~~~~~~~~~~~~~Quick Author's Note~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wow! People really like this story, huh! I'm so glad! And in acknowledgement of that fact, I might just make this a full story ;)))))
For now, please enjoy this new installment in Ruffled Feathers!
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"Oh, good. It's a bit wet out there, if you hadn't noticed." The Doctor
sprinted into the threshold of your door. You followed him into your kitchen as Liz closed and locked the door behind you. You took the chance to speak to him privately.
"Beautiful flowers, Mr. Smith." you said as if you were impressed.
"Are they? Hadn't noticed. But here. They were for you." He shoved them into your hands, before tidying up some invisible flaw in his suit.
"They're actually huge. How much did they cost?"
"Oh, I don't know. Ten? Yeah, ten minutes, about. I got them at some parlor in France on my way here." He continued to search for a reflective surface on which to correct his appearance.
"I meant how much money, Doctor."
"Well, I don't know, (Y/n). I just hacked a bill machine and walked right up to the parlour. I said, "How much for these? The pretty ones. They remind me of someone." She named her price and I gave her everything I had... That wasn't too little, right? I gave her enough?" This made you smile very widely. He turned to you with concern on his face, which caused you to laugh almost uncontrollably.
"What'd I miss, guys?" You turned to see Liz with her arms crossed.
"Oh, not much. My son's girlfriend has just informed me that prices haven't changed much since the last time I was in this part of town. Please, join us." He said gleefully, as he gestured for her to stand with him.
"No thanks. And she's not your son's girlfriend anymore. So stop trying to sugar coat yourself." She walked over to you and linked her arm with yours.
"Er... I'm going to go fetch us some tea." The Doctor awkwardly walked into your kitchen. Liz watched him until he was out of sight.
"He's so weird." She confessed as if she'd been waiting days to tell you. "And he's Scottish? You told me John was from London."
"Well... He is... yeah, he moved. His dad stayed behind. You know, feed the wife and kids..." you lied through your teeth. She was starting to ask the right- rather, wrong- questions.
"Okay. I'll buy it. Only for now. So now that Mr. Smith, John's quixotic dad and his showy flowers are here, what do you plan to do?" She inquired.
"Um... I don't know..." You truly didn't know what you'd do now that he was here. No, you couldn't just forgive him and take his fancy flowers. Not after he was so outright rude to you. But simultaneously, a part of you was absolutely elated to have the Doctor here, in your home, and to be on at least positive terms with him.
"Well, you can't just roll over and love him again. Weird, Scottish, father aside. You know that." Liz asked quietly. She could have her moments, but she really just wanted the best for you, and you both knew that.
"Don't worry. I won't." You said unsurely.
"Good." Just then, you heard a wheezing toot from the kitchen, indicating that the water for the tea was ready. You also heard the Doctor yelp in reaction to the sudden loud noise.
"Are you sure he knows what he's doing in there?" She moved to look around the corner of the threshold between the living room and the kitchen when you heard the Doctor's sonic screwdriver buzzing. You quickly stepped in her way so she couldn't be witness to whatever the Doctor was too unhandy to fix the normal way.
"So, Liz. I've been thinking."
"Oh yeah?" She said, promptly giving up on trying to spy on the Doctor. "What about?"
"Um... Life. Love. Tea. Doctor Smith, is the tea ready yet?" You yelled into the kitchen, hoping that the tea would bring a distraction to the hard time you were having, lying to your best friend.
"Almost done, dear. I'll only be a few more." He answered, sounding somewhat taxed at the moment. What could he possibly be doing in there?
"Right. Here we are. If you would sit here, Elizabeta. And you, (Y/n), at the head of the table." The Doctor said, juggling all three drinks and dancing around the small, somewhat ovular table that sat in the middle of your floor.
"Er- but not in that one, it's all wibbly." He walked around, shooing Liz from a slightly broken chair. After that, he proceeded to put every drink down, his, next to yours, in front of the wobbly chair that he always used to sit in as the last Doctor. You stared at the cup with wonder as he danced around once more, then plopped down in the chair that he had broken and tried to fix earlier in your relationship. Immediately after he sat, he groaned in discomfort and rocked it forward slowly.
"So..." he continued to rock it. "Doctor." Still rocking. "Is there something wrong with your chair?" He stopped immediately and looked at you.
"Er... I'm just not really feeling this chair like I thought." He surrendered.
"Maybe because it's 'all wibbly '." Liz suggested with just enough detectable snark.
"Yes; maybe, Elizaveta." He conceeded.
"It's Liz." Liz snapped at the Doctor, who seemed to finally catch onto Liz's slight hostility.
"Oh... That's nice." He tried a smile. Seeing that it wasn't nearly enough to enthuse Liz, he chuckled and gestured to his tea before picking it up and sipping at it. "Heh. Tea..." Just after, the Doctor spit the tea back into the cup. "It-It's... It's already cold..." He put it down in front of him. "Iced tea, then?" He quickly got up and dashed around the corner a bit too hastily.
Liz reached around your arm to grab your cup.
"It's completely cold. Did he even heat it up?" Liz's face displayed a magnificent disappointment at this.
"Let me see that." You grabbed at your cup as well. As soon as you wrapped your fingers around the cup, you could tell that the tea was completely placid. It wasn't scolding hot, and it wasn't freezing cold. It was lukewarm, as if he'd just poured the tap into each cup and tried to steep the tea in that. What was the doctor up to?
"I've found your ice." The Doctor padded around the corner. You looked at him with an already fixed glare, which softened when your eyes locked with his. His expression wasn't one of delight at his little mishap with the tea, or even embarrassment. It was pure, genuine melancholy. As if he'd been recently put into a mood about something. He wasn't the Doctor you knew, but he was still the Doctor, and you could still read him better than anyone.
"I've also found this. It might have been misplaced for a while." He plopped a square, solid object in front of you, but you didn't look. Your eyes were still locked on his, gently probing. Searching for the source of his sudden sadness. After a moment or two, his eyes lingered down to the object on the table. You looked down and found, to your complete surprise, a photo frame that you'd gotten long ago. Actually, the Doctor had gotten it for you. It was a bit of 25th century technology, but just enough to seem modern. Inside the frame, a slideshow played, the pictures moved and could even interact with the person holding it to an extent if you pressed a certain button on the back; some sort of amateur time bending trick the Doctor taught you a little bit about. The pictures were of you and the Doctor while the two of you were at what you could call a carnival. You were making funny faces and doing themes, like some from your favorite movies and shows, and some from history (like the Cleopatra and Julius Caesar one you'd just seen).
"But I- where did you get this?" You looked menacingly at the Doctor. You'd regretted what had happened the day you left so much that you'd cried over it. You cried hard, and it made you even sadder to look at this picture frame, but somehow, cradling it to your chest while getting out your feelings had been something of a comfort. It was something familiar.
"It was in your freezer, dear. You must've left it in there when you were getting that." He eyed the emptied ice cream container that sat by the window. That actually explained a lot.
"John's hot!" You both turned to see Liz peaking over your shoulder to spy the pictures you'd taken with the Doctor. Little did she know that he was standing five feet away from her. She leaned back and looked at the Doctor.
"No disrespect or anything." She turned to you. "And I'm not saying you should get back together with him or anything... Just an observation." She smiled sheepishly at you. Just then, her phone began to ring. She checked it.
"Ugh. I've got to take this." She waved the screen to you. "Papa." You nodded to her blankly and she looked at the Doctor strangely. "Papa? What's up?" She began to walk into the kitchen, continuing with the conversation. The Doctor took the picture frame and walked over to the drawer, depositing it gently into a slot. That was exactly where you had put it before. How did he know that?
"I..." You tried to find words while he walked around the table and sat in Liz's seat.
"I wouldn't now, dear. She's only in the kitchen. She can still here us." He said somewhat hushed. He was still turned away from you, but he put his hand on top of yours and rubbed it tentatively with his thumb. An incredibly weird notion coming from someone who looked 60, but it was sweet. His warm, callused hands reminded you that he was still the Doctor. He just didn't look like the Doctor anymore. As soon as you heard Liz's fast footsteps on your tile floor, the warmth was gone, but it'd made an impression that made you smile a little bit. Liz sighed.
"Sorry, girl. I have to go. Papa's going on about how Juliad isn't answering any of his calls."
"But Juliad's at the show. His phone would be on silent." You recalled that Liz's brother was out with his girlfriend seeing some movie that had just come out. "What does he need him for?"
Liz shook her head at you dismissively as if to tell you it didn't really matter and rushed down the hall to retrieve her coat from the hanger. You rushed after her and helped her put on her big, fluffy coat. "I've got to go calm him down before he has a heart attack."
"Well, when's the movie over?"
"12."
"It's 11:45 now. How about you go pick your grandpa up and call Juliad when it's over?"
"My thoughts exactly." She turned and you kissed each other in farewell.
"Love you!" You beamed as she walked out of the door and onto the pavement towards her car.
"Love you!" She giggled. You watched her get in her car and leave just to assure she was fine. It wasn't even twelve yet and it was too dark to see past the road.
When she was gone, you closed your door and made your way back to the Doctor, who'd made himself at home, sticking his fingers in a jar of your strawberry jam. You brought your arms to your chest, crossing them.
"So what now?"