#cuddles!

You were snapped out of your trance with Dottore’s affectionate pet name for you.

“Uh, what?” You asked.

“Were you even listening?” He sighed softly.

“O-of course I was!” You lied. “Something about… the ruin guards?”

Dottore sighed again but followed it with a chuckle. “You know, if my ideas are too much for you, you can go work for another Harbinger for a bit.”

Your lips formed into a pout. “No.”

Dottore looked over at you behind his mask. “Really? But maybe you need a break from the lab and the clones-“

“No, I'll help!” You said and slapped your hands together. “I love you even if you’re crazy”.

Dottore froze entirely in his tracks, and you realized what you had just said. Even if you couldn’t see his eyes, you knew he was looking at you with a sly look.

“What did you just say?” He asked with a smirk forming on his lips.

You were silent for a second, trying to come up with a good lie. “Uh… that I’ll help even if you’re crazy?”

Now Dottore was fully grinning. You could feel your cheeks heating up. Curse this man for having such an effect on you.

“I think you’re forgetting something”, he spoke with a slightly condescending tone.

You pouted.

Dottore let out a charming chuckle and he walked close to you. With his thumb, he gently lifted his mask and leaned in to give you a peck on your lips. It felt like you had a fever.

“You’re lucky”, Dottore said while leaning back. “I love you too. Even if you’re clingy and distract me most of the time”.

Those words hit you hard and you smiled widely. He had never said he loves you yet like you haven’t said you love him. However, you realized what he said after those three words and once again you pouted, crossing your arms.

“Hey!”

Dottore flashed you a smile but turned around to do what he was busy with. Archons, why was he so cute?

You huffed. Two can play this game. You decided to make it your mission to annoy him. If he can tease you, you can tease him. While he tried to work on some experiment, you walked up to him.

”It just slipped”, you said with a huff. ”I didn’t mean anything like that. You’re in over your head.”

Dottore let out a simple ”mm-hm”, but didn’t take his attention from his work. You huffed dramatically. He was trying to concentrate, and ignore you the best he could. You smirk, hugging him from the back. He let out a small groan but didn’t react physically. Already used to your random acts of affection, he had learned to ignore them while working.

”Zandik!” You whined.

He was getting more annoyed, physically shifting. With a gentle push, he got you off from clinging to him to get something from a drawer. But you weren’t done, sliding next to him, grabbing his hand. He winced, pulling his hand away. You pouted. Dottore sighed, then walked back to his experiment. A grin formed on your face. The teasing had been successful.

Again, you walked next to him, but this time leaned your head against him. If you could purr, you would. Dottore stopped. He let out one of his weird noises when he was annoyed.

”What?” You grinned. ”You said you love me, even if I’m needy.”

Dottore chuckled, looked at you, and smiled casually. 

”I do.”

Huh? You took a step back. He was still smiling as if he wasn’t even a little bit annoyed. Your whole face heated up and it probably showed as Dottore suddenly started grinning amusingly. You glared at him, but couldn’t come up with a good comeback. He let out a ”haha” and went back to his work. You shot him a glare that he could not see, huffing to yourself. 

   The rest of the time he worked, you tried to annoy him more and more. You were talking a lot and clung to him when you could. You were already about to give up after you weren’t successful with your attempts, but then Dottore sighed loudly.

“I can’t get anything done with you clinging to me”, he said. “I’ll ask one of the segments to finish my work.”

You tilted your head while watching him. Soon, a younger segment, meaning a clone of his younger self, stepped into the lab.

“You called?” he asked.

“Please finish this for me”, the original Dottore told him.

The segment nodded and walked up to the table, examining what he would have to do. Dottore walked away. You followed him confused about what he was up to. Admittedly, you felt a little nervous. What if he was mad at you?

Dottore entered his own sleeping chamber. It looked simple and rough, but also somehow messy. It just felt like he barely spent any time there, so he didn’t care to clean or add any personality. There was just his bed, a shelf full of books, and a nightstand with a lamp and some medicine.

He walked to the shelf, placing his index finger on his chin, searching for something. He then picked one book and walked over to the bed. He placed the book on the sheets and took his lab coat off, revealing a blue shirt underneath. Carefully, he put the coat to hang on the bed railing. Then, he took the book again and went to lie down, opening the book to read it. And finally, he took off his mask and placed it on the nightstand. You stood in the doorway, not sure what to do. Dottore glanced in your direction.

“Hmm?” he raised his brow.

“What?” you blinked your eyes in confusion.

Dottore sighed. “Are you coming in or not?”

Your mind started to wander. “I am not in the mood…”

Now Dottore moved his head to look directly at you. “You’re not in the mood to cuddle?”

Wait, what? Your whole face started feeling hot and based on Dottore’s grin, it showed. You didn’t know what to say, so you simply walked, or nearly ran, to him. Awkwardly, you crawled over him to the other side of the bed and lay down. Dottore let out a heartwarming chuckle and wrapped his free arm over your shoulder. You scooted closer to him, placing your hand on his chest.

Dottore turned his attention to the book, but you didn’t really care. You were able to hold him without him working and that was the most important thing. You nuzzled your cheek against his chest, smiling.

Suddenly, you felt his slender hand on your head. You blinked as he gave you a gentle pat. With curious eyes, you glanced up at his face. He was still reading his book, about Khaenri’ah no doubt, but his hand was on top of your head.

You smiled widely and continued to cuddle him while he played with your hair. It was so nice, so soothing and so intimate. Even if those not-so-pure activities you shared were great and personal, it was moments like these that were truly intimate. You knew he cared about you, even if others tried to change your mind. With your eyes closed, you drifted off to sleep listening to Dottore’s heartbeat.

   Slowly, you blinked your eyes open and curled up on the bed. How long had it been? You took a deep breath and stretched your body, trying to place your hand back on Dottore’s chest. But, to your disappointment, you couldn’t feel it. With a light move, you lifted yourself  with your elbow to look around you. Where Dottore had been, was now cold and empty, but somehow the blanket was wrapped around you. With a swift push, you got yourself to sit on the bed.

“Did I seriously fall asleep?” You cursed to yourself. “When I finally got that man to cuddle with me?”

With a sigh, you pulled the blanket off and got up. While ruffling your hair a bit to fix it, you walked over to the door to get back in the lab. The white light was so bright, blinding you. As your eyes started to adjust, you could see a silhouette of a man with a lab coat.

“Oh you’re awake”, Dottore noted of your presence. “It’s been a while, I thought you might sleep through the night.”

“How long was I asleep then?”

Dottore turned to look over at you, he was wearing his mask again, tapping his chin as if he was counting. “Hmm, three hours and twenty-one minutes”.

“Three hours??” You repeated. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“You fell asleep almost immediately”, there was a chuckle. “And you looked so peaceful and lovely that after I was finished with my reading, I left to continue my work by myself.”

You pouted, snuggly crossing your arms in front of your chest. “You could’ve at least asked the segment to cuddle with me then…”

Dottore let out a huff. It was something he did when he was unamused or jealous. Which one was it this time, you wondered.

“But I guess I got at least some cuddles”, you sighed in defeat. “So I will help you with the work.”

The man laughed, the corners of his lips turning into a smile. You raised your brow in a response to his weird reaction.

“Luckily for you, my dear-“ He took steps closer to you until he was right in front of you. His gloved hand grabbed your chin, making you look up at him. Of course, with his mask on, all you could concentrate on was his lips. “I just finished my work.”

You blinked rapidly. “So… we can go back to cuddle??” You couldn’t hide your excitement, nor did you care to.

“Yes, if you want.”

You hadn’t even noticed that Dottore’s face was now much closer to you, close enough for the beak of his mask to poke your nose. He lifted his mask a tad and leaned in. Like a reflex, your eyes closed and your lips touched. It was subtle. A small soft kiss. Your favorite kind, well unless you were in a different mood.

But then, you only wanted his love and affection, which he so graciously gave you. You put your hand on the side of his head, touching his hair.

That was when you truly noticed his smell, and how greasy and crusty his icy blue hair was. This man had not showered in a while.

You awkwardly pulled back a bit, shaking your head. Dottore raised his eyebrow while staring at you, his mask still lifted so you could see his eyes.

“We’ll cuddle… after you’ve taken a shower.”

Another unamused huff. “A shower?”

“Yes. Your hair is disgusting and you smell.” You so bluntly replied, but it was with affection.

Dottore sighed. This time you couldn’t read what it meant. You narrowed your eyes a bit. Maybe you were rude? You were about to apologize, but before you could even utter a word, Dottore spoke: 

“You’re lucky I am in love with you.”

What? Your whole body froze as your brain tried to register what he had just said. Did you hear him correctly? You stared at him with wide eyes. 

“Are you okay, dear?” This man, he knew exactly what he was doing. What he was doing to you. But his words still felt sincere, so you didn’t even pout, well you couldn’t anyway.

He turned away, heading towards his lab’s bathroom area. Yes, he was indeed living in his lab. You were still frozen in place, processing.

“Well?” Dottore’s deep voice snapped you out of your trance.

Your gaze went to him. He was standing in front of the door, his hand on his hip. His mask was now off and you could see his red eyes a tad darker, a grin framing his face.

“Are you joining me or not?”

___