[Role Play] lovetolongago, parallel Earth and YETIS

[his_sarah_jane]

So far, living in the same flat hadn't resulted in any casualties. She reasoned that this was probably a good thing. The last time she had shared any sort of dwelling with a man had been over two years ago. It had been her brother (non-biological, but brother nonetheless) and it had been during the resistance against the Cybermen.

They were not memories she liked to remember. She hadn't been much of a help, after all, kept there only as a member of the press willing to leak the stories to the rest of the world.

Still, living with John Smith so far hadn't been all that awful. There had been a few awkward moments. There was that time she had thought to be home alone and was caught walking from the shower to her bedroom with towel draped over her arm rather than her body. And then the day she had awoken to find John in the kitchen in little more than a pair of boxers.

Yesterday, though, had been mildly awful. They had had their first row in weeks, arguing over the details surrounding the birth of a part-lizard, part-human baby in west Croydon. It had resulted in Sarah storming away. Later, he had worked up the courage to invite her to the zoo in apology.

So here she was, standing by the metal aquarium building as a zeppelin passed overhead and waiting impatiently for John to return with the maps. At least, Sarah had to say, he had picked a nice day for an outing.

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[lovetolongago.livejournal.com]

"Right, then!" John called triumphantly, as he meandered back into view with an armful of brochures.

He hadn't seen a map straight off, save for one behind glass which he thought might be taking it a little far if he tried to grab, and he didn't want to keep Sarah waiting too long. Mostly because, considering their recent argument, he was afraid she might get fed up and storm off again. So he'd grabbed a little of everything. A three page fold-out on lions. A bit on the native birds of Africa they kept here. That sort of thing. With any luck, one of them would be a map, and if not? Well, there was nothing wrong with meandering around the zoo and looking at whatever caught their fancy, right?

"Should be a map here somewhere," he started again, once he'd reached her.

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

The camera, already out and attached to her wrist by that over-used strap, snapped a quick photograph of John and the pamphlets. Sarah was not sure she even wanted to ask how many he had grabbed. It almost seemed like enough for a short book.

"Sure you got it all, then?" The sarcasm was light and cheerful. "Every single animal, including the two-tailed dragon?"

[lovetolongago.livejournal.com]

"Oi, now."

It was in protest to the fact that she'd taken a picture of him, all but juggling the pamphlets more than anything else. He hated having his picture taken, for some reason. And if he had a hand free, he probably would have pointed at her, mock-accusingly. As it was, however, all he could manage was to make a rather comical face that seemed to suggest he'd swallowed an invisible lemon.

The expression was quickly abandoned at the mention of a two-tailed dragon, however, and suddenly he was staring at the brochures. "They have one of those here? Two-tailed dragon?" And if you had a bridge in Brooklyn to sell him, he'd probably buy that, too.

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

It was brilliant, sometimes, how quick she had become with snapping shots on her camera. Within seconds of abandonment, the invisible lemon face was yet as well preserved on film.

She nodded, reaching to catch one of the falling brochures.

"Yes! First time we made a trip to London from Liverpool, Dad took me to see it. Quite old now, John, but I believe it's still here. In fact, I bet..." Sarah leaned closer to him to whisper in a conspiratorial manner. "I bet he's the one responsible for our lizard baby."

[lovetolongago.livejournal.com]

John had, thankfully, failed to notice that she'd gotten a picture of the lemon face. He probably would have made another, if he had, and she would have taken a picture of that, and well. Then Sarah's roll of film would have been made entirely of him making ridiculous faces, and that wouldn't do at all.

As it was, though, he was heading over to a section of low walling that had been built around the aquarium. Probably, he figured, for tourists to have a lean, exhausted from a day of walking 'round the zoo. And while he did immediately lean against it, the wall became more an impromptu table for his pamphlets so he could look for the one on the dragon.

"Still think it's something else entirely," he mumbled, desperately wishing for his specs for not the first time. He still hadn't replaced them - they weren't necessary, and he just simply hadn't had the time. "But worth looking into, yeah?"

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

Sarah laughed brightly at that. Why is it that the smart ones always seemed to be the serious ones, too?

"I was teasing, John."

[lovetolongago.livejournal.com]

"Oh." John offered her a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that, then." He paused for a moment following, shooting a glance between Sarah and his pamphlets, and then he gestured her over. "Come and have a look with me?"

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"All right," she answered after only a moment's consideration.

Sarah walked over to a space next to him, careful not to bump in to a child that stood close nearby. The little boy of about eight was busy pointing to one of the sharks in the tank. Much to her amusement, it almost seemed as if he was trying to climb over the wall to it.

"Must've been you at that age." Sarah leaned her head on her hands, looking at all his pamphlets. "Or maybe, still you now. Any clue what you want to see first?"

[lovetolongago.livejournal.com]

John made a noise that sounded suspiciously like hee as he caught sight of the boy. "Was me at that age, actually."

Except where the lad had been trying to see sharks, he had been breaking into the Presidential suite with Koschei, trying to get a look at the man's cat. It had been Ushas' suggestion, and the cat hadn't been anything that special, but same idea. All spark and spunk and vigor. And never mind the fact that he didn't even know if that memory qualified as his or not.

Returning the memory to its mental shelf where it would, doubtlessly, gather more dust, he pulled his eyes away from the boy. "Could go see the primate house. Great things, monkeys. Distant relatives of the human race and all that."

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"We might even find your long lost brother in there," Sarah chimed in as she playfully nudged him in the side with her elbow.

It felt good to tease him again after last night's argument. She hadn't realised how much it had bothered her to fight with her best friend until she had been alone in her room with no one to watch The Weakest Link with. That was, at least, the beauty of their rows. They never lasted long. Well, except for that one over her article on the Tyler girl.

Never mind that. John's ex-girlfriend was long gone and they had a brilliant day ahead of them.

"Monkey house it is, then. If you know how to get there."

[lovetolongago.livejournal.com]

"Or yours," he shot back, grinning. Sarah may not have had a long lost brother, to begin with, but they were talking about monkeys. It was only natural that he make the same jab back.

"But ah ... not sure where it is." He pulled another face, this one only slightly less comical than the last he'd graced her with, and shuffled through the pile of brochures. "Not even sure we have a map. Saw one, back the tourist station and under glass, but not here."

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

She giggled happily, not even bothering to take a picture of this newest face. One day, Sarah Evans would have the whole set of John Smith facial expressions. It really was only a matter of time.

"Well, that's what an adventure is for, isn't it? No dark alleyways for us to run down and there are a surprising amount of people about, not to mention a complete and total lack of need for our press badges, but! It'll be fun!"

Giving the pamphlets one last look, Sarah tugged on the hem of his shirt. There was the beginnings of a small pout on her face. "To the monkey house?"

[lovetolongago.livejournal.com]

If John had been grinning at her before, he looked absolutely elated, now.

As much as he'd cared for Rose, he'd been all to aware of the fact that she was his jailer. The cage was gilded, true, but it had been just that. A cage. There had been no adventures, out of shared fear that he would succumb to the basic human need to destroy anything it didn't understand. And she'd barely even agreed to letting him start up his Sunday meets with this world's version of Sarah Jane Smith. He'd thought, at the time, that it had something to do with the fact that it was Sarah. That Rose knew the other version of her and figured that even a prisoner needed friends, and she was the best choice. He didn't know, now, and quite frankly he didn't care.

And all because Sarah understood the concept of a good adventure.

Taking her hand in his - it was still force of habit, and he thought he'd known her long enough to merit the act - he nodded furiously. "To the monkey house!" And pamphlets forgotten on the wall, he pulled her off in a direction he'd picked at random.

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

Sarah glanced back behind her as he tugged her in the direction of a 99 cart. Hopefully, those fliers of his wouldn't fall into any of the tanks. Although if they did, she knew very much who to blame. And where to get the very first interview from.

She giggled at the thought, picturing very much a story about a leopard shark mutating due to some reaction with ink on the parrot pamphlet. That would be front page material for sure.

"Wait up!" Sarah called a few seconds later when she realised he was still walking at a rather furious pace. There was so much more to see, wasn't there? She tugged sharply at his hand. "The monkeys aren't going anywhere and there's so much we're missing rushing towards it."

Like those pretty and colourful birds over in that cage. Weren't they cute?

[lovetolongago.livejournal.com]

John skidded to a stop when she tugged on his hand. Turning, he shot her a curious look - one that seemed to read why are we waiting again? - but all was cleared up a moment later. They were missing a lot, weren't they?

"Yes! Right! Sorry!" He crowed, offering her a sheepish grin. "You know me. Get caught up in something and I'm off like a shot. What I've got you for, though, isn't it? Slow me down, when I get all ... " He made an obscure hand gesture here that meant something, but what? It was hard to tell.

"So, what are we looking at ... ?" The question had lost most of it's gusto as he'd spotted the same birds Sarah had. "Ha! Lilac-breasted Roller! Haven't seen one of those in ages."

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

She laughed again, unable to help herself. Really, Sarah knew she ought to be more stern around John sometime. It might, after all, be a good influence on the man. At least, maybe, temper him out a tad. But, at the same time, she wasn't quite sure if she wanted that. His cheerfulness and eagerness tended to be a lovely match to her own.

"Pretty, isn't it?"

They walked away from the crowd, closer to one of the cages. She knelt on the concrete, sticking her finger in to attract the bird. It cocked its head at her, curious.

"To think those mean and nasty cyberman nearly made a factory of this place," she murmured, giggling when the bird came closer. "Lucky little thing, aren't you?"

[lovetolongago.livejournal.com]

John didn't dare get too close to Sarah Jane and the bird. Knowing his luck, after all, if he did, he'd scare the tiny creature away, and that would put a damper on Sarah's moment, now wouldn't it? And considering how adorable both the bird and Sarah were being -- wait. When had he started thinking of Sarah as adorable?

Eyebrows shooting upwards, he tried to get some kind of handle on that thought, and when none came he shelved it. Immediately, he searched for a subject change, just so he didn't dwell on that stray notion, and he found one in history.

"So, ah ... " He furrowed his brow, thoughtfully. "Where were you? When the whole mess with Lumic and the Cybermen happened?" While they'd never talked about it, he figured it was safe conversation territory. Like asking an American where they'd been on 9/11.

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"Hiding, mostly."

It was said with a small sigh. Sarah had heard all the stories of all those brave individuals who had risked their lives fighting the Cybermen. She had reported on most of them. And yet? Yet, Sarah had not been one herself. It bothered her at times.

The bird pecked at her finger and she giggled, a misplaced giggle considering the topic. She began to rub at its beak as she looked up at John.

"I was living in London," she continued, "with a front row to the invasion. Could've easily gotten captured myself, but you know me. I'm good at avoiding danger. Instead I found Jude, somehow, as I was trying to leave. My stupid brother had become a part of one of the resistances - this one based in Sussex. I spent the mess hiding in their base, sending out coded transmissions to the surviving population telling of their deeds. They needed someone good with words. And in that sort of situation, even a tabloid reporter worked."

Sarah glanced away almost immediately after. She did not want to see the look in his eyes when he processed how much of a coward she had been. Not after all of John's increadible stories. He had fought, hadn't he? Made that sort of difference she hadn't.

The bird didn't care. It only enjoyed the attention Sarah was giving it.

[lovetolongago.livejournal.com]

"Oi." It was weak as far as statements of protest went, but he thought he could live with that. Especially when it was more designed to catch Sarah's attention again, rather than anything else.

Regardless of whether or not she looked back at him, however, John was edging closer to Sarah and her new-found friend. When he got close enough, after checking briefly to make sure the bird was undisturbed, he put a hand to her shoulder. "What you did wasn't hiding, Sarah. Hiding is, well." He couldn't find exactly where he wanted to go with that statement, so he tried a different track. "But you? Brilliant you went and made coded transmissions, when that was just as dangerous as fighting."

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

It did catch her attention and for the briefest of seconds, Sarah looked at John rather than the bird. His hand on her shoulder made her shiver for some daft reason.

"People were out there dying, John, and I was safe. You know how good our technology is. I didn't do anything dangerous at all."

[lovetolongago.livejournal.com]

"What would've happened if you'd got caught, then?" He raised his eyebrows, so he could look at her from under them, gravely. "Think all that technology would kept the Cybermen out?"

John surely didn't. He knew the Cybermen better than that.

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

It wouldn't have. But hiding with the resistance was still better than hiding in the city. At least they had weapons. In the city, Sarah remembered, there was nothing.

"You," she said after a moment later, moving her hand away from the bird to poke John in the chest, "are far too much of a romantic for your own good. All these adventures you always talk about. And now you're trying to make my life into one of those! I think I'll settle for alien pregnancies and bird men and the like. Much easier to keep track of."

But the somber expression from moments before was fading into a small smile. The cybermen were the past. Sarah Evans was British and, well, like the British, she carried on.

[lovetolongago.livejournal.com]

"Romantic? Me?" That was a new one, and as such, he peered at his chest where she'd poked him for a moment. When it became clear that the answer wasn't going to magically appear there, however, he raised his eyes to her. "Guess I am, yeah. Just a bit."

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"It's not an awful trait," she murmured, moving her finger from his chest to grab his hand. "It fits you, John. And makes you so very interesting to know."

Sarah's brown eyes glittered with amusement as she stared back at him. It was a strange fleeting moment. Awkward in some senses as an unexpected heat came over her. She looked into his eyes a moment more before looking suddenly away.

"Monkey house?"

[lovetolongago.livejournal.com]

"Suppose not." It was, strangely hard to get out more than that, normally full mind wheeling in circles around an undefined point. Like a top, turned on its side, all spun out. He did, however, manage to keep his eyes on hers for a moment. And only when she looked away, did he, finding something interesting far ahead of them.

"Not afraid we're going to miss something interesting?"

[his-sarah-jane.livejournal.com]

"You forget who you're talking to." Her grin turned cheeky and she tugged on his hand, this time, leading them away from the bird. "Don't you remember? Interesting finds me."

Sarah shrugged, not caring much whether there was truth to that statement or not. It was beyond the point, the point right now being to break that uncomfortable silence that had fallen between them.

"Besides, if we don't hurry, your long lost brother might vanish without a trace again."