13 Novella 6

Flags

"Of course... yeah.... Ok, well let me know if you need anything" smiles The Doctor with noticeably less charisma. You almost wish there was more fuss between Missy and Yaz. Something, anything to break this awkwardness.

"Um, ok. I won't be long" says Yaz with an attempt at brightness. She isn't fooling anyone.

She exits and The Doctor bends over the controls, determinedly avoiding all your eyes.

Taking the hint you grab Missy by the shoulders and push her to the floor. She whines and fidgets at first but eventually lets you paint her face. You put the Poly flag on her too (now all three of you had it) and let her pick the next flag. She chooses the lesbian flag and that makes you smile.

You are so insecure that it made you feel selfishly better that she would not be attracted to a large proportion of the population. Her eyes are closed and she sits like an elegant statue, allowing you to dab and stroke the colours.

You boop her on the nose when you're finished and she smiles, thanking you with a quick kiss before going to admire her new look.

You turn to The Doctor who is staring absently at the dashboard. Picking up the palette and rolling to your feet, you approach and take her hand, careful not to force any connections. She wanted privacy right now.

She sighs as you pull her to the ground where she sinks effortlessly into a cross legged position like a small child. With light fingers you brush her blonde hair from her face and she closes her eyes obediently. Her forehead looks taught and tense, and you don't like it.

"Pansexual?" You whisper and she nods with a small smile. Hating her sadness, you take a stab. "She's not ashamed of you, if that's what your thinking" you whisper, starting with the yellow. She doesn't move and you lean in so the others wouldn't hear. Not that they were paying attention. "This will be a bit of a shock to her family, they're only human after all" you smile wanly and she shrugs as you change colours.

"(Y/n) you saw it, so obvious. I just want to be a part of her life but she doesn't want me near her family" she sighs and you pause.

"You know that's not true, she's probably just trying not to give them a heart attack. A woman and a pregnancy. You also happen to be an alien with a time machine. You can see why she wouldn't want to put that all on them at once" you reason and her brow creases.

"Maybe I wasn't... right" she says quietly and you stop.

"Don't do this Doctor, you know how much she loves you, so please don't make me show you" you roll your eyes. She nods but rather unconvincingly. "You really want to make me do this?" You tease and she laughs slightly.

"I don't really want to see the extent of what you pick up on thank you very much" she grimaces, her old charisma slightly returned as you laugh.

"Oh I dunno, looks like I'm gonna have to delve into the really spicy stuff..." you tease.

"No!" Shouts The Doctor, laughing and trying to run. You lunge and wrap your arms around her waist, tackling her to the floor where she rolls over and tries to scramble away.

Squeezing your eyes shut, you push all the worst of what you've seen of their love, the little glances, the kisses, the imagined scenarios, the intimate memories, all while pinning down the Time Lady who screams with embarrassed laughter.

"Stop it, stop it!" She shrieks, as you cling to her with all your might. You can faintly hear Jenny and Missy laughing in the background. "Please, no more!" She squeals but you've moved onto the really bad imagined stuff and now she is scarlet-faced and flustered.

"Get her (Y/n)!" Calls Missy, but you feel a pair of arms peel you off and bring you to their chest. You scowl and pout but Jenny is snorting too.

"My god your grip is strong" Jenny laughs, walking away with you in her arms. She peels you away from her body and tosses you in the air, higher than should be possible, but her strength is unmatched. You shriek in midair, flailing only to be caught by your other girlfriend. You can see Jenny leaning down to pull The Doctor to her feet.

"You're no fun" you whine at Jenny's turned back while Missy nuzzles your neck gently. You shiver at her feather touch and she adjusts you within her arms. Slightly worried, you regrip her like a koala and she chuckles.

"I'm not going to drop you love" she says mockingly and you know her word is true. She would never let you fall.

"Is that so?" You ask innocently and she looks at you sideways. Rolling your eyes back in your head, you let your body go limp and release your hold. You are loose for far less than half a second before she catches you, squeezing you impatiently.

"Humans" she mutters and you snort as she shuffles you against her chest, placing you firmly back on your feet.

The Doctor is back on her own feet by now and in significantly better spirits.

"Humans indeed" she agrees and you cross your arms.

"Low-key offended" you say as all three Time Ladies turn to you with the same gentle expression. You take a step back and all three cock their heads at the same time, making you giggle. They exchange glances as you laugh as their uncanny timing. The Doctor shrugs and grabs Jenny's hand, going to pull her out the door, only to be met with the doors flying inwards before she's even touched them.

"Yaz!" The Doctor exclaims with a bright smile that disappears when the girl chokes on a tear and falls into her arms. "Babe what's wrong? What happened?" The Time Lady asks anxiously. Yaz squeezes her then pulls away, wiping her eyes.

"I- I told them everything" she sobs and you freeze, surprised, before wincing at her most prominent thought. You gasp and step back, tripping over your feet before Missy straightens you up.

"And?" Prompts The Doctor, oblivious to your reaction as to what you'd just seen.

"They said- they said they don't support me! And that I'm no longer their daughter!" she cries, plunging you all into silence.