Several days have passed since the party, and everything has seemed normal, the same as before - emphasis on the word seemed.

If you aren't familiar with the café staff, you might not notice anything different - just some young adults bumbling around with coffees and croissants. A trained eye, however, could pick up on the differences.

Espio was behind the counter getting orders and, after their drinks were ready, placed everything on a tray Slushie could take to their table. Maximum efficiency, fast queues. Usually, the exchange of empty and full trays went without much hassle, without any contact - it's easy to just slide them along the table. After the party, however, Slushie was starting to pay attention to the way Espio was handling the trays. So much space for his hand, the entire tray, but somehow he managed to pick the spots that were closest to hers. Did he do that before? She wasn't sure. Was he doing it on purpose? No idea.

What she did know, however, was that she didn't have a good reason to back out. She didn't full on go and touch his hand - that would be too much right now - but she didn't shy away, either. She might even have started to initiate some physical contact herself, poking him to get his attention or playfully smacking him with any object she was holding. Maybe they really did break some walls at the party.

Before, if someone came into the break room, Slushie would swiftly finish her food and run away, not wanting to stay and battle the possibly awkward silence. Maybe a bit rude, but that's what social anxiety does to you.

Now, after the party, she didn't leave just as fast. It was the most apparent with Espio, since before she would try to leave before he even entered the room. Now she tried to "subtly" spend more time with him, be closer to him. She was so obvious, but maybe Espio was just as oblivious, clearly happy but not thinking much about it. The two shared some more or less small talk, be it about the day, their food, their friends, whatever they felt like.

One day, however, the topic of eye contact came up.

"Did you notice that one bird girl had different colored eyes? One pink, one blue?"

"Yes, when I took her order. It's called heterochromia, I think."

"Yeah, it's so cool. I used to draw that a lot, wished I had similar ones, heh."

"It does look interesting, separates one from the crowd", he said, earning a nod in response, but realized something.

"Wait, don't you have trouble with eye contact? How did you notice?"

"A-ah, it's a bit easier with other girls", she grinned awkwardly. "Probably a self-confidence thing, I had a bad experience back home. Anyway, looking guys in the eye is a lot harder."

Espio was about to ask her about it, maybe comfort her, but she continued without prompting.

"That made it sound worse than it was.. I'm doing a lot better than before, though."

"That's good to hear, but it clearly still affects you. Is there any way I can help?"

A simple sentence, yet somehow it almost brought tears to her eyes.

"I-i don't know...maybe? Just you being aware of the problem is helping a lot. Some people can get mad about it, call me rude or whatever."

"Could practice be of help?"

A skip of a heartbeat, then a shy laugh.

"Probably, but", she definitely wasn't looking for excuses, "just the thought of it is stressing me out. I mean, I can barely look you in the face!"

"Maybe that could be a good starting point, then? We still have a little break time left, what do you think?"

Stars, this guy was too nice, unknowingly backing Slushie into a corner she really shouldn't try to escape.

"I-it's still really nerve-racking... but I guess I should start to deal with it at some point.."

"Baby steps, there's no hurry. Would it help if I closed my eyes?"

He really was going to make her cry at this rate.

"Y-yeah, I think so. Just warn me before you open them, alright?"

"Alright."

"Okay, I guess I'll try for a bit, then."

Espio nodded and closed his eyes, placing his hands on his lap.

Slushie slowly moved her eyes upwards from the table she had been staring at for most of the conversation.

Gosh, this is awkward. I can't just stare at him like this, especially with him knowing about it! ...Can I?

Moving slowly, she took in his shoulders, the straps of his apron, his collar. She quickly skipped over his muzzle, not wanting to open that can of worms yet, and moved her eyes to the horn between his eyes. Maybe she could try to look at it the next time the need for eye contact came up. Better than avoiding looking at the guy completely.

His eyes were closed, so she knew he wasn't looking back at him, but it made her heartbeat rise in the non-crush way, stressing her out. She tried her best, took a quick look at his eyelids, but her eyes weren't cooperating any longer and she had to look away.

"I-i think that's enough for now", she stuttered, feeling drained.

Espio opened his eyes, after giving a small warning, and smiled at her. She caught it, despite looking at the fridge behind him, and smiled back.

"I knew I had a problem but I wasn't expecting it to be this difficult. I feel like I ran up seven flights of stairs."

"It proves that you worked hard. Baby steps, remember?"

"Yeah, baby steps."

Both Slushie and Espio noticed some improvement ever since just the first practice session, so the two decided to hold short sessions every day at the end of their lunch break. The others took note of their absence, though. It was rare for both of them to be away at the same time, after all.

One day, when Slushie was about to head home, Mighty and Ray approached her, and the three huddled together outside the café.

"So, things seem to be going well, huh?" Ray winked and nudged her with his elbow.

Slushie looked at him with surprise, but when he started grinning and nodding his head towards the also-leaving Espio, she connected the dots and immediately flushed crimson.

"Whaaaaaaat are you talking about?" she tried to cover her reaction and also make sure Espio wasn't within hearing range anymore.

"It's obvious ya like him", Mighty stated with a snicker.

Slushie didn't know what to say, and only hoped that Espio hadn't picked up on anything. She risked a look at both guys' faces and was met with raised eyebrows and wide grins. She had clearly lost this fight. She sighed and placed a hand on her forehead, covering her face.

"Guess I wasn't as good at hiding it as I thought", she muttered, and the two looked at each other before deadpanning at her.

"Correction, you've been pretty obvious, miss Open Book!"

"Even before tha party and 'specially after it."

She placed her other hand on her face as well, wishing she could turn invisible.

"Please don't tell him. I'm not ready", she whined from underneath her hands.

"Of course not! Just friendly teasing, no meddling, promise!"

"Don' wanna go thru what Briar and your bro did, the idiots. Bossman can get pretty scary when he wants ta."

"Ah, good, thanks..."

"..."

"..."

"...has he told you anything?"

"Sorry, we promised, no meddlin'!"

"I, um, y-yeah, that's probably for the better, heh. I'll deal with this myself."

"Don't worry, everything will turn out fine in the end!" Ray patted her shoulder, positive as ever.

"Y-yeah, no matter what happens, we'll still be friends. Thanks, Ray."

"Don't mention it, we're practically family at this point, right, Mighty?"

"Ye, pretty much. So don' worry, and go for it", Mighty said with an encouraging smile and stretched his shelled back, a sign of him starting to leave.

"Y-yeah, sure, see you tomorrow", she muttered and waved at the two, suddenly deep in thought.

Go for it?

Crushes have always come and gone but is this different?

Go for it?

That's a scary thought.

...no, not yet.

Could I? Should I?

"Oh no, you broke her", Ray whispered behind Slushie's slowly departing back.

What does he think about me?

Briar used the word 'adore', but in what sense?

Could it really be?

I'll have to keep my eyes open.

And so she did, suddenly noticing several things Espio has either done for a while or just started doing.

One day the weather was particularly bad, wind strong and rain heavy. The café had gotten more visitors than usual, several just for cover or a drink to warm up. The day had been rough and the rain didn't let up, so when Slushie finally got back home, she got a text. They hadn't technically swapped numbers, but got them from the group chat.

Espio: Did you get home alright?

Slushie: Yeah, no problems, just wet and tired.

Espio: Make sure to warm up, it's easy to get sick on days like these.

Slushie: Yeah, I'll get a warm bath going. Thanks. You ok?

Espio: I live closer to the café so no problems here.

Slushie: Ah, right. Hopefully it'll be better out tomorrow.

Espio: In any case, take care :)

Slushie: I will, you too :)

Nothing much, but enough to get Slushie all giddy again. So thoughtful! He was worried about her! Briar got giddy with her even though her texts with Silver were already drowning in heart emojis.

At some point texting 'good morning' and 'good night' became a daily occurrence, and even these short and simple conversations managed to turn Slushie into a blushing, happy mess.

Another thing Slushie started to pick up on was that Espio has been smiling more. He often had that small and polite smile, sure, but now he's started to actually smile, and as it turns out, he has dimples. Someone's had to try hard not to swoon.

All this has become more apparent since Slushie has a habit of trying to make others laugh or at least smile, quipping and making dumb puns or jokes whenever she can. Espio had only entertained her before, but now that he's started to react with a smile or even a chuckle, Slushie's been stepping up the gears.

The first time Slushie heard him properly laugh was when he caught her drawing bunny ears and faces on the cinnamon buns.

"They're cinnamon buns, get it?" she said with the smuggest grin she could make, clearly proud of her work.

At first he only looked surprised, but after Slushie's dumb quip, his composure broke and he started to full on laugh, making her crack up with him. After a while the two calmed down, wiped their eyes and went back to work, snickering.

Everytime someone ordered one, Espio chuckled quietly to himself.

The eye contact practice sessions were going well, Espio was still keeping his eyes closed but Slushie was slowly improving. She could handle herself better and not immediately want to escape.

One day, though, she would have to practice with actual eye contact. And that day was today.

"Are you sure?"

"We've been at this for a month, I don't think I can get more ready."

"In that case, I'll start closed and open them after a bit, does that sound okay?"

"Yeah, I think. Give a small warning, though?"

"Alright."

And so the usual practice commenced. Slushie moved her eyes to his horn, and studied his features, trying to keep her thoughts and heartbeat at bay.

"Ready?"

"Yeah, open."

And so he did.

Her first thought? Turning to stare daggers at the fridge.

Second thought?

I forgot his eyes were that pretty.

Battling between wanting to run away and being mesmerized, she opted for the horn again, taking quick peeks at his golden eyes that were looking back at her.

It's so difficult when he's staring right at me, oh my stars.

"C-can you try looking somewhere else first? Not straight at me?"

"Ah, yes, sorry, didn't think about that."

He turned to look at the doorway behind her, starting to feel shy himself.

It helped, and for the first time since he had caught her, she could properly analyze his eye color, the beautiful golden yellow. They say that the eyes are the window to the soul, and she had never seen anything like this before. She saw him. And so, suddenly, and for the first time in her life, she was ready. For the first time ever, she was sure.

''Espio?"

"Hm?" he kept his eyes on the doorway, making sure not to make her jump. That simple but thoughtful gesture made her resolve even more clear.

"I really like you."

And so golden yellow met icy blue.