I hope I got the characterisation right - it's hard writing about characters only introduced a few weeks ago! Anyway, I tried my best. Hope you enjoy :)
The Way You Are
The Doctor and Yaz giggled together, a sound that filled the room with glee and something intimate between the two of them. Laughing together, the Doctor planted kisses on Yaz's cheek whilst she walked her backwards, her hands guiding Yaz on her waist. She could feel Yaz slide off one of her yellow braces to let it hang at her side limply.
The Doctor could smell her scent as she embraced her, a mixture of coconut shampoo, earl grey tea and lemongrass. She breathed it in, revelling in it as Yaz began to kiss her, more urgently, passionately, and The Doctor gladly reciprocated.
The Doctor realised that she loved the softness of Yaz's lips, the curve of her mouth and the way she kissed her; almost seriously but playfully. Moving slowly toward the console of the TARDIS, Yaz's body stopped as she learnt into the hexagonal surface, The Doctor moving closer to her. She could feel Yaz's warm hands brush the hair away from her face and cup her cheek, making The Doctor herself feel shivers running through her body. Yaz's hands ended up travelling down to her waist, placing themselves firmly whilst pulling The Doctor closer. The Doctor was impressed with how strong Yaz was, more than usual for the average woman, identifying it with the effects of being a police officer.
Suddenly, the doors of the TARDIS burst open, and Ryan strolled into the interior, spotting the two girls and quickly stopping in his tracks. Yaz and The Doctor both froze in action, her hands slightly underneath the hem of Yaz's shirt, and her hair a blonde mess from the traces of Yaz's fingers.
After a split second and with the speed of lightning, both women jumped apart from one another, completely startled and shocked.
'Doctor,' Yaz uttered to her, 'I thought you said we were alone, you locked out anyone from entering.'
The Doctor quickly thought back, replaying images in her mind of pointing her sonic at the door, letting it turn in her hand, scan and lock, Yaz sliding off her silver coat from her body and letting
it drop on the floor.
'Ah,' she exhaled, side-eying Yaz with the realisation that she had distracted her completely.
Ryan's voice now shakily addressed them, The Doctor's coat at his feet.
'The...TARDIS doors weren't closed at all
but for some reason...we couldn't go near the lamppost outside, it sort of repelled us.'
The Doctor could see the shock on his face was pronounced even more than Yaz's and her own, his eyes unable to fix themselves on the sight before him.
'Whose we?' The Doctor asked, already guessing the answer.
Instantly, the sound of Graham's loud voice echoed into the TARDIS and the man joined his grandson at his side.
'Well, what's been going on here?' He scanned his eyes up and down knowingly.
'Not the time, Graham.' The Doctor addressed him, seeing his face almost light up at the joke. Yaz was blushing furiously by her side as Ryan scoffed. 'Stop with the granddad jokes.'
'Did he just call me grandad?' Graham quipped, as Ryan rolled his eyes heavily.
The Doctor suddenly sprung into action. 'To be fair, I did lock something, just not the TARDIS doors and I did leave you both in Yaz's flat with tea and biscuits between you.'
'You know we're not the tea type, Doc.' Graham interjected.
'And that we can't stay in a room for more than five minutes alone,' Ryan added, his eyes meaningfully jumping to Graham and back again in annoyance, 'we thought we could go on another adventure.'
The Doctor hardly knew what to say, which was unusual for her. Yet human interaction she could admit was one of the areas she maybe lacked a little.
'So we told your mum about it,' Ryan said fearfully, watching Yaz's face turn with anger.
'What!'
'I'm sorry, but we couldn't make any excuses up, we had to tell the truth. I didn't like being interrogated.'
'Sounds like my mum alright,' she retaliated, her eyes suddenly going wide as she saw a figure advance into the interior.
The Doctor, shocked completely and baffled at how such a situation had been born, saw the silhouette of Yaz's mum gaze in wonder at the TARDIS, before settling on her daughter and the Doctor.
The Doctor couldn't move, yet Yaz soon bounded up to her mum to ask what she was doing here. This was probably not the time for hugging Yaz's mum again, she thought.
'I'm sorry for telling.' Ryan sorrowfully looked into the Doctor's eyes.
'Don't worry about it, Ryan,' she smiled kindly, 'it's Yaz's mum, that's fine. Actually, I don't know if it's fine,' she trailed off, catching the eyes of Yaz's mum staring at hers, 'but keep it a secret from others next time.'
Ryan nodded understandingly, and The Doctor turned toward Najia, awkwardly moving to stand a few inches apart from Yaz. She could feel her hearts thumping in the silence and her brain going blank at the thought of speaking.
'We are seeing each other.' Yaz suddenly interrupted, her eyes unmoving from her mothers as she took the Doctor's hand in hers. The Doctor herself was surprised at the sudden revelation, shocked that Yaz had truthfully answered her mother without evasion. She saw in that moment, the flare of bold courage that she had sensed in Yaz from the beginning, fully realised at its peak, and The Doctor grinned like the proud girlfriend she was. However, she began to realise she hadn't said anything, even though Najia's eyes burned into hers, seeking confirmation.
'It's true,' she declared, squeezing Yaz's hand tighter, 'we are.'
Najia didn't look too surprised, although the lopsided braces, mussed up hair and rumpled clothes did send her into an embarrassed shock. Yaz awkwardly smoothed out the wrinkles in her shirt, and ignoring her mother's glares, turned suddenly to The Doctor, taking both hands in hers.
'In fact,' she began, 'I think I might even...love you a little bit.'
The Doctor could just see along her peripheral vision the faces of all three eavesdroppers open their mouths in unison, but then the whole TARDIS, all of them standing there, even the universe faded away as she looked into Yaz's warm, inviting eyes shyly staring into hers. The word love had inevitably fired off a trigger, and suddenly her face was grave with the recognition that she needed to warn Yaz before she got ahead of herself too much.
'You do realise, Yaz,' she began, her voice thick and her mind settling for the first time on her past and immortality, 'that I'm an alien over 2000 years old,' she said, ignoring Yaz's mum gasp in shock. The Doctor noticed how it didn't faze Yaz at all, adoring the way she looked at her.
'And you do realise that this TARDIS is my home,' she said, watching Yaz nod. The Doctor carried on, painfully having to face Yaz with the realities of a relationship with her, 'not a human being home, my home,' she carried on, 'and that being with me...going on these adventures...I can never guarantee I can always protect you. I've lived with the pain countless times and it's never worth losing your lives just because I live like an Icarus. All of you,' she eyed Graham, Ryan and Najia, 'you know what can happen when you meddle with time and space and aliens.' She saw Graham and Ryan's heads hang at the allusion to Grace, and quickly turned back to Yaz, 'It's a dangerous universe out there.' She warned them.
'And I'm a police officer,' Yaz smiled confidently at The Doctor, 'I deal and work with danger. I survive with pain too, and I constantly have to be brave and strong, for a living.'
The Doctor loved the confidence and courage in her words and her face, almost won over by her insistence. Yet, she had to carry on, and her eyes shut tight as she delivered her next line, 'and that I've travelled with many women and men before you, and that you will age and I won't...at least until I regenerate into a whole new and different person that you might not even like.'
Yaz suddenly looked the confused and baffled that the Doctor had wanted her to look.
'Why're you telling me all of this?' She asked, her face hurt. The Doctor's own expressions softened and her hearts ached knowing she was the one causing this distress.
'Because you might get used to me like this. And I could end up a completely different person the next time. I could be a man again,'
'That doesn't bother me.' Yaz interjected.
'...I could be so different that you dislike me.'
Suddenly, Yaz pulled The Doctor toward her, kissing her arduously. The Doctor could hardly believe what Yaz had done, especially in front of her mum, and Ryan and Graham.
'Doctor,' Yaz said, drawing away and lifting her hand to her cheek, 'I like you. The way you are. But not just you as the woman. I like The Doctor.'
The Doctor smiled. 'You're not afraid of danger?'
'Not when I'm with you,' she said, stroking the back of her hand in circles.
The Doctor turned toward the awkward faces of Najia, Ryan and Graham, her eyes circling back to Yaz.
'Sorry about that little terms and conditions.' She said, the kiss shocking her into returning her voice and expressions back to normal.
Yaz laughed, leaning against The Doctor's shoulder.
'There it is, back again.' Graham pointed out.
'Back what?' The Doctor asked.
'You. For a moment there you went so serious you could have been Ryan.'
'Shut up.' Ryan said, as Graham laughed.
The Doctor turned back to Yaz. 'Well, anyone want a cup of tea and an adventure?'
'Actually,' Najia looked at The Doctor, 'would you like to come round for dinner?'
Yaz groaned by her side. 'Do we have to have the dinner now? Can't we wait at least a little while before the awkward table conversation kicks in?'
'No, Yaz I'd be delighted!' The Doctor grinned, thanking Yaz's mum.
'Are...we invited?' Ryan asked.
'Course you're invited.' Yaz exclaimed, rolling her eyes.
Najia walked out of the TARDIS, the rest of them following her. The Doctor stepped out and looked up at the block of flats.
'Dinner round Yaz's! Now that's even more amazing!'