bigapplesauce | separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream [closed]

Current Music: March 14, 2013, morningish

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separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream [closed]

Gabriel is walking along near his apartment, when suddenly he winces and whips his head around angrily as if someone had just shouted in his ear. "What!?" After the realization that the TARDIS hadn't just materialized next to him and shouted for him to bring her candy, he realizes that what he'd heard was her praying to him. This is so not good. He pulls out his phone, sends off a quick text, sighs, and then sends few more for good measure.

When she responds, the "Fuck!" he lets out is loud enough to convince the person walking behind him to continue his journey on the other side of the street. Her knowing how to pray to him isn't exactly a turn of events that he'd wanted or been prepared for. Especially since she's so loud about it.

He stops walking entirely and stares down at the screen of his phone, sends off a couple more texts, then slips it back into his pocket. He sighs again, runs a hand through his hair to push it back, then disappears. When he reappears, it's outside the TARDIS. He has brought candy, but he's going to make sure she knows he's disgruntled about it before handing it over.

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The TARDIS is perfectly unaware of any misgivings Gabriel might be having about her having discovered prayer (besides her apparent 'loudness', but she can't really help that). His younger self in the telepathic current had been so happy tell her how to communicate with him in this way, so she just had to satisfy her curiosity and try it out. And his reaction was honestly pretty amusing, so she can't be expected not to do it again a few more times when the fancy strikes her.

Anyway, it's been a few days since they last spent time together, so she rather thinks he ought to be glad for the invitation too. When he appears she promptly opens her doors for him and is waiting inside, though she's dressed for going out, in a very long, dark blue, strangely furry sort of coat and a corduroy skirt. It's not precisely Earth fashion, but she figured it's close enough - at least the coat doesn't have more than two sleeves - and it's warm. She meets his vague air of grumpiness with a bright smile. "That was very quick. Now I can see why humans would pray."

"Don't you look furry." He wraps his arms around himself as he steps into the console room. After a demonstrative sigh, he unzips his jacket and pulls out a blue-striped bag full of candies from the inside pocket. It's mostly full of things he'd noticed she'd liked when he'd given her the illusion versions before, plus a few other new things.

He raises his eyebrows at her as he hands it over. "Humans don't get this kind of service unless they also happen to be the son of God." So she's special enough to him that he came at all, but maybe use a phone next time.

Aww, what's with all this disgruntlement radiating from him? It doesn't suit him at all. When she receives the bag she leans up and quickly places a kiss on his cheek, accompanied by its mental equivalent. If that doesn't improve his mood, well, she'll just have to think of something even nicer to do.

"It is a good thing I'm not human, then," she replies with a smug smirk before digging into the bag. The thoughtfulness behind the collection of sweets doesn't escape her notice and there's a light jingly sound somewhat like bells ringing down from the console as she pops a toffee into her mouth.

His frown presses into a resolute line as she leans up to kiss him. He's trying valiantly not to crumble here, but he's not doing all that well. As she starts digging into the bag of candy, he gives up and lets the corners of his mouth raise into a (somewhat put-upon) smile. "No, you're not."

"I've done my task as requested. Shall I consider myself dismissed?" His smile shifts into a smirk and he raises an eyebrow at her. At the same time he reaches for their mental connection as well. He knows she doesn't want him to go, but he's teasing at the possibility. Maybe she could give him a little more attention than the candy, hm?

There, see, that's better already. She's eager to open their mental connection properly, brushing her pleasure at the candy and at his compliance against his mind in greeting before settling into comfortably close contact. There's no mistaking his teasing, then, and she responds with an appropriately contrite expression, making no effort to hide her amusement.

"But I had hoped you would assist me with this 'gift card'," she says, pulling out a small plastic card with a very colorful lollipop on it from a coat pocket. The TARDIS definitely doesn't pout, but if she did, that's what one might say she's doing now. And no, really, she has no idea how exactly to use this thing; her experience with purchasing goods ends at handing a vendor in the park a few mismatched coins from the Doctor's pocket in exchange for hot cocoa. So it's been lying in some cranny somewhere since Ianto gave it to her a month ago.

"Ooh, gift card!" Gabriel grins, snatches the card, and flips it around to look it over. He probably isn't the best person the TARDIS could have chosen if she's looking for someone to explain the finer points of monetary systems. His particular abilities make it very easy to fudge totals and fake payments. He's perfectly happy to accompany her, though. They've yet to explore any part of the city together, and he'd like to see how she reacts to everyday life in Manhattan.

As she bridges the gap in their mental connection, he meets her to convey his amusement and his fondness for her. He hands the card back and, chuckling, tucks his hands behind his back. "So what you were really praying for was my irreplaceable company."

Her bluff called, the TARDIS' affected look of disappointment changes into a grin, doing the opposite of denying his assertion. "That and candy seem to go hand in hand more often than not," she points out around a mouthful of sour apple ring as she returns the card to its pocket.

Before he can protest, she very decisively stuffs a pink marshmallow between his teeth and then stores the bag in the other pocket for easy access. "Though your younger self didn't even know about candy," she informs him, her amusement now directed at the memories of last night. At the same time she slips her arm through his and turns him around to lead him out the doors. "I was very astonished."

He is about to protest, but finds himself effectively silenced when she shoves the marshmallow into his open mouth and steers him outside. "Mm."

Actually, the mention of their shared dream reminds him to try figuring out just how much she'd gleaned from his younger self. "Just how young was I?" It'd have to be pretty young if he'd never had candy. "I was still in this vessel?"

Once outside, she briefly shivers under the chill breeze on her skin despite her warm coat, not prepared for how much colder wind can feel than the measured temperature. She has a very low opinion of the cold in general, but she's not going to let that interfere with her good mood.

"No, you were in the other one I am familiar with. I think you had just recently left Heaven." She peeks up at him, knowing it isn't exactly an easy topic, and is on the lookout for a shift in his mood too.

Noticing her shiver, he projects an illusion of slightly warmer air. It's not actually any warmer, and he's not sure how effective it will be on her senses, but it should at least take the edge off the wind chill.

When she informs him that it was his previous vessel she'd met, he groans and runs his hand over his face. He probably told her everything while not-so-discretely insulting her. "Oh fuck. What did I say."

Being somewhat accustomed now to Gabriel using his illusory skills for her benefit, she realizes who she has to thank for this convenient trick on her humanoid senses as soon as the chill cuts out. Of course being used to it doesn't mean she isn't grateful, and she gives him an appreciative mental nudge while picking her way through the underbrush down to the path.

His exasperation at himself is so very amusing, so she really can't resist teasing him some more. "I don't see why you are so concerned about this. You used to be surprisingly charming and polite," she replies with a smirk. But thinking back on the conversation, she can't keep this up and breaks into a chuckle. "You did ask me if you had taught me dream manipulation, though." She doesn't bother trying to hide how adorable she had found his presumptuous naivety.

"Used to be!" He snorts out a laugh, trying to think back to just what he was like at that time in his life. He's not sure where polite came from. He recalls being a little more...proper, but not exactly polite.

"Don't think polite ever entered into it. You know I'm charming. If you say any different you're a horrible liar." He nudges her with their entwined arms, and smiles down at her. Her amusement and affection is easy to feel and reply to with the same. "For the record, you're excellent with dreams, but I could teach you more. If you like." She was thinking something about his being presumptuous?

She meets his nudge with a mischievous grin, immensely enjoying this conversation and their shared amusement. But, yes, he continues to be quite presumptuous, and she pointedly arches an eyebrow at him. "Oh, could you," she replies, managing to sound both put upon and taunting. "In exchange for a few lessons on extra-terrestrial environments, perhaps?"

She isn't about to deny his skills with recreating certain physical experiences, and really she wouldn't at all mind honing her own under his guidance, but just now she doesn't feel like admitting that he might be better at something than her. Who cares about dream food when you've seen a whole inhabited universe, anyway?

Gabriel only smiles back at her put upon expression. As they break out from the line of trees and head towards the path, he nods enthusiastically to her suggestion. "Definitely." Next time they share a dream, of course he's going to ask for a tour of whatever planet she feels like showing him.

He just walks beside her for a moment, thinking over the events of that last dream. He wishes that he could remember meeting her as his younger self. What he does remember, though, is meeting Idris. That had been probably even a crazier experience than meeting his younger self.

"So...serious question here. Do you really think my nose is hilarious? Because that's what the other you said." And he'd been more or less offended at the time, but springing this information on her more than makes up for it.

And sprung on her it is, enough so to make her stop in her tracks to look up at him in surprise. "The other me?" Is he still talking about that dream? She hadn't really talked to anyone else there, but it occurs to her now that she might not have been the only one meeting temporally displaced dreamers.

"What point in time was I... oh." There really aren't many circumstances in which she would feel the need to comment on someone's appearance in such a way. "I'm afraid I can guess," she amends with a rather sour expression, uncomfortably reminded of that whole situation, of losing her mind, of dying. "I'm sorry you had to see it. I wasn't... well." She lowers her gaze gloomily. Still, it could have been worse. She could have been in the shape of the Brigadier. But she shuts that bitter and disturbing thought down before Gabriel can sense too much of it.

"I'm not sorry. I liked her." He hasn't forgotten the negative emotions associated with the more human version of the TARDIS, and he certainly feels them, but that's overshadowed at the moment by his curiosity and amusement. It really had been interesting to meet Idris. He can't help trying to talk about her a little bit. And he really does want to know if she thinks his nose is hilarious.

His smile tightens into a smirk and he says, "Not big on linear conversation, were you? Not that you're big on it now. Or any other time, I assume." He chuckles a little, "She did call me magnificent. It might have endeared me to her a bit. Flattery will get you everywhere, you know."

Hearing that he was apparently anything but put off by her no doubt intensely confusing and unrestrained manner is enough to surprise the TARDIS out of her gloom, and she looks up at him again, reassured to feel only positive emotions from him. She can't imagine how anything about her could have been endearing, of all things - she bit the Doctor, and not even he was able to recognize her for quite a while, she'd been that out of sorts.

But the fact that even though she couldn't have known Gabriel at the time, she still realized how 'magnificent' he is makes her smile involuntarily. Then she shakes her head, because she ought to have had the good sense not to actually tell him so. He's going to be insufferable now. Still, she's hardly going to hide her affection from him, and with the beginnings of a smirk she replies, "Well, she was still me." After a moment's consideration, she reaches up and taps the tip of his nose before resuming their way down the path. Does that answer his question?

"I had forgotten most of what I had learned about linear thinking," she continues as though she hadn't just admitted that she does on occasion notice physical features. "It requires more of an effort than most people realize." Not that she minds it when it helps her communicate with the people she cares about.

Edited 2013-11-07 10:37 (UTC)

Gabriel grins back at her smirk, basking in her affection. If she thinks he's ever going to forget that she thinks he's magnificent, she's sorely mistaken. A sentient time machine thinks that he's magnificent. He's going to carry that information with him forever, because it makes him feel good. The tap to his nose comes as a surprise, and he's still not sure that's really an answer to his question, but he's going to go ahead and assume that it means something like 'no, your nose is not ridiculous. it's wonderful. Like the rest of you.'

When she starts walking again, he's pulled along for a fraction of a second before he gets over the shock of her noticing something physical about him. After that, he continues along at at her side.

"I'm not sure how I could make it easier. What time bending abilities I had went out the window when I popped through the rift." It does bother him, a little, that he can't notice quite as much as the TARDIS might like him to. "I'm more or less in the here and now. Not that I'm not enjoying the here and now." He smirks. "I think it's magnificent. You know. Like me."

Yes, definitely insufferable. If he were the Doctor, she'd give him a good shake and do the opposite of everything he expects her to do for at least a day just to rein in his ego. But since he isn't, and since she didn't miss the affection hidden in his obnoxiousness, she merely serves him a not very stern mental nudge of chastisement and a roll of her eyes in response.

His desire to better accommodate her native way of thinking is quite touching, and she quickly smiles again, though it's a little wistful. "I don't believe there is anything you could do. Like the Time Lords, you are a linear being at your core, even though you are time-sensitive. And I'm forced to exist linearly here at any rate." The last is said rather a bit more morosely. "I don't mind it either, really, the 'here and now'. I like being able to comprehend and communicate with those I care about. But what I do mind is being so... crippled. I'm almost blind here, I can't see anything outside of this minuscule point in space and time."

There's a lot of despair creeping in at the edges now, but she realizes she hardly needs to tell Gabriel about being caged, and she's determined not to ruin their enjoyable mood. So she musters a smile for him and hugs his arm closer to herself, sending a wave of gratefulness more heartfelt than a kiss. "But you make it better, dear." Maybe even worthwhile, almost.

Gabriel hates that she feels as trapped as she does here, but if he's helping to alleviate some of that discomfort there's no way he's going to stop trying to make things better for her and for them. She's already helped him over and over, and still is helping him. He dips his head and smiles to feel her gratefulness.

"Undeniably." he answers, feeling smugly pleased by her attention and glad for her company. "Do I need to tell you how much you've improved my time here, or is that one of those things that's so obvious it doesn't need to be brought up?" There was the part where she helped to save his life, but since then she's filled in the gap where otherwise the silence in his mind might have been too much to bear quietly.

Although there's hardly a more reassuring way of knowing how important they are to each other than the mental bond they've built, it's still nice to hear him mention it too, and her rather thin smile brightens instantly. If she can make a difference here not only to the Doctor but also to Gabriel, she has far less reason to feel useless.

Her smile quickly shifts into a smirk and she glances up at him. "Well, it never goes amiss to show a little appreciation," she says and then remembers her candy, fishing out a few pieces of gummy candy from her pocket and plopping some into her mouth before offering him one.

He takes the offered piece of candy and plops it into his mouth, chuckling at her. "You have. Completely. You are a ray of sunlight on a cloudy day, et cetera et cetera." He dips his head in to kiss her on the cheek and uses the opportunity to pick her pocket. When he pulls back, he's retrieved the gift card and flips it around to find the address of the place. It's a little further away than they probably want to walk.

"Shall we take the short-cut?" He grins, and waggles his eyebrows in her direction. "I can take passengers, y'know."

He really could have put a little more effort into that compliment, she thinks with amusement, but before she can say as much she's distracted by his kiss, and then by his surprising offer of transportation. She hadn't considered that he can transport more than just himself before now, and it seems like a more interesting and efficient way of getting around the city than she's had to contend with so far.

"It's quite unusual for me to be the passenger, but very well," she replies as though she wasn't obviously curious and excited.

"Very well," he mimics, then adds, "I hope you're ready." He spreads his wings and without announcing himself again, he flies them about a block away from the candy store. He doesn't let go of her arm as they land, ready to balance her if she needs it, and looks down at her with a smirk on his face.

A human would assume that he'd teleported them, but he's curious to know if she has a better understanding of his flight from what she can sense and what he'd shown her before of what flight feels like for him. This short of a hop is more of a pain than a pleasure for him, but it's the easiest way to get around here, and he does like the prospect of impressing her with something that is unusual to her.

It is a bit disorienting, having to reconcile her body's physical experience of the transportation with feeling first hand the sensation of his flight that she only knew from his memory before, and she sways for just a moment when they land. But it's a rush, new and fascinating, lasting only long enough for her to wish she could experience a longer trip. He has more freedom of movement here than she does, though she suspects this short a flight only serves to remind him of his limitations, and quickly decides not to dwell on either of those thoughts.

Instead, she glances back at the shadow of his wings resettling themselves and locates their new position in the city, meeting his smirk with a deliberately considering expression. "More precise than I could have likely managed, though a bit bumpy." As though she's one to ever talk about bumpy rides. Softening into a sincere smile, she adds, "But lovely. Perhaps I will be able to return the favor some time." She really would love to take him somewhere, and not just around the block.

"I'd like that." And really, that's an understatement. Likewise, he'd like to bring her along on a flight that doesn't stop a second after it starts. Taking short flights like these don't allow him to stretch out his wings, much less actually enjoy himself. He imagines that a short hop within the city would be much the same for her. He'd love to see what she's capable of when she's not so trapped.

Once he makes sure that she's steady, he pats her arm and steps away from her, excited to check out the candy shop because it's one of the few he hasn't been in. He takes a few steps then turns backs around to address her, smirk still firmly in place and his eyes crinkling around the edges, showing his amusement. "And please. I could have landed us inside, but that would have been a bit conspicuous, don't you think?"

What, has he forgotten that he's talking to a blue police box about being conspicuous? She simply returns his smirk with one of her own and a raised eyebrow. "Not if you had a perception filter. You would be surprised at some of the places I have landed in unnoticed." Admittedly she's mostly just bragging now; she's certainly materialized in busy market places and the like, but a crowded store would be a stretch even for her.

Their destination isn't hard to miss, with windows and doors decorated all bright and colorful just like the gift card. She quickly catches up to him so they can inspect it together, rather curious to see what they'll have on offer.

"I could have made us look like giant candy canes, but I'm afraid someone would go for a lick." He pauses and snorts out a laugh. "Next time, maybe."

He pulls open the door for her when they reach it, but a step into the store he's already distracted. It's a large store, and a stairway on one side promises more on the next level. He makes it halfway down one wall looking at the colorful bins before he remembers that they're here for the TARDIS' dietary enrichment. He sneaks a sour lemon drop out of one of the bins and raises his eyebrows at her. "You're spoiled for choice. I wonder what's upstairs."

Next to him, a woman leading her two kids through the store supplies 'that's the bar. Candy themed drinks, pizza and stuff too.' Gabriel nearly moans, and the woman moves on, not quite understanding his enthusiasm.

"There's a bar." He finds his way back to her side and directs his pleasure and happiness at her as he settles a hand at her lower back. "Please tell me you want to go. After we pick out the good stuff here." He grins at her, but by the time he finishes speaking, he's already looking around around wondering at just what the 'good stuff' here might be.

The TARDIS doesn't really get a chance to feel neglected when he wanders off, since she is quickly just as distracted as him. After the chill and the relative dreariness outside, the intense colors of all the displays and the sweet smell in the air are almost overwhelming. She takes a moment to take it all in and then explores in the opposite direction, reading the labels on an entire shelf full of different chocolate bars.

She only looks up when she feels his attention return to her, and responds to his happiness with her own excitement. This is a human invention she'll happily admit to being impressed by. "I think we ought to try everything, including the bar," she replies, grinning back at him. They may be amplifying each other's enthusiasm just a bit. Taking her clue from him, she looks around as well, though many of the shelves are partially obscured by children. "Where should we start?"

"Right here, I think." Well, there's chocolate. Why not? "And we'll need..." He scans the room before he ducks away to pick up a little basket and a few pink cellophane bags for dumping lose candy into. When he comes back, he hands over the basket, but keeps the bags for himself so that he can pick things out for her as they go along.

From the shelf of chocolate bars, he grabs a selection and dumps them into the basket before looking back at the store then tipping his head so that he can smirk at her. "So. More chocolate? Sweet candy? Sour candy? Sweet candy covered in chocolate?" To be fair, they'll probably be getting all of those things, but it's nice to have a place to start and he'd like to get an idea of what her favorites are.

He seems to have the chocolate covered, so she considers for a moment and then walks down to a different shelf, expecting him to follow. "This, I think," she announces in front of a hard candy display and starts piling lollipops of various shapes and sizes into her basket. She'd been quite fond of that candy cane he conjured up for her that one time. Unaware that it's rather bad form to eat the goods before paying for them, she also plops a mint into her mouth unselfconsciously.

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separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream [closed]

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