Chapter Text
“So, Cardiff?” Ryan asked.
The Doctor nodded with a straight face.
“Why?”
“The TARDIS needs to refuel so we’re making a pitstop here for a bit. Should take about twenty four hours or so.” Ryan burst out laughing at that. “What’s so funny?” The Doctor questioned, hands on her hips.
“Shouldn’t the TARDIS refuel on like, your planet or something? Isn’t that where this thing comes from? Surely it makes sense to refuel it there?”
“Full of questions aren’t you! I kinda stole the TARDIS from my planet, I’m not going to go back and refuel her there. Don’t return to the crime scene is what I always say”
“You stole it?” Yaz piped in.
“Um, yeah?” The Doctor said nervously, thinking about the time she ran away. “It was a long time ago. I don’t think they really care anymore.” Trust Yaz the police officer to ask about that. Yaz raised her eyebrow, smirking. It was as if she was on duty talking to a criminal trying to worm their way out of getting into trouble. The Doctor was good at that. “Thought we could have a look around the markets since it’s December! Ooh, and Winter Wonderland! Never been to Winter Wonderland here before.”
When they first discovered the Doctor was an alien who could travel in time and space, the last place they thought they’d travel to was Cardiff. They all agreed that the city looked beautiful though. They had walked up to the centre from the Bay to an array of Christmas lights. The city obviously cared about their appearance during this festive period. The Castle was lined with lights with a tree and reindeer placed on the grounds in front. Giant blue stars were hanging above the walkways with a line of German inspired market stalls beneath them.
As they approached the main and busiest street, Graham and Ryan had decided to go off and do some Christmas shopping whilst they were here for a while. Travelling with the Doctor had meant they had fallen behind on the year and they had a lot of Christmas shopping to do. The Doctor had insisted that time didn’t matter and they could always dedicate a day to shopping whenever and be sure to make it back in time for Christmas but the boys wanted to spend some time together as a sort of family. They had also figured the Doctor and Yaz would probably appreciate some time alone together for a change. Yaz more so than the Doctor. They had never said this as a reason for going off but Yaz appreciated their intentions, despite causing her to feel incredibly panicked about being alone with the Doctor. She was far too in love with the alien and she wasn’t sure how her heart would react to her company by herself. Still, her heart skipped a beat when the Doctor suddenly linked her arm into her own. “So, just us girlies then! Winter wonderland?”
Yaz smiled and nodded. She was looking forward to this.
Cardiff’s Winter Wonderland was nothing in comparison to the London equivalent but it was small and cosy which fitted the city well. It had an ice rink, a fun fair and even a ninety metre tower which the Doctor practically begged Yaz to go on with her straight away. They could see the tower lit up all the way from the centre which made Yaz nervous. She was never one to enjoy roller coasters and something which dropped you without a precise warning was not her cup of tea. She did go on it for the Doctor though. She found herself doing a lot of things she wouldn’t normally do for this alien. The fact that she even had this little circle of friends was because of her which didn’t go unnoticed by her family.
“Yaz! Look! There’s games we could play! I could get another cuddly toy to be Seb’s friend!” The Doctor’s voice went up an octave at her excitement. Her childlike wonder at the simple things in life warmed Yaz’s heart. She really was adorable. The shark they had got from Ikea hadn’t left the Doctor’s side since buying it a week ago. If they didn’t leave the TARDIS, Seb the Shork was by her side. Always. Even if she was working on something. Poor Seb already had to be washed.
Yaz walked over to the Hook-A-Duck stall and inspected the prizes that were available. All varied in sizes and various animals and mythical creatures. They didn’t look very well made or of high quality either. “Are you sure you want one of these?”
“Very sure, Yaz. Do you have any cash?” Yaz sighed and got out some coins from her pockets. She handed them to the Doctor, who grinned from ear to ear. “Thanks!”
The Doctor gave some of the coins to the man behind the stall’s counter and in exchange, she was given a fishing rod.
She was good at a lot of things but trying to hook a duck was not one of the Doctor’s strengths, much to her frustration. She tried with all her might until the coins Yaz had given her had ran out. “Eugh! Yaz, I’m no good at this! I used to be so good! I think this is all a scam. None of these ducks are actual winners.”
Maybe this was fate, Yaz thought. Maybe the Doctor wasn’t destined for this plush toy after all. She already had Seb didn’t she? She looked to the alien and saw the heartbreak in her face as she stared at the prizes. It was like travelling with a child in all honesty but Yaz wouldn’t have it any other way. Sighing, Yaz took out a few more coins from her jacket pocket and handed them over to the same man, again exchanging a fishing rod. She just couldn’t help herself giving into the Doctor. She was her weakness.
Before the Doctor even had time to register what Yaz was doing, she’d already hooked a winner duck and was stood there grinning at her easy accomplishment.
“How did you do that?” The Doctor asked, admiring how good her friend was.
“Guess I’m just a natural pro” Yaz smirked. Her parents had taken her and Sonya to a few funfairs when they were younger. Her dad taught her these little things and helped her win a lot of time which in turn meant she also helped Sonya out a lot. Sonya however, had much less patience with these sort of things and usually ran off to see something else after a few minutes.
The man behind the counter handed over the biggest purple plush Unicorn there was and Yaz handed it straight over to the Doctor. “Merry Christmas, Doctor”
The Doctor took the Unicorn from Yaz in absolute love and awe. “Oh, you’re brilliant you are! Have I ever told you how brilliant you are? Thank you!” Yaz giggled, clearly chuffed at getting the compliment from her favourite person.
They walked round the rest of the grounds, the Unicorn in the Doctor’s arms the entire time. They had stopped briefly to have hot chocolates, the proper wintery kind with whipped cream, marshmallows and chocolate sprinkles. They’d giggled together at both getting a whipped cream mustache, much to Yaz’s embarrassment. Of course the Doctor looked adorable with one though. She’d look adorable regardless.
After grabbing a few bags of candy floss, they had started to walk back into the centre. They had decided to get the boys a bag to share as well as everyone appreciates candy floss.
They approached Queen Street’s carousel and the Doctor suddenly stopped, turning to face the beautiful girl in front of her. The temperature had dropped a few degrees since earlier on and she could see Yaz was trying hard not to shiver. Whilst still holding her unicorn, the Doctor took Yaz’s hands into her own, giving her a little bit of warmth. Yaz’s heart skipped a beat as she felt their hands conjoin. “Everything okay, Doctor?”
“Yaz” The Doctor said as a matter of factly. “I just wanted to thank you for today. Well not just for today, for everything really. Although today has been wonderful. You’re lovely company Yaz and I really appreciate you sticking by me. Even if I do think I’m putting you in danger all the time” The Doctor looked kind of guilty and sad at that. She didn’t want to lose Yaz. Even the thought of that broke her.
Yaz squeezed the Time Lord’s hands a bit tighter. “Doctor, you have given me more than I could ever ask for. You’ve shown me the wonders of the universe. It may be dangerous but so is living back at home. There are dangers all the time whenever you are. You can’t feel guilty about showing us such beautiful things. I love being around you!”
Yaz was taken aback at her own words. Did she just admit to being in love with her?
The blonde smiled before breaking out into a grin, wrapping her arms around her. The Unicorn was awkwardly wedged between the two. “I love being around you too. More than anything. But I do worry about you. I can’t help that.” She smiled into Yaz’s hair.
“Not that I’m not enjoying this hug but it would be a less awkward hug though if that Unicorn wasn’t between us. Not to mention the candy floss is probably squished now.”
The Doctor pulled back, putting her arms round the Unicorn again. “Thank you again for Unicornelius”
“Unicornelius? You’ve got a name already?”
She stroked the Unicorn’s head as she spoke. “Yeah. I’ve been thinking about it since I saw the game. I had multiple options. I was kind of having a debate about it in my head really but a lot of them sounded stupid. Can’t have a stupid sounding name for a Unicorn now, can we?”
Ryan and Graham walked up to the TARDIS carrying bags of shopping. It looked like they had been shopping for days rather than hours. They both let out a slight groan as they saw the Doctor carrying another cuddly toy.
“Was Seb not enough?” Graham questioned.
Yaz spoke to her defence before she even had a chance to speak. “ If the Doctor wants multiple cuddly toys, then she can have multiple cuddly toys.” The Doctor dipped her head into the Unicorn slightly, grinning at Yaz’s comment.
The boys both stopped asking questions at that as they all started to file into the time machine. They sensed some progress had been made between the girls. They could tell some sort of feelings had been brewing for a while.
“Just because you’re jealous”
Graham chuckled at the Doctor. “Not sure what there is to be jealous of, Doc”
Ryan placed the bags that he was carrying down onto the console floor. “Is the TARDIS ready to go yet?”
The Doctor looked at the display screens. “Not yet. Will be ready by morning. How about we all get some well deserved sleep?”
“I could definitely do with a nap or two” Graham stated. Walking around shopping all day had worn him out.
They all retreated to their respected bedrooms. Yaz, Graham and Ryan were all thrilled this ship had bedrooms. They were needed. The Doctor may not sleep as often as they did but travelling made the rest of them tired quite quickly so they appreciated a place to get some rest.
As the Doctor was organising her cuddly toys onto her bed, she heard a gentle knock on her door. Looking up, she was pleased to see it was of course Yaz. Beautiful Yasmin Khan. She was dressed in her pyjamas and had her hair down with a slight natural curl. “Just checking to see how Unicornelius is settling in.”
The Doctor smiled, she loved that Yaz didn’t dismiss her cuddly toy obsession. Yaz found it pretty adorable, she couldn’t deny that. It was cute to see the Doctor happy with something as simple as a plush animal. It made Yaz wish she had her elephant with her. She always cuddled that at night. She made a mental note to bring it next time they stopped off in Sheffield. “She and Seb are getting along just great.” Yaz looked at the two stationary animals that were sat on top of her Nebula duvet cover. Of course they were getting along. “Do you want to sleep with me tonight?” The Doctor asked timidly.
“Eh, what?” Yaz wasn’t sure she heard her right.
You don’t have to if you don’t want-- Oh no, I didn’t mean like that! I’m sorry. I just meant if you wanted to sleep next to each other tonight. You know, keep eachother company since we both enjoy being around one another “
Could the Doctor get any cuter if she tried?! Yaz nodded. Of course she wants that. She walked over and climbed under the covers, as did the Doctor. They lay facing each other for a brief moment before the Doctor grabbed the shark and pulled him under the covers between them, wrapping her arms around him and placing her hand upon Yaz’s.
“Oh, Seb’s sleeping with us, is he?”
“Of course! Can’t leave him out. He’d get lonely!”
“That’s understandable” Yaz smiled, staring at the Doctor. She looked so content. They both did. Minutes passed and the Time Lord’s breathing started to even out before Yaz could sense she had fallen asleep, still with her hand placed upon her own. Yaz watched the Doctor sleep for a while. She wasn’t sure how long it was but she discovered it to be relaxing. The girl opposite her looked so peaceful and in turn, Yaz also fell asleep, content with her day and how her night had ended. Falling in love with this alien was the best thing that had ever happened to her and right now, she was the happiest girl alive sleeping next to her.