"Alright, I think we got everything," Farron said much too soon, comparing their full shopping basket with their list. "Was there anything else you were looking for?"

"Uh..." Cora racked her memory for something, anything, to use. "Bread."

Farron turned to her, brows furrowed. "Bread?"

Cora's nod was confident, but her mental groaning said otherwise. "Yeah. Not like a breadwinner rematch, or anything. Like...pastry stuff. There was a bakery my...I used to go to. I was thinking..." She tried to recall how much cash she had left. "Maybe I could treat you to something."

While it was Cora's haphazard attempt to stall, her improvisation brought up a good point. Farron had spent a lot of time and money on Cora over the past couple weeks, and Cora hadn't done much in return. Getting something for Farron was the least she could do.

Farron tilted their head, their eyes still narrowed. "Are you sure? You don't have to."

But Cora was already nodding, now more confidently than before. "Absolutely. I love their dan tat—but you can get whatever you want, of course."

After a few more silent seconds of worrying they wouldn't agree, Farron smiled. "Okay then. If you insist."

Cora beamed—then, when Farron left to pay, began scrambling through her phone to look up the bakery's address. While she knew what it looked like, it had been ages since she last visited, and she had to be standing in the general vicinity to recognize it. For all she knew, the bakery she was thinking of went out of business.

Luckily, they were still open. Even better, there was only one dollar sign by their name.

But the bakery detour would only prolong the inevitable, and the pressure weighed down on Cora's shoulders with every step she and Farron took towards the store. Sure, that could have been partially attributed to the heavy shopping bags she was carrying, but Cora knew the main reason.

"Cora, wait up!" Farron called from behind her.

At the sound of Farron's breathless voice, Cora froze—then, after realizing Farron was no longer beside her, turned around.

Farron jogged up to her, grinning and seemingly unaffected by the bulging shopping bags in each of their hands. "I'm not one to turn down a good workout, but at least let me stretch first. I know you're excited, but my legs aren't..." Their smile faltered. "What's wrong?"

Cora tried to gulp, but her mouth was dry. "N-nothing."

"It's not nothing if it's bothering you like this. You've been distracted all day." They paused, studying Cora as if her eyes would reveal the answers they were looking for. "I want to be able to help you. Will you let me?"

Cora couldn't keep her eyes from widening before averting them to the ground. She had no idea what expression she was wearing, but if it was enough for Farron to notice, then she clearly wasn't hiding her nerves as well as she thought. Her internal fretting was one thing, but making Farron worry as well? That wasn't at all what Cora wanted.

With each silent second between them, the pressure built, pushing against Cora from the inside and out. She couldn't do this—she couldn't face rejection again. She hated the possibility of unnecessarily embarrassing herself. She hated being at fault for ruining something good.

But she couldn't lie to Farron. The thought of letting them down? Cora hated that even more.

"There's something I wanted to ask you," Cora said before she realized it, her gaze still fixed on the sidewalk between them. She took a deep breath. It had to be now. "Can we... Can I be your girlfriend?"

With that, Cora clamped her mouth shut, not trusting herself to keep from rambling. While the pressure around her remained, the weight on her chest slowly drifted away, as if the only thing that had kept it tethered was the admission Cora just released.

So, with her newfound freedom, Cora took another breath. Even if she was rejected, she could still be proud of herself for trying. She could still move on with her head held high.

At least, that was Cora's goal. She had no idea if her fight-or-flight response would say otherwise.

Case in point, when Farron's shopping bags shifted between them, moving to one of their hands, Cora froze in preparation for the worst. Why did Farron need a free hand to answer a question? Were they going to punch her or something? Or maybe they were going to write their answer down instead? Cora preferred that, actually. They could fold up the paper into something fun like a fortune teller or one of those jumping frogs. Would that be a weird thing to request? Probably, right?

"Cora." Farron's low, husky voice sent a shiver through Cora's nerves. "Hey."

Farron's free hand moved towards her arm, then paused, hovering an inch from her skin. Was it going to be a touch of acceptance or sympathy? Cora wasn't sure, and frankly, she didn't know if she wanted to find out.

Until Farron's hand met Cora's arm, and Cora realized the truth: it didn't matter what Farron's answer was. Whether it was acceptance or rejection, Cora just needed to know. She just needed to move forward, and that's what she was going to do.

So Cora lifted her gaze, meeting Farron's eyes—their soft, caring eyes.

Farron smiled. "I would love for you to be my girlfriend. And I'm so happy you asked."

Amidst Cora's prepared panic, it took a moment for Farron's words to sink in, then another for Cora's stiff facial muscles to relax enough to grin. "Really?"

"Really." After squeezing Cora's arm, their fingers trailed downwards, brushing over her skin until they reached Cora's hand clenching her share of bags. "As long as I can be your partner, of course."

The edges of Cora's lips strained against her cheeks when she tried to smile wider. "Of course." Then, because she must have misplaced her sense of reason when she floated away on her high, she added, "Howdy, partner."

Well, at least she hadn't tried to imitate an accent.

Farron's eyes widened, but before Cora could regret her life choices, they let out a short laugh. "Have I ever told you how much I love it when you say such random things?"

While Cora wasn't as embarrassed as she could've been, her face still warmed. Whether that was because of her unfiltered response, receiving a compliment, or the sound of Farron's laugh, Cora wasn't sure. "I don't think so."

"Well, I do." Farron squeezed Cora's hand. "So, my unbelievably adorable girlfriend, how about we celebrate with some pastries?"

Cora nodded, itching to free her own hand to hold Farron's in return. "I'd love that, my...super hot partner."

After a hurried redistribution of grocery bags, they continued hand in hand—at least until Cora's other arm began to ache from the weight of raw noodles and barbecued pork, and they had to settle for walking close enough to let their arms brush instead.

But Cora didn't mind. She was Farron's girlfriend. She was unstoppable. She was so confident that, if not for her limited budget, she would've bought every single pastry in the bakery as soon as they walked in.

Even though that wasn't possible, and that it was a reminder of Cora's subpar financial situation, Cora was fine with that. Because as Farron walked around the familiar store, their eyes lighting up at all of Cora's favorite treats from her childhood, the only thing Cora could think about was how lucky she was. She didn't care about her stack of unpaid bills at home, or her cut in hours at Cool Beans, or the warning from her landlord about a possible rent increase. At that moment, there was absolutely nothing that could dampen her spirits. Cora was ready to take on the world.

"Hey," the auntie behind the display case said, nodding at Cora. "You're the...Chun girl, yeah?"

Cora froze, and a chill buzzed over her skin. Perhaps she had spoken too soon.

"Um..." She glanced at Farron, relieved to see them still looking at the almond cookies. "Yeah. That's me."

"Wa, it's been so long!" the woman exclaimed, her voice filling the small store. "Look how big you are! So tall!"

Cora chuckled nervously. Maybe if she lowered her own volume, the woman would instinctively follow. "Thanks. Or, uh...do ze."

"You're so pretty too!" the auntie continued, ignoring Cora's social cue. "You look just like your ma."

With that one phrase, Cora felt her skin grow even colder and her chest hollow. Sure, her family had frequented the bakery in the past, but she hadn't expected the workers to remember her, much less remember whom she was related to. Evidently, she was wrong—again. She should've known the aunties of Chinatown would never forget.

"What are you doing here?" the woman asked, oblivious to Cora's worries. "They forget something?"

Cora stared at her. Her words were clear, but the implication took a moment longer to sink in. "Huh?"

"Your ba. He was just here—an hour ago, maybe. They forget something?"

Cora's mind went blank, and the auntie before her began to blur. She was supposed to say something, she knew that, but what? Even if she wanted to answer, she couldn't, not when her mouth was dry and her jaw was locked shut. As the store around her seemed to darken and waver, Cora tried to inhale, only to find her chest weighing down on her lungs.

Something brushed against her arm—Farron. "What's up?"

As soft as their voice was, it was enough to cut through the static buzzing in Cora's ears. Still, it was another question Cora didn't have the answer to—another failure to add to her list of shortcomings. And Cora was still drowning in the ones from her past.

"Aiya, that's what it was!" the auntie said, her boisterous voice muffled by the fog in Cora's mind. "They forgot your dan tat! That's what you would always get, right?"

Cora swallowed. With both the auntie and Farron's eyes on her, she had to say something—anything. "Um...yeah..."

There was a pause. No one moved. She could still feel their eyes on her. Had she said something wrong? Was her voice weird? Was she sweating in places she shouldn't be?

At last, the auntie sighed. "Eldest daughter, yeah?" Her blurry figure nodded slowly. "It's okay. I'll get you a fresh one. On me."

Cora cleared her throat. "Uh...do—" Wait, she had to deny it first. "Actually, you don't have to."

"I know I don't," the auntie said, already shuffling towards a fresh tray of egg tarts behind her. "You want a jin dui with that?"

This was not going according to plan. Was Cora really that out of practice? She had to try harder. "It's okay, auntie. Really."

"Your friend want a custard bao?"

Cora hesitated. That was actually way too much. "I'll pay for that one, at least. Do ze." She turned to Farron, her body aching from the simple movement. "Did...did you want anything else?"

After staring at Cora for a moment, Farron turned to the waiting auntie with a small smile. "I'm fine. Do ze." Then, once the auntie was busy packing their order, they looked at Cora, their brows furrowed. "You okay?"

No. Cora was far from okay. Her entire body hurt and she struggled to breathe and her mind was in a haze—but she couldn't let that show. She couldn't let her past get the better of her. Not yet. Not ever.

She forced her stiff neck to nod, and she gave Farron a strained smile. "Yeah. I'm good."

Cora knew she was a bad liar. She knew there was no way Farron would believe her, and she knew she would have to tell Farron the truth one day. But just then? In the middle of a bakery from her childhood with tears already threatening to burst from her eyes? Cora was nowhere near prepared for that conversation.

If Farron realized that, they didn't say. Instead, after watching Cora for several still seconds, they nodded, pressing their arm against Cora's before turning back to the display case.

With that, Cora could finally breathe, and her next inhale was shaky enough to rack through her whole body. She would tell them one day—she promised. But until then, she just wanted to enjoy what they had for a little while longer.