More Riley/Martha
Bit of a challenge to myself, picked a song (Matt Pond PA's "Sunlight") and two fandoms I've written before (Doctor Who and Harry Potter) and worked from there. So here is the Doc Who one. More Riley/Martha pairing because the ravenous plot bunnies have not had enough yet.
Fandom: Doctor Who
Title: Alright
Rating: PG-13 (a curse-word or two)
Genre: A scene in the life
Pairing: Martha Jones/Riley Vashtee
Setting: Following events in my last outing with these two, can be found here.
Summary: A bad day at the office can be remarkably bettered by one thing. Or rather, one person.
See all my mistakes
Watch the whole thing coming down
I wish you would say
When I fuck up that it's ok
That it's just a scrape
All this blood is gonna wash away
Sunlight on your face
On these too cold December days.
-Matt Pond PA "Sunlight"
Riley Vashtee was not having a good day.
The head engineer at IRSCD was breathing down his neck for him to finish developing the new escape pod for the Torajii Navigator 967, and well, he was nearly there but there were some issues with wiring and jettison overrides that he wanted to perfect before he handed it over to the engineers who would build it.
So right now he was bending over a mess of wires, trying to come out with a prototype by 5 pm but he’d just spilled coffee all over his notes, smudged engine grease on his cheek (he wasn’t even sure how the grease got on his fingers in the first place) and his head was beginning to pound painfully.
No, this was not a good day for Riley.
His mobile phone rang and he picked it up without even glancing at the screen.
‘’Lo,’ he mumbled into the receiver, trying to mop up the spilled coffee with the employee protocol manual.
‘You coming home anytime tonight, it’s already 6 and I’m bored out of my skull,’ came an upbeat voice from the other end. Martha.
‘6?! 6 o’clock? You’ve got to be kidding me, I thought it was well before that!’ he was panicking now.
‘You’re completely daft, you know that? So, still didn’t answer my question, you coming home anytime soon?’ he smiled despite himself now, thinking of her dark eyes crinkling in laughter at his absent-mindedness.
‘Bored, eh? What you’ve been up to until now, lying in bed all day?’ he teased, throwing the drenched manual on top of a pile of rejected papers.
‘Well, yeah, I’m still jetlagged! 21 centuries is a bit of a time zone jump, I’ll have you know!’ Martha retorted.
‘I’ll be home soon. Promise,’ he smiled again, mostly at the thought of her in bed (his bed) still, but she didn’t need to know that.
Hanging up, he thought fondly of Martha. They’d met, well, properly met and chatted in an escape pod. An escape pod falling into the sun, but still, they’d made it out alright. They were alright in the end, she and him.
Riley sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Bugger. 6 o’clock. He was doomed. He was surprised Mr. Head Engineer (more like Head Up His Ass, Needs an Engineer to Find It) hadn’t waltzed through those doors yet, screaming to wake the dead... oh wait, there he was now. The aching in Riley’s head was punctuated by every word the git was saying and he could barely see through the pain. When the silence returned he realized he had no idea what had happened, though he was pretty sure he still had a job as the despicable man had left details for another project on his desk. Leaning back in his chair, Riley loosened his tie (as if it mattered, his sleeves were already rolled up and his shirt had both black grease marks and coffee stains on it) and rubbed his eyes. Throwing the still-sopping wet notes and new project outline indiscriminatingly into his messenger bag he grabbed his coat and headed out into the cold. It was a shame Torajii Alpha had a winter three times longer than its summer. He hoped he’d told Martha that. He hoped that that wouldn’t make her change her mind about staying here. Winter wasn’t so bad, right?
Worry clouded his mind as he trudged home, a million and one things to puzzle over and no answer in sight. ‘Reliable and simple,’ that’s how Cath McDonnell had described him that last day on the S.S. Pentallian. He wished his life was a bit more simple at the moment.
Up the stairs and fumbling for the key, he stared at the black metal of his apartment door. He heaved a heavy sigh but before he could put his key in the lock, Riley found the door thrown open as Martha dragged him in, pulling roughly on the lapels of his jacket. The door was kicked shut somewhere in the scuffle and then she was kissing him with what seemed like all her might. Well, then. He hadn’t really expected that.
‘You’re a dirty liar, you know that? Home soon, right, there’s a laugh. I even cooked! I never cook!’ Martha was grinning despite her stern tone. Riley however, wasn’t smiling, not because he wasn’t happy (he was positively giddy Martha Jones was in his apartment, cooking him dinner, and wearing one of his best dress shirts) but because he was tired and all his efforts were concentrated on recovering from the intensity of that kiss.
‘What’s wrong?’ Martha asked, her forehead creasing in worry.
‘Long day. Bad day. Better now,’ Riley replied, finally allowing himself to smile and cupping her face upwards for another kiss.
‘Did you fuck up at the office? Trouble with the new design? Cuz you know, when you mess up, that it’s ok. You’re too hard on yourself,’ Martha said, her arms still holding tightly to him and her chin resting on his chest, face tilted upwards.
‘Hm, shame you’re not my boss, I’d love him to tell me that,’ Riley grinned, pushing a stray strand of hair out of Martha’s eyes.
‘Well, now you’re here, and I’m here, and that’s an improvement, right?’ Riley thought that this was somewhat of an understatement. Martha’s reentrance into his world and his time had been the only thing getting him through the last week. ‘And you’re a right mess,’ she laughed as she pulled away and noticed his stained shirt. ‘You’ve grease on your face, too,’ she reached up and rubbed at his cheek but judging from her frown, she was only smearing it further.
‘Well you, Earth girl, don’t look much better,’ he laughed, noting her rumpled hair, smudged eyes and lack of trousers. He must be really tired to have overlooked that last bit in the first place, even with his best dress shirt being as long as it was on her. She laughed and swatted his hand away as he reached out to yank on the edge of the shirt.
‘We’ll be alright in the end!’ Martha called as she sauntered back in the kitchen.
Riley couldn’t help but think she was onto something.
"I'll look past the stains
How they wash, how they wash away."
Fandom: Doctor Who
Title: Alright
Rating: PG-13 (a curse-word or two)
Genre: A scene in the life
Pairing: Martha Jones/Riley Vashtee
Setting: Following events in my last outing with these two, can be found here.
Summary: A bad day at the office can be remarkably bettered by one thing. Or rather, one person.
See all my mistakes
Watch the whole thing coming down
I wish you would say
When I fuck up that it's ok
That it's just a scrape
All this blood is gonna wash away
Sunlight on your face
On these too cold December days.
-Matt Pond PA "Sunlight"
Riley Vashtee was not having a good day.
The head engineer at IRSCD was breathing down his neck for him to finish developing the new escape pod for the Torajii Navigator 967, and well, he was nearly there but there were some issues with wiring and jettison overrides that he wanted to perfect before he handed it over to the engineers who would build it.
So right now he was bending over a mess of wires, trying to come out with a prototype by 5 pm but he’d just spilled coffee all over his notes, smudged engine grease on his cheek (he wasn’t even sure how the grease got on his fingers in the first place) and his head was beginning to pound painfully.
No, this was not a good day for Riley.
His mobile phone rang and he picked it up without even glancing at the screen.
‘’Lo,’ he mumbled into the receiver, trying to mop up the spilled coffee with the employee protocol manual.
‘You coming home anytime tonight, it’s already 6 and I’m bored out of my skull,’ came an upbeat voice from the other end. Martha.
‘6?! 6 o’clock? You’ve got to be kidding me, I thought it was well before that!’ he was panicking now.
‘You’re completely daft, you know that? So, still didn’t answer my question, you coming home anytime soon?’ he smiled despite himself now, thinking of her dark eyes crinkling in laughter at his absent-mindedness.
‘Bored, eh? What you’ve been up to until now, lying in bed all day?’ he teased, throwing the drenched manual on top of a pile of rejected papers.
‘Well, yeah, I’m still jetlagged! 21 centuries is a bit of a time zone jump, I’ll have you know!’ Martha retorted.
‘I’ll be home soon. Promise,’ he smiled again, mostly at the thought of her in bed (his bed) still, but she didn’t need to know that.
Hanging up, he thought fondly of Martha. They’d met, well, properly met and chatted in an escape pod. An escape pod falling into the sun, but still, they’d made it out alright. They were alright in the end, she and him.
Riley sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Bugger. 6 o’clock. He was doomed. He was surprised Mr. Head Engineer (more like Head Up His Ass, Needs an Engineer to Find It) hadn’t waltzed through those doors yet, screaming to wake the dead... oh wait, there he was now. The aching in Riley’s head was punctuated by every word the git was saying and he could barely see through the pain. When the silence returned he realized he had no idea what had happened, though he was pretty sure he still had a job as the despicable man had left details for another project on his desk. Leaning back in his chair, Riley loosened his tie (as if it mattered, his sleeves were already rolled up and his shirt had both black grease marks and coffee stains on it) and rubbed his eyes. Throwing the still-sopping wet notes and new project outline indiscriminatingly into his messenger bag he grabbed his coat and headed out into the cold. It was a shame Torajii Alpha had a winter three times longer than its summer. He hoped he’d told Martha that. He hoped that that wouldn’t make her change her mind about staying here. Winter wasn’t so bad, right?
Worry clouded his mind as he trudged home, a million and one things to puzzle over and no answer in sight. ‘Reliable and simple,’ that’s how Cath McDonnell had described him that last day on the S.S. Pentallian. He wished his life was a bit more simple at the moment.
Up the stairs and fumbling for the key, he stared at the black metal of his apartment door. He heaved a heavy sigh but before he could put his key in the lock, Riley found the door thrown open as Martha dragged him in, pulling roughly on the lapels of his jacket. The door was kicked shut somewhere in the scuffle and then she was kissing him with what seemed like all her might. Well, then. He hadn’t really expected that.
‘You’re a dirty liar, you know that? Home soon, right, there’s a laugh. I even cooked! I never cook!’ Martha was grinning despite her stern tone. Riley however, wasn’t smiling, not because he wasn’t happy (he was positively giddy Martha Jones was in his apartment, cooking him dinner, and wearing one of his best dress shirts) but because he was tired and all his efforts were concentrated on recovering from the intensity of that kiss.
‘What’s wrong?’ Martha asked, her forehead creasing in worry.
‘Long day. Bad day. Better now,’ Riley replied, finally allowing himself to smile and cupping her face upwards for another kiss.
‘Did you fuck up at the office? Trouble with the new design? Cuz you know, when you mess up, that it’s ok. You’re too hard on yourself,’ Martha said, her arms still holding tightly to him and her chin resting on his chest, face tilted upwards.
‘Hm, shame you’re not my boss, I’d love him to tell me that,’ Riley grinned, pushing a stray strand of hair out of Martha’s eyes.
‘Well, now you’re here, and I’m here, and that’s an improvement, right?’ Riley thought that this was somewhat of an understatement. Martha’s reentrance into his world and his time had been the only thing getting him through the last week. ‘And you’re a right mess,’ she laughed as she pulled away and noticed his stained shirt. ‘You’ve grease on your face, too,’ she reached up and rubbed at his cheek but judging from her frown, she was only smearing it further.
‘Well you, Earth girl, don’t look much better,’ he laughed, noting her rumpled hair, smudged eyes and lack of trousers. He must be really tired to have overlooked that last bit in the first place, even with his best dress shirt being as long as it was on her. She laughed and swatted his hand away as he reached out to yank on the edge of the shirt.
‘We’ll be alright in the end!’ Martha called as she sauntered back in the kitchen.
Riley couldn’t help but think she was onto something.
"I'll look past the stains
How they wash, how they wash away."