Chapter 7 – Lunch in the Park

Arizona raced to the park, her acquired confidence from yelling at Mark steadily drifting away from her with every step. She and Callie had eaten lunch here many times over the years, but today felt different. Today, she was meeting not just her best friend, but the best friend that actually knew she was gay; the best friend who had admitted her own feelings and then kissed her, leading to what was undoubtedly the hottest first make out session she had ever experienced. That first kiss was forever seared into her memory; it was so gentle and brief, uncertainty clouding every movement, and yet, in that single expression of long buried feelings, her soul had been freed. She would always remember, too that first look into Callie's eyes that told her she felt the same way.

The wind blew from behind her, sweeping goose bumps across her skin. She pulled her arms tighter around her, wishing instead that they were Callie's. The thought jarred her awake into reality. Callie only just found out she was gay. What if she changed her mind? What if she was just adventuring into new territory? These feelings she had for Callie were too much; they went too deep into her heart and she could almost feel them tearing the muscle apart at the seams already. She stopped in her tracks, staring ahead at the bench where she always met Callie. It was empty. Her breath caught in her throat as her insecurities flew through her mind. She doesn't actually want me. She didn't actually mean those things. She's confused. She just wants to be friends.

She went to turn around and run back to the hospital before the mental images of her heart being ripped to shreds could become reality, but before she could, strong tan arms wrapped around her from behind as Callie crashed into her back in an excited hug.

"You made it!" Callie laughed into her ear as she kissed her gently on the cheek.

Arizona blushed and turned to face Callie. That's when she saw that huge, mega-watt smile she fell in love with years ago and immediately her heart fluttered, her stomach settled back into place, and the ground felt solid again. She smiled back as confidence flourished through her veins and nodded. "I did! I thought for a second you weren't coming."

Callie creased her brow in confusion. "Of course I was coming," she chuckled, "I invited you! I just forgot the bottles of water at my apartment, so I had to run back to get them." She held up the bottles with a smile and then pointed towards the bench.

Arizona grabbed the bag of food from Callie, freeing one of her hands. She quickly replaced it with her own and entwined their fingers as they walked towards the bench.

"So, what'd you make us, chef?" Arizona asked as they sat down on the bench and she opened the bag of food.

"Your favorite," Callie said with a grin.

Arizona beamed as she pulled out two matching grilled chicken salads. "You even put cranberries and almonds on it!"

Callie chuckled as she took her own salad from Arizona. "I know how much you love it. There's also some carrots in there and a brownie for dessert.

"YOU MADE BROWNIES!?" Arizona dug through the bag and pulled out the sandwich box containing the dessert.

Callie laughed to herself and shook her head as Arizona opened the box and took a bite of one of the brownies, her salad completely forgotten. "Really, Arizona? You're eating the brownie now?"

"Uhm, yeah," she said as if it were the most obvious action in the world. "Oh god, it's still warm. Calliope, you are amazing."

"You're welcome," she said with a chuckle. She reached across Arizona, grabbing her own brownie and taking a bite. "Wow… these are really good," she said with her mouth full. She blushed and covered her mouth, realizing she had just broken one of her mother's cardinal rules that had been drilled into her during her years at charm school.

"Real cute, Calliope," Arizona teased as she reached across to grab her bottle of water sitting next to Callie.

"Yeah, whatever, I don't even care. I'm havin' a love affair with this brownie right now."

Arizona laughed and brushed off her fingers then opened her salad. They sat in a comfortable silence, both looking out at the city they both loved. A slight breeze blew Callie's hair past her face towards Arizona, filling her nostrils with the mixture of shampoo and perfume that was uniquely her Calliope. She sighed and took a bit of her salad.

"What're you thinking about?" Callie asked, finally breaking the silence.

Arizona huffed in laughter. "What am I not thinking about?" She paused to take another bite. "A lot has happened in the last few days."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Callie asked nervously. She wasn't sure if she was really even ready to talk about it. She didn't really come into this with a plan; she just wanted to spend some time with Arizona.

"Do you?" Arizona asked.

Callie looked over, glancing at Arizona's fingers, nervously fidgeting with her fork. "We should."

Arizona kept her eyes on her food, but nodded slightly. "I know you've probably got a million questions."

Callie set her fork down and turned to face Arizona. Her heart nearly broke when she saw how badly her best friend was shaking. She instinctively wrapped her arm around Arizona's shoulders and pulled her closer. "I do have some questions, not a million though. Sorry to disappoint."

Arizona gave a slight chuckle and leaned her head onto Callie's shoulder.

Callie smiled and looked back over the city. She took a deep breath and laid her head on top of Arizona's. "How about you start? I'm sure you have some questions for me, too."

Arizona chewed her lip, for the first time realizing that she wasn't the only one who had something to explain. The thought hit her suddenly, and she immediately felt like she could fly; she wasn't alone in this. "Alright," she said, a renewed confidence in her voice, "how long have you known you were gay?"

Callie sat back, thinking. "I guess I've always known; I just never really put the label on it. I liked who I liked… I've always been attracted to someone based off of who they were as a person. This is just the first time I've actually liked a girl enough to do something about it."

"So you really do like me?" Arizona asked, trying to keep her voice from wavering but failing.

"Yes, Arizona. I really do like you. Very much," Callie replied.

"I like you, too," Arizona whispered. Callie smiled and kissed the top of Arizona's head. "Okay, your turn," Arizona said as she nestled closer to Callie.

Callie hummed to herself as she contemplated what to ask. "Did you like your lunch?"

"Callie, I'm serious!" Arizona sat up and scoffed at Callie.

"So am I! I worked hard on that salad!" Callie said with a twinkle of amusement in her eye.

Arizona crumbled at the mischievous look she received from her best friend. "Okay, yes, I enjoyed my lunch very much. Thank you."

They both sat in silence, Arizona waiting to hear Callie's actual question.

Finally, Callie broke the silence. "What? It's your turn now."

"That was your question?" Arizona asked. There were a million things Callie could have asked, and she chose something as ridiculous as 'did you like your lunch?'

"Yes, that was my question." Arizona huffed in frustration and rolled her eyes. "Okay, I do have one more," Callie started.

"No, you have to wait. It's my turn now," Arizona said, cutting her off.

Callie laughed and sat back against the bench with a huff. "Okay, go ahead."

Arizona paused and started rolling the cuff of her jacket between her fingers nervously. "Is kissing me different for you? Like, different from kissing a man?"

Callie watched Arizona fidget and took her hand in her own, making the blonde look up into her eyes. "Completely. Kissing you, Arizona is different from anything I've ever felt…" she fumbled to find the right way to describe the feeling she got every time she even thought about kissing Arizona's perfectly soft lips. "It's like coming up for air after drowning my entire life."

Honesty radiated from Callie's eyes, just like it had the night before. Arizona's eyes flickered to Callie's luscious, full lips and she had to stop herself from leaning forward to kiss them. "You know, I thought I had been in love before. But kissing you, Calliope, I feel like I've never really kissed anyone before." Callie drifted closer, but before their lips met, Arizona turned away and embarrassment flooded over her. She wanted to kiss Callie, but they were in public, and after years of hiding, her gut reaction was to do just that: hide. Callie tried not to look hurt, but it was written clearly all over her face. Arizona blushed and buried her head in her hands. "What are we going to do?" she mumbled.

"Look… Arizona, honey, look at me." Callie lifted Arizona's chin so their eyes met. "You're still Arizona. I'm still Callie. You like me, I like you. None of the rest of it matters." Arizona's eyes started to water and Callie suddenly felt as though her brain had given up control of her words… that they were now streaming straight from her heart instead. "I know you aren't ready to come out to the entire hospital, and I'm not asking you to. Not yet. I'm just asking you to give me a chance… to give us a chance." A tear built in the corner of her eye and she blinked it away. "You aren't in this alone anymore, I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere. And together… together, Arizona, we can do this. We can do anything."

Arizona smiled as a tear fell down her cheek. Callie instantly reached up to wipe it away with her thumb and she left her hand cradling her cheek. She leaned into the touch and closed her eyes. "I never realized you were such a romantic."

"Neither did I," Callie said with a chuckle.

Arizona looked up and searched Callie's eyes. "Okay. Together?"

"Together." Callie said with a smile. She leaned forward, and this time, Arizona didn't turn away. Their lips met and instantly both women leaned into each other, deepening the kiss. Callie adjusted slightly and Arizona met her movements exactly in sync. Callie's heart started to race as she felt a familiar warmth growing in her core as it tightened in anticipation. She traced her hand to the back of Arizona's neck and pulled her in closer. Arizona cupped Callie's face and moaned, sending a gentle buzzing across their lips. Callie smiled as she separated from Arizona, hovering barely an inch away from her to catch her breath. "Do I still get that question?"

Arizona smiled and bit her lip as she nodded slowly. "Mhmm."

"Do you want to go to dinner with me Friday night?"

"I would love to." Arizona smiled as she leaned forward to briefly brush her lips against Callie's. The kiss quickly grew heated and soon Arizona was practically in Callie's lap and their hands were wandering across each other's bodies.

A chill flew through the air and blew Callie's hair into a frenzied mess around them. They separated as they laughed and Callie attempted to fix her hair. They looked up and realized for the first time since they sat down together that a storm was quickly rolling in. A clap of thunder sounded in the distance, signaling rain in the not too distant future. Callie stood up and offered her hand to Arizona. "Come on… let's get out of here before we get wet."

"A little late for that," Arizona answered under her breath as she let Callie pull her up and into her arms.

Callie's eyes grew wide in surprise. She knew they had both gotten a bit worked up, but she had never even heard Arizona joke about something like that. "What did you just say?"

Arizona laughed and wrapped her arm around Callie's waist. "Nothing, come on, let's get back to the hospital."

"Arizona Robbins, this is a side of you I've never seen before," Callie said with a smirk.

"Oh, there's a lot of me you've never seen before, Calliope," Arizona teased as she pulled on the hem of Callie's jacket.

"Well, we should fix that," Callie said, her voice involuntarily lowering with a sultry swing as she brushed her lips against Arizona's. She had no intention of stopping the kiss, but another crash of thunder startled them apart. They both laughed and looked up just as the rain started to fall.

Callie reached around Arizona's waist as their laughter rang out through the park. Arizona shrieked as it started to rain harder and they looked to each other with an excited grin. Callie leaned forward and kissed Arizona again then broke free and grabbed her hand as they broke out in a run towards the shelter of the hospital.

AN: I had a lot of fun writing this chapter… I hope you all enjoyed reading it! What'd you think of Callie's little speech?

This story now has 50 favorites! I honestly cannot believe that… you all are much too kind. I'm relieved y'all liked Arizona's little confrontation with Mark. I wasn't sure about adding that part, but I felt like she just wouldn't have been able to not yell at him. Also, I absolutely love Addison and her friendship with Callie, so that will definitely be a part of this fic.

LydiaD – That's a great idea! I love writing holidays (both with extended family and just Calzona), so that will definitely be something that shows up.

Relicario – My first Portuguese review! Hello to Brazil! :D I'm happy you're enjoying the story and I hope you keep reading :)

toi von d – You're definitely right. We'll see in the next chapter exactly how much Mark has pieced together and if he's right or not in his assumptions.