Author Devylish
Title Aria and The Duet
Chapter Unravelling 2/?
Fandom Grey's Anatomy
Pair Mark and Callie
Rating PG13
Words 2415
Warning/Spoiler/Summary None. None. Callie's sister Aria is in town, and she's about to mix things up. Response to Aclairec's wishlist request to see Aria in town with Mark and Callie during the holidays.
Disclaimer All publicly recognizable characters, settings, plot, etc. are the property of the creators of the TV show Grey's Anatomy. Any original characters, settings and plots are the property of devylish. devylish is in no way associated with the TV show Grey's Anatomy and no copyright infringement is intended. This work is an amateur fan effort and no profit is being made. AN I swear Mark and Callie will interact in the next chapter!
Callie flipped from one station to another as she sat on the couch. She was only giving half of her attention to the television; the rest of it was focused on Aria. And wondering why she was in Seattle with her least favorite sibling.
Growing up with Aria had been an experience. As the only two daughters in a family of seven kids - and with a ten year span of ages between the two of them - Callie and Aria hadn't always gotten along very well. Part of it was the fact that Aria had always been a free spirit. Fighting against every rule, every bit of control waved in her direction.
'No daughter of mine will date until she's 16!' she started dating when she was 14. 'No daughter of mine will ruin her skin with a tattoo!' she got a rose on her ankle. 'No daughter of mine will live in sin with a man!' yeah, you guessed it. First it was Danny, and then it was Raff.
Callie was the good girl, if only by comparison, and if only because her sister had blazed the trail.
And honestly, Callie wasn't all that good of girl. Which really didn't put her on Aria's favorite list; comparisons between the two of them by their parents never seemed to come out in Aria's favor.
Callie sniffed and smirked, of course, going gay had helped even the scales a bit between the two of them. Now Aria was no longer the only daughter who had been disowned. And, in Aria's favor? She'd been re-owned. It had been close to a year and Callie was still persona non-gratis at the Torres Miami compound.
She missed her family. All of them. Even Aria.
"Hunnnny, I'm hommmmme!" A hoarse, loud voice called from the hall before a jiggling of the apartment doorknob gave way to Aria.
Looking away from the television Callie looked at the time. Her sister had had a one hour cigarette?
When Aria flopped down on the couch next to her, Callie got a hint (more like a sniff) of the fact that Aria had had more than a cigarette. Turning toward Aria she questioned, "How the hell did you find a bar in a town that you don't live in that quickly?"
Aria grinned, "It's kind of like radar. I call it Bar-dar… and by the way," her grin turned into a frown and she reached across the couch and whacked Callie upside the back of her head.
"Ow! What the fuck!?"
"How the hell did you let a man as sexy as Mark Sloan escape your grips?"
"What?!" Callie rubbed the back of her head
"Sloan. Tall, good looking, Doctor who lives across the hall? I just had drinks with him and, Jesus Call!" Aria leaned towards her sister. "I know you like girls, and if that's what you like, great. Wonderful. But," Aria fanned her hand over her face quickly, "el hombre es el epítome de la caliente!"
"You had drinks with Sloan? You went out for a cigarette and ended up having drinks with Sloan?! How the hell did you end up in a bar with Mark?!"
Aria sniffed, "Don't change the topic."
Callie hung her head and took a deep breath."You are intent on being the death of me, aren't you?"
"Death is inevitable."
Across the hall.
Mark was still smiling when he walked into his apartment. Aria was fun. A little brash, but honest and goodhearted and fun. She reminded him of Callie for more than her boobs. Pushing the door shut behind him he followed the scent of food into the kitchen.
"Hey baby," he walked over to Lexie placing his hands on her arms as she stood at the stove.
Silence.
"Lex?"
She slipped out from beneath his hands and moved to the cabinet where the plates were stored. She did so silently.
He sighed. Shit. "Lexie?"
She slammed a plate onto the counter and then reached for a bowl, slamming that down beside the plate.
"You do know that the silent treatment is childish, don't you?"
She opened the refrigerator, pulled out a bottle of wine and slammed the door shut.
"Lexie, if you don't tell me what's pissing you off, I can't fix the situation. And if I don't fix the situation, I don't get sex tonight." He grabbed her arm, "Talk to me."
Lexie looked up at him. "So, how was your date with Torres #2?" Not waiting for him to respond, she pulled her arm out of his grip and walked to the counter, opening the wine as she went. "What is it about them? The Torres women I mean. They're like damn flames and you're… you're a human moth! Is it the breasts?" she looked down at her own chest and straightened her shoulders, pushing her breasts out a bit. "It's the breasts isn't it?" She looked at him.
Mark stared at her in confusion. "Breasts? Date? I'm not a moth!" he took a deep breath, "Lexie you're not making sense, I went out for drinks with Callie's sister. I was gone for," he glanced at his watch, "less than an hour. There was no kissing, no touching, barely any looking. I had two fucking drinks. Am I not allowed to spend time with any women now?"
"No, just the Torreses!" She stopped her dinner preparation and let her shoulders drop. "I'm sorry. You – I understand Callie is your friend." She didn't understand. She didn't understand at all, but she couldn't tell him that. "But, it just seems like she's everywhere. All the time." Moving to Mark, Lexie looked up at him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "We haven't seen one another for more than hour in the past week. I was looking forward to spending time with you tonight."
"It was just an hour Lex. And Callie wasn't even there." He lifted his hand to her hair, pushing it behind her ear.
Offering a small, weak, sad smile, Lexie responded. "It's always just an hour."
"I –"
She pulled away, "I made steaks. And baked potatoes." She moved back to the cabinet and pulled more flatware out.
Mark opted to keep his mouth shut. He didn't get it. Well, he sort of got her concern about Callie. But… he, Callie, they'd closed the door on that. He'd made a promise to himself that he was going to give this thing with Lexie a shot. And he'd been good. He'd been damn good. But being good didn't mean he could give up Callie altogether. Completely cutting Callie out of his life? It would be like excising an arm or a leg.
And what the hell?! He hadn't even been WITH Callie tonight!
He forced himself to let it go. "Steak and potato man here!" He joined her in prepping their plates.
****
Shuffling into the kitchen at 813am Callie was surprised to find Cristina and Aria already chatting over coffee.
"Hell yes, the coffee is made." She reached for the pot and carried it to the mugs, dropping in a little bit of sugar and stirring she turned to face Yang and Aria who were, now, suddenly silent.
"What?" Callie looked back down over her shoulder at her ass. "Did I sit in something?"
"Nope. Yang was just giving me the lowdown on you and McSteamy. And may I say, 'you go girl!' I hear you guys were working those on call rooms!"
"Yang…." Callie groaned.
"What? She asked. And, well, I had information. What good is information if you don't use it? Share it?"
Callie stared at Yang without affect. Giving up and turning to Aria, who was grinning like the cat who caught the canary, she asked, "Did you get all you needed to know? Are we done with your fascination with this issue now?"
"Not by a long shot," Aria responded.
"How did I know you were going to say that?"
"You're much smarter than you look?"
"Why do I always feel like the only adult in this relationship?"
"I've always thought it was because you were born without a joie de vivre." Aria pushed away from the table and stretched. "Well Cristina, thanks for the input, I'm calling the shower." She glanced at her watch. "Shit. I've got to rush."
"Rush? Where are you going?"
"I've got stuff to do."
"You're in Seattle. What do you need to do in Seattle…, other than spend time with me?"
Aria paused at the edge of the kitchen with an enigmatic smile on her face. "You aren't the only attraction in Seattle Calliope." Wiggling her eyebrows suggestively, she headed to the bathroom.
Yang settled lower in her chair and looked at Callie. "I like her. She's a smart cookie."
"A smart cookie?"
"I could have called her a smart bitch, but it's a little early in the morning for swearing…. Unless you're in bed…. And the swears are surrounded by an 'oh God, oh God, oh God!'"
Callie couldn't fight the smile that flit across her face. "That IS an early morning swear-worthy scenario."
They shared a laugh and Callie moved to sit down across from her roommate.
"You do know that she's right though, don't you?"
"Aria? Right about what?"
"You and Sloan. You two were hot together. And as much as it pains me to say it, you were good together too."
"Yeah, well now I'm good with Arizona."
Yang snorted. "Why didn't you and McSteamy ever… go for it?"
Playing dumb was always an option. "Go for it?"
"You fucked like rabbits, you shared secrets, you were… close; why didn't you go the distance? Do the whole relationship, dating, and 'I want to be with you forever' thing?"
"I thought it was too early for swearing."
"'Fucked' is a verb - or sometime a noun – it's not a swear. Stop evading."
Callie gave up. "Mark and I both know that the whole, 'I want to be with you forever' thing is a fallacy."
Yang shook her head. "Try again. Mark and Lexie are playing house. Arizona probably thinks forever is a possibility, even if you don't." Cristina stood up and dropped her cup into the sink. "Yup, I think I'm going to have to side with Aria on this issue; you and Mark have unfinished business."
****
"Hey Callie." Aria dropped onto the bed next to her sister, closing her eyes immediately.
Callie glanced over at her sister who looked drained and tired. "So were you late? To your 'thing' this morning?"
Aria gave a faint smile. "Too late, but right on time."
"Huh?"
"Nothing. You know what I want to do? Christmas shopping. We only have two weeks, and I don't have anything for anyone." She found a well of energy and dug in to it, pushing herself into a seated position she nudged Callie's shoulder, "where can we go and get stuff?"
"Christmas shopping?"
"C'mon. You use to love Christmas! Where's your spirit?"
"I think I left it with my joie de vivre."
"Ha. Ha. Put on your walking shoes and let's go!"
Callie put down the book she'd been reading and rolled over on to her back. "You know what you're like? You're kind f like a mosquito bite. You know it's wrong to scratch it, but it absolutely aches until you give in and rub it."
Aria laughed, and tilted her head to the side, "You know, the same thing could be said for a cock."
Callie looked at Aria and the two of them burst out laughing.
"C'mon Calliope, we have money to spend!"
****
They'd been in nearly every department store, in nearly every shop known to Seattle and they were tired. Tired but relaxed and pleased, Callie had gotten something for nearly everyone on her list. Left to shop for were of course, Aria, and –
"…so what are you getting Sloan?"
"A bib so he can more easily burp Lexie." Callie stopped walking. "I said that out loud, didn't I?"
Aria laughed, "Yes you fucking did!" She broke into a cough and tears she was laughing so hard. "It's about fucking time you showed some fight Callie! Jesus, I was starting to lose faith you."
"It was a temporary slip of the tongue. I – like Lexie. She's a nice girl"
"Optimal word being girl." Aria held her hand up and stopped the growing argument. "Ne'ermind the twit, what are you getting Mark? Lingerie? Sex toy? Both in a one size fits Callie option?"
"A watch okay. I'm getting him a watch. He loses his all the time, so I'm getting him a nice watch."
Aria looked at Callie. "Well, it's thoughtful." She scrunched her eyes, "Are you going to at least wrap it in lingerie – one size fits Callie – lingerie?"
"No. There will be no lingerie between Mark and me this year."
"Naked is good."
Naked with Mark was good. And no the hell I did not just think that. "Look he's getting a watch, it's something he can use, and he'll like it." She turned to Aria, "you need to get this through your overly thick skull, there's no more nakedness between me and Mark." She didn't mention the chats in his bathroom while he was showering. Aria didn't need any more ammunition for her arsenal.
"You keep saying that, and I keep asking 'why?'. Have you noticed how you never really answer that question?"
"Arrrrggggghhhh!"
****
"Let's go out."
"We just came in from out."
Callie, Aria and Yang were spread out in the living room; Yang was in charge of keeping the wineglasses full, and Callie and Aria were wrapping and labeling their plethora of gifts. Callie added as she finished wrapping her fifth gift, "We need less fucking family members… and friends."
"I want to go out, have some fun." Aria turned to her newest ally. "Yang? Want to get your party on?"
"Is the answer to that question ever, really 'no'?"
"Not in my world."
"Just girls? or the whole gang?"
Callie looked between her sister and roommate as the two of them took over the plans for the evening without her. They were kind of peas in a pod. With both of them on one side of an issue/idea/goal, she didn't stand a chance.
" – I'll call 'em. Ooooh!" Yang reached for her cell phone, "let's go that new club, the one on Chase, Oddle, or Odde."
Callie offered, "Ode."
"Hello? Mere? Get your ass dressed, and grab Derek… we're going out."