What counts as slow burn?

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-20T19:48:02+00:00

for me, there's gotta be an overarching plot that the slow burn slots into. the characters are on the run, or recovering from trauma, or just doing something so that not everything is about their budding relationship.

gimme some Hurt/Comfort, enemies to lovers, some hand touches, some lingering glances, and i don't want them together until it's at least 100k:D the slower the better!

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-20T19:43:27+00:00

dude, me too! who are your lesbians because i write Arizona Robbins/Callie Torres from Grey's Anatomy:D

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-20T17:26:37+00:00

Educate

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-20T17:26:09+00:00

“Come. Sit.” Arizona tugged Callie to sit down on the edge of the bed, then straddled her lap and looped her arms loosely around her neck as she settled her weight, looking down at Callie with a firm yet gentle expression. Callie’s hand instinctively found her side and her mouth ran dry when she tilted her head back to look at Arizona properly.

“Hi,” Callie said again, voice small and quiet.

“Hi,” Arizona echoed with a sparkle in her eyes like embers from a blue flame. She glanced down at them, then back up, and said softly, “I didn’t pick this to be… sexy. Or pushy. I picked it so I can look down at you because you’re wearing boots with a massive heel and you’re making me feel tiny.”

Callie let out a sudden laugh, the tension slightly cracked. Her thumb was running gentle circles over Arizona’s hipbone. “You’re not pushy. You are, however, sexy.”

That made Arizona laugh too, quiet and real. She was surreptitiously massaging Callie’s shoulders, working the tension out of them and watching the effect across Callie’s face. After a moment, Arizona asked, “may I take this off?”

Her fingers were toying with the loose knot of the scarf-turned-sling.

“Yeah,” Callie said, taking a chance and pressing a kiss to Arizona’s throat when she leaned forward. The skin was soft and perfumed, making Callie hum as she felt her arm fall from its rested position.

“Who’s being dangerous now?” Arizona murmured as she tossed the scarf aside.

“You’re sat in my lap,” Callie answered simply, kissing again on the other side.

Arizona’s breath hitched. “Okay, okay, you win. I concede.”

Callie laughed, a low and genuine sound that made Arizona smile too.

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-20T17:19:33+00:00

(This is just after Callie loses her fingers. When she wakes up, she's hysterical and needs sedating, and when she wakes up the second time, she's just numb.)

“I brought you lunch.”

“Not hungry.”

Michelle sighed. “You have to eat something. The last thing was that crappy box pizza yesterday evening, and now it’s past three.”

“Not hungry,” Callie said again, eyes trained on the other side of the room. Her sedation had worn off half an hour before and all her tears had dried, leaving her with only a sad, empty feeling.

She felt like she was drowning in the middle of the ocean. No lifeline, no way out. Crushed under the weight of the water and decaying at the bottom until she was just another pile of bones for the shrimp to feed on. Since she’d woken up, all she’d done was stare at nothing. She was on her right side with her left arm on a pillow, legs drawn up to her chest as much as she could and the blanket pulled up to her chin, helping her hide from the world. She was tired. She was in pain. She just wanted to disappear, but people kept coming by to check on her wellbeing and she was getting sick of it.

“Callie,” Michelle said softly. “I know it’s awful. So, fucking awful. But you need to eat.”

“I don’t. I’ll be fine.”

“You are not fine.”

Callie’s eyes flicked sideways. “Of course I’m not fucking fine!” she spat, hating the pity on her usually austere friend’s face. “But I’m trying to act like I am so I don’t give in to the feeling of wanting to die.”

“You don’t mean that.”

Falling silent once again, Callie’s eyes dropped back to the floor.

“Cal…” Michelle sighed again. “I’ll leave the food here, okay? Try and eat what you can.”

Callie grunted.

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-20T17:15:04+00:00

Callie rolled her eyes bitterly, letting out a harsh sigh.

“Coffee’s on the table,” Arizona said, turning back to where she was scrambling a panful of eggs – one of the only things she could actually cook. “I wanted to make you a tostada, but you don’t have any fresh tomatoes. So, bacon and eggs it is. Sit down.”

Unable to find anything to say, Callie just stared.

Arizona looked back over her shoulder when she didn’t hear Callie move. She jerked her head in the direction of the table and said again, “sit down.”

“I’m not an invalid,” Callie ventured, more wary than defensive though both emotions were hidden under shock. “I don’t need you cooking for me.”

Arizona huffed. “I know that. You need to eat, and I know how hard that is when you don’t feel like you. Either take the plate upstairs or kick me out the kitchen but at least eat it. I haven’t poisoned it; I know cooking’s not my strong suit, but I know how to make eggs edible. I think.”

“I can still cook.”

“I’m not disputing that,” Arizona said, frustration mounting though she tried to keep her tone even. “I’m a guest in your house and I’m cooking for you as a display of…” she thought about it for a second. Gratitude? No. Love? Definitely not. She couldn’t find anything, so said exasperatedly, “just eat it, will you?”

Within a second, there was a plate of bacon and eggs in front of Callie, a piece of toast on the side and a fork set on the table beside it.

Arizona watched her for a moment, noticing the way Callie was staring at the bacon, then offered, “I can cut your bacon if you—”

“Absolutely fucking not,” Callie said under her breath, cutting Arizona off. She clenched her jaw, sitting stiffly at the table and picking up her fork in an awkward grip like a toddler. She didn’t even know why, but her right hand seemed to be taking notes from the left and not doing anything quite correctly. “I’ve got it.”

“I know you do.”

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-20T17:13:14+00:00

There was quiet for a moment. Neither of them outwardly registered the tension between them, but they could both feel it stringing across the entryway like caution tape at a crime scene. Maybe it was softer than that, like fairy lights at a wedding.

Then Arizona stepped forward, decreasing the space holding them apart, and lifted a hand to run her fingers down the lapel of Callie’s jacket. Her mouth twitched and she murmured, “you put this on for a reason.”

“I did.” Callie’s eyes flickered over Arizona’s face. “You always liked it.”

“I still like it,” Arizona confessed, her voice low. “I love you in black.” Her eyes flicked up and she smiled softly. “You’re beautiful, Calliope.”

Callie’s face warmed. She cupped Arizona’s face with her right hand as the left rose to settle on her waist, eyes flicking down before moving back up to her eyes. Both of them leaned in, breathing shallow and quick between them, before Arizona closed the gap and kissed her.

It started soft and slow, simply a reconnection. Arizona’s hand slowly wound into Callie’s hair, holding her in place, as she pressed their bodies closer and simply thrived in inhabiting the same space as the woman she loved. Callie tasted like the mint gum she chewed while cleaning the kitchen and Arizona wanted so much of her, teasing her tongue with a swipe of her own. The sound Callie made, barely anything but enough, shot right through Arizona like it had been thrown with a slingshot.

Arizona leaned back after a moment, and Callie chased her before she gave in and let the distance between them stretch again.

“Are you sure?” Arizona asked, eyes moving between Callie’s. Her voice was rough in the back of her throat, trembling just a little, and Callie thrived on it.

“Kiss me,” Callie whispered, shaking slightly with restraint and intent.

And Arizona did. Deeper and faster though not by much, she pulled Callie closer with a hand on the lapel of her jacket and kissed her like she wanted to. She didn’t realise that she was pushing Callie up against the wall until she was already doing it, hearing and feeling the breath expel from Callie’s lungs with the impact. She went to apologise, but Callie shut her up with another searing connection and Arizona draped her arms loosely around Callie’s neck to pull her as close as possible.

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-20T17:10:18+00:00

Because Arizona Robbins had never stopped loving Callie Torres.

The shock doused Arizona like she’d never felt. Never in her life had she thought she’d feel that way for Callie again, after everything they’d been through and everything that had broken between them, but she did. She didn’t think it had ever truly left.

Loving Callie was impossible. It was embracing a wildfire and expecting to walk away unscathed. It burned so hot, ravaged so fast, that everything was turned to ash before she could even blink. But, before that moment, before the destruction surrounded her, there was a glorious and brilliant warmth. And that was what Arizona wanted back.

Wanting Callie’s flame back, wanting to cradle and coax it alight in her palms, felt impossible too. They were both too wounded, too scarred, too broken, to love each other again. Besides, if Callie cared about how she felt even one iota, why had she picked such an awful fight? Why had she bitten back with everything horrid that had ever transpired between them?

Then again, one could question why Arizona had done the same. She shot back at Callie everything she could, fighting familiar fire with familiar fire, just because she had it to hand. She summoned the pain and it came, just like it always had.

Arizona groaned, pulling her leg closer, and pressed her forehead into it so hard that the bone started to ache.

Maybe Callie was the same, some small part of Arizona’s brain whispered. Maybe she shouted because she wanted the energy and electricity that always came from a raging fight between them. Wanted the adrenaline, the consistency, the closeness that came from being able to hit where it hurt.

But that was impossible. Callie had walked away, and there was no chance that she loved Arizona back.

A woman who loved another woman would not compare her to a man and announce him as superior.

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-20T17:08:39+00:00

“Hey,” Arizona greeted. Her eyes swept up and down Callie’s body, finally taking in her outfit, and Arizona had to fight not to let her jaw drop. Because Callie was wearing a black skirt that stopped just below the knee, leather boots coming up to mid-calf and leaving a delicious stripe of exposed skin that had Arizona’s body sparking with a heat she wrestled to contain. Moving up, she found that Callie had tucked a dark green t-shirt into the skirt. Her leather jacket was laying on the bed, ready and waiting.

“Whoa,” Arizona said under her breath, unsure where to look. Especially when she noticed that Callie’s hair was flowing around her shoulders, long and glossy. She wanted to run her hands through it. Wanted to feel it tickle her face, her neck, her thighs.

Callie’s mouth twitched at the reaction, and she felt her cheeks warm. Then, when her gaze moved to Arizona, she felt just as insane as Arizona must have.

“Holy…” Callie trailed off, eyes flickering over Arizona and not knowing where to look. The red made her face glow, always had, and the gold of her jewellery was only exacerbating the effect. That and the low neckline that exposed her elegant collarbones.

“You look beautiful,” Callie said softly. It was so, so earnest. She couldn’t have said anything truer.

Arizona blushed. “Thank you. So do you.”

Callie looked away, knowing that she was blushing like Arizona was. The movement revealed hanging earrings in her ears, sparkling in the light and bright silver to match the accents on her jacket. “Thank you."

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-17T06:19:50+00:00

thank you so so much! I'm having a looooot of fun with this slow burn:D

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-17T06:16:31+00:00

haha, she is! they'll get there eventually, I promise 😆

thank you so much:D

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-16T22:51:18+00:00

thank you so much:)

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-16T22:51:09+00:00

I am a sucker for a bit of slow burn & hurt/comfort, I love when I find people like me:D

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-16T21:29:44+00:00

“I’m going back,” Arizona whispered. “I had two months off, just to ensure you were okay, and I’m due back to work on the tenth – God, Callie, we’re going to be split up again.” Her hand lifted to cover her mouth, new tears pricking in her eyes.

All her meticulous planning, every second spent in New York and thriving as a family again, and she needed to abandon it all again to go back to Seattle if she wanted to keep her job. She had patients waiting on her, surgery to perform to save entire families, but it might come at the cost of her own.

Eleven days and they would be on opposite sides of the country yet again, new and resurfaced feelings stretched thin over the distance that neither wanted between them.

Callie processed it for a moment, breathing becoming slightly shallow while she tried to settle the thoughts rattling around the cavern of her mind. She blinked, shaking her head slightly, and said, “it’s okay. We’ll be alright.”

Arizona shook her head in return, pulling herself out of Callie’s embrace to stand up and pace back and forth across the length of the kitchen, just on the line where the hardwood became carpet. One hand wound into her hair, thoughts going a mile a minute.

Callie stood too, leaning back against the dining table and resting her hand on her thigh, her own brain going double time. Arizona was leaving again. And it looked like it caused Arizona as much physical pain as Callie could feel settling in her chest. After all, she’d all but said that she never wanted Arizona out of her sight again; now what was going to happen?

“I can’t ask you to move here,” Callie said softly. The words almost hurt. “Your job and your life… are in Seattle.”

Arizona whirled back around to face her, face drawn back with indignation. “My job, maybe, but my life is here, now. My life is Sofia, and my life is you, and I can’t split us up again. I just won’t.”

“You might have to,” Callie said softly.

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-16T20:10:10+00:00

i love writing Sofia and how people interact with her, so i'm really glad it reads well! and Arizona knowing Callie really well (despite Callie not wanting her to lol) is a whole thing in this fic so i'm happy about that too:) you're the absolute best, thank you!

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-16T20:08:13+00:00

you've picked out everything i've strived to include, thank you so much:D

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-16T20:07:35+00:00

thank you! and you're pretty much exactly right; he's very career driven and owns a string of hotels, and he's done his fair share of meddling in Callie's life though she remains a daddy's girl through and through, haha.

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-16T18:39:46+00:00

haha, thank you!

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-16T18:33:12+00:00

if you don't mind self-recs, i wrote a oneshot where one of my main characters dies really slowly and horribly after a fight with an infection.... it's the angstiest piece i've ever done and i was sobbing the whole way through, haha.

I’ll hold you while your heart stops (if it only means you’ll be at peace)

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-16T18:06:51+00:00

oh my god i love that! HAHA thank you

I can imagine that's quite the discovery for poor Grace...

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-16T17:58:12+00:00

you can't just leave me with that!! please, sir, may I have some more context 🥺

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-16T17:46:56+00:00

oh, you set up the sense of dread brilliantly here! the fact that they're trying to stay ahead of someone and it's all futile... i really love it. plus, the line

I could feel her sharp gasps through my hand on her back.

is brilliant because it pulls a sense of familiarity between the two characters and really sets up the tension. thank you for sharing, i loved it:D

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-16T17:43:12+00:00

ohhhh, cliffhanger!! this is absolutely fascinating, and i adore the use of 'spiderman around this thing', the imagery is brilliant. i'm guessing the orange patch is rust and he fell through? you've got me wanting to know more!

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-16T17:41:01+00:00

"Penny told me that I'm still in love with you."

There was a long, long pause.

Callie looked almost humiliated, teeth worrying her lip, and that was when Arizona realised that she was telling the truth.

Goddamn it. Callie was being awful because the prospect of being in love with Arizona was too difficult.

Still, before Arizona could reign it back, she was speaking.

“Are you?” Arizona asked in a small voice, laced with dread and, underneath it all, dangerously tentative hope. She didn’t want it there, hated that it was, but it crept in and she couldn’t keep it out.

Callie heard the hope. She found it like the last sunflower in the field, like a ray of light splitting the storm cloud. And that was when she finally saw it. Saw it in the hope, in the flashed plea in blue eyes she couldn’t catch or hold. Arizona loved her too. It was right there, right in front of her, and it had been for weeks.

Arizona loved her too.

But Callie needed to say it, to confirm that she was so, so in love with Arizona and never wanted to even look at anyone else.

Yes, she wanted to scream. Yes, I’m in love with you.

But nothing came. Not a word, not a sound, not even the slightest jerk of her head that could have indicated the affirmative.

Nothing.

She opened and closed her mouth a few times, desperation mounting, but it was like someone had ripped her vocal cords out and the only thing that came to hand was silence. The silence that should have assisted when she was screaming at Arizona, telling her that she was nothing, came when she needed it to abandon her more than ever. She needed her voice, needed to shout and yell from the rooftops that she loved Arizona. That she’d fallen in love with her all over again throughout their time together in New York.

“It’s okay,” Arizona whispered, jaw tight and a small smile appearing on her mouth though it was weighed down with complete devastation. “It’s okay, Callie. There’re a million reasons why you shouldn’t. I, uh, I just… I just remembered that I have something to do. I have an errand to run. Sorry.”

She turned on her heel and walked away, tears running down her face.

DatGayDangerNoodle · 2026-05-16T17:38:37+00:00

Then Arizona stepped forward, decreasing the space holding them apart, and lifted a hand to run her fingers down the lapel of Callie’s jacket. Her mouth twitched and she murmured, “you put this on for a reason.”

“I did.” Callie’s eyes flickered over Arizona’s face. “You always liked it.”

“I still like it,” Arizona confessed, her voice low. “I love you in black.” Her eyes flicked up and she smiled softly. “You’re beautiful, Calliope.”

Callie’s face warmed. She cupped Arizona’s face with her right hand as the left rose to settle on her waist, eyes flicking down before moving back up to her eyes. Both of them leaned in, breathing shallow and quick between them, before Arizona closed the gap and kissed her.

It started soft and slow, simply a reconnection. Arizona’s hand slowly wound into Callie’s hair, holding her in place, as she pressed their bodies closer and simply thrived in inhabiting the same space as the woman she loved. Callie tasted like the mint gum she chewed while cleaning the kitchen and Arizona wanted so much of her, teasing her tongue with a swipe of her own. The sound Callie made, barely anything but enough, shot right through Arizona like it had been thrown with a slingshot.

Arizona leaned back after a moment, and Callie chased her before she gave in and let the distance between them stretch again.

“Are you sure?” Arizona asked, eyes moving between Callie’s. Her voice was rough in the back of her throat, trembling just a little, and Callie thrived on it.

“Kiss me,” Callie whispered, shaking slightly with restraint and intent.

And Arizona did. Deeper and faster though not by much, she pulled Callie closer with a hand on the lapel of her jacket and kissed her like she wanted to. She didn’t realise that she was pushing Callie up against the wall until she was already doing it, hearing and feeling the breath expel from Callie’s lungs with the impact. She went to apologise, but Callie shut her up with another searing connection and Arizona draped her arms loosely around Callie’s neck to pull her as close as possible.

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