[PRESENT] One is the loneliest number

[araggedyman]

He couldn't resist. It wasn't as if he didn't have all the time in the world to show him the TARDIS but there was something hard, something unspoken in the corner of his companion's eyes. A strange bit of fragility, boundless energy pushing it down almost. But then perhaps he was just seeing things or projecting onto him. After all, wasn't it really the Doctor after all who was still running from the issue at hand.

He could never leave.

Following Stiles, his lips pressed together as he smothered the smile and pushed his hands into his trouser pockets. Long legs setting the pace, he babbled about the brilliance of biscuits to Stiles as he led him towards the TARDIS. It was only when the treeline thinned out that his ship, his beloved girl, could be seen that the small smothered smile brightened somewhat.

"Well, here she is." The Doctor said, pulling his hand out of his pocket along with the key. Holding the old looking thing in his hand, he pressed it into the lock before pushing the door open slightly. Glancing at Stiles, he watched his face for a moment. "Are you ready?"

Comments

[aforceofwill]

Stiles actually stops, for a second, staring. He's seen it before, but it's so unbelievably freaking beautiful in person. He can't help but stare.

"Wow."

[araggedyman]

The Doctor never tires of this; the way their faces light up, the way their brain slows to the simple process of observation, the way they look at her in awe. Lips tugging into a smile, the Doctor watched Stiles as he stared inside the TARDIS. He hadn't even let him really in yet.

"Come along, can't take a tour from outside can you?" The Doctor said, pressing his hands against Stiles' shoulder before striding ahead of him. Pushing his hands against railings before he's standing before the console, his hands absent mindedly moving of their own accord across the dials. No abnormal readings, nothing... still.

[aforceofwill]

There's that touch again, grounding him. Stiles let himself be guided until he's standing in the TARDIS, surrounded by the lights, the ambient noise. Watching the Doctor at the console is both unspeakably cool and sort of weird. He's not entirely sure he's equipped to deal with this.

[araggedyman]

Looking up at the screen, he reached up to tap the glass before glancing at Stiles who was still standing in mesmerised awe. Lips tugging into a smile, he reached across snagging Stiles' shirt with a curled fingertip before pulling him towards the console.

"This is the flight controller, the main console designed for flying the TARDIS." The Doctor began, pressing his back against the console and kicking his legs out, leaning against it slightly. The Doctor wondered if Stiles would actually reach out to touch it, or drink whatever it was he'd brought with him or do anything but stare. "Usual monitors and flight equipment and gauges. And the boringer. Don't use the boringer often well ever."

[aforceofwill]

Stiles is tugged forward by his t-shirt and then the Doctor starts to explain things and, somewhere in there, Stiles sets down his drink and just really gets lost in it. He's pretty sure he looks ridiculous, grinning like he is, but he can't help it.

"Of course not," he says.

[araggedyman]

The Doctor does not think he looks ridiculous at all, the way Stiles is staring was endearing. All that energy just aimed in observation, the Doctor watching Stiles beneath all the explanation of each part of the ship. From the core to where to input the co-ordinates and back to the boringers again.

"See, I knew someone would get it. They just make everything so flat, no noise and the noise of course is the best- aha- bit." The Doctor said with a flourish of his arms as he moved round the console, adjusting one dial before throwing a switch. The TARDIS shuddered, making a noise but nothing beyond that. They didn't go into flight. "Ah well, always worth a try. Hasn't worked at all since we got here, which is a shame really. Biscuit?"

The Doctor pressed against Stiles' shoulder as he came back around the console, leaning against him before offering a wrapped up biscuit (stolen of course, from the party.)

[aforceofwill]

The casual touching threatens to actually short-circuit Stiles' brain entirely - it's something he's been missing so, so much. He does take the...biscuit? Cookie? Though.

"Thanks. It must be freaking awful that you can't get her to fly."

[araggedyman]

"Well yes, maybe not the flying part although that is always fun but I do miss the-" The Doctor popped half of the biscuit in his mouth, indicating with nimble hands less of the flying and more of the going. Travelling. Not being still. That was what he missed, also it was irritating him to no end that he hadn't found a way around whatever was inhibiting the TARDIS. "-but mmph, there are people here. And lots to explore, this place is fascinating with all its time streams. Impossible but fascinating."

The Doctor looked thoughtful for a moment, remaining still as he leaned against Stiles. Tapping the other half of the biscuit against his lips, the Doctor made a noise before looking at Stiles with a smile.

"I'm not really giving you a very good tour, am I?"

[aforceofwill]

"No, no," says Stiles, surprised when his voice catches. He really is trying to avoid thinking about how warm the Doctor is, how close. "No, this is...it's great, really. It's great."

[araggedyman]

"Good," The Doctor said before he smiled, lips tugging at the corners into a rather surprisingly endearing yet entirely goofy grin. He rather did enjoy the way Stiles was still apparently in slight awe over his TARDIS. Did wonders for his ego, well the old girl's really.

Pushing at his sleeves, he sighed as he remembered his jacket. Standing up, he straightened before slipping his jacket off and tossing it over one of the railings with practised ease.

"Well then, where to next?" The Doctor said, undoing his cufflinks before rolling up his sleeves to his elbow as he contemplated the doors and what lay beyond them. "There's the bedrooms, bunkbeds brilliant invention, or I believe the wardrobe or the library. Which is in the swimming pool at the moment."

[aforceofwill]

"Wait," says Stiles, eyebrows pulling together in a frown as he thinks about that for a second, almost certain he must have misheard. "Bunk-beds? Swimming pool?"

[araggedyman]

"See, Amy and Rory made that face too." The Doctor said, pointing at the way Stiles' face was frowning at the word bunk-beds. He thought it was rather practical, apparently Amy and Rory had never agreed. "Yes, bunk-beds well only some of the time. Sometimes it's a water bed or hammocks, or a really boring normal double depends which bedroom is available."

The Doctor let out a breath, fingers sliding beneath his braces as he tugged on them absentmindedly. "And yes, a swimming pool. The TARDIS is a lot bigger than she looks, I however only have access to a certain number of the rooms. They change daily. Today, it's the swimming pool."

[aforceofwill]

"I would totally like to see the swimming pool," says Stiles, and he can help the flicker of a grin that makes him look a bit like a kid. "Definitely."

[araggedyman]

The Doctor grins back at Stiles, clapping his shoulder with a squeeze. Grabbing the sonic screwdriver, he slipped it into his trousers pockets before taking the stairs two at a time to one of the doors. A wave of his hand, a thought, has the door sliding back to reveal a brightly lit corridor and the warm, damp humid faint smell of water.

Fingertips outstretched, the Doctor brushed his hands against the library shelves as they walked further into the swimming pool before the room suddenly opened up into a rather large, swimming pool. An impossible skyscape visible beyond glass tiles on the ceiling.

"Swimming pool, love a dip every now and then." The Doctor said indicating with a sweep of his arm the shallow steps down into the deeper waters of the pool. Rolling his sleeves up, he pushed a deck chair out before tugging off his boots. Far too warm in here for his very practical, worn boots.

[aforceofwill]

The books. The water. The humidity. Stiles is aware that his mouth is hanging open and there isn't a freaking thing that he can do to stop it. His eyes dart over the view. He's...Stiles is the kid who's been in love with sci-fi since he could choose stuff for himself; his dad always says it's his mom's fault. Stiles loves this stuff.

Stiles is the kid that believes, even before all of the weird shit that's happened recently. Stiles has always believed.

"Holy shit."

[araggedyman]

The Doctor turned his head, glancing back at Stiles apparently struck dumb in awe. The Doctor watched Stiles with a grin as Stiles took in the room, the Doctor smiled as Stiles swore. Tugging on his laces, the Doctor slipped his boots and socks off before tucking them beneath the deck chair.

"Weren't imagining this, I take it? It's real you know," The Doctor said, rolling up his trousers as much as he could before stepping down onto one of the shallow steps. Warm water running over his toes as he rocked back and forth on his heel. "Not practical having the library in here but well, every time I try to remove the books they end up back in here."

[aforceofwill]

"Guess they must like it?" says Stiles, because, hey - sentient books, why not, right? He turns away from the Doctor and the pool for a moment, reading along some of the titles. Stiles tends to do everything online, but he does love books. That, at least is something he inherited from both of his parents.

[araggedyman]

The Doctor walked along the shallow edge, feet splashing in the water as he wandered towards the bookshelves, watching Stiles read along the titles.

"There aren't many Earth titles I'm afraid, a few of the classics but mostly it's all old High Gallifreyan texts or romance novels from some of the crystalline planets." The Doctor explained, enjoying the sensation of the water between his toes and around his ankles. He'd go for a swim but well, company was always much more attractive than swimming alone. "I suppose they do or the TARDIS gets fed up with me leaving things everywhere. One of those must be the reason I'm sure."

[aforceofwill]

Stiles pulls a book off the shelf at random, flipping it open and tracing graceful, looping print with the tips of long fingers. He glances up, still smiling.

"You talk about her like she's alive."

[araggedyman]

The Doctor smiled, touching the edge of the pool and watching the water lap at the sides before sitting down at the edge on a dry bit of tile. Pulling his trousers up he let his legs sink beneath the water a little, smiling at the question.

"Well, she is." The Doctor said, patting the tiles. Each room was as much a part of her as the console room was. "For a time she was even contained inside a human body, that was... an experience. Very bitey."

[aforceofwill]

"Bitey?" asks Stiles, feeling his eyes widen before he can stop then. Something makes him think of Scott, then Derek, and he finds himself blushing,though he can't quite put his finger on why. "Wow."

[araggedyman]

Leaning back, the Doctor stretched glancing at the book that Stiles was holding before placing his palms flat behind him. His lips pressed together in an almost sly smile as he watched Stiles' cheeks flush with colour.

"Well, the human experience is very complicated so yes... bitey." The Doctor said, turning his head slightly as he watched Stiles. He kicked his leg out just a little, splashing in the water as he leaned back. "And defnitely more than a little wow."

[aforceofwill]

Suddenly, Stiles feels every so slightly like he's wandered into some weird sci-fi porn film. He clears his throat and puts the book back on the shelf, turning back to the Doctor hands shoved into his pockets.

"Uh. I. So..." He furrows his brow and scratches the back of his neck. "How's the water?"

[araggedyman]

"Warm as always and extremely pleasant. And you're never too old for a paddle," The Doctor said brow furrowing a little in bemusement as he watches Stiles almost awkwardly fumble around. Smiling at him vaguely, he patted a spot beside him wondering if the bundle of nervous energy that was Stiles would actually sit still for more than a moment.

[aforceofwill]

He stutters over it for a moment and then thinks, fuck, right? He toes out of his sneakers and bends to take of his socks before he lowers himself down to sit beside the Doctor, sliding his feet into the water.

"Wow," he says, nodding. "Warm."

[araggedyman]

Turning his head, he watched Stiles with an interested glance as Stiles tugged off his trainers- sneakers- and socks before sitting beside him. The Doctor smiled, waiting for a moment before leaning to the side nudging Stiles's shoulder with his own.

"And surprisingly wet too," The Doctor replied dryly. He grinned, leaning forward, to roll up his trousers to just below his knees so he could let his legs sink in a little more. "Not exactly what you were thinking it would be, is it? The TARDIS."

[aforceofwill]

"I don't know what I was expecting," says Stiles, tugging his pants higher to stop them getting soaked. He's almost getting used to the casual touching - he doesn't feel in as much danger of short-circuiting. "Definitely not this."

[araggedyman]

"Well, it's a home. It's my home I guess, it's not just a method of travel. Got to have a few home comforts," The Doctor said, swinging his legs slowly up in the water before letting them drop back. His sole of his foot brushed against Stiles' feet before falling back against the side of the pool. "And I quite like being unexpected."

[aforceofwill]

Well, that's just not fair is it? Stiles swallows, struggling to contain the sudden electric shock that goes straight through him. Unexpected. Right. Yeah, he's good at that too.

"It's...pretty neat," he says, fighting to keep his voice level.

[araggedyman]

The Doctor turned his head, looking at Stiles with a curious glance as he swallowed and looked entirely... hmm, it was baffling the reaction playing across his features.

"Pretty neat?" The Doctor asked, pressing a finger in warning against Stiles chest. He smiled though, his face lighting up a little before he brushed against Stiles' side to show he didn't mean it really. "Pretty neat? It's magnificent. Look at her, one of the most beautiful creations in all of time and space. The skyscape you see before you is the actual night sky outside! It's fed through a series of external probes into a deep rooted matrix program then broadcast into an almost 3D rendering beneath glass panels to appear as if it were the actual night sky we were looking at and not just an image. Pretty neat! It is a good thing I like you otherwise I might take it as an insult."

[aforceofwill]

God, the touching. Back home, the only people who ever touch Stiles with any regularity are, like, his dad and Melissa. And Scott. Always Scott. For now, he just stares at the Doctor for a moment.

"I mean...It's really beautiful."

[araggedyman]

"Much better," The Doctor said with a smile, letting his hands fall back to the pool edge. His fingertips just brushing against Stiles' hand, his pinkie almost reaching out to touch Stiles. The Doctor glanced up at the skyscape with a fond smile. It really was beautiful. "Want to have a look round the rest of it or are we quite happy here? We could always go for a little dip."

[aforceofwill]

Suddenly, the water sounds really good - it might cool him off, might make it easier to think. He nods, looking down at the water for a moment; the light bouncing off the surface is almost hypnotic.

"Sure," he says, nodding. "Swimming. Swimming sounds...awesome right now."

[araggedyman]

"Oh, oh okay then." The Doctor said, eyes widening a little in surprise before he adjusted his bow-tie with a vague smile. He patted the tiles beside him before swinging his legs back up onto the side. Standing up, he offered Stiles his hand to help him up. "I think I've got a pair of swimming trunks somewhere in the wardrobe. Mostly it's hats and bow-ties."

[aforceofwill]

"Figure I'll just...yanno...go in in my shorts," says Stiles, standing up and starting to unbutton his jeans before he freaks out. "Do the same job, right?"

[araggedyman]

The Doctor's eyebrows shot up at that before pressing his lips together in a little bit of amusement.

"Well, yes, not everyone wears shorts though." The Doctor admitted, brushing his hair from his face as Stiles started to undress. Clasping his hands together, he rocked backwards on the ball of his feet.

[aforceofwill]

Of course not everyone wears shorts. Stiles ignores the suddenly stubborn blush in his cheeks and tugs his shirt over his head, turning his back slightly when he does.

"Yeah, well. Uh." He squeezes his eyes shut. "Yeah."

[araggedyman]

The Doctor smiled at the appearance of a rather lovely, stubborn blush decorating Stiles' cheeks. He smiled a little more before he smoothly undid his own bow-tie. Discarding it onto the deck chair, he smirked before he began to peel his shirt off.

"Don't worry, I did in fact brace myself with shorts today. No need to panic," The Doctor said, elegantly removing layer after layer until he was down to his own shorts. "GERONIMO!"

The Doctor was already leaping into the water before the words had left his mouth.

[aforceofwill]

Of course. Jesus.

Okay.

Stiles just stares for a moment, arms wrapped around himself as he thinks about it. He gets into the water in a slightly more controlled way, sitting down on the edge of the pool and easing himself down into the water. It's warmer than he's expecting and he lets out a long, low breath that's dangerously close to a groan.

[araggedyman]

The Doctor's eyebrows raise a little at the Groan, his cheeks flushing from the heat of the water before he swims in lazy circles ever decreasing- ever closer to Stiles. Reaching out to brush his knuckles against Stiles' arm, the Doctor smiled.

"So, swimming then. Sounds awesome or is awesome." The Doctor asked.

[aforceofwill]

"Awesome," says Stiles, a little bit too quick, a little bit too loud, his voice echoing back at him in the tiled space. He leans back against the edge of the pool and watches the Doctor, tries to swallow back the thrill he feels at the little touches. "It's...totally, totally awesome."

[araggedyman]

It gets harder to swim around Stile, in ever inelegant circles, when he leans back against the pool. Instead he just appears again in front of Stiles, smiling when he's a bit loud- a bit quick off the mark with his words. Watching as he swallowed, the Doctor looked at him thoughtfully before sliding his palm over his arm. An experiment if you will.

"Swimming in a pool in a library, in an impossible ship. Yes, awesome is definitely the word for it." The Doctor said with a smile. "I've seen- don't let her know- more impressive pools but those usually have slides or floats. I love a float."