Relax
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters herein used, nor do I own the dialogue from All Creatures Great And Small.
Peri was wandering through the Tardis, exploring the numerous storage rooms. The ethereal light gleamed off her pink shorts and white blouse, her glinting brown hair swinging at her ears. It was only a few hours after she had first stepped onboard the Tardis, but she'd already unpacked her scant possessions. After she had snatched only a few sets of clothes from her hotel room, she guessed she would have to use the massive wardrobes she'd found. She'd already had fun dressing up. But now she was bored, and the Doctor was busy tinkering around the console, so she'd gone off on her own to explore.
Stepping through another door with opaque roundels, she found herself in something that resembled a music room. Old Earth instruments rubbed shoulders with archaic alien ones; leaning haphazardly against the walls and scattered over the floor. She walked in, curiosity piqued, and ran her fingers over the assorted instruments wondrously. Did these all belong to the Doctor?
Her fingers paused over a small recorder, which looked well-used and worn, before they drifted to an old-looking guitar in the very corner. The wood, although well-varnished, was old and blemished, strange stickers of Hawaiian dancers peeling from the surface. The strings were still in place, and when she plucked them, they gave off a pleasantly wholesome twang. She bent over, and saw a name scrawled along the bottom.
"Elvis? Not the-" she asked herself incredulously.
"The Elvis, Peri? Certainly it is," a voice spoke from behind her. Peri straightened abruptly and spun, looking into the eyes of the Doctor. He had a pleasant smile on his face, his blue eyes twinkling gently. "I caught him at a concert in Hawaii, ohh, so long ago, when I was a youngster."
"You met Elvis?" Peri asked, astonished.
"Well I am a Time Lord, Peri. It wasn't exactly difficult," the Doctor scoffed, with one eyebrow quirked. Her eyes roamed over his broad shoulders encased in his habitual beige and red coat, the dishevelled hair that looked like he'd been running his fingers through it in agitation or meditation, the youthful features that didn't look that much older than her own.
"I see. Do you play, Doctor?" she indicated the numerous instruments. The Doctor sighed and put his hands in the pockets of his striped trousers, glancing around.
"Yes. Well some of them, anyway. I used to play the recorder in a previous incarnation, quite well in fact. Do you play, Peri?" he asked, his eyes re-focusing on Peri's face, shaking away the old memories. Peri ignored the nonsense about a previous incarnation, and shook her head.
"I always wanted to learn to play the guitar, but I never found the time. I never was good at sticking at things, that much," Peri replied wistfully, her gaze lingering on the old guitar. The Doctor noticed the look, and made a snap decision.
"Would you like to learn now?" he asked gently, nonchalantly, so she could refuse him without embarrassment if she wished to. But her young eyes lit up, a bright smile on her shapely mouth.
"Oh yes please, Doctor! You can play the guitar?" she asked breathlessly, suddenly excited. The Doctor sighed exasperatedly.
"Yes, I can. Right well, hang on a moment," he said, disappearing for a second to fetch two stools from the next room. He arranged them in the middle of the room, and returned to Peri's side. He bent to retrieve the instrument, and Peri's eyes were riveted by the sight of the muscles of his broad shoulders tensing as he moved. She suddenly felt utterly breathless. He straightened and turned to Peri.
"Come on."
He led Peri to the stools and patted the one next to him. Peri sat reluctantly, feeling an odd dizzy sensation at the thought of him so close to her. He settled the leather strap over her shoulder, his fingers brushing her bare neck. Peri hid a shiver. What was wrong with her?
She took the neck of the guitar in her right hand, setting the curve of the body over her thigh.
"No, not quite right," the Doctor's hand gently readjusted where the curvature of the guitar lay over her thigh, so it fit snugly over the curve, his fingers again brushing the smooth skin. Peri fought back a whole ripple of shivers, closing her eyes, thankful he couldn't see her. Was he doing this on purpose?
A moment later she dispelled the thought scornfully.
"Peri? Are you alright? You're shivering," the Doctor's concerned question brought her back to attention. "Are you cold?"
"A little," Peri lied. Better that than if he should find out the true reason she was shivering.
"Wait one tick." He stood up and crossed to a pad on the wall, and the music room became ever-so-slightly warmer, as if it wasn't warm enough already for Peri. She felt sure she was blushing a shade of pomegranate by now. "That better?"
"Yes, Doctor. Thanks," she muttered, making sure to keep her eyes averted, whilst she focused on the guitar. The Doctor frowned at her concernedly.
"Peri, are you sure you're alright? You're looking rather flushed to me," he remarked gently, wondering what could be wrong.
"Nothing, Doctor. So what range of notes d'you get on this thing?" she distracted him with a question. She could tell by his sigh when he sat back down that he wasn't convinced. He answered her question regardless, and she made sure to keep him distracted as he gave her a lecture on the history and mechanics of the guitar.
"Essentially music is mathematics in sound, the mechanics of physics; of frequency, pitch and giving voice to that which is invisible to us normally," he finished solemnly. Peri, who had relaxed slightly, laughed.
"I never was good at mathematics. That was beautiful Doctor, even though I understood about one word in ten," she grinned at him, and he grinned back. She really was being so silly, imagining the Doctor was anything more than a friend. Enthusiastically moving on, she tightened her fingers on the neck, pressing down on the strings, and swept her other hand down. The guitar elicited a satisfactory twang but, even Peri could tell, she hadn't quite got it right. The Doctor leaned over her, to better see what she was doing, and spoke in her ear, his cool breath blowing in her ear.
"Not quite right, but a good try. It's more like this," he adjusted her hands and showed her how to strum the guitar correctly, holding her hands whilst he did so to show her. "Now try again,"
Peri took a deep breath to steady herself, and tried again. Again the sound was off.
"Uh no. Now try again," he patiently instructed her, moving her fingers on the neck, "That finger there, and that finger there. That's good, Peri,"
Peri tried again, fighting to keep her mind on the lesson. This time the guitar rang true, its string resonating in the music room.
"Yes, that's better but you must, umm-" at that moment the Doctor's voice faltered slightly. Peri's eyes flew to his, wondering what was bothering him, her every muscle tensed. His eyes were locked on the back of her neck, revealed by her white blouse. Their eyes met, but Peri looked away, her breath stuttering. "-try and relax."
The Doctor finished his sentence awkwardly.
Peri obediently tried to make her muscles relax. The Doctor's fingers tightened over hers, his breath coming fast on the nape of her neck, as she turned her head again. He swallowed abruptly, blinking furiously, like a guilty schoolboy.
"Relax," he commanded quietly, "You see if you don't relax, then you'll pass on your tension to the instrument…"
Peri looked into the Doctor's beautiful blue eyes, and felt her breath hitch, supremely conscious that she was all but enclosed in the Doctor's arms. Unconsciously she shifted closer, her eyes fluttering closed, the sensation of the Doctor's silky blonde hair against her cheek, the heavy weight of his chin on her shoulder lightening as he straightened slightly, the cool breath still washing over her face, mingling with her own breath.
"So to speak," he murmured against her lips. Their lips brushed, clung and moulded, Peri's hand leaving the strings of the guitar to rise to his neck, cupping it as he moved imperceptibly closer. His lips were hard and cool, like kissing an ice statue, but one that heated swiftly under her hotter skin. Peri heard the absurd rustle of celery as it was crushed between them. He moaned quietly into her mouth when her hand made contact with the skin of his neck, and his mouth became more demanding on hers.
Peri broke the kiss to haul in oxygen, her mind whirling, struggling to find her bearings. She had just kissed the Doctor!
She opened her eyes to look into his, twinkling slightly in the gloom of the music room, smiling gently at her. He looked slightly dazed, just as Peri felt, but there was no disgust or revulsion in his face as she thought there would be. He smiled tenderly, one she returned, and their lips met again, her eyes fluttering closed. Carefully, keeping the contact with her lips, she felt the Doctor prise her limp fingers from the neck of the guitar, and set it gently down on the floor, before his hands went to her waist, turning her on the stool, as he pulled her against him. Peri slid her hands into his soft hair, marvelling at the smooth strands beneath her fingers. He pulled her almost astride him, and Peri felt their weight begin to topple the stool. They fell with a crash.
They landed, Peri atop the Doctor, their legs tangled together, pressed leg to chest against each other, and felt the breath leave their bodies. The Doctor's body absorbed most of the impact, but Peri still felt winded where she was smashed against the rock of his body. Their lips were wrenched from each other, and Peri looked down into the Doctor's eyes.
"Doctor? Are you alright?" she asked, ever so slightly panicked. He groaned and shifted under her.
"I can't move my legs," he murmured, smiling up at Peri. She frowned, alarmed.
"Why?" she asked, her young brow furrowing. He laughed gently.
"Because you're sitting on them, Peri," he replied quietly, a devilish smile she hadn't known he was capable of blossoming on his face. She smiled ruefully, inwardly shaking her own head at her stupidity.
"You ok?" she asked again. He shook his head.
"There is something distinctly wrong about this. I can feel it," his devilish smile hadn't disappeared, and with no warning, he flipped Peri over, flat on her back beneath him. "Ahh, that's more like it."
"Cheat!" Peri retorted, mock-furiously, a smile on her youthful features. He playfully waggled his brows at her.
"You impugn my honour, Peri," he pretended to look innocently wounded, and failed spectacularly. She snorted softly.
"Not very gentlemanly this, is it?" she asked acerbically. He laughed and smiled down at her beatifically.
"No, it isn't," he agreed, bending his head back to hers, one hand under her waist, supporting her, the other holding her head steady as their mouths fused as they kissed.
Peri sighed and felt herself sink into his arms, relaxing beneath his body.
One thing was for sure. When it came to kissing, The Doctor was no gentleman.
Finis