Pride
When Bill entered the Doctor's office for her lesson, she was somewhat surprised to find him seated at his desk with his hands folded, a smiling face greeting her instantly. She set her bag down and took her usual seat.
"What's up?"
The Doctor's thumbs twiddled. "What do you mean?"
Bill gestured at him with her eyebrows.
"You're not usually just sitting there waiting. I didn't think you had the attention span."
The Doctor scratched behind his ear, debating. "I was going to wait...we're close enough, I suppose."
"Close enough to what?"
The Doctor stood. Bill followed suit.
"It's the last day of May, yes?"
Bill nodded. The Doctor went to the TARDIS.
"Are we going somewhere?" Bill asked with a smile.
The Doctor turned halfway toward her, bouncing on his heels. "Yes. With Nardole, I'm afraid."
"Oi! I heard that!" Nardole shouted from inside the TARDIS. He opened the door and peeked his head out.
"Sir, I thought we were going tomorrow?"
The Doctor rubbed his hands together again. "Er, change of plans. I can't keep it a secret anymore."
Bill stepped in between them.
"Okay, can one of you tell me where we're going?"
The Doctor gave her a mysterious smile. "It'll be better just to show you."
The trio clambered into the TARDIS. The Doctor had Nardole distract Bill from the screen so he could steer them discreetly. Bill sat in the flight chair and looked around the enormous space, noticing the Gallifreyan writing near the ceiling for the first time.
"Is that your language?"
The Doctor glanced up from the Console and Bill caught a small smile flash across his face. Nardole nodded.
"It's nice," he said.
The TARDIS landed with its typical groaning sound and the Doctor went to the door even faster than usual.
"Close your eyes."
"What, seriously?" Bill asked.
Nardole gave her a pointed look. She gave them each a raised brow, but closed her eyes as she approached the door. When the Doctor was satisfied, he pushed open the door.
"Okay." The Doctor carefully steered Bill through the doors by the shoulders. "And...open your eyes."
Bill blinked her eyes open and smiled. It was a city street; not London, but Earth. Or at least Earth-like. Humans walked around with iPhones and wireless headphones.
"We haven't time travelled, then," Bill murmured.
Nardole shut the TARDIS doors. "Can you guess where we are?"
Bill turned in a circle around herself. It was all shops, cars, a trolley. Steep hills surrounded them in both directions. Bill nodded.
"Is this San Francisco?"
"Bingo!" The Doctor said happily.
Bill smiled. "I've always wanted to visit. It was always too far away." She looked at the TARDIS. "She's much better than any plane I've ever seen."
Nardole shrugged. "Eh, perhaps."
The Doctor nudged his arm, and then tore off down the street. "If I steered correctly, we should only be a few blocks away."
"Away from what?"
The Doctor's only response was a mysterious smile. Bill rolled her eyes and followed behind him and Nardole. Her eyes caught every new sight and sound, relishing the wonderful sunshine and vibrant people surrounding her.
Tonight was proving much different than the lesson in the Doctor's office she had been expecting.
The Doctor rounded one more corner, and then spun back around and took Bill by the shoulders again. "Okay, we're here. Close your eyes again."
Bill heard loud music coming from around the corner, and wanted to just keep walking, but she followed the Doctor's instructions. Slowly, she trailed after Nardole with her eyes closed, the Doctor helping to guide her from any poles and walls. The music grew louder, as did the smell of food.
The Doctor stopped moving and came around to her front. "Open your eyes."
Bill looked around and found dozens of people dancing, eating, and playing frisbee in a beautifully lush green park. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she took in the colors surrounding her; rainbows and all kinds of flags, neons and glow sticks. Above the park entrance read the words 'San Francisco Pride'.
Bill's face lit up. "Pride?! In San Francisco."
The Doctor gave her a warm smile. "Last week you said you'd never been, so I thought...where better to have your first pride."
Bill wrapped her arms around his neck so suddenly he was thrown off balance. He caught himself with a chuckle and returned the hug. Suddenly Nardole appeared carrying a churro.
"You two have got to try this food. I might never go back to England."
The Doctor gave him a pointed look. "What about that Vault we're guarding?"
Nardole waved him off. "No business during pride."
Bill looked over the Doctor's shoulder and patted his arm. "I'll be right back."
She ran off, leaving the Doctor leaned against the wall watching her and Nardole stood eating his churro watching the Doctor.
"What made you decide to come here?" Nardole asked.
The Doctor shrugged. "Like I said. Bill's never been. She...doesn't get a lot of support from home. And we're always going places where we get into trouble. I wanted to take her somewhere safe for once."
Nardole took another bite of his churro. The Doctor smiled to himself.
Bill came back a moment later wearing pink-framed sunglasses. In her hands were three rainbow-colored flower necklaces.
"I don't want to hear any arguments."
She put a necklace over both Nardole and the Doctor's heads. Nardole finished his churro and grinned. "I've never had a necklace made of flowers."
"I know a planet with real rainbow flowers," the Doctor said. Bill's eyes brightened. He held up a hand. "But for today we're just going to stay on Earth. I'm not putting you in danger again."
"Are the rainbow flowers that dangerous?" Bill asked.
The Doctor tilted his head. "They aren't. But the carnivorous wildebeest are."
Bill nodded. Then she spun around toward the park. "Oooh, my favorite song is playing. C'mon, we should go join everybody else."
The Doctor let her lead him by the hand across the street and into the park. Nardole followed closely behind, smiling at the Doctor, who seemed to be loving all of this as much as Bill. He hadn't seen the Time Lord this relaxed in a while. Finally the tension in his shoulders was calm, his lips curled in an unconscious smile.
The music blasted from a small DJ table at the far end of the park. On the green were people of all ages dancing and eating and smiling. Bill grinned ear to ear as she looked at the Doctor and Nardole.
"Thank you."
The Doctor smiled in reply. "You deserve it. Go; have fun. Make some friends."
Bill started walking toward a group of people about her age. She turned around with a smile. "Girlfriends?"
The Doctor held up a finger. "Only if they're good enough for you."
Bill saluted. "Right. Grandad."
They shared another smile before Bill disappeared into the crowd. Nardole put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder. He turned halfway toward the cyborg.
"Humanity at its best," the Doctor said, putting his hands in his pockets. "If only it were always like this. Accepting. Welcoming."
"Well," Nardole said. "At least it's good for now. Come on; drop the gloom for an hour and have some punch."
The Doctor smiled. It reached his eyes, at last.
"You're right, Nardole."
Nardole rolled his eyes playfully. "That's the first time I've ever heard that sentence. Say it again."
"Don't push it."
They exchanged a look, and then Nardole walked off with a grin. The Doctor turned back to the crowd, where Bill was dancing with a few girls, a large smile taking up most of her face uncovered by the sunglasses. The Doctor adjusted his necklace and let himself breathe in the happy atmosphere.
No Daleks. No stress. No tears.
No one to hide from.
The Doctor watched his young student and felt nothin but pride and joy.
I hope you enjoyed! Note: I've never been to San Francisco and I've never been to pride, so I hope a captured at least the feel? Happy pride to my fellow LGBT+ readers! Please review if you enjoyed!