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borrowedtimeandspace · 8 months

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The Box (Although Not the Suggestion One, as That Doesn't Exist)

29. Element

From this list of gt prompts

AU: Good Omens/Doctor Who crossover, based on this post by @mayomkun and a conversation with @neonthewrite.

Note: My first time writing a Good Omens fic! I couldn't resist once I saw the art linked above, not to mention the rare opportunity to write for a smol Doctor! Also... this got quite long, almost twice as long as my usual prompts. I had lots of fun with these dorks!

Spoilers for Good Omens season 2, but only for like the first 5 minutes.

~~~

The angel sighed glumly, kicking up a small whorl of stardust floating past.

It had been some time since the other angel who'd helped jumpstart this whole pet project had flown off, a bit flustered to get back to his own duties. Busy work, being a Principality, he supposed. That left the angel alone to stare, morose, at what had brought him so much joy not long ago.

All that time spent in the design process, all that effort sunk into putting on a magnificent show– and functional to boot, with all the stars the nebulas could churn out, given the time! All of that, just pfft in 6,000 years flat, once the Almighty got around to creating that "Earth".

Surely it must have been an oversight, thought the angel. He'd been working on this nebula right alongside some of the higher-ups who definitely would know about such a thing as Earth and the "people" meant to be the audience for all their hard work. And yet he'd heard nothing about it until that other angel- Aziraphale, was that his name? -brought it up right after the nebula came bursting into existence. Maybe the higher-ups simply assumed he knew about it, too? That could be why it was never mentioned.

Ah, well… soon enough, the angel would fly off to try and find someone he could talk to about this whole universal-shutdown business. He couldn't help feeling a bit wounded that so much went into things like this, all for it to be nothing but fluff and spectacle for one tiny little planet off in the corner. A corner that wasn't even fully manifested yet! For now, though, a part of him was reluctant to leave. It was still a beautiful sight, if he said so himself; watching the gasses and dust swirl, elements coming together only to expand in bursts of color and light. He reckoned someone ought to enjoy it before it all went up.

Then something made the angel's ear ring and his wing twitch uncomfortably. Some kind of odd sound that he had a hard time pinpointing below the muffled noise of the nebula coming to life all around.

With a befuddled frown and a wave of his hand, the angel expanded his perception of the space around him. The nebula soared overhead, and the ever-shifting motion of the brand new stars and their infant planets, all of which also blew up to an immense scale compared to the angel now, slowed to a crawl and then nearly a standstill.

From down at this new scale, the sound was a bit clearer to hear, but no less baffling to the angel. His head moved on a swivel to try and spot the source of the stuttering wheeze that seemed to be circling about. While the noise wasn't exactly threatening, it was unusual and, quite frankly, a bit upsetting.

It came into view slowly. Rather literally, it seemed to struggle to manifest once the angel caught sight of it. Something blue and angular and about the size of his hand, fading in and out of sight in time with the struggling noise, finally coming into full solid form with a low sound that almost could be mistaken for a sigh of relief.

The angel's eyes were wide. That hadn't been in the blueprints.

With a flex of his wings, the angel flew closer to the strange object that had appeared. A curious finger hesitantly reached out to touch one of the sides of the box to find that it truly was material! Not just dust and gas, but something actually tangible!

He'd just begun to wonder what exactly this odd and mysterious blue thing was, reaching for it with both hands with the intention to turn it over and figure out just how it worked, when one side of the box suddenly swung inward. The angel's hands twitched back in shock.

The box was alive??

Then, something even more shocking happened: out of the opening in the box leaned a tiny figure. A very similar shape to the ones angels took these days; pairs of arms and legs, one head, but no wings to be seen. And the tiny figure looked just as shocked to see the angel as he was to see it.

"Ah," it said after a moment. "Right, uh, hello! Sorry to barge in on you like this, but I've, ah, gotten myself slightly stuck, I think."

The angel caught himself staring agape at the little fellow. There wasn't supposed to be anything alive in this quadrant for a few million years, let alone sentient and capable of speech! The thought suddenly occurred as he remembered what Aziraphale had gone on about earlier: was this one of the "people" they were working on? He hadn't been hanging around that long, had he??

"Um," the angel managed to respond. "Not to be rude, but you wouldn't happen to be from Earth, would you?"

A flash of recognition crossed the absolutely teeny face of the figure- the person, rather- but he hesitated before answering. "Well, not quite that, but I was in the neighborhood. Must have gotten myself turned around somehow, and ended up in another…"

He trailed off as he leaned further out of the box, looking this way and that until his gaze landed on the looming nebula, and he stopped to behold it.

A warm bubble of excitement rose up in the angel's chest, cutting right through the confusion of the moment. All this time he'd been so worried about the people not being able to witness the wonders the universe had to offer far beyond that Earth place, and however this one got here, he wasn't about to waste a second!

"Yes, of course! Where are my manners?" The angel cleared his throat and maneuvered himself to float a short distance from the box to keep from blocking the view. He gestured grandly upwards with his arms and wings and said, "Allow me to introduce you to–!"

"The Horsehead Nebula," gasped the man.

The angel's head whipped around, the feathers in his wings ruffled agitatedly as he once again stared in shock.

The person in the box continued, "But it's just starting out! All those stars are only beginning to burn. Barely put the timer on the pressure cooker yet! Oh…! Look at you, you're gorgeous!"

A flurry of emotions flooded the angel as he listened to the little man praise his work (even using the same phrasing the angel had, making him quite proud of it all over again) but he did it in a way that was extremely odd. Like he expected it to be different. It did feel good to be recognized, but something didn't sit right.

"You've…seen it before?" asked the angel, floating cautiously closer once again.

"Oh, dozens of times!" the man exclaimed. "One of the classic star factories of the known universe, personal favorite of mine-,"

The angel interrupted, "Sorry, but I'm afraid that's impossible. I was here to kick all this off, as it were, and I haven't gone anywhere. And, meaning no offense, you are…surprisingly hard to miss in all this. If you'd been here 'dozens of times' already, I'd have noticed, and as far as I know, only the others who worked on it should even know what it looks like!"

Despite the angel getting worked up about it, he was more perplexed by this strange creature than he was upset with him. He sensed no falsehoods when he spoke, which only confused him more.

"Hang on, so, you…" the man blinked as he processed, glancing back and forth between the angel and the nebula. "When you say ‘worked on’, that sort of sounds like it was by design. Is… is that how this universe came about, and not by happenstance? You're telling me you built this??" Though his tone was incredulous, there was more awe in it than disbelief.

“Well, I…” For someone so small, this mysterious man had a way with his words that completely disarmed the angel. With a flustered grin, he admitted, “It was a group effort, but I was the one lucky enough to start it all up.” To punctuate the point, he gave a revving gesture to mimic the way he’d cranked up the engine just before it all came about.

Agape, the man gazed back up at the nebula. “Wow. I mean that is just…smashing work, really! If I’d known it looked this magnificent brand-new, I’d have come to see it ages ago–,”

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” the angel chided, shaking off the pride the little fellow kept stirring up, distracting him from figuring this oddity out. He did his best to emulate the authoritative tone of voice those upstairs took on, but he wasn’t sure how well it was coming across. Crossing his arms to try and look more serious, he insisted, “Now, I rather think you’ve got some explaining to do about just what you’re doing here, and why you claim to know so much about my nebula. I’ve half a mind to report you!”

Tiny little hands shot up in a soothing gesture. “Alright now, no need to get your…wings in a twist. I can explain, it’s just… well, it’s a bit complicated.”

The angel’s brow jumped expectantly, ready to listen.

“Right.” The man shoved his hands in his pockets with an awkward shrug. "Well, for starters, I’m a bit of a traveler. Travel through time and space, to be exact. That’s why I say I’ve seen this nebula before, even though it’s only just begun to exist. Seen it in the future, loads of times. Can’t resist, really, especially when I’ve got people aboard who don’t have the opportunity to get this far out from their own planets.”

“There are more of you in there?” blurted the angel, curiosity overriding the stern tone he’d tried to put on. Glancing up at the Horsehead, he said more softly, “And you… take them here just to see it?”

It was admittedly a lovely notion. Someone out there, in the future, bothered to trek across half the universe just to see the beauty of its workings. Warmed something in the angel’s chest to think that maybe all this work wasn’t for nothing.

“Well… not at the moment, no,” the man confessed, glancing back into the dark inner space of the box. “Just me right now…”

The angel’s wings drooped as he tried to imagine how that felt. Being a part of the Heavenly Host generally meant that one was never truly alone. They were all part of a group, and they knew they could rely on one another in times of need. Being all alone in a little box sounded quite…

“And you, erm… You’d said before that you were stuck?” the angel prompted, his voice much quieter in light of all this new information.

“Ah! Yes, I did!” the man burst out, as though remembering that he was, in fact, in a bit of a crisis. He shook off all the distractions and leaned back out to lock eyes with the angel. “I dunno if you can help me, but… Well, you see, this is actually not the universe I belong to. It’s a bit too much to explain, but the long and short of it is, I was semi-accidentally pushed past the limits of my own universe into this one. And well, you see, my box here, it runs on energy native to my universe, so I’m running on empty. Not even running, she’s just sort of… dead in the metaphorical water.”

He ran a tender hand along the blue threshold for a moment before returning his attention outward and upward. “This did happen once before, and I managed to get it fixed by recharging it with some of my own life energy, but now I’m thinking that maybe- Well, I’m wondering if, since you were able to create all this out here, then you could perhaps give me a bit of a jump start!”

"Oh! Erm, I can surely try," said the angel, doing his best to sound confident. "Should be simple, really, with a nebula under the ol' belt!"

The angel's arms uncrossed and he once again reached both hands out with the intent to take hold of the little blue box.

"Oi!" exclaimed the man, jumping back from the doors. The angel paused, sheepish when he realized that, being so small, the poor fellow must not have seen him coming and got startled. It would be quite a sight, he supposed, a great big pair of hands coming at him all at once.

"Ah! Forgive me. See, there aren't meant to be people quite yet, so I don't really know how to…" the angel trailed off with a bashful chuckle, then waved the thought off. He gave a gentle beat of his wings to back off ever so slightly so the little bloke could see more of him and hopefully not be afraid. Cupping his hands before him in the manner he intended to hold the box, he asked, "May I?"

The little man stood straight again, and gave a rather pointed adjustment to his clothes. "Gently as you can, if you must," he insisted.

"I'll be very careful," promised the angel with a nod. Then, much slower this time, he reached out and brought his palms up to meet the very bottom of the box, fingers curling up behind to very gently stabilize it.

As soon as the angel made prolonged contact, the gravity of the situation with the box became clear. The little man had tried to explain it, but now the angel could feel it. His eyes closed as he opened himself up to fully understanding.

"Oh, dear…" he breathed, briefly overwhelmed by the cold, empty feeling the box gave him. No ordinary box, it would seem, with its deceptively vast interior compared to the exterior. Another universe, indeed. The angel could also sense that it should contain its own spark of life, but as the man has said, it was completely devoid of it. An incredibly well-loved box, but assuredly in dire straits. "You are unwell, poor thing."

Blinking his eyes open, he found the man just within the threshold, watching with uncertainty and a little bit of awe. The angel gave a resolute nod and decided, "You're most definitely in need of a miracle."

With that, the angel shifted his grip to hold the box in one hand, the little man clinging to the box's opening to keep upright. Such a small, gentle movement for the angel impacted the man much more. He focused on the task at hand, taking a deep breath to concentrate his energy in the very heart of the box deep within it. Once he felt it, his free hand lifted and there was only one thing to do.

"Let there be light," he whispered, drawing his hand down to call upon the powers of Heaven.

The change was immediate. On the angel's command, the interior of the box flickered to life. The man whirled around to watch a blue-green energy fill what looked like a column in the center of a round room much bigger than the limits of the box the angel held in his hand. That room also lit up with tiny motes of yellow all around, and the little man gave an elated whoop at the sight.

"You did it!" exclaimed the man, turning the biggest grin such a small person could make to the angel. "This should be just enough to get home!"

"Oh, it's no trouble really, I–,"

The angel's bashful words were cut off by a slam as the opening to the box shut all of a sudden. He barely had time to blink and wonder about how abrupt that had been when it opened halfway and the man's head poked out once again.

"Also, dunno if this needed to be said, but probably best not to tell anyone I was here, if you can," he said with some urgency. "Not my universe and all, not to mention the whole future business- best left unsaid, I think."

"Right. Quite right," the angel agreed. He hadn't a clue how he would even begin to explain all this if he were to follow through on his previous threat to report it. Doubtful that there was even paperwork for this scenario.

The man gave a nod. "Thanks much for the jump start!" he called as he disappeared into the box once more.

The angel was just wondering what he should do with his hands, if he should simply let the box float on its own to do its thing, when it yet again swung open.

"By the way, I love your hair!" the man grinned. "Great color to it; I'm a bit envious, really!"

"Oh! Erm, thanks!" said the angel, smiling brightly as he accepted the compliment. "I'm rather fond of yours as well, I like the shape of it."

With that, the man gave one final wave to the angel. "Cheers!"

When he vanished into the box this time, it was for good. The angel felt a pulse of energy run through his palm before too long, and the box once again began to wheeze. It was a laborious noise, but nowhere near as sickly as it had sounded before. Just as slowly as it had appeared, it began to vanish, and soon enough was no more.

Slightly stunned, the angel contemplated what had just happened.

It was an odd feeling he was left with. The concept of other universes started to sink in, making him wonder even more about the Almighty's plans for this one. Had They made backups in case the 6000-year shutdown didn't work out?

Beyond that, it did make the angel feel better hearing that, even if it wasn't in this universe, his hard work wouldn't go unnoticed. Someone was out there, in the distant future, bringing people around to see the wonders of the universe. All the more reason, thought the angel, to not just run it all for such a short time and then stop out of the blue! Why create it all without giving them the time to witness it, if that was truly its function after all?

The angel, remembering himself, diminished his perspective once again. As his celestial body expanded, the nebula once again kicked up to high gear, young stars flying about amongst the dust. He gave a pointed flare of his wings, bound and determined to bring this issue up with someone sooner rather than later.

A strong beat of the angel's wings shot him out into the dark matter in a flash of brilliant light, and he sped off to do just that.

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drksanctuary · 9 months

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Crossover: Jasico

How late is too late?

Oh well. Have some Trigun crossover Jasico. Please excuse my coloring I was in a hurry. XP

#nico di angelo #Jason grace #jasicoweek2023 #Jasico #day6 #late entry #trigun #vash the stampede #nicholas d wolfwood

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imjustheretoseetheprivateblogs · 4 months

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RxJ Week Day 6: Trust

@senshixshitennouweeks here it is my final late entry. I hope you enjoyed all of them and I'll try to post them on AO3 when I can.

If memories of a previous life in a society that was ancient even before the dinosaurs had set foot on earth, Rei had never trusted easily.

And why should she?

As wonderful as people like Usagi could be, people who could open their whole hearts to people no matter how strange or intimidating they seemed, Rei didn’t think she had it in her.

In Silver Millennium, she remembered pieces of conversations she held with people filled with curt answers and deflections, all to keep cow-towing and pernicious courtiers from getting too close.

As close as they got.

Prince Endymion’s personal guard.

Rei sighed and gave Deimos another pet as Phobos pecked at the seeds in the bird feeder.

She looked up and across the courtyard, where Jadeite (Jad, she had to remind herself) stood, sweeping the leaves. Just like she’d told him to do.

She sighed.

He and his “brothers” had been confusing a bunch since the beginning. Even at the beginning of all this, she’d had to listen to Usagi vent about Mamoru’s school boy teasing and wondering how someone so handsome could be so infuriating.

And then, mere months later, she was gushing about her prince and how he was just the best thing since handheld games.

Not that any of them had room to talk.

Ever since their resurrection, the Four Heavenly Kings had been a batch of confusing emotions.

No, scratch that.

Ever since meeting them in Silver Millennium, the Four Heavenly Kings had been a batch of confusing emotions.

First doggedly loyal to Endymion, then smitten with Princess Serenity’s own guard, then evil, then dead, then back to Endymion as ghosts before finally returning to the mortal plain as humans with unfamiliar names to boot.

It was a mess of contradictions exacerbated by too many reincarnations and first impressions.

Especially Jadeite.

That golden haired cipher had seemed to throw Rei for a loop every time she met him.

In fact, he didn’t even go by Jadeite anymore; it was just Jad now. He claimed to have known no other name since awakening.

According to Mamoru, his skill among the four was infiltration and stealth (which fitted with how often he adopted and shed disguises during his tenure with the Dark Kingdom). And yet, he most often adopted a level headed and bluntly honest, if sarcastic, manner outside of his duties.

It was a talent that aroused Rei’s suspicions.

She’d dealt too much with people who only had shallow reasons to put her trust in someone who so often met people wearing a different face.

Although, another part of her mind said, he is consistent in his manner.

Which was true, she thought as Deimos joined Phobos at the bird feeder. Even in disguise, he was usually polite and diplomatic, a far cry from some of the dubious sycophants she’d met at her father’s campaign functions.

Most of the time, they would just pour on syrupy platitudes like “you’re so pretty Rei” or “where have you been living all this time?”

The kind of small talk that made her want to gag.

Jad never seemed to do that. In fact, he never really threw out a complement, rather stating facts in a complementary fashion.

Still, she couldn't get a bead on him. And thoughts like this were storming in her mind for what must have been a month now.

It was getting ridiculous.

With a huff, Rei strode over to where Jad was working and snatched the broom from his hands.

"I thought you said I should sweep the leaves?"

"You can go back to that later. Do you want me?"

Rei felt herself fluster as she asked and from the color on Jad's cheeks, he must have felt the same.

"What?"

"Do you want me?" she asked again.

“To be honest,” he said, “I do want you. I have since Usagi resurrected me in the Cauldron.”

Rei wondered if her heart skipped a beat at his words. Jad only took the broom back from her.

“But I know you have your reservations about relationships. Usagi told me. So, I’d rather that if anything happened between us, it would be on your terms. All I want…”

He looked up at her, blue eyes shining with something frightening and Rei damned her heart when it went pitter pat.

“…Is for you to be happy.”

Happy. The word stuck inside her ribs and seemed to sprout something. Really, she didn’t know what and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to know. But, for his candor, Jad deserved an answer.

“I… don’t think I can start… anything with you… yet.”

Jad nodded, returning to his work.

“But,” she continued, “if you can wait, I think I can give you a chance.”

Jad paused in his chore, turning to look at her with an expression that mixed so many things; surprise, hope, maybe even love?

“But don’t think I’m going to save myself for you,” she continued, “if someone better comes along, I will give them a fair chance.”

Jad nodded.

“If our positions were reversed, I’d probably do the same.”

Rei couldn’t tell if she felt sympathy or frustration at the sentiment.

“And how long are you willing to wait?”

It came out as haughty, but really Rei was curious to know if Jad was serious about all this “waiting for her” business.

“For eternity, if that pleases you,” he replied.

#senxshiweek2023 #Reijad #Rei x Jadeite #Sailor Moon #My Writing #Late entry

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addamvelaryon · 2 years

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ARYA STARK APPRECIATION MONTH

~ Day 14: Identities

“You play at being a servant, but in your heart you are a lord's daughter. You have taken other names, but you wore them as lightly as you might wear a gown. Under them was always Arya.”

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badinfluence-damngoodtime · 3 months

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3 - Bubba’s School of Dance.

#l-ba #jlyop #concert series #90s country #shenandoah #if bubba can dance #i can too #spotify #late entry

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a-smooth-smiminal · 3 months

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G/t WAC Day 2

🖋 G/t Writer Appreciation Challenge🖋

Post a prompt / scenario you wish you saw more often.

More of a ramble than a prompt Idk if this is because I've randomly been getting videos of pottery throwing in my algorithm lately but... I've just been thinking about it from a g/t perspective. Specifically from a tiny's POV with a giant who throws.

Visual reference for what I've been consuming that inspired this thought (plus bonus kitty)

I'm not an expert in throwing by any stretch, so I sort of picture myself in the shoes of a tiny observing the process. The dichotomy of the sheer strength displayed to knead and toss around dense mountains of clay, and the patience and delicate touch required to shape their creations so precisely on the wheel.

A tiny might find such activity simultaneously intimidating and endearing. I feel like a giant potter's hands would be the strongest and most steady, equally capable of being destructive and gentle.

BONUS: Giant potter starts learning to make bowls or cups as teeny as possible for their little friend!

#GtWAC #WACprompts #late entry #chel talks #gt community #idk just been thinking about this lately

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truly-hopeless · 6 months

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Deathnotetober (Late Entry): Day 5: Cherry Blossom

Deathnotetober 2023 Entries - Chapter 5 - Truly_Hopeless - Multifandom [Archive of Our Own]

@deathnotetober Apologies that this is so late; life got in the way and my bad habit of overcomplicating stuff refuses to die. Congrats on becoming the official mods.

Anyway, enjoy a genderbent LawLight wedding scene. ^_^

#deathnotetober #day 5 cherry blossom #late entry #fanfiction #death note #lawlight #light yagami #l lawliet #wedding #deception #genderbend

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lonestar-badash · 1 year

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Whoops. Forgot to put in the queue for this morning. It doesn’t matter though… I’m still fucked and I deal with cunts on the daily.

#l-ba #tiktok #late entry #fuck you monday

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micahthemoon · 6 months

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October 21 2023 Still sick so let’s talk about birthday boy Jere and the transflag. In Berlin Jere picked up a transflag and he was so confused. It turned out he had no idea what the flag even means so we (the audience) had to tell him. Jere really listened to us and genuinely seemed honored to have been trusted with the flag. I can’t type this without crying. I love this man. I took so many pictures of this moment. It was magical. (btw love the ‘Jere can’t be labelled bc he doesn’t know gender’ theories).

#transgender #transmasc #nonbinary #jere pöyhönen #käärijä #käärijä eu tour #my gig #berlin gig #transflag #ally energy #late entry #entry #findingmicah

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blvckentropy · 6 months

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Day 18. Pebbles & Bam Bam. thanx @maadsimming for 31 Days of Simblreen

#sims 4 #gameplay #simblr #maadhalloween #ts4 gameplay #ts4 screenshots #sims 4 screenshots #sims community #the sims 4 #ts4 #halloween #bam bam #pebbles flintstone #the flintstones #late entry

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borrowedtimeandspace · 8 months

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The Title Drops

14. Instrument

From this list of gt prompts.

AU: Time After Time (Twelve AU)

Note: This was bound to happen... So have a late double-entry for it!

~~~

"You play, now?" Zepheera wondered aloud, curiously regarding the electric guitar the Doctor kept on a stand next to a boxy amplifier. She stood on a nearby side table to peer over the edge at its sleek black body and the long stringed neck that stretched well above her four-and-a-half inches.

"Now, why do you say that all surprised?" The Doctor pressed in a tone that sounded more offended than he appeared. Part of him was still riding on the high of the reunion of himself and his old friend. "I'm a time traveler! You think I would never have gotten around to spending some time with Rosetta Tharpe, Eric Clapton, Lita Ford, and KT Tunstall all in the same room–?"

Through barely repressed chuckles, Zepheera tossed up her hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, fair point."

She wondered if all that time apart had made her build up some image of the Doctor in her head that made her feel that this was such an odd thing. It wasn't a secret that he'd met some of history's defining figures, and was bound to pick up a thing or two from the musicians. It just felt like…such a human thing to do.

Suddenly it seemed very much up the Doctor's alley.

"Play me something." Zepheera sat herself down on the edge of a book that stuck out of the bottom of a stack, eagerly waiting for him to go along with her request.

At first, the Doctor seemed happy to do so. He reached down toward his instrument, but his hand paused before it could grab hold of the neck. A thoughtful half smile tugged at his lip as he straightened and reached into the pocket of his jacket.

"Tell ya what," he said, glancing mischievously at Zepheera. "I'll play, if you…sing."

Zepheera's hopeful grin dropped away immediately. "O-oh, ah. I mean. Well, what'd be the point in that? You wouldn't even hear me over–,"

"I've got plenty of acoustic settings here," the Doctor interrupted, whipping out his sonic screwdriver. He even gave it a toss for emphasis. "A simple boost should amplify your voice to be just as loud as mine."

A bright pink flush bloomed across Zepheera's cheekbones. "I… it's been so long, I don't…"

"Oh, well alright, then. If you're too chicken to do it then we can just forget–,"

The exasperated "Ha!" that burst from Zepheera surprised even herself, but it couldn't be helped. The Doctor barely refrained from grinning right there. Gotcha.

"The absolute cheek on– alright, old man, you're on!" Zepheera pushed back up to her feet with a grin of her own, energized by the challenge.

After a brief warble from the sonic, the Doctor set it down to lean against the stack of books behind Zepheera. The way he pointed at the very tip indicated to the borrower that she'd have to sing near there, like a microphone. Bemused, she began climbing as the Doctor took up his axe and tossed the strap over his head.

He contemplated briefly about what to play, but once the idea crossed his mind, he could think of nothing else.

"You remember the nineteen-eighties?" he inquired as he changed the settings on his amplifier, adjusting volume and balance and removing the distortion he usually kept on at all times for dramatic effect.

Zepheera shot him a flat but amused look as she pulled herself up to the top of the stack. "Well, I've lived through them four times, so… I should hope so."

The Doctor's brow waggled in acknowledgement, and he snagged a pick from a small pile on the amp. He let each string ring out to be sure it was in tune and that he was happy with the sound quality. Then he began to pluck out a quiet chord progression, his palm muting the strings for the moment. "Cyndi Lauper?"

Despite considering herself to be not overly attached to human culture, Zepheera found that she did recognize the song he'd apparently chosen for them both. She gave him a nod and waited her turn, the nerves welling up again now that righteous indignation had faded. The song was a worldwide hit, and she could bet it became an earworm for her more than once through her multiple runs through the '80s.

She just hoped it was enough to keep up.

"Lying in my bed, I hear the clock tick and think of you," she began, hesitation evident in her voice at first. It was lucky that the melody for this particular song wasn't complicated, and she could focus more on remembering the words. The Doctor's part was also simple for the moment, as he essentially played open chords until they changed.

Zepheera's memory was jogging fast, causing the words to come more easily without nearly as much thought as she expected.

"Caught up in circles,

Confusion is nothing new."

"Sometimes you picture me," the Doctor cut in in the lower octave, startling Zepheera in the middle of her contemplation. "I'm walking too far ahead."

"Flashback, warm nights

Almost left behind

Suitcase of memories

Time after–"

Zepheera watched him, stunned into letting him take over the verse, whether that was his intention or not. She had just been wondering about the lyrics and coming to the realization that they felt quite true to her. Listening to the Doctor continue with the second verse made it clear that he, too, related to them.

He went on, undeterred:

"I fall behind," Zepheera joined in. The Doctor had spent his verse locking eyes with her, without a hint of expectation that she continue, but not shutting her out either. A sparkle emerged from his eye, and the Doctor couldn't contain a grin any longer. "The second hand unwinds," they sang in unison.

"You're calling to me

I can't hear what you've said

Then you say, 'go slow'..."

Gone were Zepheera's nerves as she remembered just how silly she was allowed to be with a friend like the Doctor. By the time the chorus hit, her voice resonated comfortably and projected nearly to the point where she didn't need the sonic to be heard. The Doctor continued right alongside her, happily taking the lower harmony as he watched his old friend shine.

"If you're lost, you can look

And you will find me

Time after time."

The more they sang and played, the more confident Zepheera felt. Not just in that moment, in her own voice, but in the new relationship she'd formed with the Doctor. It was almost like she'd never left, and yet they'd both changed so much.

Though it might not have been either of their intentions at the start, the song began to feel less like a mutual gimmick and more like a promise. One they made to each other as they sang the choruses together.

"If you fall I will catch you,

I will be waiting

Time after time

Time after time…"

#gtjuly #gtjuly2023 #late entry #sfw gt #doctor who gt #doctor who g/t #the borrowers #the borrowers crossover #doctor who crossover #borrower OC #Zepheera #twelfth doctor #Time After Time #TAT: a BTaS AU #giant #tiny #giant tiny

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