A/N: Title translates to "We see well only with the heart." Also I am aware that there were no women Rhodes scholars until the 1970s, but artistic license and all that.

Cosima swept her hair back from her face, pinning the messy strands into a loose knot at the nape of her neck as she glanced absentmindedly out the window. She was still a good distance outside of Oxford, and she sighed impatiently before settling back into her seat.

She was loathe to admit it, but she was very much on edge, her mind swirling with all of the warnings and cautionary tales she had received from family members and friends. And sure, okay, maybe it was a little crazy to be travelling to a country that was supposedly on the brink of war. Maybe leaving the relative safety of the United States for the unrest and turmoil of Britain wasn't the smartest of choices, but it was a Rhodes scholarship. Those didn't exactly come along every day, especially not when you were a woman. In fact, she was fairly certain she was the only woman in the entire cohort of scholars….stupid sexism, she grumbled to herself.

It was hard enough being a woman who actually had a brain in the U.S., she could only hope that it wouldn't be too much of an insufferable boys club when she got to Oxford. But then, this was the good old 1930's, and the idea of a woman having any kind of life outside of doting on her husband and popping out babies was….well, it was frowned upon.

A slight frown tugged at the corners of Cosima's mouth as she contemplated all of the ways in which a life like that would cause her to shrivel up and die. Shaking her head to clear those thoughts, Cosima took a slow breath in and tried to re-focus on why she was sitting on a train in Britain in the first place.

I am a badass. I am the only woman in the 1939 cohort of Rhodes scholars. I have fought tooth and nail for the last 29 years to get here, and I deserve this. Nothing is going to get in my way.

Exhaling her breath, she wiggled around in the seat for a minute, trying to get comfortable. Her unsuccessful attempts at finding a position she could nap in were interrupted by the train slowing to a stop as it approached the Reading station. The train was pretty deserted to begin with, and nobody from her carriage stood up to depart. She had picked a seat at one of the ends of the car facing in towards the rest of the seats specifically so she could people watch to entertain herself, but the slim pickings had proven uninteresting.

As the train slowly pulled away after a few moments, Cosima was startled by the compartment door behind her opening. Turning to look she saw two men in military uniforms walk through, followed by a woman. Cosima felt her heart lurch in her chest and grasped the arm of her chair tightly as she suddenly took in the sight of the woman.

Unlike her apparent travelling companions, she was not in military attire. Instead, she was wearing deep maroon trousers, a bit loose at the ankles where they met a pair of black men's oxfords but then fitted closely over her hips, coming to rest snugly against the curves of a slender waist. A white chiffon dress shirt was tucked neatly into the waistband, and a black overcoat was draped over her arm. Hesitating for a split second Cosima let her eyes travel up to the woman's face and her mouth went dry. A halo of soft blonde curls framed a striking pair of almond-shaped eyes and flawless porcelain skin. The woman's lips were stained a dark red, as though she had been eating the sweet dark summer cherries that were so recently in seasons.

The woman walked past where Cosima was seated without so much as a glance, joining her companions at the far end of the carriage and immediately striking up conversation with them. As she struggled to catch her breath, Cosima inhaled a remnant of the other woman's perfume and found herself immediately committing the scent to memory. Unable to help her staring, Cosima watched the other woman laugh at something one of the men had said.

The blonde was the most fascinating balance of simultaneously masculine and feminine traits Cosima had ever seen. Beyond her gender-bending attire, her whole energy was different, somehow. There was softness and warmth, but with an undercurrent of unquestionable confidence and strength. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was an edge to the woman, a hardness, or maybe it was a sharpness...whatever it was, it was clear even across the train car that the military men were the ones accompanying her and excited about the opportunity, rather than the other way around.

Speaking of which...it was strange that anyone military would have gotten on the train headed to Oxford right now. There were no military bases in or around Oxford, as far as she knew. That had actually been one of the selling points she had used when she was trying to calm her family's fears about her moving here. She had rationalized that if war did start, she would be in a relatively removed locale that wouldn't be a prime military target, and therefore she would be relatively safe.

It wasn't that she was naive about the current political climate; she had been following what news she could get for some time now. In all honesty, even from what limited information she had, Cosima wouldn't be surprised if war did break out between Germany and Poland, and by extension France and Britain.

Hitler and Mussolini had come out with their so-called "Pact of Steel" back in April, and it had been two months of relative quiet since then. Something was likely brewing, but Cosima wasn't aware enough of international politics to figure out exactly what. All she knew was that it was June now, and if things didn't change drastically in the near future then Europe was headed to war.

That said, war was not yet a reality, which brought her back to the mystery of trio that had gotten on the train. And okay, fine, maybe some of her curiosity was actually to do with the blonde than with the men and what they could be doing out here, but was that so unjustified? Even in San Francisco it was rare for Cosima to ever see a woman so blatantly defy gender norms, and defiance of gender norms typically meant that people would also be open to defying...other cultural norms.

Her heartbeat quickened at the mere thought of the woman in the carriage entertaining the idea of anything with her. There was a magnetism about her, and Cosima just wanted. Wanted to be her friend, wanted to spend time around her, wanted to work with her, wanted anything and everything the other woman was willing to give.

Maybe if she could introduce herself, start a connection- the jolting of the train slowing to approach the Oxford platform dragged her from her thoughts, and she felt a brief moment of panic. The blonde woman was standing to leave, the two men leading the way, and Cosima felt a burst of desperation course through her as the woman turned to walk out of the carriage.

"Wait!" She called, not thinking about anything besides the fact that she couldn't just let this woman walk out of her life. The blonde paused and turned to Cosima, arching a brow questioningly.

"I, uh…" Cosima stumbled over her words. It wasn't like she could just ask the blonde out on a date, after all, at least not when they were both in public like this. "I, um, I like your pants- I mean trousers," she hastily corrected herself, wanting to smack herself in the forehead for inadvertently complimenting the other woman's underwear.

A look of amusement flitted briefly across the blonde's face and she barely pressed back a smile when she replied, "Merci." She remained guarded though, unsure of what the small brunette's motivations were. Cosima opened her mouth to try to redeem herself, but lost the words as she found herself caught in intense hazel eyes gazing at her searchingly.

"Delphine! Get lost in there?" The shout from outside caught the woman's attention, and with a last questioning glance at Cosima she stepped out onto the platform. Cosima sagged back against the side of the car.

Delphine.

Oxford wasn't exactly a large town, and now that she knew the woman's name it would only be a matter of time before they ran into each other again. She could ask around, see who knew her and whether anyone might be able to introduce them. Surely someone as jaw-droppingly gorgeous as the blonde wouldn't escape the notice of all the university students and townies.

Pushing herself off of the wall, Cosima sighed and tried to let her disappointment at not making a good first impression go. The blonde- Delphine- hadn't seemed put off by it, and Cosima smiled to herself as she began to scheme.

She couldn't take back the awkward first impression, but she could do everything in her power to make the second one memorable.

A/N: Is this worth continuing? I desperately love this pairing, and I really want to do a piece with a more empowered badass Delphine, but I also want to hear what you all think of the premise!