Anthony finds out Asa is the fight choreographer for the local community theater because he did fencing in school and was quite good at it. Tldr: Asa with a sword in hand does things to Anthony.
Oooh, interesting! :D
Also, I know nothing of choreography, so Anthony and I are both completely confused but fascinated.
On with the fic!
--
"Thank you for driving me, dear." Asa said as he got out of the car. "You can come pick me up in two hours. What will you do until then?"
"Hmm... not sure." Anthony said, shrugging. "I mean, I finished grading papers, don't need to water the plants, we did the shopping yesterday..."
"Would you like to sit and wait in the theater? Friends and family are fine to sit on rehearsals."
Anthony blinked. "Oh, uh, if it's not too much trouble?"
"None at all!"
Anthony slipped out of his car and followed his boyfriend towards front doors of the local theater. Asa had told him recently it was something he did every season, he'd either do acting, often as an extra or an understudy, or he'd help behind the scenes. When asked why he didn't play bigger roles, Asa said that as much as he enjoyed it, he liked letting other people shine.
The professor himself had dabbled in theater in his younger years, but stopped when work became a bigger priority, but he still enjoyed going to see shows, especially comedies. Asa had yet to tell him what he'd be doing for this production, only that it was Hamlet. Granted, Anthony liked it well enough, but, again, he liked the comedies more.
He followed behind Asa into the theater and found a seat not too far from where some others were seated while Asa headed for the stage. He spoke with a woman happily, and they both turned towards Anthony's direction. He blushed a bit when she pointed at him and grinned, and Asa laughed, nodding.
Anthony sunk in his seat a little, giving a small wave. He decided not to look at any of the other people in the room, just one whatever Asa was doing. He couldn't really tell what was being said, but he watched as the bookseller headed up on the stage and moved behind a curtain, coming out a second later with two fencing swords, foils, those might be what they're called.
Huh.
Did he work in props?
Asa approached a young man and handed him one of the foils, and held the other. He watched as Asa spoke with the man, who nodded, and Asa then started to touch him, positioning his stance in a specific way. He then moved in front of him, a few feet away, before taking a pose, arm behind his back, foil out. The man copied him, and then Asa shouted to start.
Anthony watched as they both moved, and he was surprised how easily Asa was moving, while also shouting out moves and positions. He then held up a hand and the young man stopped. Asa clapped and then spoke something to him, patting the guy on the shoulder.
Asa then motioned for another actor to come over and he hand his foil to him, then had both of the actors stand in specific spots on the stage before he called for them to move. And Anthony watched in fascination as they started to fight, obviously staged, but still!
He sat there watching as Asa did this for a while, before moving on to speaking with a few other actors, then getting off the stage as it was clear they were going to work on a different scene now.
He looked over at Asa as he approached where Anthony was seated. "I think they'll have their moves down by the time the show starts in three weeks, they've gotten so good at it!"
"W-what was all that? Were you fencing? How'd you do that?" Anthony asked, eyes wide.
Asa chuckled and sat down next to him. "Oh that? In my youth I learned fencing, much better than some of the other sports my parents wanted me to do when it wasn't football season. I was quite good at it, but I didn't want to do it as a profession, it's more of a hobby! And quite useful for stage productions that require sword fighting, especially one like this."
He was still smiling as he watched the actors practice. "I got asked to help with doing the choreography for the fight scenes, and any scene using a blade, actually, which there are several in Hamlet."
"Why didn't you tell me you were the choreographer?"
"I hadn't told" you yet?" Asa blinked, looking confused, then his face burned red. "Oh goodness, it appeared to have slipped my mind! I am so sorry, dear boy!"
"It's fine." Anthony waved it off. "Still though, a fencer? And a choreographer? Huh, guess I'm still learnin' so much more about you every day." He grinned and Asa laughed quietly.
"I could teach you a thing or two, you might rather like it." He winked and Anthony stammered.
--
Of course I had Asa helping out with a production of Hamlet, we all know it'd be his favorite one.
Gonna write up a little thing for one of my favorite scenes involving Jounouchi.
--
This was not one of Jounouchi’s more ingenious ideas, he thought as he continued to fall towards the waters below, but he wasn’t known for giving thought before diving into action.
His fall came to a stop when he hit the water, thanking his lucky stars he wasn’t knocked out or went into shock from the cold, or worse. He shot up, coughing hard as he looked around, trying to find the Exodia cards. He swore he could hear Yugi calling his name, but Jounouchi was too focused on finding those cards.
He grinned, grabbing at two that he spotted, the other three not too far from where he was floating, until there was a sudden wave. He gasped for air when he broke through the surface, oh, oh no! The cards! He had no idea where the three cards went!
Another wave came for him, and in a second before he was covered, Jounouchi swore he saw Yugi falling off the side of the ship.
He ceased up, the shock of the cold wave was too much, until someone grabbed him, pulling him back up. He found Yugi staring at him, eyes wide with relief, before their friends threw them a life preserver.
Jounouchi wasn’t happy that he hadn’t gotten the cards, he had only been able to save two, but Yugi was more happy that Jounouchi was alive and safe now, that he had even taken the risk of jumping into the ocean just for a chance to get those cards, it seemed to mean the world more to the smaller duelist than those cards.
The blond couldn’t help the smile on his lips, well, at least he was able to make Yugi happy in some way.
Absolute sucker for a planetarium date! :D Especially when there's a show~
I dunno what any planetariums in London look like, but I'm just gonna make one up cause it's fanfiction, and I have that power. Greatly influenced by one I went to in Germany as a kid, and at my favorite one at the museum I did some of my college studies at here in the states.
On with the fic!
--
Anthony had been so embarrassed when they requested that theirs and Asa's next date could be at the planetarium. But Asa had been so excited about it, saying that he'd love to see more of 'your world', as he put it.
They had met at the planetarium on Saturday morning at 10 am, with Asa already waiting for Anthony, who had ran a little late because they'd been a bit of a nervous wreck. But that beautiful, bright smile on their boyfriend's face put their nerves at ease.
It's not that Anthony was embarrassed or ashamed of their love for the cosmos, far from it, actually! It was just that, well... twice now they've taken dates here, and found out quickly that no one but their students really cared about their ramblings about what constellations were which or that stars come in a variety of colors, including brown.
But here was Asa, paying for their way in, holding their hand, smiling the whole time as the two of them went to look at some of the interesting exhibits on display, the murals and photos. They had tickets for the next showing, so they needed to kill a bit of time before then.
They looked at displays quietly, with Asa making small comments about how pretty he found something, or noting something on a plaque. Anthony kept quiet, nodding, making small noises here and there, until Asa stopped and looked at them.
"Dearest, what's wrong?"
"Hm? Oh, uh, nothing's wrong." Anthony blinked, shifting their glasses better on their face.
"We're looking at a display of the eight planets in the Solar System, and yet you haven't made a single snide comment about the classification system of planets and why Pluto deserves better." Asa frowned. "You had no problem telling me this over dinner once, why are you quiet now?"
Anthony bit their bottom lip, shifting a little, making a noise that might have been mistaken for a garbage disposal with a plastic spoon stuck in it. Then they sighed loudly. "It's because... well, my last two attempts at brings dates here failed because I couldn't shut my big gob. I just kept... ramblin', on and on, and they both told me that this wasn't really gonna work out. Didn't even get a chance to watch the show with 'em."
Asa looked at him, giving his hand a squeeze. "Darling, you don't have to worry about that with me."
"... Are ya sure? Like, you don't find it annoyin' when I do that?"
"Of course not! I find it rather cute that you get so animated and excited about your favorite subject matter! It's charming, and it's you." He leaned in, kissing Anthony on the cheek.
The redhead's cheeks burned, and they chuckled. "Alright, well, you've doomed yourself! You're in for a lecture now!"
"From the famous Professor of astrophysics, Anthony J Crowley? What an honor!"
Anthony was beaming as he took Asa around, happily talking about the displays and images, telling all sorts of facts and trivia about them. They even became animated, tossing their hands about when talking about the Pillars of Creation, their favorite star factory.
There was an announcement for the next show and the two of them made their way to the planetarium theater, finding a spot inside where the two of them could enjoy the show without anyone bothering them.
Soon, the lights dimmed and they heard a voice saying the typical safety warnings of no flashing lights, no leaving the room, all that.
As this was happening, Anthony leaned over and kissed Asa on the cheek. "Thank you."
"For what?" Asa whispered back.
"For not leaving me before the show."
"Anthony, I love listening to you go on and on about space, just as you love listening to me telling you about books I've enjoyed. You speak about them like you made them."
"Well..." They grinned. "if I did make 'em, I wouldn't all the credit."
Asa giggled, but the show started and the two of them sat in silence, happily watching the domed ceiling's display, and a strangely familiar voice started to speak.
"Did you narrate this?" Asa asked quietly in the dark.
"No, but I have hosted some shows before here, just never recorded anythin', don't know who is narrating this, probably some guy." They felt Asa shrug and they both silently watched the show, holding hands still as they did.
--
So, David Tennant has done two planetarium show narrations, apparently. I've never seen them, but I have enjoyed a few narrated by a number of British actors over the years, so I'm not shocked at all, haha.
Yes, they're watching one of them, I dunno which one, but it would be a bit weird to hear your partner's voice suddenly telling you about space from a speaker while they're sitting right next to you.
Saw your bsky post. I want asanthony one-shots! Something cute! No specifics. No real idea. Just cute. 💜 Thanks!
Okay, I can write something cute!
On with the fic!
--
"We have a problem, angel."
Asa did not like the sound of that. With a frown, he set his freshly made cup of cocoa down on the counter, and turned to his spouse, who was currently covered in bits of dirt and sweat from working in the garden.
"Oh dear, what happened this time? It's not another badger, is it..?"
"No, thankfully not this time!" That had been quite the ordeal, especially with the little bastard had ran into the house when Asa and Anthony were trying to get it out of the greenhouse. To this day, they still couldn't figure out how it even got in there.
"What is it then?" Asa asked. "You seem rather panicked."
Anthony glanced back out the backdoor of their kitchen, looking at something, before gesturing at him to follow. "You have to see this."
With a small sigh, Asa followed. Anthony, his beloved, could be a bit dramatic at times. This could be just about anything, from him finding his herb garden munched on my pesky bugs, to seeing beautiful birds in the bird feeder.
However, as soon as Asa was outside, he realized what had Anthony a bit worked up.
There, in the lilac bushes near their apple tree, were the sounds of small squeaked and meows.
"O-oh..." Asa carefully approached where the redhead stood, not too close to the bushes, but close enough that they could see inside.
There was a black cat there, carefully curled up around five small, meowing kittens, clearly born just moments ago.
"H-how did... what?"
Anthony shrugged. "I had my headphones in at first, had no clue she was in there until I paused my music to adjust my headphones and... well, I heard the noises."
They watched as the mother cat licked at one of the tiny kittens, a little brown tabby it seemed, though she kept her eyes on the two of them. She didn't seem annoyed or angry that they were close by, in fact, she seemed quite comforted that they were there.
"Angel." Anthony spoke, watching the cats.
"Yes?" Asa replied, seeing a little gray tabby blindly waddle to find their mother to get a drink.
"This wouldn't happen to be that rather fat cat you aren't very subtle about feeding when you think I'm not looking, yes?"
Asa coughed, looking at Anthony, before fiddling with his fingers. "Well, she, uh, she's always so friendly and sweet, and I've grown rather fond of her- where are you going?"
Anthony was headed back for door, pausing to look at his husband. "To get an old blanket and a box. I'm not leaving them out there where any number of beasty could get 'em. She trusts us, might as well invite her in."
Blinking, Asa watched him go inside, before smiling brightly. "Did you hear that, Ms Bun? You are your little babies will finally get to be in the house now!"
--
So, this is actually how my family ended up adopting one of our black cats, Sesame Seed Bun. She was already very friendly and comfortable with my sister, and when she had her kittens in a lilac bush outside her house, well... now we have a mama and her five kittens living with us.
I've had this idea forming in my mind for well over a year now, and have finally decided to sit down and work on it.
Summary: Sylvia invites the Doctor to come with her to go shopping, though she really wants to have a talk with her daughter's best friend.
As always, I write Fourteen using they/them pronouns unless stated otherwise.
On with the fic!
--
Sylvia found the Doctor in the living room of the UNIT home they were currently occupying, watching as they sat on the floor, typing way too fast, and too hard, on the laptop they were borrowing from Donna. She wondered if that kind of typing would send keys flying...
She had no idea what the Doctor was even doing, though sometimes they'd stop, write something down in a notebook that Rose gave them, and then go back to typing. She approached quietly, the alien not noticing her doing so. Sylvia looked at the notebook, seeing the most bizarre images of circles and crescents, mixed with random notes in what might be English (the Doctor had terrible handwriting) and math problems. The weird circles looked kind of like clock gears, was the Doctor planning on building something with gears?
The laptop screen showed... well, she had no clue what she was looking at, it looked like a mess of numbers to her. Something from those one action movies, Matrix or something.
Must be alien nonsense, like most things with the Doctor.
She cleared her throat and the Doctor squeaked, doing a full body twitch. They turned and looked up at her, blinking twice behind their glasses, before grinning. "Oh! Good morning, Sylvia! Did you need something?"
"Yes." She said, trying to keep a calm tone with this man-shaped being. It wasn't easy, even after living with him for three weeks, it was still... a lot.
Fifteen years had passed, and three weeks wasn't enough to let her completely drop the anger and resentment she held towards the Doctor, the one who left her daughter in a such a lost, sad state for so long. Yes, she had warmed up a little to the Doctor, because Donna was cured now and safe, no longer was the fear of her dying from her own memories a looming shadow over Sylvia's head, but still.
Fifteen years...
But she pushed that aside, for now, she'd get her chance to talk to them in due time. Time to be civil. "I was wondering if you'd like to come with me to the store today, I need to pick up a few things for dinner and for the up coming holidays."
Once again, the Doctor blinked twice. "Oh, uhh..."
"If you're not busy, which it looks like you are." She glanced at the work the Doctor had been doing.
"Oh, no! This isn't really anything, mostly just silly nonsense for myself and the TARDIS. Looking to do some updates to some of her programming, it's just busybody work!" Suddenly, the Doctor was on their feet with an energy and grace that could probably only be rivaled by Rose's own. This alien looked to be in their early fifties, how could they even move like that...?
They grinned at her, hands on their hips. "Sure, I'll come along!"
"You... actually want to come with me?"
"Yes! We're going to a shop! I do love a shop, especially the little ones! Oh, the ones along beaches are the best, lots of lovely little knick-knacks and whatnots! Let me get my shoes!" And off they went, out of the room.
"Take a real coat with you, you nutter! It's cold out there!" Sylvia shouted after them before sighing, going to get her own. She put in on, but then stopped, moved to the kitchen, and grabbed an object she had left in there.
She pocketed it, and headed for the door, hearing the Doctor stumbling about upstairs, shouting about how they'd be down in a tick.
It was like dealing with a child. A child in the a 6'1 body, but still. How has this person save the universe countless times was beyond Sylvia...
--
The ride had been mostly quiet to the store.
Well, for Sylvia it was quiet, as she had not said a word. This was mainly because she knew she'd make a comment about how she was stuck with a rental car because of those blasted aliens and UNIT blowing up hers during the whole Meep thing. UNIT promised to get her a new car, hopefully she'd get it in the next few days.
The Doctor, meanwhile, seemed to talk like a child, always pointing out something interesting as they drove to the store. Sylvia remembered Donna making comments about how she suspected the Doctor having an alien form of ADHD, and Sylvia could see that being true.
"It's always so nice to see people enjoying Christmas." The Doctor said, staring at the decorations outside the window. "For a while there, you lot seemed nervous about it."
"Well, we did have a few invasions happen at Christmas, Doctor." She said, moving to park in the lot outside of the store. "Those strange aliens and the rooftops, the Titanic, whatever you and Dad did that one year, Donna's first wedding..."
The Doctor made a very weird, uncomfortable noise at that. "Yeah, uh, that was a weird time. It did kinda stop after a while, right?"
"It did." Sylvia sniffed, and got out, the Doctor following close behind. She let them push the cart as they started to move about the store.
The Doctor was oddly quiet, seeming to be looking around at everything in a quiet awe. Had they really not been in a grocery before? Probably not a human one, most likely used to weird alien ones on some distant moon or something.
Sylvia looked at them as she went to see what would be good fruits and veggies for her granddaughter. The Doctor was standing off to the side, staring at some bananas, not really doing anything strange.
Sometimes, it caught Sylvia off-guard how human they could be. She knew they were an alien, that they were millennia years old, from a different planet, but there were moments. Just these little moments where she forgot all that, she saw a human being who was just as confused and lost as the rest of humanity.
Then she watched them pick up a bunch of banana and lick one.
Nope, alien.
And her daughter's best friend, she reminded herself.
"Why are you like this?" She asked them, and the Doctor looked at her, confused. "You just licked that!"
"Oh." They looked at the bunch of bananas, putting them into the cart. "It's a great way to tell if they're fresh!"
"You could just look at them." She snipped.
The Doctor looked at her still, frowning. "Sorry, I... right, yeah, probably looked weird, didn't it? Sometimes I forget to act normal, 'human-y' or whatever. Heh, I must have driven the Ponds crazy when I stayed with them for a year, I don't think I did anything properly human-y." They smiled a little, but there was a sadness there, just under the surface.
Sylvia sighed softly. "It's fine, just... try not to do that in public, or just ask me to check. I'm good at finding the proper ones, Donna is terrible at it, don't trust her to pick a ripe melon. She had never figured it out."
The Doctor laughed a little at this. "Oh, don't I know it. We went to Paris 4, it's a beautiful planet, very vegan friendly, and she wanted to bring back one of their purple watermelons. She just grabbed the biggest one, despite my telling her it was bad, and was so mad when she tried it on the TARDIS."
Sylvia smiled a little at this, but had the Doctor follow her along, though they kept talking about this planet, and how maybe they'd be able to take Rose there one day. Something about her just having to try the best fruit salad in the galaxy.
As they continued to shop, Sylvia observed the Doctor as they grabbed things from shelves, comparing them to things that were weird and from another planet, or another time. They mentioned little things about themself and Donna from back during their first adventures, like how Donna had drinks with Agatha Christie, which made Sylvia almost trip over her own feet.
They also mentioned some other names, casually, but there was always something behind them, sadness. It was there with Donna too, in the little stories and jokes, for their friend from fifteen years ago.
The object in Sylvia's coat pocket felt heavy.
--
"Does she still hate Christmas?"
Sylvia looked up from the wrapped turkey she was examining, to the Doctor who stood beside her, staring at a display nearby. It was for some brand of candy, themed around the upcoming holiday.
"Who?" Sylvia asked as she put down the turkey and grabbed a different one, might be best to get a bigger one, this alien was practically skin and bones, they could use a second helping.
"Donna. When I first met her, while we were trying to get her back to the church for her wedding, it was Christmas. I asked her why she was getting married on Christmas Eve, and she told me it was because she hated the holiday. Any reason why? And does she still hate it?"
Sylvia sighed, putting the turkey in the cart with their other items. "She used to love it, as a child, but over time... the annoyances of the holidays as an adult got to her, and you know how she is. But now? She seems fine with it, probably for Shaun and Rose's sake, they love the holiday, you've seen how they went overboard with decorating."
She looked up at the Doctor. "But Christmas Eve? While she seemed happy around them, she'd always get upset when left alone, but didn't understand why. And I think it had to do with you."
"Me?"
"From what I can tell, I think that she still... remembered you? But not in a way that would kill her. I think she unconsciously knew that it was the day you two met, and you not being there upset her, but she didn't know why. I remember her once saying that it always felt so lonely, even when she was surrounded by her family and friends. That there was someone missing. I think she tried to cover it up with it being thoughts of her father, but... oh, I know that might be a bit of it, but it was you. It was always mainly you."
"Oh." The Doctor frowned deeply. "Well... I'm here now, and I promise to make this a great Christmas for her!"
"Then you'll be helping me in the kitchen, it's the least you can do to start making up for fifteen years of holidays you miss." Sylvia replied, turning the cart away to grab the last few items, the Doctor quickly following after.
--
"You didn't have me shopping with you all willy-nilly or out of some way to try and for us to let bygones be bygones, yeah?"
The tone of the Doctor's voice told Sylvia that the knew she had her real reasons for the shopping trip. She sighed softly and set the last of the shopping bags down on the kitchen table. They set their own bags down next to hers.
"You're right. Of course, I should have expected that. Doctor, I wanted you with me so I could see if I could finally get the courage to give you something."
"If it's another slap, please don't..."
"No, I don't think I need to slap your face again, not unless if you give me a really good reason to." Sylvia huffed
They winced. "I really hope I don't, that last one was a doozy..."
"You had it coming." She huffed and moved to the kettle, getting some tea started. The Doctor didn't seem to care for tea, so she prepared a pot of coffee for them as well as they helped to put the shopping away.
Once everything was where it needed to be and the drinks were set on the table, a tin of biscuits between them, the two sat at the table in silence.
"What... did you want to give me?" The Doctor asked, nibbling on a treat.
Sylvia reached into her coat pocket, the coat left on the back of a chair at the table, and set the object she'd grabbed down between them.
It was simple as anything, an envelope. A little faded with age, but nothing dangerous.
And yet it felt like it was.
It had been in Sylvia's possession for ages, since a boy named Lukas brought it to her one evening, six weeks after the events with... well...
The word MUM was written on it, in a familiar script.
The Doctor gently took it. "Is this from Donna?"
"When you were here, with her, and you had that whole... adventure, with Dad and Netty," She saw a sad look cross the Doctor's face, "this letter was delivered to me. Donna had written it, it... it came to the house not too long after you left Donna."
They knew what she meant, she could tell. It arrived shortly after Donna's mind had to be locked away, no memories of the Doctor, the start of her years long journey in a fog.
"Sylvia..." They started, but she shook her head.
"Read it. Please."
She quietly sat there, holding her warm mug of tea, as the Doctor gently opened the envelope and quietly read the long letter inside. She knew that letter so well, she had read it when she worried about her daughter, when Donna would look so sad, when she would look lost as she seemed to turn this way and that, as if looking for someone.
When she seemed to be too quiet and unsure of herself.
As much as the Doctor annoyed Sylvia, she couldn't hate them for what they did to Donna's outlook on her life. They brought a happy, brave, brilliant side out of her, a side that wanted to do good, to make sure the universe was safe.
Oh, Sylvia loved her daughter dearly, she loved her so much, and she wished she had been better about showing that years ago. She had taken the Doctor's advice to remind Donna that she was brilliant, she did have her troubles, her slips, but Donna deserved the world.
The woman who wrote that letter was her daughter, and she was shining like that woman again now.
Now that the Doctor was back.
The Doctor set the letter down and stared at her. "... Sylvia..." They started, then stopped, swallowing. "Thank you. For letting me read that."
"I hated you for a long time, Doctor." Sylvia started. "I thought you were strange, suspicious, and stealing my daughter from a normal life. You showed up at her wedding, caused chaos, and then whisked her off again. You left her alone for a year or so, but then you waltzed back in, with Donna going missing after that whole Adipose thing.
I hated how trouble followed you, how you got my family and I involved in your shenanigans. Don't think for one second I forgot about the retirement home or the ghost hunting show. You were dangerous, the universe was after you, it seemed. But you... Dad saw the good in you, right from the start. And Donna spoke of you like you hung the moon."
She stared at her hands, at the mug she held. "When you brought her home that night, and explained what happened to her, her mind... I was so upset, so mad. You could have killed her, but you did... you did the right thing. You saved her, but at a cost to the both of you."
"Her memories..."
"You looked at her like you wanted to stay, like you'd risk her death just to keep her in your life. But you didn't, you stepped away. I don't know if Dad told you this, but she heard the TARDIS when it left that night, we saw her expression. She looked so confused, so heartbroken, but then it was gone.
Over the years, I watched her live in a happy fog, she loves her family, her husband and daughter, her life, but I could always see that she knew something was missing. Someone was missing. That night you returned, I saw the Donna from her time with you return, the one that wrote that letter. She admired you, even though she didn't know who you were. When she ran off to follow you, she told us she had to save the Doctor."
Sylvia looked up at them. "No one called you Doctor, she knew who you were."
"She... she followed me. Got locked in the ship with me, and it was like old times. She wanted to help, she wanted to help me save London. I told her I needed her help, but it would kill her." The Doctor said, their voice tight. "She said she didn't care if she died, I told her I did. I cared so much, I was so... I didn't want to lose her all over again, I'd only just gotten her back.
But she wanted to save her family, Rose, oh, she wanted Rose safe. I couldn't... I broke the seal, and she was magnificent. Fantastic. Brilliant. She saved the day. She did it, and she didn't die. How clever is she?"
"The most clever."
"Sylvia. I'm sorry. For all the troubles and worries I've caused, I never wanted her to be at such risk, even if she had saved all of time and space from the most dangerous beings in the universe. Having saved London and her family from a warlord now. I know you hate me-"
"Not as such."
"Huh?" They blinked.
"I've come to... tolerate you. I don't hate you, I'm still weary of you, obviously, trouble still follows you. But I don't hate you. You bring out the best in Donna, my family loves you, and you'll keep them safe. You'll keep Donna safe."
"I'd rather die and never regenerate again if it meant she was safe and sound." Their tone was serious, in such a way that Sylvia knew they were serious.
"Take care of her, Doctor."
"I always will."
And then the Doctor smiled, and Sylvia honestly felt better, she felt like this was a good step in the right direction for them.
"On a lighter note, tell me about you two meeting Agatha Christie, you sort of trailed off from that at the store."
--
Donna had been a bit tense throughout the day, after having gotten a text from her mother saying that she was taking the Doctor with her to the shops.
It had worried the redhead, was her mother going to give the poor guy the lecture of a lifetime? Cause Sylvia was known for that, Donna had years of experience hearing them...
But she heard voices coming from somewhere in the house as she stepped inside, her mother and her best friend.
"You're lying! You have to be!"
"I'm not! It was the most bonkers thing! He actually turned into an Ood, right before our eyes! I mean, I knew that he'd been given concentrated Ood essence, but I had no clue it would do... that!"
"Sounds ghastly! Hold on, that's the wrong spice, you don't want cayenne pepper, grab the paprika."
"Oh, right! Anyway, he gets turned into- hi, Donna!"
Donna had walked towards the kitchen, finding the Doctor and her mother at the stove, where a stew was being made it seems, judging by the pot being used. The Doctor was chipper as anything, and her mother looked like she was having a lovely time.
"You didn't murder them, I see." Donna said, setting her purse down on the kitchen table.
"I'm not that cruel." Sylvia scoffed, then took a sip of the broth. "Hmm... no, might need a bit more of the punch, give the cayenne a little tap, we can use it for this."
"Got it." The Doctor did just that before turning to face Donna. "It was civil, no one was killed. Or slapped."
Donna looked at them both before gesturing for her mother to follow her as the Doctor turned back to the spice rack, studying the contents of it.
"Mum, you and the Doctor are being rather chummy." She whispered and Sylvia rolled her eyes.
"We really did have a good talk, Donna. It was a long time coming."
"I figured it would be more serious."
"It rather was..." The older woman trailed off before sighing. "But it was needed, for both of us. I've got them distracted from that serious talk though, had them tell me about some of your adventures."
Donna winced. "Oh no, pleasant ones, right?"
"Only you two would accidentally get trapped in a dangerous, outer space condo because of an ad!"
"Ooh, Doctor! You didn't have to tell her about that one!"
END
--
This made me teary eyed, haha.
I have the copy of Beautiful Chaos that includes the little bonus bits with Wilf and Sylvia, and we get a letter from Donna about her time with the Doctor and how she is happy with her life, which is what inspired this story.
I really should update the actual story with the next part, but I don't care. Here's a little one-shot for the older Lucian au that I've been jokingly calling the gray wolf au in my head all this time.
Takes place after Lucian joins Peter and they're dating, so... much further into the story then where we currently are.
Just for those who don't know or don't remember, Lucian is still alive, but due to the effects of the silver poisoning, his abilities are wonky, so he has aged, he's a bit weaker, and his hair has gone gray/white from age and a side effect of the silver. This came about because Michael said he'd happily come back and play him again, even at his current age, just make Lucian older and gray.
Takes place in the modern day, Peter is also older, and not dealing with it well (even though I think David is absolutely gorgeous at his current age, but this is Peter we're talking about, I'm sure his looks are very much tied into his ego)
On with the fic!
--
The smell was what caught Lucian's attention before he heard a small hiss of 'ah fuck' from somewhere in the flat.
He kicked off his boots by the door and set down the grocery bags, sniffing the air. It was a strong, sharp smell, tainted with chemicals. It made him shake his head, he hated chemical smells, they were so much worse to those with noses on par with animals.
"Peter?" He called out, hearing 'fuck' again.
"Don't come in! Just wait, like, hold on... wait a while! I'll be done soon!" Peter's voice came from the bathroom, from what Lucian could tell, so he made his way to the bedroom.
He found Peter in the bathroom, shirtless, but that was normal. The unusual sight was Peter trying to rub at something on the sink with wet toilet paper, a weird, brown smudge.
Lucian then noticed the other items scattered about on the counter. The little plastic dish with more of that strange brown stuff, a few combs, a box with a picture of a smiling woman with dark brown hair on it...
Ah.
So, that explained the chemical smell.
"You dye your hair?" Lucian asked and Peter groaned loudly before it turned into a weird, frustrated noise.
He then went quiet, but started to stomp and turn in place, waving his arms about, muttering and such, before finally stopping. He faced Lucian, looking very irritated, before dramatically rolling back his head. "Yes." He finally said, like it was a great burden he had to deal with.
From the looks of things, Peter hadn't even started with actually dyeing his hair, had only just worked on the mix. Lucian looked at his lover, seeing that, yes, there was a bit of gray peaking out around his sideburns and even a little on the top of his head. He had been suspicious, considering in the rare times Peter didn't deal with his stubble, it had gray mixed with the brown.
"Gray isn't a bad thing, Peter." Lucian spoke and the hunter snorted loudly. "It really isn't."
"Yeah, it ain't a bad thing to a wolfy guy who isn't a celebrity! My fans have expectations! They expect me to be youthful! To be a brunet!"
Lucian was forever thankful that he was a man of a much different era, that the glitz and glamour of 'celebrity' was of no interest in him. He already had notoriety, and it had given him nothing but trouble for centuries, he would never understand Peter's craving for it.
But then again, Peter was Peter and Lucian was Lucian, so...
"But there is nothing wrong with embracing your age, my love." Lucian stepped into the bathroom, reaching out to touch at the side of Peter's head, tracing a few of the gray lines he saw there. "I rather think you look nice with it."
"But..." Peter winced. "I don't really... want to be reminded of my age, ya know?"
"I do not know."
"Look, like... fuck, it kinda hits me outta nowhere when I really notice the signs, yeah?" Peter scratched at his head. "It's bad enough I can see the age lines in my face, and I'm not as physically..." He gestured at his bare torso. "Yeah. But I can put up with that, clothes and make up, yeah, but the hair? Oh, that one hits harder for some reason! I'm not ready for it, the final bastion to old man Peter."
Lucian sighed softly. "Peter, you are beautiful as you are now, just as you were when you were performing on stage. There is nothing wrong with aging, I've learned that and I am fine with it."
"But you're a hot old man!" Peter replied. "God damn, you pull off the long, silver locks like no one else! And your body is still hot, even at this age! Forget silver fox, I've got me a silver wolf! You can pull off old and make it hot as fuck, but me? Nope."
"I do believe there is a saying," Lucian spoke, "that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, yes?"
Peter gave him a look and Lucian continued. "Peter, I think you should embrace your aging looks, I can clearly see that you have aged beautifully. And besides, were you not just talking about the other day that you could... what was it, 'totally place first in the hottest DILF competition'? Am I correct?"
"I could! I know I'm hotter than those guys on the list!"
"And did you not have to explain to me that a DILF was a man who was of an age where he's had children, or something of the sort?"
"Some of the guys on the list don't have kids, but they got to be on it, so they're in the age group, as am I." Peter sniffed. "Meaning I could win, cause I'm hotter."
Lucian chuckled. "And there you go, but you need to look a bit more your age to win, I'm sure. A whole 'age like fine wine' thing, yes?"
Peter paused, giving this some thought. He looked at his reflection in the mirror, turning his head this way and that, before making an approving hum. "Maybe you're onto somethin', babe. Maybe I might let it grow out, see how I like it."
He turned and wrapped his arms around Lucian's neck, smirking. "And hey, maybe I can pull off having full silver locks like you, whatcha think?"
Lucian gave this a thought, and the idea almost made him laugh, but he smiled, keeping his mouth shut as he nodded.
--
This is just my au Peter, but honestly? He seems the sort that would totally believe he'd win one of those 'whose hotter' polls online. The man has an ego, it's very clear from what we see in the movie.
Lucian, you are a freaking saint for putting up with him. Because I write you to be one. :)
Takes place the same day at the previous part where Peter was back in town.
On with the fic!
--
"Yo, I'm back, wolf man! You didn't tell me if you wanted anything, but I was feelin' generous, so I got you a latte, shit's pretty good. Anyway, you better be cl- is that a fuckin' phone!?"
Lucian looked up from what was indeed a phone in his hands, he just arched an eyebrow. "Yes?"
"How the fuck do you have a phone!?" Peter shouted, storming into the room with the two takeaway cups in his hands. He put them both down on the nearest flat surface before walking right up to Lucian and snatching the phone from him, much to his protest.
The phone was an older model of smartphone, from a few generations ago, but was clearly in working order, and even had a decent charge to it. "How the- there's no fuckin' electricity here!"
"There is." Lucian replied as he took his phone back.
"No! You told me there wasn't!"
"I never told you as such, you never asked either." Lucian sniffed, pocketing the phone to prevent it from being snatched away again. "You seem angry about this."
"Course I am! I had to drive into town to charge all my shit, when I could have just done it here! Where's an outlet?"
Lucian huffed, reaching over to take one of the cups, looked at the writing on it, before picking up the second one. "There are no outlets in the walls here, you have to go to the generator to charge any of your devices, and it's downstairs."
Peter stared right at him, if looks could kill. "Generator. You have a bloody generator!?"
"I might be centuries old, Peter, but I am not behind on the times. I don't use a lot of technology here because it's not always necessary, but some of my pack helped me install a solar powered generator here, in case if any of them needed it when passing through. And, of course, I am allowed to use it to charge what little electronics I own."
Peter groaned, took a swig from his cup, then sat himself down on the bed. "It's just... it's weird, like, you've got candles and shit lightin' this place, you have to actually heat up your bathwater and food over fires, it's so... medieval! And yet, there you are, wearin' jeans and biker boots, with a decent smartphone! And haven't you been in hidin' since, I dunno, 2003? Where'd you get that?"
"I have channels that provide me with resources I can use, even while in hiding."
"..." Peter glared at him, then glanced at the pocket where the phone sat. "Do you have wifi?"
"It's not a strong one, but some of my pack and I were able to do a bit of hacking from the towers planted in the area in order to have access to it. You may use it if you so wish for whatever it is you do online, as I'm sure from your complaining earlier that you are in constant need of."
"Smartass." Peter grumbled, taking another drink from his coffee. "Why didn't you tell me any of this earlier? Would've saved me a lot of time, and gas. Do you know how much gas it costs to drive a car through the mountains?"
Lucian blinked once, then shrugged. "You never asked. I just figured you didn't really care enough to do so."
"Uhg!" Peter flopped back on the bed, though careful not to spill any of his drink on the blanket. "Dumb wolf."
"Dumb human." Lucian retorted.
"What were you even lookin' at?"
"Information about you." Lucian replied and Peter tensed. "There are a lot of interesting things said about you online. And about your former show."
Peter groaned, covering his eyes with his arm. "Don't do this to me, man, come on..."
He could hear Lucian moving about the room as he spoke. "There's clips of your show online, less nice looking than what you showed me. You are not great with fire, are you?"
"Eat my whole ass, Lucian!"
"You also have a reputation."
"Dick! You are a dick!"
"And I found your online journal thing, a blog, yes? You had made a post about me."
If it wasn't for the drink in his hand, Peter would have curled up into a ball and screamed. So, instead, he throws the nearest pillow he could grab in the direction he believed Lucian to be in, missing him completely.
Peter glared at him from where he laid. "You can kindly get the fuck off my blog, don't need commentary from you, I get enough of it from my 'fans'."
Lucian chuckled, looking at the phone in his hand. "I'm not offended that you spoke of me, you were kind enough to not use any names or locations. But calling me a 'silver fox, or should I say, wolf' in... a choice. Do I wish to know what that means?"
"No, you don't. I'm takin' back that latte, you lost your treat privileges!" Peter jumped off the bed, moving to grab the cup, which was swiftly taken out of his reach, stupid fast lycan!
"I'll ignore the dog joke I'm sure you just made." Lucian said as he took a drink. "I'm flattered by you calling me a gracious host, but I'm sure your readers do not need to know what you think of my posterior, is this not a journal? Shouldn't those thoughts be private?"
Peter was mortified, sure, he was a blunt guy, often not caring to censor himself, even in polite society, but right now he was feeling the effects of having said too much. He thought he'd be find to vent a bit about the guy who was letting him stay in his home during his trip, as he put it in the blog, but holy fuck, he never expected Lucian to find it! Let alone know how to use the internet.
He clearly misjudged the guy.
"Are you torturin' me like this because I asked you last night if I scratched your lycan belly you'd kick your leg...?"
The look he got was enough of a yes to Peter, and he felt like going to see if this castle had one of those bottomless pits some old places like this had.
TBC
--
Sorry, it's a short one today, felt like writing something funny.
I find the idea of Lucian having a solar powered generator in the castle and not telling Peter about it hilarious, so that's why this exists.
As always, I'm open to suggestions for this story.
