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Fic: Rainbow-Hued Monstrosity - Chapter 1/?
Title: Rainbow-Hued Monstrosity
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tarnera
Appearing in this work: 6th Doctor, Peri
Spoilers/Timeline: Set some time before The Two Doctors. No spoilers.
Word Count: 1,347 (this chapter)
Summary: The Doctor's coat gets stolen. He wants it back.
Disclaimer/Thanks: I own nothing, save my crazy theories. This fic has, so far, been written with the encouragement of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
fic_rush, they're a great bunch!
The Doctor—clad resplendently in a brightly colored floral vest, green watch-chain, white shirt with a red stripe up the front, blue spotted tie, and yellow striped trousers—stood, fists planted firmly on hips, staring out at a small figure splashing joyfully around in the blue sea. The object of his attention waved merrily back at him. He scowled. "If she drowns," he muttered, the wind tugging at his blonde curls, "I am not going in there to save her." He turned away, heading back to where his colorful umbrella was planted firmly in the sand. Peri's towel was laid out in the shade under it along with a small pile of her clothing, and next to that, his technicolored coat.
"This is the last time I let her decide where we're going. What's so fun about going to the beach?" he asked no one in particular. In point of fact, there was no one to ask. The beach was deserted. He continued his monologue, waving his hands about to emphasize his words as he spoke. "We could be exploring the Crystal Caves of Dranari V; we could be wandering about the Endless Bazaar on Rungaro. We could even be touring the sights on Paltron VII, even though I've done that three times already. All of those things would be preferable to sitting here, feeling hot, and letting my shoes get full of sand!" The Doctor made a disgruntled snorting sound, crossed his arms, and sat down on his coat to punctuate the last statement. "Let's go to the beach, indeed! Why, I'd have more fun fishing! It would certainly be more relaxing." He sighed and decided that he would have to wait until Peri was ready to go. Since he certainly wasn't going to go into that water to pull her out for any reason, waiting was the only thing he could really do.
To pass the time, the Doctor started gathering up all the small rocks in his immediate vicinity. Then he started piling them up carefully, forming two small towers that gently leaned toward each other. He was just about to place a keystone in between them to form them into an arch when he heard something. He stopped what he was doing and looked up. That was definitely something, but was it something important? He listened more closely. That was Peri, and she was screaming! He jumped to his feet, letting the stones fall unheeded to the sands, and ran to where he had last seen her. From here she certainly looked like she was having trouble swimming—she was splashing around and shrieking loudly. Completely disregarding his earlier statement, the Doctor ripped off his shoes quickly. He then pulled his watch and chain from his vest, stuck them hastily in one of the shoes, dropped the whole affair unceremoniously down onto the sand, and ran down to the water as swiftly as he could.
Plunging in with only a small shudder of distaste, he moved rapidly toward the floundering Peri. As he got close enough to hear what she was saying without either of them having to shout she said, "What are you doing?"
He stopped, a little better than waist-deep in the salty wetness, and blinked at her. "I…thought I was saving your life. Weren't you drowning?"
"No! S-something in the water touched me. I think it was a fish." Peri looked down into the water uneasily.
The Doctor stared at her. "So. I have just run across the beach, taken off my shoes like a madman, and gotten my socks, not to mention my trousers, soaking wet, just because a fish scared you, hmmm?" He started to put his hands in his pockets, realized the pockets were currently underwater, and turned to go back to the beach. "Next time I'll just let you drown, see if I don't," he muttered quietly to himself.
"D-d-doctor!" Peri yelped behind him.
He sighed, turned toward her. "What is it now, Peri?"
"I-I thought I saw something. S-someone. Up on the beach."
He looked behind him. "I don't see anything. Or anyone. There wasn't anyone there when I ran down here. At least," he added in a slight undertone, "I certainly hope not." With a loud put-upon sigh, the Doctor started making his way back to dry land. Peri followed after him, looking like his glib dismissal of her statement hadn't convinced her in the slightest.
Upon reaching dry land, the Doctor looked down at his clothing. "Oh, this is dreadful!" he moaned. "I really liked this vest, and now it's completely ruined."
Peri peered at the offending article of clothing. "What are you talking about? The hem's barely damp, it'll be fine." She shivered slightly. "D-doctor, I'm cold."
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Well, if you will wear such ridiculous outfits." He waved his hand at her, indicating her pink and yellow bikini with both word and gesture.
"Like you can talk!" Peri scoffed. "And at least I don't go swimming fully clothed!" She marched off toward their umbrella in a huff.
"I'm not fully clothed," the Doctor said, a bit defensively, to her retreating back. "I took off my shoes, and I haven't worn my coat once since we got here." Muttering a few choice words under his breath, he bent over and tried to squeeze some of the water out of the hems of his trousers. It was a less than successful effort. He decided to give up and wear them until he could get back to the TARDIS, he'd be able to get clean, dry ones there. However, having wet feet was more than he was willing to put up with for even a short time, so he quickly stripped off his soaked and sandy socks. He picked up his shoes, watch, and chain, and followed after Peri.
By the time he made it up there, she had already put most of her clothing on over the bikini, and was toweling her hair dry. He put all the things he was carrying down and was reaching for the umbrella when he stopped, staring down at the sand where his coat had been.
Peri noticed the lack of talking first. Frowning, she lowered the towel so she could see him properly. He seemed to be frozen in one spot, looking down at the sand before his bare feet, leaning forward a bit with one arm extended toward the umbrella. It seemed a very uncomfortable position to hold voluntarily for very long. "D-doctor?" she said tentatively. "Doctor, are you alright?"
He didn't reply at first. Then he slowly turned his head to look at her, lowering his arm at the same time. There was a strange look on his face. Peri thought that it might be fear. "Peri," he almost whispered. "Peri, something terrible has happened!"
"W-w-what? D-doctor, what's wrong!" Peri cried.
"My coat!" he said.
She blinked. That wasn't what she had been expecting. "I said, what's wrong, Doctor? We can worry about your coat later, maybe buy you a better one, ok? Now, what's the matter? Tell me!"
He looked irritated. Peri realized that what she had seen on his face was not fear but a mixture of annoyance and disbelief. "That's just it, Peri. That's what's wrong. My coat is gone!" He paused, appeared to think about what she had said, then added, "Better one? Better one? What do you mean, buy me a better one?"
"Um…never mind, Doctor. Let's just concentrate on finding your coat. Your fine, very, um, elegant and tasteful coat," Peri said, hoping the blatant lies disguised as flattery would satisfy him.
"Hmm…" he eyed her suspiciously. "Well, I'm glad your palate has finally become accustomed to my refined tastes." He turned around to see if he could see any clues, completely missing Peri's eye-roll. "Now then, the question is, why would anyone steal my coat, and where is the thief now?"
Peri nodded. She completely agreed with the Doctor. Why would anyone steal that coat? That was certainly the question.
Chapter Two
Author:
tarneraAppearing in this work: 6th Doctor, Peri
Spoilers/Timeline: Set some time before The Two Doctors. No spoilers.
Word Count: 1,347 (this chapter)
Summary: The Doctor's coat gets stolen. He wants it back.
Disclaimer/Thanks: I own nothing, save my crazy theories. This fic has, so far, been written with the encouragement of
fic_rush, they're a great bunch!The Doctor—clad resplendently in a brightly colored floral vest, green watch-chain, white shirt with a red stripe up the front, blue spotted tie, and yellow striped trousers—stood, fists planted firmly on hips, staring out at a small figure splashing joyfully around in the blue sea. The object of his attention waved merrily back at him. He scowled. "If she drowns," he muttered, the wind tugging at his blonde curls, "I am not going in there to save her." He turned away, heading back to where his colorful umbrella was planted firmly in the sand. Peri's towel was laid out in the shade under it along with a small pile of her clothing, and next to that, his technicolored coat.
"This is the last time I let her decide where we're going. What's so fun about going to the beach?" he asked no one in particular. In point of fact, there was no one to ask. The beach was deserted. He continued his monologue, waving his hands about to emphasize his words as he spoke. "We could be exploring the Crystal Caves of Dranari V; we could be wandering about the Endless Bazaar on Rungaro. We could even be touring the sights on Paltron VII, even though I've done that three times already. All of those things would be preferable to sitting here, feeling hot, and letting my shoes get full of sand!" The Doctor made a disgruntled snorting sound, crossed his arms, and sat down on his coat to punctuate the last statement. "Let's go to the beach, indeed! Why, I'd have more fun fishing! It would certainly be more relaxing." He sighed and decided that he would have to wait until Peri was ready to go. Since he certainly wasn't going to go into that water to pull her out for any reason, waiting was the only thing he could really do.
To pass the time, the Doctor started gathering up all the small rocks in his immediate vicinity. Then he started piling them up carefully, forming two small towers that gently leaned toward each other. He was just about to place a keystone in between them to form them into an arch when he heard something. He stopped what he was doing and looked up. That was definitely something, but was it something important? He listened more closely. That was Peri, and she was screaming! He jumped to his feet, letting the stones fall unheeded to the sands, and ran to where he had last seen her. From here she certainly looked like she was having trouble swimming—she was splashing around and shrieking loudly. Completely disregarding his earlier statement, the Doctor ripped off his shoes quickly. He then pulled his watch and chain from his vest, stuck them hastily in one of the shoes, dropped the whole affair unceremoniously down onto the sand, and ran down to the water as swiftly as he could.
Plunging in with only a small shudder of distaste, he moved rapidly toward the floundering Peri. As he got close enough to hear what she was saying without either of them having to shout she said, "What are you doing?"
He stopped, a little better than waist-deep in the salty wetness, and blinked at her. "I…thought I was saving your life. Weren't you drowning?"
"No! S-something in the water touched me. I think it was a fish." Peri looked down into the water uneasily.
The Doctor stared at her. "So. I have just run across the beach, taken off my shoes like a madman, and gotten my socks, not to mention my trousers, soaking wet, just because a fish scared you, hmmm?" He started to put his hands in his pockets, realized the pockets were currently underwater, and turned to go back to the beach. "Next time I'll just let you drown, see if I don't," he muttered quietly to himself.
"D-d-doctor!" Peri yelped behind him.
He sighed, turned toward her. "What is it now, Peri?"
"I-I thought I saw something. S-someone. Up on the beach."
He looked behind him. "I don't see anything. Or anyone. There wasn't anyone there when I ran down here. At least," he added in a slight undertone, "I certainly hope not." With a loud put-upon sigh, the Doctor started making his way back to dry land. Peri followed after him, looking like his glib dismissal of her statement hadn't convinced her in the slightest.
Upon reaching dry land, the Doctor looked down at his clothing. "Oh, this is dreadful!" he moaned. "I really liked this vest, and now it's completely ruined."
Peri peered at the offending article of clothing. "What are you talking about? The hem's barely damp, it'll be fine." She shivered slightly. "D-doctor, I'm cold."
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Well, if you will wear such ridiculous outfits." He waved his hand at her, indicating her pink and yellow bikini with both word and gesture.
"Like you can talk!" Peri scoffed. "And at least I don't go swimming fully clothed!" She marched off toward their umbrella in a huff.
"I'm not fully clothed," the Doctor said, a bit defensively, to her retreating back. "I took off my shoes, and I haven't worn my coat once since we got here." Muttering a few choice words under his breath, he bent over and tried to squeeze some of the water out of the hems of his trousers. It was a less than successful effort. He decided to give up and wear them until he could get back to the TARDIS, he'd be able to get clean, dry ones there. However, having wet feet was more than he was willing to put up with for even a short time, so he quickly stripped off his soaked and sandy socks. He picked up his shoes, watch, and chain, and followed after Peri.
By the time he made it up there, she had already put most of her clothing on over the bikini, and was toweling her hair dry. He put all the things he was carrying down and was reaching for the umbrella when he stopped, staring down at the sand where his coat had been.
Peri noticed the lack of talking first. Frowning, she lowered the towel so she could see him properly. He seemed to be frozen in one spot, looking down at the sand before his bare feet, leaning forward a bit with one arm extended toward the umbrella. It seemed a very uncomfortable position to hold voluntarily for very long. "D-doctor?" she said tentatively. "Doctor, are you alright?"
He didn't reply at first. Then he slowly turned his head to look at her, lowering his arm at the same time. There was a strange look on his face. Peri thought that it might be fear. "Peri," he almost whispered. "Peri, something terrible has happened!"
"W-w-what? D-doctor, what's wrong!" Peri cried.
"My coat!" he said.
She blinked. That wasn't what she had been expecting. "I said, what's wrong, Doctor? We can worry about your coat later, maybe buy you a better one, ok? Now, what's the matter? Tell me!"
He looked irritated. Peri realized that what she had seen on his face was not fear but a mixture of annoyance and disbelief. "That's just it, Peri. That's what's wrong. My coat is gone!" He paused, appeared to think about what she had said, then added, "Better one? Better one? What do you mean, buy me a better one?"
"Um…never mind, Doctor. Let's just concentrate on finding your coat. Your fine, very, um, elegant and tasteful coat," Peri said, hoping the blatant lies disguised as flattery would satisfy him.
"Hmm…" he eyed her suspiciously. "Well, I'm glad your palate has finally become accustomed to my refined tastes." He turned around to see if he could see any clues, completely missing Peri's eye-roll. "Now then, the question is, why would anyone steal my coat, and where is the thief now?"
Peri nodded. She completely agreed with the Doctor. Why would anyone steal that coat? That was certainly the question.
Chapter Two