Chapter Text
Cora takes a morning walk every day at 7:30 a.m., then retires to the facility's cafe for a nice break, then returns to her facility for whatever treatment the day has in store for her. It's routine, literally. Prescribed and handed to her in neat lettering from her assigned therapist. And, as much as she hates to admit it, the fresh air does do wonders for her mental state.
She steps into the cafe today to find the chair she usually inhabits filled. A new patient, by the looks of him. A small guy, scrawny, with a sickly sort of charm to him that she's really not supposed to find charming anymore. He's in a hoodie with a rib cage printed onto it. He can't be from the same facility as her; he's allowed to keep the strings on his hoodie.
She sits at the table directly next to her normal one, trying her very best not to glare at him for a thief he isn't aware he committed. He returns glances a few times, and she angrily looks down at her hands out of spite.
And then he stands up, walking over. "Hey," he says, in a rough voice she almost knows. "You keep looking over at me. Are you flirting or trying to pick a flight?"
Cora blinks at him, a flush almost rising to her face at the idea. "I--"
"My name's Christopher." He shifts a bit, and she realizes there's an inherent weakness to how he's standing. "I figure that's important to know for either one."
Cora laughs, a bit harder than she intended to, and it blows the annoyed fire right out of her heart. "I'm Cora. And I'm sorry-- you're sitting at the table I usually sit at."
"Oh, 'm sorry. I just got transferred here, I didn't know."
Cora nods. "Which building are you in?"
"Oh, um..." He says the proper name of the building, which really shows his newness, and responds to her eyebrow raise with almost shrinking in on himself. He leans against the chair across from hers, and sits when she nods. "Uh, I'm in physical therapy, if that's what you're asking?"
She nods, "That must be why I haven't seen you around."
He nods, almost awkward at knowing which building she's from. "Well, I'm sorry about taking your table. When do you usually come here?"
"Every day."
"Ah, I see. Well, if we both wind up here at the same time, maybe we could share it? Unless you just want me to get my own."
Cora considers for a moment. Considers him. And then nods. "I can share."