AN – This is for girl-from-another-dimension on Tumblr. My own Tumblr account is abbzworld, for those curious. :)
And just so you know, I took a bit of creative license with this one as I don't know what Clara's favorite type of coffee is nor the Doctor's favorite type of tea. So, I hope you don't mind. Lol
Please enjoy! :D
Bittersweet Memories
Regeneration was a tricky business.
Aside from the mental and sometimes physical trauma of your entire body and personality changing after nearly dying, you also have to get used to the way you now look and act.
The Doctor has already experienced this several times over his millennia of travelling.
His first body was a cankerous old man that still had a soft side, while his second body was a clownish young man that often fooled his enemies by appearing stupider than he actually was. This trend of contrasting personalities and the occasional appearance as well has continued throughout the many centuries he's been travelling the universe for.
Sometimes he was more aggressive and opinionated, while other times he was kind and preferred to settle things peacefully. Some of his recent bodies had been more romantically inclined, such as with River and Rose, while others were more cynical and preferred platonic relationships.
His interests and hobbies have also differed throughout his many bodies, as well.
His fashion sense has always been a little… peculiar, but it's been a sort of "tradition", of sorts, to find something new to wear whenever he regenerated.
He sometimes liked scarves, other times he wore bowties and ridiculous hats, and still other times, he wore a vegetable on his coat lapel… for some reason.
Those exact same differing tastes also applied to the many different kinds of foods and drinks out there.
While some of his bodies enjoyed consuming certain things, like coffee, most of his bodies enjoyed drinking tea instead, on account of being influenced, often times literally, by his mostly British and UK residing companions.
His current body, the one with the angry eyebrows and the silver hair, was no different.
He could recall drinking herbal tea with seven sugars a few times in his past in this body, such as his ridiculous stint of being the "president of the world" as well as drinking it in Davros' chair in front of a dozen or so bewildered Daleks, and he could remember greatly enjoying this drink.
Some people told him that seven sugars was way too much, but he just ignored them. It made the tea nice and sweet with just a tiny amount of bitterness to it.
And as it was, he was doing some repairs on his ship when he eventually found himself craving a real cup of herbal tea. He knew that the TARDIS would be able to procure him this drink, but he found that he needed some fresh air, as well.
And so, once his repairs were done, he approached the central console and softly murmured, "Well, how about it, old girl? Fancy making a quick trip to Earth?"
He could feel her eagerness, and so he smiled and entered the coordinates for Cardiff.
Once they'd arrived, he quickly checked that they were in the right place – which was admittedly something that he should probably do more often – before exiting his ship.
He saw that his arrival went mostly unnoticed, which was good, and walked out onto the somewhat busy streets to find a respectable café somewhere nearby.
As he walked, he felt content for the first time in a long while. Sure, his recent adventure and subsequent victory against the Shoal of the Winter Harmony had brought up some bittersweet memories, but he had persevered, just as he always did.
And seeing as how Nardole was busy on another planet light-years away from Earth, the Doctor had a bunch of free time to himself, which was something he was going to take advantage of before something serious – like another alien invasion – came to his attention once again.
Regardless, he soon came across a quaint café on a busy street corner and as he approached it, he noticed that it had its menu outside.
Quickly scanning the different items on it, he smiled when he noticed that sure enough, herbal tea was on there.
However, just as he was about to stand up to go inside, he suddenly noticed the word "latte".
Frowning, he briefly pondered why that particular word stood out to him, especially since he was quite certain that coffee and lattes were something that many cafés and restaurants sold. Regardless, he shrugged and after quickly remembering to check that he had enough money on him that was the correct currency, he stepped inside.
Getting in line, he took a look around at the interior of the café.
It was modestly decorated, with potted plants hanging from the ceiling, flowers on the window sills, and lovely hardwood flooring and wallpaper with some pictures and paintings as well as an award or two hanging on the walls. It also had a homely scent and was clearly somewhat popular, as there was a small crowd inside.
As he was standing there, however, his mind once again went back to what he'd noticed on the menu outside, as well as on the overhead menu above the counter.
Latte… Latte… Why does this sound familiar to me? The Doctor thought to himself, frowning. It was almost as though he were trying to remember something…
His attention was quickly brought back over to his current surroundings, though, when he noticed that the line was advancing forwards, forcing him to have to keep up and not get lost in his thoughts.
After it was his turn to order, he stood off to the side as the staff began to prepare it.
As he stood there, he stared back up at the overhead menu, where the word "latte" continued to bother him. It was right there, at the forefront of his mind. It was almost like he knew what it reminded him of, but he just couldn't remember anything specific.
Frowning thoughtfully to himself, he pondered what it could mean and he could feel himself growing almost frustrated that it just wasn't coming to him.
Eventually, his tea was ready and so he thanked the staff before sitting down at a table.
As he sipped his tea, his mind began to drift as he allowed himself to relax. A small part of him was hesitant to do so, since he found that something bad usually happened whenever he tried to relax. However, he was hoping that this time around, it would help solve this current small mystery of his.
And surprisingly, it slowly but surely began to.
As he continued to sip his tea, he closed his eyes as he let the warmth of his tea, the homely scents and gentle ambience of the café, and his first truly quiet moment in a little while flow through him.
He finally properly relaxed, as his mind began to drift towards what was bothering him about the word "latte".
And all of sudden, he began to hear voices.
He was initially startled, only to suddenly realize that he was having some sort of flashback. And so, he concentrated on the voices in order to make out what they were saying. He was careful to not think about it too hard, though, as he knew that that would only be counterproductive.
And so, he let himself stay relaxed as he continued to sip his tea and focus on the voices.
And gradually, he could make out what they were saying.
"Why don't you like coffee, Doctor? I mean, it's not like you haven't had it before!"
It was a woman's voice, and the tone of her voice as she was asking him this question wasn't accusatory. Merely… curious.
He could then "hear" himself sigh in response to this woman's question. "I have had coffee before, yes, but it just wasn't to my tastes."
He was beginning to wonder who he was talking to in this flashback, and why they sounded almost familiar to him.
Knowing that he wouldn't be able to figure it out on his own, he continued to "listen in" on the flashback.
"I suppose that's fair." The woman continued. "I mean, I personally prefer coffee over tea, but it really depends on the situation."
"Oh, does it now?" He heard himself say, sounding almost amused at the woman's response.
"Yep. I liked tea as a little girl, but I gradually began to appreciate coffee as I grew older and started to drink it more."
There was a brief pause, in which the Doctor pictured himself shrugging. "I suppose that that makes sense."
"Of course it does!" He heard the woman say and he could practically hear her smiling at him.
He then heard himself chuckle. "And let me guess: you're in a coffee mood right now?"
"Yep!" The woman giggled. "I am!"
He chuckled again before responding with, "Alright then, and which type of coffee are you going to be getting?"
"A latte, of course!"
There was another brief pause, as the Doctor pictured himself nodding before he asked, "Of course? You mean that this is your favorite type of coffee?"
He then heard the woman sigh and pictured her rolling her eyes at him in an almost fond way. "You really are forgetful sometimes, aren't you, you daft old man?"
The Doctor smiled as he listened in on this part of the flashback and the warm way the woman spoke to him in a way that was teasingly friendly. They were clearly best friends.
"Yes, I know. It's sort of my… thing in this regeneration."
He then heard the woman chuckle. "You mean aside from the yoyo, sniffing flowers and the absurd amount of sugar you always put in your tea?"
He heard himself huff. "Oh, it's not that bad!"
The woman giggled. "Sure, Doctor."
The woman continued to giggle as he heard himself huff again and say, "Well, whatever. So, where are we going to get your coffee?"
He pictured the woman shrugging at his question. "I'm not entirely sure, but there is a café nearby. How about we try there?"
He pictured himself smiling. "Alright then, you're the boss."
"Oh, stop it you."
He pictured himself shrugging before the woman said, "Well then, let's get going!"
He heard himself chuckling before he said, "Alright, I'm coming, Clara."
Afterwards, the flashback abruptly ended as the Doctor suddenly opened his eyes, the name "Clara" sounding familiar to him.
And then, he began to remember.
A mummy on the Orient Express. An Ice Warrior on a Russian submarine during the Cold War. Visiting the second most beautiful garden in all of time and space.
His Impossible Girl.
He still couldn't quite remember what she looked like, but what he did remember was the many adventures they went on and now, he was beginning to remember what she sounded like and certain traits of her personality, like what she did and didn't like.
Slowly opening his eyes, he felt tears beginning to well up in them.
Quickly wiping them away before someone noticed, he sniffed and sighed before continuing to drink his tea, which was beginning to cool down.
He finished it fairly quickly before returning the mug to the front, thanking them one last time, and then heading out the door.
He remembered where he parked his TARDIS, so he found it fairly quickly and as he stepped inside, the TARDIS seemed to sense his melancholy mood.
"Nothing to worry about, old girl." He was quick to reassure her. "Just…"
He paused and then sighed. "Just old memories resurfacing."
His ship seemed to understand what he meant, for she didn't push him for more information, which he could only be thankful for.
After taking a moment to look around the console room, he sighed and then put the coordinates for the time and place in order to pick Nardole up into the controls before throwing the lever.
As the column rose and fell as he dematerialized, he thought back to what he remembered in the café.
Even though he doesn't currently remember her, there was still a possibility that he would cross paths with her again.
At this thought, he smiled as he ventured into the time vortex.
Well, onto the next adventure.
AN – I hope you enjoyed! If you did, feel free to leave a review. I'd greatly appreciate it! :)