#thasminsecretsanta

The Magic of Christmas

“Guten Tag!” The Doctor said, with a thick English accent, to a group passing them. Yaz giggled. “What? Can’t I say hello to people in their own language?”

“Well yes. I just thought it’s funny that you’re literally from a different planet, yet you fell out of the sky speaking English like it was your mother tongue, but when you speak another human language you still sound like an English person trying too hard”

“oi!” The doctor exclaimed. “I don’t really know why the Tardis chose English as the language it translates for me. Maybe because that was the first human language I came into contact with and it thought that would do for this planet…”

“That sounds very English indeed”, Yaz snorted. They were walking along a large street, big shops and restaurants on either side, filled with people. The Doctor hadn’t really told Yaz where she had taken them - the Tardis had been left in a quiet ally of what the Doctor had described as “a nice German place, not unlike Sheffield”, and since then they had made their way to where most of the people seemed to be coming from. “Alright, it should be just around this corner,” the Doctor said, walking on but now looking at Yaz expectantly. “Wow!” Yaz exclaimed. “Right?” the Doctor grinned.

Yaz had never seen anything like this before. They had turned into a street not unlike the one they had just been on a second ago - this street, too, had shop windows with mannequins modeling the latest Christmas fashion next to packed restaurants and other little shops.

But unlike the other street, this one positively shone. There were lights everywhere - Christmas lights above everything. In two rows, little wooden houses had been crammed onto the street, their backs facing the shop windows on each side. They entered the large stream of people walking in the middle of the two rows of houses. All of them seemed to be half open, with people serving or selling anything related to Christmas out of them. They were covered in lights and evergreens. It was only then that Yaz noticed the smell - it smelled like cinnamon and something fried and also like alcohol, but sweet - Yaz was mildly confused, but soon started to make out where the different smells seemed to be coming from. There was one hut that sold German Bratwurst and chips. Next to it, there was one selling something called “Glühwein” - hot wine infused with spices. There were also huts at least pretending to be from other places - French crêpes and Hungarian lángos, among too many other things for Yaz to count. Other huts sold little wooden items, honey, roasted nuts or socks. The Doctor grinned at Yaz and led the way to one of the huts from which a very pleasant smell was emanating.

“Not a bad date around Christmas time either, huh?”, the Doctor asked, looking at Yaz in suspense. Yaz had just taken a large bite out of her crêpe with apple sauce and cinnamon and therefore could not reply right away. She was thankful for that though, because she felt like she needed some time to think. No, of course the Doctor wasn’t a bad date. Never, anywhere. Yaz decided to just tell her the truth, see how she would take it. “You’re the best date I ever had, at any point in time and space,” she said. This time, it was Yaz looking at the Doctor in anxious expectation. The Doctor, who had just taken a sip of what had sounded like “glue wine” when she had ordered it (the man in the hut had apparently understood), looked like she was going to spit it out in surprise for a second. She then seemed to not want Yaz see her do that, so she gulped. Quickly putting on what was evidently supposed to look like a neutral expression, she looked at Yaz. Her eyes told Yaz that the Doctor had not been expecting that. She thought of the last time the Doctor had asked that exact same question. Back when they had been on the bottom of the ocean. It felt like forever ago, and it kind of was, Yaz thought as she tried to remember how long ago exactly. Time was a weird thing, especially when you were travelling with the Doctor. Back then, Yaz had been the one startled, and had just said “no”. The Doctor had then pointed out a missing ship that had been supposed to be there, even though Yaz could not remember that actually being important in that moment. Anyway, today, Yaz figured if she said something more bluntly she might figure out what the Doctor actually wanted from her. Or didn’t want. Or wasn’t sure about. Because Yaz definitely wasn’t sure about a lot of things right now. “Well, neither are you,” the Doctor seemed to begin, but then did not continue the sentence. Yaz started to wonder if the hot, sweet drinks on the little wooden table in front of them had started to make the Doctor somewhat tipsy. Rather abruptly, the Doctor continued: “I dropped off Dan and Graham here last week. They said it was pretty romantic.” By now, Yaz was positively confused. What did the Doctor want from her? Was she flirting? Did she just want to tease her a bit? “Must be the magic of Christmas,” the Doctor added, looking at the scene. “The magic of Christmas?” Yaz snorted. “I mean it is pretty, but I’m not sure magical is the word I’d use for this place.” Since they arrived, the Christmas market had gotten more and more crowded, and they had had to escape spills of hot drinks and soups more than once. “Alright, let’s get out of here then,” the Doctor said, grinning at Yaz. Was she serious? If so, what exactly did she mean by that? She must be serious, Yaz thought with a hint of panic, as the Doctor downed the last bit of her drink and looked at Yaz, the sparkle of a new adventure in her eyes. Yaz quickly took her last sips as well and looked back at the Doctor. Before she could say anything, Yaz felt a cold hand grab hers and found herself following the Doctor through the crowd, back to the Tardis. Once they got away from the streets full of people, Yaz expected the Doctor to let go of her hand, but somehow, she didn’t. Yaz didn’t mind and let her lead her back into the warm Tardis.

Various clunking sounds echoed around the console as Yaz walked into the room, admiring the lights and tinsel she'd helped the Doctor drape over the crystal pillars earlier that week. The lights twinkled in coordination with the glowing orange light of the room, making it feel especially cosy. Of course, the atmosphere was slightly displaced by the occasional annoyed comments coming from the Doctor, who had her legs sticking out from under the main console.

"Okay, yes, I'm sorry I didn't replace that wiring panel earlier-"

A seemingly disgruntled whirring sounded from the heart of the TARDIS.

"And I'm sorry about the loose piping too! Yes, I do remember telling you I'd fix it a while ago, but-"

An annoying beep resounded, and Yaz stifled a laugh as the Doctor huffed.

She walked over to where the Doctor was fiddling about with the underside of one of the panels and smiled as she tipped her head to the side and peered underneath. The Doctor was wearing her goggles, and had her tongue stuck out ever so slightly to the side, seemingly to aid with her concentration; Yaz could have died right there on the spot with adoration and felt her heart seize at the sight. Specks of snow still littered the Doctor's hair from their earlier walk ("It's a planet entirely made of snow, Yaz, and 'cos it's always snowing, it just keeps getting bigger, it's amazing! You'd definitely win a fight with this snowball, although I really wouldn't recommend it unless you really didn't like the other person..."), and Yaz pushed her hair out of her eyes and offered her a hand up as the Doctor noticed her, grinning.

"Yasmin Khan! To what do I owe the pleasure?" She greeted, pushing the goggles up onto her head as she took Yaz's hand and pulled herself up, the goggles making her hair stick up in a ridiculous manner.

"Just wanted to see what you were up to, and to ask if maybe you wanted to have a movie night? Of course, if you’re busy that’s fine-”

“Movie night with Yaz? Wouldn't miss it for the world." The Doctor beamed at her and peered around the console room at the softly glittering decorations. "It’s gotta be nearly Christmas in your time by now, isn't it?"

If it was, then the time had passed much too quickly for Yaz's liking, as it always did when she was with the Doctor; the irony of the fact they had a time machine wasn't lost on her. "Think so, I'll check". Yaz paused and fished her phone out from her jacket.

"Ohhh."

"Ohhh?"

"I think I lost track of time; it's Christmas Eve. "

There was an audible gasp, and as Yaz pushed her phone back into her pocket, the Doctor reached forward, grabbing her hands and pulling Yaz closer to her. She stared at Yaz, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as her eyes shone with possibility.

"Yaz."

"Doctor," Yaz answered, a faint warmth creeping into her cheeks as she made eye contact with the Timelord, focusing maybe a little too much on the space between them, or lack thereof.

"We’ve got to have a Christmas party."

The seriousness in The Doctor's tone made Yaz grin, and she responded excitedly. "Oh, definitely!"

That must have been all the confirmation the Doctor needed, because before Yaz knew what was going on she felt a tug on her hand, and the Doctor whisked her away from the console and down one of the TARDIS's many winding corridors, with a blur of rainbows and stardust.

They ended up in Yaz’s favourite of the many kitchens, and as she and the Doctor skidded to a halt on the glossy tiled floor, she took in the lingering smell of cinnamon and melting chocolate. It was decked out with dusty wooden cabinets and charming mismatched cupboards, an old gas stove that always required a bit of a kick to get started, and of course, a wide range of hot drink supplies, from teas to coffees and even alien-looking pots and tubs of powder that Yaz wasn’t entirely sure were safe for human ingestion. There was even a fake window above the small sink; today it displayed a snowy forest, with a pinkened sunset just visible over the pointed trees.

Wandering over to the cupboard, the Doctor peered at the drink selection. Yaz flicked the kettle on, and crossed the room, looking over the Doctor’s shoulder at the jumbled mountain of containers and boxes.

“What do you fancy? Take your pick, except maybe not that one-” she pointed to a box that appeared to be slightly luminous, with a strange inscription attached to the side, “unless you want an extra liver… or five.”

Yaz gave a half-suppressed laugh and pretended to think about it for a moment, before reaching carefully past the Doctor and, selecting a purple tub embellished with gold lettering, removed it gently from the bottom of the pile.

“Oh, hot chocolate! Perfect! 10 present-shaped points to Yaz for the Christmas themed drink!”

“Why thank you, I do try my best.” Yaz returned, ducking under the open cupboard to find the mug shelf, and selecting two particularly festive ones left from last Christmas. A Christmas tree for herself, and a snowman for the Doctor.

She brought them over to the kettle and the Doctor’s eyes lit up as she beamed at Yaz. Her face dropped slightly though, as her nose scrunched up with mild annoyance. “I’m definitely forgetting something…”, she said, her foot tapping against the floor.

"We could always try and find the cupboard where we stored the things we bought last Christmas?-"

"Ah-ha!" The Doctor jumped up with a grin, flailing her hands slightly. "Last Christmas!" And with that she pushed past Yaz, running back down the corridor, seemingly towards the main console room, leaving Yaz looking mildly dazed, before shaking her head and pouring the water from the kettle onto the sweet-smelling powder in the mugs.

The next thing she knew, Christmas music began to play, seemingly not from a speaker, and filled the room with wonderfully atmospheric music.

The Doctor walked back to the kitchen with her hands in her pockets, looking rather smug and pleased with herself. "Now it properly feels like Christmas." She said, grinning at Yaz and leaning past her to take her mug.

"Hey, oi! I'm not done with that!" Yaz mock snapped, gently smacking the Doctor's hand as she lent back forwards to put the mug back.

"Alright, alright-" The Doctor stepped back as Yaz bustled around the room, taking things from the fridge and rummaging around in cupboards and drawers.

Before she knew it, there were two extravagant hot chocolates sitting on the counter, complete with a huge pile of squirty cream, a candy cane hanging off the edge cocktail-style, and a cocoa powder dusting covering a heaping of pink and white mini-marshmallows to top it all off.

The Doctor looked amazed, being impressed at what Yaz would consider such a simple thing, especially considering everything the Doctor had shown her over the past couple of years.

"Yaz, these are amazing, thank you!"

"It's nothing really, mum used to make them for me and Son when we were little in the lead up to Christmas, after school on Fridays as a treat." She shrugged, flashing a smile at the Doctor.

The Doctor smiled back, and returned "Well, they look delicious!", and brought her mug to her mouth to take a sip. Yaz felt warmth bloom in her chest as the Doctor was left with cream dotted on the tip of her nose, and tried to reach it with her tongue.

"Here, let me-" Yaz breathed, giggly, and swiped the cream away as the Doctor went cross-eyed trying to spot it.

She laughed, a beautiful sound that resonated around the cosy kitchen. "Cheers Yaz! What would I do without you, eh?"

What would I do without you, Doctor? Yaz thought, as the Doctor stood upright suddenly, as if to make an announcement.

"Right then… movie!" The Doctor flashed a smile at Yaz and then she was gone again, dashing around and up and down, out of the kitchen in a blur. Yaz rushed to follow suit, running as quickly as she could without spilling her drink.

~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~ ☆ ~

Before she knew it, Yasmin Khan was trapped.

The movie had ended a good half an hour ago now, and yet she daren’t let herself look down at the mess of touseled blonde hair she was running her fingers through, or the hand she had wrapped around the timelord’s waist under the woven blanket. Yaz could feel every breath the Doctor took, every shuffle, at every slight movement. This was the closest they’d ever gotten, and god, Yaz thought, they were so close. She didn’t want to move, to ruin the rare quiet; a period where they could simply just be, without trying to save a planet or banish hostile aliens.

Instead, she had taken to admiring the room. They’d ended up in one of the smaller sitting rooms, which was fully decked out with scattered decorations, a hectically decorated tree, a crackling fireplace, and a regal purple sofa. Paper chains were strung from the beams above them, alternating silver and gold, and shining with the light from the fire.

She looked down at the Doctor again, feeling as though she was looking at the sun without sunglasses as the Doctor jolted awake and tipped her head up to look at Yaz, eyes widening as she figured out where she was.

Yaz saw her cheeks redden as the Doctor scrambled upright, her hair full of static, and cold air surged over Yaz’s chest as the blanket fell away.

“Oh Yaz I’m sorry, I haven’t been sleeping much recently and I got too comfortable, I’m so sorry and-”

Yaz smiled, and watched the Doctor’s face soften as she did. “You don’t need to apologise, I didn’t mind.” I did mind you moving though, a small part of her mind whispered as Yaz tried to concentrate on how much she definitely didn’t ache for the contact back.

“Stars.” The Doctor sighed a mixture of relief and embarrassment and twisted to sit upright, positioning herself next to Yaz and letting her head fall back against the sofa. She sat carefully as not to accidentally bump arms with Yaz, and Yaz let her, instead choosing to rest her hands in her lap, albeit rather awkwardly.

They sat like that for a while, just enjoying each other’s company, until the Doctor broke the silence.

“Oh, Yaz!”

Yaz rolled her head to the side, meeting the Doctor’s eye as she beamed at her.

“I got you a present!”

Yaz sat up then, suddenly feeling the warmth from the fire. She’d bought the Doctor a gift too, but had been waiting for the right moment to bring it up; she didn’t want the Doctor to think she was too soppy and she’d spent ages agonising over what to buy.

The Doctor stuck her hand under the sofa, pulling out a small gift box wrapped in deep blue tissue paper and bouncy golden ribbon. She’d stuck golden star stickers all over the box, and they glittered in the firelight.

“Oh wow, Doctor, you didn’t have to-”

The Doctor darted forward and put her hand over Yaz’s mouth, stifling a laugh as Yaz looked mildly disgruntled, and stopped talking in defeat. The Doctor smiled.

“You’re right, I didn’t have to do anything. I wanted to, Yaz, to express how grateful I am for you sticking around all this time.” Her gaze burned into Yaz, as she removed her hand from over Yaz’s mouth to pass her the gift and sat back patiently, crossing her legs.

Yaz unwrapped the present carefully, and let out a soft gasp when she opened the box. She held up the delicate silver necklace to admire the tiny charm in the shape of two interlocked hearts and smiled excitedly at the Doctor before putting it on herself, reaching around the back of her neck to secure the clasp.

The Doctor beamed from ear to ear then and began rambling excitedly. “I saw it and just thought it would be perfect, and I’m so glad you like it! The two hearts can be a reminder of me, or it can mean one of mine and your heart together, either way!”

“It’s perfect, Doctor, thank you.” Yaz let out a laugh.

The Doctor looked confused, if not a little upset.

Yaz noticed, and corrected herself quickly. “I’m not laughing at you! It’s just…” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small box, offering it to the Doctor. It was slightly smaller, adorned in one of the pieces of rainbow ribbon the Doctor had handed her among other random things in a flurry (as she often did.)

The Doctor gently unwrapped it, to find a set of gold stud earrings with exactly the same design as Yaz’s necklace; two interlocking hearts.

Yaz looked at the Doctor intently, explaining as the Doctor smiled softly at her.

“I know you don’t really wear jewellery, and you already have your ear cuff, but I realised you don’t wear anything in the other ear even though it’s pierced.” Yaz’s gaze darted over the Doctor’s features as she tried to gauge a reaction. All she could make out was the Doctor’s eyes sparkling in the low light, beautifully hazel and flecked with constellations. Yaz continued. “But, now it means more, I think.” Her voice had dropped to an almost whisper, as she looked down, twirling her pendant in between her fingers.

The Doctor looked up then, pushing her hair aside and pinning one of the studs in her ear. She made eye contact with Yaz once more as her hair fell over her face again, pulling herself forward and taking Yaz’s hands in her own.

“Yaz.” She breathed. “We match!”

She was so close, and Yaz could feel her heartbeat leap in her chest and blood rush into her cheeks.

“Yeah.” She murmured, reaching forward to tuck the Doctor’s hair out of her face. “Now you have a part of me, wherever you go. Even when I’m long gone.” She heard the Doctor’s breath hitch.

“And you a part of me.” The Doctor returned, somewhat mournfully. She inched but ever closer towards Yaz, heartbeats racing as she allowed her eyes to dart towards Yaz’s lips, only for a second. “But you’re not gone yet. And I hope, Yasmin Khan, you won’t be gone for a long, long time.” Her voice was so low, a bare whisper now, and Yaz felt a surge of appreciation as the Doctor leaned in further, bridging the gap between them.

Yaz felt as though she was dreaming as the Doctor’s lips collided with hers, hands reaching and pushing hair out of her face as she fell deeper into the kiss, excitement rushing in her heart. She had dreamt about this countless times, and yet as it happened she couldn’t help feeling incredibly overwhelmed with love as she smiled, before kissing the Doctor again, something she decided she wanted to do until the end of time itself.

A few minutes later they pulled apart, and Yaz let herself fall sideways, resting her head on the Doctor’s shoulder. The fireplace was still burning away and she watched it for a few moments before closing her eyes, feeling the Doctor turn her head to look at her as the Doctor’s arm reached around her back, holding her closer.

“Merry Christmas, Doctor,” Yaz uttered, moving to hold the Doctor’s free hand with her own.

The Doctor pressed a light kiss onto the top of her head.

“Merry Christmas, Yaz.”