#11th doctor imagine

[nghtwngs]

silly human traditions

description: you’ve never had a new year’s kiss before. neither has the doctor. you decide to change that tonight.

pairing: tenth doctor x reader (you can probably read it as eleven too!)

genre: fluff, friends to lovers, mutual pining

word count: 1.2k

warnings: alcohol consumption (by the doctor), ten might be ooc bc im literally rewatching eleven’s episodes (im on the second christmas special rn!) and i think ive lost his voice but i hope that’s not the case

a/n: happy new year!! i wrote this up like real fast bc i was thinking about kissing ten and well… yeah

You walk into the TARDIS’s control room with a huge grin plastered on your face. “Doctor, we have to celebrate our first New Year!”

The Doctor looks up from the control console and turns his head to face you. “New Year?” His eyebrows are furrowed, lips curled down into a frown. “There’s no concept of time in the time vortex—how would we celebrate New Year’s?”

“Well, my phone’s calendar doesn’t change.” You pull out your device, opening the calendar app and holding it up for him to see. “It’s currently December 31st. And also we celebrated the holidays this past week.”

He pulls out his glasses out of his suit and puts them on. He squints at your screen anyway. “Well, I guess so. How’d you figure we do that?” He jumps up, running over to you. “What about a planet where everything is made of water? Or we could watch a galaxy of stars fizzle out into nothing but dust!”

“Well, Doctor, I was thinking we could just, I don’t know… spend it on Earth? Watch the ball drop in Time Square or something? Hm, actually maybe not that.”

“You little humans and all your traditions.”

“You love it.”

He mirrors your cheeky grin. “Alright, then! I think I have just the place.” He rushes over to the console, doing his thing. The TARDIS makes her signature wheezing noise, reminding you to hold on tight. “New York! Present year… well, for you anyway. Two hours ‘til midnight. Dress well. We have a party to crash!”

You make a sound of excitement, giving the Doctor a chaste kiss on the cheek. “Amazing.” You run off to the TARDIS’s vast wardrobe to find an appropriate outfit.

After finishing getting ready, you pop back into the control room to find the Doctor fiddling with his tie. He’s dressed in a black suit. A classic. You think it suits him well. (Pun not intended.)

“No bow tie this time?” you ask, walking over to him.

He just shakes his head. “Nah.”

“You clean up nicely,” you say, tightening his tie for him.

He smiles so softly at you that it makes your heart ache with need. “You do too.”

You clear your throat when the intensity of his gaze hits you. “Well, we better get to the party. Don’t wanna miss anything else.” You link your arms, dragging him out of the TARDIS.

Turns out, the party he took you to crash is filled with a bunch of celebrities. No one either of you care for, but celebrities nonetheless. It makes you feel important to be around all these people. Like you’re important enough to be around the Doctor, who you’d say is the most famous of them all. It makes you feel special. Being here. With him, but maybe not with him.

He doesn’t even bother to correct anyone when they mistake you for being an item. You often wonder if there is any deeper meaning behind that. It makes your heart stumble off beat. But that’s silly. A ridiculous, quite pathetic notion.

Silly human things, you suppose.

But it’s okay. He makes you feel special. Anyone the Doctor chooses to be his companion is special.

The very best of humanity, he’d say.

The Doctor has a sip of some random alcoholic drink you were both offered (you declined) and sticks his tongue out in disgust. He immediately places the glass back onto the tray. “That was dreadful. Absolutely dreadful.”

You can’t stop yourself from giggling until he grabs your water and chugs the entire thing. You grumble, “I was about to drink that.” But your words come out much too soft, too fondly for him to believe you’re really upset over it.

He leads you out onto the balcony with his hand on your back. You forget all about your drink.

“Oh my, God!” You double over, holding onto the Doctor’s arm. “They were sentient? How can grass be sentient?” You both continue to wheeze like it’s the funniest thing the two of you ever heard.

“Yeah, they were quite rude honestly. Telepathic. Said my hair looks ridiculous,” he muses. His voice suddenly goes quiet. He leans into you, staring into your eyes like it’d make you any more honest. “Does my hair look ridiculous?”

You run your fingers through his locks, making sure not to mess them up. “Your hair looks great. I always like it.”

“Yeah? You think so?”

You nod in agreement.

Cheers erupt from inside, and you’re worried you missed the countdown. But there’s still another five minutes left.

“Do you have any resolutions for the New Year, Doctor?”

“Resolutions? Why would I need resolutions? Is that some human tradition? Why do you have so many traditions?”

“People just want to have goals, I guess? I never really stuck with mine. And well, it’s really just that and uh… the New Year’s kiss.”

“New Year’s kiss?” He frowns.

“Yeah, they say if you kiss someone at midnight on New Year’s, it’ll strengthen the bond between you? I don’t know. It’s silly. I’ve never had a New Year’s kiss before, so I couldn’t tell you if it’s true or not.”

“Huh.” There’s his thinking face. Nothing good ever comes from his thinking face. Not unless you’re in a life or death situation, and you don’t think you are right now. At least you really hope not. “Do you… Would you like to test that theory out?”

You almost choke. “What?”

“Well, I mean, it’s not like we have to or anything.”

“I didn’t peg you as the superstitious type.”

“I’m not. But no harm in trying it out, right?”

No, there’s a lot of harm in trying it out, you want to say. You think your heart might explode out of your chest. That would be a horrible way to start out the new year. He’d have to find another companion whose heart stays in their chest cavity and away from both of his.

“Yeah, no harm at all.”

Why can’t your mouth just stay shut sometimes?

You hear the countdown start.

Ten.

He holds your chin between his index finger and thumb.

Nine.

His warm eyes look into yours.

Eight.

You’ve never been touched with such gentleness before.

Seven.

His scent is so clean and warm and so him.

Six.

The proximity is completely dizzying.

Five.

You think you can feel your knees buckle.

Four.

How can he look at you as if you’re the only interesting thing in the universe?

Three.

When he’s seen it all.

Two.

A quick glance at your lips.

One.

The Doctor presses his lips against yours. It’s wonderful. He tastes like berries. When in the world did he have berries? Your arms slink around him, pulling him as close as possible. He doesn’t seem to mind. He cups your face with his hands. What a brain melting kiss. The strings of his hearts are knotting with yours. You want to be consumed by this feeling.

It doesn’t register that you have to breathe for a minute, but you think you’d kiss him forever if you could. You have all the time in the world anyway. You wonder how long can Time Lords go without air. Probably much longer than humans, yeah? You, with much reluctance, pull away.

He pecks your lips again. He grins cheekily at you. “A while.”

You scoff. You hate it when he does that. And when he smiles at you like that. Your neck grows hot even though it’s cool outside. “It’s midnight.” You’re still breathless.

“It is.”

“You’re my first New Year’s kiss.”

“You’re mine.”

Maybe it’s true; the bond between you does feel stronger this year. You kiss him again and then some more.

[undiscovered-horizon]

Eleventh Doctor x insecure/ anxious reader?

🫀REQUESTS ARE OPEN🫀 || Doctor Who-inspired playlist

"Cold feet" - 11th Doctor x Reader

SUMMARY: Funnily enough, after facing death and vicious aliens, it's small talk with strangers that gives you cold feet. Fortunately enough, you found yourself in the company of an expert on running away.

WORDCOUNT: ~ 1.9k

A/N: As an anxious person I cannot be thankful enough for people in my life who casually roll with my anxiety and don't try to "fix" it with cheap advice

"Time Lord to human! Are you listening to me?"

The sudden yelling shook you awake. Only then did you realize you zoned out in the first place, letting Doctor's rushed words brush right by you. You looked at him only to see pure annoyance seeping from his expression. Although you never meant to hurt him, the guilt still gnawed at you.

"Sorry, missed the last bit," you explained yourself as you awkwardly rubbed the back of your neck. "What were you saying?"

Instead of repeating his scientific ramblings which definitely would have been a little too fast and complex for you to understand, he shifted his posture to rest his hands on his hips. You felt as if he had caught you red-handed doing something he had absolutely prohibited you from doing.

"Oi, what's going on with you? It's like you've lost your head."

You absentmindedly shook your head to dismiss his worry. "Yeah, sorry, it's no-"

"Are you in love?"

For a moment you couldn't get any sound to leave your mouth. "What?" It was a bizarre conclusion to jump to. You couldn't tell what on Earth could even get him that idea. "No, it's on-"

"Good for you!" he said as he clapped his hands. "Now, moving on. Focus, eyes on me."

"Look, it's just that I've got a..." you suspended your voice thinking of the right word to use. The Doctor stared at you with wide eyes, clearly awaiting the second part of the sentence. "Thing."

"A thing?" he repeated in confusion. It seemed as if with each of your words he only grew more offended at your misplaced attention.

"Yes, a thing." Out of all the words you could have used, your choice seemed to have fallen on the worst and least exhaustive one. "My friend, Ada, is throwing a party for some of her college friends but apart from me everyone invited is from her course, so she's going to be the only person I know there."

"And that's what you've been thinking about while I was explaining my clever, clever plan?"

The Doctor stared at you with closely knit eyebrows. In some way, he couldn't fathom how a party invitation could be in any way more interesting than him showing off his extraordinary intellect and creativity. Choosing between a college party and aliens should have been a lot easier than it truly was.

"It's not as simple as it sounds, you know?"

"Alright, then tell me." By his hand-flapping and surprisingly undivided attention, you couldn't tell whether he was growing more upset or actually wanted to hear about what was troubling you.

"Honestly, I don't want to go but it's important for Ada. Also, I haven't seen her in ages. On the other hand..." your voice drifted away. Now that you've started this little heart-to-heart, it was pointless to lie to the Doctor - if successful, fooling him wouldn't gain anything anyway. "It's a party full of strangers."

For a moment he stared at you in silence, visibly expecting you to elaborate but truthfully, there wasn't anything more to say. The hypothetical group of strangers, as faceless as they were, was already stressful enough, even without giving them imaginary traits or habits.

"Strangers, right," he said as he clasped his hands. The sound echoed throughout the console room. He looked away for a moment, basking in enlightenment, before looking back at you. "How exactly is that a problem?" he dwelled on the subject. It seemed as if the discomfort of a company of strangers was hardly conceivable.

"You wouldn't get it." You vaguely waved your hand at him in a dismissive manner. Maybe it was unfair towards him but you really couldn't imagine a scenario in which he doesn't throw in a sarcastic comment about your anxiety. "I mean, how could you? Socializing has never been a problem for you."

"How could it be? People, party, cake, dancing. I love dancing! Great times, nothing to be scared of."

"Yes, there is: small talk and thirty people I've never met. And that's only the beginning."

Even the mere mention of that situation made a cold shiver run down your spine. A flutter of anxiety in your chest brought an unpleasant, suffocating sensation. Unconsciously, your face contorted in a grimace.

"You just go up to them and talk, what's hard about that?"

"Everything!" you exclaimed as you made a broad movement with your hands. "It's just... I can't do that. I physically can't make myself go up to a stranger and ask how they're doing, I'd rather hit my head against a wall. I know the theory, the 'walking through a house' metaphor, it's just... I can't force my body to do that. And when I do find myself talking to a stranger, I want it to end immediately. And the silence! Oh God, the silence... Like when you ask them a question, they answer and then the silence. The awkward silence of my anxiety, lack of social skills and being a generally uninteresting person. Just a bit of quiet and everyone knows I'm weird, awkward and-"

"Hey, hey, stop it!" he scolded you in a whiny voice as if you were a child. "Don't say that. You're not awkward or weird, you're brilliant!"

"Thanks, that's nice of you but unfortunately, I am self-aware."

He may have known you for weeks but you've known yourself for decades.

"No, really." He refused to let go. If the Doctor was going to spout cliche pick-me-ups, he appeared exceptionally committed to the meaningless act. "You crossed the universe as it is wide and long. Fought aliens and risked your life because a toddler couldn't sleep at night. Blimey, you told a Sontaran with a bomb bigger than your head to piss off. And it's house party small talk that gives you cold feet?"

Contrary to his presumption, the context didn't give you any comfort or motivation - it only made you feel worse. If you really were as brave as he made it seem, why couldn't you just start a conversation with your friend's guests? By the measure of saving the universe multiple times, you should be more than capable to do so.

"I know it sounds ridiculous and I agree it's stupid but it's not the same. When we're saving worlds it's a mission, a puzzle to solve." You paused for a moment but by your expression, the Doctor could tell there was something else on your mind. "And I've got you," you added.

"Me?" he asked sheepishly. The Doctor vaguely pointed his finger at himself. "What does that have to do with me?"

"You make me a little braver. I mean, you don't look scared even when you are, so it gives me a little push. I feel a little less anxious when I know that you've got my back."

"So what do you do when I'm not there?"

"Bail," you answered with a shrug. Were you really the same person who criticized the fashion choices of an alien with more guns than limbs? "I rarely go but when I do, I just run off around midnight like Cinderella." You made a small pause when you lowered your gaze, avoiding the Doctor's face. "Honestly, it always makes me feel ashamed like I'm making myself miss out on something but it's either that or panicking in the bathroom."

A silence fell between you. The Doctor's typical hand flapping came to a strange halt as he continued to stare at you with an inexplicable expression. He would have agreed on your resemblance to Cinderella, your regent-esque charm and princess-like beauty but there seemed to be a matter more important at hand:

"Has that ever happened?"

His voice was surprisingly quiet, hesitant even as if he didn't want to actually know the answer. Maybe he wasn't sure he was ready for the responsibility the knowledge would bring. The Doctor's words were barely audible over the whirring and wheezing of the TARDIS's engineering.

"Which part?"

"Panicking in the bathroom."

"Yeah," you said quietly. Your gaze fell to the floor. Looking for some kind of comfort, you slowly rubbed your arm. "It was New Year at my friend's, didn't know anyone there except for him. At some point, I just needed to take a break from being around so many people. I sat in the bathroom wearing a silver sequin ballgown and fought back tears. Funny, I probably looked equally pathetic and great. The only thing I could think about was how rubbish I was at just hanging out with people and, you know, being a normal teen at a normal teen party filled with normal teens. I just..." you stopped yourself at the last moment possible. A heavy, defeated sigh left your lips before you continued in a voice barely above a whisper. "I just wish I was a little less anxious."

"You never said anything."

"Why would I? It's not something I'm exactly proud of." You let out a bitter chuckle as you answered him.

Suddenly you found yourself engulfed in a tight hug. The Doctor's arms were tightly wrapped around you, his slow but ragged breath brushing against your neck. Surprised at the unforeseen affection, you hesitantly reciprocated the embrace. The tweed of his jacket was slightly coarse, some strings were coming out of the seams. He always smelled like burnt wires and a second-hand bookshop. At first, that distinct fragrance wasn't exactly pleasant to you but with time it became a beacon of hope, comfort, adventure and a good laugh.

"Oh, you brilliant, clever you," he quietly said in a sad voice.

Then he stepped away from you just as swiftly and surprisingly as he hugged you in the first place. The first thing you noticed was the change in his facial expression: the Doctor was no longer annoyed or concerned but excited as if he had just come up with a perfect solution to some mind-boggling problem.

"Well then, good thing you're not going alone this time."

"I'm... not?"

"Yes! A plus-one. It's still a thing, right? I'm your plus-one."

"That's sweet of you but you really don't have to. I'm fine on my own," you assured him, although he had no reason to believe you after what you'd already told him.

"Change of plans, sweetheart!" he exclaimed as he pulled one of the many levers. The TARDIS was about to take flight and it was a little too late for arguments and second thoughts. "We're going together and when people become a little too much we attend to an emergency," he said while running between different parts of the flight console. As if he was dancing, he made a whole circle around the control switchboard and stood in front of you once again. The Doctor stuck his index finger in your face as if reprimanding you once more. "No panicking in the bathrooms."

"Wait, what emergency?" you asked as he was already taking directions to your hometown.

"You know, this very real emergency that can't wait and we have to take care of it at the very moment. The crisis that I definitely did not invent just now."

"Right..." you drew out your answer as you caught on to his ruse. A smile crept unto your face. "Time travellers, defenders of the universe. You can never know when you're needed. Any suspicions as to what the emergency is?"

"Laskos' fourth moon. There's that small waffle bar that might need an inspection."

[specialagentlokitty]

11th doctor x reader - it would always end this way

Could I get 11 in the scenario of "it would always end this way"? (Least i think thats the title... ive checked back on it 5 times, im done-) Really love that concept and it's just been sending me- - @krismas0arson

The doctor wasn’t paying much attention, not really paying attention to anything aside from the console as he banged a hammer against it.

Then he heard the song that Clara was humming to herself as she walked in and he snapped his head up, banging it against something.

“Ow!”

He rubbed his head and stepped away from the console, and Clara stopped singing to look at him.

“What were you singing?” He asked.

“I heard it on the way in, just up the street.”She smiled

“The street?”

“Yeah, a busker.”

“Take me!”

The doctor ran to the door and he gestured for Clara to do the same thing, and she sighed and followed him outside.

“It’s just a song.”

“But it’s not just a song.” He said.

Clara led him down the street then pointed across the street and the doctor walked over, standing with the small group of people who were also listening.

Clara walked over and stood next to him.

“It’s just a song, I think it’s from a film.”

The doctor carefully listened to what the words were and he furrowed his brows a little bit.

“But it’s wrong.”

“How can it be wrong doctor?” Clara laughed.

The doctor turned to look at Clara and he took her back to the TARDIS, pulling up the screen he began to flick through videos throughout time.

“All the timelines past, future and present, the song is nearly as old as time itself, it says that a deadman called out for his love to flee.”

“Yeah?”

The doctor pulled up another video, a beautiful face filled the screen, smiling from ear to ear, and he pointed to the laughing person.

“This is the original story.”

Clara looked confused.

“The deadman did not call for his love to flee, it was the deadman’s Love who called for him to flee and took his place.”

“Oh don’t be silly doctor, it’s made up. A story.”

“It’s not just a story Clara !” He snapped.

He spun around and he looked at the screen in desperation.

“It’s the story of how my spouse died…”

“You were married…?”

The doctor nodded and sat down on the table, holding a hand over his mouth as he looked at the screen.

It was replaying the same moment over and over again, the only moment he had of you.

Clara slowly walked over and sat next to him.

“It was the last days of the time war, and they were going to punish me. They knew what I was going to do and had to stop me…”

“How…?”

“Prophecy, but there was one thing the high council were missing.”

The doctor sent the TARDIS into flight, nowhere special in mind, just flying around aimlessly.

“What happened to them doctor…?”

“A prophecy, one that the high council couldn’t even foresee, something that was always going to happen. The time war was always going to end, and (Y/N) knew this. They had foreseen this as well, and they had foreseen my death. They couldn’t let that happen, so at the last moment they took my place.”

“Then what…?”

The doctor sighed, wiping a few of his tears.

“(Y/N) was locked in a time lock on a planet, nobody can access it. The time lords didn’t want to kill them because they were to be the next prophet.”

He turned to Clara.

“That song is the story told by the time lords on the last days, passed through time and space, turned into a silly little song. It’s the last moments of (Y/N)… the last moments of the person i swore to look after…”

“Can’t you find them?”

“You can’t get past a time lock even if I could I can’t get past it.”

Clara reached up and she hugged him tightly, and the doctor gently hugged her back.

“I’m sorry…”

He sighed and looked back at the screen, and he saw that the imagine had changed, showing a map of the universe with one spot flashing.

“What?” He asked.

He got up and looked at it.

“What’s going on?”

“The TARDIS has decided to take us somewhere…”

“Where?”

He looked at Clara.

“I don’t know…”

When the TARDIS stopped he ran out and he looked around the planet, it wasn’t much, just dust and dirt. He stepped out fully, and he looked around confused.

“Why would it bring us here?” He asked.

“It’s just a barren planet.” Clara mumbled.

“No, no there has to be more.”

He began scanning the area, trying to find anything, and when he looked at the screwdriver, he furrowed his brows.

“It’s picking up something, a sound wave.”

He made his way back to the TARDIS and Clara ran after him.

She could hear the voice but she couldn’t make out the words.

“Why can’t I understand it?” She asked.

“That’s impossible…” he whispered

“What? What is it?”

The doctor turned to Clara with wide eyes.

“Its Gallifrian… it’s why the TARDIS won’t translate it…”

“But I thought you were the only one?”

He looked back at the console and ran outside again, trying to pinpoint the sound.

“It’s not coming from here, but it originated from here, I can trace it!”

So that’s what he did, he traced the sound to the start of time, to the end of its reach, to the past and future of earth until he landed in the present once more.

“Its coming from here…”

They both stepped outside and they looked around, and the doctor could faintly here the song, so he followed it He ran after it, chasing it all around London until finally he found himself at the top of a building, gasping for air.

He slowly stood up and he began to looked around.

“Doctor look…” Clara whispered.

She pointed and the doctor looked, Clara smiled, placing a hand on his arm.

“I’ll wait downstairs.”

She left and the doctor just stared at your back as your voice radiated softly and quietly, a frequency only for him.

You slowly stopped singing and you turned around a gentle smile on your face.

“Impossible…”

You took a step forward, and you slowly lowered yourself to the floor as your legs threatened to give way.

“(Y/N)!”

The doctor ran over to you, and he knelt in front of you, placing his hand in the side of your face, looking you up and down.

“I’m okay.. I’m okay…”

Tears ran down his face and you looked up at him, gently brining your fingers up to brush against his skin.

“You’ve changed my love…”

“Yet you’re still as beautiful as always.” He smiled.

You laughed softly and shook your head a little bit. You breathed deeply and he looked at you in concern.

“It’s okay.. I just… I used a lot of energy to get here…”

“Let’s get you back to the TARDIS..”

He swept you into his arms, and you rested your head against his chest, listening to his heartbeats.

The doctor kept flicking his gaze to you, making sure you were still there, still okay He got to the bottom and Clara looked at him.

“I need you to open the doors.”

“Of course!”

She ran to open the doors and let the doctor and you in.

“Come and find me later.” She smiled.

With that she left and the doctor laid you down on the chairs and he covered you up with his jacket, brushing his knuckles against your cheek.

“Get some sleep…”

You nodded your head.

While you were sleeping he did all the checks he needed to on you, making sure you were actually you, checking your mind, listening to your hearts.

It was a few days until you woke up again and you finally sat up, pulling your husbands coat over you and you looked around.

The TARDIS doors were open and you got up, walking over to the doors you stepped outside and looked around.

The TARDIS had moved, and you were in a park, and he was sitting on a bench.

“Ever the thinker…” you spoke softly.

He looked up at you and quickly stood up, rushing over to you.

“You’re real. I checked.”

“I’m hurt you’d ever doubt me.”

He laughed softly and he cradled your face between his hands.

“How did you get out of the time lock…?”

You sighed.

“The time lock was designed to be done every so often… it wasn’t strong enough to hold me, they couldn’t make it strong they needed their strength.. so.. it broke…”

“That song, you planted it didn’t you?” He asked.

You smiled a little bit.

“All throughout time and space so I could find you… so you could find me…”

“How?”

“I saw the prophecy before they did, so when I vanished before that day, I was planting that songs all over the universe, for this moment.”

The doctor smiled a little bit, and he let out a soft laugh.

“My ever wonderful (Y/N)…”

He ducked down, and he kissed you like he had never done before. Every ounce of love and sadness and grief and happiness all into one kiss, and every time you pulled away he leant forward to kiss you again.

And finally you gave in, and you kissed him back.

You were time locked, frozen in time, so it hadn’t been as painful for you like it had been for him. He pulled away and pressed his forehead to yours.

“I love you…”

“I love you too my dear darling…”

He smiled and you closed your eyes, smiling back as he hugged you.

This was where you were always going to end up, this is where you were always going to find your way back to. You had seen it, it was why you did what you did.

You had seen the future it had been foretold that you would find your way back to the doctor, and he would find you, and you would stand right here holding him.

That’s where your vision had ended, you never saw more than that, it’s where you visions stopped once you reconnected with him. But that’s all you needed.

It’s all you ever needed to know that you weren’t going to leave him for good, even if you could never explain it to him, it was enough for him that you were here. That was all the doctor needed to know, that he you right by his side, and he could hold you again

[imajinxnation]

Since you've got me addicted, may I please request an imagine with any of the new doctors (not necessarily all, I'm just simply in love with them. Any of them or all of them is fine!) and their reactions to a female bodied companion that has a hobby for fashion history? They plan a trip to Victorian England and Y/n insists on dressing proper. She gets embarrassed but asks the Doctor to help tie her corset. Perhaps they both are attracted to each other but haven't confessed their feelings? And they are both all flustered because they're bodies are so close and what not. If this isn't up your alley, then please discard it! I hope I'm not annoying you with my requests LOL

Little Did They Know - 11th Doctor x Fem!Reader

Oh, hun, I don't think you realized what you've asked for, because the moment I saw the words Fashion and Victorian, I was given a burst of energy! I absolutely LOVE Victorian fashion!!!!!!

I'm so excited, I love this request!!!!!

God I hope this is good

WARNING: Fluff, probably some awkwardness as well, FEMALE READER

"Alright Doctor, where to next?" You exclaimed walking into the control room.

Your eyebrows furrowed as you realized the Doctor was nowhere to be seen. You glanced around the room until you heard the sound of wires being worked on underneath. You crawled to the edge of the above floor and stuck your head down only to see the Doctor, fiddling with some of the Tardis' circuits.

"Doctor? Where are we headed today?" You asked once again.

He looked up, finally noticing that you were awake and ready to travel. He swiped the safety goggles from his face and jumped off his work swing. You flung your head back and rose up when the Doctor started up the stairs to greet you properly.

"Hmm, did you have anything in mind, anything you wanted to see or do?" The Doctor asked.

You thought for a moment until you remembered a book you used to love as a kid.

"Would it be possible to go to 1865?" You asked in return.

The Doctor furrowed his brows for a second, "That's awfully specific! Why, what's in 1865?" He said while fiddling with some buttons and checking the Tardis' screen.

"Lewis Carroll," you said, simply.

The Doctor gave you a look of realization. That was the year Lewis Carroll published Alice's Adventures In Wonderland. With no questions asked, he got to pressing buttons and pulling levers that would take you to the time you wanted.

Finally the Tardis landed, and the Doctor grabbed you by the hand and started dragging you towards the doors to meet the famous writer.

"Wait! We can't go yet!" You exclaimed, eyes wide in horror of the thought of not being in historically correct clothing.

"What? But you wanted to go!" The Doctor looked confused.

"And I do, but you can't expect me to go out in public in the 1800's wearing what I am now!"

The Doctor looked you over, from your boots up to your hair was perfection. Really he saw no reason for you to change your clothes, they looked just fine on you, your own personal style!

As he got thinking about it, maybe it wasn't such a good idea for you to go out in this time period dressed like that, so he quickly gave you directions to the wardrobe to quickly change into Victorian era clothing.

About 10 minutes had passed when he heard you call out for him.

"Doctor! Can you come here for a minute, I need you to help me with something!" You called.

The Doctor stopped his pacing and ran down the halls, hoping that soon you and him would be able to go out of the Tardis soon. He stopped abruptly when he finally came across the wardrobe, almost slamming into the wall when he slid to a stop.

He opened the door and was greeted by the beauty that was you. You were all decked out in a beautiful red victorian dress, your hair done up to go with the times, and a white hat, red feathers giving the white hat a pop of colour. The Doctor blushed at your beauty, but quickly cleared his throat to notify you that he was there.

"Oh! Doctor could you please tie the back of my corset, I can't exactly reach," you laughed nervously, hating to ask for help.

For once the Doctor had nothing to say, too taken aback by how pretty you were. So he just started tightening the corset a little bit and tying it when it seemed tight enough.

"You know I've always had a fascination with corsets, don't know why, but I do. I should wear them more often!" You came to a conclusion.

You gazed at his focused face through the full body mirror. God, he always looked so cute and handsome when he was focused. A small blush found itself burning across your cheeks at the very sight of him, hopefully it could just be passed off as the makeup blush you had put on earlier.

You were so close, the thought of being so close to him made you blush even more, a goofy smile making its way onto your face.

Little did you know that the Doctor was having very similar thoughts. Your face, body, personality, just everything about you was so perfect. Being this close made him want to hug you, kiss you, and it didn't help that he could see your extremely kissable lips from the mirror.

As soon as he was done he squeezed your waist, checking if everything was in the right place. Once he was sure you wouldn't be uncomfortable in the clothes, he let go of your waist, though not really wanting to, he liked being close to you.

You murmered a thank you, and quickly left the room before he could see your red face.

If you could tell him you love him, you would, but he was a Timelord, and you were a human, and he could never want someone like you.

If he could tell you he loves you, he would, but he was a Timelord, and you were a human, and you could never love an alien.

Little did they know..

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Hi, if you’re still doing Doctor Who fanfics, I was wondering if you could please write a silly little 11th Doctor x Platonic!TimeLord reader where they are best friends and have a relationship dynamic like Joey and Frankie from the Basement Yard Podcast.

Like they’re in a dangerous scenario and one of them makes a joke and they both just start laughing. Or when they’re on the TARDIS they’ll be arguing and then one of them says something that reminds them of a song and they both just start singing it. And they use insults and a term of endearment.

I think this would be really fun and silly, but no worries if you don’t want to.

Thanks<3

okay I’m gonna be honest, I have no idea who those guys are but I’ll still do this idea.

Okay so one thing the 11th doctor is the best next to Tennant (yeah I’m biased cause Matt smith is MY doctor).

and yeah being friends with 11’s doctor is a WILD ride!!

yet at the same time you guys just click with one another from the moment you guys meet.

let’s say both of your chaotic energies just mesh together like fish fingers and custard hehehe

and that sometimes can be pretty strange or confusing to others especially when it comes to saving the galaxy

like this one time when you, the doctor and the Ponds got ambushed by the Daleks.

“Resistance is futile. Prepare to be exterminated!”

“Damn and I think I left the stove on in the Tardis.” You say.

at that comment 11 couldn’t help but say.

”how many times does this make? The fourth? The fifth?”

”lucky number seven actually my friend. But you’ve forgotten plenty of times. Remember when you thought a grease fire could be extinguished with water?”

“And you could’ve told me that?”

after briefly glaring at one another you both start to laugh.

“What is all this?” Proclaimed one of the daleks.

”it’s better you go with it” Amy said.

There was also another time with some space pirates that had taken a town hostage for their crops and money (real bugs life type situation)

they had you and the gang in cages along with the villagers and the pirate captain was going on a villainous monologue of how he was superior than these foolish villagers.

"With the subordination of these meek-little farmers, soon the entire galaxy will know my name! BLAZER THE WRATHFUL!!!" the pirates soon uproared in celebration, but soon a loud laugh overcame that.

It was your laughter.

"Something funny monkey!?"

"I'm sorry, I-I'm sorry my dude, did you say your name is Blazer-fury?"

"Yes!"

"So do you--shoot blazers out of wrath?" you ask.

"Enough out of you! Or we'll kill you first!"

But you couldn't help but snicker under your breath. The Captain turns back to you demanding what's funny.

"I'm sorry. My guy I am soo sorry. I just keep thinking to myself of how every morning you standing in front of them mirror saying to yourself, 'You know what would be a real kick-ass name! BLAZER THE WRATHFUL!!' HAHAHAHAH! That's how I hear you in my head. Remember Doc like that movie?!"

"Which one? You mean the Dinosaur one? Ahh I remember when we got to have those dinos on a space ship. That was a fun time."

"No, no, no Doctor you know the one with the talking Raccoon."

"Oh yeah. Huh? Art imitates life."

"RIGHT!?!? HEY! HEY CAP! What was your second choice gonna be? BLAZER THE SCROTUM HEAD!?"

At your comment, you had his entire crew laughing when Blazer the wrathful puleld you against the bars, his sword to your neck as he sneered.

"That's it wench! You die now!"

"Well, dying would certainly be better than living in a galaxy where a misogynistic moron who thinks Blazer the Wrathful is a kickass name." you said bluntly before using your taser gun that River gave you the last time you both met.

In the end, you all saved the village and defeated the piarates.

Overall, when it comes to being you and the Doctor, you better watch out cause there's bound to be some chaos, mischief, and a bit of eye-rolling due to their chaotic energy together.

"Hey Doc! Where's the flux-capacitor on SEXY?"

"She doesn't have one of those, this is a TARDIS, not a Delorian."

"Do you think she'd be able to transform into that?"

"No! I like her this way and this way she'll stay."

"Then can you make me a time-machine Delorian?"

"No."

"C'MON DOC!!"

Yeah, chaotic energy at the max.

[at1nys-blog]

Masterlist

【Doctor!reader】

↳ ₊❏❜ ⋮ ⌒ My own Valkyrja (15th Doctor)

【9th】

↳ ₊❏❜ ⋮ ⌒ nothing yet

【10th】

↳ ₊❏❜ ⋮ ⌒ nothing yet

【11th】

↳ ₊❏❜ ⋮ ⌒ nothing yet

【12th】

↳ ₊❏❜ ⋮ ⌒ nothing yet

【13th】

↳ ₊❏❜ ⋮ ⌒ nothing yet

【14th】

↳ ₊❏❜ ⋮ ⌒ nothing yet

【15th】

↳ ₊❏❜ ⋮ ⌒ nothing yet

[fabulouspotatosister]

PART TWO: Bad Day

word count: 1515

a/n: part two! it's been quite a bit. to be really honest school has been beating me up in the creativity department, so since it's died down a little bit i had some time to write and now we have the second part of this series! i hope you all enjoy it <3

[part zero] [part one] [part two: you are here.]

Look after me, alright? Be back soon.

Look after me, alright? Be back soon.

Look after me, alright? Be back -

The transmission pauses. The Doctor's youthful face flickers at you as a translucent image of him stands beside the TARDIS console. His smile - and damn him, of course he's smiling - is wide and bright, his posture open and calm. It’s difficult to not smile back - there’s something about the expression on his face that soothes you, somewhat. You remember watching this message for the first time, completely alone in the TARDIS, tears streaming down your face, and still trying to form a smile over wobbling lips, as if he could see you. As if he could reach out and reassure you that everything would be alright.

The TARDIS hums.

“I’m okay,” you lie. “I just needed to -”

To what? Hear him again? See him again? You already do that. John walks through your front door every evening with the same kind of smile on his face and the same kind eyes. He says hello the same way and laughs the same way and lounges on chairs the same way (relaxed, with one leg crossed over the other, like he’s sitting on a throne). You blink tiredly at his hologram.

John Smith is everything like the Doctor and somehow nothing like him.

The TARDIS warbles and a screen jumps to life - John’s walking through the door, arms full of paper bags. He nudges the door closed with his foot, grinning at nothing in particular. “Anyone home?” he calls out, “Could use some help with these - oof -”

You pat the TARDIS console affectionately. The TARDIS gives another, higher pitched hum, that almost rattles the floor underneath you. “Gotta go, old girl.”

The TARDIS doors lock behind you when you leave. It’s strange, really - the blue police box looks massive tucked into the corner of your room. The ship could have gone and hid anywhere else - on a deserted street, in a dark alleyway, and yet it chooses to stay in your humble abode amongst unfolded clothes and discarded water bottles.

“Hello?” John’s voice rings from outside your door. “Y’know, it would be such a shame if I ate all of these crisps by myself - and they happen to be a certain special someone’s favorite flavor - and also the last bag in the shop -”

Deep breaths. You run a hand through your hair, fix your cardigan, and rub your eyes with your palms. He won’t notice, right?

You step out (making sure not to open the door too wide behind you), giving John the smallest of “hi”s in response. “I heard something about crisps?”

John’s big grin drops for half a second, and your heart drops to the bottom of your chest. It’s only half a second before the grin comes back, as bright as ever.

“Okay, so you’re not deaf. I was worried there for a bit.” He picks up the bag of crisps and shakes it. They are your favorite flavor. The kind you’d sneak onto the TARDIS and stash in your room every time you made a stop in 21st century Earth. “I thought you’d like some.”

“Oh, thanks - !”

You can barely get the words out before you’re engulfed in his arms - he’s grabbed you by the shoulders and pulled you flush against him, wrapping his arms around you and squeezing so tightly that you squeak involuntarily at the motion. It’s so unexpected and yet expected all at the same time because it’s so him, isn’t it, to wrap you up in a hug at the drop of a hat.

John’s arms are still firmly on your shoulders when he pulls away, and when he looks into your eyes you forget for a moment that he’s supposed to be human. Pretty emerald eyes bore into yours, searching. “Are you okay?” he asks.

“Yeah,” you lie (again, too easily), “why do you ask?”

“Well, I -” John sighs and lets go of one of your shoulders to rub the back of your neck. His next words are hushed and carefully spoken, like stepping over pieces of jagged, broken glass. “You’ve been so - quiet recently. And you always look so - “ He pauses, considers his next word, and then frowns as he says it - “sad all the time. I thought I’d, you know, try to cheer you up a bit.”

“I don’t look sad,” you say, trying your best to grin, “if anything I’m tired from sitting in front of a laptop all day. I’m fine.”

It doesn’t really work, since his already-present frown just grows deeper. “No, no, no, exactly like that,” John replies, his gaze still as intense as before. “I ask if you’re okay and you say it’s nothing but it’s never nothing. Not to me.”

John swallows. “You’re my best friend. I’m doing this ‘cos I care about you.”

In the dim light of your kitchen, his face lit by one weak light bulb, long coat draped over his shoulders, his form changes. The shadows that crease his face shift and distort, and suddenly he's the Doctor, holding you by the shoulders and telling you in the middle of a battlefield while bullets rain above you, "You're important, and I care."

They're the same man. They're the same man, and goddamnit, he's so warm and if he cares then so do you -

John startles and grips onto your shoulders tighter. "Hey, you're trembling."

"N-no, I'm not," you mutter. But your body betrays you - every part of you feels like it's vibrating. Your fingers find no purchase in the fabric of John's coat (it's not tweed, but wool, and not the right color too) as he gently guides you down to the couch.

"I can feel it," John says, his lips parted slightly in surprise. He is so pretty worried - the look in his eyes, the crease of his brow as he examines you. You want to stop looking at him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Stop that," he replies, short and stern. "I meant what I said, you know. You don't have to talk about it if you want to, but you shouldn't lie to me if you're feeling bad. Or yourself. I wanna help."

How would you help, John? you think. You dig one hand into the pocket of your cardigan and clasp your hand around the fob watch, his memories, him. What could I say that would even make sense to you? What could I say that wouldn't shatter your entire existence?

"Bad day," you whisper. "Just - talk to me?"

John peers into your eyes for another moment. For that simple, fleeting moment there is nothing else.

"Okay," he says finally, just barely a whisper. "C'mere."

He settles onto the couch next to you, his lithe figure almost disappearing into the pillows, and outstretches his arms. You blink at him once, twice.

"What are you doing?"

"Helping," John says simply, grinning at you. "Now, get over here."

You blink at him a third time. "Why?"

"Because I know you like hugs?"

You bite back a sigh of frustration. You do like hugs.

Without another word, you shuffle up next to him. He wraps his arms around you, one at a time, and rests his chin on the top of your head. You're in his arms, and you're terrified, but it isn't the contact that scares you. It's that warmth of his that you love (loathe) so much. It creeps onto your skin, seeps inside, and burns you from within.

"Talk. Yes, I can do that, and incredibly well, actually," John begins, one of his hands finding a place on the small of your back. "It's how I got my job - and speaking of job, I've made a new friend at the school."

That stokes the flames in you higher. It shouldn't. "Yeah? What's her name?"

"Lilly," he replies, and the way it rolls off his tongue makes your blood boil. "She's the new high school English teacher. We've been paired up as the emcees for the bequeathal ceremony - I guess they couldn't get enough of my unending charm, eh? Eh?"

"Tell me about her."

"Well, she's quite nice - really cheerful, really bright, amazing with the youngins. Kind of shocked me that she was in the high school department, really, since she seems to love the children more. But she's got a wonderful voice! Really catches your attention. I suppose that's why..."

You take a deep breath in - the cool night air that fills your lungs does nothing to douse the fire. You don't know if he can feel your skin blazing. Images flash in your mind - a formless figure standing next to him, laughing with him, holding him - there isn't anything wrong with him having friends, he's had many before her, and yet -

And yet -

"You're shaking again," John says. He looks down at you with that same look of concern, the same one you can never lie to. "Still okay?"

"Yeah," you say, another lie spilling from your lips. You lie there, safe in his arms, and unbeknownst to him you're burning alive.

.-. . – . – -… . .-.

taglist: @yourneighbourhoodclown, @okay-j-hannah, @fluffy-hazard, @beeblisss

[diamondwaters]

❝ love is a choice ❞ chapter xii

summary: what was meant to be a simple, calm trip to an intergalactic museum ended up becoming a a trip through memories the doctor rather wanted to forget. only they weren't her memories. they were yours.

pairing: thirteenth doctor x reader (primary), eleventh doctor x reader

word count: 5.0k

warnings: bad past relationships

author's note: welcome to the chapter that i have been WAITING FOR!! i've had this chapter in mind for months and now there time is finally here!! that being said, i am very, very sorry for what you are about to read

The dance club melted away. The interior of the Williams-Pond living room came into view. The four of you were sitting on the couch in front of the television, a bad reality show playing at full volume. You rested a bowl of custard on your lap, all of you dipping cod fish fingers into it to recreate the first dish she consumed (and enjoyed because there were many she ate and despised) when she regenerated into her eleventh face.

“Yeah,” the Doctor nodded. “It’s okay.”

“What are you all doing?” Ryan questioned in reference to the food the four of you were sharing.

“We,” The Doctor prepped for the inevitable confusion/disgust. “Are eating fish fingers and custard.”

“You’re eating what and what?” Yaz gasped while Graham quietly gagged.

“Fish fingers and custard, I’ll have you know, is an absolute delicacy!”

The Doctor turned her back to them with a mask of indignation. Really, she just wanted to have a moment to herself before the storm that was about to happen in front of them. Every moment after that dance was one more moment towards the last day the Doctor had with you. Your time together was almost like a hill. The journey up was long, arduous, but from the top, you feel invincible—all it takes is a single misstep for you to tumble down the other side.

“If I had a restaurant,” The Doctor mumbled with a mouthful of fish fingers. “This would be all I’d serve.” 

“Yeah right,” Amy scoffed. “You running a restaurant.”

“I’ve run restaurants before. Who do you think invented the Yorkshire pudding?” 

Rory chuckled at first, but then his face loosened with realization. “You didn’t.” 

The Doctor held a fish finger covered in a massive dollop of custard. “Pudding yet savory. Sound familiar?” 

The four of you were meant to observe the black cubes that were scattered around almost an entire year ago. In all that time, they’d done nothing but end up as paperweights or something to throw into the trash when you don’t have the space anymore. After day 113, you had about given up on trying to figure them out in favor of maintaining your sanity. 

“Mr. Pond,” Amy took the bowl from the Doctor’s hand when it was practically empty. “Come help me put these away?” 

You saw her plan before it was even fully in motion. Amy wasn’t as slick as she liked to think, but she was definitely as persistent as she made herself out to be. 

You hadn’t told the Doctor how you felt yet. In that time, though, you’d gotten better at being around him without your tongue becoming lead in your mouth. Every so often, you’d fumble through a conversation by the skin of your teeth, but those interactions were becoming far and few between. You’d even gotten back into your routine of going at each other’s throats, only to you, it felt less feral and more playful. You were happy with what you had with him, platonic or otherwise.

Regardless of your contentment with your relationship with the Doctor, you knew that Amy was not. She took any and every chance she got to let you know that you needed to get it together and tell him. If there was even the possibility of a moment where she could get the two of you alone, she manipulated the scene so that she had the two of you right where she wanted you. At that time, she was forcing Rory and herself out of the room so they could “clean the dishes together” as if it wasn’t an easy, one-person task. Most times, though, those manipulations ended in failure. Either you chickened out or the Doctor couldn't stand by you long enough for you to get a word out.

“Well,” The Doctor said with an abrupt jump off the couch. “I should get going. I told Kate that I would discuss the cubes again with her soon.” 

“Do you have to go just yet? I mean, the cubes haven’t done anything, right?” You pretended to be blasé about it, but you really wanted him to stay a few extra moments. “And they still have a couple contestants left if you wanna, you know, finish watching before you have to go.”

The Doctor looked like he was contemplating his next move before returning to his place next to you. “Alright, I suppose I can stay until the end of the episode. You know, I’m really starting to see the appeal of these reality TV shows. They’re all so... real! With real people and real things that happen to those real people!” 

You sucked in a large breath through your teeth, “I hate to break it to you, Doctor, but most of those shows are scripted. The people are real but…”

The Doctor’s face practically fell, and a pang of slight guilt filled your system, “Really? Even the American one with the dancing children and the mean lady?” 

“I think the trauma from that show was real, just not the drama.”

“Oh, look at you,” The Doctor rejoiced with a clap. “Rhyming! I must be wearing off on you, aren’t I? Next thing you know, you’ll be making those puns you hate so much.” 

“Oh, shut it,” You giggled, pressing your shoulder to his in a show of affection. “I don’t hate puns, I just hate yours.” 

“So you say, but I think that you’re starting to like starshine!” The Doctor surmised. 

If you admitted that you really were starting to like that nickname, the Doctor would never let you hear the end of it. If he found out that it made your heart beat just a little bit faster, he would boast until something else gathered his attention, then continue once he remembered. Sometimes you weighed the cost of having to live with the bragging against without, just so you could hear the nickname just a bit more. Pride overruled your choice in the end.  

“Did you really invent the Yorkshire pudding? Or are you just messing again?” You asked out of genuine curiosity and a hint of attempted diversion. 

“No, I really did! I also made the popsicles but some child from California beat me to the patent,” The Doctor’s tone got surprisingly serious for a beat. “I still hold a grudge against Frank Epperson to this very day.” 

That same desire to learn more about the Doctor reappeared after its short-lived dormancy. Instead of the interest in the Doctor’s sad past, you wanted to know the small things. All the times the Doctor said something outlandish, you would brush it off as another one of his idiosyncrasies. Now, you would be happy with any little piece you could get. “What else have you done, huh? What? Were you D.B. Cooper too? Banksy?” 

“I actually was Banksy, yes, so you can be sure that these cubes weren’t me.”

Graham gasped, “You weren’t kidding about that?”

“Seriously?” You gaped. “We’ve known each other– what? Eight years now?” 

“And what a wonderful eight years it’s been!” The Doctor exclaimed, trying to keep the sadness at bay. 

Despite having spent so much time together in the past year, what with the cubes and all, you knew that the Doctor was starting to miss the three of you. He was beginning to understand that your adventures wouldn’t be as frequent as they had once been. Adulthood, real adulthood with bills and jobs and responsibilities, crept up on you. You weren’t able to drop everything at the sound of the TARDIS’s engines to galavant across alien planets. It sucked, but that was just the reality of your situation. 

That being said, you were a little bit okay with the cubes appearing on Earth. It meant that the Doctor wasn’t popping off in his box to fly away for however many months, only to return with the offer of meeting Stevie Nicks in the 70s. He was there, present, with all of you in all your adulthood glory. He was impatient as all hell during your time together, but he stayed. Even if it was just for a year, which in the grand scheme of his life was nothing more than a blip, it meant a lot to you. 

“And in those eight years you didn’t tell us any of this?” 

“Well, who knows?” The Doctor shrugged. “Maybe one day I’ll tell you all of it. Maybe even get into my time as a ghostwriter for Nancy Drew! And at one point the Rainbow Magic series but please do not give that information to anyone.”

“Don’t worry I won’t,” You laughed. Your hand inched towards the Doctor’s, and from the corner of your eye, you could see that the Doctor noticed. His hand remained where it had been and stayed there when you put yours on his. “And I would really like to hear all of it one day.”

The Doctor’s fingers stilled in yours but didn’t make a move to retract them. You watched as they shifted beneath yours. His thumb brushed against the back of your hand, leaving a trail of warmth in its wake.

You’d fallen into the trap that Amy and River had set for you. Both of them telling you that the Doctor had feelings for you made you believe it too. So did how you and the Doctor danced together that night at Club Tredecim. When he relaxed in your arms, when you felt the beat of his hearts against your chest, it felt right.

You considered that you were deluding yourself; love can do that to a person. But even if you were wrong, you would rather be that than live with the thought of what might have been, even if it would hurt like hell. You wanted to choose to love the Doctor, and you hoped that if he felt the same, he would choose to love you back.

“Listen, I-” But you didn’t want to talk anymore. Maybe the term 'now or never' was obsolete when you're a time traveler, but...

Your lips just barely ghosted the Doctor’s. They were soft, warm, and completely different from how you thought they’d feel. They also weren’t moving.

It was incredibly difficult to peel your lips from the Doctor’s. Not because you loved the kiss, even though you did- but because you already knew what you would see when you pulled away: the Doctor, his face contorted in an expression of shock, confusion, and the emotion that broke you as much as it might him, sorrow.

The Doctor’s mouth did that thing, the thing where it bobbed like a fish. You used to love that face. It meant that you were able to catch the Doctor with something that not even he could predict. And to see it right there in front of you meant that he didn’t see this coming. It meant that he didn’t feel what you felt. You made a mistake. This was wrong. You were wrong.

“I-” You could feel your heart trying to crawl up your throat. “S-Shit, I- I thought that- I wasn’t- Fuck, I’m so sorry-”

“Y/N, plea-” Why did it hurt more for him to use your real name?

“No, don’t! D-Don’t, um, I- I should go-!”

You were scrambling in every sense. You were struggling to rip the blanket the four of you shared from your body. It clung to you, the fabric sticking to your skin like a fucking parasite. When you finally managed, you couldn’t even jam your shoes on without almost tripping over the rug while doing it. And all the while, you were just saying words in no particular order. Whatever came to mind first, you said it. It didn’t matter if it made sense. Nothing needed to, because nothing did. 

“W-Wow, so, I’m just- Gotta- I should- I’m so sorry,” The tears had already reached your chin, but you didn’t even remember feeling them until one dropped onto your hand. You frantically wiped it off with the sleeve of your jacket that you were heaving on. “I knew I didn’t- Why would I deserve it-?” 

“Hey, wait, don’t say-” 

“I should’ve just left it alone- Shit! Where the fuck are my keys?” You cried out. 

“What’s going-” Amy came out from the kitchen following the sudden eruption of noise. 

“Sorry!” You babbled so that Amy didn’t have enough time to take in the situation. “It’s, um, work emergency!” 

“What-? But-” 

“Gotta go, I love you! Amy! I love you, Amy!” 

You didn’t wait for Amy’s reply but heard her shout at the Doctor through the door, “What did you do?” 

The isolation of your car only brought you mild security. You didn’t feel any kind of safety until you sped down the street, further and further away from Amy’s house and the fucking blue box parked out front. Even looking at her, the roof especially, was like looking at a treasured photograph, scratched and yellowed with age. 

You knew you shouldn’t have been driving in those conditions. People got into accidents over lesser things than the inability to see through tears. You slowed to a halt in an empty parking space by the pavement. You felt bad for whoever lived in the houses surrounding you because if they looked outside their window, they’d see someone with tears streaking their cheeks. Someone hunched over the wheel while trying just to get a proper breath into their lungs.

Colors began to blur together, like sidewalk chalk in the rain. You couldn’t see any shapes through the screen of your tears, and the lines of the book you were trying to read were nothing but black blobs. Eventually, you just gave up trying to hold them back and slammed the book shut. 

You squeezed your eyes tightly to push the building salt water out faster. If you forced them out, maybe you could be done and over with this crying fest. Even though people didn’t often come to the lake at this time, there was still the risk of someone deciding to have a sunset date. The last thing you wanted was for some people to walk up on you having a breakdown. It wasn’t even finals week yet, so you had no excuse, really. 

The lake was always the one place on campus where you felt safe. You always sat in the pink chair because it gave you the best west-facing view for when the sun went down. 

You could think there. Breathe. And you needed nothing more than to take several thousand deep breaths after the afternoon that you had. 

The day hadn’t started so horrible, but when you were meant to meet up with your partner, you’d been ambushed with a conversation that you really didn’t want to have in the student lounge. When you had asked to go somewhere perhaps a little quieter, he refused, saying that if you did, you would find some excuse to rush off. You’d say that you had a huge essay due in the morning that couldn’t wait or that your professor’s office hours were going to be over soon. Worst of all was that he might have been right. 

You’d hoped that going to your favorite spot might give your mind a little more clarity, but it was still cluttered with the exact words from him that repeated over and over. 

“Excuse- Ow!” 

One word from an unknown source, and you sprang into action. The book you’d closed was suddenly launched at your unsuspecting target. You didn’t even see his face before he crumpled to the ground after a direct hit to the forehead. You only caught a quick glimpse of gray hair before your adrenaline died, and reason was resurrected. 

You’d just fucking hit an old guy.

Regret flooded through you in an instant. “Oh, my- Shit! Fuck, I’m so sorry, sir!” 

You ran towards the man to help him up, but he was already rising to his feet. 

“It-It’s alright!” His voice was heavy with an accent. What was it? You were so discombobulated, but it was right on the top of your tongue. 

“I’m sorry, I-I just got scared!” Was it Irish? 

“It’s quite fine, I assure-” Or one from Yorkshire? 

“I didn’t hurt you too much, did I?” Geordie? 

“No, not at all,” Oh. Oh, how could you miss it? Your own best friend was Scottish, you should’ve been able to spot that from a mile away. “Really, I’m alright. Are you?” 

You blinked blankly, “What?” 

“Well, I was coming here to see the, um, the sunset. A colleague of mine who works here says it’s one of the most gorgeous sights they’ve ever seen,” The man explained with a few fatigued huffs. “Wanted to see it for myself, but… I heard you crying.” 

“Oh,” You said before breaking off into a groan. You slapped the palms of your hands to your face, the tears that weren’t even dry yet seeping into your skin. “Oh, that’s so nice of you. And I hit you with a book, oh my God!”

“Really, I’m fine,” The man brushed off some of the sand from his jacket, which you noticed was torn at the left shoulder. He saw you eyeing the rip, “Ah, this. I was– well, I was trying to grab some nuggets from the cafeteria. Apparently the volleyball players on the women’s team are pretty aggressive when it comes to those.” 

You hesitantly snickered, “They’re pretty vicious, aren’t they?” 

“Indeed,” The man agreed. He pulled out a black wallet with an ID inside. He presented it to you for a few seconds before stuffing it into his pocket. “Dr. John Smith. I lecture at St. Luke’s University in Bristol. I’m here for a conference but just, you know, wanted to see the lake.” 

“I bet you didn’t expect to be attacked twice,” You murmured guiltily. “I’m Y/N, I’m just a student here. I should let you-” 

“You never answered my question.” 

You noted a slight shaking in his legs while he uprighted himself. “Do you wanna sit down?” 

Dr. Smith mentally weighed his options but eventually followed you to the array of painted wooden beach chairs dug deep into the sand.

“So,” Dr. Smith started once he was seated in the yellow chair next to yours. “What’s got you so upset?” 

You bit your bottom lip while trying to think of how to say this. You were never the best at these kinds of things, but you hoped that talking to someone with no prior opinion of you– if you overlooked throwing a hardcover novel at his head– might make it a little easier. “I don't know. Nothing big, just… love? I guess? Or lack of, maybe?” 

“Ahh, love,” Dr. Smith sighed dolefully. “I know all about that.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Of course,” He shrugged passively. “I’ve lived a long life. I’ve fallen in love many times, but… Well, there’s always one that sticks with you, isn’t there? Sometimes, it’s your first love and others will be the one you lost. But there’s always one.” 

You weren’t sure if you had had that yet. Yeah, there were romances that you looked at fondly, but you couldn’t pinpoint the one that stuck out above the rest. If you had to, you might say this one. So far, it’s been the one that left you the most hollowed out once it was over. You hoped that would change someday. 

“I’ll tell you my tragic love story if you tell me yours.” 

You instantly wanted to put the words back into your mouth. This man was a complete stranger to you. You couldn’t just say shit like that and expect him to– 

Dr. Smith was laughing. And it didn’t seem like he was shocked by your retort, not at all. He was laughing like someone who would expect this kind of behavior from you, not some ignorant to your dry wit. “O-Okay! I’ll take you up on that. 

“There was someone. A long time ago. We both traveled together, you see. At first, we didn’t like each other. We were always fighting, driving our friends who traveled with us to the brink of madness. But then that was because we were so similar. Too similar. The two of us might as well have been mirrors of one another. And that… I think that made both of us terrified. More so myself than them- I'm not so sure about that now- but that was because I knew they could hurt me… One look at them smiling the brightest I’d ever seen them and I knew. So, I started running. Then they did too. We ran in opposite directions to the point that when I finally decided I could turn around… I couldn’t see them anymore. I’d lost them.” 

“That sounds like something I would do. Well, I guess it sounds like something I have done,” You swallowed the cry that was building in your throat. Dr. Smith was waiting patiently next to you, but you could sense his anticipation. “Running, I mean. That’s kinda how my last relationship ended. And some of my other ones too. We were close to getting real, I think. We were talking about after graduation and life and it just… I started throwing myself into my work. He said that I was doing it because I was afraid. That I was a coward, because I was trying to get away. Then, he said that…” 

This was the blow that took you down. “That I deserve to be alone.” 

You knew it wasn’t true, but it didn’t mean that those words didn’t try to tattoo themselves into your insides. The more you kept repeating it, the faster the ink dried. You were so desperately trying to stop yourself, but it wasn’t like the human brain was adept at listening to commands. 

“And I know he was just mad-!” 

“Doesn’t matter,” Dr. Smith interrupted. “No one deserves to be alone. No one deserves to be told that. Whoever told you that is a complete idiot. A total moron! Should be ashamed of himself!” 

“But he wasn’t wrong. At least, not about me being scared.” 

The truth was that this was a pattern, and one you didn’t even mean to continue. Most times, when you got like this, the relationship fizzled out on its own, like a campfire that didn’t get poked enough. This was the first one that ended up in an explosion with fiery debris. You’d felt horrible on all accounts, regardless of whether or not the end was incendiary, but you didn’t have to confront yourself with your inadequacies until someone pointed them out. You didn’t have to force yourself to come to the conclusion that you really were terrified.

“I had a friend once who said that love was a choice,” Dr. Smith began. His eyes remained fixed on the water, but you could see he was more present than he wanted to appear. “She had said it to my star… Well, suffice it to say that I spent a very long time trying to figure out what that meant. If I could have chosen not to love them, I would. It might have saved us both the pain. But then, I understood. You choose love despite the pain, because there always will be in the end. As dark as that sounds, it’s true. And I’ll always… I’ll always wonder how things might have been different if I made another decision.” 

That was really a beautiful way to look at it… But was it actually that easy? It didn’t feel like the entirety of love could be defined as something someone can choose. When you were with some of your exes, you didn’t feel like there was any decision to make. There was only one option in front of you, and it was one you were comfortable making time and time again. 

Maybe you just hadn’t found a love worth choosing yet. That was a nice thought. 

“Do you still love them?” You spotted the lack of a ring on his left hand. 

Dr. Smith smiled wistfully, “I do.” 

“Do you know if they’re still out there?” You wondered. 

“I haven’t seen them in years,” Dr. Smith shook his head woefully. “They’re gone from my life.” 

“Mmm,” You hummed. “Not gone then.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“They might still be out there. By some beautiful miracle, it might not be too late to reconcile. I know it’s probably just hopefulness but… Hope is a good thing, isn’t it?” 

Dr. Smith smiled, reaching his eyes, “That it is.” 

“Do you know what I think?” You asked gently.  

“What’s that?” 

“I think that if life ever hands you that miracle and you get the chance to see them again, you should tell them– nothing else! You should tell them ‘I choose to love you.’” 

Dr. Smith pulled his eyes away from the lake to look at you. His eyes were questioning, but you would understand that his words were not. He said back, “I choose to love you.” 

“Exactly!” You nodded excitedly. “They’ll understand, I just know it.” 

You heard someone shout your name from the direction of the dorms. You recognized it as your roommate’s but made no move to respond. She could wait one moment. 

“Aren’t you going to go see your friend?” He asked with a slight head nod but not looking away. 

His question went unanswered. You rolled out of your chair and dropped to your knees beside the arm of his chair. For a moment, you stared at him. You look in every curled lock of wild gray hair, every wrinkle, every speck of color inside the blue of his eyes beneath those bushy brows. Your hand fell delicately against the apple of his cheeks, sunken slightly from age. His skin wasn’t soft like it had been before, but it was a welcoming sensation all the same. 

“It was him,” You whispered. “Wasn’t it?” 

"Maybe," Dr. Smith- the Doctor acknowledged. 

"I should've noticed," You chastised yourself, your lips curled into themselves to keep a sob inside. It didn't work. "I-I should've noticed that it was him. I know him… I just… I should have known it was him that day and maybe…" 

The Doctor brought his hand to yours. It felt so different from the Doctor you knew, but then, you'd never touched this Doctor's hand. You wouldn't ever really know what it felt like. You'd have to be content with only the idea of how it might have been to hold his hand. "Give yourself some credit. You were hurting." 

He was so much older. You knew the Doctor had completely different faces when he regenerated, but this… If it weren't for the eyes, and if it weren't for the gift of memory, you never would have even known. You might have lived the rest of your life thinking that this man was no more than a stranger passing by. Perhaps the Doctor just got his timing wrong again. 

You had seen the Doctor’s previous faces. You remembered how all eleven of them looked, and this one never appeared in TARDIS files. This face was new. He must have regenerated into him. And that meant there were probably years worth of things that he’d gone through. You wanted to know what those things were, who he’d met, but you needed to know if he had been alone through it all. You couldn’t be there, but you prayed upon the stars that he forsook his stubbornness and offered companionship to some lucky girl despite everything you said. 

“He looks so tired.” 

You heard your roommate again, this time more insistent. You couldn’t stay in this moment forever. That’s what she said, without having to say more than your name. 

“Just… can I hear him say it before I go?” 

You would never see this face again, and you only wanted to hear him call you, “Starshine.” 

Trying to bite back a choked, pathetic mixture of a laugh and a cry and failing, you lowered yourself back into your seat to the exact position you’d been in before. Even when you slipped back into the ignorance of the memory, the imprint of his cheek against your hand wouldn’t leave you. You turned your head to see your roommate with bags from the cafeteria. In an act of kindness, she said she’d grab you both dinner and some ice cream to dig into from the convenience store. “That’s my friend. I should–” 

When you looked back to tell Dr. Smith you needed to go, the yellow beach chair was empty. You didn’t see him anywhere nearby, and there didn’t even seem to be any trace that he was there with you at all; it was like he had just up and vanished. 

“Hey!” Your roommate greeted you. Her eyebrows furrowed at your concerned expression. “Everything alright?” 

“Um,” The fresh tears that weren’t there at the time dripped into the corner of your mouth. The saltiness tasted like regret. “Y-Yeah. Fine. So, what’d you get?”

“That lake…” Graham muttered. “I know that lake. I’ve seen it before.”

“Gamma Pictoris,” Yaz stated, turning to the Doctor. “You accidentally took us there when we were trying to get to Gamma Pictoris. We went to the wrong place. This place.”

“It was just as beautiful as they said it was… The TARDIS took me there,” The Doctor began, not looking at anyone. “Right before I transformed into this face… I guess it was a good thing I was already going through the regeneration process because that book really hurt!”

She was laughing, but there was nothing comedic in her smile. There was centuries of grief for the love that she never got to save. When she looked at the face before this one, she saw it in his smile too. All that mourning, but never really knowing what for. Because the worst part about losing you was that there was no finality. She’d lost so many before you and more after, but she knew where they were. Even if it was in death… or abandonment, she knew.

In some wry, cruel fashion, the Doctor never had an ending with you.

“Guess she took me there to remind me.”

“Remind you of what, Doc?” Graham asked.

To keep looking for that ending. “I have to make a phone call.”

The Doctor rushed to her feet, making a swift exit while the emerging image of Manhattan appeared behind the glass.

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Ch. 12:  The Return of the Marchioness

Current Masterlist // Previous Story

Fandom: Doctor Who // Pairing: 11th Doctor x OFC

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Rory Williams could think of a thousand ways his stag night could've gone better but he was more focused on the first one because it involved his fiancee trying to seduce another man on the eve of their wedding! He would even overlook the fact the Doctor told him the terrible news after jumping out of his stag cake...in front of everyone else. He just couldn't believe his ears…

Well, that wasn't entirely true.

He could semi-believe that. He wasn't blind. Ever since Amy told him the story of how the Raggedy Doctor landed in her backyard he could see how enchanted Amy had been. She talked about both the Doctor and the Mother of Butterflies, but there was always a much more deep focus on the Doctor. He just always assumed that because the Doctor and Renata had returned, delivered an adventure, and left again that Amy would hopefully...let them go? He had been so wrong. Amy had just gone off with the Doctor and Renata at the first call and she hadn't even left him a text or given him a call just to let him know. It hurt on a whole other level.

Now there he was, inside the TARDIS - the box that Amy also spent years talking about - with Amy, who hadn't even given him a proper explanation. He just stood there, awkwardly looking around yet totally amazed because, well, it was the TARDIS.

Somebody cleared their throat but instead of seeing the Doctor again - because he'd dumped Rory and Amy into the console room then disappeared - Rory spotted a young woman coming down the staircase. Rory didn't remember her being around the two aliens in Leadworth. She looked around their age, presumably human. She had light skin, dark brown hair cascading over her shoulders and matching dark eyes.

"Hi, I'm Gabby," the girl came straight to Rory with a kind smile. She held a hand out for him to take.

"Uh...Rory…?" He glanced at Amy with a questioning look. Had she just ignored mentioning the girl to him?

"I traveled with Renata and the Doctor before they met Amy," Gabby explained for his sake. "I just...wasn't really there when they crashed into her backyard. Now I'm wishing I was so I could've set the record straight." She sent a deep glare to the woman in question. She couldn't believe what Amy had tried to do! All this time she'd been focused on keeping River Song away from the Doctor when she should've been focused on the girl already living inside the TARDIS.

"Well, um...nice to meet you," Rory said to be polite.

"I wish it was under better circumstances," Gabby shot another glare at Amy. "And I'm so sorry for what happened. I really don't know what would possess Amy to do something like that, especially when the Doctor was already with Renata."

"I didn't know that—" Amy tried to remind Gabby but was off sharply.

"That's not the point!" Gabby wouldn't yell only because poor Rory was standing right there. He had to be just as crushed as she knew Renata would be. The Doctor was trying to explain the whole thing to her right now. "God Amy, you have no idea what you did. Do you know how long it took me and Don…" She swallowed hard and momentarily looked away. She'd been about to say Donna. Donna would've had an entire cow with what happened. She sure would know how to fix things too. "It took a lot for me and a very good friend to help Renata and the Doctor finally get together, and it actually happened after we lost that friend...and now you've ruined them."

Amy swallowed hard now that she was feeling the guilt. She kept claiming that she didn't know the Doctor and Renata were together but...maybe that wasn't entirely all true. She did notice there were these extra lingering looks between them, the special smiles, maybe a bit of a flirt here and there...

Maybe she hadn't wanted to see it. It made it easier to go ahead with her plan.

"Rory," Gabby put her hands together and smiled at the man, "If you're willing, the Doctor did mention he would like to take you and Amy somewhere nice. But of course it's all up to you."

Rory thanked her with a small smile. It was his choice if he wanted to allow Amy to explain herself and it was his choice if he wanted to try and fix their relationship. "Where exactly is the Doctor? And Renata?"

"Ah, well," Gabby sighed but found another chance to glare at Amy, "If I know them, and I do, right now the Doctor is explaining what happened to Renata and she is going to be passive-aggressive about it but still be deeply affected by it to the point of putting their relationship status up in the air. Thanks Amy."

Amy swore she saw purple flash across Gabby's eyes. That scared her.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor really hated this moment, like he despised it with all his hearts. No matter how he re-arranged his words, it didn't make his story sound any better and that couldn't be. It simply couldn't.

There were tears in Renata's eyes and they kept building up the further the Doctor got through the story. Even if she tried to hold them back, and she really did, they kept coming. She didn't want to picture it but it kept coming to her. It was on a loop, really. "You kissed…"

"She kissed me," the Doctor quickly reminded Renata. It was the main point of his story but he suspected that it wouldn't really matter in her eyes.

Already Renata had changed out of her beautiful red dress she'd put on for their date. She went back to a pair of jeans and green-blue checkered shirt. Gabby had helped her get changed and even tried to do one of those hair buns Renata seemed to love so much. Renata had then pulled it all off, yanking some strands in the process, then proceeded to pin it all up in a messy hair bun, leaving several pieces dangling on the sides.

"It was just too good to be true," Renata was now walking down the corridors towards the console room. She learned that the Doctor had brought along Rory Williams to try and help the humans fix their relationship. She liked the idea and for now, that would be her focus. Of course she didn't exactly want to be around Amy at the moment, but Rory had no fault in it. He still deserved a chance to talk to her.

"No, no, don't do that!" the Doctor grabbed her by the arm and turned her around. The moment she could, she pried his hand off her. "You're mad at me and frankly, it's a little offensive! It's as if you think I wanted to kiss Amy!"

"So I'm not allowed to be upset?" she snapped.

"Well, it's not—"

"I should've known better! Us...it's not..." she swallowed down a lump in her throat. She wanted to cry so bad but what would be the point? Somewhere, she was sure River Song was laughing so hard right now.

"What?" the Doctor tried understanding but she'd cut off all telepathic connection between them the moment he told her what happened. "Ren…?" He tried touching her but she flinched away from him. He sighed and drew his hand back. "Renata, we were going to go on a date, you and I...why would you ever think that I would actually want to kiss Amy?"

"I don't doubt you," Renata said slowly, wanting to put all of her jumbled thoughts into at least one coherent sentence for him. She wanted to do so many things: scream, cry, lament, maybe cry again. "I just think that this might be a sign from the universe that we, us...it just doesn't work."

The Doctor froze at that. He looked at her, waiting for her to take such an awful statement back, but the only thing that happened was Renata shifting and looking away with fresh tears in her eyes. "Renata, why would you ever think that?"

"How did we start in the beginning?" she asked in a quiet whisper. It was all the Doctor needed to understand (the first reason anyways).

How they started their relationship the very first time on Gallifrey would always be bittersweet, one would say immoral…

"You cheated on your betrothed with me and I did the same to Elek," Renata took in a shaky breath as she finally gathered courage to look at him again. "Maybe this is our punishment. Doesn't it just fit?"

"Ren, don't do that," the Doctor's voice was as quiet as hers but it was begging for her to listen to him. He couldn't let this amazing thing between them just die because some human decided to get creative. "Please. I know that it's hard getting over this...unfortunate event, but I love you and you still love me."

"But what if it's just destined for heartbreak?" Renata stifled a sob. "I don't...I can't handle it a second time. Not again."

"Renata—"

She turned away from him and cleared off her tears. "We need to see if we can still salvage Amy's and Rory's relationship." Theirs was pretty much over…

...but the Doctor disagreed.

~ 0 ~

By the time Renata made it to the console, she was wearing her smile again. Gabby inwardly groaned. She was back to the 'hiding her emotions' thing again. Gabby confirmed it when she saw the look on the Doctor's face as he came into the room. Things hadn't gone well.

"Rory, hi," the Time Lady went straight to the young man. She offered him a hand to shake, much like Gabby had, but Rory could see that her smile was sad. He knew that one. He had it on too.

"Hello," he awkwardly said.

"So, I was thinking humans are always so fond of this little city in, um Europe," Renata started backtracking towards the console. "If you would like, uh...to visit for this date."

"You're actually taking us on a date?" Amy had to ask, still staring at Renata like she was waiting for the woman to burst into screams.

"Mhm," Renata barely looked at her once and it wasn't even out of anger. She just couldn't look at Amy. She had focused more on the controls instead.

The Doctor came up beside her, putting a hand over hers as she touched the lever. She craned her head away from him. "I was telling Renata that we should give you the choice to go out," he spoke to the couple while gripping Renata's hand. He wanted her to pay extra attention to his next words. "Because I get what happened. I really do. The life out there, it dazzles. I mean, it blinds you to the things that are important. I've seen it devour relationships and plans and I will not let that happen to you two…" He then leaned his head closer to Renata, even when she tried to move away, and whispered, "...nor us."

Gabby cleared her throat and raised her hand. "Um, can I make a suggestion?"

"Please," the Doctor almost begged. As of right now, Gabby Gonzalez was his absolute favorite and only ally in the world.

"Well, Ren was right. There is a city that's known to be romantic…"

~ 0 ~

The TARDIS materialized in the city of Venice, much to Amy's shock when they emerged from the box. Well, she and the Doctor came out first and then Gabby...Rory lingered inside with some serious reservations about the outside.

Renata ultimately came by him and chuckled, it was a genuine one too. "Don't worry, I've done the environmental checks. Nothing dangerous out here." She motioned Rory to go on out and he did...but slowly.

They were in a busy marketplace but it was Venice. They could see the water gently rolling behind them.

The Doctor flapped his arms open for the group. "Venice! Venezia! La Serenissima! Impossible city. Preposterous city!" He announced as if the group even needed it to be impressed. All three humans were so amazed by the sights. "Founded by refugees running from Attila the Hun. It was just a collection of little wooden huts in the marsh, but became one of the most powerful cities in the world. Constantly being invaded, constantly flooding... constantly... Just beautiful! Oh, you gotta love Venice. And so many people did. Byron, Napoleon, Casanova. Oooh, that reminds me…" He quickly checked his watch. "1580. That's all right. Casanova doesn't get born for 145 years. Don't want to run into him. I owe him a chicken."

"You owe Casanova a chicken?" Rory scrunched his face. That's not what he wanted to ask. The funniest things always came out of his mouth when he was stupefied.

"Long story. We had a bet," the Doctor said dismissively as he turned to face them. "Now think this as a wedding present, because, frankly, it's either this or tokens."

"Um, not tokens. There's no more tokens," Gabby suddenly said with a far too innocent look on her face for Renata to ignore. She stared at the girl like a hawk until she gave the explanation. "Donna and I sort of...used them. But the good news is, you're now in the lottery for some free tickets to an amusement park on the moon!"

The Doctor made a face but...that did sound kind of cool. He might check up on that later...with Renata...actually, he'd gladly give those tickets up if it meant Renata would look at him for a full minute right now.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Papers, if you please," an older man dressed finely came up to the group with a hand out for said papers. "Proof of residency, current bill of medical inspection."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. How inconvenient and imprudent. He was on a strict plan here! Still, he pulled out his psychic paper for the man to have a go. "There you go, fella. All to your satisfaction, I think you'll find."

It did the trick because suddenly the official was bowing at them. "I am so sorry, Your Holiness. I didn't realise."

"No worries. You were just doing your job. Sorry, what exactly is your job?"

"Checking for aliens, visitors from foreign lands what might bring the plague with them."

"Oh, that's nice See where you bring me?" Amy whacked the doctor's arm. "The plague! The plague!"

"Don't worry, Viscountess," the official said, giving a peek at what her cover up for the trip was. She approved. "No, we're under quarantine here, no-one comes in, no-one goes out, and all because of the grace and wisdom of our patron, Signora Rosanna Calvierri." He pointed to the crest on the box he was carrying.

"Sorry, that plague died out years ago," Renata said thoughtfully.

"Not out there, your honorable Marchioness."

Hearing her old period disguise brought an automatic blush to Renata's face. The Marchioness of Gallifrey, after all, had been the tip of the iceberg for her and the Doctor in their pre-relationship days. That was the moment they let themselves accept the fact that they were still so in love with each other. Not to mention it had also been a pretty fun adventurous night between them, sneaking into private rooms and going through King Henry's collections.

Renata looked at the Doctor to see her already doing the same, waiting for her to make that connection. It was still the same story between them no matter who tried getting in the way. He loved her as much as he did that night and their moments on Gallifrey.

"Signora Calvierri has seen it with her own eyes," the official went on to say. "Streets are piled high with bodies, she said."

"Did anyone ever think to check?" Gabby muttered. It couldn't be that hard to take a peek, would it?

Rory reached over to see the psychic paper. How was Amy a Viscountess and Renata a Marchioness? He grabbed it, not that the Doctor even seemed to realize as he walked over to Renata. "According to this, I am your eunuch!"

Renata scowled at the Doctor. "That was really rude!"

"I didn't do it!" the Doctor raised his hands. Stupid psychic paper was about to get him into further trouble. "It does what it wants sometimes."

"Oh, so now you think I'm stupid?" Renata rolled her eyes at him and moved away.

Gabby took the psychic paper from Rory to check for her disguise. She had a laugh when she saw she was Lady Gabby again. "Memories!" She looked up, gently letting the psychic paper hit her other hand. "Right Renata? I'm sorry, Marchioness."

The Doctor smiled. Gabby was getting it.

Renata could only afford a light smile but it was mostly directed towards Rory and Amy. "Well you two can go ahead and explore. Try not to get into trouble." She didn't necessarily wait for them to agree or disagree. She shooed them off and watched them go with a sigh.

"Doctor, you and Ren should go too," Gabby suggested and instead of answering, Renata turned back for the TARDIS. "No!" Gabby bolted towards the box, reaching it first, and barred the doors.

"Gabriella!" Renata frowned. "Get out of the way!"

"No! I'm not letting you go in there so you can wallow in self pity!"

"Gab—"

"You need to go take a walk and talk! Go!"

Renata could not believe Gabby was doing this and much more that the Doctor was just letting it happen. She looked back at him and saw his bemused smile. With a roll of her eyes, she backtracked. "I can't believe this!" She turned to leave with another huff and stormed away.

"Thanks Gabbs," the Doctor nodded at the girl, truly grateful for her help.

"Go get her," Gabby shooed him off. He didn't need to be told twice and raced after Renata. Once it was all clear, she pulled herself off the TARDIS and looked around. She was in Venice! Such a beautiful city!

"...I gotta get myself a boyfriend,"she concluded after realizing she was going to be exploring on her own. She remembered she still held onto the psychic paper and lifted it with a slow grin spreading across her face. She could have fun with it…

~0~

Renata made her way around a few stalls without particularly looking at what they were selling. Her mind was elsewhere at the moment and she doubted she would be able to focus on anything anytime soon.

The Doctor was right behind her, not letting her get away from him. He made it very clear to her that he wouldn't leave her alone until she agreed to talk. He was swallowing his own pride to make this possible. He knew that it was his fault and yet the way Renata acted made it seem like it was. It was frankly offensive but he wouldn't get into that right now. If he kept pushing on that, he would drive her away even more.

"Renée, you have to stop at some point," he said in a near sing-song manner. She had just stopped to try and focus on a few trinkets when he had said that so she dropped it and kept moving. With a roll of his eyes, the Doctor followed. "Nice one. So what's the plan, then? You're just going to ignore me for the rest of Time?"

Renata knew that would be impossible, but she wouldn't admit to that.

"Renata? What do you want to do? What do you need me to do? Whatever it is, I'll make it happen."

"I don't know," Renata muttered. She left the stalls to head into a less crowded passageway. It was more residents than sellers.

"Well that's helpful!"

Renata shook her head and came to a slow stop. She looked back at him with a grim face. "It's not easy, alright? There are so many things coming to fruit here and I'm...I'm scared."

How could she not be? River had made it seem like she really knew the Doctor. Amy had even assumed that she was his wife in the future. And now she even had Amy trying to wiggle her way into their relationship. What if this is how they start to drift apart? It paves the way for River to make her move and ultimately win. Thinking about the process, that she would have to see it happen…

Renata shut her eyes and turned her head away. She couldn't take that. It already hurt too much to think about it.

"Renée, tell me what you're thinking please," the Doctor took the few steps necessary to cut Renata off. He brought her gaze back to him with a finger under her chin. "Because whatever it is, I'm gonna correct it. I let you go once and I'm never letting it happen again."

"You can't do anything about it," Renata said quietly. "You can't do anything about the future."

"Future? What's that got to do with this?"

"Everything," she stepped away from him. "Amy trying to…" she crinkled her nose, she couldn't even bring herself to say it out loud, "What she did might be the start of us...ending things."

The Doctor frowned at the insinuation. "No! Absolutely not! Why would I ever want to be away from you?"

"Because you realize who I am...the type of person I am. A...fraud."

"What? Why would...Renata, I love you, but what kind of nonsense are you talking about?" Renata made a noise and turned to leave. The Doctor acted fast and rushed after her. "N-n-n-n-no! We were talking!"

"Doctor, what's the point?" Renata sighed, so close to tears again. She kept walking fast again. "Time is already acting and before you know it, we'll be right back where we started: heartbroken and alone."

She was talking nonsense. That's what she was doing. She was too hurt and scared so she was making things up to keep them apart before something else happened. But nothing would happen. The Doctor would make sure of that. He wanted to love her and make her happy…

He couldn't let her go.

"That's not happening!" The Doctor grabbed her arm and walked her up against a stone wall. Renata warily looked up at him, her hands on his arm trying to push him away. "You're acting just like your first incarnation, you know. You're scared of it because this is something new that's never happened to you. There's no plans for this! You're out of your comfort zone." He gently rubbed a few tears off her cheeks and wished he could take the ones in her eyes away too. She was looking at him so...desolate and heartbroken.

Funny, one of the things she claimed she wanted to avoid was already here.

"I always pull you into a no-plan zone, huh?" The Doctor smiled with guilt tracing his features. "I do more harm than good."

"It's not your fault," Renata stopped fighting him off and left her hands on his arms. "I know you didn't want anything with Amy but it could all be a warning, a glimpse into the future where you and I just don't end up together. There might be someone else waiting for you."

The Doctor couldn't think of where Renata picked up such a ridiculous idea. It was recent. She certainly hadn't mentioned this before, nor gave any indication that it was something she worried about. It was brand new. "Renata, the only one I want to be with is you. I can't believe I have to say that again but...if you need to hear it then so be it."

"But that's the thing, you can talk all you want but the future can say something else."

"No," the Doctor shook his head.

"You can't say 'no' to the future—"

"Do you know who I am? I'm saying no! And you know what else I say to the future?"

"What?"

"Here we—" he pressed his forehead against hers, letting their lips brush over each others, "—come. It's ours for the taking. Do you want to take it?"

Renata had trouble thinking of the answer when he was one movement away from a proper kiss. The Doctor smirked watching her follow his movements. She was answering without even saying it. She didn't need to.

"Oh my Renée, what shall we do now?"

She was aware he was tilting his head towards her, making it so that their lips would brush over each other's for a longer moment. "Don't…" she weakly protested but it barely sounded like one.

"Don't what?" the Doctor innocently asked and pressed his lips to the corner of Renata's mouth.

"There are people around!"

"So?"

Renata's words failed her as he continued to move his lips over hers. He wasn't kissing her but he was making her want him to. She felt her legs close to giving out, the feeling intensifying when he put a hand over her hip and gave it a light squeeze. She had to bite down her gasp but it wasn't done very well.

"We can't do this here," her voice had a pleasurable strain in it.

The Doctor loved it; he loved teasing her. "Ah, so you want to do something…" He was happy to point out to her. She would've frowned at him if she had all her senses together. "I'm happy to relocate if that's the issue." He pressed his lips over hers very gently, teasing her by keeping them still. "This is what I want to do and only with you." Renata only hummed as each of his words made his lips rub against hers. She couldn't take it, she really couldn't. So when the Doctor finally stopped teasing her and kissed her, she held onto him tightly before anyone else came to take him away.

They kissed each other for a few minutes like they weren't even arguing, like they weren't on thin ice, and like they weren't outside. Of course Renata was the one to remember where they were after a particular moan slipped out from her.

"We are…outside!" she had a much better grasp of her voice but it still could've been slightly louder...and firmer.

"Ah, we could go back to the TARDIS…?" the Doctor had definitely found his confidence in that moment.

Renata lightly shook her head, her entire face flushed. She needed to get rid of the fire underneath her skin. "Doctor, don't. This...this doesn't solve everything—"

"No, but it proves you still love me."

"I never said I stopped."

The pair shared a look in silence. Renata bit her lower lip (that was half swollen) and lowered her gaze to the ground.

"I never said I stopped loving you, of course I still love you," she whispered. "It's why I'm so afraid."

"But afraid of what?" the Doctor was tired of asking the same thing and never getting a proper answer.

Before Renata would answer, they heard a commotion from a distance. Without even thinking of it, she rushed to go see what it was, leaving the Doctor to follow. They almost returned to where they had first arrived and saw two lines of young women coming down the path with an older woman at the front. Each of the women wore veils over their head, no chance of seeing their faces, and yet they had everyone in the street frozen and staring.

One dark-skinned man didn't seem as awed by the others. He came shouting for someone named 'Isabella', going as far as lifting each girl's veil.

"Well," Renata said, finding it rude but the man seemed desperate to find 'Isabella'.

"What are you doing? Get away from there!" the older woman yelled at him in vain.

"Isabella!" He found the girl he was searching for but instead of looking happy, she backed away. "It's me!"

Another of the girls came forwards, hissing at him that he fell to the ground.

"Girls, come along!" the woman ordered and continued on their way like nothing happened.

The only man in the group, a young man, pressed his boot over the first man's chest. "She's gone," he said then called for their guards to take him away.

Renata frowned at the sight but blinked when the young man left with a flare of his cloak...like one of those movies Gabby often made her watch.

"You've got that face on," the Doctor suddenly hummed, making her snap her head in his direction.

"What?"

"You've got that face on!"

"What face?"

"The face you make when you're interested, and offended on behalf of someone. It's funny, it's a new face but it's still the same as the last one."

Renata frowned and turned away. "I do not make that face!" And yet she was still walking for the man that'd been taken away.

The Doctor smirked as he followed. Funny how his Renata was beginning to change and she didn't even realize.

They eventually found the same man not too far from where they'd saw him. He still looked as upset as earlier which only made Renata even more curious. She recognized that anger and frustration.

"Scuse me?" she called, making the man stop for the moment. He turned sideways and saw her and the Doctor standing a few feet from him. "Who, um, who were those girls back there? The ones with the veils?"

The man stared at the two with a puzzled face. They seemed...serious. That was confusing enough. "I thought everyone knew about the Calvierri school."

"Our first day here," the Doctor said, which was technically true. "Parents do all sorts of things to get their children into good schools. They move house, they change religion."

"So that leaves us kind of interested in why you're trying to get your daughter out," Renata watched the man's face fall grim and yet...fearful. He was afraid of something.

"Something happens in there. Something magical, something evil. My own daughter didn't recognize me. And the girl who pushed me away, her face... like an animal."

"Is that why you fell to the ground?"

He nodded. Even now he was still terrified. But who wouldn't be when they faced off a girl with fangs?

"You know what, I think it's time we met this Signora Calvierri," the Doctor concluded and looked down at Renata for her reaction.

She nodded.

~ 0 ~

"And what have you been doing?" Rory asked the question rather piercingly that Amy actually winced. Yeah, she deserved that.

She still kept walking down the passageway, barely looking at him for the moment. "Well...running. And fighting. I've been scared. More scared than I thought was.." She truly hadn't realized how scary things could get in the TARDIS and even now, when things were over, she could still feel the echo of the terror she'd felt.

"Well...did you miss me?" Rory studied her nonchalant attitude, at least she was trying to be. He could see her fidgeting with her crossing and uncrossing her arms.

"I...I knew I'd be coming back.."

"But that's not what I asked," he frowned. How hard was it for her to answer the question? If she missed him, she wouldn't have to think about it. Amy was so difficult sometimes and it pained him because they were supposed to get married...tomorrow...and it still looked like a challenge for her to answer questions like this. "The Doctor was right. It blots out everything else. You've always been half blind when it came to him and now that you've been travelling with him...it's a lot worse."

Amy finally looked at him and it was to show offence at his last statement. She wasn't blind...was she? She was aware that she focused a lot on the Doctor, the TARDIS and even Renata. But that was normal. They had come to her as a child with the promise that they would return in 5 minutes...and they didn't. It left her upset, naturally. She resented them on some level but it faded away when she realized that at some point in her life, they WOULD would return. She would get to see stars and space. How could she not be at least a little bit blinded by it?

"Rory," she stopped them from walking altogether, "This is our date. Let's not do this, not now." She didn't want to argue with him. There was already so much going on and she honestly didn't even know what she would tell Rory. She was...confused. "We're in Venice," she continued. That should be a good distraction.

Rory looked up just as he heard a fluttering of wings in the sky. Amy did make a point there. They were in Venice and not just that but...in the past. "We are, aren't we?" Amy nodded. "And it's 1580!"

"I know!" Amy linked her arm with his and quickly took off before he started asking more questions. She just needed a bit more time to sort things out. That was it, yes.

~ 0 ~

Gabby swayed down another passageway with the psychic paper in hand. Already she'd gotten several samples in different stalls because she was 'Lady Gabby'. She spotted a young flower seller and thought that maybe one of them might be nice to stick in her hair. That's what the girls always did on T.V.

Oh, how she wished Donna could be right there with her. She would've probably come up with more exciting things to do with the psychic paper. But it was just her now. Amy was on thin ice, bordering the line of being considered dead.

Gabby ultimately stopped the girl selling the flowers and asked for just one. Lady Gabby could surely get that and it wouldn't hurt the girl's profits. She tucked the posey behind her ear and kept moving. Only a few minutes away did she hear a scream belonging to the flower girl she'd just left.

She spun around and headed back, screaming herself when she saw a young man with blood on his fangs. He had actually hissed!

"What's going on!?" Amy came running up to Gabby and gasped when she saw the same thing.

The young man covered his face with his long cape and rushed off. Rory arrived to see the girl on the ground and immediately went to check up on her. He didn't quite understand what he was seeing - blood on her neck - but he felt a pulse.

"She'll be okay," he looked over to Amy and Gabby. Gabby nodded but Amy dashed after the culprit.

"Amy!" Both Gabby and Rory called after her.

~ 0 ~

With some help from their new friend, now known as Guido, the Doctor and Renata were able to sneak into the school of mystery.

"I never thought I'd see the day when Renata broke into a place," the Doctor had himself a good (quiet) laugh when Renata used her sonic to open the backgate of the school.

She rolled her eyes at him but there was just a smidge of thrill she felt knowing he was right. Time was she would yell at him for using the sonic to break locks and get into places they shouldn't be. The Adipose building was a primary example. Oh, what was happening to her?

The pair made their way down a few stone steps into a chamber. The school seemed old and very well kept. She noted the lone mirror against a wall.

"Well that's a weird place to put a mirror," she remarked in front of it.

"And look at what beauty stands in front of it right now," the Doctor came up behind her with a smirk on his face as he looked her over through the reflection. Renata tried rolling her eyes but she ended up blushing instead. The Doctor leaned a bit closer to the mirror. "And I don't look half bad either. Hello, handsome."

Now Renata could roll her eyes. "You are so vain," she said as he fixed his bowtie and checked his teeth.

"Who are you?" a couple girls' voices startled them into turning around.

Then the Doctor realized something interesting...they had no reflection. "Oh! How are you doing that!?"

Renata jabbed her elbow into his side. "Well don't be excited! It just proves they're not human!"

"But they're like Houdini, only five scary girls, only he was shorter. WILL BE shorter. I'm rambling!"

"Yes, you are!"

"I'll ask you again, who are you?" the girls asked again.

"Curious, do you have individual voices or is that gone too?" Renata studied their faces and concluded they were the exact same. What one did, the other did too.

"Why don't you check this out?" the Doctor thought he would be holding out his psychic paper but instead saw an old ID with his first incarnation. "What!? Library card!?"

"Gabriella has it," Renata sighed, not impressed with his antics.

"I need the spare!"

"The spare?" Renata shot him a look fast. "You mean there's two lying booklets around the TARDIS? Oh no, that's way too much power for you."

The Doctor's response was to clap a hand over her mouth. "Shush! Pale, creepy girls who don't like sunlight and can't be seen in the mirror? Am I thinking what I think I'm thinking?" Though silent, Renata still looked at him like he was crazy. Was he being extra ridiculous today or was that just her? "But the city. Why shut down the city? Unless…"

"Leave now!" the girls ordered. "Or we shall call for the steward... if you are lucky."

Renata pushed the Doctor's hand off her and stepped closer towards the girls. "You know what, call them because I would love to have a talk with your headmistress. This is supposed to be a school for young girls to educate themselves and someone's turned it into some...creepy cult."

The girls hissed with their fangs clear as day. Renata gasped and jumped back, bumping into the Doctor behind. Guido warned them that the girls had fangs but it was way different seeing it up close.

The Doctor pulled them into a quick run, stopping them just in front of the doorway. "Tell us the whole plan!"

Renata did a double take at him. "Nine hundred years and you think that's going to suddenly work!?"

"One day it will work!" He argued. That day just wasn't today. He looked at the girls advancing on them. "Listen, I would love to stay here. This whole thing... I'm thrilled. Oh, this is Christmas!" He yanked Renata with him as the Time Lady was seriously asking herself how this man could attract so many people...including herself.

~0~

To their luck, all three of the humans had seen the same 'vampires' in the city, on theirs was a young man. It helped the Doctor and Renata skip over the part of explaining and led them to a quicker gathering in Guido's home. Gudo brought out a map of Venice for the travelers to see. He had long ago tried sneaking into the school which explained the map's notes.

"As you saw, there's no clear way in. The House of Calvierri is like a fortress. But there's a tunnel underneath it, with a ladder and shaft that leads up into the house," Guido gestured to the point he was talking about. "I tried to get in once myself, but I hit a trapdoor."

"You need someone on the inside," Amy's lips curved into a wide smile and fast too.

"No," Renata said with a sigh. It wasn't surprising what Amy was trying to do. She was still dangerously eager.

Amy frowned. "You don't even know what I was going to say!"

"She always knows what you're going to say," Gabby said as she came to lean against the barrels Rory was. She noticed he kept his distance from the group so she wanted to keep him company, show him that he wasn't an outsider to them.

"I'm not a psychic I just know what you thought of," Renata said with a weary face. "We pretend you're an applicant for the school to get you inside and tonight you come down and open the trapdoor to let us in."

"Alright...maybe you did know," Amy raised her hands to admit defeat.

"No Amy," the Doctor also agreed with Renata, making the girl frown again.

"We don't have another option!"

"Amy!" Rory couldn't believe she was actually fighting to get into some vampire school. "You should listen to them!"

"There is another option," Guido cut in just as the argument would get heated. He made a gesture towards the barrels. "I work at the Arsenale. We build the warships for the navy."

Gabby and Rory shared a quick glance before their eyes settled on the barrels they were using as seats. They jumped out of the way while the Doctor moved to give them a quick study.

"Gunpowder," he sniffed. "Most people just nick stationery from where they work."

"Yeah, I would steal leftover plates from my parent's restaurant," Gabby added. She took several more steps away from the barrel for extra caution.

"Yeah, I would rather we didn't use explosives," Renata said as she straightened away from the table. "You blow up that school and innocents might get hurt."

"What do you suggest then?" Guido turned on the woman with a growing scowl on his face. "Wait until they turn her into an animal?"

The Doctor returned to Renata's side, his expression darkening as it settled on Guido. It wasn't like Renata was shooting down the idea of entering the school altogether. She wanted to keep innocent bystanders safe. "We'll figure another way in," he told Guido, leaving no room for further discussions on the explosives.

"I'll be there three, four hours tops," Amy said ever-so-innocently.

"It's too dangerous Amy," Renata insisted. Amy was truly persistent, she would give her that.

"What else you got then?" the ginger challenged, smirking when Renata came up blank. "Doctor?"

The Doctor would also commend her persistence. He hated that there wasn't another way. If someone didn't get into the school then more girls would be turned into...vampires. He couldn't let that happen.

"I have to know," he shamefully admitted and heard Renata sigh. Amy, meanwhile, beamed. "We go together. Say you're my daughter."

"What?! Don't listen to him!" Rory was nearly outraged at how quickly this turned into the opposite of what Renata had said. "Didn't you hear what she said!?" he made a gesture towards the quiet Renata.

"I always listen to what she has to say," the Doctor said earnestly, glancin at Renata apologetically. "We have to know," he said quieter to her. He didn't want her to think he was ignoring her opinion on the matter and much less that he was choosing Amy over her.

Luckily, Renata smiled a very small smile. "I know," she whispered. She just wasn't fond of the idea of Amy putting herself into direct danger where none of them were.

"Okay, no one's going to buy that I'm your daughter," Amy came up to the opposite side of the table and laughed at the Doctor. "You look about nine."

Gabby would give her that point. "Yeah, you kinda went a little overboard with that face, Doctor." The man in question mockingly glared at her in return.

"Fine, brother, then," he told Amy. That one would sure be bought...if one of them gave into the other's accent.

"Too weird. Fiancé," Amy might have smirked when she said that. Renata shook her head and moved away from her and the Doctor, much to the latter's disappointment.

"I'm not having him run around telling people he's your fiancé!" Rory snapped and Gabby jumped beside him with a similar expression.

"Yeah, that's just plain offensive!" she added on his behalf.

At least Amy seemed to be dissuaded. "No. No, you're right."

Rory sighed with relief. "Thank you."

"I mean, they've already seen the Doctor. You should do it."

"Me?"

"Yeah! You can be my brother!" Amy walked over and rubbed his head playfully, chuckling.

Rory didn't share the same sentiment. "Why is him being your brother weird, but with me, it's OK?"

The Doctor had just found his way to Renata's side, the Time Lady having moved herself towards a window. He touched her arm and when she actually looked at him, he gently tugged her towards him.

"Actually, I thought he was her fiancé," Guido had pointed a thumb at the Doctor. Gabby slapped her forehead while the Doctor groaned. Renata silently pulled her arm out of the Doctor's grasp and moved away again.

"This whole thing is mental!" Rory switched the most important matter right now since it was dragging Amy with it. "She can't just go in there! Renata?"

At the call of her name, Renata walked up to the young man. "I understand your worries, but unless someone has a better idea…"

"Actually," Gabby suddenly said, raising a finger, "I might have something."

"What? No, we already decided," Amy frowned at the girl. Why was she making something else up when a perfectly logical idea had already been set?

"Right but you'll only have eyes on the girls when in reality we need eyes on this Rosana woman too," Gabby said, now rocking on her feet. The Doctor almost laughed when she grinned.

"What are you getting at?" Renata eyed her with dread. The last thing she wanted was for Gabby to put herself in danger as well.

"I think it's time for the Marchioness of Gallifrey to make a comeback," Gabby giggled.

~ 0 ~

Amy frowned like a genuine child who hadn't gotten her way...and maybe she was pouting for that reason. She hadn't gotten her way. Instead of coming to the school on her own to investigate, Renata would be bringing her and staying along until they could find Isabella and get out together. She made a perfectly reasonable plan and then Gabby went and ruined it with her stupid suggestion. And the worst part was that both the Doctor and Rory had agreed to it, Rory a lot quicker than the Doctor. Amy felt like she was being babysat. What the hell was even a 'Marchioness' anyways?

Renata wasn't very fond of the idea either but she preferred it this way than to send Amy on her own. She had no idea where Gabby even thought of this one but at least this way she could keep an eye on Amy and keep her safe while she dealt with the Signora herself. Whatever happened between her and the Doctor, Renata didn't want to see Amy hurt. She was still human, making her just a bit easier to target. She just didn't necessarily like that she would be using her old guise as Marchioness to do it. That meant conjuring up an entire story to tell and Renata wasn't sure if she could do that just yet. She never had to do the 'breaking in with a disguise' thing all by herself. Usually the Doctor was the one to lead and she followed. That's how it always worked.

Not to mention the fact that being a Marchioness again brought back too many memories of the last time she used it.

Renata tried her best not to make any noises, especially because she felt like her hearts were about to implode under her chest. She threw a look at the Doctor at the end of the bookshelf, asking him what were they going to do. But of course he had a plan. He always made up plans to get them out just before they would get caught. If they evaded the Time Lords, they could surely evade 16th century human guards.

'On my signal,' he mouthed to her. She nodded fervently. He aimed his sonic at the window and with one flick, the entire window shattered.

"Over there!" the second guard ran straight for it, prompting the first guard to leave the table forgotten.

The Doctor made a nod at Renata to go now. The two ran straight for the open doors as fast as they could. They joined hands as soon as they got into the hallway and continued to run.

Suddenly, Renata saw them running down the hallway of the academy after nearly getting caught wandering through the classes and prohibited rooms for students. And it made her hearts sore. She felt as carefree as she used to be with the Doctor as Zuriah. They were young, they were full of adrenaline and...they were in love.

Even the Doctor got the faint sense that this was all familiar, a bit too familiar, but the running made him push the thought to the side for now. He yanked Renata down the hallway of her bedroom and finally slowed down.

"That was incredible!" Renata was laughing melodically beside him. She brought a hand up to her hair bun that was on the verge of falling apart from all their running. She yelped in surprise when the Doctor gently brought her from her side to his front. Her free hand had come to rest over his chest and her other hand seemed locked under the Doctor's free hand.

"You had fun?" the Doctor asked quietly though with his ragged breathing it came out a little louder than intended. They were both still trying to catch their breaths, they could feel it. Renata felt the Doctor's chest heaving up and down under her hand and since Renata's chest was pressed to his, the Doctor could feel her own heavy breathing.

"Of course..." Renata swallowed down and laughed, hoping the air would fill her lungs soon. "I always have fun with you!" She had no idea what her words meant to the Doctor, especially right now. All she saw was his grin making its mark on his face. "Maybe tomorrow we can, uh, I can show you the, uh...the..." She was beginning to lose her train of thought the more she stared at the Doctor.

Renata tried to focus on the present. She and Amy would soon be allowed into the school...

Renata's breath hitched the moment the Doctor let his lips brush over hers and whether she would've gasped or not she didn't know because she just let him kiss her right there. She let his hand go and brought it to his chest while he lowered his hand to her waist. He kissed her gently, keeping it slow and sweet, unknowingly the same as the very first time they had kissed centuries ago. Later on, Renata would find it ironic that even that was the same. As seconds ticked by, they found their (old) sync and moved their lips with one another like it was a slow dance. Renata felt her body tingle when the Doctor's hand reached up to the nape of her neck where her loose bun was about to be undone. He pulled lightly on the strands to then run his fingers through them, eventually making the whole bun come down. It didn't matter; it just gave the Doctor an easier access to her curls.

Renata exhaled rather shakily with chills on her skin. She vividly remembered that night, she always would, but right now it was causing pain rather than the usual warmth it gave her. But she couldn't occupy her head with those memories right now. Amy was with her and she needed to look out for her safety. As soon as the gates of the school opened, she left behind 'Renata' and brought in the Marchioness of Gallifrey instead.

"Just keep quiet Amy, alright?" Renata whispered as the steward brought them down a stony passageway. "Let me do the talking."

"I know," Amy said, still plenty irritated to keep her quiet.

Renata sensed the woman's unhappiness but merely sighed at it. They were both unhappy it seemed.

"Signora, the visitors," the steward said as he led the two into an ornate room with one - Renata barely contained her scoff when she saw it - throne chair in the center of it over a raised dais.

A dark-haired woman in an elegant gown sat on the precarious throne, her beedy eyes already scrutinizing Renata and Amy from head to toe.

"Her most honorable Marchioness of Gallifrey," the steward introduced, prompting Renata to do a graceful curtsy bow.

Amy blinked at the woman. She did it so finely like...like she'd done it before. Gabby did say this was a disguise Renata used to visit Henry VIII, she remembered.

"And her sister, Lady Amy," the steward gestured to Amy and since the girl just stood there, Renata elbowed her on the side.

"Ow!" Amy rubbed her side and threw the woman a glare. Renata's gaze was sharp and it only took Amy a few seconds to get what she wanted. "Oh, right, um…" She did a quick curtsy, not quite as smooth as Renata but the Time Lady would take it.

"Really?" the Signora arched a thin eyebrow at the pair. "I had no idea there even was a...Marchioness of Gallifrey?"

"I suppose that happens when you seal off a city," Renata said with the same edgy tone the Signora had used.

"Ah, precautions," the Signora said, smiling strainly.

"Mhm…"

"My steward showed me your, uh, credentials," the Signora drummed her fingers over her throne's armrests. "Interesting they are."

"All in order I suppose," Renata took a few steps towards the throne when a young man strode into the room. She heard Amy's quiet gasp and looked back to see the girl's eyes widened. Obviously she recognized him. Renata wondered where from. "Signora—"

"Rosana, please," the woman waved her off. "It is an honor to have a Marchioness in my school."

"Well, yes, I...I have heard in great detail about your school and I cannot think of a better place for my young sister to be educated," Renata nodded at Amy to come forwards. Amy scurried up beside her and put on her best smile for Rosana. "I am, unfortunately, widowed, and I have not been able to find her a suitable husband."

The young man in the room, Francesco, flapped his cloak as he walked up to the two, specifically to Amy. The ginger swallowed hard when he got just a bit too close to her.

"Excuse you," snapped Renata, startling the man back. She had glared at him, something that no one in the city would do because of who he was.

Amy barely hid her smile.

"She looks familiar," Francesco excused himself.

"Impossible, we have only arrived today," Renata shot him down and shooed him off back to his mother, something that Amy almost laughed at now. Renata settled her attention back on Rosana who couldn't look more interested. "Do you think we could talk about a possible arrangement?"

Rosana's lips curved into a knowing smile. "I think so."

Renata smiled quite proudly of herself. So far, things were going good. "Maybe my sister can take a tour of the school so she...isn't such a strange to it when we reach an agreement."

"Of course," Rosana rose from her throne and called for the steward. "Carlo, take her to see the girls. I'm sure she'll make some new friends there."

Renata glance at Amy with an encouraging glint in her eyes. "I know you can do it," she whispered with genuine faith that for a moment, Amy stood there dumbfounded.

There was a ping in her heart followed by a churn of her stomach. Guilt. She was feeling guilt for what she tried to do with the Doctor. Renata showed no resentment towards her even when it was clearly an upsetting thing to find out that happened. Amy knew from the start that Renata was utterly kind, now she wished Renata wasn't because then...then the guilt would go away.

~ 0 ~

Amy was soon brought up to the girls' dormitory and found it to be domed shaped, like a church. Carlo didn't even bother introducing her, he only brought her in and left. Rude.

"Um, hi…?" Amy tried to greet the nearest of the girl but she flatout ignored her. "Okay…" Amy continued to move further down the room until suddenly the entire group of girls started heading out. "Did I say something?" Amy called out to them but none responded back.

"They don't talk," a dark-skinned girl said, revealing herself to be the only one remaining. She stared after the girls as the last one disappeared. "They don't...ever talk."

Amy curiously stared at the girl. "And yet you do."

The girl's eyes flickered to Amy, meeting the ginger's gaze. Amy was dressed like finely, deeply contrasting their recent enlisted students. "Who are you?"

"Amy, and you?"

"Isabella."

Amy beamed. "Ha!" She hadn't needed Renata in the end. Stop being mean to her! Great, now the voice in her head was feeling guilty too. She shook her head and those thoughts she would get back to eventually. "Listen, we're going to get you out of here, but I need you to tell me what's going on. What is this place? What are they doing?"

Isabella searched the room for anyone who might be lingering around. After she was sure it was just them, she answered, "They, um... they come at night. They gather around my bed and they take me to a room... with this green light and a chair with... with straps, as if for a surgeon."

"What happens in there?"

"I wake up here. And the sunlight burns my skin like candle wax."

That...that sounded bad. Amy swallowed hard and looked up at the ceiling as a bell tolled. Maybe having Renata around wasn't a bad idea after all…

~ 0 ~

The Doctor couldn't see the gondola getting to the school. Every part of him was screaming at him for letting Renata leave. He had promised himself that he wouldn't ever let himself be separated from her and yet here they were not even a day later. Gabby's idea did make sense in that it would be a safe plan if Amy wasn't alone but the Doctor hated sending Renata into a place he didn't know about. He had no idea what lurked through that school and if it was highly dangerous.

The only part he liked, and he wouldn't keep it a secret, was that this plan involved Renata dressing up as the Marchioness again. Even in a new incarnation, she looked just as stunning as she had the first time she wore a gown fit for the role. Last time's gown was golden and orange, more suitable for her slightly older body. This body, however, was a younger one. She had chosen the perfect baby blue gown with white trimmed sleeves. He had nearly fallen over when he saw her come out of the TARDIS.

Just like last time, he was deeply in love with the Marchioness of Gallifrey.

"She'll be fine," Gabby pulled the man out of his thoughts. She was sitting in-between him and Rory on the gondola while Guido guided them along the canal. "Ren knows how to take care of herself."

"What about Amy?" Rory soon asked, throwing both a sharp look. He was still upset at the turn of events. "Can you promise me that she'll be fine?"

"If she's with Renata then of course," Gabby smiled at him. She could tell that the man deeply cared for Amy. She was just too blinded like the Doctor said to see Rory was perfect. "Ren's taken care of me, the Doctor...and Donna so many times. She always takes care of us, even if it would hurt her."

The Doctor sucked in a deep breath at those words. Renata always took care of them and what did she get in return? Pain. So far, that's all she had gotten.

"We're here," Guido announced a few seconds before the gondola came to a stop.

"Gabbs, you should stay," the Doctor said as he started climbing out first. "Renata would kill me if I let you come."

"Don't worry, I'll put myself between you if that happens," Gabby said as she climbed out next.

The Doctor mocked a glare at her. "Gabby!"

"Oh shut up!" the girl waved him off and turned around to see Rory coming out last. She grabbed the torch they'd brought along and, to Rory's amazement, she sparked it lit with a purple flame. He saw tiny little butterflies amongst the flames.

"You have the same powers as Renata?" he asked, his mouth half open in shock.

"Sort of," Gabby shrugged. "I just learned how to do this a few days ago. Ren's powers are golden and I think they're stronger. But 'nough about that! Let's go!" She marched forwards, leaving behind a disgruntled Doctor to follow.

They reached the gate and just as Gabby was about to reach for it, the Doctor pulled her behind him. "I do the breaking into creepy places, alright? Don't know what's in there." Gabby shrugged and motioned him to go for it. He opened the gate with the sonic and slowly led them in. "Right. OK, I'll go first. If anything happens to me, go back…"

"What happened?" Rory suddenly blurted. Gabby looked over at him and could almost hear his heavy breathing. He must have been gathering the courage to ask that. "Between you and Amy? You said she kissed you."

The Doctor's face turned incredulous, naturally. His eyes flickered to Gabby, asking her if he was really meant to answer that right now.

"Oh no, this one's between you two," she raised her free hand and stepped aside to give the two a better moment. "Just keep leading us in."

The Doctor frowned at her unhelpfulness. She always talked! It's literally what she did and she chose NOW now to keep quiet? He shook his head and went towards the next door. "Rory, seriously?"

"I have a right to know!" Rory said, surprising himself that he was actually going through with this. He was fairly non-confrontational but Amy made him do all sorts of things he never would. "I'm getting married in 430 years."

~ 0 ~

Renata had followed Rosana into the school's canal-side. It was frankly a beautiful setting with marbleized white floor and crystal water, but Renata knew better than to believe what she saw.

"So Marchioness," Rosana came to a slow stop and turned sideways, shooting Renata smirk, "I am honored to have you visiting my school."

Renata hated the look on the woman's face but even then she kept her own face blank of any expressions. She was a master at that. "My sister needed a school."

"Yes and you have travelled so far just to get her into this one?"

"Enlgand was no longer suitable for us."

"England? Or Gallifrey?"

Renata's face still didn't falter. Only her eyebrow raised. "Excuse me?"

Rosana chuckled. "I know psychic paper when I see one. I commend you for your act, though. I've never met a Time Lord before...or Time Lady," she did a mock curtsy. "You should be in a mausoleum last time I heard."

"And you should bite your tongue before you say anything else about my home," Renata's contempt was lacing her calm tone. "How do you know who I am? Who are you?"

"Well everyone knows what Gallifrey is…"

"Except humans which means you are not. So, I ask again, who are you?"

"Are all Time Lords so intense?" Rosana sighed dramatically before laughing. "Well, I suppose given what happened to your world."

Renata's jaw tightened. "You're trespassing on this planet. You are aware of the Shadow Proclamation, aren't you?"

Rosana's playfulness died in a second. "We have not trespassed. We fell here. You think Earth was my first choice for a new home?"

"New home? What happened to yours?"

Rosana let silence pass before she answered. "There were cracks. Some were tiny... some were as big as the sky. Through some we saw worlds and people and through others we saw silence... and the end of all things. We fled to an ocean like ours and the crack snapped shut behind us... and Saturnyne was lost."

"Saturnyne?" Renata once again glanced at the water beside them. "Of course. Venice for a Saturnyne would serve as a good second home."

Rosana nodded her head, once again smiling lightly. "We did not trespass but we want to make a new home here. What are you doing here?"

Now it was Renata's turn to stay quiet.

Rosana raised her head the longer silence passed. "Oh, are you too pretentious to answer?"

"Never."

"Then? I only ask what you have asked me. Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"My name is Renata, I am a Time Lady and...I'm here for a wedding present."

"Oh, congratulations," Rosana said, actually sounding like she meant it. "I take it the other girl is your partner?"

"No," Renata said dismissively.

Rosanna didn't spend time asking more questions about that. "Well, you certainly seem like a woman who handles power like an everyday utensil. You and I could make a partnership. You're as much of a refugee as we are. What do you say?"

"I need to know what you're doing first," Renata subtly pointed out a flawed detail in her plan. "That tour I asked about...may I have the full one?"

Rosana's lips curled into a smile, almost a chuckle. "Well of course. Follow me, Marchioness." She led the way out of the mooring. Renata's face was grim as she followed the woman down to the underground passageways.

"Is my friend safe in here?" Renata asked after a good while of silent walking. She would keep the putrid smell of the passageways to herself but it was terrible.

"Of course, so long as she doesn't go poking her nose where it doesn't belong," Rosana truly meant it as a joke but it struck Renata.

Amy was still trying to have fun without measured precaution. She would inevitably get herself into trouble if they didn't meet up soon.

"What are you up to?" Renata moved onto the next order of business. She was getting tired of mindless walking. "You are taking families' daughters under lies and turning them into...what are you turning them into? A Saturnyne?"

Rosana stopped walking a few feet away from a stone room. Renata tried peeking around the woman to see what the room was about but all she saw was a chest against the wall.

"I did not lie," Rosana said calmly, soon earning Renata's flat face. "Alright, I may have overstretched the truth here—"

"Really? Because there've been reports that some of these girls have really sharp teeth," Renata made a show of baring her own teeth to make a point. "There was also one father who claimed that his daughter no longer recognized him. What are you doing to these girls?"

"One would say you're already against this alliance," Rosana said, narrowing her eyes on the Time Lady.

"You haven't told me anything so I'm dealing with what I have. What's in that room?" Rosana looked back to the room Renata pointed to. "You want me to work with you, start talking. That's the last time I'm going to say it." Renata nodded towards the room, expecting to be shown this time.

"Our world is gone," Rosana began, albeit a little edgy since her hand was forced. "I am a Mother and my children need me. Do you have children?"

Renata stiffened but thanked the darkness around them hiding her posture shift. "Almost…" she said quietly, eliciting an almost...sympathetic look from Rosana.

And she had. Rosana lowered her head as she began to speak again, "I lost children as well but I will not lose anymore. The girls are not in danger. I am merely making them...compatible for my sons."

"Sons?" Renata asked just before she remembered the mooring. "Are they...are they in the water? With the rest of Venice?"

"Of course not, they are secluded," Rosana snapped indignantly. As if she would endanger what was left of her children by placing them in the same water as the savages humans were. "Only one of my sons has taken human form." Renata's mind flashed back to the young man they met earlier and now she assumed he was the same vampire the others had seen. "The others await for their mother to find them new brides."

"Excuse me?" Renata blinked, her mouth falling just a bit open. "Brides? Is that...is that what these girls are? They're not students, they're brides!? How...how are you even meant to do that?" Rosana chuckled and condescendingly too, something that brought out Renata's scowls. "Start talking!"

"I am making them compatible, remember? I can't have human girls joining my family. I turn them into Saturnynes so they can join my sons in the water. It's a process but it's been working pretty well."

"Pretty well? What's that supposed to mean?"

"You have to understand that such a process doesn't always go as planned," Rosana finally turned towards the room Renata was waiting to see.

"Exactly what process are you running on these girls?" Renata followed her into the room, coming to realize that there were several chests around. There was one grate in the center of the room, one that she was sure the Doctor would have to use to get inside. Guido's map of the school did show one tunnel leading to the one precise room of the school.

"It's a two week process," Rosana was saying, none the wiser of Renata's calculating thoughts. As Rosana moved around the room, Renata inched closer to the grate until she could release the bar keeping it locked. "We drain the girls each night until and fill them with our blood. It changes them over time until one morning they wake up with their humanity gone, faded away."

"What? Leaving them like empty shells?" Renata thought it was ironic how much of these forced marriages sounded like the ones back on Gallifrey. They all effectively went out like empty shells getting married because their families made it so.

"If they're like us, they're more than they were ever going to be as humans," Rosana said, stopping by one of the chests.

Renata noticed something dusty peeking out from it. She felt sick when she realized it wasn't 'dusty', it was a hand that'd been sucked dry. "Oh my God...are those…?" she raised a shaky finger towards the chest, "...are those...girls?" Her voice cracked towards the end of her question.

Rosana was amused with the sudden teary-eyed woman. "All processes have their failed subjects."

"But...but…" Renata hurried to the nearest chest and pried it open with her hands. She felt her breath leave her when she saw the sucked-dry corpses inside, all squished together like they weren't even important. "These were children! They were children, daughters!" She threw a hard-eyed look at Rosana, eyes flashing a fierce gold that startled Rosana.

"What are you really?" she demanded, taking a few steps towards her until Renata stood up with glowing golden form around her. "You're not a Time Lady…"

"And you're no mother!" Renata growled. "No mother would take another's child away! You're a cold-hearted murderer!"

"I am a mother!" Rosana shouted but Renata shot fire. Her hand had thrust forwards, her golden swarm of butterflies hitting the wall beside Rosana. "What the hell are you!?"

Renata couldn't hear her. Things were too heightened for her to separate each feeling. All she saw were chests after chests with crammed children inside, children who were murdered. What must their families be thinking? Did they think their daughters were still learning at the prestigious school? No, the mothers would know. They would know that something happened to their daughters.

Amy's still here with Isabella. GET OUT! Renata breathed in and suddenly the golden glow was gone. Without saying a word to the astounded Rosana, she hurried out of the chamber, screaming for Amy.

Rosana was left to ponder for a few seconds, her head turning to the spot on the wall now bearing a deep hole. For a moment, she thought she saw one tiny golden butterfly fluttering inside. She blinked and looked again but this time there was nothing.

~ 0 ~

It seemed like wandering through an underground passage wouldn't be enough to dissuade Rory from getting his explanation. The Doctor had no choice but to answer his questions as they moved along. Gabby kept to her promise of staying completely out of it...until the situation called for the opposite of course.

"She was frightened, we were all frightened, but we survived, and the relief of it... and so she kissed me," the Doctor thought that just about covered it. There was nothing else to it.

"And you kissed her back?" Rory's tone implied there was perhaps a little more from the Doctor's side.

"No, I kissed her mouth! By force!" the Doctor sighed and stopped walking, prompting the other two to do the same. "Rory, she kissed me because I was there. It would have been you, it should have been you."

"Yeah," Rory nodded all too sadly. It should have been but it wasn't. He wasn't there. Amy was running about with aliens while he was back on Earth.

"I meant what I said, Rory. Things sometimes get blurred when you first travel in the TARDIS," the Doctor said when he watched Rory's face slowly fall. "Everything is just so chaotic that sometimes...sometimes you do stupid stuff."

Rory seemed unconvinced. He glanced over at Gabby who was busy staring at the dark walls. "Were you?"

"Hmm?" the girl blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Were you blinded by it when you first started traveling with them?"

"Um…" Gabby's eyes flickered to the Doctor, asking him what she should say. She did NOT not want to get into this conversation, never this one. The Doctor merely nodded at her to say what she wanted. "W-well...I wasn't...I wasn't really 'blinded' but—"

"I knew it," Rory muttered and kept walking, taking the torch from the Doctor in the process.

"Wait, wait!" Gabby hurried after him, pulling the Doctor with her. "I didn't go kissing anyone like Amy but I did make my own mistakes! Ask Ren! She hated my guts in the beginning!"

Rory stopped walking suddenly and suspiciously looked at her. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Gabby nodded and whacked the Doctor's arm.

"She did!" he agreed.

"I was brand new to the TARDIS and I went touching things that I shouldn't have. If I hadn't done it, I wouldn't be able to do that," Gabby nodded to the purple flames over the torch. "We make stupid mistakes, we really do."

"But we all know who Amy loves," the Doctor said, "It's you, Rory."

And yet for some reason, Rory wasn't truly convinced. He couldn't think about it that much because a strong gust of wind blew out the torch, leaving them in total darkness.

"Can we go and see the vampires now, please?" Gabby's frail whisper brokered through the silence. If they were lucky, maybe they would sparkle.

[raz-writes-the-thing]

Unplanned Surprise (Doctor Who Drabble)

Eleventh Doctor x GN!Reader / requests are open

Summary: You have an unplanned surprise to tell the Doctor about.

CW: reader is GN but is pregnant, so the afab body is specified

DW: @nyxiethesimp @quickslvxrr @midnight--raine @blueberry-sunshines @stevekempscocktails @go-bonkers-go-foolish @peytonpenguin37 @yeethaw13 @complimentary-breadbasket (send an ask to be added to a tag list!)

“I’m pregnant,” you said, taking the bullet head-on and finally confessing to the Doctor the thing that had been plaguing you for quite some time. Well, only a few weeks- but it felt like a very long time. 

You weren’t really sure what to expect from him, given that he was reasonably prone to unpredictability. Would he scream for joy? Would he cry? Would he send you away and never want to see you again? For once, the endless possibilities did not fill you with intrigue or confidence. 

“Pregnant?” The Doctor repeated dumbly, wriggling his fingers thoughtfully. “How did that happen?” 

His tone wasn’t upset, angry or joyous. It was just casual. He was being casual about this. Maybe it hadn’t quite sunk in yet? You blinked at him as the question actually registered. 

“H-how did that happen? Doctor, you know exactly how that happened,” you blustered, mouth agape. 

“Well, yes, conceptually, I know how you humans pro-create and conceive,” he broke off for a second, trying to think of the word. “Babies. But you and me?” The Doctor gestured between the both of you a little too aggressively. “Not the same species, remember? My ejaculate should not be able to impregnate you.” 

You were lost for words, blinking confusedly. You supposed that made sense, but then again, the three tests you’d done had all said you were pregnant, so it looked like there was a first time for everything. 

“Should have tested that theory a little better before engaging in your breeding kink then, hey,” you replied, picking at your nails. The Doctor practically choked on his tongue, pressing a hand to his chest in mock offence. 

“Excuse you, Petal,” he argued, “but I am quite certain that you enjoy being bred full of my cum- do you not?” 

You split into a cocky grin, knowing he was absolutely right. 

“That may be so, but the point remains that I am pregnant, and it’s definitely yours, Doctor.” 

The Doctor opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. You could practically see the gears turning in his head as he processed that information. Then, he closed his mouth and split into the widest, most pleased grin you had ever seen from him. 

“You’re pregnant,” he all but shouted, hands outstretched in shock. He ran one hand through his hair. ‘You’re pregnant!” He shouted again, this time ending with a disbelieving giggle. 

“I am,” you confirmed, the Doctor’s grin infectious. 

You both let out a nervous laugh and then the Doctor had you scooped up into his arms and twirled you around. You laughed louder, holding onto him as he lifted you up and back down again. 

The Doctor slowed before wrapping you up in a tight hug as if to hold you close and never let you go. You breathed out, feeling content. 

Life was looking good. You were going to be parents. To a baby- a hybrid half-human-half-Time Lord baby but still!

“Parents,” the Doctor whispered, pressing a kiss to your forehead and echoing your thoughts. “Almost unbelievable, isn’t it?”

You hummed, listening to both of his hearts beat in his chest. They were beating fast, telling you exactly how ecstatic the Doctor was about this news. 

“Completely insane,” you agreed with a soft nod. “I can’t wait.”

[shuichiakainx]

they say home is where the heart is, but God I love Matt 💕

[undiscovered-horizon]

Hi there! Could we see a touch starved!reader x The Doctor? Whichever Doctor you would want, but I admit I am biased to 11 hehe.

I really enjoyed your fic ‘Keep blessing me’, as someone who is plus size, I rarely see myself represented in media positively.

I can imagine reader being the type of person who is overlooked often, never been desired romantically and feels like she has been forgotten by the universe. She yearns to be held and feel safe but she also feels unworthy. She definitely is majorly pining for The Doctor but doesn’t allow herself to dwell much on it. Maybe he feels the same way?

[TW: negative self-talk, referenced/implied depression]

"Stone walls" - 11th Doctor x touch starved!Reader

Doctor Who-inspired playlist

Should you ask anyone who has taken part in some kind of competition at least once in their life, they will always say the same thing: the fourth place is the worst. Right under the podium, a hair's breadth away from being someone and yet they are nothing more than a mockery, the line separating memory and oblivion. Taking into account the series of unfortunate events you call your life, you were born in fourth place.

It was never anything explicit and perhaps that was the worst part. Had there been a groundbreaking revelation, a true calamity of heartache, you would have accepted it but it was that silence that sucked the life out of you. It wasn't that someone told you they hated you, it was that you were never chosen, drifting away on the waves of silence into the ocean of oblivion. Although you were born into this world, it never felt like you truly were part of it. Perhaps, all of existence was happening next to you or existence, to put it simply, refused to make you part of itself.

And then there was him - the Doctor, always scoring first place, always showered in gold medals and trophies because, truthfully, why wouldn't he? There was no way of telling how many catastrophes he had prevented, how many lives he had already saved. By his tireless service to the entire universe, it seemed as though he was born for this, to always be a winner. And the stories he told! How he had befriended so many species, how many hearts were offered to him that he had turned down. It was quite bittersweet, that you were so different and yet you were alive in the same universe.

Truthfully, you still didn't quite understand what ungodly whim made you his "partner in crime". The longer you were around him, the more you grow to understand just how not alike you were as if his brilliancy made you painfully aware of your mediocrity. Your place wasn't with him, quite obviously - he deserved someone better; someone you could never become. Maybe it would be better to leave soon, on your own, than have him grow impatient and simply throw you out. It wasn't the way you wanted to remember him, angry and annoyed, so you thought it best to relieve both of you of your underwhelming existence as soon as possible.

"You don't have to do this alone."

His voice caught you off guard. Has he been here this whole time? How long had he been staring at you, waiting for you to finally do something?

You turned around to look at him. The Doctor was leaning against the console, his arms crossed on his chest. By all accounts, it seemed that he had been standing there for quite a while, pondering whether he should speak up.

"I'm not sure what you mean," you answered with a slight shake of your head.

For a moment, he didn't say anything. His bright, green eyes stared into you as if he was waiting for something but you couldn't be sure what for exactly. After a while of silence, he left his spot to make his way towards you. His rhythmic footsteps echoed throughout the otherwise empty TARDIS.

"I'm not sure either," he spoke in a mild tone, "but I can tell something turned you sour. Whatever it is, you don't have to do this alone."

The Doctor gently wrapped his lanky arms around you, while you didn't quite know what to do. The moment he tightened his grip around you, something heavy inside your viscera pulled you towards the ground. You grabbed his tweed jacket with as much force as you could possibly muster. It felt as if the moment you let go of the coarse material, your whole body would simply fall apart. That gaping hole in your chest you tried your best to ignore suddenly felt deeper like a beast whose insatiable appetite only grows as it devours. This hunger or whatever it really was felt absolutely awful, so painful it coursed through your veins and filled your entire body with suffering. The Doctor gently shifted his body and your hands only tightened their grip on him as if there was no greater horror in this universe than him letting go of you.

"Just hold me," you whispered. "I'm lonely."

And he did just that.

Sometimes you thought about that one time you had asked the Doctor whether he slept. Truthfully, you never did see him sleep and somehow he was always full of energy. Did Time Lords not need rest? They were, after all, a very exceptional sort of aliens. In response, he only looked at you with a confused expression. "Why would I?" he asked, "It's eight more hours without you." You never did believe them but then, when the fourth place and the first place were equals for a moment, you thought that perhaps he did, in fact, mean them.

[pastanest]

Eleventh Doctor x she/her!reader

AN: this is an ANGSTY one which is usually not the vibe for me but I got lost in this idea and completely fell in love with it so I really hope you like it!! this is the ost piece I was listening to while writing -

Set Things Right

With a sigh, the Doctor rubs his face with his hands, then places his palms flat against the console of the Tardis. She wheezes halfheartedly, seeming to wince in pain.

“Why can’t you tell me what’s wrong?” The Time Lord pleads with her, desperate for any sign, any handy hint on what he can possibly do to help her. 

The two of them have been drifting aimlessly through deep space for a time that even a lord of such a thing has been unable to truly focus on. Hours, days, weeks - he doesn’t know, all of it has been lost to the worry over his oldest and truest companion. The one piece of home he has left. 

Closing his eyes tightly in a pained blink, the Doctor takes a deep breath in an attempt to tune himself into the Tardis further, to understand her, just enough to help. In focussing as hard as he possibly can, his subconscious grabs at the first sound it finds, no more than an unidentifiable flicker, but the Doctor hones his thoughts to the spark that the Tardis has sent him, whatever it may be. The very moment the sound becomes clear to him, though, the Doctor flinches away from the console, feeling a physical tear through his hearts and rubbing against his shirt to soothe the ache that resides there. Has resided there, and been ignored for another time that he dares not address.

“Don’t. Just…don’t, please. She’s….” The Doctor shakes his head, refusing to say the words as he falls against the railing, gripping it with one hand at his back while the other still holds his chest, as though shielding his hearts from another fatal blow. “She can’t help us, not anymore.”

And he feels it, the judgemental gaze of the Tardis on him at every angle, even in her weakened state. Loosening his bowtie to escape some of the pressure, the Doctor speeds from the control room, past a door that he knows was not previously so close to the main control room but he will not give her the satisfaction of acknowledging it, past the swimming pool, and towards the library. There must be something in here, he thinks to himself, haphazardly throwing books from the shelves on which they previously sat and creating a disheveled pile in the center of the room behind him, hoping one of them may contain the secret to healing his sickly time machine.

Quite suddenly, the Tardis jolts to the right, sending the Doctor falling into the pile of books he had unintentionally used to form his own landing pad. Jumping back to his feet with a firm frown on his face, the Doctor straightens his shirt and huffs.

“Now, I know you aren’t very well, but there is no need-”

Interrupting him, the Tardis throws him back to the ground with another fierce jolt, and then she bursts to life in what the Doctor can only describe as a fit of rage. She is taking flight, furiously, to a destination of her own choosing, with no regard for the Time Lord that is crawling his way back to the main control room through corridors that she turns on their heads, walls that she shrinks and enlarges, floors that she shakes and cracks with the sheer force of her determination.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” The Doctor shouts into the main control room, over her screeches, as glass panels splinter at his feet.

Flinging himself at the console, he grabs the monitor with both hands and tries to read the Gallifreyan text, the co-ordinates, anything, but she is flying too fast for his eyes to keep up with her train of thought as it blazes across the screen.

And with a final, deafening crash that sends the Doctor hurtling into the railing, the Tardis halts to a sudden stop. She wheezes again, but this time it almost sounds…relieved? As though wherever she has landed, it has brought her a sense of peace. This place can heal her wounds, the Doctor recognises her feelings towards it, and his ever curious mind is buzzing with excitement at the thought of such an incredible, new place. 

“Oh, where have you brought me this time, old girl?” Having already forgiven her for the bumpy ride, the ancient god is giddy, rubbing his hands together and retying his bowtie, grabbing his tweed jacket as he races for the door. 

He braces himself as he reaches for the wooden panel, hand trembling with excitement. With a deep breath, the Doctor pushes open the door and steps out into the brand new world. Except it isn’t, and it is. 

The street is one he would recognise even if he had never set foot there, because he knows this planet almost as well as he had known his own. Earth, the planet to have given him the greatest friends and adventures he’d ever known. But this street is not one he has never set foot on. The Doctor is a man who cannot look back because he dares not, there are many streets on this planet that he avoids for fear of the pain he would revisit on seeing them again, in the absence of those he once knew occupied them. And this street is no different, except in that it is the most recent of the streets he never wanted to see again, and in the way that he has been forced to do exactly that. He wants to run and hide, more than anything, but he is frozen to the spot, because something isn’t right. The air tastes different, the gravity feels slightly askew, and he can’t tell what year it is amidst the emotional tidal wave of it all. As fundamentally wrong as all of those aspects are, the Doctor cannot deny that they point to one possibility amongst a million others, but that one - regardless of the agony - he cannot live with the regret of denying. 

And then he hears it again. The same sound he had heard when inside the Tardis, the sound she had told him would help her, and now again, in the place she has taken him to heal her. Time seems to slow as the Doctor turns to his left, his eyes immediately locking onto and blurring a perfect vision he never thought he would see again. You.

Laughing so hard you are throwing your head back, eyes crinkled and tears spilling at their creases, your mobile phone to your ear only mildly distorting the view of you. Completely oblivious to the big, sad eyes that watch over you, a trembling smile of pure anguish choking out a disbelieving laugh with you, though he has no idea what you are laughing at. 

Clutching at his chest and feeling the world around him beginning to spin, the Time Lord stumbles back through the doors of his time machine and falls to the floor, pressing his back against the wooden panels in an effort to lock himself away. 

For the briefest second, all he feels is pain. Wound after wound tearing through his very being, bleeding him dry and crushing him into dust. And then that second ends, and the oncoming storm rises to his feet, a darkened frown etched into his brow.

“Why.” He mutters, approaching the console. “Why. WHY!” He throws his arms in the air and slams them against either side of the monitor, watching as you disappear down the street and then shoving the monitor away from him. “WHY would you bring me here?! What kind of cruel trick is this?! How DARE you! How…could you? How could you take me back to a time when she was…when you know that I can’t…” 

The Doctor trails off, defeated, and collapses onto the jump seat with his head in his hands.

Sensing his anguish, the Tardis groans at him, exasperated by the way in which he continues to miss the obvious. Sending the monitor flying back over to the side of the console that the Doctor is facing, the Tardis displays the exact time and date beyond her doors and waits. It takes the solemn, lonely man several seconds to lift his sorrowful gaze from his hands and read the Gallifreyan text she has written for him. 

He blinks, and blinks again. Then stands, closing the distance between himself and the monitor. 

“But, this can’t be right, that means…” The cogs begin to turn inside the mind of a genius, knowing for a reason he cannot come to terms with that he could not have possibly seen you on this date, in this time.

And as the realization hits him, his eyes widen, the Tardis seeming to screech in pure glee as her masterful plan is revealed to him. 

“You…” He whispers in disbelief. “You punctured a hole in the fabric of the universe…to bring us to a parallel world, where…” 

A soft knock at the door interrupts his bewildered and undecidedly disapproving train of thought. Leaning around the console, he frowns in confusion and, in a daze, strolls over to the door. Opening it just enough to show himself and not the bigger-on-the-inside majesty of his time machine, the Doctor unintentionally finds himself very nearly nose to nose, with you.

Jumping back in surprise, you chuckle. “Oh, hello! Blimey, talk about up close and personal!”

And the Doctor cannot say a word. In all his hundreds of years, you are the one thing to render him completely and utterly speechless. 

“Anyway, sorry to disturb you and your…policey business? I’m guessing this is a new thing or I just never noticed this blue box on the corner of my street, but, is this somewhere that I can raise concerns?” You ask him, staring up at him with the most clueless and curious expression. The pain caused by the lack of recognition in your eyes is nothing compared to the bliss of seeing the life within them.

Without a word, the Doctor nods.

“Oh, perfect! There’s this guy that’s been following me home from work in the evenings and it’s really starting to freak me out. I’m not sure if I just report it to you and you keep an eye out, since he hasn’t done anything and the law for creeps is lenient at the best of times, but if you’re stationed here I just wanted to give you a heads up, I guess.” You glance to either side, as though fearful the man you are reporting could overhear, but then your eyes meet the Doctor’s again and you smile so kindly. “Anyway, that was all. Hope you have a good night and don’t get too cramped in there! See ya!”

And, like what you’ve done hasn’t just altered the course of history, you spin on your heel and walk away without a care in the world. 

The Doctor closes the Tardis doors again and turns to face the console. 

“We can’t be here. She doesn’t recognise me, this version of her has never met me- well, she has now, I suppose, and that is entirely your fault! But she doesn’t know me, she’s lived the days on this planet that another version of her spent traveling through time and space with me, she has stayed safe here and I cannot do anything to jeopardize that, not again, so we have to-” He stops himself, mid-ramble and mid-walk to the center console.

“Except…the other version of her, the version that we knew, she mentioned a man that followed her home, just once.” His blood runs cold. “She said that had we not met when we did, she feared what he would have ended up doing to her, and in this timeline…” The Doctor’s fists clench at his sides as the reality of the situation dawns on him. “You have given me an impossible choice. To choose between the very fabric of the universe, and saving her just one more time.” He straightens his bowtie and heads for the door, casting a flirtatious smirk over his shoulder. 

“And you knew exactly what I would choose, you sexy thing.”

The next morning, you all but stumble into your office in a half-asleep state, having stayed awake far too late the previous night watching youtube videos about conspiracy theories to distract yourself from the curious, bowtie-wearing policeman you had met. Falling into the spinny chair behind your desk, you open your laptop and start tapping away to log yourself in for the day, tuning out the background noise of your coworkers doing the same. 

“Ahh, (Y/N)!” Your manager’s voice makes you jump, your life flashing before your suddenly wide eyes as you sit up straight and turn to face him.

“I wanted to introduce you to John Smith, he’s a detective in the area that’s been assigned to watch over this part of town due to some unsightly folks being reported on the streets!” He grimaces at the thought, but you hardly notice, your eyes having already gravitated towards the tall, slim man with the dopey smile on his face as he watches the tiniest spark of recognition ignite in your eyes. 

Standing from your chair, you hold a hand out to him. “We’ve met, actually, but I didn’t think it’d amount to this! Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Smith.”

If possible, the warm smile on his face brightens to challenge even the sun outside. “Duty calls! Pleasure’s all mine, but please, call me the Doctor.” He pretends to very dramatically whisper “It’s my code name.” 

Unable to stop yourself, you giggle and shake your head at his antics, making the young man with ancient eyes beam. 

“I’ll be surveying the area today, but this evening I wondered if you could take me on your route home, so that I can evaluate any…unsightly folks.” He says, referencing your report the day before and your manager’s choice of words.

You nod at him, smiling gratefully. “That’d be wonderful, thanks…Doctor.” 

And oh, how his hearts both skip a beat at hearing you say that.

For the rest of the day, you sit at your laptop and work away, while occasionally casting glances out of the window and at the carpark below, where the curious bowtie-wearing Doctor-policeman “surveys the area”. Now, you don’t pride yourself on being knowledgeable about police work, but you are quite confident that it doesn’t usually entail climbing trees simply to sit in them or getting bored enough to begin peeping in people’s parked cars and accidentally setting several car alarms off. All the same, every glance from the window leaves you with a smile that you truly struggle to wipe from your face, even in the wake of your desk job. 

At the end of your working day, you practically skip out of your office in search of the sweet fool that has offered to walk you home. You find him waiting beneath a streetlamp, surrounded by its golden glow, casting a halo over him that you can’t help to find somewhat metaphorical.

“Evening Doctor, had a good day?” You tease, knowing as well as he does that you have seen the majority of his antics.

“Good evening! I did have quite a good day, yes, did get a bit dull towards the middle, but as long as it helps keep the community safe, I will do it! How was your day?” He kindly returns your question, the two of you subconsciously starting to walk in step with each other.

“It was alright, bit dull, like you say, but we got through it!” You change the subject. “Before I entrust you with my route home, do you have a badge to prove your position, detective?”

Something twinkles in his eye at your sensibility, your desire to protect yourself, and the opportunity for him to show off one of his favorite party tricks. “Ah, of course! Here.” 

Digging into his tweed jacket, he retrieves a leather bound wallet and opens it out to you. The second you have digested the words on the small piece of paper within it, you are laughing so hard you are throwing your head back.

The Doctor, in a state of pure confusion, rapidly looks between you and the psychic paper. “What? What does it say?!”

Wiping your eyes, you try to calm yourself down. “It’s safe to say your flirting is much appreciated after a long day, Doctor.”

With wide eyes, the Time Lord reads over the piece of psychic paper that has never been more accurately named than when it answered your question of his professional title with a few, simple words. 

The love of your life.

And the Doctor has never flushed a more violent shade of red in all his years. With a disgruntled cough, he shoves the wallet back in his jacket.

“I am so sorry, that was not at all appropriate, please forgive-”

Nudging him playfully, you cut him off. “Nothing to forgive! As I said, I appreciated it. I know a creep when I see one, as proven, so I can tell when someone isn’t one. Translation: you can flirt with me as much as you like, pretty boy.”

He expects your flirting to fluster him even more, having not heard it in some time, but the sentiment is so familiar and by extension, comforting to him, the Doctor finds himself relaxing into your presence again, like nothing has changed.

“Pretty boy?” He chuckles.

You shrug. “Yeah, I’d definitely say you’re pretty. I suppose I’d have to, if you’re the love of my life.”

Playing along, the Doctor smiles at you, perhaps a little too adoringly. “Well, yes, it would be quite a shame if one of those statements were false.”

“Either one, in fact.” You give him a cheeky grin, the two of you sharing a comfortable laugh as you pass beneath another streetlight along your walk home that you have memorized so completely, you have all the time in the world to memorize an entirely new part of it.

By the time the Doctor walks you to your front door that evening, both of your faces ache from smiling as much as you have. 

“I regret to inform, I didn’t look behind us to see if we were being followed at any point.” You say, feigning disappointment in yourself that the Time Lord very quickly catches onto.

“Ah, well, in that case, I regret to inform the same- and it’s my job! I am rubbish at this.” 

His response brings another warm laugh from you. “I wouldn’t say you’re rubbish, but I think it is only fair we reconvene tomorrow evening and ensure we do keep our wits about us. What do you think?”

And the Doctor is grinning at you like you’re a tree with silver leaves, standing tall in deep red grass, beneath twin suns. A piece of home he truly never thought he would find again.

“I think I owe it to you, after my poor show today.”

With that, you’re smiling right back at him. “Wonderful! See you tomorrow then, Doctor.”

He raises his hand without really thinking about it and gives a very awkward wave, considering how close the two of you are standing, but it seems you are already accustomed to his clumsy social skills and have found the charm in them that speaks to your heart in the same way it does across every version of you. Sharing one final laugh, the two of you part ways, the Doctor beginning to retrace his steps from your house to his Tardis. 

When casting one last look over his shoulder, he sees you still standing in your half-open doorway, watching after him with a lingering smile that is so beautifully familiar to him. With a more socially acceptable distance now between you, he waves again, and you wave back, stepping into your house and closing your door behind you. And with a spring in his step that was previously long forgotten, the Doctor returns to his time machine.

She is in wonderful spirits, of course, seeing her Time Lord return with such a dopey smile plastered between rosey cheeks as he recounts the day he’s had, everything you said, everything you did. The Tardis makes what can only be described as mechanical noises of approval with every new piece of information about you. 

Knowing he can’t risk trying to time travel to the next morning when already breaking the rules by being in this parallel world to begin with, the Doctor decides to spend the rest of the evening and night tidying up. Something he doesn’t often do, as the Tardis will usually default to clean settings whenever he leaves a room in a mess, but she watches endearingly as he tidies away the books he’d thrown into to the library floor, polishes the railings of the main control room, and strangely, tidies away the fairy lights that you had wrapped around the bannister what feels like a lifetime ago, because you had insisted the Tardis could use a little more ‘dolling up’, as you put it. A classy girl, you had called her. No wonder she is still so fond of you.

But the Doctor had been unable to merely focus his gaze on the little glowing orbs that decorated the main control room, ever since you had last set foot in there. The reminder of your physical presence and the agony of the absence that followed was too much for him to confront, and yet here he is, wrapping them up and tidying them away like Christmas decorations that have been left up just a little too long. It is curious, the Tardis thinks. Does this mean he is ready to start processing his grief? Is he simply on an emotional high from seeing you again, to the point where he can touch the tangible reminders of you that were previously forbidden to trembling hands? Or, does he wish for you to set foot in here again and make the request for fairy lights that he will already have waiting for you? The Tardis does not know, but she knows very well what she hopes to be the truth.

The next morning, the Doctor actually decides to go on a stroll to the local shops. He had visited them only a handful of times with you before and often found them to be incredibly boring, which they once again proved themselves to be when he arrived at 5am to find none of them were open yet. Naturally, he spun around the carpark in shopping trolleys until the doors opened hours later. 

At work, you sit at your desk tapping your shoes against the carpet beneath it impatiently, glancing out of the window every few seconds with a frown that you truly cannot believe is there. Are you really this disturbed by the lack of presence of a man you have known no more than 48 hours?

But when he hobbles into the carpark, very awkwardly carrying a foldable ping-pong set, you struggle to contain the howling laughter that brings tears to your eyes. You watch in absolute wonder as the strange man sets the table up against a tree he had climbed the previous day, in perfect view of the window by your desk, and then turns to wave at you, ping-pong paddle in hand and a goofy grin on his face as he points at it and the table, in case you hadn’t noticed it. Waving back and miming that yes, you acknowledge the ping-pong table he has brought with him, you shake your head in disbelief and finally allow yourself to focus on your work. Meanwhile, in the distance there is the occasional, disdainful yell of a Time Lord playing ping-pong against a tree and losing.

That evening, the Doctor is once again waiting for you under the same streetlamp, illuminated by the same angelic glow as the evening before, and you can’t help feeling that each time you see him standing under it, that becomes more and more fitting.

“Evening Doctor, what’s the final score?” You ask, gesturing to the ping-pong table that he has left in the carpark.

Scoffing and pouting dramatically, the Doctor replies. “I don’t want to talk about it, but good evening.”

In an instant, the two of you are chuckling again, like old friends that have known each other far longer than you two have. Or rather, far longer than you have known him. The walk to your home continues in much the same way as it did the previous day, except the Doctor is more aware of your surroundings this time.

“So, I said to her, y’know, that’s totally unreasonable, and then she-”

The Doctor interrupts you by gently tapping your hand with his own as they swing between you. 

“I don’t want to alarm you, but we are being followed. Carry on as you were, I’ll keep watch.” He whispers, your arm immediately going rigid with fear beside him, but nodding along with his reassurances. “You are completely safe. I won’t let anything harm you.”

Clearing your throat, you continue. “Sorry, just remembered I forgot to save a file at work and made a mental note to sort that tomorrow. Anyway, as I was saying-”

Listening dutifully to your stories, as he always has, the Doctor only occasionally casts sideways glances to the opposite side of the street, where a shadowed figure is walking ever so slightly behind the two of you.

Once safely at your door, the two of you share a small smile, but your nervousness is obvious.

“Please, dont worry. After tonight, you won’t ever have to feel this way again. I will deal with him.” The Doctor tells you, voice soft but words firm in their meaning.

And you don’t know why, but you trust him completely. “Thank you. Goodnight, Doctor.”

With that, he gives you a warm smile, one that you will hold onto for the rest of the night. “Goodnight, (Y/N).”

He waits until you have stepped inside your home, closed and locked the front door, before he takes his leave. There is no skip in his step this time, his shoes thud against the concrete road with a determination and fury like no other.

Walking over to his Tardis, the Doctor rests his back against the doors and crosses his arms. 

“I know you’re hiding over there, I know you like to follow her. Just tell me why.” He speaks into the street that appears empty, but in his peripheral vision, he can see the same hooded shadow that had been following you earlier, hiding around the corner of someone else’s house.

For a moment, the stalker says nothing and the Doctor is tempted to speak again, but then a voice greets him from the dark.

“None of your business.”

The Doctor laughs coldly. “I’m afraid that’s where you’re wrong. By choosing to subject her to the fear that you have, you have made this my business. So, I’ll ask again, just once: why?”

The hooded figure considers the words and the obvious confidence of the bowtie-wearing man that leans against a police box. Based on this, he evidently tries to choose his words carefully, but not carefully enough.

“I like the way she walks faster when she sees me behind her.”

The Doctor’s blood boils in his veins. “You like to scare her?”

When no voice replies to correct him, the Time Lord stands up from leaning against the Tardis and walks over to the monster of a man that thinks himself hidden. 

“Does it make you feel powerful, scaring her? Like you’re making some impact on the world?” The Doctor seethes. “Let me make myself very clear: she is one world that will forever be out of your reach, both in who she is and the fact I will make sure of it. She is under my protection, do you want to know what that means?”

Without giving the monster time to answer, the Doctor grabs him by a tuft of his hair and slams his forehead into his, sending him a shockwave compilation of the Time Lord’s most formidable and incredible moments. The paper man crumbles to the floor, a shaking mess, and the Doctor stands tall over him. 

“If I ever see your face again, it will be your last day on this planet.” The Doctor threatens, voice eerily soft given the weight of his words.

Nodding frantically, the stalker scrambles to his feet and sprints as fast as he can away from the ancient god. 

Rubbing his face tiredly, the Doctor returns to his time machine and collapses on the jump seat. 

“He won't bother her again, she’s safe now.” He tells his oldest companion.

She whirrs pleasantly at him, grateful for him having saved you, but reiterating a question that already nags at his mind.

“After seeing my list of atrocities, it’s highly likely he’ll ever come back. We should…” He trails off, exhausted by the task of sharing his own history with another mind in such a way. Sighing deeply, he sits back in the chair. “But highly likely still isn’t definite. I should probably stay, just one more day, to be certain.”

And the next day, after another wonderful walk home with you, the Time Lord comes skipping through the Tardis doors with another beaming grin. 

“Well, there’s no way he would come back the day after I threatened to remove him from the planet, and I can't leave her so suddenly without an explanation! I owe her that, at least.”

But he is only justifying the continuation down this path to himself, the Tardis holds no opposition to what would usually cause her and the fabric of reality a great deal of stress.

Before he knows it, the Doctor has done the impossible: he has lived a normal week in normal human time. He knows that without you, he never could have done such a thing. To be honest, even if he had been with you as he was before, he would have struggled with this. Having lost you and lived without you in the way that he has, he has never wished more for the most mundane parts of a life with you. All the time spent running with you at his side, facing varying degrees of danger head on, running on adrenaline and saving planet after planet - it was only when he lost you that he realized in doing all of that, he barely had the time to just walk with you. Talk about your day, the weather, your friends, the gossip about town, the slow passing of an evening instead of cramming a month’s worth of adventures into a week of traveling and then dropping you back into your normal life on the same day you’d left it. How you adjusted to both, how you effectively gave up on the life you had here, the one he has now been blessed enough to live with you, he will never know.

And on the last night of the working week, when the two of you share a look that acknowledges the fact you won’t see each other again until Monday, and you invite him into your home for a cup of tea, the Doctor feels a piece of his hearts slot back into place.

Stepping into your home, without the souvenirs and paintings from your travels with the Doctor filling every empty space, only seeing pieces of you everywhere, your ornaments and trinkets and chosen wall art - all of it sings your name to him like a prayer. It is strange, to step into someone’s home for the first time and feel a sense of nostalgia. Something feels wrong, still, but the Time Lord allows himself to be blinded by everything that feels right, the constant comfort that he feels in your presence, the peace you bring his ancient mind. Just once, he feels he is allowed to ignore the nagging in his brain. The universe can let him have this, just for a little while longer.

Having made the Doctor the best cup of tea he has ever had - simply because it is you that has made it - you inform him it is against your code of conduct to stay in your work clothes once you have returned home, and rapidly ascend the stairs, leaving the Time Lord sitting in your living room in a lovesick daze. And when you re-enter the room in the coziest looking pajamas he has ever seen, the Doctor is absolutely certain that the look in his eyes tells you loud and clear, he would do anything for you. 

Flopping down on the sofa beside him, you kick your feet up on the plush footstool ahead of you. “So, Friday night, what are we saying - takeaway and a film?”

You could have asked him to marry you and the question would have sounded just as heavenly. The Doctor nods frantically, grinning after you as you briefly exit the room again and return with a box full of paper menus for various takeaway places, asking him to pick while you choose a film that you say he has to see at least once in his life. He pretends to deliberate, his eyes fixed on you as you dig through your stacks of DVD’s, but he knows that he’s going to choose your favorite takeaway and you’re going to put on your favorite film, which he has watched with you a number of times before, but cannot wait to watch again for the first time.

In the post-takeaway bloat, the Doctor has discarded his tweed jacket and bowtie, and undone the top two buttons of his shirt, while you have simply shifted your position to be snuggled into his side with your head against his chest. The two of you are snuggled under a fluffy blanket, watching your favorite movie in silence, save for your choice commentary over your favorite scenes. With your ear pressed against his chest, the Doctor wonders how you haven’t made a point of his irregular sounding heartbeats. While you have acknowledged it in your own head, something about it feels normal to you, preventing you from having any kind of reaction beyond being comforted by its sound. 

And never before has the Time Lord wished to be stuck in a time loop more. If the only way he could live this day, everyday, for the rest of time, would be to play it out over and over again, he would never complain about a thing. If his moral compass had a gray area that was just a little larger, he could let his Tardis being here cause a fracture in the fabric of reality with any number of consequences, if it meant he could stay here with you. But above all else, the Doctor wishes he could have a silly little job to complain about, that everyday he could come home to your little house, cook and eat dinner with you at your dining table, laugh about the days you’ve had and yours plans for the next ones, then snuggle up on the sofa in your pajamas to watch your favorite shows until you were tired enough to go to sleep. And every night, he would carry you up to bed, looking down at your sleeping face and planning each and every night how he’d ask you to marry him someday soon.

It isn’t until you feel a droplet against your head and sit up to face him that the Doctor realizes he desires that life so strongly it has reduced him to tears. 

“Doctor? What’s wrong?!” 

The care in your voice, the way he can tell you already feel for him, the bond you have automatically slipped back into without even trying. He has made an imprint on your life again, he couldn’t help it. He was here to save you just one more time, to set things right so that he and his time machine could grieve and carry on, that was his purpose here, but he has gone too far. There is no logical way that he can leave unnoticed and in any which way he left you now, he would hurt you. While it would only be a fraction of the agony he has lived in without you, he cannot bring himself to hurt you in any capacity, not again. 

“I have to show you something.” The Doctor tells you, standing up from the sofa and taking your hand, grabbing his jacket with the other and leading you to your front door. 

It is silent as you step into a pair of slippers big enough to fit your fluffy socks in, staring up at the Doctor in confusion and concern, and it is silent as the two of you walk the short distance between your house and his police box. 

Taking a deep breath, the Doctor pushes open the door and gently tugs you inside. Your legs falter behind him and he turns to face you, seeing an exact replay of the shock and wonder in your eyes as he did on the first occasion he brought you here. But there isn’t time, not anymore.

“Not a policeman, a time traveller. This is my ship, it’s bigger on the inside.” With your hand still in his, the ancient god rushes through the necessary clarifications as he leads you through the main control room, down a flight of stairs, and to the door that he previously couldn’t bear looking at, that the Tardis had moved closer to the main control room than it had ever been before.

The Doctor’s other hand is shaking as he reaches for the handle, but he cannot delay this any longer. He has gone too far.

Turning the handle dowards, he pushes the door open, the gesture weak but taking everything from him, his arm falling limp at his side. The room glows at your arrival, the Tardis sensing your return and greeting you in a warm smile. And despite the overwhelming strangeness of it all, you manage a small smile back at her. 

The Doctor feels your hand slip away from his as you cautiously step into the room, while he feels an invisible barrier denying him entry. After everything, he does not deserve the right to stand in there with you.

“This universe is not the only one.” He begins, voice light as he focuses on telling you a story, providing an explanation of what came first, forcing himself to forget what came after until he has no choice but to tell you that, too. “There is an ever expanding number of galaxies and worlds out there in this universe and others, and time is like…a cabinet, with folders pressed together that are so similar, only those who know them well enough could tear them apart. Parallel worlds.” 

His eyes are fixed to you as you seem to glide around the room, gaze lingering on every trinket you see, until you reach the fireplace to the left of the door. It bursts to life at your presence, flames roaring and firewood crackling, warming your slippers, but you neglect to notice that, otherwise entranced by the photographs that decorate the mantelpiece. Frame after frame, all different sizes, some photographs not framed yet, but placed there still, waiting to be stood with pride amongst the rest. Your own face, and the Doctor’s, smiling back at you in each and every one, with backgrounds of countless different places.

“I was lucky enough to meet you in a world parallel to this one. We…traveled together.” He takes a deep breath, watching you pick up some of the photographs to examine them closer, a confused frown on your face as you stare at them with such intensity. “There are planets safe in the sky, stars that sing songs of that version of you for saving them, even just for visiting them. That version of you was like…a sun, to many a planet, spreading an infectious joy wherever you went…to none more than me.” With a sad smile, his gaze drops to the floor, the line of your doorway that he cannot cross. “I took you from the planet that created you, the stardust from which you were born, and because of me, that world is now without you.” All light drains from the Doctor’s voice then, the weight of his crimes crushing the flicker of his spirit that only you could bring back. “What should have been an easy pit stop on an asteroid became the worst day in existence. It was your birthday- not that you remembered, you hadn’t been living earth days for some time, but you had mentioned how much you enjoyed celebrating and I couldn’t strip you of that human right along with everything else.” As kind as his gesture had been at the time, on reflection it is morbid, cynical and cruel. Everything he did that led you there had grown sour in the absence of you. “I took you to the largest asteroid belt in history, so that we could have a picnic there and you could take another photograph for your collection. But when we arrived…” The Time Lord swallows the lump in his throat, remembering every agonizing second as though it was happening all over again. “Colonizers, that was what they called themselves. A disorganized group of criminals; a broken cyberman and discharged jadoon, among them. They had stolen a vortex tunnel, which in itself was a terrible crime- they thought they could control one but not even Time Lords managed to master them. My history and their anger towards me for it was waiting outside the Tardis doors but because it had been clear when I’d set the picnic up, I didn’t think to scan the perimeter again. I sent you out there first to surprise you, and they-” Trembling fists clench at his sides, closing his eyes in a pained blink before opening them to a grave frown. “They’d already grabbed you and before I could say anything, they’d thrown you inside.”

Having already placed the photographs back on the mantelpiece, you watch the wonder of a man you’ve come to know crumble with shame. 

“What does a vortex tunnel do?” You ask, voice barely above a whisper so as to not upset him further by verbalizing such painful memories for him too loudly.

“Vortex tunnels are a risky means of escape. They pluck you from where you’re standing and send you hurtling across space and time with no definite destination. They could send someone to random coordinates, floating in space, to certain death- there is no way to predict them.” The Doctor answers, keeping his words factual and objective to regain some composure.

“Why would anyone want to use one?” You question gently.

“Desperation. Based on their unpredictability, they are illegal and kept in stasis, but there have been cases of criminals that use them to avoid trial and execution.” He replies.

“Couldn’t outer space police track them down, or something?” You aren’t quite sure you understand the full extent of the events, feeling that certain aspects are missing and it is down to you to piece together what you can while trying to save the Doctor from reliving such pain.

“Vortex tunnels don’t just send you across time and space, they erase your mind entirely. In the highly unlikely case of someone being tracked to where the tunnel had spat them out, they have no memory of their crimes, so cannot be charged for them. The creature that they were, all but ceases to be.” His voice is light again, fragile this time at the thought of the person he had known being erased from existence and left stranded. “There was no way for me to trace you, not even with a psychic link in the Tardis, because the psychic link with you was gone, your mind as we knew it, was gone. The Colonizers jumped into it afterwards, of course, to escape me.” The Doctor rubs his face with his hands, then places a palm against the doorframe. “She’s the reason I’m here. She mourned you so deeply that she ripped a hole in the fabric of reality to bring me to a parallel world, just to save you one last time, to make our last memory something better.” His hand falls to his side. “But I went too far, again. I stayed too long, made too much of an impression on this version of you, your life here. Now, leaving will hurt you, but I can’t take you with me. Not only do I refuse to take you away from the world, the family that is yours a second time, but I cannot replace her. As similar as you are, you are not her, and I know it. Something has felt wrong from the moment I arrived and as much as I’ve tried to ignore it, I can’t anymore-“

“What family?” You interrupt him, stunning him into silence for a moment.

He is so shocked by your question, he manages to meet your eyes for the first time since opening your bedroom door. “Your family, your parents.”

Your brow furrows, expression lost. “I…don’t have parents, Doctor.”

The Time Lord stares at you, dumbfounded. 

And then he’s walking towards you, stepping across the invisible barrier and breaking the distance to stare into your eyes, read what lies beyond them, a stern frown etched in his features. “Yes, you do. As different as parallel worlds can be, if you did not have parents, you would be a very different person. Your mother picked out your living room curtains, your father built the coffee table in there-”

You shake your head, interrupting him again. “Those were both part of the house, they were there when I arrived.”

Too perplexed to continue this interrogation manually, the Doctor takes your hand and all but drags you back to the main control room. Retrieving his sonic screwdriver from his jacket pocket, he scans your brain and then transfers the data to his monitor, eyes reading the Gallifreyan data displayed over and over again, trying to make sense of it.

“Is there something wrong with me, Doctor?” You ask, beginning to worry based on his expansive knowledge and lack of ability to give you an explanation.

Looking from his monitor to you, he scowls. “Arrived.”

“What?” You question.

“You didn’t say the furniture was there when you moved in, you said it was there when you arrived.” His eyes slowly start to widen. “You saw the Tardis. When we first landed here- she automatically blends in with the world around her, but you saw her. And when I told you to call me the Doctor, you didn’t question it, not once. Despite being introduced to you as John Smith, you never called me that, even in private.” Slow, hesitant steps towards you, as though he’s scared to approach what you could be. “You didn’t question anything, throughout my explanation. Not the time travel, not the Tardis or referring to her as ‘she’, not parallel worlds, not the alien species I referenced, not how we met, the places we’d been- you only started asking questions in the end, about the only things that - out of everything I told you - you didn’t already know.”

His words sink into your skin slowly, your mind finding it much more difficult to digest this information than it had everything else the Doctor has previously told you, and he’s right, all of that should have raised more questions from you.

The Doctor reaches for your hand so slowly, and you don’t know why, but you accept it, instinctively. A small smile blooms on his face, the tiniest glimmer of hope as he looks between you and the Tardis console.

“She wasn’t sick, oh, you sexy thing- that’s how she brought us here, she was tracking you across time and space, pinpointing the anomaly of you, thrown from your own timestream and into another.” He whispers, bringing your hand to his lips to place a kiss against your knuckles. “If we fly away from here, if we go back to your Earth, the timeline will correct itself and you should remember everything- we can’t let this anomaly continue or it could tear apart time and space in some grandiose butterfly effect!” 

And he lets go of your hand to run around the console, pressing buttons and pulling levers with an exhilarated grin on his face, the Tardis whirring with excitement, while you just stand there.

“All this time, I thought she couldn't find you, silly old Doctor! I was slow on the uptake, as usual- I hope the Shadow Proclamation can forgive any ripples in the continuum that follow this, but-”

“Doctor, wait.”

He stops suddenly, the wondrous time machine collapsing into silence. 

“The fact I already trust you as much as I do and don’t feel terrified by this frankly alarming turn of events, suggests you and the Tardis are right, but…remembering an entire life that, as of now, I don’t fully recognise I’ve lived, how will that feel?” For the first time since meeting the Doctor in this world, you are scared at the thought of what comes next.

Understanding your concern, the Doctor returns to you and takes your hands in his. “Quite honestly, I have no idea, I’ve never seen the recovery process from a vortex tunnel. I can only guess that it will feel overwhelming, it could send you to sleep, but whatever happens, I will be right here, and you will be fine. I promise you. I will never risk you again.”

He holds your face in his hands, gaze locked with yours.

Taking a deep breath, you nod. “Okay.”

The Doctor smiles at you. “Keep your eyes on me and reach for the lever on your left, you know the one.”

And like it’s second nature, your hand grabs the very lever he’s referring to, bringing a beaming grin from the Time Lord as you tug it down. 

With a wheeze and a groan, the wonderful time machine lifts into the sky and drags herself out of the parallel world, beginning the journey back to the one you came from. Through the time vortex, your knees buckle, winding you and forcing you to collapse into the Doctor, who holds you against him so tightly, slowly lowering the two of you to the floor to hold you on his lap, arms keeping your body safe as your mind races a mile a minute.

“You can do this, we’re almost there. Come on (Y/N), hold on, for me.” He murmurs into your ear, comforting you through the tears that wrack your body, memories attacking you from every angle. 

Regardless of how happy the majority of those memories are, to experience them all at once and at the same time as all of the sad ones, the painful ones; to feel every emotion you are capable of feeling simultaneously and remembering every instance in which you have felt every one, in a microsecond; a human mind can only cope with so much.

The memories of his smile and laugh overlay every flashing image of every place you’ve been together, every species you’ve encountered, friend you’ve made, planet you’ve explored, until it all fades to black and you are empty again.

Only this time, instead of waking up in a simultaneously familiar and unfamiliar house with a mental block on how you had arrived there and no understanding of who you were beyond the corporate life you led amongst billions of your kind, your eyes flutter open to your home. Sitting in a chair beside your bed, he watches over you, your guardian angel. The delirium with which you scan the room around you, acknowledging the crackling fire and the familiarity of your bedroom on the Tardis, makes you feel as though you have slept a thousand years.

“Doctor? What-”

He interrupts you, gently shushing you. “Rest, (Y/N), you need to rest, please. Recovering and reliving your entire life all at once and in under a minute is not a normal process for anyone, you need to let your mind recover.”

Rubbing your eyes tiredly, you nod at him. “How long have I slept for?”

“Three days.” 

With eyes like a deer in headlights, you sit bolt upright in bed, immediately starting to feel dizzy and the Doctor jumping from his chair to steady you, propping your pillows up behind you.

“Three days?!” 

The Doctor nods. “Yes. Had I thought about this recovery process, I probably would have picked a more comfortable chair.”

Your jaw drops. “Tell me you have not been sitting there for three days straight.”

And the ancient god is silent.

You sigh. “Doctor!”

He holds his hands up in mock surrender. “If I told you I hadn’t been sitting here for three days, that would have been a lie, so I thought it best not to say anything!”

Shaking your head in disbelief at him, you shuffle to the side of your bed that is pressed against the wall. “For goodness’ sake, you ridiculous fool.” You pat the empty space beside you on your bed. “Get in here.”

The Doctor’s eyes widen. “Y-You need the space to rest!”

You hold his gaze. “Before getting to the parallel world, how long had it been since you last saw me?”

He avoids your eyes. “I wasn’t keeping count, we were just drifting while she tracked you- it doesn’t matter.”

Frowning, you look up at the ceiling. “Tardis? On the monitor above my bed, can you tell me how much time had passed between my disappearance and the two of you arriving on the parallel world, in Earth days?”

And as always, she is ever so happy to listen to you. The monitor above your bed flickers on, displaying a black screen with a single line of text. 

1096 days, 15 hours, 38 minutes, 4 seconds.

Having never been particularly mathematically gifted, you turn back to the Doctor. “...How many years is that?”

But he doesn’t have it in his hearts to tell you, to admit how long he was alone for, how long he and the Tardis grieved for, how long they drifted in space while she searched for you and he tortured himself with the guilt of losing you, the hopelessness of never being able to find you again. Retrieving his sonic screwdriver from his jacket again, he zaps the monitor above your bed and then returns the tool to his pocket, hanging his head.

Looking back up at the monitor, your eyes fill with tears at the change of text.

3 Years, 1 Day, 15 hours, 38 minutes, 4 seconds.

One hand lifts to cover your trembling bottom lip, while the other reaches for his hand.

“Three years?! Doctor, that’s-”

He cuts you off. “If the Tardis hadn't taken flight when she did, it would have been an eternity, I can assure you.”

The Doctor’s words hit you like a train, so suddenly and stopping your heart with a screech before it starts again, spluttering frantically in your chest at the impact. Sniffling and wiping your eyes, you chuckle, in complete disbelief.

“Well, daft old man, you know what that means, don’t you?”

Unable to resist the urge to lift his head and see your smile again, the Doctor meets your eyes. Without realizing it, he starts to smile back at you, silently asking you to continue.

And you do, giving his hand a squeeze before letting go of it to tap the empty space on the mattress beside you again, with a tearful smile that sets both his hearts ablaze.

“I think you need a cuddle just as much as I do.”

[owen-writes]

Goody-Two Shoes

11th Doctor x Gender Neutral Reader

The TARDIS hums softly as it materializes on an alien planet. You step out, the 11th Doctor at your side, his signature bowtie slightly askew.

"Alright, now listen carefully," the Doctor begins, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of excitement and concern. "We're here to retrieve the Chrono Crystal. It's in the catacombs beneath that ancient temple over there. Follow my lead, stay close, and, most importantly, don't touch anything."

You nod, eager to prove yourself as a valuable companion. Amy and Rory exchange glances, their expressions a mix of curiosity and skepticism. The Doctor takes the lead, and you follow his instructions to the letter.

As you traverse the dimly lit catacombs, Amy shoots you a sideways glance. "You're quite the goody two-shoes, aren't you? Always following the Doctor's orders."

You shrug off the comment, focusing on keeping pace with the Time Lord. The Doctor, however, seems pleased with your cooperation. "It's essential to follow instructions in these situations. Trust me, I've had my fair share of companions who thought they knew better."

As the mission progresses, Amy's jabs become more frequent. "Honestly, you're like the Doctor's little lapdog. Can't you think for yourself?"

The remarks sting, and you find yourself growing increasingly self-conscious. Determined to prove you're not as "lame" as Amy suggests, you decide to take matters into your own hands during a crucial moment. Ignoring the Doctor's warnings, you touch a peculiar-looking device, setting off a series of alarms.

The Doctor whirls around, his eyes widening. "What did I just say about touching things?!"

Your rebellious act results in chaos, drawing the attention of hostile creatures. The Doctor, Amy, and Rory engage in a frantic escape, and you realize your attempt to break free from the perceived mold has backfired spectacularly.

Later, in the safety of the TARDIS, the Doctor pulls you aside. "Alright, spill it. What's going on? That's not like you at all."

You sigh, feeling the weight of Amy's disapproval on your shoulders. "I just wanted to prove I could be more than the obedient one. Amy thinks I'm boring, and I don't want to drag the group down."

The Doctor looks at you with a mix of understanding and amusement. "Ah, Amy. She has a way with words, doesn't she? But you don't need to change who you are to impress anyone. I value you for being yourself."

Surprised by his sincerity, you open up about your insecurities. The Doctor listens intently, his expression softening. "You're not a lapdog or boring. You're reliable, and that's a rare quality. Trust me; I've traveled with all sorts. I chose you because I see something special in you."

Over the following adventures, the Doctor makes an effort to involve you more in decision-making, showcasing your unique strengths. Amy, while still a bit skeptical, begins to appreciate your contributions. As the TARDIS hurtles through time and space, you find solace in the fact that the Doctor values you not for your rebellious acts but for the person you are.

[yeehawbrothers]

Inverted PB&J-11th Doctor x Fem! reader

I'm alive guys.

This was a request from a lovely fellow 11th lover, I wrote it platonically, but if you ignore a few words it could be romantic. I also wrote the reader as American, just because I am. (I also zoned out while writing this and do not remember most of it)

“Do you think it could be considered a federal crime to eat inverted peanut butter and jelly?” She asked, hands covered in grease, sparks flying almost catching her hair on fire, and her best friend beside her, in the same state. “Inverted?” He looked up from the wires in his hands, his grease and dirt covered face, also covered in confusion. “Yeah like,” an explosion of sparks behind her interrupted her statement, before she spun around and used her sonic to tame it momentarily. “If you put the peanut butter and jelly on the bread normally, right? And then instead of putting them like, face to face, you turned them outward.” She stared at him as he seemed to process her words. “Oh, yeah. That’s absolutely a crime” he nodded, as they both went back to what they were doing. 

Behind them, Amy and Rory stared at them in question, before turning to each other with faces of pure bewilderment. 

Amy slowly stood and walked towards the two timelords, crouched under the ball of wires. “Inverted peanut butter and jelly? Where on earth did that come from?” A shot of sparks erupted in the timelords face as she stopped her work momentarily, the metaphorical cogs in her mind visibly turning. “Boston, I think. In like, 1901.” She said, with a small smile. “What?” She tilted her head slightly, “You asked where peanut butter and jelly came from, Boston. In the early 1900s.” She paused, “But if you’re asking about inverted peanut butter and jelly, I don’t know that. I’ll find to find out though.” She turned back to her work, as Amy shook her head and walked back to where Rory was sitting watching the scene unfold. 

“What was that about?” Rory said as he watched his wife flop down on the makeshift bench beside him. “Who knows.” They turned back to watch the two timelords who were now bickering over the wire placement, before all went silent as the lights flickered and a pounding was heard on the metal doors. The two timelords looked towards the door, before turning to each other and immediately standing up. The Doctor began quickly scanning the room as his right-hand woman ran to where Amy and Rory sat. “Hey so, we should probably start running.” As if on que, the metal doors flew off the hinges into the room. “Right, let’s go.” The Doctor ran over, grabbing her hand as they began to run down the hall to the Tardis.

 They stopped, allowing their two companions to run ahead into the welcoming blue doors of the tardis. The Doctor lightly pushed her ahead of him into the box, running in last and slamming the doors behind him. The two ran up to the main console and began flicking switches and pulling levers causing the Tardis to take off with a violent shake, before stilling. “wow that was-“ Amy began, before getting cut off by a certain timelord.

 “Why would you use the purple wire for the highest current?” The Doctor froze, looking over at his companion. “Well I-“ The Doctor began stuttering over his words. “No, seriously. It only had the capacity for 5 voltage, and it was running at 25. No wonder the doors were faulty.” She stood, hands on her hips staring him down. “Well if YOU,” he pointed at her, shaking his finger, “Hadn’t gone off about inverted peanut butter and jelly-“ She gasped, “Do NOT blame me Mr.! That was an incredibly valid question. Right?” She turned to the two humans watching the scene unfold. “Well-“ Rory started. “Don’t get them involved!” The Doctor said, “You know what, it doesn’t even matter. Because everyone knows peanut butter and butter is better anyways.” She stomped her foot in detest, “You take that back!” He shook his head, crossing his arms as he looked down at her. “You’re the British one, eating beans on toast or whatever it is, so you have absolutely no credibility on what’s good.” He gasped lightly, “EXCUSE ME? The British one???” She nodded, a small smile playing on her lips. “Yeah, I got lucky and am a proud American.” She stood in a fake salute. 

“Listen,” Her hand coming to rest by her side, “All I’m saying is one fried Oreo will change your life.” His tongue stuck out in disgust as he considered the notion. “You American’s and your fried stuff. It’s so unhealthy for you.” She scoffed, “At least we don’t eat like we have no access to real food.” They stood like that for a moment, in a standoff of sorts, the Doctors face one of disgust, and hers smug as could be. Before bursting out in laughter and pulling each other into a tight hug. 

When they broke apart, she wacked him upside the head, hearing Amy snicker and watching the Doctor rub his head. “Don’t ever do that again though, I’m doing the wiring next time.” She pointed, hand on her hip. The doctor stood quickly, taking his turn at coming to a false salute. She shoved him jokingly, before turning back towards the console. “SO. Where to now?” The doctor thought for a moment before running around the console causing the TARDIS to shake and launch into takeoff. All the passengers grabbed a hold of the metal bars circling the console. “I know this amazing place in the Amedromia galaxy! Its- WHOA WHOA WHOA” He was interrupted quickly. “You know I’m banned.” 

Silence fell among the Tardis, “Your-your banned?” The doctor tilted his head slightly. “Yeahhhhh…. So, I accidently stole this like super important religious piece from one of their temples cause I thought it was a free sample.” The doctors face dropped into one of annoyance, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” She became defensive quickly, “Listen- at least I’M not the one who stole that guy’s eye cause he thought it was a Halloween costume.” “HEY, YOU SAID YOU WOULDN’T TALK ABOUT THAT AGAIN-“ As they both launched into yet another bickering session, Amy and Rory sighed and shook their heads. “Here we go again.”

Thanks for reading, and thanks to @dinofromspac3 for the request. <3

All the love-A.

[multific]

Portraits

11th Doctor x Reader

Summary: The Doctor was never meant to see your drawings, sketches and paintings.

You loved to draw and paint ever since you were born.

You loved paintings and art as a whole. 

You always wanted to meet with the great painters of the past, Monét being one of your favourites.

But now, you had a different hobby. 

You longed for adventure and the thrill of it all.

So, being a companion of the Doctor came naturally.

He was a very understanding and kind soul.

He even made a room for you where you could paint and draw in between adventures.

He would be out there, doing something with the TARDIS while you were in your room, drawing, sketching or painting.

You not only had a new companion and hobby but a muse. 

You found the Doctor to be beautiful and soon you realized your mindless sketches were all about him.

In the beginning, it was the places he took you to.

Then it was just Him.

Nothing else but him.

How you remembered him when the sun was shining on his face. One smile he offered you that morning.

And soon, your art room got filled with him. His face littered the walls and the floor. He was everywhere.

And suddenly you became extremely grateful that he didn't enter your room. Ever. 

He said it is your space and he never ever opened the door. 

And he didn't need to.

After a particularly sticky adventure, you went to your room to shower and wash your hair.

Little did you know that TARDIS opened the door to the Chamber of Secrets. To your Chamber of Secrets. 

The Doctor was on his way back from his own shower when he found the door open a little. He thought it was weird since you always close it.

As he knocked and called out, the door opened further, revealing what was inside.

He looked around and at all the sketches of him, and not only him, but the one before him. He looked... beautiful. You made him look beautiful.

A particular painting caught his eye. 

He immediately recognized the place, he took you to a planet which was filled with flowers and meadows. And there it was, him sitting on a blanket in the middle of it all. 

"Doctor?" he heard you call but he couldn't move. "Why are you in here?!" you asked as you rushed in. "You said you wouldn't come in here."

"The door was open." he pointed at the door but never took his eyes off of the painting. "Is this really how you see me?" 

"I-I-"

"You make me look so beautiful. I truly don't deserve to look so nice." his eyes caught once more the pile. The pile which was all of his previous reincarnations. 

"It is how I see you." you walked over and pulled out a picture of him standing next to a Dalek. "I don't remember what you told me that day. But I knew I will have to paint it. To me, you are beautiful."

The Doctor, for once in his life was speechless. He could see your heart was in front of him in a platter and he didn't want to break it, even if he knew he should, he couldn't. He loved you for way too long. And to hear you loved him the same. To see you loved him the same.

"I am not a good painter, but I wish I could paint such beautiful portraits about you. You are so much more beautiful than I am." 

"Please don't give me hope if you are going to end up leaving me."

"I will never leave you."

You looked at him and smiled at him. The tone of his voice, the promise in his words spoke louder than ever. 

"I won't leave you either." you said and it was a promise you meant to keep.

He walked over to you and hugged you. He finally felt full. Both of his hearts, filled with you.

"I do wish to draw something different though."

"Oh?" he pulled back a little and looked down at you. He smiled as he was waiting for you to explain.

"A... nude." you whispered as he suddenly pulled back.

"Very funny! Very funny, Y/N!" you noticed how red his neck and face got as he backed away and out of the room. 

You smiled as you heard him walk away quickly.

You knew that one way or another, you will get your drawing, since you already got the man himself.

Taglist: @fleursirvart​ @greenarrowhead​ @thisismysecrethappyplace​ @sincerelyfan​ @theoneanna​ @aestheticsandmarvel​ @rororo06​ @castellandiangelo​ @destynelseclipsa​ @spilledinkindumpster​ @capsiclesdoll​ @puknow​ @alwayshave-faith​ @alex12948​ @lxdyred​  @imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl​ @anonymoussherlockandmarvelgeek​ @praline357​ @trshngyn​ @avengers-r-us​ @violet-19999​ @top1bbgloak​

~Masterlist~

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