Title: The Stars May Behold My Tears
Author: Nancy Brown
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 3075
Author's Summary: Megan gets to know the regulars at the coffee shop, even the regulars who don't always know her.
Characters/Pairings: Eleven/River, Amy/Rory, OC/OC
Warnings: None
Recc'ed Because:
nancybrown wrote so many awesome stories for EleventyFest. Adventures, humor, slice of life, erotica; she wrote all of it and it was all brilliant. This one is a love story that unfolds from the stories we are more familiar with, turned unfamiliar as they are seen from an outsider POV. We get to know Eleven and the Ponds out of order, as just another few in the progression of regulars at a late-night cafe. And of course the timey-wimey family is a mystery, but they are only one story among many, and not necessarily the most important one for Megan. ----------
Some nights, the quiet nights Megan remembers best later, the two of them spent the evening sitting next to each other, saying very little, and enjoying the baked nibbles that go half-price after ten. Granddad jokes about being dead. River jokes about being in prison. Megan doesn't eavesdrop much.
"Thank you, Megan," River says whenever she gets a top-off. Granddad watches her with a wry grin, then goes back to watching River like she's the hottest woman in the room. The other regulars come and go. Ms. Foster is closer to Granddad's young age. Megan sees her flirt a bit to Granddad's utter obliviousness. Peter Wilson ignores them, trying first to pull Megan, then trying to pull Aggie, then successfully pulling Ms. Foster.
"He's an arse," Megan doesn't say to Ms. Foster. Aggie rolls her eyes as they leave together.
"It will never last," Aggie does say when the door closes.
They're both startled when River says, "They have four children."
Granddad raises his eyebrows. "Spoilers."
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