WHAT: Perfuma invites Scorpia for her morning tea ceremony WHERE: The Princess Apartment WHEN: Backdated to a few days after Perfuma's arrival WARNINGS: Nah STATUS: Complete
When they’d finally beaten Horde Prime, when Scorpia had finally broken free of Horde Prime’s control and everything was finally dying down, when she’d spent nearly the entirety of their victory party at Perfuma’s side, she had been ready. She’d been prepared, that next day, to find Perfuma and ask her out on an actual real date.
Somehow, for some reason, at that time she’d been almost certain that Perfuma would say yes. Certain enough that, while she’d had butterflies in her stomach, they hadn’t been nerves.
She didn’t know why she’d been so certain now. Too much time had passed – for Scorpia, if not for Perfuma, who had probably seen Scorpia within a matter of hours before she’d shown up in Vallo – and now Scorpia had no such assurances. In fact, she felt the complete opposite. She was pretty sure that if she’d ask Perfuma out, Perfuma would refuse her point blank. Maybe even laugh at her for trying.
Well, okay, maybe not laugh at her, because Perfuma wouldn't do that even if she wanted to, but she definitely wasn’t going to say yes. Every moment Scorpia thought they shared back on Etheria had probably been imagined. Something only she’d seen. Like all the moments she thought that she and Catra had shared, way back then, every one of them wrapped in a layer of doubt.In fact, she was pretty sure that Perfuma had only been nice to her because Perfuma was nice to everyone, and she probably didn’t really like Scorpia at all.
Scorpia hadn’t been avoiding spending one-on-one time with Perfuma, exactly. It just happened that someone else had always been around, up until now. Given the fact that Perfuma was now living with her and Glimmer, she probably should have expected this moment to come up sooner or later.
She was not prepared. As evident by the fact that she dropped the watering can when Perfuma snuck up behind her like a ninja and wished her a good morning.
“Perfuma! Hi!” Scorpia said, voice sounding a little high even to her own ears. She tried to ignore the spreading puddle of water at her feet. “Good morning, I mean. It is a good morning, isn’t it?”
She looked over her shoulder, trying to see if she could spot Glimmer.
"It is a good morning, Scorpia!" chimed Perfuma, smiling and almost absent-mindedly encouraging several planets to extend and scoop up the spilled water into their pots. "I was able to complete my morning centering ritual in such quiet peace. I feel like I can take on the day now!"
She did a little twirl with her arms outstretched, just because - maybe it was nervous energy, maybe it was excitement, maybe it was just Perfuma. After the spin, she put her hand on Scorpia's (just because Scorpia's hands looked different, they were still her hands and shame on anyone who said otherwise) and smiled up at her. "I was thinking you could join me for my morning tea ceremony? Unless you're busy with the plants, of course! I know how important they are!"
It had been such a whirlwind since Perfuma had arrived and everything had been so exciting and new and everyone was so FRIENDLY, it almost overloaded her heart.
It was strange how someone’s touch could both settle her nerves and turn her mute, her voice not quite able to get around the heart that was lodged in her throat, her cheeks turning pink.
“Oh, no, it’s fine,” Scorpia started, finally able to make mouth noises again. She took a deep breath in through her nose, and exhaled through her mouth, and felt herself calm down a little more. “I mean, yes, I'd love to do your morning tea ceremony. That sounds lovely.” Scorpia’d heard about it, of course, but she’d never had a chance to participate in one before. “The plants are… I mean, you’re so much better at taking care of them, so if you wanted to, you could from now on? You don’t have to of course, but I thought… maybe you’d like that?”
She’d gotten the plants because she’d missed Perfuma in the first place. There was the Christmas Cactus, with pink blossoms nearly the same colour as Perfuma’s favourite dress, and the little succulent that Catra had gotten her as a house warming present all those months ago, cheerfully growing away, and a couple other flowers that crowded the windowsill. Scorpia had enjoyed caring for them, but she thought Perfuma might like it more and they would do better under her careful ministrations.
"Scorpia, no!" answered Perfuma, releasing Scorpia's hand and stepping to the side to take in the view of the plants. "These are yours and I love seeing that you've taken such good care of them. I can't take that away from you. You could probably give the flowers on the windowsill a bit more room to grow, but that's my only suggestion." She hadn't meant to critique, of course, it just kind of happened as she was giving supportive feedback.
"Besides, tending them makes you happy and relaxed and that's just as good as meditation, if you think about it. I'll let you finish watering them while I go get the tea ready?" She stepped back for a second and added "The little succulent's pot is SO ADORABLE."
Scorpia looked at the flowers on the sill, tilting her head a little. It was pretty crowded in there. “Maybe I could buy some shelves?” she suggested, hesitantly; maybe it was a bad idea. But then, Yasha’s shop had a lot of flowers on the shelves there and it did look very lovely.
“Thank you!” she said, picking up the little potted plant and hugging it close to her chest. “Catra got him for me back when I first arrived! She even made sure that the pot was reinforced so I didn’t actually break it! His name is George!”
"Hi George!" Perfuma's bright response matched the happy smile on her face as leaned in to get a better look. "Who knew Catra could be so thoughtful? Oh, maybe this place has been really good for her, too. Everyone's been so nice, she probably didn't stand a chance."
Without missing a beat, she returned to a standing position and looked back at the other plants. "You can never have too many shelves, Scorpia. Even without the beauty of plants, you can store all kinds of things on them." She nodded and continued, "But mostly plants."
“This place has been really good for her,” Scorpia agreed. “She’s really been able to, you know, be herself and open up now that she doesn’t have so much pressure on her all the time. And having Adora with her helps a lot too.” Scorpia could hardly believe the change when she’d first met Catra here.
Then again, she hadn’t had much of a chance to see her after she’d come back from Horde Prime’s ship; Scorpia had spent most of that time under Prime’s control. Maybe the new Catra would be less of a surprise to Perfuma.
“Maybe we can talk to Glimmer and see about getting new shelves,” Scorpia said. She’d lived in the apartment by herself for months before Glimmer had come, and sometimes she needed to remind herself that she couldn’t just make new decorating decisions by herself and assume that everyone else would be okay with it.
Most of the water in the can had already been spilled and Perfuma had made sure that the nearest plants had lapped it up, so she went over to the other window to empty what little water was left into the plants there.
Glimmer is making shelves now? was echoing in Perfuma's thoughts as she turned to go to the kitchen to prepare some tea, humming to herself as she did so. She hadn't ever thought that carpentry would be something her friend and fellow Princess would be interested in, but was already proud of her for taking on new skills.
She was certainly enjoying how much faster she could prepare tea here, too. It meant she could get her morning routines done more quickly, freeing up more of the day, and she already knew in her heart that was going to be a little addicting. But that was for Future Perfuma to stress over! She happily watched Scorpia water the plants while the tea was heating up, proud of just how much her dear friend had been allowed to grow outside of the Horde's awful grip. That place had been so confining for someone with such a bright and wonderful heart.
Perfuma was smiling to herself as she began to set up the tray of cups and sugar and cream while the water continued to heat. This was going to be a really good ceremony, she could already tell.
Scorpia finished the watering, glancing at Perfuma from the corner of her eye surreptitiously, hoping she wasn’t noticed, and made her way back to the kitchen to put away the watering can.
Then she hovered awkwardly on the other side of the room, watching as Perfuma prepared everything. “Is there anything I can do to help?” she ventured, nervous. “I could get uh… cookies? Cookies and tea go good together, right?” She was already opening the cupboards. “Or oh, wait, would they ruin the ceremony? I guess you probably already have a routine, don’t you?”
Perfuma performed a little calming gesture and nodded over at Scorpia. "A tea ceremony represents the people performing it and if you want to have cookies with our tea, then we'll have cookies with our tea." It would be different, but she could handle different. It was something she really wanted to show and share with Scorpia and that meant she couldn't expect it to be exactly the same way it was when she was alone. She understood that, she did.
"Here, I'll make some room on the tray for the cookies. And you can lay them out however your heart desires. Can you carry the tray? I think the hot water will take two hands for me. Unless you want to carry the water? I can get the tray?" She hadn't realized it would be more to carry when she had this idea and now she felt a little flustered. What it didn't go well? What if she asked too much of Scorpia?
Scorpia smiled, carefully taking a few cookies from the cupboard and laying them out on a small plate before she brought it over to the tray. “I can carry the tray,” Scorpia said, picking up the tray delicately between her claws. She didn’t need to worry too much about breaking anything at Looking Glass Teas now that Stephen had made sure everything in the shop was indestructible, but it still ruined the tea mood if she was constantly dropping things or making them rattle around on the plates and trays. She’d learned some grace over the month.
“Just let me know if I do anything wrong,” Scorpia said. “I know this is important to you.”
"You can't do anything wrong", answered Perfuma, stepping to go around Scorpia with the electric kettle and leading the way to the center of her room (where she'd already set up a nice little spot with some flowers and colorful candles). She gestured to the middle, where Scorpia could set down the tray before collapsing into a sitting position, legs criss-crossed.
She did in fact notice that Scorpia seemed more… confident(?) in the way she moved, certainly less concern over whether she'd bump into things or hit someone on accident with her stinger. It made Perfuma incredibly proud, because she knew none of that would come about without practice and effort. Smiling as the tray settled, she put her hands together happily.
"See? You're doing amazing."
“Oh, well,” Scorpia said, glancing down quickly and blushing. She set the tray down, and then sat down across from Scorpia, mimicking her pose. “I’m working at a tea shop now, so I get a lot of practice carrying trays and stuff. It’s not such a big deal,” she said, scratching at her cheek with her claw.
"It is a big deal!" answered Perfuma, reaching across to rest a hand on Scorpia's other hand. "A few weeks - months?" Okay, she wasn't completely clear on the time thing yet. "You wouldn't have wanted to go near anything breakable and now you've got a job working with them. And serving it to people! So believe in yourself, be confident in your success. And know that I'll always believe in you!"
Smiling she settled back and packed some tea leaves in two little infusers before dropping them into mugs. It was her own little blend of leaves and spices, flavors that made her think of Scorpia, even. A bright flavor, with a bit of a spiky kick on the back end. She poured the hot water over the infusers and let the heat do it's work.
"Now, we wait a few minutes. Is there anything on your mind that you need to clear before the tea ceremony? Busy brains will destabilize the harmony, you know."
“Oh, well, nothing’s breakable there anymore. Stephen made sure of that once I started working there,” Scorpia said. It was true that when she’d started there, everything had still been delicate and fragile though. And, well, hearing that Perfuma believed in her made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. She’d heard it before, but that had been months ago. Before she’d been chipped. Before she’d ended up here in Vallo.
Scorpia’s brain was definitely busy, though she wasn’t sure that there was any way she could clear it in the next few minutes. She tried for a moment, all the words fighting to escape her at once so that they ended up just blocking one another and coming out as nothing at all. She tried again.
“I just… I’m really glad you’re here. I never really got a chance before I wound up here to apologize for everything? With Horde Prime, I mean. And that I remember you trying to reach me and I know that I didn’t always… I mean, I still tried to hurt you? I didn’t want to, but… I’m sorry. And I’m glad you’re here. Oh, I already said that, didn’t I? Thank you for believing in me. Before. And now.”
"Scorpia," responded Perfuma, smiling softly and tilting her head a bit. "That wasn't you. That was someone controlling you, but you were still there inside. I knew it, and if you remember me reaching out, then I was right. And you missed on purpose, when he could have made you hurt or even kill us."
She didn't want to counter the rest, though, and remind her that this Stephen person can't make the people unbreakable, because wow that would probably just send Scorpia into a worry spiral and then Perfuma would worry about her worrying and then this whole tea ceremony would just be a giant mess and then they'd have to try and start all over tomorrow because once it's deharmonized, you can't just pick it right back up again and--
Shaking her head softly to get her thoughts straight, Perfuma refocused and continued what she was trying to say. "So I'll always believe in you. Always! Nothing can change that."
Perfuma was right, that absolutely would send Scorpia into a worry spiral. Instead, she turned her pincer so that she could hold Perfuma’s hand, being careful not to hurt her. “I missed you,” she said, cheeks flushed.
It was probably too much. Scorpia was pretty sure it was definitely too much. But it still felt like something that had to be said, because out of everyone on Etheria, Scorpia had missed Perfuma the most.
Perfuma's smile warmed up even more as she put her hands in Scorpia's. She trusted her not to not pinch her hands or hurt her in any way. "I'm sorry I couldn't be here sooner! I mean, sure, I didn't know this place existed or how to get here, but you shouldn't have had to go through all of this alone. Or mostly alone, I know Adora and apparently even Catra have done all they can for you."
She thought about how she was kind of outside of the Best Friend Squad, though, and how it sometimes felt like she was one of the 'extra' Princesses. Not that there was anything wrong with any of it, they were all still basically family, of course! But it was easy to feel on the outside sometimes, that's all. Oh, there was the anxiety again.
“Especially Catra,” Scorpia said, and it wasn’t just a blind devotion to Catra. Catra had changed a lot since she’d come here, all of it for the better. “And I have some other friends here too, so I wasn’t really alone. It would’ve just been better with you.” She started. “Oh, but maybe you don’t want to be here. I know that you have your whole kingdom at home and…” She took a deep breath, in through the nose, out through the mouth, before she started to ramble. “Is there anything you want to get off your mind? Before we start?”
That was probably better than deciding on her own that Perfuma hated it here.
Ah, her heart fluttered again at the idea of Catra becoming such a good and valued friend. Perfuma always knew she had it in her! Plus, she was sure that Scorpia and Adora's influence definitely helped. You can't NOT be influenced by the people around you, if they're stubborn enough to try. That's why it was so important to get them away from the Horde!
She did softly shake her head, though. "My kingdom still has me, so I'm free to explore new things here. It'll be a challenge, sure, but I think I can do it. Besides, I think I can take on anything if you're there with me!"
Scorpia’s smile was soft, Perfuma’s hand warm in hers, and she took a moment to just gaze at Perfuma and marvel at how pretty and kind Perfuma was, and how she always seemed to know the right thing to say to put Scorpia at ease when all she wanted to do was freak out, and resolved that yes, she was going to actually ask Perfuma on a date. Maybe not right now, because she remembered how overwhelming all of this had been when she first showed up, but sometime soon.
But she could offer to show her all around Vallo, which was exactly what Scorpia opened her mouth to do when the timer for the tea chimed.
"Oh~" started Perfuma, blushing slightly and slowly pulling her hands loose to serve the tea. She'd for the moment been kind of lost in Scorpia's gaze. It felt really nice to be looked at like that, okay? She just wasn't familiar with it. And she also wasn't sure she wasn't just imagining it, because their friendship was really strong.
"Tea's ready!" she noted, slowly removing the infusers and setting them on a saucer. Then she closed her eyes for a moment, took a couple of deep breaths to calm her center, and then dropped in two sugar cubes and a dash of of cream. She hesitated for a moment, then after a sheepish smile at Scorpia, did the same for her. With that, she picked up her tea and one cookie, because Scorpia wanted them.
Scorpia mimicked Perfuma’s motions, picking up the teacup delicately in her pincers, being careful not to break it: this cup wasn’t spelled against her strength. She took a sip, sat for a moment, and then asked in a loud whisper, “Are we allowed to talk during the ceremony?”
Doubt crossed Perfuma's face for a moment and then she admitted, "I'm sure it's okay? It's usually just me, so there's no one to talk to. But the ceremony is really just making and drinking the tea while being relaxed. So as long as the conversation is relaxed, I don't think it's a problem? Unless you think it's a problem. Is it a problem?"
"Oh, no, it's not a problem at all," Scorpia said. "Either way, I mean. I just like talking to you is all, but if we're supposed to be drinking tea in silence, then I'm okay just looking at you. I mean, drinking tea with you. I can be silent if talking would ruin the… the harmonious energies."
There were some people who would argue that Scorpia probably couldn't stay silent throughout an entire tea ceremony, and they were probably right, but Scorpia was willing to at least try.
Flushed again, Perfuma's face had formed into this kind of 'dumbstruck and pleased at the same time' appearance. "I- er- I mean, you can look at me? If you want? If it helps you focus? Because that's what this is all about. Focusing, that is. Whatever helps you focus. Focusing all the time. Focus focus focus. With some light talking, that's okay. Focusing and talking. With cookies."
Wow.
Scorpia smiled, chin dipping just a moment. Perfuma was cute. Cuter than Scorpia remembered, really, but that might have just been because she’d spent the last four months missing her. She took a bite of her cookie.
“What do you usually do to focus during your tea ceremony?”
"I usually just try and clear my mind and focus on nothing!" answered Perfuma, oddly both glad and disappointed that there was a question she could answer without feeling awkward. She took a bite of her cookie and then looked at it for a second. Scorpia was right, cookies really did work well with the tea. Had she spent all these ceremonies missing out on a good complementary snack? She took another bite and then swallowed it all down with tea.
"Which, I know, is difficult," she added, once her throat was cleared. "Thinking about not thinking, I mean. It's more than that, though? You're not thinking about nothing but rather not focused on anything specific. No dwelling on thoughts, so your mind is free to drift along whatever thought occurs before going on to the next. Like a butterfly in a field of flowers."
Her eyes drifted closed as she described the process, but then she opened one eye to glance at Scorpia. "NOT like a moth to a lamp, just beating yourself up for a sole focus."
“Oh, it’s not that difficult for me,” Scorpia said, cheerily. “Catra always used to tell me I had nothing going on in my head anyway!” She paused, then grimaced, realizing how that sounded. “I mean, she doesn’t tell me that anymore or anything. And I don’t think… I mean, she probably didn’t mean anything mean by it.” Though, she probably hadn’t been complimenting Scorpia either. And she had the sneaking suspicion that she was ruining the vibes of the tea now. “What I mean to say is that I’m an expert at not dwelling on things! I’m great at it! If you ever need not-dwelling tips, I’m your gal.”
"I think," answered Perfuma, pausing to make sure she said it the way she meant to. "That Catra uses aggression as a way of showing she cares. After all, she's fought Adora so many times and now they're married." She didn't want to tell Scorpia that Catra probably did mean it, at the time, because she would always lash out at the people around her. But that was old Catra, not shiny new Catra!
But she smiled because it sounded like Scorpia understood meditation probably better than any of the other princesses in that regard. That's why Scorpia was her favorite and she would defend her against anything. Well, not just because of that, of course. It'd be silly to think that was the only reason and Perfuma was certainly not a single reason person. "You're doing great, okay? This is the best tea ceremony I've had since getting here."
Scorpia nodded; Perfuma was so wise and insightful, because of course Catra showed affection by being aggressive. It made total sense to Scorpia.
"This is the best tea ceremony I've had since ever. Not that I've had a lot of tea ceremonies, though. I mean, we never had them in the Horde at all -- I didn't even know tea ceremonies were a thing in the Horde, and there's shockingly few at Looking Glass Teas. Maybe not shockingly few, since they're a tea shop not a tea ceremony shop, but…" Scorpia frowned. She was getting off track. "What I mean to say is that I'd like to do this again sometime. With you. If you want me to. But you don't have to say yes. I totally would understand if you wanted to do it solo. Or with Glimmer! Or someone else. I bet Emily's great at tea ceremonies. Even if she can't drink. I don't think she can drink, at least."
"Scorpia," responded Perfuma, in a tone that suggested she was trying to speak instead of laugh. "Of course I'd enjoy doing this with you again, as often as you'd like. Just remember what we went over before. Just tell yourself 'I can do this' and shut out the rest of those thoughts."
"Now, let's relax and drink our tea before it gets cold. And then we can take on the rest of the day together!"
“Okay,” Scorpia said, smiling, and she sipped her tea. Perfuma had, perhaps, managed to do the impossible; Scorpia was quite happy to stay in comfortable silence, at least for a little while.