Work Text:
Thanks to the trust he built up with the performers, Ace was allowed much more freedom when roaming around the circus compared to other guests.
More than once, this proved to be incredibly useful. Like right now, for instance.After many ‘appointments’ with the Doctor, he was offered an on-and-off role of his assistant. A nurse of sorts.
That mostly entailed creeping up on guests to scare them and doing whatever the Doctor asked. He helped clean up between guests, organize and set up tools, etc. It was fun, and Ace got to talk to the Doctor all night.
His second favorite part of the role was that whenever he ran into Ticket Taker, they always ended up talking about Ace's ‘salary’. Ace always insisted he didn't need payment, but Ticket Taker always walked away grumbling. The human thought it was funny.
Normally, Ace only did his work in the main tent, between appointments while the Doctor worked alongside him. But this time, he was in the Doctor's personal quarters. Of course, the other man was there as well.
And there were still restrictions. Ace couldn't touch most of the things in the room, and there were certain places he absolutely could not look. The rules were understandable, especially if his hypothesis with a quickly growing pile of evidence was correct. He didn't think he wanted to look anywhere he was told not to.
Despite this, he couldn't help but notice a strange book on the table. It looked like a sketchbook, or a scrapbook, maybe?
The thing was thick, with many different pages and trinkets stuck inside, sticking out of the edges. The cover was a plain, glossy black, but the pages inside were all kinds of different colors and textures. It sat almost in the center of the table, facing away from Ace.
He walked closer, going around the table instead of moving the book.
The Doctor had stepped out for a moment. Even though Ace wasn't sure he wanted to see what might be in that book (everything from gory photographs to experiment plans flashed through his mind), curiosity got the better of him, and he flipped open the cover.
The contents were not what he expected, to say the least.
Every page was covered in pictures, from Polaroids to printed digital photos to photo booth pictures. They were carefully glued onto the pages, framed by pressed flowers and borders of patterned paper.
But it was the subject of the photos that caught Ace off guard the most.
All the photos were of a rock.
A fairly small, very smooth rock. From beneath the layers of meticulously applied paint, the color and texture of the stone was the same in every picture. The paint seemed to match the location.
Photos from all over the world covered the pages. Some were of a sunset over a mountain cliff, a fluffy scarf painted onto the rock's surface. Some were on the beach, with the rock being given a small pair of sunglasses and a little flower on top of it.
The Doctor himself was in some of the pictures as well, holding the rock up beside his face. In those pictures, the rock had a matching plague doctor mask, the only accessory that wasn't painted on. It was a real, extra small mask, made out of fake leather.
Ace couldn't stop a smile from spreading across his face as he flipped through the pages. This was so cute! He had no idea the Doctor had a hobby like this! It seemed so out of character for him, but the details in the pages were so undeniably him.
Ace pulled up a chair, sitting down to keep looking through the scrapbook. He wanted to coo and croon at every picture he saw.
Movement out of the corner of his eye startled him, and Ace looked up quickly, looking like a deer in the headlights.
The Doctor, now staring at him with stillness that made Ace wish he could see his expression, slowly set down a box of medical tools they would've been cleaning.
“Uh…” A long moment of silence stretched on, the air becoming thick, the smell of incense stifling.
Ace wanted to make an excuse of some kind, to apologize, or tell him how lovely the scrapbook was. But all that came out was unintelligible mumbling.
Sighing, the Doctor walked over to him and stood across the table from him. “Yes, I know,” he folded his arms. “Quite an unusual hobby. I've heard it all from Harlequin, a few times, actually. If you’re going to laugh, please at least cover your mouth.”
“I’m not going to laugh at you!” Ace pressed an indignant hand to his chest. “These are really cool!”
For another moment, the Doctor stood still. “Cool?”
Smiling, Ace nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, they're cool! The paint is so precise, the locations are beautiful, and you're really good at photography!”
It was true, too. Every photograph was masterfully taken, conveying emotions Ace didn’t think could be evoked by a colorful rock. At the very least, they were very pretty.
Still, the Doctor stared at him, then slowly began creeping closer. “You really like my photography?”
Ace nodded again, patting the seat next to him. “Of course! You have to tell me where you took some of these!”
Emboldened by the praise, the Doctor sat next to him, lightly tapping his claws on one of the pictures on the page. “Well, that one is from Peru. We visited a few years ago, and we actually managed to stay put for a while.”
This was one of the photos where the Doctor was in frame. As such, the rock was wearing its matching mask. One notable thing about this photo in particular was the background.
It seemed to be taken at the edge of town, by a forest. Because of all the green, Ace hardly noticed Harlequin in midair behind the rock, seemingly jumping at something out of frame.
Ace let out a sudden laugh when he noticed. He started to question it, but the Doctor waved him off. “It's a long story. And anyway, he wouldn't appreciate it if I told you.”
Bummer. Still, Ace listened intently to the descriptions of every photo in the book.
The pile of work they were supposed to do sat on the floor, forgotten. That would have to be a problem for later.