An Awkward Ghost and Lively Ginger Walk Into An Old Cottage...
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Some brief writing of a cute idea I got from @mayomkun where Donna moves out to the countryside and Ten is a ghost haunting her house.
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Fluff
Comedy
(hint of angst)
TWs:
⇾ none!
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“Hello?”
“Hello there.”
Donna gasped sharply, drawing back with a hand over her mouth.
“Well I can’t meet you if you’re hiding back there. Who are you?”
The voice, in an alarming contrast to how Donna thought a ghost would sound- because what else would this voice be- was solid, as if there were someone standing just in front of her. It was light, rather jovial, and sounded like a man. Probably wasn’t going to turn out to be a horrifying spectre crawling across the ceiling, then.
“I think I should be asking you that, weird… ghost… thing. I’m allowed to be alarmed, you’re talking to me from my gloomy basement.”
“Fair enough, I suppose. Hold on-”
Something buzzed, and a soft ambient light emitted from… somewhere, showing a tall, thin figure standing in the middle of the room, which was nothing but bare stone walls and a rotted wooden floor. He had a soft smile on a surprisingly pretty, if boyish, face, and a pinstriped suit, over which draped a long brown duster. His light brown hair stuck up in all directions. Said figure was also translucent enough Donna could make out the cracks on the wall just behind him.
“Hello again,” He gave a little wave, the other hand stuck in his pocket. “I’m- um-” His face went blank for a moment, wide eyes searching. “I was a doctor, I think. A Doctor?”
“Well, Doctor it is, then,” Donna nervously stepped forward, flashlight held out like a weapon. He sure looked pretty solid– in terms of shape, at least. “What the hell are you doing in my basement, Doctor?”
His face lit up. “Oh, well I’m- I’ve just been passing through, really. Just seeing, travelling… although I think I’ve gotten a bit stuck. Something about this place, I don’t know…” The Doctor seemed to space out, so Donna cleared her throat. His eyes instantly refocused. “Right, but now you’re here, brilliant! Now I’ll just-” He stepped forward, only to violently startle at Donna’s reply.
“Oh, no you don’t! How do I know you won’t, I dunno, murder me or something.”
“Why would I murder you if I don’t even know your name? And besides,” He ran up to just in front of Donna with a few long strides, and went for her hand. Before she could draw away, he passed right through.
“I’m not quite here, you see. Not sure what happened. But I’ve been ‘not quite here’ for a while, I think. Still! It’s nice to meet a new face. At least one that I like.”
“Oi!”
“No, no, I didn’t mean it like that, I meant I like you!” Donna gave an affronted look, as the Doctor looked increasingly worried.
“No, not that your face isn’t perfectly pleasant, I meant you- you- well, I like things about you as well, um, like your attitude- not that you’ve got one! I just meant you’re pretty cool, and- oh, I sound like a bloody teenager, um-”
His nervous rambling was cut off by Donna’s laughter. When she managed to finally catch her breath, opening her eyes to see his face caught between affrontment and relief just sent her further into cackling.
“Um- ah…”
“Been awhile since you’ve actually had a conversation with a human, hasn’t it, Ghost Boy?”
“‘Ghost Boy’?” The Doctor raised a brow, his face the picture of confused offence.
“What, would you prefer ‘Spooky Spectre’?” Donna fired back.
“I’d prefer ‘Doctor’, to be completely honest.”
“Right, but ‘Doctor’ is just a title anyone could have. If I’m not getting a name, I’m working with what I’ve got.”
“I suppose the perfectly suitable name I’ve just given you won’t work then?”
“‘Fraid not.”
“I’m starting to reconsider my decision to like you, Angry Ginger.”
“Oi! ‘Angry Ginger’?!”
“Well it’s not like I’ve got a name, either!”
“Well, it’s ‘Donna Noble’ to you, if the best you can come up with is ‘Angry Ginger’.”
“Lovely to meet you, Donna Noble!” His voice dripped with sarcastic saccharine.
“And you, Ghost Boy.”
The Doctor sighed.
“Wanna get out of the basement, then?” Donna asked.
“Oh, yes please.”
–
It became a sort of ritual for the pair: every day, mid-afternoon, they would sit on the old rocking bench in the backyard. Donna would ramble about her job, her granddad, complain about the man up the street who always mowed his lawn at 6am every Saturday. The Doctor would always listen, having a keen interest in the daily life of the living. Donna learned very quickly that he himself had little memory of being alive, but did have seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of astronomy and, weirdly enough, the history of the sci-fi genre.
On no special day in particular, the pair once again found themselves at their bench, looking out over one of the neighbours’ orchard.
“I’ve been stuck inside unpacking and organising for days now. ‘S nice that we have this, a time I get to just sit and feel the sun.”
“Oh, I wish I could.” The Doctor said breezily. “Nice to see it, though. A great big ball of deadly gas allowing for the creation of all this.” He gestured at the lavish countryside, before turning to smile at Donna.
“I owe the sun for getting to meet you.”
“Don’t go getting mushy on me, Spooky.”
“Well, I do. You’re brilliant! Although maybe a bit scary-”
Donna raised a brow challengingly.
“Which is plenty good! Everyone could do with a scary friend, I should know.”
“You? Scary? You look like a twiggy Uni kid who isn’t sure what year it is.” As she said that, Donna pointedly looked him up and down as a silent critique of his fashion sense.
“Really? I-” The Doctor’s face went blank as a hand came up to feel around it. “Actually, I’m- I’m not quite sure what I look like. Donna? Donna, what do I look like, I can’t remember, I haven’t seen my reflection in years, I-”
“Hey, hey, Doctor, calm down, it’s alright.” Donna resisted the urge to grasp his hands, which were wandering around his face, desperately trying to gauge an appearance from feel alone. She couldn’t even touch him to help calm him down.
“But everything is so fuzzy, and-”
“Tell you what, I’ll draw you then. How’s that sound?”
“Really?” The Doctor’s wide eyes looked into hers. “You’d do that?”
“Of course I would- you’re my friend, you daft ghost. ‘Course, I’ll have to learn to draw first. I’ve been meaning to, and it’s never too late, I suppose.”
The Doctor gave her a shaky grin.
“I’d like that, Donna Noble.”
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