Inside the Convention Centre, warming up from the cold, August, Holly, and Parady joined the line waiting to get their tickets processed.

Holly had seen her fair share of overly complicated security checkpoints, but this one was particularly interesting because of the wide assortment of costumes. Cosplayers' swords, hammers, bows, guns, and a variety of other deadly tools made getting in slow as staff were constantly checking to make sure none of it was real. It didn't help that there was only one line for a crowd that needed about three (apparently a good portion of the staff never showed up to work, so things were somewhat hectic behind the scenes). Eventually, though, the pace picked up, and the three made it by easily and out onto the main floor.

August—who had been bouncing back and forth from heel to toe while they waited in line—stared out at the assortment of stalls filled with merchandise, games, props, and cosplayers in wonderment. 'Blimey,' he exclaimed. Holly felt his grip on her hand tightening; neither of them had elected to let go yet. 'This is brilliant!'

Holly took her own survey of the floor, paying more attention to the other cosplayers rather than the merchandise. 'Don't see any other Doctors about though,' she mentioned. 'There are a few Daleks, maybe a Weeping Angel, and lots of… anime for a Sci-Fi convention.'

'Oh, who cares!' said August, gleefully. He pulled Holly close to him, surprising her, as he pointed towards a man in a cardboard suit designed to look like metal. 'Look at that Iron Man! He's got working gauntlets!' his voice squeaked. 'Wonder what power source he's using…'

Holly couldn't help but laugh at his geekiness, knowing August had spent many extra hours in his dad's workshop trying to make one of his own for a science fair years ago. It had quite literally backfired in his face. No eyebrows for the rest of the school term. He did place 3rd, however. Mind, he was never allowed in his dad's shop or the school labs, again.

After a surprisingly long while of standing around, trying to decide where to go first, the trio separated onto the floor, looking at the little knick-knacks, art, and comic books in the stalls. August spent his time perusing through props, speaking with authors, and pulling Holly away from the art to look at things he found more interesting. There was a magic show and Parady won a series of Sabacc games against a Wookie. Holly sang karaoke and August played several rounds of the latest first-person shooter in the gaming section. At one point they ran into a group of Cyberman who accepted Parady into their ranks by forming a hilariously long conga line. Pictures were taken with an Asorbaloff, Alpha Centauri, and a woman in a TARDIS dress. Holly especially liked the ones they took featuring a couple of Trekkies where August and Spock compared scientific instruments as well as the one with the little boy who had tugged on her trouser leg outfitted with a leather jacket and sonic screwdriver. She couldn't have asked for a cuter Ninth Doctor to take a picture with and was extremely happy to do so. Finally, after attending two, hour-long panels, they took a break by the toilets.

While Parady went to freshen up, Holly and August sat down on a row of benches in the hall. Nearby, others were charging their phones at the outlets, taking short naps, or simply relaxing off their feet. Holly closed her eyes briefly somewhat aware August was bent forward over his phone. She peered at him through a drowsy eyelid, relishing in the moment of peacefulness. They planned to leave for dinner after one last round at the stalls. Not long now, Holly thought nervously, still trying to figure out exactly what she was going to say to August when they got to the pub.

Beside her, August was along a similar train of thought, trying to lose himself in the endless scrolls of social media to distract himself from his feelings and the promise he knew he had to keep; not just to Parady, but to himself. Holly's gift was in his trouser pocket. He kept a protective hand over it as he tried to avoid looking her in the eye. In his head, there was a rubbish bin overflowing with crumpled-up pieces of paper, each one a different version of the speech he wanted to give. All of them were stupid, too wordy, or complete gibberish.

There was a fountain out by the front of the building, could he do it there before they left for dinner, or would that be too public?

Both of them bit at their lip in unison, worrying over each other, as a loud flush came from the men's toilet.

The door swung open and Parady stepped out.

Holly and August looked up at him, thankful for the distraction. He'd taken his Cyberman helmet and gloves off, wiping down his sweaty face with a paper towel. 'This thing is a death trap, I swear,' he muttered. 'Why'd I decide to be a Cyberman, again?'

'Yeah, I thought you would have been a companion,' said Holly. 'Like Captain Jack!'

'Nah, Parady's nowhere near as interesting. What about good ole' Ryan Sinclair?' August suggested, standing as he put away his phone.

'Do you want to get deleted, Augs'? Cos at this point it seems like you're asking for it,' said Parady, slapping August on the shoulder with his loose glove.

'Oi, you want to get soniced?' asked August, reaching into his suit jacket to pull out his toy screwdriver.

Holly laughed as the boys began posing at each other, Parady putting back on his helmet and miming pulling up his sleeves. The people around them took notice and began taking pictures or recording videos of the Doctor and Cyberman squaring off. Holly cheered August on, clapping as Parady pretended to be wounded by the screwdriver's sonic effect.

Parady got to his knees as August lauded over him. 'Section B72 of the Shadow Proclamation declares that no Cyberman may assimilate on a level 5 planet! It should say they aren't allowed to on any planet, but the Mondassians are fairly good negotiators in court seeing as they can convert the jury!' His words were utter nonsense, but they made Holly smile.

'Oh, he's quite good!'

Holly jumped at the voice, turning to find a woman beside her dressed in black robes with a face shawl, holding an old camera. The woman moved it up to her face, looked through the glass scope and snapped a picture. Realising Holly was staring, she asked, 'Do they mind strangers taking pictures?'

'Not at all,' Holly told her and slid out of the woman's way as she took a step closer to get a better angle.

'He really is just like him, isn't he?' she asked. At Holly's bemused expression, the woman clarified, 'Your friend; if I didn't know any better, I'd think he was the Doctor.'

Holly chuckled. 'Oh, don't tell him that! The costume's already gone to his head. Anything else will drive him over the edge.'

'Oh, I don't think it's gone to his head at all! He seems too relaxed for that. Though, perhaps without you, he wouldn't have the confidence.'

Holly felt her stomach flip at the assessment just as August looked over his shoulder at her, giving that same soft, delicate little smile he'd given her when she'd grabbed his hand. 'No one to show off for, more like,' she told the woman, trying to keep her cheeks from reddening.

'As I said: very Doctor-like indeed.' The woman lowered her camera and though Holly couldn't see her face under the shroud, she felt the sombre mood the woman exuded.

'You know,' said the woman, then, 'I spotted this TARDIS on the opposite side of the floor, just by the display area. If you haven't been there yet, I would love to get a few pictures of the two of you and your Cyberman friend.'

'You'd do that?' asked Holly, standing up. 'Let me just fetch 'em and we can head that way.' She turned to look at the boys who were wrapping up one last photo for an older couple. 'Oi! August! Parady!' she called. 'Erm…'

'Ana,' supplied the woman, 'my name is Ana.'

'Ana here says she knows where a TARDIS is—would you want to take a few pictures before we do our last look round?'

They looked at one another and Holly knew there was trouble to be had when August bit his lip, nodding vehemently at something Parady said to him. He then gave Holly a thumbs up, swallowing tightly and she returned the gesture, wondering what had him looking so uncomfortable.

It would seem obvious in retrospect and Holly would later feel stupid for dismissing such clear signs of their shared pining.

A few minutes later they approached the police box hidden away in a corner of the display area. Several stalls were shutting down for the night, leaving many of the glass boxes littered about empty of merchandise and priceless props, but the TARDIS still stood, looking conspicuous as ever. It was the Eleventh Doctor's TARDIS, Holly noted, as August smoothed his hand across the St. John Ambulance sticker.

'There's lovely,' he said, looking up at the light fixture on top. 'You know, I do miss Eleven's first console room with all the brass. That one has got to be my favourite.'

'Not the coral?' asked Holly.

'Oh, the corals brilliant—all the consoles are—but the brass TARDIS was just so wide and open; the silver and white of most other consoles gets old after a while, so anything that's not that is special, I think. Plus, the controls got way oversimplified again with Twelve and all. I like the hodgepodge the best. Gives the console more character,' August explained. 'Do think I prefer Ten's grungy exterior, though. This one always seemed too clean.'

'Augs', pictures?' butted in Parady. He motioned to Ana who was waiting patiently with her camera.

'Right, sorry,' said August, once again seeming frightfully nervous.

'Not at all,' said Ana. 'We can get started now.'

They followed her pose instructions. Parady, back in his full Cyberman regalia, stood to the left, reaching around the corner of the TARDIS as if he was searching for the Doctor and Rose. August and Holly hid around the other side, Holly panic-stricken, August with one brow raised. After a few shots with them at odds, Ana asked that they take some goofy pictures so August and Parady shook hands, patted each other on the back, and Holly found herself swept off her feet into Parady's arms as August looked on, aghast.

Once that was done, Parady dumped Holly into August's arms. He took off his helmet, grinning cheekily as Holly latched onto August's neck so as not to fall. At Ana's side, Parady whispered to her and she smiled, nodding back.

'Just you two. Stand close to him now, Rose. The Doctor's got something he'd like to tell you.' Parady winked at August who became very focused on how his tie looked after putting Holly down.

'Tie's fine,' Holly told him, smoothing it out herself. 'You've got something to tell me?'

August cleared his throat, moving his hand into his pocket as he did so. Holly could hear some type of paper crunching beneath his fingertips, her stomach preparing to bungee jump off a cliff out of anticipation.

'Right, erm…' he vocalised and then laughed, chewing at his lip. 'There's this plan, I had—I had a plan and I've forgotten the words now, but…'

'Yes?' Holly urged him to continue.

August looked at her steadily for a moment. 'Hols, I…' he began again, focusing on her face. 'I need to tell you something, but before I do,' he pulled the brown paper bag from his pocket, 'Happy Birthday.'

As he handed her the bag just as Ana's camera flashed, snapping a picture of the moment. Holly blinked against the light, shutting her eyes. 'Sorry,' she muttered, wiping away tears. 'Think I blinked. What was it, August?' Holly looked up, having no reason to think August wouldn't still be standing in front of her, offering up the brown paper bag, but he wasn't. She looked around in confusion. 'August?'

'Where did he go?' asked Parady.

Ana looked up from her camera. 'My, that's odd,' she muttered, innocently. 'I could've sworn—but…'

'What is it?' asked Holly, coming up beside her.

Ana feigned shock, sighing in disbelief. 'Well, he's not even in the picture!' She showed it to Holly and Parady. In it, Holly stood next to the TARDIS. Alone. August was nowhere to be found.

'He couldn't have just vanished!' exclaimed Holly, finding herself agitated, anxious, and afraid all at once.

Parady looked on, scoffing in disbelief. 'So, where's he gone then?'