In the Absence of Snow( 10th Doctor x Reader)

The Doctor was worried, you’d been avoiding him for what seemed like days, he could never tell in the Tardis, and when you were around you were withdrawn. You had always been shy and hesitant but never like this, he missed your usual soft giggle and quiet enthusiasm.

The Tardis whirred as if trying to soothe his uneasy thoughts and he wondered if it had something to do with the fact that tomorrow was Christmas back on Earth. He pulled off his thick-framed glasses and ran a hand down his face with a sigh before ruffling his permanently wild hair and deciding call it a night.

As soon as he left, you popped up in the console room, a small mischievous smirk on your face, ready to enact what you’d been planning for days. You stepped up to the console and stroked it gently as you murmured, “Hey there girl. Let’s surprise our dear Doctor shall we? Quietly please.”

You loved the Tardis almost as much as the Doctor did, she was alive and no one could ever convince you any different, and she seemed to like you as well. The controls seemed to move on their own but as you had requested there was hardly any noise and your landing was smooth. You grinned, “Thank you love,” and then bounced to the door to see what she had chosen.

You pulled the door open and gasped before patting the door with a smirk, “You’ve out done yourself this time.”

The Tardis let out a pleased whistle and you rushed about to get everything ready before softly calling, “Ok let’s do this thing.”

Your nerves were starting to get the better of you, what if he didn’t like it or he was angry you’d gone behind his back, but the Tardis didn’t give you time to entertain those thoughts as it sprang to life, making more noise and throwing you around more than ever before.

This was what the Doctor woke to, being nearly thrown out of bed, and he quickly scrambled to the console room in a panic. You had to hide the small grin that crossed your face when you caught sight of him, his glasses were lopsided on his face from when he’d haphazardly shoved them on and his hair was even more disheveled than normal.

He danced around the controls frantically, “What happened (F/n)?!”

You feigned innocence, ducking your head to try and conceal the blush that colored your cheeks, “I-I don’t k-know. I was j-just wandering about… I d-didn’t touch any thing. I-I swear.”

The Tardis set down roughly, throwing both you and him to the floor next to each other, and he grinned, looking over at you, “Well then, let’s see where we are shall we?”

You gave him a shy smile and nodded, allowing him to pull you up after him so you could follow him as he bounced enthusiastically toward the door. He swung it open and stopped dead in his tracks, he’d never been here before.

It was a small planet, more like an asteroid really, with soft blue grass and odd-looking trees, but the best part was the sky. This planet looked directly out into space at the Carina Nebula. He just sort of gaped before his eyes fell on a small picnic spread out a few yards away and you giggled softly, “Merry Christmas Doctor.”

He spun to look at you and you examined the floor, “You did this?”

You nodded and he suddenly pulled you up into a large hug, swinging you around, “This is brilliant. Oh you sneaky brilliant little human you.”

You couldn’t help but laugh, “Well I had some help.”

The Tardis whirred and the Doctor set you down to grin at the center console, exclaiming, “I should have known you had something to do with this,” and then grabbed your hand and dragged you out to your picnic.

He plopped down to look out at the view and you quietly settled in next to him, letting him take it in as you watched his face. After a moment her turned to you, “Is this why you’ve been acting strange lately?”

You turned away from his gaze and nodded, “I wanted to surprise you, a feat that is easier said than done, and when I came up with this I was worried you would be angry I plotted behind your back.”

He reached to bring your face to meet his, “I would never be angry for this, in fact I’m ecstatic. Color me surprised.”

You gave him a shy grin and then turned an adorable shade of pink as you reached for something behind you, “There’s one more thing.”

You pulled out a neatly wrapped present with Tardis blue wrapping paper and a smooth sliver bow, “You are a hard man to pick a present for Doctor.”

He tilted his head at the gift, “You didn’t have to-“

You shook your head, placing it in his hands, “I wanted to.”

He stared at it for a second and then tore off the wrapping paper like an excited child, reaching into the box to pull out a snow globe. He turned it upside down curiously and you urged, “Look closer.”

He looked from you to it and then brought it up to his face to look at the scene inside- there were a few snowy hills and a smattering of snow-covered pine trees and then there in the middle was a miniature Tardis with two people standing next to it that he recognized as himself and you. He shook it so the snow fell on the scene with a small smile, “How did you-?”

You giggled, “Magic.”

He chuckled, scooping up the note that had been tucked in with it, ‘So all your Christmases will be white, no matter where or when you are.’

He turned to look at you but you were looking out at the nebula, satisfied with his response. There was still a light blush coloring your cheeks but you had a content grin on your face and he wondered how he’d gotten so lucky as to stumble upon you.

His fingers fumbled at the small box he’d been keeping in his pocket for weeks, it held a key to the Tardis. He always gave his companions one but for you he’d wanted it to be different, to be special. He cleared his throat and when you turned he offered it to you, “I got you something too.”

You blushed, accepting the small box from him so carefully you would have thought it was glass, “I-I- you’ve already given me so much Doctor.”

He just smiled and gave a little upwards nod indicating that you should open it. You pulled the lid off to reveal a long necklace with deep blue beads linked together with loops and swirls of silver rather like a rosary, except at the end there was not one but two keys instead of a cross.

One was simple, a smooth peace of metal with a jagged edge like most keys, and the other was intricate, a old fashion style key with impossibly complex designs and swirls covering it’s surface. You traced a finger over them in awe and looked up at him questioningly, he explained, “One should always have a key to their home.”

You looked from him to the Tardis and then back to the keys, understanding what he meant and you felt tears of joy brimming up in your eyes before you turned to ask about the other. Your query was silenced by his lips meeting yours as he brought your hand up to his chest so that you could feel the rhythmic beating of his two hearts. You cautiously accepted his kiss, letting your lips meld with his for a moment and then he pulled away to give you his signature goofy grin, “The other is for these. Merry Christmas (F/n).”

You blushed and he grinned even wider as you hesitantly tangled your hand with his and softly murmured, “And a very merry Christmas it is Doctor. The merriest.”