Fam Away From Home

Testing New Things; Part 2

Warnings: Recreational Marijuana use

Astra's secret hope had thankfully come to fruition. After a heartfelt encounter with Yaz's friend's daughter, the humans were beat and wished to return to Earth for a few days. They had set a set time and date for the TARDIS T to pick them up on and had repeated it at the now-annoyed alien until they repeated it to Astra. She told them she had no idea how to drive the time machine and they would have to get lucky. That earned her a chorused groan. 

But the threat was passed. The trio had gone back to Earth and Astra felt the urge to tear open some throats pass. What a terrible desire she would forevermore live with. 

"So!" the Doctor chirped, possibly having sensed the depressing direction of her thoughts. She came from the bowels of the ship, emerging to stand atop the glowing, glass steps. She walked down them one at a time, at an actually leisurely pace. But both her hair and jacket still bounced with the emphatic steps. "What do you wanna do? Time travel? Space travel?" She walked to stand in front of you. "Explore the TARDIS?" 

Astra ran her fingers over one another, digging in and pulling anxiously. "Any of that's cool. I just... you know... still figuring everything out." She looked down from her eye contact with the alien to pick at her fingers. 

Two fingers tapped under the brunette's chin and raised her eyes. "What do you want to try?" she asked quite excitedly herself. She'd done everything on Earth - almost everything - that could be done and it her turn to show someone else. It was exhilarating. 

"Have you ever- I've never... smoked? Like, gotten high. I didn't like being drunk very much." 

The Doctor smiled. "I don't like it either. And it takes so much to even get you buzzed. How much do you think you'd have to smoke to get high?" She tilted her head very adorably. 

Astra smiled up at the amazing alien. The Doctor had never made Astra feel weird or ashamed for her small wishes, for the life she lead. "Only one way to find out."

*~*

Of course the Doctor knew where to get weed. In her TARDIS. She must've gotten it and stashed it here then forgotten, only the TARDIS' reminder preventing them from returning to Earth. So the couple sat in an odd storage room of the ship, sitting on piled boxes because that was what it was all stored in. The Doctor used her sonic to light the tip and Astra giggled. The Doctor walked her through, step by step. 

The younger immortal still coughed every hit, leaning heavily into the blonde who took her chance in that moment. It took until you hit it good and hard for a fuzzy haze to settle in your eyes and brain. "Is that how you can tell it's working?" she asked her tour guide. 

The Doctor was never not staring at the bizarre brunette. She was aware that Astra hadn't said anything after hitting it so she allowed her own mind's limits to stretch. She felt her telepathy reach for an equally telepathic individual. She would have to ask how psychic normal witches were then do some of her own math to see how much stronger Astra was. But for now she focused on how the Earthling felt, and yes she was lightly buzzed. It was adorable to see how the brunette cataloged everything with herself while trying new things. It reminded the Time Lord of herself, honestly. She rubbed her shoulders. "Yup!" she chirped cheerily, taking a few breaths and holding it with her respiratory bypass. Of course she knew how to help this affect her more as it was harmless to her lungs. It was still Earth-grown, though, and meant for human standards. She needed something from New New x57 York to actually inebriate a Time Lord. But they could work their way up to that. The Doctor was sure her young companion would built immunity to many things in this universe and the Doctor would of course help with that (not necessarily by exposing her to a lot) including eventually purchasing such high level stuff. She handed over the roll. 

Astra leaned all the way into the Doctor's side, careful not to get the coat singed. Half an hour later, they were looting the kitchen. Her little witch couldn't stop laughing. Everything the Doctor did, she found either adorable and snogged the breath from her or cracked her up so she couldn't breathe. She'd had to super speed to the bathroom a few times. 

"How can your hunger be settled without blood?" the Doctor asked once they were seated on her couch in a room she was certain she'd never been in before. 

That stirred the brunette and she was a bit more serious. "I'm still half human, and vampires themselves are part human so really I'm three fifths human. If I ever activate my last part, I'll only be a little vampire." 

She explained that as well as the Doctor would. "I love you," the blonde blurted. Four heartbeats sounded very loudly. 

Perhaps her mind affected her vampirism more than she thought. Astra seemed completely sober in a few heartbeats. "And I love you. Have... for a while now." 

The Doctor's hearts hadn't slowed since before the confessions, but she took several breaths. It didn't help them, but it loosened the fear in her chest. Hazel eyes, their golden flecks, they were enchanting but haunted. She showed it so rarely, but she was an old man with a lifetime of regrets. She didn't want you to become one as well. So she kissed you. She could be brave, for you.