Underneath It All

There's times when I want something more
Someone more like me
There's times when this dress rehearsal seems incomplete
But you see the colors in my like no one else
And behind your dark glasses you're something else
You're really lovely underneath it all
And you want to love me underneath it all
I'm really lucky underneath it all
You're really lovely
You know some real bad tricks and you need some discipline
But lately you've been trying real hard and giving me your best
You give me the most gorgeous sleep that I've ever had
And when it's really bad, I guess it's not that bad
I've seen right through and underneath
And you make me better
You've used up all your coupons and all you've got left is me
And somehow I'm full of forgiveness
I guess it's meant to be

One thing Mark Sloan had learned about being in a relationship with Callie Torres was that fights were hard to win, and while fighting, she liked to throw things. And while he had learned to put a smile on her face by saying 'I love you', no matter the gravity of the fight, she hated it. And he loved that she hated it. The first time he learned that strategy was three months into the relationship and it was also the first time he'd ever said those words to her.

He had been brushing his teeth over the sink in her bathroom and Callie sat on the edge of the bathtub in her robe a few feet to his right applying lotion to her legs--and unbeknownst to mark, she had been watching him disagreeably for the past few minutes. He finally rinsed his mouth and turned around, only to be met by her glaring eyes, "What's up?"

"Aren't you going to rinse the sink?" She asked in that tone that said she meant business.

"The what?"

"The sink." She repeated, obviously annoyed, "Everyday I ask you to rinse the sink after you brush your teeth and everyday you don't."

"Oh--kay…" He said and carefully reached behind him and let the water run.

"You know--" She said with a scoff as she let the lotion bottle drop on the floor with the most hostility a plastic bottle had ever been treated and stood up, "--the point is--" She shut the water off, "--you don't listen to me. Ever."

"Come on, yes I do--" He said with a wide smile and reached for the belt loop of her bathrobe, until she smacked his hand away hastily, "--ow."

"No. You DON'T listen! You don't listen when I tell you to rinse the dirty mouth paste from the sink bowl, you don't listen when I tell you to put the toilet seat down--" She added angrily, pushing the toilet seat down with a loud thud, "--and you drink straight from the milk carton."

He was smiling. He knew it. And he was trying to stop because she was getting more and more pissed off, but he found it painfully adorable when she was angry.

"It's disgusting, Mark! Stop smiling! You're such and asshole--why cant you just--"

"I love you." He said and the look she gave him could have easily sent his balls up to his stomach if he wasn't so used to seeing it.

"What the hell did you just say to me?" She asked, the hostility level now risen about five hundred and twenty-five notches.

"You're yelling at me, first thing in the morning--and it felt like the right thing to say. I love you."

"I am trying to prove a point! Don't say that to me!"

"I get it. I'm a pig. I will try to clean after myself. I still want to say it, though."

She stood there for a while, staring t him like he just told her told her he killed someone, "You're such a jackass!" She shouted, throwing the nearest towel at him, then leaving in a huff.

"You know--" He called, removing the towel from his face, "--usually, when someone in a relationship drops the 'L' bomb, the other person is supposed to say it back!"

"Shut up!" She yelled back, from the bedroom.

"Callie!" he called, leaning against the edge of the sink, "Are we taking the same car to work?"

"No!" She shouted back.

He sighed and stood there for a while, hoping to think of something to get her backing there, but he figured he should just let it pass and try again later. He finally pulled his shirt off and started the shower, when she stepped back in the bathroom, fully dressed and ready for work.

"Hey." he said, nervously waiting for her to at least flip him off, but she only stood there, under the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest.

"I need my earrings." She said, walking towards the sink and reaching behind him to get them.

He watched her slip the silver hoops on, "I'm sorry--" He offered sheepishly. She looked up at him, still gritting her teeth, then turned around and left. Not two seconds later, she returned, catching Mark off guard when she crushed her lips to his and kissed him deeply, she sighed into his mouth and he wrapped both arms around her waist. When they pulled apart, she smiled breathlessly, "I love you too."

"I know." He said with a cocky smirk, but secretly doing a back flip inside. She rolled her eyes, "You're still driving yourself to work."

And so it went. Every time they fought, he'd say the words and whether she liked it or not, it made her smile. Most of the time, it'd end in make up sex, and that, Mark liked.

It was exactly eleven months and a half since they had made it official. And three months since Mark had moved into Callie's place. And they were having the kind of fight that seemed grave at the moment, but that would seem silly alter on. The kind of fight that took place outside of their apartment building, in front of their doorman.

"It was just dinner! What's the big deal?!" He shouted at Callie, who carried a small Styrofoam container with left over food.

"The big deal is, you were supposed to meet my parents and you never showed! That left me stuck with the Cuban ambassadors for overbearing parents all through dinner AND dessert! DESSERT, Mark!"

"Something came up! What did you want me to do?!"

"Um--I don't know, how about rescheduling ONE friggin surgery! You're the one set the date in the first place, the least you could have done was called to cancel! Now my dad thinks I'm dating another cheater and my mother thinks I picked you out of a line-up!"

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"You think anything my mother says or does makes sense? The woman's a nut! So thanks for leaving me alone with her. That was great!"

"Okay, enough! Jesus! With the drama! I said I was sorry! But do you ever listen? NO! You're too busy hearing your foghorn level yelling! Maybe if you shut up for ONE second, Callie!" He froze then as her jaw dropped and her eyes widened, "Oh--baby, I didn't mean it--" But it was too late.

She shoved the white container hard against his chest, "Here! I got you dessert!" She whacked him on the shoulder with her purse as he caught the crushed thing in his hands and it leaked through his fingers and soaked through his shirt. He pursed hi lips as she walked away, "Very, very mature, Callie!"

"Fuck you!" She managed to throw back before stepping through the glass doors of the building, which Bob, the doorman held open for her.

"Baby! I have the house keys!"

"No, you don't!" She yelled before stepping onto the elevator.

He patted his pockets and wondered why he didn't think to make doubles, "Shit!" After a millisecond, he took off in a sprint, stopping only to nod at the doorman, "Bob."

"Sir."

"Callie! Damn it--"

Ten minutes later, he stood outside the building, his head fallen back exhaustingly, looking up at their living room balcony, "Callie, please open the door!" He paused and closed his eyes at the annoying feel of drizzle, "Great--this is FITTING. The situation calls for rain, right!" It started to pour on him then and he became enraged as the water started to pour over his face, "CALLIE! Open the door, NOW! This is quickly turning into one of those sappy movies we make fun of and I'm going to catch a cold!"

She poked her head out and smiled, "You lived in a hotel long enough, go there!"

"No!" He shouted back, at no one after she disappeared back into the apartment, "--I live here too!" He waited without a response, spitting out the water that had made it into his mouth. "Fine. FINE! I'm calling Meredith!"

She ran out onto the balcony, "DO NOT call Meredith!" s

He stopped and wiped the rain from his face with one hand, while gripping his phone in his pocket with the other, "THEN, OPEN THE DOOR!"

"No!"

"You are--YOU'RE IMPOSSIBLE!" She was obnoxious when she was angry and stubborn, and incredibly innerving, "MARRY ME!" he shouted over the noise of the rain pour, surprising even himself with the request that sounded more like a demand.

"WHAT!" She yelled back, matching his tone.

"Marry me!" The more he thought about it, the more it made sense, even through the frustration he was feeling.

"No, I am not going to marry you!"

"Open the door!"

"No!" She yelled finally and disappeared out of sight.

He laughed menacingly to himself and pulled out his cell phone, dialing under his coat as to not get it wet, "You know what's funny?" He said, holding the phone to his ear, "I get the eye roll of the century for asking if the milk with the lumps is still good but I'm supposed to think it logical that I'm locked out of my own apartment for missing a DINNER DATE!"

"Mark?" Meredith asked on the other end, having caught the last of his sentence.

"Grey. Get your ass over here. I'm locked out."

"Over. Where? You're locked out of your place?" She asked, confused.

"Do NOT come over here, Grey!" Callie interjected.

"Hey! I'M holding the phone here--" Mark called back.

"Wait." Meredith added, "What did she say? And can people learn to use my first name, please? What's going on?"

"She locked me out because I couldn't make it to this dinner--"

"The dinner with her parents? Oh--that's not good."

"Grey. I didn't call Yang because she'd feed me to the wolves in a heartbeat. I need someone on my side."

"I'm not on your side."

"Could you just TALK to her, please?" He pleaded through gritted teeth.

She sighed heavily, "Fine. One second."

There was a clicking side while she put him on hold. He heard the phone ring upstairs and about thirty seconds later, the line clicked back over, "You asked her to MARRY YOU? Are you insane? In the middel of a fight…McSteamy you hold no promise--"

"Hey! It's not like I asked her to kill someone for me! Can you please focus? It's not like she said yes, anyway. Can you just please get her to open the door?"

"FINE. One second." She said again and once more put him on hold.

Five minutes passed and the rain had, thankfully stopped completely. He sat on the curve, waiting patiently. Five minutes turned to ten and he was about to hang up, when the familiar clicking sound appeared again, "Grey?"

"You can go inside." She said, a bit mockingly.

He shot up to his feet, ignoring the discomfort in his wet shoes and clothes, "What did you say? Never mind. I don't want to know. Thanks."

"You're welcome. And one thing--"

"What?"

"Don't ever call me again when you're fighting. It's what couples do. You can't bring in a third party."

"Mh-hm. Got it. Bye." He said horridly, then ran into the building.

He stopped just outside their door and turned the knob slowly, cautiously stepping inside. It was dark, with only the light from the bedroom offering enough to see. He padded through the large living room, past the kitchen and through the hall leading towards the bedroom. He pushed the door and his eyes immediately spotted Callie, standing against one of the dressers, brushing her hair in her sleep attire which consisted of black short lycra shorts and a white tank top. She looked up at him and smiled slightly.

He continued inside, shrugging off his leather jacket, which was still soaked, and let it fall somewhere near the door. He disappeared into the bathroom, leaving the door open. The silence was overwhelming and he didn't know how to stop it. He rid of his clothes, leaving them in a wet pile in the sink. He grabbe d towel and dried himself off, and as he wrapped the cloth around his waist, Callie casually stepped in, resting her weight against the doorway in that way that she was so good at. "Hey." he said as he tugged the towel securely around his middle.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly. "I'm a bitch."

He walked forwards and wrapped her in a giant bear hug. She snuggled in securely., wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head just under his chin, "You're not a bitch. I'm sorry I didn't show up to dinner. I'm asshole."

"We make quite a team then, huh?"

"He chuckled and rubbed his cold palms over her warm back, then kissed the top of her head, "Why won't you marry me?" She stiffened I his embrace, "You don't trust me?"

"I do--" She said, looking up at him, "--I do trust you. I just--" She sighed, "It's not something that seems true to me anymore. I don't want it--you know? I want to be with you, and I like that you want to be with me." She said with a smile, "But--the last one didn't work out. It just doesn't feel right anymore, you know?"

He stared at her and for a minute wanted to run across town and hunt O'Malley down, "I know." He nodded and leaned in for a soft kiss, "That's not going to stop me from asking, though."

"That's fine. I'll just keep saying no."

XXX