Work Text:
“Can you remember
who you were,
before the world
told you who you should be?” -k.w
—-----
“Evelyn?”
“Hum?”
When the person had started talking to her, she didn’t look at him, to focus on her book to really pay attention to him. But now that he was sitting in front of her she decided to turn her gaze toward him, knowing that he wouldn’t have done that if it wasn’t to talk for a bit.
“Why did you agree to come with me?” His eyes were focused on the floor but she could see that he was nervous. About what, she didn’t know.
Taking the time to reflect on his question, she searched inside her memories to know why she agreed. After all, if a stranger proposed to you to come with him to explore the universe and everything within it, knowing that it would be dangerous, she’s sure not everyone would have agreed to go.
That's when she remembered that she smiled and looked to her left where a nebula could be seen through one of the windows of her room.
“Do you remember, Doctor, who you were before the world around you told you who you should be?” He looked at her, confused by her question.
He went to answer with a yes , because, of course he knew, it was a simple question with a simple answer, but, before he could respond, he stopped himself. Not because he thought of something else but because he didn’t think at all about it. He didn’t know the answer so he couldn’t think about one even if seconds before he was sure to know.
He turned his eyes in her direction but she didn’t look at him, she was still simply observing the nebula with a small smile on her lips.
With a deep breath, he murmured softly, still looking at her that he didn’t know. That's when she finally looked at him, meeting his gaze.
“The answer to your question is the answer to mine.” He frowned, not understanding, which she took notice of and smiled a bit more.
“When you proposed to me to go with you, I wasn't sure I wanted to come. It was dangerous and I had a life where I was.” His eyes turned from curiosity to sadness but before he could say something, she continued. “I asked myself why I wanted to go, what I had to lose, and that’s when I realized that I had nothing to lose. The life i lived until now wasn’t a life i dreamed of, i wasn’t even living, i was surviving. I was what the world wanted me to be, a simple puppet if you will.”
The man in front of her didn’t know what to say or how to react, he could only stare at her and her only. Mesmerized by her beauty and words.
“I remembered that when i was a child, before the world took control of my life, that i had dreamed of seeing the stars, of traveling the world. I wanted to explore, to learn, to live!” She gently took his hand in her, looking at him with a smile. “So when you asked me if I wanted to come with you, I decided that I would. I would travel with you, see the stars with you, explore with you and live with you, and only you.”
His hearts skipped a beat before he frowned softly and looked at her sadly.
“But…”
“I know that you will not be able to live all your life with me but I can and I will do it. No matter how many times or life I have, I will always choose to go with you.” A tear rolled down his cheek which she gently erased with her thumb. “ You asked me why I decided to travel with you? Because I chose to become myself, the who i was before the world told me who i needed to be. And you, Doctor, are the only one capable of making me feel safe enough to be myself at any moment. I chose you and I will always choose you.”
The man she loved was now fully crying, pulling her closer to him. Instead of pulling away, she cradled him in her arms and played gently with his hair, whispering sweet nothing to his ear and softly kissing the top of his head.
When she first met him, she remembered who she was, it’s because of him that she was the person she was today. And she couldn’t wait for him to see who he really was, before the world told him who he should be.
Her lovely and lonely Doctor…