Disclaimer: This is AU. I do not own any of the characters from Grey's Anatomy. I just manipulate them to my will. Also, any line or phrase or setting that seems remotely familiar from any other show, movie or book, also not mine. I borrow…
AN: Enjoy!
Chapter 37
Gentle waves rock the boat in a way that reminds one of being in their mother's arms, and the rushing of water all around supplies the most beautiful white noise ever created. Fresh air and clean skies make the lungs breathe easy as Arizona sleeps more deeply than she has in years. The bed is small, but perfectly sized for two people to curl up in each other's arms. Soft, airy sheets cover them lightly, their little cocoon cool enough to keep them together, but warm enough to fight off a chill.
She could spend eternity like this, but as the sun rises in its journey from the east, the ray of light streaming from the tiny port hole shines right on Callie's face, slowly pulling her from sleep. The first thing she notices is the weight on her chest, followed by the tickling of fine blonde hair sweeping just above her breast. Brown eyes slowly start to focus and the fog clears from her mind. When she attempts to stretch the half of her body that isn't being used as a body pillow by her girlfriend, a delightful soreness makes itself known.
Along with the after effects of last night's activities, Callie can feel the dryness and slight headache pulsing behind her eyes from the wine last night, but it's still not enough to get her to move from her spot. A long, silky smooth leg is settled between hers and Arizona's arm is wrapped possessively across her midsection while the blonde continues to sleep soundly nestled into the crook of the Latina's shoulder. And apparently her dream is a good one because the corner of her mouth that Callie is able to see is pulled up into a soft, relaxed smile.
Tanned fingers slowly tease the milky white flesh of her girlfriend's arms as brown eyes close, Callie letting the whooshing of the waves and steady rocking of the boat lull her back into a half dream state. No classes, no tests, no studying, no alarm clocks… no nothing. Nothing but peace, and each other. This is everything Callie had hoped their vacation would be, and so far the Latina hasn't been disappointed.
Goose bumps start to pucker across Arizona's arm and back, Callie smiling at how the woman's body responds to her touch despite the blonde being dead to the world. She opens her eyes and sets her gaze onto the face that is being highlighted by a stream of light, golden tresses almost glowing from the suns attention. Arizona's face remains shaded, the warmth of the sunbeam soaking into her bare back, and Callie swears that a halo appears around her girlfriend's head. Of course it's just the way the sun is positioned behind her but still… Callie always knew Arizona was an angel.
Something tickles at her nose and Arizona lazily rubs it away with the back of her hand, but just a second later it returns, eliciting a groan of annoyance from the blonde. This only happens another four or five times before a single blue eye cracks open and Arizona sees an amused, but still sleepy smile staring back at her.
"Callie…" She whines before turning her face into the soft body next to her. "What time is it?" A muffled voice asks, the Latina feeling the words against her skin more than hearing them.
And she smiles when she says, "I don't know. …It doesn't matter." It's just a habit Arizona has, every morning that they wake up together the blonde always asks the same thing. But to be able to forget about time, about appointments or class or phone calls… it's amazing.
"Mmmkay." The blonde hums, then resettles herself in her girlfriend's arms and closes her eyes.
Callie continues to run her fingers down Arizona's arm, following the sweet curves of the woman's body before slipping back up her beautiful back. And in response a fair hand starts her own exploration, playing across a soft stomach, swirling around her belly button before traveling up and teasing the underside the Latina's breasts.
Warm lips press against Arizona's forehead while the blonde kisses the sweet caramel skin of Callie's chest. They play with each other, their fingers ghosting over freckles and dimples and scars that they have spent over six months memorizing. They've come so far since that subway ride, where neither of them realized just who they were having a midnight dalliance with, but now the couple can't even comprehend not being together. They fit together, like two puzzle pieces. Even when Arizona makes the first move and lets her hand slide south, it's like her fingers were made for pleasing Callie.
Those plump lips seek out the blonde's and Callie slowly rolls Arizona onto her back. A toned thigh nudges its way between two long legs while her girlfriend brushes raven hair up and out of her face. Smiles and giggles are shared and a slow, steady rhythm creates a pleasing friction for both. There's something different about morning sex. There's no frenzy, no need to impress the other person. A night full of passion has more than quenched their thirst for each other's body, so this morning is about sharing their souls. They laugh, and whisper, and kiss as Callie slowly brings them closer and closer.
Arizona is the first to reach her release and a rush of warmth floods through her, the blonde arching up with a low moan against the Latina. Lips kiss between her breasts and Callie sets her gaze on the writhing woman below her. And when blue eyes focus again, a lazy smile forces dimples to appear and Callie continues her ministrations until a delicious orgasm hits her like a low rolling fire.
Slightly out of breath, the Latina whispers, "That was fun."
"Mmhmm." Arizona hums in content. Her fingers run through long black hair, interlocking at the nape of her girlfriend's neck and pulling her down for a slow and languid kiss.
They stay like that for a while, kissing and nuzzling each other for a few minutes, until Callie pulls away and says, "I should get topside. Get this show on the road… so to speak." She smiles when Arizona holds her tighter at the threat of Callie leaving, and the Latina adds, "If you want to take a shower, I can get breakfast going."
"It's ok, I'll handle breakfast." The blonde murmurs, kissing her girlfriend one last time before Callie rolls off the bed. Arizona props up on her elbow and blue eyes watch as a white tank top is pulled over unrestrained breasts, and a pair of shorts are guided up long, deliciously tanned legs.
Brown eyes are protected by a pair of sexy sunglasses and when Callie looks back at her girlfriend, where Arizona's body is wrapped seductively in a white sheet, her hair a mess yet so breathtaking, and the Latina smiles and pecks the woman on the lips before saying, "I'll be on deck."
The morning sun hits her full force as soon as Callie steps out on deck and her lungs fill with fresh, ocean air. There are only a few light, fluffy clouds in the sky and the waters are calm. With a flick of her risk, the Latina opens up the navigation counsel and finds that they are still right on course. Snapping an elastic band from her wrist, Callie pulls her hair into a loose ponytail and starts to work.
By the time a blonde emerges from below deck the sails have already been released and the wind is guiding them towards their destination. A piping hot cup of coffee is handed to the captain and Arizona settles down next to her girlfriend to enjoy their light breakfast of fruit and yogurt.
"Still not telling me where you're taking me?" Arizona asks, taking tiny bits from the bit of melon stuck to her fork.
"Nope. It's a surprise." Her girlfriend replies, and when Callie sees the slight look of anxiety in Arizona's features as she scans the unending sheet of water they are racing through, she asks, "So why are you afraid of the ocean?"
"You're the one who's in Psych, you tell me." The blonde replies with a grin, her fingernails picking at an imaginary piece of lint stuck to her cut off shorts.
"Well… You're not hydrophobic, because you're not afraid of water. A fear of open spaces is agoraphobia, and being out in the middle of the ocean is the very definition of being exposed." Callie muses, watching her girlfriend for any hint that she might have hit something. "Humans have evolved to crave safety, safety that often comes from being in tight, controlled spaces. When you're out in the open, you're exposed. And being in the water, this far from land, you're pretty much on your own. …Am I close?" Arizona just bits at her bottom lip and shakes her head, making Callie ask, "Then what's the reason?"
"Sharks." Arizona answers shortly, eliciting a belt of laughter from the Latina.
"Seriously? …Sharks? You were afraid of sailing because of sharks?" Callie teases. "You do know that encountering a shark has right around the same odds as getting struck by lightning."
"Tell that to the girl who had her arm chomped off." The blonde rebuts, making her girlfriend laugh harder. But when she settles down, Callie just sits and waits for the real explanation.
So with a heavy sigh, Arizona says, "I don't know why I'm scared. I mean… ok. Did you ever see the movie Double Jeopardy?" When the Latina shakes her head no, the blonde continues, "Ok, well, it starts out with this couple on a sailboat, a lot like this one actually, and they are enjoying a romantic trip. Then the wife wakes up and she's covered in blood. She follows these bloody footprints up on deck where there is this bloody knife, and her husband is nowhere to be found. The coast guard rolls up and see's her standing there with this knife, her robes soaked in blood, and she get's arrested. …She ends up going to jail for her husband's murder, only for her to find out that her husband faked his death and stole their son to run off with the wife's friend!"
Callie sits in silence as she tries to follow Arizona's line of thought, and her girlfriend continues, "She's innocent, Calliope! But she can't prove it so she spends eight years in jail, pissed off at the world and swearing revenge. She trains and studies and trains some more. When she gets out she meets with Tommy Lee Jones, who knows something is wrong. …They end up fighting and the woman goes on the run to find her sleaze ball husband. She ends up finding him in New Orleans and even as she confronts him, she realizes she can't kill him."
"And he just smiles at her, and laughs! But then Tommy comes barging in and somewhere along the way bullets get fired and the husband get's killed." Arizona finishes with a flourish, slumping back into her seat like she's exhausted. "So… do you see it now? Why I don't like open water?"
A beat passes where Callie just stares at the blonde, and she asks "And in this movie… you're the wife who is framed for her husband's murder, only to end up killing him when she gets out?"
"And I don't want to have to kill you!" The blonde yelps.
"Right. …Right." The Latina mumbles, completely lost but finding this side of her girlfriend hilarious. "Well… if it would make you feel better, you can toss all the knives overboard. I mean, we'd have to eat like animals but hey… if it keeps you from spending eight years in prison then-OW!"
A fist finds the tender part of Callie's bicep and Arizona realizes she's being made fun of. "It's not funny, Callie! I didn't make fun of you about that damn spider in your bathroom."
"Uh, yeah… you did." Callie replies, rubbing at the low throbbing in her arm. The pout her girlfriend pulls is just for show, and when Arizona stomps back down into the underbelly of the boat, Callie knows it's all an act.
Trying to punish the Latina for her lack of compassion, Arizona returns topside with a towel and some tanning lotion. She spreads out on the bow of the boat, where the sun can beat directly down on her, and starts to rub the tanning creaming all over her body. And because of the way the wind is blowing, Callie has an uninhibited view of the blonde and she finds herself licking her lips when Arizona lies on her stomach, a hand reaching behind her and slowly pulling the string of the blue bikini top and letting the sides fall off her body.
She knows it's an act, a game in which both are testing the strength of the other. Callie could give up now and go over to apologize, putting this tiny spat behind them. But she doesn't. And Arizona could easily beckon the woman over, lure her in with her glistening body and kiss Callie in that way that tells her everything is forgotten. But she doesn't. This little game of cat and mouse is more amusing than anything, and neither wants to give it up just yet.
Callie even decides to up the stakes by walking over to her girlfriend and turning her back to the blonde while pulling her tank over her shoulders, silently asking Arizona to rub some lotion on her back and shoulders. The warmth of caramel flesh mixed with the chill of the lotion makes Arizona's throat goes a little dry, and when brown eyes peek over her shoulder to find a darkness in cerulean she knows her girlfriend is eating right out of her hands.
"You ok there, sweetness?" Callie whispers when Arizona's hands slow in their attempts to rub the lotion in.
"Mmhmm." The blonde hums, trying to shake herself from the spell the Latina's glowing skin has placed her in. But she can't, and she knows it's no use. Whenever she touches Callie it's like her whole being is taken over. "You know… I'm not really mad at you, Calliope." She mumbles, those hands sliding down the her girlfriend's strong back and trailing around her sides.
"No?" Callie asks, a smirk playing at her lips.
"No." Arizona breathes out. "I don't know why open water frightens me but… I'm not frightened when you're with me."
"Really?" Callie asks softly, turning a bit in her girlfriend's embrace.
"Yeah." Arizona answers. "Because I know you'll protect me. Just like I'll protect you however I can. …That's how this works, right?"
"Right." The Latina whispers, leaning in for a soft kiss. "That's how this works."