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The Doctor couldn't figure it out. There was just something about you. Every time you walked into a room, you'd draw her attention from whatever it was that she was doing prior, which is something that rarely happens. And then one day, it just clicked.
You had come out of the shower one day; the scent of your favourite shampoo was an exact giveaway. You were happy to be able to wash off the sweat and dirt that had clung to you for the last few adventures. Your hair was freshly blow-dried, and it looked soft. Really soft. There had been times where you would be talking with her, and she'd have to fight every urge to just run her hand through it. She wanted to know what it felt like, how soft it'd be.
There have been small instances where she had gotten to touch your hair. Moments like when you would run past, and she would feel the feather-light touch. Or when you'd come up and hug her, and all she could smell, and feel was you. Warmth surrounding her, your hair that she deemed softer than anything in the Universe would be pressed against her cheek. It took every ounce of willpower for her never to let you go and bury her face into your hair. Just one look at you melted all her stress away.
You weren't oblivious to the Doctor's distractions either. Every time you two talked, you could see her focus elsewhere. Her hands would clench by her sides like she was trying to stop herself from reaching out. It wasn’t terribly hard to figure out what was distracting the Doctor so much, she was never all that subtle. You saw the way her eyes would follow you around the room. More like she was looking at something specifically on your head. Your assumption was right one day when you bounded excitedly over to the Doctor in the console room to ask about the newest adventure you were about to take, and she remained focused on your tresses.
One night, the Doctor returned to the console room with a cup of tea in hand to see you sitting by the open front doors with your legs swinging out and a blanket wrapped around your shoulders. The Galaxy looked beautiful with you sitting in front of it, with the pinks, purples, and blues lighting your face. It took the Doctor’s breath away. Walking closer the Doctor noticed that your appearance was a little disheveled. Clothing ruffled out of place and hair sticking up at odd angles, but it wasn’t as if you had a nightmare, or something disturbed you during your sleep. It seemed more like you just rolled out of bed and came here.
She called your name softly, now standing behind you. You tilted your head up towards the voice.
“Hello Doctor,” you greeted with a smile.
“What are you doing awake?” She asked. The Doctor had settled herself beside you, her tea forgotten behind her.
“I don’t know,” you replied, sliding over to make more room in the doorway. “I just woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep, so I came here,” You turned your gaze back to outside the Tardis. “It’s very beautiful.”
The Doctor nodded. “Yeah, it is. It’s probably one of my favourite Galaxies to just drift in, other than the Milky Way of course. The clashing colours are just breathtaking.”
You nodded in agreement. The Doctor started to ramble about the stars in a speech and speed that flew over your head faster than any breeze, but you didn’t mind. She would start talking animatedly, moving her hands as she would point to different areas in space.
You thought it was cute. You could’ve listened to her talk for hours, but your earlier exhaustion crept up on you and you felt your eyes closing, falling asleep to the sound of the Doctors voice.
The Doctor noticed your head dropping a bit before you’d snap back up, your eyes threatening to shut again. Your shoulders had been slouching down and she was worried you were going to end up rolling out of the Tardis.
“You know,” she started, her voice jerking you awake to give her your full attention. “If you’re tired you should go back to bed.”
You shook her head stubbornly, but the Doctor could see how tired you were getting. She debated just carrying you to your bed as you probably wouldn’t be able to put up a very big fight or she could wait until you fell asleep before carrying you. She opted for the latter; she was quite enjoying looking at the Galaxy with you right now. She felt her hearts stop a moment later when your weight suddenly slumped against her side, your head on her shoulder.
“Doctor,” you mumbled sleepily. “Can I lay on your lap?”
Her breath hitched in her throat, her two hearts beating so fast she feared that you would be able to hear them from your place against her side. How could she deny your gentle request though? So, she nodded with soft spoken “yes”. Your eyes brightened hearing her reply.
You slid away from the Doctor to make room so you could lay down comfortably. The Doctor, however, immediately missed your warmth and had to stop herself from making a sound of protest. The warmth returned when you placed your head on her thigh, your blanket rested on top of your body. You sighed contentedly.
“Comfy?” she asked, a teasing tone in her voice.
You only replied by cuddling further into the Doctor’s warmth, pulling the blanket up so it rested just under your chin.
Not wanting to take your hands out of your blanket burrito, you tried to blow your hair out of your face The Doctor looked down in amusement at your struggle. Her hand eventually found its way to your face, gently brushing the piece of hair from your eyes behind your ear. Her eyes widened at the feel of your hair.
“It’s so soft,” she spoke softly to herself out loud unaware you were still partially awake as she brushed her hand through your hair again.
You hummed and your body fully relaxed at the Doctor’s fingers raking through your locks. “Shampoo, conditioner, and blow dry equals fluffy and soft.”
The Doctor chuckled as she continued mindlessly playing with your hair. Her nails would lightly scratch against your scalp, causing you to sigh, and then switch to brushing your hair from the base of your skull to the end. She would hit the occasional knot, but you didn’t shift at her gentle pulling and smoothing it out. Occasionally, the Doctor would stop her actions thinking that you were fast asleep with how quiet and still you were, but you proved her wrong when your face would scrunch up with a disappointed groan.
“No,” you whined.
Your glare was not all that deadly or threatening in any way. In fact, it was more adorable than anything in the Doctor’s mind. Your eyes were dazed and unfocused, and you couldn’t hold your glare together very well. It was more of a grumpy squint than anything.
The Doctor merely laughed and caved in. “Okay, okay.”
You turned your head back to its place and sighed happily when you felt her hand return. The Doctor was absolutely convinced in her mind that if you were a cat, you would be purring.
The Doctor didn’t know how long you two stayed there in the doorway. Her one leg swung outside the box while her other made sure that you didn’t accidently roll out of the Tardis, that would certainly be a rude awakening.
The Time Lord was lost in her thoughts as she ran her fingers over your scalp the action calming for both you and her, barely paying attention to the soft sigh you let out. And any tension left in your body vanished, your entire weight settled against the Doctors leg. She thought of how glad she was to have you aboard the Tardis, how you always seem to know what she was feeling and how to make her feel better again. She didn’t know what would’ve happened if she didn’t have you as a companion.
She was brought back into her thoughts when she felt your breath against her leg, you’re breathing deep and steady telling her that you had officially fallen asleep. She gently and slowly raised your head to not wake you and picked you up with one arm holding your shoulders, cradling you to her chest with your head tucked into her neck, and her other arm was underneath your knees. After confirming that you had not stirred, she carried you down the halls to your room. The Tardis was kind enough to move your room closer, so the Doctor didn’t have to go wandering the halls finding your room.
“Can you open the door for me, girl?” the Doctor said quietly, trying in everyway possible to make sure you stayed sleeping.
The Doctor smiled when the door opened and walked inside. She placed you down on your bed and smiled at the small whine you let out when she released her hold on you. The Doctor knelt by your bed and brushed your hair out of you face. She pressed her lips against your forehead, whispering a soft goodnight before leaving your room to let you sleep in peace.
Once exiting your room, the Doctor immediately had a plan form in her mind. The Tardis disapprovingly hummed down at her Thief.
“It’ll be fine!” She brushed the machine off, already heading down the hallway to put her plan into action.
That morning, you were hanging in the console room chatting with Yaz, when you heard a voice calling your name behind you. You looked down the hall to see the Doctor jogging towards you, her hair different than what it usually looks like.
“Y/N!” she said excitedly, bounding up the stair to you.
“Doctor,” you greeted with a smile. “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” she greeted back, grinning ear to ear. “Did you sleep well?”
You nodded. “I did actually. I don’t remember getting back to my room, though.”
Now that she was closer you could see her hair looked a lot more different than her usual style, almost as if she put way too much hair products in than necessary. Her hair was all… frizzy, like it was full of static. You were surprised there wasn’t anything magnetic on her.
“Doctor,” you started, unable to look away from the mess she had created on her own head. “What... what did you do?”
“Well, I was thinking on what you said last night about how you got your hair all nice and soft and I thought I’d give it a go myself!” She grinned at you.
You couldn’t stop yourself from smiling at her explanation. She just looked so cute and proud of herself with her achievement.
“It looks like you used a bit too much, Doctor,” you told her. You reached your hand up and ran your hand through her blonde locks being able to feel exactly how staticky it felt through your fingers.
The Doctor blushed under your touch. “Well, I-it’s a little bit different than when I was a man.”
You hummed in thought. “Well, why don’t I show you how to properly take care of it, and try to fix it? You looked like you used the whole bottle of shampoo.”
The Doctor ducked her head in embarrassment. “It may have been a few bottles actually.”
You laughed, reaching down to grab the Doctor’s hand to lead her away from the console room. You both waved bye to Yaz. She laughed and waved back before going off to find the others.
“Thank you,” the Doctor muttered out. You had her sit on the bathtub edge while you stood behind her. You ran your hands through her hair to see the exact amount of damage she did.
You hummed in response. “Of course! Next time maybe don’t use so much product.” You teased her.
She rolled her eyes even though you couldn’t see it. You told her the basics of hair care for women, how much shampoo and conditioner to use “The whole bottle right?” She asked.
“No! Not the entire thing! At least a tiny handful is enough,” you reached for the face moisturizer sitting on the bathroom sink.
“Moisturizer?” The Doctor asked looking at the bottle in your hand.
You shrugged. “There are a few different ways to deal with static hair, but this is the only thing I had on hand and I’m sure you wouldn’t like me rubbing a laundry detergent sheet all over your head. Moisturizer just happens to also protect your hair to minimize any.”
“Have you done this before?” She asked. She trusted you, of course, but was still curious.
“Yeah, kind of,” you replied. “I would do this for my siblings. They also would overdo it with the hair products, and I found that this works.”
The Doctor nodded and you went to work. You dabbed the cream in your hands and rubbed them together before applying it to the Doctor’s hair. The Doctor leaned her head back into your touch and sighed, she could see how you fell asleep so easily with her doing it the night before, she felt herself drifting to sleep under your touch. You smiled at her reaction. You tilted her head up to get easier access to the hair in front of her face, her eyes were closed and her breathing had steadied out. You quickly finished off the Doctor’s hair, you didn’t want to disturb the Doctor’s rest yet she just looked so adorable all relaxed. Your thumbs lightly brushed over the Doctor’s cheeks; the stress lines that had been so clearly on her face faded away with every motion.
After you finished, you leaned down and pressed your own lips down on her forehead and then to her cheek. “You’re all done now, Doctor,” you whispered, not fully wanting to break the silence.
The Doctor’s eyes fluttered open with a hum. You helped her stand and took in your work. The moisturizer worked wonders for her, it was no longer full of static, nor did it look frizzy and untidy. It looked closer to how it was before the ‘incident’.
She brushed her own hand through her hair and beamed. “It feels a lot better! Thank you!”
You gave your own smile. “You are so welcome, Doctor.”
The Doctor moved forward and wrapped you in a hug and you gasped in surprise. You’ve never really been hugged by the Doctor, so it was quite a surprise to be suddenly held in her arms. All you could feel, and smell was her. Her coat radiated warmth and she smelled like the lavender shampoo she had used earlier, and a little bit of the tea she had this morning. You were surround by everything of the Doctor and you loved it.
You knew how hard it was for the Doctor to really express herself, so you were patient. You were there for whatever she needed. Be it a travel companion, a friend or an impromptu hair stylist for a disaster.
The Doctor pulled back from the embrace. You hated how cold you felt being out of her arms. You almost went to hug her again. Almost. Instead, you held out your arm to her.
“Shall we go plan our next adventure, Doctor?” you asked.
She laughed and looped her arm through yours. “Lets,” she said.
You listened to her list of different planet names and what was on them as the two of you left the bathroom. You could never understand her when she spoke at a million miles per hour, but it was nice to see her talk about something so excitedly. She listed off places that would light sky lanterns every night or a planet that was covered in snow that when the sun shined on them it would look like the planet was covered in sparkling diamonds. They all sounded amazing, but honestly you were just happy traveling with the Doctor. It didn’t matter where you went, or when, you were just happy being with her.
She led you back towards the console room. She gestured for you to place your hand on the lever with her. “So, where do you want to go?” She asked you.
You thought for a minute. Anywhere, you said, silently. Anywhere if it’s with you. But you knew she wouldn’t accept that, so you looked up and said, “Surprise me.” And her answering grin lit up the room, and the two of you pulled the lever down, and off into space you went.