A/N: Just a little fluff and a tad bit of steam to get you through the cold weather. I hope you enjoy.
Escaping under the guise of being upset by the hickey she was apparently sporting, Arizona went into her room, shut the door, and fell against it letting out a sigh of frustration and closing her eyes. She needed just a few minutes to gather herself together. She was in no shape to interact with her 8 year old at that moment. After having Callie's hands on her for the first time in 4 years, her body was still vibrating, her nipples so taut it was nearly painful, her clit was pulsating with need, and her panties were soaked. She took a deep steadying breath, pushed herself off the door and decided to see what damage her ex-wife had done to her neck. As she looked in the mirror and saw the now slight red mark just under her ear, she couldn't help but smile a little. She and Callie both had a penchant for biting in the heat of passion. So much so that they had to make a rule about no visible marks which they evidently needed to invoke once again, she thought as she ran her fingers over the small bruise. While she absolutely hated visible marks, she loved marking and being marked by Calliope Torres. There was something primal about claiming and being claimed. It was animalistic and raw and something they only brought out in each other. She had never even considered it with any of her other lovers, but the passion she and Callie brought out in one another seemed to be on a different level than what she had ever shared with anyone else. Recognizing that Callie had immediately claimed her sent a shiver down her spine. Though she knew neither of them were emotionally ready to take that step, she was thrilled to know the passion and desire they always had for one another was still there. Knowing she needed to get her body under control, Arizona decided to take a quick shower. She went into the bathroom and turned on the water making it just warm enough to be able to withstand the cool temperature. Discarding her clothes and removing her prosthetic leg resting it against the wall, she opened the glass door and easily slid onto the built-in bench. Callie had really put a lot of thought and consideration into the design of this bathroom. She truly outdid herself and she did it all for her.
Callie. Calliope. Her Calliope. As the cool water beat down on her heated body, Arizona replayed every word of their earlier conversation. While the old Callie was quick tempered and impulsive, this Callie was patient, level-headed, and clearly thought through her words and actions. When she fed her own words back to her, words she once said to her wife to try to relay exactly how much she meant to her, how much she needed her in her life, Arizona knew she had no choice but to lay her heart wide open. She hadn't just opened herself up to the possibility of reconciling with her ex-wife, she had gone all in and agreed to try again. Though she had no idea what that looked like for either one of them, the prospect of it all scared her to death. Shivering a little from the cool water, Arizona adjusted the temperature and reached for the shampoo. Scrubbing it to a lather she made sure she got all the chlorine from her earlier swim rinsed out as well. As she poured a generous amount of conditioner into her hand and combed it through her tangled blonde locks with her fingers, Arizona admitted to herself it wasn't the idea of being with Callie again that scared her. Loving Callie again would be as easy as breathing. She knew she would give her a million chances, ask for a million chances, to be able to love her until the end of time. It was the overwhelming, gut-wrenching, terror that they would destroy each other again that had her blood running cold. Rinsing her hair and pouring her cherry blossom body wash on her bright pink mesh loofah sponge, Arizona lathered up her body and rinsed off quickly. She turned off the water and grabbed her towel from the hook that hung just outside the shower door, dried off her shortened limb and put her silicone sock and prosthetic leg back on. Wrapping the towel around her, she left the bathroom to get dressed.
Continuing her train of thought, she knew Callie was spot on with what she said about them. When they were good, they were amazing together and she could tell in just this small amount of time that they had both changed considerably and they were already so much better than they had been the last few months of their marriage. So she knew, no matter how worried she was over how bad it could get, she couldn't let that get in the way of how wonderful it could be. No, she didn't know what it would look like, how fast, or how slow they should go, how long it would take them to maneuver through their past hurts, but she knew she owed them this chance to figure it out. Standing at her dresser to pull out her clothes, she looked at the pictures that were displayed. She owed it to the two women in that picture standing outside their friend's trailer who had already been through so much but still only had eyes for each other. She owed it to the sweet little girl who was such a fantastic mixture of both her mothers to have the opportunity to grow up in a complete and loving family. Pulling on her usual sleep attire of a spaghetti strap tank top and a pair of women's boxers, she vowed to herself that she wouldn't swallow her fears or her doubt, she would share them with Callie, work through them together and just maybe, this time, they would make it out on the other side.
Deciding she had probably taken enough time and not wanting her ex to worry unnecessarily, Arizona turned to open the door and once again nearly ran right into Callie. Sweet Jesus and all that is holy, Callie had clearly taken this time to shower and change as well. She was wearing a red racerback tank top with no bra and loose fitting black running shorts and all that bare caramel skin was just begging to be kissed, licked, and sucked. Arizona's mouth went dry and the only thing that ran through her mind was how useless that cold shower had been as she felt moisture pool between her legs just that quickly. "We really have to stop meeting…whoa!" Callie was cut off mid-sentence as she was pulled into the room and pushed against the door causing it to slam shut. Slightly dazed by the quick movement, she barely had a second to take a breath before soft lips covered her own and an incredibly talented tongue snuck its way into her mouth and brushed up against the roof of her mouth eliciting a whimper and spurring her startled body into action. One hand quickly moved to the blonde's ass to caress and squeeze pulling them closer together as the other hand found the hem of her shirt and slipped underneath to caress the taut stomach muscles that were rippling with need. Both women moaned in appreciation as Arizona lifted Callie's leg to wrap around her hip causing their heated cores to grind against one another. With one hand on Callie's thigh, fingertips sliding just under the hem of her shorts, her other hand immediately went to the side of Callie's head to scratch at the soft stubble. While she thought she would miss tangling her fingers in those long black curls, something about the way the tiny bristles felt against her fingertips turned her on immensely.
Though Callie thoroughly enjoyed being dominated by Arizona, she was determined not to give in so quickly. Tightening her grip on that sweet ass, she pulled the other woman closer still and rolled her hips so their mounds rubbed against each other causing a stream of arousal to flood both their panties and making Arizona break the kiss as she gasped and tossed her head back exposing her delicious neck. Not wasting anytime, Callie leaned in and began nipping and sucking all that creamy flesh on display. Rolling her hips once more, she lowered her leg and began guiding Arizona backward toward the bed. Kissing her way up the pale neck, she began licking and nibbling on the blonde's soft earlobe before making her way to her mouth once again. Taking her time to just enjoy the softness of those sweet lips, she lightly brushed hers against them, changed angles, brushed them again, changed angles and this time took the swollen bottom lip into her mouth and sucked gently causing the smaller woman to whimper lightly. Finally she grazed her tongue across the full upper lip and groaned as it was sucked in and bit lightly before the two slick muscles were dancing with one another once again. By the time they reached the bed, Arizona's hands had made their way under her shirt and she was lightly scratching the tan skin of her muscular back. She somehow managed to sit down and scoot back allowing Callie to follow without breaking their kiss. Sitting in the middle of the bed with Callie straddling her legs hovered above her, Arizona tightened her grip on the other woman's back and pulled her down with her. As Callie rested her body weight on top of Arizona's for the first time in four years, both women let out a low moan of pleasure and broke the kiss as they rested their foreheads together, taking a minute to catch their breath and just appreciate the feeling of being this close once more. Both women closed their eyes and just delighted in each other's touch. Arizona continued to caress and lightly scratch at Callie's back, something she knew turned the other woman on like nothing else, while Callie rested the majority of her weight on her left arm and drew small circles on Arizona's taut stomach and ran her fingers up her ribcage just to the swell of her breast and back down enjoying the slight catch in her breath at each stroke.
In a husky tone infused with lust, Callie said, "I was going to say we need to stop meeting like this, but if this is how you are going to greet me whenever you answer the door…" Arizona laughed lightly and brought one hand to brush the curly bangs away from those gorgeous eyes nearly black with desire. "I hadn't planned on assaulting you, but damn, have you looked in a mirror?" Callie smiled brightly, lifted her body slightly and made a show of running her eyes down the other woman's body and back up again. Arching her perfectly manicured brow in that sexy way Arizona adores, she replied, "Have you? Damn Arizona you are sexy as hell." Moving her hand to the back of Callie's head, Arizona pulled her down for a long lingering kiss before sucking in a plump bottom lip and letting it go with a pop. Blushing slightly, she returned, "You, Calliope Torres are dangerous." Lowering her head for another kiss, Callie shifted her body so they were both laying on their sides. Bringing her hand up to tuck a stray curl behind Arizona's ear she offered, "As much as I want to continue this, I don't think either of us is ready for this yet and I want to do it right this time Arizona. I don't want to skip any steps. Then there's also the fact that our daughter is in the tub just down the hall." Sliding her pale hand to cup a soft caramel colored cheek, Arizona leaned in and brushed their noses together causing Callie to smile. Speaking softly, she replied, "I think it goes without saying how much I want you, but you're right, we need to go slow, build a solid foundation. I promised myself I wouldn't run from my feelings, so I need to tell you Callie, I'm scared." Callie leaned in and kissed the blonde on her forehead and pulled back so she could look her in the eye as she said, "I'm scared too."
Feeling relieved, Arizona continued, "I'm not…It's not…" Taking a deep breath, she started again, "It's not being with you, or loving you, or even trusting you that scares me though." Callie smiled, almost certain of what was coming next because she had the same fear, she was afraid of hurting her ex-wife again. Arizona continued, "Loving you, it's the most natural thing in the world to me, you are the love of my life Calliope Torres, you are my soulmate, so letting you in again, there was never a question about that. My biggest fear is hurting you again. I…that look of devastation on your face…it haunts me and I just…" Arizona shook her head and closed her eyes trying to hold back the tears, but there was no point in trying. Just like Callie needed to forgive herself for the pain she caused, Arizona had to forgive herself as well, but she just couldn't find it within herself to do it yet. Cheating on Callie was her biggest mistake and will always be her greatest regret. Before she could even raise her hand to try to wipe at the tears, she felt soft lips kissing them away and strong arms enveloping her in a tight hug. Callie had to fight her own tears at seeing how tortured Arizona was at just the thought of hurting her. In that moment, Callie saw and felt more remorse and regret from her ex-wife than she had ever gotten from any apology or attempt at an explanation in the past. It was then that she knew not only was Arizona honestly sorry for her actions, but her Arizona had found her way back because her Arizona, the woman she met, fell in love with, and married, that Arizona never would have cheated on her. Wrapping her arms around the blonde, she shifted so she was lying on her back cradling the smaller woman to her chest. "Shhh, it's okay honey. Please don't cry." Arizona lifted her head, almost fearful that she would see anger or worse, the pain she had caused by her infidelity, but what she saw was love and forgiveness. She was speechless. "I just…" she was cut off by Callie's soothing voice as she said, "Arizona, honey, I know, I see how sorry you are now. We will talk about it, soon okay. But tonight, tonight I just want to enjoy having my family home with me. So, you are going to go wash that beautiful face of yours, then we are going to tuck our daughter in, grab a glass of wine and find something mindless on tv we can ignore while we make out some more. How's that sound?" All Arizona could do was smile, as she answered, "Thank you sweetie. That sounds perfect." Giving the taller woman a smacking kiss on the lips, she rolled off the bed and went into the bathroom to clean up.
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Callie stood quietly in the doorway of her daughter's bedroom watching as the mini version of herself and her blonde mother interacted. Of all the things she's missed over the past four years, this was at the top of her list. Watching this woman who never wanted children fall head over heels in love with their child was one of her greatest joys. The bond they shared from the moment Sofia was born was beautiful and something she found herself just the tiniest bit jealous of from time to time. She smiled as she thought about those nights Sofia would scream at the top of her lungs driving both Mark and Callie crazy and all Arizona had to do was pick her up and whisper in her ear and she was asleep in minutes or all those times Sofia swore mommy did the best braids and no one could touch her hair but mommy. But now as they laugh and hug each other, she can't feel anything but grateful that Arizona forgave her for sleeping with Mark, got past the idea of raising a child with Mark, and claimed this baby as her own from the first heartbeat. She just wished she would have pulled her head out of her ass before she let her lawyer claim Arizona was thrown into motherhood and insist Sofia wasn't just as much hers as she was Callie's or before she took her daughter from her other mother and everything she's known her whole life and moved her across the country. She was broken from her thoughts by her daughter's concerned voice asking, "Mama, why are you crying?" Not realizing she was, Callie lifted her hand to her cheek to wipe away the tears that escaped and smiled brightly at her daughter. "These are happy tears Mija. I am just so happy you and mommy are here and we both get to tuck you in at night." Looking over at the blonde, she knew she didn't believe her, but both women were relieved to see their daughter seemed satisfied with her answer and threw her arms around her mama and gave her a big hug. "I'm happy you're both here too. I've missed having you both tuck me in." Arizona leaned in to kiss her daughter on the forehead then said, "Seeing you both happy makes me happy. But you, little one, need to get to sleep." Sofia giggled as her mommy tickled her tummy. Laying down and letting her mama tuck her blankets around her she said, "Good night mommies, I love you both." Arizona turned off the overhead light and stepped out as Callie pulled the door closed leaving a small gap as they both called out, "We love you too."
As they headed down the hall, Arizona reached out and grabbed Callie's hand pulling her to a stop. "What was that about? Are you okay?" Callie shook her head, "I'm okay, its just…well, I have some things I need to apologize for too. Things I am really struggling to forgive myself for." Arizona nodded in understanding then offered, "We will get through it." Callie smiled softly and said, "Ya know, I really believe we will. It just seems so overwhelming right now." Returning the smile, the blonde tilted her head and said, "So, I have an idea. Do you have a fishbowl or pitcher or something? Oh, and we will need two different colored post-its and two pens." Slightly confused at the change in subject and her ex-wife's enthusiasm following a rather somber moment, Callie just said, "Uh…ok…yeah, I have all that stuff, um just give me a minute?" Arizona smiled brightly and bounced on her toes as she said, "Yay! I'll pour us a glass of wine and meet you in the living room." As she passed the brunette, she leaned up and placed a soft kiss on the corner of her mouth. "I'll explain in a minute." Shaking her head at the blonde's uncanny ability to always make her smile, Callie went in search of the supplies she was tasked with gathering.
Returning just five minutes later, Callie handed over an old coffee carafe with a pad of blue post-its, a pad of pink post-its, and two ink pens. She then picked up her glass and took a big drink not sure exactly what was coming. She then offered, "Here's everything you asked for, now care to explain?" Sliding her prosthetic off and leaning it against the end table, Arizona took the blue post-its for herself, handed Callie the pink ones, and gave them each a pen, then said, "Okay, so this idea just came to me. But, instead of a bachelor or bachelorette party, Jo and Alex hosted a game night. One of the games we played was charades and we did it in teams, men against the women. Each team had a distinct color of paper and we each got to write something we wanted the other team to act out." Arizona looked up into confused brown eyes and continued, "Okay, so we obviously won't be acting this out, but we will be talking it out. So, I will write the things I want to ask you about or talk to you about on these blue papers and you will do the same on the pink ones. We will fold them up and put them in the carafe and when we have our talks, I will draw a pink paper and you will draw a blue one and we will talk about it." Catching on, Callie smiled, "So this way, it's not as daunting and we don't do it all in one conversation right?" Arizona nodded her head, "Right, and oooh, rules, we need rules."
Seeing how excited her ex was, Callie started to get excited as well and offered, "Okay, in charades, there are rounds right? But since this is a little deeper than a game, let's say one round per conversation unless we both agree we can do more." Arizona nodded in agreement then added, "Okay, that's fair. In the game, each team was allowed one pass and got to put their card back and draw again. Should we say each of us is allowed one pass with the understanding that we will eventually discuss it when we draw it again?" Callie nodded, "Yeah, I like that. I mean, we may need a little time to think about what we want to say about that topic right?" "Right. Anything else?" Arizona asked as she tilted her head to the left. Callie thought about it for a minute then bit her lip as something came to her. She wasn't sure how to say it without making the other woman upset. Seeing this as a sure sign of nerves, Arizona reached out and covered a caramel colored hand with her smaller pale hand. "It's okay Callie. Just say it." Nodding, Callie looked down at their covered hands and said, "Dr. G and I, we talked a lot, and well, one of the massive things we both did…A LOT…was walk away when things got hard. So, um can we say, no walking away? We can take a break for an agreed upon amount of time, but no walking away and leaving things unsaid." Arizona smiled and brought her hand up to lift that strong chin up so she could look into cautious brown eyes. Letting her dimples pop, she leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on Callie's lips then answered, "I think that is a fantastic idea. Dr. Dawson and I talked about that too. I know I had a bad habit of running or hiding from my feelings, but I've learned how to deal with that and this…" she waved her hand between them, "this is too important to run from. So yes, I agree, no running." Feeling relieved, Callie offered one last suggestion, "Okay, so no running and I promise I will let you talk and actually listen to what you are saying." She then smiled sheepishly, knowing that was one of her biggest flaws and something Arizona hated. Nodding, the blonde agreed, "That's all I can ask of you. So, does this work for you?"
Callie thought about the little 'game' they had created and considered the rules they agreed upon then nodded. "Yeah, I think we can give it a try. How about we both put our top three in and see how it goes. If we have more to talk about after we've covered those six things, we do it again or if it doesn't work, we try something else." Arizona nodded and said, "You've got yourself a deal Dr. Torres." Callie reached out and took the pen and paper from her ex-wife and scooted a little closer, "How should we seal this deal Dr. Robbins?" she asked in a flirty tone. Arizona looked to the sky as if she were thinking, then her eyes widened as if she found the answer, leaning forward she nearly whispered, "Hmmm don't people usually seal things with a kiss?" Smiling, Callie nodded and leaned in to seal their deal. As their lips touched, she brought her right hand up to tangle in blonde curls and pull her deeper into the kiss as she opened her mouth in invitation. Not needing to be asked twice, Arizona dipped her tongue into Callie's mouth and swiped it across the bottom then the top of her own tongue causing her to moan. Bringing both hands up to those strong bare shoulders, she pushed slightly indicating to the other woman that she wanted her to lie down. Getting the hint, Callie situated them so her head was lying on the arm rest as she pulled Arizona on top of her. She then spread her legs apart allowing space for Arizona to settle between them causing them both to break the kiss and gasp at the pure pleasure that action brought them. Looking into blue eyes darkened to a dark navy with arousal, Callie knew they were playing with fire. Seeing the struggle in Callie's eyes, Arizona knew she was just as close to giving in. Placing both arms on either side of Callie's head, she pushed her upper body up causing her pelvis to grind into Callie's. Taking a deep breath, she moved both legs so she was lying parallel against the back of the couch and could rest her head on Callie's chest. Both women closed their eyes and tried to pull themselves together.
After several minutes, Callie spoke quietly, "Maybe we should set some boundaries." Arizona picked up her head and looked at Callie with her brow furrowed, and asked, "Like…like what? The 30 days thing? We aren't doing that again Callie." Callie shook her head, "No, not 30 days, I don't know, we said earlier we would think about what we wanted this to look like, maybe we should think about sex too. What's okay, what's not okay. That's all I meant." Arizona relaxed a little and laid her head back on Callie's chest. "Okay, that's fair. We can add that." Both women were quiet for a minute when Arizona said, "We should probably get to bed. The movers will be here by 9:00 am." Callie groaned and kissed the top of Arizona's head; she really didn't want to get up and sleep in that bed alone knowing Arizona was hers now. But they had already come so far. With a whine that would rival their 8 year old, she asked, "Five more minutes?" Arizona smiled, the thought of going to that big empty bed alone knowing Callie would only be mere feet away was already killing her. "Yeah, five more minutes." she replied sleepily.
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Callie awoke to the rising sun gleaming through the window with a stiff neck, a heavy weight on her chest and a fluttering in her abdomen. She didn't care to think about the number of times over the past four years she awoke in much the same way, having fallen asleep on the couch after being kept awake with thoughts of a certain blonde weighing heavy on her heart. But this time, she didn't mind it at all because what she was feeling now wasn't a visceral longing that made her chest feel heavy and her stomach churn. Looking down at the tousled blonde curls, the soft pale hand stretched across her tight belly and the pale muscular leg that rested against her own highlighting the contrast in skin tone, she smiled brightly and closed her eyes relishing this feeling of pure bliss. No, today she didn't mind that heavy feeling on her heart at all because it was real, it was her blonde in the flesh cuddled up against her. Unable to fight the urge, the ever-growing desire to just touch as much of this amazing body as she could, Callie slowly moved her hand down to the small of Arizona's back where her shirt had ridden up displaying a wide band of creamy alabaster skin and began dragging her fingertips back and forth. She knew it was still extremely early and they should move to their beds before their daughter awoke, but she still wasn't ready to let go of what she had just gained quite yet. Though she wanted nothing more than to take her ex-wife to her bed and show her exactly how much she's missed her, she knew they weren't ready for that step just yet. They still haven't really talked about anything except the fact that they wanted to try again. She had no idea what that was going to look like. What she did know is she didn't want to make the same mistakes again so she wouldn't be rushing either of them or skipping any steps.
Feeling magical fingers dancing across the skin of her back and sides slowly brought Arizona to consciousness. It took her only a moment to remember where she was and orient herself with her current position. Taking a deep breath, her senses were immediately inundated with sandalwood and vanilla and the all too familiar scent that was uniquely Callie. Apparently she didn't even last five minutes and she had fallen asleep while they were cuddling. She knew she should feel bad and any other time would worry that her weight was too much on the other woman, but she enjoyed the feel of this magnificent body beneath her once again. She knew they needed to get up and go to their rooms, but she just got Callie back and really didn't want to let her go again, even for a few hours. Cuddling in closer, she reluctantly said, "We should probably get to bed, I think we passed five minutes about an hour ago." Callie chuckled causing her head to bob up and down, "More like five hours sweetie, it's daylight." Hearing this Arizona reluctantly opened her eyes and groaned at the sunlight streaming through the windows. Burying her head between those magnificent breasts, Arizona mumbled, "Why didn't you wake me? This couldn't have been comfortable for you." Turning on her side to face the smaller woman, Callie smiled softly and brushed the tangled curls from her face, "Quite honestly, this is the best night's sleep I've had in I don't know how long. Plus, this way I got to hold you all night." Hearing this, Arizona smiled brightly and returned, "Yeah, I can't remember the last time I slept that soundly. But we should probably get up and get moving before the little one wakes up." Callie leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her full pink lips and agreed, "I'll put the coffee on and meet you back here after we shower?" Arizona nodded in agreement and sat up as Callie rolled away from her and handed over her prosthetic leg as she got off the sofa. After attaching her leg, Arizona stood and stretched causing her breasts to press forward and her shirt to rise up showing off her bare midriff evoking a low growl from the other woman. The blonde laughed when she heard the other woman grumble, "And she calls me dangerous." as she walked into the kitchen.