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mnemosyne-musing · 3 years ago

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Double date (River/11)

(So this prompt link is very tenuous and has basically turned into pwp for which I at least partially blame sonic for encouraging me. This version is rated T but the link for the slightly smuttier version is here)

“So!” the Doctor leaps up the stairs to the console and grabs the monitor, spinning around on his heel before typing rapidly into the keyboard, “I was thinking, once River arrives, maybe, a trip to the Amazzi waterfalls. They have these wonderful pools filled with algae. Only, it’s not really algae, it’s this kind of-“

“Doctor,” Rory interrupts, somewhat tentatively, “We were thinking tonight. If you don’t mind that is. That we could just stay in? Maybe have dinner and, you know, just talk to River, and you of course?”

“Yes,” Amy pipes up quickly, “Only if you don’t mind of course,”

He looks up from the console at the two of them standing by the railing. Amy folding her hands slightly nervously in front of her and Rory biting his lip anxiously.

He beams at them. “Of course!”

Amy gives a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank you! It’s not that we don’t want to go anywhere, it’s just, it’s been a lot the last few weeks and we haven’t really had much of a chance to process or talk to River or-“

“Ooh, it can be like a double date!” he cuts in and claps his hands together, “We can cook dinner here. I’ve got this wonderful recipe from Escoffier. Fabulous chap. I worked in his restaurant once actually and-“

“Doctor, are you sure?”

He waves a hand at them as he types. “Pond, it’s fine. I’ll be fine. It doesn’t always have to be running and excitement. I can do an evening in. Now, off you pop and get your cooking clothes on! I’ll pick up River and we’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

Amy and Rory grin at each other before bounding towards the stairs and out of the console room.

“Thank you, Doctor!” Amy calls as they scarper down the corridor.

It had been just over a month since leaving River in the hospital after Berlin. They’d seen her once since then. He’d taken the Ponds to a planet with a fantastic seventeen hour meteor shower and they’d bumped into her on the viewing deck. They’d also run into a gang of high-end jewel smugglers whose presence there River swore was a complete coincidence to hers. He had his serious doubts about that but, honestly, he’d been quite distracted by all the running and excitement and then afterwards River had had to dash off very quickly. Well, not so quickly that she hadn’t grabbed him and snogged him against the door of the TARDIS but. Anyway.

He sighs and shakes his head to clear of it of those thoughts before returning to the monitor. He’s just about to pull the lever to let the TARDIS dematerialise when there’s a familiar noise of someone appearing by vortex manipulator behind him.

“Hello sweetie,”

He turns around, a grin already on his face and leans back against the console. River is standing a few feet away, wearing a dark trench coat that’s cinched in and tied at the waist, a pair of dazzlingly high blue heels on her feet that do funny things to his insides.

She begins to stalk towards him, a little bit like a predator approaching its prey.

“I thought I’d bring you a birthday present,” she practically purrs, stopping just out of arm’s reach.

He quirks an eyebrow. “But, it’s not my birthday?”

She simply smiles. A slow smirk that spreads across her face and now she really does look like she’s sizing him up for the kill. That thought really shouldn’t thrill him as much as it does he briefly ponders.

She brings a hand to the belt on her coat and slowly pulls it loose. “Care to reconsider?” she asks, her voice low and throaty as the coat falls open.

The Doctor opens his mouth but all words and possible replies immediately evaporate as he catches sight of what she’s wearing beneath the coat. Or rather, what she’s mostly not wearing beneath the coat. He hardly thinks that the plunging bra and skimpy pair of knickers, both made of flimsy lace in a deep blue colour to match her heels, really count as clothes. In fact, he can think of several planets on which that is most definitely not considered an outfit and would probably be illegal and really- hang on, why is he thinking about other planets when River is here and-

He licks his lips and swallows. “I think,” he manages to croak out, “I think it might be my birthday after all.”

River grins wickedly at him and lets the coat fall to the floor with a soft thud. She steps in towards him and grasps his shirt front, pulling him off the console and steering him backwards towards the jump seat. She pushes him down willingly into the seat and his hands automatically drift to grasp her hips, his fingers splaying across her back and stroking the soft skin there.

As she leans down to kiss him, there’s a small flicker of a thought at the back of his mind that there was something he was supposed to be doing. Something he was doing just before River arrived and-

A little while later, she levers herself off his lap as gracefully as she can before turning to look for her knickers. He watches unashamedly as she bends down to retrieve them, arse in the air and wearing nothing but those heels. She frowns down at them before shrugging, kicking her heels off and slipping her underwear back on. Turning back towards him she leans down and nabs his shirt, slipping it on before he can protest and carelessly doing up less than half the buttons.

She looks so utterly delectable, all beautifully dishevelled and ravished that he reaches for her again but she dances out of his reach.

“River!” he complains, as she sashays away from him and towards the corridor, “Where are you going?”

“We need to toast your birthday!” she calls over her shoulder as she disappears around the corner.

“But, it’s not really-,” he sighs and stops as he realises he’s talking to an empty room. He shakes his head and pulls up his boxers and trousers before sitting back in the jumpseat and waiting for River to reappear. He still hasn’t really caught his breath back since River first appeared in the console room.

He must’ve closed his eyes very briefly because he nearly jumps out of his skin a few minutes later when River’s voice suddenly crackles in the air.

“Sweetie, do we have any of the 1976 Krug? I’m sure we do but I can only find the ’77 and it just isn’t as good.”

He looks around wildly but he’s still alone in the console room.

“River?” he exclaims, “What? How are you doing- Where-“

“I’m in the kitchen, sweetie,” she says in that infinitely patient tone that she seems to reserve for when she’s telling him something extremely obvious, “I’m speaking over the intercom.”

“But. The TARDIS doesn’t have an intercom?” he objects, still looking frantically around the room as if River might suddenly pop up from behind the furniture somewhere. Her silence in response to his comment tells him she is probably rolling her eyes at him.

He’s about to come up with something very cutting and witty when over the intercom he suddenly hears a gasp and a very Scottish ‘Oh my god!’

The Ponds! Oh gods indeed! He had totally forgotten them and their date! He leaps up, spinning around to look for his shirt and then remembers River had purloined it just minutes ago. He swears in Gallifreyan under his breath, running a hand desperately through his hair before dashing out the door.

He sprints down the corridor which is rather longer than he remembers it being, cursing the TARDIS under his breath as he does do. He careens to a halt just before the kitchen and vainly tries to slow his breathing as he attempts to nonchalantly stroll inside.

He stops in the doorway and swallows nervously. River is leaning back against the kitchen counter, still clad in only his shirt and her knickers. She’s clutching a bottle of champagne in one hand and a couple of glasses in the other and looking exceptionally amused.

There’s another doorway into the kitchen on the opposite side to him and standing there are both Ponds. Amy is looking mildly embarrassed but still faintly amused whereas Rory has a shocked and slightly horrified expression on his face.

“Ah, there you are, sweetie!” River calls out cheerfully, “Did you want a glass of fizz?”

“Doctor?” Amy simply puts her hands on her hips and cocks her head at him expectantly.

“Ponds!” he exclaims as he looks wild-eyed between them, “River just arrived and- she- Well, we were going to celebrate because-“

“I think we know how you two were ‘celebrating’,” Amy snorts, folding her arms in front of her, “You’re only wearing one outfit between the two of you!”

“Ah, no, no,” the Doctor shakes his head frantically, “I know what this looks like but actually I had to give River my shirt as she only had a coat and some underwear that, well, really wasn’t much of an outfit to begin with and after-“

“Not. Helping, Doctor,” Rory mutters from between gritted teeth as he scrubs a hand over his eyes as if trying to erase that particular mental picture.

The Doctor gulps and attempts to salute the other man. “Sorry, centurion.”

“I suppose I should have asked earlier but when are we, Doctor?” River asks, still looking far too entertained with the whole situation.

“We’ve only just done Berlin a few weeks ago,” he mumbles as her eyes widen.

“Oh! Early days then,” River nods in understanding, a grin still playing around her lips, “So, this is the first time you’ve caught us like this?” she asks Amy and Rory as they nod.

“Hang on!” the Doctor says in a panicked voice, her words suddenly sinking in, “What do you mean ‘first time’?”

River simply gives him that knowing smirk again. “Believe me, none of you want to know about those times in advance.”

He puts that rather worrying thought to the back of his mind, ignoring the way Rory blanches and Amy gives a small shudder. Pasting a smile on his face, he claps his hands. “Well, we’re all here now! We can have that double date!”

“Double date?” River raises an eyebrow as she looks at him.

Amy shakes her head. “Sorry Raggedy-Man. Seeing you two half-dressed has kind of ruined my appetite.”

The Doctor glares at her and pulls his braces up self-consciously over his bare-chest, ignoring River’s soft snort of laughter. “Oi. Rude, Amelia.

“Don’t you Amelia me!” she retorts and wags a finger at him, “I know exactly what you’ve been doing with my daughter!” she adds as the Doctor blushes bright red and avoids her gaze. She turns on her heel and heads towards the door, dragging Rory along with her. “We’ll see you in the morning,” she calls over her shoulder, “If you could try and keep it out of the communal areas that would be lovely!”

The Doctor splutters in protest and turns an even deeper shade of red. He turns to River who is still leaning against the countertop. “You,” he points his finger accusingly at her, “This is all your fault.”

“My fault?”

“Yes,” he nods emphatically, crossing his arms across his bare chest and trying to look foreboding as it was possible to look when only half dressed, “We had a nice evening planned. The four of us. A double date. And then, you arrived with-,” he gestures vaguely at her, “Well. With all-. Looking like that and now here we are.”

River ignores his attempts at glaring and simply laughs. She puts the champagne and glasses down on the side and slinks towards him, her hips swaying. She runs her hands up his chest and winds them around his neck.

“I’m sorry, my love,” she coos in a tone that suggests she isn’t really very sorry at all. She leans in closer and whispers in his ear. “Shall I make it up you?”

He swallows heavily, his arms having already uncrossed themselves and somehow found themselves settling on her hips. “Well,” he mumbles, “It is my birthday after all.”

Her answering laugh is muffled as he kisses her once more.

#river song #river x eleven #riverdoctorpromptweek #my fic #lmao this totally turned into tenuous pwp so I apologise #I am also doing no work this week bc of these prompts #rip my thesis

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trailmixtime · 3 years ago

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Falling

Some things were said after the most recent session about what might happen in Ray and Rain's joint adventure, and my brain has been working on overdrive since then. Anyway, mind the warnings in the tags, and enjoy this speculation fic :)

The Doctor and Leela have discussed dreams before - many times in fact. But not the Doctor she's currently travelling with, but rather, the tall, gangly Doctor with the ridiculous hat and scarf. The one she had first travelled with.

That Doctor had told her about Falling Dreams. Dreams where it felt like you were falling - and perhaps you even sometimes saw yourself falling. But, he had assured her, you always wake up before you hit the ground. Leela's never had that dream before.

Leela wonders if she's in one of those dreams right now. She hopes she is. She's falling through nothingness - a swirling vortex that looks like it could have colour, but when she blinks, it's gone, and just black. She doesn't know where she is, but she feels certain there's ground below her, and that she'll die if she hits the ground.

She tries to turn her head to see, but all she sees is more black. Until, suddenly, she sees the hard, red, dusty ground of the Gallifreyan Outlands.

In their discussion of the dreams, Leela had asked the Doctor how close you could get to the ground before you woke up. The Doctor had never given her an answer. She closes her eyes and waits for the impact.

Leela gasps awake, her heart racing. She looks around wildly, taking in her surroundings. She's laying on a cold, metal table, in a well-lit room, surrounded by people in various skull masks. They're all looking at her, their body language infuriatingly relaxed; Leela can't read their intentions.

She goes to sit up, but finds that her wrists and ankles are held down with metal clamps. She tugs at her hands, though she knows it's futile.

"Please, don't struggle," one of the robed people says. Leela cranes her neck to look at them. They're wearing the skull of some sort of dog, if Leela's not mistaken. "You're not going to get free, and we would so hate for you to hurt yourself."

"Who are you?" Leela demands. "Where am I? Why am I tied down?"

"In order of asking: the Faction Paradox, our lair, and because we...well," they giggle, "we need a little mole in the Capitol. We'd do it ourselves, but the CIA...Rassilon-damn the CIA, pesky little pigrats, they have files on all of us. We'd be caught within five spans! We need someone they trust. And who do they trust more than the President's Bodyguard?"

Leela remembers the Doctor - the Doctor she's travelling with right now - saying something about the Faction Paradox earlier. She doesn't remember much, only that the Doctor said they were a cult and very dangerous and if they saw anyone wearing a skull on their face, that they should turn and run the other way. The hairs on her arms stand on end, wondering what the Faction Paradox intend to do with her as she turns to see who spoke.

She's surprised by their height. They appear to be a child - no older than 14, if Leela had to guess. She feels a her stomach turn, wondering when they recruited this child, and if there's any way she can get them out of this cult. No one, especially not a child, deserved to be trapped in a cult.

"Theseus, we've discussed this before: we don't have lairs," an older Faction member sighs. Leela feels her heart sink in her chest at the name - there had been a Theseus at the Esoterica, and he was an adult. "We're not villains."

"But what if I want to be?" Theseus whines, his pout audible. There's another sigh from the elder.

"Just...shut up. This will be a good learning experience for you, but if you're going to be an insufferable twat I'm sending you back to the other children to do arts and crafts."

Theseus huffs, but shuts up anyway. Leela wets her lips and once again tries vainly to get her wrists free. She wonders where exactly this 'lair' is, and if anyone would hear if she tried to call for help.

"Where am I?" she asks again, this time directing her question at one of the adults present. "And why am I tied down?"

"Like Theseus said, we need a mole," someone says. "And you're our best option - someone trusted by the most powerful people on this planet, and, more importantly, human. Your DNA is so delicate; just what we need."

A large needle appears in her vision. Her heart skips a beat and her eyes widen. She gulps. She can't see the needle-bearer's face, but she gets the distinct feeling they're grinning like a wolf at a lamb whose leg is trapped between two rocks.

"You're welcome to scream if you like. We're far away enough that no one will hear, and we do so love a good scream."

Leela looks down at her arm as the needle is lined up with a vein. She tries to struggle to make it difficult and make them fail, but she can't move far. The Faction Paradox member puts a firm hand on her arm to try to hold her still so they can get it just right.

"No! NO!"

She doesn't know how, but she can feel the contents of the needle flowing through her veins, searing her blood as it does. She feels like she's burning from the inside out, and, then, suddenly, she's falling again, through fire and ice, the flames and jagged edges tearing at her skin. She doesn't even hear her scream as it rips from her throat, or the word it forms.

"Doctor!"

#thieves and taridses #my writing #fic #speculation fic #cw blood #cw needles #cw unreality #cw falling dreams #leela #the doctor #faction paradox #unnamed joint adventure #angst #dark fic

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riversofmars · 4 years ago

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I have an idea for a prompt! How about 13 becomes human again for whatever reason, she meets River, and without either knowing the other still manage to get together?

Thank you for this brilliant prompt! Not gonna lie, I was thinking coffee shop AU initially but I think I’ve come up with something better!

For River this is set post Manhattan pre Darillium while she’s teaching at Luna U, she hasn't met 13 and obviously doesn't recognise her. 13 - for whatever reason as per the prompt - is under the influence of the Chameleon Arch and human, not remembering who she is.

Hope you like it!

Rating: G

Word Count: 1800

AO3

Stuff of Legends

“What are you doing in here?“

The Doctor jumped when a voice cut through the silence at Luna University Library. It was late, very late, in fact. 2am was fast approaching and the library had been empty apart from her. She had chosen the time deliberately, she had banked on people being asleep or off partying for fresher’s week.

“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t realise anyone was…“ She looked around anxiously to see a figure approaching along the rows of shelves.

“You know this area is restricted, right?“ A woman came into view, wild curly hair, silky blouse and a keen sparkle in her eyes. There as a sort of amusement in her voice and she tilted her head as she looked her up and down. The Doctor got the sense she wouldn’t tell on her, at least not yet.

“Yeah, well, uhh… my archive request was denied so I thought…“ She didn’t really know what to say. She knew access to this section of the Library was restricted but she had come a long way for it and when her request was denied by the Academy of Time Travel, she had decided to go about it another way.

“You thought you would sneak in here instead?“ The woman concluded with a smirk.

“Well, they didn’t really give an explanation so…“ The Doctor scratched the back of her head. She was anxious about having been caught but so far, the other woman didn’t seem to mind too much. Perhaps she had snuck in here as well.

“Oh there was this incident, quite a long time ago now, a student snuck into the Academy’s archives and took an ancient vortex manipulator to have a sneak peak at her future essay papers… I mean, you can’t plagiarise yourself so they could hardly expel her but they did get a lot pickier with admitting people to their archives.“ The woman explained pleasantly.

“Well, firstly, that’s very clever of the student and secondly, very unreasonable to restrict everyone else’s access to the archives when some of us have actual research to do.“ The Doctor huffed, somewhere between admiration and annoyance. “Surely the student in question has long graduated…“

“And is a professor now. Professor River Song.“ River extended her hand to her with a smirk and the Doctor’s face fell.

“Oh, uhh… you’re a professor? You work here, I…I shouldn’t be here…“ She stammered, realising her mistake. This woman was staff! And she had caught her red handed.

“No, you shouldn’t be and yet you are.“ River observed sounding surprisingly unbothered about it which sort of made sense if she had been the student in question. The Doctor wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or worried. “What are you doing?“ River asked curiously and looked to the books the Doctor had gathered on a desk.

“Uh… just some research…“ The Doctor answered nervously.

“What are you studying?“ River picked up a book that she knew well. It was one of the more comprehensive guides on supposed Timelord meddling through time.

“Well, not technically a student…“ The Doctor admitted. She wasn’t sure what to say. This woman was thoroughly confusing. She was a professor here but also seemed to have an affinity for bending the rules. Could she trust her not to rat her out?

“So you didn’t just sneak into the Academy’s library section but into the university in general?“ River sounded impressed.

“No, I mean, I’m not a student, I’m a doctor, visiting lecturer… Luna University is meant to have the greatest collection of Timelord artefacts so…“ The Doctor felt the need to set the record straight.

“A doctor, huh? You sure you’re old enough?“ River smirked and the Doctor found herself blushing under her appraising gaze. Was she flirting with her?

“You don’t exactly strike me as a stuffy old professor either.“ She retorted before she could think better of it.

“Touché.“ River laughed lightly and looked back at the collection of books, scriptures and star charts. “Why the interests in the Timelords? Most people don’t even believe them to be real.“ She observed picking up another book to read the back of it.

“I don’t know, I just… personal interest, I guess. Something about them just intrigues me.“ The Doctor replied growing more self conscious. She felt a little silly. A lot of academics looked down on those paddling theories that the Timelords actually existed. Most people believed them to be the stuff of legends. While time travel was certainly real, the idea of almost celestial beings able to live forever seemed too fantastical to be true. While there was certainly something the legends were based on, there was no way of knowing which bits were fact and which were fiction.

“What’s your field?“ River asked curiously putting the book down.

“Astrophysics.“ The Doctor answered slowly. “Yours?“

“Archeology.“ River replied in amusement. “I’m much more likely to take an interest in this sort of thing than you, how do the Timelords relate to your research?“ It was a fair question.

“Star charts… well, that’s where I started. Everything else doesn’t really relate. I’m just… curious, they’re fascinating.“ The Doctor admitted, sticking her hands in the pockets of her coat before shrugging.

“Well, the stuff of legends always is.“ River chuckled.

“Unfortunately, I’m not likely to getting any answers here.“ The Doctor sighed feeling a little bit more comfortable now. It didn’t look like this woman would tell on her but it seemed to have been a wasted trip regardless.

“Answers to what?“ River asked and the Doctor shrugged again, with a little laugh this time:

“You know, I don’t even know… I can’t really explain it… never mind.“ She waved it off. “I can’t read it anyway, whatever this language is, I don’t understand it.“ She opened one of the books and held it out to River, pointing out the circular writing.

“It’s High Gallifreyan.“ River answered as she took the book off her. “The language of the Timelords, that’s what it’s called.“ Her eyes skimmed the page.

“You make it sound like they actually existed.“ The Doctor chuckled. “Is that your field of archeology? Mystical civilisations?“

“Perhaps.“ River winked. “Would you like some help?“ She handed the book back over with a smile.

“You can… you can read this?“ The Doctor exclaimed in shock, surprise and delight all at once.

“Don’t tell anyone.“ River chuckled and looked around to check no-one had heard her.

“How?!“ The Doctor didn’t know what to say. “How do you know how to read this? It’s not like you can just take language classes in this, can you?“ She was in awe.

“My husband taught me.“ River revealed with a sly sort of smile.

“Your husband?“ The Doctor’s face fell, she didn’t even know why she felt disappointed but she did. She had only just met this woman.

“Is that disappointment I hear in your voice?“ River had picked up on it right away and the Doctor blushed scarlet.

“What? No, I mean…“ She stuttered. “Uhm, your husband… does that mean, are you telling me you’re married to a… Timelord?“ The Doctor tried to deflect.

“If you presume that to be his one defining feature, I suppose so.“ River shrugged.

“So they are real? Timelords are actually…“ The Doctor didn’t know what to say.

“He is also the last Timelord. Or was… I’m not actually sure where he is these days, we haven’t seen each other in a while.“ River sighed with another shrug.

“But you just said he’s your husband.“ The Doctor frowned, she wasn’t making a whole lot of sense.

“He’s not the type to allow himself to be held too tightly.“ River smiled though the Doctor was sure there was a sadness behind her eyes. “We… things are complicated, when you’re married to a time traveller. For all I know I might never see him again.“

“And you’re just fine with that?“ The Doctor asked softly.

“Like you say, if he’s really a Timelord, he’s the stuff of legends. An ageless god. You don’t expect the sunset to admire you back.“ River retorted returning her attention to the books on the table, she ran her fingers over one of the ancient star charts absentmindedly.

“That sounds painful.“ The Doctor mused sharing in her sadness.

“Makes you appreciate the shared times all the more.“ River grinned as her wistfulness passed and the Doctor smiled and nodded, she understood. “To be honest, I don’t like being tied down either so we suit each other very well.“ River smirked gaining her swagger back.

“I see.“ The Doctor chuckled.

“That means if you would like to get a drink sometime, or if you would like some help translating these, I’m available.“ River elaborated when her initial statement didn’t have the desired effect of flustering the blonde. She looked up from the star charts to the Doctor waiting for the penny to drop. Her explanation did the trick as the Doctor went red in the face again.

“Really? I mean… you’re not… he’s not gonna…“ She stammered.

“Every time could be the last time, every Christmas could be last Christmas, that’s the thing about time, something you learn as a time traveller, you have to learn to live in the present.“ River winked and reached out and ran her fingers along the yellow braces the Doctor was wearing. “You do remind me a lot of him, you know, I don’t know… probably just my imagination. Or the fact that I’m really very attracted to you.“ She smirked.

“You’re uhh… very forward…“ The Doctor swallowed nervously.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable.“ River’s confidence faltered for a moment, genuine concern came over her. “If I misread the situations, I…“

“No, no, it’s fine, I mean… I’d like a drink. With you.“ The Doctor burst out quickly, she didn’t want her to change her mind. “I’d like to go for a drink with you and spend some time together…“

“Good. I mean, great!“ River grinned, relieved. “There is this nice little bar across campus… You don’t need these books, I can tell you everything you could possibly want to know.“

“Lead the way, Professor.“ The Doctor nodded, a grin spreading across her face.

“I don’t think you ever told me your name, what do I call you, Doctor?“ River asked mirroring her expression.

“Maybe just that. I know it probably doesn’t make a whole lot of sense but I never really… felt comfortable with my name… Jane Smith… just doesn’t mean anything to me. Most people just call me Doctor.“ The Doctor shrugged with an apologetic smile. She wasn’t sure if River would understand but she thought it best to be honest.

“Is that so…“ River gave her a smile, her expression incredibly hard to read. “It’s a funny old universe, isn’t it.“ She held out her hand to the Doctor. “You never know what the future holds, you just live it.“

#doctor who #fanfiction #prompt #space wives #river song #Thirteen #thirteenth doctor #river x thirteen #river x the doctor #yowzah #Alex Kingston #Jodie whittaker #femslash #otp #old married couple #AU #chameleon arch #chameleon au

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riversmithmelody · 3 years ago

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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: The Doctor/The Master/River Song, Thirteenth Doctor/River Song, Missy/River Song Characters: River Song, Missy (Doctor Who), Thirteenth Doctor, Susan Foreman, Irving Braxiatel Additional Tags: Reunions, Happy Ending, Fluff, riverdoctorpromptweek, Sunsets, Happily ever after only means time Series: Part 6 of River & Doctor Prompt Week 2021 Summary:

“Everyone is asleep even mother.” Susan said and there was humor in her voice. “Well Hope and Melody are still in the kitchen and talking about stuff I don’t want to know about, but they don’t count.” River shot her granddaughter a look that was more fondness than the warning it probably should have been. “Don’t be mean to your sister.” She scolded lightly and Susan beamed. “Grandfather would be proud of me.” She countered and River didn’t need to ask which one Susan meant. She just shook her head.

*** River waits for the sun to set and her spouses, but this time she isn't alone and she knew's she's loved.

This kind of is a continuation of my first Prompt "The Price of Freedom" Excerpt beneath the cut!

River watched as slowly, the sun set. Turning the bright orange sand of the Gallifreyan desert into a bloody red sea. Once upon a time she had feared this. Sunsets and what they brought, because after all there was only one night left with her husband. Her beloved idiot, before her story would end. She never anticipated that her story would only begin with a sunset.

It started with 24 years and ended with her waking up in the cluster of Gallifrey with the voice of a woman in her head.

Thank you for showing me love .

The words still rattled her from time to time. She would wake up to them. With the taste of time vortex on her tongue and the happy laughter of a child in her ears. Especially after first Theta and then Koschei left her alone on Gallifrey to see the universe and live the live River already had lived through. Still the voice haunted her more and more often the closer they came to the Time War.

“Aunt Patience's!” A cheerful voice called and River turned just in time to catch the little body of her youngest niece.

“Hello darling.” River said and pressed a kiss to the Child's cheek.

“Aunt Patience's grandfather said I would meet my uncles today?” The child Ana as everyone called her, because nobody liked the name her parents had given her, was Brax’s youngest grandchild and like everyone in the family, beside her own kids and grandchildren, just called her Aunt Patience.

River’s smile faltered a bit and she sighed. “I sure hope so, but then remember what I told you my dear. My spouses do tend to forget that they have a time senses. Ana giggled and wiggled out of River’s grip to run over to the other children of the family.

“So it’s time?” Brax’s voice was calm and yet River could hear the slight excitement in it. He might not like to admit it, but he sure as hell was excited to see his little brother again.

“Mhm…” River muttered. It wasn’t the first time they stood here together. Next to the barn River had turned into a house for herself and her family. Looking at the desert for the whole night waiting for the sound of brakes and a blue police box. River sighed and leaned back against her brother-in-law. They had come a long way until here. Casual touched off affection. Nights curled up together in the hope of finding comfort. His spouse had died in the time war and River, who had been already alone for so many years at that point, had offered him the comfort of understanding. Their family hadn’t said a word about the closeness between them.

Understanding after all, everyone had lost someone. No matter how much research River had done. No matter how long she had talked to the high council. She hadn’t managed to save everyone.

It was one of the perks of being an archeologist with a focus on the Time War and more importantly Gallifrey. River, who was a child of the TARDIS and connected to every single TARDIS in Time and Space, had made the impossible possible and found a safe place for the children to hide. For everyone who wasn’t equipped to fight,she had found a hide out. She had saved billions of people by finding the cave system beneath the desert and hiding her people in there. And yet there had been so many lives lost. No matter how much regeneration energy was filling the air.

“Two-hundred and twenty-four years after the move.” River muttered. “That was mothers message that day. Meet me at sunset 240 years later.” River sighed and relaxed even furthering to Brax, when his arms came around to embrace her. “24 it’s…him. Only he would use that number. Only he knows the meaning of it, especially combined with the sunset.”

Brax hummed and then called out for the children to stop it. River smiled. In the beginning she hadn’t told anyone about the message she had gotten from the TARDISes when Gallifrey had been quantum locked. It was too personal and at the same time she had given up hope of seeing them again. But then just about a hundred years after the move as everyone called it, her husband had come. Her husband with the eyebrows. Furry burning in his eyes. Challenging Rassilon and eventually, banning him from their planet. River had watched all of it, from the shadows smiling. She had told the old man that he shouldn’t challenge her husband and shouldn't use his friends as pawns, but of course she was only a halfling. Not a full Gallifreyan no matter how many lives she had saved. River had watched her husband and led him through the Cluster, after all that was her territory. Nobody knew the cluster better than her. She had lived in it for centuries after all. Hidden away by Cal, until the voice had freed her.

Only after her husband had fled with another stolen TARDIS had River found it in herself to hope. Hoped to see her spouses again. After all he already had done it once, why wouldn’t he do it again? So River had waited for the 240th year to arrive and then spent every day next to her home staring at the dessert. Waiting night after night for them to arrive.

After a few weeks Brax had started to stand next to her and after she had told him what she was waiting for. Who she was waiting for, the rest of the family had started to stand with them. Rivers children first. Her two brilliant daughters, although one of them was a boy now. Then her grandchildren. Susan, who almost bounced with excitement over the thought of seeing her grandfather again. Hope next and then Melody. Melody, who never had met her Grandfather, even though he left long after the Doctor and Susan. The rest of her grandchildren, nieces and nephews soon started to play around them in the sand filling the silence with laughter and happiness. It was so much better this way. No heavy silence and sadness, that had been with her in the nights she had stood here alone.

“Stop worrying.” Brax muttered and then shouted for his grandson to stop harassing his cousins. River giggled and shot him a look.

“He’s becoming more and more like Koschei.” She teased and her brother shot her a look.

“Don’t you dare bring that up. It’s worse enough that Tony somehow managed to be nothing like his father, but Melody is the worst kind of mix of you and Koschei.” River only grinned. Oh yes her granddaughter was a whirlwind of mischief and trouble and she was way too clever for everyone's nerves.

“He will be so damn proud of her.” River muttered and looked away from the gangle of children to look back at the blood red sky.

“They will come soon.” Brax promised, but there was doubt in his voice. River understood, Brax hadn’t seen the way the Doctor had fought no matter the odds. River had seen him try and find a solution for her ending for years. Cal was connected to the internet and so was the TARDIS. She had spent centuries watching her husband brood over plans. Had seen them all fail and yet he never stopped.

“They will.” She said and it sounded so much more believable from her.

“Mother?” Rory came up the hill with a smile on her face. “The council just failed again to change the protocols.” Her daughter said once she was close enough and River started laughing. Brax too was smiling and Rory beamed with them.

“Did you take a picture of their faces?” River asked, still giggling and Rory nodded.

“Of course mothers, who do you think I am?” River brushed through the brown curls her daughter had in this regeneration. Rory looked so much like her fathers fourth regeneration this time around. Unlike Tony who was a perfect replica of his fathers first face down to the stupid goaty.

“Grandmother?” Susan came up to them now too. “I’m taking the children into the house.” She said quietly holding her little sister, Jane, in her arms. The four years old was peacefully sleeping against Susans shoulder. River nodded.

“Do that Susan.” She said and gently brushed a smudge of dirt from her grandchild's face. “Use the large living room and set it up so everyone can sleep there.” Hope, who had come up behind her sister, smiled brightly.

“Can we build a blanket fort again?” She asked and River nodded, winking st them.

“Of course. Your uncle and I will stay a bit longer.” Rory went back with her daughters to help bring all the children inside and River watched the large group disappear into the house.

#riverdoctorpromptweek #River Song #doctor who #fluff #sunset #Happily ever after #missy doctor who #river x thirteen #thirteenth doctor #just me indulging in my OT3

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easily-infatuated23 · 4 years ago

Text

The Mark of the Angel Part One: Discovery (11th Doctor x Reader)

Part Two

a/n: hello! in this story i am deviating from the lore quite a bit. i decided i wanted to create my own being and this is the transformation sequence. i’m not sure where this is gonna go so we’ll find out!

pairing: 11th Doctor x Reader, Amy and Rory on the TARDIS :)

word count: 1.5k

summary: The Doctor decides to visit a place he’s always wanted to go but didn’t know it. When the TARDIS drops him in the middle of the Reader’s flat, he finds something he didn’t know was hidden

warnings: none to my knowledge

Y/N POV:

Ugh. Moving. Moving house has always been one of my least favorite things. Growing up, my dad was constantly being relocated for his job which made making friends and getting any sense of stability difficult. But this move was different. It was my first flat all to myself. I had paid for it with my own money and I was’t planning on leaving any time soon. Or was I? As much as I hated moving, I loved getting to experience new places. When we moved from New York City to Paris, I spent hours exploring every museum and street I could. It’s the traveling I loved, the half hearted promise of staying put I hate. But this move was different. With a flat based in London, I could easily travel anywhere in Europe. I could hop on a train and be in France or Italy. This was going to be the start of an exciting time in my life and I couldn’t wait. But, before I can travel, I have to unpack my kitchen. Not the most exciting thing but it’s a step in the right direction.

TARDIS POV:

“Alrighty then” the Doctor said clasping his hands together. “So where are we going this time?” Amy asked excitedly. “Well, we are going somewhere I have always wanted to go.” There was silence. Amy and Rory looked at each other and then back at the Doctor. “And where would that be” Rory asked. “I have no idea” the Doctor said, a childlike smile spreading across his face. “Geronimo!” he yelled as he pulled down on the lever. The TARDIS whirred and groaned as it began traveling through the time vortex. “I set it to take us somewhere I have always wanted to go but never knew I wanted! Isn’t that brilliant?” The TARDIS jerked from side to side more violently than usual, as if it was battling within its self, deciding where to land. When it finally did, it dropped hard and fast letting out one last bellowing groan. Amy pulled herself up from the floor of the TARDIS, having been knocked around during the landing. “Great so you have no idea where we are” she remarked. “Perfect so we could be in the middle of nowhere or a volcano!” Rory added. “Or London” the Doctor said. “Earth, London, the year 2015, 11:30 am” he said with a slightly confused smile.

Y/N POV:

After finishing the kitchen I figured I should spruce up the entry way a bit. I opened a box labeled “decorative stuff” and pulled it over to the mantle above the fireplace. I pulled out a framed picture of my parents and a small clock. Then I pulled out a small pocket watch. I smiled. My dad had given it to me when I was 11. He said it belonged to my grand father and that I should take extra special care of it. Sometimes, it almost felt like the watch would just vanish but I always managed to find it. As I went to place it on the mantle I heard a strange whirring noise. I pressed my ear to the watch wondering if it had suddenly decided to start working for the first time but, as the sound grew louder I realized it couldn’t be coming from the watch. Suddenly, a giant gust of wind blew through my flat, nearly blowing me over. When the wind finally stopped I heard a strange groaning noise. When I looked in front of me, I saw a giant blue police telephone box. “What the hell?” I said. I slowly approached the box. How had this giant box gotten into my flat? Before I could think twice, I found myself knocking on the door. I mean what’s the worst thing that could happen?

TARDIS POV:

The Doctor straightened his bowtie. Before one of the three could say anything, they heard a small knock at the door. Amy and Rory looked at each other and then the Doctor. “Geronimo” he said, more quietly this time but with the same flair and excitement as his previous exclamation. He walked towards the door and opened it, poking his head out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hello! I’m the Doctor, ah lovely place this is, who are you?” his was mind going a million miles a minute trying to figure out what was so extraordinary about this place that the TARDIS lead him here. “Uh hi I’m Y/N…sorry but how did you get in here? And is your name really ‘the Doctor’? And also-” but before I could finish two other people stepped out of the box. “Oh yes this is Amy and Rory, this is Y/N”. They waved. “Yes that’s nice but again um, why and how are you here?” I asked again. “This is the TARDIS, it travels through space and time” he said as he began to wonder through the entry way. “I set it to take me to the place I most wanted to go but wasn’t aware of” he said. I put my grandfathers watch on the mantle and turned to him. “So I am guessing you are some sort of alien” I said. He spun around to face me when his face suddenly dropped. “Where did you get that watch?” he said, quickly moving towards me. “Um it was my grandfathers, what does that have to do with anything?” I asked. “Doctor are you alright” Amy asked. “Yes yes fine” he said unconvincingly.

He grabbed the watch and walked towards the window, holding it up to the light. Amy and Rory went over to him, now all three of them had their back to me. “Whats so special about the watch?” I heard Rory ask. “This is not just a watch, this is a Gallifreyan device that holds the part of a Time Lord that makes them, well, a Time Lord. It’s usually used when a Time Lord has had to transform into something else, like for instance a….human.” The three then turned slowly and looked at me. “Whats a Time Lord?” I asked, taking a few steps towards them. “Y/N have you ever opened this watch?” the Doctor asked. “No why would I? It’s probably broken.” I replied. Suddenly my ears started buzzing. Then I could have sworn I started hearing whispers. “Do you hear that?” I asked. They all looked around. “Uh no, I don’t hear anything” Amy said. Rory just simply shook his head. I felt a stinging pain in my left shoulder,I rubbed it, moving the sleeve of t-shirt. The Doctor’s face dropped again. “Whats that on your shoulder?” I looked. The only thing on my shoulder was the small birth mark shaped like a pair of wings. “Just a birth mark, I’ve had it all my life…” I replied, looking at the Doctor sheepishly. “Doctor…” Amy said, as if trying to bring his attention back to the room. “On Gallifrey there is a legend about a creature, a God-like creature said to have roamed around the universe since it’s creation, some even say that it created the Time Lords, that it is the first Time Lord. It is known as ‘the Angel'. It is can take any shape but is always recognizable by a wing shaped mark somewhere on the being.” the Doctor said, a look of awe growing in his eyes. I could barely hear his words, the whispers had started shouting. I covered my ears but it didn’t help. “Doctor, is she ok?” Rory said. He spun around and looked at me. He handed me the watch. “Here try opening this” he said. He then started walking backwards with his arms stretched across his friends. “Stand back” he said. The shouting was growing unbearable. I glanced one more time at the Doctor, he nodded slightly. I swallowed hard and looked down at the watch. Slowly, I clicked the watch open and suddenly everything went black. Then, it happened. I felt a fire igniting within my soul. I felt light as air but also consumed by an unimaginable weight.

TARDIS POV:

Suddenly, the same wind that occurs when the TARDIS lands picked up again and started swirling around Y/N. “Doctor! What’s happening?” Amy yelled over the wind. “She’s waking up!” he yelled back. The Doctor watched as the girl who he had just met, levitated and her skin began to glow from the inside out. It wasn’t the same glow that escaped the Doctor when he regenerated, but it was nearly identical. “Seriously Doctor is she gonna be ok?” Rory yelled. Suddenly and just as quickly as the wind and spinning had begun, it stopped. The girl dropped back to her feet with her back facing the trio. They stood and stared, no one daring to say a word. Finally, the Doctor spoke. “Is the being known as the Angel standing before me?” he asked timidly, slowly making his way towards me. I spun around to face him. A smirk spread across my face as I looked down at my hands and then my surroundings. “You restored me. Thank you,” I looked at the Doctor and then at his TARDIS. “This is going to be fun”

TO BE CONTINUED

#doctor who #11th doctor #matt smith #amy pond #rory williams #doctor x reader #11 x reader #11th doctor x reader #doctor who au #tardis #new who #david tennant

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isis-astarte-diana · 4 years ago

Text

Vault Night

Summary: “Despite‌ ‌the‌ ‌Doctor’s‌ ‌lecture‌ ‌on‌ ‌not‌ ‌having‌ ‌casual‌ ‌drinks‌ ‌with‌ ‌mass‌ ‌murderers, ‌nights‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌vault‌ ‌swiftly‌ ‌became‌ ‌routine.‌” Or, the one where drunken game nights in Missy’s vault take a turn for the gay. [Request] [One Shot] [SFW]

Warnings: Alcohol, tiny bit of moderate strong language, allusions to Missy’s violent past but nothing too upsetting.

Word Count: 2897

NB: Hope this is okay for you, anon!

When‌ ‌you‌ ‌turned‌ ‌up‌ ‌at‌ ‌Missy’s‌ ‌vault,‌ ‌quivering‌ ‌with‌ ‌rage‌ ‌and‌ ‌clutching‌ ‌a‌ ‌bottle‌ ‌of‌ ‌cheap‌ ‌gin‌ ‌like‌ ‌a‌ ‌lifeline,‌ ‌you‌ ‌half‌ ‌expected‌ ‌her‌ ‌to‌ ‌turn‌ ‌you‌ ‌away.‌ ‌Your‌ ‌hair‌ ‌was‌ ‌a‌ ‌mess,‌ ‌eyes‌ ‌red‌ ‌with‌ ‌angry‌ ‌tears,‌ ‌clothes‌ ‌scuffed‌ ‌and‌ ‌torn‌ ‌from‌ ‌the‌ ‌latest‌ ‌disaster‌ ‌the‌ ‌Doctor‌ ‌had‌ ‌engineered‌ ‌with‌ ‌his‌ ‌infuriating‌ ‌obstinance.‌ ‌You‌ ‌couldn’t‌ ‌bear‌ ‌the‌ ‌sight‌ ‌of‌ ‌him‌ ‌right‌ ‌now.‌ ‌You‌ ‌just‌ ‌needed‌ ‌a‌ ‌‌drink‌.‌ ‌ ‌

Telling‌ ‌your‌ ‌human‌ ‌friends‌ ‌-‌ ‌the‌ ‌ones‌ ‌that‌ ‌you’d‌ ‌managed‌ ‌to‌ ‌keep‌ ‌while‌ ‌being‌ ‌unreachable‌ ‌for‌ ‌days‌ ‌at‌ ‌a‌ ‌stretch‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌Time‌ ‌Vortex,‌ ‌disappearing‌ ‌at‌ ‌a‌ ‌moment’s‌ ‌notice‌ ‌any‌ ‌time‌ ‌he‌ ‌popped‌ ‌his‌ ‌head‌ ‌around‌ ‌the‌ ‌door‌ ‌and‌ ‌proclaimed‌ ‌enigmatically‌ ‌to‌ ‌“need‌ ‌you,‌ ‌for‌ ‌a‌ ‌thing”‌ ‌-‌ ‌that‌ ‌you‌ ‌were‌ ‌upset‌ ‌because‌ ‌your‌ ‌unspeakably‌ ‌ancient‌ ‌alien‌ ‌friend‌ ‌had‌ ‌almost‌ ‌gotten‌ ‌you‌ ‌eaten‌ ‌by‌ ‌space‌ ‌lizards‌ ‌and‌ ‌then‌ ‌refused‌ ‌to‌ ‌apologise‌ ‌for‌ ‌it‌ ‌wasn’t‌ ‌exactly‌ ‌an‌ ‌option.‌ ‌There‌ ‌was‌ ‌only‌ ‌one‌ ‌person‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌universe‌ ‌you‌ ‌knew‌ ‌you‌ ‌could‌ ‌complain‌ ‌about‌ ‌him‌ ‌to,‌ ‌and‌ ‌she‌ ‌happened‌ ‌to‌ ‌be‌ ‌downstairs‌ ‌and‌ ‌guaranteed‌ ‌not‌ ‌to‌ ‌be‌ ‌busy.‌ ‌Besides‌ ‌which,‌ ‌you‌ ‌were‌ ‌certain‌ ‌it‌ ‌would‌ ‌piss‌ ‌him‌ ‌off‌ ‌if‌ ‌you‌ ‌went‌ ‌to‌ ‌see‌ ‌her.‌ ‌ ‌

They‌ ‌were‌ ‌definitely‌ ‌the‌ ‌only‌ ‌reasons.‌ ‌ ‌

Your‌ ‌presence‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌vault‌ ‌had‌ ‌nothing‌ ‌to‌ ‌do‌ ‌with‌ ‌the‌ ‌way‌ ‌her‌ ‌tousled‌ ‌hair‌ ‌caught‌ ‌the‌ ‌light‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌sunset‌ ‌filtering‌ ‌through‌ ‌the‌ ‌window,‌ ‌igniting‌ ‌in‌ ‌orange‌ ‌and‌ ‌purple‌ ‌like‌ ‌a‌ ‌bonfire.‌ ‌That‌ ‌was‌ ‌entirely‌ ‌circumstantial.‌ ‌If‌ ‌your‌ ‌fingers‌ ‌tightened‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌neck‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌bottle‌ ‌when‌ ‌she‌ ‌raised‌ ‌an‌ ‌expectant‌ ‌eyebrow,‌ ‌it‌ ‌was‌ ‌only‌ ‌because‌ ‌you‌ ‌were‌ ‌still‌ ‌so‌ ‌furious,‌ ‌and‌ ‌possibly‌ ‌a‌ ‌little‌ ‌bit‌ ‌frightened‌ ‌at‌ ‌locking‌ ‌yourself‌ ‌in‌ ‌a‌ ‌room‌ ‌with‌ ‌a‌ ‌murderer.‌ ‌Only‌ ‌natural.‌ ‌ ‌

“Come‌ ‌into‌ ‌my‌ ‌parlour,‌ ‌said‌ ‌the‌ ‌spider‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌fly.”‌ ‌She‌ ‌gestured‌ ‌towards‌ ‌the‌ ‌tufted‌ ‌chairs‌ ‌by‌ ‌the‌ ‌window.‌ ‌“Here‌ ‌to‌ ‌complain‌ ‌about‌ ‌the‌ ‌eyebrows?‌ ‌He‌ ‌‌was‌ ‌‌rude.”‌ ‌ ‌

“You‌ ‌saw?”‌ ‌Your‌ ‌jaw‌ ‌tightened‌ ‌at‌ ‌the‌ ‌thought‌ ‌that‌ ‌she’d‌ ‌witnessed‌ ‌your‌ ‌humiliation.‌ ‌“You‌ ‌saw‌ ‌what‌ ‌he‌ ‌did?”‌ ‌

‌“He‌ ‌lets‌ ‌me‌ ‌watch,‌ ‌thinks‌ ‌it’s‌ ‌educational‌ ‌television.”‌ ‌She‌ ‌stood‌ ‌up‌ ‌from‌ ‌the‌ ‌piano‌ ‌bench‌ ‌and‌ ‌strolled‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌edge‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌platform,‌ ‌leaning‌ ‌against‌ ‌a‌ ‌pillar.‌ ‌“I’m‌ ‌more‌ ‌into‌ ‌the‌ ‌sex‌ ‌and‌ ‌violence‌ ‌of‌ ‌it.‌ ‌Precious‌ ‌little‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌former‌ ‌today,‌ ‌but‌ ‌I‌ ‌still‌ ‌enjoyed‌ ‌the‌ ‌show.”‌ ‌ ‌

“I‌ ‌almost‌ ‌‌died‌.”‌ ‌ ‌

“Yes,‌ ‌well,‌ ‌that‌ ‌happens.”‌ ‌She‌ ‌flounced‌ ‌down‌ ‌the‌ ‌steps,‌ ‌twirling‌ ‌as‌ ‌she‌ ‌went,‌ ‌and‌ ‌settled‌ ‌in‌ ‌a‌ ‌chair.‌ ‌“Come‌ ‌on,‌ ‌then.‌ ‌Gin‌ ‌and‌ ‌girl‌ ‌talk,‌ ‌is‌ ‌it,‌ ‌dearest?‌ ‌Tell‌ ‌me‌ ‌how‌ ‌the‌ ‌‌nasty‌ ‌‌Doctor‌ ‌hurt‌ ‌your‌ ‌feelings.”‌ ‌ ‌

This‌ ‌was‌ ‌a‌ ‌terrible‌ ‌idea.‌ ‌“Forget‌ ‌it.”‌ ‌You‌ ‌tried‌ ‌to‌ ‌sound‌ ‌sharp‌ ‌but‌ ‌humiliating‌ ‌tears‌ ‌of‌ ‌frustration‌ ‌were‌ ‌welling‌ ‌in‌ ‌your‌ ‌eyes,‌ ‌weakening‌ ‌your‌ ‌voice.‌ ‌“If‌ ‌you’re‌ ‌just‌ ‌going‌ ‌to‌ ‌take‌ ‌the‌ ‌piss‌ ‌I’ll‌ ‌go‌ ‌home.”‌ ‌You‌ ‌turned‌ ‌on‌ ‌your‌ ‌heels,‌ ‌rubbing‌ ‌at‌ ‌your‌ ‌eyes‌ ‌in‌ ‌a‌ ‌futile‌ ‌attempt‌ ‌to‌ ‌keep‌ ‌from‌ ‌crying.‌ ‌ ‌

‌She‌ ‌sighed‌ ‌heavily.‌ ‌“Don’t‌ ‌be‌ ‌so‌ ‌‌boring‌.‌ ‌Here‌ ‌I‌ ‌am,‌ ‌all‌ ‌banged‌ ‌up‌ ‌with‌ ‌nothing‌ ‌to‌ ‌do,‌ ‌and‌ ‌the‌ ‌only‌ ‌thing‌ ‌you‌ ‌want‌ ‌to‌ ‌talk‌ ‌about‌ ‌is‌ ‌how‌ ‌a‌ ‌stupid‌ ‌old‌ ‌man‌ ‌upset‌ ‌you?‌ ‌He‌ ‌does‌ ‌that.‌ ‌It’s‌ ‌his‌ ‌‌thing‌.‌ ‌He’ll‌ ‌start‌ ‌to‌ ‌feel‌ ‌guilty‌ ‌and‌ ‌he’ll‌ ‌come‌ ‌and‌ ‌find‌ ‌you‌ ‌and‌ ‌say‌ ‌something‌ ‌to‌ ‌make‌ ‌you‌ ‌feel‌ ‌better.‌ ‌You‌ ‌know‌ ‌that.‌ ‌Let’s‌ ‌do‌ ‌something‌ ‌‌fun‌.”‌ ‌You‌ ‌scoffed.‌ ‌“Or‌ ‌you‌ ‌could‌ ‌go‌ ‌and‌ ‌have‌ ‌a‌ ‌little‌ ‌cry‌ ‌and‌ ‌drink‌ ‌alone‌ ‌in‌ ‌your‌ ‌bedroom,‌ ‌that‌ ‌definitely‌ ‌sounds‌ ‌better.”‌ ‌ ‌

Okay‌,‌ ‌‌ouch‌.‌ ‌ ‌

‌Scowling,‌ ‌you‌ ‌looked‌ ‌back‌ ‌at‌ ‌her.‌ ‌She‌ ‌was‌ ‌draped‌ ‌across‌ ‌the‌ ‌chair,‌ ‌dark‌ ‌skirt‌ ‌gathered‌ ‌around‌ ‌her‌ ‌knees,‌ ‌giving‌ ‌you‌ ‌a‌ ‌glimpse‌ ‌of‌ ‌bare‌ ‌legs‌ ‌and‌ ‌sleek‌ ‌black‌ ‌boots.‌ ‌You‌ ‌swallowed‌ ‌hard.‌ ‌“What‌ ‌did‌ ‌you‌ ‌have‌ ‌in‌ ‌mind?”‌ ‌ ‌

+++++‌ ‌ ‌

“That‌ ‌is‌ ‌‌not‌ ‌‌very‌ ‌accurate.”‌ ‌ ‌

You‌ ‌snorted,‌ ‌glancing‌ ‌away‌ ‌from‌ ‌the‌ ‌screen‌ ‌to‌ ‌find‌ ‌Missy‌ ‌looking‌ ‌bored.‌ ‌She‌ ‌was‌ ‌hanging‌ ‌off‌ ‌the‌ ‌chair,‌ ‌clutching‌ ‌her‌ ‌half-empty‌ ‌glass‌ ‌in‌ ‌an‌ ‌elegantly‌ ‌manicured‌ ‌hand.‌ ‌“What,‌ ‌have‌ ‌you‌ ‌cut‌ ‌a‌ ‌lot‌ ‌of‌ ‌people‌ ‌in‌ ‌half‌ ‌like‌ ‌that?”‌ ‌

‌“Only‌ ‌six‌ ‌or‌ ‌seven.”‌ ‌She‌ ‌sounded‌ ‌far‌ ‌too‌ ‌casual.‌ ‌At‌ ‌any‌ ‌other‌ ‌time‌ ‌it‌ ‌might‌ ‌have‌ ‌worried‌ ‌you,‌ ‌but‌ ‌now,‌ ‌four‌ ‌gins‌ ‌deep‌ ‌and‌ ‌mocking‌ ‌your‌ ‌way‌ ‌through‌ ‌an‌ ‌absurdly‌ ‌gory‌ ‌slasher‌ ‌film‌ ‌with‌ ‌her,‌ ‌it‌ ‌just‌ ‌made‌ ‌you‌ ‌laugh.‌ ‌“The‌ ‌screams‌ ‌are‌ ‌much‌ ‌‌wetter‌,‌ ‌for‌ ‌one‌ ‌thing.‌ ‌Like‌ ‌a‌ ‌gurgling‌ ‌drain‌ ‌saw‌ ‌a‌ ‌ghost.”‌ ‌ ‌

“You’re‌ ‌lying.”‌ ‌It‌ ‌was‌ ‌a‌ ‌bold‌ ‌assertion,‌ ‌but‌ ‌somehow‌ ‌you‌ ‌just‌ ‌couldn’t‌ ‌picture‌ ‌it.‌ ‌It‌ ‌seemed‌ ‌a‌ ‌bit‌ ‌too…‌ ‌messy‌ ‌for‌ ‌her.‌ ‌From‌ ‌what‌ ‌you‌ ‌understood‌ ‌she‌ ‌was‌ ‌more‌ ‌into‌ ‌vaporising‌ ‌people‌ ‌and‌ ‌pushing‌ ‌them‌ ‌off‌ ‌of‌ ‌elevated‌ ‌structures.‌ ‌

‌“Oh,‌ ‌always,‌ ‌poppet,”‌ ‌she‌ ‌agreed,‌ ‌setting‌ ‌the‌ ‌glass‌ ‌down‌ ‌and‌ ‌swinging‌ ‌her‌ ‌legs‌ ‌over‌ ‌until‌ ‌she‌ ‌was‌ ‌sitting‌ ‌up,‌ ‌looking‌ ‌at‌ ‌you‌ ‌properly.‌ ‌“I‌ ‌have,‌ ‌though.‌ ‌A‌ ‌while‌ ‌ago.‌ ‌Different‌ ‌face.”‌ ‌She‌ ‌punctuated‌ ‌the‌ ‌words‌ ‌with‌ ‌a‌ ‌delicate‌ ‌wave‌ ‌of‌ ‌her‌ ‌hand,‌ ‌following‌ ‌the‌ ‌contours‌ ‌of‌ ‌her‌ ‌features.‌ ‌“Not‌ ‌as‌ ‌nice‌ ‌as‌ ‌this‌ ‌one.”‌ ‌

‌“That‌ ‌one’s‌ ‌quite‌ ‌nice,”‌ ‌you‌ ‌admitted,‌ ‌taking‌ ‌another‌ ‌swig.‌ ‌There‌ ‌was‌ ‌an‌ ‌unexpected‌ ‌beat‌ ‌of‌ ‌silence‌ ‌and‌ ‌you‌ ‌blushed.‌ ‌

‌Luckily‌ ‌it‌ ‌was‌ ‌broken‌ ‌when‌ ‌another‌ ‌buxom‌ ‌blonde‌ ‌on‌ ‌screen‌ ‌started‌ ‌begging‌ ‌for‌ ‌her‌ ‌life.‌ ‌You‌ ‌jumped‌ ‌slightly‌ ‌and‌ ‌looked‌ ‌back‌ ‌in‌ ‌time‌ ‌to‌ ‌watch‌ ‌the‌ ‌mutilation‌ ‌beginning.‌ ‌“I‌ ‌mean,‌ ‌there’s‌ ‌no‌ ‌way‌ ‌that‌ ‌‌that‌ ‌‌really‌ ‌happens,‌ ‌is‌ ‌there?”‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

‌“What?”‌ ‌Missy‌ ‌wasn’t‌ ‌looking;‌ ‌her‌ ‌gaze‌ ‌was‌ ‌still‌ ‌fixed‌ ‌on‌ ‌your‌ ‌face.‌ ‌She‌ ‌turned‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌screen‌ ‌and‌ ‌scoffed.‌ ‌Her‌ ‌accent‌ ‌was‌ ‌getting‌ ‌more‌ ‌pronounced‌ ‌with‌ ‌every‌ ‌glass‌ ‌she‌ ‌poured‌ ‌herself.‌ ‌“‌No‌,‌ ‌that‌ ‌is‌ ‌‌not‌ ‌‌what‌ ‌happens‌ ‌when‌ ‌you‌ ‌gouge‌ ‌an‌ ‌eye‌ ‌out.”‌ ‌

‌+++++‌ ‌ ‌

The‌ ‌Doctor‌ ‌found‌ ‌you‌ ‌a few ‌hours‌ ‌later,‌ ‌perched‌ ‌next‌ ‌to‌ ‌Missy‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌piano‌ ‌bench‌ ‌and‌ ‌belting‌ ‌out‌ ‌a‌ ‌truly‌ ‌horrifying‌ ‌rendition‌ ‌of‌ ‌‌Ob-La-Di,‌ ‌Ob-La-Da‌ ‌‌while‌ ‌she‌ ‌played.‌ ‌Her‌ ‌voice‌ ‌was‌ ‌raised‌ ‌in‌ ‌song‌ ‌with‌ ‌you,‌ ‌and‌ ‌you‌ ‌got‌ ‌the‌ ‌sense‌ ‌that‌ ‌she‌ ‌was‌ ‌deliberately‌ ‌keeping‌ ‌out‌ ‌of‌ ‌tune‌ ‌with‌ ‌the‌ ‌music,‌ ‌matching‌ ‌your‌ ‌pitch‌ ‌instead.‌ ‌Your‌ ‌jaw‌ ‌ached‌ ‌from‌ ‌laughing‌ ‌and‌ ‌your‌ ‌head‌ ‌was‌ ‌swimming,‌ ‌the‌ ‌other‌ ‌side‌ ‌of‌ ‌tipsy‌ ‌by‌ ‌now.‌ ‌ ‌

You‌ ‌didn’t‌ ‌hear‌ ‌the‌ ‌door‌ ‌open,‌ ‌almost‌ ‌jumping‌ ‌out‌ ‌of‌ ‌your‌ ‌skin‌ ‌when‌ ‌he‌ ‌called‌ ‌gruffly,‌ ‌“what‌ ‌the‌ ‌hell‌ ‌‌is‌ ‌going‌ ‌on‌ ‌here?”‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

“Oh,‌ ‌you’re‌ ‌just‌ ‌in‌ ‌time‌ ‌for‌ ‌the‌ ‌chorus,‌ ‌Doctor,”‌ ‌Missy‌ ‌teased,‌ ‌still‌ ‌playing.‌ ‌“Feel‌ ‌free‌ ‌to‌ ‌join‌ ‌in!‌ ‌The‌ ‌human‌ ‌can‌ ‌hit‌ ‌the‌ ‌high‌ ‌notes‌ ‌but‌ ‌we‌ ‌could‌ ‌do‌ ‌with‌ ‌some‌ ‌backing.”‌ ‌

“Are‌ ‌you‌ ‌‌drunk‌?”‌ ‌His‌ ‌voice‌ ‌was‌ ‌humourless.‌ ‌You‌ ‌shrank‌ ‌back‌ ‌from‌ ‌the‌ ‌sharpness‌ ‌there,‌ ‌and‌ ‌Missy‌ ‌dropped‌ ‌her‌ ‌fingers‌ ‌from‌ ‌the‌ ‌keys,‌ ‌wrapping‌ ‌a‌ ‌protective‌ ‌arm‌ ‌around‌ ‌your‌ ‌waist.‌ ‌The‌ ‌gentle‌ ‌pressure‌ ‌made‌ ‌your‌ ‌breath‌ ‌hitch.‌ ‌

‌“Don’t‌ ‌be‌ ‌cross‌ ‌with‌ ‌her,”‌ ‌she‌ ‌said‌ ‌firmly.‌ ‌“You‌ ‌were‌ ‌awfully‌ ‌mean‌ ‌today.”‌ ‌

‌“Oh,‌ ‌I’m‌ ‌not‌ ‌cross‌ ‌with‌ ‌‌her‌,”‌ ‌he‌ ‌reassured,‌ ‌crossing‌ ‌the‌ ‌room‌ ‌and‌ ‌holding‌ ‌his‌ ‌hand‌ ‌out‌ ‌to‌ ‌help‌ ‌you‌ ‌down‌ ‌from‌ ‌the‌ ‌platform.‌ ‌His‌ ‌voice‌ ‌softened.‌ ‌“Come‌ ‌on.‌ ‌It’s‌ ‌almost‌ ‌midnight,‌ ‌let‌ ‌me‌ ‌get‌ ‌you‌ ‌home.”‌ ‌ ‌

“But-”‌ ‌you‌ ‌looked‌ ‌back‌ ‌at‌ ‌Missy,‌ ‌pulse‌ ‌quickening‌ ‌at‌ ‌the‌ ‌closeness‌ ‌of‌ ‌her.‌ ‌She‌ ‌gave‌ ‌you‌ ‌a‌ ‌tender‌ ‌smile‌ ‌and‌ ‌let‌ ‌go‌ ‌of‌ ‌you,‌ ‌nodding‌ ‌towards‌ ‌the‌ ‌Doctor.‌ ‌ ‌

“Taxi’s‌ ‌here,‌ ‌dearest,”‌ ‌she‌ ‌said‌ ‌with‌ ‌a‌ ‌wink.‌ ‌“Might‌ ‌even‌ ‌have‌ ‌an‌ ‌apology‌ ‌for‌ ‌you.‌ ‌Time‌ ‌to‌ ‌go.”‌ ‌ ‌

“Yeah,”‌ ‌you‌ ‌agreed,‌ ‌surprised‌ ‌by‌ ‌how‌ ‌much‌ ‌the‌ ‌thought‌ ‌disappointed‌ ‌you.‌ ‌“I’ll,‌ ‌um-‌ ‌I’ll‌ ‌see‌ ‌you‌ ‌soon?”‌ ‌ ‌

“You‌ ‌know‌ ‌where‌ ‌I’ll‌ ‌be.”‌ ‌As‌ ‌you‌ ‌went‌ ‌to‌ ‌stand,‌ ‌she‌ ‌grabbed‌ ‌your‌ ‌hand‌ ‌and‌ ‌squeezed‌ ‌gently.‌ ‌You‌ ‌turned‌ ‌to‌ ‌her,‌ ‌puzzled.‌ ‌“Thank‌ ‌you‌ ‌for‌ ‌a‌ ‌lovely‌ ‌evening.”‌ ‌There‌ ‌was‌ ‌an‌ ‌odd‌ ‌look‌ ‌in‌ ‌her‌ ‌eye,‌ ‌one‌ ‌you‌ ‌couldn’t‌ ‌place.‌ ‌ ‌

“Thanks‌ ‌for‌ ‌having‌ ‌me.”‌ ‌So‌ ‌quickly‌ ‌you‌ ‌might‌ ‌have‌ ‌imagined‌ ‌it,‌ ‌she‌ ‌leaned‌ ‌forwards‌ ‌and‌ ‌pressed‌ ‌a‌ ‌single‌ ‌kiss‌ ‌to‌ ‌your‌ ‌cheek.‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

‌You‌ ‌stood‌ ‌unsteadily,‌ ‌still‌ ‌wide-eyed,‌ ‌and‌ ‌the‌ ‌Doctor‌ ‌took‌ ‌your‌ ‌hand‌ ‌in‌ ‌his‌ ‌and‌ ‌helped‌ ‌you‌ ‌stumble‌ ‌down‌ ‌the‌ ‌stairs.‌ ‌“You‌ ‌need‌ ‌something‌ ‌to‌ ‌eat,”‌ ‌he‌ ‌fussed,‌ ‌taking‌ ‌so‌ ‌much‌ ‌of‌ ‌your‌ ‌weight‌ ‌on‌ ‌his‌ ‌shoulder‌ ‌that‌ ‌you‌ ‌were‌ ‌essentially‌ ‌being‌ ‌carried‌ ‌from‌ ‌the‌ ‌vault.‌ ‌“And‌ ‌then,‌ ‌I‌ ‌think‌ ‌we‌ ‌need‌ ‌to‌ ‌have‌ ‌a‌ ‌talk.”‌ ‌ ‌

You‌ ‌nodded,‌ ‌not‌ ‌really‌ ‌listening.‌ ‌Usually‌ ‌you‌ ‌would‌ ‌have‌ ‌been‌ ‌ready‌ ‌to‌ ‌fight‌ ‌with‌ ‌him‌ ‌at‌ ‌a‌ ‌moment’s‌ ‌notice,‌ ‌but‌ ‌as‌ ‌your‌ ‌hand‌ ‌drifted‌ ‌up‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌lipstick‌ ‌mark‌ ‌on‌ ‌your‌ ‌cheek,‌ ‌you‌ ‌couldn’t‌ ‌seem‌ ‌to‌ ‌bring‌ ‌yourself‌ ‌to‌ ‌care.‌ ‌

‌+++++‌ ‌ ‌

Despite‌ ‌the‌ ‌Doctor’s‌ ‌lecture‌ ‌on‌ ‌not‌ ‌having‌ ‌casual‌ ‌drinks‌ ‌with‌ ‌mass‌ ‌murderers‌ ‌-‌ ‌which‌ ‌was‌ ‌almost‌ ‌as‌ ‌effective‌ ‌a‌ ‌deterrent‌ ‌as‌ ‌the‌ ‌blinding‌ ‌hangover‌ ‌you‌ ‌were‌ ‌nursing‌ ‌as‌ ‌you‌ ‌listened‌ ‌to‌ ‌it‌ ‌-‌ ‌nights‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌vault‌ ‌swiftly‌ ‌became‌ ‌routine.‌ ‌You’d‌ ‌show‌ ‌up‌ ‌after‌ ‌a‌ ‌particularly‌ ‌discomforting‌ ‌near‌ ‌miss,‌ ‌or‌ ‌an‌ ‌especially‌ ‌trying‌ ‌argument,‌ ‌bottle‌ ‌in‌ ‌hand‌ ‌and‌ ‌face‌ ‌like‌ ‌thunder,‌ ‌and‌ ‌leave‌ ‌with‌ ‌your‌ ‌throat‌ ‌sore‌ ‌from‌ ‌laughing‌ ‌when‌ ‌he‌ ‌came‌ ‌to‌ ‌drag‌ ‌you‌ ‌out‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌small‌ ‌hours‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌morning.‌ ‌Somewhere‌ ‌around‌ ‌the‌ ‌fourth‌ ‌time‌ ‌you‌ ‌decided‌ ‌to‌ ‌make‌ ‌it‌ ‌official.‌ ‌ ‌

“Vault‌ ‌night?”‌ ‌Missy‌ ‌gave‌ ‌you‌ ‌a‌ ‌withering‌ ‌look‌ ‌over‌ ‌her‌ ‌glass.‌ ‌You’d‌ ‌stormed‌ ‌off‌ ‌after‌ ‌an‌ ‌argument‌ ‌with‌ ‌the‌ ‌Doctor‌ ‌on‌ ‌Gemini‌ ‌7,‌ ‌stopping‌ ‌by‌ ‌an‌ ‌alien‌ ‌corner‌ ‌shop‌ ‌to‌ ‌pick‌ ‌up‌ ‌something‌ ‌for‌ ‌the‌ ‌‌doozy‌ ‌‌of‌ ‌a‌ ‌night‌ ‌in‌ ‌that‌ ‌you‌ ‌were‌ ‌already‌ ‌planning.‌ ‌It‌ ‌was‌ ‌some‌ ‌kind‌ ‌of‌ ‌fruity‌ ‌rum-like‌ ‌spirit‌ ‌that‌ ‌burned‌ ‌your‌ ‌eyes‌ ‌when‌ ‌you‌ ‌smelled‌ ‌it,‌ ‌but‌ ‌paired‌ ‌surprisingly‌ ‌well‌ ‌with‌ ‌cheap‌ ‌Earth‌ ‌lemonade.‌ ‌“Every‌ ‌night‌ ‌is‌ ‌vault‌ ‌night.‌ ‌I’m‌ ‌always‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌vault,‌ ‌that’s…‌ ‌rather ‌the‌ ‌point,‌ ‌dear.”‌ ‌ ‌

“Well,‌ ‌yeah,”‌ ‌you‌ ‌agreed,‌ ‌heedless‌ ‌of‌ ‌her‌ ‌sarcastic‌ ‌tone.‌ ‌“But‌ ‌‌I’m‌ ‌‌not.‌ ‌If‌ ‌we‌ ‌make‌ ‌it‌ ‌a‌ ‌weekly‌ ‌thing‌ ‌then‌ ‌I‌ ‌can‌ ‌plan‌ ‌for‌ ‌it,‌ ‌get‌ ‌some‌ ‌new‌ ‌board‌ ‌games,”‌ ‌sorely‌ ‌needed‌ ‌after‌ ‌the‌ ‌disastrous‌ ‌night‌ ‌you‌ ‌tried‌ ‌to‌ ‌play‌ ‌Jenga‌ ‌with‌ ‌her‌ ‌and‌ ‌almost‌ ‌died‌ ‌(who‌ ‌knew‌ ‌the‌ ‌Gallifreyan‌ ‌rules‌ ‌were‌ ‌so‌ ‌different?).‌ ‌“I‌ ‌can‌ ‌bring‌ ‌food,‌ ‌and‌ ‌‌most‌ ‌‌importantly,‌ ‌I‌ ‌can‌ ‌tell‌ ‌the‌ ‌Doctor‌ ‌that‌ ‌I’m‌ ‌out‌ ‌of‌ ‌service‌ ‌on‌ ‌Sundays‌ ‌until‌ ‌further‌ ‌notice‌ ‌so‌ ‌that‌ ‌I‌ ‌can‌ ‌be‌ ‌hungover‌ ‌in‌ ‌peace‌ ‌instead‌ ‌of‌ ‌getting‌ ‌dragged‌ ‌around‌ ‌Martian‌ ‌car‌ ‌boot‌ ‌sales.”‌ ‌ ‌

She‌ ‌snorted.‌ ‌“I‌ ‌liked‌ ‌the‌ ‌snow‌ ‌globe.”‌ ‌

‌You‌ ‌grinned‌ ‌and‌ ‌glanced‌ ‌over‌ ‌at‌ ‌the‌ ‌trinket‌ ‌you’d‌ ‌brought‌ ‌back‌ ‌for‌ ‌her,‌ ‌a‌ ‌figurine‌ ‌of‌ ‌an‌ ‌Ice‌ ‌Warrior‌ ‌decapitating‌ ‌a‌ ‌human,‌ ‌trapped‌ ‌in‌ ‌a‌ ‌sparkling‌ ‌glass‌ ‌orb‌ ‌full‌ ‌of‌ ‌fake‌ ‌snow.‌ ‌The‌ ‌Doctor‌ ‌had‌ ‌wrinkled‌ ‌his‌ ‌nose‌ ‌but‌ ‌agreed‌ ‌to‌ ‌give‌ ‌you‌ ‌the‌ ‌cash‌ ‌for‌ ‌it.‌ ‌‌A‌ ‌belated‌ ‌vault-warming‌ ‌present‌,‌ ‌you’d‌ ‌called‌ ‌it.‌ ‌

‌“Fine,”‌ ‌she‌ ‌agreed,‌ ‌with‌ ‌theatrical‌ ‌reluctance.‌ ‌“Saturday‌ ‌night‌ ‌is‌ ‌Vault‌ ‌Night.”‌ ‌ ‌

“I’ll‌ ‌bring‌ ‌pizza‌ ‌and‌ ‌Uno.”‌ ‌You‌ ‌stood,‌ ‌wobbling‌ ‌a‌ ‌little‌ ‌bit,‌ ‌and‌ ‌she‌ ‌chuckled‌ ‌and‌ ‌steadied‌ ‌you‌ ‌with‌ ‌a‌ ‌hand‌ ‌on‌ ‌your‌ ‌side.‌ ‌Even‌ ‌as‌ ‌you‌ ‌were‌ ‌getting‌ ‌used‌ ‌to‌ ‌her‌ ‌morbid‌ ‌sense‌ ‌of‌ ‌humour,‌ ‌her‌ ‌love‌ ‌of‌ ‌all‌ ‌things‌ ‌gruesome,‌ ‌the‌ ‌casual‌ ‌touches‌ ‌only‌ ‌seemed‌ ‌to‌ ‌be‌ ‌getting‌ ‌more‌ ‌confusing.‌ ‌She‌ would‌ ‌lean‌ ‌over‌ ‌you‌ ‌to‌ ‌pour‌ ‌more‌ ‌drinks,‌ ‌close‌ ‌enough‌ ‌that‌ ‌you‌ ‌could‌ ‌smell‌ ‌the‌ ‌perfume‌ ‌on‌ ‌her‌ ‌neck;‌ ‌she‌ ‌would‌ ‌grasp‌ ‌your‌ ‌hand‌ ‌and‌ ‌tug‌ ‌you‌ ‌towards‌ ‌the‌ ‌piano‌ ‌for‌ ‌a‌ ‌song.‌ ‌Once,‌ ‌while‌ ‌music‌ ‌played‌ ‌over‌ ‌unseen‌ ‌speakers,‌ ‌she’d‌ ‌proclaimed,‌ ‌“oh,‌ ‌this‌ ‌one‌ ‌is‌ ‌‌yummy‌,”‌ ‌and‌ ‌wrapped‌ ‌an‌ ‌arm‌ ‌around‌ ‌your‌ ‌waist‌ ‌to‌ ‌dance,‌ ‌twirling‌ ‌you‌ ‌around‌ ‌the‌ ‌vault‌ ‌until‌ ‌you‌ ‌were‌ ‌both‌ ‌too‌ ‌dizzy‌ ‌to‌ ‌carry‌ ‌on‌ ‌and‌ ‌collapsed‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌chaise,‌ ‌hysterical.‌

Totally‌ ‌normal.‌ ‌Don’t‌ ‌need‌ ‌to‌ ‌think‌ ‌about‌ ‌that‌ ‌too‌ ‌hard.‌ ‌ ‌

When‌ ‌the‌ ‌door‌ ‌opened‌ ‌she‌ ‌snatched‌ ‌her‌ ‌hand‌ ‌away‌ ‌as‌ ‌if‌ ‌she’d‌ ‌been‌ ‌caught‌ ‌touching‌ ‌something‌ ‌that wasn’t hers.‌ ‌“Home‌ ‌time‌ ‌already?”‌ ‌She‌ ‌pouted‌ ‌in‌ ‌a‌ ‌way‌ ‌that‌ ‌you‌ ‌thought‌ ‌was‌ ‌only‌ ‌half‌ ‌joking.‌ ‌ ‌

“Apparently‌ ‌so.”‌ ‌The‌ ‌Doctor‌ ‌grimaced‌ ‌at‌ ‌you‌ ‌from‌ ‌the‌ ‌doorway,‌ ‌holding‌ ‌out‌ ‌his‌ ‌hand.‌ ‌You‌ ‌ignored‌ ‌him‌ ‌and‌ ‌turned‌ ‌back‌ ‌to‌ ‌her.‌ ‌“I’ll‌ ‌be‌ ‌back‌ ‌on‌ ‌Saturday,‌ ‌yeah?‌ ‌Five‌ ‌days.”‌ ‌

‌“Five‌ ‌days,”‌ ‌she‌ ‌agreed.‌ ‌Slowly‌ ‌she‌ ‌reached‌ ‌for‌ ‌your‌ ‌hand,‌ ‌bringing‌ ‌it‌ ‌to‌ ‌her‌ ‌lips‌ ‌and‌ ‌brushing‌ ‌a‌ ‌lingering‌ ‌kiss‌ ‌against‌ ‌your‌ ‌knuckles.‌ ‌Your‌ ‌pulse‌ ‌skipped.‌ ‌“Be‌ ‌safe,‌ ‌poppet.”‌ ‌

‌“I-‌ ‌um,”‌ ‌you‌ ‌swallowed‌ ‌nervously.‌ ‌“I’ll‌ ‌try.”‌ ‌

‌+++++‌ ‌

‌“I’m‌ ‌very‌ ‌glad,‌ ‌you‌ ‌know.‌ ‌Honestly.”‌ ‌ ‌You‌ ‌glanced‌ ‌away‌ ‌from‌ ‌the‌ ‌Uno‌ ‌cards‌ ‌that‌ ‌were‌ ‌growing‌ ‌increasingly‌ ‌hard‌ ‌to‌ ‌focus‌ ‌on‌ ‌and‌ ‌down‌ ‌to‌ ‌Missy’s‌ ‌sprawled‌ ‌figure‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌parquet‌ ‌floor.‌ ‌Takeaway‌ ‌pizza‌ ‌and‌ ‌‌astonishingly‌ ‌‌strong‌ ‌Plutonian‌ ‌brandy‌ ‌had‌ ‌made‌ ‌for‌ ‌an‌ ‌enjoyable‌ ‌first‌ ‌Vault‌ ‌Night‌ ‌so‌ ‌far,‌ ‌though‌ ‌she’d‌ ‌beaten‌ ‌you‌ ‌several‌ ‌times‌ ‌already‌ ‌at‌ ‌every‌ ‌game‌ ‌you‌ ‌brought‌ ‌with‌ ‌you.‌ ‌The‌ ‌glee‌ ‌on‌ ‌her‌ ‌face‌ ‌each‌ ‌time‌ ‌she‌ ‌won‌ ‌had‌ ‌led‌ ‌you‌ ‌to‌ ‌believe‌ ‌that‌ ‌she‌ ‌wouldn’t‌ ‌get‌ ‌bored‌ ‌of‌ ‌it,‌ ‌but‌ ‌her‌ ‌cards‌ ‌were‌ ‌face‌ ‌down‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌floor‌ ‌and‌ ‌she‌ ‌was‌ ‌looking‌ ‌intently‌ ‌at‌ ‌the‌ ‌wood‌ ‌grain,‌ ‌tracing‌ ‌it‌ ‌with‌ ‌her‌ ‌fingertip.‌ ‌

‌“About‌ ‌what?”‌ ‌You‌ ‌stretched‌ ‌out‌ ‌and‌ ‌gave‌ ‌her‌ ‌a‌ ‌gentle‌ ‌nudge‌ ‌with‌ ‌your‌ ‌foot.‌ ‌“Come‌ ‌on,‌ ‌play‌ ‌the‌ ‌game.”‌ ‌ ‌

“I’m‌ ‌very‌ ‌glad‌ ‌that‌ ‌you‌ ‌didn’t‌ ‌get‌ ‌eaten‌ ‌by‌ ‌a‌ ‌giant‌ ‌lizard.”‌ ‌ ‌��

‌You‌ ‌laughed.‌ ‌“I‌ ‌mean,‌ ‌same,‌ ‌to‌ ‌be‌ ‌fair.”‌ ‌ ‌

“‌No‌,”‌ ‌she‌ ‌drawled,‌ ‌thickly‌ ‌accented,‌ ‌and‌ ‌rose‌ ‌up‌ ‌on‌ ‌her‌ ‌palms‌ ‌to‌ ‌look‌ ‌you‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌eye.‌ ‌“I’m‌ ‌telling‌ ‌you‌ ‌that‌ ‌I,‌ ‌Missy,‌ ‌the‌ ‌‌Mistress‌,‌ ‌last‌ ‌of‌ ‌the-‌ ‌penultimate‌ ‌of‌ ‌the-,”‌ ‌you‌ ‌couldn’t‌ ‌help‌ ‌grinning‌ ‌at‌ ‌the‌ ‌way‌ ‌she‌ ‌slurred‌ ‌and‌ ‌stumbled,‌ ‌belying‌ ‌the‌ ‌imperious‌ ‌tone‌ ‌in‌ ‌her‌ ‌voice.‌ ‌She‌ ‌sighed‌ ‌and‌ ‌scrubbed‌ ‌a‌ ‌hand‌ ‌over‌ ‌her‌ ‌face,‌ ‌trying‌ ‌again.‌ ‌“‌One‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌last‌ ‌‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌Time‌ ‌Lords‌ ‌of‌ ‌Gallifrey.‌ ‌I‌ ‌am‌ ‌very‌ ‌glad‌ ‌‌that‌ ‌you‌ ‌didn’t‌ ‌get‌ ‌eaten‌ ‌by‌ ‌a‌ ‌giant‌ ‌lizard‌ ‌that‌ ‌day.”‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

‌“Okay?”‌ ‌You‌ ‌frowned‌ ‌slightly‌ ‌when‌ ‌she‌ ‌looked‌ ‌up‌ ‌at‌ ‌you,‌ ‌eyes‌ ‌dark,‌ ‌face‌ ‌serious.‌ ‌“Missy,‌ ‌I‌ ‌don’t-‌ ‌I’m‌ ‌sorry,‌ ‌I‌ ‌don’t‌ ‌understand.”‌ ‌

‌“Neither‌ ‌do‌ ‌I,”‌ ‌she‌ ‌admitted,‌ ‌hand‌ ‌fluttering‌ ‌in‌ ‌front‌ ‌of‌ ‌her‌ ‌eyes.‌ ‌“In‌ ‌my‌ ‌head,‌ ‌that‌ ‌was‌ ‌it.”‌ ‌

‌“That‌ ‌was‌ ‌what?”‌ ‌You‌ ‌offered‌ ‌her‌ ‌your‌ ‌hand‌ ‌but‌ ‌she‌ ‌waved‌ ‌it‌ ‌away,‌ ‌climbing‌ ‌to‌ ‌her‌ ‌knees‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌floor‌ ‌in‌ ‌front‌ ‌of‌ ‌you.‌ ‌“That‌ ‌was‌ ‌it,‌ ‌to…‌ ‌to‌ ‌be‌ ‌good,‌ ‌you‌ ‌mean?”‌ ‌

‌“No,‌ ‌I‌ ‌‌don’t‌ ‌‌mean,”‌ ‌she‌ ‌spat,‌ ‌voice‌ ‌so‌ ‌venomous‌ ‌that‌ ‌you‌ ‌flinched.‌ ‌“Good,‌ ‌good,‌ ‌good,‌ ‌that’s‌ ‌all‌ ‌you‌ ‌two‌ ‌ever‌ ‌think‌ ‌about.‌ ‌Well‌ ‌what’s‌ ‌‌good‌?”‌ ‌She‌ ‌gestured‌ ‌wildly‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌door.‌ ‌“He‌ ‌left‌ ‌you‌ ‌alone‌ ‌to‌ ‌‌die‌ ‌‌and‌ ‌you‌ ‌almost‌ ‌did,‌ ‌was‌ ‌‌that‌ ‌‌good?‌ ‌You‌ ‌came‌ ‌to‌ ‌me,”‌ ‌she‌ ‌pointed‌ ‌at‌ ‌her‌ ‌chest,‌ ‌which‌ ‌was‌ ‌heaving‌ ‌with‌ ‌the‌ ‌force‌ ‌of‌ ‌her‌ ‌outburst.‌ ‌“You‌ ‌came‌ ‌to‌ ‌me‌ ‌crying‌ ‌and‌ ‌feeling‌ ‌like‌ ‌‌nothing‌.”‌ ‌ ‌

“Missy,”‌ ‌your‌ ‌throat‌ ‌was‌ ‌starting‌ ‌to‌ ‌ache‌ ‌with‌ ‌tears,‌ ‌and‌ ‌you‌ ‌swallowed‌ ‌them‌ ‌back.‌ ‌‌Stupid‌ ‌space‌ ‌brandy‌.‌ ‌“He‌ ‌just-‌ ‌he‌ ‌made‌ ‌a‌ ‌mistake‌ ‌and‌ ‌he‌ ‌made‌ ‌it‌ ‌up‌ ‌to‌ ‌me,‌ ‌we‌ ‌got‌ ‌over‌ ‌it.”‌ ‌ ‌

“Yes,‌ ‌of‌ ‌course,”‌ ‌she‌ ‌nodded,‌ ‌rubbing‌ ‌her‌ ‌eye‌ ‌with‌ ‌the‌ ‌heel‌ ‌of‌ ‌her‌ ‌hand.‌ ‌“Yes,‌ ‌you‌ ‌‌made‌ ‌up‌,‌ ‌didn’t‌ ‌you?‌ ‌You‌ ‌forgave‌ ‌him,‌ ‌just‌ ‌like‌ ‌that.”‌ ‌She‌ ‌snapped‌ ‌her‌ ‌fingers‌ ‌for‌ ‌emphasis.‌ ‌“Well‌ ‌‌I‌ ‌didn’t‌.‌ ‌I‌ ‌‌don’t‌,‌ ‌do‌ ‌you‌ ‌understand?‌ ‌I‌ ‌don’t‌ ‌forgive‌ ‌him‌ ‌for‌ ‌it.”‌ ‌

‌“For‌ ‌what?‌ ‌For‌ ‌leaving‌ ‌me?”‌ ‌She‌ ‌was‌ ‌closer‌ ‌now,‌ ‌her‌ ‌hands‌ ‌coming‌ ‌to‌ ‌rest‌ ‌on‌ ‌your‌ ‌knees‌ ‌as‌ ‌she‌ ‌leaned‌ ‌up‌ ‌towards‌ ‌you.‌ ‌There‌ ‌were‌ ‌only‌ ‌inches‌ ‌between‌ ‌you.‌ ‌“It’s‌ ‌alright.‌ ‌I’m‌ ‌alright.”‌ ‌ ‌

“It’s‌ ‌not‌ ‌alright,”‌ ‌she‌ ‌said‌ ‌pleadingly.‌ ‌“It’s‌ ‌not.‌ ‌You‌ ‌would‌ ‌never‌ ‌have‌ ‌come‌ ‌here.‌ ‌You‌ ‌and‌ ‌I,‌ ‌we‌ ‌would‌ ‌never-‌ ‌‌ugh‌,”‌ ‌she‌ ‌raked‌ ‌a‌ ‌hand‌ ‌through‌ ‌her‌ ‌hair.‌ ‌“Why‌ ‌is‌ ‌this‌ ‌so‌ ‌‌hard‌?”‌ ‌

‌“Just‌ ‌tell‌ ‌me‌ ‌what’s‌ ‌wrong,”‌ ‌you‌ ‌implored,‌ ‌reaching‌ ‌out‌ ‌to‌ ‌cup‌ ‌her‌ ‌cheek‌ ‌before‌ ‌you‌ ‌could‌ ‌stop‌ ‌yourself.‌ ‌“Please,‌ ‌Missy.”‌ ‌You‌ ‌expected‌ ‌her‌ ‌to‌ ‌flinch,‌ ‌but‌ ‌she‌ ‌leaned‌ ‌into‌ ‌your‌ ‌hand‌ ‌like‌ ‌she‌ ‌hadn’t‌ ‌been‌ ‌touched‌ ‌in‌ ‌years.‌ ‌ ‌

Near‌ ‌enough,‌ ‌probably‌.‌ ‌

‌“If‌ ‌you‌ ‌travelled ‌with‌ ‌me‌ ‌I’d‌ ‌never‌ ‌leave‌ ‌you,”‌ ‌she‌ ‌breathed,‌ ‌eyelids‌ ‌fluttering‌ ‌closed‌ ‌as‌ ‌she‌ ‌placed‌ ‌her‌ ‌hand‌ ‌over‌ ‌yours.‌ ‌“I’d‌ ‌never‌ ‌let‌ ‌you‌ ‌be‌ ‌so‌ ‌hurt,‌ ‌so‌ ‌scared.‌ ‌He‌ ‌doesn’t‌ ‌deserve‌ ‌you.”‌ ‌

‌You‌ ‌smiled‌ ‌tearfully.‌ ‌“He’s‌ ‌my‌ ‌friend.‌ ‌He‌ ‌has‌ ‌his‌ ‌moments‌ ‌but-‌ ‌he’s‌ ‌my‌ ‌friend,‌ ‌and‌ ‌so‌ ‌are‌ ‌you.”‌ ‌ ‌

“I‌ ‌don’t‌ ‌want‌ ‌to‌ ‌be‌ ‌your‌ ‌friend.”‌ ‌Missy‌ ‌opened‌ ‌her‌ ‌eyes,‌ ‌ice-pale‌ ‌and‌ ‌gleaming‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌smudged‌ ‌black‌ ‌makeup‌ ‌she‌ ‌wore.‌ ‌Your‌ ‌heart‌ ‌wrenched‌ ‌when‌ ‌you‌ ‌felt‌ ‌the‌ ‌first‌ ‌warm‌ ‌drops‌ ‌of‌ ‌saltwater‌ ‌streaking‌ ‌down‌ ‌her‌ ‌cheek.‌ ‌Her‌ ‌hand‌ ‌tightened‌ ‌on‌ ‌your‌ ‌thigh,‌ ‌clutching‌ ‌it‌ ‌like‌ ‌a‌ ‌drowning‌ ‌man‌ ‌thrown‌ ‌a‌ ‌rope.‌ ‌“I‌ ‌want‌ ‌to‌ ‌be‌ ‌‌yours‌.”‌ ‌ ‌

‌Stunned‌ ‌to‌ ‌silence,‌ ‌you‌ ‌took‌ ‌her‌ ‌face‌ ‌in‌ ‌both‌ ‌hands‌ ‌and‌ ‌leaned‌ ‌closer.‌ ‌She‌ ‌kept‌ ‌her‌ ‌eyes‌ ‌fixed‌ ‌on‌ ‌yours,‌ ‌breathing‌ ‌harsh‌ ‌and‌ ‌open-mouthed.‌ ‌When‌ ‌you‌ ‌were‌ ‌able‌ ‌to‌ ‌speak,‌ ‌your‌ ‌bottom‌ ‌lip‌ ‌trembled.‌ ‌

‌“You‌ ‌‌stupid‌,‌ ‌‌ridiculous‌ ‌‌Time‌ ‌Lady,”‌ ‌you‌ ‌managed,‌ ‌caught‌ ‌between‌ ‌laughing‌ ‌and‌ ‌weeping.‌ ‌“Why‌ ‌didn’t‌ ‌you‌ ‌just‌ ‌‌say‌ ‌so‌?”‌ ‌ ‌

Missy‌ ‌made‌ ‌a‌ ‌soft,‌ ‌broken‌ ‌noise‌ ‌and‌ ‌inclined‌ ‌her‌ ‌head,‌ ‌bringing‌ ‌her‌ ‌lips‌ ‌to‌ ‌yours.‌ She ‌tasted‌ ‌bitter‌ ‌from‌ ‌the‌ ‌tears‌ ‌and‌ ‌the‌ ‌alcohol,‌ ‌and‌ ‌your‌ ‌head‌ ‌spun‌ ‌at‌ ‌the‌ ‌thought‌ ‌that‌ ‌this‌ ‌was‌ ‌‌her‌,‌ ‌Missy,‌ ‌traveller ‌in‌ ‌space‌ ‌and‌ ‌time,‌ ‌ancient‌ ‌as‌ ‌the‌ ‌‌moon‌ ‌‌and‌ ‌somehow,‌ ‌by‌ ‌some‌ ‌mad‌ ‌virtue‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌universe,‌ ‌on‌ ‌her‌ ‌knees‌ ‌begging‌ ‌you‌ ‌to‌ ‌want‌ ‌her.‌ ‌The‌ ‌bizarre,‌ ‌the‌ ‌surreal‌ ‌had‌ ‌become‌ ‌old‌ ‌hat‌ ‌since‌ ‌you‌ ‌met‌ ‌the‌ ‌Time‌ ‌Lords,‌ ‌but‌ ‌this‌ ‌was‌ ‌something‌ ‌different.‌ ‌This‌ ‌was‌ ‌a‌ ‌dream‌ ‌come‌ ‌true.‌ ‌

‌You‌ ‌broke‌ ‌away,‌ ‌gasping‌ ‌for‌ ‌breath,‌ ‌and‌ ‌leaned‌ ‌your‌ ‌forehead‌ ‌against‌ ‌hers.‌ ‌“I‌ ‌love‌ ‌you,‌ ‌Missy,”‌ ‌you‌ ‌said‌ ‌simply,‌ ‌but‌ ‌the‌ ‌words‌ ‌sounded‌ ‌so‌ ‌small‌ ‌after‌ ‌hers.‌ ‌“I‌ ‌want‌ ‌to‌ ‌be‌ ‌yours,‌ ‌too.”‌ ‌

‌“You‌ ‌are,”‌ ‌she‌ ‌promised,‌ ‌guiding‌ ‌your‌ ‌hand‌ ‌down‌ ‌to‌ ‌press‌ ‌against‌ ‌her‌ ‌chest.‌ ‌You‌ ‌could‌ ‌feel‌ ‌the‌ ‌twin‌ ‌heartbeats‌ ‌there,‌ ‌beating‌ ‌out‌ ‌a‌ ‌hypnotising‌ ‌rhythm‌ ‌into‌ ‌your‌ ‌palm.‌ ‌“You‌ ‌are. ‌Always.”‌ ‌

‌+++++‌ ‌ ‌

The‌ ‌Doctor‌ ‌found‌ ‌you‌ ‌asleep‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌sofa,‌ ‌tucked‌ ‌close‌ ‌into‌ ‌Missy’s‌ ‌chest;‌ ‌her‌ ‌hair‌ ‌was‌ ‌splayed‌ ‌across‌ ‌the‌ ‌cushion‌ ‌beneath‌ ‌her,‌ ‌your‌ ‌cheek‌ ‌pressed‌ ‌close‌ ‌to‌ ‌her‌ ‌hearts.‌ ‌One‌ ‌hand‌ ‌cradled‌ ‌your‌ ‌head‌ ‌and‌ ‌the‌ ‌other‌ ‌rested‌ ‌protectively‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌small‌ ‌of‌ ‌your‌ ‌back.‌ ‌ ‌

He‌ ‌frowned‌ ‌down‌ ‌at‌ ‌the‌ ‌image‌ ‌of‌ ‌contentment‌ ‌and‌ ‌she‌ ‌opened‌ ‌her‌ ‌eyes,‌ ‌holding‌ ‌you‌ ‌tighter‌ ‌when‌ ‌she‌ ‌saw‌ ‌the‌ ‌look‌ ‌on‌ ‌his‌ ‌face.‌ ‌ ‌He raised his hands in surrender, a silent promise not to take you from her.‌ ‌

“We’ll‌ ‌talk‌ ‌about‌ ‌this,”‌ ‌he‌ ‌said‌ ‌quietly.‌ ‌“You‌ ‌know‌ ‌that.”‌ ‌ ‌

“Of‌ ‌course,”‌ ‌she‌ ‌agreed,‌ ‌kissing‌ ‌the‌ ‌top‌ ‌of‌ ‌your‌ ‌head.‌ ‌“In‌ ‌the‌ ‌morning?”‌ ‌

‌“Yeah.”‌ ‌He‌ ‌couldn’t‌ ‌stop‌ ‌the‌ ‌small‌ ‌smile‌ ‌that‌ ‌tugged‌ ‌at‌ ‌his‌ ‌lips,‌ ‌throwing‌ ‌a‌ ‌blanket‌ ‌he’d‌ ‌brought‌ ‌with‌ ‌him‌ ‌over‌ ‌the‌ ‌two‌ ‌of‌ ‌you.‌ ‌“In‌ ‌the‌ ‌morning.”‌ ‌ ‌

#mine #sfw #missy x reader #the master (gomez)#the master x reader #request

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chocolatequeennk · 4 years ago

Text

Forever Timeless, 2/23

Summary: Two months after the Dalek Crucible, the Doctor and Rose are getting used to having the biggest family on Earth. As they visit Leadworth in 1996, Victorian England, a mysterious desert planet, and Elizabethan England, those family and friends often help in unexpected ways. But no matter where they go or who they’re with, it’s always the Doctor in the TARDIS with RoseTyler–just as it should be.

Ten x Rose, Donna x Lee

Betaed by @saecookie, @rudennotgingr, @pellaaearien, and @jabber-who-key

Tagging @doctorroseprompts for Doctor/Rose content

Part 7 of Being to Timelessness

AO3 | FF.NET | TSP

Ch 1

Chapter Two: Another Year, Another Adventure

Rose glanced at the familiar faces standing around the console as she worked quickly to set the coordinates. She tugged at the bond to get the Doctor’s attention. He checked the destination and immediately nodded.

“Barcelona!” he enthused.

Rose smiled and sent them into motion while he started rambling about the planet.

“Gorgeous tropical resort. We’ve been twice. Beautiful beaches, gorgeous waterfalls to hike, and—”

“Dogs with no noses,” Rose said along with him.

Donna raised an eyebrow. “You’re both nutters,” she said, shaking her head. “Dogs with no noses? How do they smell?”

The Doctor giggled. “Exactly!”

Rose planted her feet and everyone quickly grabbed onto something before the TARDIS landed on Barcelona with a teeth-jarring thud. “Barcelona,” Rose said, waving at the door.

Donna and Jenny exchanged a grin, then ran up the ramp and pushed the door open. Brilliant sunlight streamed into the console room, and Rose could smell the salt tang of the ocean in the air.

“Oh, I have missed this!” Donna said.

“Missed travelling the galaxy, or not spending hours on a plane getting someplace?” the Doctor asked.

“Both!”

Jenny and Donna stepped back inside and picked up the bags they’d left by the door. Before they left, Donna turned around and pointed at Rose, then at the Doctor. “All right, we’re going to leave you to celebrate your anniversary on your own. But you’d better come for us on time.”

“Or you’ll do what?” the Doctor retorted.

Rose groaned and pressed her fist to her forehead. She could hear the scowl on Donna’s face when their friend answered the Doctor.

“Or I’ll tie you down and bleach your hair blond,” she snapped.

Rose’s hand dropped to her mouth to hold back a laugh at the horrified expression on the Doctor’s face.

Donna nodded once, sharply. “Excellent. We’ll see you in a week, then.” She left the TARDIS and swung the door shut behind her.

“But… That’s…” The Doctor ran his hands through his hair.

Rose walked over to him and pulled his hands down, then smoothed over the most sticky-up pieces. “Don’t worry, Doctor. I like your hair too much to let her do that to you.”

He straightened his tie and preened. “It is pretty great, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I love your hair.” Rose waited a beat, then said, “So I’ll make sure I’m driving when we go pick them up.”

“Oi!”

The Doctor grabbed for her, but Rose laughed and twisted away from him, adjusting the navigation settings as she went. She felt him following her movements and knew the moment he had remembered they were actually on their way to their own holiday destination.

“So do I finally get to find out what your secret holiday plans are?”

“Well…” she said, stretching it out the way he did. “I’m not sure if it’s check-in time yet.”

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. “This is a time machine,” he reminded her. “Which I’m fairly certain you are aware of.”

“Yeah, you might have mentioned it.”

He raised his eyebrows and gestured at the console. Rose laughed, but she finally obliged him. “Prepare yourself for the holiday of a lifetime,” she said dramatically as she threw the dematerialisation lever.

The ship spun into the Vortex, and Rose twirled the opposite direction, dancing around the console until she was next to the Doctor.

“Do you know what?” she asked.

He grinned and pressed a quick kiss to her lips before finishing the familiar line. “Travelling with you—I love it.”

The TARDIS landed, and the lights in the console room flashed. He looked up at the time rotor. “It seems I’m not the only one excited for this trip.”

Rose slung her deceptively small bag over her shoulder. “We’ve been working on this together. She says you’ve never been anywhere like this before.”

“Welllll, I’m not sure about that. Not this exact place, maybe, but—” The Doctor pulled the door open and stopped talking immediately.

Rose stepped up beside him and took his hand. “Welcome to Critias.”

The idea that had come to her while reading to Tony had taken a firm hold of her mind. As soon as they’d gotten home that night, she’d asked the TARDIS if it was even possible.

Is there a planet like Atlantis? Once they found the answer, they’d jumped at the chance.

The Doctor walked down the narrow alley as if in a trance and pressed his hand to the glass, fingers splayed out. A curious puffer fish swam forward to sniff at his fingers, but when he realised he couldn’t actually reach them, he swam away.

“This is…” The Doctor paused, then shook his head. “This is incredible, love. Thank you.”

“We explore the stars, but we never really touch this frontier,” Rose said.

“Another adventure with you.”

“Another year with you,” Rose corrected. “Happy anniversary, Doctor.”

Really, the Doctor reasoned, there was only one proper response when your bond mate wished you a happy anniversary. And so he wrapped an arm around Rose’s waist and pulled her close for a kiss.

“Thank you,” he murmured against her lips. “I love it.”

Rose pulled back and looked up at him, her nose wrinkled up a little. “Enough that it makes up for not getting a present? I didn’t get a chance to get you anything.”

The Doctor rested his hands on her hips and smiled down at her. “Absolutely. Although…” He pressed his tongue to the back of his teeth. “I don’t have a gift for you, either.”

Rose laughed. “You helped my mum and Pete set up their furniture last weekend, and you didn’t start one fight with Mum. That covers you for at least our anniversary.”

The Doctor chuckled. “All right. Now, where is this hotel?”

Rose pointed over his shoulder and he turned around to look at the building. It was positioned against the outer wall of the city, and he could easily imagine the kind of views the rooms would have.

He took a few steps down the alley, but Rose grabbed his hand and pulled him back. “I know I was joking when I said it wasn’t check-in time yet, but it really isn’t. I didn’t want to waste half the day by not getting here until mid afternoon.”

The Doctor nodded quickly. “Excellent decision. So, what should we do first?”

“Walk?” Rose suggested. “I can’t get enough of the view from the edge of the city.”

They moved from the alleyway to the path that snaked around the edge of the dome. “No, neither can I,” the Doctor agreed.

A giant piece of brilliant red seaweed floated by, the current picking up little tendrils and tugging them in different directions. A few more metres down the path, they watched a family of seahorses swim by.

“Why did they build a city under the ocean?” the Doctor wondered as they walked.

“I looked into that actually,” Rose said. “The planet was really struggling with overpopulation.”

He snorted. “So they decided to spread into the ocean? They’d squeezed out everyone on the surface and now they’d move into the fishes’ place too?”

Rose pinched him in the side. “Thought you were enjoying the trip,” she said pointedly.

“Oh, I am!” he said quickly. “Just… You know what, never mind. You’re right. So, there were too many humans on the surface—they are humans, it seems?”

Rose shook her head. “Nope. Critians are humanoid—I suppose you could say they look Time Lord—but they aren’t human. I dunno how they’re different exactly, but they are.”

The Doctor bit his tongue before he could launch into a rant on Rassilon spreading the Gallifreyan body type around the galaxy. There was a time and a place, and this was not it.

oOoOo

Their suite was an incredible underwater oasis. The hotel was situated against the main exterior bubble of the city, and each room actually bulged out into the open sea.

The Doctor watched the fish swim by while Rose slept on their first night there. He finally fell asleep as a jellyfish lazily drifted past.

The view when he woke up was not so tranquil. Several long tentacles were wrapped around their domed ceiling, and a giant eye peered in through the glass.

His quick indrawn breath and suddenly tense muscles were enough to wake Rose up. “Wha’s wrong?” she asked groggily.

The Doctor had processed what he was looking at, and he was a little embarrassed to have been so easily startled. “Just found a Peeping Tom,” he said, trying to deflect from his own reaction.

Rose rolled slightly and looked up at the ceiling. The Doctor could feel her trying to grasp what she was seeing, and then finally she giggled. “Look, he’s stuck on you, Doctor.”

The Doctor rolled his eyes and huffed. “Really, Rose?”

Rose shifted closer to him, sliding her leg over his and wrapping an arm over his chest. “I dunno,” she whispered against his neck. “Stuck on you’s not so bad.”

The Doctor hissed and tilted his head back when she kissed the sensitive spot on his jaw, just below his ear. Rose smiled and scraped her teeth over the spot before sucking gently.

“Yeah, I like being stuck on you.”

The Doctor’s eyes blinked open, his gaze still met by the steady curiosity of the squid. He arched an eyebrow, then rolled over so he was looking down at Rose. “I’d rather watch you than our friendly cephalopod,” he murmured.

Rose laughed again, just as he pressed his lips to hers.

oOoOo

The squid was long gone by the time the Doctor and Rose were enjoying breakfast in bed. “What do you want to do today?” the Doctor asked in between bites of a fluffy pastry.

She shrugged. “Whatever you want. It’s a new planet to both of us—it might be fun to just hit all the main tourist spots.”

She bit into a pinkish fruit, and her eyes widened. “Try this,” she insisted, holding a bite out for him.

The Doctor wrapped his fingers around her wrist to hold her hand steady, then he bent to pull the fruit off her fork with his teeth. As soon as the flavour hit his tongue, he knew why Rose had been so insistent.

“Mmmm, banana.” He smacked his lips and immediately selected another slice from the tray. “A sea banana,” he added gleefully.

“Did you know there were other fruits in the galaxy that tasted like banana?”

He scoffed. “If I knew there were other perfect foods in the world, we would have them at home.”

Rose shook her head and laughed. “Of course, why did I even ask? I guess finding some sea bananas to take home is going on the list of must-see attractions.”

“Oh yes!”

They shared bites back and forth, enjoying all the unique flavours of Critian food. Once the platter was mostly picked clean, Rose kissed him on the cheek and slid out of bed. “Why don’t you look up things to do while I take a shower? I bet you can find out what that fruit is and where we can get some.”

The Doctor took the tour guide tablet from the nightstand and made quick work of his research. He learned that kaju, the sea banana, was a favourite food of the Critians. There were several speciality food shops selling it, but only one farm you could tour. He’d just booked two tickets for the morning tour when Rose exited the en suite, wrapped in a fluffy white robe.

“Your turn.”

He handed her the tablet. “Why don’t you find something for us to do this afternoon?�� he suggested.

Rose waited until she heard the shower running, then she pulled out the outfit she’d hidden at the bottom of their suitcase. The soft denim of her favourite dark jeans fit her perfectly, moulded by countless wears.

But her top… She sighed when the soft wool jumper brushed against her cheek as she pulled it over her head. The TARDIS had put it in her closet yesterday when she’d been packing, and Rose hadn’t needed help connecting the dots.

She’d just laced up her black boots when someone knocked on the door. “Concierge service!”

Rose walked to the door, leaving her leather jacket draped over the chair. A uniformed employee stood on the other side of the door, a tray in hand.

“Hi!”

The concierge held out the tray and Rose took the envelope. “Your tickets to the underwater garden just arrived,” they said.

Rose blinked, then she shook her head. “I don’t suppose that’s where those delicious sea bananas are grown.”

As she asked, she heard the shower turn off. She started a mental countdown to when the Doctor would appear.

The Critian tilted their head, a hint of confusion crossing their face. “If by sea bananas, you mean kaju… then yes, this the one public farm where it is grown. After the tour, you will be able to buy some of the fruit to take home.”

Rose laughed. “I bet we will. Thank you,” she told the alien. The employee bowed and exited the room.

“Who was that?” the Doctor called from their bedroom.

“Concierge services with our tour tickets,” Rose replied.

“Oooh, excellent! I hope they have a little shop. A little shop to buy all the kaju we want! Can you imagine, Rose?”

“I’m pretty sure I won’t need to use my imagination by the end of the day,” Rose said under her breath.

“I heard that!” The Doctor’s voice was coming closer, and Rose rubbed her palms on her jeans. “I’ll have you know…”

His mouth fell open when he saw what she was wearing. From a man as verbose as him, his silence was extremely gratifying. “Doctor?”

The Doctor slowly lowered his hands from his tie and walked towards her. His eyes were dark, and anticipation buzzed through Rose as she waited for his response. “That jumper is mine,” he said, his voice raspy.

Rose bit back a smirk. “The TARDIS put it in my closet,” she told him. “Think that means it’s mine now—possession is nine-tenths of the law, after all.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed.

The sleeves hung past her wrists, and Rose pressed her wool-covered hand to her cheek. “‘Sides, I like it. It’s soft.”

His fingers twitched, and Rose waited just a second longer before smiling brightly at him. “Come on, we need to get going if we’re going to make our tour.”

The Doctor gaped at her—at Rose, standing just six feet away from him, wearing clothes that used to be his. Rose, who was now giving him a cheeky smile as she waved the tickets in front of his face.

“Don’t you want to go see the kaju farm?” she asked, almost managing to sound innocent.

He growled and moved quickly to pull Rose into his arms. He could hear her heartbeat speed up and his two hearts held tempo with hers.

“Rose Tyler…”

Her pulse was racing now. “Yes Doctor?” She smiled, teasing him with the tip of her tongue.

The Doctor dipped his head down and pressed his lips to hers, following her tongue back into her mouth. Rose slid her hands over his shoulders and a moment later, he felt them in his hair.

He shivered, and before he could lose himself in the kiss, he slowly pulled back. Rose’s eyes fluttered open, and her passion-glazed expression tempted him again.

Instead, he slowly removed his hands from her waist, tugging on the hem of the jumper as he pulled away. “We’ll come back to this later,” he promised.

She blinked a few times, then smiled up at him. “Oh, yes,” she agreed.

The Doctor took her hand. “But for now, kaju!” Rose laughed as he pulled her out of their suite, and he giggled along with her.

Rose hip checked the Doctor as they left the hotel. He glanced down at her, his eyebrow raised in question. She smiled and shifted closer to him, putting her free hand on his arm.

Nothing. Just love you, that’s all.

Yeah? I love you too.

The Critias streets were busier than they had been the day before, and they arrived at the garden entrance just as the tour was starting. “Wait wait!” The Doctor waved their tickets over his head. “Two more!”

A teenager waved at them from behind the counter. “I can take your tickets!” she said, her high ponytail bobbing with each word. She smiled brightly when the Doctor handed them over. “Have fun! Corin will show you all around the farm.”

They joined the queue, and a young man with a shock of black hair draped over one eye scowled at them. “We all ready then?” he asked.

“Oh yes!” The Doctor bounced on his toes. “This is going to be the highlight of our trip.”

The guide rolled his eyes and turned around. “Come on. The entrance to the tunnels is this way.”

“Tunnels?” Rose asked as he led them along a boring hallway.

He shot her a look over his shoulder. “Well yeah. Kaju grows under the sea. How did you think we were going to get there?”

Rose had half a mind to call him out for his surly attitude, but the Doctor started talking before she could. “I bet you love your job,” he enthused. “You probably get all the kaju you want, for free.”

The kid huffed. “Why would I want any of that nasty stuff?”

They reached a glass door in the exterior bubble of the city, and he turned around and held his hand up. “All right, listen up everyone!” he called out, raising his voice to be heard over the hum of machinery coming from the next room over. “We have built glass tunnels in a path around the kaju beds. Along the tour, you will see kaju in various stages of growth. At the end, you will have a chance to taste fresh kaju, and to buy any of the products we make in the factory you hear behind you.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrows. “Please stay with the group at all times. If you do not, you will be escorted out of the tunnels and asked to leave the premises.”

The whole group murmured their assent, and he grunted and opened the doors.

The light in the tunnel was dim. Rose squinted, trying to get a glimpse of the garden before stepping out under the sea. She and the Doctor were at the back of the line, and she gasped when she finally realised why the light was so eerie.

The glass tunnel had formed an arbor for a network of tangled vines. The artificial lights used by the farm filtered through the greenery, like sunlight through the leaves of a thick forest. Rose pressed her hand to the glass and watched the way the leaves drifted in the current.

“Why don’t you like kaju?”

Rose blinked; that was the Doctor’s voice, but it was coming from the other side of the tour group. She looked around and spotted him standing next to their guide, his eyebrow arched in surprise.

Corin was a good six inches shorter than the Doctor, and he scowled up at him. “Because it’s a disgusting fruit and I don’t know why anyone would eat it.”

Determination pulsed over the bond, and Rose groaned. “Excuse me,” she said as she made her way through the tour group to join the Doctor.

“Have you ever had kaju pancakes?” the Doctor asked. “Or kaju toffee pie?”

The kid sneered. “No, thank you.”

He spun on his heel and addressed the whole group. “What you see above you is an arbor of fully grown kaju. As you can see, the plant is a vine that needs some sort of support to grow on. If you’ll follow me, our next stop is a bed of kaju seedlings.”

The group moved slowly through the tunnel. The light changed as the vines overhead thinned. Finally they entered a large, round room, big enough for everyone to look out at the ocean floor.

“Like most vines, kaju can be grown from starts. However, one of the things we sell as a commercial garden are seedlings. Ambitious gardeners buy kaju plants from us to start their own garden.”

“Oh!”

Corin levelled a glare at the Doctor. “They do have to be grown under the ocean, so unless you have a proper growing environment, don’t even bother.”

The Doctor pressed his tongue to the back of his teeth. “Right. Yeah,” he said slowly.

Rose narrowed her eyes. We’ve got regular bananas, remember? She wasn’t sure the TARDIS could make an underwater room, and even if she could, Rose had no desire to start a kaju farm.

The Doctor pouted, but she shook her head firmly. Bananas are perfectly good.

Bananas are brilliant! he corrected. Rose raised an eyebrow and the Doctor rolled his eyes. All right, you win.

They were given five minutes to watch the gardeners carefully tend to the young plants, then Corin led them down another tunnel into a different open room.

Row after row of vines draped over arbors spread out around them. “These kaju plants are at the height of their production cycle. Much of the kaju you eat comes from plants just like these.”

The group murmured and spread out to watch the workers carefully trimming the vines and harvesting ripe fruit. Rose blinked when she realised the whole fruit was small and round. It looked much more like an orange than a banana.

“What about fried kaju? Or kaju served with ice cream and chocolate?”

Rose debated pulling the Doctor back, but Corin really deserved to be pestered. He had been rude from the moment the tour started. So instead, she rocked back on her heels and watched.

“I can’t stand the smell, or the taste, or the texture,” the kid spat out. “The seeds get stuck in your teeth and if you eat too much, it stains your tongue bright pink.”

The Doctor backed away half a step and blinked several times. Corin nodded sharply and spun around to walk away.

Rose joined the Doctor then and tugged on his sleeve before he could chase after the kid. You can suggest other preparations later, she told him, feeling slightly mischievous. Maybe he should try kaju bread, or chocolate dipped kaju.

The Doctor nodded, then stuck his tongue out for her to examine. “Ish ma tongue bwight pink?” he asked.

Rose laughed. “Nope, just regular pink. Apparently you haven’t had enough kaju yet.”

It was mesmerising to look at the evenly laid out rows of kaju and the careful way the attendants cared for the vines. But after ten minutes, they were directed down another tunnel, back to a door.

“The garden part of our tour is over,” Corin declared dramatically. “Behind this door, you’ll find the factory where we produce kaju jam and other items for sale. Please take a pair of noise cancelling headphones when you step inside. The machines are incredibly loud.”

Rose winced when he opened the door. The entire group pressed their hands to their ears until they passed through the door and could take a pair of the headphones.

How are we supposed to hear the dulcet tones of our tour guide like this?

She needn’t have worried. His grumpy voice came through the headphones, and when she looked at him, she realised his headset had a microphone as well.

“Today we’re manufacturing kaju pie filling,” he said, gesturing at the conveyor belt where empty glass jars were filled with a creamy, kaju coloured filling. “The filling is produced in that large vat over there.” He pointed up at a vat near the top of the production line. “Raw kaju is cooked down and blended, then sugar and spices are added.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw the Doctor nodding. She shook her head; she had a feeling there was a kaju pie in their future.

They watched the assembly line for a few minutes longer. After the jars were filled with pie filling, lids were tightly sealed on and labels wrapped on the jar. Then they shot down to the end of the line where they were packed in boxes by workers.

“If you’ll follow me.”

The tour group slowly filtered out of the factory back into the blessedly quiet hallway. Two employees were waiting, one ready to take the headphones from them and another with a tray of sliced kaju.

Corin opened the door to the sales room and gestured through it. “That concludes our tour. You are now free to buy as much kaju merchandise as you would like.”

The Doctor sidled up to him. “Have you ever tried kaju bread?” he asked.

The young man’s face turned red, but the Doctor ignored it.

“What about chocolate dipped kaju? Dip slices in chocolate and then freeze them. Fantastic treat for a hot day.” He paused and scratched his sideburn. “Er, is it ever hot here?”

“Listen,” Corin growled. “I do not like kaju. I will never like kaju. It doesn’t matter how it’s prepared, it’s a vile fruit and I refuse to eat it.” He smirked suddenly. “But if you like it so much…”

He ran off quickly before the Doctor could say anything. A moment later he was back with a jar in his hand. “Kaju jam.” He ran off again and returned with two large tubs. “Kaju butter and kaju yogurt.” He left and came back with bags in hand. “Kaju fruit leather, chocolate covered kaju, and dried kaju.”

The Doctor’s arms were full. He stared down at the bounty then up at the guide. “Thank you!”

The uncharacteristic smile melted away into the familiar scowl. “You are an absolute nutter,” the kid growled. Then he spun around and stalked off.

The Doctor heard something rolling on the floor and turned around to see Rose with a trolley. She took a few items out of his hands and they filled the cart with everything the guide had brought.

“What was that about?” the Doctor asked, still wondering what had gotten into the guide.

Rose laughed. “I think he thought that if he brought you enough kaju products, you would realise it was disgusting. Then you’d have to find a way to put it all back.”

“Huh.” The Doctor scratched at his sideburn. “Well, let’s see what other kaju products we can find.”

Thirty minutes later, they left the farm with several bags full of kaju products. By mutual agreement, they detoured to the TARDIS to put it all away.

The ship sang to Rose as they walked through the door, and she started laughing. “Someone’s glad I talked you out of growing our own kaju,” she told the Doctor.

oOoOo

The street lights had shifted from their bright daytime mode to a nighttime setting when the Doctor and Rose finally made their way back to the hotel. Street musicians played beneath the street lights, and stray cats darted into the shadowy corners to hide.

The Doctor swiped their keycard over the pad and the door slid open. It closed silently behind them after they entered the room. Rose tapped the lamp and soft light filled the room.

“So was that a good way to spend our fourth anniversary?”she asked him.

He chuckled. “It was a brilliant way to spend our anniversary,” he agreed as he shrugged out of his coat.

He had just tossed it onto the coat rack when someone knocked sharply on the door. Rose raised an eyebrow, and he grinned at her. “Just a little late night snack I ordered for us,” he told her. “Why don’t you go get settled in the living room and I’ll bring it in.” He waited for her to move into the living room, then tapped the door control.

“Your dessert, sir,” the server said, presenting a covered tray with a flourish.

The Doctor lifted the silver cover just enough to make sure everything was as ordered. Chocolate, kaju, mellora berries, and a decanted bottle of Rigellian wine. Perfect.

“Thank you.” He took the tray and the server nodded once, then walked away.

Rose was curled up on the sofa under a blanket when the Doctor entered the living room. He set the tray down on the coffee table and crossed the room to the fireplace controls. “This will warm things up pretty quickly,” he said once the cheery gaslit flames started.

He stuck his tongue out at Rose as he walked back to her. “I suppose it’s a good thing you filched that jumper from me,” he teased. “They don’t exactly keep the ambient temperature of Critias very warm.”

He started to pour two glasses of the wine, while still watching Rose from the corner of his eye. She rubbed her cheek against the jumper again and shook her head.

“That’s not why I wore it,” she said quietly.

The Doctor set the decanter down and turned to face Rose. Her playful attitude had faded into something softer and warmer. “Then why did you wear it?” he asked, genuinely curious. “To turn me on?”

Her eyes twinkled. “A little. But mostly…” She reached for his hand. “This jumper is something from who you were when I met you. Today’s our anniversary and…” She brushed her thumb over his pulse points. “And I married that Doctor, too.”

The Doctor opened his mouth, but he couldn’t push words past the lump in his throat. Instead, he slid closer to Rose on the sofa and reached for her over the bond at the same time.

I love you. He brushed his fingers over her cheek, and when Rose tipped her face upwards, he took the invitation and pressed a kiss to her lips. I love you now and I loved you then. You are my forever, both past and future.

Rose sighed and scraped her fingernails over his scalp. I loved that you, with your leather jacket and jumpers. I love this you, with your suits and Chucks. You have always been my Doctor.

The Doctor moved his hand down to Rose’s waist so he could pull her closer. As she shifted into his lap, the feeling of soft skin under his hand pulled him out of the kiss. He looked down at the bare leg slung over his own and swallowed.

“Are you…” His voice squeaked and he cleared his throat. “Are you wearing anything under that jumper?”

Rose slid her hands over his shoulders and played with the hair at the nape of his neck. “Why don’t you find out?” she suggested.

The Doctor closed his eyes and took several shallow breaths. Then he shifted his weight and pushed himself to his feet, holding Rose close as he stood up. “I think it’s time for a change in venue.”

oOoOo

A visit to Critias was almost like a beach holiday, except in all the ways it wasn’t. Their ocean view room gave them a view into the underwater life instead of the surface. They didn’t see their squid friend again, but several other forms of sea life floated by to say hello.

They rented diving equipment and went out into the water, but they couldn’t feel the sun on their faces. The marine animals around the resort were so accustomed to visitors that they didn’t move as the Doctor and Rose slowly swam past.

But the strangest difference, and the one that helped Rose when it came time to leave, was that there were no sunsets. She loved watching the sun set over the ocean, but they couldn’t even see the sun from who knew how many leagues under the sea.

There were no stars, either, and after a week beneath the surface of the ocean, both she and the Doctor were ready to be out in the open air.

They packed up their belongings and paid their bill, then walked back to the TARDIS.

The Doctor slung his coat over a strut and circled the console, adjusting the navigation controls as he went. “Be careful,” Rose warned as he spun a dial wildly before stopping it and twisting it into place. “Remember what Donna threatened to do if we don’t pick them up on time.”

He clapped his hands to his head, protecting his hair. “That is not happening,” he declared adamantly. “Not in this lifetime. This body would not look good with platinum blond hair.”

Rose nodded. “Then watch what you’re doing while you’re setting the coordinates.”

The Doctor huffed, but he slowed down, being careful to notch each dial in exactly the right spot. Rose watched, and she nodded when he set the last one in place.

“All right, let’s go.” Being closer to the dematerialisation lever, she grabbed it and shoved it into place.

The TARDIS made a grinding sound as she moved into the Vortex, and Rose stroked the console. “Come on, old girl,” she muttered. “I know you’ll take us where we need to go.” The grinding didn’t stop, but a soft hum joined it. Both Rose and the Doctor let out a breath.

The landing rocked them a little, but they straightened up and walked to the door. The Doctor reached it first and reached for the handle. “Come on, Rose. Let’s enjoy the look on Donna’s face when she realises we’ve made a perfect landing.”

The first thing he registered when he opened the door was that it was night. Well, a few hours off, he reasoned, even as his hearts sank into his plimsolls. Maybe we’re early, even.

But not only was it not morning, they were nowhere near a city. He stared at the large house in front of them, trying to make sense of where they were.

Rose patted him on the arm. “I think you’ll look gorgeous as a blond.”

#ficandchips #ten x rose #dwfic #fic by Nancy #doctorroseprompts #this is your surprise bonus chapter this week #next week we'll be back to every tuesday like always

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shawtygonemad · 4 years ago

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What Is This Feeling: Chapter 7

Fem!9th Doctor x Male!Rose Tyler

WITF Masterlist

Through time and space once more, our extraordinary duo was off to have another adventure. The TARDIS sped through the time vortex.

"Where are we going?" Ross asked.

"The planet Panera. They have fantastic bread," the Doctor grinned at her companion.

The TARDIS suddenly switched course and jolted in the opposite direction. The Doctor examined the screen and tried to figure out what was going on. The ship finally materialized. The Doctor and Ross stepped out. It was a dimly lit area with carpeting and display cases. It looked like a museum.

"So, what is it? What's wrong," Ross instantly began to ask.

"Don't know. Some kind of signal drawing the TARDIS off course," the Doctor spoke as she looked around.

"Where are we?"

"Earth. Utah, North America. About half a mile underground," the Time Lord deduced.

"And when are we?"

"2012," she informed her friend as she began to inspect a case.

"God, that's so close. So I should be 26."

The Doctor found the light switch and flipped it on. The room and cases suddenly lit up.

"Blimey. It's a great big museum."

"An alien museum," she looked at the exhibits as she walked forward. "Someone's got a hobby." She shook her head.

"They must have spent a fortune on this. Chunks of meteorites, moon dust. That's the milometer from Roswell spaceship." She furrowed her eyebrows, confused.

"That's a bit of Slitheen!" Ross pointed to a Slitheen arm in one of the glass cases. "That's a Slitheen's arm. It's been stuffed."

The Doctor stopped in front of one of the cases. "Oh, look at you."

Ross walked behind the Doctor and looked over her shoulder. "What is it?"

'Delete…' she heard an echo in her mind.

"An old friend of mine. Well, enemy. Stuff of nightmares reduced to an exhibit. I'm getting old." She internally groaned.

"Is that where the signal's coming from," Ross asked.

"No, it's stone dead. The signal's alive, calling out for help."

The Doctor reached out her fingers, and lightly brushed the glass. Alarms suddenly blared from all around. The pair slightly jumped at the sudden noise. The Time Lord mentally kicked herself. She should have been more careful. Before they could make it to the TARDIS they were cut off and surrounded by guards. The guards were armed and aiming at them.

"If someone's collecting aliens, that makes you exhibit A," Ross nervously joked.

The two of them were escorted by the armed guards up many levels, and throughout the complex. The journey was mostly silent. Ross stayed close by her side, however. Finally they were led into their destination. An office full of over confident Americans.

The man sitting at the desk seemed to be the one behind the complex. He was being showed their recent purchase. It was a musical instrument. They did not know it, and looked completely daft whilst holding it.

"You really wouldn't hold it like that," she almost laughed at how stupid he looked.

"Shut it," she was yelled at.

"Really though, it's wrong," she insisted.

"Is it dangerous?" A girl around Ross's age asked.

"No, it just looks silly," the Doctor smirked.

She reached for the item. Firing bolts clicked all around her. She stopped. The man behind the desk curiously looked at her, and handed over the curved palm sized object.

"You just need to be-"she stroked the instrument softly, and out rang a beautiful sound. "Delicate." To prove her point, she played several different notes.

"It's a musical instrument," the man said, fascinated.

"And it's a long way from home," the Doctor commented.

"Here, let me," the man took the instrument from her hands.

She raised her eyebrows. That was rude. The man proceeded to touch it harder, causing no noise to come out.

"I did say delicate. It reacts to the smallest fingerprint. It needs precision," she once again informed him.

Once he finally got the hang of it and produced music, she smiled.

"Very good. Quite the expert," she complimented.

"As are you," he said before tossing the object on the floor.

The Doctor's jaw dropped. That was almost two hundred years old! It was used to entertain kings and queens, and he just threw it away?! Who is this man?!

"Who are you, exactly?"

"I'm the Doctor. And you are?"

"Like you don't know. We're hidden away with the most valuable collection of extra-terrestrial artifacts in the world, and you just stumbled in by mistake?"

The Doctor laughed. "Pretty much sums me up, yeah."

The man slowly walked around his desk, and got closer to the Doctor.

"The question is, how did you get in? Fifty three floors down, with your cat burglar accomplice. You're quite an artifact yourself, being rather pretty."

"The cat burglar accomplice is going to smack you if you don't give the 'artifact' personal space," Ross shot off angrily. It shocked the Doctor a bit. It was the first time he was ever verbally protective of her.

"Oh, he's English too! Hey, little lady Fauntleroy. Got you a boyfriend."

"This is Mister Henry Van Statten," the girl introduced. She was the only English person, besides Ross, at the complex.

"Who is he at home?" Ross snidely remarked.

"Mister Van Statten owns the internet," she added.

"Don't be stupid. No one owns the internet," he jabbed again.

"And let's just keep letting the world think that, right kids," Van Statten remarked, smug.

"So you're just an expert in everything except the things in your museum. Anything you don't understand, you lock it up."

"And you claim greater knowledge?" Van Statten challenged.

"I don't need to make claims. I know how good I am," she shot back.

"And yet, I captured you. Right next to the cage. What were you doing down there?" He asked.

The Doctor placed her hands on her hips. "You tell me," she sassed.

"The cage contains my one living specimen."

"And what's that?"

"Like you don't know," Van Statten scoffed.

"Show me."

"You want to see it?" Van Statten once again challenged the Doctor.

"Blimey, do I need to separate you two?" Ross remarked, annoyed.

"Goddard, inform the cage we're heading down. You, English. Look after the boy. Go and canoodle or spoon or whatever it is you British do. And you, Doctor with no name, come and see my pet."

Van Statten stood in the elevator with a smirk on his face. The Doctor gave Ross a reassuring look before stepping on the lift next to the American. The ride down was quick and silent. Once they stepped out of the lift, the Doctor was led over toward a large metal door. Van Statten spoke as he unlocked and opened the large door.

"We've tried everything. The creature has shielded itself but there's a definite sign of life inside."

"Inside? Inside what?" The Doctor asked, curiously.

A man in an orange hazard suit walked over to Van Statten.

"Welcome back, Sir. I've had to take the power down. The Metaltron is resting."

"Metaltron?"

'What kind of dumb name is that?' She thought.

"I thought of it myself," Van Statten stated proudly.

'Of course.'

"Although I'd much to prefer to find out its real name."

"Here, you'd better put these on," the man in the hazard offered her rubber gloves. "The last guy that touched it burst into flames."

"I won't touch it then," she said like it was most obvious.

"Go on, Doctor. Impress me," Van Statten grinned at her.

The Doctor narrowed her eyes at him before strutting past, into the cage. It was very dark as she looked around. She jumped slightly as the door slammed shut behind her.

The Time Lord continued to investigate. She found a small table with drills, and other torture tools. Her heart instantly went out to the creature. She turned to where she assumed the 'Metaltron' was. She couldn't make it out. The room was too dark.

"Look, I'm sorry about this. Mister Van Statten might think he's clever, but never mind him. I've come to help. I'm the Doctor."

A few seconds of silence passed before a blue light was seen. When the Metaltron spoke, two white lights flashed with its words.

"Doc-tor?"

The Doctor's eyes widened, and her hearts stopped. No! This can't happen. It's-

"Impossible," she managed to breathe out.

"The Doc-tor?" The Metaltron spoke with more confidence this time.

The lights came up to reveal a Dalek. The Doctor's worst enemy. And it was chained to the floor. This didn't stop the Doctor from crying out in fear.

"Ex-ter-min-ate! Ex-ter-min-ate!"

The Time Lord flung herself onto the door and started to pound her fists.

"Let me out," she practically screamed.

"Ex-ter-min-ate!"

The door wouldn't open. The Doctor took a step back and just stared at the monstrosity. Her entire body was quivering. Her hearts were pounding hard into her chest.

"You are an en-e-my of the Da-leks! You must be des-troyed!"

The Doctor closed her eyes and awaited death. This was it. This was how she would finally die after nine hundred years. Maybe it was her time. Suddenly she accepted her fate. She never realized until now that she was ready to go.

After a few seconds without pain, she opened her eyes. She was alive! Yet a small part inside of her was disappointed. That part was overshadowed by the sickening joy she suddenly felt over her enemy.

"It's not working." She started to laugh like she's gone mad. "Fantastic! Oh, Fantastic! Powerless! Look at you. The great space dustbin. How does it feel?"

The Dalek tried to roll backwards, but was stopped by the chains.

"Keep back!" It demanded.

"What for?" She launched herself forward and became face to eyestock with the Dalek. "What're you going to do to me?" She challenged.

The Doctor, bottled with rage, began to circle the creature. Like a lion hunting its prey. She wanted to intimidate it.

"If you can't kill, then what are you good for, Dalek? What's the point of you? You're nothing!"

The Gallifreyan finally stopped back in front of the Dalek.

"What the hell are you here for?"

"I am a-wait-ing or-ders!" It responded to her.

"What does that mean?"

"I am a sold-ier. I was bred to rec-ieve or-ders."

"Well you're never going to get any. Your race is dead!" She yelled at it. "You all burnt, all of you. Ten million ships on fire. The entire race wiped out in one second."

"You lie!"

"I watched it happen. I made it happen," she spoke maliciously.

"You des-troyed us?" It asked, almost sounding heartbroken.

The alien stopped and calmed down a bit. She turned away from the Dalek in guilt. Their race wasn't the only one she destroyed that day.

"I had no choice," she responded quietly.

"And what of the Ti-me Lo-rds?"

"Dead." She managed to choke out. "They burned with you. The end of the last great Time War. Everyone lost."

"And the coward survived."

This fueled her rage once more. However, she managed to keep it under control.

"Oh, and I caught your little signal. Help me. Poor little thing. But there's no one else coming 'cause there's no one else left."

"I am a-lone in the un-i-verse," it almost sounded defeated.

"Yep."

"So are you. We are the same."

The Doctor spun around, no longer able to hold her anger.

"We're not the same! I'm not-"she paused as a cruel thought crossed her mind. "No, wait. Maybe we are. You're right. Yeah, okay. You've got a point. 'Cause I know what to do. I know what should happen. I know what you deserve." She grinned sickeningly.

"Exterminate."

With that the Doctor pulled a lever on a nearby console. The Dalek lit up with electricity. It began to scream, and she just watched.

"Have pity!" It cried out.

"Why should I? You never did." She pulled another lever, and increased the electricity.

"Help me!"

Suddenly the door opened and guards flooded in. She launched herself towards the last lever. No! This was her only chance to kill it! She was suddenly yanked away from the panel and was practically carried out of the cage.

"No! You've got to destroy it!" She yelled.

The Doctor ripped herself away from the guards once outside the cage. She frowned deeply as she waited for Van Statten to leave the cage. She was very cross with the American man. Once he left the cage they were guided towards the lift.

"The metal's just an armor. The real Dalek creature's inside," she explained to Van Statten.

"What's it look like?" he asked.

"A nightmare. It's a mutation. The Dalek race was genetically engineered. Every single emotion was removed except hate," she tried to explain to them. These stupid little apes weren't getting the big picture!

"Genetically engineered," he spoke as if it were Christmas. "By whom?"

"By a genius, Van Statten," she was starting to get stressed out. "By a man who was king of his own little world. You'd like him."

Van Statten's assistant Goddard decided to butt herself in.

"It's been on Earth for over fifty years. Sold at private auction, moving from one collection to another. Why would it be a threat now?" she asked.

"Because I'm here." How many times does she have to explain it? "How did it get to Earth? Does anyone know?"

"The records say it came from the sky like a meteorite. It fell on Earth on the Ascension Islands. Burnt in its crater for three days before anyone could get near it and all that time it was screaming. It must have gone insane," Goddard spoke in a superior tone.

The Doctor stood for a moment and thought. "It must of fallen through time. The only survivor."

"You talked about war," the human female asked.

"The Time War. The final battle between my people and the Dalek race."

"But you survived, too," Van Statten said with a devilish smile on his face.

"Not by choice," The Doctor added grimly.

"This means the Dalek isn't the only alien on Earth. Doctor, there's you. The only one of your kind in existence."

Just as the doors opened, the Doctor was once again grabbed. She struggled against their grip as they led her into her own cage.

"Any type of exposed metal is going to affect the laser scanner," Van Statten smiled.

The Doctor ended up having to shed her boots, jacket, and top. She was able to keep her bra on because Van Statten claimed he was a 'gentleman'. So now that the Doctor was stripped, she got chained spread eagle in front of the scanner.

"Now, smile!" Van Statten said, cheerfully.

The Doctor bit her lip as a painful shock ran through her body from the laser.

"Two hearts! Binary Vascular System. Oh, I am so going to patent this," Van Statten said.

The Doctor glared at the man. "So that's your secret. You don't just collect this stuff, you scavenge it."

She shook her head in anger as Van Statten went on to say how he cured the common cold and was going to sell cures for every disease. The Doctor was getting frustrated.

"Do you know what a Dalek is, Van Statten? A Dalek is honest. That creature in your dungeon is better than you."

"In that case, I'll be true to myself and continue," Van Statten frowned.

"Listen to me! That thing downstairs is going to kill every last one of us!" She tried to get through to him.

"Nothing can escape the cage."

Van Statten turned the laser up a Koch and blasted the Doctor. She bit her lip harder as she tried to endure the pain. Once the laser stopped, she attempted to catch her breath and speak.

"But it's woken up! It knows I'm here. It's going to get out. Van Statten, I swear, no one in this base is safe. No one on this planet!"

He turned the laser to its highest setting. It once again blasted the Doctor. This time around wasn't for informational purposes. He just wanted to hear her scream. And he did.

#romance #adventure #doctor who fanfic #doctor x rose #the doctor x rose tyler #the doctor #doctor who fanfiction #doctor who #ninth doctor #bbc doctor who #doctor who imagine #fem!9th doctor x male!rose tyler #fem!9th doctor #male!rose tyler #9th doctor x rose #rose tyler

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plotholefragments · 3 years ago

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Pinkie was pushing herself harder than she ever had. She didn't have her usual supply of cameras hidden around for camera-related emergencies, so first she had to find some. Thankfully she found a room with a box of disposable cameras just waiting for her.

She almost stopped by to say hi to Sonic and Twilight, but Pinkie Sense said not to interfere. She grabbed several dozen cameras and stuffed them into her mane then dove into the box—

—to reappear next to the table for TARDIS one. "Hey, everycreature!" she yelled, holding up a couple of the cameras. "Who wants to take some pictures?"

Immediately several children and at least two teenagers rushed forward. Pinkie handed out a few cameras, admonished them to take turns, then pronked off towards TARDIS two.

And so on.

When she gave out the last camera at TARDIS twelve, she collapsed. Not in a dead faint, but awfully close.

"Getting on all right, then?" an older gentleman said, leaning over her.

Pinkie lazily looked up at him. "Doctor number twelve?"

"Aye," he said with a smile. He reached down and helped her to her hooves. "What you're doing..." he began.

"It's gonna work, right?" Pinkie said.

Twelve shook his head. "I'm here, aren't I?"

Pinkie smiled. "So... does that mean I can borrow your TARDIS to develop the film?"

Twelve sighed. "Leave it in Eleven's," he said. "I'll make sure it's ready by the time I'm here."

Pinkie's right hind leg twitched. "TARDIS one is done!" Without waiting for a response, she pronked over a nearby wall—

—and landed sideways in the middle of the crowd at TARDIS one. A few kids laughed, and a few more laughed when she sprung up. With a smile and a thanks, she collected the cameras and disappeared.

Collecting the remainder of the cameras didn't go quite as quickly. One Doctor, with an impressively long scarf, insisted on taking a picture with her. Another group of middle-aged Gallifreyans were still debating what kind of pictures to take—Pinkie took the camera herself and ran them though some rapid-fire poses. But eventually the cameras from all twelve groups were collected.

Pinkie parked herself outside of TARDIS eleven. Gingerly, she knocked on the door. "Excuse me, Miss TARDIS?" she said. "I know it might be impolite, but I have a lot of pictures to develop and I need a time machine for that."

The door swung open.

"Thanks!" Pinkie said as she pronked inside. Five seconds later she pronked out and into TARDIS twelve. Five seconds later she pronked out of that, her mane filled to bursting with photographs. "Thanks again!" She pronked into the shadow behind the TARDIS and came out into the out-of-the-way corner she'd been frequenting earlier.

She took three whole seconds to survey the area. Plan made, she pulled a piece of her mane out, stuck it in her mouth, chewed it for a bit, then pulled out the sticky bubble gum and used it to attach the photos to the wall.

There were a lot of photos. Enough to cover both walls of the corner, from the ground to twelve feet up.

Pinkie took a moment to survey her handiwork, and, with a nod of satisfaction, fell backwards to get the guest of honor—

—and fell on her back.

“Ow,” Pinkie muttered, her voice cracking. “That hurt.” Slowly, painfully, she pulled herself back to her hooves. She’d been able to ignore the fatigue while she had the project to focus on, but it all caught up with her suddenly.

“Why couldn’t I go?” she mused out loud. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes again and focused on her Pinkie Sense: her unique brand of magic that let her be where she needed to be, know what she needed to know, and do what she needed to do. She focused inward, trying to find what she needed.

The results were… confusing. Which, to her, was a new experience. The ninth Doctor was somewhere impossible, which she guessed meant he was in his time machine. Even with her magic, she wasn’t sure she could get there.

She looked up at the collage of photos. All the people that the Doctor had saved today. All the stories she had heard during the party.

“No,” she said, steeling herself for one last jump with her magic, “you’re going to laugh today.”

She took one last breath, and pounced.

She emerged in a circular room that had seen better days. There were several support beams exposed (not on purpose), exposed wiring everywhere, and piles of junk and broken armor everywhere. The focal point was the center console, itself charred and broken, the center column wheezing as it pumped up and down.

“How the hell did you get in here?” the Doctor yelled, frantically getting between Pinkie and the console.

“Woooooooah," she said, wide-eyed and looking around. "Is this your time machine?"

"It's my TARDIS," the Doctor huffed. "And you can't be here."

"But I am here," Pinkie said with a grin.

"Yes, you are!" the Doctor yelled. "Inside a TARDIS that is inside the time vortex! So how—"

"Wait, we're traveling through time right now?" Pinkie interrupted, still grinning. "That's so cool."

"Yes, it is, and it's also—"

"Are you running away?"

"What?"

Pinkie lost her grin. "Are. You. Running. Away."

The Doctor matched her stare. "Yes."

"Why?"

"Why shouldn't I?" the Doctor yelled. "Why should I stay there? Among all those people who lost their homes because of me? All those children without parents?" He pointed at Pinkie. "And don't tell me everything's going to be all right. I'm the Doctor. I'm a time traveller. You think I don't know what my future selves being there means? Of course this isn't the end. I did everything I did so it wouldn't be the end! But that doesn't change what I did. That doesn't change everything that happened in this war. And I don't need anyone, especially stupid horses, telling me to be happy!"

Pinkie blinked. "Okay!"

That brought the Doctor up short. "Okay?"

Pinkie looked up at the center column. "Can you get back on your own?"

A pleasant chime sounded from the console. The Doctor turned to look at that, then glared back at Pinkie. "Don't talk to my TARDIS."

Pinkie smiled back at the Doctor. "I'm nopony's messenger pony," she said with a malevolent grin.

The Doctor tensed up.

"I'm a delivery pony."

Pinkie pounced forward, grasping the Doctor in a perfect hoofball tackle, and the two of them fell backwards—

—onto the floor of the photo room. The Doctor immediately sprang up and looked around, ready to defend himself against Pinkie, but he was alone in the room.

Not seeing anything else of interest, he walked up to the walls of photos.

"It's not everyone," the tenth Doctor said, walking into the room with Eleven and Twelve close behind. "But it's a lot."

"But..." Nine stuttered. "They lost their homes."

"They'd already lost their homes," Eleven answered. "Whether by weapons or by policy, the Gallifrey they knew was already gone."

"But I pulled the trigger!" Nine yelled.

"Yes," Twelve said, smiling sadly. "You did that. And because you did that..." He walked past and pulled a photo off the wall. "This child will grow up. They'll go on to study science and advance the understanding of the multiverse." He motioned to another. "These teenagers are going to end a refugee crisis in another world by sheer force of will."

"Stop," Nine said, defeated. "I don't... I don't care what everyone's going to do. What phoenix will rise from these ashes. Not when there should never have been a fire."

"No, Doctor," Twelve said. "There should never have been a fire. But there was one, and you put it out."

"The war is over," Eleven continued. "They have a chance to rest, now."

"And everything that happens," Ten concluded, "can only happen because you ended the war."

Nine let out something between a cough, a laugh, and a sob. And then another one. Twelve stepped forward and pulled him into a hug. Nine grasped onto Twelve's coat like a life preserver, laughing and crying all at once.

Off to the side, where Nine had originally fell into the room, a pattern of three balloons was scorched into the floor.

#turns out this scene is 1000+ words #oops #but Pinkie's CMOA is worth it #been bugging my wife with this so here it is #this is where I killed Pinkie Pie #doctor who #mlp:fim #pinkie pie #fanfic #sketch #friendship is multiversal

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