Originally posted on AO3 at 4-11-2018.
First fiction I ever wrote for Doctor Who!
The air was pleasantly warm for a late autumn afternoon, but again Yasmin wasn't even sure if they had different seasons on this planet like they had back on Earth. She wasn't even sure what year they were in or even what month; but the way the two suns had hung low, casting a warm orange glow around the trees felt like autumn to her.
The yellowing of the leaves may have also helped a tad on her assumption as well.
Acres and acres of lush forest stretched as far as the eye could reach, with all sorts of different trees and brush. The small settlement of small stature, elvish looking aliens was located right in what the locals call 'the beating heart' of the planet, inside an ancient tree that according to their history, has been there for as long as the planet existed.
Ryan had joked that they had stumbled into 'Lord of The Rings' when they walked out of the Tardis that morning. She had laughed at him and affectionately called him a 'nerd' until the Doctor started to ramble about Tolkien and hobbits. The Time Lady had spared no detail, eagerly engaging her companions (mostly Ryan) about both the books and movies. Yaz had just stood and watched, her heart fluttering every time the Doctor would make eye contact and give her one of those smiles, like she was sharing a secret with her and only her.
It had started to become a recurrent occurrence, those special smiles and the lingering touches, the 'you boys go left, me and Yaz go right' ; not to mention the stolen glances, when they thought the other wasn't looking.
A slow and steady dance, like a fine waltz.
The boys had noticed it, of course they had. Daft as they were sometimes, this... thing... between her and the Time Lady wasn't as subtle as she thought and the teasing remarks had been a constant. More often than not, it tended to end with Yasmin blushing and a very, very oblivious Doctor trying to make sense of why the girl's face was suddenly so red and then attempting to check Yaz's temperature to make sure she hadn't caught any fevers; all while Ryan and Graham watched with unabashed amusement in the background.
She shook her head and took a deep breath, filling her lungs with fresh air that not even an hour ago had been thick with smoke and the smell of burning wood. Glancing to her left, her eyes fixated on a particular ashen spot near a huge root where the Doctor had stood before, surrounded by angry flames. Turns out that some sort of poisonous bug species had been designed to damage the ancient tree by a race of greedy sellers, who wished to turn the entire planet into a luxury condo. Of course with the tree regrowing whatever they would cut or burn in a matter of seconds, they had to hatch a plan to at least slow the regeneration properties enough so plants and trees would grow at normal and controlled rates.
They hadn't account for it to be an actual living being, with a conscience. And a fail safe plan that pretty much would trigger a massive wildfire that would destroy everything in its path until all was engulfed in flames.
So of course Team Tardis had stepped up, with the help of the locals. And somehow the climax found the Doctor surrounded by flames injecting a serum into one of the tree roots and trying to reason with it while everyone watched with fear in their eyes from a distance.
Her heartbeat had drowned all the background sounds and she had watched, with baited breath as this incredible woman stood her ground, eyes as bright as the flames surrounding her.
Those flames had end up dying down a tad too close for comfort. She faintly remembers Graham placing a firm hand on her shoulder and assuring her the Doctor was okay and that it was all over, her mind too focused on the figure now brightly smiling at her like she hadn't just seen the face of death itself.
A strangled sob had escaped her parted lips then, and she took an unsteady step and then another, until she broke into a sprint, only stopping in front of the other woman. Hands reached out, hovering but not quite touching, eyes scanning for any sign of injury but finding none. She was completely unscathed but yet...
Their eyes met when the Doctor placed a warm hand on her cheek and took a step closer, hazel orbs looking at her with such concern and adoration. It was all it took for the dam to break.
Must have been a sight, Yasmin Khan being a sobbing mess in another woman's arms in front of the boys and twenty elvish-like aliens in a foreign planet. (Later she had found out it was actually close to fifty, thanks to Ryan).
A familiar weight on her shoulder brought her back to the present and she glanced up to find the Time Lady smiling down at her, wearing a surprisingly intricate flower crown on her head. The dark haired woman raised a questioning eyebrow at the item and let out a laugh when the Doctor scrunched up her face before pulling a similar crown from behind her back and presented it to her.
"You've got to be kiddin' me."
"What? I think they're quite cute. Don't you think? Lovely craft. Lovely colours too! Oh, maybe you don't like the colours? I can ask for something different-"
"Doctor, you're at it again."
A bright smile. "Ah sorry. But I can ask them for a different colour if you like."
"Are they making us wear those? Even the boys?"
"Ah no, actually..." She scratched the back of her head with her free hand. "They said was only for us. Tradition or somethin', I didn't quite get it but they said we should wear them during the night lights."
"Well, tradition is tradition I suppose..."
Yaz was about to extend her hands but the other woman clearly had a different idea. Letting out a squee of delight, she skipped about before plopping the item atop her companion's head and took a step back to marvel at the sight, clearly pleased with herself.
"Adorable."
It's amazing how just a word from the Doctor could make her heart skip a beat or two. And make her brain go completely blank. Well, maybe not completely, she was sure somewhere deep in her mind she could feel the unravelling of all the love songs ever sang finally making sense. Her cheeks tinted red, causing the other woman to scrunch up her face.
"Your face is doing that thing again, Yaz! Are you sure you're alright? I can take a look at ya, let me just grab my-"
"I'm fine, Doctor! It's just..."
"Just what?"
Her mouth opened and closed several times but she couldn't find the right words. 'I fancy you' didn't sound good enough, 'I have a crush on you' was not good either... and 'I love you' was too soon to speak, especially since she had absolutely no idea if the Doctor even felt the same.
So she started out slow. "I've been wondering about something." A deep breath. "Something about us."
"Us? As in Team Tardis us or you and me us?"
"You and me."
The Time Lady's face became sombre for a moment, her expression unreadable. "What of it?"
Just as she was about to answer, a wave of cheers erupted all around causing both women divert their attention from each other to the now darkened forest. Millions of what looked like fireflies lit the area, casting a soft light blue glow over it. Then, they started to move, dancing around between the leaves and the habitants in little loops and twirls as soft melody from what sounded like a cello filled the air.
It was breathtaking, to say the least.
Yasmin watched completely transfigured for a few minutes until she glanced over and found the Doctor giving her that same adoring look as before. Her eyes were warm, welcoming and Yaz felt herself being pulled by some unknown force. She stood, dusting herself off and walked over to where the other woman was standing.
They were face to face now and she suddenly felt shy, like a school girl standing next to her crush waiting to be invited to prom. She wiggled her hands and broke eye contact, choosing to look everywhere else but the Doctor.
Silence. "You're gonna miss it if you keep looking at me."
"I don't think I'm missing it if I'm looking at the most beautiful thing here."
Her mouth went dry as she turned to face the other woman, eyes wide. She must have misheard it somehow, with the entire setting around them screaming 'romantic mood' all over the place. But there was no hesitation when the gap was suddenly closed and soft lips pressed against her own.
Time stopped and for a few minutes it was just them. There was no Yasmin and no Doctor, there was no human and alien; there was just two women who met by chance and fell in love.
The boys found them an hour or so later laying on the lush grass, fast asleep wrapped in each other's arms.