Fic: In The Night
“Oh, hello,” you say, startled.
Rose looks at you, just as startled. You both stare at each other across the kitchen counter. The clock reads 2:30 am. Neither of you were expecting to run into anyone, especially each other.
“I just came down to get a drink.”
You nod at her, not sure what to say. You hold up a piece of bread, then take a bite. “Bread,” you say, your mouth full.
“Yeah,” she smiles. Not a real smile. Forced.
She pours herself a glass of water, holding it up to you. “Well, good night.”
You nod, giving a smile just as forced as hers, “Night.”
You stuff the rest of the bread into your mouth and head back to bed. You make your way into your room, pausing in front of the mirror. Run your hands through your hair. It’s getting too long. Shaggy and long and you hate it. It’s growing too fast.
You run into the bathroom, pulling drawers open. Searching for scissors. You can’t find any. You run back downstairs to the kitchen. Pull open drawers, look under the sink, open cabinets. You finally find a pair with thick red handles.
You run back upstairs and you stop in the hallway. You’re halfway between your own room and Rose’s room. You don’t care about boundaries or awkwardness at this point. You want someone you can trust.
You open her door. Don’t bother knocking. If you stopped to knock, you would turn around and head to your room before you even made contact with the door.
Her room looks like you might imagine it. This is the first time you’ve seen it. Different from her old room. Much more grown up. Her old room, back on the other Earth looked like a girl’s room. Her room in the TARDIS was a bit of a mish mash. It was hers, but it was almost like a hotel room. Not enough time spent there to make it any thing truly personal. But this room. This room belongs to a woman. And that’s what she is now, a woman.
She jumps slightly when she sees you walk in. “You scared me.”
You can’t help but stare at her. The lights seem strange and a bit too yellow. She looks like she’s glowing. She looks beautiful. And you can’t help but say as much.
“You’re beautiful.”
She opens her mouth to say something, but words don’t come out. She looks away from you first, unable to hold your gaze.
“Right,” you say, giving your best smile. The one that’s obviously a mask. You hold up the scissors in the air. She gives you a strange look.
“What?”
“You mind giving us a haircut?”
“A haircut? Why?”
“I can’t stand it anymore. I just need it chopped off, chop chop.”
“But….”
You stop her, desperate. “Please.”
She doesn’t say anything, but makes her way over to you, grabbing the scissors out of your hand. She walks over to a chair in the corner of her room, pulling it out towards the center.
“Sit,” she says, pointing to the chair.
You obediently go over, sitting down without a word. She combs her fingers through your hair making it stand up on end.
“Love the hair,” she says quietly. More to herself then you, so you don’t say anything.
You hear the sound of steel crossing, as hair begins to fall to the ground. You close your eyes, and you feel her snip, snip, snip.
It’s easier to feel her presence with your eyes closed. You can feel her moving around you. The way the air shifts as she moves. The smell of shampoo and soap and something else completely distinctly Rose.
“Open your eyes.” You obey and when you do, you see yourself. Your hair shorter then you remember. You slide your hand over your head. You feel almost naked.
“It’s brilliant,” you say, looking up from the mirror Rose is holding and into Rose’s eyes, “Thank you.”
“Not too short?”
“You did it perfect.”
You smile, tired. She smiles back, just as tired and a bit of pride mixed in for good measure. You can‘t remember the last time you saw her look proud.. She looks so beautiful. You don’t even think about what you’re doing. You stand up and put your hand to her cheek. You are both so close now, that your noses are practically touching. Her lips part slightly, and you take that as your cue.
You kiss her, but it’s not passionate. It’s tender and quiet and sad. She kisses you too. She seems so much older then you remember. You are both so tired.
You’re not sure who pulls away first. But you’re both staring at each other now, unsure what to do next.
“It’s late,” she says.
“Yeah,” you agree. You both linger for a moment. She brushes some hair off your shoulder, stopping to stare at the side of your face. She leans up and plants a small kiss onto your ear.
She quickly backs away and starts to move the chair back to it’s corner. That’s your signal to go.
You sniff loudly, scratching your chin. “Right, good night then.” You move to the door. Her back is to you, as she plays with some objects on her dresser. You make your way out, closing the door behind you.
You know more then ever you have to leave soon.
Rose looks at you, just as startled. You both stare at each other across the kitchen counter. The clock reads 2:30 am. Neither of you were expecting to run into anyone, especially each other.
“I just came down to get a drink.”
You nod at her, not sure what to say. You hold up a piece of bread, then take a bite. “Bread,” you say, your mouth full.
“Yeah,” she smiles. Not a real smile. Forced.
She pours herself a glass of water, holding it up to you. “Well, good night.”
You nod, giving a smile just as forced as hers, “Night.”
You stuff the rest of the bread into your mouth and head back to bed. You make your way into your room, pausing in front of the mirror. Run your hands through your hair. It’s getting too long. Shaggy and long and you hate it. It’s growing too fast.
You run into the bathroom, pulling drawers open. Searching for scissors. You can’t find any. You run back downstairs to the kitchen. Pull open drawers, look under the sink, open cabinets. You finally find a pair with thick red handles.
You run back upstairs and you stop in the hallway. You’re halfway between your own room and Rose’s room. You don’t care about boundaries or awkwardness at this point. You want someone you can trust.
You open her door. Don’t bother knocking. If you stopped to knock, you would turn around and head to your room before you even made contact with the door.
Her room looks like you might imagine it. This is the first time you’ve seen it. Different from her old room. Much more grown up. Her old room, back on the other Earth looked like a girl’s room. Her room in the TARDIS was a bit of a mish mash. It was hers, but it was almost like a hotel room. Not enough time spent there to make it any thing truly personal. But this room. This room belongs to a woman. And that’s what she is now, a woman.
She jumps slightly when she sees you walk in. “You scared me.”
You can’t help but stare at her. The lights seem strange and a bit too yellow. She looks like she’s glowing. She looks beautiful. And you can’t help but say as much.
“You’re beautiful.”
She opens her mouth to say something, but words don’t come out. She looks away from you first, unable to hold your gaze.
“Right,” you say, giving your best smile. The one that’s obviously a mask. You hold up the scissors in the air. She gives you a strange look.
“What?”
“You mind giving us a haircut?”
“A haircut? Why?”
“I can’t stand it anymore. I just need it chopped off, chop chop.”
“But….”
You stop her, desperate. “Please.”
She doesn’t say anything, but makes her way over to you, grabbing the scissors out of your hand. She walks over to a chair in the corner of her room, pulling it out towards the center.
“Sit,” she says, pointing to the chair.
You obediently go over, sitting down without a word. She combs her fingers through your hair making it stand up on end.
“Love the hair,” she says quietly. More to herself then you, so you don’t say anything.
You hear the sound of steel crossing, as hair begins to fall to the ground. You close your eyes, and you feel her snip, snip, snip.
It’s easier to feel her presence with your eyes closed. You can feel her moving around you. The way the air shifts as she moves. The smell of shampoo and soap and something else completely distinctly Rose.
“Open your eyes.” You obey and when you do, you see yourself. Your hair shorter then you remember. You slide your hand over your head. You feel almost naked.
“It’s brilliant,” you say, looking up from the mirror Rose is holding and into Rose’s eyes, “Thank you.”
“Not too short?”
“You did it perfect.”
You smile, tired. She smiles back, just as tired and a bit of pride mixed in for good measure. You can‘t remember the last time you saw her look proud.. She looks so beautiful. You don’t even think about what you’re doing. You stand up and put your hand to her cheek. You are both so close now, that your noses are practically touching. Her lips part slightly, and you take that as your cue.
You kiss her, but it’s not passionate. It’s tender and quiet and sad. She kisses you too. She seems so much older then you remember. You are both so tired.
You’re not sure who pulls away first. But you’re both staring at each other now, unsure what to do next.
“It’s late,” she says.
“Yeah,” you agree. You both linger for a moment. She brushes some hair off your shoulder, stopping to stare at the side of your face. She leans up and plants a small kiss onto your ear.
She quickly backs away and starts to move the chair back to it’s corner. That’s your signal to go.
You sniff loudly, scratching your chin. “Right, good night then.” You move to the door. Her back is to you, as she plays with some objects on her dresser. You make your way out, closing the door behind you.
You know more then ever you have to leave soon.