Chapter Text
Yaz had been dreading the day for weeks, although really she had been so wrapped up in her adventures that she had almost forgotten about the date entirely. It wasn’t until her phone buzzed in her hands with a reminder that she felt her stomach drop. Another wedding. Another day for her to be ridiculed for turning up alone and hanging around on the sidelines. At least she could make this one, normally she cleverly worked her shifts so that she couldn’t attend and just sent a congratulations card. Who was it this time? Chewing on the inside of her cheek, Yaz tapped on the notification to drag up the details she needed. Another one of her cousins apparently. This time it was Dinesh, one of her dad’s family members. He was a bright guy, starting his first year as a junior doctor and was marrying his childhood sweetheart Asha. She hardly spoke to her cousins, it was more Sonya’s deal than hers, having spent all of her time going through police training and such. She did like her family, but her parents and sister were more than enough for her. At least her Nani would be there for her to talk to while the rest of her family socialised.
But that didn’t fix her conundrum of going solo. Her aunts and uncles looked at her with strange stares, hushed whispers about her considerable lack of love-life. She hated it. What business was it of theirs whether or not she had someone to go with? Sonya always turned up with a different boy each time, and nobody batted an eyelid at that. Then again, it did mean she was probably going to be the next wedding in line...which was an equally terrifying thought. Her baby sister, getting married before her, to some random guy. No, Yaz couldn’t think about it. Wouldn’t. It wouldn’t do her any good. It wasn’t as if she had anyone to ask. Her only option was Ryan, but he was away on a lads weekend with his mates. She was happy for him, really, but also secretly annoyed he had somehow been double booked. There was nobody else to…
Or...was there?
No. No, she couldn’t do that. That was entirely inappropriate, out of bounds, and she was more than sure that there would be a rejection and Yaz knew she wouldn’t be able to take it. With a groan, she shoved her phone back inside the pocket of her leather jacket, slinging her backpack across one shoulder. If the TARDIS could just...randomly whisk her away somewhere and happen to bring her back too late for the wedding, then Yaz wished with every fibre of her being that it would set off right then and there. Thoughts continued to circle around in her head as she made her way through the honeycombed hallways of the sentient ship, so far lost in her world that she started at the Doctor waving happily towards her. Yaz knew it was an act, and that the Doctor not so secretly hated when they all left for some downtime back on earth. It left her alone, and she didn’t really do alone very well. Something that Yaz could empathise with. She gave a lackadaisical wave back, mouthing an apology as she came to stand next to the Doctor.
“Alright Yaz, you looked a bit out of sorts then. Everything alright?”
Of course the Doctor noticed, she always did. She had either a second sense for whenever Yaz was feeling a little off, or she was somehow better at reading people than her general awkwardness gave across. Either way, she appreciated the sentiment, trying her best to smile in response to the question.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. I just forgot there’s something I have to do tomorrow and...well, I don’t really want to do it. Can’t get out of it though. Really really wish I could.”
That seemed to pique the Doctor’s curiosity, as soon she was standing in front of Yaz with her trademark confused quirk of eyebrows and concentrating face. It was a little bit adorable. Except, she really shouldn’t be thinking things like that,
“Oh? What’s happening tomorrow? Anything I can help with? You know I like a good problem, me. Keeps me on my toes. Plus, it’s not like I’ve got that much to do anyway. I’d just end up floating around the time vortex for a bit. Had a ban on maintenance. And just generally making things. TARDIS says I’m making too much of a mess, but what is scientific discovery without some sparks and smoke?! Honestly, I’m starting to think she wants me out again.”
Far too adorable. Yaz didn’t say anything for a moment, half wondering whether or not to make up a lie and just be done with the whole thing. The Doctor didn’t need to know what was going on, but then again...at this point, she was beyond desperate. Plus, there was a little something that Yaz thought she saw in the Doctor’s eyes that made her think she was practically begging to be part of something.
“Just a family wedding. Again. I miss most of them because of work but...I forgot to swap my shifts around after that incident yesterday. So now I have to go. But...I just...it’s nothing. Never mind.”
The Doctor wouldn’t understand what she meant. Time and time again she had shown that she had a bit of a problem with human customs and cultures. Despite how long she had supposedly been around them. Yaz put it down to just being alien, although the Doctor was quite capable of repeating thousands of things about the customs of other races. Was she putting on a front? Whatever it was, with all the rigmarole that was involved with going to one of her family weddings, Yaz thought better of that tiny voice in her head that was telling her to just ask the Doctor. It would be more trouble trying to keep her on a leash, than just dealing with the comments her family always seemed to make. Except, the Doctor was somehow still insisting on something.
“Oh, a wedding! Yaz, you know I love a good wedding. Why didn’t you say so! Also, still sorry about what happened on Loxan...really sorry. But, why don’t you want to go?”
She was going to find out sooner or later, more than likely when Yaz came back in a bit of a huff.
“My family likes to make a really big deal out of the fact I don’t ever bring anyone to these events. It’s not that I don’t want to...just...well, they treat every plus one as a date and I don’t really do that kind of thing I guess.”
“Oh. Why’s that a problem though? I can come with you.”
Having had her mind set on the idea of the Doctor just telling her she would be fine, or maybe even offer her a trip to get out of it, Yaz certainly hadn’t been expecting her to just up and offer herself up on a silver platter. She had to kill the idea, fast, because it was surely a lot more trouble than it was worth.
“Doctor...you did hear me say the word ‘date’ right? As in...going out? Being together? As...a...um…”
Yaz didn’t want to say the word, but thankfully she didn’t have to. The Doctor was smiling at her now, hands on her hips, giving her the look that clearly said she had made up her mind on the matter.
“‘Course I know what you mean, Yaz. You just need someone to be there to get your family off your back, right? I can do that no problem. I’m quite good at changing topics. Can get people to talk about anything in the universe. Although I guess I can’t really say a lot...what with nobody knowing about all this stuff. Still, should be fine. Good in a tight spot. Now then, what time do you want me to come get you? Also, I guess there’s gonna be a dress code, huh? I can work with that. So yeah, just tell me when and I’ll be there. No problem at all.”
‘I’m going to die…’
Sleep had been hard to come by that night, which was terribly inconvenient when most of the day had to be spent getting ready for the wedding. So much so that her mum had told all of them to be up at 6am, meaning she had had only around five hours sleep at best. Not a good look at all. Except, how could she have slept, when all of her night had been spent thinking about the scenario she was going to find herself in. The Doctor. Coming to the wedding with her. As her plus one. As her date. What was she going to tell her parents? What was she going to tell anyone? In between the chaotic anxiety, she had found herself wondering what the Doctor was going to wear, which was not helping the situation at all. She had had no time to mention that the dress code was not overtly cultural, despite her mum’s insistence on her wearing her ‘special dress’.
Dragging herself out of bed with a mumble as her mum gently tapped on her door, Yaz staggered over to her door and yanked her dressing gown down. Despite the warmer weather, her room was still beyond freezing in the mornings, and she was craving the warmth of a cup of tea to beat the chill. Plus, perhaps a hit of caffeine would stop her from saying anything when her mum no doubt questioned her about her supposed lack of date. What was the better option; telling her, or just letting the Doctor turn up on her doorstep? There was no real time to think about anything, not with the chaos going on in her lounge. Her mum had already started off on a tirade of micromanaging, as she had somewhat expected. Her dad was busy preparing a breakfast that looked big enough to feed half a dozen people. Sonya meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen, but Yaz could hear her calling out from her room down the hallway.
“I can’t find the gold one, why can’t I wear pink?”
“Because you’re going to clash with the magenta your sister is wearing. Sonya, the dress is right to the left side, you can’t miss it, I put it in there last night.”
Doing her best to keep out of the way, Yaz sat down at the table, turning around on the chair so she was facing her dad. She could smell his signature omelettes cooking away, the sizzling mixing in with the sound of the kettle bubbling away in the background. The table had already been laid out with roti and a fruit salad, meaning that there was no way she was about to starve before the massive feast that no doubt awaited her once the wedding had ended. Despite her dad’s not so brilliant attempts at cooking at times, he was really well versed on the best breakfasts. Yaz had taken many of them to work with her, and even shared them around on the odd occasion.
“Morning. Has your mother got to you yet?”
“No, thankfully. I think she’s just busy with Sonya. Smells great, by the way.”
“Thank you, I do try my best. I’m glad you’ll be coming with us this time. It’s not often we get to go out as a full family unit. I know you can’t help your shifts and all that, though they should be more lenient with this kind of thing. Anyway, how’re you feeling this morning?”
Her dad came over with the first plate of omelette, carefully placing it on the table before turning back to the kitchen behind Yaz. The kettle clicked off, and she could hear him shuffling around to find the mugs her mum had no doubt put onto a new shelf again.
“I’m alright. Didn’t sleep so good though, but it’s fine. Guess I’m just a little nervous about all of this.”
Soon enough, there was a tea in front of her as well, made just the way she liked it; a rich black tea with a splash of milk and two sugars. The first sip made her sigh with content, the placebo effect of the caffeine already hitting her subconscious mind and waking her up. Another one of those before they left the house, and she would be right as rain again. Although, her mind was already drifting off to what was going to happen. Before she could catch what her dad had just asked, her mum came and sat next to her, somehow already set with her makeup for the occasion. Yaz hadn’t even thought about how she was going to do hers.
“Morning love. Please tell me you’re more prepared than your sister is. We really can’t stand to be late to this thing. I don’t want to upset your father’s brother again.”
Placing her mug back down on the table, Yaz set about her usual morning routine of idle chit-chat with her parents. Sonya hardly ever stuck around for breakfast, which was how she preferred it really. Especially when her head was already all over the place with bouncing wild thoughts. So far, everything was just general talk about the wedding and who was going to be there. Some family members she hadn’t seen in years were going to be there, which was quite a surprise. However, much to her visible disappointment, her Nani had come down with a cold and wouldn’t be able to attend. She was going to be her escape route, which meant that Yaz had to linger around for the whole duration and not sneak her back home sometime in the afternoon.
“Are you alright, Yaz? You’ve gone a little pale.”
Much like the Doctor the day before, Yaz knew there was no way she could even begin to try and hide anything from her mum. She was far too perceptive about anything and everything. She tried to brush it off as just being concerned for her Nani, which she was, but she saw in an instance that her answer wasn’t just settling quite right. Of course it wasn’t. Which meant that a new conversation was about to start, and she could see it a mile way. The fact she had lasted a good twenty minutes and almost managed to finish her breakfast before it being asked was nothing short of a miracle.
“So...did you manage to find someone to bring with you for this? You know people are-”
“Come on now, love, you said you weren’t going to bring it up.”
Almost passive-aggressively arranging her cutlery onto her plate, Yaz, pushed her chair out from the table and picked her plate and mug up to take into the kitchen. She turned away from both of her parents, just as her dad had just sat at the table, turning the tap on to disguise the slight venom in her tone.
“Actually, mum, I have. They’ll be here before we leave. Now, if you excuse me, I need to go and get ready myself.”
“Yasmin...who’s coming?”
She ignored her mum’s question, simply returning to her room and quietly closing the door behind her. She pressed herself to the wood and let out a long sigh, wringing her hands into her loose curls and dragging her nails across her skull. This was quite possibly the worst thing that had ever happened to her, and as she looked up to see the dress hanging against her wardrobe, Yaz wondered again if she was going to survive the experience. However, something quickly shifted in her head. Something she didn’t expect. Yaz looked over at her dress with a smile on her face, a quick pace to her heart. If she was going to have to bring the Doctor with her to this wedding, under the vicious scrutiny of her family, then she was going to make the most of the experience. She was going to enjoy herself. She was going to show the rest of her family just what they wanted to see.
“Yasmin, are you ready?”
“Almost, mum. Just finishing up my eyeliner, be out in a few minutes.”
Really, that was a lie. Yaz had gotten herself ready almost half an hour ago. All she was doing was sitting on her bed and staring out of the window. Her leather jacket was draped over her shoulders, keeping some of the warmth in. At least the venue was going to be warmer than her flat. She was wearing one of her two-piece dresses, somehow suddenly feeling very self conscious about it all. She was showing off both her shoulder and back, but also her torso, and something about that felt very strange. The Doctor had never seen her in anything other than countless layers, and although Yaz was proud of all the work that had gone into getting the body she both wanted and needed, it was such an intimate thing she wasn’t sure if she was ready to share. The gold filigree detailing brought out the warmer tones in both her skin and her eyes, standing out beautifully against the teal in her top and deep magental of her long skirt. Gold bangles rested on both of her wrists, unshifting as she moved to tuck a loose piece of hair behind her ear.
Hands then came to play with the end of her braid, a slight shadow falling over her eyes from the white and yellow flower crown resting on top of her head. Had she gone too overboard with it all? Her mum had said it was part of the requested code for them but...was she just making it up so she could impress her still nameless date? Probably. Yaz wouldn’t put it past her really. She had had to crack out her nail polish, her wheel of eyeshadow, and even lipstick. It was the most dolled up Yaz had seen herself in a long time, she looked so...different. Was she even herself anymore? Nervously chewing on the inside of her cheek again, it was about time she set about sitting in the lounge with the rest of her family before her mum decided to careen into her room and drag her out. Shaking her jacket off her shoulders and taking a final look in the mirror, Yaz forced herself to go out and face the music.
Much to her chagrin, she had spaced out for long enough for her to miss the arrival of her sister’s plus one. The two of them had taken up the sofa, lounging across it and doing nothing but staring at their phones. She vaguely recognised him as one of Sonya’s friends from school, so at least she wasn’t bringing someone random for once. Perhaps her mum had gotten to her too. Seemed likely. Hearing a clap coming from the dining table, she turned to see her mum beaming at her, faking a tear wipe.
“Yasmin, you look beautiful. Doesn’t she look good dear?”
Rolling her eyes at the obvious attempt to butter her up, Yaz took one of the empty seats at the table and started to nervously wring her hands in her lap. She smiled over to her dad, who was nodding rather proudly. Everything in the room felt oddly tense, but also comforting. It was a strange mixture of emotions for her to deal with. Her eyes drifted over to the clock, noticing it was almost ten. Meaning, the Doctor should be arriving any moment. She hoped. Surely she wasn’t going to be late? It would be like the Doctor, except she also knew that her mum was impossible to keep around longer than a few minutes if she had a plan set out for the day. Which she no doubt did, judging by her restless fidgeting and checking of the watch on her wrist rather than the clock behind her. Yaz tried to concentrate on her breathing, counting them in in rounds of three, trying to stop herself from thinking about her family. Their stares. Their leading comments. Their disappointed tone. It was everything she hated in a family gathering. Things were probably going to be even worse considering who she was bringing along.
As her thoughts spiralled further down into sheer panic, she was broken out of her stupor by the triple ring of her doorbell, followed by several rapid fire knocks. Every person in the room quickly stood to attention, eyes turning to the door. Yaz wanted the world to swallow her whole, especially as her mum turned to give her ‘the side eye’ and go towards the door. Holding her breath in her throat, she waited out the awkward encounter from the sidelines, hearing a very recognisable voice fill the flat with bright and bubbly energy.
“Ah! Hi Ya- um. Morning Najia. You’re looking absolutely amazing. Wouldn’t’ve expected anything less. I’m not late am I? I really tried to be on time with this one.”
The Doctor tried her best to smile, but somehow, she found herself feeling strangely nervous under the steely stare of Yaz’s mum. Last time they had met, she had brushed her off with no problems at all. But this time was different. Very different. There wasn’t any biological hazard to deal with. No supposed monsters. Just. The monster of social interaction and every part of her that was screaming to run away because couldn’t cope with it all. Except her eyes momentarily dipped past Najia and into the flat, catching the slightest outline of someone else behind the wall. Was it Yaz? She hoped it was Yaz. That would really be helpful.
“Doctor? As much as it’s always a pleasure…what are you doing here?”
Najia stood almost defensively at the door, barring the Doctor any kind of entrance into the flat. Her eyes scanned over her quickly, head falling to the side slightly as she took in the sight. Instead of her usual ensemble of wild colours and clashing clothing combinations, she had turned up in a suit. The near-black fabric had a strange blue sheen in the light, sitting nicely over her figure and highlighting her bleached white shirt. Small ruffles decorated the collar, lying flat behind a star patterned blue bowtie. A white rose was sitting in her breast pocket, and judging by the slightly browning around the edges it was fresh. Her hair was somewhat tousled from the wind, with one side tucked behind her ear to show off her usual piercing combination.
“Oh, right. Yes. Of course. Well, I’m here for Yaz! Not to like, take her away or anything. Pretty sure nothing is going on today, I made sure to triple check. No, I said I’d come to the wedding with her. Didn’t she mention anything?”
Yaz was busted.
“Oh. No, she didn’t. Come on in Doctor, there’s plenty of time before we leave for the venue.”
Yaz could feel all eyes turning on her in that moment, and she could have sworn she heard Sonya snickering ‘busted’ behind her. Which was not helping at all. Still, she had unintentionally made her choice, and had promised she was going to enjoy herself regardless, so the acting started then. Quickly brushing out some of the wrinkles in her skirt, she stood up from the table and moved to stand closer to the small hallway. Her mum had her yes fixated on her, and Yaz wanted to desperately explain herself, but her gaze was soon shifted elsewhere as she felt someone enter her personal space. Of course it was the Doctor, there was nobody else it could be, but it still didn’t stop Yaz from momentarily forgetting how to talk the moment she laid eyes on the Time Lord.
‘She…really did herself up for this.’
While Yaz was simply struggling to work out what to say in a strangely tense atmosphere of her own creation, the Doctor had forgotten everything to do with being around people. Her mouth dropped slightly, eyes unable to focus on any one thing in particular. Her mind was awash with bold colours, gold accents, and so much more of Yaz than she had ever seen in the time they had been travelling together. For starters, the Doctor had never realised how toned her companion was. She could see the faint outline of muscle structure across her arms, over her shoulders, peeking out in the gap between her top and skirt. That was before she could take in the braid slung over one shoulder and the mass of flowers circling the top of her head.
“Doctor…you…um…you look good. Glad you could make it.”
That was certainly not the most smooth she had ever been in her life, and Yaz mentally kicked herself into the dirt. Then again, what really was she supposed to say in front of her parents and her sister? There was no way it was a safe place for her to say what she really thought. How she was in awe of how the suit hugged every inch of the Doctor’s figure. How she adored the hint of glitter in her bow tie, and marveled how it shone in the natural light of the room. How her face was perfectly framed by her hair and…the pastel pink tinge appearing on her cheeks the longer the silence between them spanned on for.
“Yaz. I. Wow. Um…yeah, I’m…um…glad I got here in one piece. And on time for once. Would have been really awkward otherwise. You look…great. I. I’m gonna stop talking before I ruin this.”
With a smile tugging at the corners of her lips, Yaz gestured towards the spare dining chair and leant in a little closer to the Doctor as she moved to take the offered seat.
“Probably best.”
With Sonya being driven by her ‘friend’ Kian, Yaz was left in the back of her mum’s car with the Doctor. As much as she tried to look out of the window and pay attention to the sights and sounds of the Sheffield outskirts, she kept finding herself drawn to the Doctor. Her eyes would wander across the green-grey fabric of the car’s interior seats, travelling up from the Doctor’s legs until she reached the hint of braces she hadn’t noticed before. Of course she would never leave without them in some capacity. When she looked at the Doctor, she never caught her eye, just watched her as she remained unusually quiet. It was so surreal to think that everything was going alright. Even her mum had stayed quiet on the journey. However, Yaz knew full well it was just the calm before the storm, and her worst hurdles were yet to come. When she turned back to the window, she felt the seats shifting, as well as something cool brushing past the side of her hand.
“You okay Yaz?”
Turning around again, she saw the Doctor looking at her softly, hand brushing against her own. It felt cool against the clammy heat she felt on her own skin, and it was soothing. There was just something about the Doctor’s presence that made her feel at ease, like everything was going to be okay. She liked that. How long had that been a thing for?
“Yeah...I will be. Once we’re there I guess. Although I still don’t really want to be there, you know?"
The Doctor gave her a short nod in response, but moved her hand back when she realised how close they were. Yaz wanted to question the motion, but her words were cut off before they even started.
“Don’t worry, everything’s gonna be alright. I’ve got your back.”
With those words, Yaz felt her heart rate drop back to a respectable level, and it was nice. She trusted the Doctor to make sure everything was alright, and perhaps she had been worrying a little too much about how awkward she could be at times. She had managed to talk to her mum without any issues while they were making their way to the car, even pulling off a joke that made bother her and her dad laugh in unison. In the time that they had spent together, the Doctor had come along in how she approached them. Sonya was a lot harder to work around and continued to make jokes about her, but it was a lot easier to ignore them. Yaz offered a soft smile over towards the Time Lord before turning to look back out of the window again.
The world was morphing back into a vague cityscape, meaning that they would soon be at the venue. She was glad in part that everything was taking place at a local hall before transferring over to the mosque across the road. There was time for her to get into the swing of things before she introduced the Doctor to a real Indian wedding. The one in Pakistan would be nothing in comparison.
Yaz was somewhat glad that her mum and dad disappeared off almost instantly to start integrating into the event. It was easy to slip away from the welcoming party and simply start to enjoy the event for what it was. Music was playing faintly in the distance, and she could see the drummers starting to set themselves up and practice before the procession down the street. Different branches of her family, and many people she had never met before, were all dressed in varying bright colours mixed with gold and silver. She loved that part of her culture, how diverse and bold it was. There was a table off to the side where people could leave their gifts for the lucky couple, for when they all returned later for the presumably massive spread of food. And the dance. She was certainly not looking forward to that part. However, Yaz was pulled from her train of thought when she saw someone approaching from the corner of her eye. Gently tapping the Doctor's shoulder to pull her out of her own wonderment, she slyly gestured over.
"My aunt and uncle, dad’s side."
The Doctor stood to attention, quickly pushing down a couple of creases in her shirt and putting on her best smile as two people came over and gave Yaz a hug.
"Oh, Yasmin! Look at you, dear. It's so nice to see you here, I'm surprised the force let you off duty. You even brought someone with you, wonderful. Care to introduce us?"
In that moment, Yaz felt her blood run cold. She had already had enough trouble trying to get her close family to understand that 'Doctor' was just her name. There was no way she was going to get that past anyone else. But, what was she even going to call her otherwise? Eyes widened in abject horror, mouth opening just enough to respond, before she was beaten to the punch.
"Hiya. I'm the Doctor. Well, Doctor Jane Smith, actually. Yaz's date. Pleasure to meet you."
She held out her hand and received two surprised hand shakes, and Yaz was gobsmacked at how quickly her family where drawn into the story.
"Well aren't you a delight. Yasmin, you're dating a doctor? You're going to give Dinesh and Asha a run for their money. How have you managed to keep this hidden?"
Soon enough, the Doctor was regaining her aunt and uncle with a story of how they met. It was so plausible, that she really had to concentrate as so to not believe it herself. Apparently, they had met on the job when she had had to sort a disturbance out at the hospital where 'Jane' worked and things had progressed on from there. Not a single out of place thing was mentioned, and Yaz felt herself burning up when the Doctor casually draped her arm across her shoulders and pulled her closer. She could smell the burnt oil that always clung to her skin, topped off with some kind of deep and earthy fragrance Yaz concluded was cologne. The conversation lasted a good ten minutes, but soon her aunt and uncle were off to talk to other people around the area, leaving Yaz lost for words over what had just happened.
"Well, that's one lot of family down. Was that alright? I didn't go overboard or anything did I Yaz?"
"N-no. No, you didn't Doctor. But...where did all that come from? I've never seen them so placated. They didn't even ask me any questions."
The Doctor removed her arm from across her shoulders, hands shifting into the pockets of her trousers as she shrugged her shoulders sheepishly.
"Funny story really. I've been using a fake name for ages on Earth. But I can't really go by John can I? I mean, I could try, but I didn't think it would go down well. And used to have a friend, Sarah Jane Smith, and Jane is close to John so I went with that. As for the rest of it, well, I only had to tell a little bit of a lie or two. I mostly kept it accurate to what has happened. I thought about it a lot last night and this morning before I came to get you, and I practiced with the TARDIS for hours so I wouldn't slip up and forget and make things awkward or uncomfortable for you. I mean, that's what dates do, right? Now, come on, I think someone else wants your attention."
The Doctor took hold of her hand and guided her across the room towards someone in the distance who was waving towards the pair of them. Once again, after a brief introduction from Yaz, the Doctor was off regaling them with little snippets of information. Yaz was not entirely surprised that her mum’s side of the family was asking a lot more leading questions. She could already feel their eyes boring into her, trying to insinuate something, but the Doctor was always one step ahead of them. She would hold her hand, or stroke her shoulder, anything to prove whatever was going on was something genuine. The same routine played itself over for half an hour, before Yaz was more than convinced that people were going to leave them alone now. She had let the Doctor do the talking for her, which was nice, it gave her room to think about the rest of the day. For everything that her surprise plus one had done for her, she wanted to thank her. While they had been chatting away, Yaz had spotted a little edition to the gathering that she was sure was going to take the Doctor’s fancy.
“Phew. Yaz, you didn’t tell me you had such a big family. I’ve lost track of how many people we’ve talked to. Well, I’ve talked to. Sorry, I didn’t mean to go over the top. I just...didn’t want them to have the chance to ask anything awkward. I guess it’s already a little on the nose that you brought me. Well, I say me, I mean a woman. Is that what you were scared of? I know your mum had already tried asking things before now. Is this something that they don’t know about?”
“I...um...kind of. It’s just that my family assume a lot of things. And when I said that anyone coming with me would be a date date...I did mean it. You don’t bring friends to these kinds of events. Not really. I always come alone for that reason. But, thank you for looking out for me. I think I’d be dead in the water by now. So, to say thank you, I was wondering if you wanted to get some henna with me? Everyone’s getting done before the actual wedding, so if you do-”
Once again, Yaz found herself cut off by a hand grabbing her own and leading her through the people at the pre-wedding gathering. Apparently, the Doctor had noticed the little set up in the room as soon as they had walked in and had been eyeing it up for the last hour. Both of them took a seat at the table, the Doctor almost vibrating on her chair as she watched Yaz pull over two henna cones. She handed one of them over to the Doctor, who looked over to her quite perplexed. Which was understandable, considering the only time she had ever experienced it was back in time. She had watched her family, then, apply the henna with small sticks and tap the stain into her skin. But Yaz was much more used to the cones.
“Give me one of your palms, Doctor. I’ll do one for you, then you can do one for me. Sound good?”
The Doctor nodded eagerly, a wide smile on her face as she presented Yaz with her left palm. It was one of the rare moments she witnessed where the Time Lord stayed inhumanly still. Not a single part of her moved for the duration, not even her eyes, which Yaz could feel burning her with their hard gaze. It was intimidating, uncomfortable, if a little bit exciting. She was concerned at how much she liked having the Doctor watch her, but she swore she would focus on the task at hand. Hands moved slowly as she made up her own take of the pattern her Nani had taught her as a child, adding more flourishes to the flower petals and swirling leaves. She moved the pattern as far down the Doctor’s wrist she could, careful not to mark up her beautiful suit, reaching to the tips of her fingers as well. It had been years since she had last touched henna of any kind, but when she put the cone back down on the table, Yaz marvelled at her work as the Doctor inspected her hand.
When the Doctor put her hand on the table, back down, her eyes were shining with joy. It left Yaz feeling a strange kind of speechlessness. All she could do was watch as she picked up a cone of her own and gesture towards her hand.
“Can’t promise I’ll be any good at this, but I’ve got just the thing. Palm up.”
Yaz did as instructed, watching intently as the Doctor set to work with so much concentration, her tongue poked out slightly between her lips as she began to draw against her skin. She had no real idea of what to expect, and couldn’t see what the Doctor was going for her hair. Instead, Yaz closed her eyes and tried to work things out from the feeling of the henna moving across her skin. The first line seemed to travel all around her palm. Was she drawing a circle? The same kind of motions were repeated over and over again, only broken up by the occasional lines or dots. Whatever it was, the Doctor was working fast, and before long the cone was moved away from her hand and Yaz opened her eyes. She looked down to her palm, lifting it slightly so she could get a better look at it. She had been right, it was circles, and whatever it was...it was beautiful.
“Doctor...what is this?”
“Do ya like it?”
Turning her gaze towards the Doctor, Yaz was lost as to whether to laugh or start crying. The corner of her lips quivered as she took a breath in through her nose and nodded slowly. The Doctor went to clap her hands in joy, but quickly put her tattooed hand back down on the table and laughed quietly to herself.
“I...it’s beautiful. Does it mean anything, or?”
“Oh. Right. Well. Bit of a long story really. Really long. Like, hours. But it’s...it’s part of my culture, I guess. Part of who I am. It’s a language that doesn’t really exist anymore, but you’ve seen it in the TARDIS. Dotted about in places. As for what it says...well...it says...um...I cherish you.”
It was a language? She cherished her? Yaz wanted to ask more, to uncover one of the mysteries that made up the Doctor, but she had no time. She could hear her dad calling her from somewhere in the room, which meant that the wedding was going to kick off soon. Time had certainly flown, and it was a crying shame to be parted from the moment. Still, it meant they were closer to leaving. Paying close attention not to catch the henna on parts of her skirt, Yaz rose up from her seat and offered her free hand out to the Doctor. She took it carefully, and was lead over towards her family. Sonya had somehow appeared as part of the equation, and Yaz could already see her eyeing up the new addition to her hand. Thankfully, she said nothing as they all left the hall, but Yaz couldn’t help but notice the warm feeling in her chest and the fluttering in her stomach again.