Okay, so this chapter was reeeeeally hard to write, but the characters BEGGED me to! So here it is.
Many relationships require some sort of awkward talk to get everything sorted out, and this is Hero and the Doctor's.
Let me know what you think! They're such precious little winkles... ;)
The Doctor fidgeted beside me on the snow bank, playing with his gloves and looking a bit antsy.
"You're ready to go back to the TARDIS," I stated simply, watching his nervous movements. He wasn't used to time going on in the normal order, I knew that, and I felt a pang of pity for the Time Lord beside me. He was so used to running that after a while being "grounded," as it were, got to him after a while.
The Doctor looked at me quickly, stilling his nervous hands, and looked instantly remorseful. "I – I didn't mean..." he stammered, taking my cold hands in his own and looking into my eyes, "I don't want to leave because I'm not happy here with you, not at all! It's just... strange..." I smiled, and he relaxed a little, still holding my hands.
We'd wasted no time once we'd arrived on the planet Snow (do I really have to explain what it's famous for?), quickly dressing in the warm clothes provided by the tourist agency and tumbling out into the snow. However, making two-headed snowmen and giant snow forts and sliding down snowy hills will only be fun for so long, before utter exhaustion sets in. So we'd collapsed, side-by-side, on a handy pile of the cold whiteness, and the Doctor had begun to fidget.
"We'll go back tomorrow," I offered, and the Doctor nodded happily. I could tell that he was still worried that somehow I'd interpret his jumpiness as a symptom of wanting to get away from me, so I pulled him in for a quick kiss with icy lips. I pulled back and he sat blinking owlishly at me, apparently still not used to the possibility that I could kiss him at any given moment, without any warning whatsoever. Just to make a point, I kissed him again, longer this time, and was pleased to discover the warmth of his breath against my mouth. When I pulled away this time, I could tell that the Time Lord was trying to keep his professional composure and failing miserably; his face was beet red. I giggled, standing, and pulled him up with me as we headed back to the small cluster of wood cabins on the horizon.
"Wha – okay..." he gasped, as I tugged him along, smirking to myself.
"Don't worry," I laughed, glancing back at his stricken face, "I only want to get warm, it's freezing out here..." He blushed even more, looking like a shy teenager, and I added, "You look like I'm going to kill you!"
As we continued on, slipping and sliding over the snow, I heard him mutter, "Keep snogging me and you just might..." I smiled.
After we'd changed and recovered feeling in our toes, we curled up on the couch in the small living room. The opposite wall was made of one large window, looking out at the setting sun. It was beautiful, the snowy hills bathed in golden light, fading slowly to crimson and blue.
I yawned, though my mind still felt wide awake, but something about romping about in the snow all day and watching the sun set made me sleepy.
"So... we'll get the TARDIS tomorrow?" I asked.
"Sure," the Doctor replied, casually draping his arm around my shoulders as if he hoped I wouldn't notice. When I did, he quickly whipped it back and looked skyward as if he hadn't done anything. I giggled again.
"Okay, okay," I waved my arms in front of myself, "Doctor..." He met my eyes, blushing a bit.
"Sorry," he said, "it's... been a while since I've been with anyone, I'm a bit rusty." He grinned cheekily at me, some of his normal cockiness returning as I looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"Really? Oh... um... Well, if you don't mind me asking... how long?"
He looked a bit uncomfortable like he always did when mentioning his age, but answered me quite casually, "407 years, 3 months, 5 days, give or take a few minutes."
I tried not to let my surprise show. "Since?"
"... since I've... well..." He gestured between us, trying to somehow convey a concept with his arms alone. I was a bit confused, but assumed he meant having feelings for someone else. Wow, that's a long time...
"Since... since I've been, you know, intimate with someone." He looked at me with a trace of defiance in his blue-grown eyes.
I stared at him blankly. Then, "You mean sex?"
I was blunt, I couldn't help it, and he tried and failed to look shocked, as he often did with Amy Pond. "Hero! … Yes," he added, rolling his eyes as he allowed my crude word to pass.
"Hey, now," I laughed, poking him in the chest, "I was talking about being in a relationship, not just canoodling! How long has it been since you've been in a relationship?"
"Oh." He looked somehow relieved and embarrassed all at once as he replied, "Well, not really..." I nodded, encouraging him. "... everrrrr... um..."
I surprised him, I think, when I smiled, really genuinely smiled, reaching out to touch his cheek with my fingers. "That's... You must have been lonely." He nodded slowly, not quite able to add the reflex of pain in his eyes when I said that word. "Doctor, I'm sorry there wasn't anyone else, all those years, but now you can be with me, and... and I love you, and..." His huge smile made me stop talking and just grin back. He leaned closer and gently kissed my forehead.
"I would have waited forever," he whispered.
I quickly embraced him, and we stayed like that for a few minutes as the last light from the setting star faded away into dusk.
He leaned his head against my shoulder, his mop of hair tickling my collarbone. "How about you, then?" he asked, and I could see an evil smile on his face.
"Hm?"
"You told me a few days ago that you'd not found any humans who suited you, is that true?"
I nodded, "Yup, they were much to immature." I made my voice all hoity-toity, and the Doctor chuckled, one of his hands gently rubbing my wrist. "No, really," I laughed, "one of them asked me out by texting me."
"No!" the Doctor cried, feigning great astonishment.
"Oh yes! And then this other guy tried to come on to me by trying to hug me all the time and then..." I pulled a face, "linger..."
"Ah, young human males," the Doctor sighed, "so overrun with hormones and things, they hardly know what to do with themselves..."
"Indeed."
We sat in silence for a little while, and I noticed that a few stars were starting to appear in the sky over the snowy landscape.
"So... who was it with?" I asked cheekily, grinning.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Who did you... you know... 407 years, 3 months, and 5 days ago?"
He gave me a pained expression, and I struggled to keep my face straight as I could almost see him wrestling with himself. He fussed with his hair, avoiding my eyes for a moment as he straightened his bow tie and huffed. Finally he decided to replay, muttering, "...Queen Elizabeth the 1st."
I gaped at him, "Ooh you bad, bad boy! So... she..."
"Let's just say, her original moniker doesn't really fit any more..." He looked rather pleased with himself despite his blushing face.
"In this body?"
"Oh, no!" He sat up, turning to look me in the eyes, his face serious, "it was my previous one, he was a bit cheeky, the ladies liked him... but this body, I haven't..." He swallowed, not continuing, and suddenly I knew what he wasn't about to say. he nervously scratched his cheek, looking at me with distressed eyes.
"Oh." I sat up too, smiling softly, "Oh, that's just fine, okay? That's... lovely, it is! I'm so happy!"
He blinked, confused. "...It is? Don't most women raised on Earth prefer... experience?"
"I'm not most women, love," I murmured, tapping his nose and smiling, "You're fine just the way you are, okay? I'm not some Scarlet woman who goes after all the men, I don't want some sort of... of... James Bond!"
"He's a nice guy, by the way," the Doctor added, suddenly distracted, and I laughed out loud in surprise.
Once I'd stopped laughing, I decided that it was time for me to be as honest as the Doctor had been with me. "Okay, I haven't told anyone this, certainly not the girls at school... They'd try to set me up with every single guy they knew just to get me laid..." The Doctor frowned slightly, looking confused.
"I've only gone to bed with one guy, Tim, and he... he didn't love me afterwards like he'd promised." I tried to keep my voice casual, but I could still remember what it felt like to be 18 years old, a stupid freshman in college, thinking that I was in love, trying to make the guy happy so that he'd fall in love with me. Stupid. I smiled sadly and added, "It's for the best, though, Doctor, we were meant for each other..." So we're both inexperienced, aliens with two hearts, alone in the universe... Wow, this sounds like one of this weird space romance novels! Great...
The Doctor seemed to sense my discomfort. "You're perfect, Hero Smith" he murmured earnestly, and kissed my mouth.
We spent the night side-by-side, just cuddling together under the covers, and I was happy with this as I drifted off to sleep, leaning against him. Being with the Doctor meant that we had all the time in the world.