Despite the fact that they had a six hour drive ahead of them, it was a battle to get out of her grandparent's house after breakfast. Arizona knew that it was going to be like this – her grandma always tried to find ways to get her to stay longer, no matter what was the reason she was visiting for.
And she was not subtle about it, "Sweets, you know, it can be dangerous traveling by car, alone –"
Arizona couldn't help but laugh even as she rolled her eyes, "We've already been traveling for over a week, by car, just the two of us. The trip is almost over."
It really hadn't hit her until those words came out that yeah the trip was almost over. A few more days were left, but still. All of the sudden, it really didn't feel like that much, considering…
Well, considering everything, she settled on and her gaze darted to the window in the front hall that showed out to the front of the house. Where her car was parked, and where both Callie and her grandfather were standing in the bright sunlight. The warmth that settled in her stomach at the sight of the way her grandpa said something that made Callie's full lips turn up into a smile made a mirroring one show up on Arizona's face.
She couldn't help it.
The sound of her grandmother humming lightly made her turn back to the older woman, as she tried to temper down her smile. She recognized that, at this point, it really didn't matter because her grandma was almost one hundred percent sure that Arizona was going to be married to the brunette outside.
And if she had it her way, it would be within a month.
Her grandma's arms lightly crossed over her chest, as she looked up at Arizona with a small smile, "She's a nice girl."
Okay, yeah, she couldn't help but smile again as her eyes darted out again to see the way Callie was lifting her suitcases into the backseat while her grandpa laughed. And then the confusion set in because her grandpa didn't typically laugh like that very often.
Not with someone outside of the family or a very, very close longtime family friend, anyway.
Arizona really never thought she's use the adjective nice to describe Callie, but the brunette had swooped in and completely stolen her grandparent's hearts in the last couple of days. Both of their hearts, which had been completely unprecedented.
Then again, what kind of person wasn't going to be completely taken with the story Callie had told them last night? If it was true – and there was no way that it wasn't – everyone in Arizona's family, including her parents and Tim, who was the most protective, were going to be won over by it.
Hell, it had tipped Arizona completely over the edge. What edge, she wasn't even sure of herself, but it had happened.
Before, she had liked Callie. Now, the way her heart seemed to stutter over the brunette seemed even stronger.
She'd found Callie gorgeous before – anyone with eyes did, she was sure – and thought she was hot, too. But now she felt that there was this adorableness that Callie just hid. She hid it well, Arizona acknowledged, but it was sitting right there inside of the brunette.
Mostly, before, she had wanted to understand Callie and see all of the layers… and now she wanted that even more.
However, she also didn't know how comfortable she was with her grandparent's getting all attached to Callie. Of course, she liked her. She definitely wanted to see what was between the two of them. Without a doubt, she wanted to kiss her more and, well, more-than-kiss her.
But Arizona didn't even know where they were going yet. They were going and that was all she knew at the moment; it was enough for her right now. That was all she needed to know. What she didn't need – really, didn't need – was her grandma and grandpa and aunts and uncles calling up her mom and dad to rave about Arizona's new "girlfriend."
With that, she looked back at her grandmother, and lifted her eyebrows, "She is… nice," she still got a kick out of describing Callie like that, but she made sure to maintain a serious expression, "But our, uh, thing is very new. So, keep that in mind, okay?"
Her grandma smiled up at her, all innocent but Arizona knew better than to be fooled as the older woman shrugged, "Of course, sweets. Don't you worry, I know you two aren't in a relationship."
And then she winked a conspiratorial. Her seventy-three year old grandmother just winked at her. Unable to help it, a laugh bubbled up in her throat, and her head fell into her hands. It was too late.
"Okay. Yeah," lightly shaking her head, she stood up straight and bent down to wrap her arms around her, closing her eyes as she felt her grandma's arms wrap around her, too. She might be bigger and taller than the older woman now, but it was still comforting and safe, here. And when she tried to pull back after nearly a minute, she found herself being held in place, which made her laugh again, "Grandma, you're coming to visit us in a couple of months."
The older woman sighed before she pulled away, "I know, but you're growing up so quickly, and I miss you."
Callie had already said her goodbyes to Arizona's family, and Arizona had already said goodbye to her grandfather, before he'd gone outside to help with their bags. This was it, and she pressed a quick kiss to her grandma's cheek, "I miss you, too. But I'll see you soon."
Arizona got two steps away before her grandma caught her by the elbow and she turned back around. What she was prepared for was to receive another hug, maybe some cheek pinches – her grandmother was fond of those – and a barrage of more goodbyes and warnings for her safety.
What she wasn't prepared for, was for her grandmother to have pulled a handful of small boxes in her hand. She tilted her head, lips pursing as she leaned in to read whatever it was her grandmother was offering her.
Before a wave of shock, mortification, and more shock hit her right in the stomach and then seemed to spread through her veins throughout her entire body, freezing her on the spot, as she spluttered out, "Grandma!"
Because right there in the hands of her elderly grandmother were several small boxes of fucking dental dams, being offered to her with the same warm smile that her grandma wore when she was offering a slice of her famous peach cobbler.
Cheeks burning, wide blue eyes darted from the boxes to her grandma's face and back again. By the time she even managed to find her voice again, she hissed out, "What are you doing with dental dams?"
The smile that had been on her grandmother's face dimmed slightly, as she looked down at the boxes, "I know that lesbian sex isn't the same thing as sex between a woman and a man, but I know that you still need to be safe," she gave a hard stare at Arizona, and she felt her blush deepen – maybe the ground would swallow her right about now.
Her breath seemed to be locked in her lungs before she released it in a huff, "I'm – I know about safe sex practices! But why – why do you…?" she trailed off, waving vaguely at the packages.
"Oh, I used the Google to look this up and I bought them when I went to the market this morning," her face shifted into a concerned frown as she lifted the box up closer to her face, "Is this not the right thing? I could have sworn –"
She couldn't even process what was happening or how she found herself in a situation where her grandmother was offering her dental dams to use for safe oral sex. What she did know was that she needed to never experience this again, and even more than that, to not let her grandpa see those.
So she reached out and took the boxes, and shoved them as best she could in the back pocket of her jean shorts, "This – they're the right thing, grandma," she managed to get out, before clearing her throat and looking around to make sure no one was around, "But, Callie and I aren't, you know, having sex."
Not yet.
Hopefully they would be. Sometime soon.
Inwardly, she shook her head and cringed at herself, Callie hadn't ever even been with a woman before – she really shouldn't count on the fact that the brunette would be ready to have sex soon, regardless of the fact that Arizona was ready.
Actually, like, more than ready.
But before the images she could easily recall of Callie in that bikini could assault her mind, she reminded herself of where she was and who she was with.
And her grandmother was just giving her an easy smile, "Sweets, you know, I had to give the sex talk to your father, and all of your uncles. Your grandpa is no good at these kind of conversations. So if you have any comments or concerns…"
Arizona had actually had a "sex talk" with her mother. Twice. Once when she was fourteen, about boys. And once when she was seventeen, about girls. Both times were marginally more comfortable than this.
There was just something about her grandmother having this conversation with her that was more shocking than almost anything else.
She had to clear her throat before she was able to say, "No, it's okay. I've been in school, you know, medical school. So, I know how things like anatomy and diseases work."
Her grandmother honestly just looked pleased that she'd taken the damn dental dams, and she lightly reached up to pat Arizona's cheek before whispering, "I know it can be a little scary, having sex for the first time. If you need anything."
Now, a wheezing, choked laugh worked out of her mouth before she could slap her hand over it to stop any other sounds that might come out, as she stared down at the older woman, because what? Of course Arizona never talked about her sex life with her grandma, but she had assumed she knew…
She swore that the tips of her ears were beet red now, too, as she pressed a hand against her stomach that rolling, "Um, thank you, grandma. I'll let you know."
The elderly woman nodded with satisfaction, before she released her arm, "Now, don't keep your girlfriend waiting. And stay safe!"
That now had several meanings, as opposed to when she was simply advising Arizona to stay safe in terms of the driving and the trip in general. When she heard the door to the house click closed behind her, she paused in the middle of the walkway to try to wrap her mind around the last five minutes.
And then, she couldn't help it. But she laughed. So hard, she snorted, which drew Callie's attention from where the brunette now sat in the passenger seat of her car. She could see the curiosity on Callie's face as she shook her head and walked towards the driver's side.
Her grandmother just gave her dental dams so she could safely have sex for the first time.
Which, put together like that made her laugh even harder, and she had to place her forehead against the steering wheel for a couple of seconds and take some deep breaths to tamp down some of the amusement inside.
When she looked back up, she was met with Callie's dark eyes staring at her with interest, and a questioning lift to her eyebrow. And the laughter died into just a smile when she saw the affection in that gaze, too.
There was no way she was telling Callie about her grandmother though, and instead she just started the car and said, "My grandma says to stay safe."
Admittedly, that set her off into another fit of giggles, even as she felt herself blush and felt Callie's questioning look on her.
The brunette did take that as her opportunity to launch into the next topic of conversation, "Am I reading the itinerary wrong when it says that we're going to be camping tonight?"
Arizona shrugged as she started down the road, fighting down a smile, because no she most definitely wasn't wrong. But instead of answering, she darted her eyes down toward the hand Callie had resting on the console between them.
Biting on her bottom lip, she slid one of her hands down from the wheel, and thought back to the last few days. Callie had initiated contact between them several times. And she'd kissed her not only outside, but also before they'd gone to bed, in her grandparent's house.
With that, she brought her hand up and put it over Callie's, lightly running her fingers over her soft skin.
Callie sighed, "We're definitely camping," she grumbled, and Arizona didn't know what it was, but she loved that tone of voice now. Especially because it was accompanied by Callie flipping her hand under Arizona's and grasping the blonde's in her own, like it was made just to fit right there.
Arizona had been camping a lot in her life, granted she'd never been to Santa Fe National Forest, but most places were basically the same. And as long as she had an air mattress so that she wasn't laying on the ground of her tent in her sleeping bag and as long as she wasn't camping on a day that she decidedly did not want to be camping on – Tim once had lobbied for them to camp on Christmas one year after they'd moved to Berkeley – it was a good time.
But she didn't know if she had ever had quite as good of a time as she was having right now, she decided as she knelt on the ground, easily assembling the tent poles. She did it without even looking much, mostly because she was having too much fun watching Callie figure out how to assemble the side she'd claimed as her own.
When dark eyes rolled and that full bottom lip pushed out into a small pout, Arizona couldn't help but laugh, "Having some trouble?"
A hard glare came her way, which made her bite her lip as Callie exaggeratedly beat together two of the poles, "What in the world gave you that idea?" she drawled, before she sighed and pushed herself up, "Aren't these things supposed to come with instructions or something?"
Arizona giggled, as she placed hers on the ground and dusted her hands off before she pushed herself up, "Not when the tent isn't new," she commented.
She'd had this particular tent since she'd been a teenager, though she didn't tell Callie that. Instead, she walked to where the brunette was muttering under her breath, something about fuck camping and I wasn't consulted for this, which made her grin as she bent down to help.
But before she could grab one of the poles that still needed to be assembled, she jerked back as her hand was struck with another one of them. Granted, struck was a harsh term; it was more of a tap. Still, her mouth fell open as she grabbed her hand back, "You hit me!"
She was met with a challenging, smug look on Callie's face, as she swung the tent pole in her hand in Arizona's direction, "You are infringing on my territory. I told you I can do this."
Blue eyes narrowed at her, as Callie turned back to work on what she'd been doing in the first place, and Arizona got the idea… she wanted a few seconds before letting out an exaggeratedly pained sigh, and then flexed her hand. And then watched as Callie paused, and then looked at her, that smug look gone now as eyebrows lifted in concern.
"Did I actually hurt you?" the apprehension in Callie's voice was real, and Arizona would appreciate it more, if she hadn't been using her other hand to covertly grab one of the other poles.
Before she brought it up, and then back down on Callie's hand in return. The dawning look on Callie's face made her chuckle, before dark eyes set into a glare and Callie charged forward, using the tent pole in her hand as a makeshift sword and smacking Arizona's.
The laugh that had been breaking on her lips was even louder now as she jumped up to avoid being knocked over, and as she indulged in the makeshift swordfight with Callie, in the back of her mind she was mystifying over the fact that:
This woman with the laughing dark eyes – though set in a competitive glare – who had initiated a mock sword fight with her, in the middle of a campground…
Was the same woman who at the beginning of the trip gave her so much attitude about everything, and had seemed to immensely dislike the idea of the entire trip…
Who was the same woman who had told her family an enchanting story about the first time she'd ever seen Arizona almost a year ago, in excruciating detail.
And the fact that it was all the same woman was what tripped her up, as she lost her footing slightly and missed her opportunity to parry Callie's incoming – seemingly well experienced – attack. Which resulted in her tent pole flying out of her hand and back to the ground, and Callie quirked her eyebrow at Arizona in victory.
Her hands went to her hips in defiance of the loss, "You've definitely done that before."
Callie gave her a smile as she retrieved the fallen pole, "Once or twice. But never with tent poles."
She watched as Callie lightly swung the poles in her hands, her fingers twirling them easily, "Did you… fence?"
The twirling stopped and Callie shrugged, "Not, like… seriously. But in gym class in high school," she explained, her voice dipping as she stepped closer.
Arizona was still taking that in – and wondering what kind of high school Callie went to that had its students fencing in gym class – when she registered that Callie had stepped up close to her. And she barely got a moment to see the way those dark eyes dipped to her lips before they fluttered closed, so close that she felt like she was seeing it in slow motion, before those soft lips were pressed against hers.
Her eyes widened for a moment because she still wasn't used to this with Callie. She wasn't used to the way the brunette wasn't tensing at every touch, and she definitely wasn't used to the way she initiated this kind of contact.
But it seemed like some sort of switch had flipped inside of her, because here they were in public, though granted they had found an area in an allotted campground that didn't have any other people right near them, and that full mouth was against hers.
It was somehow a both a brief contact, but crazy sensual. The way Callie's mouth slid over hers just enough to capture her bottom lip so lightly that it felt somehow pillowed between Callie's made Arizona's breath gasp out.
And then it ended quickly, with a teasing nip to the center of her top lip, which made sparks feel like they were shooting all over her body. Then Callie was gone, and Arizona's breath left her on a shudder as she blinked her eyes open, just in time to see the way the brunette backed up to grab the poles again and shot her a smile that made Arizona's stomach flip.
She watched for a few seconds as Callie's forehead crinkled in disdain as she went back to assembling her side of the tent, and she lightly rubbed her fingers against her lips, still feeling the skillful way Callie's had played over hers, before she cleared her throat and walked up next to her, "You're pretty good at that."
Callie was clearly amused as she turned to look at her, clicking some of the poles into place, "At… kissing?"
Arizona nodded before she stepped forward to help set up the remainder of the tent, and before Callie could tell her that she could do it on her own Arizona cut in, "If you want to go on that hike that you talked about, then we need to get this done so we can go before it's dark."
The brunette reluctantly nodded, but not before rolling her eyes, "This wouldn't even be an issue if we weren't camping."
"What do you have against camping?" Not that Arizona was a huge fan herself, but it could be fun. Especially if you were sharing a tent with a woman that you were ridiculously attracted to and most definitely going to kiss before bed. And long as that bed wasn't right on the ground, then what was there to complain about?
Callie rolled her eyes to her, the frustration clear in them, "Robbins, there were so many other things we could have done here. Not that this… park isn't pretty, but come on. We're in New Mexico!"
Arizona couldn't help but loud out an incredulous laugh, "What does that even mean? It's not like we're in New York City and I tried to take us camping or something."
"Roswell – aliens. Um, I'm pretty sure there are like Aztec ruins somewhere in this state; there are a lot of things to do!" Callie sounded so indignant that Arizona simultaneously snorted out a laugh and rolled her eyes.
Granted, while driving through Santa Fe, they'd gotten some nice pictures. And even more pictures when they'd driven through the trails in the forest to the area that they were going to be sleeping in. But she supposed she could see where Callie was coming from, and she inclined her head as she bit her lip, "To be honest… I planned this for Alex."
The incredulous expression that seemed to take over Callie's face made her giggle for a moment before Callie stated, "Alex doesn't exactly seem like the camping type."
She gamely shook her head, "Oh, he's not. He's never been, actually. It was something we talked about once, and –" she bit her lip to cut herself off. Alex wasn't someone who liked for everyone to know his business. And she respected that; he'd only told her about this whole thing he had about going camping and "being one of the guys" after three years of friendship and some alcohol, and some conversation about his asshole father.
So she finished with, "And I thought it would be something fun for us. Then the trip got all changed, and here we are."
Callie quirked an eyebrow up at her after a few moments beat by between them and she murmured, "And here we are."
Everything in her wanted to comment on that or question it, but she held it in as they worked together seamlessly to pitch the tent. Callie was hammering the spikes into the ground when Arizona heard her murmur, "You are, too."
Confused, she shook her hair back, "Huh?"
And the sly smile Callie gave her made her pause before that dark head ducked down again, "A pretty good kisser," the brunette informed her, her voice low.
Oh. Oh. That was – nice, and caused warmth to spread everywhere in her body. It was a confirmation that this was really happening. The two of them. And it thrilled her.
As it turned out, they didn't manage to go on that hike Callie had read about, anyway. Mostly because it had taken them so long to not only get the tent set up, but then the air mattresses set up and blown up, and then unpacked a little bit. But Arizona did not miss the fact that Callie was grumbling about it, and just took it in stride.
Before the sun went down, Arizona did manage to get a fire up and going. And they settled down around it as Callie dug out the food they had. She'd insisted – despite being so against camping – that they buy "camp fire food" AKA s'mores. They also had a cooler packed full of her grandma's leftovers that she insisted they take with them.
Her cheeks flushed as she thought about her freaking grandma earlier this morning, and looked at Callie out of the corner of her eye, grateful that she was oblivious. But as they sat as close as they were on the log that Callie had found and hauled over, she thought about the day before, when they'd sat this close at the baseball game.
When they'd been talking about Callie's family, for the first time, and then Callie had abruptly stood up and walked away. Which kind of still confused Arizona, so she hedged into the conversation lightly, "You've spent a lot of time with my family now."
Callie opened one of the containers and peeked into it, "Mhmm," Callie hummed back, giving her a look out of the side of her eye.
Arizona rolled her own in response before reaching for her own container from the cooler, "Quid pro quo, Calliope." As she opened it, she found that the food in the containers weren't even leftovers from the previous day – no, her grandmother had cooked this food sometime before they'd woken up.
She lightly smiled as she speared it with her fork.
Those dark eyes looked at her in question, "What does that even mean?"
After she swallowed her food, she started to reply cheekily, "It's Latin for –"
But she didn't get any more out before Callie quickly batted her on the shoulder and nailed her with a glare, which just made her grin, dimples popping, "I know what quid pro quo means, Robbins. I mean, what am I supposed to trade?"
She didn't miss the way the corners of Callie's lips turned up in a returning smile, though, even as the brunette turned to face the fire, "Anything," she urged, "Starting with family. I know you have a sister; tell me more."
Because she was actually really curious. Callie was such a… mystery to her in so many ways, and there was so much she wanted to know. And yet while she could tell that Callie's outer shell was cracking, because the girl was opening up so much more to her now than she had ever done before, she wanted more.
It was like every new thing she got to see just made her crave to know even more.
Callie's teeth dug into her bottom lip for a few moments, and then she shrugged, "Uh, she's twenty-six, and she's in school at UCLA to get her doctorate in philosophy." Arizona's eyebrows winged up in surprise, which she knew Callie caught because she paused from whatever she had been going to say, asking, "What?"
Quickly, she shook her head, "Nothing. It's just you're so… serious and into straight up science that I kind of expected your sister to be the same way."
But philosophy was so full of questions and theorizing about the answers and thinking about all of the questions that could never have concrete answers, whereas what she and Callie did was so full of needing to find the right answer, to find the solution.
She really enjoyed that Callie seemed to know what she was talking about without having to actually voice those thoughts, and she nodded, send dark wavy hair to sway lightly around her shoulders, "We're different like that," she paused, lifting up a hand to lightly scratch at her cheek, "We're different in most ways, actually."
"How so?" she container in her hand was nearly forgotten at this point, at least until she realized Callie had seamlessly switched hers with the one she'd been eating from that had some pasta in it.
The brunette's mouth opened to answer but then she closed it and gave Arizona a mischievous smile, "I'm answering all of these questions, don't I get to ask some back?"
Arizona rolled her eyes hard and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling in return. She didn't want to give in so easily, "You just spent two days with my family. I think that gives me more than a handful of questions."
Callie just lifted an eyebrow at her, her expression not giving an inch. She was damnably – begrudgingly impressively – good at that.
Blue eyes narrowed and the hand that wasn't holding her food tossed up in the air, "Come on! You saw pictures with me and braces on the wall. I saw you looking," she added before Callie could deny it.
All Callie had to say was that was an impish, "I had braces, too. There, we're even on that front."
It didn't stop her from glaring, "Fine! Question for a question. But you answer mine first, about how you and Aria are different."
Callie glared at her but they had gotten to a point where Arizona could see that it was playful, as even before the brunette sighed and gave in, "She's… outspoken."
Before she could help herself, her forehead crinkled in confusion and she interjected, "Like you."
The other girl was thoughtful and hesitant, as if debating if she wanted to offer this information up, before carefully saying, "I wasn't always." Arizona so wanted to explore that more, but Callie pushed on, "She's very stubborn."
Arizona leaned in and pushed her shoulder against Callie's, enjoying the way their skin felt sliding against one another's before she smirked and asked, "I thought you were going to tell me how you two were different?"
Callie nudged her shoulder back against Arizona's in response, "Shut up. Um, she likes to ask the questions and doesn't mind having no answers. I love the answers." Callie stated, her voice low and serious, and eyes shining a little bit in a way that Arizona had seem them shine when they were in some of their labs.
It really was a beautiful sight, seeing Callie be so passionate about something and watching the way it engaged her whole face. But soon it was gone, as Callie finished with, "She loves to be the center of attention. Not like, in a conceded way, but in a I have something to say and I want everyone to know it, way."
Arizona shook her head and lifted her eyebrows, "You don't like that?"
She could see the way Callie fidgeted at that before she rolled her shoulders, "One on one, maybe. Or in a very small group. But not, like, in front of a crowd; I've always been terrified of talking in front of people. Aria loves it; she wants to become a professor with her degree."
"So you'll both be doctors," she murmured as she processed what Callie told her.
In seconds, there was a hand on her shoulder, warm and Callie's thumb gently stroked her arm which made her shiver, but didn't take away the urgency in her voice, "Never ever say that to her," Callie commanded, suddenly serious but there was a delightful sparkle of laughter and life in those dark eyes, "She loves to say that, but being a medical doctor and being a doctor of philosophy are two completely different levels."
Arizona agreed, so she couldn't argue that. Instead, she focused on what else Callie had said, latching onto her latest comment and she teasingly asked, "So, I'm going to meet your sister?"
At that Callie grew serious again, and in the firelight, Arizona could swear that there was a blush on those cheeks, which she found so… contradicting with the confident woman she had been with for most of the day.
It fascinated her.
Callie slid her hand down Arizona's arm almost absently, as she lightly stroked her fingers over the crook of the blonde's elbow, her face clearly deep in thought. They stayed like that for a few moments before Callie seemed to come back to herself, "I – maybe. If you really, um, wanted to. I guess."
The stammering was so unexpected, and Arizona placed her container down on the other side of the log next to her so that she could bring up her hand to rest on Callie's, and she kept her voice low and soft, "I can tell that you're private about all of this, and maybe scared about opening up to me?" she guessed, hoping that it was right.
Which it kind of was, as Callie nodded slowly, but then hesitated, "It's not that I don't want to tell you things about me. It's just – I've gotten to a place where I'm okay with this. Us. But I'm not in a place where I would be able to do something like tell my family."
Callie looked down downtrodden and riddled with guilt, but Arizona didn't know what it was for as she stared into the fire. So she lightly rubbed circles into the brunette's hand with her thumb until Callie looked up at her, and the depth of the emotion she saw swimming in those dark eyes made her heart ache for Callie, "You don't have to do anything you're not ready for. We're still figuring things out, Calliope."
And she really, really didn't want any of Callie's fears about coming out or her family to come between them. She could see that Callie felt the same way by the small but there grateful smile.
After a few seconds, Callie blew out a breath, "As long as you feel that way… the day after we're due to arrive at my house, it's my sister's wedding. I'm her Maid of Honor," she added with a wry smile on her lips, "And maybe, if you don't mind being my friend Arizona, you could stay?"
She definitely hadn't been expecting that, and she knew the surprise she was feeling was showing on her face, but that didn't stop the unadulterated happiness from also taking a hold of her, "If you're comfortable with that, I would love to stay for your sister's wedding, even as your friend."
Because, if she was real with herself, becoming Callie Torres's friend alone on this trip was an accomplishment, too.
A couple of hours later, they sat together, again on the log, watching the last embers of the fire die down. They'd managed to find showers on the campground not too far from where they were – which were kind of freezing – a little while ago, and both of their heads were still slightly damp from it.
But it did make for an extremely comfortable time as she sat closer to Callie than she'd been before, both of them wearing their respective sweatshirts from their undergrad schools to keep warm. And even farther than that, between them, their hands were clasped and she had her head resting on Callie's shoulder.
It hadn't been something she'd ever really found super comfortable with anyone else before, but she was finding time and time again that Callie's shoulder was the perfect place for her to rest her head.
The warmth coming from Callie and from the residual fire was enough to make her feel comfortable and sleepy, and she even slipped her eyes closed for a few moments. It was a nice, quiet, tranquil moment, and she didn't think she would trade it for anything.
Until she definitely heard something in the wooded area around them, and she snapped her head up, heart slamming in her chest, "Did you hear that?"
Callie looked at her, eyebrow lifted in amusement, "What?"
But Arizona rolled her eyes at her, "There was something that came from over there!" she gestured vaguely to where she thought that sound had come from…
It just made the brunette chuckle and whisper, "You do know we're camping, right? And there are wild animals out here."
Her mouth fell open, because this seemed exactly like what Callie had did with the whole "could be a tornado" thing in Oklahoma, and in response, Arizona hit her shoulder, "Shut up."
Callie laughed even more, wickedly, in Arizona's opinion, "It could be! This is a national forest or park or something!"
Which prompted Arizona to stand up, which incidentally pulled Callie up with her, "Then it's time to go to bed," she informed Callie even as she was pulling them forward, enjoying the way Callie was laughing quietly behind her as she quickly unzipped the tent door and slid in, urging Callie to quickly follow her.
As soon as she saw that the brunette was, she turned and stooped down low enough to walk to her air mattress. The tent itself wasn't huge – it was big enough for their two sleeping bags on top of the two small air mattresses. The mattresses were near each other, just a little bit of space in between, and Callie turned to look at her for a few moments before she made her way to her own mattress, settling on top of her sleeping bag.
This was the first night they were sleeping next to each other like this since the kisses and the admitting of the feelings. She was feeling that, that heaviness, and that shift in the air between them.
It surprisingly wasn't stifling, though.
She just didn't know exactly what to do with it. She wanted… well, she wanted a lot about. She wanted Callie, and the brushes of their hands and the brief kisses they'd exchanged during the last few days were all weighing on her.
Heavily. God, she really wanted to feel Callie's body against hers, and her mouth on hers even more than the light kisses they'd been exchanging. It didn't help that she hadn't had sex in months, but at the same time, she was pretty sure she'd want Callie like this regardless.
It's not something she could help – Callie, physically, was… ridiculously gorgeous. But more than that, Arizona was interested in her. Her personality and her thoughts and her life, and there had been a part of her that always had been. That part of her that was intrigued by her.
But, she took a deep breath to rein herself in. This was Callie's first thing with a woman, and it very clearly weighed down on her. Arizona wasn't about to push any woman into something that they wouldn't be ready for, but she definitely wasn't going to rush Callie. Not when she wanted… more than just sex with her.
With that, she leaned over to switch off the lantern next to her air mattress as she heard Callie moving around and adjusting on her own. Before she could even settle back into her own sleeping bag, though, she heard a low whisper that shot straight to her stomach, "Hey, Robbins."
Eyebrow lifted, she turned to see what Callie wanted. And was surprised when the brunette was leaning out of her sleeping bag enough so that she could brace a hand against Arizona's. The blonde's breath hitched in anticipation as Callie's other hand came up to cup her jaw, and draw her forward – as if she needed any help with that.
She kind of wanted to kiss Callie and to keep doing that. For a while. A few days, maybe. Weeks, perhaps.
So the soft whimper that left her mouth as Callie's lips pressed softly against hers was really only the tip of the iceberg for her, because there was so much more inside of her that was begging to be unleashed.
One of her hands curled against the material of her sleeping bag to hold herself back, even as the other moved to mirror Callie, and she lightly ran her palm over Callie's jaw, enjoying how soft her skin was as her mouth opened and she lightly sucked that plump upper lip between her own, and the way Callie sighed against her made her instantly wet.
Or maybe she had been a little aroused before, too. She didn't even know at this point.
All she did know was that she was so not ready for Callie to pull back, gone before Arizona even really realized it, and she shivered again when Callie breathed out, "Goodnight," against her mouth.
She was still processing it when she settled down into her sleeping bag, propped up on her elbow – unable and unwilling to take her eyes off Callie, who was settling into her own. All she could think about was how Callie kept showing her these cracks in her armor, where she is surprisingly sweet, and vulnerable.
And, of course, she thought about what Callie said the night before. About how she had liked her, for so long. It honestly shocked her, and she couldn't even bring it up yet because she had been able to see how utterly terrified Callie had been to share that with her.
Rolled all together, she was given this intelligent, humorously snarky, compellingly honest woman who also happened to have an outer beauty that took her breath away. Who also managed to make her so aroused she was going to die just from a few kisses. She wanted more. Even if she wasn't pushing for what her body was screaming for, she at least wanted to feel closer to Callie.
Biting her lip, she tilted her head, and her voice broke into the silence of the tent, "So… do you really think there are animals out there?"
She could see from the couple of feet away that she was the way Callie's eyebrows lifted at her, "Probably," she whispered, "Why, are you scared?" she asked lightly, but Arizona felt that there was an underlying serious tone.
Which admittedly did help Arizona along in her plan – the last time she'd managed to sleep all cuddled up and close to Callie was because she'd been afraid, in Chicago – so it didn't take much of a fib to bite her lip and murmur back, "Maybe a little."
Dark eyes ran up and down her for only a few seconds before Callie slowly lifted the side of the sleeping bag, inviting Arizona in. And unlike in Chicago, there was no reluctance, which thrilled her, so she quickly wiggled out of her own and swiftly moved between air mattresses until she was cuddling back against Callie.
Even though it had only happened that one night, it felt so damn good and familiar in a way, to have her body pressed back against Callie's like this, as she pulled the sleeping back over the two of them.
And she couldn't resist teasing, "You didn't even put up a fight. You liiiike me," she sang.
Callie scoffed and Arizona got goosebumps as she felt her hot breath roll over the back of her neck, and she didn't know if she was imagining it or not, but Callie's voice sounded a bit strained to her as she murmured, "Hardly."
But she couldn't stop grinning because it was so real. It was just a fact at this point that every time Callie denied liking her, that it was a confirmation that she did, in fact, really like her. And now, it kind of felt like a private endearment that they had.
Only moments went by before she felt Callie's arm inch around her waist tightly, and, just like that last time, the brunette's full lips pressed against the back of her neck in a shiver-inducing, light kiss.
But unlike that last time, she could feel Callie's heart beating strong and steady right behind her, and she wasn't pulling away, even when Arizona whispered, "Seriously, you are a really good kisser."
She licked her lips before she turned her head, her breath already starting to labor in anticipation. There, she put the invitation out there, and she wasn't going to push. If Callie wanted to –
She couldn't even finished that thought process before Callie's mouth was on hers again. And unlike their earlier kisses throughout the day, this one wasn't soft and brief and sweet. This was new, and she gasped into it.
Which Callie immediately moved into, and she felt her tongue traced over her bottom lip before dipping into her mouth. Arizona responded in kind, and she was barely aware of the way she groaned when she could finally get this good taste of Callie.
A taste where no one was going to come out and interrupt them, and it didn't matter how loudly she moaned as she felt Callie's tongue arch up in her mouth and trace the roof of her mouth, which – god, that felt good.
Arizona didn't know where it was coming from or if it was in Callie all along and was now being released, but she was voracious. And she was never, ever going to complain about it, as she felt her bottom lip tugged between Callie's teeth, and her breath panted out.
She wasn't usually one who liked to give up control in the bedroom. In fact, she kind of relished in having it. In making the woman she was with lose her mind first, but she was finding that right now – and weirdly, in general with Callie – she was more than happy to let her take command.
So she went along with it with absolutely no problem when Callie growled against her mouth and the arm around her waist maneuvered her so that she was on her back, and Callie fell on top of her, right between her legs.
Arizona's hands curled into the back of Callie's shirt, holding her tightly against her – she could feel her breasts through her sweatshirt pressing right into Arizona under her own, she would give almost anything to have less layers between them right now.
Callie's mouth lifted away from hers, and Arizona whined in protest, but Callie didn't go far. Only inches above her, staring down at her like she couldn't believe what was happening and her breath had dropped a notch, making it even huskier and if Arizona hadn't been so completely turned on before, she definitely would have been now, as Callie murmured, "I don't understand."
Then she lowered again, and those full lips were pressing kisses against Arizona's jaw. Even as she tilted her head to the side and her heart was beating so fast that she couldn't catch her breath, she managed to ask, "What? What don't you underst–oh, god," she broke off into a low moan when Callie started to suck right under her ear.
But then her mouth was gone even though Arizona was most certainly still feeling it in other places, and her voice was speaking lowly right into her ear, "How you make me feel like this. Like I can't get enough. I want to – taste you and feel you, all of the time."
And her voice sounded genuinely amazed and confused and maybe even a little pained, but Arizona really wasn't having the brain space to explore that now, and she nodded, "I understand. I'm right there, too," she assured.
She didn't think it was going to make a difference, though, because Callie went right back to kissing her neck. First, warm, soft closed mouth kisses down the column of her throat, which had her arching her head back.
Then those lips started gently sucking on their way back up, and, "Fuck."
It felt so damn good. Like, almost too good, and her hands clawed their way into Callie's dark hair, feeling Callie bite down in response. It was automatic, the way her hips started grinding up against Callie's pelvis that was pressing down in the perfect position. She was already soaked, before Callie started grinding back down, and she could feel against her neck the way Callie moaned at the feeling.
This felt so good. Sooooo good.
Wait, no. This was getting out of hand.
So good, though.
Painfully – and with every trace of self-control she possessed – she managed to still her rocking hips. Don't rush, don't rush, don't rush, she chanted in her head, which gave her the strength to arch back enough that Callie lost the connection her mouth had with Arizona's neck.
Which she instantly missed, but Callie was perceptive enough to feel that she wasn't rolling her hips back anymore or going in for more kisses, and those dark, lustful eyes lifted to look down at her.
Arizona bit back a groan and she struggled to catch her breath, still very much feeling the effects of their little make-out all over her body. She managed to pant out, "I don't want to rush this."
Because if they rushed this, as much as Arizona really fucking wanted, things could get all messed up. Or Callie could run. Or – something.
So even though Callie was breathing heavily, pressing her chest right against Arizona's, and giving her that look, Arizona steeled herself against it and lifted her eyebrows, "Right? We shouldn't move too fast."
But she was already wondering how fast was too fast? Because Arizona was ready. So ready.
However, Callie gave her the confirmation she needed as she slowly, almost reluctantly, nodded, "Right."
Before Arizona turned this situation into something that they might both regret – because she really didn't have that much self control – she leaned up quickly to press a quick kiss… and then another against Callie's slightly swollen lips, and then rolled back over to adjust them back into their spooning position.
This time, they were pressed even tighter together, and she could feel Callie's head settle against her shoulder, knowing Callie could feel how quickly her heart was still beating. But she couldn't help it – she'd been affected by this all too much. And when she took a few seconds to try to calm down, she realized she could feel Callie's heart beating that fast right back against hers.
Callie surprised her when she whispered into her ear a few minutes later, voice low and raspy with desire, as she accused, "You're not even afraid of wild animals."
Arizona didn't even bother to try to hide her grin and hummed, "Maybe." Technically, she was afraid of wild animals, and the idea that there could be some very close to them right now did kind of freak her out.
But she definitely hadn't been afraid when she'd climbed into Callie's sleeping bag. There had been other things on her mind.
She could feel Callie's warm breath hit her ear, making her shiver again as the brunette murmured in that playfully mocking way of hers, "Liar. You just did this all to have me right where you want me."
Arizona wasn't even going to refute that, so she shot back something else that she knew had to be the truth, "You're where you want to be."
Callie didn't say anything back other than a whispered, "Goodnight, Robbins."
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