Past Lives || Dottore

12

"You're more beautiful than you think you are, Dottore."

Those words rang in Dottore's head. He opened his eyes after hearing the door close, staring at the wall across from him. It didn't bother him that Y/n took his mask, not anymore. Originally, he was amused at her attempts to move him across the room. Then he was surprised at her strength to lift him.

Then she took off his mask.

He was worried, for some reason. He didn't know why, but he couldn't let it show on his face. So, he did his best to act like he was still asleep, even going as far to go completely limp. He listened carefully, hearing as her breath hitched in her throat. Dottore couldn't tell if it was good or bad. He was sure to turn over, to try and hide his scar. Call it, an inference.

He almost flinched when she brushed her fingers against the bridge of his nose, right where the scar was. He stopped breathing, hoping she wouldn't notice. Then she said those words. Those words that stuck with him more than he thought.

"You're more beautiful than you think you are, Dottore."

He used to hate compliments like that, but this one he would accept. Maybe it was because it came from his beloved assistant? He sat up in the bed, the blanket she had put on him sliding off his body. He touched his scar lightly, thinking about what would happen if Y/n saw the rest of his scar.

Would she take back her words? Would she regret what she said? Would she...

He needed to stop thinking before it got too out of hand. He needs to focus. Dottore stood up, his instincts telling him to find something to cover his face. He stopped himself from allowing that though, he should try something new after all. Slowly, he went to the door, opening it slowly. He listened, eventually heading running water a few doors down.

It seemed that she had found the bathroom. Dottore left the room, heading towards the bathroom. He stopped right beside the door though, a worried feeling sinking its way into his gut. He hated that feeling. He realized he hadn't felt this way in a long while, maybe a few hundred years ago? When it was his first meeting with the Tsaritsa? He remembered the feeling when he was standing in front of the main door, although it was probably mixed with a sense of pleasure.

He was unsure, such a long time has passed since then. He inhaled slowly, and turned, now standing behind Y/n, and front of the mirror. Dottore refused to look at the mirror, looking at the back of her head. He waited until she noticed his presence. Y/n looked up at the mirror, seeing Dottore's figure immediately. She jumped and turned around, the water that was still on the mask flying off.

"Oh, uh-"

"Don't worry about that, Y/n." He sighed. "Are you almost done with my mask?"

She looked down at it, almost like she forgot about it in the few seconds they talked. "Oh-" She grabbed a nearby towel and wiped off some water. "I think so, I'm almost done with it."

He fought the urge to smile. Her cleaning his mask (although he meant to do that for a few years now. He just kept forgetting) made him happy. It wasn't something he asked her to do; it was just something she did out of the kindness in her heart. Maybe that was the reason why he wanted Y/n in the first place. Regardless of the method or the consequences that follow. 

"Alright." He spoke. "Meet me in the kitchen; I'll have something for you as thanks." He walked away, leaving Y/n there, his mask dropping water on the floor.

"Have... something...?" He knew she was confused. Dottore was too, he wasn't sure what that 'something' was quite yet. Maybe he'll have his take at cooking? It's been a few years, that's for sure, but it is worth a shot, right? He did notice that she didn't notice his scar, but she was probably to pre-occupied on his mask to be worrying about what he had on his face.

For some reason, for the first time in a long, long while, he felt comfortable enough to not wear his mask in his own home. He smiled, his footsteps echoing in the hallway. It pleased him, though he didn't know why. There was a lot of things he didn't know the reason behind; Y/n being Y/n was one of them. There were too many things to explain, things about her actions, her reasoning behind things.

It fascinated him more than he thought. "Hmm." He found himself in the kitchen faster than he expected. Thinking about something seemed to make the time pass faster. Oh well. He pulled off his gloves, shoving them in his back pocket. It was time to have his take at some decent food.

~

Y/n stopped her scrubbing on Dottore's mask, the last of the gunk disappearing down the sink. She looked at the mask, giving it one last look before turning the water off. Now, all she had to do was dry the thing and give it back to Dottore. She hesitated. What if she didn't give it back to him? No, that's just plain mean. She wasn't that rude.

She pressed the towel against the wet parts of the mask, making sure it was completely dry before leaving the bathroom. Now was the matter of finding the kitchen. Even though she had been here for about a week, she didn't have any time to explore the house, or even to find her way around the damned thing. Y/n sighed. She could just wonder until she found it, but she knew that would take too long.

She started down the hallway, remembering Dottore's words. "I'll have something for you..." She stopped walking when she across a large and open room. It occurred to her that this might be the living room, due to the absolutely large number of decorative furniture that occupied the room. It might've also been because of the huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The kitchen is usually attached to the living room, right? If her memory served her right, (and it usually did) the kitchen always connected to the living room. In one way or another.

Y/n walked into the living room, becoming fascinated by the decor he had. She was slightly disgusted by a number of things, but the things that fascinated her out-weighed the disgusting bit.

"Like what you see, dear?"

Y/n jumped, turning around. Dottore stood there, amused. "I swear, if you keep doing that-"

"Doing what?" He smiled.

"Scaring me like that!" She huffed. "I might as well just not give you your mask back."

He stared at her for a few moments before shrugging his shoulders. "If I'm lucky, I'll never have to leave this house, so I should be fine with no mask."

Y/n stared back at him. She was just now noticing his eyes. Oh, how she never loved the color red more. It was such a nice color, though it reminded her too much of #1849. Dottore's color was different, a little darker, though that might be because of the lighting. She blinked, noticing something else about his face.

That scar. She felt bad about his scar. It covered most of his right side, his right eye a bit messed up because of it. Although the scar covered most of his right side, he still looked beautiful.

Archons, what was getting into her?