The States

all we do is fake our feelings (I realized I need you here)

March 1986

Contrary to popular opinion, Cordelia and Michael can talk to each other without an instance of attempted murder. You can't raise a gaggle of states together without some collaboration.

Still, it's not often they do something like getting coffee together without one of their siblings acting as a buffer, but drastic times call for drastic measures.

"They keep trying to set me up with people," Michael complains, gesturing wildly.

Cordelia sets her hot chocolate down. "I know! Cass keeps saying that I'm 'love-starved.' She tried to get me and David to go on a date. Like. Do you know how much fun that was to explain to him? We broke up like, fifteen years ago."

Michael snorts and Cordelia glares at him.

Cordelia takes a sip of her hot chocolate, frowning when she notices the marshmallows have all melted. "Who'd they try to set you up with?"

"Nora. And then Sebastian." Michael frowns at his coffee. "Sebastian isn't even my type."

Cordelia pretends she doesn't know exactly what Michael's type of guy is so that she can give him a confused look and say: "But I thought your type was hockey players?"

Michael throws a sugar packet at her rather than dignify that with a response.

"They- probably, Cass, actually- tried to set me up with Helena. I wouldn't get in the middle of the Helena-Kit-Tyler mess, for my entire state debt. Seriously, Helena's great. But. No." Cordelia continues after a moment of silence.

"Ugh." Michael makes a face. "Why are Cass and Riley so focused on this right now?"

Cordelia sighs. "They're both so stubborn and you know that now that they've got it in their heads that we're lonely they'll never drop it."

They're both quiet.

"What if we were already dating someone?" Michael says.

"Don't know if you've noticed, but currently the only people who seem interested in dating me are frat boys, and that's not so much wanting to date me as wanting to f-"

"We could date each other. Pretend. We could pretend to date." Michael rushes to clarify as Cordelia's eyebrows shoot up. "It would get them off our backs without having to deal with a relationship, and then we could just fake a breakup."

Cordelia bites her lip as she thought it over. "And after our dramatic breakup, we could just say we weren't ready for another relationship yet and that could last us the next half-century, at least."

Michael smiles. "Exactly. So, deal?"

Cordelia grins back, reaching over to shake the hand Michael stuck out. "Deal."

April 1986

They meet during the intermission of the next state of the union meeting in one of the hallways.

Not the main one- that one would look too planned. One of the lesser-used ones, though it was obvious at least one state would come that way.

If he didn't know better, Michael would say Cordelia looked nervous. "You think this is gonna work?"

The trace of nervousness is wiped off her face as she huffs. "Absolutely."

Michael hesitates a moment longer. "Are you sure about this?"

Cordelia huffs, pushing her hair over her shoulder. "Yes." She pulls at the collar of her blouse to expose the spot where her neck and shoulder meet. "Just do it already."