For those who need some love...

"Emergency! You're my girlfriend!"

The Doctor burst out of the TARDIS, which was neatly parked in your bedroom. He ran up to you and placed his hands firmly on your shoulder. You froze on the spot, eyes blinking as you tried to process what he said. You did not expect to see the Doctor again so soon, since he had only dropped you off two days ago from your weekly adventures.

Once the cogwheels in your brain started turning again, you blurted out, "What?"

"I need to save Amy and Rory from a love garden but the place only allows couples in love to enter," the Doctor explained hastily, "I tried to enter myself but I can't, so I figured if I brought someone along and we pretended to be a couple we would be able to enter and save the Ponds from their impending doom of becoming fish food, because the alien fish thing feeds and lives off oxytocin which is the chemical secreted by your brain that..."

As he rambled on, all you could think about was the very first thing he yelled when he first entered your room.

"Doctor," you interrupted, finding your voice again, "What do you need me to do again?"

He stopped talking and stared straight into your eyes, hands still on your shoulder, gripping them securely, "I need you to be my girlfriend."

There was a moment of silence before you clarified, "You mean pretend?"

"Yes! Pretend girlfriend," he replied a little too quickly, face slightly flustered, "just to save the Ponds."

Noticing your apprehension, he added, "If that's okay with you, of course. Is it okay with you?"

"Okay."

"I mean, we do have to save the Ponds so it'll be best if you were okay with it-" he paused, only then registering what you had said, "Hold on, did you just say okay?"

You nodded. For a Doctor so observant, he was really oblivious to many things, including the pink tint on your cheeks.

Clapping his hands with glee, he beamed, "Brilliant! Come along, (Y/N)! We have some Ponds to save!"

Without hesitation, he grabbed your hand and led you into the TARDIS.

——————————————

The TARDIS landed just outside the gates to the love garden. The Doctor stepped out first to ensure he had landed properly. As you poked your head out of the door, you let your eyes soak in the lush greenery and colourful flora that surrounded you. The arched gates were decorated with yellow and pink roses, with hints of technology that probably scanned people for letting them enter. Then, you noticed a hand in front of you.

"Well, to be a couple, we have to act like one. If I may, (Y/N)?"

You giggled and took the Doctor's hand, "Thank you, Doctor."

You felt his fingers intertwine with yours as the two of you slowly made your way over to the gate. You could hear the sound of your heart beating in your chest, but you were not really sure if it was from fear or something else. Noticing, the Doctor looked in your direction and smiled warmly, stroking his thumb on your hand in an attempt to calm you down. You returned a small smile.

At the gate, a light shone on the both of you. It was from a sunflower's petals which surrounded an eye. The Doctor waved to it and pointed at you.

"I've got a girlfriend now!"

A cricket chirped.

The Doctor cleared his throat, "Can we come in?"

You shut your eyes instinctively as the light shone brighter. Your grip on the Doctor's hand grew tighter, and as it did, somehow you felt the Doctor standing closer to you. Once the light faded, you opened your eyes but the gates were still closed. You looked at the Doctor, who was confused as well.

"Well, not what I was hoping for," he said, mainly towards the gate, "Do you need more?"

As you stared at the gate in confusion, you heard the Doctor mutter, "What would Rory do?"

His eyes lit up and he turned towards you. He looked at your eyes, then your lips for a very brief moment, before looking at your forehead. Then his eyes darted all over the place before settling back on your forehead. He gently brought his hands up to cup your face. After hesitating, he awkwardly pressed his lips against your forehead, his movements somewhat robotic. He pulled back, and as your eyes locked, you wished really hard that your face was not as red as you were imagining it to be.

"Did that work?" the Doctor whispered as the two of you stood really still, "Do I need to do more? I can-"

The gates squeaked open, and you released the breath that you had been holding in. The Doctor's shoulders relaxed too.

"Thank you!" he shouted at the gate, all smiles again. The sunflower had disappeared. You laughed, and he squeezed your hand twice as the two of you took off into the garden to save the Ponds.

——————————————

The Ponds were stuck in a big pond.

They somehow ended up on a boat, surrounded by the fishes the Doctor had talked about earlier. You and the Doctor stood at the edge of the pond, near a mini dock where there were more boats. It was unusually quiet and calm for a situation so dangerous, but perhaps the other couples had already been eaten, and the Ponds were the only ones left.

You noticed a sign which signalled bad news.

"It's almost time for feeding," you said, squinting your eyes to spot the Ponds better. Amy and Rory were slowly drifting towards their doom: the centre of the pond where the fishes mainly resided. The couple were flailing their hands in your direction.

"Doctor! (Y/N)!" Amy shouted.

"They're going to eat us!" Rory added, "I do NOT want to die as fish food!"

"Don't worry! We're coming!" The Doctor gave them a thumbs-up, and you were unsure if they could actually see it.

"How are we going to save them?" you asked.

He led you towards the dock and explained his plan excitedly, "We're going to take one of these boats and row it out to Ponds. Not that it needs rowing, since it's already powered by some engine which is pulling them towards the fish, but rowing would make us go faster. Then, I'll use my sonic screwdriver to reverse the polarity of the engines and send the boats back here, then we run back to the TARDIS and get the heck out of here!"

"There's going to be so much rowing," he added, "I hope you got the strength for it."

"Me too."

The dock was home to the boats that could be used by couples to 'have a romantic time on the water'. Because you were in a love garden, instead of paying, there was something else that the two of you had to do to use the boats. The same sunflower with the eye appeared and looked towards another sign.

"They've been scanning our oxytocin levels," the Doctor said after reading it, realisation dawning on him, "They've been scanning it from the start. It's like a game. We pass a certain level, we unlock something. It's been sieving out couples who have the most love in them to feed the fish."

You noticed a bar that was only half-filled, "We don't have enough."

"Well," the Doctor looked back out at the Ponds, who were inching closer to the fish, "We need to increase it to save the Ponds."

"How?"

Suddenly, you felt your entire body being embraced by the Doctor's surprisingly strong arms.

"Hug me back," he muttered into your ear, "So we don't raise any suspicions. Act normal. Well, as normal as a couple can get. Hugging is known to increase oxytocin."

You did as he was told, and hugged tighter in hopes to raise the oxytocin levels further. He reciprocated, and you snuggled your head into his shoulder. His hug made you feel secure, and without even looking at the bar (since you were facing away from it), you knew it was filling up.

"You're a natural hugger, (Y/N)," the Doctor said, "Did I ever mention that before?"

"You're really good too," you mumbled.

The Doctor continued talking, "Did I also mention that you're the most special person I've ever met?"

"Really?"

"Yes," the Doctor affirmed in a low voice, "you keep me grounded all the time you've been with me. The time I have with you has always been the best ones I've had. Every time I see you, it's like you just light up and shine brighter than anyone else. The number of times the TARDIS has teased me about this..."

Your mind was already lost in the sea of sweet words coming out of his mouth, but you still asked, "About what?"

A loud splash interrupted the conversation. The hug ended, with the two of you turning towards the boat that had just been released into the water. The Doctor cheered, and you followed him onto the boat, except that you had not moved on from what the Doctor had said earlier. Once the boat was a distance away from the dock, the Doctor gave you a pat on the back, "Well done, (Y/N)! You were a natural!"

You raised your brow, "A natural..."

"Actor!" the Doctor exclaimed, "You followed my lead so well! Not sure if you knew, but other than hugging, saying nice things to each other also helps increase oxytocin levels. And it worked!"

Your heart sank but you kept your facial expressions neutral, "So whatever you said to me just now, it was just pretend?"

It almost seemed as though a glitch had occurred in the Doctor's mind, for his voice got caught in his throat and he did not immediately respond to you.

"Well, I-"

As he opened his mouth to speak, the boat suddenly shook and he reached for your hand. The surrounding waters became darker, and the screams from Amy and Rory grew louder. You looked at the Doctor, who now had a frown on his face, and you knew this conversation would have to wait. You grabbed the paddle and handed it to the Doctor. He turned his frown upside down.

"You always know what I'm thinking, (Y/N)," he grinned, "Let's go save the Ponds!"

——————————————

The rescue went by in a blur. While there were some challenges, you and the Doctor managed to save Amy and Rory from turning into the next big meal for alien fish, something Rory deemed as 'an uncool way to die, given the other ways he had already experienced'. Now safe and sound and dry in the TARDIS, you sat down on the TARDIS staircase. You fiddled with your hands, your mind still stuck in the moments you had with the Doctor in the garden. The same thing must have crossed the Doctor's mind too, as he soon came to accompany you. He took off his tweed jacket and gently draped it over your shoulders.

"So..." the Doctor spoke first, "About earlier."

You adjusted your body to face him and it was now your turn to ramble, "Did you mean anything you said and did? Or was it really just an act? I researched about oxytocin, and there's no way to really fake the levels. So it had to be real, right? Otherwise we wouldn't have gotten the boat, or even passed the gates in the first place."

The Doctor chuckled, "Google does teach you a lot, doesn't it?"

"How did you know I used Google?"

"Where else do humans get your information from?" he joked.

"And I know you, (Y/N)," he tapped your nose lightly, "More than you think. Unlike normal humans, you use your brain and reason everything out with the new knowledge you gained. And that's why you're right."

Your heart picked up the pace and soon it was running a marathon, "I'm right?"

He steadied your hands which were shaking slightly, unknowingly to you, "I meant everything I said, even the part about the TARDIS teasing me constantly whenever I drop you off."

As if on cue, the TARDIS lights repeatedly dimmed and brightened in her own unique way, but it was clear she was enjoying whatever was going on with you and the Doctor.

"Oi, knock it off, will you? I'm getting there!"

The TARDIS lights stopped flickering. The Doctor thanked her, and returned his attention to you.

"Seeing as both our oxytocin levels went up during our time at the garden," the Doctor's smile grew wider, "I'm sure you're smart enough to figure out whether we were actually pretending or not."

"And what if I'm not?" you challenged, a smirk forming on your face.

He laughed, "You underestimate yourself."

His sturdy hands reached out for yours. You tensed up, but when you realised your hands fit perfectly in his, you felt a wave of calm wash over you. The Doctor leaned in closer until all you could see was the twinkle in his hazy green eyes.

Then he planted the softest kiss on your lips, and that was when you knew there was no need to pretend at all.