Callie didn't think she had ever been so happy to be back at school in her life. And that was saying something, because after she'd started living with Addison in undergrad, going back to school was one of the things she looked forward to for the majority of the summer.

But this felt the best that it ever had.

For a multitude of reasons. She reverently stroked her hand over the hood of her freshly washed, detailed, and – most importantly – restored thunderbird. First of all, she'd just gotten back from picking up her baby, which had been properly looked after and fixed in the two and a half months she'd been away.

With a happy sigh and a slight grin, she made her way back into the apartment, her eyes flickering briefly to the closed apartment door to the right of her own. Arizona's apartment.

Her grin only got a little bigger when she made her way into her living room, the door slamming shut behind her. Of course the house that she'd grown up in in Miami and the summer house in Santa Barbara were opulent and imposing and beautiful; they were familiar in a way that she didn't know if anything else would be, given that those were her childhood homes.

But this? This little apartment that smelled slightly like weed – except for in her room – because of Elise, with its cramped together living room and adjoining kitchen that was always immaculate and pristine – also because of Elise, not that she herself was messy – and it's one small-ish bathroom that she shared with Elise, even though before college she'd never shared a bathroom in her life… this was home now, to her.

And it was all exactly the way she'd left it.

Including her roommate, who was sitting at one of the stools at the kitchen counter, picking at leftover pizza as she walked by, "Get your car back?"

Callie could hear the teasing tone in her friend's voice, and she just rolled her eyes, "Is there any other reason I would be smiling?"

Elise's green eyes narrowed as she smirked, "I could think of a few."

Callie had spent the entire summer overstepping and ignoring her friend's innuendo, and this was no different. She lifted an eyebrow at her, and continued down the hall and into her bedroom, where her bags were still packed from when she'd gotten home earlier and had ran out to go pick up her car.

She knew Elise had followed her even before hearing her roommate lean against her doorway and clear her throat, "So… is Arizona back yet?" the suggestive tone in her voice was the same one she'd been using for the last few months about their blonde neighbor.

Her cheeks flushed, which made her glad for the fact that she had her back to her roommate, and she kept her voice level as she shrugged, "How would I know? You're the one who picked me up from the airport. It's not like I was traveling with her again."

Which, sadly, was true.

Elise had picked her up from the airport earlier, after Callie had spent a horrifying nine hours on a flight home from Paris, where she'd been with her parents, sister, and brother-in-law for the past week.

Which meant that the tentative plans she and Arizona had been thinking about making for the two of them to complete their drive back to school together were completely destroyed.

"Well, I know that, but… I just figured you would know when she was coming back. You two seemed pretty close and all…" she trailed off, and Callie could hear that her friend sounded a bit disheartened.

It took a lot of work for Callie to hide her smirk, because the truth was, she did know when Arizona was going to be back. They'd skyped a couple of days ago, and Arizona had informed her that she would be returning to school the following day.

Which, Callie would be lying if she said she wasn't pretty excited for.

Elise took her silence as a cue to keep talking, as Callie knew she would, "I mean, you two seemed pretty cool this summer, right?" her inquisitive, yet knowing tone negated the fact that she posed her statement as a question, "You said you became friends at the end of your trip!"

Callie turned to face her, mostly because she wanted to see the look of righteous indignation on Elise's face as she nearly shouted from frustration, and schooled her features to maintain a serious face.

So she stuck with quirking her eyebrow slightly, "We did become friends. But that doesn't mean we kept in contact for the whole summer."

Maybe lying to Elise about this was a little mean. After all, her friend had been the one to arrange it all. But every time she brought up her all-knowing smugness, it made it very easy for Callie to resist telling her that she'd been right about something happening between the two of them.

And she knew that she wasn't going to keep up this façade for long; in fact, she was planning on tipping Elise off that she had been right the whole time tomorrow, after Arizona arrived.

Not only did Callie feel like she owed the truth to her friend – because, she did recognize that without Elise pushing it along, the road trip that got everything in motion wouldn't have happened. But, she was definitely planning on continuing her relationship with Arizona, and that would be slightly difficult to do if her roommate in her slightly cramped apartment was supposed to remain in the dark.

However, pulling one over on Elise was always a great time, especially because she knew that if her roommate was in her shoes, she would do the same thing. Hell, Elise lived to scheme.

The girl in question looked somehow both crestfallen and bewildered, "You – you didn't keep in contact?"

With a subtle cough to cover up a small laugh, she shook her head, "Nope." And she turned back around to keep unpacking her bags.

For about thirty seconds, before Elise let out a frustrated groan, "I – you – Callie freaking Torres! Do you know how much work I had to put into that whole thing? How much work it took for me to convince Alex to go along with it all, including lying to blondie, all because I really thought it was for your own good? I promised to clean his apartment for him to make that trip happen! And you threw away the opportunity I practically gave to you like a beautifully wrapped gift?"

Eyes wide, Callie spun around, honestly completely surprised. She'd lived with the other woman for a year, and had only ever heard her have an actual outburst like that once before.

"Elise –" The truth was already on the verge of coming out, if not for any other reason than because it practically felt like it was escaping her on the wave of surprise.

But her roommate was already calming herself down, though her look of exasperation was still there in full swing, "Look. All I'm saying is that you two would make a freaking cute couple. Get with it, Torres."

She whirled around on her heel, and closed Callie's door behind her with a sharp snap, like she was the parent who was punishing her child, Callie, and leaving her in her room to "think about what she did."

And after a few seconds of staring wide-eyed at the door, Callie couldn't help but chuckle as she thought about the reaction Elise was going to have when she was told that her master plan actually had come together.

In all truthfulness, the summer overall had been one of the best ones in her life. Arizona had come up to visit her twice – both times when they would have the house to themselves, though her mother had made a surprising reappearance once – and she'd gone to see Arizona once in between the blonde's visits.

Her trip had included a very enthusiastic greeting from Arizona's mother that had almost… okay, had embarrassed her, but not as much as it had embarrassed her girlfriend. As well as a stern talking to from Arizona's father, who was a very intimidating man.

And strangely, Arizona reminded her of a nice blend of the two of them. It had been endearing, and enlightening.

Much like the rest of the summer and their time together. If Callie hadn't been guilt tripped by her mother to join her family on their European vacation, she could have enjoyed the second road trip with Arizona.

Who wouldn't be getting back to school until tomorrow, and the day after that classes would start, so things would be hectic, and they were going to have to deal with what they were going to tell people.

If they were going to tell people…

The shirt that she'd been folding fell from her hands as she jumped at the sound of knocking on her window. The sun had just set, and all that she could make out clearly through the glass was a head of blonde hair – but it was enough for her to recognize Arizona.

She could already feel herself grinning before Arizona waved at her, and then gestured at the lock on the top of the window panel. As quickly as she could, she undid the lock and threw the window open, "What are you doing here?"

Dark eyes soaked in everything she could see, from the dimpled, smiling cheeks, to those bright blue eyes that had become so familiar to her, to the small streak of dirt that she figured Arizona had gotten at some point of her travels around the back of their apartment complex.

"Here as in back at school a day early or here as in at your window?" Arizona asked with a cheeky smile that made Callie roll her eyes as she figured out how to open the screen that still separated them.

Finally, she did it and Arizona was right there, in touching distance – which hadn't happened in three weeks, and that seemed like an unbearably long amount of time, "Both."

She was nearly mesmerized by the movement of Arizona's tongue as she licked her lips before she answered, "Well, for starters, I'm at your window because I know you haven't told Elise about us yet and I didn't want to arouse suspicions, but I wanted to see my girlfriend." At that, she broke off and lifted an eyebrow at Callie.

Who was still focused on the way her body had reacted to Arizona simply saying the word arouse regardless of the context, and she took a few seconds to fully catch up to the entire statement, "Your girlfriend appreciates the effort. Would you like to come in so I can fetch her for you?"

Arizona beamed back at her, before those blue eyes that were twinkling at her rolled, "I would like to come in, and I hope that your bad manners haven't rubbed off on her."

Before Callie could even wonder how to give Arizona the two foot boost she would need to be able to climb through the window, the blonde was stepping up on something beyond Callie's gaze, and started to pull herself through the window pane. It was a lot smoother than Callie would have anticipated, though she reached out to catch Arizona's hands in hers to help steady her upon landing.

And she didn't let go even when Arizona was standing in front of her, and she reveled in the softness and the strength in the hands clasped in her own. Her thumbs stroked over the backs of Arizona's hands, which tightened against her own as Callie pulled her close enough so that their bodies brushed.

She was probably smiling like a fool down at the blonde –

You definitely are, I can feel it on your face.

Yeah, well, you wouldn't have it any other way.

– but she really couldn't bring herself to care, not when she was right here, standing so close to Arizona again for the first time in almost a month, "Hi," she whispered.

Arizona was grinning like a fool right back up to her, "Hi back, Calliope," she got out before she pushed herself up to brush her lips against Callie's.

She felt the touch, soft at first, the lightest of kisses. And her entire body shivered from the simple contact. On some level, she wondered if it was ever going to stop feeling like that, because it had been months now, but every time it felt so perfect.

Her mouth shifted enough so that she could pull Arizona's bottom lip between her own, and she lightly sucked on it, as Arizona pushed forward so that their bodies pressed firmly together, and a whimper escaped the back of her throat as she felt the warm body against her own.

Then Arizona pushed even more, so that she stumbled back and her knees hit the edge of her bed. She broke their kiss as she took in a surprised inhale as Arizona landed sprawled on top of her. But it seemed that this had all been a part of the blonde's plan, as she simply took to lying her head on Callie's shoulder and sighing lightly.

It felt kind of like Arizona was cuddling on top of her, and she found it ridiculously adorable. It was almost shocking how much she had missed moments like this that had become commonplace over the summer. But she had missed it in the last few weeks. A lot.

She lifted her eyebrow in question despite the fact that Arizona couldn't see it, "Tired, Robbins?"

"I've been driving for over twelve hours!" Arizona informed her as she lifted her head to give Callie a playful glare.

And she was unreasonably charmed, as she lifted her arms to wrap her girlfriend – her girlfriend, she couldn't believe that those words didn't even spark a panic, but rather a sense of calm fulfilment.

She loved the way Arizona lowered and turned her face into her neck and gently rubbed her nose there, nuzzling.

Before it occurred to her to ask, "Why did you drive for twelve hours? I thought you weren't going to get back until tomorrow?"

The quiet hum that Arizona let out against her neck tickled, "That was what I told you. But I wanted to surprise you and show up a day early so we could have some time together before school started."

Callie's hand wandered so that she could stroke up and down Arizona's back, "You chose to cut your trip shorter even though you could make all of the stops you want this time?" She teased.

Arizona huffed out a breath, just like she knew she would, and it made her smile, "I could have done anything I wanted, because this time I didn't have a grump on the road with me." The blonde's finger poked into her side, and it made Callie squirm.

Well, squirm as much as she could in the position she was in.

"I know, that's why I asked!" she smirked.

But rather than give back one of the playful comments that she was expecting, the blonde lifted her head, and Arizona's eyes ran over her. Callie felt her heart speed up because it felt like Arizona was seeing into her soul, as she whispered, "The stops suddenly didn't seem as fun without you there to take them with me."

Somehow, everything felt all tingly, including the area around her heart – which was happening with increasing frequency every time she even spoke to Arizona, as she brought her hand up to use her thumb to lightly swipe at the spot of dirt there.

And laying there in her bed, with her hair messy, and exhausted from driving all day, Callie was having trouble keeping the words in that wanted desperately to come out. That had honestly been trying to fight their way out for a while now.

Arizona Robbins – her perky, sometimes annoying, neighbor, that had captivated her from the very beginning – was here, in her familiar apartment, in her bed, and, "I'm glad you came back a day early," she admitted.

And was rewarded with a dimpled smile before Arizona lowered her head back to rest on her shoulder, "I wanted to have some time with you before we had to jump back into classes."

Which also meant before they would be essentially hiding their relationship from their peers. It wasn't necessarily going to be a huge secret – Elise and Alex would know – but Callie didn't know if she was ready to be out to people in general.

While Callie was sure Arizona wasn't thrilled about that, she also knew that the blonde understood. And that understanding filled her chest with that familiar warmth once again as she stroked her hand down Arizona's back so that her fingertips could brush against the warmth of her skin there, "Arizona?"

She could feel the blonde's answering hum.

And even though her heart had started to beat wildly in her chest from her nerves, she drew strength from this connection they had, and she took in a deep breath to gather her courage, "I know it's only been a few months, and that it – this might be quick." God, she was somehow both terrified and exhilarated, and she pushed through, "But – I love you. In love with you. I – I'm in love with you."

Then, everything froze. Time seemed to stop – as well as her heart – as she waited for a response. For anything.

But then she felt Arizona smile against her neck as the blonde's fingers slipped under her own shirt to stroke along her side, and it calmed her, even before Arizona murmured, "I love you, too, Calliope."

It was all that needed to be said, and they laid in her bed in a comforting contentedness for… she wasn't even sure how long, before she whispered, "Elise is going to be unbearable when I tell her."

She could feel Arizona's body shake on top of hers as she started to giggle, and Callie knew that she'd take any amount of smug comments from her roommate, and take them happily, because she was the one who had sent her along for the ride of her life.

Two years later

Callie huffed out a breath as she took the last of her suitcases that would be traveling with her across the country. Her t-bird was packed to the brim with as much as it could hold for the journey across the country.

Everything else – the majority of her possessions, in fact – was packed away in a moving van that was already being driven to California, that had departed yesterday and was going to be waiting for her upon her arrival.

Graduation had come and gone three days ago, and now the days were ticking down until she had to begin her residency in California. Okay, technically she had a few weeks before that would begin, but she had a new condo that needed to be properly prepared and settled into, and she didn't want it to feel like a rush.

She wanted to feel like she had enough time to settle in and really enjoy living with Arizona, first.

The apartment door behind her – speaking of her girlfriend – slammed open and she heard Arizona grumbling before she turned around to see the blonde heave out a breath as she dropped a box into the trunk of her Prius.

Then Arizona pretended to dust off her hands on her shorts before she reached up to close the trunk, "That's the last of it."

Their cars were parked side by side, as they usually were, outside of their apartments, and Callie moved so that she could stand next to Arizona, who turned to look up at her, big blue eyes piercing dark ones, "Calliope, you are aware that driving two cars across the country is going to make for a very disjointed road trip, right?"

Callie rolled her eyes at her girlfriend even as she reached down to take Arizona's hand in hers, "Hey, I tried to persuade you to drive with me."

She was unabashedly amused with the way Arizona stomped her foot indignantly, "You tried to tell me that I should let Alex drive my car to California because you have a cooler car!"

Callie felt a smile pull at her mouth, "Well, it's the truth."

The fact that they had been together for two years at this point didn't change the fact that at every possible opportunity, Callie mocked Arizona's Prius; though at this point, she would be lying if she said she didn't feel a slight bit of affection for the vehicle.

After all, it was the car where she and Arizona became Callie-and-Arizona. The hand holding and the scared, tentative kisses they'd shared in it, the emotional rollercoaster she'd been on during that road trip those few years ago… it had all happened in that car.

Arizona leaned in closer to bump their shoulders against one another, before she just settled in to lean against Callie – and no, those shivers at their closeness had never ceased to go away, Callie had learned.

"I knew a girl who lived in this apartment once, who wasn't very nice to me," Arizona whispered, and the sound of her voice slightly startled Callie out of her thoughts.

Callie's hand that was holding onto the blonde's tightened slightly and she murmured back, "I knew a girl who lived in this apartment once who loved you and didn't know how to deal with it."

Arizona shook back her hair, and the blonde strands caught the sunlight and reflected brightly, as she lifted her eyebrows, "What ever happened to her?"

A soft smile took over as she answered, "She realized it was a lot easier loving you than trying to fight it."

Callie dipped her head down, brushing her mouth against Arizona's in a soft, quick kiss. Something that had become so familiar to the two of them over the years, and now it felt as natural as breathing.

She couldn't believe this was all happening; she sometimes still couldn't believe everything had happened the way it did. They were already leaving Johns Hopkins, leaving Maryland for the foreseeable future. Leaving the place where it all began.

Of their own accord, her eyes flickered over Arizona's shoulder, right to the spot between their apartment doors. Where Arizona had been standing the first time Callie had seen her, the first time someone had so easily affected her so viscerally. The first time they'd ever interacted – in what she'd learned that Arizona referred to as Incident Number One.

Where it all began, but certainly not where it was ending.

I cannot believe you've managed to keep your mouth shut about that engagement ring for so long.

And I'm still going to! It's not going to make its appearance for a few months yet.

All I'm saying is that we both know she's going to say yes.

Shut up. It'll happen when I'm ready for it to happen.

Arizona's sigh that skirted along her neck broke her out of her thoughts as the blonde leaned back and gave her hand one last squeeze before she disconnected them, "Are you ready to go? Chocolate World waits for no woman," Arizona teased, the glint in blue eyes wicked.

Callie groaned. Arizona had been insistent that they at least do that stop all over again because Callie had "ruined it for her" the first time and "didn't she want to make it up to her loving girlfriend?"

The thing was that she did want to make it up to her loving girlfriend for ruining that first stop years ago.

So she sighed, and didn't even bother to bite back a smile, "Fine, fine. You lead, and I'll follow," her smile slid into its familiar smirk, "After all. I'm just along for the ride."

Please let me know what you think! Thank you so much to everyone who told me their thoughts throughout the story, and in general, thank you for reading! The journey has been a fun one.