So, I have a feeling fans of my other stories will be none too pleased to see me starting a new story in a totally different fandom since I have a few unfinished stories already. But I just fell in love with the Cophine pairing so much after watching Orphan Black that I was inspired. Also, music is a huge part of my writing process and helps me get in the right mindset so if anyone is interested I was listening to Tegan and Sara's "Love They Say" from their album Heartthrob. I think it sets the tone pretty nicely for the story in general. I hope you all enjoy this!


CHAPTER 1: Meet-Cute

"'Shit. Shit. Shit," Cosima panted a continuous slew of profanity as she sat on the bus, nervously checking her watch every few seconds. One would think that it was her first day on a new job but she had been working for the University of Minnesota for over two years and yet she still couldn't manage to get there on time.

Legs bouncing in impatience, Cosima knew she had been late before she even stepped on the bus. This happened almost every day and every day she told herself it wouldn't happen again. Yet, here she was. Luckily, her stop wasn't too terribly far but just far enough to make it unfeasible to walk.

'Only three more stops…,' Cosima checked her watch again, noting that she was well over 15 minutes late at this point and it'd be at least another 15 if she was lucky. Noticing that they weren't moving, she glanced up from her wrist and observed the bus driver apparently having a conversation with someone who hadn't fully stepped onto the bus. Breathing an anxious sigh, Cosima couldn't help her frustration with this person holding up an entire bus full of commuters, conveniently disregarding the fact that she had already made herself late.

'Dude, come on! Are you seriously just gonna stand there and-,' her angry thoughts were cut short when the person finally climbed the steps and came into view in the aisle.

Coherent thought seemed to have left her as she laid eyes on the stranger. Cosima had seen a lot of beautiful women but this tall, blonde was easily the most gorgeous person she had ever seen. And that was saying something.

Unabashedly, Cosima drank in this woman's appearance. She had wild, curly blonde hair that fell slightly above her shoulders and smooth, fair skin with several beauty marks. She wore a simple long, black trench coat over form-fitting pants and heeled boots which only seemed to accentuate her height.

Cosima's eyes unconsciously travelled upwards to the angelic face of the woman, only to be distracted by the expression she witnessed there. The woman seemed to be upset- almost to the point of tears-, a deep crease of worry on her forehead. A slight ache in Cosima's chest caught her off guard. Why did she care if a random woman on the bus was upset? She didn't even try to understand why she suddenly felt the need to figure out what was wrong and make it go away. Logic had always been her strong suit, so why was it failing her now?

All of this happened within the span of a mere second or two. Cosima's eyes remained transfixed as the woman clung to one of the overhead safety bars, glancing around anxiously looking for a seat. Without really giving it much thought, Cosima stood, collected her work bag, and hesitantly made her way over to the woman, steadying herself with the vertical bars as the bus began to pull forward.

The closer she got to this woman the harder it seemed to breathe, like she was climbing some mountain and the air around her was thinning as she ascended. The blonde didn't seem to notice Cosima coming towards her yet because she adjusted her purse on her shoulder and scanned the first few seats in front of her- all full, of course, during the early morning rush. As she stepped within a few feet of the woman, hazel eyes lifted to hers and Cosima was pretty sure her heart had stopped beating. They were so open and full of obvious fear, causing the ache in Cosima's chest to deepen with some unknown emotion.

"Hey...Uh, you can have my seat. I'm getting off in two stops anyway," Cosima offered with more courage than she felt, attempting to sound nonchalant and knowing she had failed miserably. To make up for it, Cosima flashed her a friendly smile to hopefully ease the woman's anxiety. It was strange… all the science in Cosima's brain couldn't explain why she felt like she needed to help this person. But it was more than that… it felt as though invisible magnets were pulling her towards her and Cosima was powerless to fight it. Not that she really wanted to...

Seemingly all nerves, the woman gave her a shaky smile back before biting her lip in thought. Cosima's eyes watched this with a shudder that she tried to conceal. She hadn't been looking at the woman's lips but now she couldn't seem to tear her gaze away, even when the woman parted them to finally speak.

"Oh, merci… mais je pense…," she began in French before pausing and closing her eyes for a moment which gave Cosima's mind just long enough to go crazy.

'Oh god. That voice. French,' Cosima couldn't seem to force her rebellious brain to focus, not after hearing the beautiful voice that seemed more like music than language. She waited with bated breath for the woman to continue, eager to hear more.

"I am sorry, I mean to say, thank you, but I think I'm supposed to get off this bus in two stops as well, but I'm not sure," Cosima couldn't decide which was more beautiful: the woman speaking in French or English. The woman's accent was thick but her English was on point, easily better than Cosima's on her best day. She couldn't help the smile that stretched across her face, despite the turbulence of butterflies that seemed to be fluttering around her stomach.

"Me too. I mean- like I'm sure I'm getting off in two stops too," Cosima fumbled in her excitement, cursing her innate awkwardness but continued, jutting her hip out as she spoke, "I could, like, help you if you're lost or whatever… I'm not, like, hella good at directions, but I'm pretty familiar with the area."

'What are you thinking!? You're already 20 minutes late for work! You don't have time to give her a freaking tour,' one side of Cosima's mind argued with her which she easily disregarded. 'Whatevs. I'm always late. Dr. Leekie won't even notice.'

"Oh, non. I could not ask that of you. I'm sure you have some place you need to go," the woman replied with a shake of her head that caused the perfect blonde curls to fly across her beautiful face for a moment before settling back in their place.

"You're not asking, I'm offering," Cosima stated matter-of-factly with a playful smile that she couldn't seem to control. There seemed to be a lot going on that she couldn't control at this precise moment, actually. Her pounding heart, her breathing, the slight fluttering in her abdomen, not to mention her big mouth, "Where're you headed?"

A wide smile, showing off the French woman's perfect teeth caused Cosima to pretty much forget everything around them. Her hazel eyes had lit up with happiness and relief and it was making breathing simply impossible at this point.

"Merci beaucoup! I'm already late to my new job, so I'm so lucky to have your help," the blonde seemed genuinely grateful for Cosima's offer which didn't help the loud pounding in her chest which she was pretty sure everyone on the bus could probably hear. Despite the almost deafening sound of blood pumping in her ears, Cosima heard her continue, "I'm supposed to start work today at the University of Minn-ee-sot-a? The Department of Biology? Do you know it?"

The French woman totally butchered 'Minnesota' but Cosima couldn't help but find it endearing. Then her brain put it together… U of M…Science.

"Holy shit! You're Dr. Cormier!" Cosima blurted, not only startling the woman in front of her, but the entire bus full of people. Cosima was so taken aback by this new information that she didn't adequately prepare for the bus's rapid deceleration at the next stop, causing her to stumble forward.

Her body instinctively tensed itself for the inevitable impact of her face on the floor but it wasn't necessary. Cosima's eyes had scrunched shut, hoping that her glasses didn't get broken so she didn't see what happened next but she certainly felt it. Her cheek landed against something soft and her body followed suit shortly after, a strong arm securing her in place.

Realizing she hadn't face-planted, Cosima cautiously opened her eyes and was met with those blonde curls. Slowly, she tilted her face back and got the full scene. She looked up at the beautiful face next to hers, her vision blurry from her glasses being knocked askew. Cosima was pressed tightly to the French woman's body, her hands pinned between them, grazing the pale skin over her collar bone. The woman stood with her left arm still clinging to the bar above her and her right was snuggly around Cosima's waist.

"Est-ce que tu vas bien? Are you all right?" the woman started in French and corrected herself quickly, concern etched in her knitted brow. Cosima was too distracted by their sudden closeness to comprehend the words coming from the woman's lips. People were shuffling past them, practically shoving to get off at their stop, probably frustrated with the two women standing in the middle of aisle but Cosima didn't care or even really notice.

The bus accelerated forward and Cosima would have probably fallen on her ass if it wasn't for the blonde continuing to hold her firmly in place. The motion of the bus moving again seemed to bring Cosima back to reality.

"Oh wow, I am s-SO sorry. Uh, I-I think we're the next stop," Cosima stuttered, practically jumping away from the woman, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. She took a moment to nervously shove her glasses back into position on the bridge of her nose.

'Dr. Cormier…' Cosima should have known. I mean how many French speaking people could there be in the Twin Cities… starting jobs at U of M… in the biology department no less. It had to be the new Director of Immunology from Paris that Dr. Leekie had been talking about last week.

"D'Accord, but are you sure you're fine?" the French woman asked, her voice an octave lower and filled with concern. Cosima braved a glance up to those eyes and was overwhelmed by the obvious worry she saw there. She attempted to compose herself, unable to deny the fact that she missed the warm contact of the woman's body. What was happening here? This was a stranger. A beautiful, French stranger, but a stranger none the less.

"No- I mean, Yes, yes, really I'm fine. Let's head to the front, Dr. Cormier," Cosima assured her with the best smile she could muster with her nerves so shot. She had tested the woman's name again just to be sure and she was not disappointed.

"How do you know my name?" The French woman questioned throwing a curious glance over her shoulder at Cosima as she walked up the aisle to the door of the bus. Once there, she stopped and turned around to face her once again.

"It's kind of a hella crazy coincidence but I'm a researcher in the Biology Department of the University too. Dr. Leekie told us you were starting today," Cosima blurted in kind of a rush, doing her best to avert eyes so she wouldn't get all weird again. Plus, she still wasn't a hundred percent sure if her heart was pounding because of almost face-planting a minute ago, anxiety about being late, or the way those hazel eyes were studying her.

Recognition flashed across her face, and an almost giddy smile spread across her features again causing Cosima to flush. Then, the French woman spoke teasingly, "C'est le destin! Then we shall both be late together, oui?"

Cosima couldn't help the toothy grin she gave her even if she wanted to. She sensed they were getting close to their stop but she was dreading the moment ending. Which was ironic considering how antsy she was to get off the bus mere moments ago. She watched as the French woman adjusted the bag on her arm, so she could outstretch her hand towards her.

"Delphine," she introduced with a warm smile and something in her eyes that Cosima couldn't quite read. The name seemed to flow off her tongue; a beautiful name for a beautiful woman. Cosima couldn't quite help the way her eyes travelled to Delphine's lips, mesmerized by the sound of her voice.

"Cosima," she replied with a grin of her own, taking Delphine's hand to shake. Instantaneously, Cosima could feel the connection. There was something here. She could feel it in the electricity that shot through her body at the supposedly friendly gesture, in the warmth that filled her chest, and especially in the way her stomach seemed to be doing flips.

"Enchanté," the French rolling off Delphine's tongue sounded so intoxicating, making Cosima lose herself in the sound momentarily once again before being able to find her own voice.

"Enchanté," she attempted to mirror the inflection and failed miserably but Delphine just smiled wider in response. Cosima released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as the bus pulled to a stop.


Delphine stepped off the public transit bus, closed her eyes, and was able to take a calming breath before the dreadlocked woman stepped up beside her. She could not even begin to identify, much less understand the emotions that were swirling through her after meeting this woman.

When she had started her morning, Delphine had been a nervous wreck anyway. The idea of starting a new job in a new country terrified her but it had been the opportunity of a lifetime. One she would not have had in Paris. The research being done by Dr. Leekie at the University of Minnesota (which she still couldn't really pronounce) in Immunology, Evolutionary Development, and Eugenics was unmatched anywhere. She had spent the better part of an hour trying to figure out what to wear and what to do with her hair when she finally gave up in the name of being on time. She had left with plenty of time, or so she had thought. But just simply couldn't find the bus stop and she almost got on the wrong bus several times. By the time she was on the right one, she was already late. There was not much that bothered her more than being late, on her first day no less!

So, she must have been a terrible sight in her flustered state when the dark haired woman got up to offer Delphine her seat. That is the only explanation for why Cosima had been so nice to her. She couldn't help but notice the way her breath hitched in her throat when her eyes met Cosima's behind those thick-rimmed glasses.

Delphine remembered how those dark eyes, with the heavy eyeliner to accentuate them, had a friendly glint as she offered her seat up. She had been so taken aback that she did not realize until half-way through her sentence that she had been speaking in French.

The woman's hair was pulled up in dozens of thin dreadlocks that must have taken a very long time to perfect. She wore a long red wool coat with a scarf, and black tights. She almost didn't notice the heeled-pumps because Delphine still seemed to tower over her. A small nose ring graced her right nostril which Delphine found intriguing; she did not know very many people in Lille or Paris with facial piercings but she felt it suited the woman well.

Delphine tried to ignore the feelings she had when Cosima had basically fallen into her arms on the bus. It had been so sudden and unexpected but instinct had allowed her to step forward and catch the woman before she fell and got hurt.

Her heart had raced; at first in fear that the dark-haired woman was going to get injured and then for other reasons. Once she was assured the woman was fine, Delphine had not been ignorant of their closeness, particularly the closeness of their faces. She could feel the other woman's soft breath on her neck and the warmth emanating from her smaller body. But the lithe fingers that somehow ended up pressed against the skin of Delphine's collar bone had almost been too much to take. When Cosima stepped away from her, Delphine couldn't deny that she had missed the warmth or not notice the dull ache in her chest.

Finding out that the woman would help her find her way had been such a relief, but then, to realize that they were working in the same department of the same university had certainly been fate. She had so many questions for this woman, but she knew now was not the time. This thought and Cosima's voice seemed to pull her back to the present almost simultaneously.

"Hey, you'll do fine," Cosima's assured her with a gentle squeeze of her upper arm, the contact, while not skin-to-skin still sent shivers through Delphine's body. Cosima must have sensed distraction and mistaken it for anxiety about starting her new job.

"Merci, Cosima," Delphine gave the smaller woman an appreciative smile, trying to mentally calm her frayed nerves.

"Did they tell you where they wanted you to go to first? The labs? The offices? Either way the Biology Department is in this direction," Cosima directed her and Delphine made a conscious effort to shorten her stride to match the shorter woman's.

"Over the phone Dr. Leekie told me to meet him at the main office," Delphine replied, attempting to focus her mind on starting her new job and not the woman beside her. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Cosima shove her bare hands into her jacket pockets to protect them against the bitter wind whipping around them. Delphine was used to cold temperatures, growing up in northern France but she still never enjoyed the biting cold of winter.

Cosima motioned with her head in the direction they were headed, "It's this brick building right up here." Delphine pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the time.

"Merde," she hissed under her breath, seeing that she was now officially over half an hour late. She could feel Cosima's eyes on her but if she heard her profanity she said nothing. Finally, they made it to the double doors of the building; the main office according to Cosima.

The shorter woman reached out and held the door open, allowing Delphine to pass through. She smiled and breathed a quick 'merci' before heading into the building.

From the outside it had looked like a dull gray building but the inside was much more modern than she expected. There was security and a front desk with a receptionist and the décor was minimal but sleek.

Cosima appeared beside her once again and led her up to the front desk, frowning at the blonde woman there.

"Well howdy stranger," the front desk woman gave Cosima a flirtatious smirk that made it blatantly obvious that they weren't strangers. Her immediate distaste for this woman surprised her but there was something about the way she was looking at the dreadlocked woman that was making Delphine's blood boil.

"Hey, Shay. Obvs I'm late, but look, it's Dr. Cormier's first day and she's supposed to be meeting Dr. Leekie first thing. Have you seen him?" Cosima said in a rush, looking mildly uncomfortable. Shay's blue eyes lifted to meet Delphine's and it was impossible to not feel the woman sizing her up. Attempting to be polite, Delphine offered her a tight-lipped smile and a small wave.

"Really, Cosima? After last week, this is how you greet me?" the woman's voice was soft but she was blatantly trying to toy with Cosima. Despite this, some reason she was mad at this woman for making Cosima feel this way and there was some other feeling that she couldn't name.

Delphine felt a little awkward being between these two women who obviously had had some kind of relationship but she was kind of in a hurry. Cosima seemed to be on the same page because she took a calming breath before speaking,

"Dude, Shay… can we not right now?"

The blonde shook her head slowly, but picked up the desk phone. Cosima turned to Delphine and mouth 'I'm sorry,' before turning back to the desk, bouncing on the balls of her feet in impatience.

"Dr. Leekie, there's a woman he-," Shay began, but Delphine watched as Cosima leaned forward and interrupted,

"Her name is Dr. Cormier." There was a definite edge to the smaller woman's voice and Delphine's heart fluttered a little. She had no idea why this woman she had just met was defending her to a coworker and… lover? That thought left a bad taste in Delphine's mouth and fire in her chest but she did her best to dampen it.

"Dr. Cormier is here to see you," Shay finished after an exaggerated roll of her eyes. She must have gotten an answer because she hung up the phone a second later.

"He'll be right down," she said matter-of-factly. Despite Delphine's unjustified feelings towards this woman she made sure to throw a 'merci' in her direction before Cosima turned to her.

"Nervous?" she asked simply, throwing a cautious gaze towards the Shay woman again.

"Oui, very much so. What is Dr. Leekie like? Will I be in trouble for being so late? Do you think I will be fired befo-," the words came pouring out of her in a worried rush but she was cut short by the dark-haired woman stepping square up in front of her and taking her by the upper arms. The chocolate eyes looked up at her and Cosima flashed her perfect smile at her. Delphine was so distracted by these things that she almost didn't catch the woman's words.

"Hey, believe it or not I was later than you on my first day," she attempted to sound serious, her accent so brashly American that Delphine couldn't help the genuine smile and the short laugh that escaped her lips. She used to think American accents were so harsh, their slang unrefined, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't like the way Cosima made it sound.

"You? I cannot imagine," Delphine teased back, and she felt a little flutter in her chest when Cosima gave up trying to be serious and a toothy grin broke out across her face.

Shyly, she averted her gaze from the dark eyes staring back at her, mostly because she couldn't handle the way they were making her feel. Things like: she secretly wished that she wasn't wearing her jacket so she could feel Cosima's hands on the bare skin of her arms. Just as she thought this, those hands gave Delphine's biceps a gentle squeeze before speaking,

"It's true...hey," the woman in front of her seemed to sense her unease and was standing on her tiptoes in an attempt to re-capture Delphine's gaze. Unconsciously, the corners of her lips had curved downwards, distracted by trying to understand where these unexpected feelings towards this stranger were coming from. Cosima must have thought her frown was all to do with anxiety about her new job because those warm eyes and her gentle words attempted to comfort her, "Everything will be fine. You are gonna do great. Trust me."

And Delphine did. She had no idea why. She tried to tell herself that it was because Cosima had helped her find her way when she was lost, but there was something else nagging at her heart that told her it could possibly be something else. Whatever it was she didn't get a chance to pick it apart right now because at that moment she heard a door open.

Cosima's hands slowly dropped from her arms and Delphine immediately missed the contact. Trying to ignore the feeling, she turned with the shorter woman towards the sound and her eyes were met with a tall man in a lab coat.

She recognized Dr. Leekie instantly from her Skype interview; a broad smile seemed to take up the better part of his face, large, perfectly straight teeth glinting off the artificial lights of the lobby. As he stepped up in front of her and Cosima, Dr. Leekie held is hand out to her with an almost too wide grin. She took his hand, trying to return the friendly gesture as he greeted,

"Bienvenue à l'Université du Minnesota, Dr. Cormier.''


Well, there is the first chapter! Let me know what you all think! If it gets a pretty positive response I'll post the next chapter in a couple days. I have a couple of chapters written out already but I kinda want to see what everyone thinks before I get in too deep! Thanks!