Hello! it's been a while, i've had trouble with ideas lately so ended up falling a bit behind but here we are. Updates for my other stories are coming but i wanted to catch up with some post eps first. This is set after NTNoT and is semi angst plus fluff as per, working on the next episodes and hoping to have those up pretty soon before i start working on other ongoing stories. Hope you enjoy, as usual let me know what you think!
Giving In
Yaz couldn't decide what had been worse, the Kasaavin realm or the Skithra's ship. She had been alone when trapped in the realm, but despite having Tesla with her whilst on the ship, they'd also had the displeasure of being joined by the Skithra queen herself and her children. She thought she'd done a pretty good job at keeping her cool and pretending like she wasn't completely scared out of her wits but when The Doctor had shown up, her relief was unmistakable.
She had managed to save the day again and Yaz couldn't deny that she was relieved when they finally stepped back into the TARDIS to leave 1903 for good. It had been a whirlwind adventure, she had met both Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison, granted she hadn't known who Tesla was but she was familiar with his work. She'd then almost been killed again by some sort of giant scorpion hybrid thing. Yaz wouldn't give up travelling with The Doctor for the world, but she also appreciated the downtime when the adventure was over.
"I don't know about you lot, but I'm starving." Graham announced once The Doctor had sent the TARDIS back into the vortex until they decided on their next adventure.
"Me too." Ryan agreed, following after Graham who was already heading towards the door leading out of the console room.
The pair left the room and Yaz decided to get changed before even thinking about food, it was always fun raiding the TARDIS wardrobe to find period appropriate outfits for their adventures but nothing could beat a pair of jeans and a comfy t shirt. She headed towards the door the other two had just gone through and was just passing over the threshold when The Doctor spoke.
"Don't usually get scared, me."
Her voice made Yaz stop and she turned to look back at The Doctor with a frown.
"When we were on the phone, we got disconnected and I couldn't get back through and I thought.. actually I didn't know what to think, and that's a new one for me. I didn't know what had happened to you and then Dorothy said you'd been taken and.."
The Doctor trailed off and shook her head, she refused to meet Yaz's eye and distracted herself by flicking random switches on the console before continuing.
"I was scared Yaz, I didn't know where they'd taken you and Tesla, I didn't even know what we were dealing with, you could have been hurt or worse and you nearly were." She'd stopped messing with the console part way through her rant, she now had one hand clenched into a fist at her side whilst the other ran through her hair in frustration.
Yaz had listened to her without interrupting, when The Doctor got like this the best thing to do was to let her get it out and comfort her after. The two had grown somewhat closer since The Doctor had confided in her about Gallifrey, she hadn't been privy to anymore of her secrets but they had reached a point where when things got tough they would go to each other for comfort. The Doctor had spent more than a few nights keeping Yaz company whilst she slept because of her nightmares, and Yaz had joined her on occasion whilst she did 'repairs' in the console room, offering a steady supply of tea and custard creams whilst she worked.
The Doctor finally met her gaze, she had walked back into the room whilst The Doctor had been venting and was now standing a short distance away watching her with an expression she couldn't read.
"I'm fine though, we all are, thanks to you." Yaz told her, offering her a reassuring smile.
"It doesn't change what could have happened, you aren't safe with me Yaz, none of you are and one of these days you'll realise that all of this.." She paused briefly and raised her hands, gesturing to the TARDIS and all that it offered.
"Isn't worth it." She finished with a sigh.
The Doctor had lost just about everything and she wasn't sure her hearts could take it if she lost anything else, especially one of her fam, and especially Yaz.
"We knew what we were signing up for and we ain't going anywhere." Yaz said simply, hoping to make her realise but she shook her head and took a step back.
"You have no idea what you signed up for, you nearly died and it's all my fault, I can't keep you safe and if something happened to you then I.." The Doctor's tone had taken on a harsh edge and she stopped when she realised she was letting her emotions get the better of her.
Yaz sighed, she didn't know what else she could say to make her understand. They all knew of the risks that came from travelling with The Doctor, a lot had happened since their travels began but Yaz would go through it all again because that's how much The Doctor meant to her. And she was beginning to think the feeling might be mutual.
Words failed her so Yaz did the only thing she could think of to try and show her that it didn't matter what she said, or what the risks were, she would be there by her side for as long as she could be. Closing the distance between herself and The Doctor, she pressed a brief kiss to her lips before pulling sway.
The Doctor was taken off guard by the sudden kiss, it was over as quick as it began and she'd had no time to react let alone respond. Yaz was now watching her with a worrying glance and for a moment she just stared back before a small smile crossed her lips. It had been her first kiss since regenerating and despite the briefness, it had been nice and she even allowed herself to hope for another in spite of her emotional outburst moments before.
"What was that for?" She asked quietly.
"I'm not going anywhere, and it's about time you realised that." Yaz told her in a firm tone but she had a smile on her face.
The doubt The Doctor had managed to shake for just a moment arose once more and her smile fell. Yaz noticed the change and reached out to take one of her hands.
"And if I have to remind you every day then I will." She added, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.
The Doctor glanced down at their hands and then back at Yaz, her fear for the fam's safety would never go away and she would continue to do everything she could to keep them out of harms way for as long as they wanted to stay with her. She couldn't make them leave, and selfishly she didn't want them to. It wouldn't last, she knew that, but maybe she could suppress the doubt and fear just long enough for her to make the most of what she had before the inevitable did happen.
Giving the hand in hers a gentle squeeze, she managed a small smile and Yaz let out a relieved sigh, hoping she had finally gotten through to her.
"I'm gonna go get changed, then I'll be back and I'll make us some tea." She said and The Doctor nodded.
Yaz let her hand go after another moment, she turned and headed back towards the door leading out of the console room. She glanced back briefly to offer The Doctor another smile before heading off to her room to get changed.
Now alone, The Doctor took a minute to process what had just happened. Their conversation slash semi argument all seemed like a blur now it was over but one thing remained at the forefront of her mind. Yaz had kissed her. She had been kissed by Yasmin Khan.
"Brilliant." She muttered to herself, her smile growing as she turned back to the console to start some minor jiggering until Yaz returned.