After two weeks of intense work and play Arizona and Callie's relationship seemed better than ever. They spent every free night they had together. They went on dates, they even had a few of cases together, and they had plenty of alone time in on call rooms and at home. For Arizona, life was a million times better than she could've ever imagined it to be. Here she was dating this amazing girl who made her feel so good all the time. Just seeing Callie's face made her day better.
Unlike Callie, Arizona had the day off. She spent it running errands, cleaning her apartment, and jogging, but throughout the day all she found herself thinking about was how Callie's day was going. She felt like a teenager, like a love struck teenager. In all honestly all Arizona wanted was for Callie's shift to end so that they could cuddle up in her bed and fall asleep together. Her shift was set to end at ten o'clock. After showering Arizona sat on her couch and looked over her case for tomorrow and patiently waited around for her girlfriend. After a half an hour she figured that Callie had gotten stuck in a surgery. She didn't want to bother her at work so she held out hope that she'd come over whenever she could. Arizona decided she would just wait for Callie in the room since it seemed like she wasn't coming by any time soon. She laid in bed tossing and turning until eleven thirty when her restlessness was interrupted by a text message from Callie. Arizona's guesses were correct. She did end up getting stuck in a surgery, but she was on her way to the apartment. It amazed and frightened her how a full day without seeing Callie made her feel so indifferent about everything. It was like she was just going through the motions throughout the day. She laid in her bed for about twenty minutes before she could hear key's jingling at her door soon followed by a few foot steps and her bedroom door opening.
"Hey. I'm so sorry." Callie said sincerely, "Surgery ran long. This motorcycle accident happened and the guy fractured like every bone in his leg. It was a mess." Callie said running her fingers through her hair.
"It's okay, I figured. It sounds awful." Arizona said laying down.
"Ugh, it was. A big awful mess." Callie said crawling on the bed. She leaned down and gave Arizona a kiss, "I'm gonna change and brush my teeth. I'll be right back." She said pushing herself off of the bed, but quickly leaning back onto it to give Arizona another kiss, "I needed one more." Arizona smiled and Callie headed off to the bathroom. Arizona smiled to herself. She was so in love with Callie that with just that small kiss and a smile her heart skip a beat. She had only been in love one other time. With the way that relationship ended she swore she'd never let it happen again, but here Callie was changing everything Arizona knew and she wasn't sure what she should do about it.
After a few minutes Callie returned. She shut the lights off and crawled into the bed. Arizona was always the "little spoon" during their spooning session and tonight was no different. She didn't say anything when Callie cuddled up next to her because she figured she was exhausted and just wanted to get some sleep. She laid there awake for what felt like hours, unsure if Callie was still awake or not. She wanted nothing more than to turn around and talk to her about anything and everything, but mostly about how much she cared about her; though she'd always held back from expressing those feelings. She didn't think tonight would be any different. Callie had a long day and the last thing Arizona wanted to do was bother her if she was in fact sleeping. She closed her eyes and tried to just lay as still as possible, hoping to fall asleep soon, but Callie's voice interrupted her poor attempt.
"What's wrong?" Callie asked quietly. Arizona turned around slowly, releasing herself from Callie's grasp.
"What?" She replied softly, afraid that she had woken her up.
"What are you worrying about over there?" Callie said giving a playful laugh while keeping her eyes closed.
"I'm not worrying about anything. Why do you think I'm worrying?" Arizona asked.
"Because I know you. I can just tell you're thinking hard about something. Spit it out." Callie said as she opened her eyes and sat up. She waited for her to respond.
"I…" Arizona opened her mouth to speak, but nothing was coming out. She wasn't sure how Callie could tell that something was on her mind. She wasn't sure if it was just that Callie was super in sync with her emotions or if Arizona was just an easy individual to read. Whatever the case, she decided to avoid eye contact and looked towards her bedroom door. Callie leaned over trying to gain some eye contact, but her eyes stayed glued on the door, "Nothing." Arizona said.
In truth Arizona wanted to talk to her about how she felt towards her. She wanted to let her know how happy she makes her, how she had never felt this way with anyone else before, but she didn't want to overwhelm her. She wasn't sure now was the right time to lay out all these feelings. She assumed that Callie knew how much she cared for her, but she wasn't sure to what extent. She was just so skeptical that she would say the wrong thing at the wrong time. She feared expressing these feelings too early would cause Callie to run. So instead of saying all the things she felt, she decided to say nothing at all. That was how Arizona dealt with things. She had always been this way. If she wasn't sure how something was going to play out, she usually avoided it at all costs. She liked being in control of things around her. Being vulnerable was a big deal for her. She couldn't imagine how she'd be able to recover if she expressed her feelings and Callie didn't feel the same way towards her yet. For her to not know was better than the disappointment. She would rather be able to hold on to the small chance of hope than be let down. There was something so different about Callie. Since the first day they met Arizona felt the urge to tell Callie everything, to give Callie everything. Sometimes it scared her how much she had grown to care for her. There were millions of reasons for Arizona to fall in love with the person she was currently sharing her bed with, but telling her seemed impossible.
"Hey, are you okay?" Callie asked growing slightly concerned by the upsetting look that had taken over Arizona's face.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good." She said as she crawled back into her previous position with her back facing Callie.
"You sure?" Callie asked as she laid back down. She gave her a gentle kiss on the shoulder and moved in as close to Arizona as she possibly could.
"Yeah. All good." She said closing her eyes hoping that Callie would drop it. A moment of silence had taken over the room and Arizona thought she was off the hook.
"You know…" Callie paused, "You're not a good liar." Callie whispered. Something in her voice sounded different. Something within those five words seemed different, like she was hurt. Arizona turned around. Their faces inches away from each other. Arizona leaned in and gave Callie a gentle kiss on the lips. She didn't want her thinking that she had done something wrong or that she was the problem. The only problem Arizona had was herself. She gave Callie a reassuring smile and stroked her cheek softly.
"I'm really good. We're good. Did you really wake up because you thought I was worrying about something? Don't worry about me. I was… just laying here. Ya know, sleeping." As the words left her mouth she knew her speech was less than convincing, not Arizona didn't even believe the words coming out of her mouth. She was a terrible liar, she had always been.
"No." Callie rolled her eyes, "You weren't. I wasn't even asleep. You were moving a lot more than you think. Plus I could tell you weren't sleeping because you weren't snoring." Callie said.
"Wait, I snore?" Arizona asked as she sat up quickly. Callie laughed.
"Um, yeah. I thought you knew. I mean it's not an intense snore, but it's noticeable. It's really cute though." She said sitting up. She moved closer to Arizona, who now had a disgusted look on her face.
"That is not cute. Oh my god, I can't believe I snore." She said as she put her hand over her mouth in disbelief.
"You really do, but I kinda like it." Arizona rolled her eyes in embarrassment and shook her head, "Oh come on, you're so cute how could your snores not be?" She said as she leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Callie, nothing about snoring is cute. And I'm pretty sure we had a talk about this whole cute thing." Arizona said quickly.
"Fine." Callie laughed as she rolled her eyes, "Okay then, your snoring is super sexy." Callie laughed. Arizona got up from the bed and crossed her arms.
"This is not funny." Arizona said as she playfully protested.
"I'm sorry. Totally not funny." Callie said smiling as she got up from the bed. Arizona exited the room, "Where are you going?" Callie asked as she followed behind her.
"Go away." Arizona shouted from the hallway. She entered the bathroom and flicked the light switch on.
"What are you doing?" She asked as Arizona shuffled through her bathroom drawers. She didn't respond. Callie's eye went directly to a box of nasal strips, "Are you looking for these?" Arizona's gazed moved from the drawer and shifted towards the box in Callie's hand. She snatched it from her and opened the box.
"I can't believe I snore." Arizona said barely loud of enough for Callie to hear.
"What's the big deal?" Callie asked with a smile. Arizona unpeeled the nasal strip.
"The big deal is that snoring can be like a deal breaker for people. It's distracting and loud… and embarrassing. Ugh, this is all my dad's fault." She said facing the mirror as she placed the strip on her nose. They both paused, tilted their heads, and squinted into the mirror.
"So do we think this nasal strip is less embarrassing?" Callie said standing behind her.
"No, now I look crazy." Arizona said sounding flustered. She ripped the nasal strip off, "Ouch. Oh my god, ouch." She said placing her hand over her nose which was now red. Callie moved closer and placed her hands on her shoulders.
"Are you alright?" Callie asked wincing at the sight of her girlfriends pain, "You're really that embarrassed about this?" Callie figured she was just being dramatic about the snoring and strip, but she looked really upset. She began to feel bad for teasing her about it. Arizona stood in her bathroom shoulders shlumped and her head tilted. She looked defeated, "In my fine opinion, you are so incredibly beautiful. Whether it's with a nasal strip on, or snoring, everything…You're always beautiful. I promise." She said holding her hands. Arizona gave a weak smile, "And you don't believe a word I just said. Come on, what's going on with you? You seem so down." Callie asked. Arizona let out a breath.
"I'm not." She said as she let go of Callie's hands, "I'm just tired I guess." She said as she walked out of the bathroom. Callie quickly followed. Arizona entered the room and Callie went to grab her arm. Arizona stopped suddenly and turned around before she could.
"Arizona…" Callie said almost bumping into her.
"I'm in love with you." Arizona said abruptly. Callie appeared taken aback. Arizona closed her eyes in embarrassment. Crap. Callie's mouth hung slightly open as if she couldn't believe what she had heard, "Sorry, I…"
"You love me?" Callie said slightly above a whisper. Arizona nodded.
"Yeah." She gave a weak laugh. Arizona didn't move or speak. It was quiet in the room for a few moments, "I wasn't going to tell you cause I didn't wanna freak you out. I mean I've never been in love like this so I didn't know when the right time was to say it." Callie tilted her head, "I thought I knew what love was, but then I met you and now it's just something totally different and wonderful. I didn't wanna risk losing that, but I just needed you to know cause I just can't hold it in any longer. And it's okay if that's not how you feel yet, I understand. I just had to tell you cause now I'm going crazy with snores and nasal strips, but I just need you to know that I love you -"
"I love you too." Callie smiled brightly cutting Arizona off mid sentence. A small smile began to appear on Arizona's face and she felt her entire body relax.
"You do?" She spoke softly.
"I do. I'm in love with you. The craziness, snores, and nasal strips. I love it all." Callie said confidently. Arizona's grin grew and she felt butterflies in her stomach. With that they embraced in a soft and slow kiss that was just an extension of their love. As their lips touched Arizona couldn't even think of a reason why she seconded guessed herself to begin with. She was in love and it felt incredible.
Apologizes that this took forever. Summer job is almost over, chapters should be out quicker. Enjoy!