Fic: Always Like This
Title: Always Like This
Sequel to: Time and Space
Author: she_burns1
Pairing: Bret/Doctor (Jemaine)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,646
Summary: AU, FOTC/Doctor Who cross, Bret questions his decision to travel with the Doctor.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FOTC or Doctor Who or anything fun really.
Warning: Hints of slash, or, maybe what one would consider pre-slash - as always, something I consider a warning - lol.
Notes: This is more a vignette than anything, but this came to me and I wanted to write it, because I really like this universe. There's just something so adorable to me about Bret as a companion to Jemaine's (sort-of-Tennish) Doctor. Not to mention I'm well into watching Series 5, so it just felt right to do. Hope you all enjoy if you take a peek!
"Is it always like this?" Bret panted as he did his best to press his back harder against the door that was his only salvation from the murderous aliens on the other side.
Jemaine (The Doctor), who was also doing his best to keep the door closed, looked at him with one raised brow, "What do you mean?"
"Mean," Bret grunted as the door jostled behind him, "Y'know...the running and the," he gasped, still trying to catch his breath, "the talking and the misunderstandings and the angry bug-eyed monsters shooting at us...and the running again..."
"No one likes a whiner, Bret."
"Jemaine-" Bret moaned.
"Doctor." He corrected.
"Please...just," Bret's words cut off as he cried out, scared as the door behind him shook violently. Doctor Jemaine drew away from the door and Bret's eyes widened, "What are you doing?!"
"Something clever," Doctor Jemaine assured him as he drew out his (what Bret had just earlier today discovered to be) sonic screwdriver and made swift adjustments to it, his fingers moving almost in a blur. He looked at Bret over the top of his glasses, "Trust me."
Bret swallowed and wished his heart wouldn't beat so when Jemaine did that.
Doctor Jemaine pressed the sonic against the door and instead of its' normal buzzing sound it made a deeper, more definitive hum. Bret tried to see what exactly it was doing, but he couldn't really turn his head the right way in this position, all his energy still concentrated on pushing against the door.
But as he pushed, the door seemed to become stronger and stronger against his back and suddenly he felt no movement from the other side. Doctor Jemaine grinned wolfishly and blew on the end of his sonic as if something hot and deadly had emerged from it, "'S all right Bret. You can draw away from the door now."
Bret slowly did, still worried about the bug-eyed creatures on the other side bursting in and shooting them both. One of the last things Bret wanted was to be shot. He imagined it was quite unpleasant - even worse than getting a paper cut - and he really hated when that happened.
But the more he drew away, the more confidant he became that the door wouldn't blow apart. In fact, once he was away from it, he realized that not only could he no longer feel any movement on the other side, but he couldn't hear anything on the other side either. And it had been quite noisy a moment ago - what with the shooting and yelling and all.
"What..." Bret scratched at the back of his head, eyes on the door, "What did you do?"
"Used the sonic to change the molecular structure of the door. Wasn't really sure it'd work but, well, seems it did. No way they're breaking through it now. Set it to Uindine and that's one hard nut to crack, metal's from a planet called-"
Bret interrupted, "You didn't answer my question."
"Hrm?"
"Is it...is it always like this?"
"Like this?"
Bret sighed, "Jemaine-"
"Doctor."
"Whatever," Bret muttered, crossing his arms, "You know what I mean."
"Bret, no one likes a pouter either."
"M'not pouting."
"What do you call that thing with your bottom lip then? Could put a cup on that."
Bret let out an exasperate noise and Doctor Jemaine, taking pity on him, let out a breath and rolled his eyes, "Yeah, right, okay, it's...sort of...kind of...like this. All the time."
"Oh."
There was a tight silence and, for once, even Doctor Jemaine looked uncomfortable, his eyes on the sonic, fingers fiddling with it as he asked, voice low and sad, "Do you...not like it?"
"'S bit scary."
"Yeah."
"And dangerous."
"Yeah."
"...it doesn't...doesn't bother you?"
Doctor Jemaine shrugged, not meeting Bret's eyes, "It's my life."
Bret couldn't think of anything to add to that but he didn't have to, as Doctor Jemaine sighed wearily, "Been living it this way some odd, nine-hundred years now...never seen much reason to change it."
"But...you could be killed."
"Ah, no," Doctor Jemaine cleared his throat, "No, not so much. Mean, well, I could be...but more often than not I just...you know...regenerate."
Bret's eyebrows drew together, "Re-what now?"
"Regenerate. Time Lord...thing. Get hurt bad, change every cell in my body - become someone new."
"...you become someone new?"
"'S been known to happen."
Bret just blinked and shook his head, "That's...something."
Doctor Jemaine let out a dry, humorless laugh, "Yeah, tell me about it."
"So...a-a totally different person?"
"Well, mean, keep my memories...and I'm always this brilliant and stunning and all...essentially the same, but, you know, different aspects of me. Different face, different hair...and, let me tell you, different fashion taste - should have seen me with the mismatched coat, rainbow umbrella, and cat pin. That was...well...I've dressed better."
"Like now?"
Doctor Jemaine looked down at his brown and tan coat and jeans, frowning, "What's wrong with this?"
"Liked that suit you first showed up in better."
"The pin stripes?"
"Yeah...was snazzy."
"Eh, didn't feel right. This is more," Jemaine shrugged, "Relaxed."
"You look just like everyone else," Bret complained, "Like...some musician or something."
"Hey! I am a musician! Or did you all ready forget about our gig?"
"The one we played in the Tardis to nobody?"
"Yeah, that one! Was good!"
Bret thought about this, then, reluctantly, he nodded, "Yeah...it was. Still...mean...we're getting off the point."
Doctor Jemaine frowned, looking confused, "What was the point?"
Bret opened his mouth then, realizing he too, had sort of forgotten the initial point of this conversation, and he took a minute to get his own mind back to it. He closed his mouth, eyes shifting from side to side as he thought. He snapped his fingers as it came to him, "It always being like this!"
"Ah!" Doctor Jemaine snapped his fingers as well, rocking on his heels, "Yes! Right! That!"
Bret licked his lips and swallowed, "So..."
"So?"
Bret took a deep breath, "I dunno, man. Mean...don't really want to put myself in harm's way...I don't regurgitate-"
"Regenerate."
"-like you do. And...mean, when I agreed to go with you...I dunno...guess I was just drawn in by the adventure and the charisma and the-"
"Charisma?"
Bret blinked, then, blushing, rubbed at his neck, "Oh! Mean...um...you know...the whole...mean, you-"
"Yes. Me. Go on."
Bret swallowed, face hot, "You're sort of...a lot to take."
"Oh?"
"Just...come swooping in all...bass guitar and big lips and time and space and sonic screwdrivers and, 'hey, let's go play putt putt on Mircron 6'-"
"...thought you liked that."
"I did...'till we got mixed up in that political scandal with the locals."
"How was I to know that was the Magistrate's daughter?!"
"No, I know, I just," Bret shook his head and knocked a fist lightly on the door, before leaning his back against it again, "Mean, here we are! Again! Aliens with guns on the other side of this door and it just...it sort of takes the fun out of things."
Doctor Jemaine looked at his shoes, "You want to go home."
Bret's heart squeezed in his chest and, to his own surprise, he whispered, "No."
Doctor Jemaine looked up at him, a glint of hope in his eyes, and the squeezing of Bret's heart lessened a little, "I just...I guess, I just want to know...mean...any chance of us doing something some time where we're not so, um, danger-friendly?"
Doctor Jemaine put his hands in his pockets, "Well, mean...what do you want to do?"
"I don't know."
Doctor Jemaine leaned back against the door next to Bret, "You've got all of time and space to choose from Bret."
Bret looked stunned, his eyes on the man close to his right, "You'd...you'd let me choose?"
Doctor Jemaine nodded and Bret gave him a tiny smile, "...be nice to see some place with animals."
"Animals?"
"Yeah...like, mean, is there a planet where animals are, dunno, like, a free world zoo or something?"
"Menagernoss?"
"There is such a place?!"
Doctor Jemaine nodded, "Yeah, they even talk."
"They talk!" Bret looked so ridiculously happy that Doctor Jemiane couldn't help but feel himself break into a big grin, "Yeah, they talk, even do shows every evening. Fireworks, glitter parades, the whole works! The Rhinageroos even play the Triumphicorn. Oh, you should hear it, Bret! Sounds like a flute and a harp making a sweet, sweet twosome."
"Like us," Bret heard the words leave him before he could stop himself and he felt the tips of his ears burn, "Oh! I-I mean-"
"We'll go there after we wrap this up," Doctor Jemaine promised as he gracefully pulled away from the door, "Now come on, back up. I'm going to change the door back. 'Magine the Caslogni are no longer on the other side. They're notorious for their impatience. No doubt they've slouched off to find someone else to chase about. You 'n me'll sneak back to the Tardis, make way for Menagernoss."
Bret pulled away from the door, "You mean it?"
"Yeah. Can't turn down a date, now can I?"
Bret swallowed thickly, "A...a what?"
Doctor Jemiane looked at him strangely, "Bret...you hard of hearing? I said I can't turn down a mate, now can I? Honestly...turned white as sheet there for a second."
"Oh," Bret breathed and he began to question whether or not he had simply misheard Jemaine or whether or not Jemaine himself had just had a slip of the tongue.
But Bret coldn't dedicate much thought to it, as the door turned back to its' natural material and Doctor Jemaine took his hand, looking at him with a wicked smile and one raised eyebrow, "You ready?"
Bret all ready felt breathless and they hadn't even started running, "Yeah. Let's go."
Sequel to: Time and Space
Author: she_burns1
Pairing: Bret/Doctor (Jemaine)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,646
Summary: AU, FOTC/Doctor Who cross, Bret questions his decision to travel with the Doctor.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FOTC or Doctor Who or anything fun really.
Warning: Hints of slash, or, maybe what one would consider pre-slash - as always, something I consider a warning - lol.
Notes: This is more a vignette than anything, but this came to me and I wanted to write it, because I really like this universe. There's just something so adorable to me about Bret as a companion to Jemaine's (sort-of-Tennish) Doctor. Not to mention I'm well into watching Series 5, so it just felt right to do. Hope you all enjoy if you take a peek!
"Is it always like this?" Bret panted as he did his best to press his back harder against the door that was his only salvation from the murderous aliens on the other side.
Jemaine (The Doctor), who was also doing his best to keep the door closed, looked at him with one raised brow, "What do you mean?"
"Mean," Bret grunted as the door jostled behind him, "Y'know...the running and the," he gasped, still trying to catch his breath, "the talking and the misunderstandings and the angry bug-eyed monsters shooting at us...and the running again..."
"No one likes a whiner, Bret."
"Jemaine-" Bret moaned.
"Doctor." He corrected.
"Please...just," Bret's words cut off as he cried out, scared as the door behind him shook violently. Doctor Jemaine drew away from the door and Bret's eyes widened, "What are you doing?!"
"Something clever," Doctor Jemaine assured him as he drew out his (what Bret had just earlier today discovered to be) sonic screwdriver and made swift adjustments to it, his fingers moving almost in a blur. He looked at Bret over the top of his glasses, "Trust me."
Bret swallowed and wished his heart wouldn't beat so when Jemaine did that.
Doctor Jemaine pressed the sonic against the door and instead of its' normal buzzing sound it made a deeper, more definitive hum. Bret tried to see what exactly it was doing, but he couldn't really turn his head the right way in this position, all his energy still concentrated on pushing against the door.
But as he pushed, the door seemed to become stronger and stronger against his back and suddenly he felt no movement from the other side. Doctor Jemaine grinned wolfishly and blew on the end of his sonic as if something hot and deadly had emerged from it, "'S all right Bret. You can draw away from the door now."
Bret slowly did, still worried about the bug-eyed creatures on the other side bursting in and shooting them both. One of the last things Bret wanted was to be shot. He imagined it was quite unpleasant - even worse than getting a paper cut - and he really hated when that happened.
But the more he drew away, the more confidant he became that the door wouldn't blow apart. In fact, once he was away from it, he realized that not only could he no longer feel any movement on the other side, but he couldn't hear anything on the other side either. And it had been quite noisy a moment ago - what with the shooting and yelling and all.
"What..." Bret scratched at the back of his head, eyes on the door, "What did you do?"
"Used the sonic to change the molecular structure of the door. Wasn't really sure it'd work but, well, seems it did. No way they're breaking through it now. Set it to Uindine and that's one hard nut to crack, metal's from a planet called-"
Bret interrupted, "You didn't answer my question."
"Hrm?"
"Is it...is it always like this?"
"Like this?"
Bret sighed, "Jemaine-"
"Doctor."
"Whatever," Bret muttered, crossing his arms, "You know what I mean."
"Bret, no one likes a pouter either."
"M'not pouting."
"What do you call that thing with your bottom lip then? Could put a cup on that."
Bret let out an exasperate noise and Doctor Jemaine, taking pity on him, let out a breath and rolled his eyes, "Yeah, right, okay, it's...sort of...kind of...like this. All the time."
"Oh."
There was a tight silence and, for once, even Doctor Jemaine looked uncomfortable, his eyes on the sonic, fingers fiddling with it as he asked, voice low and sad, "Do you...not like it?"
"'S bit scary."
"Yeah."
"And dangerous."
"Yeah."
"...it doesn't...doesn't bother you?"
Doctor Jemaine shrugged, not meeting Bret's eyes, "It's my life."
Bret couldn't think of anything to add to that but he didn't have to, as Doctor Jemaine sighed wearily, "Been living it this way some odd, nine-hundred years now...never seen much reason to change it."
"But...you could be killed."
"Ah, no," Doctor Jemaine cleared his throat, "No, not so much. Mean, well, I could be...but more often than not I just...you know...regenerate."
Bret's eyebrows drew together, "Re-what now?"
"Regenerate. Time Lord...thing. Get hurt bad, change every cell in my body - become someone new."
"...you become someone new?"
"'S been known to happen."
Bret just blinked and shook his head, "That's...something."
Doctor Jemaine let out a dry, humorless laugh, "Yeah, tell me about it."
"So...a-a totally different person?"
"Well, mean, keep my memories...and I'm always this brilliant and stunning and all...essentially the same, but, you know, different aspects of me. Different face, different hair...and, let me tell you, different fashion taste - should have seen me with the mismatched coat, rainbow umbrella, and cat pin. That was...well...I've dressed better."
"Like now?"
Doctor Jemaine looked down at his brown and tan coat and jeans, frowning, "What's wrong with this?"
"Liked that suit you first showed up in better."
"The pin stripes?"
"Yeah...was snazzy."
"Eh, didn't feel right. This is more," Jemaine shrugged, "Relaxed."
"You look just like everyone else," Bret complained, "Like...some musician or something."
"Hey! I am a musician! Or did you all ready forget about our gig?"
"The one we played in the Tardis to nobody?"
"Yeah, that one! Was good!"
Bret thought about this, then, reluctantly, he nodded, "Yeah...it was. Still...mean...we're getting off the point."
Doctor Jemaine frowned, looking confused, "What was the point?"
Bret opened his mouth then, realizing he too, had sort of forgotten the initial point of this conversation, and he took a minute to get his own mind back to it. He closed his mouth, eyes shifting from side to side as he thought. He snapped his fingers as it came to him, "It always being like this!"
"Ah!" Doctor Jemaine snapped his fingers as well, rocking on his heels, "Yes! Right! That!"
Bret licked his lips and swallowed, "So..."
"So?"
Bret took a deep breath, "I dunno, man. Mean...don't really want to put myself in harm's way...I don't regurgitate-"
"Regenerate."
"-like you do. And...mean, when I agreed to go with you...I dunno...guess I was just drawn in by the adventure and the charisma and the-"
"Charisma?"
Bret blinked, then, blushing, rubbed at his neck, "Oh! Mean...um...you know...the whole...mean, you-"
"Yes. Me. Go on."
Bret swallowed, face hot, "You're sort of...a lot to take."
"Oh?"
"Just...come swooping in all...bass guitar and big lips and time and space and sonic screwdrivers and, 'hey, let's go play putt putt on Mircron 6'-"
"...thought you liked that."
"I did...'till we got mixed up in that political scandal with the locals."
"How was I to know that was the Magistrate's daughter?!"
"No, I know, I just," Bret shook his head and knocked a fist lightly on the door, before leaning his back against it again, "Mean, here we are! Again! Aliens with guns on the other side of this door and it just...it sort of takes the fun out of things."
Doctor Jemaine looked at his shoes, "You want to go home."
Bret's heart squeezed in his chest and, to his own surprise, he whispered, "No."
Doctor Jemaine looked up at him, a glint of hope in his eyes, and the squeezing of Bret's heart lessened a little, "I just...I guess, I just want to know...mean...any chance of us doing something some time where we're not so, um, danger-friendly?"
Doctor Jemaine put his hands in his pockets, "Well, mean...what do you want to do?"
"I don't know."
Doctor Jemaine leaned back against the door next to Bret, "You've got all of time and space to choose from Bret."
Bret looked stunned, his eyes on the man close to his right, "You'd...you'd let me choose?"
Doctor Jemaine nodded and Bret gave him a tiny smile, "...be nice to see some place with animals."
"Animals?"
"Yeah...like, mean, is there a planet where animals are, dunno, like, a free world zoo or something?"
"Menagernoss?"
"There is such a place?!"
Doctor Jemaine nodded, "Yeah, they even talk."
"They talk!" Bret looked so ridiculously happy that Doctor Jemiane couldn't help but feel himself break into a big grin, "Yeah, they talk, even do shows every evening. Fireworks, glitter parades, the whole works! The Rhinageroos even play the Triumphicorn. Oh, you should hear it, Bret! Sounds like a flute and a harp making a sweet, sweet twosome."
"Like us," Bret heard the words leave him before he could stop himself and he felt the tips of his ears burn, "Oh! I-I mean-"
"We'll go there after we wrap this up," Doctor Jemaine promised as he gracefully pulled away from the door, "Now come on, back up. I'm going to change the door back. 'Magine the Caslogni are no longer on the other side. They're notorious for their impatience. No doubt they've slouched off to find someone else to chase about. You 'n me'll sneak back to the Tardis, make way for Menagernoss."
Bret pulled away from the door, "You mean it?"
"Yeah. Can't turn down a date, now can I?"
Bret swallowed thickly, "A...a what?"
Doctor Jemiane looked at him strangely, "Bret...you hard of hearing? I said I can't turn down a mate, now can I? Honestly...turned white as sheet there for a second."
"Oh," Bret breathed and he began to question whether or not he had simply misheard Jemaine or whether or not Jemaine himself had just had a slip of the tongue.
But Bret coldn't dedicate much thought to it, as the door turned back to its' natural material and Doctor Jemaine took his hand, looking at him with a wicked smile and one raised eyebrow, "You ready?"
Bret all ready felt breathless and they hadn't even started running, "Yeah. Let's go."