Reincarnation (Hetalia England x OC) SEE DEAR FRANCIS,

Tea Shoppes and Discoveries

She stood outside the small tea shoppe, rocking on her heels nervously. Was she just early, or had someone else left her alone again? The last thought made her look down to the ground, tears coming to her eyes.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, making her jump in surprise and snap her head around. "Huh?!" she squealed out. 

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, duc-love," he said, almost calling her duckling. She loosened up, not having realised she was so tense, and turned with a swoosh of her turquoise skirt, his hand having been taken off her shoulder. 

"Oi! You didn't, just surprised me is all. Be more courteous," she joked, putting a hand on her hip. Her shirt was a fitted, frilled blouse with puffed, long sleeves, lace cuffs, and a high collar, the overalls of her skirt going over her shoulders, and she wore her black combat boots, which peeked out from under her skirt and her white hair up in loose pigtails. 

"Says the tomboy," he joked. "And I'm more gentlemanly than you can imagine."

"Hey! Just because I like crossdressing doesn't make me a tomboy!" She stuck her tongue out at him before pushing past him and into the shoppe. 

"Fine then, you're tsundere, as my friend Kiku would call you," he finished, hurrying up to where she stood, taking in the bittersweet smell of tea and the savoury one of cakes and biscuits. "Fanatic, I see," he stated, mostly to himself. She nodded, closing her eyes and twirling. 

"I haven't had a good cup in forever. When I moved, I could only bring one of my cups with me, and my father is terrible at making tea," she said, opening her eyes again and studying the menu. She rested her head on her hand, pushing her cheek up cutely in the process. He walked up to stand beside her. 

"Where did you move from, anyways, if your father lived in England?" he asked. 

"Circencester." She turned her head to face him, now resting her chin on her hand. "And I'm adopted, although a tad late," she added. 

He chuckled. "A tad late indeed, considering you're seventeen." She flinched ever so slightly when he said so, disliking lying to him for an unknown reason.

"Yeah..." She looked back up at the menu, searching for the kind of tea she wanted. 

"Why don't you get white tea? I'll get it too, if you like," Arthur suddenly blurted, earning a confused look from her. His emerald eyes snapped to her, and he sweat dropped. "I'm just saying... It's healthy and all, and you look so pale and sickly..." He trailed off awkwardly. 

Virginia smiled sadly at him. "Yes, that would be nice. I've heard it's very sweet and fragrant as well." She paused, scooting her way up next to him and bopping his side with her hip. "Of course, I'll be wanting two lumps of sugar, cream, and a tea biscuit with that," she joked, winking at him as she pulled away.

For a second, his emerald eyes lit up with sadness, she noticed, only to disappear and be replaced with an almost stoic look. 

Lizzie... Her favourite tea, her favourite tea time snack described perfectly... he thought solemnly, although Virginia didn't know. He sighed, smiling forcedly. Well... The show must go on...

He walked toward the counter, Virginia following worriedly and closely behind.

~

She lifted the plain porcelain cup to her lips, sipping down the cream-drowned tea with a hum. This caused Arthur to smile at her cuteness, although he would never admit why. She set her cup back down on the platter in her hand and placed that back down on the table, only to blush at his smile. She quickly looked away, avoiding his emerald eyes and kind smile. It doesn't suit him, she thought to herself, despite finding it handsome. His smile seems fake- like it is a facade he is using to hide his real one. 

"Why do you hide your own smile when I made a show of showing you mine?" she finally said, catching him off guard. "Your smile looks much too kind, much too gentlemanly, although that is what you say you are." She paused, taking a drink of her tea. Finally, she pulled it away from her lips, pointing her pinkie at him. "It seems fake- truly, it doesn't suit you," she finished. He gave her a look of astonishment before leaning back in his chair. 

"What gives you the right to think mine is fake?" he retorted. 

"The exact reason you thought mine was: intuition and the knowledge of what a truure smile looks like. You've put a mask up before, I know, and I have many a time. It's become natural for me, but I still made a show of my smile, so let yours show," Virginia finished. Arthur's eyes widened in surprise at her speech, thinking to himself of how she was acting mature and completely out of character whilst sitting back up. She mentally cursed herself, however, for showing that side of her; the more she showed her different sides, the easier it would be for others to figure out just what she was, what she could do. On the outside, though, she looked down at her tea shyly.

Arthur watched the awkward girl look away, a smile lighting up his face. Not the smile he had been giving, though; more of a smirk, a mischievous one. His eyes widened in shock for a moment, only for him to sit back in his chair, arms behind his head in a cocky manner. 

After a moment, Virginia looked back up, seeing his movement. She jolted in her seat, though, when she saw the smirk and the cocky look on his face. She was thankful that she wasn't holding her teacup and platter, or else they would be rattling against each other and giving the fact she was shaking. 

She had figured it out. 

Why she liked him so much, why she had hurried into being friends with him, why she felt she knew him already. 

He...

He reminded her of her Arthur. The man she continued to love, even after one hundred fifty years.