Chapter Text
After Lakertya’s defeat, it took a few weeks to draft a peace treaty. Wren had gone with King Matthew and River to the Lakertyan capital, while Yaz stayed in Gallifrey and started the effort of redirecting the Army forces toward restoring, instead of fighting.
Troops were sent to rebuild, first, the towns that suffered most in the war, and Yaz did her best to organize them in such a way that soldiers from each town were included in helping their own people. She also included Shadow and Unclouded soldiers in the same units whenever possible, since, after they proved the mixed battalion’s effectiveness, the soldiers were more open to working together in other contexts, as well.
If Yaz was honest, it was going better than expected, but she was worried about the lack of news from the peace talks. The waiting was starting to make her restless when she finally got word that the king – and, therefore, his entourage – would be at the capital the next day, and the peace treaty would be signed in a ceremony the following month. She breathed a sigh of relief.
However, barely an hour after she got the news, the door to the General’s office – which, technically, was Wren’s office, but Yaz had been working there in the General’s absence – was thrown open, and Wren rushed in, face flushed from running. Yaz got up from the desk, surprised, and Wren rushed toward her, enveloping her in a tight hug.
Yaz hugged her back and felt Wren sigh as she buried her face in Yaz’s neck. “I missed you too,” Yaz said with a smile. “But I thought you wouldn’t be back until tomorrow?”
“King gave me permission to ride ahead,” Wren replied, her voice a little muffled. “Said I was too jittery and I would just make everyone else nervous.”
“Did something happen in Lakertya? Or did you just want to get home sooner?” Yaz asked, frowning. Had the peace treaty fallen through?
Wren sighed and let Yaz go, giving her some space so that she could see Yaz’s face. “A bit of each? Nothing wrong with the treaty,” she hastened to add when Yaz looked worried. “It’s just… Do you mind if I monologue for a while? Need to get this out of my system.”
“Of course,” Yaz said, still worried. “Go on.”
“Well, you know how the king said that Lakertyans hate Shadows, right? Turns out they also believe that women shouldn’t fight. That’s why we saw so few women in their army, and always as nurses, never fighting. There’s a law against it. Another delightful piece of information is that they think relationships like ours are unnatural and sinful – because we’re both women,” she explained when Yaz tilted her head in confusion. “So, you see, I’m a triple threat for them. And the royal family might’ve had practical reasons for the war as well, but getting rid of Shadows was definitely a central motivation, not just a fun little bonus.”
Wren started pacing around and moving her hands more passionately. “And their king never wasted any chance he got to remind me that I shouldn’t exist, because that is surely an okay thing to say to a foreign emissary who doesn’t share your beliefs, apparently. That got old very quickly, but he wouldn’t stop, no matter how many times King Matthew complained. The Lakertyan royals just acted as if they were doing us a favor by even allowing me into the country. They insisted to host the peace talks and then act like that!
“And that also reflected on the peace negotiation. We took this long to finish the draft because they kept trying to sneak in clauses that would strip us Shadows of rights, even in our own country, where they definitely have no say. We had to read it all through a million times to make sure they hadn’t tried to include any clauses about Gallifrey having to pay anything to Lakertya as compensation, too. Treacherous little bastards.”
“Wait, compensation?” Yaz blurted out, aghast. “They’re the ones who almost destroyed us! They still have way more resources than we do.”
Wren let out a humorless laugh. “Exactly. So, you see, all in all, I couldn’t wait to get out of there. Another week and I would really give them a reason not to like me, I swear. I’ve never been happier to see the General quarters.”
“You’re probably exhausted, huh? I’ll gather my things and go back to my parents’ flat so you can rest, don’t worry.”
“Do you have to?” Wren pouted.
“What, go home?” Yaz asked. “Yeah. I mean, it was better to stay here while you were gone and I was acting General, but now that you’re back, I’m sure you want some peace and quiet?”
“I missed you, though,” Wren said, a slight blush on her cheeks. “Stay? I can have peace and quiet and you.”
Yaz softened and smiled. “If you’re sure?” As Wren nodded, Yaz took her hand. “Alright, then, let’s get you changed and in bed to get some rest.”
Wren stopped walking before they’d left the office, pulling on Yaz’s hand so she’d look at her. “Y’know, I think I need a bath, before I can go to bed. Care to join me?”
Yaz felt a smirk break out on her face. “Oh? You sure you have enough energy for a bath, General?”
“Absolutely,” Wren replied, pulling Yaz into a kiss.
“Wren, come on, we’re going to be late!” Yaz called from the office door.
“Five minutes?” Wren said without looking up. “I just need to finish this letter, promise.”
“It’d better be only five minutes, Mum has been bugging me to bring you for tea for weeks now,” Yaz said, leaning on the doorway. “If I show up without you, I think she will lock me out of the flat.”
Wren signed the letter, a smile breaking onto her face. “Would that be so bad? Then you could officially move in here!” She looked up to find Yaz rolling her eyes in fondness.
“I’m here most of the week already,” she pointed out.
“Exactly,” Wren countered. “Might as well make it official.”
As they arrived at Yaz’s family flat – right on time –, Sonya seemed to share Wren’s opinion.
“Found your way home, did you?” She smirked at Yaz after opening the door. “The big second in command can’t be bothered to visit us small people anymore?”
“Sonya, leave your sister alone,” Najia said, coming into the living room from the kitchen. “But I do wish you’d visit more, sweetheart, now that the war is over,” she continued, hugging Yaz tight.
“Mum, I do still live here. It’s just, there is so much to do! We need to oversee the renovation and rebuilding efforts, and–”
“Oh, surely other people can do that? Doesn’t need to be the army.” Najia waved her off. “And you, honey, come here,” Najia said, turning to Wren. “I’m so glad to see you again! We were all devastated when you just vanished back then.”
Wren found herself blinking fast to avoid any tears falling. “Really? I mean, I now know that Yaz missed me, but I didn’t expect…”
“Oh, honey,” Najia said, squeezing her hand in reassurance. “Of course I missed you! I had an inkling that you’d end up being part of the family, even back then.” She winked, and Wren blushed furiously.
“Mum!” Yaz complained. “How many times do I need to tell you? It wasn’t romantic back then.”
“Well, okay, so I guess that time you girls had a sleepover, that was just platonic cuddling, then.” Najia smirked, and Wren felt herself blush harder, if that was possible. She decided not to say anything when Yaz argued that of course it was platonic, neither of them had any idea back then.
After that, conversation turned to less embarrassing roads – at least for Wren –, but as she started to feel safe again, Najia decided to ask when any of them would finally give her a grandchild. Yaz rolled her eyes as Sonya said “Bagsy not it!” and went back to her meal.
“Mum, you do realize we’ve only been dating for a few months, right? We’re not even married yet!”
As the argument continued around her, Wren was stuck on that yet. It bounced off the corners of her brain. Yaz didn’t seem to notice the implications of what she’d said, but Wren felt like her heart was going to burst.
She stuffed another bit of Hakim’s pakora in her mouth – not nearly as terrible as Yaz claimed it was – and kept thinking about that yet.
Wren had been sure that she felt forever about Yaz for a long time, now. Maybe Yaz also felt forever about her.
A year after the war, Yaz finally felt like she could breathe again, no longer working absurd long hours – so obviously King Matthew assigned a new project to her and Wren.
Now that the country was more stable and the schools had had some time to adapt so that they could include both Unclouded and Shadow Kin students, he felt that it was time for one of his pet projects: a university. The war had gone on so long, that any universities that existed before had either closed or become secondary schools, and he was looking forward to reigniting research in Gallifrey.
Suffice to say that Wren was bouncing off the walls with the news, so Yaz didn’t even consider not taking the job.
She had worried, at first, about how long such a project would take, between finding and renovating a building, hiring staff, furnishing a library and labs and everything – but during the first meeting, she realized that she didn’t need to worry, because they wouldn’t be starting from scratch. In fact, the plan was to convert the old Shadow Academy into the new University of Gallifrey.
And that was how, a few months later, they were at the University’s inaugural class, listening to Headmistress Song’s speech, Wren as a professor and Yaz as head of security; she would miss their old routine, but she was confident that General Pond would do a great job in their stead.
As the weeks passed and classes began in earnest, Yaz had to admit that she was surprised at how well everything was going. She hadn’t said anything out loud – afraid that she might jinx it – but she had been afraid of mixing Shadow and Unclouded students. It was one thing in day schools, where they spent only a few hours and there were teachers everywhere, but a university that offered housing could become a tense situation.
She soon realized that she didn’t need to worry so much. Of course, prejudice against Shadows hadn’t magically disappeared; it would take longer to really make a difference, even with all the efforts King Matthew had been putting into it. But the university had a pretty thorough selection process and a zero-tolerance policy regarding fights and bullying.
As it turned out, her biggest difficulty was making Wren stop working at a reasonable time.
“Wren, babe,” she called from the doorway. “Come on, time for tea. You can continue that tomorrow.”
Without even glancing up from the microscope, Wren replied, “Just five more minutes? I’m so close to understanding this, I can feel it.”
“Yeah, you said that half an hour ago.” Yaz entered the lab and stood behind Wren, playing with her hair. “I went home, made tea, and came back here. Time to stop and come back tomorrow with fresh eyes and a rested brain. Come on.”
Wren leaned into Yaz, sighing. “You’re right,” she conceded. “I should probably eat something. I’m pretty sure I forgot to have lunch,” she said with a sheepish smile.
“I swear, it’s like having a toddler,” Yaz joked. “Do I need to start packing you lunch even though we literally live on campus?”
“Could you?” Wren asked with puppy dog eyes. “Then I wouldn’t have to stop working to eat!”
“Okay, different idea,” Yaz said, rolling her eyes. That woman, honestly. “I will come and drag you out at lunchtime.”
“Hmmm, lunch with Yaz every day? Brilliant.”
And as Yaz leaned down to give her a forehead kiss, she had to agree.
Lunch – and every other meal – with Wren every day, forever?
Brilliant.