A/N: These are dark times for Cophine. I know this. You know this. And we are all going to need a serious amount of fluff if we're going to make it through this hiatus in one piece. This story is nearly completely written and will be posted in its entirety within a week, and I kept the angst as minimal as possible, to spare your tired little cophine-shipping hearts. So please, enjoy, and stay hopeful.
PS: this was inspired by a prompt request from user thetravelingkid, who asked for a love triangle. Ask and ye shall receive.
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"Holy fuck it's hot."
Cosima took a gasping, dramatic breath as she flopped onto her living room couch, pressing an icepack to her clammy forehead. Dressed in a crop top and shorts, her damp skin stuck uncomfortably to the faux leather material of the couch, making an unpleasant sticky-sounding noise every time she moved. "Dude, I think I'm dying."
Sarah, draped across an overstuffed armchair like a wilted flower, reached an arm over to swat Cosima's knee before letting it fall back heavily against her body. "Oi, don't say shit like that, Cos." Cosima glanced over at her best friend, whose eyes were shut as if to block out the stifling heat. The fine hairs surrounding her hairline were plastered to her forehead with sweat, a thin frown playing across her lips.
"Sorry, poor choice of words," Cosima replied gently. "But seriously it has to be like, what? 40 degrees? And the landlord can't deal with the busted AC until he's back from his cottage? Like, that has to be illegal, right? We should look it up on the tenancy board website. It's like a human rights issue."
"Mmmhmm," Sarah replied, not bothering to open her eyes as a bead of sweat trickled down her forehead. Cosima had made the same argument about 3 times that day already, but neither of them had made the move to actually get up and check her rights online. The thought of moving at all was practically out of the question.
"Well we have to do something, we can't just sit here sweating until we perish of dehydration," Cosima ventured. Sarah cracked an eye open, Cosima quickly recognizing the glint of warning in her eyes at the mention of death again, but said nothing. "I think this calls for a relocation, don't you?" Cosima asked, reaching a bare foot forward to nudge Sarah's shoulder.
Sarah gave her foot a smack, but both her eyes were open now, intrigued by the promise of cooler conditions. "And just what are you suggesting?" she sighed, sitting up straight and running her fingers through her wild mass of hair.
Cosima sat up as well, wincing as the skin of her back slowly came unglued from the couch, and dropped the already melting ice pack on the coffee table. "I'm suggesting beer," she grinned, eyes bright with excitement. "Ice. Cold. Beer. And a nice, cool restaurant with the AC turned on to full blast, so cold we're shivering."
Sarah eyed her skeptically as she scooped up Cosima's abandoned ice pack and pressed it to her neck. "Am I supposed to believe this idea has nothing to do with a certain Quebecoise waitress you've been pining for?" Cosima shot her a glare. She had first laid eyes on Delphine, a waitress at their local hangout, nearly 6 months ago, and had been steadily falling for the girl ever since. Though she had yet to do anything about it, much to Sarah's irritation.
Cosima scoffed, "Give me a little credit, would you? I have nothing but your best interests in mind here. If Delphine happens to be working, well that would just be an added bonus." She wiggled her eyebrows, "What do you say?"
Sarah's grin matched her own. "I say you're buying."
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"Are you serious?! Nothing? Not even at the bar?!" The desperation in Cosima's voice was plain, her fingers clutching at the hostess' counter so tight her knuckles were white. The hostess, clearly burned out from having to deal with over-heated, cranky customers all day heaved a poorly-supressed sigh.
"I'm sorry, miss, but all I have is the patio. Every seat inside is filled."
Cosima dropped her chin to her chest, glasses sliding down the bridge of her nose in the heat. Clearly every other person in Toronto had had the same idea. Cosima turned around to face Sarah, who was standing behind her with her arms crossed in irritation. "Screw it, Cos. Every other place on the way here was just as packed. Let's just sit in some shade on the patio. At least there might be a breeze out there, it's better than sitting in your furnace of an apartment."
Cosima had to agree, turning defeatedly back to the hostess who grabbed two menus and seated them in a shady corner table on the patio. The air was so hot and humid it felt like walking through syrup, each breath in was like trying to breathe through a damp cloth. Cosima and Sarah both slid lethargically into their seats and immediately ordered a pitcher of beer.
Sarah tilted her head back and scooped her hair up in a pile on top of her head, trying to allow the air to hit her clammy neck. Cosima, whose dreads were wrapped up in a neat bun, took a menu from the table and started to fan her friend. Sarah laughed, "That just feels like you're stood there holding a blow drier on my face!"
"Well," a soft voice interjected from over Cosima's shoulder, "perhaps you should try this instead." Cosima started, dropping the menu as a truly gorgeous woman with a truly incredible Quebec accent placed a large, foaming pitcher of beer in front of them.
"Hello Delphine," Cosima said with a wide smile, not bothering to hide her pleasure at seeing that she was working.
"Bonsoir, Cosima," Delphine answered with a wry smile. "Hello, Sarah," she added, nodding to Sarah who gave her a wave and a lop-sided grin. Cosima had chatted with the waitress so often over the past few months that their banter was warm and familiar, like that of old friends. Cosima had wasted no time in charming Delphine whenever she was given the opportunity, and Delphine seemed to give her the opportunity more often than not. Cosima already knew a good deal about her; how many siblings she had (two older brothers), her favourite movie (The Labyrinth –a true Bowie fan), even how she took her coffee (cream, no sugar.) From the moment she had first seen her, Cosima couldn't help but feel like they had a connection. That feeling of meeting someone and knowing instantly that they will be significant in your life in some way. She'd been on the verge of asking her out so many times, but the words always seemed to get caught in her throat.
Presently, Cosima's discerning eyes rapidly drank in all the details of the tall blonde as she busied herself expertly pouring two tall glasses of pale ale. Her wild, curly hair was pinned back in a low bun, a few wilted tendrils had come loose in the heat and were brushing along her exposed collarbone as she moved. Even with her eyes cast down, Cosima could see their warm hazel color, with flecks of gold that glittered in the evening sun. Cosima noted how her bottom lip was drawn under her teeth in concentration as she poured, her eyes lighting along the sweet spray of moles that dotted Delphine's face and arms.
"Cheers," Sarah's voice pulled her from her trance, and her eyes flicked to her friend who was greedily gulping at her frosty beer.
The waitress placed the second glass in front of Cosima with a smile, holding her gaze for what seemed like an eternity before Cosima managed to choke out a thank you. "My pleasure," she replied with another deep smile, a smile that seemed so genuine and pure it made Cosima's stomach clench.
"So how is your dissertation going?" Delphine asked, hooking an errant curl behind her ear, leaning a hip against the table.
"Good, good," Cosima replied. "Well, that's not true, actually. This heat makes it hard to think straight, you know? But I've made a bit of progress, at least enough to keep my advisors off my back." Delphine grinned, ducking her head. Their respective studies were a common subject of their conversations, as neither woman seemed to have many people they could talk to about their passion for science. They were both working towards PhDs in their respective fields, though Delphine was taking the summer off to save up for tuition.
"That's wonderful," Delphine answered, "you know, I'd love to read it sometime, when it's done. It might help prepare me for when I have to write my own."
Cosima brightened, "Of course! Yeah some feedback would be great, actually."
"Great," Delphine replied, her smile faltering as she saw another patron trying to catch her eye. "Sorry, I'll be back in a few minutes to take your order." Cosima's eyes followed her as she walked over to the other table, her gaze trailing up the impossibly long length of Delphine's legs that were bare save for the short black skirt she wore.
She felt Sarah give her a swift kick to the shins under the table, and managed to mostly swallow the yelp of surprise and pain it elicited. "Hey, what the hell was that for!?" she glowered, reaching down to rub a hand over her wounded shin.
Sarah snorted, "Because you were drooling over her like a goddamned ape and I was trying to keep you from embarrassin' yourself anymore than you already have."
Cosima took a deep sip of her beer, sighing as the cool liquid hit her throat. "Was it that obvious?"
Sarah rolled her eyes, "Please, Cos. Just ask her out and save me from having to stare at your starry-eyed face for another second."
"Seriously," Cosima countered, one palm raised in the air, "you think it's that easy? I just say, 'Hi, I know I drool over you like three times a week while you're trying to earn an honest living, but why don't we go out sometime?'"
Sarah shrugged, her expression a mixture of amusement and condescension, "Yeah, 'course. How d'you think Cal and I got together? I saw him, I wanted him. Simple as that, Cos. Definitely didn't take me nearly half a year to work up the courage, unlike someone." Her friend took another sip of her beer, absent mindedly wiping her sweaty forehead with the back of her hand.
Cosima huffed, "Well that's nice for you and Cal. But it's not exactly that easy in the queer world. I don't know that she's even into chicks."
Sarah downed the last of her glass and reached for the pitcher to refill. "As if that's ever stopped you before." Cosima flashed her a wicked grin. Sarah leaned forward, her voice dropping, "And if you think for a second that she's not just as interested in you, then you are really not the genius everyone says you are. You don't see anyone else's server flirting shamelessly with their customers, do you? And how is it that we are always seated in her section?"
Cosima sighed, "Sarah…"
Sarah held a palm up, and leaned back in her chair with a sigh. "Look, Cosima. I know you got burned bad. I know Shay messed you up big time, leaving you when you were sick and that. It was a shite thing to do, and she's a shite human being for doing it. But you can't let it keep you from ever trusting again, yeah? Don't let it keep you from being happy, from having the things you want. What's the point of you being healthy now if you're just gonna waste all your time with your nose pressed to your laptop screen, eh?"
Cosima, wiping the foam from her lips, scoffed noisily. "It's called finishing my dissertation, Sarah, sort of important too, you know."
Sarah lifted her glass in the air, finger pointing at Cosima accusingly. "You're using that as an excuse. Quit being such a twat and tell her that you like her. I haven't seen you look like that at a girl, in well…ever, actually."
Cosima huffed, toying with her knife and fork. "Sarah you don't get it. Delphine is like, ethereally beautiful, crazy smart, and adorable in every conceivable way. She is a goddess, and a commoner such as myself can't just go blurting my feelings at her like that, she'd think I was insane," she scoffed. "I will move at my own pace on this, okay? Now can we drop it?"
"Sure," Sarah replied a little too casually. Cosima's eyes flew up and saw that Sarah's were glittering with malicious glee. She groaned internally as she turned her head and saw that the woman she had just been gushing about was standing just behind her, with an expression of amusement and surprise on her face that told Cosima she had most likely heard absolutely everything that was just said.
Delphine cleared her throat and stepped closer to the table, now standing in between them. "Uh, if you two are ready to order…?"
"Yeah, love, I'll have a cheeseburger, and Cosima here will have an order of fish tacos," Sarah replied, her eyes brimming with tears of mirth.
It was Cosima's turn to kick her under the table, as she quickly interjected "Uh, actually I'll just have the house salad please." Cosima could feel her face burning in humiliation and prayed that this woman attributed her flushed cheeks to the heat.
Delphine ducked her head, her pencil flying across her note pad. "Anything else?" she asked, her gaze fixed solely on Cosima. Cosima's heart stopped. The look in the blonde's eyes was almost expectant, hopeful, the way she phrased the words seemed heavy with ambiguity.
Cosima's eyes widened, unsure if she was imagining the interest she saw in the waitress's eyes. "Uhh…" she faltered.
Sarah piped in, "That depends, you know anywhere that has working AC?"
Delphine's face broke into a smile, her gaze turning to focus on Sarah. "Yes, actually. My roommate and I are having a party tonight after my shift, our air conditioning is working just fine. And we have a pool, too. You are both welcome to come, if you like. And feel free to bring some friends."
"Wh-Seriously?" Cosima blurted, unable to believe that this incredible creature had seriously just asked them to come to a party.
Delphine raised her eyebrows, turning back to Cosima. "Yes, seriously. Does that surprise you?"
Cosima let out a nervous chuckle, her heart beating wildly. "No! No, not at all. It's just extremely well timed, since my AC is busted."
Delphine smiled, the expression on her face unreadable to Cosima, "Must be fate. Besides, my roommate made me promise I'd bring home some young, good-looking friends for his party, but so far no one from work is available. And if you could not tell," she lowered her voice, gesturing at the crowded restaurant behind her, "you two are the only ones that I've seen today that fit that description." Cosima smiled at that, her eyes flicking to Sarah briefly, who was watching the exchange with rapt attention. "Anyway," the blonde woman continued, "if you're interested, I'm off in an hour. Just let me know." She lifted the notebook in her hand, tucking her pencil daintily behind her ear, "I'll just go put your orders in."
As Delphine made to walk away, Cosima impulsively reached a hand out, wrapping her fingers gently around the blonde's wrist. "Delphine?" she said quickly, the name feeling electric on her tongue. Delphine stopped in her tracks, lips slightly parted in surprise as she looked from the fingers encircling her wrist to Cosima's warm and earnest eyes. "We'll be there."
Delphine's face broke into a grin that to Cosima radiated a heat warmer than even the scorching sun. "Perfect. My shift finishes at 9:00, meet me out front? We can walk from here."
"Definitely," Cosima nodded.
Delphine flashed her a parting smile and turned again, headed for the kitchen.
Cosima turned back to Sarah, whose face fixed in a smug grin.
"What can I say? This heat makes people do crazy things."
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Let me know what you thought! Thanks for reading!