Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Beatrice’s morning routine is always the same: wake up, go on a run, shower, brew tea, drink tea whilst posting or planning for the day.

This morning has consisted of her: accidentally sleeping in, getting caught in a downpour while running, hot water cutting out in her shower, and the discovery that she is out of tea.

It has been a very bad morning for her to say the least.

She sits down tea-less at her desk and opens twitter on her laptop. The first thing she spots is a recommended tweet of a beautiful woman standing on the beach.

Naturally she clicks on it.

Beatrice stares at the tweet far longer than she should. She’d do anything for a holiday; to get out of the dreary London weather into some sort of sun. Lay on a beach or by a lake, or hike up a mountain without fear of showers.

She sighs. While it sounds nice, she knows going on holiday alone would be rather depressing. Pity eyes staring at her while alone at a restaurant or finding herself lost in the woods with no one to help her would be her fate.

Still she stares at the tweet, though at this point her thoughts have shifted from a doomed getaway to the beautiful woman in the original tweet. Her smile is bright and her hair is just short of her shoulders in a way that Beatrice knows it must adorably bounce when she moves. Her eyes scan over her body more times than she’d like to admit, to the point that she feels her cheeks start to blush.

She forces herself to stop drooling over this literal stranger when she notices the time. Quickly she hits ‘Follow’ before she can second guess herself and opens up a new tweet box. Beatrice then quickly types out her post, hoping the delay will not upset too many of her followers.

With that done she closes her laptop and quickly collects her things, making sure to grab an umbrella for the rain before she steps outside in search of tea.

Ava has not enjoyed London so far.

First, she had a painfully early flight here this morning. Then a taxi splashed her in her attempt to call for a ride after she landed. To top it off, the hotel she’s staying at won’t let her check in early, so she’s stuck with wet clothes and lugging around a suitcase for now.

All this before she’s had a damn cup of coffee.

She’s managed to make it to a nearby café, where she plans to drink her weight in caffeine while she figures out a plan.

Ava claims the only table open by practically throwing her luggage next to it, making the patrons at the nearby counter jump. Some look personally offended, as if she just broke all unspoken British acceptable public behavior.

She doesn’t give a shit.

After practically collapsing onto her chair she goes to take her first sip of coffee. Her eyes quickly deviate from the mug as she spots a literal goddess walk towards her, stopping just shy of her table.

The woman’s hair is in a neat bun, aside from small strands framing her face. Her eyes are narrow and her lips are pursed in a way that makes her wonder how it would feel to kiss them roughly. She’s wearing a long black raincoat and gripping a black umbrella by her side, regally standing as if she knows she’s the hottest person in this café.

Ava’s convinced a literal London model is standing next to her.

Her coffee hovers near her lips while she watches the woman be handed a mug, only to turn and frown when she realizes there’s no open spots to sit.

“You can sit with me!” She says a little too loudly.

The woman looks startled by her outburst and tentatively points to herself. Ava nods quickly and hopes that she’s not blushing when the woman sits down.

“Thank you for letting me join you,” she says with a small smile.

Ava waves it off. “It’s nothing. This place is packed.”

“I’m Beatrice by the way,” she says, holding out her hand.

Ava looks at her slightly amused by the formality of it. She takes her hand, noticing how steady the woman’s hand is while she holds hers. “I’m Ava.”

Something seems to click for Beatrice. Her eyes widen slightly and her mouth drops open for a moment before clamping shut. “Are you… that travel vlogger?”

Ava has to stop herself from letting out a hollow laugh. Of course the prettiest girl she’s ever seen is a fan. She can’t, or rather, won’t let herself date fans. They always approach her with an idea of who she is, never truly getting to know her.

Guess her luck this morning isn’t turning around anytime soon; if anything it’s gotten worse.

Ava tries not to look disappointed when she replies. “Yeah I travel and show the world for those who can’t.”

“I saw your Canary Islands tweet this morning. I must say I did enjoy the blissful moment of thinking I could travel.” Beatrice smiles, taking a sip of her tea.

“Why don’t you?” Ava asks curiously.

Beatrice sighs. “Work mostly. Though I can’t help but be afraid that traveling alone isn’t for me.”

Ava can’t help but feel her heart race. The implication of Beatrice being single should not be this thrilling, especially with her off limits as a viewer.

“I literally travel alone for a living,” Ava laughs. “Well you should know.”

Beatrice looks confused. “You travel alone?”

Ava looks at her quizzically. “Yeah that’s like my whole thing.”

She takes a sip of coffee at the exact moment Beatrice says, “Oh I have not watched any of your videos. I just assumed you had company with you.”

Ava nearly chokes on her drink. “But you saw my tweet?”

“Yeah a travel agency quoted it on my feed,” Beatrice says simply before drinking her mug.

Ava’s heart pounds, she feels nerves all over again. Beatrice is not a fan, Beatrice is fair game, Beatrice is-

“Oh gosh would you look at the time,” Beatrice says suddenly, while staring at her watch. “I’m sorry, but I have somewhere to be.”

Ava forces a smile, disappointed in their time together coming to a close. “It’s okay.”

“Thank you for the seat,” she gestures down. Softer she says, “And for the company.”

Ava can tell she’s definitely blushing now. “Anytime.”

Beatrice stands there staring at her, clearly debating something. Just when she thinks she’s going to ask for her number she throws her for a loop.

Beatrice hands out her umbrella. “If you’re in London, you need an umbrella.”

Ava blinks a few times before taking it. “Are you sure? Don’t you need it?”

“Not more than you,” Beatrice says with a light laugh, nodding down at Ava’s still damp clothes.

Ava grins. “Well thank you Beatrice.”

“Anytime,” Beatrice says, taking a step back. “Enjoy your holiday Ava.”

A second later and the woman is gone. The empty mug and umbrella are the on signs that she was real and not a sleep deprived imagination.

Maybe London won’t be so bad.