Work Text:
Luna was reading a lot more books then she thought she would've.
Working as the Curator's Assistant/Secretary/Under Gallery Organiser wasn't a boring job, far from it. Working with a probable future incarnation of the Doctor who could change his face at will would never be boring. In fact, she had been going on frequent trips with him, mostly to collect various rare and dangerous pieces of art - she felt like a member of Warehouse 13!
But today was a rare quiet day, so she was catching up on her reading. And trying to ignore the fact that she hadn't heard from the Doctor in days. She assumed the Doctor's psychic link had been tampered with, but the Curator - in his vague "don't reveal the future" way - had informed her that the only way to tamper with the psychic link is if the Doctor himself were to take it away.
Why would he?
She thought she got her answer when she saw him on the TV a few days ago. He was on a game show - You Either Know It Or You Don't, a ridiculous name for a game show - and Luna watched it with dinner, screaming in her head the answers. That made sense - the Doctor was not really one for cheating, even if it was for money - and considering that his fifth face had dragged her to at least one of the matches in that January '82 cricket test, and she sat there having no idea what was going on, she thought him getting the answer right was obvious.
But… After the show aired he still never responded to her brain waves. She couldn't hear him. That was incredibly concerning.
"He'll respond to you eventually, dear," the Curator - wearing what Luna had called his 'default' face - said, "you shouldn't rush him,"
"I'm not," she frowned, flipping through the weathered copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales.
She paused, looking up at the Curator.
"How'd you know that was what I was worried about?" She asked.
The Curator smiled, wide and unsettling - mostly because she could tell there was something hidden behind those bright blue eyes.
"I always know, dear,"
Luna rolled her eyes, licking her finger and flipping the page, "of course you do…"
However, as she turned the page, she heard a familiar voice in her head.
Luna, Luna Derbyshire, this is the Doctor speaking, can you read me?
Luna's eyes widened. It was just like the Curator said. He smiled at her, clearly recognising what had happened.
Y-Yeah… Doc, why haven't you talked to me?
I've been busy, the Doctor said, and Luna noticed that his mental voice had a slight strain, very busy. Solving a murder,
Ah, that's how you get distracted now, Luna said, half jokingly, but her smile faded when she heard the Doctor's angry response.
Not you too, Luna! He exclaimed, his voice harsh, first, Helen and Liv, now you? Why? I'm just trying to help us get back to the TARDIS, get back to our home, not be stuck on Earth for the rest of my life!
Luna stood back in shock. The Curator stared, watching as she blinked.
I… I don't get it…
Oh believe me, the Doctor snarled, there are certain things you definetly don't get. How's work, by the way? I thought you forgot about me,
Yeah, because you didn't re-open the psychic link! I tried contacting you, I really did—
And what good did that do? You're fine, you're comfortable… What about me? What good am I without the things that make me the Doctor?
Luna sighed.
Well, if you're gonna be a bitch, then I guess we shouldn't talk right now.
Wait, wait, wait, Luna!
She shut the link off herself this time. The Curator approached her.
"Do you think you took this a step too far?"
Luna frowned, "yeah… I know this is hard for him, but…"
She went back to her book, almost trying to ignore the bad feelings.
A few hours had passed, and now she was cleaning the shelves, reorganising some of the paintings. The Curator had vanished - probably went off in his study to 'rest' (a code for him switching faces when he got bored or fatigued, Luna had never seen what he looked like in that phase) after he helped Luna 'evacuate' a group of weird cult-y people handing out pamphlets outside the museum.
Luna thought she had been threatening enough, but she hadn't realised the actual eldritch abomination that was behind her was doing most of the work.
There had also been a small power outage - she was practically sitting in the dark aside from a candle that she'd struggled to set up. It was a small blight on her work, but she went back to it as soon as whatever caused the outage had been fixed.
Luna paused her rearranging, and then noticed that the door had opened. The Doctor walked through the doors - no, practically ran through the doors - and saw her in the middle of her work. She stopped.
They both looked at each other. Mentally counting down. 3, 2, 1…
"I'm sorry," they both said at the same time.
"I understand you're stressed 'cause the TARDIS is the most important thing in the world to you—"
"I shouldn't have cut you off, I know this now, but I thought that I would be distracting you—"
"—But I honestly thought I was making a light-hearted joke, not insulting you personally. I really didn't mean it and—"
"—I was unsure how much your boss knew about your abilities, and the last thing I needed was for you to be hurt or put in danger or worse and—"
"I missed you," they both said at the same time once more, before both parties immediately burst into laughter.
"Ha! It's almost like you can read my mind, or something…" The Doctor frowned, "the TARDIS is fine now - well, as fine as it can be, its still a lot smaller inside. And, you would be pleased to know that I solved that murder mystery,"
"And got more mysteries to solve?"
He nodded, "yes, apparently a whole species believes that I'm their arch-enemy. When they were peaceful!"
"Ah… Well, that's just you, isn't it?" Luna asked, "even when you're taking the slow path,"
The Doctor sighed.
"Believe me, it is slow," He frowned, running his fingers through his hair, "it took months. Months of nothing passing by. I got bored. Restless. Some would even say 'stir crazy'… I guess I took offence to your harmless little comment,"
Luna smiled, and pulled the Doctor into a massive hug.
"I'm still sorry I can't see you more often…"
"It's alright,"
"But…" Luna smirked, "you're welcome to break into the Under Gallery whenever you wish,"