The dim office was currently home to what had become a mildly annoyed TARDIS and two partners, (one human, one Time Lord who generally preferred to keep his species discreet,) both exhausted after a very long evening of shagging like rabbits- fittingly, to make up for after an absolute failure of a date in a bar called the White Rabbit. Neither part of this was surprising: the White Rabbit was not actually a very good place for a date regardless of its location, especially for two public figures extremely well-known at the Braxiatel Collection, and regardless of its exact nature, they'd both come to quite enjoy the more emotionally and physically intimate side of things as a way to share a part of themselves.

Still breathing heavily, bodies limp on the desk or floor, they finally took the initiative and managed to stand or sit back up. Balance wasn't particularly good at the moment, with their heads full of the blurry haze of either poorly or completely uncontrolled euphoric hormones, but it was passing and they started to function properly again.

Finally, Bernice Summerfield got enough air to speak for once. "Well- certainly was posh, give it that. Bit unconventional for a wine and dine. And you beat me fair and square." She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, feigning frustration at her loss and accepting defeat.

"It is what I do best. But thank you for pointing out the obvious, Benny. I believe you're now 0 for 3." Braxiatel smiled smugly and softly pecked her on the lips.

Her face lit up again at just that little bit of much calmer affection and she sighed. "Actually keeping score? Damn. That'll be evened out soon enough. But whatever it was, that wasn't boring. Don't mind 'not boring.'"

He laughed softly. "Agreed. Avoiding dullness is an endeavour of mine, after all. Certainly not boring on my end either."

"I try. Care to come to mine? Spend the night?"

He nodded slowly. "I wouldn't mind- though allow me the time to get a spare suit. Or two. If I'm going to spend any reasonable amount of time in your rooms, we should have extra clothes. The same should probably be said for here-"

She finished his sentence for him. "...In case something happens. Yeah. For now, my jacket can wait for me."

Silently, they'd started finding the clothes they had been wearing. It was all strewn across the place- some was on the floor, Brax's tie had ended up on a lampshade, Bernice's shirt was hanging off of the knob of a desk drawer... and that was only the beginning of it.

"Better we hurry up. With our luck, Jason will somehow get into the mansionhouse and burst in blubbering," he snarked.

"Goddess. Not exactly what I was thinking, but that's certainly a motivation." She finally got her shirt back on and was decent enough to get out. As he straightened his tie, somehow otherwise already completely dressed, she looked at him for approval. "Now, is this fine? Hair's a bit messy, but hope it's okay for now. For, well- ten minutes."

Braxiatel gave a thin smile and gently brushed a lock of the short, dark hair out of her face. "It looks alright. Don't worry about it, Benny."

"Good. Don't exactly need to look great for long, but I'd prefer to not be too obvious." The mansionhouse had enough windows and other residents that their decency could still be an issue. "I mean- it's not like we're able to be very discreet anymore, but where is the thing."

He nodded. "Just because everyone knows, doesn't mean we need to flaunt it."

"Bingo!"

Bernice pondered on what was happening and grimaced as she pulled on her boots. "-Especially with what you said. Yeah. The old Jason is around now, and that's- well..." She trailed off, unable to finish speaking her mind. "...Goddess."

Jason really didn't need to get properly brought up again now, and Brax frowned and looked away in irritation at the thought, already regretting the comment he made earlier. Starting to reorganize the papers and floppy screens that their enthusiastic romp had thrown across the floor, he waited for Bernice to finish grumbling incomprehensible words on her ex-husband.

He started explaining. "With the situation, I'm going to call him to that staff meeting. And the one who's supposed to belong here. Regardless of if they wish to come, it will likely be required to comprehend the anomalies or suspicious activity."

"Anyone else?"

Braxiatel counted the conditions out on his fingers. "I believe it should be limited to those either close acquaintances of ours, people particularly knowledgeable of what we did, or are aware of the nuances of time."

Benny raised an eyebrow. "That cuts almost everyone out."

"We just can't make a scene about it. Thousands of people here, not including the students coming soon- even all the department heads knowing could spiral into a mass panic before we can deduce a thing. Discretion is the key. Just about everyone counted in that is us, him, Jack, Peter, Joseph, and Roda- well, she fits into the last category anyway. Make it appear to be a friendly gathering. There's a goal in mind and it must be known to few," he explained in detail.

"Get that." She paused, getting behind him and wrapping her arms around to his chest, pressing a cheek upon his back. "Just... give us some time before we get back to thinking about work."

He appreciated the warmth of her embrace, but stepped away from it all the same. "Yes, yes. Sorry. I'll get those spare clothes and we can retire."

"Thanks, I'll be waiting." She turned to the door, threw him a nervous smile, and it creaked shut behind her, before swinging back open. "Oh, and Brax- I'm going to need some more genetic binding ointment."

He raised both eyebrows and cocked his head in concern. "More genetic binding ointment? Now? Are you quite alright?"

"It's fine. It's just-" Bernice rolled her eyes- and to illustrate her point, pulled aside her collar. The skin underneath it was spotted with bruises and already turning red. "You... leave a lot of marks."

Several expressions crossed his face as he tried to figure out exactly what to say to that. "Ah. Erm. Hmm... Yes, no more questions! I'll bring that right to you! Nothing to worry about."

"Thanks, love you, bye!" She waved and the doorknob clicked as it closed and she was gone from his study.

He muttered it under his breath. "I love you too, Bernice..."


Bernice's eyes shot open as she woke up feeling ice cold. Yes, she was underneath a duvet, and the room temperature was always supposed to be totally consistent and suited to humans. It shouldn't have been an issue at all. But when she felt exactly where the cold was coming from, she gathered exactly what had happened. Or close enough, anyway.

For the purposes of comfort, they'd started the night far on separate sides of the bed. Evidently, a near-naked Brax had slowly sidled over and subconsciously wrapped his arms around her from behind, because not only was her torso particularly chilly, his previously muffled human-like snores had come to be akin to the satisfied purring of a cat.

And Benny knew a bit too well how that sounded.

This was very much like the opposite of suddenly waking up with an inconsiderate Wolsey sitting on top of her face, but the emotion it brought forth was definitely a bit similar. Were Time Lords really that much like cats? Seemed to be the case, sometimes.

Simultaneously endeared, confused, and somewhat irritated by the Time Lord snuggling up and using her body like a human hot water bottle, she murmured a soft, indignant 'hmph.' Resigned to it, this was something she supposed she could get used to. She didn't even mind it much after a bit of thought. In fact, it was really quite sweet. Not that she suspected he'd really acknowledge it too much in the morning, but even knowing that Brax was willing to rest with her long enough for this to happen at all gave her pause.

Bernice slowly pulled the duvet up higher over the both of them, trying not to startle him awake. A partner who was a heat sink because his body temperature was barely more than half of her own was something to remember. Next time she'd wear pyjamas.

Benny smiled softly and started to drift off again, just thinking in the soothing presence of Braxiatel's closeness, what it all really meant. For this to somehow work, for this to seem so blissful even though it clearly didn't start with a honeymoon period, for there to be actual substance to this and it not just entirely be an act neither knew they were putting up, for them to be slowly solving problems together. That in itself made her feel warm.


It wasn't hard to say that the second time she awoke was far better than the first, slow and relaxed with a little light peeking past the curtains. Brax was a little bit further back and softly stroking her hair when she turned over to meet his eyes, cool blue-grey and soft, watching her through the night. "Brax."

"Benny. Good morning. Did you sleep well?" he asked like he always seemed to now, gently moving that hand from the top of her head to her cheek.

She smiled fondly, blinking slowly. "Mostly alright. Better than usual. Just... remind me to wear something decent next time. You're bloody cold."

Brax's face scrunched up in understanding. "Ah. Yes, that would be a concern. Hadn't really considered it. Sorry."

"No, no. Don't be. Other than that... Well, it was quite nice, actually." She moved further towards him, touching their foreheads together. That was something they'd done in some way for a long time. It was a sort of- calm gesture of vulnerability, romantic or otherwise. Goddess, Time Lords really were like cats...

Braxiatel savoured that for what felt like hours, but was really scarcely any time at all, before kissing her on the forehead where they'd previously been touching and moving away. "We should probably get up. It's currently 8:43."

She huffed in amusement. "That a guess or your superior Time Lord physiognomy?"

He either didn't catch the joke or wanted to explain it properly. "No, I can just see your alarm clock from this angle. I could draw a decent guess with it, but unless yours somehow isn't accurate after having been synced by Joseph, I doubt it would be particularly useful in comparison."

"Right, yes. Get up." She yawned, stretched, and cleared her throat. Work to do.

She squinted and pushed herself up out of the bed. Braxiatel had beaten her to getting up and flicked on the lights. Flinching at the sudden brightness, Bernice pulled an arm over her eyes and let herself slowly adjust before moving it aside. By the time she'd done so and fully opened her eyes again, he was again somehow already dressed, finishing up with his tie and buttoning the jacket.

Benny raised an eyebrow. He didn't get what was strange about it at all.

"What?"

Brax gave a confused half-shrug and she gave up, then started digging through her dresser in hopes of a decent piece of clothing that wasn't too much or two little. Things were getting a bit cool out- maybe something with long sleeves.

Irving turned towards the entrance to the room, then in the threshold stopped and stared. He wasn't paying attention to her state of undress at the moment, just catching her eye. "I'll be waiting in the kitchen. Start a relaxed Saturday morning with some coffee and a good breakfast."

This instantly turned her mood around. Benny's eyes widened and she glared.

"SATURDAY?! It's crukking Saturday?"

"Yes, it is Saturday, Benny," he stated matter-of-factly.

Wishing she could've gone back to bed, she was already far too aware of everything to sleep in for the weekend. Groaning, she ushered him out of the room so she could finish putting everything on.

"Goddess..."

Having trouble sifting through the mess to find the right jeans, Benny's mind fell back to something. If he was actually going to be spending any reasonable amount of time in here, she realized- this place also needed a tidying up as well. Bernice sighed. No days were perfect. Not even Saturdays.

But the trek to the kitchen wasn't too exhausting, really. If he was inviting her all the way there, it probably meant he wanted to make breakfast. And his thousands of years of living had definitely lent themselves to letting him be a quite excellent cook. Brax was also good at poisoning people, but she doubted that skill of his would be applicable here.

When she reached the kitchen, Bernice didn't know what she expected. But the wafting scent of buttery pastry and chocolate wasn't it. She caught sight of the chocolate croissants in the oven and her jaw fell to the floor. Golden, flaky, perfect.

"Goddess... How did you make these so fast?"

"Other than the baking, I prepared them yesterday before we left for the Rabbit-" He paused, straightening his tie nervously. "-Admittedly, mainly in case I did something wrong and an apology needed to be given. But they seem to be turning out quite splendidly."

She frowned at him still thinking things would get messy again if he just said the wrong thing, but Benny couldn't help but take a long whiff of the lovely smell and grin once more. "You could say that again! These look better than the ones at Vosta!" her mouth was already watering.

"Why thank you. But the taste is what matters." He chuckled. "Just be patient. We'll find out soon enough."

He was spoiling her again. And Bernice was growing to appreciate his love language, her actual cup of tea or not. Also, she was leaving the Collection briefly to pick some things up for their one-month tomorrow, so this wouldn't exactly go unreciprocated.

Perhaps he was also doing this because he considered it a day earlier and was going off the confession rather than when they actually sorted things out. It was a nice thought, at least.

Bernice brewed the coffee, poured orange juice, and set the table, while Irving kept near-obsessively checking the croissants. Eventually, about ten minutes later they were done, and after another agonizing ten minutes of waiting for them to rest outside the oven, Braxiatel finally served them, one each to start with.

Benny took a huge appreciative bite, followed by a long "Mmmmf!" Brax was more polite with his slow and deliberate nibbles.

"Like it?"

"Love it."

"Good." Braxiatel settled down at the table and opened up the newspaper that had been resting on it. His expression went from a grin to a betrayed scowl instantly and his face ended up in his hands. "My own newspaper..."

She glanced over, puzzled. "What?"

He slid it over to Benny, not beating around the bush in the slightest. "Well, we've been on here before, but it looks like since they actually got some pictures... today we're on the front page."

"Cruk-" The headline on the floppy screen read 'Collection's Biggest Couple Make Public Debut, Dubbed Irverfield,' and underneath was a holograph from immediately after she'd kissed him and was slamming the table. Benny fell back in her chair, head leaning back before taking a frustrated bite. "...Yeah, making these was a good move."

Moving it aside, he finally got back to his own. "I'll have a conversation with the editor of The Notes- if they're going to write these things, they at least shouldn't have pictures or be out on the front if it isn't for an event, slow news week or not."

"That's a bit of a generous compromise, isn't it?" She raised an eyebrow.

"More generous than reopening it in the first place even knowing full well it runs these stories?" Brax questioned.

She winced. "...Fair point. At least this is local."

"Just try to have a good morning, Benny. This will get sorted out," Braxiatel added, an ominous aura shooting off before getting disrupted and falling into something deeply caring again, a hand resting on hers from across the table.

She just sat there for a while, sipping coffee and chewing on the sweet and savoury bread, staring at him fondly. He didn't say it out loud this time, but she knew what he meant.

"I love you too."