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Callie and Arizona had been back together for over four months now. Callie spent the first two finishing out her contract with NewYork Presbyterian, and the last month and a half staying at The Archfield while she settled back into her role as Chief of Orthopedics at Grey-Sloan. They decided it was too soon for her to simply move back in with her ex-wife-come-girlfriend, and Callie didn't have the heart to look at real estate without the woman she knew she'd be spending the rest of her life with. They didn't need to rush things this time. There was no car crash, or shooting. No trip to Africa, or surprise baby on the way. They had the rest of their lives to figure all of the details out.
And yet, between working out logistics for Sofia's schedule and reaching the point in their relationship that allowed for sleepovers, they realized that Callie had all but moved in already. So Arizona presented her with a shiny new house key while on a date at a fancy restaurant to make things official, and Callie gladly accepted. Two weeks later, they were finally settling into a routine. It really felt like home again.
Walking out of the ensuite bathroom, Callie found her love in a pink nightie, looking intently at her iPad, presumably running through her schedule for the next day. She looked utterly adorable with blonde hair perched on the top of her head in a messy bun, scrunching her nose in concentration, with a new pair of tortoise shell reading glasses begrudgingly perched on the tip. Callie grinned, pulling back the covers and settling into her side of the bed, leaning over to plant a kiss on a soft fair cheek.
"Do you have any idea how adorable you are?" Callie asked, utterly love-struck.
Arizona set the iPad down on the nightstand and turned to face her bedmate, raising an eyebrow. "I'm old, Calliope. Adorable came and went."
"You've always been adorable," Callie said earnestly, reaching for Arizona's hand so she could absently play with pink-polished fingers. "I don't understand how you can possibly be so cute and so sexy at the same time."
The glasses had slid down the bridge of her nose and Arizona's disbelieving look was reminiscent of a sexy librarian scolding Callie for talking too loud. "Are you trying to get lucky?"
"Is it working?" Callie asked with a quirky laugh. "And no, for the record, I'm not," her tone was serious. "I am just so ridiculously, completely, and entirely in love with you."
Arizona couldn't help but blush, looking down at the duvet. She still felt butterflies everytime Callie said that, even though she first uttered it almost a decade ago. "The feeling is mutual," Arizona murmured, looking up into warm brown eyes. She took off the reading glasses she despised and set them on the nightstand, scooting closer to Callie, pulling a tan arm around her. She rested her head on Callie's shoulder.
"Your birthday is coming up," Callie murmured, pulling Arizona closer and kissing the crown of her head.
Arizona groaned. "Don't remind me."
"It's your first birthday since we've been back together. I want it to be special," Callie said. "What did you do last year while I was in New York?"
Arizona thought back to nearly a year prior, while her daughter was across the country living with Callie and Callie's then girlfriend. She and Penny broke up only a few weeks later, right before Thanksgiving. "I, um, I worked. It was a normal day. April made me blow out a candle on a cupcake, but I was between surgeries so I didn't get a chance to eat it. She wanted to do something that night, but Jackson was on call so she had Harriet. Webber and DeLuca were working on an MVC, so I just got takeout and wine and I facetimed Sof."
That just about broke Callie's heart. She knew Arizona really didn't like birthday celebrations, but no one should spend their birthday alone. Especially not Arizona.
Callie remembered that evening very well. Penny was working late and Callie decided to take call and leave Sofia with a babysitter because she knew that if she didn't keep busy, she'd leave an embarrassing and probably drunken birthday voicemail for her then-ex.
"I'm sorry," Callie murmured into sweet smelling blonde hair.
"Don't be," Arizona said, though Callie caught a bit of sadness in the corners of her fake smile. "Nobody bothered me, I got to talk to our baby girl, and I binge-watched Netflix with a bottle of wine. It was an awesome evening."
Callie felt guilty. She knew that rationally, she shouldn't be, but her feelings about Arizona had never been rational. She wanted to make Arizona's next birthday one to remember. One that made up for the string of awful birthdays between the plane crash and now.
XXX
Arizona found an excessive yet exquisite bouquet of roses waiting for her at the nurse's station. She rolled her eyes but couldn't quite contain her smile, taking them into her office to avoid anyone mentioning the b-word. She really didn't want any more attention than the three dozen perfect roses in various shades of pink already awarded her.
She set them down on her desk and opened the card. Of course, they were from Callie, who already spent the morning making her breakfast in bed and showering her with affection. Arizona found that the only way she liked being sung Happy Birthday was in her bed, cuddled between Callie and Sofia. She made an exception for that and only that.
Arizona,
Happy Birthday. Thank you for making me the happiest woman in the world. I am utterly enamored with you, today and every day.
I took you off the surgery schedule today. Please don't freak out. Just humor me. Meet me at our spot in the park.
Your Calliope
Arizona couldn't help but roll her eyes at the note. This is exactly what she hated, the unnecessary attention a birthday garnered, but she still grabbed her coat and bag and followed Callie to the park. She'd follow Callie anywhere.
When she scaled the hill she found Callie sitting on their bench, wearing a nervous smile. Arizona could she was up to something.
"Hi," she said softly, pecking Callie on the lips.
"Hey. I have donuts," Callie said, holding out a pink box for Arizona to inspect.
Arizona smiled and sat down beside her. "Oh, these look awesome!" When she looked up from the box of donuts, she found Callie sitting beside her, holding a diamond ring. Her hands were shaking.
"I don't like being your girlfriend," Callie abruptly announced. As she registered what she'd just said, she shook her head, looking panicked. "No. That was wrong. I didn't mean it like that. I love you and I want to be with you forever. It's just, we already did this. We dated, and then I was your wife, and I– I guess I don't like not being your wife. Because I feel like your wife. A-and I want to be your wife again, and I know it's really soon, and I sound crazy, but I'm hijacking your birthday. You hate celebrating your birthday, so I thought why not make it something you like to celebrate? So you should marry me. Today. I mean, if you want to." Callie looked up at Arizona, so hopeful and yet so scared to be let down.
Arizona simply brought her hands to Callie's cheeks and kissed her with everything she had. God, she loved that woman.
"Best birthday present ever," She murmured, breathless.
"I-is that a yes?" Callie asked.
"It's a yes," Arizona said with a dimpled smile.
XXX
They were married a few hours later at the courthouse. It was just the two of them and Sofia. They exchanged vows and rings, and gave Sofia a heart necklace in rose gold that matched their own.
April and DeLuca graciously volunteered to set up the small reception at their house. Callie, not wanting to make the same mistake twice, told Arizona there would be a party on the drive home. The blonde was just too happy to care.
Standing in the kitchen, looking at the cake, Callie glared at April. She'd ordered it in advance, but only had "Happy" written on it, so if Arizona had said no, they could just write "Birthday" beneath it. Instead, in pink icing, beneath the neatly scripted "Happy" was a barely-legible semblance of the word "Marriage".
"Happy Marriage? Really? And you can operate on people in a freaking warzone, but you can't write on a cake?" Callie snapped at April, clearly stressed. "You should have had Avery do the writing."
"Those DIY icing pens are deceptively hard to use," April countered. "And what was I supposed to write? Happy Wedding? Happy Life? Happy Congratulations?"
Coming up behind Callie, Arizona wrapped her arms around her wife's waist. "Be nice to April, please. I'd like to keep her around."
"Congrats, guys. Torres, you think the third wedding's the charm?" Alex asked through a mouthful of bruschetta.
Callie groaned. "Don't say it like that. Besides, this doesn't count, right? Arizona and I weren't even legally married last time."
"It counts. I married you in front of God and everyone. You didn't need some piece of paper to make that real," Bailey said, refilling her glass of wine. "Congratulations, by the way."
Arizona couldn't stop smiling. "Thanks."
Callie rested her head against Arizona's shoulder, groaning again. "Saying I've been married three times when I'm hardly over forty makes me sound like a whore," she whined.
"Eh," Arizona shrugged. "I think I'll keep you anyway." She planted a kiss on Callie's cheek, taking a piece of cake with her to the living room.
Callie followed, sitting beside her wife. "I didn't really plan a honeymoon," Callie said so only they could hear. "But we could leave Sof with your parents, or my dad, or Meredith and finally take that child-free trip to Spain you always dreamed about. You know, just you and me, with bikinis, sangria, and lots of sex…"
"As tempting as that sounds, I don't really want to leave Sof right now." Arizona took a bite of her cake.
Callie's face fell. She never had to endure weeks at a time without Sofia. Sometimes she forgot that her wife had.
"Don't worry. Dreams change, Calliope." Arizona looked over at Sofia, who was having cake with Zola. "You know, Sofia's never been abroad. And she could practice her Spanish..."
"I'll start looking at flights," Callie said with a smile.