Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow

[lieutenantsteward]

Who: Jopson and OTA + Closed prompts
What: Just post-December and then January things
When: In the dark, dark winter
Where: Lakeside, mostly + a prompt for Milton
Warnings: None! Just nonsense!

Comments

[lieutenantsteward]

"Dinosaurs," he confirms. "And I tell you that only to try and spare you from it. It is lovely to read alongside him, but to hear him retell it."

He shakes his head, then pauses as he slips a little on the ice.

[thesamurai]

"I've lived with him long enough to know how his brand of storytelling works. But he's good background noise. Too quiet, otherwise."

Something she never thought she'd say. Before she can follow it up with a disclaimer of sometimes, she's reaching out to steady Thomas, grabbing onto his arm firmly and readying herself to reach around to keep him upright. She's lean but strong, voice loud enough to be heard over a sudden gust of wind that has her ducking her head down.

"Got it?" she asks of his balance, staying still until she's sure he's steady.

[lieutenantsteward]

He laughs, nodding once. "Yes," he answers, patting her hand. "Don't worry. These boots are not meant for the ice, I'm afraid." But he does keep hold of her arm, just in case, until they reach the snow on the other side again.

"Background noise?" he asks, going back to their previous conversation.

[thesamurai]

Keeping her own steps small and steady, she tries to explain as they near more solid (at the very least, less slick) land.

"Hearing him when he's going on and on about something I can't keep track of is..." She gestures with her free hand as she tries to get her point across.

"...Comforting? I think that's the right word. I could be alone in there, nothing but my own fucked up thoughts to listen to, but instead he's talking about something on a different planet where it rains licorice and the sun is made of water. Shut's my mind up."

At first she almost begged him to be quiet, but now she's used to his random stories, popping up out of seemingly nowhere to fill the quiet.

"Never know what'll set him off, either." But her smile as she says that indicates she doesn't mind, not really.

[lieutenantsteward]

"I believe I've heard that particular story," he laughs. It doesn't matter if he has or not, that feeling is familiar. Letting the Doctor talk while he thinks of other things is something Thomas has experience with, though he's more likely to simply be listening to his voice in a sort of smitten daze.

"I don't think anything does. It all happens in his own thoughts."

[thesamurai]

"I tell you we met because I had to save his life?"

She can't remember; that night when the wolves attacked feels like a blur, most of the conversation lost to her.

"He fell through the ice, I happened to be walking by. Guess he felt responsible for me after that, and he never kicked me out of the cabin, so I stayed." She'd had plans to go off and live on her own, in a cabin she'd found abandoned, but then she couldn't.

She heard Judith in her head admonishing her every time she tried, or saw Andrea's face looking disappointed. So she'd stayed, and now she's getting close to people in a place she doesn't even want to be.

[lieutenantsteward]

The story feels familiar, but like her, that night is a blur of excitement and terror and he can't actually remember. Still, the thought of the Doctor falling through the ice makes him clench his teeth.

"I am glad that you did," he assures her. "He needs to not be alone in that home. He needs to have eyes on him."

[thesamurai]

Once on the snow, Michonne relaxes, some of the tension leaving her shoulders now that she's surer of her footing.

"Being alone isn't good for anyone. Learned that lesson a long time ago. Hard to stick with sometimes, especially here at first, not knowing what the hell. But I have to admit, friends I'm making aren't half bad." She gently knocks him with her shoulder, just enough so he knows she means him.

She nods toward the direction of the shared cabin. "Could come this way first and warm up, not like anyone'd be upset to see you."

[lieutenantsteward]

Friends.

He likes having actual friends. It wasn't something he could have at home. He was busy trying to make ends meet, to care for his mother, to care for his brother, to bring in enough money to keep food on the table. He just - didn't have time for friends.

But here, time is all he has. "I'm warm enough," he says, but pauses when he realizes that it was actually an invitation. "But I wouldn't mind the company."