Amelia met Arizona at the age of 24 in Baltimore. Fresh out of Harvard and accepted to the residency program at John's Hopkins. Amelia had been sober for her last year of high school and all of college, but seeing the pretty blonde resident 3 years ahead of her had made her heart race and her head feel fuzzy like the drugs she used to take.

Arizona Robbins.

Amelia snorted a bit at the name, and Robbins rolled her eyes in return.

They were at a bar after a long first month… well Amelia's first month, but most of the older residents were there too, to commiserate over their own intern year and gruelling shit they had to put up with.

"You're staring, Shepherd." The blonde is smirking and her lips are shiny with freshly applied gloss.

"Just thinking, Battleship." Amelia is just buzzed enough to have a lazy smile on her own lips. The blondes eyes narrowed slightly in surprise. Everyone always assumed she was named for the state of Arizona, not the battleship. How did this little intern know?

"How-" a slight shake of her head. "Thinking about what?"

"Your legs." The brunette leaned forward. "Wrapped around my head."

It doesn't take long from there for it to become a reality. They don't even make it out of the bar, instead locked in the accessible bathroom with Amelia kneeling on the dirty tiles and Arizona gripping dark hair with one hand and the sink with her other, moans and whimpers dripping from her lips. They do eventually make it out of the bar, stumbling, giggling, and kissing their way to a cab that takes them to Amelia's cramped, shared apartment.

"Hey." Amelia is still half asleep when she notices Arizona leaving. The blonde froze, boots in her hand, clearly about to sneak out. "You're leaving."

"Uh.. yeah…" Arizona shifted from foot to foot. "Early start today." Amelia sat up in bed, squinting in the faint light, her sheet falling to his waist. Arizona absently licked her lips. She'd left a dark purpling mark to left of Amelia's right nipple. "Last night was fun."

"We should do it again?" Arizona hesitates and Amelia can feel her heart racing. "Coffee?"

Arizona squints her eyes in the way that shows she's thinking, fingers fidgeting with the boots she was still gripping tightly. "Coffee." The blonde looks surprised by her own answer. "Mastrianis. Tomorrow. 8am?"

"Done." Amelia's grin is blinding and if it weren't so dark she'd be able to see Arizonas pink flush. "Battleship?" The call comes when Arizonas is nearly out the door again. "Forget something?" A tiny scrap of lace that could barely pass as a thong is dangling from the brunettes finger and the blonde is sure her cheeks must be glowing. She couldn't find them and was sneaking out without her underwear.

"Keep them." It's Arizonas turn to smirk a little, finally slipping out of the apartment, heading to her own to wash Amelia off her skin and head into the hospital.

Coffee turned into making out in the bathroom of the coffee shop a few blocks from the hospital. It had started with a cup of triple espresso and a cup of almond latte with 3 sugars and a pump of caramel. It had ended with the two of them in a cramped bathroom stall, lips attached and Amelia's hand inching towards Arizonas jeans.

"Fuck!" Arizona swears and it makes Amelia whimper. "Not here, A-Amelia."

"Sure?" Fingers nudge against the button of her jeans. "I can be quick."

Arizona nearly gives in, but she likes this coffee shop! It's a little out of her way, but it has the best coffee and she wants to keep getting caffeinated here. "I-I don't want quick." Is what she says instead, finally managing to push Amelia away.

They barely make it out of the coffee shop and Arizona starts pulling the brunette to her car, her place is closer, and she doesn't usually take her flings back to her place… but she also doesn't usually go to coffee with her flings so it's a day for firsts… or maybe it's just Amelia?

True to Arizonas request, Amelia takes her time peeling Every layer of clothes off her and laying her lips to every inch of uncovered skin. Blue eyes meet each other and Arizonas sees starts when she cums.

The next time Amelia and Arizona see each other again Amelia is running barely on time for her shift and Grand Rounds, but when she spots blonde hair fluttering down the hallways she still runs over and slips the overly sugary cup of coffee into her hand. Arizona looks at her surprised, fingers automatically closing around scalding heat.

"I'm off at 6am Thursday." Two days from now, and they may see each other before then. "Breakfast?"

Arizona fingers the lid of the cup and thinks. Picking Amelia up in a bar was supposed to be a one night stand, coffee the next day wasn't the plan, sex after coffee kinda was the plan… "Sure." The grin from the other morning lights up Amelia's face again and Arizona can feel herself blushing again, not hidden by the darkness anymore. This isn't just one or two night stand anymore, this is two dates… Arizona doesn't date.

Arizona dates Amelia.

Amelia misses breakfast on Thursday because she gets to scrub in on a craniotomy with Koracick. So instead Arizona watches from the gallery and then when Amelia goes to scrub out and start post ops she grabs some vending machine chips and soda and tracks her down. Amelia looks exhausted, but is glowing with determination and happiness from the surgery. Arizona sits them both down and they have chips and soda on a bench outside and Amelia falls asleep on her shoulder.

"Amelia?" Arizona tries to wake her. "Amelia? Amy?"

"Don't call me that." It's mumbled and her eyes are still closed.

"What should I call you then? Sleepyhead?" This feels domestic and date like and mildly like a relationship.

"'Melia, 's my name." Her eyes a still closed, but Amelia scoots a little closer to Arizona.

"Okay… Melia." Arizona finds herself smiling a little and the brunette finally lifts her head.

"Shut up, Battleship." There's no heat in her glare and a pout on her lips.

"How did you know I was named after the battleship?" Its blurted out before Arizona can stop it. "Most people assume it's the state, how did you know?"

"I didn't." Amelia shrugged, Arizonas eyes narrowed at her. "I just saw the way you go around the hospital, people move out of your way when you walk the halls, like parting the sea, and then I remembered middle school history and the Arizona and…" another shrug. "You're a very pretty battleship."

Arizona can't help but huff out a laugh at that. "My Dad named me for the battleship actually, so you're not wrong." They don't know each other enough to go into more detail yet. Yet? Yet!

Amelia was sat in the cafeteria with her fellow interns, or the ones that were free at the moment, and stared across the expansive room to where a group of 4th year residents were having lunch too. Amelia watched across the room to Arizona. Arizona who Amelia knew for a fact was not wearing any underwear. She knew because Arizonas thong was currently tucked in Amelia's jacket in her locker in the interns locker room.

Arizona must have sensed her staring because blue eyes connected with blue and Amelia couldn't help her smile. Her heart raced every time she saw Arizona, even 2 months after they first hooked up. It had been 2 months. 2 months of coffees, chips and sodas, breakfasts, a couple of dinners even when they both had the time free, and sex -so much sex, amazing sex - and even that time last week when they fell asleep watching a movie and didn't have sex and just cuddled instead.

One of her friends said something and she had to tear her eyes away, and the next time she looked over Arizona was gone. Amelia tried not to be disappointed, but it still settled in her chest uncomfortably. It wouldn't be there for long, if everything went to plan Amelia would be seeing Arizona that night for dinner, and then hopefully after dinner as well.

Amelia was sat in Arizonas apartment after a long shift, she could feel Arizonas eyes on her as she twisted her coffee cup in her hands. Amelia had been in trauma service last night when a man came in GSW to the head from a robbery gone wrong. Koracick had declared the man brain dead the standard 6 hours after his initial exam. He had made Amelia declare brain death. To be honest they had all been surprised the man still had any sign of life, but the ambulance had brought him in with a pulse and no brain activity.

Amelia had been a wreck.

She'd barely been able to get through her shift and even Koracick had let her off early after she declared. One of Amelia's friends, Megan, had been the one to track Arizona down to tell her Amelia wasn't talking to anyone. Arizona had taken Amelia to her apartment - almost their apartment at this point - and they just sat, the blonde waiting for her girlfriend to say something. Anything.

"I was five." Amelia murmured, her eyes glassy, her coffee cold, her hands shaking. "I was five when my dad was shot in the head during a robbery. He died in front of me."

"Oh my god!" Arizona didn't know what to say, what could she say to that? Her hands reached for Amelia's. "'Melia, I-" the brunette shook her head silently.

"Hold me?" It's barely a whisper and Arizona had no willpower to deny her anything in that moment. They sit together. Coffee forgotten, Amelia in Arizonas arms, shaking but not crying, the glow of the Christmas tree lights they'd put up the week before smattering across their faces.

Mastrianis had become a place of comfort for Amelia in the last 8 months since she met Arizona. They got coffee there, they made out there, they got breakfast, once they even gave into temptation had quick, dirty sex in the bathroom. Jess, who worked the coffee machine knew them by name and order. Amelia was sat in Mastrianis with a woman that wasn't Arizona Robbins. Not that she was cheating, she'd rather die than screw up with Arizona, no instead she was trying to leech comfort from Mastrianis whilst her eldest sister Nancy ranted at her for not visiting the family at all.

"Nancy!" Amelia finally cut in, "I'm an intern, I'm busy, I don't have time for this, what do you want?"

"We've all been there, Amy." Nancy sighed, "we all still made it home for Christmas and for Dads-"

"I was working." Amelia's hand turned into a fist, nails biting into her palm. "You know, saving lives."

"Cut the crap, Amy, you haven't been home in years-"

"Yeah, how often did you come home when you were in school and residency?" Amelia snapped back, her heart stuttered, Arizona had just come in. She needed to get out of here. Now.

"It's different and you know it, Amy-"

"Don't. Call me that." She got up, hoping Arizona hadn't seen her yet, but knowing in her gut that she had.

Nancy got up too, apparently prepared to follow. "Amelia!" Great, now Arizona definitely knew they were there. "Mom misses you, Amelia, think about Mom, won't you? She's worried, you're out here all alone, you don't even call-"

"Hey, Amelia, I-" Arizona reached them, automatically leaning in to peck her girlfriend, a confused frown gracing her pink lips when Amelia ducked away from her.

"Not now, Robbins." Amelia scowled, stalking out of the coffee shop without a glance back, a confused Arizona and annoyed Nancy in her wake.

Arizona found Amelia in her apartment, her roommates must have been out because she was pacing through the living room, eyes wild and one hand buried in dark tresses, the other holding the pad of her thumb to her teeth. Arizona hadn't seen Amelia have such a reaction to anything before. She'd seen her cry about her dad, panic on New Years with fireworks, rant about her brother and sisters babying her. But she'd never seen her like this.

"'Melia?" The brunette stops suddenly at her voice. Blue eyes narrow at the blonde, a haze seeming to settle over her. "Amelia, what's going on? Who was that you were talking to?"

"My sister, Nancy." It comes out a little strangled, a little too high, a little too loud. "You were gonna kiss me in front of her."

"Am-am I not supposed to?" Arizona feels a little thrown, this isn't what she expected from the day.

"How would you feel if I kissed you in front of your brother?" It's a little snappish and Arizona knows something is going to happen today. Can feel her heart heavy and her palms sweaty.

"Fine?" She's honestly confused, it's not like they've been subtle about their relationship. "D-do your family not know?"

"Why?" Amelia scoffs, "so they can be disappointed in me more? Say I'm more of a fuck up? Oh that's Hurricane Amy, drug addicted lesbian, hide your pain killers and sisters!" She seems to draw in on herself. "Nancy wasn't supposed to come here, she wasn't supposed to know, no one was supposed to know."

"No one?" Arizona could feel her chest constricting. "We've been together 8 months and you didn't want your family to know? Are you ashamed?" Arizona took a step forward, Amelia took a step back. "Of me? Of being gay?"

"Yes!"

It's out. They both freeze.

Arizona leaves