[ Q's graduation was long since behind him, which probably came a surprise to a grand total of--... Well, he couldn't say no one. Anyone looking at him probably thought he was fresh from university, possibly college if they truly wanted to ruffle his feathers. Anyone who knew his talent wouldn't be shocked at all.
But. He found himself, from time to time, needing to consult others. Those with expertise in things he might lack, someone with better skills in this one particular area. Yes, the moments were rare. They still happened. It didn't feel like much of a blow to the ego when they were old friends.
Offices moved, things changed. It had been far too long to know all the ins and outs of every building. Combine a natural blindspot - thank you, glasses - with trying to remember if this was the right building or not and a man with a mission and social disaster: pending. ]
[ Social disaster: made doubly likely by the stranger on an inadvertent intercept course. Dukken has earbuds in, music loud, black-rimmed eyes taking in the back of a book in his hand as he comes down the stairs, instead of watching the path ahead of him.
The collision is almost comically predestined. He doesn't realize someone's in his way until he's nearly bowled them over, dropping his book and the two tucked under his other arm in surprise. ]
Oh, shit.
[ He tugs one earbud out, then the other, an apologetic look on his face. ]
My bad, I wasn't watching where I was going. You okay?
[ This had stopped being a little something to take his mind off alcohol and more like an obsession pretty quickly, and Tony could not blame himself. Not when, like every other day before now for the last two weeks or something, like clockwork - that user id popped up. Same time. Same place. Same person.
It was a challenge, of course it was. Why wouldn't he rise to it? ]
[ One would assume that being around computers all day would mean wanting - no, needing to get away from them.
One would be terribly wrong. This was a fantastic way to wind down with his passion still at his fingertips. Now, what to do about a certain charming chatter that was very adept with virtual magic. ]
AceRimmer: And here is the noob who needs to get good.
[ At least here he could engage in memes without everyone raising their eyebrows to the stratosphere. ]
[ Hence the act of a meme, but. He'll forgive an old gentleman such as himself. Assuming he is. Q has yet to figure out exactly who this man is. His systems are very well guarded which usually means wealth and that tends to lend itself to age. ]
AceRimmer: The Night Dungeon boss. With only the two of us.
[ They needed a challenge to spice things up from time to time. ]
[ Dr. Hermann Gottlieb was an absolute genius. His skills should have intimidated Q, made him to feel insecure. In fact, it did the opposite. He was so brilliant that Q found himself initially wanting to be around him in hopes of absorbing some of that skill. To be so well rounded was intriguing.
Now Q found himself around Hermann because he was handsome, clever, had beautiful and long eyelashes... He could go on. No, he really could. Hermann was-- Someone he'd thought about in a very intimate and scandalous manner.
Think of anything else, Q. Now was not the time. Fate graced him with something to comment on. This line of code might as well have been a joke. ]
[So Q - for that is what everyone had called the man for as long as Hermann had known him, and made him wonder if the fellow actually had a real name - was perhaps one of the most brilliant computer engineers in this decade. Of course comparing him to Newton and himself was ... well really not that far off the mark. He was intuitive, intelligent, and he had a grasp on hardware and software that bordered on the supernatural.
Hermann had been annoyed in the first week that they thought they needed someone to babysit HIS code ... and then realized in the second that the man was there to babysit everyone else's coding instead.
Which was fine, because while Q was brilliant -- Hermann was the one who developed the damned software. His genius should never been in question.
Second to third weeks passed, then months, and Hermann realized that Q was not only a coding genius but that he was slyly humorous, had green eyes that haunted you and delicate fingers that Hermann imagined in ways that were completely inappropriate.
It did not make him think about them any less. Or the man.
Luckily, the man was Very Professional which made it easier on Hermann not to give into ridiculous and probably scandalous temptations.
Hence he didn't give it another thought when Q asked him if he had 'seen something'. He hobbled over carefully, leaning on his cane with his mug of coffee in hand, dark eyes narrowing on the screen in front of him and Not Breathing in aftershave or hair or anything ridiculous like that.
Which was fine because - What.]
What ... what in the name of God is this nonsense? [He sputtered, nearly slamming down his tea mug as he leaned in, pushing his glasses up his nose.] Who did this?
[ Q can't help but chuckle. The man's reactions were absolutely priceless. As they lean in, Q's already fixing the problem. Still, they had to share a good chuckle together. Or a freak out in Hermann's case. ]
Someone half asleep I'd wager.
[ Q opened his mouth to say something else but as he turned... He realized he was only inches away from Hermann's face. He should try. What harm would there be in trying...
Losing his job, possibly. He blushes. But stays where he is. ]
This is the dream of every small child in Britain, isn't it? To travel around the world with The Doctor. To be one of his companions. To explore time and space in a machine that he could never possibly comprehend. Which, was saying something. Machines were his expertise. He found it completely intimidating in the best possible way.
Here he was inside of something his species could never hope to achieve. Something they had literally dreamed about, told stories about. Filmed. He is still filled with such awe as he looks around the room. There is another human with him - The Doctor off doing what The Doctor Does - but he's hardly paid her any attention so far. ]
[ Rose feels like a bit of a TARDIS veteran by now. She's been about a bit, seen - well, it feels like a lot to her, but really it's nothing compared to what she hasn't seen yet. She's sort of... used to it.
And then here's this bloke who turns up. No idea how. And of course he's speechless, looking around like a goldfish, which is funny for about five minutes and then the silence gets awkward. ]
So!
[ Her hands in the pockets of her jacket, she takes a step closer, giving a sort of well, better make the best of it smile. ]
[ Oh! No. Right. He's not at work now. No code name necessary. A shake of his head and a more normal toned: ]
No, sorry, Jonathan.
[ He'd rather be Jonathan. Though, if this Doctor was anything like the ones he'd seen growing up then it was going to turn into the kind of nickname he hated.
He'd give her a smile - an apologetic one for ... everything. ]
[ Q hadn't actually believed that George would show up. Of course he wouldn't. He was all the way in bloody Scotland - and it was only half term. That was an incredibly long journey with money Q guessed George didn't really have and--... No. Of course not.
But he'd hoped.
Q'd never been on a date before. It hadn't been that long he started to come out, in so many words. Not really making a Thing of it, but talking about it. It'd just finally be nice to actually do the deed. And with George. He did like George for a reason, after all.
Work called. Not his coursework, of course. A different and special project he had been working on. ]
[ Plot twist: he's right, George never does turn up, the end.
No but really. He's not strictly supposed to, but when has he ever let that stop him? Fred knows where he is and he can just pretend to be both of them for a bit. It's not like it'd be weird for them to be shut up for a while working on something.
So here's George - feeling a bit awkward now, actually, in muggle clothes that pass fine because they know what they're doing more than people give them credit for, but all the same are clearly at least second-hand and a bit baggy. He picks at the hem of the faded blue t-shirt. If he knew that vintage was trendy these days, he might have liked it a bit more, but now he's looking at a tidy front garden completely devoid of chickens and a front door that's been painted to within an inch of its life. Wouldn't see anything like this in Ottery St Catchpole.
But he's here now. It'd be a waste of floo powder to do anything but knock. So he runs his hand through his bright orange hair in a move that he would've laughed Percy out of the room for, and knocks. ]
[ Q's already lost in his project. A good solid hour in, actually. It's easier to ignore the daydream when he's focused on work of his own. Yes, daydream. Because he's an absolute sap. Maybe when they're a bit older, a bit more free, they can meet up more regularly. It's near impossible right now. He has to be practical. He doesn't even hear the door.
His sister, however, does. She was downstairs making a snack for her and Mrs. Bell. Nothing but a few steps to the door. She put on the standard polite smile (that she might have meant - the strange, sociable creature) only for it to fade as soon as their guest came into focus. ]
George?
[ Of course she's heard all about him. Q wasn't much in the friends department and never worried about how "girly" or "sappy" he sounded with Lydia. One of them had to be that way at least. ]
[ It's lucky that she spoke first, because George is caught a bit on the back foot, not prepared for someone other than Jonathan to answer the door. He gives her a grin though, friendly as ever, hands in the pockets of his jeans because he's not sure what else to do with them without robes. A quick list of his eyebrows says yeah, that's me. ]
[ Judy is very unfamiliar with sexual tension. It's just not a problem she's ever really had to deal with. The subject as a whole is not very high on her list of priorities, and most of the time she finds that she needs to kind of care about a person before that kind of interest pops up.
And now there is Q. A man she is fairly certain isn't interested in her in that particular way, much as they both care a lot about each other. She really wishes she could turn off the way she has started to feel all squirmy whenever her looks at her in certain ways, or when their hands brush against each other, or they have to stand just that little bit too close to one another.
It's extremely embarrassing.
At the moment she is relatively safe though, armed with a purring cat on her lap and a chess board between her and Q. The situation is totally under control. ]
Should have known better than to go up against a genius when I haven't played for ages.
[ Q's sexuality had become... complicated. He'd always known he'd favoured men. Always. But then, certain women in his life started to win his heart. That was odd enough. Now he was struggling with the idea of what the hell to do with the complex layers of the flirting, the looks, the light touches of skin. The want to do things with Judy. All sorts of things. He wasn't sure where the lines were drawn either.
He could ignore that for now. They were enjoying themselves over a game. A very innocent game. Move made. ]
[ And this is one of the reasons why he found himself falling for her. Judy loved a challenge. Loved to rise to the occasion.
And seemed to love distracting him with thoughts... He found himself blushing, clearing his throat. Perhaps only partially paying attention to the board as he tried to read her body language. ]
Forgone conclusion. You would definitely win a wrestling match.
[ Right. He was settled, in as much as he could be. He had some semblance of a schedule. Where that lacked he had hired some help. (Cobwebs tended to build up when all you could manage was the bare minimum of cleaning time per week.) There was one thing absolutely necessary to make his house a home, aside from one hell of an internet connection.
A cat.
He loved cats. Always had. Any pet really but cats could fend for themselves if they really had to. Independent but still highly needy. It was like they were soulmates. He had a strict adoption policy, too. There were too many strays in need of a home. At least one older and one younger cat. Oh, now it was two cats he wanted? He was going to have to be stopped. A splotchy white and brown one with blue eyes caught his attention. It was sitting so perfectly, like it owned the place. Someone else was nearby. Didn't stop him from talking to the animal through glass. ]
[ Although if he's questioning them directed at the cat or himself is not at all clear. Athos stares balefully at the small animal batting the glass, trying to discern if it means to do them harm or to escape. ]
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DUKKEN • grad student AU
But. He found himself, from time to time, needing to consult others. Those with expertise in things he might lack, someone with better skills in this one particular area. Yes, the moments were rare. They still happened. It didn't feel like much of a blow to the ego when they were old friends.
Offices moved, things changed. It had been far too long to know all the ins and outs of every building. Combine a natural blindspot - thank you, glasses - with trying to remember if this was the right building or not and a man with a mission and social disaster: pending. ]
no subject
The collision is almost comically predestined. He doesn't realize someone's in his way until he's nearly bowled them over, dropping his book and the two tucked under his other arm in surprise. ]
Oh, shit.
[ He tugs one earbud out, then the other, an apologetic look on his face. ]
My bad, I wasn't watching where I was going. You okay?
idek
[ This had stopped being a little something to take his mind off alcohol and more like an obsession pretty quickly, and Tony could not blame himself. Not when, like every other day before now for the last two weeks or something, like clockwork - that user id popped up. Same time. Same place. Same person.
It was a challenge, of course it was. Why wouldn't he rise to it? ]
StarkNaked: its the level 14 nerd
sorry! it didn't give me a notif :c
One would be terribly wrong. This was a fantastic way to wind down with his passion still at his fingertips. Now, what to do about a certain charming chatter that was very adept with virtual magic. ]
AceRimmer: And here is the noob who needs to get good.
[ At least here he could engage in memes without everyone raising their eyebrows to the stratosphere. ]
bad DW. no worries tho. <3
StarkNaked: but doesn't need to get laid.
[Most things tend to come back to sex anyway, what's the point in beating around the bush.
He's going to go ahead and invite the guy to his party though. Like usual.]
StarkNaked: Who are we taking down this evening?
are we going with fantasy? just so i know what references to make
AceRimmer: The Night Dungeon boss. With only the two of us.
[ They needed a challenge to spice things up from time to time. ]
yup yup
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nerd flirting
Now Q found himself around Hermann because he was handsome, clever, had beautiful and long eyelashes... He could go on. No, he really could. Hermann was-- Someone he'd thought about in a very intimate and scandalous manner.
Think of anything else, Q. Now was not the time. Fate graced him with something to comment on. This line of code might as well have been a joke. ]
Have you seen this?
Re: nerd flirting
Hermann had been annoyed in the first week that they thought they needed someone to babysit HIS code ... and then realized in the second that the man was there to babysit everyone else's coding instead.
Which was fine, because while Q was brilliant -- Hermann was the one who developed the damned software. His genius should never been in question.
Second to third weeks passed, then months, and Hermann realized that Q was not only a coding genius but that he was slyly humorous, had green eyes that haunted you and delicate fingers that Hermann imagined in ways that were completely inappropriate.
It did not make him think about them any less. Or the man.
Luckily, the man was Very Professional which made it easier on Hermann not to give into ridiculous and probably scandalous temptations.
Hence he didn't give it another thought when Q asked him if he had 'seen something'. He hobbled over carefully, leaning on his cane with his mug of coffee in hand, dark eyes narrowing on the screen in front of him and Not Breathing in aftershave or hair or anything ridiculous like that.
Which was fine because - What.]
What ... what in the name of God is this nonsense? [He sputtered, nearly slamming down his tea mug as he leaned in, pushing his glasses up his nose.] Who did this?
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Someone half asleep I'd wager.
[ Q opened his mouth to say something else but as he turned... He realized he was only inches away from Hermann's face. He should try. What harm would there be in trying...
Losing his job, possibly. He blushes. But stays where he is. ]
Someone without talent over their shoulder.
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Half asleep, marvelous. Just what we need while coding giant robotic arms to shoot guns.
[He smirked a little, turning to Q to find his face ... ah. Right there.
Far too close, too close by half. He chided himself, before clearing his throat. Feeling his own ears flush - wait what?]
Uh ... well. More like a gargoyle perching ... [He tried a crooked smile, before clearing his throat and looking back at the screen. Firmly.]
So, uh, right, this fix here ... make adjustments to lines 307, remember. We don't want the gun to go off .. ah ... prematurely. So to speak, hah.
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BLUE PHONE BOX • meeting rose tyler
This is the dream of every small child in Britain, isn't it? To travel around the world with The Doctor. To be one of his companions. To explore time and space in a machine that he could never possibly comprehend. Which, was saying something. Machines were his expertise. He found it completely intimidating in the best possible way.
Here he was inside of something his species could never hope to achieve. Something they had literally dreamed about, told stories about. Filmed. He is still filled with such awe as he looks around the room. There is another human with him - The Doctor off doing what The Doctor Does - but he's hardly paid her any attention so far. ]
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And then here's this bloke who turns up. No idea how. And of course he's speechless, looking around like a goldfish, which is funny for about five minutes and then the silence gets awkward. ]
So!
[ Her hands in the pockets of her jacket, she takes a step closer, giving a sort of well, better make the best of it smile. ]
What's your name, then?
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Q
[ Oh! No. Right. He's not at work now. No code name necessary. A shake of his head and a more normal toned: ]
No, sorry, Jonathan.
[ He'd rather be Jonathan. Though, if this Doctor was anything like the ones he'd seen growing up then it was going to turn into the kind of nickname he hated.
He'd give her a smile - an apologetic one for ... everything. ]
Yours?
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Sounds like you ain't sure.
[ Just teasing, of course. ]
I'm Rose. Rose Tyler.
[ She offers her hand to shake, just because it feels like what to do next. ]
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Qeorge • calling a bluff
But he'd hoped.
Q'd never been on a date before. It hadn't been that long he started to come out, in so many words. Not really making a Thing of it, but talking about it. It'd just finally be nice to actually do the deed. And with George. He did like George for a reason, after all.
Work called. Not his coursework, of course. A different and special project he had been working on. ]
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No but really. He's not strictly supposed to, but when has he ever let that stop him? Fred knows where he is and he can just pretend to be both of them for a bit. It's not like it'd be weird for them to be shut up for a while working on something.
So here's George - feeling a bit awkward now, actually, in muggle clothes that pass fine because they know what they're doing more than people give them credit for, but all the same are clearly at least second-hand and a bit baggy. He picks at the hem of the faded blue t-shirt. If he knew that vintage was trendy these days, he might have liked it a bit more, but now he's looking at a tidy front garden completely devoid of chickens and a front door that's been painted to within an inch of its life. Wouldn't see anything like this in Ottery St Catchpole.
But he's here now. It'd be a waste of floo powder to do anything but knock. So he runs his hand through his bright orange hair in a move that he would've laughed Percy out of the room for, and knocks. ]
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His sister, however, does. She was downstairs making a snack for her and Mrs. Bell. Nothing but a few steps to the door. She put on the standard polite smile (that she might have meant - the strange, sociable creature) only for it to fade as soon as their guest came into focus. ]
George?
[ Of course she's heard all about him. Q wasn't much in the friends department and never worried about how "girly" or "sappy" he sounded with Lydia. One of them had to be that way at least. ]
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Alright? Jonathan in?
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And now there is Q. A man she is fairly certain isn't interested in her in that particular way, much as they both care a lot about each other. She really wishes she could turn off the way she has started to feel all squirmy whenever her looks at her in certain ways, or when their hands brush against each other, or they have to stand just that little bit too close to one another.
It's extremely embarrassing.
At the moment she is relatively safe though, armed with a purring cat on her lap and a chess board between her and Q. The situation is totally under control. ]
Should have known better than to go up against a genius when I haven't played for ages.
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He could ignore that for now. They were enjoying themselves over a game. A very innocent game. Move made. ]
I could go easy on you, if you like.
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[ If there is one thing Judy doesn't want, it's for people to go easy on her.
She studies the board, stroking the content feline in her lap as she tries to figure out how to get out of the trap she has played herself into. ]
We can always wrestle or something later to even out the score.
[ Smart move Judy, make yourself think about pinning Q down, straddling him, holding his wrists in place above his head...
She's blushing, isn't she? ]
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And seemed to love distracting him with thoughts... He found himself blushing, clearing his throat. Perhaps only partially paying attention to the board as he tried to read her body language. ]
Forgone conclusion. You would definitely win a wrestling match.
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ATHOS • cats.
A cat.
He loved cats. Always had. Any pet really but cats could fend for themselves if they really had to. Independent but still highly needy. It was like they were soulmates. He had a strict adoption policy, too. There were too many strays in need of a home. At least one older and one younger cat. Oh, now it was two cats he wanted? He was going to have to be stopped. A splotchy white and brown one with blue eyes caught his attention. It was sitting so perfectly, like it owned the place. Someone else was nearby. Didn't stop him from talking to the animal through glass. ]
Hello, dear, how are you?
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[ Although if he's questioning them directed at the cat or himself is not at all clear. Athos stares balefully at the small animal batting the glass, trying to discern if it means to do them harm or to escape. ]
They're small.
[ Yes, Athos, the kittens are small. ]
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[ Q doesn't really take his eyes off of the cats. He's used to sassy banter. It's practically part of the job description at this rate.
The other comment is what really distracts him. What. ]
They tend to be before they grow.
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