"Y/N, are you ready yet?" You hear the Doctor call from outside your bedroom.
"Just a minute!" You hurriedly apply a bit of lip gloss before giving yourself a once-over in the mirror.
The dress you've picked out for this particular event (some space ball or another) might just be the best dress you've ever seen. The TARDIS had selected it especially for you, after hearing the Doctor jabber on and on about how important and extravagant the ball was meant to be. Its blue color nearly matched the ship's exterior and shimmered when it caught the light. There were a couple of layers of tulle under the skirt in a similar shade, and it fell just above your toes. The way it swishes around your ankles makes you never want to take it off.
Remembering that there is a Time Lord waiting impatiently for you, you pad over to your door. When it swings open, you can hear the breath that the Doctor takes in upon seeing you.
You draw in a similar breath when your eyes see what she's picked for tonight's ball.
Her trousers cut off mid-calf (in true Doctor fashion) and are black, rather than her usual blue. She wears a plain button-up the same color as your dress, with a black coat that hangs at the same length as her trousers. To finish the look off, she has a black, gold-speckled bowtie that she fiddles with nervously.
Simply put, she looks stunning.
"Doctor, you look..." you blow out your cheeks to illustrate your point. It isn't a secret, the feelings you harbour for the woman, but there was yet to be any actual progression on either of your parts.
"So do you," she smiles. Then she takes your hand in hers and the two of you are off toward the console room.
As you walk, the Doctor explains the reason behind your trip to the ball.
"I guess there's a rumor," she's panting with the effort it takes to walk and talk as fast as she is. "That the king of this country isn't actually real." She's darting around the console, flipping switches and pressing buttons. She pulls the dematerialization lever before she starts talking again.
"Or, he is real, but not actually organic. You see, lots of the waitstaff at the palace have been chatting with the townspeople about how the king hasn't really appeared in the public eye for ages. Until tonight." You feel the TARDIS shake as you zip through the vortex.
"The servants have had a suspicion for a while, ever since they'd spied something red in his left eye. I think what they've seen is a camera, and that their king has been replaced with a robot version of himself. So," she offers her hand to you as the ship comes to a halt. "Shall we?"
You give her a wide smile and clasp her hand tight, delighting in the feeling of being pulled toward the next adventure.
Upon stepping through the TARDIS doors, you're thrown slightly by the sheer size of the hall you're in. You can hear the music and chatter coming from the ballroom, but your eyes catch on the giant chandelier that hangs above you. It sends pieces of light all over the walls and floor, glittering and mesmerizing you.
"Woah," you breathe. This is unlike any hotel lobby you'd stepped foot in before. Of course, it's not a hotel lobby for starters, so it exceeds your expectations ten times over.
"Right?" The Doctor positively beams. "We could've come here just for fun, because it is that extraordinary. But I do want to figure out that issue,"
You nod, though your attention is given mostly to the various aliens you can now see milling about in the large ballroom. No matter how many times and places you travel, it never ceases to amaze you just how many species there are in the universe.
As you and the Doctor walk into the open space of the ballroom, the music swells and it feels a bit like it was meant for the two of you. You can't help squeezing the Doctor's hand, and are glad when she squeezes back.
"There's the king," she whispers in your ear as you close in on a table of hors d'oeuvres. "Up there, see?" One of her long fingers points to your left, where you can see a raised platform that seats the Royal family.
In the middle is the supposed king, looking uninterested in the hundreds of people gathered in his presence. Next to him sits who you guess is the queen, and they're surrounded by animals you couldn't even hazard a guess at the species of.
"He looks sort of...dead," you say, quietly in case anyone hears you. The Doctor chuckles lightly.
"He does a bit, yeah." Her attention is then caught by the array of different foods and drinks available in front of you. She leans forward to inspect a platter of what looks to you like cubes of cheese topped with caviar. "I think this is aged stravia, with lots of fruit spheres on top. Remind me to take you to this planet's more rural areas sometime, Y/N. They've got an awesome assortment of stravia. They taste like candyfloss!"
"No kidding," you say, more to humor her than anything. Her excitement when it came to sweets was nothing new, and you add that reminder to your mental notes sheet for another time.
Once the Doctor has loaded a plate up with more foods than she'll be able to eat, she leads you off to the side and a bit closer to where the Royal family sits. They don't look your way, and you do your best not to stare.
"Try this," the Doctor is handing you something before you know what's coming. It looks like a small piece of toast with spiced butter.
It also tastes like a small piece of toast topped with spiced butter.
"Good, right? They get a lot of things imported in from human settlers, so many of these won't be too unfamiliar to you. How cool is that?" She smiles wide and pops a piece of that strava-whatever between her lips, barely chewing before she swallows.
You laugh at her giddiness, simply in awe of how she seems to be excited about everything all of the time. You eat a bit off the plate, mainly sticking to the bread items that you've deemed safe.
By now the music has changed to something more somber and slow, and you sway in place a bit just to feel the air rush between the folds of the tulle.
"May I have this dance?" You offer your arm to the Doctor, who takes it with a smile wider than any of the other ones she's given tonight.
"Thought you'd never ask," she teases, leaning into your side before she assumes her place a few inches from you. Your left hand clasps her right, and her left goes to your waist as your right goes to her shoulder. She's looking at you as if you hung the stars in the sky and you wouldn't care if this was the moment you died. You would die happily.
The Doctor leads the dance, which is more or less the same box step you learned in PE all those years ago. The two of you slowly make your way into the center of the ballroom, joining the other couples dancing in their own little bubbles.
The thought of that sort of couple makes you blush, and you can't help but imagine all the things you want to be able to do with the Doctor. You'd told all in a rush of adrenaline after one of your many near-death encounters and ever since then she's been more affectionate. Not that she wasn't before, but now there seemed to be more emotion behind the way she took your hand or rubbed your back in comfort. Soon, you think, you'll ask about what it all means for you.
But right now, in this moment, you're content to simply sway with her and smile at the freckles on her face. You count every one once, twice, then a third time for luck and thank any god out there that this wonderful woman fell into your life. Day after exciting day, she surprises you in new ways and makes you wish you could capture every second in a frame and hang it on the walls of the TARDIS.
As you dance, the Doctor moves closer to where the family is sitting. You know she's just trying to get a better look at the king, but the way she leans into you as she looks over your shoulder makes you hold your breath. The press of her body against yours is so comforting and everything you've wanted for so long. All too soon, though, she's pulling away slightly to look you in the eye.
"I think I want to talk to him." She says assuredly. "If they really have replaced their king with a robot or something, it shouldn't be too difficult to tell, right?"
With that, she slips her fingers between your own and you're walking towards the raised platform. The animals lazing at the feet of the royals barely pay any attention as you approach. When you're an arm's length from the family, the Doctor pulls you into a deep bow.
"Warm greetings to you, your Majesties." She's smiling wide when you straighten back up. "I'm the Doctor of TARDIS, and this is my dear friend, Y/N of Earth."
You not your own greetings to them, worried that if you say anything you may flub this whole operation.
"Earth, hmm?" The queen looks your way with a curious eye. "Not many travelers from Earth these days. It's nice to know your lot is still kicking about, though." Her smile is warm and soothes any anxiety you had about somehow offending her.
"Is His Majesty enjoying the festivities? I hear the native stravia is abundant this year," the Doctor looks very pointedly at the man who, so far, hasn't so much as looked away from the table holding the canapes.
"He's been so very excited, Doctor." The queen is still smiling, but you think that there's an edge set in her teeth that makes your hair stand on end. "The music is his own mix of all his favorite songs from across the galaxy. He's very proud of the selection."
"And what's your favorite song, Your Highness?" The Doctor isn't looking at the queen anymore, obviously trying to get an answer out of the man-who-may-not-be-real sitting before you.
After an achingly long minute passes, the king grunts something. It's too quiet to hear.
"What was that?" The Doctor says.
The queen sits straighter in her seat and says, at the same time, "Don't push yourself, dear." Her hand lands gently on the king's shoulder.
You're pretty sure you hear him mumble something about food, and you follow his line of sight to the table.
While the Doctor is standing at an agreeable distance, respectful as she can be, you step closer and crouch before the king.
"Y/N!" the Doctor hisses.
"Are you hungry, Your Majesty?" You question, and his eyes move to your face. Something moves in his face, and he's looking brighter now. He doesn't answer, but he gives a brief nod.
The queen looks anxious beside him.
"He hasn't been able to eat much as of late. Not since-" she stops herself. It seems the Doctor's usual charm has caused her to nearly tell all. "Nevermind that." She turns to you. "Y/N, was it? Would you mind fetching some food for my husband?"
Your nerves buzz with anxiety that doesn't know where to go, but you give a curt nod and head off. You're still not sure what everything is, but you think it's a safe bet to fill the plate with the stravia you see in various forms.
When you get back, the Doctor and the queen are talking in hushed voices and the king is looking at you kindly.
"Here you are, Your Highness," you hand him the plate and he digs in animatedly, and if you weren't glad to see him acting like a person you might have been bothered by the noises he's making.
"Well, thank you, Doctor. And Y/N. I'll not forget this," the queen smiles at you and the beaming woman at your side.
As you're led away, the Doctor starts to step into a dance again.
"Dance with me?"
"Of course,"
The two of you fall into the familiar sway of the dance, and the room around you falls away. Looking into the Doctor's eyes is one of your favorite pastimes, and doing so now just makes you fall for her even further.
"Doctor," your voice is quiet as you quest into territory neither of you have breached yet. "Do you remember what I told you, a little while ago? After I'd lost you in that battle, and you found me in a bit of a mess?"
She's looking at you in wonder, small smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eye. She nods.
"I still mean it. I'll admit I'm still not sure how anything in that area would work, how we would work. But I still mean what I said. How I feel about you,"
You hold a breath.
"Y/N," her hand cups your cheek. "I understand. And while, yes, we may need to talk about it later..." She pauses to step away from you.
You worry, briefly, that she's distancing herself because she doesn't feel the same way. But then she's spinning you around, catching you around your waist. Your feet hold you steady as she dips you, and her eyes are full of so much emotion it makes you dizzy.
"I feel the same." She says when she pulls you back up. You're both just swaying now, not even matching the pace of the music around you. All that doesn't matter, though, when her forehead rests on yours.
"Can I-"
"Yes."
The moment her lips meet yours, flowers bloom behind your teeth. When she deepens it by grabbing hold of your waist at your back, an entire garden grows in the space between your ribs and heart. Her kiss is the sun and the fertilizer, feeding and tending the garden with every passing second.
You're both smiling when the kiss breaks, more for your need of air than the Doctor's.
When the hammering of your heart calms slightly, you rest your forehead against hers again.
This may be the best moment in all of time and space that you've ever experienced. In this space between breaths, you think nothing could ever go wrong again.
"Spin me again?" You ask, breath mingling with hers.
She smiles, takes your hand, and spins you around and the feeling of the air rushing around your feet is intoxicating.
You're spun twice more before the Doctor pulls you into a hug. She kisses your shoulder, and mumbles what you think is a "thank you."
Don't be daft, you think. There will never be a need for her to thank you for anything. Everything you want to do will be for her.
And everything she wants to do will be for you.
You smile to yourself. What a wonderful, beautiful, overwhelmingly warm way to end a night.
You won't forget this in a hurry.