Chapter Text
"Ah, Venice," you said wistfully, tossing the end of a cashmere scarf over your shoulder. You wrapped your arms around yourself as though you were cold, posing a bit at your reflection in the mirror that the TARDIS wardrobe provided. Whether completely stylish for the time period or not, you thought you looked rather dashing in your new clothes. "You said we're in the 1850s, right?" you called down.
"We're never going to know if you don't get down here," the Doctor said, his familiar voice nothing less than exasperated. You tossed your head to the right, your eyes glittering with amusement as they met his. He was leaning on the rail of the stairs, his body tilted slightly so he could see you on the second floor. You could see a glimmer of annoyance in his eyes even at the distance. But you couldn't really blame the poor Time Lord; you tended to take your time when planning your outfits.
"Alright, alright; I'm done," you answered back, earning yourself a large sigh of relief from the brown-haired man. Your eyes returned to the mirror for a moment. You flashed your reflection a quick smile, as much from your satisfaction with it as your enjoyment of making the Doctor wait, before turning to descend the stairs.
"Did you know," the Doctor began as you reached the last step, "the amount of time it takes a human female to dress herself is unparalleled anywhere in the universe?"
You gave him a playful shove with a complementary "Shut up." A smile crossed your face at the little smirk that crossed his as the two of you began walking to the TARDIS doors.
"You know, you can joke about how long I take to get dressed, but I doubt you'd want me to just throw something together and come out looking perfectly daft."
"Oh, you aren't capable of looking daft."
"I'd say jeans and a t-shirt would look rather daft in the streets of Venice," you said, unable to keep your voice from quivering with excitement at the word 'Venice'.
"Not daft at all; the men would love it! This is the 1800s after all," the Doctor replied jokingly.
"Oh, I know. All that wrist showing? Mmm," you said with a grin, earning a small chuckle from the Time Lord. "Watch out. I might even," you looked side to side and lowered your voice, "show my ankles."
"Well, now you're getting simply outrageous."
"I do love to live on the wild side, Doctor," you said with a mock seductive tone, pulling your hand level to your eyes and sliding your jacket sleeve up.
"So indecent," he exclaimed, slapping a hand over his eyes before dropping it and joining your laughter. You looked at him, eyes sparkling as you giggled playfully. The pale rosy hue on his face that always accompanied his laughter made him look so adorable. There was no denying how much you loved being the reason for it.
"Yes, well, let's try not destroying societal views of decency today," the Time Lord said with a large grin as the two of you reached the TARDIS doors.
"I'll do my best," you promised, unable to keep the smile off your face. He looked back at you as his hand wrapped around the door handle, his eyes seeming to absorb every bit of your beaming face and reflect it in his own. After having a greater amount of life-threatening situations back-to-back than usual, the Doctor figured that a bit of downtime might do both of you some good. He'd been rattling off the names of a few cities when he saw your entire face literally light up at his mention of 'Venice'. The Time Lord had never heard you speak so quickly and passionately about anything before; with your tone dreamy and longing as you spoke of gorgeous buildings and glistening waters and boat trips into the sunset, you made a convincing pitch. He was almost anticipating it as much as you were.
"Well then, may I present to you: Venice," he said with a flourish. At his words, he dramatically threw both TARDIS doors open.
The shock on both of your faces was as intense as it was instantaneous. Rather than being met with the crisp air of a Venetian winter and the sight of the beautiful city, you saw...a brick wall?
"What on Earth...?" the Doctor said, thinking out loud as he stared at the very clear image of a...wall. You honestly weren't sure whether to be concerned or incredulous, so you simply settled on being both.
"What is it?" you asked. He put his hand on it, rapping the brick lightly with his knuckles.
"It's exactly what it looks like," he answered after a brief pause. "It's just a brick wall." The sound of muffled music was barely audible - music that was familiarly human. The two of you hadn't landed on some different planet. You'd landed on Earth.
"So...no advanced technology? No special hologram, or something?" you questioned, walking up beside him as he put a hand through his brown hair. The Time Lord pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and hovered it across the corners, before flicking it off. He shook his head.
"No. Just a wall," he said bluntly.
For a moment, you weren't sure what you were supposed to think, but as you stared at the brown and red hues of the bricks that barricaded the two of you inside, it suddenly clicked. A small amazed laugh escaped your lips, bringing the Doctor's eyes to you in time to see a mischievous grin cross your mouth.
"So you mean to tell me that you parked the TARDIS wrong? We're in the right place and all, but the doors are facing the wall? Isn't there something on here that prevents that, Doctor?"
The Time Lord stared at you for a moment, already seeing the remarks building themselves in your eyes.
"No," he said quickly, turning around and walking towards the controls. Your chiming laugh followed him.
"Oh, but Doctor, aren't you going to admire the scenery? There's all this architecture to see!" you said jokingly. "I mean, wow! Look at this brick! You can almost smell the Venice on it. And hey! Check this one out! It looks like it spells something!"
"What?" the Doctor asked, glancing up at you from the control panels.
"It says 'bad driver'! I think the brick next to it says 'The Doctor'! Think it might be a dictionary of sorts?"
"Oh, be nice," he said, turning back to the controls immediately.
"Okay, just one more," you said, skipping away from the brick wall and sliding up onto the railing around the control center. "How many Time Lords does it take to park a TARDIS?" The Doctor continued to fumble with the machinery. "Oh come on. Try to guess," you said, a childish smile on your face.
"I am not answering that, and neither will you," he said, his tone very direct.
"Two! One to-"
"NO!" he said sharply, cutting you off. He pointed a finger at you. "Bad human."
You giggled mischievously, before pushing yourself off the rail and walking over to the Time Lord. He had both hands fixed on the control panel, his arms spread apart as he leaned his weight on them. Some sort of gauge seemed to be holding his attention. Your smile fell a bit at the serious look on his face.
"What's wrong? I'm just messing with you, you know," you said, an apologetic tone in your voice, although it still retained its lightheartedness.
"No no, it's not you. The TARDIS is gaining fuel," he said, pushing off from the control panel and moving to another section.
"Gaining fuel? How?" The Doctor pulled the lever that started the TARDIS up as you asked your question, but nothing happened. He pulled it again, and again, but the same result repeated itself. Nothing lit up. Nothing whirred, nor made the slightest sound. You watched the Time Lord with confusion in your eyes as he ran a hand through his hair.
"I forgot about that...," he muttered with a deep sigh.
"Forgot about what? Hey!" You grabbed his arm as he started off towards something else, forcing his attention back to you. "What did you forget about?"
His eyes flicked back and forth between yours for a moment.
"We're near a rift," he said shortly, trying to walk off, but you pulled him back demandingly.
"No. Bad Time Lord. Explain what that means to the ignorant little human," you said, your eyes levelly holding his gaze. He pursed his lips, before shifting into a position that was facing you better.
"A rift was opened here a while back. I saved the day - as always - a century or so ago. You see, something big like a tear in space and time doesn't just close over without leaving a scar. The TARDIS feeds off the unstable radiation around that scar," he explained, speaking rapidly as he tended to do when clarifying something.
"Like fuel?"
"Exactly. Now you're a slightly less ignorant little human. You're welcome," he said with a winning smile on his face as he pulled away from you. He instantly moved to another section of the control panel and began fiddling with the machinery, while you stayed where you were.
"So, the TARDIS is fueling up on radiation. And this is normal?"
"Absolutely," he replied, his attention focused on the controls.
"Then what's the problem?"
"The problem," he began, hitting the palms of his hands on the board roughly, "is that the TARDIS won't fly during a fueling cycle." He pushed himself off again, walking back around so that he was facing you. The Doctor clasped his hands together loudly. "Go on; ask. I know you want to."
You raised an eyebrow, but you knew you were an open book to him. He probably read the question on your lips the second it popped into your mind.
"How long is the fueling cycle?" you asked.
"24 hours," he answered with more pep than necessary. The Doctor paced over to the railing, turning around so that his back was to it as he leaned against the metal bar. "We're just going to have to entertain ourselves until then." He spread his arms out, palms up, as if presenting something spectacular. "Right here, in the TARDIS."
A small smile twitched at the corner of your mouth at his theatrical display, but you didn't let it materialize. You weren't quite sure how he felt about the situation. His smile was a confusing mixture of annoyance, disappointment, and something else you couldn't quite put a name to. The last thing you wanted was to make him more distraught than he already was.
"Well, it's no Venice, but there's worse places to be trapped in for a day," you pointed out, walking over and leaning against the rail beside him.
"Mm," he agreed, his hands grabbing and releasing the railing as his eyes wandered to different places above him. "You-" he began empathically, suddenly twirling off the railing and ending up in front of you in one graceful motion, "-haven't even seen the entire TARDIS, have you? Only the first and second floor, am I right?"
You didn't answer for a moment, startled at the sudden shift in the Time Lord. But the glint of adventure that you caught in his smile prompted you to respond.
"Yeah, of course. Is there more?" you asked, your voice raising an octave in excitement at the sparkle in the Doctor's eyes.
"Yes there's more! Come on! I'll show you!" he exclaimed, grabbing your sleeve and pulling you a bit as he practically skipped to the staircase. You laughed lightly, not sure what prompted his sudden mood swing, but loving it all the same. That was always something you appreciated about him. He never stayed down for very long. You followed him immediately, and the two of you were practically bounding up the staircase in record time. As you raced upwards, taking two steps at a time, it didn't take long for it to become something of a race between you and the Doctor.
Your rapid footsteps rang out loudly as the two of you raced across the wardrobe and up the unfamiliar flight of stairs. Inwardly, you had a feeling that he let you push ahead of him; after all, his legs were considerably longer than yours. But you gladly took the victory without complaint as your feet left the last step and hit the metal of a completely new floor.
It seemed to be something of a corridor with various pipes and wires running across the curved edges of the walls. Circular lights were aligned on the ceiling in a progressive pattern, leading down to a bend in the corridor that you couldn't see past. The newness of the scene made your love of adventure flare up with a passion, and, hearing the Doctor's footsteps not too far behind you, you decided that you weren't done running yet. You bolted down the corridor without a second thought. The air was a bit colder up here. It felt absolutely amazing as it brushed across your cheeks and slid its fingers through your hair; you couldn't deny how alive you felt as you rounded the bend. The Doctor caught up with you easily, and a quick glance at his massive grin told you that he felt the same way.
The two of you kept running, until the sight of something akin to a door made you skid to a halt in front of it. The Doctor instantly slowed down, stopping just a few steps ahead of you.
"What's in here?" you questioned, a child-like curiosity filling your voice as you put a hand on a small panel.
"Don't-" the Doctor began, putting a hand out to stop you as the door slid open to your touch. He opened his mouth as though about saying something, but decidedly closed it as you let out an exclamation of delight.
"Is that a bed?" you asked, your voice raising an octave in excitement. You raced in before he had a chance to answer, marvelling at how strange it looked. The bed could have easily encompassed two king-sized beds on Earth, and the massive headboard - seeming to be made of some kind of wood-like material - had Circular Gallifreyan that you couldn't read carved into it. The blanket that was spread over the hulking mass was a plain black, contrasting with the intricate designs, although it perfectly matched the four navy blue pillows. With a childish giggle, you launched yourself onto the middle of it, spreading your arms and landing face first on the blanket. Beneath you, you could feel the incredibly soft mattress mold to your form.
"Oh my God, this is so comfortable," you exclaimed, flipping over with a large grin on your face. You crawled over to the headboard, grabbing one of the pillows and snuggling with it tightly. Your sparkling eyes watched the Time Lord as sat lightly on the edge of the bed.
"This is your bed, right?" you asked, to which the Doctor nodded in response. You flipped over so that your back was on the mattress and you were looking at him upside-down. "I didn't know Time Lords slept!"
"We don't sleep as much as humans," he said, leaning on one hand that he had on the mattress as he faced you, "but we still do it occasionally."
"I've never seen you sleep!" you exclaimed, crawling back over to him with the pillow still tightly wrapped in one arm.
"Well, I'm sure you'd be quite bored if you did. It's a very uneventful process."
You laughed playfully as you flopped down beside him, your head propped up on your free knuckle as your eyes glittered.
"Like anything with you is uneventful," you said, earning a chuckle from the Doctor. "Like, for example," you began, "you're just sitting on your bed. That should be fairly uneventful, right?"
"Right," he answered slowly, catching the mischievous glint in your eyes just half a second too late.
"WRONG!" you exclaimed, suddenly shooting upright and whacking him in the chest with the pillow. The suddenness of your actions more than the force from the hit knocked the Time Lord onto his back.
"Wh-What was that for?" the Doctor stammered, his eyes wide as he stared at you with confusion written all over his face. You giggled playfully.
"Pillow fight, silly!"
Your words took a few moments to process in his mind, but a slightly amazed smile began to take the place of his confusion.
"But I'm unarmed!"
"Not my problem!" you responded, giving him another whack with your pillow that he narrowly blocked with his arm.
"That's hardly playing fair," he exclaimed, scrambling up to grab a pillow of his own.
"Who says I have to play fair?" you asked with a laugh. You raised your pillow to hit him again, but you were knocked over as the Time Lord wrapped his fingers around a pillow and swung it at you. It hit you square in the side, and from that exact point, it became war.
Almost half an hour later found the two of you laughing uncontrollably as you struggled for dominance over the last remaining pillow - all the others having been thrown across the room or out into the corridor. Both of you were sweating from the exertion, your faces flushed red with laughter. Your cheeks were hurting from how much you were smiling, and a wide exhilarated grin hadn't left the Doctor's face for even a moment. The two of you were breathing heavily, your bodies speaking of exhaustion but your minds speaking of a whole new life of endless energy. With you both sitting upright, so close that your knees were touching as you played tug-of-war with the pillow, you couldn't pinpoint a time that you'd ever had more fun.
With a sudden powerful jerk, the Doctor pulled the final pillow from your hands, bringing you crashing down onto his chest from the momentum. You let your head rest lightly on his chest for a moment, feeling it rise and fall suddenly in a laughter that you joined in with. After a few seconds, you lifted your head, your combined laughter dying down to a gentle chuckle. Your face hovered just beneath his. The Doctor's gaze, his eyes wide with elation, was fixed on you steadily, and in that moment, you saw yourself reflected in those eyes.
A little human girl with her cheeks flushed a gentle pink, her hair messy in the way that made her look even more beautiful than she already was. Just sitting there so close to him, her smile shining as brightly as her eyes. Just a little human girl. His little human girl.
You were so close to him; you could feel his warm breath on your lips. You couldn't tear your eyes away from his. You knew that if you waited long enough, he'd gently push you away, say that he had a lot of fun, and the two of you would go on, pretending that this connection had never happened. You knew that if you waited long enough, you'd talk yourself out of it and try to block out the memories. You knew that if you waited long enough, all the fun the two of you had would be locked up somewhere so you could go on without the complications. But you didn't want that. This did happen. And you never wanted to let it go.
You leaned forward, and you kissed him.