singillatim | Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow

“Try this tea,” Thomas says with a smile, holding out two cups to the Doctor as he makes him a little meal in his own cabin. “Wynonna decided that they would make the perfect gift, and I am eager to hear what you think of them.”

One is a berry flavored and the other is more tart. He doesn’t tell him which is which.

He just wants to do things for him, work for him, hear him laugh and smile. He wants to bring joy to the man who has brought so much joy to him . Thomas also has something else for him, something that he’s nervous to give him. What sort of present do you give someone who has been through the depths of time and space?

The Hot Springs; OTA

Thomas is out and about around Lakeside, but occasionally he does make the trip to Milton to the hot springs. It’s the only place he can find relief, and he’s not particular about who goes with him and why. He has no shame anymore, especially not when the hot water is concerned.

Not for the first time, certainly not the last, the Doctor quietly notes how comfortable this feeling is, how almost familiar it's become now, spending this time with Thomas more regularly. Of course, eager to hear what you think gets him curious and excited. It hardly takes much.

He inhales the aroma of both, briefly with his eyes closed, although he can't discern anything so notable other than they both smell lovely. As his eyes open, he picks one to sip from first, and hums at first in those few seconds, but then quickly scrunches his nose up a bit, one eye squinting. "Ah, that's, that's very good. Bit of a plot twist in it, though — it's got you quite sure you're in for one thing, something sweet and soothing, and then a sudden punch of sour and you're off in another direction entirely. I love its boldness," he laughs a little, now taking another sip to examine it, but making a show of puckering his cheeks a bit. He loves sweet more than the tart, but he can appreciate the depth of flavor.

Now the other one has him equally curious, and he reaches for it. "I can only imagine this one. Did you have a favorite?" He asks as he brings this one closer, letting the mug warm his hands a moment.

"Of course I do, but you don't get to know it," he tells him, plaving his hands on the Doctor's shoulders, leaning against him.

How domestic and strangely intimate this feeling has become, he thinks to himself. "Not until you tell me which you prefer."

A very poor attempt at being sneaky, but it's worth it for the easy chatter it promotes. He's quick to lean into his touch with little thought, briefly patting one of his hands before he sets the mug down. Deciding to dip the tip of his index finger into the liquid first rather than taking a big gulp, he's pleasantly surprised by the sweetness; a very concentrated berry flavor.

"I'd almost think I were eating a handful of berries and not just drinking tea," he hums, and very swiftly sips indulgently at it now.

"This one," he indicates the berry tea, but then seems to hesitate, and now he takes the tart tea and dumps some of it into the mug with the berry tea. "But I'm curious..." Now he smiles widely, sips it, nods and hums happily, and then holds it up to Thomas. "On to something I think!"

Edited 2025-01-06 00:06 (UTC)

His laugh is soft and breathy in his ear and he goes to sit beside him, his hand on the Doctor's knee. The easy touch comes so much more naturally now to him, and he just focuses on those hands moving the tea from one cup to combine with the other.

"Oh that is cheating!" he declares with absolutely no intent at all, and he really ruins the image by laughing. "But let me try. I will tell you what I think."

"Possibly, from a given perspective, but I prefer to think of it as innovative," he teases easily, though he's quick to hand the concoction over for Thomas to try. With him sitting close, he leans in a bit more, naturally shoulder to shoulder.

Thomas tastes it and is so playfully annoyed that he was right. He shakes his head, handing it back.

"I suppose you can enjoy it as much as you'd like." He picks up the other cup for himself and sips at it.

He will, of course, be cheeky about this, so even though Thomas hands it back, the Doctor hesitates.

"You're forfeiting what's obviously your favorite, this delicious hybrid blend I've invented? A noble sacrifice." He hums as he sips slowly at it. "You can have it, you know."

Thomas rolls his eyes, tucking his hair behind his ears. "And you are being insufferable," he remarks. "And just when it had gotten you a gift."

"Dreadful timing on my part, then," he laughs a bit under his breath, but then he dips the tip of his finger into one of the mugs again. "The berry one, for the record. My favorite."

Now he smooths a hand over his tie, puffing up his chest a bit playfully. "So what's this about a gift? The tea is more than enough!" Even though it was a gift from Wynonna to Thomas, technically. He's certainly not expecting more.

He stands up, placing a hand on the Doctor's shoulder as he does. "Wait here," he mutters, disappearing behind him to his bedroom. It takes him only a few moments, but he returns with a large package, wrapped in a pillowcase.

That gets set on the table and he retrieves his tea.

Inside the pillowcase is a collection of adventure stories. Fresh and newly printed.

"What..." He leans in, ever so curious, pushing his tea aside carefully. He doesn't waste time, though, eager and thrilled as he is. So he peeks inside the pillowcase, pulling out a book, and another, and another, turning them over, reading over the spines, and now he laughs warmly, his smile big and bright.

"You —" he looks over at Thomas now, holding a book in his hand. "That boar, you asked it for..." For him. It leaves him, strangely, a bit speechless. And incredibly touched. He runs his fingers over the cover of one book almost reverently. Setting everything down in a careful pile, he reaches out to stroke his fingers over the back of Thomas' head. "This is extraordinary."

Thomas takes a drink of the tea, letting it burn just a little, and then he leans in to kiss him.

The last time, he had gotten something for the entire community. A sewing kit, which he used to patch clothes.

This time, he gets something just for the Doctor. For someone special to him because he wanted to. Maybe it makes him selfish, but the look on the Doctor's face is a guarantee that he'd do it a thousand times over. "Of course I did, sir. I hope they aren't ones you hate, since they are ones I do not know. I thought we could find some - common ground in them." They can talk about their lives and the state of the world all they want, but now they can talk about books, about something real and concrete and uniquely theirs.

"Oh, no, no, furthest from," he's quick to assure him. There's a part of him he doesn't know how to express — when he'd asked Thomas not so long ago about stories he enjoyed, he'd had a hope tucked away that he could read to him, or with him, or just near him. It's a soft and sentimental thought, difficult to force from the depths of his hearts and say out loud. But he didn't have to say it, because there are books now — from his Thomas — and it's something they can have and share together.

"These will be perfect," he reasons at last. He pats his knee lightly, adding, "I have something for you, too, but it will take another few days to...come to fruition." He'd started on the sourdough starter straight away, eager to make proper bread for Thomas. Many loaves, in fact.

Thomas eyes him warily. "And what sort of creation have you brought to this place?" he laughs. "A magical fruit tree, perhaps?"

He laughs to himself and starts to sort through the books and their unfamiliar titles.

"What is - Jurassic Park?"

"Now that's an idea for next year," he teases. "But you'll find out soon enough. Only a few more days, I should think." He'll be able to smell it when he comes near the cabin, in fact.

He smiles broadly at the book, though, tapping the cover with his index finger. "You'll love this one, good to start with! It's about great big magnificent dinosaurs, brought back to life. Which turns out to be — oh, quite the adventure. Bit of chaos. The ultimate in, what could possibly go wrong."

He just looks at him blankly. He's just at the wrong time to understand what that word means, let alone the implication of it.

"Dinosaurs?" he asks, because that's a good place to start.

"Oh! Yes, right, of course — dinosaurs. Big, beautiful, giant reptiles. Well, not all of them giant. Some of them were huge, some were quite small, some flew. They roamed Earth many, many, many years before humans evolved. I'll draw a few for you sometime," he offers. "But this book — well, you'll see there's a reason humans and dinosaurs were purposefully not meant to co-exist at the same time."

Well now he's intrigued by that. He has no idea what to think of such creatures, except perhaps a giant newt-like being, but he is excited to find out.

"Then we should start with this one immediately," he decides, picking up his tea again.

"We should," he's quick to agree, touching the cover again, and looking at the other books. Softly, he says, "This — means a lot to me, Thomas. And you...didn't ask for something for yourself."

Thomas asking for something that would benefit others or be a gift to anyone but himself in some way doesn't surprise him, it's...that it's for him, specifically. He was thought of like this.

"This is for me," he assures him. "Sharing stories with you is the greatest gift I could give myself."

And that's how Thomas is going to phrase it. He was selfish when he asked for the sewing kit, even though he was using it for other people. He's selfish for giving this gift, too.

For him. The greatest gift, for him. He smiles with such fondness, letting out a breath and ducking his head a moment. "Well — I'm looking forward to it. Every word." And one of these days very soon, they'll be able to have fresh bread and jam with a good story.

Thomas leans over against him and brings him into a kiss. "What do you say we get started tonight?" he wonders. "We can read it together?"

"Tea, and my favorite Thomas, and Jurassic Park. Now, that's a perfect evening for me," he grins, stealing another kiss from him. "We could clean up, and — settle in?" He pauses a moment, shaking his head. "No, no, wait, I'll clean up, you settle. You made the tea."

Thomas hums. "You are simply delaying the inevitability of sitting still and settling in," he remarks lightly, but he does stand. "Bring your book when you're ready." He's going to happily finish his tea by the light of the fire.

Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow

Gift Giving; Closed for The Doctor pt 2 and NOT backdated

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