nexus_crossings | Many happy? returns

Many happy? returns

It has been some time since the Doctor has been here. He was off facing yet another battlefield. It was meant to be his last. He has no idea how he ended up here, of all places.

He clothes are in a tattered mess and covered in soot. His body, is surprisingly unscathed. Well, now it is. 'State of grace'. It can happen with regeneration. When one is refusing or debating the entire process.

He turns to face the TARDIS. "Why have you brought me here?" When his beloved ship didn't answer him he sighs and starts to walk away from her. "Fine. But I'm not leaving. I'm staying and if this is where I die, so be it."

He walks along, not really wanting to sit. If he sits it might happen and he's not going to do that again. He's muttering to himself. "I can't keep on being somebody else. Why isn't it ever anybody else's turn? Why can't I just rest? Just once?"

[ooc: available in post-Doctor Falls and Twice Upon a Time flavours, depending if you want spoilers or not.]

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The Doctor stops walking for a moment in shock. No, she hadn't told him.

"You had mentioned the Joker, but... Maybe you weren't ready to talk about that part yet. Which I don't blame you. Such transformations are painful enough to experience without rehashing every time you meet someone new."

Novel concept, he wishes it were that easy. He tucks her arm closer to him in an sort of hug, given their position. He starts to move again.

"Regeneration is similar, except it's been woven into my biology, so it's a little different, too. Time Lords can use it to escape death. Every cell in our bodies turns itself inside out and heals themselves. All at the same time. The result can be rather - explosive. But such a drastic overhaul means that everything about us is different. Personality, tastes in food, appearance. There's a lot of people out there who wouldn't recognise me just because I have a different face."

"It can be hard to reflect on... and not trigger a psychosis." Harley frowns. There are few people in the Nexus who truly know all the bad things that the Joker did to her.

When he tucks her arm closer to him, Harley leans her head on his shoulder.

"So you are still in that overhaul process."

He looks down at her from the corner of his eye. For some reason, she reminds him of Susan. How he had longed to see her with these eyes.

"Regeneration. Yes. You can't see it, but I can feel it pulsing through me."

Harley soon reaches her Nexus apartment. She unlocks and opens the door for him. The apartment is a two-story style, with a bedroom loft. There is an aerial mount with several gymnastic equipment now attached to the ceiling.

"Home sweet home." She leads him to the couch, where they can sit together.

"Does it hurt? The regeneration process?"

"Cozy."

He flops into rather than sitting on the couch. It's a nice change. And he's forgotten how his clothes are covered in soot, sorry.

He huffs again at her question, but it's more amused than annoyed. "Every cell in your body tearing themselves inside out all at the same time? Yeah, it hurts."

Harley just smiles at him. She grabs a blanket from a credenza, and tucks it around him. "I will make you some soup."

"Are you allergic to anything?" She heads to the kitchen to start pulling out some ingredients.

He allows her to, which might give her indication at just how hard he's trying this idea of hers.

"Aspirin." He pauses in thought. "I think that's it in this body. At least for things that are ingestible."

"I will make a sweet potato soup." Harley pulls out everything she needs. All of her vegetables were purchased from a Farmer's Market, where they were homegrown. Ivy's influence still evident in how she eats.

"And then I will make some hot cocoa." These are comfort foods for her.

"Don't think I've ever had sweet potato soup."

Should be interesting. He likes trying new things.

"Hot cocoa sounds good."

He doesn't normally drink such things, but it actually has been a long time since he's really let himself indulge in such things. Besides, he's not used to letting people doctor him. So, it takes a bit of effort on his part.

"It has a sweet taste to it, which is why I love it." Harley eats tons of sweets to keep her metabolism going. "I often have it with cucumber sandwiches."

She peels the sweat potatoes and purees them. Then she brings the puree to a simmer. She adds in a few other things, like salt and pepper and coconut oil.

As it cooks, she prepares a separate pot to start boiling some cocoa.

"Do you like little marshmellows?" Because she has a huge bag of them.

"Vegetarian, then?"

Because it sounds vegetarian to him. A small flicker at the mention of the marshmallows.

"Oh yes. Almost as good as cubes of sugar. Though, sugar cubes would be over-kill in cocoa."

"Yes. When I lived with Red, my best friend back in my world, she was Vegan. And taught me all sort of things about the benefits of vegetables." Harley smiles, thinking of her friend.

"Plus... after what I dealt with in the Nightmare Realm, I don't even want to think about meat right now."

She gets out two bowls and two mugs as both the soup and cocoa get ready to be served. Soon she has hot soup in the bowls and cocoa and little marshmellows in the mugs. She brings everything to a little food tray that she can move close to the couch, where he sits.

"Here we go!"

"Such adventures do tend to force a change of eating habits."

He's speaking from adventures of his own. He had sworn off soup after his last trip to Gallifrey, but he's going to make an exception, because it would be bad to insult his host.

"My what service. Don't think I've had such in a very long time."

Nardole tried. But well, coffee in tea, is all he'd need to say about that. He sits himself up, if only so that he doesn't get soup or cocoa everywhere. He moves the bowl to him first and takes a moment to inhale. More about the steam and the heat than the smell. It is oddly comforting.

Finally he takes a spoonful.

"Oh that is rather good."

Better than he expected, anyway.

Harley smiles. Glad that he likes it. The compliment means a lot to her.

"Well, consider tonight a time to be spoiled a little."

"Not sure I could fight you off if I wanted to refuse."

But he doesn't. So it's going to all work out.

"Just be careful. That's usually the TARDIS' job. She might get jealous if you're too good at it."

"Who is the TARDIS?" Harley asks. She doesn't want to overstep her boundaries here. But he is a dear friend to her. And she wants to be there for him.

"Oh She's... well, she's my ship. But she's sentient. So she's also a dear friend. We've been looking after each other for thousands of years."

He doesn't mind sharing. He's feeling, well not comfortable, but a bit more at ease. He takes up the mug of cocoa now.

"Well, we can make sure you can get back to her, once you are a little rested." Harley pats his knee gently.

"She'll be fine for a bit. I was joking."

Sort of. Maybe exaggerating is a better word than joking.

"You are very bad at it." Harley laughs softly. And gives his knee a slight squeeze.

She has finished her soup, and is now savoring her hot cocoa.

"Sadly, yes I am."

Much better with sarcasm or cynicism.

"How did you get this place? I don't remember there being apartments here before."

"One of my other Nexus friends helped me to find an apartment. He has his own place nearby." Harley explains.

"So the Nexus is allowing us to stay now. Interesting."

He squeezes his hand to stop the flow of energy through it.

"So, you really are taking my advice. Not sure that's really happened before."

Oh it has, he's just not usually around to see it.

"There are a few people who have stayed." Harley notes softly.

She squeezes his knee again. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know. I'm just an idiot with a box; passing through."

He shrugs. Really, it hardly ever works. At least he doesn't know when it works.

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