for handysparehand: A day in the life.
It made sense to have him stay at her flat. Tom wasn't over a lot and if she wanted some alone time with him she could always go to his place. And the not-Doctor she'd taken to calling "Nameless" in her head needed somewhere to stay
( Read more... )
He's decided he's in a good mood today. He's practically bouncing. Smiling. Happy.
"Morning," he says.
His hair is still a bit damp. He was too lazy to dry it, and it's falling flatly, unstyled and a little messy. Water still drips a little, and he wipes away a drop from his forehead.
"What are you up to this early?"
He flops down on the sofa beside her, leaning forward towards the coffee table, examining whatever it is she's doing.
The wedding. He nearly forgot about that. It seemed a little early to be sending out invites.
"Wedding invites all ready?"
He tries to act like he's expressing interest, doing his best to hide away the resentment underneath those words. He's not entirely sure how good a job he's doing. He still keeps the smile from a few minutes ago plastered to his face.
Reply
The names were in blue, the address itself was in black. It made it look classier, in Martha's opinion.
"Don't worry, I'm sure I've got your invite somewhere under here. It may take a few more weeks to get the local ones out. And according to Mom, eight months until a wedding is like a week if you don't plan it right."
Reply
He was rubbish at weddings. This one wasn't any different. Or maybe it was entirely different.
He watched her working, and he was half hoping his invitation would get lost in the shuffle.
He leaned back on the sofa, away from the wedding. Away from that stupid bride on the cover of that stupid magazine that was sitting on the table yesterday. It had been moved to the floor to make room for the invites and envelopes and various items. The bride on the cover still stared up at him. Blonde hair and blue eyes and looking stupidly happy.
Weddings were for idiots, and Martha was not an idiot. Yet there she was, wasting her time shuffling through cards and envelopes and different color inks.
He had half a mind to tell her his thoughts on the matter. But he kept his mouth shut. Trying to recapture that good mood from five minutes ago.
Reply
"Tom said you can be the third groomsman," she said, straightening the pile of envelopes and clicking her pen shut. "The vest design is Avriar, but I can get it cut a little thinner for you. And it'll be red, the bridesmaids are wearing red. Tish insists she can wear something different, being the maid of honor and all, but that's not what Mum wants, and you know how she can be..."
Martha sighed and leaned back on the couch with him. It was relaxing, moving away from the piles she still had to work on. Even if it was just for a minute.
Reply
He won't of course.
He'll just sit back, still holding onto that stupid smile. A remnant from when this day felt fresh and new. Listening to her ramble on.
Except she's telling him he can be in the wedding. Tom said he could. Isn't that good of Tom?
"And your mum would want me in the wedding?" he says.
Deciding it would be easier to make her mother the bad guy than admit he'd rather jump off a building than be Tom's groomsman and her semi-bridesmaid, and some weird in between party to Martha and Tom's wedded bliss.
Reply
Which wasn't so bad, really. Tish was as close to a best friend as Martha had, except maybe for Nameless, but he would look silly in the red dress she'd picked out. The very idea made her chuckle, even as she leaned back up to fill out a few more addresses.
"Oh, that and the Doctor is not invited. Mum's afraid something will blow up if he shows up. And, knowing him, it probably will. Besides, the day's not about him, and you know he'd make it into something that was."
That did feel a little strange. Complaining to Nameless about the man he was. She added an aside:
"No offense. You're different."
Reply
He sometimes forgets that He is just a phone call away.
The smile is gone, and he doesn't feel like pretending anymore. He feels a bit badly for Tom for a split second. Guilted into including him in the wedding party. He wonders if he had someone he wanted there with him, part of the day. Someone who had to be sidelined to make room for Martha's strange friend.
"I don't want to be in the wedding."
He says it without emotion. Simple fact.
Reply
Did she remember to put the food choice slip in that envelope? She needed to pay closer attention. She split it open to check and sure enough, she did. Well, she had about eighty more envelopes than she needed anyway.
Reply
"You're not hearing me. Martha, I don't want to be in the wedding. Not just sometimes. Not just today. I don't want to be in the wedding. Ever."
Reply
"All right," she said, still confused. "Why?"
Was he nervous? Was he embarrassed? Was the wedding going to be too big? It was probably because the wedding was going to be so big.
Reply
He stood up. Moving away from the table and the invites. Stepping on the stupid blonde bride on the stupid magazine cover.
Reply
She got to her feet as well and crossed her arms. "Tom doesn't mind. His supervisor is one of my bridesmaids, so it's a good swap." She really, really didn't want Jessica as her bridesmaid, if for no other reason than she constantly flirted with Tom, even though he was oblivious. It just irked Martha.
"And I thought you'd want to. Sorry for not asking, should I have written up a formal request of your time for that day?"
Reply
He crossed his arms as well. Defensive. Annoyed. Wanting nothing more than to run away. He didn't need Martha. He didn't need to be her groomsman-bridesmaid hybrid thing. He didn't need her flat or UNIT or those invitations with their two colored ink.
"And what's with the black and blue? Can't you just choose one color? It looks ridiculous!"
He wasn't sure if that was true or just being said to hurt her. But at the moment that black and blue bothered him more than anything else.
Reply
She hated that he was acting like this. Her morning had really been just fine until he came downstairs. And even the first few minutes of that weren't so bad. Until...this!
But the brides magazines (one of which had a wet footprint on it) did say that sometimes friends can get jealous because they're not the ones getting married. Oh, of course. This was it.
"It's Rose, isn't it? Not getting married to Rose, so you're jealous that I've got Tom, am I right? Well you can just stop that now, I've got too much planning to do!"
Reply
She was so blind. And it would never stop. Ever. Months of this under his belt. With no end in sight.
He threw his hands up in the air.
"I can't do this anymore," he said, laughing ruefully.
He went to the spot near the front door, grabbing his shoes. Grabbing his coat. Needing to be as far away from Martha as possible.
Reply
It wasn't a question, it was a statement. This wasn't the first time he'd threatened to leave and she doubted it would be the last. When the Doctor was under duress, he made a break for it. That part of the Doctor was still in Nameless, it appeared.
"What am I supposed to do if you don't tell me what's wrong?" She was surprised to find herself shouting at him. Her and Tom never argued like they did. When she argued with Tom she was a bubbling angry that eventually passed. When she argued with Nameless she felt like her body had undergone a physical ordeal.
Even now, her chest hurt.
Reply
Leave a comment