For: Logan not here
Prompt: Mio-time for Perrine (a tea-party for just the two of them)
"This is Darjeeling," Perrine explained, offering Mio the pouch she had just plucked from the teashop shelf. "It's a black tea, and it's very popular in Britannia."
Mio opened the small bag and sniffed the contents; it sure looked like every other pile of dried leaves in the store. She didn't have much more time to regard the pouch, however, as Perrine handed her an open tin.
"Earl Grey, also common in Britannia," Perrine said. "It used to be a black tea, flavored with bergamot orange oil, but the name can be applied to any tea that contains oil of bergamot."
Once again, Mio lifted the container to her nose, but pulled back in surprise. "We've had this before, haven't we?"
Perrine, obviously distracted by the sheer drink variety offered by the store, turned to Mio, smiling. "You can tell? That's one of Lynne's favorites to prepare, so she asked me to pick some up."
They continued down the aisles, Perrine scouring them quickly but efficiently, while Mio occasionally inspected a box or tin or bag.
"I'm surprised you know so much about tea," Mio started, picking up a tall tin with a Fusoan label on the side and lid. "It's kind of cute."
"C-cute?" Perrine asked, voice strained.
Mio looked in front of her, but only saw the gold of Perrine's hair, obscuring her face as she stared intently at the tea in her hand. She smiled.
"Yeah," she reiterated. "Cute."
When Perrine finally gathered the courage to look at her, Mio had a lopsided grin on her face, and she was holding an exotically decorated container.
She held it out for Perrine to see. "Mind if we get some?" she asked, somehow aware that Perrine wouldn't say no.
The base was always eerily silent in the middle of the night. Mio didn't consider herself a night person, but there was something calming about the silence. It was the perfect time for quick cup of tea before she set off for bed.
"Major?"
Mio looked over her shoulder and spotted Perrine in the dining room doorway. Smiling warmly, she waved her over.
"Couldn't sleep?" Mio asked refilling her teacup and offering it Perrine, who nodded. "Me either."
Perrine accepted the cup and took a small sip as Mio went to fetch another from one of the kitchen cupboards. "This is…."
"It's called 'Sencha'. We drank it a lot back in Fuso," Mio explained, sitting down and pouring herself a new cup.
"This is what you wanted to buy?" Perrine asked, curiously regarding her reflection, green-tinted from the color of the tea.
Mio hummed a little in confirmation. "I was surprised to see it outside of Fuso, so I couldn't resist getting some. Tastes good, doesn't it?"
"It's," Perrine trailed off, taking another sip and letting the liquid rest on her tongue. "A little bitter," she finished honestly.
Unable to stop herself, Mio burst out laughing. Perrine's bemused look did nothing to help the situation.
"M-major? What's-"
Mio cut her off, still laughing, "That was surprisingly blunt. But I guess that one of the things that makes you so cute."
"Cute again? Sometimes I just don't understand how you can just say things like that so easily," Perrine spluttered, bright red.
Chuckling under her breath, Mio patted Perrine a few times on the head. "I can say it because it's true," she said simply, taking a long drink of her now-lukewarm tea. Looking at the cup in her hand, she cracked another grin, "You're right; it is bitter."
Perrine, lightly pink but smiling herself, nodded, "Yes, but it tastes good."
A/N: Oh look, a short one for once.
Writing stories about tea is difficult when you can't mention China (Fumikane, you really need to get on that naming thing). It's even worse if you consider that the scientific name for the plant tea is made from, Camellia sinensis, includes the Latin word for "Chinese."
This was supposed to be a tea-party, but the idea wasn't taking off as well as I hoped, so Perrine gets bonding in a teashop and over late night green tea. I'm sure she's pleased with both (indirect kiss, anyone?).
Tea References:
- First off, everything thing said about tea in the actual story is true.
- Because Earl Grey is flavored with oil of bergamot, it has a distinctive taste and smell, so it's easily recognizable amongst tea-drinkers. It was named for Charles Grey, 2nd Earl of Grey and British prime minister in the 1830's, who received said flavored tea as a gift from a Chinese bureaucrat.
- Sencha is the most common and popular form of green tea in Japan. Japanese green tea, as compared to the Chinese or Korean kinds, is less oxidized and is steeped at a lower temperature, so it has a more bitter taste than the other kinds.