#we discussed it and it doesn’t entail much besides what we’ve already been doing honestly

[michi-chelle]

recommendations for resources or reading material about queer polyamorous relationships?

[theydontknowaboutusimagines]

The Set Up - Harry Styles One Shot (Part 6)

Part 1    Part 2    Part 3     Part 4   Part 5  

**

The 10th anniversary issue of The Mixtape was now on newsstands and the response from your loyal readers as been amazing. Everyone was taking to social media talking about it and adding their favorite memories. Things in the office were a bit slower now, but there was still plenty of work to do. Booking artists for interviews and covers, pitching article ideas, and new themed issues. 

Your relationship was still in the honeymoon phase, but you knew at some point soon that would most likely fade away. Especially since he was starting tour in less than a week. You two still had yet to have a conversation about what it would entail in regards to your relationship. Would there be rules or expectations for one another? Would there be days that go where you two wouldn’t speak? How would you handle a disagreement? 

There was so much unknown information that you were a little worried. You had already wrote down every single tour date in your calendar, trying to match up with your own schedule so that you could fly out for a week at a time. You also made sure to note any of his off weeks, so that you didn’t overbook yourself for when he was home. 

Mentally, you are prepared to work as hard and as much as you could while he was gone, so that you were able to take off when you needed it. Of course, you knew that you couldn’t work yourself to death, but the motivation was there. You were at the office, going through a hoard of emails when your boyfriend poked his head in the office, holding two cups of coffee and a muffin. 

“Hey,” You smiled getting up from your desk. “What are doing here?” 

“Just thought I’d pop in and see my girl,” he smiled. “And bring her a little something.” 

“I was just about to grab a refill, so thank you,” you smiled taking one of the cups from him. 

“I figured,” he smiled putting his hand on your waist. 

You smiled giving him a quick kiss, “So, what’s on your agenda today?” 

“I’m having lunch with my sister,” he said leaning against your desk. 

“Oh, that’ll be fun,” you said sipping your coffee.

“Yeah, I try to spend a little bit more time with her before tour, since it’ll be a while till I’m able to see her,” he said. “She doesn’t come out on tour much anymore.” 

“Hm, that’s nice,” you smiled. “I remember her taking about it being weird for her, not always getting to talk or see you.” 

He nodded, “Sometimes the time differences get in the way or our schedules. We at least will text here and there. In fact, sometimes we talk more while I’m tour than when I’m not,” he laughed. 

You nodded, “Interesting.” 

“Hey, but don’t worry,” he said. “That won’t happen with us. Don’t tell Gem, but I’d much rather talk to you, over her,” he winked. 

You laughed, “I will definitely not tell her that or she’ll kick your ass.” 

“That she would,” he laughed. “Oh, there is another reason, I stopped by because I talked to my Mum this morning and she wants me to come stay with her for a few days. I usually do that as well before tour, sometimes she comes here and stays with me or Gem, others I go up there. She also wanted me to invite you.” 

“Oh, I’d love to go,” you smiled. “But only if you want me to go. I don’t want to impose on a mother son time.” 

“You won’t be, besides I feel like she’d be happier spending time with you than me,” he laughed. 

“Just let me know the dates and I’ll make sure everything’s good to go here,” you said. 

“Will do,” he smiled. “Oh, one more thing and I’ll let you get back to work.” 

“Yes?” You giggled. 

“Stay over tonight?�� He asked. “I missed having my favorite breakfast this morning.” 

You looked at him confusion on your face, causing him to laugh, “You, baby,” he smirked. 

“Behave!” You laughed. 

“It’s true though,” he said. “I have to get it while I can before I have to go without it.” 

“Well, when you put it that way,” you smirked wrapping your arms around his shoulder, “I’ll be at your place as soon as I’m finished here.. and who says we have to wait until breakfast.” 

“I love the way you think,” he smirked pressing his lips against yours.

**

Harry left your office and headed straight to where he was meeting his sister. His mind was already thinking what would be taking place that nigh once you arrived at his home and he knew he needed to put that on the back burner before lunch with his sister. So, instead he thought about how your face at looked when he mentioned the tour and lack of communication with his family. 

Looking back, he probably shouldn’t have said what he did because while you were trying to hide it he could tell it bothered you. He really need to talk to you about what to expect on tour, but every tour was different, every relationship was different. To be fair, he hadn’t had many experiences with relationships on tour and they all obviously didn’t end well. In the past, he either didn’t have a super serious relationship with someone while on tour or he just didn’t even bother. 

That was mostly the younger side of him, still getting used to both the new found limelight and hectic schedule both on and off tour. But he really wanted this relationship to work with you. Going into it, he knew it was mostly a bad idea to pursue anything knowing he was leaving in a few months time, but he couldn’t help it. There was a undeniable connection he felt with you, even if in the beginning he tried to deny it. He could have at easily said he didn’t want it to become serious until he came back, but that wasn’t fair to you or to him. 

While he knew he should discuss the tour with you, he was going to keep it to himself a little bit longer. Yes, it was like the pot calling the kettle black because he had been upset with you not telling him about The Mixtape party, but this was different. He was afraid if he told you everything that could go wrong or how hard it could be, that you would freak out and end it before it even began. 

However, would that actually be for the best? Would laying it all out there in the beginning, letting you make the choice of sticking it out or walking away, help prevent him from getting his heartbroken yet again? Sure, it would fucking suck, losing you now, but at least it would be before he had fallen head over heels in love with you. 

Which, honestly, wouldn’t be too long now. It was crazy to think that way, he knew it. You two were still in the honeymoon phase, so it was mostly infatuation still, but he could honestly say he never felt what he was feeling with anyone else. Even people he dated long term. Maybe it was because you knew his family or maybe it was because you two were “made” for each other. 

He didn’t necessarily believe in love at first sight or soulmates, but he did believe that there was someone who fit in your missing piece. Someone who made you feel complete, who standing next to him for years to come, and he could see you as that person. Now, that his mind was a little more clearer he headed into the restaurant grabbing a table for two. 

“You’re late,” Harry smirked when his sister finally arrived. 

“By two bloody minutes,” she rolled her eyes. “I can count on both hands and  foot how many times you’ve been late.” 

“I believe that’s a bit of an exaggeration,” he said. 

“Except it’s not,” she laughed. 

“Anyway, I ordered us drinks,” he said. 

“Drinks, or drinks,” she smirked. 

“The former,” he said. “No one needs you drunk at eleven am.” 

She rolled her eyes shaking her head, “Now, let’s get down business.” 

“Let me guess, you’re going to grill me about Y/N this entire time, right?” He sighed dramatically. 

“Yeah, I am,” she said. “Neither of you have given me any information! I know you two are seeing each other and you were all lovey fucking dovey at The Mixtape party the other night, so just fucking tell me already.” 

“Tell you what?” He smirked. “That we’re fucking?” 

“Ew! What? No, I do not need to know that,” she said. “If it was Y/N and anyone else, I’d be all for the details, but not when it’s with my baby brother.” 

He laughed shaking his head, “Um, so does this mean she’s talked to you about details of her sexual past before?” 

“Yeah, I’m not going there,” she said. 

“What? It’s a question. I’m not asking for details. I’d rather not know them, actually,” he said. “I just want to know if you two did talk about that before...” 

“Yes, I mean it’s not like we sit down and have a formal tea and chat about it, but it’s been mentioned before usually when drinks involved,” she said. 

“Hmpf,” he mumbled. 

“Don’t be doing that,” she said. 

“Doing what?” He asked all innocently. 

“Getting jealous over past relationships,” she said. “It’s not like she’s the only person you’ve shagged either, yet you don’t see her trying to get information.” 

“Whatever. I’m not getting jealous, one, and two, I’m not asking for information, I was just asking a simple question,” he said. 

“Yeah, and denial is just a big fat river in Egypt,” she rolled her eyes. 

“No, by The Nile River is,” he smirked. 

“For fuck’s sake, just answer my previous question,” she groaned. “Are you and Y/N together yet?” 

“If you’re asking whether she’s my girlfriend, then yes, the answer is yes,” he said. 

“Yes! I fucking knew it,” she smirked. “When you two get married, please be sure to thank me. I take cash, checks, gift cards.” 

He rolled his eyes, “Shouldn’t you just be happy that both your best friend and brother are happy?” 

“Oh, I am. Extremely happy, but I can also be ecstatic that once again I was right,” she smirked. 

Harry laughed taking a bite of his just delivered food. 

“So, tour,” Gemma said after a bit. “How are you feeling about that?” 

“Excited, nervous, the usual feelings,” he said. 

“How Y/N’s feeling about the tour?” she asked. 

“Um, I don’t really know her exact feelings,” he said. “We’ve not talked about it.” 

Gemma sighed looking at him, “You leave next week.” 

“I know, I know,” he sighed. “It just hasn’t really come up.” 

“Because you haven’t brought it up,” Gemma said. “You need to talk to her about it, ASAP.” 

“Why are you so adamant about this?” Harry asked. “Did she say something?” 

“Look, I’m not going to get in between the two of you, I promised her I wouldn’t, but I will say this,” she said. “Just talk to her, please. Reassure her that things will be okay and that you two will work things out if they don't.” 

“Is she worried it’s not going to work out?” He asked. “Gem, you can’t just tell me this shit half ass, please tell me.” 

“Fuck me,” she groaned. “Before the two of you became official, she was a little hesitant on some things when it came to do the tour. She didn’t know how you felt about getting in or having a relationship on tour. She also may have asked about your other relationships and I might have told her there weren’t many to begin with and that the ones that were, there were problems.” 

“Bloody hell, Gemma, why would you tell her that?” He sighed. 

“Because it’s the truth, which she should have heard for you,” she pointed out. “So, that’s why I’m telling you to just sit down and have an honest conversation with her.” 

He sighed sitting back in his seat, “Yeah, I’ll talk to her.” 

**

Harry stared at the food in the skillet as it cooked, his mind wandering off to his talk with his sister. Ever since he left lunch with her, his mind raced with all sorts of thoughts. What if you were second guessing being with him and his fear of you walking out was bound to happen? He also wondered what else you talked to his sister about. He knew she would never break your trust, even if she slightly did during lunch, but if it was anything bigger, he knew she would never spill. 

He understood why and he would never intentionally ask or invade your privacy like that, but it still didn’t make the possibilities of conversations lead his mind. He heard the buzzer at the gate, signaling that you had arrived. He had given you the guest code, so you were able to get in, but it still alerted him when someone had arrived. He was thankful for that in that moment because it gave him time to try and clear his mind and put on a front that everything was okay until he had to bring up the topic of conversation. 

The doorbell rang, “It’s open!” He shouted from the kitchen. 

 A few seconds later, the front door opens and he could instantly smell your perfume. He smiled a bit knowing you were there, but deep down there was a feeling in his gut. 

“Hey, baby,” you smiled walking into the kitchen. “Dinner is smelling amazing.” 

“Thank you,” he smiled. “It should be ready in a bit.” 

You smiled wrapping your arms around his waist and given him a kiss, “Hm, how was lunch with Gem?” 

“Well, our conversation was centered around you,” he said. 

“Ah, so I take you finally told her we’re together?” You asked. 

“I did,” he said. “She told me we better thank her if we ever get married,” he laughed. 

“She would,” you laughed. 

“How was the rest of your day?” He asked. “Everything good at the office?” 

“Well, everyone was certainly in good moods thanks to the hoards of coffee, bagels, and muffins, my boyfriend dropped off today,” you laughed. 

“Happy everyone enjoyed it,” he smiled. 

You kissed his cheek, “Do you need any help?” 

“No, I’m good,” he said. 

“Okay, then I’m going to go freshen up and change, I’ve had enough of these tight ass for the day,” you laughed. 

He smirked, “Your ass definitely looks good in them though.” 

You laughed, “I’ll be right back.” 

He nodded giving you one more kiss before letting you go and head into the bedroom. He sighed, taking a deep breath before putting the food onto plates and taking it over to the table. Less than five minutes went by when you returned wearing leggings and an old concert t-shirt. 

“Just in time,” you smiled sitting down. 

“Want some wine?” He asked. 

“Actually, I think I’m just going to have some water,” you said. 

He nodded bringing over a glass of water before joining you at the table. 

Dinner was usually quiet only the sounds of forks clinging and glasses being placed on the table. You could tell something was off and you wondered what had happened between this morning and now. The only thing would be his lunch with Gemma and with him saying they talked about you. 

“You know despite Gemma’s previous warning, you aren’t that terrible of a cook,” you smirked looking over at him. 

He playfully glared at you with a laugh, but you could tell it was forced. When both of you were finished, you took your plate into the kitchen, “I’ll clean up,” you smiled. 

“You don’t-” he said. 

“No, I don’t, but I want to,” you smiled. “Then I’ll meet you over on the couch.” 

“Okay,” he nodded. 

After you finished cleaning up the kitchen, you poured yourself a glass of wine before going over to the couch where Harry was sitting. 

“So, you want to tell me what’s bothering you?” You asked turning to face him. 

“What do you mean?” He asked sipping his wine. 

“You know what I mean,” you said. “You’re acting different, standoffish a little. You barely said anything during dinner and now you won’t even look at me. Did I do something?” 

He sighed putting the glass of wine on the coffee table, “I want you to be honest with me, did you think about not pursing a relationship with because of me going on tour?” 

“Gemma?” you sighed. 

“Don’t-Don’t be upset with her, she didn’t really say those exact words, but I sort of got the feeling that’s where she was going,” he said. 

You sighed, “I didn’t say those exact words either,” you said. “We had this conversation before we even got together. It was while you were New York, she asked me how things were going and if I saw us going somewhere. I told her, I didn’t know because I didn’t know if you even wanted it to go somewhere because you would be going on tour.” 

“Why would you think that?” He asked. 

“I don’t know, I don’t know how that works,” you said. “I mean, maybe you don’t like having to worry about having someone back at home, having to make time to call them or something...” 

“What do you mean not worry about having someone back at home?” He asked. “What do you think I fuck around or something?” 

“What? No, I don’t-” you said. 

“Then what?” He said. “It makes no fucking sense on why you would think I would’t want a girlfriend just because I’m going on tour.” 

“Well, in case you forgot, you said it yourself just this morning, that you even have a hard time staying in touch with your family,” you said. “So, it does make sense that I would think you wouldn’t want another person to add to that list.” 

“Touring is part of my life, Y/N,” he said. “If I thought that way, then I’d never have a girlfriend, or ever get married unless I quit that part of my life and I don’t ever see myself doing that. Not until I’m dead or people stop coming to my shows, which ever happens first.” 

“We had just met, Harry, we had only been on one date and had a few phone conversations,” you said. “How was I supposed to know any of that? I didn’t even know what was going to come of us anyway.” 

“Oh, so you didn’t think we’d get together? Why?” He asked.

“Damnit, Harry,” you sighed. “Did you? Listen to yourself, this conversation with Gemma happened months ago. And for the record, you’re worried about that conversation, yet you’ve done nothing in the present to set my mind at ease about you going on tour and what that means for us.” 

“What are you worried about?” He asked. “Why are you freaking out about it?” 

“Because my boyfriend is about to leave for months on end and I don’t know how often I’ll get to see him or talk to him,” you said. “And that maybe, just maybe, since I won’t be around, he’ll forget about me and all of this will have been for nothing.” 

“How can you think that?” He asked. “I don’t know what you’ve experienced before in your past relationships, but I’m not some sort of fucking out of sight, out of mind person. If I’m with you, you’re all I’m thinking about. I don’t care if it’ll be two days or two fucking months since seeing or speaking with you, I will still be thinking about you.” 

“You say that now,” you said. “But you don’t know how you’ll feel two months from now.” 

He shook his head, “If anyone should be worried about it’s me,” he said. “How do I know that you won’t be the one looking for something else with me gone, huh? You could easily meet someone here, who would sweep you off your feet, someone who could be at your beck and call all the fucking time and not thousands of miles away. So, if there should be anyone worried about being in  relationship while I’m tour, it’s me.” 

“Oh, so now you think I’m going to be the one who fucks around on you?” You asked.

Harry didn’t say anything, but his silence said enough. 

“Wow,” you laughed darkly. “Never once did I think you would actually cheat on me because I trust you, but apparently you don’t trust me. So, you know what, I’m just going to leave and go back to my flat, while you figure you own shit out, but just know, I refuse to be with someone who doesn’t trust me.” 

Harry sighed, not saying anything, as your grabbed your bag to leave. You paused at the door, hoping he would say something, but he didn’t, so you walked away. 

And he let you. 

**

The next morning you were pissed, beyond pissed, so you got up first thing to head into the gym. Your trainer was there waiting for you with a punching bag and your gloves. You had waited up most of the night, wondering if Harry would call you to talk things over, but not even a single text message was sent your way. 

“Rough night?” He asked while he taped up your hand and wrist. 

“Didn’t get much sleep,” you sighed. 

“So, that’s why I received a text at two in the morning,” he laughed. 

“Yep, thought I might need to punch some shit around,” you said. 

“That’s what I’m here for,” he smirked. “Just don’t mess up the money maker.” 

“I’d never,” you joked. “On purpose, at least.” 

Over an hour later, you were drenched with sweat and your muscles were on fire. 

“Bloody hell, who pissed you off,” he said shaking his head. 

You sighed chugging down some water, ignoring his question. 

“Let me guess, boy troubles?” He asked. 

“How’d you know?” You said sitting next to him, wiping your face down with a towel. 

“I’ve had my share of ‘em,” he laughed. 

“I bet,” you laughed. 

“So, want to share?” He asked. 

“Let’s just say we’re experiencing our first fight,” you said. 

“Ah, the honeymoon phase is over,” he said. 

“I wouldn’t say completely over, just paused at the moment,” you said. 

“Well, punching the shit out of a bag and my hands, will help a bit,” he said. “But you know what actually will help.” 

“Sitting around a campfire and talking our shit out?” You scoffed. 

“Yes,” he laughed. “And then makeup sex, lots and lots of makeup sex.” 

“I take it you’ve had a fair share of that, too,” you smirked. 

“Yep,” he grinned. 

“I better get going,” you said. “I need to shower, change, and get to the office.” 

“And call the boyfriend,” he asked.

“At some point,” you said. 

**

Harry knew he fucked up as soon as you saw you walking out of the door. He knew he should have went after you, brought you back inside, and talked all that shit through. But he didn’t. He knew he should have called you, even texted you, to make sure you got home okay, but he didn’t. He tossed and turned in his bed all night. Your perfume still lingered in the air. 

Once the sun lit through his bedroom room, he decided to just get out of bed. He put on some jogger pants, his trainers, and a hoodie before making his way into the kitchen to make himself some coffee. He looked at his phone wondering if you had sent him anything, but there was nothing. Not that he blamed you. 

He needed to make this right, if there was ever a chance the two of you to come out of this still together. But first, he needed to clear his mind and to do that he needed to run. He put on some music, grabbed his keys, and headed out. Usually, he just ran a few times throughout his neighborhood, staying close, but that day he ended up running further and further away until he was standing outside of your office building. 

It wasn’t entirely too far from his house, but further than he had run one way before. He saw you from the other side of the street, walking up the street, and into the building. He fought the urge to walk over to you for two reasons. He knew talking about last night at your job was not good for either one of you and two because he really wished he could kiss you and make it better. 

After realizing he wasn’t going to actually do anything there, he decided to turn around and head back to his house. When he arrived back, he was dripping with sweat, after downing an entire glass and a half of water, he headed up to take a shower. He leaned his hands against the wall as he let the water rush over him. His mind wander to you and the situation again. 

He still didn’t know how to make this right, but he knew someone who could help him figure it out. 

By that afternoon, Harry had driven to his mother’s house, a few days earlier than planned. He hadn’t told her much, just that he wanted to be there a few days ahead of time. When she had mentioned you, he simply said it was because you couldn’t get off work, which technically wasn’t a lie. 

When he arrived, he brought his bags into his room, before meeting his mother in the backyard for some snacks. Harry grabbed some cookies to nibble on while his mother looked over at him. 

“What happened?” she said. 

“What? Can’t a loving son come and visit his mother without there being anything wrong?” He asked

“Normally, yes,” she said. “But you can’t hide anything from me. I can see it in your eyes that something’s up. Did something happen between you and Y/N?” 

He sighed, “We had our first fight last night.” 

“I can’t say that I didn’t see that coming,” she sighed. 

“Oh, but you and Gemma were just so sure we’re meant to be,” he rolled his eyes. 

“I didn’t mean it like that,” she said. “I meant that the honeymoon, fairy tale love phase doesn’t last forever. All relationships have shit they go though, it’s what makes them grow. You don’t have to tell me what happened in detail if you don’t want to, but I will say the one way this works out for you two is if you talk through it. The way you handle a fight or an argument is what will make or break your relationship.” 

“So, you’re saying coming up here was a mistake?” He asked. 

“No, I’m not,” she said. “What I am saying, is you should call Gemma and have her bring Y/N up, so you two can talk it out.” 

He sighed nodding. 

“Now, do it,” she said. 

“Yes, Mum,” he said. 

**

Everything happened so fast, you don’t even remember how you got in the car and was on your way up to Anne’s house. All you remember is Gemma calling and telling you to back a bag. Gemma could be very scary and persuasive when she wanted something. You figured it had to with what was going o between you and Harry and while you thought it should stay between the two of you, you knew she wouldn’t know anything about it unless Harry had told her. 

At least he was talking to someone about it. What you didn’t see coming was that she was driving you up to Anne’s house, which Anne knew something was up. You didn’t know how this would work between you and Harry if you needed other people to help you work out your shit, especially when it was your first fight. During the drive, neither your or Gemma really said anything. 

It felt awkward, but you really didn’t know what to say. You couldn’t exactly blame Gemma for what happened, but part of it was a little bit her fault. When you arrived at Anne’s house, you felt nervous, not sure what you were walking into. Either you would be able to work things out and move on, or things would be over before they even really started. And you knew you wouldn’t be able to handle the latter, especially when your only way back home was either with Gemma or Harry. 

Harry’s legs bounced up and down in anticipation as he waited for you to arrive. He wasn’t even sure how it happened, but Gemma was able to get you to come with her. He wasn’t sure how this was going to go or how you would respond to having to sort everything out at his mother’s house. God, he felt like a stupid, immature child, running to his mother’s house. 

What if you thought the same way, but surely if you did, you wouldn’t have agreed to come. He heard a car pulling up in the driveway and he knew it was you. Anne had already said she and Gemma would leave for a few hours, so that you two could work this through without an audience. He just hoped that things would get worked out. 

The backdoor opened and he turned around seeing you standing there.  

“Hey,” he whispered. 

“Hi,” you whispered back. 

“Um, do you want to have a seat? Want some water or something?” He asked. 

You shook your head, “I want to know why I’m here.” 

“Because you and I both know we need to talk about what happened last night,” he said. 

“And we couldn't have done that in London?” You said. “Or last night? You know instead of just letting me walk out, you had to drive up here and then have your sister bring me up here? What the fuck, Harry!” 

“I know! I know, okay, I fucked up,” he said. “Both last night and doing all this, but I just... I needed some time to think and I came up here to see my Mum, since I was already coming up soon anyway. We talked a bit and then I asked Gem if she could get you up here because I figured you wouldn’t come on your own.” 

“That’s pretty fucked up you know,” you snapped. “And the fact that you could talk to other people about last night, but not me, how do you think that makes me feel especially after you accused me of being the one to fuck up the relationship.” 

“I didn’t fucking say that!” He snapped back. 

“Yeah, well maybe not in those words exactly, but the imply was fucking there,” you said. 

“For fuck’s sake, I’m trying to make this better between us,” he shouted. 

“Well, shit isn’t going to get better unless we actually talk shit through!” You shouted. 

“Fine! Fine, if we’re going to talk, can we just stop yelling for five damn minutes!” He sighed. 

“Fine,” you said. 

“Good,” he responded. 

Both of you stood there trying to calm down for a bit. Harry ran his hand through his hair before looking back over at you. 

“Look, I’m sorry,” he said. “for everything, I know that’s not going to make everything go away, but-” 

“It’s a start,” you sighed. 

“I know,” he nodded. 

“Did you really mean it?” You asked. “Do you really think I would just forget about you and find someone else?” 

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” he sighed. 

You sighed walking closer to him placing your hand on his shoulder. The closer you got, you could see the hurt, worry, and tears in his eyes. 

“I like you,” you whispered. “A lot.. hell, more than I’ve probably liked anyone, this fast before. When I’m with you, I’m happy. You make me laugh, you make me smile, you make me feel stupid butterflies in my stomach. There is no one else that could ever make me feel like that and even if there was, I wouldn’t want them. I only want you.” 

“You say that now,” he whispered. 

“Yeah, I do,” you said. “And I’m going to say that tomorrow and the next day and probably in the next two months and beyond that. Neither of us know what’s going to happen the future, that’s why we have to trust one another and communicate with each other, we’ll be set.” 

He put his hands on your face, looking into your eyes, “I know I overreacted, but I just... the thought of losing you scares the shit out of me. I’ve never felt this way about anyone and I don’t want to lose how I feel whenever I’m around you or think about you.” 

“You’re not going to lose me,” you whispered. “Not unless you keep saying stupid shit,” you laughed a bit. 

He laughed a smile tugging at his lips before placing his forehead against yours, “And you’re not going to lose me, either. I’m not going to forget about you, I could never,” he whispered. 

“Well, I am pretty rememberable,” you smirked. 

He laughed, “A little bit, yeah.” 

“I think we both know it’s more than a little bit,” you smirked. 

“Does this mean we’re okay?” He whispered pushing hair away from your face. 

“It means we’re going to be okay,” you whispered. “I can’t just get over it and I don’t expect you to either, but this is a start that we need to get over it.” 

He nodded, “I’m sorry I made you come up here... If you want to go back to London, I’ll pay for you to go back.” 

“No, it’s okay,” you said. “I don’t mind staying unless you don’t want me too.” 

“I want you to stay,” he smiled. 

You nodded, “So, um... Gem said her and your mum were leaving for a few hours,” you said. 

“Yeah, Mum wanted to give us space to talk it out,” he said. 

“Well, we’ve only used about an hour and half for this conversation... so I’d assume they won’t be back for at least another hour or so, right?” You smirked. 

“I’d assume you’re right,” he said. “Where are you going with this?” He laughed. 

“Why don’t you take me up to the bedroom and find out,” you smirked. 

“Are you sure?” He asked. “We don’t-” 

“Oh, well, I mean... if you’re not hungry, we can just sit on the couch, watch netflix or something,” you said innocently. 

“Fuck that,” he laughed picking you up and throwing you over his shoulder. 

“What are you doing?” You laughed holding onto his shirt. “I could have walked.” 

“Just getting you used to this mode of transportation ,” he smirked. “Because you won’t be able to walk by the time we’re finished.” 

“That a promise?” You smirked. 

“Oh, I always keep my promises, babe,” he said. 

And with that you both went up to his the bedroom, where he fact, kept his promise, which would eventually make for an awkward family dinner later that night. 

**

Sooo... I’m thinking the next part will be the set up for him going on tour and then maybe having a second serious of them dealing with being on tour together... what do y’all think? 

[saiilorstars]

The Beginning of Everything

Fandom: Doctor Who

Pairing: Female OC x 10th Doctor

(OC Face claim: Marjorie de Sousa)

// Story Masterlist // 

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Ch. 7: Partners in Crime

Chapter Summary: Renata struggles traveling with the Doctor after Martha's departure. She tries to follow the Doctor through his crazy ways of helping people but she just can't help but point out how many rules they break! And the Doctor doesn’t make it any easier when he tries to argue with her.

"It's crazy-"

"Of course humans wouldn't be able to detect any-"

"-what you're saying-"

"-extraterrestrial signals but I have the-"

"-I mean what's the point of-"

"-TARDIS constantly checking for anything strange and there it was," the Doctor pushed the monitor so that it was in front of Renata. "Adipose Industries. Bunch of conspiracy theories-"

"Doctor, the humans are always looking for crazy theories-"

"Well it happens that these are not so far off. We really should just pop in and check to make sure everything is alright."

There was a clear 'why' written across Renata's face. "What is your obsession with planet Earth?" That was one question she'd been asking ever since she met the Doctor on Gallifrey. Up to now, she suspected there wasn't a clear answer.

The Doctor just smiled at her question. "Renee, I really think we need to check it out. Just a couple of investigation scenes and-"

"Which will involve us breaking in and lying to officials - no, no way!" Renata turned away from the monitor, intending on going into the corridors so that she wouldn't have to listen to anymore of the nonsense.

"Oh we're not going to be doing anything bad!" the Doctor reached forwards and grabbed her arm.

"Really?" Renata pulled her arm and crossed them. "What does your little plan entail, exactly?"

"Just, you know, bit of the pyschic paper and-"

Renata stopped him with a hand in his face. "Psychic paper? You mean that little portable lying booklet?"

"That's...a strange name to give it but...sure," the Doctor nodded his head.

"And in that little paper we're going to lie and say we're some other people to get ourselves into the Adipose headquarters?"

"Um...yes," the Doctor had to contain himself under Renata's scolding face. To him, honestly, it was both funny and a bit scary how serious she got sometimes. He'd come to learn that it was often.

"Do you hear yourself?" Renata raised her hands in front of her, making it clear she wanted no part in this plan. "You're going to go in that building, interrupt business and for what? Conspiracy theories?"

"Renee, I'm going," the Doctor left it clear, turning for the console and preparing the controls to land on Earth. "Question is, will you be coming to make sure I don't get into trouble or will you be here."

Renata's eyebrows raised almost increduliously. "Am I to be your babysitter?"

"Well, no, but you seem so determined to give yourself that role…"

"Doctor!" Renata huffed.

"Well, you are!" the Time Lord turned around to defend himself before she decided to smack him on the back.

"We've been at this for a month-" Renata gestured between them, "-and you can't seriously understand that I am against the lying and breaking in?"

"You didn't have trouble in 1913," the Doctor mumbled under his breath.

Renata's eyes widened. "I was doing that to fit in! Not to break in all silly-nilly!" A small smile began spreading across the Doctor's face. "Why are you smiling?" Renata crossed her arms, expecting there to be some joke she hadn't caught like usual.

"You said silly-nilly, but somehow I'm the one that uses childish words."

Renata air-strangled him but brought her balled hands to her mouth. "Sometimes I just can't with you!"

"So you've said in this past month," the Doctor said all proudly which only irritated Renata even more.

One month she had been in the TARDIS with the Doctor after Martha left them, and somehow she hadn't strangled the Doctor into his next incarnation. Yes, the Doctor had done everything in his power to make sure she felt welcomed in the TARDIS - which she truly did. And yes, he was never purposely rude to her and he was always attentive to what she needed or where she wanted to go. But that didn't stop him from frustrating her with his childish antics and constant rule breaking and running.

Renata honestly wondered how he had made it this far without regenerating again.

Every day he had somewhere new he wanted to go and almost every time there was something he just needed to help and save which would then bring along danger and a lot of running. When they weren't travelling, the Doctor was 'fixing' the console and causing things to break. He was a fast talker when he was excited and thus had Renata's ears nearly fall off when they were together discussing things of home or some experiences they've had.

It truly felt like they were those young Time Lords again still messing around in her foundation.

Renata tried pushing those feelings away, every day, but being so close didn't help. Now there she was...bickering away with him...and remembering everything she'd fought for so long to forget.

"Renata, c'mon, it'll be fun," the Doctor smiled incredibly wide and held out a hand for her, wiggling his fingers.

She hated herself. She truly did. Renata took her hand, ignoring the Doctor's face momentarily go smug, and let him bring her back to the console.

~ 0 ~

A couple of hours later, the two embarked on a journey for Adipose Industries. As the two walked along a busy street, Renata continuously looked around like they were already going to get caught. The wind blew much of her blonde hair on her face, making it more difficult for her to keep a 'look out'.

"I see it," she said to the Doctor once she caught sight of the large building meant to serve as headquarters for the company. "But there's plenty of security check, I'm sure."

"Good thing we're going through the back," the Doctor pulled her to the left to go along the building towards its back.

Renata's head did a double-take in the process. "The back? What? Like actual thieves?"

The Doctor preferred not to get into a whole argument on the technicalities of what they were doing. Renata grew even more self-conscious as they arrived to a fire exit.

"What are you doing?" she nearly hissed when she saw him pulling out his sonic screwdriver.

"Getting us in," he motioned as he flicked on the sonic.

"Oh my God, we're actually breaking in - ah," she put a hand over her chest and looked around, properly frightened.

The Doctor hid his amused smile in his work. It was actually rather adorable the way she got so worked up over things he did so normally. When the door opened, they crossed into a set of solitary corridors. All the noise came from their quick strides.

"Doctor," Renata had another near attack when she saw a security guard walking opposite of them. Her arm curled around his on instinct.

Without conflict, he just pulled out the psychic paper and flashed it at the security as they passed on by. "John Smith, Renata Cartwright, Health and Safety."

"How do you do that so calmly?" Renata whispered to him despite leaving the security guard well behind.

"Do what?" the Doctor repeated rather cluelessly.

"Great," Renta unwinded her arm from his and sighed, "You don't even realize you do it anymore."

After making it to the higher levels, they discovered that there was to be a private lecture from the very head of the company herself.

"You don't think they'd notice two unregistered people waltzing into the lecture room?" Renata had to ask as she followed behind the Doctor in a hallway.

"That's why we're not going there, clearly."

"What?" Renata stopped, dumbfounded. "Then where are we going?"

"Projector room, c'mon!"

Renata slowly continued to follow. "But...how are we getting in?"

~ 0 ~

"Health and Safety. Film department," the Doctor once more showed his psychic paper to a man working the computers in the projection room set right above the lecture room.

Renata shook her head behind the Doctor.

They were able to see the head, a blonde woman with glasses who went by 'Miss Foster', describe the components and process of her company's products to the small audience. "Adipose Industries. The 21st century way to lose weight. No exercise, no diet, no pain. Just lifelong freedom from fat. The Holy Grail of the modern age. And here it is. You just take one capsule, one capsule, once a day, for three weeks. And the fat, as they say…the fat just walks away."

Renata couldn't help scoff as she listened. "Do all the humans have an obsession with thinness?"

Beside her, the Doctor nudged her to be careful with her words. He motioned to the man working the computers who was giving Renata a curious look for her statement.

"U-uh," Renata flustered and looked at the window again. "I meant...the lot of humanity."

The Doctor gave a discreet shake of his head, fairly amused. Renata was one woman who did not know how to travel. That was novelty.

~ 0 ~

"Don't you think we're playing our luck here?" Renata walked right beside the Doctor through an aisle of small cubicles.

The Doctor had a bright idea to go to one of the employees and pick up a couple more information.

"Just relax, Renee," the Doctor wondered if he would ever get tired of telling that to her. Because everytime they traveleld somewhere, it was the same thing. She was overly nervous about getting caught.

They came into the cubicle of a young, dark-skinned woman who was in the middle of a call with a customer.

"John Smith, Renata Cartwright, Health and Safety. Don't mind us," the Doctor whispered so as not to interrupt her phone call. He let Renata take a seat first then took the one next to her.

Soon as she was done, the Doctor got straight to questioning. It truly amazed Renata how well he did it. There was no faltering, no stuttering, not a trace of nervousness in his face.

"If you could just give us a list of some of your customers we'll be on our way," the Doctor finished it off with a big nice smile.

The employee, Clare, seemed more than happy to oblige.

"That's the printer there?" the Doctor stood up for a moment, unknowingly giving Renata a hearts attack thinking he might get caught by Miss Foster. She'd only been in the room 15 minutes ago, what's stopping her from coming back?

"By the plant, yeah," Clare nodded.

"Brilliant," the Doctor beamed but Renata yanked him down to his seat again. Soon as her hand let go of his arm, he sprung right back on his feet. "Has it got paper?"

"Yeah, Jimbo keeps it stocked," Clare found him amusing.

Renata did not. She grasped the Doctor's arm and pulled him down with all her might. "Sit down!" she hissed. She then smiled at Clare. "Anyway, if you could print that off. We'll be on our way. Thanks."

The employee typed on her computer for a moment before giving them the 'ok' nod. Renata stood up followed by the Doctor but stopped when she heard the Doctor ask, "Oh, what's that?"

Renata turned around to see Clare giving him a piece of paper.

"My telephone number," the woman answered his question.

Renata raised her eyebrows.

The Doctor looked between the paper and Clare. "What for?"

There came a smirk across Clare's face. "Health and Safety. You be health, I'll be safety."

The Doctor stammered for an excuse. Renata...did not.

"I am going to report you!" she threatened the woman as she snatched the paper from the Doctor and slammed it on Clare's desk.

"What-"

"You can expect a call from your superiors tonight!" Renata grabbed the Doctor by the arm and yanked him out of the cubicle.

Honestly, she thought. Where was that human's professionalism!?

~0~

Night time fell and instead of going back to the TARDIS like Renata believed, the Doctor dragged her to continue investigating. This time they were set to pose as employees of Adipose Industries who made house visits. As the Doctor flashed his psychic paper to a lucky customer they were visiting, Renata rolled her eyes on the side and began to count the many times he'd done something like this and gotten away with it.

She couldn't count that high without losing her place.

Now sitting in the customer's, Roger's, living room, they listened to him how the pills had worked for him in so little time.

"I've been on the pills two weeks now, I've lost fourteen kilos!" he finished excitedly.

"That's the same amount every day?" asked the Doctor.

"One kilo exactly. You wake up, and it's disappeared overnight. Well, technically speaking, it's gone by ten past one in the morning."

Renata's brows knitted together. "I-I'm sorry...how...how is that?"

"That's when I get woken up," Roger answered in a matter of fact tone. "Might as well weigh myself at the same time."

"U-um…" Renata glanced at the Doctor to see if he was as confused as she was.

He was. "Could you...could you tell us more about that please?"

"Ten minutes past one, every night, bang on the dot without fail, the burglar alarm goes off. I've had experts in, I've had it replaced, I've even phoned Watchdog. But no, ten past one in the morning, off it goes."

"But with no burglars?" Renata asked to be sure.

"Nothing. I've given up looking."

The Doctor still did not falter. "Tell me Roger, have you got a cat flap?"

Renata made a face at that but nonetheless she followed the plan. Roger showed them to the cat flap on his front door, more than happy to show another person in case this one actually figured it out. "It was there when I bought the house. Never bothered with it. I'm not a cat person."

The Doctor had already begun screening it with his sonic. "No, I've met cat people. You are nothing like them," he murmured.

He's met cat people. Renata inwardly sighed. Of course he's met cat people.

"It's that what it is then? Cats getting inside the house?" Roger frowned.

"Well, thing about cat flaps is that they don't just let things in, they let things out as well…" the Doctor said slowly, still coming up with ideas to follow.

"Like what?"

"The fat just walks away..." The Doctor pushed himself back on his feet and turned to Roger with an excessive smile. "Well, thanks for your help. Tell you what, maybe you could lay off the pills for a week or so."

"Probably forever," Renata added. "You could just try the regular eat healthy and exercise thing..."

The Doctor stiffened when he heard a small 'bleep' from inside his jacket. "Ooh, we gotta go, sorry."

"What-"

The Doctor hurriedly opened the door brought Renata along with him. He reached inside his jacket to pull out a device he'd hand made earlier that day.

"When did you make that!?" Renata gave a face at the device, fearing it would explode like the last thing he made.

"This morning! Now hurry!" He let go of her completely and picked up his pace. Renata was also not good at running.

Groaning, Renata did her best to keep up.

She managed to catch up when he made a stop by the corner of one street. He banged a hand on his device, ignoring Renata's sarcastic 'that'll make it work' then ran off again.

"What are we looking for!?" Renata panted when they stopped again.

Not answering, the Doctor held up the device for a better signal. He waved it around then lowered it to check the readings. When it dinged, he beamed and ran again.

"Oh my God," Renata groaned and chased after him. They were nearly ran over by a rushing van in the process. However, soon as it passed by, the Doctor turned in the same direction to follow it...apparently, the signal was coming from it.

He finally came to a stop at an intersection and was disappointed to find the signal gone.

~ 0 ~

Much later would find the Doctor examining one of the golden capsules of the Adipose company. He was looking at it through a magnifying glass, far interested in its components. "Ohh, fascinating!" he gawked. "Seems to be a bio-flip digital stitch, specifically for…"

"Are we still on that?" Renata's voice stopped him in the middle of his discovery. He glanced back to find her leaning against the corridor's threshold.

"Well, uh, I was…" the Doctor motioned the magnifying glass still in his hand then lowered it.

"Still investigating," Renata finished for him, giving a small shake of her head. "Honestly Doctor, don't you ever get tired of fixing everyone's problems?"

Because she had asked in a simple, curious manner, the Doctor entertained it. "What do you mean?"

Renata shrugged her shoulders as she came off the threshold. "I mean just what I said. You always go and find a problem - like Sto's government and a broken water pipe - that you have to fix. Last week it was some planet's default engineering settings and today it's…" she had come up to him in the while of her explanation and took the Doctor's magnifying glass from, "...Adipose," she looked at him through the magnifying glass, her brown eyes enlarging from the glass.

"Are you asking me why I help people?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow, finding the question too far even for her uptightness. Because yes, it only took a month to realize that Renata was uptight.

Knowing how that sounded, Renata ventured to clarify herself. "I don't mean that you shouldn't help people I just…" she thought about it for a second, "...isn't there the Shadow Proclamation to help with cases like these? They are the police and it should be up to them how things get fixed. I don't see why you have to keep doing it."

"The Shadow Proclamation is never that good," the Doctor gave a roll of his eyes, clear dislike for the place. "And I like helping. I can do it, don't see why I shouldn't."

"Yeah, I can see that you like to," Renata chuckled.

"And I can see that you not so much." And the Doctor truly appreciated how Renata was doing her best to keep up with him in his shenanigans.

"I do! You have no idea how much I love to help people, but...when I did it...it was with...our people."

"You don't like to help the humans, then?"

"I do, if I have the chance then...sure," Renata nodded, but it was easy to tell that she wasn't all that into the idea. "But in the end...they're just humans to me. For so long they were only a means to hide myself from the rest of our kind. I miss helping my kind, you know? People I can share my ideas with, my perspectives, my everything. People that would understand me."

The Doctor tilted his head, a faint smile writing itself across his lips. "Renee, what did you used to do back on Gallifrey?"

The question set Renata into nervous state. "U-uh...l-like my...my job?"

"Yeah," the Doctor didn't catch any of her nervousness, too curious imagining her in different positions. "Cos you're all uptight and-"

"Hey," Renata pointed at him but he went on.

"-strict on rules so...I would think of you as one of the teachers at the academy."

Renata blinked, for a moment in disbelief. "You think I was a teacher?"

"Well," he straightened up. "Were you?"

"No," Renata shook her head. "I wasn't."

"Then, what were you?"

Renata stared at him for a minute, the ongoing battle within her taking a bit more than she thought. It wasn't like she hadn't thought about telling the Doctor more about herself - in fact, she already had. Bits and pieces had been exchanged between the two about their past lives on Gallifrey but Renata was always careful not to disclose too much about herself that would risk her identity with the Doctor.

"I...was…" her eyes flickered to the side, "...I worked at a foundation."

Technically, she wasn't lying.

Those were the rules she set herself for. Loopholes.

"You did?" the Doctor became even more curious.

"Mhm. I worked with all sorts of people in need. Children who weren't quite ready for the academy came for some lessons. People who just needed help, whether emotional or physically but didn't have the resources were always welcomed to stop by," Renata looked into the distant, remembering more and more about her foundation. She missed it so much. She missed her workers, her kids, her friends…

"Renata?" the Doctor gently shook her arm to get her out of her thoughts.

She realized she'd let herself think far too much and released an awkward breath, smiling in a flushed manner. "Sorry," she waved a hand at her face.

"No, it's okay," the Doctor softly said, reaching for her waving hand. He liked seeing her remember their home due to the fact she hadn't disclosed much about herself on Gallifrey. He had made it his mission not to get overexcited and push Renata to tell her stories when she wasn't ready. To say, she hadn't even said whose family she was from. But still, the Doctor was forcing himself to be patient.

"Do you want some dinner?" Renata was the one to pull him out of his thoughts this time. With a warm smile on her face, she took his hand. "It's all set up like usual."

The Doctor smiled, forgetting his investigation from then on till the next morning. Renata made it a custom that they were to have dinner every night like normal people. She made pretty damn good meals.

"C'mon," Renata said quietly, still smiling as the two headed for the corridors.

~ 0 ~

The next day, Renata was not the least bit surprised to have the Doctor practically pounding on her bedroom door shouting for her to wake up because they had to go back to Adipose Industries. Swooshing herself out of bed, she got ready and came out of her room...and then smacked the Doctor on the chest and stalked for the console.

"I hate mornings!" was the only explanation the Doctor got for being hit.

They left the TARDIS in an alleyway close to the Adipose Industries building and once more used the fire exit to gain entrance. The Doctor led the way down the same empty corridor but this time stopped midway and turned to a storage closet.

"What...are you doing?" Renata blinked as he opened the door to the small room.

"We need to hide, c'mon," the Doctor didn't wait around for her to warm to the idea and pushed her inside first. As he sonicked the door shut, Renata raved with her back to him.

"Are you mad!? This is wrong!" her hands waved above her head. "First of all, we're bound to get caught! Second of all, it's just wrong!"

The manner in which Renata had said her last statement made the Doctor turn around questionably. "Why? What's wrong?"

In her moment, Renata whirled around to face him and bumped into him because he was literally standing right in front of her. Her eyes blinked rapidly trying not to overthink it. Meanwhile, the Doctor was still demanding to know why she was so freaked out.

"Renata? Why did you say it like that?" his eyebrows knitted together in the manner they always did when he was confused.

Renata slowly looked up to meet his gaze and soon wished she hadn't. She found that she was vulnerable to his long look no matter how she felt at the moment. It threatened to give her identity up.

"Renata?" the Doctor finally broke through her thoughts which, admittedly, were making her face warm. "Well?"

"...it's just inappropriate…" Renata quietly said, turning away and walking the most she could inside the small room which turned out to be seven small steps.

The Doctor scoffed, giving a sway of his head. "Really? But it's not to live inside a TARDIS with me?" the moment turned sideways with alarmed eyes the Doctor regretted his response. "N-n-n-n-n-no! Forget I said that!" and he rushed up, but because of the small room he nearly rammed into her.

"Doctor! Just stop!" cried the blonde, swatting him away with her hands.

With a big sigh, the Doctor listened and retreated to the door. He took a seat on the floor, back up against the door. He watched Renata look for a spot of her own until she settled for a small box positioned over another.

"Renee…?"

"Hmm?" Renata wearily glanced over to the Doctor, hoping that whatever came out of his mouth would not send them into another round of bickering.

"On Gallifrey...were you part of...high society? Before you married off, of course."

"Why would you think that?"

The Doctor made a gesture at her. "Just...just the way you act...the way you think. It has all the...makings of a high class Time Lady."

Renata looked down, her fingers fiddling with each other. "And you hate that," she recalled from oh-so-long ago.

The Doctor wasn't about to lie and say he was best friends with that part of their people. "I mean, they weren't particularly the best people for me to spend time with."

"So then why do you tolerate me and my...uptightness?" came Renata's honest question. She knew she was not the ideal companion and she doubted she ever would be.

A warm smile spread across the Doctor's face. "Because I like you of course - you and everything I know about you so far. You're not like the others of your class and I'm happy. Otherwise it would have been a real shame for such a pretty woman with big hearts to go to waste."

Renata's face softened. "Doctor…"

"You working at a foundation just proves it," the Doctor shrugged. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask.. " he cleared his throat, suddenly nervous, "The foundation...did it...did it happen to be…the Auxilium Foundation?" It was like Renata's whole world just stopped. The Doctor was too delved into his own memories to notice it. "There was only a couple foundations and...and you seem the sort to want to help Gallifreyans despite what Time Lord society thought. Was it?"

Renata couldn't bring herself to lie more, at least not in that moment. It was too many memories, too many fond memories she couldn't get rid of. "Yeah…" she passed a hand down her hair, secretly shooting him a glance. "How do you know about it?"

The Doctor released a breath, a dreamy one actually that sped up Renata's hearts in the second."Oh, I, um...I knew someone there…"

"You need to see it, Zuriah. I bet the pictures don't do Earth justice!"

Zuriah laughed softly while the Doctor rambled onto her about what he'd learned of Earth that morning. She shook her head at him and moved on around the empty tables, soon to be filled up with their daily visitors, to set up some of the materials. "Now I know why you probably failed some of your coursework in the Academy. Did you ever stop talking in those classes?"

The Doctor sent an unamused glare her way. "I'll have you know I have my moments of silence."

The scoff Zuriah gave in return was one of clear disbelief. "Just help me out here, please?" she motioned with her hands to the mess of toys on the ground. "Some new recruiters' kids found my stash of toys and didn't exactly learn the rule of 'put it away'."

The Doctor rolled his eyes but got up to help. "So, do you think you could somehow incorporate this planet in your activities?"

Zuriah waved him off. "I don't know. We haven't done the schedule for next week. Perhaps..."

"Oh c'mon! You know you'd love to!" the Doctor hurriedly threw some toys into the bin she'd set up. He followed her around the tables, rambling on about the benefits her people would get if she incorporated Earth into activities.

"Look, Doctor, maybe we could - AH!" she had stepped on a toy and slipped backwards. Her basket went flying in the air along with the materials. She herself would've fallen to the floor if the Doctor hadn't caught her.

"Hm, didn't take you for the klutz," the Doctor smirked at her. Zuriah looked up, her face flushed when she realized their closeness. The Doctor felt it too, but he didn't think about telling her of it. Although he did take notice of how many freckles were over Zuriah's face...they were lovely...

Renata was utterly stunned to see such a soft look on the Doctor's face. He was clearly remembering something...

"Zuriah, that was the, uh..." the Doctor shook his head out of the memory but no matter how much he tried, the freckled-face ginger still smiled at him. It'd been so long since he thought about her...

~0~

After a full day passed, the Doctor finally declared it was time to leave and investigate. Since they had fallen into bits and pieces of conversation after the foundation topic, Renata was itching to get out of there. She was afraid that the Doctor would begin to ask questions about 'Zuriah' which was her before she picked her graduating name.

You can't hide it forever, Renata. The same sentence passed her mind over and over but somehow she still couldn't act.

"Where exactly are we headed now?" Renata inquired once they were striding down the dark corridors.

"Up to the office of course," the Doctor flashed a smile that warned it wasn't technically literal.

Renata would have questioned further had it not been for him pulling her into a hasty walk. They found the staircase and went up...and up...and up…

Of course he meant the roof. Renata actually blamed herself for not seeing this earlier.

The Doctor went straight for the edge and sonicked the cables holding…

"What are you doing?" Renata slowly approached the edge, eyes glued onto the Doctor who was in the process climbing into a window cleaner's cradle.

"Getting a look at the office, what else?" the Doctor shrugged then motioned with a hand for her to join him. Instantly, Renata incredulously blinked. "Don't give me that look! C'mon!"

Nervously, Renata inched closer to the edge and took one look down to the high view. "Um...is this a bad time to tell you...I have a fear of heights…"

"Not surprised," the Doctor said. He then reached over and grabbed her arm, pulling her slowly. "But for another time!"

"Doctor…" Renata struggled to let the Doctor bring her into the window's cradle.

"In you go," the Doctor slipped his other arm around her waist to get her into the cradle.

As soon as Renata felt the cradle wiggling a bit she gasped and latched onto the Doctor for dear life. "We're going to die! We're going to die! We're going to die!" she cried with eyes shut.

There was a fierce determination in the Doctor not to laugh. But he was still thankful that she couldn't see his face right now.

"This is it! This is where you finally kill me!" and because the Doctor didn't know who Renata was, he thought she was just talking about their short time together...when in reality Renata was remembering all the adventures their younger selves took because of him.

"Calm down, it's not moving," the Doctor peeled her off him and aimed the sonic at the controls. Renata gasped again when the cradle descended. "And duck!" he ordered when they were nearing Miss Foster's office.

"You're gonna get us caught," Renata whispered.

The Doctor ignored her and poked his head just slightly above the cradle to peer into the office. He saw a young dark-skinned woman being tied to a chair by body guards while Miss Foster watched. Unknowingly, an old friend was also watching from the other side of the office, right in front of its door.

"What's going on?" Renata curiously asked, still not taking the risk by peering herself.

"Can't hear much," the Doctor mumbled. He could see Miss Foster showing her prisoner a capsule.

"Well, it is a window-"

"Donna!?"

Renata made a face and looked up to find the Doctor, stunned, staring ahead. "What? What is it?"

'Donna?' she watched the Doctor mouth.

What she didn't know was that across the office stood the Doctor's old friend, Donna Noble who was also stunned to see him there.

"DOCTOR!' she excitedly mimed back, her face right in front of the door's porthole.

'But... what? Wha... What?!'

Renata tried following along but the Doctor was just opening and closing his mouth to her.

'OH MY GOD!' Donna continued miming happily.

'But... how?'

'It's me!' Donna pointed her thumbs at herself, as if the Doctor hadn't yet made the connection it was in fact her.

'Well, I can see that!' the Doctor gestured his eyes then pointed at Donna. Beside him, Renata was still hopelessly lost. She was not risking herself to see who it was.

'Oh this is brilliant!' Donna would have laughed if she could.

The Doctor, on the other hand, was perturbed. 'But what are you doing there?'

'I was looking for you!' Donna pointed at him.

'What for?!'

Now Donna, being Donna, did her best to mimic what she was saying which went along the lines of…

'I, came here, trouble, read about it, internet, I thought, trouble = you! And this place is weird! Pills! So I hid. Back there. Crept along. Heard this lot. Looked. You! Cos they…' But when she happened to jerk a thumb to her right she found that Miss Foster, along with the tied-up woman and her body guards, were staring at her.

The Doctor too had caught it.

"Are we interrupting you?" MIss Foster loudly, sarcastically called to Donna.

'Run!' the Doctor urgently mimed for Donna then aimed the sonic ahead to lock the door of the office and give Donna time to run. Without notice, he waved the sonic above and pulled the cradle above.

"DOCTOR!" Renata nearly cried when the cradle shot up.

"Sorry! Sorry!" the Doctor hopped out of the cradle fast and turned to help her out.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on!? Besides probably getting caught - like I told you!"

"Old friend of mine-" the Doctor grunted as he pulled her out, "-in a bit of trouble! Hurry!"

They ran back for the door that laid the staircase. Despite Renata asking questions of who this 'friend' was the Doctor didn't answer many as he was focused on helping Donna out before she was hurt. They came down another set of staircase where they bumped into a redhead. Donna had encased the Doctor in a big hug, ecstatic with finding him. Renata's eyes just flickered from one to the next.

"Oh my God! I don't believe it!" Donna laughed but suddenly stopped to give the Doctor a look over. "You've even got the same suit! Don't you ever change?" The Doctor sarcastically rolled his eyes. "Yeah thanks Donna, not right now."

"Well…" Donna finally noticed that the Doctor was not alone. "Hey-" but that was all she could say to Renata before the Doctor saw the guards and pulled them both up the stairs.

"Doctor! There are guards!" Renata had looked below to see several guards coming after them.

"Yes, I've noticed!"

Donna was too cheery to be affected by the guards coming for them. As they made it back to the roof she explained the events that led her to the building. "Cos I thought, how do I find the Doctor? And then I just thought, look for trouble and then he'll turn up! So I looked everywhere, you name it - UFOs, sightings, crop circles, sea monsters. I looked, I found them all…"

During this, the Doctor had started working on the cradle controls with his sonic. Renata had half a mind to scold him for even thinking about using the damn thing! But she was quick to discover Donna had a rambling mouth much like the Doctor.

"...like that stuff about the bees disappearing, I thought, I bet he's connected. Cos the thing is, Doctor, I believe it all now. You opened my eyes. All those amazing things out there, I believe them all. Well, apart from that replica of the Titanic flying over Buckingham Palace on Christmas Day, I mean that's gotta be a hoax!"

"What d'you mean the bees are disappearing?" the Doctor picked the sentence up by random.

"I don't know. That's what it says on the internet!"

"Doctor!" Renata helplessly watched the Doctor get back into the cradle, and was even more astonished to see Donna so easily getting in as well. "Aren't you even going to question why you're getting in?" she demanded from the ginger.

"I figure it was to escape?" Donna glanced at the Doctor but quickly looked back to Renata. "I'm sorry, what's your n-"

"Renata, get in!" the Doctor urgently said.

"What for!?" Renata argued. "They'll just bring us up again! I'm not here to go up and down like a stupid amusement park ride!"

"No no no, cos I've locked the controls with a sonic cage. I'm the only one who can control it," he promised. "Not unless she's got a sonic device of her own. Which is very unlikely."

The door burst open again and out came Miss Foster.

"RENATA!"

Flinching, Renata clambered into the window cradle. Soon as she was in, the Doctor made it go down.

"How are we getting out!?" the blonde held onto the railing as they went down and down, but suddenly they started going dangerously FAST faster.

The Doctor managed to stop it with the sonic but the force knocked all three down for a moment. Being the first one to get up, he aimed the sonic at the window. Up above, Miss Foster ordered to the building to be deadlocked.

The Doctor retracted the sonic. "Can't get it open!"

"Well, smash it then!" Donna had grabbed a large spanner from the floor and used all her might to shatter the window.

Renata helplessly looked from Donna to the Doctor, wondering how much worse it could get. Her answer came in the form of sparks and smoke from the cradle. "She's cutting the cable!" she shrieked after looking up and seeing Miss Foster aiming some sort of laser pen at the cables. At her words the Doctor and Donna instinctively grabbed on but Renata hadn't had the time and so when the cable broke and the cradle lurched to the side, she was flung back screaming.

"RENATA!" the Doctor wanted to go in after her but calmed after seeing her feet dangling under them.

She'd manage to get ahold of the broken cable and was currently, and dangerously, swaying back and forth. "DOCTOR!"

"Hold on!" the Doctor tried reaching for the cable sustaining her to pull her back up but he just couldn't.

"Doctor!" went Donna this time who was staring up, seeing Miss Foster about to break the last cable.

Angrily, the Doctor aimed the sonic above just at the right moment to make it spark and fall out of the woman's hand. He caught the second sonic and climbed up the cable to another window. He managed to get it open and ordered Donna to follow him.

"I'm not gonna fall am I!?" Donna asked for the blonde below who was crying out in terror.

"Get in! Get in!" the Doctor didn't want to waste time answering obvious questions. His hearts was racing unbelievably fast as he thought of Renata so close to danger (and because of him).

Meanwhile, Renata was crying out to be helped. Her eyes were stinging with tears and from the hard wind hitting her from every direction. She was sure her hands were slipping from the cable and that at any moment she would fall and splat on the ground like the television showed.

Oh God I was wrong - this is how he finally kills me! And yet Renata felt not an ounce of anger with the Doctor. It was just so like him to get near danger, like a taunt, and then get away from it like nothing. It was actually one of the things that attracted her after getting to know his ways. Her hearts pounded like never before yet it was not a new sensation for her.

"AH!" she screamed all over again when she felt hands on her ankles. "LET ME GO! LET ME GO!"

"Renata, it's me!" the Doctor managed to cut through her screams. "I've got you! Stop kicking!" He slowly pulled her down and into the office he and Donna coordinated would be the room of the next window down. "There we go! I've got you!"

"Oh my God! I thought I was going to die!" Renata clung to him with teary eyes. "Oh you stupid, stupid man!"

The Doctor soothed her with a hand on her back and regretted he couldn't do more at that moment on account of still being on the run from Miss Foster. "We have to go, I'm sorry," he pulled away and felt a pang of guilt seeing her tear-stained face.

He took her and Donna out of the room but not before untying the journalist in the office and telling her to go home. They only made it to the call center because Miss Foster and her guards were already waiting for them.

"Well then," Miss Foster pulled off her glasses and raised her head at the trio, "at last."

"Hello," Donna nervously laughed, the thrill of the chase still clouding bits of her.

The Doctor was just the Doctor who said 'hello' to everyone. "Nice to meet you, I'm the Doctor."

"And I'm Donna!"

Renata crossed her arms, deciding the Foster didn't need her name.

"Partners in crime," Foster concluded, eyeing Renata who seemed to falter every now and then from her brave stance. "And evidently off-worlders, judging by your sonic technology."

"Oh yes, I've still got your sonic pen. Nice, I like it," the Doctor raised the sonic pen to give another look. "Sleek, it's kinda sleek." He let Renata and Donna give it a glance as well, but Renata lowered it down.

"I don't think it should matter the form of the thing that nearly killed me."

The Doctor winced and retracted the pen from Renata. "Now-" he looked at Foster, " if you were to sign your real name that would be...?"

"Matron Cofelia of the Five-Straighten Classabindi Nursery Fleet. Intergalactic Class."

"A wet nurse?" Renata gawked for a second. "What...and you're using humans as surrogates?"

Foster gave a curt nod. "I've been employed by the Adiposian First Family to foster a new generation after their breeding planet was lost."

"But who gave you the right to use humans as cows for your reproduction methods!? It's against Shadow Proclamation rules!"

Beside Renata, the Doctor silently laughed that she would ignore a planet being lost because of 'rules'. "How do you mean lose a planet?"

"Oh, politics are none of my concern. I'm just here to take care of the children on behalf of the parents," Foster made a gesture, shrugging her shoulders.

"What, like an outer space super-nanny?" Donna crinkled her nose.

"Yes, if you like."

"So... so those little things they're, they're made out of fat yeah, but that woman, Stacy Campbell, there was nothing left of her." Donna still couldn't shake off that horrible feeling of seeing a nice woman like Stacey disappear into little white blobs of...fat?

"Oh, in a crisis the Adipose can convert bone and hair and internal organs. Makes them a little bit sick, poor things."

"What about poor Stacey!?" Donna incredulously returned.

"Enough," Renata's sharp edged voice cut through the womens' conversation, and the hand she had for Donna was, frankly, irritating the ginger. "Seeding a level 5 planet is against galactic law - you should know that!" she said to Foster who merely raised her eyebrows.

"Are you threatening me?"

The Doctor then put an arm in front of Renata. "We're trying to help you, Matron. This is your one chance; cos if you don't call this off, then we'll have to stop you."

Foster smirked. "I hardly think you can stop bullets." And just as she said it, her guards flanking her took aim.

Alarmed, Renata stepped back.

"No, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, one more thing, before... dying…" the Doctor settled for the blunt word. "Do you know what happens if you hold two identical sonic devices against each other?" he once again gestured to his sonic and Foster's sonic pen.

"...no?" Foster doubtfully answered.

"Nor me, lets find out!" the Doctor happily pointed both sonic objects at each other, activating them at the same time. A high-screeching rang in the room, causing everyone to squirm uncomfortably and a glass pane behind to shatter.

"Come on!" Donna was the one to pull both aliens out of there.

In the process, the Doctor took the lead and ran them down an empty corridor, stopping by a door of a cupboard.

"No more cupboards!" Renata nearly pleaded. Small spaces meant more talking and more talking meant more chances to risk her identity.

"Not quite," the Doctor opened the door and started throwing out the storage's supplies.

"You can't just throw those things out!" Renata said, scandalized as he created a wad of mess on the floor. "Those are some employee's utensils!"

"Another time, Renata!" the Doctor rolled his eyes, this time a smidge of honest annoyance for her lack of priorities.

"Renata?" Donna repeated the name, looking a bit confused as she studied Renata head to toe. "So you're not Rose, then?"

Recalling the name, Renata scowled. "No I am not! Why would you think that?"

"Dunno…" Donna shrugged, "...blonde...and stuff."

"I'm not her," Renata's eyes briefly glanced at the Doctor and saw him working. There was glowing green machinery built into the wall.

"Well, I'm Donna Noble by the way," the ginger held a hand to Renata, realizing that they hadn't been introduced properly.

"Renata," Renata shook Donna's hand. She looked over at the green panel and frowned. "Okay, what's this for?"

"It's the inducer. For the Adipose. It's wired up the whole building...I...I'll need some time," the Doctor paused, running a hand through his big hair.

"Then get to it," Renata made a motion. "I'm not sure if I can distract but...but I can certainly try." The Doctor made a face at the prospect of that idea. "I can to you know," the blonde insisted now more than ever.

"Okay."

Renata bubbled with instant anger. "Listen to me you idiot," she began sharply, "I nearly fell off a window's cradle because of you!"

"Which I will make up for later, I promise!"

"That's not the point!" Renata's voice cracked and she took it a sign to calm down. With a sigh, she put a hand on her forehead and took a moment for herself. "Sorry," she said a minute later, truthfully.

"I get it, I do," the Doctor didn't stop his work but gave her an honest face. "You're making an effort and I do see it and appreciate it." Renata lowered her hand from her face and smiled.

Donna silently studied the two aliens in front of her, a bit curious of what they were and just who was Renata overall. Renata crossed gazes with her and realized she had yet to ask something important.

"How do you two know each other?" her finger pointed from Donna to the Doctor.

"I met him on my wedding day - the big starship in the sky at Christmas?" Donna waited for Renata to remember. "That was us."

Renata blinked as something donned. "It was you who drained the Thames!" she turned on the Doctor with an accusing finger. The Master had never clarified the happenings of that evening, but then again she wasn't exactly in the mood to be talking to the Master during that period.

"It was such a crazy day," Donna continued. "In the beginning, I thought he kidnapped me actually," Donna had a small laugh.

"You too!?" Renata incredulously asked of the Doctor. "What, did you throw her over your shoulders too?"

"No, I didn't!" the Doctor defensively said.

Renata huffed. "Well, that's unfair."

"What do you mean?" Donna fit in the pieces together quick. "Did he do that to you?" Renata nodded and gestured being thrown over a shoulder. "Doctor," a great smirk took over Donna's face as her eyes landed on the Doctor, "I didn't know you were that sort of man."

The Doctor looked mortified at her assumption. Renata face palmed. "I meant a thief!" she exclaimed.

"I was not a thief!" the Doctor stopped for a minute to argue. "You-" he pointed a finger at her, "-were being stubborn!"

Renata's eyes blinked rapidly and her mouth parted slightly. "M-me? You're saying it was my fault? What part of 'you threw me over your shoulder and brought me into the TARDIS' did you forget about?" The Doctor said no more but his scrunched face said the words alright.

Donna burst into laughter, making the argument stop. "I'm sorry, but...what?" she couldn't believe what she was hearing honestly. The Doctor had actually slung the poor woman over his shoulder and forced her into the TARDIS? No, hold on, the woman had to be forced in the first place? Who wouldn't want to travel the stars!?

Grumbling, the Doctor returned to work.

"It's really not that funny," Renata crossed her arms and muttered. "Least Martha didn't laugh."

"Martha?" Donna repeated. "Was that a friend at the time?"

"Yeah. My only human friend who I still keep in contact with," Renata thoughtfully said, since Joan was dead and she had left the family in 1959.

"Is she here? In the TARDIS?"

"No," the Doctor said then. "She was brilliant... but... I destroyed half her life."

Renata's annoyance was gone the moment she saw his guilt-ridden face. "You did not," she softly said then looked at the surprised Donna. "Martha decided it was time for her to go back home. But she's fine. She's good."

"Oh," Donna nodded then thought for another moment. "What about Rose?"

"Still lost," the Doctor mumbled, missing Renata purposely looking away. He had yet to tell her anything of Rose and he frankly didn't know when. He actually thought that perhaps Renata would be scandalized to know he had developed an attachment to a human. He was, for a lack of a better word, scared of her reaction.

Renata, on the other hand, thought his lack of explanation arose from the fact she wasn't trusted enough, and that perhaps he didn't see her as a friend at all. By this point, she knew who Rose was. The Master had taken joy rubbing it in her face that the Doctor had exchanged her for a human.

"I thought you were going to travel the world?" the Doctor suddenly remembered it was Donna's grand plan after her failed marriage.

The cheery face on Donna was quick to fade away. "Easier said then done. It's like I had that one day with you and I was gonna change. I was gonna do so much. Then I woke up next morning, same old life. It's like you were never there. And I tried. I did try, I went to Egypt. I was gonna go barefoot and everything. And then it's all bus trips and guidebooks and don't drink the water and two weeks later you're back home. It's nothing like being with you. I must have been mad turning down that offer."

"What offer?" the Doctor failed to recall.

"To come with you." But now Donna was a bit nervous that since Renata seemed to be on board maybe the Doctor was good on companions.

"You didn't want to go into the TARDIS at first?" Renata was a smidge more impressed with the woman. Usually, every human jumped at the chance to get into the TARDIS.

"I didn't understand," Donna tried to explain herself. "I was...I was all emotional...and-and...just…"

Renata swayed her head till she met the Doctor. "I mean...I wouldn't mind, honestly."

The Doctor was surprised to hear such easy acceptance from her. "Really?"

"Yeah, maybe we would bicker less," Renata recalled that was her excuse for when Astrid Peth had asked to come with them. It was true, as much as she loved the Doctor - and boy did she - there were moments where she just needed a break...or at least someone to stop her from strangling him. She was sure that the feeling was mutual.

"Oh yes!" Donna cheered.

'Inducer activated.'

Renata peered into the cupboard to see the green machinery. "What's it doing now?"

"She's started the program," the Doctor groaned.

'Inducer transmitting.'

"And...what does that mean?" Renata now stared wide-eyed at the machinery.

"Up to now the customers have only been losing weight but the Matron has gone up to emergency pathogenesis."

"Oh no." Renata glanced at the end of the corridor where they could see doors. She was sure that outside swarms of little Adipose were going to be gathering real soon pathogenesis.

"That's when they convert…" Donna, too, remembered.

"But that's skeletons, organs, everything!" Renata exclaimed. "A million people are gonna die!"

"Gotta cancel the signal!" the Doctor took out the golden capsule they'd gotten the previous day and pulled one of its end to reveal a chip inside. "This contains the primary signal. If I can switch it off the fat goes back to being just fat." He hooked up the capsule to the machine hoping to God he was right.

'Inducer increasing.'

The Doctor panicked. "No no no no no, she's doubled it, I need... Haven't got time! It's too far, I can't override it! They're all gonna die!"

"Can we do anything?" Renata asked, Donna nodding her head in agreement.

"Sorry, this is way beyond you - and I mean no disrespect but I have to double the base pulse, I can't…"

"Doctor, tell us what do you need," Donna sternly cut him off. Rambling was no good to anyone.

"I need a second capsule to boost the override, but I've only got the one. I can't save them!"

Donna blinked, remembering something very important. She reached inside her pocket to take out a second gold capsule. Renata laughed when the Doctor froze in shock.

"Here!" Donna waved it in front of his face till he snapped out of his stupor. He nabbed it and hooked it into the green machinery, making all its lights shut down.

A couple seconds, a loud horn filled the place.

"What the hell was that?" Donna frantically looked around.

"I suppose it would be...the nursery ship," Renata said.

"But when you say nursery you don't mean a creche in Notting Hill?"

"Nursery ship," Renata repeated.

'Incoming signal.' the machinery had come back to life for a minute and began with a voice that spoke a different language.

"Hadn't we better go and stop them?" Donna made a gesture for them to leave.

"Hang on, instructions from the Adiposian First Family," the Doctor put a finger on his lips to listen in. "She's wired up the tower block to convert it into a levitation post!"

"But now she's the one in trouble," Renata said soon after she heard.

The Doctor didn't waste a chance and hurried back for the roof. Renata and Donna ran after him. When they got up all they saw were blue beams levitating thousands of Adipose babies into the large nursery ship in the sky.

Most of them were smiling and waving at the trio.

"What you gonna do then? Blow them up?" Donna curiously asked the Doctor beside her.

"They're just children," the Doctor made a face for a brief moment. "They can't help where they come from." Besides, something told him that if anyone threatened those children they would come across a raging Time Lady. God help those fools.

"Doctor, there she is!" Renata called as soon as she spotted Foster coming up in one of the blue beams.

The Doctor ran up to the edge with Donna. "Matron Cofelia, listen to me!"

Foster stopped right at their lever. "Oh, I don't think so, Doctor. And if I never see you again, it will be too soon."

"Oh, why does no one ever listen? I'm trying to help! Just get across to the roof. Can you shift the levitation beam?"

"What, so that you can arrest me?" Foster's eyes briefly flickered to Renata.

"No, you're going to want to listen," Renata promised. "Because the families you worked for know that it was a crime to breed on Earth. So what's the one thing they want to get rid of? Their accomplice!"

"I'm far more than that. I'm nanny to all these children."

"Exactly!" the Doctor frantically waved a hand. "Mum and Dad have got the kids now, they don't need the nanny anymore!"

And just then, the blue beam sustaining Foster disappeared and she fell all the way down screaming. Donna hid her face in the Doctor's shoulder and Renata covered her mouth.

Sometime later, when the police arrived to the site, the Doctor and Renata, along with Donna, exited the building. The Doctor chucked the sonic pen into the nearest trash bin.

"Oi, you three!" the journalist the Doctor had thought followed his instructions to go home was coming up to them...tied to a chair again.

"Didn't you let her go?" Renata whispered to the Doctor, blinking rapidly.

"I did," the Doctor defensively replied.

"You're just mad. Do you hear me?" the journalist cried. "Mad! And I'm gonna report you... for madness!"

Donna silently watched the woman leave, barely able to hold her laugh back as she said, "You see, some people just can't take it."

"No," agreed the Doctor.

"But some people can. So, then - TARDIS!" she excitedly said and grabbed the two aliens by the arms, pulling them away.

They headed back to the alleyway where the TARDIS had been left...and apparently Donna's car as well.

"That's my car! That is like destiny!" Donna laughed. "And I've been ready for this." She rushed up to the car's trunk and opened it to reveal a series of suitcases. I packed ages ago, just in case. Cos I thought, hot weather, cold weather, no weather…" she pulled out the top luggage and loaded them into the arms of the Doctor, who was too stunned to say a word at the moment. "...he goes anywhere, I've gotta be prepared." She then loaded more into Renata's arms.

"You've got a... a... hatbox?!" the Doctor found his words after Donna loaded him with one last box.

"Planet of the Hats, I'm ready!" Donna declared and shut the trunk of her car, excitedly heading for the TARDIS. "Do I need injections though, do I? Like when you go to Cambodia, is there any of that? Cos my friend Veena went to Bahrain, and-"

Renata suddenly began to laugh hard, making Donna stop just outside the TARDIS doors. Even the Doctor was oddly staring down at the Time Lady. Donna eyebrows furrowed together, thinking Renata was laughing at her.

"Oi! What's so funny!?"

"This!" Renata motioned with her arms to the luggage and then the situation in general. "You're so funny! I love you!"

The Doctor gaped. "Wow…" he had never seen such a reaction from Renata, so lively and happy…

Renata walked up to the TARDIS, sobering slowly from her laugh. "I like you, I do. Doctor, can we take her?"

"I'm not a dog," Donna made a face. But it did feel better to know Renata wouldn't mind if she came along with them.

"It's really fine with me," the Doctor admitted, staying right where he was. "It's just...it's a funny old life, in the TARDIS."

Donna knew that sort of tone well. It came when one was fired or the casualness from her mother. "You don't want me."

"I'm not saying that-"

"But you asked me," Donna frowned, glancing at Renata for some help.

"Doctor, it really is okay with me," Renata shrugged. "It's your TARDIS. You can bring whoever you want." She wished he would make up his mind faster because Donna's luggage was getting heavier by the second.

"I wouldn't mind either. In fact, I would love it," the Doctor clarified, letting the luggage in his arm drop to the floor. "It's just...the last time, with Martha, it... it got complicated. And that was all my fault. I would want nothing more than a mate-"

"You just want to mate?" Renata blinked, eyes impossibly wide. Beside her, Donna was losing it believing in what Renata heard.

"You're not mating with me, sunshine!" Donna shouted.

The Doctor had a hard time keeping up with both women who'd heard horribly wrong. "Renata! I didn't say that-"

But Renata was trying to control herself after her first outburst. "No, no, that's fine. What you want to do in your TARDIS is your business-"

"What - no!" the Doctor once more tried to cut in but then came Donna.

"He better find someone else cos I'm not into that sort of alien thing, no sir!"

"STOP!" the Doctor finally cut over both of them. "I said a mate! Nothing more!" he frantically waved his hands.

"...oh," Renata looked away, embarrassed yet relieved.

The same applied to Donna. "Well just as well, because I'm not having any of that nonsense. I mean you're just a long streak of... nothing," she motioned to the Doctor who took it with an unamused face. "You know, alien nothing." She then passed a casual glance at Renata and shrugged. "You could probably find yourself someone quick. Kind of curvy."

Renata laughed.

"There we are, then. OK," the Doctor was glad to have things clarified and corrected.

"I can come?" Donna anxiously asked.

"Yeah. Course you can, yeah."

"I'd love it!"

"Great," Renata pushed the TARDIS door open to begin bringing Donna's things.

"Car keys!" Donna suddenly remembered, gasping.

"What?"

"I've still got my mum's car keys! I won't be a minute!" she held a finger to them and ran away.

Renata started to laugh again as she returned. She stopped at the doorway and smiled. "I think I'm gonna like her. She's so...spunky."

"Yeah, she is," the Doctor agreed and left his part of luggage inside.

"And you know," Renata stopped him just outside after he came out, "It really is your TARDIS - even though you stole that too," she mumbled and the Doctor rolled his eyes, "So you can bring anyone in without having to consult me. And...do whatever you want inside."

"Yeah…" the Doctor sucked in a large breath, "...no thanks."

Renata couldn't help the stupid smile that quickly set on her face. She forced it away as best as possible. "I-I mean...it's it's your choice…"

"Renee," the Doctor tilted his head, close to laughing at the subject they were somehow talking about again.

"I'm only saying! I respect rules and...and in here-" Renata gestured to the inside of the TARDIS, "-they're whatever you want-"

"Renee! C'mon," the Doctor laughed. "None of that please. We should focus on the fact we're having a new guest in the TARDIS who I am sure is going to love your dinners."

Renata smiled. "You think so?"

"Oh yeah! Who wouldn't?" the Doctor reached for her hand and brought her inside the TARDIS.

A couple minutes later, Donna came rushing in, happy than ever. "Off we go, then!"

"Here it is, the TARDIS. It's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside…"

"Oh, I know that bit," Donna interrupted the Doctor's favorite bit. "Although frankly, you could turn the heat up."

"So, whole wide universe, where do you want to go?"

"Oh, I know exactly the place," Donna smiled widely with just one spot in her mind. "Two and a half miles, that way!" she jerked a thumb to her left.

Although confused, the Doctor and Renata obeyed. It became clear where they were headed when they saw a street lined with similar houses. Donna hurried to the doors, to get them opened. It was almost an instant when she saw her grandfather looking up into the sky through his prized telescope. She waved ecstatically below. Renata and the Doctor waved from behind, although neither was sure if the grandfather would see them. Still, it didn't hurt to be nice.

Afterwards, when all was calm, Renata started for the corridors. "I'm just going to get dinner started. Donna, allergic to anything?"

"N-no…" replied the finger, fairly confused. "Though if it's alien meals then I wouldn't know would I…?"

Renata chuckled. "Fair enough." She disappeared soon after.

Curious, Donna looked to the Doctor who seemed quite at home. "Uh...since when do you do dinners? Last time I asked you disappeared into the night."

The Doctor smiled and looked up from the console after setting them in the time vortex for a peaceful night. "Oh that's just Renata. She does that every night. Sort of our tradition actually."

"Sorry, I never asked...are you and her…?" Donna gave a meaningful tilt of her head.

"No!" the Doctor quickly clarified before word made it to Renata. "No, we're not! Actually," he moved around the console, "Renata is one of my people. She's a Time Lady. Last one."

Donna didn't know what happened to the Doctor's home but she assumed it was not good. It was incredibly good to see that the Doctor was not alone anymore.

[gatesofember]

Frailty and Fortune: Chapter 4

PJO Arranged Marriage/Royalty AU Part 10

Rating: T | Pairing: Solangelo

Prev | Next | AU directory | Read it on AO3 (Recommended) | Arranged Marriage AU Masterpage

Summary: A few months have passed since Prince Nico’s wedding to William of Solace. Even with his husband at his side, Will sometimes feels lonely as he settles into his new life. He misses his home, his family, his friends, and his studies in Venadica. Meanwhile, Nico is uncertain how to help him, awkward about expressing himself, and he wonders if he’ll ever be able to truly make his husband happy. As time goes by and Will continues to feel lost in his new home, Will and Nico must both learn how to make their marriage work.

Nico woke up late the next day.  Very late.  Reyna was not pleased with him.

Despite her lecture, Nico was in no hurry to get up until she reminded him of two things: firstly, that Midas had noticed his absence all morning, and secondly, that Nico’s husband had been entertaining their host alone.

Nico shot out of bed at that.  He quickly dressed and readied himself, decided that he could wait until lunch to eat, and then hurried with Reyna to find Will and Midas.

Reyna brought him to a windowed drawing room where the early sunlight made Will’s hair more golden than anything in Midas’ estate.  He was standing with Midas at a large round table littered with maps.

Midas politely greeted him, which Nico ignored, and Will smiled kindly.  At first, Nico was overwhelmed with relief to find him safe, but once the feeling passed, it was quickly replaced by anger.  How dare Will meet with Midas alone?  Had Nico not been very clear about what he thought of that?

You were sleeping, reminded a rational voice in Nico’s head.  Nico ignored it.  Yes, he should have woken up earlier, but that wasn’t a reason for Will to meet with Midas alone.  He should have at least taken Reyna with him.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Will said, oblivious to Nico’s fury.  “We’ve been looking over maps of the mines and making projections of what an extension of the slope would entail.  Engineering isn’t my specialty, but I thought I’d have a look.”

Will looked well-rested, happy, and eager.  Hadn’t he seemed disinterested in helping just the night before?  Now he suddenly wanted to be involved?  After leaving Nico and Reyna to deal with him before, he suddenly decided to speak with Midas on his own?  Had he forgotten that Nico was the duke?  That Nico was supposed to lead their discussions?

Will didn’t mean anything by it, Nico tried to tell himself.  It didn’t make him feel better.

“The outdoor pony stables should be here, at the slope’s entrance,” Will said, pointing at the top of a cross-section map.  “I suggest building them as soon as possible, at least so that the ponies on the first three levels can start using them while work on the slope progresses.”

Nico’s lips pursed.  Will was only trying to help, he reminded himself.  Really, he was doing exactly what Nico had asked of him.  Nico shouldn’t be angry.

When a manservant entered the room and took Midas’ attention, Will leaned closer to whisper in Nico’s ear.  “I’m glad you’ve finally woken up.”

Nico made a noncommittal sound in response.  He was not in the mood for teasing.

Will frowned.  “Are you alright?”

“Fine,” Nico grunted.

Will didn’t seem satisfied by that answer.  For a moment, it seemed like he might drop the matter anyway, but then he reached for Nico’s hand.  “Nico?”

Nico snatched his hand away.  “You may not call me that here,” he hissed.  “I have already told you the circumstances in which you are allowed to use that name.”

Nico immediately regretted it.  He’d lashed out at Will like that once before, when he’d berated Will for touching him during Prince Percy’s wedding.  Will’s expression this time at least wasn’t as confused and scared as it had been back then, but he still looked hurt.  And not just hurt, either—it was like a cold steel wall had suddenly sprung up around him.  He looked angry.

“I didn’t mean to snap,” Nico said quickly, determined not to get himself into trouble like he had the last time.

Will nodded slowly, but his features didn’t soften.  Before Nico could apologize, Midas returned.

“Lityerses has everything prepared for you to leave,” he said.  “Your man is already waiting.”

“Man?” Nico repeated.  He was Will’s man.

“Hedge,” Will explained.

Nico nodded.  That was alright, then.

Then Nico caught himself and forced his thoughts to grind to a halt.  Of course it was alright.  He had to keep his penchant for resentment in check.  There was no reason to be getting jealous.

“Then I will leave you to your talks,” Will said, standing up straight and fixing his coat.  “Will you send the documents I requested to my room, Lord Midas?”

“I already have someone locating them,” Midas answered.

And the jealousy was back.  What documents?  Why hadn’t Will mentioned these documents to Nico?

Nico mentally trampled the thoughts away.

“Thank you,” Will said, then he turned to Nico.  “Until this evening, Your Highness.”

“Yes,” Nico said, because that was the only thing he could think to say other than “Don’t leave yet!”  He tried to discreetly touch Will’s hand as he passed, but didn’t manage to reach him in time.

Nico watched him go with an uncomfortable wrench in his gut.  He’d thoroughly spoiled what could have been a perfectly good morning.

*   *   *

Will had worked as a healer long enough for examinations to become second nature to him.  He made his way through the mine’s ponies without needing to think much about it.  It was a good thing, because Will’s mind was preoccupied with his husband.

He knew why Nico was angry; Nico had asked him to be careful around Midas and was upset when he found out that Will had met with him alone.  Still, Will couldn’t explain that they’d been discussing his daughter’s health.  He did feel guilty for worrying Nico and keeping Zoe a secret, but he wasn’t sure that he had a choice.  Zoe deserved confidentiality.  Will didn’t have the right to tell Nico about her health.

Anyway, Will thought Nico’s anger was unreasonably inflated.  He could understand the frustration, but honestly—snapping at Will for the mistake with his given name?  It was all quite ridiculous and even a little bit offensive.  Why was Nico so against his husband using his given name in public?  Why was he so ashamed of Will?

Much to Will’s surprise and relief, Lityerses made a good conversation partner.  He helped keep Will from dwelling too much on Nico while he worked on the ponies.

“The Prince must have told him to keep a close watch on me,” Lityerses said, referring to Hedge.

Will glanced at Hedge, who was glowering at Will and Lityerses from the entrance of the stables.  There were in the first level of the mines and Will was sitting on a stool, working by lamplight to examine a pony’s hooves.  Hedge had made no attempt to hide his distrust of Midas’ son.

“Yes, well, my husband is worried about my safety and Hedge is suspicious by nature,” Will said.  “I’m sure no one meant any offence.”

Lityerses raised an eyebrow.  “Your Highness, I do recall the way the Prince objected to my accompanying you at dinner last night,” he said.  “Besides, I am well aware of what he thinks of my family.”

Will paused while examining one hoof, and all he managed to say was, “Oh.”  After a second, he gathered his thoughts and added, “Well, really, it’s just your father.”

But Lityerses shook his head.  “Oh, no, the Prince doesn’t like me, either,” he said.  “He rejected me quite quickly when I was considered as a candidate for Royal Consort.”

Will sat up so quickly that he knocked his head on the wooden slats behind him with a loud crack.

“Your Highness?” Hedge called.

“I’m fine, Hedge,” Will answered quickly, lest he come back inside and start breathing down Will’s neck again.  He’d been so distracting that Will had been forced to ask Hedge to keep an eye on the mine from the entrance of the stables within ten minutes of arriving.

Lityerses eyed him curiously.  “Didn’t your husband tell you I was considered?”

“He...uh...neglected to mention that,” Will said, rubbing the throbbing spot on the back of his head.  He supposed it wasn’t surprising that Nico hadn’t said anything, given how much he’d teased Nico about his failures with Cecil and Ellis.  Nico had probably been embarrassed.  Given how much Nico despised Midas, any attempt by Lityerses to court him must have been disastrous.

“It fell through immediately,” Lityerses said again.  “Hardly worth mentioning.  Suits me well, anyway; being the Prince’s consort would have been nice, but I’m needed here to take the county after my father.  Zoe...well, we always assumed that Zoe wouldn’t live long enough to do it.”

Will wasn’t quite sure what to say to that.  Lityerses must have misinterpreted his uneasiness, because he said, “You don’t need to worry about my relationship with your husband.  It was bound for failure.  He never would have accepted my father’s son.”

“Right,” Will said, racking his brain for another topic of conversation.  Nico wouldn’t have wanted him to talk to Lityerses about this.  There had been a reason Nico hadn’t mentioned courting Lityerses and Will didn’t feel right learning about it from someone other than his husband.

He got to his feet and opened the pony’s mouth to examine its teeth.  “I’ve noticed that these ponies all seem quite young,” he said.  “At least, that’s what I’d assume based on their teeth.”

“They are,” Lityerses confirmed.  “That’s actually what I wanted you to look for in the records.  It’s always been this way.”

“They’re too young,” Will said, stepping back to look over the pony.  “He’s even quite small.  He can’t be more than three years old.”

“Some are younger.”

“Younger?” Will repeated.  “What age do they send them here?”

“Two or three, according to the records I’ve looked at,” Lityerses answered.  “Then they work here for the rest of their lives.”

“And I’d wager that isn’t very long,” Will grumbled angrily as he left the pony’s stall to move to the next one.

“It’s not.  Three more years, if they’re lucky.”

Will halted in his tracks.  “Three?”

“Three,” Lityerses confirmed.  “Pit ponies usually only live to about five.”

“But they’re not even fully grown before five!”

“I know.”

“They’re practically children!”

“I know.”

“Do you realize how long ponies are supposed to live?  Twenty years.  Twenty!  This is only a quarter of how long their lives should be!  I expected their lifespans to be short, but I thought they’d at least make it to ten.”

“I know,” Lityerses said again.  “I’ve been looking into this for at least the past two years.  It’s all in the records that I told you to ask for.”

Will ran a hand through his hair, forgetting how dirty his fingers were.  “And your father,” he said.  “What does he think of all this?”

“He doesn’t particularly care,” Lityerses answered.

“But you do,” Will said.  It was halfway between a statement and a question.  “You do, and you can’t let your father know.  Why?  Why haven’t you confronted him?”

Lityerses sighed.  “You have to understand—he’s my father.  Every son worships his father when they’re young.”

Will couldn’t say he agreed with the sentiment.  He liked his father well enough, but he’d always been very much aware of Apollo’s flaws.

Will nodded for Lityerses to go on anyway and chose not to voice his thoughts on the matter just yet.

“I only recently started to realize that something was wrong here,” Lityerses continued.  “Or, at least, it wasn’t until a few years ago that I finally came to terms with it.  I’ve known for a long time.  You’ve heard about my father’s trial, I presume?”

“I’ve heard.”

Lityerses crossed his arms and averted his eyes.  “I knew about the baiting before the trial,” he said.  “My father took me to watch matches when I was younger.  At the time, I thought it was just a normal sport.  It wasn’t until the trial that I found out it was illegal.  Even after that, it took time for me to accept that it was wrong, because if it was wrong, then my father was a bad person.  I didn’t want to believe that.”  Lityerses looked up at Will, and whatever expression he was wearing made Lityerses close his arms further over his chest.  “I’m not proud of it, Your Highness.”

“I imagine not,” Will said.  He didn’t mean it judgmentally, but he certainly wasn’t feeling compassionate, either.  “Continue.”

“I assumed that he changed after the trial.  In fact, I was desperate to believe it.  But sometimes he said things—things that seemed...flippant.  Like he didn’t care.  Eventually, I started to suspect that he could still be causing harm to animals, or even to people.”

“Lityerses,” Will interrupted.  “Is he still baiting?”

“No, I haven’t found evidence of that,” Lityerses answered.  “That was one of the first things I tried to find out.  He doesn’t travel enough for me to think he attends matches elsewhere and I’d have found out by now if he were holding them in Phrygia.  We’d have more guests, for one thing.  I even looked at financial records, and everything seems to be accounted for—no large, unexplained sums of money that he could have earned or lost off bets.  It’s possible I missed something, but...if there are still active baiting circles in Pluto, somehow I doubt my father would be invited to join.  The last time he was found out, he gave names.”

Will nodded.  It was unlikely that anyone would trust Midas after he betrayed the last baiting circle.

“No baiting, then,” Will said.  “But you did find out about the ponies.  What else?”

“Well, ponies don’t leave the mines.  Accidents aren’t exactly rare.  The work hours are long—for ponies and humans.  And the pay is barely enough for the workers to feed their families.  Actually, quite a bit of it gets back to my father through taxes, so it’s like he’s hardly paying the workers at all.”

“But Phrygia hardly seems poor,” Will said.  “It’s so clean.”

“He’s willing to spend his tax income on improvements in the city, but I suspect it’s out of vanity rather than concern for Phrygians,” Lityerses explained.  “He pays sanitation workers, then taxes them so much that they may as well have done their jobs for free.  The streets are clean, but the people who live in them are starving.”

“Ni—the Prince told me that your father is well-liked in Pluto.”

“Oh, he is—by the aristocracy and merchant class vying for his favor,” Lityerses said.  “He’s the wealthiest man in Pluto; people know what kind of advantages his friendship can offer.  That’s how he acquired some very powerful connections.”

“And he earned everything off the labor of animals and the poor.”

“Labor, if not their lives,” Lityerses said.  “I did try to ask my father about the ponies once.  I mentioned that I noticed the lifespans were rather short.  He just told me that it was normal for pit ponies and that all mines are that way.  And he’s right—I even checked.  All this?”  Lityerses gestured to the ponies in the stable around them.  “This is happening in mines all over Pluto, Your Highness.  My father isn’t an outlier.  He may be worse than most—that’s why he has the highest profits—but he’s hardly the only guilty party.”

“Gods above,” Will murmured.  “And no one cares?”

“I care,” Lityerses said.  “And you care.  I suspect that the Prince would care, too.  Your Highness, I only just started finding out about all this and I’m hardly a capable researcher, so I know that there are things I’ve missed.  It took me years to deduce everything I’ve told you.  I know I can’t convince my father to change anything and I’ve been too afraid to confront him further because if he stopped trusting me, then there wouldn’t be a way for me to keep investigating.  There is very little I can do.  Even if I could, I wouldn’t know how to start fixing any of this.  You, though—you’re a consor.  You’re the Prince’s husband.  Your aunt is the Matestra.  You can do something.”

Will’s mouth felt dry.  Lityerses was right.

If anything were to change, it had to start with Will.

*   *   *

That realization should have terrified Will.  He was still growing accustomed to the fact that he was a member of the Royal Family and hadn’t quite mentally grasped exactly how much power he now held.  He wasn’t the illegitimate son of a duke anymore.  He was the husband of the future King of Pluto.

But this was exactly why Artemis had arranged for his marriage consultation with Nico in the first place.  Will remembered what his aunt had told him when he expressed his doubt that he’d make a suitable match for a prince— “ You are a consor,” she’d said, “which, I daresay, is exactly what the Royal Family needs.”

There were other consors and sorors acting as advisors in the palace—Reyna, for one—but there was a very clear difference between serving the Royal Family and being a part of it.  And unlike some of the advisors Will had met, he was also a healer, and that had fostered a nurturing quality in him which their personalities lacked.  They made fine partners to discuss theory with, but were too stolid and analytical for Will to enjoy a more casual conversation—with the exception of Reyna, who Will had discovered made quite a good friend.  The rest of the palace advisors were often too concerned with rigid numbers and charts and intellectual discussions to step back and think of people as people or of Pluto as a home for millions of individuals.

But Will—Will not only could, but wanted to make a change.  And it wasn’t just Midas.  It wasn’t just Plutonian mines.  There was Plutonian healthcare, too, and the appalling rate of poverty throughout the country.

Will could change all of it.

His thoughts were interrupted by Zoe’s wet cough jostling the thermometer in her mouth.  He checked the reading and offered her the cup water at her bedside.

“I really hate having my temperature taken,” she said.

“Well, at least we know your fever has gone down,” Will said as he recorded the information in his papers.  “Actually, there are smaller, faster types of thermometers now.  You ought to ask your father to buy one.”

Lityerses sighed from the other side of Zoe’s bed, where he was sitting to watch over his sister while Will tended to her.  “Faster thermometers?” he said.  “Then I’ll never get her to be quiet.  The only time she stops talking is when she’s having her temperature taken.”

Zoe snickered.  “Or when I’m being sick all over my bedsheets.”

“Hopefully, that won’t happen as much anymore,” Will said.  “It’s your sacred duty to annoy your brother.”

Zoe looked like she was about to say something, but then she started coughing again.

“Keep drinking,” Will said.  “I know you don’t want to, but you can’t be healthy without it.”

Zoe was too busy coughing to answer.  When it finally calmed, she took another sip of water.  Will encouraged her to drink more before he took the cup back.

“I hate this,” Zoe whispered, her voice thick with phlegm.

“I know, but this is a good sign,” Will said.  “The cough always gets worse at the end.”

“Then the medicine is working?” Zoe asked.

“Yes, I believe it is,” Will answered.  “You’ll be able to get out of bed soon—definitely by the time I leave at the end of the week.”

“I wonder if you could treat my skin condition, as well,” Zoe said, looking up at Will with large, hopeful eyes.

Will thought carefully before replying.  He’d expected Zoe to ask about that at some point.  Patients with skin conditions always wanted to know how to hide it.  “Right now, I think it’s most important to take care of your illness,” he said.

“Is the rash difficult to treat?”

“No,” Will said.  “It’s actually quite simple.  Unfortunately, the treatment counteracts the medication I’m already giving you.”

“Counteracts?” Zoe repeated.

“Yes, it....”  Will paused, realizing that Zoe didn’t understand what he was saying.  He considered his answer for a moment, then folded his hands in his lap and said, “Zoe, do you know why you have rashes?”

“Because I’m ill,” Zoe answered.

“Your rashes aren’t caused by your illness,” Will said.  “They’re trying to protect you from your illness.”

Zoe frowned.  “I don’t understand.”

“Let me try to explain,” Will said.  “Right now, your body is working very, very hard to keep you healthy.  You’re trying to fight off the sickness inside you.  One of the ways your body fights is by raising your temperature, and that’s why you have a fever.  So your fever isn’t really a bad thing; it’s helping you heal.  Of course, having a fever that’s too high can also be dangerous, so we have to regulate your temperature externally—”  Will stopped, realizing that he was letting himself ramble.  He had a habit of that.  “Anyway, your body also is fighting on the surface of your skin, which is why you get rashes.  Rashes mean that your body is working hard to keep you safe.  Do you understand?”

Zoe nodded.

“Unfortunately, it also means that your body is wasting energy fighting in the wrong place,” Will said.  “But if I try to get rid of your rashes, I would have to make your body weaker, and that’s the opposite of what I want.  The medicine I’m giving you will help your body fight harder.  Unfortunately, this means that your fever will rise and....”

“And my rashes will get worse,” Zoe said.

“Yes,” said Will.  “But once you’re better, your body will be able to stop fighting so hard and the rashes will go away like they always do.”  Will patted her hand.  “It’s late.  You ought to rest now.”

Zoe tucked herself further under the blankets of her bed as Will cleaned and packed up the equipment he’d used.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lityerses smile gently and kiss his sister’s forehead, but by the time he turned around, Lityerses was standing and ready to escort Will back to his chambers.

Lityerses looked surprised when Will invited him for a drink in his room, but he accepted the offer and found a manservant to bring them tea.  Will waited until the servant left them alone with the door shut to ask the question that had been on his mind since their conversation in the mines.

“Does Zoe know?”

Lityerses blew at the steam rising out of his cup.  “No,” he said.  Will waited patiently while Lityerses took a sip.  Lityerses glanced at him and sighed, like he’d hoped Will’s question ended there.  “Zoe’s too young to remember his trial.  I was only twelve at the time and I was confused, so I defended him because I didn’t realize....”  Lityerses paused again and his shoulders dropped.  “He’s my father,” he said.  “It’s not easy to realize that your father isn’t the hero you thought he was.”

“You only knew what you’d been taught.”  Will didn’t say it to be comforting.  He meant it more as an observation than an expression of sympathy.

Lityerses’ eyes looked downwards, focusing on the gold-brown ripples on the surface of his tea.  He didn’t seem to find much relief in Will’s words, either.  “I’d been taught wrong.  I understand that now.  But Zoe isn’t like me—you have to know that.  I had to unlearn everything I knew and completely ruin my image of my father just to be half as kind as her.  I don’t want her to have to go through that.”

“So you want her to live in ignorance?”

Lityerses looked up and met Will’s eyes again.  “You don’t agree with me.”  He didn’t sound accusing.  Instead, he sounded questioning, almost pleading, like he was begging Will for his thoughts and guidance.

“I understand your reasoning, but there are too many secrets in your home, Lityerses,” Will said.  “Your father’s trying to cover everything wrong that’s happening here, his criminal record is being kept from your sister, your sister’s health is a secret, and you can’t voice your objections to your father.”

“And I want to protect Zoe from all that,” Lityerses said.  “At least until she’s older.”

“She’ll start to notice things eventually, just like you did,” Will said.  “I think you ought to talk to her before she does.  You don’t want her to feel like she’s alone.”

Lityerses nodded.  “When she’s older,” he said again.  “And healthier.  Right now she ought to focus on recovering.”

“Good,” Will said.  “And you need to stop hiding from your father.  Nothing good will happen if you allow him to continue what he’s doing.”

“I can’t rebel against him.”

Will raised an eyebrow.  “Can’t you?”

Lityerses’ mouth fell open, but he didn’t say anything.

“I’m not saying you have to rebel,” Will went on.  “But voice your opinions more often.  You have an excuse now—you’re only trying to ensure that the mine follows the guidelines left by the Prince.  Then a little later you can start to have an input on how the city is run, on the taxes, and on ways to use your father’s wealth to help people.  My husband and I are leaving at the end of the week, Lityerses.  Do you want everything to go back to the way it was, or do you want things to change?”

For a long moment, Lityerses remained silent.  Finally, he took a breath and started to speak.

He was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Will heard the click of the handle as he looked up, and there in the doorway stood Nico.

*   *   *

Nico was livid.

He’d been bothered by what had happened that morning all day.  When he met with Midas’ head engineer, he hardly listened to her speak because his mind kept echoing the words he’d snapped at Will for using his given name.  Will hadn’t deserved it, he knew.  He’d been angry for a foolish reason and had lashed out at Will over a minor offence.  And the sight of Will’s face?  He had never looked at Nico with a gaze so cold.

Nico hadn’t gotten the chance to speak with Will since he arrived back at the estate after being in the mines all day.  He had barely looked at Nico over dinner and he’d once again declined the invitation to meet with Midas.  He wanted to read, he’d said.

And then, when Nico went to Will’s rooms to apologize for that morning, he’d found Will not reading, but instead sharing tea with Lityerses.  Lityerses, of all people.

“Your Highness,” Will said.  There was still a hint of that steely, guarded air around him, but he smiled at Nico.  Nico, however, was too furious to care.

“Don’t you think it’s time for you to retire, Lityerses?” Nico said sharply.  “It’s awfully late to be in a room alone with another man’s husband.”

The guarded air came crashing back around Will.

Lityerses quickly got to his feet.  “Yes, Your Highness, my apologies,” he said, and he left the room with short goodbye to Will.  Nico shut the door behind him.

“Why was he here?”

“Because I invited him,” Will answered calmly.

Nico blinked.  “You what?”

“I invited him,” Will repeated.  He took a sip of tea.

“Invited?”

“Yes, Your Highness.  I believe that is what I said.”

Nico’s jaw clenched.  “Do not tease me now, Will,” he snapped.  “And you did the same thing this morning, too!  You sought out Midas alone.  I asked you very clearly not to be alone with them.”

“No, you didn’t.”  Will set his tea down on the table beside him, right next to the one Lityerses had left behind, and folded his hands primly in his lap.  “All you told me was to be careful around Midas.”

“And Lityerses is just as bad as his father!  You knew that I didn’t trust him.  Don’t pretend you didn’t.”

Will tapped his fingers on his knee once.  “I think that Lityerses must have given you a bad impression when you met,” he said slowly.

“What?  Don’t be ridiculous—”

“Really, Nico,” Will said, fixing him with a tired, annoyed glare.  “He’s helping me with the ponies.  He approached me and said that he’d heard I was hard on his father about their welfare, then he gave me some information he thought I might like to know.  If you had simply asked instead of accusing me as soon as—”

“It’s a trap,” Nico said.  It didn’t even bear thinking about.  “Midas must have set him up to it.”

Will sighed like he was dealing with a difficult child.  “Why can’t you entertain the possibility that Lityerses is better than his father?”

“Because he’s not!”

“Is this because he’s a failed suitor?”

Nico’s blood at once went icy, and then just as suddenly was hot with fury.  Will knew.  He knew what Lityerses’ family had done, he knew that Nico hated being reminded of his failures as a suitor, and Will knew, somehow, that Lityerses had been offered to him—a memory that Nico had tried very hard to forget.  “Do you think,” Nico growled, “—do you think that this is some petty grudge?”

“Nico—”

“Because I must have been such a horrid suitor, is that it?  After all, how is it possible that I failed every attempt at courting until you came along?  Clearly— clearly it must have been my fault.  Clearly there must have been something wrong with me because it simply isn’t possible for all my suitors to have been so awful.  Surely I was immature, saw the worst in everyone, purposely sabotaged every arrangement—”

“Nico—”

“So obviously, if I ever speak ill of someone who was offered as a potential fiancé, then I must be wrong about them.  It’s all in my head, isn’t it?  I know that’s what everyone’s thinking.”

“I wasn’t trying to—”

“Yes, you were, Will.  You were.”  Nico turned away before Will could answer.  “Goodnight,” he said as he left.  He heard Will call his name just as he slammed the door shut.

Next

[terrible-tulip]

[Rewrite] “Is Lars Going Evil?!”

"Did Lars go evil?" "Lars of the Stars? Evil??" "Is Lars going evil?!"

No. No, he is not.

I would say it’s bizarre the fan theorists were so quick to go there in reaction to Captain Lars laughing like Lelouch in the recent SU leak, but I honestly don’t know what I was expecting. 

Lars is the last character I would expect to turn evil at this point.  Not between appearances at the drop of a hat with absolutely zero build up.  If fans think he could, then they still don’t understand his character. That door was sealed shut in Wanted.  Not that it was ever built to open to begin with.

The show spent four seasons (technically three) insisting in every way it could that Lars is a good but very flawed person who wants to be good beneath his uncaring jerk facade that's always been implied to be a defense mechanism.  This was even one of the things many fans cited to be a huge source of frustration with his character before Season 5.   Outside of openly stating it through Sadie and Steven, the show kept him surrounded with symbolism and foreshadowing to this effect at all times, even using elements of the Hero's Journey archetype during the final episodes of Season 4 and throughout the Wanted special for Lars' personal arc, with Steven playing the part of the mentor to his hero. 

The Wanted special heavily utilized the Rule of Three to emphasize just what sort of person Lars is underneath his mask of not caring.  Three times, Lars expressed frustration with his constant state of fear with specific mention of wanting to help others. Three times, Lars lamented acting cowardly in the face of trouble, running and hiding when others needed him. Three times, Lars faced a dilemma where sacrificing himself was presented as the only option to save some kind strangers he just met.  And he did. And died.

Despite fear and uncertainty, and even though he was the only person present who would've been safe from harm had he done nothing, he still chose them over himself every time without hesitation, even suffering a brutal and agonizing death to protect everyone.  Even after this, after being accidentally resurrected as a magical being that doesn't need sustenance and may or may not be immortal, he still urged them to use the portal in his head to go to Earth so they could be safe and live freely, knowing he would be trapped alone on Homeworld forever if they did.

Lars never even gives a self-benefiting second motive for wanting to be heroic at any point, something unusual coming from Steven Universe, which has previously come off as a cynical series when it comes to heroic motivation.  He's not trying to fill someone's shoes.  He's not naive about what heroism entails like Steven had been before Jasper came to Earth; he already understands and fears the danger.  He isn't fighting to honor someone's memory. He's not fighting for a place where he can be himself. He isn't desperate for there to be more to his life or seeking an escape from an ordinary life.  His motivation doesn't seem to be a desire to protect his home planet either, since when he finally rushes into action, he's on an alien planet (in an entirely different galaxy from Earth) and protecting a group of helpless gems he’d only just met and had cowered from behind Steven only a minute before.

Prior to meeting the Off Colors, his typical reaction to stressful or dangerous situations was to either lash out at his friends, run away, hyperventilate and suffer a panic attack, or cry like a small child.  Before he died and came back with Lion's powers, he was just an ordinary mentally ill teenager with anxiety seeking social acceptance.  Lars never had anything to gain from becoming a hero nor did he show any sign of craving adventure, finding it terrifying and stressful, and yet the underlying belief that he couldn't be a hero, couldn't do anything, because of his fear (because "heroes are never afraid") left him in tears.  And that was it.  I could understand if the narrative left it at "he feels ashamed for fleeing when Sadie needed him" but it doesn't.  That was presented as merely the breaking point.

For a long time, I was actually really confused by Lars' actions in Wanted.  I considered the possibility that Lars might've wanted to punish himself for his past cowardice and poor treatment of his friends.  I was even somewhat convinced he must be a death seeker or at least a martyr without a cause.  Why else would he risk his life and sacrifice so much for people he just met without hesitation? 

It wasn't until I scrutinized over his actions and dialogue in Wanted (and, indeed, throughout the series) that I realized this isn't actually indicated at any point.  While he seems to romanticize the idea of heroic sacrifice on some level, referring to it as a beautiful act, he wasn't all that torn up when his offer to stay behind was rejected.  Aside from a very brief confused protest, after they explained their reasoning for not abandoning him and accepted him as one of their own, he gladly accepted their decision with perhaps one of the most heartwarming smiles on the show to date.   And though he was certainly full of regrets throughout Wanted, when he had the opportunity to perform a needless sacrifice during his fight to save one of the gems, he didn't take it.

In other words, while his own life was clearly not on his list of priorities, it doesn't seem like Lars was exactly leaping to throw it away either. He just wanted to protect everyone. Lars is just. that. good.

Then, after all this, as the cherry on top, the coup de grâce to the possibility of Lars reappearing as a villain next time he shows up, the end of his final conversation with Steven called to attention just how tightly his sense of self-worth is wound up in his mentality toward bravery and heroism one last time:

Steven: But it doesn't feel right to just leave you here.

Lars: You said yourself that everyone on this planet is out to get you. You won't be safe until you're back on Earth.

Steven: But, Lars-

Lars: Don't argue with me! You're always trying to help me. You brought me back to life. Just let me be somebody who deserved it.

Many fans, including myself at first, have interpreted this line to mean Lars doesn't feel he deserves to live and/or he seeks pay Steven back and atone for his past behavior and cowardice. I think both interpretations are true, at least to some extent, but the strange wording suggests something else: that Lars considers being brave and helping someone else, even if it's painful and means giving up something he wants, acting as a hero would, as being “somebody who deserved” to be brought back to life. Of course, to be selfish in regards to Steven’s safety after he’d just brought him back to life would’ve been reprehensible, but to say he wouldn’t deserve to be alive at all if he didn’t help him?  That's harsh. 

In light of Lars’ overall attitude and choices in Wanted, the implication of this goes even further. That without bravery and helping others, without turning away from his old cowardly nature, Lars does view himself as undeserving of life. That it’s through being brave and helping others, being a hero, that he truly feels he has any value.

And people think Lars could show up laughing mad with sadistic evil in his very next appearance?  That doesn’t make a lick of sense.  It would betray everything we've been shown about his character beneath his (now very broken) facade of being an uncaring jerk.   

If Lars views himself behaving like a selfish cowardly bystander – a neutral party – in such a harsh and unforgiving light, how do you think he’d take it if he started heading down that path?  Could the young hero who gave his life to protect some kind strangers and was willing to stay behind if it meant they would be free really dive into sadistic villainy without a second thought?  Would he really be able to hold his head high after that?

The very first episode of Wanted made it abundantly clear that Lars admires and wants to be like Steven, who he has dryly described as someone who “likes everything” in the past.  It is implied he has secretly felt like this for a long time.  Unless possessed or absolutely brainwashed, Lars would know what he’s doing on some level.  Steven would be helping people, not hurting them; he would care. 

Even ignoring all that was said and done in Wanted, Lars is surrounded by friends to keep him grounded.  If he does go evil, the Off Colors will try to stop their beloved captain and sworn protector or at least rebel against him, and Steven can literally find Lars wherever he goes as long as he has Lion.  He would be a ridiculously easy to track villain and no trouble to detain.  Even if he's learned how to create portals, he can't escape through them if he can't reach them.  Lars becoming a villain would just be anti-climatic and serve no purpose other than throwing in some unnecessary additional angst for Steven and wasting a perfectly good character.

Besides, that would be too cynical for “there are no true villains” Steven Universe.

End Note: I do have more to say on the subject of Lars and morality, but they will have to wait for another time.  This was just written in response to fan theorists jumping to the conclusion that "Lars laughing madly = Lars went evil"  in his very next appearance after all he'd gone through to protect Steven and some kind strangers.  Pretty sure Wanted constituted as Lars crossing the "Heroes' Frontier Step" (an act that shows a hero is playing for keeps; basically, the opposite of crossing the Moral Event Horizon).

Of course, there's more to the 18-second leak than a laugh, and context behind the laugh has been given by the person behind the leak (or at least we know enough to get the gist of the situation), but I have no interest in discussing the specifics here beyond stabbing the "suddenly evil" Lars theory with a logic fork.

Just... let the poor boy rest.  He's earned it.

[original post]

[AO3 link]