An unexpected touch of love

Hello, everyone! Thank you for your positive comments on ?My best dream". I was really happy that you liked it.

This fic is for my friend plengpoonyapa, who wanted to see a fic about Miss Peregrine's first date after having settled in Florida. I love you, sis!

Although I will mention some deaths that happened in the series, this fic will not be dark. It just shows how much the poor Miss P had to deal with, but there'll be a flood of light at the end of the tunnel for her.

?An unexpected touch of love" will be a multichapter fic. Except my OC, all characters belong to Ransom Riggs. Forgot to mention the copyrights last time, oops...

Like last time, I will use the ages of the characters in the movies.

If you celebrate Christmas, I wish you a happy time!

And now, onward with ?An unexpected touch of love"!

Yuna

Chapter 1:

The first time the wide-eyed little Claire noticed that something was different, was when she saw her beloved ymbryne mother leaning against a tree with an uncharacteristicly sad look on her face. She was playing ball in the garden in front of Jacob's house with Millard and Hugh. The girl with the back-mouth had been concerned by the change in Miss Peregrine's mood, but had hesitated to ask her if she was ok, when she had appeared at dinner with her usual bright smile.

That's when she had thought she'd just imagined things in the heat, but Claire was proven wrong when two days later she accidently caught on the look of sadness, complete with tears, that she threw Emma and Jacob kissing in a corner of the library. Once again, the young woman's frown had lifted into a smile when Claire had instantly blurted out the question if she was really fine. Miss Peregrine had just grinned even wider and said it was the dust that made her beautiful eyes watery.

The third time she witnessed abnormal behaviour from her headmistress, she sped into the room of her best friend Bronwyn and desperately confessed to the baffled girl. ?I think Miss P is hurt somewhere and she just won't tell us! She was crying, really crying, Wyn! Something is wrong... and I'm scared. I want the real Miss P back!", she exclaimed after having told her what she had seen this early evening. Bronwyn stared at her wide-eyed and shocked. ?Oh my, that sounds if something was really wrong! But what could we do to make it better?", she muttered, her face mirroring that of her blonde friend. After worrying and thinking for some seconds, Claire's dark face lit up and she extended a hand to her friend to help her up. ?I know who may be able to help us!"

Enoch's and Olive's lips broke apart hastily when they heard the voice of their Little Claire from the door. Enoch bit back a curse and greeted them civilly. ?Hello, Claire and Bronwyn. What can we do for you, sweeties?", Olive asked with a warm smile. Hesitantly, the light-haired girl told them about her discoveries. ?And so we wondered...", she finished. ?...if you know what's happening.", the superstrong girl completed her sentence. The two teenagers looked at each other for some time, then back at them. Olive wore a look of affection on her face, while Enoch kneeled down to their level and brushed hair out of their faces.

?Oh children... I might know what she has. Remember the last two times Miss Peregrine reacted so sad? The first time was when Em and Jake were kissing and the second when she saw a young couple getting married on our daily walk. You weren't present, Wyn, because you felt a little ill this morning. I think that despite the horrible treatment of her brother, she still feels yearning for men. Miss Peregrine wants a boyfriend...", he concluded with a smile worthy of an ymbryne herself.

The two kids exchanged a look of utter surprise. ?So she feels... lonely?", Claire asked a bit hesitantly. Bronwyn gasped and held her friend's hands, squealing exitedly: ?Does it mean that we'll have a father maybe?" The fiery teenager swallowed and knelt down as well to caress the girls. ?That may come with time... But yes, judging from what you've told me, I do think that Miss Peregrine wants to... well, share love with someone else as well." ?Exac... Oh Bird, Horace!", Enoch was about to add, when they heard Horace's scream from downstairs.

Alma Peregrine slowly walked down the street that led from the market to the park. From there she would just have to cross the road and the house of Jacob's family would come into view. Once again she checked the bags in her hand to see if she had everything they needed. There were potatoes, peas, raspberries for a pie she intended to bake, apples... and carrots.

For a second, she felt so horrible that she almost stumbled. The loss of her dear child Fiona, taken in a terrible assault that had come so unexpectedly, still haunted her and broke her innermost core. Such a young and promising life ripped away, like a flower picked up by a cruel hand just to let it waste. Oh Fiona... ?No mother should outlive their children, may they be biological or otherwise...", Miss Peregrine thought, on the verge of crying.

Biological... Suddenly she felt her thoughts turning from Fiona to a scene that she had witnessed earlier this day. She and her children had done their everyday walk, starting at their home, going through the little park, passing a nearby chapel and after crossing the road walking back to the house on a lovely boardwalk. They had made it until the chapel, before everything had gotten downhill from there...

The bells ringing and the organ music from the chapel had reached their ears even before emerging from the park. And then they had seen it. The couple was beautifully dressed, the groom in a fine black smoking, the bride's face rivalling the shine of her star-white dress. Her little children had squealed, Olive and Horace had started ranting about the wedding attires and Miss Peregrine...

Miss Peregrine had stood there paralized, with a pain in her chest as if someone had hit her heart with a knife. Before she even realized what she was doing, she had heard herself telling Enoch that he would be encharged with finishing the walk, as she would be going to the market to shop for dinner. Then she had felt the unmistakable sting of tears in her eyes and had fled the scene before anyone of her curious children could hear her sob.

What had made her feel so bad? Was it the music, reminding her of her dear parents' own wedding? Was it the beauty of the couple, making her feel ashamed of her own imperfect, scarred body? Or was it their pure happiness of being together, joined for eternity by the bond of love? Alma couldn't prevent a sob escaping her tightly sealed lips and the tears wetting her cheeks.

Yes, even though she already dedicated her time and love to her young charges, a part of her – her human side – still felt the desire for someone else loving her back in a different way. Except of her father's love, all the men in her life had been cruel or indifferent to her. So she thought it only natural that, now that her heart was starting to heal and recover from all the trauma, the woman in her tried to take more control...

In the meantime, the young ymbryne didn't realize in her grief that she had actually starting to run and that she was before the road now. That she was crossing the street blindly without acknowledging the heavy traffic in her path... When she she finally heard the frantic honking of a car through the rush of blood in her ears, it was already too late... A red sports car was just inches close to run her over, the panicked eyes of the driver hidden behind the tinted window.

Alma was petrified. She had never thought about dying before, least of all like thise. Going down in a blaze of glory perhaps, taking several enemies down with her, but not getting crushed by a vehicle! How would her little kids react to her absence? What would become of Enoch, Horace, Emma, her Little Claire? Suddenly a male voice sounded sharp and clear through the haze in her brain: ?WATCH OUT!" A strong arm grabbed her shoulder out of the corner of her eye, a quick pull... and she was safe on the boardwalk once more. Intense blue eyes, glinting with concern was the last thing she saw as her knees buckled under her and slipped into unconciousness.

At Jacob's house: ?Is everything alright, Horace? What did you see?" A few other kids were already surrounding their prophetic brother when Enoch and Olive arrived with the little girls in tow. Even the dead-riser felt a sting of fear in his stomach when he saw the state Horace was in. His hands were firmly pressed to his mouth, he was trembling and tears were starting to make their way down his cheeks. He looked downright horrified.

?What did you dream, honey?", asked the redhead, gently prying Horace's hands from his lips and running her own along his back to calm him down. After some minutes, he uttered five words that sent even toughest among them into a fit of frenzy: ?Miss Peregrine had an accident!"

End of Chapter 1

I honestly swear that this came out entirely different as I pictured it! The story just took control! Don't hate me, I promise you that Miss P is ok...

If you liked it so far, feel free to leave a comment. I'll try to get Chapter 2 done as soon as the festivities allow me.

Merry Christmas!

Yuna