butt and finally admit that she liked Teddy. "We should call our parents soon, though." Groaning as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and her feet came in contact with the cold hardwood floor, she pushed herself up from the mattress.
"Where are you going?", Arizona pouted when she felt the bed shift.
"Making breakfast. Finally", Callie laughed and walked over the closet to get a fresh pair of boxers and a shirt. "Pancakes okay?"
"Do you really have to ask?"
Chuckling, the Latina went back to the bed to peck the blonde's lips fast enough to not get pulled back under the covers. "Chocolate chips?", she asked when she was already at the door.
"Oh, yes please" she answered, clapping her hands in delight. "Best fiancée ever."
"And don't you forget it."
xxx
"Are you trying to restore you glucose balance with this breakfast?", Callie asked. They were sitting at their breakfast bar and she was currently sipping on a cup filled with milk while Arizona was munching away on her breakfast. Neither of them had thought about taking a shower until now. After all, it was the first day of semester break and both enjoyed to just laze around. No place to be, no people to see.
Swinging the fork in her hand, the blonde's eyes flickered between the plate in front of her and the Latina. "Why?"
"Because you're drenching your chocolate chips pancakes in chocolate syrup and you're drinking a cocoa. Don't you think that is a little... extreme?" It really shouldn't surprise her. Arizona was just that much of a sweet tooth, but still, she somehow feared the blonde would sugar-coat herself one day.
"Mhmm... no", she answered after she thought about it for all of five seconds. "I had quite the workout last night and this morning, I need this." Happily stuffing her mouth with another bite, she grinned at the brunette. "Do you-" Her question was interrupted by the knock on the apartment door. "We're not expecting anyone, are we?" If they were, she would not be sitting in their kitchen only dressed in a shirt and panties that barely covered her butt.
"I'm not. Did Addie say something?", the Latina asked and slipped off the stool.
Shaking her head vehemently, she tugged at the fabric of her shirt, trying to stretch it over her knees while Callie opened the door.
"Good morning... I'm not interrupting, am I?", Teddy asked and it was clear to see that she had not put any thought into getting ready. Her hair was a wet mess tied back into a loose bun, one leg of her yoga pants was trapped in her sock and she wore two different shoes.
"No. Come in", Callie said and made way for the obviously confused woman to walk past her. "You look..."
"Yeah, I know that already. I just... I ran, okay?" She sat down on one of the stools, her eyes transfixed on her own fidgeting fingers.
Putting a plate down in front of her friend, a silent invitation for Teddy to just help herself if she wanted to eat something, Callie poured another cup with cocoa, knowing it comforted the blonde just as much as her lover.
"Do you want me to leave?", Arizona offered.
"No. God, no. I just... I had to get away from it and since- oh God, you had your anniversary last night and you probably don't want to hear about my shit." She glanced over to Arizona who was sitting across from her. She looked happy. Tired and like she'd just gotten out of bed, but happy. It seemed like their problems were gone with the wind. Of course, Addison had told her about the other blonde's suspicions, but she had agreed with her roommate that there was no way Callie would cheat on or leave Arizona. She would even go so far and say that Callie could never love anybody else as much as she loved the blonde. "You guys are good again?"
"We're perfect", Arizona smiled and not so subtle used her left hand to bring the cup to her mouth. Her eyes found Callie who was shaking her head with a snort.
"OH MY FREAKING-!" Blue eyes went wide and a hand immediately reached out to pull Arizona's hand closer to her eyes. "Holy- Is that what I think it is?"
"I don't know... what do you think this is?", Arizona played the unknowing.
She turned around to face the Latina. "Did you pop the question without telling me?"
"Oh oh, sounds like Teds is mad at you, Calliope."
Lifting her hands in defense first, Callie then put her arm around Teddy's shoulder. It was one of the other girl's habit to simply change the topic when she was nervous to talk about what was really going on. Frankly, Arizona showing off the ring had given her the perfect opportunity to do so, but the state Teddy was in was enough for her to know, that she really needed to talk. "So, you ran? Why? What happened?"
"She- I- we-" Taking a deep breath and counting to five in her head, she tried again, "I kissed her."
"We know that already. You still haven't talked about that?" Because that was four days ago, Arizona remembered.
"No no no. I kissed her. Not she kissed me. Not we kissed. I kissed her. She came out of the bathroom with her body wrapped in only a small towel. And her hair was still wet and drops trickled down her skin and I just, I just lost it. I pushed her against the dresser and kissed her." She couldn't even believe she'd done that. She'd never been this... pushing before. Not with Henry, not with any other boy before. Passionate, yes, but never pushing.
"And then you left?", Callie asked. Their friends were so much alike. They showed up on their doorsteps at the crack of dawn or in the middle of the night - without any heads-up. And they both had a weird way of handling conflicts by running away from it.
"No... not immediately. I pulled away, wanted to tell her that I am sorry, but I wasn't. I am still not sorry. But I think she is, because she didn't say anything and now I am here."
"So, basically you ran away right after you kissed her", the other blonde stated. "You should talk to her."
"I can't. I tried and I just can't. She's... she's Addison. She made jokes about our first kiss and now I just kissed her again and everything is messed up." When another knock filled the open living room, Teddy looked at her friends. "If that's Addison, I'm not here." She went to slip away from the bar, but Callie stopped her.
"You're staying right where you are. If that is Addison, you're going to finally talk."
"Do you know that I can see your ass?", Teddy asked.
Ignoring her friend, Arizona opened the door and let her best friend in. "Good morning to you too, Ads", she said when the redhead walked in without saying a word and closed the door. She didn't dare to walk back to her breakfast, not wanting to risk Addison making a comment about her almost naked ass as well. Though she probably had more important things on her mind. She looked almost as bad as Teddy, with her hair hanging over her shoulders in slightly wet strands. But the day that Addison Montgomery was not dressed beyond perfect had still to come.
"Hey...", she said.
"Hey", Teddy smiled back. "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you. I knew you'd be here. I-"
"Callie asked Arizona to marry her", Teddy interrupted her roommate before Addie could say something she was not sure she wanted to hear.
"WHAT?" She spun around on her heels. "You're kidding me, right?"
"No", Arizona stated simply and held up her hand to show Addison the ring with a big smile on her face.
"Cheating on you my ass! I told you she'd never do that."
"I know you did. And I didn't say that she was, I was just scared that she'd met someone better", she clarified and looked at the brunette. "I never thought you were cheating."
"There will never be someone better", Callie replied with a smile. Unfaithfulness was something, neither of them had to be scared about. Jealousy, because one of them got hit on, yes, they had to deal with it. Being scared about losing the other half, yes, Callie had been there at one point as well. But they trusted each other with their heart and their life. Of course, she could only talk for herself when she said that cheating was something she would never do, but deep down she knew for sure that Arizona thought the same.
"Okay. I think I really don't need to say this, but I am happy for you", the redhead smiled and hugged her best friend. "And we will celebrate, later, but right now, I need to talk to Teddy."
"You do?"
"I do, so will you please come back with me so we can talk and these two can get all engrossed in their happy engagement-bubble and have lots and lots of sex?"
"Oh Addie, you know we already had lots and lots of sex last night... and this morning", Arizona grinned and watched Teddy's cheeks blush while Addison just made a face.
"Gross. Not what I needed to hear and so nothing I didn't know already because that hickey is highly visible, but I'll let it slide, today. But only for today."
"Why, thank you, Addie", Callie said and shook her head once again at her lover's words.
Ignoring the sarcasm in the Latina's voice, Addie turned to look at her roommate. "Will you please come home with me? So we can talk?" She was nervous as hell, she was just better at hiding it. Up until this morning, she still hadn't figured out what she wanted or what that kiss had meant for her. But when she'd felt the blonde's lips on hers again, it all made sense. And if Teddy had not ran away, she'd have told her after getting dressed. "Please?"
"Okay", Teddy agreed and stood up to hug the Latina. "Thanks for letting me freak out", she whispered.
"Any time, Teddy."
"Congratulation. We should definitely celebrate tonight. Hit the club, or something like that", the redhead smiled. "Text me later?"
"Will do", Arizona replied and opened the door to let the girls out. She should feel like a doorman or something, but watching as Addison reached out to take Teddy's hand made up for it, a lot. "Talk!", she reminded them and closed the door once they left the apartment.
"If we're going to go out later I definitely need more sleep", Callie stated while cleaning up the breakfast bar.
"Sleep later, celebrating now", Arizona said with a grin, pulled off her shirt only to let it fall to the floor right in front of Callie's eyes and walked straight into their bedroom. "You coming?"
"Not yet", she grinned mischievously and followed her fiancée, knowing that 'more sleep' would really have to wait for another couple of hours.
xxx
Cold wind hit them as they exited the cab and the air smelled like it had rained at least the whole night. Arizona reached out to take her fiancée's hand with a big smile on her face and they walked the few feet to her old home. "It was a good idea", she stated, simultaneously tightening the hold to her travel bag. After waking up for the second time yesterday, Callie had suggested that instead of calling their parents, they could just fly over and stay a few days before flying back to Miami and stay a week at the beach house. Arizona, of course, had instantly been on board. It was way better than talking on the phone or via Skype and the last time they had seen their families was during Christmas break almost seven months ago. So Callie had booked their flight for 9am, Boston time and now they were here, quarter after 1pm, Seattle time. "Ready to be squished to death?", the blonde joked. They had decided that it was safer to just drop by and see if her mom was home, since they didn't know if Susan was scheduled today and they really wanted to surprise them with their appearance.
"As ready as I'll ever be", the Latina smiled. Truth was, she couldn't wait to see their families again. She'd missed them all so much. But furthermore, she couldn't wait to see their reactions to them being engaged. Their friends had reacted just as expected and Addison had put her foot down on a girls night out although she had tried to reason with her that there was an early flight to catch. 'Just till midnight', the redhead had argued. Yeah, they'd gotten home around 2am and the alarm had shocked them out of bed just around 6.30 to take a quick shower and head out. At least, Addie and Teddy had volunteered to drive them to the airport. Both seemed to be on a good path again, judging by the hot and grinding dancing that had occurred last night, hence the late hours of getting home. But she'd had fun and Arizona had had even more fun watching their friends getting all touchy and flirty. Stifling a yawn, she caressed the back of her lover's hand with her thumb. "We can squeeze in a little nap, later, right?"
"I doubt my mom will let us go so soon, but we should manage to get an hour or two between now and dinner." She was tired too, beyond tired even. Because unlike the brunette, she could not sleep while being thousands of feet in the air, locked up in a silver tin box with wings. She was still scared of flying and she wondered if that would ever go away. The only positive thing she could think of about flying with Callie was snuggling up against her side and watching whatever movie was on while the soft breaths of the Latina somewhat soothed her fears.
"Oh, do you think your grandma is going to bring her banoffee pie? I hadn't had one in months and... it would simply be amazing", she grinned.
"I think that's a given. Once mom calls her to come over for dinner, she'll probably send my grandfather out to get the missing ingredients", the blonde smiled. "Mhmm, Robbins' banoffee pie." She subconsciously licked her lips at the thought of that and her mouth started to water. "We should-"
"Yeah, let's", she interrupted Arizona and started moving. It had started to rain again – and being in Seattle, it went from not raining at all to soaking someone within minutes - and she really wasn't a fan of the cold drops that were pelting down on her. She admitted, she always missed the weather when they were in Boston or even Miami, she even missed the rain she grew to love while growing up here. But being tired, cold and wet was just not one of her favorite things.
Ringing the bell, Arizona could immediately hear the cracking voice of her brother, hollering out for his mom that he would get it. She smiled. Her little brother was growing up and he had probably changed since the last time they video-phoned on Skype. "I forgot that he's on break too already."
"The more the better", the Latina smiled. Though it would have been nice to tell their news to all of them at the same time, she knew that it was a) not possible to keep it a secret from Barbara and b) they would have had to tell them they were coming over and that would have ruined the surprise. So they settled for telling everyone bit by bit.
"Zona?" Tim's blue eyes went wide as he opened the door and saw his big sister. He was really the only one who was allowed to call her by the shortened version of her name and Callie thought that it was the sibling-bonus. She tried it once and Arizona had not been amused. "MOM!", he yelled into the house. "MOM, Zona and Callie are here!"
The blonde let go of the carry-all and welcomed her – not so – little brother in a heartwarming embrace. "Hey Timmy", she smiled. "Geez, you need to stop growing." He was still smaller than her, but he had yet a few years ahead of becoming taller and taller. For now though, he was still her little fourteen year old brother.
"Arizona?", reached Barbara's voice their ears, followed by Susan's, "Calliope?"
"Mom", the Latina grinned and rushed past her lover and soon to be brother- and mother-in-law and fell into the awaiting arms of her mother, her suitcase completely forgotten in the rain. "It's good to be home."
"We didn't know you were coming", Susan replied, not letting go of her daughter for a good ten seconds and pecked her cheeks. She just knew it had been a good idea to have some coffee with Barbara on her day off. It had been kind of a gut feeling, so she'd called the other woman to tell her she'd be there at some point before noon. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"It was all pretty spontaneous," Arizona answered with the last breath in her lungs before her mother pulled her in for one of her bone-crushing hugs. "Mom, it's okay."
"My baby is home." She wiped her cheeks to get rid of the shed tears. It was always the same with Barbara Robbins. When they came home for the first Christmas, she'd cried and then she'd cried some more, when they had to leave again. It had gotten better over the years, but she was still overwhelmed every time her firstborn came home. "Come in and out of the cold", she rushed and tugged at the blonde's hand since Callie was already inside. "To what do we owe this visit?"
"Can't we just stop by?", the blonde teased while watching her brother bringing in their bags. Studying his facial features, she noticed that he looked more and more like her father. She'd seen pictures of her dad's childhood and even if they were all black and white, one couldn't deny the resemblance between father and son.
"Of course you can. But it's quite the way for just dropping by and you usually call upfront", Barbara reasoned. They'd all walked into the kitchen and she was getting out two cups and preparing some hot cocoa for her girls.
"Yeah well, like I said, it was really spontaneous. One minute we were celebrating, the next we had the idea and booked the flight and another minute later we were hitting the club and dancing with Addison and Teddy. Addie actually decided to live her last year at Harvard in her dorm room, although the Captain finally gave her the green light to look for an apartment." They had all been surprised how persistent he had been with his daughter and his punishment. Addie had done everything to get into her father's good book again. She'd aced all her exams from the beginning, and he still hadn't given in. And now that he finally let it slide, she had found a reason to stay at the dorm.
"She does? I thought she wanted to get out of there as fast as possible?", Susan chimed in. "And what was there to celebrate? You already got the last exams back, knowing you passed?"
Shaking her head, Callie sat down on a chair next to her mom, but avoided to look her in the eyes. "That needs another three to five weeks, mom. No we were, uhm...", she trailed off and looked over to her fiancée.
"Arizona Robbins", Barbara's voice filled the room. "Why did your girlfriend just blush while trying to answer her mother's question? Did you do something?"
"Why do you always assume I did something?", Arizona asked, faking being shocked. "You know, she's not an angel, right?"
"That's 'cause you're the daredevil", Tim stated, earning a glare with narrowed eyes from his big sister. "What? It's the truth."
"Okay, spill", Arizona's mother demanded, her voice leaving no room for an argument. Not that the blonde would have started to argue about telling them the big news, still, she flinched at the tone.
Grabbing the Latina's hand and smiling down at her, she straightened her composure, before she opened her mouth and said the three words, "We are engaged." The smile on her face was sheepish, yet bright and radiating with love for the brunette.
A spoon hit the kitchen counter, but other than that, the room went silent. Nobody said a word as three pairs of eyes were glued to the girls.
"Uhm, okay, you're allowed to say something, you know that, right?", the blonde asked nervously. So not the reaction they had been expecting. "Mom?" Softly placing her hand on her mom's shoulder she looked at the woman's face and saw the tears. "You okay?"
Meanwhile Susan's brain had caught up to the uttered words and her smile was almost as big as the blonde's when she hugged her daughter. "Congratulations", she whispered in the Latina's ear.
"Mom?", Arizona tried anew.
"My baby is growing up", she sniffed, turned around to face her daughter and pulled her in once again.
Relieved, the blonde let out a sigh and sank into the warm embrace. "Thank God. For a minute there you had me worried, mom."
"No. God, no. I am just- how? When?"
"Ask her, she was the one who popped the question", she replied and pointed at Callie with her thumb. "I was just a willing participant, saying yes when I had to." When her mother finally let go of her, Tim was already waiting to tell her how happy he was for his sister.
"Sunday", the brunette said when blue eyes were directed at her, silently asking the same questions. "We thought about calling you but decided to tell you in person."
"Come here", Barbara rasped and put her arms around Callie. "I am so happy for the two of you. We should have dinner tonight and call your grandparents so you can tell them as well. Your father will be home around 7pm, Liam should have made it here by that time too, right?"
"Definitely. The conference he's attending should end around five", Susan assured. She looked at the brunette and noticed the love she had for Arizona in her eyes. "He always thought that Arizona would ask some day."
"I would have", the blonde agreed, "sooner or later. Callie just beat me to it." Kissing the set of full lips, she eased herself into the warm body of her lover. "Do you want to see the ring?", she asked her mom, already holding out her hand.
"Oh my- Calliope, it's beautiful!", both mothers gushed, both knowing that the Latina had a really good eye for elegant beauty.
"You don't even know the best part. She designed it. Like, there's no other person out there with the same ring. It's unique." She had spent quite some time looking at it. The simplicity of the band and the absolutely detailed diamond butterfly. It was a contrast, like their colors of skin, like their characters. It mirrored them in the most perfect way.
"Just like our love", Callie whispered into the blonde's ear, making her all smiley and happy. She had to muffle yet another yawn while Barbara was talking and planning dinner.
Feeling her lover behind her tense up for a moment, Arizona looked at her mom. "Do you mind if we take a nap? It was really late last night and way too early this morning. Apparently you have no choice than to board the 9am plane when you want to be on a flight without a stop. We're just-"
"No, Arizona, we should help our moms."
"No, honey. It's okay, really. You just get some rest, we'll get the groceries and call your grandparents so grandma can make you banoffee pie", Barbara brushed off Callie's offer to help. "Just go upstairs and let us do the work down here."
"You sure about that?", the Latina asked, this time not able to keep her yawn to herself. "Maybe you're right", she laughed.
"Tim, help your sisters with the bags, would you?", Arizona's mother asked, emphasizing the word 'sisters'. It had never been a secret that Callie was very much welcome in this family – just like Arizona had somehow always been in the Menken's family– but actually hearing it, made everyone smile.
"On it, mom", he said, got up from the chair and grinned, "Come on, sisters."
AN2: I don't know about other writers but I have this one guest (or at least I think it is just one) that leaves crappy reviews. I love your reviews, guest or registered user. Well, I just want to say something to the troll so you can save that time. I will continue to delete them, because if you try to make me feel bad or like shit or whatever, you are allowed to come off anon and say that to my face.
AN3: That being said, I will keep reposting TIAM and continue with TIAM2 as long as there is at least one who wants to read it and as long as it helps me to relax. Love you guys!