Ianto takes the bag, bemused, and searches for a red jelly baby, popping it into his mouth. He hasn't a clue what's going on, but the Doctor is smiling so it can't be all that bad. "Cheers. And this is because of..."
"The treems," the man from earlier repeats, breathing a sigh of relief and coming forward to grasp the Doctor's elbow. "You have our most gracious thanks, Doctor. We were afraid he'd never be cured. Would you like some te?"
Ianto, who has been frowning into the bag of jelly babies (and helping himself to a few more - Doctor's orders and all) and mouthing the word 'treems' to himself, suddenly comes to a realization. "Oh, my--" My dreams. "My... treems. Yes, er, thank you, Doctor, I feel much better."
Most of the men leave the home to spread the word of the Doctor's miraculous cure as the remaining one - the one to bring up the treems again - heads to another room, calling for his wife to heat water. Ianto sits on the edge of his bed, slowly making his way through the bad of jelly babies. He hasn't had candy in weeks.
"They don't sleep, here. Ever. I tried to explain but apparently the concept got lost in translation."
The Doctor sits down beside Ianto, reaching over to grab a handful of jelly babies for himself.
"Yes, quite a remarkable race," the Doctor says, popping two of the candies into his mouth. "With the not sleeping thing, and all. Very rare. Even Time Lords have to sleep eventually, but not these people."
He tosses the last jelly baby in his hand into his mouth, and reaches to get another handful. "So, yes. I quite imagine the idea of you needing sleep would be rather difficult for them to understand."
"I thought it might have something to do with the fact that there's no night." Ianto might emphasize that no night thing just a little, because has he mentioned that there's always at least one sun in the sky? Always? "Evolution or something."
He picks a green jelly baby and holds the bag between them to better facilitate their sharing. "I had a hard enough time explaining what I wanted in the first place - someplace dark, for no one to bother me - and then I wake up with them all crowded around staring at me. I think they thought I was dead. I told them it was dreams. I wondered why they kept saying that, treems... should've guessed, really. They mispronounce a lot of things I say, bless them."
Is he talking a lot? He hadn't noticed. It's just that it's been a few weeks without anyone who speaks English. He's missed it. He's missed this, curls and velvet and sandalwood and jelly babies. He sucks one sticky finger clean and then tugs at the front of the Doctor's frock coat, pulling him closer for a slightly sweet kiss.
Then back to the jelly babies. He picks an orange one this time, then looks back up and smiles. "I've missed you."
The kiss is unexpected, in the middle of this random house, but certainly nothing he would object to. After all, they were married... sort of, and though he couldn't be entirely certain of how open to such things this culture was, nobody else was around to see them, so it didn't matter either way.
"I've missed you too," he says, hugging Ianto. "So what have you been up to these weeks? Other than sleeping and not speaking their language, that is."
"Sleeping... not speaking their language, a little eating, some walking around." And a little unexpected side trip to Venice, but Ianto won't mention that until the Doctor remembers it. "It was... nice."
And by nice, of course, Ianto means rather boring. Teaching them to make tea, that was an adventure, but most of it was... boring. He needed boring.
The fisherman's wife enters the room with two cups of tea, beaming at her guests. "You're lucky, Eeanto, that I already had water over the fire." She hands one cup to the Doctor and the other to Ianto, patting Ianto's cheek as she does. "This will put some color in your cheeks. You're paler than the sand! Who's your guest?"
It's strange, Ianto thinks, to hear the same voice and inflection in a language he finally understands. Laila - he thinks that's her name, or maybe a title - always took great pleasure in talking to him in her language, knowing full well he couldn't understand a word. He'd respond to the best of his ability, guessing from her tone, and she would laugh and pat his head and try to teach him words.
Ianto smiles and ducks away from her hand. "This is the Doctor, Laila..."
"Oh, I knew I could get you to stop speaking gibberish!"
"It is a pleasure to meet you," the Doctor says to Laila. With a polite little "ah, thank you," he accepts the tea. It's not the best tea he's ever had (not nearly sweet enough), but considering this planet isn't supposed to know what it is yet, he's grateful.
He smiles at the woman. "I really must thank you for taking such good care of my friend while he was here." Of course, he's just assuming she took good care of Ianto. But it seems like a good guess, since Ianto doesn't seem like someone who's been mistreated. And she brought them both tea.
"Oh, it was no trouble at all, Doctor," she assures him, in that way very hospitable people tend to do. "Eeanto has been a wonderful help with the baby. Even if he couldn't speak properly."
"The treems," the man from earlier repeats, breathing a sigh of relief and coming forward to grasp the Doctor's elbow. "You have our most gracious thanks, Doctor. We were afraid he'd never be cured. Would you like some te?"
Ianto, who has been frowning into the bag of jelly babies (and helping himself to a few more - Doctor's orders and all) and mouthing the word 'treems' to himself, suddenly comes to a realization. "Oh, my--" My dreams. "My... treems. Yes, er, thank you, Doctor, I feel much better."
Most of the men leave the home to spread the word of the Doctor's miraculous cure as the remaining one - the one to bring up the treems again - heads to another room, calling for his wife to heat water. Ianto sits on the edge of his bed, slowly making his way through the bad of jelly babies. He hasn't had candy in weeks.
"They don't sleep, here. Ever. I tried to explain but apparently the concept got lost in translation."
Reply
"Yes, quite a remarkable race," the Doctor says, popping two of the candies into his mouth. "With the not sleeping thing, and all. Very rare. Even Time Lords have to sleep eventually, but not these people."
He tosses the last jelly baby in his hand into his mouth, and reaches to get another handful. "So, yes. I quite imagine the idea of you needing sleep would be rather difficult for them to understand."
Reply
He picks a green jelly baby and holds the bag between them to better facilitate their sharing. "I had a hard enough time explaining what I wanted in the first place - someplace dark, for no one to bother me - and then I wake up with them all crowded around staring at me. I think they thought I was dead. I told them it was dreams. I wondered why they kept saying that, treems... should've guessed, really. They mispronounce a lot of things I say, bless them."
Is he talking a lot? He hadn't noticed. It's just that it's been a few weeks without anyone who speaks English. He's missed it. He's missed this, curls and velvet and sandalwood and jelly babies. He sucks one sticky finger clean and then tugs at the front of the Doctor's frock coat, pulling him closer for a slightly sweet kiss.
Then back to the jelly babies. He picks an orange one this time, then looks back up and smiles. "I've missed you."
Reply
"I've missed you too," he says, hugging Ianto. "So what have you been up to these weeks? Other than sleeping and not speaking their language, that is."
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And by nice, of course, Ianto means rather boring. Teaching them to make tea, that was an adventure, but most of it was... boring. He needed boring.
The fisherman's wife enters the room with two cups of tea, beaming at her guests. "You're lucky, Eeanto, that I already had water over the fire." She hands one cup to the Doctor and the other to Ianto, patting Ianto's cheek as she does. "This will put some color in your cheeks. You're paler than the sand! Who's your guest?"
It's strange, Ianto thinks, to hear the same voice and inflection in a language he finally understands. Laila - he thinks that's her name, or maybe a title - always took great pleasure in talking to him in her language, knowing full well he couldn't understand a word. He'd respond to the best of his ability, guessing from her tone, and she would laugh and pat his head and try to teach him words.
Ianto smiles and ducks away from her hand. "This is the Doctor, Laila..."
"Oh, I knew I could get you to stop speaking gibberish!"
"And Doctor, this is Laila."
Reply
He smiles at the woman. "I really must thank you for taking such good care of my friend while he was here." Of course, he's just assuming she took good care of Ianto. But it seems like a good guess, since Ianto doesn't seem like someone who's been mistreated. And she brought them both tea.
"Oh, it was no trouble at all, Doctor," she assures him, in that way very hospitable people tend to do. "Eeanto has been a wonderful help with the baby. Even if he couldn't speak properly."
Reply
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