C E N T U R I O N

            “  seven  suns  !  ”        he  parrots,  grinning  fanatically  .  he  messes  about  with  a  few  buttons  on  the  console  before  twisting  his  body  to  face  rory  again,  relieved  to  see  the  EXCITEMENT  on  his  face  .  their  last  couple  trips  have  managed  to  avoid  danger  due  to  the  doctor  carefully  planning  their  every  move  .  as  much  as  he  enjoys  the  adrenaline  &  the  running,  he  wants  to  basically  give  the  roman  a  vacation  .        “  great  !  ”        he  bounds  over,  giving  the  chair  he’s  sitting  in  another  spin  .        “  do  i  change,  rory  ?  ever  ?  do  i  ever,  ever  change  ?  NO  .  well,  not  really  .  ”

He’s noticed a rather strange lack of danger over the last few trips. Seeing as his first few trips were full of strange vampires and danger lurking around every corner, the uneventful trips are something he honestly didn’t think were possible. He’s having a hard time deciding whether he’s relieved, or whether he misses the adrenaline pumping through his veins. The second spin makes him laugh, the sound falling out of his mouth easily as he watches his friend. “ How would I know ! Maybe you have multiple copies of the same outfit. “

            he’d  be  lying  if  he  said  he  didn’t  feel  a  slight  temptation  here  or  there  to  slip  out  for  a  quick  trip,  but  he  doesn’t  .  not  this  time  .  &  the  things  that’s  holding  him  back,  well,  the  people  that’s  holding  him  back  —        “  a  LIGHTING  GUY  .  there’s  a  light  inside  the  fridge,  turns  OFF  when  the  door  is  closed,  turns  ON  when  you  open  it  .  i  love  that  .  did  he  ever  muck  about  with  that  ?  ”        —  he  doesn’t  want  to  lose  them  .  this  is  precious  to  him  ;  conversations  about  lighting,  tournaments  on  the  wii,  complaints  about  the  shop  down  the  street  .  it’s  all  so  ..  human  .  he  pops  his  head  out  from  the  innards  of  the  fridge,  expression  pouty  .        “  oi,  it’s  a  very  upsetting  pipe  !  ”

In a way he supposes he has no proof that the Doctor hasn’t been slipping out for the occasional trip. Well, no proof except for the fact that as far as he’s aware, the Doctor very rarely gets the timing right. Now if his friend randomly disappeared for a few days, that would be obvious. Mostly however, mostly he knows the Doctor won’t leave because he said he wouldn’t, and he would trust the Doctor with his l i f e. He has trusted the Doctor with his life. “ Not really? Not to tinker with, just to fix. ” There’s another laugh once he sees his friends pout, moving to sit on the Doctors level. “ Let me see your hand. ”

Since the Garden of Eden, Aziraphale has been BOUND to the earth.  Celestial beings, such as himself, did not wither with sickness, wrinkle with age, nor fear the INEVITABILITY of death.  He endured through millennia, changing so little it would be almost IMPERCEPTIBLE if one did not jump directly from the beginning to the end ( exchanging airy robes for tailored waistcoats ).  Eternity was his lifespan, and these days he TENDED not to dwell on it.  

Of course, should someone DIRECTLY address the topic, it becomes far more DIFFICULT to ignore.  

Surprise READS on his face like an open book, brows raised and eyes wide.  As he STRUGGLES to process the words, his gaze carefully studies the man before him.  There was no immediate RECOLLECTION of this stranger in the his mind.  But, permitted a moment, he manages to make the connection, and it HONESTLY leaves him a bit dumbfounded.  “Yes, I do – I do believe you have.”  There’s a brief pause as he FLOUNDERS for an explanation.    

“Might I be so bold in presuming that you aren’t exactly – well – human?”

Plastic shoulders relax in r e l i e f, as the man in front of him didn’t immediately call him crazy. As much as his memory is deeply improved, it certainly isn’t foolproof. He’s not exactly keen on the idea of running up to a normal human and shouting that he’s seen them a century or so ago. He does need to keep somewhat of a low profile after all, although the ongoing myth of the “ last centurion “ does make that a bit hard after a while.

“ Yeah. Not. Not exactly. ”

He takes a moment, making sure that no one is near them to freak out at what he’s about to do. Not that there likely would be, it’s a rather abandoned corner of London, and rather late at that. Having confirmed the absence of anyone but him and his new acquaintance he raises his hand, plastic top raising up to reveal the gun underneath, pointed towards the ground so not to be unintentionally threatening.

            after  taking  the  wrench,  there  was  a  slight  clicking  noise  as  he  tried  loosening  something,  a  grumble  under  his  breath  when  it  wouldn’t  budge,  &  then  a  clang  when  he  HIT  IT  in  frustration  .  the  pipe  groaned  .        “  really  ?  what  sorts  of  things  did  he  get  into  ?  ”        he  abandons  the  torque  wrench  on  the  floor  beside  him,  clumsily  working  on  the  bolt  &  its  components  with  his  fingers  .        “  he  didn’t  happen  to  be  the  one  to,  ”        he  grunts,        “  tighten  this  BOLT  .  i  SWEAR  on  ALL  that’s  — ”        bare  hands  hit  the  pipe  this  time  .        “OW  !  ”

There’s a quiet amused laugh, face sinking into a familiar expression of fondness as he watches his son-in-law get frustrated at their all too human fridge. He’s not sure how much longer his friend can last, how much longer he can attempt to adjust to the slow paced human life before he just explodes. “ Actually no, he’s more of a lighting guy. If a lightbub seemed even a little dull, he’d be up there in the middle of the night replacing it. Either that or he’d be messing around in the garden. ” The exclamation of pain surprises a small laugh out of him, placing the mug down next to him so he doesn’t spill in his laughter. “ You sure told that pipe Doctor. ”

            “  where  to  today  indeed  !  ”        fake  smile  is  forced  upon  face  .  how  long  as  it  been  since  they  were  underground  ?  since  amy  was  —  he  shakes  the  thoughts  from  his  head  .  focus  on  rory,  focus  on  rory  .        “  how  about  the  planet  of  herunia  ?  it  has  seven  suns  that  all  set  at  once  &  if  you  manage  to  get  to  the  right  vantage  point,  you  can  every  last  one  of  them  !  ”        ever  since  the  loss  of  their  friend,  he’s  been  doing  everything  he  can  to  CHEER  HIM  UP,  that  little  unspoken  sadness  inside  him,  that  sadness that  he  doesn’t  understand  or  even  know  is  there  .        “  or  do  you  have  another  idea  ?  anything  that  tickles  your  fancy  ?  ”

Eyes light up at the thought of another unknown planet, making his way down the stairs to plop in the chair near the console. Any thoughts regarding the strange sadness he wakes up with every morning disappear, mind solely focused on the idea of another adventure. “ Seven suns?” He tilts his head for a moment, trying to imagine the idea of seven suns in the sky at once. He and Amy used to love sunsets, one of their first dates was a sunset picnic. “ I would love to see seven suns set at once. ” He spins the chair around once, before stopping so that he’s facing the Doctor. “ Should I change? Is it hot? That seems like a lot of suns. ”

     “You really love her?” 

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There’s no need for him to question her meaning, to ask any kind of clarifying question. There is only one woman he could ever love, always has been. “ Of course I do. ” He smiles a little, thoughts drifting to his wife for just a moment. “ More than anything in the world. ”

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“Dad, did one of your companions try to borrow my clothes again? I’m missing one of my cardigans and I don’t have time to look through the whole TARDIS for it. Have you seen if any of them have…” Ophelia stopped her rambling as she came up to the console, surprised not to find her father, but someone else there. “Sorry… you’re not the man I was looking for.” 

“ Yeah no I kind of figured. Unless I have a second daughter I don’t know about. Which...actually considering the way my life goes I wouldn’t be surprised about. ” Head is buried under the console, attempting to use his very limited knowledge of how the TARDIS works to fix something the Doctor had labeled “timey-wimey issues”. There are some things Rory will never quite understand, and the Doctors way of labelling is most certainly one of them. “ Sorry just-give me a moment. I’m afraid that if I leave this alone now we’ll explode or something. ”

One of the stranger things about being plastic, aside from the lack of a need to eat, drink, sleep, or really any of the things that humans generally need to do to survive, is that his memory has improved greatly since being brought back into the world. He sees so many faces over the centuries, that one would imagine they would blend together. In certain circumstances they do, faces he sees only in passing, unaware that he’s watching them as he hides the Pandorica. This face though, this pleasantly smiling British face, he’s seen m u l t i p l e times over the centuries, and still in the same clothes. 

It isn’t as though this is the first time something along the lines had happened. After all, he got into this mess because of a time traveling alien in a bowtie. Still, he is more than a little bit desperate for conversation, and he might have better luck with someone who doesn’t appear to be any more mortal than he is. 

It never stops being a thrill really. Each day, coming down the TARDIS stairs to see the Doctor. His Doctor. His i m a g i n a r y friend the Doctor, the reason Rory never managed to make a friend last for very long. His very real Doctor, who came back for him. The excitement is almost enough to erase the consistent feeling in Rorys head that he’s missing something, something important. It’s the same feeling he used to get at school, and then an hour later he’d remember that he’d forgotten his essay at home. He’s much too grown up to forget essays however, and it can’t be that important or the Doctor would’ve reminded him of it.