Title: Use the Ring
Author: A. Windsor
Pairing/Characters: Callie/Arizona
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. My one semester of law school could allow me to legalese this a little more, but it also tells me it's pretty useless. So please don't sue; it's not mine, I'm just playing!
Summary: Arizona takes Mark's advice, in her own way. Companion piece to Easy and Inevitable.
Author's Note: Apparently my muse is more easily swayed than my will. By very popular demand, the continuation of Inevitable. There's no point saying this is the last Zeq!verse story, but no promises. It's, uh, fluffy. Oh, and beta'd by the amazing roughian, but all errors are my sleep-deprived brain's.
Callie awakens to that tingly feeling of being watched. She rolls over, surprised when the warm body snuggled in beside her is not the one she was expecting. No less beloved, of course, but certainly not who she was expecting.
"Zeq," she groans.
"Momma said I could," Zeq heads off any complaints about not being in his own bed. He's wide awake, dark hair tousled with sleep and warm brown eyes lazily trained on her face. He has breakfast (yogurt and a few crumbs) crusted from his cheek to his sweet nose (such a perfect little replica of Mark's).
"She said you could stare creepily at me until I woke up?"
"Yep," Zeq says brightly. "She said I could jump on you and wake you up when it said nine-zero-zero."
Callie looks over to the digital clock he points to. 8:47. She wonders how long he's been patiently (creepily) waiting.
"Where is that Momma of yours?"
"She had to go to work."
That's odd; neither of them were scheduled to work today, and she didn't hear the beeper wail. That usually wakes her, surgeon-reflexes and what not.
She pulls her son on top of her, nuzzling his neck, noticing he's already dressed for the day. How long had those two been awake, and how on earth does Arizona keep him so quiet in the morning? He squirms in her arms, burrowing further into her rather than trying to break free. His fingers find one of her messy curls, twisting gently.
"What are we gonna do today?" Callie asks her baby boy, smiling widely at the absent way he seeks to stay connected to her.
"I dunno."
"What do you wanna do?"
Zeq shrugs.
"Is it sunny or rainy outside?"
"Sunny, I think," the four-year-old answers thoughtfully.
"Alright then. How about the park?"
"The one with the swings?"
"Sure."
"Okay," Zeq smiles brightly.
"Alright. Did Momma give you breakfast before she left?"
"Yeah!"
"Yeah, I thought so," Callie chuckles, wiping at his cheek with her thumb. "Very nice. Want to watch TV while I eat and get ready? Then we'll go to the park."
Zeq rolls off of her and then off of the bed in his exuberance.
"Ow."
Callie stifles a laugh, but she's not too concerned. If he were hurt, he'd be crying.
"Doing okay there, m'ijo?"
"Yep."
"Nothing broken?"
"Nothin' broken, Mami."
"Alright. Let me text Momma and then I'll get going."
"TV, Mami," he reminds her as he picks himself up, eager to use his hour allotment.
"Yep, I'm on it," Callie yawns, grabbing her phone off the bedside table. She has a text from Arizona waiting.
Good morning, beautiful. Hope EZ didn't tear the house apart. Did he wake you before 9? We had a deal.
Callie finds herself smiling like a dork.
He was good. Didn't hear you leave. Everything ok?
When her text doesn't get an immediate response, she just assumes Arizona is busy, so she sets her phone back down and heads to the kitchen.
"Ma-mi," Zeq calls from the living room.
"Coming!"
It's surprisingly warm and sunny for Seattle, so they pack a lunch and spend the better part of the day at Ezequiel's favorite park. They take turns pushing each other on the swings (with varying levels of success) and chasing each other all over the sprawling climbing area. The pair breaks to eat PB&Js and pick out shapes in the cloud formations while they lie in the grass.
Callie loves her one-on-one time with Zeq; it makes her feel like a kid again herself, and she prides herself on not being one of those moms that just watches their kids play from the benches. She makes it a point to follow him through the play structure, racing him down slides and (at least pretending) to swing from the monkey bars. Zeq thinks it's hilarious.
"Alright, just a few more minutes, Zeq. Then we'll check in with Momma and see if she's ready to get her butt home."
"Okay," Zeq agrees, sprinting towards the highest slide. "Let's do this one!"
Callie grins and chases after him as she hears a car door shut in the parking lot. God, she's going to make a fool of herself in front of some more grown-ups. The things she does in the name of motherhood.
"I don't know if I can fit in that one, little man," she tries to wriggle out of this commitment, half-heartedly.
"Sure you can, Mami. It's the best one, I promise."
"I'll give it a try," Callie agrees as they cross the swinging bridge and climb the stairs to their destination.
Zeq turns and gives her an excited grin as he surveys the slide before them. Callie glances down towards the bottom, but the slide's too twisty to see anything.
"You go first," she orders when she notices he's gentlemanly waiting for her.
He beams and throws himself to the floor, scootching up to the edge of the slide and then pushing himself off with abandon.
Callie lowers herself more slowly, readying herself as she hears his sneakers squeak against the hard plastic sides of the slide.
"Momma!" Zeq exclaims suddenly as he comes to a rustling stop at the bottom, just as Callie pushes herself down the slide.
She barely recognizes his exclamation until she herself has arrived at the end of the slide. What she sees there makes her heart stop.
Arizona has her EZ on her hip, his head on her shoulder and his feet brushing against her jeans just above her knees. It's a familiar pose, the way they fit together so naturally, his arms threaded around her shoulders, her arm under his rump.
She smiles, half-amused, half-nervous as hell. Which would be strange, were it not for her outstretched hand.
The ring. Nestled in an open velvet box, winking in the bright early afternoon sun, is the diamond ring Callie recently discovered hidden in Arizona's running shoes.
"Arizona..." Callie manages once she's recovered her breath. She slowly allows her feet to touch the ground, her shocked brain incapable of even thinking of getting up.
Ezequiel seems to have realized the seriousness of the moment, keeping quiet and watching his mami with intent.
"Don't. Let me talk. I know you found it. Mark told me. I've had it for months, I just... Really important parts of our relationship have been rushed or out of order, or whatever. And I wanted this to be perfect. Just this one thing. So I spent months trying to plan something out, the type of proposal you deserve. And then, I decided today was the day. I didn't go to work today. Sorry I fibbed. I spent the whole day running around, trying to put together the perfect date. Mark volunteered to take EZ for the night, and I have amazing dinner reservations and a town car and a room at the Four Seasons, and all that. And we should still use those. But..."
Arizona takes a deep breath, trying to find the right words.
"Halfway through the day I realized: that's not us. It's not. It's clichéd, and traditional, and normal, and we are so none of those. This is us. You, me, EZ. And he should be here for this, because we're a family. I realized nothing else matters except that."
She pauses again, stopping all her nervous fidgeting and saying resolutely:
"I love you so much, and I really want to marry you, Calliope. And I hope you want to marry me, too."
"Arizona," Callie whispers, overcome.
Arizona waits, holding her breath, ring outstretched. She shifts her weight to the other leg, hiking Zeq up on her hip. Her blue eyes are wide and wet, full of all of her hope and love. Zeq's fingers trace idle patterns on her collarbone through her t-shirt.
Oh god, did she just propose in a t-shirt and jeans? And, ironically, the running shoes where this ring has been hiding? While her girlfriend sits on the bottom of a slide? The weight of this not unsubstantial diamond has been weighing on her for months, and then she'd been overcome with the need to propose now halfway through picking out a bouquet of seasonal flowers. Crap. Did she forget the flowers in the car? She's doing this all wrong.
"Are you proposing?" Callie finally asks. She wants to hit herself after those words escape her lips. Of course she's proposing!
"Oh my goodness, I forgot to actually ask. Yes. Yes, Calliope, please, will you marry me?"
"Yes."
"Yes?"
"Yes. Of course, yes, moron."
Arizona beams.
"Mami, that's not nice," Zeq speaks up at Callie's affectionate insult as his moms continue to stare adoringly at each other, too scared to disturb the perfection of this moment.
Zeq's words, however, bring them back to reality, and they are both consumed with a fit of giggles. He sighs, confused and exasperated, and begins pushing gently on Arizona's shoulder.
"Can I get down?" he asks. Then he adds, for good measure: "Please, Momma."
Arizona complies, and he takes off for the swings, leaving his weird moms to do weird mom stuff.
"Help me up?" Callie then asks with a sloppy smile, extending one hand.
"Oh, wow, sorry," Arizona laughs, using her now-free right hand to pull Callie to her feet, holding tight to the ring box with her left.
Callie immediately takes Arizona's face between her hands, pulling her in for a kiss, as the creaking of the swing Zeq occupies fills her ears. She feels like she's only half in her body, half of her really enjoying kissing her fiancée. The other half is still frozen on the bottom of that slide, staring into the clear blue eyes of the love of her life, a gorgeous diamond flickering in the sun, as Arizona does her best speechifying, their beautiful son perched easily on her hip.
"You just proposed to me," Callie says, still cradling Arizona's face, their noses brushing.
"I did."
"At the playground."
Arizona laughs. "Yes."
"At the bottom of the slide."
"It was kinda perfect timing," Arizona teases softly.
"It was perfect," Callie whispers, kissing her again.
As they pull apart, Arizona brings the tiny box up between them. "Want your ring now?"
"Do I ever."
Arizona grins and removes the platinum ring from its velvet, dropping the box into her purse at their feet. She slips it onto Callie's finger, and her breath catches in her throat; it looks just as perfect as she'd imagined.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For taking so long to do this. And for not hiding the ring better."
Callie laughs. "I'll find some way to forgive you in the next forty years."
"I guess we do have awhile."
"We do," Callie marvels. "I see one flaw in your plan, though."
"What's that?"
"All the things I want to do to you right now are far better suited for a room at the Four Seasons than our son's favorite playground."
Arizona grins mischievously. "Well, you'll just have to restrain yourself. Mark doesn't get off work until five, and they are really nice reservations."
"I'll try my best," Callie grins, leaning in for another kiss.
Running footfalls on the rubber play surface break them apart.
"I gotta pee."
This sends Zeq's mothers into another giggle fit, much to his continued frustration.
"I really gotta pee."
Arizona squeezes Callie's hand and moves to intercept the awkwardly dancing boy, warm hand on his shoulder as she turns him towards the small stand of trees a few yards away from the playground.
"I'll take you, EZ. How do you feel about that tree over there?"
"Ok. We gotta hurry, Momma."
"Oh, I hear you. Come on."
Callie watches them go before returning her attention to the sparkling new addition to her hand. Holy crap, is all she can think. Arizona, all adorable and earnest, holding fast to Ezequiel. It was... perfect. So much better than wine and limos and candles. Especially if she still gets all of that tonight.
Her thumb spins the ring around her finger, memorizing its every contour, remembering how Arizona's surgeon hand shook just the tiniest bit when she slid it onto her finger. She looks up and sees the two lights of her world crossing the playground back to her, Zeq tugging Arizona along by the hand.
"Momma says it's a special day," Zeq announces when they get within earshot. "Momma thinks we should get ice cream."
Callie will never get tired of hearing Zeq's oft-repeated refrain of "Momma says this" or "Momma thinks that". The abject hero worship in his eyes gets her every time, and the way Arizona really talks to their little man, like he's a person, makes her fall in love all over again.
"Okay. Ice cream sounds good. And then, guess what?"
"What?" Zeq parrots easily, slipping his free hand into Callie's.
"You're having a sleepover with Daddy tonight."
"Really?" Zeq brightens even more at the idea.
"You are. As a special treat. You know what else?"
"What?" Zeq asks, swinging his moms' hands as he squirms and hops his way back to the cars with them, grinning widely when they swing him off the ground.
Callie meets Arizona's eyes over Ezequiel's head.
"We're getting married."
fin