Phew! Thank God I didn't delete this! I've noticed some mistakes and I've corrected them.
Captain Amelia carried the plastic basket down the hall towards the washers. The blue basket was holding various items of clothing such as Amelia's blue coat with golden buttons and stitching, her grey, tight pants or her red, lace underpants and matching brassiere. She held the basket by the two handles and she kept bumping her thigh to the side while walking. With her sharp hearing, Amelia could hear either a washing machine or the tumble dryer working, which meant someone was already there and she might have to wait.
Amelia gritted her teeth as pains lingered at her groin. She hadn't accidently banged it by passing a piece of furniture nor didn't someone punch her on the spot. Bloody periods, she thought. Amelia balanced the basket on her hip while she gripped the silver door knob with one of her gloved hands. Twisting the door knob and pushing forward, Amelia entered the average sized room.
The walls were painted a usual white with grey stone tiles on the floor. A plain ironing board stood in the far right corner complete with a normal iron sitting up on the plain cover. On the left wall sat a grey washing machine and next to it was a cream tumble dryer. They looked similar apart from the fact that the tumble dryer was cream and didn't have a see through door, unlike the grey washing machine. A flickering bulb hanged from the ceiling, covered in a thin coat of dust. Sitting on the active tumble dryer (by sitting on it, it somehow got it to work quicker) was a gangly Candid man with droopy ears, meaty hands and a rather abnormal nose with small spectacles sitting near his soft brown eyes. He was leaning forward, his head inside a thick-as-a-brick book. He jumped as Amelia entered and glanced up from his book at her.
"Good evening Captain." He piped. Doppler folded the corner of his page then slammed the book shut.
"Good evening Doctor." Amelia replied with a slight smile.
Doppler stared at the Captain. He had to admit, it was weird not seeing her wearing her blue coat, but then remembered the unfortunate clash they had this morning. Doppler remembered when he stood up sharply, snatching his plate from the table then he turned at bumped right into the Captain. What was even worse, his plate flipped and smothered the Captain's, um, chest in left over tomato ketchup, egg yolk and grease from his sausages. As normal, this resulted in Doppler having a rather deadly glare from the Captain and him giving a worthless, stuttering apology.
"Would you mind telling me what you're blushing about, my good Doctor?" Amelia asked as innocently as she could. Doppler blushed even harder. "If it's about the incidence this morning, you do know you're forgiven?"
"I am?" Doppler mumbled.
"Yes, you are." Amelia repeated then she bent down into a crouching position and then stuffed her filthy clothes into the washing machine.
Doppler's eyes slipped over her back and over her butt. They shot back when they saw something leaking through. It was diagonal across one of her, um, cheeks and was shaped like a tiny leak of water, but it was slightly brownish red. A stain of chocolate maybe? No, it's not smeared and it has like a red outline. What in the name of the heavens was it?
Amelia shot up straight and caught Doppler staring at her rear. "What the hell are you doing?" she cried, whirling around to face him straight, and also to hide her butt.
"I, um, saw s-something on your, um...trousers." Doppler fumbled, meekly pointing and Amelia's rear. Amelia glared at him but curiosity aroused her so she jerked her head and twisted her body for a clear view of the back of her trousers. She gasped when she spotted the stain. Damn, damn, damn! Amelia's cheeks turned red faster than the good Doctor himself. She quickly snapped back into a straight position and opened her mouth to say something.
"What is that?" Doppler asked, his eyes curious and innocent.
"Um...I must have sat on s-something." Amelia lied, blushing harder at her stutter. Doppler raised an eyebrow.
"You're lying." He commented.
"How do you know?" Amelia questioned, slightly nervous that Doppler could recognise whenever she lied.
"You blushing and stuttering. It's obvious you know what it is." Doppler answered. "So what is it?"
"Why do you want to know?" Amelia snapped.
"You wanted to know why I was blushing." Doppler retorted.
Amelia bit her tongue. He's getting better at every argument. "It's nothing you should ever worry about, Doctor." Amelia sighed, silently adding a 'sadly' onto the end. "It's women stuff."
Doppler frowned and he thought about women stuff that involved stains on trousers. Nothing came to him at first. After a thirty second rethink, it hit him like a bombshell. "Oh my-!" Doppler started but he blushed cherry then jumped back, sending him flying off the top of the tumble dryer.
Amelia chuckled as Doppler jumped back up and blushed even harder. "I-I apologise for being so posy-posy-nosy, Captain." Doppler apologised then bit his cheek as a punishment for stumbling over his words. Again. In front of the Captain. THE Captain.
"Quite alright Doctor. I'm sure you meant no harm in being you're old curious self." Amelia replied with a smirk. Doppler smiled a little. The tumble dryer beep to declare it had done it's work and Doppler bent down and opened the little door and pulled out the clothes and dumped them in his own cream plastic basket.
"Doctor." Amelia called. Doppler stood up straight.
"Yes?" he replied.
"Would you mind sitting on the washing machine while I run off and change my trousers? In return I will iron your clothes?" Amelia tempted. Doppler turned his head to his clothes then to the ironing board then back to Amelia. She knew he was hopeless at ironing; he had already burned two of his best shirts and a pair of underpants. But then, he didn't want her seeing his underpants. It would mortify him.
"Um..." Doppler started.
"If you're worried about me seeing your underwear Doctor, don't worry about it. I've seen many boy's pants before-" Amelia started but paused when she realised what she had said sounded rather, um, sluttish. "What I mean is I grew up in an orphanage with younger children than me and we did different chores and I did the laundry so I had to iron the boy's pants and their other cloths." She explained rapidly.
Doppler was quite startled. Firstly, it was like she was reading his mind or something and he never heard her talk that fast and yet not blush and kept a perfect poker face.
"I sit on the washer while go and change then do my ironing." Doppler summed and he held out his hand. "Deal?" he asked.
Amelia took his hand and shook it. "Deal." She replied. Then she closed the door of the washer, put in some detergent, switched the iron on to warm it up then fled to her room to change. Doppler grabbed the metal steps he had to have to get onto the washer because, as he wasn't as acrobatic or flexible as Amelia, he couldn't jump up with one hand and spin in mid air. Arrow, on the other hand, couldn't sit on the washer or tumble dryer for he was too big and would crush it so he usually paid or swapped chores with Amelia to sit on it for him.
Doppler picked up his book and returned to his previous page. Within ten minutes, Amelia returned, not wearing her usual grey pants and thigh high black boots but a pair of blue pyjama bottoms with bare feet, and then opened the washer door and threw in her stained pants. She switched the washer on then turned to Doppler.
"Would you please keep quiet about my, um, thingy?" she asked. Doppler looked up at her.
"You do know I'm not the best at keeping secrets; it may spill out or something." Doppler informed. Amelia's pupils extended, giving her the 'Bambi' eyes effect, with light glittering in her eyes as if she was about to burst into tears. "I promise." Doppler finished.
Amelia smiled then nodded her head and then snatched Doppler's basket from the floor. "Thank you, Doctor." Amelia thanked then strode over to the ironing board and picked up one of Doppler's white shirts and laid it on the board.
After ironing two pairs of trousers, three shirts and a waist coat in total silence and then folding them and piling them up on the side, Amelia became restless and scanned her head for something to talk about with the good Doctor.
"I should really get a new washing machine and dryer but sometimes it gains me extra money or gets rid of a few more chores for me." Amelia piped up then chuckled.
"True." Doppler replied, still reading. He glanced up at Amelia as she picked up a pair of his black underpants. He looked at her face but it remained unfazed. Doppler would most likely faint if he ever had to iron the Captain's underpants or bras.
"Do you do anything else than read and gaze at stars, Doctor?" Amelia asked, folding Doppler's underpants.
Doppler thought of something he could come back at with but nothing came to mind. "I guess not." He answered.
"Don't you have anyone to talk to?" Amelia asked.
"Not many people. I have Sarah, Jim's mother and a few scientists and astronomers I met at conventions or parties at the local academy from time to time." Doppler responded. The washer started to beep to signify it has finished and Doppler slid down from his perch and fished out Amelia's clothing into her basket. He then opened the tumble dryer and then piled the clothes inside and shut the door then turned it on.
"I thought you said you lived in a large house. Surely you have maids or butlers?" Amelia enquired while ironing a pair of breeches.
"Nope. My house is a mess. I've hired cleaners to do one or two rooms but they refused because it was too messy."
"Seriously? Even services turned you away? Is it really that bad?" Amelia gasped as she folded the breeches.
"Apparently yes." Doppler mumbled. He could imagine the Captain's face if she stepped foot into his library, with seven feet high piles of books and scattered sheets of paper. She'd be out the door in a flash.
The tumble dryer suddenly made a piercing whirling noise and started to shake. Doppler jumped out of his skin then he shot off of the tumble dryer. "Don't worry Doctor. It does that from time to time. It'll stop now." Amelia smiled and suppressed a giggle. Doppler, who was as pale as a white sheet, nodded then clambered back onto his spot rather awkwardly.
"You do know you're welcome to use the steps, Doctor?" Amelia reminded. Doppler blushed as he remembered the steps but he was already somewhat in his seat.
"Sorry." He mumbled.
"Why are you apologising? Sometimes I forget simple things too."
"I guess I'm used to apologising."
"Why would you be used to apologising?"
"Most likely because I'm a failure."
"You're not a failure, Doctor. If you were, you wouldn't be a man of physical science now, would you?" Amelia soothed. Doppler smiled a little.
"Guess so." he muttered.
Then the tumble beep once again to declare its job done and Doppler jumped down and opened the little door. He reached in with his hand, blushed as it scrapped the cup of a bra, and then pulled then clothes gently out and let them fall into the blue basket. Amelia folded the last pair of breeches then piled all the clothes back into their basket neatly.
"I would offer to do your ironing, Captain but I'm terrible at it and I'm sure you don't want a burnt shirt or coat or something." Doppler babbled as he dumped the blue basket onto the ironing board.
Amelia, who was holding the cream basket, chuckled. "Thank you for sitting on the washer and tumble for me, Doctor." She thanked.
"You're welcome. Thank you for doing my ironing." Doppler thanked. As he went to take his basket from Amelia, he gripped the handles, where Amelia's hands were. He blushed when he, without thinking, placed his hand right on top of Amelia's.
Again, Amelia let out a light chuckle. "You're welcome Doctor." Then snaked her hands from under his, still smiling. Like a flash, Amelia lent forward and pecked Doppler's cheek lightly then returned to her Captain's pose. "Surely you should be getting to bed, Doctor?" Amelia mentioned. Doppler blushed and without saying a word, turned and quickly crossed the room. She kissed me, she kissed ME! Deeply in thought, Doppler left the room in a daze but as he heard the door slowly close behind him with a creek, he rushed back and cried:
"Goodnight Captain!" And then the door slammed.
Amelia smiled to herself. "Goodnight Doctor." And then returned to her ironing.
Done! If I've missed a few things out, please point them out! Ta xx XD
Btw, this is set on the Legacy, probably a day before Arrow died. I like to think Doc and Ame had a bit of romance BEFORE Treasure Planet (possibly Arrow's death (R.I.P.))