[Our Magic Place] RP with velvetdoc

[his_sarah_jane]

It was pretty and sunny with hardly a cloud in the sky. There was a small breeze blowing around the bench Sarah Jane waited on, ruffling her hair and the light blue skirt. It really was beautiful out today, the perfect weather in her opinion for a first date.

Leaning back in the bench, legs crossed and eyes closed, Sarah smiled contently into the sun as she waited for the Doctor to show up. He'd be here eventually, and until then, there was nothing better to do than enjoy the weather.

Comments

[velvetdoc.livejournal.com]

The Doctor sighed inwardly. She was annoyed at him now.

Well, he had no intention of rushing things. This sort of relationship with a human was new to him and he was still feeling his way. Jumping into bed with Sarah, however much he desired it, would be a mistake on so many levels. He still didn't understand how humans viewed such things, and he didn't want to mess things up with mixed messages.

Instead of trying to explain this, he changed the subject. "So, James Bond. Are you actually a fan, or just humouring me?"

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

Sarah looked up from her salad, raising her eyebrows at the question. "And why would you think I'd humour you with something like that? Aside from the fact that he's a horrible male chauvinist at times, I rather do enjoy the stories."

[velvetdoc.livejournal.com]

"The book I read seemed to indicate that girls were expected to lie about their interests to make boys like them. Though, I have to admit I found it difficult to believe that you would do such a thing." The Doctor took a forkful of salad and gestured before putting it in his mouth.

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"I was eleven," Sarah answered, sighing slightly. He really was out to drive her absolutely mad tonight, wasn't he? "Anyway, not all of the women in the novels were like that."

[velvetdoc.livejournal.com]

The Doctor was properly bewildered now. "I wasn't talking about a novel, or that story of yours I read, I was referring to the etiquette manual, which was ten years old and American to boot and involved some rather strange rules about how girls were supposed to behave on dates."

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"I thought you were still talking about James Bond," she answered, gesturing with her fork. "You shouldn't change the subject so abruptly, and more than that, you shouldn't believe everything in dated books."

[velvetdoc.livejournal.com]

"My dear, if you can't keep up with me, I don't know why you put up with me." He took a sip of wine. "And I wouldn't have expected things to change that much in a decade."

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"And why's that?" Sarah took another bite of her salad, looking at him curiously. "Short lifespans, remember? We have to change at a rather quick rate if we're to get anywhere."

[velvetdoc.livejournal.com]

"But from my perspective it seems incredibly fast. You have to understand that, Sarah." He finished off the last of his salad, twirling it around the bowl to make sure he got all the dressing.

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"Then next time don't get an outdated dating advice book. Actually, don't get any book at all."

Sarah smiled sweetly as she finished off her own salad.

[velvetdoc.livejournal.com]

The Doctor arched an eyebrow at the waiter, who removed their salad plates. "What do you recommend, then? The only other option I could find were academic studies that bore no resemblance to reality. It's not as though I've done anything like this before."

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

Sarah took a sip of her wine, watching him closely. "Honestly? I'd recommend just going in to it. Books can't cover every little detail to begin with."

[velvetdoc.livejournal.com]

The Doctor couldn't help feeling over his head in this particular instance. He took a sip of wine and tried to marshall his thoughts as the waiter brought their entrees over.

He waited until the plates had been placed before them and the waiter had retreated before he said, "It's all well and good for you, Sarah. You've been raised in this culture and know the rules. I...don't. I needed to make sure I didn't do anything socially inappropriate, rude or indecent. When you've seen a few more planets, you'll understand how much these things can vary from place to place. Why, on Junstre if you share a glass of alcohol with someone, you're considered married for life and on Abanakil merely speaking to a member of the opposite sex would get my tongue cut out. I'm quite fond of my tongue, thank you very much."

He took up a forkful of pasta and grinned at her.

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"You don't think I wouldn't tell you if you did something inappropriate?" Sarah eyed him rather doubtfully, almost looking offended at that. She picked up a piece of gnocchi and shook her head. Annoyance lessened into amusement. "Doctor, I'd probably be first in line to tell you."

[velvetdoc.livejournal.com]

"I wouldn't want to ruin our friendship by overstepping a line. And sometimes it's hard to tell what the borderline is between flirtatious and offensive."

The Doctor studied her seriously. "I can trust you to tell me if I'm getting out of hand assuming a general set of borders, but I don't know where the borders are." He took a piece of garlic bread and waved it at her. "Will I offend you by eating this? The book was rather emphatic about what you shouldn't eat on a date, but if I can't trust the book...."

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

She rolled her eyes, grabbing a piece of bread for herself and taking a bite -- possibly just to prove a point. "I am not going to stop you from doing what you want, within reason of course. And honestly, eating garlic bread certainly does fall within that category of doing what you want. Common sense, Doctor. That's all you need."

[velvetdoc.livejournal.com]

The Doctor grinned. "Fair enough."

He took a bite himself and chewed carefully before continuing. "I shall leave myself at your mercies. So what do people talk about on dates? Besides the process of dating, that is."

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"Most people actually don't talk about the process of dating while on a date," she answers, grinning a little again. "But they do talk about just about everything else. Whatever comes to mind, really. The food, politics, life, sports...those sorts of things."

[velvetdoc.livejournal.com]

"Pick a topic, then." The Doctor said cheerfully, brandishing a pasta laden fork. "Are you enjoying the food?

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"It's very good, yes," Sarah said, swallowing another fork full of potato pasta. "Although I should have expected as much since you're the one who picked this restaurant out."

[velvetdoc.livejournal.com]

The Doctor preened a little. "Well, sometimes it's hard to tell. You might have hated Italian food. I'm glad you approve though."

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"And there's absolutely no doubt between us that I'm saying this to make you happy, right?"

[velvetdoc.livejournal.com]

The Doctor froze, slightly hurt by her words, but that didn't stop him from saying, "That's the last thing I'd want. Sarah, don't you dare start saying things just to make me happy. Or doing things just because I want to. Or worst of all, letting me win."

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"I could say the same about you, Doctor," she replied with a hint of a grin on her face. Sarah laughed. "I almost feel as if we ought to set guidelines to our date at this rate. Things certainly never are normal when you're around, are they?"

[velvetdoc.livejournal.com]

"Perhaps we should," the Doctor teased. "You should know by now that nothing I do is normal"

His eyes twinkled at her. "So if I were to try being normal, what would I be doing right now?"