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June 30th, 2017

He couldn't quite describe how much he missed her.

It was a feeling that grew inside, painful and entirely too real; a longing that twisted in his chest, pulsed through his thoughts with every small thing that happened, every gentle and blatant reminder of her. It was the last thing he thought about when he went to sleep and the first thing he thought of when he woke up in the mornings.

He didn't want it.

He couldn't have it.

It was never going to be the way he wanted, never going to turn out the way that, somewhere deep inside of himself, his heart was aching for. There was too much at stake, too much that was broken and fractured inside of himself to actually be something worthwhile.

The oath mark burned, a scorching sensation around his neck that made him gasp, clutching at his throat.

Don't think about it.

August 8th, 2017

Fritz managed to extract his own donut rather successfully by cutting it in half and then taking the two sides of it off with fork and knife, setting it neatly down onto his plate. He looked quite satisfied with himself - and by the fact that neither one of them had knocked down their apparent Jenga of the Donut Tower.

"Quite true, quite true," he said with a laugh, flashing Cordelia an easy grin that felt, for the first time in a long time, just as easy as it looked. "Well, my lady, I'm very glad that we were able to take a little bit of a jaunt here after our patrol, considering the eventfulness of the evening."

Involving a birdlike youma and a lot of dust. Fritz neatly divided his cruller into several pieces with efficient movements.

"None whatsoever. Feel free to choose something lovely."

August 8th, 2017

Fritz smiled and her heart swelled, She paused there on her feet, eyes lingering on his face as she met his grin with one of her own. Only when she realized that she'd nearly started gawking did she glance away, face lightly flushed. "I'll see what I can do, dear sir."

The jukebox was vintage in appearance only. At one point it had been home to a variety of records and tracks, but with modern technology it had been 'renovated'. The insides had been taken out and replaced with digital clips and songs that could be switched out by updating a playlist via a server, which meant they were able to provide things more current along with classic jukebox tunes.

With a smile, Cordelia slid her quarter into the slot, browsing through the playlist before finding the perfect, upbeat song.

August 8th, 2017

He was trying hard not to dwell on the dear sir aspect, or the fact that her smile had nearly stopped his heart. Or the fact that, it was becoming easier, becoming better, becoming something he looked forward to, being with her. It was so unfair that everything was so confusing inside of his head.

It wasn't fair to either of them.

"Oh," said Fritz brightly. "I love this song!

October 1st, 2017

Cordelia paused, head cocking to the side as she listened. A grin overtook her face, lighting her features and filling her with a warm, fuzzy feeling. The didn't know if the high was a leftover adrenaline rush from the patrol or if it was the sugary sweetness of the pancakes she'd ordered. She was starting to think it was neither-- that maybe it was the company.

Without thinking Cordelia reached out to take Fritz by the hand, fingertips lightly brushing against his palm, sliding to let their fingers twine. If she could pause the moment and just stay she would, but that wasn't one of her superhuman gifts and time was always bound to move on.

She gave his hand a gentle squeeze before drawing her touch back, caring for Fritz too much to push his comfort by holding on for any longer. "... So where'd you wanna go?" How much you wanna risk?

Everything. She would risk everything for something just like this...

July 31st, 2017

She was on the bus the first time she heard the song. It came up as part of a playlist she'd been streaming on her mp3 player, the opening chords charming their way into her heart as the lyrics spoke to her soul in the way only music could.

Who didn't want something simple? Who didn't want something beautiful? Something sweet, something flawed-- nothing needed to be perfect. No one was perfect... Her cousin seemed happy enough with his beau and neither of them were perfect.

Perfect for each other, but flawed.

Cordelia restarted the song so she could listen to it again, and then once more after that, nearly missing her stop. It was softly humming along with it that she bounded down the steps of the bus, a spring in her step as she played it once again.

"Do do doo do do dooo~"

October 1st, 2017

That smile again.

He felt those smiles like they were physical things; warm rays of sunlight breaking through the clouds of his thoughts, turning everything a golden, glowing hue. It was hard to think, when she smiled like that; hard to think of anything else than trying to see it again.

His heart was aching.

Something - Cordelia's hand - touched his own. Fingers slid across bare skin, then twined together, and Fritz's heart nearly stopped inside of his chest. He felt the world around him slow, just to that moment, just to this touch, concentrating not on the instinctive, bone deep anxiety accompanied by physicality - but instead by who it was that touching him.

Where'd you wanna go?

It was gone, just as soon as it had come. Fritz felt his heart begin to beat again.

How much you wanna risk?

He pushed himself up, sliding out of the booth. Fritz got to his feet, straightening his sweater, and cleared his throat, beaming a bright, cheerful smile at Cordelia, one that was not steeped in self consciousness and uncertainty, but instead just...pleasure at the company of someone else.

At least, on the surface.

He held out a hand. His heart was going to beat out of his chest.

"Shall we dance, then, madam?" he intoned, deliberately making it a little dramatic, a little over the top, a little more. "I think it's only fair, since this I don't believe in coincidences, and since this song has come on twice now when we've been here, it seems a necessary thing."

October 1st, 2017

He could do this. He could push past the anxiety and the frustrating part of himself that still rebelled at physical contact, he could give himself just a few minutes of something else, something more, something that would bring that smile back to Cordelia's face.

It was a struggle; he couldn't pretend it wasn't. But he wanted to at least try.

"Yes, here," said Fritz with a smile. "We're the only two in here, and I'm sure that the waitstaff doesn't mind. Besides," he added, "It's been a very long night, and I'm sure you're about getting a little bit of relaxation in while we still can, aren't you?"

Her hand in his was an electric thing. He ignored the initial discomfort, pushed past the tangle of emotions, and led Cordelia towards the small area beside the jukebox, Fritz turning to face her. He kept one hand holding hers and reached the other out, settling it very, very lightly on her waist. The expression on his face was still a happy one, but there was anxiety there as well, and nervousness.

"Shall we tango?" he deadpanned. "Or ballroom? I think I know the steps to the foxtrot..."