#feeling realisation

Even more so the fact that not only does Bakugo tolerate him in his friend group, he actively fought with Midoriya over him today, so clearly he wants him there, too.

That's so far beyond simple acceptance that Hitoshi barely dares to wrap his head around it, especially because of all the warm and fuzzy feelings it gives him.

He's certainly not looking too closely at those.

"Just fine?" Yamada asks him with a pointed look and Hitoshi rolls his eyes before he burrows further into his side.

"Yeah, just fine," Hitoshi grumbles because he's not going to talk to them about this and when Aizawa comes in at that moment, he makes an amused sound.

"Sure, just fine," he agrees with a smirk on his face. "Is that why you look so pleased?"

Immediately Hitoshi schools his face into something more baseline, more resting bitch face than quiet elation and Aizawa has the audacity to laugh out loud.

"You look happy, kid," he observes and even though he doesn't outright ask Hitoshi can hear the question in it.

It makes him tense for a second because he's so used to hear that with an accusation tied to it, but there's only genuine curiosity in Aizawa's voice and Hitoshi has been with them for long enough to know that he's worried, too.

Worried that they are doing something wrong, that Hitoshi isn't as happy as he could—or should—be with them and just knowing that brings a small smile to Hitoshi's face.

"That's because I am," he admits, dropping his gaze, unable to hold Aizawa's gaze. "I am happy here. You've done so much for me and it's—"

Wonderful. Amazing. Something Hitoshi never dared to hope for in his life. Almost scary in how unreal it feels, how unworthy he feels, how fragile it all might be, but Hitoshi doesn't have the words to summarize all of that at once.

"It's good," he simply says and there must be something to his voice or maybe to his face, because Aizawa's expression softens and Yamada hugs him tightly.

"We're very happy to hear that, kiddo," Yamada says, sounding almost choked up and Aizawa nods as well.

"If that ever changes you'll tell us, right?" he asks and Hitoshi ducks his head.

Speaking up about something that isn't going well, that makes him unhappy is not generally something he's allowed to do or knows how to do to begin with but when he thinks about it, when he imagines talking to them about something that worries him or that makes him unhappy he finds that there's no pit of fear in his stomach.

Maybe with them he can do it.

"I'll try," he says, not promising too much for now because he doesn't know if he could follow through but it seems to be enough since Aizawa nods, clearly satisfied.

"Good. That's all we're asking."

It's not much, what they are asking, it never is with them, they never overwhelm him with anything that could be too much for him and the simple reassurance that he is enough, that his attempts are enough, brings tears to his eyes.

Aizawa and Yamada let him process for a little bit before Aizawa lightly kicks out a foot, knocking it into Hitoshi's and when he looks up there's a shit-eating grin on Aizawa's face.

Immediately, Hitoshi clams up, but not in the "oh no, he's going to hit me" kind of way but in the "oh no, he's going to tease me about something," kind of way and just a few months ago, Hitoshi didn't even know such a distinction existed.

"So, now that we got that out of the way, you wanna tell us what's going on with you and Bakugo?" Aizawa asks and Yamada immediately lets out a gasp.

"There's something going on with you and Bakugo?" he almost screams out and Hitoshi groans before he buries his face in his hands.

"There is not," he says, muss less decisive than he would like to, because—he honestly isn't sure.

Maybe there's something going on. Maybe he's just making it all up in his head. Maybe Bakugo fought Midoriya for Hitoshi privileges today and maybe Hitoshi feels a certain way about that.

But no matter what it is, there's no way in hell that Hitoshi is ever going to contemplate it.

"Didn't seem like nothing when he yelled at Midoriya today," Aizawa mildly says and Yamada leans forward, clearly more than interested in this.

"He yelled at him? For real? I thought they are no longer fighting."

"They are, apparently, when it comes to who Hitoshi spends time with. Bakugo won, by the way," Aizawa has no qualms sharing as if gossiping about his students is the most normal thing in the world.

"No way," Yamada gasps out, enabling Aizawa in the worst way possible.

"And Hitoshi went with him, giving Midoriya a "Sorry, I'll sit with you another time"," Aizawa goes on and now Yamada goes so far as to slap a hand over his mouth before he whirls around to Hitoshi.

"You did not!"

"What?" Hitoshi asks defensively. "They were arguing, clearly Bakugo won and so I went with him."

"Mh, and your pleased little smile didn't mean anything."

"Aizawa," Hitoshi whines out because how dare he bring this up here. "I was just—happy. Both wanted me to sit with them and that hasn't happened before. That's all."

"Now that I think about it—" Yamada slowly says "—I do recall you staring at Bakugo during my lesson."

"Oh?" Aizawa says, leaning forward, clearly more than invested in this.

"Shut uuuppppp," Hitoshi groans, covering his face with his hands. "I did not."

"You did. You maybe even let out a little sigh," Yamada mercilessly goes on. "Do I smell some lovesickness in the air here?"

"A loud blonde, really, Hitoshi," Aizawa says with mock outrage and Yamada lets out a surprised laugh while Hitoshi only sinks deeper into the couch, wondering what he did to deserve guardians like this.

And the flush on his face is totally because he's embarrassed and angry, and not at all because he's beyond pleased that he has guardians who tease him like this now, who are clearly interested in what is going on in his life, who want him to have friends and maybe even crushes.

Not that Hitoshi has one. Probably. Maybe. Definitely not a big one, though.

"Don't say that," Hitoshi almost begs them and there must be something in his voice that immediately makes them sober up, because they look at him with concern.

"You know that it's fine, right? We don't care who you fall in love with," Yamada reassuringly says and drops a kiss to Hitoshi's head.

"It's not about that," Hitoshi admits, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. "I don't know what I'm—I just—I already feel as if I have gotten so lucky with you guys and in my mind it's—the wheel of fortune already turned in my favour once. There's no way it's going to happen again with some reciprocated feelings or whatever. I get this, this family and that's it for me."

"Baby, you know that's not true, right?" Yamada says almost as soon as Hitoshi is done speaking. "It might have felt like that for the longest time, but you deserve the world and us as your family is just the start."

"You already have friends now, don't you?" Aizawa chimes in. "I bet that was also something you didn't expect any time soon, but it happened. And romance will come, too, if you want that. I'm certain of it."

"Yeah?" Hitoshi unsurely mutters because it already feels like so much.

Aizawa and Yamada are so open with their love for him in a way Hitoshi really never thought possible from a guardian and Aizawa is right, he also kinda has friends now, too. But to think that maybe a boyfriend is in the cards too still feels like too much, as if that could never happen to Hitoshi and so he'd rather not talk about any feelings he might or might not have.

Especially for certain loud and explosive blondes.

"Yes," Aizawa promises him. "But if you don't want to talk about that particular topic again, then that's fine, too," he reassures him, always reassures him and Hitoshi’s lips twitch upwards in gratitude.

"I'd rather not do that," he admits. "And even if I did—we don't know how Bakugo feels anyway, so what does it matter. He certainly doesn't feel any kind of way," Hitoshi vaguely says, hoping that he's not giving too much away and knowing that he's failing miserably as Yamada lets out a snort.

"Right, kiddo. He was just fighting Midoriya for you for fun. That's totally something that happens all the time and certainly doesn't mean anything."

Aizawa hums before he cuts in. "And him sharing his bento with you absolutely doesn't mean anything either."

"He shared his food?" Yamada gasps out and Hitoshi gives them a confused look.

"Yeah? He keeps doing that and I don't know why. It's not as if you guys aren't making me a bento every day."

"Kiddo, baby, darling, Toshi," Yamada says and his eyes are wide when he looks at Hitoshi. "I have seen Bakugo scream bloody murder when someone dared to even ask to get some of his food, let alone actually eat anything. I have never seen him make something for anyone else."

"He cooks for the squad sometimes but it's all very bristly cat behaviour," Aizawa says. "He makes it and then threatens all of them before he deliberately leaves the food out for them. What he does with you is completely different."

Hitoshi blinks at that.

"Maybe he thinks I'm too thin?"

"Or maybe he has some feelings, too," Yamada mercilessly says and Hitoshi's face goes bright red, because too?

Is he really that obvious?

"But enough of that," Aizawa says, clearly taking pity on Hitoshi. "Just know that it's out there. And that it will be out there for you whenever you feel ready for it."

That's a terrifying thought actually, because Hitoshi always thought he'd never have to think about something like that but it's also strangely reassuring.

As if this isn't the absolute height of his life right now and it can, in fact, still get better somehow.

"If you say so," Hitoshi mutters, melting back into Yamada's side, who hugs him close.

"Yes, we do," he says, completely convinced and Hitoshi allows himself a small smile.

Well, this is something only time will be able to tell, though, and Hitoshi held out for a family for fifteen years. He absolutely can hold out for anything else that will happen, especially with Aizawa and Yamada by his side.

And it's something to look forward to.

(By the time he very officially marries Katsuki, Hitoshi has all but forgotten about this talk. To his absolute despair, his parents have not.)

Link to the series on AO3

“The Great Detective,” Helen read, following his gaze. “Sounds intriguing. Why are we here?” The Doctor hadn’t been forthcoming with information when he had set the course in a spur of the moment decision.

“Why, we got an invitation of course!” He announced with a grin and produced a card from the inside from his pocket, presenting it to his companions.

“When did you get that?” Liv frowned and tried to snatch the card away from him to examine but he pulled it out of her reach. Helen observed them in amusement, they had a way of behaving like bickering siblings that was delightful to watch.

“Found it on the TARDIS console, requesting our presence here on this day,” he explained, double-checking the address on the card and matching it to the house.

“Like River’s card?” Helen mouthed to Liv behind the Doctor’s back. They had only ever had a card appear in the TARDIS once and it seemed unlikely that a lot of people would know how to make that happen. While the thought of seeing the Doctor’s wife again was exciting, it was also a worrying prospect with danger and causality to consider. River had a habit of playing fast and loose with both. The med-tech took her cue from her friend and interjected:

“And all it said was to be here today? Is that not a bit suspect?” She questioned.

“Well, whoever reached out clearly knew how to contact the TARDIS, that is a good sign, is it not?” The Doctor grinned and while his companions exchanged concerned looks, he walked up to the door without further ado and knocked. Liv and Helen followed more reluctantly.

The response was surprisingly prompt. Within moments, the door was being opened and the butler stepped into the door frame, looking them up and down. He applied the same measure of scrutiny to them as they did to him, given the fact that he wasn’t exactly human. Helen had never seen his kind before but she was extremely certain that this was not what people had looked like in Victorian times.

“Yes?” The butler snarled with contempt and even the Doctor was at a bit of a loss.

“Hello...” He said slowly. “Uh… I have to admit, I was not expecting to find a Sontaran in employment here…”

“Have you come to see Madame Vastra?” The Sontaran - which Helen presumed had to be the name of his race - carried on and the Doctor gave a shrug.

“Yes, I suppose we are,” he answered. “I’m the Doctor, we have an invitation.” He held up the card which the butler paid no attention to, but his response to his words appeared oddly delighted.

“Of course you are! Please enter!” He stepped aside and let them in whilst shouting down the corridor: “Ma’am, the Doctor and his companions have arrived!”

“Wonderful, Strax, we’re in the sitting room,” a voice answered from inside the house. The Doctor, Liv and Helen exchanged curious glances but followed slowly. The lady of the house - Madame Vastra apparently - seemed to be expecting them, so they were certainly in the right place.

“This way, Sir,” Strax gestured and led the way down the corridor. They were shown into a parlour where the lady of the house was taking tea. As if a Sontaran for a butler wasn’t enough of a curiosity, when they laid eyes on Madame Vastra, they well and truly knew this was no ordinary English household. For a moment, Helen couldn’t help but wonder if this was one of those “English themed planets” the Doctor and Liv had spoken of. Perhaps this place merely looked like Victorian London as was actually inhabited by aliens? While Strax was stocky and square, with dark skin and a balled head, Madame Vastra was tall and elegant, dressed like a Victorian lady but sporting the skin of a lizard. She looked up with a smile as they entered, as did her seemingly human companion with whom she was sitting. Helen thought them an exceedingly peculiar collection of people.

“Doctor, how are-” Vastra started but stalled when she looked at the Doctor. “Oh.”

“Hello, I’m the Doctor, and you are?” The Doctor smiled, seemingly growing more intrigued with the whole situation by the minute.

“I think there was a bit of a misunderstanding…” Vastra exchanged worried glances with her household staff which caused the Doctor to do the same with his companions.

“It was you that sent a message to my TARDIS to arrive on this day, was it not?” He asked to confirm and Vastra nodded somewhat reluctantly:

“Yes but…”

“Well then, how do you know how to get in touch with me?” The Doctor carried on, putting his hands on his hips.

Despite the strange situation, Helen didn’t sense any danger from these people, merely genuine confusion and she was eager for some explanations. If this really was Victorian London, why were there aliens here and no-one noticed? And what were they doing here? And most importantly, how did they know the Doctor, when he didn’t seem to know them. She glanced at Liv who looked about as clueless as she felt.

“Well, we were trying to get a hold of the Doctor, just… a different Doctor…” Madame Vastra explained slowly.

“Oh,” the Doctor frowned and Helen added:

“I’m not following.”

“This is the Doctor, is he not?” Strax appeared confused as well.

“Can you not see that this is a different man?” The human woman, who was dressed in a simple maid’s uniform, asked bewildered.

“They are three humanoids, isn’t that what we were expecting? The Doctor and his two companions?” The Sontaran retorted.

“The Doctor and Amy and Rory…” The girl carried on and Strax frowned, he looked to Liv and Helen who were doing their best to follow the conversation.

“Ah. Yes. They are not Amy and Rory,” he observed as if he had only just realised that.

“Something must have gone wrong, the message arrived too early,” Vastra offered an explanation to the confusion.

“So you know me, just not this version of me?” The Doctor asked, he seemed to be beginning to gain a sense of what was going on and so was Helen.

“Well, yes, quite, we are friends of a future version of you,” Vastra seemed to think it best to explain properly.

“Isn’t that dangerous? To interact with your own future?” Helen interjected when the penny had dropped. Unlike Liv, she had only ever known this one Doctor but she knew there were other versions of him out there. She also knew of the chaos interacting with one’s future selves could cause - they had seen how complicated things had gotten with the Eleven and his past selves.

“So long as you don’t give away the circumstances of our other meetings, I’m sure we will get along splendidly,” the Doctor directed his answer at their hosts and smiled: “So, what can I do for you?”

“You’re… staying?” Vastra raised her eyebrows, surprised.

“Why of course!” He exclaimed, surprising everyone with his sudden enthusiasm. “You requested my presence for a reason, I assume? Now that I’ve picked up the message, any attempt to resend it to the TARDIS could cause temporal feedback, I wouldn’t advise it. But I’m sure I can help, I flatter myself as being extremely helpful, so what is it?” He clapped his hands together with excitement. Liv chuckled and shook her head at his unpredictable nature and Helen shared her smile.

“Well…” Vastra started, then cast a glance at the girl beside her who looked uncertain as well.

“You can trust us, we will try to help if we can,” Liv interjected more calm and Helen decided to add:

“If you’re friends of the Doctor’s, you’re friends of ours.”

“Well, the thing is…” Vastra seemed to be considering her words carefully. “The Doctor - your future self - offered that once Jenny and I were good and ready to make a serious commitment to one another, he would perform our wedding ceremony,” she looked to Jenny again and reached for her hand. “Times being as they are and given my disposition…”

“And the fact that we’re both women…” The girl added with a little sigh.

“It was an offer we were very much hoping to take him up on,” Vastra finished, giving her fiancé a smile and a squeeze of her hand. Helen raised her eyebrows and Liv mirrored her expression as they exchanged glances once more. Of all the explanations they had expected, this was not it, but it was a surprisingly delightful one.

“Well, naturally, I’d be delighted!” The Doctor announced without missing a beat and a wide grin spread across his face.

“You would?” The lizard woman gaped, genuinely surprised.

“Why, of course! I can already tell we will be very good friends in the future and nothing would give me more pleasure,” he answered warmly and Helen and Liv smiled too.  It was delightful that just for once, they had been summoned to a happy occasion.

“Right, wonderful!” Vastra grinned at her soon-to-be wife who mirrored her joyful expression.

“So when is this wedding going to take place?” Liv asked, being more practically minded than the Doctor.

“Well, today, that had been the plan, anyway, but if that’s too sudden…” Jenny started explaining but the Doctor was already interrupting her.

“No, absolutely not, we’re here now, aren’t we?” He looked around to his companions. “You guys might want to get changed,” he grinned.

“What’s wrong with-” Liv was about to protest but as she looked down herself, she realised there was a bullet hole in her shirt from another adventure. She had to concede defeat. “Fine…” She huffed while Helen chuckled to herself. Liv never spent too much time worrying about her appearance. The linguist could only assume it was because she felt comfortable in her own skin and she couldn’t argue with it: there was no need for her to worry about her appearance as she always looked great, whatever she wore. Helen didn’t have the opportunity to wonder where those thoughts had sprung from, the Doctor carried on the conversation with enthusiasm

“And you two, obviously! You best get ready!” He turned back to Vastra and Jenny. “Are there any preparations that need to be made? Where would you like to do it?” He seemed to have a million questions and very little time to ask them.

”Well, we were planning on using the Siluritum, I can show you, if you like,” Vastra offered and he clapped his hands together.

“Splendid!”

“I guess that means I’d better get changed,” Jenny stated, sounding excited as well as a little nervous.

“Yes, well…” Vastra looked around to her and paused. It seemed like there were a thousand things she wanted to say but she didn’t. Instead she pressed a kiss to her hand before letting go. “I shall see you soon, my dear.” And with that, she gestured for the Doctor to follow her.

“Hold up!” Helen called after Jenny who was halfway up the stairs by the time they had agreed to follow her.

“Yes,” the maid looked around, confused as the Doctor’s companions climbed the stairs and met her halfway on the landing.

“Would you, uh- Jenny, wasn’t it? Sorry,” Helen gave an apologetic smile. The situation was a lot to take in but she was determined to contribute to the happy occasion.

“Yes, that’s quite alright,” Jenny answered with a smile of her own as she waited for them to catch up.

“Well, I’m Helen, this is Liv,” Helen introduced them, having realised that that was something they hadn’t done yet, despite having just been invited to a wedding! “Do you… have anyone to help you get ready? Any friends or…” The linguist let her voice trail off, giving her the chance to interject at any moment.

“No, it’s just us here,” Jenny answered and Helen picked up on her disappointment at that fact. “We can’t really invite a great many people that would be sympathetic to…”

“Well, you’ve got us here now, love a good wedding!” Liv interjected enthusiastically to Helen’s surprise. Knowing her friend as she did, she didn’t take her for the partying type. She clearly was trying to cheer the girl up on her big day and it was a lovely gesture that warmed Helen’s heart.

“I could help you, if you want. If you need someone to help you into your dress. Or just to calm your nerves,” Helen offered, gripped by a similar desire. If Jenny didn’t have friends she could ask to help and enjoy this day with her, she would be delighted and honoured to do so.

“That would be lovely, yes, thank you,” Jenny burst into a wide grin, as she, too, seemed eager to share the experience with someone. It was strange. While they hardly knew each other, through the Doctor, they had an immediate connection.

“Would you like me to come too, or…” Liv looked in between the two of them, she seemed to be feeling a little out of the loop.

“How about you grab us a change of clothes from the TARDIS, then join us?” Helen suggested and playfully tugged at the edge of her shirt, close to the bullet hole.

“Me?” The med-tech seemed puzzled. “Don’t you want to pick something for yourself, I mean-”

“I’m sure you’ll be able to find something nice for me, I trust you,” Helen gave back with a soft smile. While she couldn’t really speak to her friend’s sense of style, she had every confidence that she would not want to embarrass her and do what she could with a dress selection.

“Right, okay…” Liv seemed to be trying to not look too disappointed to be left behind but she didn’t quite manage it, not when Helen looked to Jenny and gestured for her to keep going.

“Shall we?”

“This is actually awfully nice of you,” Jenny said once they reached the master bedroom.

“Well, no-one should get ready by themselves on their wedding day!” Helen stated enthusiastically. Even if their presence here was an accident and they were only filling in, she was eager to make a good replacement. “But I’m sorry we’re not the people you were hoping for… Are you close to the Doctor in his future? And their friends? Amy and Rory, was it?” She did feel regret at the fact that they weren’t the people they had hoped to share their big day with.

“Well, we’ve had several adventures with them but… not close as such, no,” Jenny admitted slowly. “There is perhaps a sentimental attachment to the Doctor but… he’s still the Doctor, even if he looks a bit different!”

“Yeah, I suppose so,” Helen conceded and looked around the room as Jenny made her way to a large wardrobe. The furniture and decorations were exactly what the linguist would have expected to find in a house of this size and era. It was strange. Everything seemed so perfectly normal, one would never have suspected that there were aliens living here, or two women sharing the master bedroom. What was a foreign concept in this time appeared so utterly normal in this house.

“Have you been travelling with him long?” Jenny asked curiously, pulling her out of her thoughts.

“Quite a while, yes… we’ve been through a lot,” Helen answered as she considered their adventures to date. It had been a wild ride, life-threatening and absolutely mad but also thrilling and astonishing. And she had the good fortune of being able to share it all with two of the most wonderful people she had ever met. There was no-one else she would rather be with than Liv and the Doctor.

“I don’t doubt it,” Jenny chuckled as she rummaged around the wardrobe. The dress appeared to have been hidden at the back, presumably so Vastra wouldn’t see it

”I mean, Liv has been with him longer, they sort of… picked me up on one of their adventures,” Helen elaborated. They ought to get to know each other better, she figured, so she was happy to share as much with her as she was interested in hearing.

“Isn’t that always the way?” The maid laughed and Helen’s train of thought was interrupted when the other woman pulled the dress from the wardrobe.

“Wow, that is stunning!” Helen exclaimed as she stepped closer to have a look. It was relatively simple - understated and elegant - of pearl white lace.

“Thanks! I’m very happy with it. I’ve been waiting for this day for far too long,” Jenny admitted and blushed a little.

“How long have you two been together,” Helen asked and took the dress from her so she could get undressed.

“Oh… years now, not long since I started working here,” Jenny recalled with a fond smile.

“That must be quite hard, to always be perceived as solely the maid, not the lady of the house alongside your… wife,” the word didn’t come quite as easily as Helen would have liked. It was strange. Most of the time, she was pleasantly unaware of the time and place she had grown up in, taking the future in her stride, but every now and then, there was an unpleasant reminder such as this. It was strange to think that she had lived almost a lifetime after this time and yet, she struggled where Jenny clearly didn’t. She knew what she wanted.

“It’s easiest that way. It’s a legitimate excuse to be living here… you probably think that’s silly. I mean, you’re from the future, these things probably don’t matter there…” Jenny gave a weary smile.

”Not as far into the future as you may think…” Helen admitted, almost as a means of justifying any slip-up she might make. “A mere fifty, sixty years from now.”

“And things haven’t changed by then?” Jenny frowned, confused and displeased. Once she had stripped down to her undergarments, she took the dress Helen offered to her.

“Not as much as one might wish…” Helen sighed, painful memories pushing themselves to the forefront of her mind. “My brother, he… well, I wouldn’t want to ruin your happy day with tales of woe…” She stopped herself. There was no reason why she should share a story such as this when this woman was about to make a wonderful commitment to the one she loved.

“It’s alright, what about him?” Jenny encouraged her gently as she stepped into the dress.

“Well, he was in love with another man and got in trouble for it, dreadful trouble,” Helen answered but chose not to go into any more detail than that.

“I’m sorry…” Jenny offered sincerely and the linguist gave a smile as she helped her pull the dress up.

“I certainly admire your courage,” she stated, hoping she wasn’t overstepping, but she felt like it needed saying: “As friends of the Doctor’s and with your future wife’s unusual heritage, you’re not exactly representative of Victorian Times, I’m sure you will be just fine.”

“Yes, we do rather live in our own little world,” Jenny stated and brushed her brunette hair aside so Helen could do up the buttons on the back. “But even if we weren’t… Damn the consequences, I could never just… marry a man or try and fit in.”

“No?” Helen wasn’t exactly sure why she was surprised at that. In her experience, friends of the Doctor’s were brave, admirable people, it only made sense they wouldn’t bow to social pressure that was simply wrong. And yet, hearing her announce it with such determination was impressive.

“Not if my life depended on it, no. When you love someone… you have to follow your heart, no matter where that leads,” Jenny said, her expression softening. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and Helen could only presume the realisation of what was ahead was slowly sinking in. It was wonderful to see.

“I suppose so…” Helen conceded with a smile. “I just wish I was born in a different time… Liv, she’s from the 30 th century, would you believe that? They have no such problems then, at least…” She waved it off and watched as Jenny started pinning up her hair. “You look beautiful,” she offered a compliment.

“Thank you,” she smiled and caught a glimpse of Helen in the mirror as she carried on doing her hair. “And Liv is your…” She let her voice trail off to give the linguist a chance to answer who was caught off guard by the question.

“My friend!” She answered quickly and nearly tripped over her words. “My best friend, my…”

“Right,” Jenny responded and gave her a smile that the linguist wasn’t able to discern. She didn’t get the opportunity to mull it over as footsteps in the corridor caught their attention.

“Right, okay, Helen, here we are! I hope you like this… If not, just say, and I’ll run back to the TARDIS…”

Helen and Jenny looked around at the sound of Liv’s voice as the med-tech walked in. She was carrying a long navy dress and she held it up for effect, seeking her best friend’s approval. Helen, however, wasn’t looking at the dress to even have an opinion. Liv had already gotten changed and it was a change for sure. Where the linguist had expected her to wear a dress, she had opted for a suit. It was sage green and consisted of slim trousers and a tailored waistcoat over a white shirt with rolled up sleeves. The shirt was unbuttoned still but a matching tie hung yet undone around her neck.

“Is this alright?” Liv frowned, when she realised Helen was looking at her, rather than the dress. Self-consciously, she glanced down at herself and tucked at the bottom of the waistcoat to make sure it was sitting right. “I couldn’t find a dress I liked and this fit well, so…” She looked back up to Helen who pulled herself out of a moment of trance.

“Yes, it’s just right,” she nodded quickly and a blush crept onto her features.

“Okay, good, great!” Liv’s features burst into a smile of relief and she turned to the other woman. “Jenny, you look fantastic,” she complimented.

“Thank you, Liv,” Jenny smiled warmly. She was nearly done as she slipped into white heels that she also seemed to have hidden in the wardrobe. She glanced at Helen who was looking a little lost. “Helen, perhaps you want to get yourself ready? That’s a lovely dress Liv has picked.”

“Yes, it is!” Helen realised, pulled out of her thoughts. “I will,” she nodded and took the dress her best friend offered to her. “Bathroom through there?” She gestured to the door to the left.

“Yeah,” Jenny confirmed and the linguist nodded again as she felt oddly self-conscious about her behaviour with both of them watching her.

“Great, see you shortly.”

She fled the room and Liv remained, confused.

“Is she okay?” The med-tech asked after a moment of silence and looked at Jenny, wondering if she had said or done something wrong to provoke her strange reaction. “Did she maybe not like the dress I picked?”

“I think it has very little to do with a dress and more with the lack thereof,” Jenny observed but the statement went over Liv’s oblivious head.

“Eh?”

“Never mind,” Jenny chuckled. “Would you mind helping me with this?” She held out a necklace to Liv.

“It’s very nice of you to invite us into your home just like that when you don’t even know us,” the med-tech observed and took the necklace while Jenny turned around so she could put it on her.

“You’re friends of the Doctor’s, that’s enough for us,” Jenny offered kindly.

“I take it it’s not going to be a big party?” Liv asked and dropped her hands once she had fastened the silver chain around her neck.

“Just a few close friends, given our time and place,” Jenny answered, turning back to face her. “But that’s not to say we won’t be celebrating! And there will definitely be dancing! Which is just as well, seeing how Helen said she enjoys that very much.”

“Oh?” Liv raised her eyebrows. Helen had never mentioned a particular interest in dancing so this was a curious revelation.

“Yes! You should definitely ask her to dance later! Wouldn’t want her to miss out!” Jenny carried on and the med-tech’s expression turned even more surprised.

“You think?” She asked and Jenny nodded enthusiastically.

“Absolutely!”

Before they could carry on the conversation any longer, Helen returned. They looked around and for a moment, Liv lost all capacity for coherent thought. The dress fit perfectly, as if it was made to measure. The fabric wrapped beautifully around her torso and flowed elegantly around her long legs.

“So… is this alright?” The linguist asked tentatively, insecure as she was met with silence.

“I think Liv picked rather well,” Jenny commented with a kind smile.

“You look beautiful,” Liv said, once she found her voice and Helen blushed a little.

“Thank you,” she smiled.

Just then, Strax appeared in the door, rapping against the door frame to announce his arrival.

“Whenever you’re ready, Madame Vastra says,” he announced and Jenny took a deep breath, seemingly overwhelmed that things were moving very quickly now.

“Right okay,” she took a deep breath.

“We should go ahead, take our seats or whatever one does,” Liv suggested and Jenny nodded in agreement as she tried her best to calm her nerves.

“Yes, thank you for your help!” She smiled at them both.

“Anytime. See you shortly,” Helen answered with a smile of her own and they bade her goodbye for the moment and made their way downstairs in search of the wedding venue.

“Helen, do you think you could help me with this?” Liv asked as she did up the buttons of her shirt and folded up the collar. They had found their way to the Siluritum and the med-tech held her back for a moment. “I’m not very good at them…” She looped the tie around her neck and awkwardly pulled at the ends to even them out. Helen chuckled, taking pity on her as she watched her struggle and shooed her hands away.

“Of course… I used to have to do this for my brothers.” She cast her eyes down at the dark green fabric and ran her fingers along the silky length of it, pulling the wide side further down.

“And interracial, same-sex wedding is not what I expected when we arrived in Victorian London but it’s wonderful, isn’t it,” Liv said into the silence between them as the linguist folded over the fabric and started tying the signature knot. The med-tech watched her friend intently, noting the little frown of concentration that dug into her brow.

“It is,” Helen confirmed with a nod and a brief smile as she met her eyes upon finishing the knot. “And they seem lovely people too. They deserve every happiness,” she returned her focus to the tie and tucked it into her waistcoat. She pulled and smoothed out the fabric and Liv gave a barely noticeable gasp at the pull on her neck.

“Yes,” her voice was a little shaky as she responded.

“There you go,” Helen smiled, happy with the result. Liv wore a suit and tie much better than any man she had ever seen.

“Thank you,” the med-tech gave an awkward smile and cast her eyes down.

“I’m not sure I could be brave like they are…” The linguist wasn’t looking at her either, she focused on smoothing her dress self-consciously.

“What do you mean?” Liv frowned, confused.

“You know I… never knew that it was okay… to feel these things…” Liv didn’t really have the words to voice what she wanted to say. She could only hope her friend understood her anyway.

“Well, you’re… you’re not in your time anymore, Helen…” The med-tech said slowly, wondering where this was going.

“I guess not…” Helen hummed. “You look… great… in that suit…” She observed, blushing as she nervously uttered the words in a half-stutter. She reached out and smoothed her fingers along the fabric of her tie once more. Liv took the opportunity and took her hand. She brought it up to her lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

“So do you,” she replied with genuine admiration that made Helen’s heart beat faster.

“We should go in,” the linguist said, though she didn’t want to. She would much rather find out if Liv’s lips would be as soft on her lips as they were on her hand.

“Yes…” The med-tech agreed, trying her best not to look too disappointed. She lowered their hands but didn’t let go. Instead, she linked their fingers and walked her through the door into the wonderful green space that was the Siluritum. It was marvellous, warm and inviting with the most beautiful flowers and ferns. As they took in their surroundings, they headed towards a clearing that had been specially decorated and sported a few chairs.

“Helen, would you-” Liv stalled for a moment as she considered her request, thinking it best to voice it before getting within earshot of the Doctor. Helen looked at her slightly confused, waiting for her to carry on and received a soft squeeze of her hand before she continued: “Would you dance with me later?”