#GAAAAAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[gftimelord]

*The doctor couldn’t quite recall the exact moment when the world began to spiral, when the heady sweetness of the banana daiquiri wrapped itself around his senses and pulled him under. He should’ve known better— just a drink and a half shouldn’t have had this effect on him. His mind, always calculating and sharp, sent faint alarms, chiding him for his recklessness, for drinking on an empty stomach. But in the haze of alcohol and euphoria, those warnings felt distant, irrelevant. Too late. His internal compass was spinning wildly, no longer pointing him towards the objective, but Ford didn’t care. He let the chaos take him.*

*He buried his face into Preston’s shoulder, finding an anchor in the warmth of the other man's body. The club, with its pounding bass and strobing lights, faded to a distant staticky hum— just background noise in a world that had suddenly become quieter, softer. The neon colors, once overwhelming, bled into one another, swirling into an indistinguishable blur. And yet, amidst that haze, there something tangible. Ford breathed in deeply, letting the familiar aroma of coffee and pine fill his senses, grounding him in the chaos. It wasn’t the artificiality of the club that held him now, but something far more comforting. The smell of home.*

*Coffee, strong and bitter, the kind he drank black, always preferring it sharp on his tongue. The forest, tall evergreens, stretching endlessly around him in a familiar embrace. He could almost feel the cool morning dew clinging to his skin, the creak of wooden panels beneath his boots as he stood in the quiet of his cabin, the world outside still and serene. The image wrapped around him like a well-worn blanket, and Ford let himself sink into it. How was it that Preston— a man who’d only ever been a distant reflection of himself that he met just a few hours ago— was able to evoke such a feeling of peace, of certainty, of home?*

*It was astonishing. Dare he say impossible. But in his drunken haze, Stanford didn’t care to question it. He leaned in further, his body naturally curving into Preston’s warmth, drawn to the safety it promised. His fingers, clumsy and uncoordinated from the alcohol, grasped at the stiff fabric of the other’s jacket, holding onto it as if it were the only thing tethering him to reality. Every instinct he had screamed at him to stay here, in this fragile moment, because for the first time in what felt like an eternity, he wasn’t alone. The incessant noise in his head, the constant buzzing of responsibility, of guilt, of fear, had finally gone quiet. Replaced instead by a gentle hum of contentment, like the soft crackle of a fire in the hearth.*

*He felt himself sinking deeper into the sensation, the world around them reduced to a muted blur of flashing lights and distant sounds. Nothing but white noise now. The club, the people, even the music— it all felt so far away. And Preston, the man beside him, felt closer than ever. The doctor couldn’t remember the last time he’d let someone in like this, the last time he’d allowed himself to feel safe in another’s presence. But here he was, nestled against his companion, drunk and unguarded, letting the moment stretch out like a dream he didn’t want to wake from.*

*The doctor mumbled something incoherent, his voice lost in the hum of the club. His body swayed slightly, barely able to maintain balance, but it didn’t matter. He was too far gone now, too lost in the warmth of another to care about how foolish he probably looked. He giggled— an uncharacteristic sound for him, light and childlike— as he nuzzled into Preston’s shoulder, letting the steady rise and fall of the other man’s breathing lull him into a deeper sense of calm.*

*His vision blurred further, the edges of the world spinning like the inside of a kaleidoscope, but even in his drunken state, he knew one thing for certain. For the first time in what felt like ages, he felt safe. In the chaos of the night, in the arms of someone who, for reasons Ford couldn’t quite articulate, made him feel at home. It was a feeling as natural as the stars blinking in the sky above, as essential as the air in his lungs.*

*And for tonight, that was enough.*

"Another Stanford... so similar yet so different from the rest I've met" Preston looked at the sonic screwdriver with quite the interest

@gleeful-northwest-fam

"Woahoah! Okay! Well this isn't a toy for you, it's for me— big difference."

*Ford would quickly stuff the device in his coat pocket, backing up and away from the other person feeling skeptic. He was used to being the one who would instigate the chaos, somehow this also made him realize that he'd unconsciously switched places with his brother at this age.*

"Now, what brings you here? Any reason you'd seek me out of all people?"