#armedandclever

“ Oh, well---how very convenient for you. ”

Without lifting his gaze, he tilted an eyebrow---appearing to muse over the notion. 

“ Especially when one considers the fact that you first deemed yourself to be advanced in years---well---several centuries ago for you, I expect. ”

The knit of his forehead creased a bit more---ironical, humorous---and he swept a nonchalant hand back through his hair---feeling one corner of his mouth twitch. 

Her gaze flickered over him, and she dampened her lips—eyebrows faintly risen. “—go on then, si’ down.” 

She folded her arms—trying to give off an impression of self-assurance, but she was pretty much shooting in the dark here. 

“ Don’t I now—? Says who? You? And you’re—what, the local expert on my quite frankly sensational frame of mind—? Got the prognosis all sorted out, have you, Doctor—? ”

He reached around to scratch at the back of his neck—blinking in the low light. For now, his expression was still reasonably mild—even a bit vaguely inquiring. The look in his eyes wasn’t altogether focused.

“ Oh, wait—hold on, sorry— ”

The furrow of his brow jerked upwards, and his tone dropped—became suddenly rougher.

“ —that’s not really the point here, is it—? The point is—no, listen—this one’s great, so listen— ”

He put up a finger—brandished it several times, both corners of his mouth twitching nastily, unevenly. His eyes were narrowed down to slits, and there was an irregular edge to his voice—as if some of the words were getting stuck on his tongue.

“ The point is—you don’t wanna hear it! Ooh. And you’ve got a very, very low tolerance for all that grisly stuff, don’t you? In fact— ” He exhaled audibly, hotly—leaning in very close.

“ Well, I reckon he could probably say the same thing about you, couldn’t he? I’m guessin’ that solution wouldn’t work the other way ‘round, though. ”

There was a quiet, neutral sort of quality to her voice—not letting very much on, and she stayed put—leaning in the doorway.

“ Seriously, how would you feel? B’sides, last I checked, the Tardis doesn’t exactly need much guardin’, so—we really can’t jus’ leave him. ”

Her eyes were downcast now, and she gave a little shrug, flicking a piece of hair away from her features—sniffing quietly. Sounding more casual than she felt.

❝ Shh—shh, shh, shh. ❞

With a delicate flick of her wrist, she clapped a hand over his mouth—gently, yet quite forcibly hushing him, and then she proceeded to hold him there for another moment—gripping at his arm with her free hand.

❝ Yes, and aren’t you looking positively dapper—? Quiet now. Don’t want to make a scene. ❞

In a neat, fluid motion, she steered them back around the corner—smiling sweetly, if with a little touch of irony—giving him several pats along the way.

❝ —it just so happens that I possess my own personal set of peepers, and they see very well, thank you. Seriously, love, what do you take me for? ❞

She hummed out a short breath and released him, reaching down to smooth out the fabric of her skirts—and then she glanced up, regarding him with a moderately furrowed brow.

“ Oh, well—add that to my list of heinous offenses then, shall I—? Deliberate lollygagging—? Can’t have that. Good grief—where does the villainy end—? ”

His response was dull, bitterly sardonic—almost completely humorless, but not quite. He rolled his eyes.

“ What am I gonna do—? Catch a bus while you’re not looking—? Ooh—there’s a real big idea. Really, Doctor. ”

He quickened his pace—just enough to come up alongside the other man, and then he proceeded to match him—angling a shoulder in his direction upon doing so. His tone had dropped.

“ —next you’ll be accusing me of shifty hand gestures, or—I dunno, wearing the wrong color tie—? Is that a thing—? Well—in your book of good etiquette, I’m guessing. ” He sniffed, dismissive—directing his gaze ahead of them. Looking vaguely annoyed.

“ Hm, well—there’s a big shocker for you, right? Can’t imagine why. ”

Her eyebrows were delicately risen, and she hummed out a little breath, lowering her gaze—reaching up to feel absently at the hollow dip of her collarbone—almost fidgeting, but not apparently.

“ Careful, next he’ll be hoping for a little trip to the moon. ”

She spoke in a cool, dismissive tone, pursing her lips—a bit more chilly than she’d meant to sound, actually—and she felt quite abruptly sorry.

Faltering, her eyes flickered towards him—visibly self-conscious, and she put a hand over her face for a couple of seconds, exhaling—shaking her head—smiling sadly after a moment.

“ Oh—I’m being silly. Just tune me out, please. ”

She gave a tiny sniff and straightened up—before proceeding to gesture with a flick of her wrist.

“ What—? Hey, wait a minute—! ”

Her eyes widened, a slight frown crossing her features, and the objection faltered on her tongue—as she found herself getting pulled along with him anyway, before she could so much as plant her sneakers on the concrete.

Habitually, she’d taken his hand, but her grip was loose, distracted—and she went on to glance back over her shoulder, more than once.

“ —okay. Bit rude, don’t y’think—? Like, even by our standards. Last I checked, we didn’t usually go runnin’ out on people without even givin’ ‘em a chance, yeah? Oi— ”

She jogged a few steps to keep pace with him, the knit of her forehead deepening, getting more skeptical, and she swiped a few errant stands of hair away from her eyes, slightly open-mouthed—sort’ve indignant.