The day had finally arrived.
Their wedding.
Bernice was surrounded by her friends and family, new and old. Her father, Adrian, Bev, Peter and Diego. Jack, Ace, Ruth. Even Hass, Sofia the Grel, Keri and Claire Pakhar. And, of course- the Doctor. Four of him this time- every single one she'd met, as if two wasn't confusing enough the first time around. And those were just the guests she knew well enough to personally invite.
Rose petals drifted on the breeze, the sky had wispy, feathered clouds, birds chirped, flowers bloomed, and the fragrance of temporary spring made the Collection something practically out of a fairytale. It was the literal definition of perfect. Benny smiled.
Joseph floated up the aisle ahead of her, bearing the rings, and she took in a deep breath as she strode out slowly, through the crowds watching her every move intently.
Her dress was an interesting one, to say the least. White and gold, she and Brax had designed this piece together- a unique combination of human and Time Lord traditional garb. It had the iconic stiff ornamental collar, and parts of it were loose and drapey, like a robe. But she wore a veil over her old, bulky triangular earrings, and the long silk train was really more of a transparent cape trailing behind her. The whole dress was decorated with elaborate hand-stitched circular Gallifreyan, with meanings that Brax was yet to tell her until the vows.
Benny strutted up the aisle like she meant it, but her eyes were fixed on the ground in front of her. It had worked out so well the first time. She clutched the massive bouquet of red roses with an iron grip, and when she reached the end, stood opposite Irving.
He was wearing a three-piece suit with a tailcoat, and a few atypical embellishments. The tie was new, made to match her dress, along with an ornamental watch clipped to one pocket. And as for his side of the fusion- what had once been a large, bulky pendant was now a broach pinned to his neck in front of the knot of his tie, and a circlet set with large, deep crimson jewels rested on Braxiatel's head.
...Didn't he say that was the Coronet of Rassilon?
But she decided it was probably best not to ask questions.
Jack was the one officiating.
How exactly he slithered into the role, nobody knew for sure. But he'd married her son and his husband, which must've given him a little extra height to reach this position. Hah. Great. She was making puns.
The almost obnoxiously tall Victorian-dressed Kadeptian began reciting his part of the script. Or, as close to the script as he was willing to go. "Welcome everyone, one and all! We're gathered here at this very uncreative choice of location today to celebrate the adorable uniting of Irverfield, the ship that flew. It's about time, frankly. So, yada yada- we're about to say a few painfully drawn out words before we finally get it over with and reach the 'I do's."
There were butterflies in her stomach, she was dizzy, her head was painfully spinning, and her heart pounded a harsh rhythm in her chest, so hard she could hear it... no- that couldn't be right... There were two beats. She tried to keep going, but just as she was about to utter her vows...
Something soft, smooth and cold pressed itself up against her cheek, and Bernice's eyes shot open as she awoke in a cold sweat, her head aching more, and the man in question still wrapped in her arms, gripped tightly like that bouquet. Just another dream. Damn it. Why did it have to be so bloody realistic, too?
Benny blinked. ...Then she remembered bits of what happened last night.
"Brax... BRAX- Oh, bollocks. Again?"
He turned around in the bed and moved down to look her in the eye. His gaze was soothing and the sea behind them was calm. "I'm right here. What is it, Benny?"
Bernice sighed. "I sort of remember- I'm sorry. And it's nothing. Just a- just a... nightmare." This lie was bound to stop working eventually, but she didn't need to concern him with the details of that, and she really couldn't think of an alternative.
He put his hand to her cheek, and she gladly leant into the touch. "It's fine, Bernice." Curiosity got the best of him and he raised an eyebrow at her explanation. "...What sort of nightmare this time?"
"Complicated. Too..." she broke the sentence with a yawn, "...tired to explain."
Braxiatel didn't entirely believe her, but didn't attempt to press any further. If he asked, she'd probably fumble out some obvious fib because the truth was something she thought would make him uncomfortable. He'd wait until the time was right and she'd tell it to him. And if she never did, she wouldn't exactly have more secrets on him than he did her.
There was a long silence, but Benny yawned again and rubbed her eyes. "...Good news is I think Roda and I are getting along now, and I really don't mind the position I'm currently in. Bad news is I have a predictably nasty hangover." Bernice held her head as it pounded.
"You weren't getting along before?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
"You know me and thieves."
"Ah- yes. Right," he dialled back, not poking that sleeping bear.
She stretched. "Long story. If we did get along we definitely weren't friends. I think you could say we're friends now. I'm trying to think about what she talked about..." Bernice sat there staring off for a while before making a strange expression. "-Rassilon snores?"
Brax cringed at the thought. "Oh... I don't need to know that."
She frantically shook her head. "...I- I don't think it was in that context."
"I don't need to know that in any context," he commented, rolling his eyes.
Bernice groaned again, the pounding in her head especially bothersome. She tried to concentrate on the details, but failed to grasp them every time she got close to. "Can't remember why she said it..."
"Perhaps it's best that we don't question it," Irving suggested.
Yes, he was probably right about that.
Tracing things back, she got one thing. "Then, I think she got me going about Mars..."
"Well, I'm glad you two had fun talking about your passions."
She narrowed her eyes inquisitively and took a close look at Braxiatel, then sniffed. "...Did I say you smell nice? Was that me to you? Because you smell nice. Different cologne, or do I just... stink that much in comparison?"
Brax sat up and nodded. "You did say that, yes. Surprisingly observant- it is actually one of my less common choices," he paused, rubbing the back of his neck, "-And I appreciate the compliment, but maybe next time... not in front of everyone in the Rabbit?"
Benny winced and took a sharp inhale. "Oh. Umm... Sorry?"
"It was slightly awkward. But no, I don't think you stink."
"You're just being nice, aren't you though- I do probably need a shower... Ooooooo-ooww. Nevermind. Coffee first," she grunted, pushing herself up and supporting herself with her arms.
Brax leaned over to pat her forehead and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. "Wait here, Bernice- I'll get dressed and call for some- and give Roda a wake-up call. Just a moment."
In response, Benny just dug under the covers again to keep out of the light when he flicked it on. She closed her eyes and massaged her temples while Brax got up.
He took out one of the spare suits he'd placed in her closet. It was formal, but not overly. Two-piece dull navy pinstripe and a deep red spotted tie, it was less strictly tailored than usual, a comfortable and relaxed fit for him.
Braxiatel took a datapad from his pocket and made the call. It took nearly a minute to answer, and it looked and sounded like Roda fumbled half-asleep to answer, and she groaned and yawned in the comfortable bed. Eyes fully flickering open, they darted around to check her surroundings. Her eyes widened with realization as she remembered bits of the night.
"Omega- do I need to apologize to you, or just to Jack?" she nodded.
Irving blinked and furrowed his brows. "Why would you owe Jack an apology?"
"I have a vague recollection of making a mess," Roda sighed, siding in the bed.
He shrugged nonchalantly. "I didn't notice, but then again, I was more focused on Bernice."
Roda looked at him with a little concern, but her eyes couldn't rest on him- or much of anything, for more than a second or two. "She alright? Also... Where am I? Is this your TARDIS?"
"Still just my house. And yes, Benny is quite alright," he assured.
Her eyes scrunched up and she tried to block out the light. "I don't tend to get forgetful when drunk but my mouth tastes like ginger, which explains the headache?" She slowly processed his words. But house. That was weird. "Alright...you let me in your house ?"
He just shrugged again. "It's just a different area in the chateau than my study, you know. You never did get a very detailed tour, did you?"
Roda put an arm over her forehead and moaned. "Mostly spent dodging lasers and taking the same route to your office every time," she snarked.
Braxiatel gave in to that. "Well, yes. But I wouldn't just let you in my TARDIS. Aside from being the centrepiece of the Collection, it's only a house," he lied. Nobody needed to know.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Jack just said it was yours and my head's seen better days. Remember mentioning a TARDIS last night, I think. Must've been my own..." She paused. "... Why did you let me in here without specifically calling for me?"
"Because you couldn't drive in a state like that," he responded, the answer obvious.
That only made her look at him funny, like the whole thing was absurd. "Yeah, but you could've just kicked me out of the bar. Not that I'm not grateful!"
He rolled his eyes and held in a laugh. "So you could stumble around my gardens and touch things? I don't think so."
She stopped. "Ah. Ok, yeah- that makes more sense. Not that I'd touch things." Then she gave another puzzled expression, registering his words. "- Was I really time tot drunk?"
He confirmed it by looking as disinterested as possible. "Yes. You were."
"Omega... I didn't have near enough alcohol for that. It must've been a lot of ginger beer." Her head ached and she'd clearly seen better days. Most definitely.
Brax looked painfully unamused. "You found a whole bottle on the floor."
"Ah. Sorry, the floor ?"
"...Close enough to it."
Her expression could probably be boiled down to 'shit.' "Oh dear. And Professor Summerfield. How's her head? And let me know when you want to kick me out. I feel like my head's inside a marching band, but I can walk in a straight line."
He didn't give any details about how Benny was doing- if she wanted to, she could do so herself- just giving Roda some instructions. "You may join Bernice and I in the kitchen for a stiff cup of coffee and think about your actions last night."
"...Which way's the kitchen? I could definitely do with the coffee. But- and I can't believe I'm saying this again- I am many centuries older than you," Roda nearly laughed, but it was too pained to really sound like one.
He gave a vague direction for her to follow. "Down the stairs at the far end of the hall, third door on the right. And I'm still not inclined to believe that, but I don't have the time to fight you on it right now."
"Thank you. I'll be there... in a minute."
The call went black and Brax punched in a few orders to Joseph for the drink in the kitchen, went back to the bed, sat down beside Bernice and shook her a little, rubbing her shoulder and pushing the covers aside.
"Coffee?" she yawned.
"Yes- let's go to the main kitchen. It should be ready by the time we get there."
Benny nodded, following behind Brax, then taking his arm for balance when she started stumbling a bit. The headache was awful, but at least she didn't feel like she was going to be sick. But if she could trust anyone to stop that from happening, she could trust him.
They got to the right doorway, and Braxiatel let go of her hand and stepped back. Roda was already waiting at the kitchen table, eyes lidded and seeming to be drifting off over her mug. Bernice fell into an adjacent chair, the porter silently floating a mug in front of her.
"Thanks, Joseph- and sorry for all this, Brax."
"It's alright, Benny- just sit here for now and drink your coffee. You can deal with the rest later."
Brax looked down at the two of them with minor disappointment, also accepting a mug floated over from Joseph himself, taking a long, slow sip.
Roda woke back up at the sound of Bernice's creaking chair and propped her head up with an elbow to the table. "...S'good coffee. How's your head, professor?
Benny sighed. "Yeah. It's good stuff. But... not great. Feel like shit-" she paused, "How're you then?"
Roda blinked and took another slurp. "Well, I just woke up on this table, so I think I fell asleep halfway through my cup of coffee."
Bernice raised an eyebrow. "It was a damn good night, yeah- but I'm surprised that you're tired." Typically if she went out with anyone nowadays, the bender would come back to kick her later, but anyone else would scarcely feel it in the morning- it made her feel old. By all logic, a Time Lord should make her feel younger just by proximity, but their tolerance tended to keep that out of reach. This was certainly different.
"I'm reliably told that I drank a whole bottle of ginger beer," she grimaced.
"Ah."
"Ironically, think that's worse than having mixed my own drinks. But I'm pretty sure I told Jack I'd do him a favour to make up for the mess, and Braxiatel offered me coffee, which I am not turning down..." she put on a pained smile. "Glad you're upright, though!"
"Yeah, thanks to Brax and Jack. I don't entirely believe I'd be up at all if we weren't cut off."
"Not up until the afternoon again, you think?"
"Sorry. I'm probably a bad influence. But, from what I remember of talking, I had a good night...?" she asked, as if anyone else would know exactly how she felt.
Benny nodded. "I did too. And no, you're not a bad influence on me. I'm a bad influence on Brax. In regards to drinking, that is." She pointed at him.
He disagreed. "That's not true, Bernice, I enjoyed wine and brandy long before I met you."
Benny stared at him, her gaze interrogative and pointed, but still a little amused. "One question- if you weren't trying to lure me over to Legion, would you have ever started a bar of all things? I think the universe over knows how I flock to those."
He looked back awkwardly. "Erm- uh... -You know, probably not." If that was any sort of argument, which it probably wasn't, Bernice just won.
"And there you go."
Roda raised an eyebrow, obviously out of the loop. And Benny did little to explain.
"Long story. Very long story."
Roda smiled slightly uncomfortably. "That's... romantic? ...Maybe?"
"In that case, almost certainly not."
"Using the word lure is rather misleading in regards to my intentions, Bernice."
"Yeah, but 'draw me across the galaxy and then make an obvious place I would visit' is a bit long-winded." She took a long swig of hot coffee. "Ahhhh... Good. "
"There's a difference between a lure and an enticement," he smirked.
Bernice chuckled. "Barely. You're just being pedantic."
Roda thanked him the best she could. "You got us both in safely last night from what I remember- so if it helps I hadn't thought it was... ill-intented. I don't think intented is a word, but y'know."
His lip curled up in condescending amusement. "That's because it's not."
Benny shook herself and racked her brain over it. "You're close, I think. It's intended or intentioned I believe. Want me to make breakfast?"
She nodded back groggily. "Intentioned sounds right... And I'm alright, but thanks. I'll probably nap again before I return the favour to Jack and then eat something."
Bernice gave a breath of relief. "Thanks really. I'm not very good at making food anyway, I was just being nice. I'll just activate the food replicator- code for a bacon sandwich. That should be good enough for now." Like her mind had gotten an error message while loading, Bernice stared off for a long while before bolting upright. "...Oh bollocks- I nearly forgot... The first semester of university is next week- I have to prep my classes-"
Brax confirmed it. "Yes, Benny. It is- and there is something important that needs to happen first. I'll tell you soon," he teased.
She cocked an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
But he failed to elaborate further. "You should be ready for the year first. And be fully conscious without a hangover." There was a mischievous glint in his eye- he was definitely planning something, but nobody else was quite awake enough to catch it.
Benny yawned again. "Alright, I'll do that soon, finish up lessons. I have a particular pupil in that I already like quite a lot and I don't want to disappoint them."
Brax rolled his eyes. The Oakdown child. "Nikhedonia? The one you pushed so hard to get in that you offered me to pay their exorbitant tuition fees yourself?"
"I never did recall them being that expensive..." she muttered.
He'd had an excuse made up for this- a legitimate excuse, but an excuse nonetheless. "Lacking prior credentials in education, it's not easy to catch up with that." Irving's comment was followed by him pouring himself more coffee.
She gave a resigned sigh. "No, it's not, is it..."
Roda huffed. "I'm sure you won't disappoint them. You seemed like an energetic tutor- professor last night. Take care, though. I will... finish this coffee and also probably head out, I think. Not that I'm not grateful for the spare room."
"It's not like we haven't got a surplus or anything," Benny joked.
Brax made a so-so gesture. "Well, a few. Most of the suites that would be in the original Versailles are research areas."
"Maybe I should get a proper tour around..." Roda's eyes darted about.
He cleared his throat at her pointedly before speaking. "You've cased the Collection before, I'm not giving you even more details on where the valuable items are in case you decide to turn your back on this position. At least, not for a while- until I can trust you," he stated simply.
At that, Benny stared at Roda with her jaw to the floor, dumbfounded.
"You did WHAT?"
She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "A few... dozen ye- no, couple centuries ago I came in with a duped key and research ticket, DNA shimmer, broke in, had a peek."
He'd find a way to tell his past self about that if he could, but not anymore. Braxiatel straightened his cuffs and turned around on his heel, glancing over his shoulder. "I'm afraid I've business to attend to. I'm sure I'm already quite late for something. But I trust that you two can make it up to Jack?"
"Yeah, I will, Braxiatel," Roda promised.
"I'll just drop by and tip him extra. He appreciates that," Benny nodded.
Brax clasped his hands together, evidently pleased now they'd all come to a solution.
"Well- it's settled then. With that- farewell."
He walked towards the exit to the kitchen, but suddenly stopped. "And Roda- when you're past the hangover and well-rested... please get out of my house and don't come back without express permission. Not just anyone is allowed in here."
She almost laughed. "There's the Braxiatel I know."
He clicked his tongue. He still didn't dislike her, he just didn't trust her. And it was a statement almost unequivocally false. "I'm afraid that's because you don't know me at all. Goodbye."
And then he walked out, footsteps echoing on the floors outside, leaving Roda and Bernice sitting- and sipping, in awkward silence.
