Perekoo One-shots

Tea Etiquette (Part II. to The Charming Woman She Didn't Know)

Alma sat at the table by the window in a small teashop, twiddling her thumbs. Originally, she wanted to sit close by the door to see the silver-haired woman enter, but after lifting her head every time someone walked in, she decided that a loner in desperate need of company wasn't the first picture she'd like Isabel to see. Well, not first. Their previous meeting at the annual ball went so well that they decided to see each other again, and Alma wanted to be sure their relationship only blossomed from here. Table by the window it is.

Miss Peregrine looked out the window. The streets of the Devil's Acre were overflowing with people. Some people were rushing to work; some were walking home; peculiars entering and exiting buildings of different shapes and colours. For a hot minute, the ravenette tried searching for the silver hair of her companion in the anonymous crowd but soon gave up. She wasn't going to be this clingy. The two women barely know each other. Instead, the peregrine started studying the atmosphere of the shop.

If Alma had to choose one word to describe it, she'd say cosy. It was a small establishment. All the decor was a soft shade of brown or beige with small pops of greenery here and there. The walls were covered in small bookshelves and replicas from famous artists like Monet, Van Gogh and Klint. Impressionism here; modernism there; renaissance next to cubism and romanticism. Alma usually didn't like when people mixed different art periods. The various art styles mixing into visual clutter almost always created chaos. However, this display seemed to have found a balance between order and disarray and the peregrine found it, in fact, quite beautiful. Lost in one of Monet's paintings she didn't even notice Isabel standing at her side.

"Sunrise, a truly mesmerising painting, isn't it," the ravenette froze. "The mystique it holds and yet one feels at peace when looking at it."

"Miss Cuckoo!" blurted out Alma. The tall woman smirked down at her. "Isabel, darling. And hello to you too."

The smaller woman shot up from her seat, almost knocking it over in doing so, and held her hand out, blood raising into her cheeks. Isabel glanced at the stretched-out hand and coyly smiled. Moving closer, putting her hands on the ravenette's shoulders, and looking deep into her emerald eyes, she smiled. "It is so nice to see you again, Alma."

"You t-too," stuttered the smaller ymbryne.

"What I delightful small teashop you've chosen," said Isabel, looking around the establishment. "I'll admit, it took me a moment to find it. Sorry I kept you waiting."

"I thought it might. Initially, I stumbled over this little heaven completely by accident. I was in search of one of the local libraries," grinned Alma. "It was raining hence I decided to go inside and I immediately fell in love." She threw her hands in the air, smiling.

"Of course you did," answered Isabel, looking around once more before setting her eyes on the little gallery Alma admired just a moment before. "You are a writer and I bet you're a lover of literature too?" she declared semi-confidently, shooting Alma a questioning look. When the peregrine nodded she continued with a victorious smirk. "You're a dreamer," she stated, studying the old paintings. "This is exactly your kind of place, isn't it? It's..."

"Old fashioned?" Alma whispered looking away from her companion. The taller woman turned back to her with a soft smile. "Magical."

Miss Peregrine looked at her, stunned and blushing. "Yes. You're quite good at reading people."

"I-I suppose," said Isabel suddenly shy under Alma's intense gaze. She began gently pulling on her shirt cuffs. "I'm a bit of a dreamer myself." Regaining her posture, she cleared her throat.

"As I promised, here is one of my creations," gestured the french woman to her outfit with a charming smile. She wore a closely fitted blazer of navy blue linen over a white high-collar lace shirt with a tasteful golden brooch at the top button, pearl earrings and slightly darker suit trousers with high heels. Miss Peregrine stared at her in awe.