.:What's In a Name:. Tenth Doctor x Reader

Because you people wouldn't leave me alone about it. XD Nah, jk, I love writing these stories. And reading them. Enjoy!

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A dream come to life.

Just before Valentine's Day, you had met the most phenomenal man in the entire universe. He called himself the Doctor, and you had fallen for him the moment you heard his enthusiastic introduction.

"'Ello! I'm the Doc-tah!"

You had met under more than strange circumstances. There had been a series of disappearances in your neighborhood. No one had any evidence, there were no witnesses, and the police had no leads. Then, one morning, the Doctor landed on the roof of your house. Just as you had gone outside to investigate, he leaped down and nearly landed on top of you. Curious as to why he was on your roof and where he was going, you followed him, and nearly got yourself killed. Several stone angel statues-which he later explained were alien beings called "Weeping Angels"-had been the culprits.

The Doctor got rid of the problem by tricking them all into looking at one another, so they would remain statues forever. After all this, you discovered you loved the thrill of adventure, and the Doctor offered to take you with him. He told you he usually traveled with a companion, but was alone at the time you met him. You gladly accepted and were introduced to the TARDIS, a blue phone box that was his vessel throughout time and space. It was, naturally, much bigger on the inside. It even had a comfy guest bedroom where you stayed.

It was too good to be true.

"_____?" The Doctor called to you in his comforting, charming accent, snapping you out of your flashback. "You alright?"

"Yeah, fine, fine." You replied. "Just thinking of when we first met." A substantial amount of time had passed since then, during which you had many wonderful adventures with the time lord you had come to know so well. You could hardly believe he was an alien; he looked so human.

The Doctor smiled and walked over to you. The TARDIS was on auto-pilot, randomly drifting throughout space. "Fun, wasn't it? The day we first met."

"Mm-hmm. It feels like so long ago, now. We've been through so much." You smiled to yourself, reminiscing a bit more. The Doctor wrapped his hand in yours, pleasantly surprising you. Despite your strong feelings towards him, there hadn't been much of a deep relationship between the two of you. After all, could you really blame him? He was so busy, saving the universe every time you turned around.

"You know, I've been thinking. I talk to you about the Medusa Cascade all the time, but you haven't actually seen it, have you?"

"No time to."

"Well, now that we have a moment of quiet, let's go see it! After all, it's a lovely place, brilliant, really. Come on, I'll take the TARDIS off auto-pilot."

"Now?"

"Yes, now! Come on!" He yanked your arm and you ran after him, never letting go of his hand, all the way up to the control room. "Medusa Cascade, coming up!" He pressed some buttons, twisted some knobs, yanked the lever, and away you went. You clung to his hand once more as the TARDIS rocked around and spun crazily. After a few minutes, it stopped. Your feet lurched and you stumbled into the Doctor, who laughed and smiled. He lead you, again, by the hand, to the door, which he then flung open with a kind of childlike enthusiasm which made your heart skip a beat. You unconciously stared at him lovingly, and he turned back to you after looking out for just a second. "That way, silly!" He said, letting go of your hand. He used one of his hands to turn your head and another to point in the direction he wanted you to look.

The sight took your breath away.

It was beautiful. Utter, raw beauty. The innumerable nebulae and clouds of stardust overlapped in one place, creating a warm rainbow of brilliant light and color. Stars and galaxies twinkled all around, accentuating the glory of the picture-perfect image set before you. You gasped, your eyes reflecting the starlight.

The Doctor was just happy to see your expression. He smiled to himself, looking out at the scene, then allowed his eyes to travel back to you. Your face hadn't changed. You just stared out at the Medusa Cascade, trying to take in all the sensations you were receiving. The Doctor grabbed your hand once more, bringing you back to reality. As soon as you felt his warm touch, you whipped your head down and looked at where your hands connected, a gentle warmth growing in your heart, the rate of which had tripled. Your gaze traveled up his slender body and stopped at his deep, dark eyes. He stared straight into you.

"_____, I know your name. Have for a while now, and yet, you don't know mine." His voice reached your ears, but you were still in a trance as your glittering ____ eyes looked up at him. Still, you managed a reply.

"But I thought your name was the Doctor?"

"Nah, that's just an alias. A nickname. Something people call me in place of my real name, because if they called me by my real name, the whole universe would be in terrible danger."

You tilted your head a bit, trying to comprehend the information. "But that's just silly. How could a name cause the universe any harm?" You laughed a little, but all the humor was immediately drained out of you when you looked up at him again. The love faded from his eyes and he raised his eyebrows, looking down at you very seriously. After that, you didn't question him any more, and the mood traveled from his eyes to yours. He suddenly sat you down and kneeled next to you. Gently moving his hands up to your temples, he closed his eyes and instructed you to close yours. You obeyed, and your mind was instantly filled with the most horrible, nightmarish images.

Whole galaxies were obliterated right before your eyes. Stars were exploding, and their heat was destroying entire planets. Then, your view flew down to the surfaces of the planets themselves. You saw the Earth, your own human race, going extinct. You saw their panic-stricken faces, and their limp bodies being flung out into space as the Earth exploded. Your eyes shot open and you pulled away, breathing rapidly. The Doctor grabbed both your hands and looked into your face again. "_____? _____? I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry you had to see that, but you had to know. You had to know the consequences if my name were to be used normally. Please forgive me..." Your breathing slowed back to normal as your wide eyes slowly moved back to lock your gaze with his once more.

"I..I understand..." Your voice rose weakly from your throat, and cracked as you spoke. "I forgive you..."

The Doctor's seriousness didn't fade, but he looked worried as he inspected your trembling body. He pulled you into a sudden, tight hug, and you began to cry into his chest. Your face felt hot as the tears streamed freely down it, staining your rosy cheeks. The Doctor did nothing but hold onto you, then he gently began to rock back and forth on the TARDIS floor, whispering comforting words in your ear. Slowly, your sobbing faded into sniffles, which disappeared soon after. You pulled away and looked at your time lord friend, whose expression was fraught with concern. He smiled at you and wiped a few stray tears from your cheeks with his thumbs. "Don't worry." He said, seeming to know what was on your mind. "It'll never happen, as long as you don't start using my name."

You smiled weakly, and managed a snicker. "But I don't even know your name."

The Doctor snapped his fingers and pointed at you. "That's right!" He helped you up quickly and looked out at the Medusa Cascade. "My head is so stupid! Too old! I'm too old, head's all full of stuff, I need a bigger head! I brought you here because I wanted to tell you my name! Uuugh, how could I forget!" He ruffled his hair with his hands and slapped the side of his head, making you laugh, your sadness and anxiety long forgotten. "Come here." He pulled you close and gently brushed your _____ hair behind your ear, his lips briefly connecting with it, making your face heat up. He whispered his name in your ear. It was a simple name, only a couple of syllables long, but after what you just witnessed, you didn't dare repeat it.

Then, he did something unexpected. He planted a soft, sweet kiss on your ear, making your heart nearly stop. Moving away from your head, the Doctor locked eyes with you again. You said nothing, but knew exactly what to do. You wrapped your hand around his tie and pulled him in for a long, deep kiss.

It was perfection.

His lips were warm, even warmer than normal from being pressed against your ear, and he tasted sweet. You loved it. You loved him. And now he knew it.

And you couldn't be happier.

You pulled away for breath, and he stared deep into you. He pulled you in for another hug, your head resting against his chest. You smiled as you heard the quadruple beating of his dual hearts, faster than normal due to your previous actions.

"_____?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you." The Doctor smiled his widest smile of the entire evening. His expression betrayed the mood that he had wanted to get that sentence off his chest for some time.

"And I you." You replied, mocking his accent. "It's probably Valentine's Day back on Earth."

"Happy Valentine's Day, _____!" He said, crushing you in another bear hug.

So, for the rest of the evening, you sat there, wrapped in the Doctor's arms, sitting in his lap with his chin resting on your head, gazing out at the Medusa Cascade.