Flower and Willow: Chapter 13
Oct. 7th, 2011 10:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
timelord1
Title: Flower and Willow
Rating: Teen
Pairing: 10/Rose
Category: Drama, Romance, Humor, Action/Adventure
Summay:On their way to visit old friends, the Doctor and Rose come across a mystery in one of Kyoto's geisha districts in US-Occupied Japan, 1948.
Notes: This chapter was posted without a beta, so if there are any errors, they are completely mine.
“That’s a good one, fella,” Pace said, taking a napkin to dab at the Doctor’s shirt. “Sorry about that. You did manage to surprise me, though. So you’re some kind of comedian.”
The Doctor shook his head. “I’m very serious.”
“I love a good joke much as the next guy,” Pace said with a gruff laugh, “but I want to know who you are and why you’re here immediately, or things are going to get very uncomfortable for you.”
“I swear to you, that’s the truth. Psychic paper not enough for you? I’d show you my sonic screwdriver, but you’d probably mistake it for a weapon and shoot me before I could show you what it does. I could link with your mind and give you a quick telepathic rundown, but you’re not going to let me do that, either. All I can tell you is what I’ve said is true. If you don’t believe me, you go right ahead and shoot. If you’re going to aim for the heart, pick one side or the other. Shoot in the center and you’ll miss them both.” The Doctor clasped his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair, waiting. Watching the beginnings of realization spark behind Pace’s eyes. It was a secondary occupation, the convincing, and in nine hundred years he had met enough people that he knew exactly what tactics to take to get them to believe. With a man like Pace, the best option was to be blunt, and wait for him to work it out on his own, with just a nudge here and there in the right direction.
“You’re full of shit,” Pace said, but the Doctor could hear the doubt in the young officer’s voice. “You have to be full of shit.”
“Why?” the Doctor asked. “You said yourself you’d seen so many things in the last five years that nothing surprises you. Why should this? This is 1948 – you’ve heard about the crash in Roswell.”
“That was a hoax,” Pace said.
The Doctor shook his head. “A couple of very drunk, very bad drivers. I warned them not to fly so low, and I tried to stop it happening, but they went down like a couple of spectacular idiots and there was nothing I could do but get out of town before I was discovered and dissected too.” He snatched the psychic paper and put it in Pace’s hands. “Think of something.”
An instant later, a photograph of a rosy-cheeked woman with dark hair and a bright smile appeared in the folder. Pace breathed a cuss and dropped the folder on the floor. The paper went blank again and the Doctor picked it up and put it back in his pocket.
“That was Josephine,” Pace said, pointing at the folder. “How did you do that?”
“Do you need further convincing?” the Doctor asked. “Want to see the sonic screwdriver?”
Pace drained the rest of his beer at one go. “No, not right now. I don’t know if I should believe you or not, but I do. At least for now. But, I reserve the right to shoot you if it turns out you really are full of shit.”
“Fair enough,” the Doctor said, his expression only marginally smug. “Now, you tell me something. Have you noticed anything strange going on around here?”
Pace just stared at him for a while before speaking. “There have been disappearances. Six men in the last few weeks, with no trace. House to house checks yield nothing. Nobody knows anything, but the locals aren’t real keen on talking to us. Command’s considering enacting Martial Law until we can figure out what’s going on.”
The Doctor nodded, then smiled. “Would you like to go to dinner with me, Lieutenant Pace?”
*****
They left the post after the Doctor finished his beer and Lieutenant Pace signed out for the night, and walked down the Kyoto streets in thoughtful silence until Pace spoke.
“Bob,” he said, holding out his hand for the Doctor to shake. “You got a name, Doctor?”
The Doctor shrugged. “You couldn’t come close to pronouncing it.”
“Figures. Course, I have some practice with all these crazy foreign names around here. I’m actually picking up a little bit of the language. I can ask how much things cost, and I’m getting the hang of when to stop bowing to people. I was like a fuggin’ Abbot and Costello movie when I first got here. They got fishing where you come from, Doctor?”
“Oh,” the Doctor said, putting his hands in his pockets as they walked. “Fishing’s universal. I love it. Nothing like a quiet lake in the early morning; pole in the water, waiting for that first nibble. Except you have to watch which planet you’re fishing, because sometimes the fish are sentient, and some of them are armed.”
Bob laughed and slapped the Doctor on the back. “You’re all right for an extra-hoozit from wherever you said. Maybe someday you can take me up there and we can fish on the moon or something.”
“No atmosphere,” the Doctor said. “You’ll find that out in a couple of decades. Nah, we’ll go to the planet Thurbrook in the Patifens Constellation. They’ve got fish there the size of your leg that taste like the sweetest lobster you ever had. I’ll cook us a proper shore lunch and we’ll sit by the campfire and drink Malvonian Brandy and swap war stories.”
“You got it. I bet I could teach you a thing or two, though. I don’t care what planet you’re from; you’d have to have been to a lot of lakes in your time to out-fish me,” Bob said.
The Doctor was always surprised the way humans railed against the improbability of his existence until they found some humanizing common ground. They could accept his existence as an alien if he knew how to fish, or liked cheeseburgers, or showed them that he could do the Hustle. If they applied that logic to one another, they’d really have something. By the time he and Bob reached the Chrysanthemum, the Doctor was whistling We Are the World.
There were other GIs going into the teahouse when they arrived, and he and Bob lingered in the garden for a moment before going inside. The Doctor took the sonic out of his pocket and did a quick scan. Same fluctuation as before, pulsing like a heartbeat from somewhere inside.
“That’s your magic screwdriver?” Bob asked, craning his neck to peer at it.
“Sonic,” the Doctor replied, putting it back in his pocket. “And yeah, it is. Something’s going on in there, and if I don’t miss my guess, your disappearing soldiers are probably involved.”
“We should get back and let the MPs know,” Bob said, turning back towards the sidewalk. The Doctor pulled him back by his elbow.
“Hang on a second. I want to check it out first. If I’m wrong, you don’t want the MPs in there tearing the place apart for no reason. We’re just going to be a couple of American GIs out for a night on the town. I’ve got a friend undercover here who’s going to help us out. Just act normal and let me do the investigating, but keep your eyes open. If you see something I might have missed, let me know.”
They walked into the teahouse and the minute they crossed the threshold, the few hairs left on the back of the Doctor’s neck stood straight out. Something was very wrong with the whole place. It almost made him sick to his stomach, unless that was the latrine beer. After swapping their boots for traditional indoor slippers, they were seated in the main room by the hostess.
The room was long and narrow, with one wall comprised entirely of windows looking out onto the deck that wrapped around the outside of the teahouse. Beyond the deck there was an even more elaborately sculpted garden than the one at the front of the teahouse. The floor was covered with tatami mats and they sat at a small, low table with little half chairs to rest their backs against as they sat on the floor. There were two sailors already in there, and a group of four Marines were brought in and seated after the Doctor and Bob. The three groups chatted amongst themselves while they waited for the geishas to arrive. The Doctor kept taking readings with the sonic, but the sailors and Marines became increasingly aware of the sound of its buzzing until Bob started coughing and making noise whenever the Doctor took a reading.
“Whatcha finding?” Bob asked after several readings.
The Doctor was chewing on his lip, his brows bent sharply inward. “I can’t figure out what it is, but it’s something, it’s powerful, and it’s moving.”
He was in the middle of his most powerful reading yet when the paper doors slid open and a woman stepped inside. She was dressed in a modest brown kimono, her silver hair in a bun on top of her head. A massive, shining keloid scar spread over half of her face, making it hard to tell whether the rest of her face was prematurely aged because of the damage it had sustained. The eye that was partially obscured by the keloid was as white as a marble, but the other one looked around the room with a twinkle as she smiled and bowed. The Doctor’s skin went all pins-and-needles for a moment, and then it passed.
“Good evening, gentlemen, and welcome to the Kiku Ochaya. My name is Mikazuki, and I am your proprietress. Tonight you will be joined by some of the finest geisha in Kyoto. Please enjoy yourselves and thank you for your visit.” She bowed again and stepped aside so the geishas could enter, introducing each one as they came in. The Doctor’s hearts began to flutter as he waited to see Rose. He caught a glimpse of her cherry blossom kimono, but had to wait through three other introductions before he saw her.
When the last geisha obscuring his view stepped to the side and he saw Rose’s kimono and kanzashi being worn by a breathtaking stranger, he was momentarily confused. The geisha was introduced as “Okamimomo.” Wolf-peach. But it wasn’t Rose. It couldn’t be Rose. That girl was Asian. She inclined her head slightly to the crowd as she stepped aside for two more geisha to be introduced. Her gaze passed right over the Doctor without a glimmer of recognition. The Doctor leaned forward in his seat to try and get a closer look, putting on his glasses as if they helped anything.
Bob chuckled next to him and gave him a nudge with his elbow. “What’s the matter, Doc? Never seen a geesha up close before?”
“But that’s…” he began, still staring. The geisha in Rose’s kimono was the single most beautiful creature he had ever seen in his life. Her face was flawlessly white, her red lips small and perfectly shaped, leaving him with the odd urge to kiss her just to find out how they’d taste. He squinted, trying to find some landmark on the geisha’s face that he recognized as Rose, and finally found it when she smiled in his direction. No amount of makeup could hide her glorious smile. A thrill swept through him and he stared at her with a goofy cow grin on his face, like he was sixty-three years old and on his first date all over again.
Having been introduced, the geisha came to the tables where the men were seated. Rose – Okamimomo – knelt at the table with the four Marines and began pouring beer and making conversation.
“Close your mouth,” Bob whispered.
She made one of the Marines laugh and put her fingers lightly on his shoulder as she laughed with him.
“Woah,” Bob said, a little louder as he tugged the Doctor’s sleeve. “Easy now, what’s that look about?”
The Doctor forced his eyes back to his own table, where their geisha was pouring them each a glass of beer. He drank it down almost immediately to try and get the cottony dryness out of his mouth, but there didn’t seem to be enough beer in the world to help him. He tried to make conversation with the girl, but lost focus as Bob chatted her up and he was able to go back to staring at Rose. The turn of her wrist when she poured drinks, the way she held her head and smiled oh-so-subtly when the Marines were talking to her; everything she did was perfect. His admiration for her had to war against an unexpected flare of lust when she turned away and he saw the two patches of bare skin on the back of her neck. He made a funny little noise in his throat and Rose looked at him for just a second, their eyes locking for less than a blink of time before she turned back to the Marines, completely engrossed. When she looked away, he felt his hearts break, which was not only illogical but also rather lame, but he couldn’t help himself. He wanted her eyes on him all night. He’d forgotten why they’d even come in the first place.
“That’s a pretty one, for sure,” Bob said, finally taking notice of Rose.
“That’s Rose,” the Doctor whispered. “I’m her…she’s my…” He took another swig of beer.
Bob chuckled as the geishas got up and switched tables. Now she was only one table away. “Yeah, I can see she’s your something,” Bob said, starting up conversation with the new geisha at their table while the Doctor went back to staring at Rose.
A thousand years later, the geishas got up and changed tables once again. Rose approached and the Doctor pushed up his sleeves so she could see the tattoo. She knelt at the table and the sight of her up close gave lust the advantage over admiration and he grabbed his beer glass so tightly his fingertips went white. Bob took it out of his hand before he could crush the glass.
Rose bowed to them, smiling. “Pleased to make your acquaintances. I am Okamimomo.”
“Bob Pace,” Bob said, nudging the Doctor when he didn’t speak right away.
The Doctor stared openmouthed at her for a moment before recovering his voice. “John Tyler,” he said at last. Speaking brought him out of his stupor and he turned on his character. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“Have you been in Kyoto long?” she asked. She was looking right at him and not knowing him. There was just the faintest trace of pink at the outside corners of her eyes. It matched the cherry blossoms on the kimono.
“Erm, yes,” he said, snapping himself back into the room with a little shake of his head. “I just got here.”
Rose giggled, putting her hand up in front of her face and he thought he was going to burst in a shower of confetti.
“My buddy here’s had a bit too much beer,” Bob said, patting Rose’s hand. “This is his first time at a teahouse.”
“I can see that,” Rose said. She put her hand on the Doctor’s and gave him the slightest squeeze. “Welcome, John Tyler.” For the first time, she caught sight of the tattoo and her disguise slipped for a fraction of a second. Only long enough for the Doctor to have noticed.
“That is an interesting tattoo,” she said, tracing the design with her finger. Geisha weren’t supposed to touch the clients. Not like that. His brain was consumed with the sensation of her finger on his arm and he couldn’t find his tongue to speak.
He cleared his throat. “That’s for my girl back home,” he said. His tongue felt like it weighed three pounds. “My Rosie. Prettiest little blonde you ever saw. I love her more than my own life.”
And that brought her whole disguise crashing to the floor.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-10-07 04:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-07 05:08 pm (UTC)Thank you SO MUCH for the help getting me going in the right direction. The geishas would still be spinning in the mud if it weren't for the troika. :)
no subject
Date: 2011-10-07 04:09 pm (UTC)A thrill swept through him and he stared at her with a goofy cow grin on his face, like he was sixty-three years old and on his first date all over again.
This made me laugh so hard. He's so smitten~
And oh, dear. Doctor, you need to keep your mouth shut. Rose is in more danger than you, and here you are spouting your eternal love. How else is a girl supposed to react?
Update soon, please!
no subject
Date: 2011-10-07 05:05 pm (UTC)More coming soon, I promise! :)
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Date: 2011-10-07 05:04 pm (UTC)He cleared his throat. “That’s for my girl back home,” he said. His tongue felt like it weighed three pounds. “My Rosie. Prettiest little blonde you ever saw. I love her more than my own life.”
And that brought her whole disguise crashing to the floor.
My little heart is literally pitter-pattering. This was a lovely chapter J. You are on a ROLL!
no subject
Date: 2011-10-07 05:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-07 05:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-07 05:09 pm (UTC)ARE YOU SERIOUS YOU CAN'T END IT THERE WHY ARE YOU SUCH A SADIST DO YOU WANT ME TO COME OVER THERE IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT BECAUSE I WILL DO IT I WILL COME OVER THERE AND I'LL CALL YOU A SADIST TO YOUR FACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yikes...okay, that's out of my system now...
I guess he kind of lost himself there at the end, eh? PLEASE tell me the next chapter is coming? I don't know if I can take this kind of cliffie. You're going to drive me to drink, I swear :-P
no subject
Date: 2011-10-07 05:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-07 09:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-07 09:20 pm (UTC)Srsly, I have to keep people wanting more, don't I??? :D I'll post it tomorrow. Maybe tonight, if we get home from dinner at a decent hour.
Yes, the Doctor got a bit lost. I'm starting to think 10 (at least the way I write him) has a bit of a geisha "thing"...but maybe it's just a Rose in outfits! thing. :)
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Date: 2011-10-07 05:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-07 09:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-07 08:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-07 09:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-07 10:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-07 10:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-08 10:05 am (UTC)*Dances in delight!*
*HUGS*
no subject
Date: 2011-10-08 01:40 pm (UTC)*hugs*
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Date: 2011-10-08 04:44 pm (UTC)Okay, so I knew back when he first got that tattoo that by the time it got to this scene I'd've melted, 'cos I was halfway there already.
But this line, GOD I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE IT -
“My Rosie. Prettiest little blonde you ever saw. I love her more than my own life.”
I NEED TO HAVE A LIE DOWN AND DREAM ABOUT THE DOCTOR AND ROSE FOR A BIT, EXCUSE I.
:D x
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Date: 2011-10-08 05:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-23 03:25 am (UTC)