Cora hadn't expected to fall asleep on Farron's couch, but given the day she had, she wasn't surprised. What did surprise her was that Farron was asleep right next to her. Yes, on the same couch. Yes, it was a tight fit. And yes, of course Cora was the little spoon.

After Cora's initial shock wore off, she took the chance to enjoy the peace. With the comfort of Farron pressed against her back, the reassurance of Farron's arms wrapped around her, and the soothing rhythm of Farron's soft breaths, Cora was tempted to go back to sleep...

An obnoxious beeping alarm startled her awake again, and she huffed while she tried to reach for her phone on the coffee table without leaving Farron's embrace. Her fingertips didn't even get close, but Cora wasn't about to give up.

When Farron hummed in Cora's ear a few seconds later, Cora had one of her legs extended towards the table, trying to grab her phone between her toes.

"Do you need help?" Farron murmured, sending a gust of warm air tingling over Cora's skin.

Cora had to pause her acrobatics while she restrained her shudder, then returned to her mission reinvigorated. "I got it."

"I have to get up anyway."

"One second..."

While one second ended up being ten, Cora finally managed to retrieve and turn off her ringing phone, and she beamed at Farron over her shoulder.

"See?" she said, waving the device. "I knew I could do it."

Farron chuckled, a low rumble that reverberated through Cora's back, before gently kissing her neck. "Well done. How about I make pancakes to celebrate?"

If there was an inconvenient time for Cora to discover she had a thing for neck kisses, it was that moment.

"Uh...yeah," Cora breathed, hoping Farron couldn't feel her racing heart. "Pan...sounds good." Oh great, she lost a syllable. "I mean cakes. Cakes in pans. Pans in cakes?" Close enough. "Yeah, that. That's good."

Farron didn't respond right away, but before Cora could panic even more, Farron chuckled, her warm breath tickling Cora's skin once more.

"Any other requests?" Farron said, her nose brushing a line up Cora's neck. "Besides pans in cakes?"

Cora inhaled sharply. Apparently, it wasn't just neck kisses that got her worked up, and when she tried to hum in thought, it sounded more like a car's squeaky brakes. "I'm good."

She was not good at all. It didn't help that Farron chuckled again, then pressed another kiss to Cora's neck before climbing over her legs to get to the kitchen. While the clatter of pans echoed throughout the apartment, Cora could barely hear them over the sound of her pounding pulse.

The need to return Farron's hospitality was the only reason Cora hurried to the kitchen as quickly as she did. Luckily, mixing pancake batter was a great way to relieve her pent-up...feelings. Unluckily, Farron's small kitchen forced them to brush against each other one too many times.

"You sure you're okay?" Farron asked as she stood by the stove, watching the batter on the pan bubble and brown at the edges.

Cora, whose gaze had been zoned out on Farron's hands, quickly shifted her attention to the stove as she went back to stirring the remaining batter. "Yeah! Totally fine. Completely normal."

Shoot, people who were normal didn't actually say they were normal, did they?

"I mean, it's fine if you're not. Are you thinking about yesterday? Or," Farron flipped the pancake in one smooth motion, then looked up at Cora through her eyelashes, "something else?"

"Something else!" Cora blurted out, her mind first associating "yesterday" with how they curled up on the couch together to watch a movie.

Only after a few seconds did Cora remember the events leading up to that point: Farron's emergency phone call, the freezers at Fruitastic breaking, Cora's dash around the food court, Darlene's screaming, her parents' disappointed stares... But the recollection didn't weigh Cora down like she thought it would. While there was still an ache in her chest that grieved the loss of the life she had, Cora could endure it. She could keep moving forward.

"Yesterday...was rough," Cora said, letting herself embrace that ache in her chest, just to see if it would overwhelm her. It didn't. "But I got through it—thanks to you. It still hurts a little, I'm not going to lie, but...I think I can keep going. I hope I can, at least."

Farron smiled. "Of course you can. You're stronger than you realize. And even if you need help from time to time, I meant what I said: I'll be there."

The ache in Cora's chest turned light with a flutter, and Cora stepped towards Farron before she realized it. Judging by Farron's widening eyes, she was just as surprised as Cora was, but Cora wasn't going to turn back now. She didn't want to turn back. She only wanted to push forward.

"Can I...kiss you?" Cora asked, her voice steadier than she felt. "For real?"

For a moment, Farron's lips—her soft, warm lips—parted ever so slightly before she smiled. "Yeah."

Cora paused. Okay, now what?

"I...I don't know what I'm doing," Cora muttered, watching Farron carefully. A part of her felt she should be embarrassed for asking such a question. The rest of her knew she didn't have to be ashamed of anything.

As expected, Farron's smile widened. "That's okay. Just do what feels right."

So with a deep breath and a slow nod, Cora did. She took another step forward, closing the distance between them, but it still didn't feel like enough. Enough would be like how they were curled together on the couch throughout the night, soaking in each other's comfort—and Cora wanted that once more.

Her hands moved towards Farron's waist, hesitating once before she just decided to go for it. She ended up planting her palms a little more firmly than she planned, and her intended gentle caress was more like a rough smack, but she brushed it off, determined to keep her focus. When she guided Farron closer, Farron followed her lead, only turning away from Cora's gaze once to turn off the stove.

Right, minimize fire hazards. That was good. Safety first.

But the small distraction was unexpected, and for a moment, Cora worried she was going to lose her nerve. Now that she thought of it, their height difference was a little much, wasn't it? Farron was nearly a foot shorter, and her eyes were smack dab in the middle of Cora's boo—chest. Did Farron's neck hurt just from looking up at Cora? Was she uncomfortable because of how long this was taking? Should Cora stop?

Before Cora's frantic thoughts could derail completely, her fingers fidgeted against Farron's waist, and as soon as her skin brushed the small sliver of midriff, Cora let her inhibitions out with a long exhale. There was no need to panic. Everything was fine. And she wanted more.

So she found it, lifting one of her hands and brushing the back of Farron's neck. Cora wasn't sure if Farron enjoyed the touch as much as Cora would, but from the way her breath hitched, it seemed that Farron didn't dislike it. When Farron's hands found their way onto Cora's hips, Cora's own breathing stuttered, and her hold on Farron's waist jumped to her back before pulling their bodies against each other.

For a few seconds, neither of them moved, only exchanging soft breaths and steady gazes. All Cora could see was Farron. All she could feel was Farron. All she could smell were warm pancakes, but at least that was better than burnt ones. With their bodies pressed together, Cora couldn't tell if the rhythm rushing through her body was her own pulse or Farron's. For all she knew, maybe they were one and the same.

Maybe that was their natural state: together. It did feel right. And hadn't Farron said to do what felt right? With that in mind, Cora leaned closer to Farron beat by beat, her eyes closing breath by breath.

As soon as Cora felt Farron's lips against her own, a wave of relief washed over her—she had worried she closed her eyes too soon and missed her target by a mile. But once her nerves passed, all Cora could think about was the warmth radiating from their kiss, and how Farron's lips could be so passionate and gentle at the same time. When their lips parted for a moment before meeting each other like they had never left, Cora came to an unexpected realization: Farron was the gentle one—Cora was being the "passionate" one. Whoops.

But when Cora tried to calm herself—to not push Farron's neck as hard, to stop moving her own lips so much, to quit breathing so heavily like a creep—Farron chuckled into their kiss.

"You don't have to hold back," she whispered, her breath brushing Cora's tender lips. "Just do what feels right, remember?"

Cora still hesitated. She should've done more research about the intricacies of consent.

Farron smiled, her lips a darker pink than they were mere seconds ago. "It's okay. Really. Besides," she stood on her tiptoes to lean towards Cora's ear, "I can hold you down if I need to."

When Farron leaned back again, grinning, Cora did as she was told, bringing Farron in for another kiss. Unfortunately, part two didn't last much longer, and even with the short break, it wasn't long before Cora was breathless and lightheaded. Maybe she needed to start working out with Farron—perhaps for more than one reason.

"And you said you didn't know what you were doing," Farron said, rubbing Cora's arm as Cora leaned against the counter for support. "You're a natural—a passionate one too."

"You mean I was aggressive," Cora mumbled, still waiting for the kitchen to come into focus.

Farron hummed with nonchalance. "I didn't see it like that. Besides, I told you I could hold you down." After seeing Cora gulp at her words, she grinned, turning back to the stove. "You probably need to eat something first. Sit and have some water. I'll finish up here."

As much as Cora didn't want to part from Farron so soon, especially after their first kiss—Cora's first kiss—one more peck on her cheek was enough to send Cora back to the couch with a flushed face and a cup of water.

It seemed to take forever for Farron to join her—or perhaps Cora's sense of time was skewed when she could only focus on how Farron had felt with her lips, under her hands, against her body... By the time Farron arrived, Cora was chugging the cold water, if only to prevent herself from dumping it on her overheated head.

"Thirsty?" Farron asked, then chuckled when Cora spluttered into her drink. "Don't choke now, we haven't even had breakfast yet."

"I'm fine," Cora managed to say between coughs, accepting the plate of pancakes Farron handed her.

Farron smirked as she squeezed herself between Cora and the armrest. Augustus was sleeping in the center of the other cushions, likely in protest for having his bed occupied the entire night.

For the most part, they ate in silence, which was probably for the best. Cora was struggling as it was to simply eat and breathe, thanks to Farron's thigh and arm—her tattooed one—pressed against Cora's own. A part of her wanted to scarf down the food to get back to...where they had left off. Another part wanted to savor Farron's cooking because, holy smokes, her pancakes were delicious.

Before Cora could choose between the two, her phone rang, the noise muffled and the vibrations buzzing through the couch. Cora and Farron exchanged glances before looking down between them. The backlight of Cora's phone illuminated the crack between the cushions—and was under Farron's leg.

Cora's head snapped back up. Farron returned her wide eyes with raised brows and a mischievous smirk. Cora looked back down, not sure if she wanted to avoid touching Farron's leg or her own phone.

A second later, Farron chuckled, moving her leg away and retrieving Cora's phone herself. "As tempted as I am to see where that would lead, you should probably get this."

Even when Farron held the phone out to her, Cora needed a moment to process the situation before accepting it, taking a few breaths to compose herself, then actually reading the caller ID on the screen.

Cool Beans Corporation.

Cora was lucky she took a few extra breaths beforehand, otherwise she was sure she would've passed out. But once the initial shock wore off, panic set in, and Cora knew she couldn't delay the inevitable any longer. Either she would get fired with dignity or humiliation, and Cora knew what she preferred: ideally, neither, but that wasn't really an option. So with one more look at Farron, whose initial confusion quickly turned to an understanding nod and a reassuring hand on Cora's arm, Cora steeled herself and answered. "Hello?"

"Good morning, this is Robin from the Cool Beans Marketing Division. I'm calling for Ms. Cordelia Chun?"

Cora paused. The marketing division? What would they want with her?

"This is she," she said, her free hand gripping the soft basketball shorts she borrowed from Farron.

"Hi, Ms. Chun. Sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to let you know that our team reviewed your Beannovation, and we were wondering if you could stop by our offices to discuss it in more detail. Maybe within the next week or two?"

In the seconds that followed, Cora couldn't do anything, not when she was too busy mentally screaming as her mouth hung open in silence.

"Um...Ms. Chun?" Robin said. "Are you still there?"

"Yes!" Whoops, too loud, especially to someone on the phone. "Sorry, I mean...I would love to stop by. What time would be best?"

It didn't take long for Cora to schedule an appointment, and when the call ended, she was grinning so wide that she struggled to enunciate. But by then, it didn't matter, and no words were needed to convey her excitement to Farron.

"They like your ideas?" Farron asked, setting aside her and Cora's plates.

"Yeah!" Cora paused. She knew she could be expressive, but not to that much detail. "Wait, how'd you know?"

"Your phone is kind of loud."

That would explain why her ears were still ringing, but Cora shrugged it off in favor of basking in her joy. "Anyway, yeah! And they want me to present a more in-depth plan next week!"

"That's huge!" Farron said, her smile as wide as Cora's. "That's amazing! This could be your chance!"

Cora nodded rapidly, too excited to think of full sentences, when Farron's words slowly sunk in. This could be her chance, her chance for her abilities to be recognized, her chance for a promotion, her chance to be a manager. After eight years, she was finally ready—but maybe she had been ready all along.

With renewed confidence, Cora sat up tall and scrolled through her contacts list. When she reached the number she was looking for, she took a deep breath and called.

"Who's that?" Farron whispered, confused.

Cora grinned. "Fruitastic. I have a job interview to schedule."