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"So…explain to me again what we're doing here?"
Yaz stepped over a fallen log, feeling the gentle warmth of the sun on her skin as it filtered through the trees. The pair of them were walking through a forest, destination unknown. The Doctor had been unusually reluctant to divulge details when Yaz had asked where they were going, but after twenty minutes of walking, her curiosity was starting to get the better of her. Apparently, the Doctor was trying to surprise her.
"Nearly there, Yaz. In fact…."
The Doctor stopped walking, stuck her index finger in her mouth and then held it up in the air.
"This way," she said, striding off to one side. Yaz had no choice but to follow, hopeful that she'd get an answer soon.
They emerged in a clearing the size of a swimming pool. It was gorgeous: flowers and grass attracted butterflies and bees and birds were chirping in the trees. The Doctor stopped abruptly and Yaz nearly walked into her.
"Here we go, this should do nicely."
Yaz didn't speak for several minutes but the Doctor remained quiet, hands on her hips as she stared at the long grass.
"Nicely for what?" Yaz eventually asked, utterly confused as to what they were meant to be looking at or waiting for.
"You told me once that you wanted one when you were younger. As a pet."
Yaz frowned. She tried to recall what she'd told the Doctor - they had a lot of conversations about all sorts of things - but after a beat she knew what they were looking for. She'd been obsessed with the idea of a pet rabbit when she was a kid, and absolutely devastated when she wasn't allowed one. It was the only pet she'd ever wanted and one of the few things her parents had denied her. It made sense in retrospect: it wouldn't have been fair to the animal.
"That you couldn't have one…" the Doctor continued, hoping Yaz would fill in the blanks.
"....because we lived in a flat block," Yaz supplied, a slow smile spreading over her face. "You kept telling me you liked the views from my flat and I said I'd have swapped them for a pet."
"So…" the Doctor spread out her arms and encouraged Yaz to take in the scenery. "I wanted to bring you here. I thought you might like to meet some."
Yaz scanned the vicinity. Sure enough, after a few moments, it became obvious that the long grass was moving. A rabbit emerged mere metres away from them, one ear half bent as it snuffled at the lush green grass.
"Planet with the largest rabbit population in this galaxy," the Doctor grinned proudly. "And this particular forest is home to hundreds of them. They tend to stay out of the way of visitors, though. Best to wait and let them come out on their own terms."
Yaz thought she had outgrown her rabbit obsession but when she saw the Doctor tugging on a long blade of grass and holding it out for the rabbit to nibble on, she realised her soft spot for the creatures remained. Rabbits were very cute. And seeing the Doctor feeding a rabbit made her feel just as warm and soft inside.
The Doctor was crouching carefully on her boots, coat splayed as she reached out to entice the rabbit over. It hopped - Yaz had forgotten just how adorable the movement was - and its nose twitched as it started to nibble on the vegetation.
The look of delight on the Doctor's face was equally adorable.
"Want to give him a stroke? He won't mind."
Yaz couldn't tell if she or the Doctor was more excited at the prospect. She edged closer, wary of frightening the animal, but it seemed perfectly at ease in her presence.
She held out a cautious hand, almost retreating when she got a feel of its soft fur for the first time. It felt like touching a cloud. Yaz tried again, delighting in the feel of its warm body under her fingertips. She eyed its fluffy tail, her hand drifting to the soft felt of its ears.
"He likes that," she Doctor whispered conspiratorially. "Says he wouldn't mind if you picked him up."
"Oh...no, I don't know." Yaz really had little to no experience in dealing with small fluffy animals, given that she'd not once had one as a pet. The only exception had been a hamster of Sonya's, but it had been a vicious little thing that had liked to bite. Yaz could see that the teeth on this rabbit were a lot bigger.
The Doctor sacrificed another blade of grass and muttered something - to the rabbit, presumably - before she picked the animal up. He looked perfectly content in her arms, still munching as the tip of the grass bounced, the blade growing shorter and shorter with every chew.
Yaz had never before thought she'd be jealous of a rabbit.
"Here," the Doctor murmured, holding out her hands.
Yaz hesitated. Holding a rabbit was far less precarious than holding a baby, and she could just about handle that (although her experience was limited); a rabbit could bite and kick her if it didn't like her. But the Doctor could practically read her thoughts.
"He won't bite, I promise. I told him not to. I also told him you're very nice."
Yaz laughed and held out her hands at last, feeling their fingers brush as the Doctor transferred her fluffy cargo. Yaz could feel the rabbit wriggling slightly but to her surprise he settled almost instantly and she felt her confidence growing as she resumed petting him.
There was something simple but immensely pleasurable about the action and Yaz smiled at the Doctor in delight. This person - this eccentric, brilliant person - had brought her to a planet full of rabbits because Yaz had once mentioned she'd wanted one as a kid. And Yaz hadn't realised until that moment that she'd felt like she'd missed out because it was something that had been denied to her. Not anymore. The Doctor had made sure she was no longer denied that experience and Yaz was immensely grateful.
The Doctor was always raring to go, ready to fix the next problem, never still, and yet...today, she was content to simply watch Yaz hold a rabbit because she'd never had the chance to. But before Yaz could acknowledge how much that meant to her, the Doctor started to speak.
"See? He likes you. His face says so. Did you know they can turn their ears 180 degrees? And that they're...most active ...oh. What's this?"
Yaz tried not to laugh as the Doctor's face was pulled into an expression that she could immediately tell was going to precede a sneeze.
The Doctor did indeed sneeze, several times. Yaz felt the rabbit react to the sudden noise and she carefully let him go, digging in her pocket for a clean tissue. She always carried several spares, more often than not because the Doctor always ended up needing one and could never find one in her ridiculously deep pockets. For someone who always ended up with engine oil or, even worse, alien goo on her hands, the Doctor was never quite prepared. Not that it stopped her touching anything and everything she could.
"Thanks Yaz," the Doctor sniffed as she accepted the tissue, and Yaz realised her eyes were watering.
"Are you allergic?"
The Doctor wriggled her nose just like the rabbit had done as she tried to ward off another sneeze.
"No," she replied, but she already sounded alarmingly bunged up. "At least, I never used to be. I knew there'd be something wrong with this body," she sighed. "There's always something. And it was going so well, I thought it was just the shorter legs this time around."
The Doctor stubbornly rubbed at her eyes.
"Alright, that's enough rabbits for one day, I think," Yaz said, turning in the direction of the TARDIS. At least, she thought so. She'd been so content just being in the Doctor's company that she wasn't entirely sure where they'd come from.
"But we've only just got here, Yaz." The Doctor seemed disappointed but Yaz shrugged it off.
"If we stay here much longer I think you'll be sneezing for hours."
The Doctor pursed her lips but Yaz knew she was winning.
"You've fulfilled one of my childhood dreams. I think that's more than enough."
"Alright. If you're sure?"
Yaz nodded and they started a slow walk back to the ship. Now that she knew what to look for, Yaz could see rabbits everywhere, half-hidden in the foliage beside them.
"Are there any more you'd like to check off the list?" the Doctor asked eagerly, and Yaz pondered her options. She'd always wanted to see the Great Wall of China, to meet Marie Curie, and to set foot on the moon. All of these were now feasible thanks to the person beside her. And the Doctor? Well, the Doctor was eager to please. She'd already done so much for Yaz that she shook her head. They would have other days to do those things.
"Not today. Today was pretty perfect."
Yaz stopped and waited for the Doctor to follow suit.
"Thank you."
She leaned in and pressed a fleeting kiss to the Doctor's cheek, hoping to convey her gratitude. She was relieved when she didn't startle. Yaz had wondered if the Doctor might pull away at the proximity but her confidence had grown ever since the Doctor had placed that wild animal in her arms. The Doctor could be equally skittish and unpredictable but today she seemed more relaxed than Yaz had seen her in a long time.
"Thank you," she repeated, laying her hand on the Doctor's arm to keep her close. The Doctor did not move away, and Yaz felt her heart skip a beat much like a rabbit's hop.
"Any time, Yaz."