Who: Tenth Doctor + Tardis What: Ice cream, fun, accidental time travel. Coincides with this thread, from way back in January. Why, yes, we do plan things out this far in advance. You're welcome. When: April 28th AND January 22nd, respectively. Where: Ice cream shop, Irvine. And then McCoy's place. Rating: Low Status: Complete
Summer was coming.
John was from Britain, and as such was a little surprised by just how warm the weather managed to be even by the end of April. Seriously, it was mid-80's and that was actually really hot. He was pleased that his and Gwen's apartment had air conditioning. Still, he wasn't really the type to waste a perfect day by sitting indoors.
And so he closed his laptop, searched through his closet for a pair of flippy floppy sandals and appeared in the living room with a flourish. "Tara," he announced to his best friend, who just happened to be sitting on his couch and disassembling something that looked very much like his toaster. "We are going to get ice cream. And we're walking, because it is brilliant outside."
Tara looked up from the toaster that she was working on and grinned at her best friend. Ice cream was like a magic word for the girl. It made her ears perk, put a smile on her face and excitement in her eyes. She really was such a child.
“Okay!” she agreed brightly, putting the pieces in her lap back onto the table. She’d been making good progress on the toaster (she really wanted to find a way to get sonic technology here...) but, of course, her weakness for frozen treats had risen. With all the pieces now on the table, the brunette rose and trotted over to John, still smiling widely. “Can we go to that really good one down the street?” The one where they knew her by name.
“Where else would we go?” John asked cheerfully, even as he not-very randomly hugged Tara and then moved away to pilfer the kitchen table for his keys, wallet, sonic screwdriver and other random things that he tended to always carry around with him. Pockets full, he grinned lopsidedly, tiny crows feet appearing by his eyes. “They always give you a free scoop.” Which he shouldn’t have been happy about, because all it really meant was that that was the scoop of bubblegum ice cream he ended up eating, but who was really keeping track anyway?
“They do!” she agreed happily, glancing at John’s full pockets. She waved a hand in their general direction, making a bit of a face. “We’ve got to do something about those pockets. They’re too small.” Well, they weren’t too small really. They were just not any bigger on the inside, which was always a good thing.
She was shrugging as she slipped a hand into John’s. “I’ll remember how eventually. I remember more nearly every night!” Grin.
Hey, it was his technology too. At some point he’d figure it out if Tara didn’t first. He did have the advantage of making everything a little more sonic already, after all.
He pulled a face that was half between pout and agreeable -- really, even he wasn’t sure how he managed. “Pockets would be nicer with more Time Lord to them,” he agreed, swinging their hands as they exited the apartment. It wasn’t awkward at all to slip out of a doorway shoulder to shoulder with someone.
Well, perhaps not awkward for these two. They knew each other far too well to feel any bit weird around the other. The Doctor and his TARDIS, after all. “They would!” she agreed, nodding enthusiastically up at John. “We’ll find a way, I’m sure.”
Exiting the building, Tara led her boyfriend best friend toward her favourite ice cream shop. She was a bit quiet, which was kind of weird, but she had a weird feeling in her stomach. Not wanting to worry John over nothing, she didn’t say anything about it. But it was just a bit distracting.
Unfortunately(?) her boyfriend best friend took her silence as Tara just contemplating making things bigger on the inside. Or bubblegum ice cream. Really it was so hard to tell sometimes.
“We should take a vacation,” he was saying - rather suddenly - “You know. When summer comes around more. Do you get vacation time? It’d be fun. Somewhere brilliant. Oh, I’m thinking that three colored ice cream today.”
“I do!” she said. “Three weeks in a year. I’ve got tons of time left! Where would you like to go? The sorbet one or the neopolitan one?” Because she could catch up with his Time Lord rambling. They just about spoke their own language, which was fun and refreshing for the brunette. Other people often thought much more slowly than they did.
It was kind of like a different language -- rapid fire statements and questions on varying topics that they threw back and forth in a way that normal people would probably baulk over. John liked it very much; he’d always been a little hyper, but lately his speedy speech and bubbly personality had grown exponentially.
“Neopolitan, of course,” he said, because along with talking fast, he seemed to be able to switch up the order of conversation with no issue. “I don’t know. What do you think of Brazil? Oh, I’ve also never been to New York, that could be good. I’ve heard Hawaii is lovely. Three weeks? That’s brilliant, a ton of time for all the fun in the world.” He opened the door of the ice cream place for her once they got to it.
Stepping inside, Tara waved at the people behind the counter with a big smile. She nodded when they asked if she’d like the usual, and then turned back to John with that same big smile. “Let’s go to all of them!” she said, giving his hand a squeeze. “I lived in Hawaii! Oh I’d love to go back.”
John pointed rather excitedly at the three colored ice cream he’d planned on, but beyond that the employees seemed to know his usual preferences as well, because no more questions were asked, and soon he was paying cash for the goods and services of ice cream for the two of them. He tipped - even though it was something he was still getting used to doing in America.
“You lived there?” he asked, absolutely pleased at that, but not really sure why. “That’s wonderful, you could show me about -- all three sounds grand, I’m sure we could work it out. Should we sit outside?”
Tara was halfway through a scoop of her ice cream before she spoke again, because it was the best and okay maybe she had some brain freeze because her stomach and head felt funny. Very funny. Not nauseous or unsettled, just... Funny.
“Yes!” she told him, trying to ignore the weird feeling and sound like her usual chipper self. But she was starting to get worried. Her eyes were getting foggy with a sort of gold colour. “Let’s go outside,” she said, moving toward the door. On the way out, she stumbled a bit. On nothing. Which was weird.
John frowned at her, vaguely concerned -- more because she’d stopped talking a mile a minute with him than because she’d tripped. “Are you okay?” He asked, reaching out to steady her, and looking as serious as any Time Lord might with an ice cream mustache.
Tara steadied herself on his shoulder, looking like she might be sick. “I don’t feel very well,” she said. And then the sinking feeling in her gut intensified even more, and she made a noise that sounded like a very familiar Woosh Woosh (but where had it come from?) before she was surrounded by golden fingers of light. With a panicked glance shot at John, she opened her mouth to speak.
And then she was gone.
John stared at the space where his Tardis best friend had been a second ago, but clearly was not anymore. He blinked.
Blinked again.
And then, not really being able to help himself, the Doctor smiled. Tara was going to be mighty shocked wherever it was that she ended up, but he knew she’d be fine.
After all, she’d told him so.
Shame about not having to finish off that ice cream, too.