For those in the holiday spirit...

Travelling in a time machine did not mean you could keep track of time completely. In fact, that was never the case, except when it came to the most festive day of the year. You didn't know how or why you always knew when it was, but every time you brought it up, it just happens to be the day.

Or maybe the alarm you set on your phone told you so, but you weren't going to let the Doctor know. Besides, he always decorates the TARDIS up a week (in your time) before the holiday.

Except this time.

It was Christmas Eve, but the TARDIS looked as bare as any other day. No stockings, no baubles, no stars, no tree, nothing. Just you and the Doctor in the TARDIS, doing what you two do everyday.

You couldn't blame him though. Ever since he changed, he didn't seem like the type to indulge in the holiday spirit. He was like your uncle, the one that never got married and moved to Vegas to retire, except more adventurous. He forgot about Easter and had no intention to celebrate Thanksgiving, only offering to drop you off at your family's house before he left. He did come back after, and although you had no idea what he did, you definitely knew he did not catch up with any of his loved ones.

He's not going to miss Christmas this time, not on your watch.

After a shower that steamed up the entire bathroom, you headed down to the console room. The Doctor was there as per usual, flicking levers and pushing buttons, ensuring the TARDIS flew smoothly. You stood on the elevated floor, hands on the railings.

"Doctor?"

"No."

Your brows furrowed, "Sorry?"

"No."

"I didn't even tell you what I wanted to say."

The Doctor's eyes were fixed on the console, "I know what you're going to say."

"And what was that?" you climbed down the metal stairs, settling on a chair.

He popped his face out from behind the console screen to face you, "You want me to dress the TARDIS up, and my answer is no."

"Why?"

"Well," he started, turning back to monitor, "I'm not having the TARDIS in red and gold and shiny colours! It's too bright for my eyes! Not even my sunglasses can protect them!"

He spun the monitor towards you, and you barely caught it with your finger. You were about to feel a wave of disappointment wash over you for the Doctor's discontent with Christmas decorations, but instead, question marks were appearing in your head.

"Look at it! Hurts your eyes, doesn't it?"

Frowning, you asked, "Doctor, what are those?"

"Decorations!" He exclaimed as if it was obvious, "For Chinese New Year."

You blinked, your mind blanking out for ten seconds. Once you were back, you could only think of that meme of a guy blinking in disbelief, because it accurately reflected how you were feeling.

"Doctor," you said once the cogwheels in your mind started turning again, "it's not even Chinese New Year yet."

It was his turn to stop and stare at you as though you were crazy, "It's not?"

Shaking your head, you spun the monitor back. He caught it and switched off the screen, sighing in relief, "Great! My TARDIS can continue to look beautiful."

He continued to fiddle with the controls. Seeing as he was not going to pursue the conversation any further, you got up and prepared to leave the room.

Suddenly, he shouted, "Wait!"

A flicker of hope sparked in your heart.

"Don't forget to set your alarm," he said, and the little spark was gone, "I can't have you oversleeping tomorrow and I don't want to go in to wake you. I've got some important chores to do."

Though disappointed, you couldn't help but question, "Chores? Since when did you do domestics?"

"The TARDIS needs a few parts," said the Doctor, "Bit rough since our last trip. Can't you feel it?"

"No?"

It was his turn to shake his head, "Humans and your sleep. Go on then, off you go."

As you stepped out of the room, you heard his reminder again, "And don't forget to set your alarm!"

You rolled your eyes despite a small smile growing on your face. If sleep was what he wanted you do to, then sleep it was. It was getting late anyway.

Pulling the blanket up to your chin, you couldn't help but think back to the times Christmas was much more exciting than this one. You remembered how the Doctor used to dress up as a reindeer and make Amy and Rory play Mr and Mrs Claus.

"Doctor, stop it!"

"Come on, Rory, all in holiday fun! Amy! Get your naked husband dressed!"

"I'm fully clothed!"

"You're Christmas naked!"

You remembered how it was the same with Clara, except she was forced to be a reindeer too. It was painful for you and the Doctor to replace the Santa pair.

"What's with the antlers?"

"We're going Christmas shopping!"

"In those? Looks ridiculous, doesn't it?"

"Oi! Don't diss the antlers, antlers are cool!"

And after all that hustle, it would always end with the Doctor grabbing a bottle of drink from the fridge.

Holiday Sprite to get into the holiday spirit, he would say. It was warm, it tasted heavenly, and it always fizzled in your mouth comfortably, if that was a thing. Every Christmas, it would always end with the drink, but it seems as though the tradition would break with this one.

Closing your eyes, you let yourself drift off to sleep. Maybe your imagination would be kind to let you savour the drink with your friends before the morning.

Merry Christmas, Doctor.

—

An hour after you left, the Doctor finally left the console room. He wandered about the corridors in search of your room, and when he found it, he pressed his ears against the door. The light snores indicated that it was safe to enter.

Gingerly, he walked over to your bed, standing over you. He watched as you slept on, and an unsettling feeling set in his stomach. It was like he was missing something, something important, but he couldn't figure out what.

Maybe it was because he was watching you sleeping. He wasn't used to sleep. In fact, he was quite awake. He needed to do something. His fingers itched to work, and his mind was like a fully operational factory working at maximum rate. The problem was that there was nothing to work on. It still needed the parts that you two would get tomorrow.

Did she set her alarm?

He reached for your phone on the bedside table and checked. You didn't.

"Seriously," he muttered, "I always have to do this, don't I?"

He poked the screen like a toddler to a foreign object, except he knew what he was doing. He just wasn't used to 21st century technology. Why 21st when you could have 89th?

Suddenly, a notification popped up, and the screen became brighter ten times. He squinted and read it, only to realise that it really wasn't Chinese New Year.

It was Christmas.

Stupid Doctor.

He slapped himself gently. No wonder your face was so weird! All you wanted to do was to have a nice Christmas with him, but he genuinely forgot about it. He really did. He knew how much Christmas meant to you.

Setting the phone down, the Doctor bent down to your ear. He stayed in that position for a while, thinking of what to say.

"Don't worry," he whispered, "I won't forget your present."

With that, he got up and left.

I'll see you in the morning.

—

Your alarm actually rang, and you didn't expect it. That was how you ended up on the floor, groaning as you dealt with the throbbing pain in your head.

"I swear I didn't set any alarm yesterday."

After a good ten minutes of sitting on the floor to recover, you went about your morning routine.

It was a quiet morning, however, a little too quiet. Usually, the Doctor would shout down the corridor to make sure you were up, but today, there was nothing. No sign of the Doctor anywhere. Maybe he left without you.

But he didn't, because he was in the console room, in the exact same position as the day before.

"Sleep well?"

You rubbed your eyes and nodded.

"Brilliant," he said, his Scottish accent becoming particularly strong, "Put this on."

He threw you a very colourful scarf. You gave him a weird look as he exited the box.

"Come on then."

His tone was strangely calm, you couldn't help but feel a little scared. You carefully made your way towards the door of the TARDIS. As your hand touched the door, you shivered, noting how cold it was. Was the TARDIS grocery store always this cold?

And you pulled the door open.

The Doctor was standing there, arms
stretched out. There was a wide grin plastered on his face.

The floor he stood on was made of wood planks. Your eyes travelled to the walls made of logs, the carpet made of wool, and the sofas made of leather. The flames in the fireplace at the corner were burning brightly, the warmth from them filling up the entire room. The window behind the Doctor was half frosted, and through it you could see snow falling gracefully to the ground. Finally, just beside you, was the tree. The pine tree with red and gold baubles and the shiny star on top.

"You like it?"

You didn't know what to say. You thought that he forgot, that he didn't care.

After a few moments of observing a frozen you, the Doctor grabbed your hand and led you to one of the red sofas, "Silence means consent so stop standing and gawking! We've got sofas to sleep on and crackers to pop!"

Sitting down beside him, you stared at the Doctor, eyes as wide as before.

"You did this?" Finally, a sentence came out of your mouth.

"Yeah," he replied, "Stop staring at me like that, it's weird. No, no, don't do those eyes. Don't do it! I've seen them somewhere. They just inflate and puff up like that! Don't- okay you're already doing it."

You laughed, trying to wipe away the tears. You still didn't know what to say, it was unimaginable. It wasn't the same as before, there wasn't any antlers, but it was good.

"Oh yes! Before I forget," he stood up and went somewhere. You didn't bother to turn to look because that gave you time to calm yourself. The scarf came in handy too, it was a good absorber of water. When he returned, you could safely say you had your feelings under control. Mostly.

"Holiday Sprite to get into the holiday spirit. Nice and warm."

Your heart was about to burst. It was different hearing this voice say it, but nonetheless it was brilliant. It had the same energy as before.

Your hands cupped around the hot mug of drink, and the Doctor picked up his. He held it by the handle and raised it.

"Cheers," he said, "To a previous good year."

You did the same, but you could only stutter out two words, "T-thank you."

"Merry Christmas, (Y/N)."

As your cups collided, the floor started to vibrate. The baubles on the tree shook more violently by the second, and once the rumbling ended, you looked at the Doctor. He grinned and you let him take your hand.

What was Christmas without a little trouble?