Archive of Our Own

"Please, please, pretty please, please , our chef just quit and we've got nobody else to ask. Please, will you cover for him just for today? You're an angel sent from above if you do. We'll even triple your pay for tonight."

The restaurant owner was on his knees begging with his hands interlocked above his head. His teary, stress-filled pleads didn’t faze her, but the promise of a fatter paycheck and the immense ego boost she'd recieve if she accepted was tempting. Kassandra was considering it, if nothing else she could use this opportunity to blackmail the restaurant owner later on if the need would ever arise. "I've never had to cook for someone else before. I'm still learning the menu."

"You won't be entirely alone. Our master chef needs assistance. She just needs someone to help her chop vegetables and such, please."

She .

Kassandra may have been a waiter at the restaurant for a week and a half, but she hadn't talked much to the chefs in the back. Busy nights had her running back and forth all evening. She had only ever heard the smoky rasp of the woman yelling commands as if she was leading a troupe out on the minefields in the brief passing of fetching and dumping off their guests' plates.

The first day her tone had seemed harsh and hostile, but as the week went by Kassandra understood that she was the one who kept this place running. She knew what everyone was doing at any given time and optimized the dead seconds between. The way she never talked down to Kassandra, but kept her at her feet was a talent in of itself. She realized that if she was ever going to have the tiniest amount of power in this place it was best to befriend her and learn from her.

"Please, I beg you."

The more she thought about it, the more it seemed infinitely better to work beside the militant chef rather than to run tables all night. Kassandra was already fed up with the creepy old men trying to cup a feel when she was taking their orders and the upper class ladies who expected to be treated as royalty once they sat down. It served her nothing to be the pretty face up front and here the owner was begging her to essentially move up in the hierarchy only a week and a half in. It was as if she was meant to be here.

"Fine." 

"Thank you, thank you, angel sent from above, praised by the people. I won't forget this, you have my word."

The restaurant owner got up from his kneeling and dried his tears with his hands. He mumbled a few words of the same characteristics as he walked out from the small locker room Kassandra had been standing in when he came in. This time it hadn't mattered since Kassandra had changed to her server's attire at home, but she made a small mental note to check with the restaurant owner before he felt the need to barge into the women's locker room without knocking again.

When she walked into the kitchen the master chef was already at work, preparing fish for the evening. She looked up as soon as she noticed Kassandra's presence and fired her a grin. She let go of the fish to lean her elbow against the massive wooden counter in the middle of the kitchen so that she could make eye contact with Kassandra through the metallic serving monter. 

"So, he managed to convince you to survive a shift with me."

"What can I say, I've done worse."

Eivor turned her eyes to the wall next to her and laughed. She settled down with one of her shoulders low as her elbow rested upon the counter, the other high as she picked up the knife and rammed it through the wooden cutting board making the fish jump upon it. "I tolerate no bullshit in my kitchen. If you can’t keep up with the tempo you'll be better off dead."

"Well, I've got nothing better to do."

"Keep up." The master chef pulled the knife out of the cutting board without moving the fish any further. "The name's Eivor by the way, you?"

"Kassandra."

"Kassandra, you will wash your hands and then prepare the chicken." Eivor pointed the knife to Kassandra and used it to gesture towards the gigantic metallic fridge. "It's in the fridge, fresh from the truck this morning."

And so the evening began. Kassandra obeyed every whim Eivor threw at her. The work was fast paced and periodically messy. At some points during the evening they were both throwing things back and forth between each other in some kind of newfound harmony. It was one of the reasons the restaurant was popular to begin with. The waiting times were seldom longer than twenty minutes and the food always looked professional and was delicious. Eivor's way of perfecting her dishes as she handed them to Kassandra proved to her once and for all that her passion for the art of the culinary experience was a combination of meticulously refined movements and absolute trust that her barked orders were always obeyed down to the last syllable. And Kassandra had to admit, it was kind of attractive.

Once the shift was over Kassandra was leaning against the fridge to see if her lower back would allow her to make the trip home. The dull pain came in stronger and stronger the more she cooled down. Eivor wiped down the counters as the buzzboy came in with the last stack of dirty dishes. "You did good tonight."

Kassandra did not have a praise kink, but if there was ever a time to dip into the soft, warm, buzzing feeling of doing something unusually well, especially the kind that Eivor's praise was surrounding her with, it was now. Eivor's soft tone, attentive eyes and toned muscles had been of great help throughout the whole evening. Seeing them now was sending Kassandra signals so mixed she wondered if she was starting to get horny simply because of her exhaustion.

"Thank you."

"Would you like to work by my side tomorrow as well?"

The buzzboy stopped doing the dishes and turned to them with an open mouth. "What's this witchcraft? Do you actually like her? I thought-"

"What do you say, Kassandra?" Eivor completely ignored the buzzboy which made him jump around the kitchen. 

"Is that your call to make?"

"I'll talk to the owner, even negotiate a fair pay. He won't go against my opinion."

Kassandra knew that Eivor was the one to bet her money on and she was already proving it.

"I say yes."

"Good girl."

Kassandra did not have a praise kink, but hearing that made her notice her aching lower back wasn’t bothering her as much anymore. "Go home and rest, you'll start an hour earlier tomorrow."

"Ay, sergeant."

"It's miss sergeant for you."

Kassandra laughed. Yes, Eivor was exactly the kind if woman Kassandra had drawn her out to be. She couldn't wait to learn more from her.

• - - –    - - – — — —---

The thing Kassandra learned about Eivor pretty fast was that the rest of the workstaff were all scared of her in one way or another. Her harsh commands, her muscular arms, her tattoo sleeve on her right arm were all telling tales of a woman who's led a life not quite at the right side of the law. Some would probably describe her as masculine and too rowdy for being a woman. Kassandra had been accused of the same during her years as an accountant for a company that sold perfumes, so she knew what that type of talk could do to her mental state. To her, Eivor wasn’t any of that.

To her Eivor cemented herself as a strong-willed woman who knew how she liked things to be done and was phenomenal at reading people and their strengths and weaknesses. Highly feminine traits if you asked Kassandra. And on top of that Eivor's way of bringing forth the details' in the food she was cooking, matching colors, consistencies, balancing the sweet and salty, knowing just when to add wets and dries and the attentive way she presented her dishes was also thoroughly feminine. It was attractive to watch her work. Even her steady knifework was in a subtle way feminine. The way the edge of her knife slid through the meat of chicken, steaks and fish. The way she commanded the flesh beneath her hands to give way for her swift, yet sure cuts. It was like watching an artist lay down her colors on a canvas.

The only shortcomings of Eivor that Kassandra could think of was the deep settled wrinkle between her eyebrows. It made her look unnecessarily bitter and was probably a great contributor to why people thought of her as scary. And the other was that she seemed incredibly lonely. The woman who steered everyone around her with ease wasn’t letting anyone share a conversation with her longer than four exchanges of shallow sentences. It had fascinated Kassandra when she came to that conclusion. It was such a deep rooted behavior in Eivor she was sure she wasn’t even aware of it herself.

At the end of her first week as a chef, or her second week as an employee at the restaurant she found her first opportunity to throw a command at Eivor.

"The mushrooms and the balsamico, now, please." Kassandra didn’t have to look at Eivor to know she’d adhere to the command, but needed to indulge in the small crack of a smile Eivor sported the second after her command had been executed. Kassandra was delving into that cozy, comfortable feeling their interaction had spread through her all evening. It felt special to put such a smile on an otherwise concentrated face.

"You’re a quick learner." Eivor said as Kassandra walked into the locker room after their shift was done. Eivor's shirt was halfway off her head when Kassandra opened the door and she was quick to close it before anyone that shouldn't see would walk by.

"Well, it's easy when someone literally tells you what to do all the time." Kassandra did not have a praise kink, nor was the sight of Eivor in only her sports bra and dark brown pants evoking any kind of feelings inside her. Nope. She was simply admiring Eivor's slim waist and flattering muscles chiseled by the gods while feeling good about a day of work well done yet again. It was kind of her thing recently.

"You'd be surprised to know that it's rare to come across someone like you. At least in this line of work."

"Like me? I know I'm pretty, but-"

"You’re sharp, fast at picking up the details. You're working hard, you haven't complained about the fast pace, the heat or the smells in there. You even picked up at something you noticed I could do better and you let me know. Believe me when I say not everyone dares to do so." 

Eivor was ruthless. She stomped on every piece of uncertainty Kassandra held onto. The uncertainty she had learned to live with and was thriving off of. She had somehow convinced herself that if she'd ever let the uncertainty go she’d lose herself along the way. Yet Eivor's words kept coming, hammering the uncertainty away from her tight grip. Her voice did not crack the slightest as she talked. Her gaze did not lower as she delivered her honesty. 

Kassandra did not have praise kink, but something was starting to wake up in her lower regions. It was probably a combination of tiredness and her period arriving soon. Because she couldn't be this narcissistic. "Maybe I just have a death wish."

Eivor's eyes hardened as they bore into her. "Let's hope not. It'll be a pain in the ass to find a replacement for you." 

Eivor was done dressing herself. She was standing with her hand on top of the door of her locker and had been looking in just a second ago, probably pondering if she was forgetting something. Kassandra had been admiring her from behind. Not a lot of people could shut her up like this, forcing her to accept praise, feeding her ego. Her head was beginning to swim. It was too much.

"Good night." She said and stomped off.

"Good night."

— — - —- - - - —  -     —-

The following day Kassandra arrived in her usual attire. With the extra addition of wearing her good bra underneath. Not her nice bra. Her good bra. She didn’t really know why she put it on. Sure, it was both practical and gave her chest a nice round touch to it without being vulgar or in the way while she was working whilst also being comfortable. But, there was no specific reason why she had to wear it today. At least not a reason she could think of.

Nevermind her heart pounding slightly faster when Eivor arrived and threw her bag into her locker. A simple good evening was exchanged as she headed out into the kitchen.

It was unusually quiet in the kitchen. They were working in their newfound rhythm and everything was going smoothly. So much so Kassandra convinced herself that Eivor's shoulders were looking a tad more relaxed tonight than the other nights. It was visible in her neck as well at times, but mostly her shoulders.

She must’ve stared for a second too long, because suddenly a pair of cool blue eyes met hers. "It's an homage."

"What?" Kassandra was completely lost. She wondered if she had been too lost in her thoughts for her distracted brain to drown out the first part of Eivor's sentence.

"You’re staring. I thought I’d help you along." Eivor nodded downwards and Kassandra suddenly understood that she was talking about her tattoo sleeve snaking its way down her upper arm. "It's an homage to a lost love back home."

"My condolences." Kassandra said, but her brain wasn’t letting her rest. She wondered suddenly if Eivor had been married. If she had children. If her husband had been part of the reason to why the wrinkle between her eyebrows was so deeply rooted.

" She’s not dead."

Oh.

Wait .

She liked women?

"Though, I wouldn't recommend involving yourself with your brother's wife no matter how dead you think he is."

Kassandra laughed. "No way that you-"

"What? The bastard had been dead for three years. Lost at sea. How could we know he wasn't?"

"But your brother ."

"Purely a marriage of convenience. He boarded a ship the same night as their wedding. I made the mistake of offering my help to her, since my bastard brother couldn't bother taking care of his husbandry duties. At first it was fine, innocent if you will. When we received notice that his ship had sunk she cried, a lot. I dug the hole deeper and offered her to continue helping her. It wasn’t long before we… well one thing led to another…"

"For how long?"

"Too long. I was in over my head. I thought we were in love, hence the tattoo but alas… here I am while she's a fleeting memory carved into my skin."

"Is she with your brother now?" Kassandra had meant her comment as a way of reassuring herself that there was no competition left. Well, not that she had a problem with Eivor seeing another woman. Just good to know. But the way Eivor looked down onto the cutting board of chopped parsley, a hand on each side while still clenching the knife in her hand was hard to watch and Kassandra regretted her question. 

She sighed heavily, clearly wanting the conversation to end. "Yes. I'm about to be an aunt for the second time in winter."

Kassandra knows it's wrong of her, but wasn’t Eivor kind of attractive right at this moment? The honesty, the raw emotions. It allowed her to notice things she wouldn't have otherwise. Like the soft freckles resting just underneath her eyes.

"She really did mean a lot to you."

"She did." Eivor nodded.

Something was seriously wrong with Kassandra. She was pretty sure if Eivor would lose her mind at this very moment and turn around, drop to her knees and ask her to marry her she'd accept her offer before she even ended the question. Kassandra drew her feet together and closed the gap between her thighs before other signs began to reveal how far gone she was at this point.

— - — —   -  —--- – —- - - -

The restaurant owner caught her as soon as she arrived the next evening, handing over a package explaining it was her official chef's outfit. A whole two weeks and a half had passed since she had begun working in the kitchen, she hadn't thought much about it but of course it made sense that she needed an outfit like the one Eivor had. The uniform was white, not black like her server's attire. It was more loose sitting and square. The pants especially were a lot more flowy than her other ones. These clothes were going to be a lot more comfortable to wear in the heat of the kitchen.

Eivor leaned against the wooden counter as Kassandra came into the kitchen. She eyed her up and down and broke into a smile.

"You look good."

Kassandra did not have a praise kink, but Eivor's words filled her with a warm, fuzzy feeling, one that was easy to hide in the warmth of the kitchen. She definitely didn't have a praise kink, right?

Right ?

"Now we look like one of those cheesy couples that wear matching outfits to their friends' dinner nights." said Kassandra though second thoughts hit her as soon as the words left her mouth. Had Kassandra just decided overnight that this was what she was going to do? Flirt with Eivor? If this was what she was doing then she was coming on too strong. They hadn't even known each other for three weeks yet and Kassandra was already talking about being a cheesy couple? She must reel herself in.

"We'll see about that." Eivor smiled with her eyes. "You haven't had pan duty yet. Tonight's the night to prove yourself worthy of your new clothing."

"Pan duty?"

"Here's the pan. There's the chicken. Start cooking." Kassandra folded her arms. Chopping vegetables and preparing the meats were a lot different from actually cooking it. Eivor's proud shoulders didn’t let her have those thoughts for long though. "I'll help, of course."

Kassandra was focused. Pan duty had a whole different work pace than the one she had gotten used to. There were set times to keep track of, leave it too long it'd get burnt, leave it too short it was raw. The delicate balance was hard to find. Add making sure enough oil and butter soaked the pan on top of adding the meats and spices at the right time. It was a lot to take in at once. It was time management in a way she had never done before.

Eivor only had to step in and save Kassandra once. It had happened swiftly when she had been dual wielding a fish pan and a chicken pan at the same time. It had confused her for a second too long. Eivor's sure hand had snuck around her waist and grabbed the handle, swiftly giving the pan a good yank, saving the fish from burning to the bottom.

Eivor winked at her as her arm disappeared again. It had only been a light touch but Kassandra couldn't stop thinking about it. The way the skin at the place Eivor had touched was burning. It created a lump in the back of her throat, dried her lips and threw her into a loop. This, whatever it was, was starting to get dangerous.

After the shift was done Kassandra was standing in the locker room, her back to Eivor. Her attention was locked at a small burn mark at the side of her ring finger. She hadn’t noticed it up until now, but when she was thinking about it she had felt an unusual sting pulsating from there every now and then for over a couple of hours. Now that her mind wasn’t distracted the pain started to become a little harder to ignore.

"-a lot easier with you around, thank you." Eivor was suddenly standing at her shoulder, just inside Kassandra's peripheral vision, which drew her attention. Kassandra looked up at Eivor who looked back down at her hand. "Cut yourself?"

"Burn mark." Kassandra tried to show it off, but the angle was awkward. 

Eivor caught her hand and looked closer. The small gesture made Kassandra's heart jump into her throat. "It's a tiny one, it won't last long."

"I know, but it stings."

"I've got burn balm in my locker if you want some." Eivor folded her hand into a fist and showed it off. Across it was a glaring, red mark that went all the way from her pinky knuckle up over her middle finger second knuckle. "Ever since this son of a bitch made me throw up from the pain I always keep burn balm close."

"That’s massive." Now it was Kassandra's turn to look closer at Eivor's hand. Right in the middle of the burn area her skin had scarred. 

"Tell me about it, my girlfriend at the time tried to convince me spit worked just as fine, but I'll tell you it did not keep me quiet."

"Spit?" 

"It relieved the very edge of the pain for a second or two, but that meant you'd have to keep it covered in spit for it to work."

"You actually tried it?"

"What was there to do? The cold water was turning my hand blue, the stores were closed and I was thick headed enough to refuse going to the hospital for something like this, which in hindsight was probably something I should've done."

"So, she like licked it?"

Eivor's steel blue eyes met Kassandra's and the look across her face fell into one that suddenly put all the puzzle pieces together and Kassandra had never felt so see through before. Like she had accidentally let out an old secret that she herself wasn’t aware of knowing. It made her heart drop and she actually felt the words, please stop realizing things bubble up from the depths of herself.

Eivor turned her hand to look at Kassandra's burn mark again. Kassandra could hear her heartbeats drum against her ears. Rogue images of Eivor's lips pressing between her fingers to lap at the burn mark flooded her head. Her brain conjured up the feeling of the wetness of her tongue comfortably wrapping around her hand, soothing the prickling pain while leaving wet traces along her skin. It'd turn into a trail of kisses along her hand, up her arm, over her shoulder to finally land at her-

Her attention was brought back to reality when Eivor's steel blue eyes looked back up at her. She held onto her hand, running a thumb carefully over her knuckle. Kassandra's brain short wired, leaving her feeling like a burnt out fuse, unable to speak.

"I'll fetch the burn balm." Eivor said in an unusual quiet voice.

Kassandra was ashamed. She knew she had fucked up.

—- - - - —- -  —- -  

The next morning Kassandra arrived a little earlier just to avoid Eivor and yesterday's catastrophic ending. Barely a month had passed at this new job and she had already majorly fucked up.

Eivor arrived and her eyes immediately sought contact with Kassandra. Like a magnet her attention was drawn to her. A quiet exchange of good evenings passed between them. Both of them walked a bit slower around each other at the beginning of their shift. After the buzzboy arrived and the servers started running back and forth through the doors they started to act more normal.

The shift went well up until everyone else was gone from the kitchen. Eivor was staring down into a pan of fish while Kassandra stirred the sauce.

"You have that look on your face again." Eivor said without looking up.

"What look?" Kassandra knew exactly what look she was talking about. She just needed to hear it from Eivor directly.

A server barged through the doors to fetch a dish of chicken. They disappeared through the doors which swung back and forth until it stilled.

"That look you get when you admire something."

The buzzboy walked backwards through the doors, carrying a mountain of dirty dishes. He disappeared again shortly after.

"What do you mean?"

Was it cruel of Kassandra to ask this of Eivor? Kassandra was the one in the wrong here. She should be the one clarifying, not asking stupid questions.

"At first I thought it was only in my head. You see, I tend to do that." Eivor looked down on her pan of fish. "But, you really do look at me like I hung the stars and I wonder why."

"I like the way you talk to me."

"Like what? Go fetch the strainer? Please cut the onions? Go put that in the dishes?"

"No."

"Then what?"

The buzzboy came through the doors again with another stack of dirty dishes. "You’re killing it today, four guests have told me to give compliments to our chef."

"It's all thanks to Kassandra. She's one of the best employees we've ever had. And to think she's never worked as a chef before." Eivor said, put her hand on her shoulder and locked eyes with her. "She's simply that smart."

Oh.

Oh no .

Kassandra was very aware of what kind of expression Eivor had just witnessed. It was obvious in the way the frown between her eyebrows straightened and her shoulders relaxed.

Eivor was a smart woman. She didn’t need Kassandra to tell her that this was it. The way she liked being talked to. It was all in her suddenly curious eyes. In her proud back. In the way her hands stilled. Eivor's eyes whipped back at the buzzboy. 

"I'll tell them that." The buzzboy continued as if the relationship dynamic between Kassandra and Eivor hadn't just drastically taken a tumble down the hills, dragging them both with it. He backed out of the room with two thumbs up.

A moment of dumbfounded silence passed through the kitchen.

"Was it the ' good girl '?" Eivor threw out the first question that came to her mind. It was awkward as hell, but so was this entire conversation and she'd rather die than let embarrassment rule her tongue. Though she couldn't muster the confidence to look Kassandra in the eye just quite yet.

Kassandra had to think for a moment back at her first day as a chef. She remembers Eivor calling her a good girl and the nervous butterflies it had stirred up in her lower gut back then. Sure it hadn't helped, maybe even started a snowball effect, but to entirely blame it for this mess? No, that wasn’t it.

"It was all of you." Kassandra began carefully. She needed Eivor to know it wasn’t simply physical attraction. It was her whole package. "The way you talk, the rasp in your voice as you're handing out orders. The way you're so sure of yourself. The way you can demand the attention of a whole room and delegate exactly what's needed. Watching you take your job and what you do with such seriousness. It's very attractive to watch."

Eivor's lips curled into a small smile, Kassandra was quite something, wasn't she? "I can see why you like this kind of talk." She put a thumb to her lips.

"And the way you command me." Kassandra watched Eivor's back straighten the tiniest. Like she had to hold her tongue to not let an embarrassing hitched breath out. It was exciting to see Eivor react this way to her words. "I've always had troubles with authority, never could stand being told what to do. You're quite unique 'cause it gives me a kick to follow whatever you're throwing at me."

One server barged through the doors with the other following shortly after, startling both of them. The servers were out within three seconds, but it had changed the atmosphere completely.

"I'm… flattered, grateful even for your honesty." Eivor's cheeks were suddenly a faint shade of pink. She looked like she was grasping for the right words. "I really am, but this conversation. What we're doing right now. We should probably do this somewhere else, if you don’t mind."

Kassandra noticed that her heart wanted quite the opposite. Rash, harsh, barely thought through decisions pounded with each beat. Maybe a fumbling kiss over the cooking steam, rough touches out of sight behind the wooden counter, a quickie back in the locker room. Something to hang onto. But, her brain heard the words Eivor said and she knew she was right. "You’re right."

"We should calm down, not do anything drastic." Eivor's eyes met Kassandra's "This might be bold of me, but I'd like to hold onto you for as long as I can."

"Really?" Kassandra's eyes looked quite surprised up at Eivor. Watching Eivor's jaw tightening up the slightest told Kassandra that she should back down a little. "I mean, it's a pain in the ass to search for a new gig anyway."

Eivor nodded and scratched the back of her neck. "So, what would you like our next step to be?"

Our

Kassandra's heart was full of exploding excitement. She couldn't help the smile that plastered itself onto her face. She had to look away from Eivor for a second as to not let the giddiness take over her whole persona. 

"I don’t know? Coffee? Dinner sounds like we'd do nothing but badmouth our competitors to shreads."

"Coffee sounds good."

"Tomorrow?"

"How about friday?"

"Friday it is."

Eivor smiled. Kassandra wondered how her fuck up had landed in this, but she wasn’t going to question it. She had a date with Eivor on friday. If she was lucky she could squeeze a kiss out of her by the end of it. She wondered how she was going to last until then as she was already bursting at her seams.

–  ——  - - —- -   - —--  — –

Friday felt like an eternity away. Kassandra had to stop for a moment to think of how absolutely correct Eivor had been when she had suggested they shouldn't do anything drastic. In the couple days left until Friday she felt herself relax, allowing herself to really take a good look at Eivor, noticing and indulging herself in things she wouldn't have allowed herself to do otherwise.

Like stopping to appreciate the way Eivor's back muscles moved underneath the white fabric of her chef's outfit. Or watching her hands at work, holding onto things and gently move them with her strong yet gentle hands. Or appreciating the way she rolled up her sleeves to let her tattoo show to the whole world. It didn't matter as long as Kassandra was one of the lucky ones to witness it.

Touches. It wasn’t much but Kassandra allowed herself to tap on Eivor's shoulders a couple of times and brushing fingers against hers when exchanging things and even bumping against her hip to hip more or less intentionally. The way Eivor's eyes lit up every time she noticed it was Kassandra made her heart tingle. It was a joy to see her small smile turn into her previous seriousness as she went back to work.

When Friday arrived it felt like Eivor was both a completely different person yet somehow the exact same as the first time they talked. 

They decided to go on their coffee date a couple of hours before their evening shift started. It was a good move. It removed the expectation of this date going anywhere too fast too soon.

Kassandra showed up dressed in a deep red shirt which hugged her waist and wrists while elegantly flowing down her arms and chest. A golden necklace rested on her chest. Her pants were simple, dark brown and high waisted. It accentuated her body without being vulgar or shy. She had braided her hair a little neater than usual. Her face was as naked and as make up-less as it was during her work hours. She had a feeling Eivor would approve.

Eivor arrived in a simple white shirt with some dark jeans. Her hair was braided tight and it brought out her jawline and nose. Kassandra wanted to kiss them both. A simple silver chain was resting on her chest and she carried her black jacket over her underarm. Her face just as bare as Kassandra's was.

Kassandra mused as Eivor sat down opposite to her. The coffee shop's interior was a mix of the sharp edges of industrial metallic and dark leather furniture. The floor was wooden and added a welcome feeling of home. A feeling that was not reflected in Eivor's body language. It was unusual to see her as uncomfortable as she was as she placed her cup of coffee in front of her.

"You look good." Eivor said as Kassandra enjoyed the attentive way Eivor looked her up and down.

"So do you." Kassandra said, her eyes gluing to the part of Eivor's skin that was showing between her shirt and necklace. "Didn’t know you could look so… expensive."

"I wanted to make a good impression, but it seems that I'm out staged today." Eivor gestured to the whole of Kassandra.

"Thank you." Kassandra said. Her ego grew bigger for each word that left Eivor's mouth. It was selfish of her to indulge without giving anything back, so she chose a random topic to ease the uncomfortable tension in Eivor's shoulders.

They talked about anything and everything. Most of the conversation consisted of personal anecdotes, witty sharp jokes and painfully grey, normal smalltalk. It was to Kassandra's surprise that she noticed that the dull subjects were actually the ones she enjoyed the most. It was as if even the most boring parts of Eivor were suddenly shimmery and shiny and Kassandra couldn't have enough of it. So much so she almost forgot the time.

"Well, I guess it's time to start getting ready for work." Eivor said as she looked at her watch. So old fashioned. It was quite charming to see.

"I guess it is." Kassandra said. She was honestly disappointed. The past hour had gone by too quickly. She was desperately grasping at the few seconds left before they’d part. Well, she knew they’d meet up again in less than an hour but still. 

"Shall we?" Eivor rose up from her leather chair and grabbed both her and Kassandra's cups and brought them to the tray rack. Kassandra barely had time to hum a response before she was back. Eivor offered her underarm that wasn’t covered in her jacket to Kassandra. Kassandra wasn’t late to hold onto her arm as they walked out of the coffee shop. Eivor really was an  old soul and it was so charming.

Outside the early evening sun was still relentlessly aggressiv. Though the air was chill it was smothering to stand in the sun. It was a perfect beginning of the evening. Kassandra stopped. Regular people walked past them from every angle. 

"Thank you, for such a lovely date." She said as her fingers traveled down Eivor's arm to take a hold of her hand. Suddenly they stood a little bit closer, almost touching each other.

"No, thank you. It was better than I expected, I had a wonderful-" Eivor was interrupted by Kassandra's hand placing itself just beneath her ear, cupping her jaw. Kassandra didn’t need much pressure to convince Eivor to bend down slightly. Their faces suddenly close. Kassandra stopped for a second to seek eye contact with her. Once satisfied that she couldn't find anything to indicate that this was a bad idea she leant in and connected their lips.

A warm, soothing feeling spread throughout her as Eivor's hand found a place to rest upon the top of her hip and her head tilted to kiss her back. The movement caused Kassandra's brain to send out images of absolute filth in her head. She ended the kiss, but kept her face close to Eivor's a few seconds longer, absolutely beaming.

"-time." Eivor finally finished her sentence sounding a little out of breath. "Thank you."

"You’re welcome." Kassandra untangled herself from Eivor who didn’t want to quite let her go yet. Their fingers not letting go until Kassandra turned around. She waved a hand in the air as she smiled teasingly. "Don’t be late."

Kassandra only needed to change her clothes when she came home. A few minutes later she was on her way to the restaurant. A bit earlier than usual but it wasn’t a big deal. Eivor arrived shortly after. Her trip back home must’ve gone roughly the same.

Back in the kitchen Kassandra was flying on air. Their kiss was fresh on her mind and she wondered when the next one would be. Somehow it couldn’t come soon enough. She knew she was giving Eivor looks every now and then. She was probably sporting a dumb smile as well. It didn't matter as long as Eivor's eyes lit up every time they made eye contact.

"They're starting to notice." Eivor said, her voice low as Kassandra brushed past her a little closer than necessary. One of the servers gave them a long look. Somehow the buzzboy still seemed oblivious.

"Do you mind?" asked Kassandra with her full attention on Eivor.

"Well, I don’t seem as scary with a lovesick puppy running around my heels." Eivor said.

"Do you want me to stop?"

Eivor looked away from Kassandra, both her hands resting on the counter top. Her shoulders high as her head sunk down. "No."

Kassandra's eyes lit up this time. Though she could tell she was walking the line with Eivor and needed to back off just a little. "I hear you."

During the peak of rush hour they were both too busy to utter any other words except for the absolutely necessary ones. For a brief moment they became the only ones left in the kitchen. Kassandra reached out to grab the pepper shaker. Eivor seemed to have the exact same idea. It was sent to the floor. It was the first miscommunication they've ever had and for a second they both stared at the pepper shaker lying on the ground. Then they both kneeled down to fetch it. Kassandra grabbed onto it first. Eivor soon after, but only reaching Kassandra's hand. She turned her hand with the pepper shaker still in it, gently guided her hand up to her lips and kissed it. Her eyes locking with Kassandra's. She was on her way up when Kassandra used that very hand to grab onto her neck. Within the second their lips connected yet again. In the next Kassandra was up on her heels.

"Come on, move it Eivor." 

Eivor needed a second to calm herself down before she got up again. Kassandra already onto her next task as Eivor was struggling to complete hers. "You’re going to kill me."

The buzzboy walked in with a stack of dishes and began washing them. They didn’t have another moment to themselves for the rest of the evening.

After the shift Kassandra was standing at her locker, pulling at her bag when she felt movement behind her. Eivor rested her hand on top of her locker door and the other snaked around her waist to rest at the door on the locker next to hers. Her chest pressing gently against Kassandra's back as her breath ghosted her neck. Kassandra couldn't deny that this was the hottest thing she's experienced in her entire life.

"Your place or mine." Kassandra said with a knowing twang in her voice that she knew would crawl under Eivor's skin. It was so much fun to watch her squirm.

"You were never going to let me get away with just a date, right?" Eivor's breath traveled from just underneath Kassandra's ear slowly down to the very edge of her shoulder. There she planted a soft kiss which made Kassandra's toes curl. Oh shit she was starting to get wet. The familiar ache in her lower regions was quickly rising to a low simmer underneath her skin.

"I didn’t plan that kiss out in the kitchen."

"I'm not talking about the kiss." Eivor's breath ghosted once again along Kassandra's skin. "I'm talking about your eyes. I can tell how much you want me just by the way you look at me and honestly… it's a little scary."

"What scares you?"

"I've been through this already. The attention, the anticipation, the attraction. Building something up slow and steady only to have it all stripped away shortly after."

"I'm not married to your brother." Kassandra said.

Eivor ran her nose along her shoulder. Kassandra saw how white her knuckles were, yet it seemed as if something was shaking loose inside of her. Her voice rasped low. "Tell me this is a good idea."

"I don’t think this is a bad idea."

Eivor balled her fist and pulled away. Kassandra had to close her eyes to not let her disappointment form into a pathetic squeak. "Your place, you drive first, I follow."

Kassandra wasn’t going to acknowledge the wet drop running down the inside of her thigh. She felt as if she was to reach down to wipe it away it'd reveal just how much she was already drowning in her underwear. Instead she had to ignore the way her underwear stuck to her lips, ignoring the way several more drops were flowing down both her thighs as she moved to her car. It was uncomfortable to sit down. She sat at the edge of the seat, watching Eivor's car following hers in the rearview mirror. It was early morning hours so not many other cars were out and they made it back to Kassandra's apartment fairly fast.

Kassandra wondered if Eivor could tell how wet she was as they climbed the stairs up to the second floor. She barely had the time to reflect on the fact that they were both pretty much still in their chef attire. It didn't actually matter. 

Kassandra pushed Eivor against the door as soon as it closed. Fumbling fingers locked it as their lips connected again. The kiss was slow, deliberate. Eivor's hand came to rest just above Kassandra's ass at the small of her back and Kassandra felt herself melt away within. She was dangerously close to falling in love with this woman she'd met less than a month ago. If she wasn’t already. 

Kassandra pulled at Eivor's chef shirt and unbuttoned it all the way down. Underneath Eivor wasn’t wearing anything other than a light grey bra. Sensible, soft, no wire. Why was that choice of bra such a turn on? Kassandra must’ve missed the seminar when they handed out the sensible turn ons. White fabric fell to the floor as Kassandra leant in to kiss Eivor's neck.

Eivor sucked in a breath and buried a hand close to the scalp in Kassandra's hair. She pulled a fistful of hair softly to make her back down and switch positions. Eivor leant back in to kiss Kassandra on the lips again, pressing her slick against the door. Kassandra's hands wrapped around her shoulders, grounding herself as Eivor moved to kiss along the corner of her mouth, across her cheek and placed one right underneath her jaw. Kassandra let out a frustrated sigh. "Come on."

"Hey, let me catch up." Eivor's said, her raspy voice cracked as she spoke.

"Let me." Kassandra tangled her way out of Eivor's grip and sunk to the floor. Her hands traveled up behind Eivor's legs from behind her knees up to the back of her mid thigh. The movement was like turning a tap of water on. "Can I…?" 

The question hung thick between them. Kassandra wouldn't mind clarifying, saying the words she was hinting at but she was convinced Eivor would find a way to not let her do this for her if she did. "Yes." Eivor braced her hand against the door as Kassandra's hands traveled up further to rest her fingers right underneath her ass. And then they slipped between, brushing against Eivor's lips. Her muscles clenched at the sudden rush of wetness flowing past her lips, but as fast as her muscles contracted they relaxed to invite her touch.

Kassandra felt the rough, not quite wet, but warm and borderlining damp fabric between Eivor's legs. The way her muscles tensed up as she touched her was dizzying. Kassandra moved her hands from between her legs, over her ass, to the front of her hips and unhooked her pants from her hips. The light grey, simple, cotton underwear matched her bra and it was so charming. At the front a darker wet spot was forming, Kassandra had to taste it. 

Kassandra moved her hands between Eivor's legs, forcing them to spread apart a little further. She held onto her ass and wrapped her lips around Eivor's and sucked in her breath. The wetness from within soaked through the thin fabric, mixing it with the wetness Kassandra's tongue added to it. Eivor's breath seemed to be caught at the back of her throat and it wasn’t until Kassandra's tongue circled her hole she was blessed with hearing her raspy moan from above. "Tell me." Kassandra urged Eivor from between her legs, her mouth not releasing contact for a second.

"Your tongue feels so good." Eivor's breath disappeared as Kassandra's thumbs found their way underneath along Eivor's ass and in between her legs, pushing at her perineum as Kassandra tongued at her entrance. "Shit, you’re killing me."

Kassandra moaned. Her fingers finally freeing Eivor's womanhood of its prison. As soon as her panties were out of the way Kassandra's lips connected to hers again.

"Holy-" Eivor moaned as Kassandra circled her hole again. "If you’re keeping that up I might not be able to hold myself back."

"You can cum." A nasty wet sound emerged from between their lips as she talked. Her tongue penetrated her hole, guidning whatever liquid that was flowing from it down her throat. She began tongue fucking Eivor as her hands had a tight grip around her scalp.

"It's so good, you're doing so good. Literally perfect." Eivor moaned. This was it. Kassandra was in heaven, bliss completely erasing every other thought in her brain except for moving her tongue. She was relentless and she could feel how close Eivor was to cum just by the way her muscles started to more and more lazily respond to her movements. A couple more thrusts with her tongue later and Eivor's muscles were contracting. Somewhere above her Eivor was cursing as her orgasm overtook her. Her whole body shuddered as Kassandra's hands held a merciless grip on her ass, her mouth pressing hard against her lips. Her hole clenched around her tongue and her thighs fought to not squeeze her face as she rode out her orgasm.

As Eivor stilled Kassandra carefully let go of her, dropping her hands to the ground as she looked up at her. Eivor rested her face against the door as her arm covered her face. Her chest heaving as if she had just finished a marathon. When she looked down at Kassandra she smiled back up. Eivor shakily grabbed just beneath her jaw and gently urged her to stand up. She swiftly undressed Kassandra of her now slightly wet chef shirt and turned her around so that she was resting against her chest with her back. 

From this angle it was easy to pull down Kassandra's pants and bury a hand inside her underwear. With quick, harsh movements Eivor wrapped her fingers around her clit, slick wetness overflowed and was smeared across her skin easily, working at her clit. Her other hand was still holding its grip underneath her jaw, not quite grabbing her throat, but still holding her in place. Kassandra wrapped a hand around her arm to urge her hand on. Her thighs shuddered as Eivor's hand dived into her hole. Kassandra let out a hitched breath as Eivor fingered her. The flat of her palm brushing against her clit as her fingers disappeared into her wetness.

Kassandra could feel how wet her thighs were and how much of it dripped down her legs onto the floor. Her hips jerked as the familiar heat in her lower stomach began to boil over. Oh shit she was going to squirt if Eivor didn’t back down. Her mouth opened to let out a warning, but her words were caught in her throat, helplessly bucking her hips as Eivor's fingers sent her over the edge. The filthy moan she was letting out she wasn’t even aware of uttering as a fountain of liquid sprayed over Eivor's fingers. The thick noise in Eivor's voice told her she was surprised, yet pleasantly satisfied with having so much of Kassandra's liquid wetting her hands. Kassandra's hips shuddered as they both stilled.

"Holy shit." said Kassandra.

"By god, you're perfect." said Eivor as her nose came to rest at her neck. "Next time, you'll sit on my face."

"Fuck me."

"Ask one more time." Eivor got rid of their remaining clothing and pressed Kassandra's naked chest against hers. Her arms folded around her neck as they unsteadily walked into the bedroom. 

"Fuck me." Kassandra's naked back hit against the bed and Eivor's lips were once again upon hers, trying to swallow her whole.

"Spread your legs." Eivor said as Kassandra obeyed immediately. Her back arched as Eivor weighed her thighs down. Kassandra's legs were up in the air as Eivor settled on each side of her hip and ground down. The slick sensation of cunt against cunt was almost overwhelming and the way Eivor pinned her down meant she was completely at her mercy.

Eivor rocked her hips gently a couple of times, feeling the outline of Kassandra's womanhood with her own. Their lips slid over each other a couple of times before Eivor leant down to kiss Kassandra. Kassandra's arms wrapped around her shoulders, her fingers finding their way into her hair. Their tongues slipped playfully against the other's. Kassandra indulged in that kiss before breaking it to look up at Eivor.

The flush across her face should've been cute, but in this context it was one of the sexiest things Kassandra had ever seen. There was only one thing that still bothered her, so she leant up to guide Eivor down. Her lips connected to the frown between her eyebrows and felt her relax underneath her kiss. In the next Eivor was kissing her deeply yet again. They rocked together, so intimate, so close, so many kisses between them. It was building up an ecstasy that was only theirs to taste. 

Eivor slowly fucked her until they were both out of breath, their noises no longer under control and shaking fingers grabbed onto whatever was closest to them. Kassandra felt the familiar pull in her stomach simmer underneath her skin, pulling at all her senses to speed things up, to hurry up to spill over the edge. But Eivor was merciless as she kept the simmering just below a boil with the slow, steady rhythm of her hips. The slow build up was clawing on Kassandra's insides. She had no choice but to hang onto Eivor's shoulders as a grounding point or else she'd lost it completely. Her fingers were already restless and shaking, but when she felt the waves of pleasure suddenly boil closer and closer she knew it wouldn't take longer until she was coming. 

Slow, so slow Eivor kept the pace up and Kassandra felt herself suddenly boil over and she came fast, hard yet so deliberately slow it dragged out longer than she'd ever experienced before. She was still coming and Eivor was still rocking her hips against her. Kassandra's legs shuddered as a second wave of her orgasm trashed through her body. It was even more intense than the first and she realized that she was going to cum a third time as the second wave was crashing through her and her mind was already blacking out at the anticipation. 

Eivor's hips were still moving as Kassandra felt herself spread her legs a little bit further, bucking up where she needed the touches the most and clawing at Eivor's shoulders as her third orgasm swallowed her whole. It consumed the whole of her, sending her down into the depth of the abyss only to pull her back up by the throat again. Liquid was pouring out of her and down the mattress. Eivor shuddered as she continued to rock her hips a couple of times. Her back arched, her lips locked with Kassandra's as her whole body shook. 

Kassandra could feel the twitching of her cunt against hers and it was so hot to know that Eivor had just orgasmed against her. Her merciless hips stilled, but her lips kept kissing Kassandra. She kept kissing her until the earth was slowly gaining back its colors and her hearing was starting to come back. Her heavy breathing calmed down, her fingers steadied. Her heart pounded the normal amount of beats per minute. Her feet relaxed and her legs closed up to lay straight on her back. Eivor allowed her to move and shifted her weight to the side, still kissing her.

"You can’t do that." Kassandra whispered as their lips finally parted for air. Her voice trembled as her throat suddenly felt rather dry. "I'll fall in love with you."

"That good?" Eivor asked, her smirk even present in her tone of voice. 

"Yeah."

"Yeah?" 

Kassandra pulled her down to kiss her again and rolled them over. The large wet spot on the mattress evidence of what had just taken place. Her skin was damp all over. "Shower?"

"Just kiss me a little bit longer."

"Alright." said Kassandra. She lazily slid her arms to rest one hand on Eivor's jaw and the other between her cheek and the mattress. Eivor's arm rested at the small of Kassandra's back. It was a strange calm that settled between them. One that was a little too comfortable being this covered in sweat and wetness. Kassandra found herself strangely enjoying the way Eivor's scent had changed over the early morning hours. 

She could feel herself settle for this. Her heart completely belonged to Eivor now and it was a problem. A problem she was going to deal with at another date and place. Right now she enjoyed the kisses pressed against her face, jaw, lips, even down her chest and shoulders. It was a moment she was going to allow herself to indulge in.

And it seemed as Eivor had the same idea as well.

"Bet you can’t make me cum again." Kassandra said against Eivor's lips. She raised her head and a lazy smile spread across her lips. 

"Bet?"

"Yeah."

"It's on." Eivor said as her fingers found their way onto Kassandra's ass. Kassandra laughed as they lazily struggled to get into position again. 

This she could get used to.

She hoped Eivor felt the same.