Tease

Frustrated didn't even begin to describe what Avery Fritz was feeling. She was far beyond that as she sat in the TARDIS, sitting sideways on the small, cushioned bench by the center console, feet propped up in front of her.

She had a book in her hands, Dracula, as it only seemed fitting after what she and the Doctor had been through recently, but her eyes were not on the pages in front of her. Instead, she peered over the hardback, glaring daggers at the figure leaning over his machine, reaching for one lever or another, while clad in nothing more than a pair of leather pants.

Yes, the Doctor half naked, and in leather no less! It was ridiculous! It was inappropriate, and most importantly, it was extremely distracting.

The worst part, though, was that it was all Avery's fault.

Four days ago, Avery and the Doctor had landed in a small town in Louisiana. It was supposed to be a fun trip-- visit New Orleans, see the French Quarters, introduce the Doctor to Beignets at Café du Monde, and get him hyped up on powdered sugar. There was not supposed to be violence or running or anything like that.

And yet, within their first seven minutes there, the two had run into one of the locals who talked about the town and mentioned several disappearances and a myth about vampires.

"All these people," he had said in a heavy southern accent, "They all go to this club o' sorts, jus' outside'a Nawlins."

"And, Nawlins, that's--"

"New Orleans, Doctor," Avery quickly saved him, having spent enough time in Louisiana with family before her move to the UK to understand the drawl.

The man they were talking to had eyed them strangely before continuing, "Anyway, as I was sayin', it's a lil' club right out there, an' it's called Fang's Delight, or somethin'. People go there, then turn up missin' the next day, ain't never goin' home to their families again."

"Have any bodies been found?" Avery asked, cocking her head.

"No ma'am. I 'spect they just changin' 'em. Human to monster like that," he snapped his fingers, and the Doctor frowned.

"Well, it doesn't work that way exactly, vampire transformations, that is, but--"

Avery elbowed him and smiled. "Thank you for your help, sir." She showed a sweet smile, grabbed hold of the Doctor's elbow, and dragged him back to the TARDIS.

Once the doors were closed, she stared at him for a long time, knowing exactly what he was thinking (maybe not exactly since his thought process was rather odd and usually went way over her head, but she had an idea). He didn't make eye contact for a long time, trying to look all innocent in his thick rimmed glasses and brown suit, but Avery knew.

"What?" He finally caved. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because I know that you want explore this, and you're gonna tell me, 'Oh, Avery, we won't be in any danger. No running, I promise," she impersonated him. "And then, we're going to investigate this, and we'll probably get captured by these vampires that are definitely real, and you're gonna have to come up with some brilliant plan to get us out of it, and we're not even gonna have time to eat Beignets." She pouted, crossing her arms, and the Doctor stared at her with raised eyebrows before finally grinning widely and letting out that little giggle that always slipped from his mouth when he was very amused.

Avery just narrowed her eyes at him, but he nodded, still smiling. "Yes, that's probably exactly what's going to happen." Neither his stare nor his grin faltered, and after another moment of silence, he leaned against the TARDIS wall and pushed, "So, are you in, or not?"

Avery's heart was beating fast, as it always did when she knew that adventure was right at her fingertips, and she laughed before nodding. "Of course I am, you dope!"

So, they planned to go to this Fang's Delight later that night, which was really not very far away considering they had a time machine. The Doctor had wanted to leave for it right as they landed, but Avery was not going to let that happen.

"We can't go into a vampire club looking like this!" She exclaimed, gesturing toward the clothes. "We'll stick out like sore thumbs! Come on, I'm sure we can find something to wear in your massive Timelord closet."

He had to lead the way, of course, though he did protest the entire way ("What's wrong with my suit? It's a lovely suit! I think I look very professional in this suit!"), and Avery said nothing in response, just rolled her eyes.

He did have outfits stored, though Avery was a little surprised at just how well prepared he was, holding up more than a few leather items, a couple of corsets, and combat boots.

"You know, I'm just not gonna ask where you acquired all of this," she muttered, more to herself than to him.

The Doctor seemed to turn redder with each article of clothing she pulled out, stammering something about, "Oh, that must have been Sarah Jane's," or "That Martha was quite showy."

"Right," Avery laughed. "Or, you could just come out and admit that you're a kinky alien with a leather fetish."

It took him a while to work through the flustered stutters and blurt out a comeback, but by then, Avery was ready to get dressed and threw some clothes at the man in front of her.

"Put this on, then meet me in the main room so I can add some finishing touches," she winked, then skipped back down the corridor to her room to slip into the clothes she had picked out-- a blouse with a black skull printed on it, black shorts, some lace tights, and her favorite pair of steampunk heels. She also had some spiked bangles in her luggage from her old punk days, and remembered the way she used to do her makeup so dark. When she was finished, Avery could have passed as a creature of the night herself.

Meeting the Doctor in the console room was a bit of a shock, though, mostly because she hadn't anticipated how good he would look in those god damned pants and the clingy v-neck she had picked out for him (and, were those tattoos on his neck? She decided not to question it.). He had a pair of black converse just for the occasion, and the way he first looked at her made his eyes seem darker than usual. When he broke into a grin, however, any dark, mysterious vibe he had been giving off was completely ruined.

Avery laughed, joining him by the console, and shook her head. "You know, when we go into this club, you should probably calm down with all the smiling and stuff." He just stuck his tongue out between his teeth, silent.

"Okay, so, finishing touches." Avery rummaged around in her small, black purse, retrieving her eyeliner, which the Doctor backed away from.

"Oh, no. No, no, no. You're going to poke me in the eyes with that!"

"Come on, Doctor! Just trust me! I'm an expert at putting this on!"

"Well, I don't want to look like you, with your silly raccoon eyes!"

Avery huffed, narrowing her eyes and holding still with the pencil poised in between her fingers.

"Okay, I'm sorry, that was rude," he quickly backtracked.

"Yeah, it kind of was. Now, come here so I can put this on you. I'm not gonna make it nearly as dark and thick as mine. Christ."

With a bit more coaxing, he finally bent down so that he was level with Avery, looking up and whining as she applied the eyeliner to his lower lid, using her pinky to smudge it a bit.

"There, was that so hard?"

"It felt funny, like you were tickling my eyes."

"You're such a baby," she mumbled, reaching up to ruffle his hair, leaving it disheveled as he jumped away from her once again. "Calm down! It suits you better for this occasion."

He looked at his reflection in one of the many console surfaces, grimacing at the charcoal around his eyes and his messy hair. Avery didn't find anything wrong with it. In fact, he was looking a little too fit for her liking.

"I look like I'm on drugs. Or, from Rebonoyin."

"What's that?"

"A very disturbing city on a very disturbing planet."

"Right, well, I think it's time we head out. Get to catchin' us some vampires."

Any distaste for his appearance was thrown aside, and he grinned widely again, extending his hand for Avery's before holding up a finger. "Wait! I have something for you, actually."

"Really?" Her pulse quickened just a bit.

"Just something I got from an old trip. If the stories are true, it's supposed to ward of vampires."

"Oh god, are you giving me a cross to wear?"

"No!" he cried, as if surprised she'd think he would be so cliche. "It's actually quite pretty."

And then, he pulled a choker out of his ridiculously tight pocket (with some effort, of course). It was made up of small, black rose charms, and when the Doctor clasped it around her neck it was just loose enough to fall just above her collarbones.

"It's um, really nice. Thank you, Doctor," she said awkwardly, hoping that her face wasn't really as flushed as it felt.

"Yes, uh, ehem, shall we, then?"

This time she did take his hand, and they left the TARDIS, making their way to this club full of vampires where things got a little weird, as usual.

The necklace worked, as the Doctor had promised. It didn't keep vampires away from Avery, but it basically made her not interesting to them.

The place was crawling with the creatures who were very easy to spot, and there were quite a few humans, too-- wanna-be's, someone called them. Everybody was dressed in dark colors and drinking dark wines and possibly body fluids. Some trance-like music played all night, and Avery could never tell when one song ended and another began.

It was all actually rather interesting for most of the night. Calm, and interesting, like watching an entirely different culture. It was something that Avery should have been used to by now, after traveling with the Doctor for as long as she had, but it was just fun to observe.

Vampires were so... Proper, and they were just as beautiful as all the novels said-- pale skin, vibrant eyes, smooth voices, with intimidating fangs, so it took absolutely no effort on their part to seduce their victims and get them to a private place.

This was where the Doctor stepped in, of course, playing the role of hot, punk, vampire wanna-be perfectly until he saw some young girl getting lured outside.

So, the two followed, and he showed his stupidly handsome face and tried to talk the vamp down from his hungry urges, which was when the creature went for the Doctor's jugular instead, and Avery had to pull the stake she had stored in her purse out and stab him right in the heart.

She prided herself on never being unprepared, and she had seen enough Buffy the Vampire Slayer to know what to do in situations such of these.

The Doctor was rather cross with her at first, reprimanding her for actually killing it (the vampire was just a pile of dust at that point), but he eventually forgave her on the way back to the TARDIS when he touched the side of his neck where his fake ink was and, coincidentally, where the vamp had nipped him, and realized how much it actually hurt.

He healed it without a thought, then ran a hand through his already messy hair, stating nonchalantly, "You know, I really do like these pants! I mean, I do feel a bit silly in them, but it's like I'm not wearing any at all!"

"Really?" Avery gulped. "I would have thought that they'd be too constricting. You know, not breezy enough, or whatever."

"Nope, not so far," he beamed, opening the door to the phone box and holding it for her. Avery just hoped that come the next morning (her next morning, at least), he would be done with the pants, recognize them for how uncomfortable they really were, so that Avery wouldn't have to worry about being sexually frustrated around him anymore than she was on a normal basis.

This is where the problem started, because when Avery padded down into the console room the next day, she found the Doctor in his normal dress shirt and tie along with those damn pants.

"You look absolutely ridiculous," she greeted him, and he spun around frowning.

"What do you mean! It's great! These pants are great! What looks ridiculous?"

"The shirt and tie, it just... no, Doctor."

So, with no more words exchanged, the Timelord simply undid his tie and unbuttoned the shirt, shrugging out of it and holding his arms out. "How about now? Still ridiculous?"

Avery stared at his bare chest for a few seconds too long. He had one of those, pale, gangly, British boy builds, but he worked it so well.

Words escaped her for a moment, and she just shook her head, turning back around and muttering, "I'm going back to bed."

"What? But, we've got places to go, worlds to save!"

"Not in those pants, we don't!"

And, that's how it had been for the past few days. She wondered how it was possible that he wasn't getting a rash. Maybe he aired himself out when she wasn't around? Avery had no idea. She just knew that the pants had to go because he had been flaunting them and his stupid, skinny body that made her mouth water every once in a while, and he wasn't even wearing shirts! It was like that vampire club had turned him into some promiscuous playboy! Avery could swear that she had even seen him walking around with a glass of scotch at one point.

He was all hip sways and leaning over her to retrieve things and doing that dumb, all-teeth smile. It was as maddening as it was arousing. In fact, it was maddening because it was arousing, and Avery had, had to take a cold shower every night before going to bed.

That fifth day, though, as she read at the console and toyed with the choker that was still around her neck, it all clicked for her, because as the Doctor made an especially long stretch to press a button or pull a lever or spin a-- a spinny-thing (that's what he called it, right?) he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. He glanced at her, and when she caught him looking, she shifted his gaze immediately and cleared his throat.

"Oh my god!" She yelled, standing up and throwing her unfinished book on her seat.

"What, what's going on?" He jumped, startled by her outburst.

"Oh my god!" She repeated. "I cannot believe you!"

"What? What can't you believe? What did I do?" His brown eyes were wide, but his brow was furrowed, and his mouth was hanging open slightly.

Pointing an accusatory finger, Avery let out a long breath before raising her voice again, "You're doing this on purpose! All of this, and this, and this--" she mimicked his stretching-- "And, the pants! You're doing it all on purpose!"

The Doctor's face reddened considerably, but his frown grew deeper, and he put his hands on his hips in an unconvincing manner. "And, why would I do that?"

"Well, beats the hell out of me! You're the clever one, aren't you?"

She was mad, furious really, but she couldn't help but smile, relief washing over her because all of those times that her heart stuttered when he grabbed her hand or grinned at her, every time he saved her from whatever peril she had been thrown into, every time he told her she was special and she got butterflies, he may have actually been doing it because he cared about her--not just on a friend or companion level, not just on a 'I have to look out for the human race' level, either, but actually, possibly cared for her on a romantic level. Maybe all of this was him vying for her attention, trying to see if she could see him in such a way.

And, of course she could! Even without the fucking leather pants.

The Doctor could see her putting everything together, could see the gears turning in her head, pegs fitting into grooves and so on, and he raised a hand to scratch at the back of his head, starting to speak at the same time Avery did.

"Look, Avery, I--"

"Leather was such a--"

"Sorry--"

"What was--"

She held a hand up as the Doctor smiled sheepishly, gesturing for him to go on. "What were you going to say?"

"Oh, just," he pushed his lips out a bit and knit his brows together even further, as if he was confused at what was coming out of his own mouth. "Just that I've been a bit, um, a bit stupid these past few days because I've just been trying..." He trailed off, looking away from her.

"To get my attention?" She supplied for him, knowing that he wouldn't be going any further judging by how red his cheeks were.

The Doctor swallowed and nodded. "Yes, that."

"Yes, that," she smirked, taking a step toward him.

The Doctor eyed her for a moment, taking note of the closer distance, but stayed where he was, leaning against the console, now.

"Well, next time you want to express your little humany-wumany feelings," he grimaced, "Could you please do it in a way that does not cause me to leave the room in a fit of intense sexual frustration."

He looked upward, a smile playing at his lips, and he squinted an eye as if contemplating. "Um, no, actually, I don't think I could arrange that."

Avery walked the rest of the way over to him, always the bold type, and situated herself against him, hips to hips, chest to chest, and the Doctor couldn't help his jaw dropping a bit as she did so.

He coughed but slipped an arm around her waist, cheeks still blazing. "So, um, what was it that you were going to say?"

"What was that?" She asked, taking the time to admire the freckles sprinkled across his face, keeping hers just centimeters away.

"Earlier, when I spoke, you spoke to, and we interrupted each other, but you let me talk first, so--"

"Oh, right, okay, no I was just gonna say that putting you in leather was a really bad idea on my part."

He actually turned to her now, looking at her full on so that she could see his eyes darken, and her lips lifted at the corners.

"And, you say I'm the one with the leather fetish," he mocked.

She laughed, throwing her head back before letting it loll back forward to rest against his.

"I may have been wrong about that." Her mouth got dangerously close to his, and the Doctor even let his eyes shut, feeling both of his hearts skip a beat (probably very unhealthy, he mused), but their lips never touched, and suddenly, the weight against him was gone, his arm falling to his side.

Eyes opening again, he watched as Avery walked away, a sly smirk on her face. "You seem like the type to like lace, actually. Or maybe," her motuh fell open, mimicking a look of surprise, "Nothing at all."

She continued to walk backward, eyes alight with something mischievous, and when she turned around, she swayed her hips and walked up the ramp that led to her bedroom.

The Doctor stood still against the console, breathing heavy and wondering if what he believed to be happening was indeed happening when the blonde minx called out to him again, leaning over the railing with a quirked eyebrow.

"Are you coming, or not?"

He grinned, pushing himself up and walking briskly to the ramp to join her. "That is the question, isn't it?"

Avery just giggled, launching herself into a round of questions about if Timelords could actually get aroused, if all of this had been for nothing, if he could actually climax, and the Doctor answered all of them, albeit rather awkwardly, before finally being the bold one and pushing her onto the plush bed that the TARDIS had provided her with.

"I take back what I said before," Avery panted, smiling.

He trailed his lips over her neck, smirking, "What's that?"

"Putting you in leather was the best idea I've ever had."