Food Courting

Chapter 21: Save the Date

It was "tea" minus one to Operation First First Date, and Cora was freaking out. She had at least kept her cool over the last week—well, for the most part. Sure, she may have burned herself a bit when she made eye contact with Farron over the espresso machine, and maybe she tripped over the non-slip mat when Kevin asked what she was doing on her day off, but whatever. She was totally cool. Cool beans.

"Let me see your hand," Farron said during lunch.

Cora froze in mid-chew of the noodles Farron made. "Hm?"

"Your hand." Farron held out their own hand, then a small white and blue packet in the other. "It looked like you burned yourself on the espresso machine, and after what I've heard from Kevin about the working conditions there, I don't expect Cool Beans to have a stocked first aid kit."

"Oh." Cora wasn't sure if they even had an empty first aid kit. "Um...thanks."

When Farron's warm fingers wrapped around Cora's hand, Cora had to remind herself how to breathe—then, she had to remind herself to not inhale the noodles that were still in her mouth. To keep herself busy, she finished chewing her food.

"That doesn't look too bad, but it's probably best if you get some burn gel on that, at least so it doesn't itch as much." They pointed the packet they were holding at the small patch of pink skin on the back of Cora's hand. "May I?"

Cora hummed a vague affirmation, nodded in case that wasn't clear, then belatedly closed her mouth that had opened at some point.

Farron grinned, and when they released Cora's hand to open the packet of medicine, Cora had to resist seizing Farron's hand herself. There were ways Farron could open the medicine with one hand—for instance, with their teeth. It would be impractical, sure, but imagining their toned arm with their beautiful dragon tattoo flexing just to help Cora—

"Cora?" Farron asked. "You okay?"

Cora jumped, quickly wiping away the smile that had snuck onto her face. "Yeah! Yeah. Totally cool. I'm just... I'm excited about tomorrow, I guess."

Farron's grin widened just before they lowered their head to apply the medicine to Cora's hand. "Me too. I need you to do something for me, though."

Cora was already nodding. "Yeah, sure. I mean, maybe. Probably."

Farron waited until they secured a bandage on Cora's hand before turning back to her. "Try not to get hurt anymore before then. Okay?"

"That's going to be tough," Cora said, then shrugged. "But I'll try. As long as you do the same."

Farron chuckled, and they squeezed Cora's hand before returning to their own lunch. "I'll do my best."

***

It was Operation First First Date, and Cora was...everything. She was nervous about screwing up, excited about spending time with Farron, and everything in between. While she didn't know exactly what Farron had in store for their day ahead, Cora was looking forward to it, more than she had for anything in the last few years.

Maybe that's why she arrived at the park half an hour early with a backpack full of supplies she wasn't sure would be needed.

"Cora!" a familiar husky voice called from behind her.

Cora turned, then began to scream in her head.

At first glance, Farron's outfit was similar to how it always was before and after their Fruitastic shifts: a black, fitted top and black, baggy pants. The biggest difference was that their shirt was a tight tube top, showing even more of their toned arms and broad shoulders than normal. And even though their pants were their typical waist-high height, their short shirt managed to show a bit of their midriff with their very defined abs...